Outer Banks

by Anson Barber

  I tried to start up a few conversations, but she just answered my questions politely and gave nothing more than was absolutely necessary. Eventually I stopped trying.

  When we were just barely in California we stopped for gas.

  “I can pump while you go for coffee,” she offered.

  “I can’t picture you pumping gas,” I scoffed.

  She chuckled. “You still think I’m a princess?”

  “Maybe a little.” I grinned at her. It was nice to see her coming out of her black mood.

  When I was done fueling up I went inside and paid for the gas and coffee. As I emerged from the store I saw a heavyset man walking toward the van.

  After our last encounter, I would have reached for my gun, except he was carrying a little girl—probably five or six—and had a smile on his face.

  He peeked in the back window of the van and so did the little girl. He hadn’t noticed Em sitting in the front with her arm hanging out the open window.

  “Can I help you?” I asked as I approached.

  “Do you have one in there?”

  “Excuse me?” I tilted my head trying to understand.

  “A Haunt. Do you have one inside? I’d like to show my daughter,” he explained. “The kids at school have been scaring her silly. You can probably imagine.”

  I could. All too easily. I looked toward the passenger door and saw Emery taking in the conversation.

  “Yes. I do have someone with HANTS with me and I would love for your daughter to meet her. What’s your name?” I smiled at the little girl who seemed a bit shy and nervous about all this attention.

  “Katie.”

  “Em? Can you come out here for a sec?” I called to her.

  She reluctantly got out of the van, and came to stand by me. The man waved, but the little girl had trouble making eye contact with her.

  “Katie, this is my friend. She’s a doctor. Em, this is Katie. She and her dad wanted to meet a Haunt.”

  Em smiled shyly and held out her hand. “It’s nice to meet you.”

  The little girl reached out and her father encouraged his daughter shake hands.

  “Don’t be scared of her eyes,” the man told his daughter. “They’re just different, is all.”

  “Her eyes aren’t scary, Daddy. She has eyes like Matilda,” Katie said. She was already warming up to Emery.

  “Who’s Matilda?” Em asked her. The little girl came a step closer and held up a stuffed rabbit.

  “This is her,” Katie said while poking the bunny in a solid black eye. “See? Like yours.”

  “I guess so.” Emery couldn’t debate the point. The rabbit’s eyes were solid black.

  “You’re a doctor?” the little girl asked.

  “Yes, I am.”

  “I don’t like doctors. I had to get a shot yesterday.” I found it refreshing that Emery was being hated for her profession rather than her condition.

  “I know shots are no fun. But do you know what’s worse than getting a shot?” Emery asked as Katie shook her head with wide eyes. “Getting the measles or chicken pox because you didn’t. You don’t want to be covered with ugly, itchy spots do you?”

  “No! Ick!” Katie made a yucky face.

  “Well, that’s the reason the doctor gave you the shot,” Emery explained.

  “Daddy, she doesn’t look like a monster,” Katie repeated something she’d heard someone else say.

  “I know.” Her dad smiled. “That Billy Masterson doesn’t know what he’s talking about, does he?”

  The girl shook her head.

  “Emery isn’t a monster at all. She’s a great person.” I took Emery’s hand and gave it a little squeeze, surprised she didn’t pull away.

  “Come on, Katie. She has to go. She has a long trip ahead of her,” the father assumed. “Thanks, both of you.” I nodded as they left. It had been a while since I’d seen something like that. Kind of gave you hope.

  “It was nice to meet you, Katie. Remember, even though shots hurt they are keeping you safe from something even worse.” Katie nodded and waved happily.

  Em turned to me when they were gone, her hand still in mine.

  “I don’t understand how someone like you ended up with this job. I’m truly sorry I’ve been so difficult.”

  “I would be more accepting of your apology if you let me kiss you,” I hinted unashamedly.

  Unfortunately the flirty tone backfired. “I think we’d better keep things platonic, Dillon.” She released my hand and got back in the van. I noticed she never mentioned the fiancé, however.

  As I walked around to get in, I debated whether or not to tell her I wouldn’t be leaving any time soon. I went with honesty.

  “I need to tell you something.”

  “Please don’t. We only have a few more hours and then you can go back to your normal life.”

  “Em…”

  “Don’t make this harder than it needs to be.”

  “Okay.” She wasn’t going to listen. Fine. I tried. I was officially off the hook.

  Emery started to recognize her surroundings. She told me about her father’s original place which had burned down during a wildfire years ago. He never told anyone he rebuilt it.

  We passed through a tiny little town with a convenience store, a post office and not much else. Emery continued to direct me up the mountain. My phone’s GPS wasn’t even picking up the roads we were using.

  We climbed the gravel road until the trees parted and the road flattened into a large parking area.

  Adam had referred to his place as a cabin. This building was in no way a cabin as I’d known them. This was almost a mansion with very modern architecture. There were a lot of windows and I wondered what he was thinking by converting it to a lab for his UV sensitive daughter.

  “Emmie!” her father yelled as he ran to the van and pulled her out. He hugged her tightly and kissed her cheeks and forehead before setting her back down on her feet.

  “Dillon, thank you so much for bringing her here. You did it!”

  “Yes. No problem.” As if.

  “I have your living quarters ready upstairs. Emmie, you will be staying downstairs. I have a safe place for you during the day.”

  Emery turned to me in surprise. “You’re staying?”

  “Yes. I’m providing security.”

  “Security? To protect me or other people?” she asked with her brows creased.

  “General security.” It provided a vague enough answer that seemed to satisfy her. Mr. Mitchell led us inside. “Let’s show you the house. Shall we?”

  I looked up at the wall of windows as we entered. The stars shone through them now, but in the morning…

  “All the glass in the house is one hundred percent UV proof. If you could stay awake long enough you would be able to stand in this kitchen at noon and not worry about a thing.”

  “This is your room,” he told her, pointing to the first door in the hall. “Dillon, this panel locks her room. You can set up the codes to your satisfaction.” I saw Emery look at me unhappily, but said nothing. Her father noticed and faltered. “Not every night, of course. I mean, only what is necessary. Extreme precautions, you understand.” Emery nodded. She followed her father to the next door which was apparently the lab.

  I hung out by the door of this room. It was very intimidating. White with lots of shiny, expensive looking machinery inside. There were about ten large boxes sitting around, as if the lab wasn’t quite finished.

  They chatted to one another, but I didn’t understand what they were talking about. Proteins, enzymes, rejection factors… It was like another language.

  The next door was just as white, but had only a few tables and a wall of windows. I stayed out of that room too.

  The last room was another white room with only a cot and a
bunch of equipment. It was like the lab had been shipped from IKEA—some assembly required.

  “And, Dillon, your room is upstairs,” Adam gestured to the wide open stairs.

  I followed him, but Emery stayed downstairs in the kitchen. I heard her open the refrigerator which I was sure was stocked with blood.

  “She seems well,” Adam said when we’d gotten to the top. It was a loft, so I could look over the railing down into the vast living room.

  There was a sofa and a TV up here and a door which led into the actual bedroom.

  The bed was enormous. Bigger than a king, if that was possible. There was a large bathroom off the bedroom with a whirlpool tub and a large walk-in shower. Everything was very black. There were skylights over the bed, letting in the moonlight.

  “I hope it’s acceptable,” he said after I hadn’t responded.

  My eyes widened. I hadn’t seen places this nice on TV, let alone reality. “Yes. It’s very nice. Thank you.”

  “No. Thank you.” He pointed to a briefcase sitting on the dresser. “Your payment.”

  I swallowed. A hundred thousand dollars. It almost felt wrong to take it now, given what was at stake. But I had risked going to jail to get her out, and she wanted to think of us only as professionals now. Professionals got paid.

  I followed him back downstairs.

  Emery was sitting on the sofa in the living room. Mr. Mitchell went to sit with her.

  They caught up for a few hours while I got a soda and went back up to my loft. I didn’t want to intrude on their reunion. I could hear their voices bounce off the wooden ceiling into my room while I unpacked.

  “Why did you agree to let him stay here? I don’t want him here.” I heard Emery hiss. My stomach instantly tied up in knots.

  “It was the only way he would agree to take the job. He’s risked a lot getting you out, and refused to do so without supervision. He’s a good man. He’ll keep you safe. It makes me feel better to have him here.”

  “He kissed me, Daddy!” Wow. Did not take her long to rat me out. “How does that make you feel?” She must have hoped he would send me on my way after that.

  He chuckled. “If kissing a pretty girl is the worst of his offenses then I feel even more pleased with my choice.”

  “I’m not pretty!” she huffed.

  “You are lovely, Emery. Besides, he understands you’re engaged. I’m sure it won’t happen again.”

  “Ugh!” She gave up as I smiled, imagining her face at that moment.

  An hour or so later, I was hungry so I went down to the kitchen as quietly as possible. I made myself a sandwich and sat at the table while I ate.

  Mr. Mitchell chuckled indulgently. “You should have everything you need. Ah, that reminds me.” He pulled out a new cell phone and set it on the table. “It’s encrypted, and only linked to one other phone—mine. You can talk freely with me on it. Not even the NSA can hack into this or trace it.”

  “Thanks,” I said. That would make things easier.

  He turned back to Emery. “I didn’t unpack anything because I know how picky you are about how your lab is set up.” Mr. Mitchell grinned. “All of the formulas you worked on at OBX as well as their current research are on the computer. I won’t go into detail on how I recovered everything.”

  “Thank you, Daddy. You know I’ll try my best. But please, don’t expect any miracles.”

  “I do expect a miracle. And per my agreement with Mr. McAllister, you only have three months to make progress. We’re going to need a miracle, Emmie.”

  “Oh, great! Now there is a deadline?” she snapped.

  “You’ve always worked better under pressure,” he reminded her with a laugh.

  “Right!” She threw her hand in the air in dismay. I wanted so badly to tell her she didn’t need to worry about the time constraint. I’d stay here as long as it took. But Mr. Mitchell laughed at her anxiety, so I had to assume it wasn’t as serious as it appeared. Maybe she would work better under pressure after all.

  “Well, sweetheart, I have to go back to LA. I don’t want people to be suspicious and follow me back to you. If you need anything call me and I’ll have it brought up. Mr. McAllister will keep you safe.”

  I returned to the living room to say good-bye.

  “I know he will,” she said with a small smile in my direction. “Thank you, Daddy. I’ll do my best.”

  “That’s my girl!” He hugged her again. “You look good, sweetie. Considering everything you’ve been through you look great. You’re tough like your mom.” His expression changed, something seemed to be ready to crack. “I’m so glad you’re alive.” He started to cry and she hugged him.

  “You’d better get back. You have a company to run.” She put on a brave face, but I could see she was breaking down as well. “I’ll keep you posted on my progress.” She sounded like a little girl eager to please.

  “I’ll be up to visit when I can. I love you.”

  “Love you too.” I turned away to give them privacy.

  Mr. Mitchell waved to the door. “Mr. McAllister, will you walk me out?”

  Emery returned to her lab as I followed him out to his fancy SUV.

  “Thank you. From the bottom of my heart, thank you. I know you didn’t want to do this, but I assure you it’s the right thing. She’s going to fix this. You’ll see.”

  “I believe you. If anyone can do it, she can.”

  He nodded and patted my shoulder.

  “You have faith in her. Good. Faith is what she needs right now. If you need more food there is a small store in town. Use the credit card I gave you for anything you need. Call if you need to arrange for more blood.”

  “Thanks.”

  He waved and drove off down the dusty lane.

  I looked up at the bright stars filling the black sky, hoping he was right about Emery. It suddenly seemed more important than ever before.

  Chapter Eleven

  Emery went into her bedroom without another word. I shrugged and set the alarm on her door before going out on the immense deck as the sun peeked up over the mountains.

  I decided to stay on a night schedule so I could be around when Emery was awake. After helping myself to a beer from the fridge I went upstairs to bed.

  That afternoon when I woke I checked the perimeter, unlocked Emery’s room and went to make breakfast. Was the lock really necessary? If someone had asked me that a month ago I’d have said no, but after running into the queen and talking to Colonel Arder, I’d be lying if I said part of me didn’t think “better safe than sorry”.

  I cooked up eggs and sausage. Mr. Mitchell had gone crazy with the supplies. Enough fresh food for the next couple of weeks, enough canned for the next couple of years. I wondered if he’d been like that before the invasion. Maybe he was one of those people who’d gone survivalist after the Bugs left. Preparing for a second wave. I’d seen a show about it.

  Emery came out of her room and took a bag from the refrigerator.

  “Good morning,” I said. She said nothing back, just took her food and left. “Good morning, Dillon,” I said to myself in a snooty tone. This was shaping up to be a long three months.

  I spent a little more time on the deck, looking up at the stars. They seemed so close, like a dark veil just out of reach with a bunch of tiny pinholes poked through it. The night was clear. It was getting a little chilly so I went inside to find something else to do.

  I wandered down the hall to the lab and found Emery getting things set up. I knew it wasn’t a good idea to hover, but I was bored. I hoped she’d let me help so I had something to do. Not to mention we could get past the awkward silence.

  She turned to me with her eyes narrowed, then with an exasperated sigh she started pulling off her shirt.

  “Can we just get this over with? Let’s deal with your creepy Haunt fetish and
then you can hit the road or at least stay out of my hair,” she sneered and walked closer to me in just her bra.

  The hell? I backed away, unable to say anything. Then the anger caught up and threw me into action. Leaving the lab, I went up to my room and slammed the door.

  “How could she think that?” I said to myself. Haunt fetish? Jesus.

  I wanted to pack up everything I’d just unpacked and leave, but I couldn’t. She was here alone. What if there was a fire? Or an earthquake? Or if some redneck found her here during the day? What if they figured out she’d left OBX and tracked her down? The only way I could protect her was if I stayed there.

  Of course, I didn’t know how much protecting she could possibly need, being that she was clearly made out of stone.

  I turned on the TV and stayed in my room all night. I went downstairs only to get something to eat and grab a beer, and then quickly went back upstairs.

  In the morning, after she fell asleep, I went down. After checking to make sure she was in bed I punched in the code to secure her room. When I couldn’t find anything on TV but talk shows, I decided to go back to bed.

  I set my alarm for fifteen minutes before Emery would wake, but I didn’t need it. I hardly slept. I was too busy tossing and trying to convince myself to leave.

  Did I owe her my protection anymore? I’d gotten her out. I did my job. I could take my money and go start a new life. Let her dad find someone else to watch over her.

  My mind started flipping through other men guarding her. Guys like Bobby or those men at the convenience store. Obviously, her father wouldn’t pick someone like that, but if the person he picked had any kind of temper at all, Emery was the type of woman who would bring out the worst in them.

  I decided I would be a Hunter because I didn’t trust other people like Bobby to do it. Now I felt the same obligation to see this through.

  I went down and unlocked her room, and after a quick breakfast went back up to shower and continue laying low. I could protect her well enough from the confines of my room. The building’s indoor and outdoor security cameras all fed to my entertainment center. I didn’t need to see her.