Frostbitten: The Complete Series

by Bera, Ilia

  “Get the fuck out of here!” the biker yelled in a hoarse, deep voice.

  Michael looked at the girl again. It was Vanessa Riley, his little sister’s friend from school, whom she was supposedly having a sleepover with.

  “Vanessa—are you okay?” Michael asked frantically.

  “H—Huh?” Vanessa said through her drugged lethargy.

  “Get out of here or I’ll snap your fucking neck,” the biker said, standing up and walking towards Michael.

  Michael walked into the room, shoving passed the angry biker and towards the drugged teen.

  He looked down at her. “I’m going to get you home, okay? You’ll be alright.”

  “Hey, buddy—What’s your fucking deal?” the biker asked. “Get your own slice a’ meat.”

  Michael turned around and swiftly grabbed the biker by the throat. With incredible speed and force, Michael swung the burly gang member around and slammed him into a wooden dresser eliciting a loud painful scream and a crack as the wood split behind the bulky man.

  The biker reached his hands up to his throat in an attempt to pry Michael’s tense fingers loose.

  The powerful ex-hockey enforcer swung the two hundred and fifty pound biker aggressively against the wall and pinned him even tighter. The biker’s face was turning dark red as air failed to travel through his crushed throat.

  “What did you give her?” Michael screamed at the hog riding pedophile.

  “ —Let me g—go!”

  “Do you get off taking advantage of teenagers, you sick fuck?” Michael asked.

  As the biker’s eyes began to roll into the back of his head, Michael dropped him. The biker fell to the floor and began to wheeze as he held his throat.

  Michael walked over to the bed where Vanessa was laying.

  “I’m going to get you home, okay?” Michael said.

  Vanessa slowly rolled her head over to Michael. “Okay,” she said groggily.

  “Do you know where my sister is? Cassie? Was she here with you”

  “G—Guy,” Vanessa said.

  “What’s that?”

  “A—Guy... She’s with a—a guy...”

  “A guy? What guy? Where are they now?”

  “I don’t...” Vanessa tried to speak as she rolled her nauseous head from side to side.

  Michael picked Vanessa’s shirt up off of the floor and gently slipped it over her exposed torso. Then, he slipped her jeans over her limp body, and then he picked her up in his big, thick muscular arms.

  “I’m so sorry,” Vanessa said with tears in her eyes.

  “It’s okay. You’re okay now.”

  Michael walked past the wheezing biker, back into the hallway. He gently placed Vanessa down on the ground so that he could look behind the remaining doors for his sister.

  He opened one door, which was a closet. He opened the next—a bathroom. Then, he walked to the end of the hallway, to the door next to the horny teenage couple. He reached for the handle and tried to turn it.

  It was locked.

  “We’re next,” the young anteater tongued boy said to Michael.

  “Go home to your parents,” Michael said as he took a step back from the door.

  Then, Michael kicked the door in powerfully, sending wooden shards in every direction.

  It was a familiar scene—an older man on top of a clearly drugged younger woman. Except this time, the younger woman was indeed Michael’s sister.

  Cassie was fifteen, with long curly brown hair. She was a pretty girl. More than anything, she was a clever girl. She was quiet, but not shy—the kind of girl who only spoke when she had something to say. She was impressively articulate for her age, and she had perfect grades in school. She had always been independent, even as a young child. Sometimes, it drove her teachers mad. She would always question the logic behind questions, turning them around on her teachers—always seeking something deeper than was being offered.

  “Hey!” the slender older man on top of Cassie yelled as Michael stormed into the room.

  The man was younger than Vanessa’s biker pairing—but still old enough to be deeply ashamed. He was covered from head to toe in tattoos. He had one especially stupid tattoo across his throat, which read “No regrets”

  “Cassie?” Michael said in a panic as he rushed over to his sister.

  “Get lost!” the man yelled in a thick hillbilly accent.

  Cassie was barely conscious as a small dribble of blood ran down from her nose.

  “Cassie, are you okay?” Michael asked frantically.

  “W—What?” Cassie asked sluggishly. She was completely wasted.

  “What did you give her?” Michael asked.

  “I—I don’t know, man—she took it herself.”

  “Took what?”

  “I don’t know—A speedball.”

  “A speedball? She’s fifteen!” Michael yelled.

  “She said she was eighteen, man.”

  Michael pushed the hair off of his sister’s face. “Can you hear me, Cass?”

  Cassie nodded ‘yes’ in her lethargic state.

  “I’m going to take you and your friend to the hospital, okay? You’re having an overdose.”

  Cassie nodded yes again. “M—Michael?”

  “What?” Michael asked, leaning in closer to his sister, placing his ear next to her dry lips.

  “I don’t want to die,” she said.

  Michael wrapped a blanked around his sister and then prepared to lift her up. “Don’t worry, Cass. You’ll be fine. You’re safe now.”

  “Hey man—what in the fuck? We wasn’t done yet.”

  Michael turned away from his sister, towards the biker.

  “What? Do you think you’re tough shit or somethin’?” the biker asked as he pulled out a switchblade.

  Michael fearlessly took a step towards the biker, who responded by raising his weapon. In the blink of an eye, Michael swatted the blade out of the biker’s hand and grabbed him by the throat. Before the biker could process what was happening, Michael slammed him into the hard ground below.

  Then, he started to work away at his face with his tightly clenched fist—powerful blow after powerful blow. Michael shattered every bone in the young biker’s face. He knocked out half of his teeth, split his lip in countless places and left him with two swollen shut eyes.

  Michael would have killed the man had three other men not entered to pull him away.

  Michael pulled himself up to his feet, taking a deep breath in to calm his insatiable rage. The three men quickly went to the bleeding, broken and beaten biker’s aid.

  Michael turned to his sister and picked her up. Keeping her naked body wrapped tightly in the warm blanket, Michael began to carry her away from the rough and tumble party. In the hallway, he slung her over his shoulder, and helped Vanessa up with his free arm. Carefully he led both of the girls away from the nasty party.

  The party went silent as Michael carried both girls past the dance floor. The heads of the dancers and the bikers alike all stopped and turned towards Michael, whose fists were bloodied and bruised.

  “Somebody call an ambulance!” someone called from upstairs.

  Michael made no eye contact with anyone on his way out.

  CHAPTER SEVENTY-THREE

  EMERGENCY

  Back sore and eyes heavy, Connor had been sitting on the same cheap plastic chair in the hallway outside of his mother’s room for nearly five hours. He had practically finished reading the entirety of A Tale of Two Cities, and he was nearly finished his weekend homework.

  Despite his exhaustion and muscle soreness, he was proud of himself. For the first time in his life, he was actually ahead of his schoolwork. For once in his life, he felt as though he could do more than just shoot a puck. It was refreshing—and he owed it all to Wade’s persistence and patience.

  For the first time in over a year, Connor could actually see himself playing hockey again. There was a light at the end of the tunnel—and the tunnel wasn’t as
long as he’d originally thought.

  Fantasizing about it, Connor began to doze off.

  The hospital was unusually quiet that night. Only the occasional footsteps from a passing nurse cut the hum of the fluorescent ceiling lights above.

  “Mr. Knight?” a female nurse said, pulling Connor out of his near-slumber.

  Connor looked over at the nurse. She looked young—almost too young to be a working nurse. She had round cheeks and a cute little mole above the side of her lip. Her hair was long and dirty blonde—tied into a long ponytail. Her scrubs—the smallest the hospital had—were a bit too big for her petite body, which didn’t help her excessively young appearance. She was your classic girl-next-door.

  “Yeah?” Connor asked, his eyes fighting to remain open.

  “You’re welcome to stay here, but I imagine your mom would feel much better if you were at home, comfortable in your own bed.”

  “Oh—I don’t mind,” Connor replied.

  “Are you sure? Can I get you anything?”

  “I’m okay, thank you.”

  The nurse smiled and then walked away. Connor looked back down at his book, and continued to read, getting even further ahead of his coursework.

  A couple of minutes later, the nurse returned with a clean pillow and a blanket.

  “Here,” she said. “At least put this to use.”

  “Thanks,” Connor said, accepting the gift.

  “Your mom is doing well—I just checked on her vitals a few minutes ago. She should be okay to leave in a couple of days.”

  “Great. Thank you so much.”

  “I think it’s sweet that you’re staying here for your mom.”

  Connor smiled. “I really don’t mind. She would do the same for me,” he replied.

  The nurse laughed. “Sorry to keep bugging you—I’m not used to the hospital being this quiet.”

  “I’m sure it’s a welcomed change.”

  The nurse smiled. “You don’t remember me, do you, Connor?”

  Connor stared at the nurse. “Sorry—Do we know each other?”

  “Yeah—Well, sort of. We went to elementary school together.”

  Connor stared at the girl for a moment longer.

  “It’s okay—We never talked or anything. I don’t even think we were ever in the same class. My name’s Ava.”

  Connor thought for a moment. His mind was too exhausted to place the name.

  Ding Dong!

  “Nurse May—Please report to the emergency ward. Nurse May, to the emergency ward,” a woman announced over the intercom.

  “That’s me,” Ava said. “I’ve got to go! It was nice talking to you.”

  “I remember you—You were on the volleyball team,” Connor said.

  “That’s right!” Ava smiled as she made her way down the hall, towards the emergency ward.

  Connor looked back down at his book. He only had a few chapters left. He considered putting it away for the night, but he knew that with another hour, he could finish the whole thing outright. He did, after all, have the next day off of work and school.

  But if he was going to accomplish such a task, he was going to need a coffee.

  Connor brought himself to his feet. A nurse was hurrying down the hallway towards the emergency ward.

  “Excuse me,” Connor said to the nurse.

  “Yes?”

  “Is there a coffee machine around here somewhere?” Connor asked.

  “There’s one at the emergency entrance. It’s a vending machine, so you’ll need some change. I think it’s two dollars for a big cup. The coffee is terrible—just a warning.”

  “Okay—Thank you,” Connor laughed.

  The nurse continued to hurry towards the emergency ward. Connor reached into his pockets and pulled out a handful of change. He began to walk towards the coffee vending machine.

  “I’m losing a pulse! Where’s that IV!” someone yelled from around the corner.

  Connor stopped and listened for a moment. A crowd of paramedics, nurses and doctors were hustling down the hall, huddled around a squeaky stretcher.

  “Where are we with those vitals?” a doctor asked with intensity.

  “Um,” Connor could hear Ava reply. “The heart rate is low—dangerously low. He’s losing a lot of blood! Pressure is dropping fast.”

  Suddenly, the whole medical caravan came barrelling around the corner, past Connor. One nurse was trying to set up an IV while two paramedics quickly led the stretcher down the hall. A doctor followed closely behind, attempting to assess the severity of the victim’s neck wound with a sonograph, and Ava had her gloved and bloodied hands pressed firmly down on the gushing abrasion.

  On the stretched was Wade Fenner. His body was soaked in his own blood, and there was a large bite wound on his neck. He looked dead—completely unconscious. Nothing the frantic medical team could do would bring him back to consciousness.

  “Stay with us, Mr. Fenner!” the doctor yelled. “There’s some serious internal bleeding in the throat. We’re going to need a tracheostomy, stat!”

  Connor watched as the frantic caravan whipped around the corner and out of sight, leaving a trail of the dying teacher’s blood behind.

  Connor stood frozen in shock, unsure of how to react. He felt a heavy lump grow in his throat as his heart sunk into his stomach. “What could Wade have done to deserve this?” Connor wondered.

  “Please!” a female voice cried from the hospital’s reception. “I need to see him! Let me see him!”

  Connor apprehensively began to walk towards the source of the crying woman. He walked around the corner and saw her—

  Laura Fenner was screaming, being held back by two male nurses. She was trying to push past to see her dying husband, who was rushed to the operating room.

  “Mrs. Fenner—Please. You can’t go into the operating ward. The doctors can do their job better without distraction!”

  “Let me see my husband!” she cried.

  The nurses continued to fight the crying wife. Wade’s blood was all over the floor from his frantic entrance.

  Connor looked at Laura, eyes wide. Until now, the whole ‘Vampire Murders’ had just been news headlines. Now, they seemed so real—so close to home. The victims were real people—with families, friends, jobs—lives.

  Laura broke free from the male nurses and began to run down the hallway, screaming and crying. She didn’t get far before she was caught and held back again.

  Connor had completely forgotten why he’d left his chair. He hadn’t even noticed that he’d dropped his handful of change somewhere on the hospital floor.

  He looked around in a tired, shocked and confused state. Standing by the door was a young toddler. She was only three years old, wearing a baggy pyjama onesie. In her hands was a stuffed bunny, which she held tightly to her little body.

  CHAPTER SEVENTY-FOUR

  LILY

  In the all of the frantic hustle and bustle, the little daughter of Wade and Laura Fenner had become invisible. Nurses rushed past her, her mother was having a breakdown and her father was dead. She was too young to understand what was happening, so instead, she just stood scared, cold, and confused.

  Connor too was scared and confused, unsure of what to do. So he did the only thing that made sense to him. He walked over to the innocent young girl..

  “What’s your name?” Connor asked.

  The girl looked up at Connor. Her pupils were dilated and her face was blue with cold.

  “Lily,” the girl replied.

  “That’s a pretty name,” Connor said.

  “Thanks.”

  “Why don’t you step away from that cold door?”

  Connor reached out his hand. Lily took it gently and the two walked away from the screaming and crying madness.

  “Where did they take my daddy?” Lily asked.

  Connor stared into the girl’s eyes. “I’m sorry—I’m not sure.”

  “Oh.”

  “What do you want to be when
you grow up, Lily?”

  “I want to be a bunny rabbit.”

  “A bunny rabbit?” Connor asked.

  “Yeah.”

  “You can’t be a bunny rabbit. You’re a human!” Connor said with a forced smile.

  “My dad says that I can be anything I want to be.”

  “Hm,” Connor thought. “You like bunnies?”

  “I love bunnies.”

  “Do you like other animals?”

  “Yes.”

  “What other animals do you like?”

  “I like all animals. And turtles.”

  “All animals and turtles?”

  “Yeah,” Lily replied.

  “Maybe you could be a vet.”

  “What’s a vet?”

  “An animal doctor. You would get to save hurt animals.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah. Or you could start a shelter for homeless bunnies, and other animals and turtles.”

  “I could?”

  “You can do anything, remember?” Connor said.

  Lily smiled. “I like bunnies.”

  “I know you do. Do you have a bunny?” Connor looked over Lily’s shoulder. The doctor was breaking the bad news to Laura, who collapsed onto the floor as her body was overtaken with grief. The nurses tried to comfort her.

  “I have this bunny,” Lily said.

  “That’s a lovely bunny. What is his name?”

  “It’s a girl, and her name is Bunny.”

  “Bunny? That’s a good name for a bunny.”

  Lily smiled. “She likes carrots.”

  The front door of the hospital opened and Michael ran in. His jacket, hands and face were covered in dried blood from the biker party. He looked around frenziedly and then spotted his mother and the bloodied doctor. He ran over.

  “Carrots?” Connor said, looking back down at the little toddler. “Carrots are good.”

  “Yeah. And pizza.”

  “Pizza! Bunnies can’t eat pizza. They’ll get sick.”

  “Really?”

  “Really. Sometimes bunnies like foods that they shouldn’t eat—just like people.”

  Lily looked down at her bunny. “I’m sorry, Bunny.”

  Connor smiled at the ignorant girl’s innocence. Over her shoulder, he could see Michael trying to comfort his crying mother.