Elizabeth and the Vampire's Cabin (11 page)

Chapter
13: A Brand New Day

The
next time she woke, there was no howling. No illness was upon her. She was at
peace and sunlight was pouring through the curtains to her bedroom. She sat up
and looked at her doorway. She was struck at how alive the oak door was. She
could literally see the life of the wood. "Good morning," she said
quietly. And she had the sense that the whole house heard her. She decided to
go to the door and found herself instantly in front of it. She moved like
lightning, but she consciously willed herself to move slower when she walked out
into the living room.

Arthur
was already awake and lounging on the chaise lounge. He was sipping his coffee
and reading a newspaper.
 
But when he saw
her, he set his coffee down and immediately stood.

"Elizabeth.
Are you okay?"

"Never
better," she said. As if by magic, she suddenly appeared in front of
Arthur.

Arthur
stared in shock. "My God, Elizabeth! How did you do that?!"

"You
can't do that?" Elizabeth asked with real surprise.

"No.
I can move like a cheetah when I want, but I can't move so fast that it's nearly
invisible to the naked eye. I've only seen Aaron do that."

Arthur
looked unnerved and there was an awkward silence. But he pulled himself
together and said, "You must be hungry."

"Starving!"
she said.

"Let's
go for a hunt. You'll need fresh blood and meat.
 
The diet for a half vampire is different than
that of uninfected humans. You won't need much cooked food, produce, or water
anymore."

Elizabeth
expected this much. Arthur ate sparsely, though he was always preparing food.
He snacked but didn't ever seem to eat real meals. He skipped dinner altogether
and only made it for her and Aaron. Aaron only ate dinner, and he was never
able to finish the whole thing.

Arthur
took her to his hunting grounds in the woods where they both morphed into
animals. The only rule was that she couldn't hunt beyond their own territory.

Though
there were no fences, there were wooden stakes in the ground that served as
markers. Recently, Aaron had better defined their boundaries by tying rope to
the stakes and creating a firmer, more easily recognizable, boundary. That was
fine with her. The three and a half acres that were Aaron's were plenty for
hunting. Elizabeth had the time of her life. Even for a dog she was moving
fast. No squirrel, bird, or rabbit could outrun her. Arthur swung through the
trees and grabbed anything that moved. Sometimes he grabbed animals in the
trees and threw them down to her. She caught them in her mouth and devoured
most of them almost whole. But she loved to suck on them and drain them of
blood. They hunted for about an hour before she morphed back into human form
and shouted to Arthur, "I'm too full to keep going! I've gorged
myself."

Arthur
swung down from a large oak tree and morphed back into human form.

"Your
appetite is huge! I couldn't believe how much you ate! We're going to have to
spare the wildlife on land and maybe go into the water to get some fish. How
much did you eat?"

"I
ate six rabbits, three squirrels, and a couple of birds."

"Whoa!
I ate two large birds and some squirrels. I might have some fish later, but I
can't have as much as you can in one go!"

"I'll
feed on fish next time. Plenty of fish in the sea."

They
morphed back into animals and decided to go burn some energy. Elizabeth ran
around the perimeter of Aaron's land while Arthur swung through the trees. Once
they got to the beach, they were rolling in the sand, splashing though the
water, and play wrestling one another. By the time they were done it was lunch.
They decided to catch some fish. Arthur caught a couple in human form. He had
trouble finding his balance in water as a chimp. Elizabeth quickly found that
being a dog was not the best shape for swimming, so she also became human and
caught a dozen fish. She devoured all of them, her new fangs sinking into them
with relish. Arthur was in shock at her appetite.

After
all that eating, both Elizabeth and Arthur wanted a nap. So they laid out in
the sun and slept. They had no idea how long they slept, but it was almost
evening when they awoke. Arthur went back to his guest house and Elizabeth went
to her cabin. She was giddy with happiness. For the first time, she couldn't
wait for Aaron to come to the cabin tonight. She passed the time as best she
could by reading or watching TV shows on her portable DVD player.

And
then Aaron came through the door.
 
Tonight he had a suitcase with him. Arthur was sitting in the recliner.
He had set the table with a salad and cut up pieces of fruit for them to munch
on.

"You
can go, Arthur," Aaron said.

Arthur
grabbed some of the fruit and walked out the door. For once, his face was not
filled with sadness. He had every confidence in Elizabeth.

"Hello
Elizabeth," Aaron greeted.

Elizabeth
was lounging on the chaise lounge. Instead of answering him, she appeared right
in front of him.

"You
really are something," he remarked with a hint of surprise. "To have
such a transformation must have been quite hard on you. I assume you had a
rough night. But, I knew you would be a powerful half vampire. You move almost
as fast as me."

Before
she could get out a word, he scooped her up, carried her to the table, and set
her down in her usual chair. Before she could blink, he was in his own seat.

"I
could feel your strength when I picked you up," he said. "That's
good. I know it was sometimes painful when I grabbed you in the past. I trust
it wasn't too uncomfortable this time. I didn't cut off your oxygen or squeeze
your bones."

"No,"
she said boldly. "It wasn't painful at all."

They
continued to make small talk. He asked her about her day and she answered
proudly with tales of her hunting.

"The
two of you combined will kill all the wildlife on my land! You better slow down
and kill some more fish."

"I
know. I've already decided to do that. But what about you?"

"Most
of my feeding is done as a bat, so I get blood that way. I don't have to kill
much. Fresh meat is mostly fish. But I occasionally have a rabbit or two."

For
once they were speaking as equals. They were sharing their hunting escapades
and comparing skills. And she was unafraid of him. For the first time since
they had arrived on the island, she felt she could defy him. She was more alive
and more powerful than she had ever been in her life. There was only one good
thing to happen to her since being abducted and that was becoming a half
vampire. She felt like a part of her had been missing and she was now a whole
person. I'm a real woman now, she thought fiercely. Finally, she had grown into
the woman she always wanted to be. A powerful one.

"Let's
go to bed," Aaron commanded. "Tonight will be a whole different
experience for the both of us."

"No,"
she quickly asserted. She pushed back her chair, stood up from the table, and
moved to the side. Then she morphed into a dog. Aaron coolly sipped at his
wine.

"Elizabeth,
I warn you not to challenge me. I warned you the first night you got here. It's
better me than anyone living out there."

Elizabeth
stayed as she was. She trotted over to the chaise lounge, hopped on top, and
curled up into a ball. She watched as Aaron opened up his suitcase. And then he
was instantly in front of her, placing something around her neck. It was a dog
collar. An iron dog collar. He had literally clapped her in irons. A chain
attached to the collar was gripped in Aaron's hand.

"Elizabeth,
I am warning you. Bark if you want me to take this collar off so we can go into
the bedroom together. If not, I warn you that the consequences will be grave
for you."

Elizabeth
stayed silent. Aaron sighed and pulled her off the chaise lounge. Though she
was strong, Aaron was still more powerful and she couldn't resist. He walked
her out the door and continued on past his own markers. Inwardly, Elizabeth was
beginning to feel intense fear. She had never travelled this far past the cabin
and had no clue what awaited them. After about ten minutes of walking at
vampiric speed (which would make it the equivalent of a run) they reached a
large tent. It was a camping tent that looked to be built for a dozen people.
There was light emanating from the tent. As they approached, a large man
appeared in the opening.

"Who
is it?" the man asked.

"It's
just me, Gar. And I've brought Liz with me."

"That
poor girl you took?" he paused and then said, "She's a
dog!!!???"

"No,
you idiot. She's a human that has become a half vampire from frequent exposure
to me. Her animal self is a bitch. This also tends to be her human self as
well."

Elizabeth
growled.

"Well
come on in. I got a fire going."

Aaron
walked Elizabeth into the tent. And to her surprise, there was actually a fire
going.
 
Gar had an old fashioned,
portable stove. It was like something from a movie out of the 1800s. It was a
small black stove with a glass door. Inside the door was where he had thrown in
chopped up branches and set a match to them. On top of the stove was a pot and
she could see steam coming from it. She thought about the potential fire hazard
this presented in the tent while she continued to admire its quaintness at the
same time. Gar seemed to read her mind, because he said, "The fabric on
this tent is flame retardant. I'm not saying that makes it safe to have an
indoor stove, but it's still safer than what it could be."

Elizabeth
studied Gar and wondered how well he thrived when not in the wilderness. Aaron
looked different, but he could still pass for a normal, modern-day human. Gar,
on the other hand, had the classic Neanderthal look: bow legged and bow armed.
His bulky body was similar to a chimp's. He moved while hunched over and his
head jutted forward because of his angled posture. He also had the thick brow
ridges she was accustomed to seeing on Aaron. Gar had obviously inherited more
of the Neanderthal genes than Aaron had.

"I
just can't believe my cabin is holding up as well as it has been. Marnie and
Lyle make regular trips out to do maintenance and bring groceries. But they
spend a good amount of time at Arthur's guest house. He gets bug infestations
of all kinds and those pipes must be nearly ruined considering how often they
clog. I'm just thanking my lucky stars the cabin isn't like that." And
then Aaron abruptly changed the subject and said, "Gar, Elizabeth has
decided she wants to remain a dog. Obviously, the first person I thought of who
would benefit from this is yourself."

Gar
inspected Elizabeth and walked around her slowly.

"She's
a beautiful animal. And from what you've been saying, an even more beautiful
woman. I used to have a half vampire mate during the Iron Age. What do you want
for her?"

"Nothing.
You can have her if you want. Would you like to try her out first? Just to see
if it's going to work out."

"Sure!"
said Gar. "Just keep her on a tight leash for now so she can't go too far.
I'm bigger than her but having her chained is best for now."

Aaron
tightened the leash so Elizabeth wouldn't be able to move very far. Her
assumption was that Gar wanted a pet half vampire with the ability to take the
form of a dog. She was expecting him to pet her, inspect her teeth, paws, and
coat. She was totally unprepared for what actually happened. Gar morphed into a
giant wolf. There were no wolves like this in the modern world. This was some
kind of prehistoric beast related to gray wolves. A natural, animal instinct of
intimidation began to fill her. When Gar moved close to her face to sniff her
she tried to nip at him. She let out an angry growl. Gar stepped back with his
tongue hanging out. He was panting and salivating over her. Then he moved back
and around. He quickly went to her rear and began to sniff. Elizabeth tried to
whirl on him, but her leash was too tight and Aaron gripped her body with his
other hand to prevent her from moving. So she let out a loud growl.

"Gar,
stop," Aaron said.

Reluctantly,
Gar backed away and sat on his haunches.

"Elizabeth,
I'm going to give you two options. If you want me to remove this collar so you
can change back into human form and go back to the cabin with me, then bark
once. If you want to stay a dog and make puppies with Gar then bark
twice."

Elizabeth
barked once and Aaron immediately took off the collar.
 
Elizabeth changed back into herself and so
did Gar.

"Wow,"
Gar let out a whistle. "She's even more beautiful than you've been saying.
I think I'd like to keep her anyway, if you don't mind."

"Actually,
I do mind, Gar. I'll be taking her with me. Sorry it didn't work out."

"What!
You said I could have her if I want her!"

"I
know, but Elizabeth doesn't agree, so there it is."

Gar
looked like he was fuming inside. "She's mine!" he shouted. "You
can't go back on your word!"

Aaron
looked uncomfortable. Elizabeth could see he hadn't been expecting Gar's
reaction to this deal gone wrong, and she wondered if they would fight. This
was the first time she had ever seen Aaron nervous, and she wondered if it was
because he was thinking the same thing as her: Gar was a little crazy. And
apparently, Aaron hadn't known this before entering the tent. Gracefully, Aaron
thanked Gar for allowing them into the tent, said goodbye, and he walked out of
Gar's tent. Elizabeth felt like running out, but they walked slower than they
really needed to. Elizabeth wondered if this was Aaron's way of telling Gar,
You don't scare me! At a run, she guessed they could have gotten back to the
cabin in about a minute. But they walked at a leisurely human pace. She
breathed in deeply, enjoying the freshness of the air. The cold no longer
bothered her, because she was half vampire. Instead, she felt like there was
always a comfy invisible coat around her when the temperature cooled. Without
having cold as a distraction it helped her to focus on her other vampiric
senses. Smells, sounds, and sights all had a life of their own now, and her own
body felt alive in this worldly presence. She glanced over at Aaron but his
eyes were straight ahead and betrayed nothing. She wondered what he was
thinking and then became disgusted with herself for actually caring about his
thoughts. She knew she had lost this battle, but she hadn't lost the war. She
was more determined than ever to get away from Aaron, and now that she had this
new strength, she knew she could make it happen. She just needed the
opportunity. She was not a praying woman, but she prayed now that whatever
higher power existed would help her find the means to escape.

"We've
walked long enough," Aaron said, interrupting her thoughts. "Let’s
pick up the pace. That guy is a freak. I want to get back to the cabin stat.
I'm going to turn into a bat and fly back. You turn into a dog and run."

Elizabeth
transformed into a dog and Aaron became a bat. She ran swiftly through the
woods and looked up at the full moon. She barked at it happily. And then she
saw Aaron fly into her line of sight and block out the moon. His vicious fangs
glistened. At this pace, they made it back to the cabin quickly. Aaron, ever
the gentleman, opened the door for her. She walked in, flipped on the lights, and
stood in the middle of the living room while Aaron shut the door.

"Go
to the bedroom," Aaron commanded.

"What
do we need the bedroom for? We're both vampires, even if I'm only half of one.
It's not like we'll get hurt without a mattress. Think about it. You sleep in a
cave. I could probably go to sleep on a bed of hot coals and wake up feeling
like I'd just used an electric blanket."

Aaron
didn't say anything. He just looked around the room. And then he looked down
and said, "That carpet looks fun." Elizabeth looked down at the large
Persian carpet she was standing on. He flashed her that chilling smile and let
out a laugh. Then he flipped off the lights.

Chapter
14: Escape from Vampire Island

"Liz!"
Arthur gasped.

Groggily,
Elizabeth awoke.
 
She was lying on her
stomach and could feel the wooden floor beneath her. On top of her was the
Persian carpet from the living room. And then she realized she was naked
underneath the carpet.

"Arthur,
get out right now! I'm naked!"

She
heard Arthur exit and shut the front door behind him. Then she got up and
looked for her clothes. Where were they? And then she remembered. She looked
up. Her clothes were all on the ceiling fan. Completely naked, she ran for the
broom and used the stick part to get her clothes off the fan. She quickly got
dressed and then said, "Come in."

"Oh
my God, Liz! What did he do to you?" The room was destroyed. The dining
table was turned on its side, and they had actually broken the leg on one of
the chairs. Broken plates lay off to the side. Smashed pieces of the chopped
fruit Arthur had cut up the other day littered the floor.

"More
like, "What did I do to him?!"

Arthur's
face, which had been dark up until now, turned to confusion.

"I
wasn't going to let him take advantage of me tonight. Not when I'm this
powerful and my body is this sensitive to everything. I made him stay in the
living room. And then we just went wild. There was no stopping us because we're
both vampires. He couldn't hurt me, and I couldn't wear him out--at least not
as easily as if he were human."

"How
did the living room get like this?"

"We
were on the rug and he wanted to get my clothes out of the way, so he threw my
shirt and it ended up on the ceiling fan. And then we tried to throw all my
clothes on the fan--just for kicks. I don't even remember where he threw my
shoes and socks. Eventually we ended up on the furniture and destroyed a chair
in the process. Then we got hungry, went to the table, and decided to snack on
the fruit. It wasn't long before the table was tipped over and we were tumbling
over each other on the floor. We accidentally smashed some of the fruit with
our bodies when we were rolling around together. Eventually, we worked our way
back to the rug and I fell asleep underneath it. He must have left when he
realized the sun would be up soon."

Arthur
looked flabbergasted.

"I
thought you hated him," he said.

"I
do! But all of my nerve endings have finally come alive. I've never felt like
this before. And when I was with Aaron last night, my body was able to
understand what we were doing.
 
I could
make demands and exert some control over the situation. I had no connection to
what was happening to me before last night. I couldn't get the point of it
other than Aaron wanted this from me and I couldn't stop it. But last night, I
was using his body to satisfy my own. I was the alpha in the room last night,
and I feel like I can take control of the situation. That's why we're going to
escape today."

"How?!"

"In
that little broken motorboat. We're going to travel the same way you travelled
before. Joe was pushing it, right? Why can't we push it ourselves?"

"But
Joe is a giant sea dragon! I'm a chimp and you're a golden retriever."

"I'm
not saying we need to push it as animals. We can push it as half vampires.
We're tough. We could push that boat for miles and not get winded. And we can
take turns. You push and then I push."

"What
about sharks?"

"What
ABOUT sharks? We're tougher than any sharks on our own. As a team, sharks don't
stand a chance against us. Besides, one of us will be in the boat at all times
watching the water, ready to shout out a warning."

"I
don't know about this, Elizabeth. We don't know how far we are from land. For
all we know, Joe pushes that boat at a hundred miles an hour."

"Well
I know what I want! I want off of this island. And if I die in the process then
so be it. At least I died trying."

"Alright,"
Arthur sighed. "I'll go with you. But let me make some breakfast first.
Then we should hunt and wait about an hour for the food to digest. Then we'll
start out on the sea."