The Foundlings: Book One of the Urban Fantasy Paranormal Vampire Series, The Foundlings

by R. M. Garcia

  “She was born deaf, so the noise doesn’t bother her,” she explained.

  “Oh, I’m so sorry,” Abbie said. “Can the doctors do anything for her?”

  “No, she will be deaf her entire life, but there are some promising implants we are looking into,” Cecelia replied.

  “A goo goo, a coochiekoo.” Donnie made faces at the baby. Abbie watched Donnie as he played with the baby and felt a deep sadness; she forced a smile, but she could clearly see Donnie would have made a great father. It was something she knew she would never be able to give him.

  “She looks like Misha,” Abbie said.

  “Our son looks a lot like his father too,” she replied as Donnie continued playing with the baby and making faces.

  “Is he here?” Abbie asked.

  “No, he’s in LA with his father,” she said. “I wasn’t sure if you would show, but I am supposed to call him if you did.” Kelly began to stir. The baby was laughing hysterically now. Kelly looked over to the baby and saw Donnie holding it and promptly fainted again. Donnie was forcing out his fangs and pulling them back in, and the baby found it extremely amusing.

  “Oh, that is just not right,” Cecelia said, looking at Donnie. “Let me call Misha.”

  “We shouldn’t stay too long,” Abbie said. “It’s not really safe. I’m still being hunted.” Cecelia got a concerned look on her face.

  “There are no other vampires nearby. If some come close, we will have to jet,” Donnie said and started blowing on the baby, which made her laugh even more. Cecelia took the baby from Donnie and handed him the phone. Misha was on the other line, and they began speaking. Abbie watched as he leaned back and began speaking to his friend as if no time had passed, they picked up right where they left off. Kelly began to stir once again. She looked up to see Abbie staring at her once again. She regained her composure and sat up.

  “OK, so say I believe you,” Kelly said. “Tell me everything.” Abbie began relaying the story from beginning to the end. At the end of it, Kelly and Cecelia were in tears. The three shared an embrace, and Donna started crying again.

  “I’m not sure why she is so fussy tonight. She’s usually fast asleep by now,” Cecelia said. Donnie held the phone in between his head and shoulder and made a give-me motion, and Cecelia handed the baby back over. Once again she went quiet. “Would you look at that?” Donnie winked at the girls and rocked Donna to sleep as he continued to talk to Misha. The girls looked at Donnie and simply smiled. They continued talking and passing the phone around for the next few hours until the show ended. Once the performance ended, the band came back into the VIP lounge. They were followed by groupies and fans alike. The level of the noise in the room got so bad; they were forced to disconnect the call with Misha. Donnie looked at the clock on phone and then showed it to Abbie.

  “Yeah, we should be going,” Abbie said.

  “Leaving so soon?” Cecelia asked.

  “Yeah, we need to head back,” Donnie said.

  “Back where?” Kelly asked.

  “Better you don’t know,” Abbie replied. “As soon as we can, we will contact you again.”

  “Don’t let it be another five years, Dodo,” Cecelia said to Donnie.

  “I’ll try,” Donnie promised. He got up and handed the sleeping baby back to her mother. They made their good-byes, and Donnie and Abbie made their exit and disappeared into the crowds out on the street.

  “Why didn’t you tell me?” Kelly asked Cecelia.

  “Would you have believed me?” she replied.

  “No, I guess not,” Kelly admitted. One of the guests in the VIP lounge tripped and fell into one of the courtesy tables and knocked over a stack of ceramic plates. The plates broke on the floor, making an incredible racket. Cecelia watched as Donna was startled awake by the noise and began to cry. Until that point, no sound had ever made Donna jolt like she did.

  “Oh my god,” Cecelia said barely above a whisper.

  Donnie and Abbie arrived back at the barge a few hours before dawn. They took their time getting back, making sure no one was following them. When they arrived, they were welcomed back by Lily, who right away began asking questions as to where they went and what they did. Donnie looked at Abbie and shook his head.

  “I don’t care. I’ll take that hit to my IQ,” Donnie said.

  “Stop it, Donnie, be nice,” Abbie said. “Lily, what we did tonight was private.”

  “Oh! OK, I get it, wink wink. Get your freak on oooh oooh,” Lily said as she raised her arms up and down. Abbie laughed, and even though Donnie found her antics funny, he maintained his stoic face toward her. Everyone began to settle in for the night. Espee did her normal rounds and counted heads. Everyone was home safe and sound, and she let out a sigh of relief. Everything seemed normal, no different than a hundred prior nights. Donnie lay down to sleep; he was feeling a bit worn. He had not had any blood in over two weeks, and Abbie skipped hunting that night. In hindsight, maybe Abbie should have drunk from CeeCee or even Kelly. She was passed out after all. They would need to get some blood the next night. He had just closed his eyes when the barge was rocked by explosions. A grenade landed at his feet as he and Abbie sat up. The world went white and an incredible ringing assailed his ears. For a moment, he was both blind and deaf. A boot struck him on his forehead which drove him back onto his back hard. By the time he had recovered, the barge was upside down and water was rushing in from all sides. It was sinking fast, and worst of all, Abbie was gone.

  CHAPTER 35

  The Chase Part II

  LOS NOMADOS WORLD had been turned upside down, literally. The barge that they had been resting in for the evening had been unexpectedly rocked by explosions and then suddenly flipped over and sank. “What the fuck happened!” Nox yelled as he stumbled while trying to reach Espee. He was still disoriented and fell flat on his face. Espee was sitting up and trying to regain her wits as well. She had been in the blast radius of one of the flash grenades as well.

  “Is everyone all right!?” she yelled. Donnie had recovered quicker than anyone else and started looking around. He instantly panicked.

  “Abbie’s gone!” he yelled out.

  “They took her!” Benny yelled out.

  “What? Who did Benny?” Donnie ran over to him. “Who took her?”

  “It was two people,” he replied. “I was far away, so I wasn’t hit by the flashes. It was a man and a woman, they were both blonde.” Espee came over to Benny.

  “What else did you see, Benny?” she asked.

  “I think they were wearing uniforms,” he replied.

  An incredibly determined look came across Espee’s face; it was as if a switch had been hit. “Maldita sea!” she yelled. “Everyone up. I need to make a hole, so we can swim out! Nox, get everyone ready. On my mark, I break us loose!” Nox began getting everyone in a line, and when they were ready, Espee delivered a massive blow to the interior hull of the barge. The section Espee struck exploded outward and almost immediately water began filling the barge.

  “Everyone hold on to each other and don’t let go!” Nox cried out as the water rushed in. Everyone held fast, and one by one, everyone made it out and back onto the shore.

  “I’m going after them!” Donnie declared. “Nox, I need your help.”

  “I’m with you, Donnie,” Nox replied. Espee looked at Nox and, against her better judgment, decided to go with them.

  “Miguel, get everyone to old Alger Theater,” Espee said. “Nox, Donnie and I are going after them.” Miguel looked at Espee and nodded. Los Nomados were very frightened, but Espee didn’t have much of a choice; she couldn’t let Donnie and Nox go alone.

  “It’s almost dawn,” Nox said as he picked up their scent and began the chase. They continued their pursuit and made it to the Grassi building and proceeded inside. Nox’s senses were as sharp as ever but his sniffing the air made Espee very nervous. She cursed to herself once she knew how many enemies they were now dealing with. Six members of the Reich was
a far greater number than she had been hoping for. There was nothing that she could do now. If this was a trap, they had walked right into it.

  Espee became slightly more agitated when the Reich commander seemed disinterested in the Foundlings in Miami as she doubted it was actually true. It wasn’t until the radio chirped that she discovered the commander had only been stalling. Donnie ran off in a flash, leaving her and Nox outnumbered. She was surprised as the Reich simply stepped aside. What was their plan, she thought to herself. “Let’s go, Nox,” Espee ordered and began chasing after Donnie, down the hall and up the stairs.

  “I have a bad feeling about this,” Nox said. Espee nodded in silent agreement. They raced up as fast as they could. A guard was posted halfway up the building, but he made no sign that he was intending to stop them, so they raced on.

  “We need to regroup with Donnie,” Espee said. “If they separate us, we are easy pickings.” Espee could not fathom why they were just letting them go. Was it a trap, or did they know more about her than they were letting on?

  “Boss, this is too easy,” Nox said.

  “I know,” she replied. “Keep your guard up.” They reached the fifth floor in time to watch as a female Reich member trip Donnie and forced him to slam into a heavy-duty door. The door was made mainly of tempered steel; it was designed to withstand intense heat and contain a fire. Donnie had no chance against it and bounced off it like a rubber ball.

  “Let’s take them!” Espee said. “Hija del la gran puta!” Espee delivered an expertly placed fist to Frieda’s face. Neither Frieda nor Hans saw them coming. She seemed to have appeared out of thin air. The force of her blow sent the German hurtling twelve feet down the corridor, and she would have traveled farther, but she bounced off the wall, leaving an almost perfect impression of her shape in the drywall. Nox ran up an instant later and delivered a jumping side kick to Hans. The blow was virtually ineffective, and the titan barely moved. The smaller Nox simply bounced off the mammoth. Hans looked at Nox and shook his head in disappointment.

  “My orders do not include combat with you. Otherwise, I would love to finish this. She is on the roof. Now go,” Hans said as he turned and walked away to render aid to Frieda, who was even now still struggling to get up. Espee and Nox helped Donnie get up, and they hastily made their way to the roof. He was frantic at that point. As they reached the top, Donnie swung the door open! Espee was forced backward.

  “Carajo, too much!” she yelled as she pulled back away from the punishing rays of the sun. The new day’s light had almost completely covered the roof of the Grassi building. Donnie looked out onto the roof, and there, at the far west end, was Abbie. She had been heavily chained to a brick wall. They could all now see that a Jewish cross had been painted on the wall behind her.

  “Oh no,” Nox cried out, “those fucking Nazi pricks!” Espee looked at Donnie and knew exactly what he was going to do, and she knew it was also suicide.

  “Donnie, don’t do it! It’s too late for her now!” Espee ordered as she grabbed him and held him back. “You can’t make it to her in time!” The sun was creeping across the roof and had almost reached Abbie. The only thing stopping her from being in direct sunlight was a shadow being cast by an industrial-sized air-conditioning unit, but soon enough, the sun would claw its way over the machinery and reach Abbie.

  “I can’t just watch her die,” Donnie screamed as tears were now streaming down his face. “I have to try!” He began to move forward, effortlessly dragging Espee along.

  “Ajudame, Nox!” she begged. “He is getting loose.” Before Nox could react, Donnie broke free of her grip and sprinted across the roof toward Abbie.

  “Why didn’t you help me, pendejo?” she demanded!

  “He was crying,” Nox said, stunned. “Crying real tears, but . . .” Espee looked out onto the roof and finished Nox’s sentence.

  “Vampires can’t cry,” Espee finished. Although vampires could cry, having tears was an entirely different matter. After death, a vampire’s body stopped using several organs and bodily functions, and tear ducts were on the list. After a few months, any moisture was all but gone. Somehow Donnie was still able to cry. After all that time as a vampire, he could still shed tears.

  In several short strides, Donnie reached Abbie. He placed his hand against her face and swept away her long blonde hair and looked into her eyes. Her sweet, deep blue eyes were now bloodshot, and her pale skin had begun to turn red and burn. Even though she was not being directly hit by the sun yet, the ambient light being reflected off the roof and other surfaces were beginning to harm her. Donnie inspected the chains that held Abbie in place. The bonds were very thick and bolted firmly into the wall. They had used four three-quarter-inch link chains to fasten her firmly in place. Her wrists were bound above her head by the first chain. Another chain was secured around her neck. A third restraint was securely fastened in place around her waist. Finally, the last chain was wrapped over her thighs. The amount and thickness of the chains seemed excessive to Donnie. Her small frame would never have been able to break free. Donnie was fueled with anger; it was bad enough that they strung her up like that, but to go to this extreme showed a degree of cruelty Donnie could not fathom. “We’re getting out of here, babe,” Donnie assured her as he grabbed a hold of the chain around her neck and began to pull with all his might.

  “Baby, they got me good, huh?” she asked softly. She tried to sound embarrassed, but it did little to hide the fact that she was truly terrified, and Donnie knew it.

  “Won’t . . . matter . . . in . . . a few,” he said as he wrestled against the chains. “Now, let me get these off you.”

  “It’s all right, Donnie. I’m sure that they don’t know about you, so they won’t come after you too. That gives me peace of mind. I can live with that,” she said slightly tilting her head and smiling at Donnie. It was getting harder for her to talk as her lungs were beginning to burn from the inside. The first chain screamed and screeched as it fought to hold its shape, but inevitably . . . Snap! Donnie barbarically ripped the chain out of the wall.

  “Fuck me! He broke one!” Nox cheered. “He’s gonna do it!”

  “Come on, mijo,” Espee whispered, but she had a sinking feeling as to what the outcome was going to be. She knew Donnie had not fed in weeks, and she could see his strength fading. Exhausted by the effort he used to break the first chain, Donnie grabbed the second. He could feel the warmth of the sun’s rays on the back of his legs now, so the next chain he went for was the one around her legs. This time, he used his legs and whole body. His efforts were rewarded, and the chain simply yielded under the force of his grip.

  “I’m so sorry, Donnie. I’m sorry, I didn’t put up a better fight. I’m sorry, I was weak,” Abbie said as her voice quivered.

  “Are you kidding me, babe? I wouldn’t have made it this far without you,” he said. “You saved me, you protected me, and you were never weak. That’s why I fell for you, your courage and determination. It gave me strength and filled me with hope.” With another Herculean effort and a mighty pull, Donnie snapped the chains holding Abbie’s wrists. The third of four chains now lay broken at Donnie’s feet, but by this time, it was too late. Donnie could barely stand now.

  “Donnie, please hold me . . . ” Abbie said sweetly, lowering her arms and wrapping them around Donnie. Her voice was barely louder than a whisper now. The sun was relentlessly draining her life. Donnie looked down into Abbie’s eyes. Her skin was completely burnt now, and small patches of charred skin now riddled her face and arms.

  “Please go, Donnie, leave me,” she begged. “You can still save yourself.”

  “No . . . ” Donnie replied as tears streamed down his face. With a big smile, he looked at Abbie and pressed his forehead to hers. “I will not. I promised you. It would be you and me, forever. And if forever ends today, I . . . can live with that.” Donnie pressed up against her and shielded her as best as he could from the sun with his own body. He was desperately trying
to call in clouds, but the lack of blood over the last month had left him severely weakened, and he was too exhausted. It was impossible now.

  “I’m so sorry. I put you through all this pain. I never wanted this for us,” she whispered. It was all she could muster now. The cracks in the charred spots on her body, more numerous now, were glowing incandescently from underneath. It reminded Donnie of a log on a fire. He tried not to show his distress, but Abbie knew what he was witnessing.

  “It’s not your fault, this was never your fault,” he assured.

  “I’m so sorry this happened to us,” she uttered with much more difficulty. The pain was almost more than she could bear.

  “I’m not,” Donnie whispered back. “The time I spent with you was the happiest time of my life. I felt the most alive, when I was with you.”

  “But you’re going to die too, if you stay here. I don’t want to be responsible for that twice,” she again whispered; it was barely audible now.

  “Shhh . . . ” Donnie interrupted. “I would rather die a thousand times with you at my side than live an eternity without you.” She was completely ablaze now, and even though she was in horrendous pain, she managed to smile back. Her lips moved, but no sound came out, her lungs long turned to ash inside her. Donnie recognized the pattern of her lips and easily read them. He knew exactly what she had meant to say because she had told him hundreds of times. “I will always love you too,” Donnie whispered back. “I don’t know what comes next. I don’t know what will happen to us, but I’ll look for you on the other side. If you’re not there, I’ll wait for you.” Donnie pressed his lips to hers. The sun’s rays were now completely covering them both. Donnie was casting a shadow over her but it was not enough. Abbie gritted her teeth and closed her eyes. The air around them whooshed in as Abbie completely ignited. Donnie pressed the side of his head against hers and held her tightly. The fireball that followed was massive; Nox and Espee looked away in sorrow as the inferno completely erupted and engulfed Donnie and Abbie. All that could be heard now were Donnie’s screams. They emanated from the pillar of smoke and fire that surrounded the pair. His howls echoed down the stairwell and resonated deep into the building, it seemed to go on forever.