Fallen Blood (18 page)

The door turned out to be just the motel clerk checking up on everyone. He was making the rounds and telling everyone to be calm. The police had everything in hand. There had been a big animal of some sort loose in the lot, and animal control was taking care of the problem. Brian almost wanted to laugh at that last statement. As if the dog catchers were going to be able to handle a full-fledged werewolf. The entire idea of it was almost impossible to believe. But he had actually seen and talked to a
werewolf
! Even better, he knew what Brian was, meaning there were other vampires as well. He had always suspected as much, but until this evening, he never had any proof. Now he had something to think about, and maybe to find.

It only took a few minutes to calm Heather down. Once the police didn't come crashing into the room and several of the cruisers left, she began to relax. He asked her if she was alright so many times, that eventually she began to get irritated with him.

"If you ask me that one more time, Brian.." She lifted a pillow like she was about to throw it at him, then just grimaced at him in her beautiful way, before lowering her weapon back to the bed.

"I'm sorry. I'll stop."

"Good." She crossed her arms and stared at the ground for a minute. "This is never going to stop...is it?"

She had said that in such a quiet whisper, he almost thought the question had been rhetorical, until he saw the way she looked at him for not answering.

"Well, it could." He nodded, trying to sound confident. The truth was, he had been thinking the same thing for a while during the night as he lay there. He had heard before the internet and cell phones, it had been fairly easy to disappear in America. Move to another city, change your name. Maybe take the social security card of some stillborn child and you could have your own life. These days, however, the internet made that almost impossible. Anyone could find out if you paid your bills late if they knew where to look it up online. The chance that they could actually escape the U. S. Government, seemed unlikely. Even if they ran away to some third-world country, what kind of life would that be?

"What are we going to do Brian?" It was more of a plea than a question. Her eyes had filled again with tears as she said that, and he realized at that moment what was nothing more than a fun adventure to him, a break from the doldrums of school and hiding out in his house, was a nightmare for her.

"What do you want to do, Heather?"

"What?" She asked, pausing in the rocking she had just started.

"What do you really want to do?"

"I just want my life back. I want my parents, my friends. I wish I was home."

Those were pretty big wishes, and Brian had no idea how to fulfill them. None of them matched anything he was looking to do. He had just wanted to run around the country with Heather and try to live a dream. Now with the knowledge of covens of vampires in the world, his priorities had changed. He wasn't exactly sure why, most likely because everyone in TV or the movies would want to find their people once they found out about their existence. So, it seemed only logical that he do the same thing, besides, he had questions that he really would like answered. Yet, all that was going to have to wait. Now he was tied to Heather, and he had to help her first. Somehow it felt this was all his fault, he couldn't say why, and maybe it really wasn't, but that didn't change the way that he felt about it.

"I'm not sure how we can fix this." Brian finally answered.

"You think I don't know that?" She sobbed, the tears were most definitely back now. He watched as she buried her face into a nearby pillow and cried. He felt weak and helpless watching her there, and he truly had no ideas how they could go up against the entire U. S. government. It wasn't possible as far as he knew. So, he did the only thing he could do, he got up and sat down by her, and wrapped his arms around her while he leaned his head on her back. She sobbed and cried for the longest time. He didn't count the minutes, though, it really didn't matter, He just had to be there for her. He wasn't sure it helped, but eventually, she stopped and fell back to sleep, exhausted. When she did, he just sat there and watched her breathe. Something had to change, and he wasn't sure how to make that change. It was obvious this lifestyle wasn't going to work for her. Sure, she might put on a brave face and go along with everything once again when the sun came up, but tonight, he had seen what was really going on in her heart.

This, he was going to have to fix, no matter what the cost.

Morning came around slower than he would have preferred, as he was left sitting around doing nothing but coming up with plan after plan and rejecting each. He had spent far too many days in his life doing just that, and now that he had the chance to actually do something, he was ready to do it, if he could just figure out what 'it' was. An hour after the sun came up, Heather woke. He was happy to see her stretch and sit up, as the nights worries seemed to have disappeared with her sleep, given that she woke up all smiles.

"You didn't sit there all night watching me, did you?" She asked, jumping off and walking to the bathroom. He wasn't sure she really expected an answer, so he decided to play it safe.

"Yes and no." He got up and leaned against the bathroom door that she had closed.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked from behind the door.

"I don't know really, Heather, we need to talk."

"You've been saying that a lot lately."

"Yeah, well this time we do."

The toilet flushed and the sink came on inside. He could here her brushing her teeth after a few seconds. "Can it wait until I'm finished in the little girls room?"

He smiled to himself. "Yeah, sure...um, sorry."

He didn't wait to hear her response as he walked to the lone chair, and moved back to where it had been when they had first arrived. He sat in it and idly leaned back and closed his eyes. He normally didn't sleep if we were eating regularly, but as of late, nothing had been regular about his life. He really did need to make another run to his home and get some food. If he ran into that werewolf again in his normal form, he didn't think he would stand a chance being half starved. Normally, he only really had to eat every few days, but with all his little stunts, that changed everything.

The door opened, and out came Heather. Even after a night of sobbing, she still woke up looking almost perfect. Her eyes looked a little puffy and were still a bit bloodshot, but besides that, she was picture perfect in his eyes.

"Okay, what's up?" She said, as she sat down on the edge of the bed.

"We need to fix this." He said as seriously as he could.

She sighed as he said that, and from her expression, he realized she had already come to some conclusion. "Brian, I already have an answer..." She stopped, and looked at him waiting for him to respond, when he didn't she continued on. "Brian I've been thinking about this for a while, and..." she stood up and walked to the bathroom door and leaned her shoulder on the bathroom door frame, her back facing him. "I haven't done anything wrong Brian, and even if I had...I would have turned myself in."

Brian stood up and walked to her, and grabbed her from behind. "I know what you're going to say, and I forbid it."

"It has to be done, Brian." She pulled away and turned to face him, her eyes filling with tears again. "I want my family back."

"That's my point, Heather. You won't get them back by turning yourself in."

"How do you know?" She stomped her foot and balled her fist.

"Because you've went down this road before." He tried to reach his hand out toward her, but she knocked it away and stomped passed him and headed out into the main room.

"And each time you stopped them, Brian."

"I was saving you!” he pleaded.

"From
what
? They're the police."

"Yes, they were, until they gave you to the men in black."

"Brian, they were government agents. I probably was in no danger."

"Then why did they take your parents away, and why did you run with me if you were in no danger?"

She paused and crossed her arms under her breasts. A move that quickly caught his eye thanks to how they seemed to become more prominent from the gesture.

"I don't know why they took my parents, Brian. Maybe for questioning? Most likely they're home right now, worried out of their minds about me. As to why I ran away with you?" She threw her arms up then herself into the waiting chair. "You might as well ask why I went to your house that night rather than just going home. It was almost like I was compelled to."

Brian was about to retort about her parents, until that last part came out of her mouth. His heart sank when he heard her say that, then he realized why he had felt so responsible about the entire situation. At the time he was trying to rescue her, he didn't know how far reaching his suggestion ability was, or could be. It had always been more of a magic trick for him, rather than something serious, or even dangerous. It wasn't until he had her do the strip dance that he had found out that it could actually rearrange a person’s memory so that everything they did to accomplish his suggestion became their own idea. It was frustrating the first time he witnessed it, now he found it downright scary. It was his turn to sit down on the edge of the bed, where he just dropped the hand he had been lifting to make a point in his argument.

Somehow he had instilled in her the desire to run with him. Not intentionally, of course, maybe unconsciously. After all, his fondest wish in life had been her, and to have her with him always. Now he wondered how much of her friendliness to him, or for that matter her attraction to him was all just an act that he had somehow put into her mind?

"Brian, it's the only way to end this. To get my family back. Brian?" She stood up and walked to him sitting next to him. "You understand, don't you?" She picked up his hand and held it.

Did this mean he could never have an honest relationship with
anyone
? Would he always find himself wondering if that glance into their eyes planted some subliminal message in their minds that they couldn't resist? The idea seemed monstrous to him. Was he a monster, then?

"Brian?" Her voice, filled with concern, snapped Brian out of his thoughts. What she said made some sense of a sort, but she didn't have the big picture, and without it, she could never make an informed decision.

"Heather, I need to tell you some things. Then, maybe you can make a better decision."

"What things?" She asked.

So he told her, Starting with traveling to the party that night, and watching those agents did to the two girls. The fact that he couldn't travel to Chuck later because of the invisible barrier, then his rescue of her from the agents using the fog. He decided to avoid telling her about the suggestion ability at this point, because he had this feeling she would just lose it with that information as well. He went on to tell her about the agent's attack on him both times, and he finished it with the werewolf from last night. She sat there without saying a word during the entire time he spoke, until he got to the werewolf, whereupon her eyes widened in shock and fear.

"You're telling me a werewolf was hunting us outside last night?" She said, as she stood back up.

"Actually, I suspect it was just after you."

"Why
me
?" She said with a gasp, as her hand went to her chest involuntary.

"That's the question, isn't it? Until last night I didn't even know that they existed. Now I find one hunting for someone just outside our room."

"But...maybe it wasn't looking for me?"

"True, but then again, who else would it be on a sanctioned hunt looking for? I don't know about you, but the word 'sanctioned' has government written all over it."

"But
why
?" She whispered.

He shrugged his shoulders at her, "no idea, Heather, but I have a feeling your capture came to an end the minute they sent that thing after you. I'm guessing they're done with you now."

"My mom and dad? What about them? Are they okay?"

"I don't have a crystal ball," he said sheepishly, "but I could travel to them, and also get some food. Just in case we run into Mr. Furry again."

"You can do that? Travel to my parents?"