Chapter Fifteen
~An Unknown Strength~
Laura followed the man in front of her for what seemed like hours. The vampire in front of her. She still wasn’t used to thinking about him like that.
She looked up to the sky, and surprised herself when she realized the sun was in almost the same position as it was when she was dumped on the ground and told to follow. She thought they had been walking for hours, but it must only barely been one, if that.
She rubbed her arm where the vampire had grabbed her. A bruise was already developing, and the spot was tender to the touch. Her feet hurt from traversing the uneven forest ground. She had been forced to climb over logs, over fallen trees, push through thick bushes – all while following the vampire. He had no trouble with any of it, obviously, and slowed his pace so she could keep up.
“Where are you taking me?” she tried for what must have been the thousandth time. But, as usual, there was no reply. It was an uneasy feeling, being so helpless and so trapped. She was a prisoner with no chains.
Suddenly a blur of motion caught her eye. And the next thing she knew, the vampire in front of her was down on the ground. Somebody was standing over him, looking away. Logan?
She rushed over. It was him! With a cry of joy, she jumped up to embrace him. But he didn’t reciprocate. He just stood there, arms at his sides. He was breathing heavily.
“Logan?” She looked at his face. He was unnaturally calm. “Logan, what happened? How did you get here?”
“I took his blood,” he said simply.
“Took who’s blood?” Laura was too overjoyed to think straight. “What are you talking about?”
“The vampire I fought in the mill. He looked away, and I jumped him. And I sunk my teeth deep into his flesh. He cried out, Laura. A cry I would have never thought a Vassiz could make. It was a sound of pure agony, of anguish and torture. It was my only chance, and I… I took it.
“It is prohibited, Laura. Cannibalism. It goes against all the rules of our race. It goes against our very being. None have done it for thousands of years. Maybe never. But I did… and it gave me strength, Laura. Strength like I have never imagined. My senses increased tenfold, my agility even more. A rage overtook me, and I felt an animal, more so than ever before. Taking a vampire’s blood…” he shuddered, “…it is nothing like taking human blood. Human blood is but a pale impression of it.”
Laura gaped. She had not known it was even possible for a vampire to feed on another’s blood. “Is it… safe?” she asked. “Safe for you?”
“I don’t know. I have heard legends, but those are rooting in myth as much as truth. I have never heard of anyone doing it once our race became organized. I don’t think any of my kind have even thought of doing it. It is a heinous crime.”
Laura abruptly realized that Logan had not moved once since she hugged him. Instead, he was staring at the body at his feet. Laura looked up at his eyes, and saw they were ablaze with intensity. An intensity that he struggled to contain.
She moved back, and it seemed to break him out of his trance. For the first time, he met her gaze, and a small smile spread across his face. “A heinous crime, but it keeps you safe. That’s all that matters.”
“Did you… kill him?” she asked, looking at her captor.
“No. The Vassiz are surprisingly hard to kill. Back there, in the mill, might be the first casualty of our race in generations. I could kill this one, though, if I fed. But if I did that, I don’t know if I could contain myself with you.”
Laura gulped nervously. And Logan laughed. “Don’t worry,” he said, brushing away a strand of hair that had fallen in her face. “I wouldn’t do anything to risk you.”
She gulped nervously again. But this time, it was a different type of nervousness. She felt a little lightheaded, and cleared her throat. “What was that word you used? I heard them use it, too. The Vassiz?”
“It is what we call our kind. To humans, we might be known as vampires. But to us, we are all a part of the ancient Vassiz race.”
The Vassiz. Somehow, it was easier to think of Logan as a Vassiz than as a vampire. “So what happens now?”
“We run. We get as far away as we can. We can’t make contact with anybody. Hopefully, we can escape the others.”
“Others?”
“More are coming. I think the first two were only scouts. Once they realize what I’ve done, they’ll put the entire militia after us.”
“The militia? How many are there?”
“Vassiz live in separate packs all over the world. We don’t communicate with one another much, outside the pack. But… I know there are five packs near us, on the west coast. Some are hidden, out in the wilderness, and others live right with humans in the city. I fear we’ll soon have all five packs after us.”
“How many… members… is that?”
“Maybe twenty-five, thirty vampires total. Once the elders hear of the scouts’ failure, they’ll recruit them all.”
Thirty vampires. All coming after her. For the first time, Laura felt truly terrified. She had seen what only two can do. “But you said vampires don’t communicate outside their pack. How are they going to be recruited?”
“We communicate through the dream realm,” he said, “in times of great need.”
“You said they can track us by my scent. How are we ever going to get away?”
“Our only chance is to run as far as we can, as fast as we can. That’s our only escape. We can’t face them.” Then he looked down at the body and nudged it with his foot. “Anyway, this guy is going to be out for a while, so we’ll be able to get a bit of a lead. But we can’t take my car.”
“Why not?”
“It has your scent. We have to go by foot.” He paused, thinking. “Do you have your cell phone still?”
“Yes, it’s right here in my pocket,” Laura replied, pulling it out.
“Give it to me. I don’t know how well these packs are integrated within human society, but I don’t doubt that one of them will have the connections to track our location by that.”
Laura dropped the phone in his hand. Giving it away, she felt it symbolic of starting her new life. Logan reached back, as if he were about to throw the phone far into the distance, but then he stopped himself.
“Actually, I have a better idea,” he told her. He put the phone into his own pocket, and knelt down to hoist the unconscious vampire on his back. “Wait here. I’ll be back.” And before Laura could blink, he was gone, an indistinctive blur racing away through the woods.
--
Laura was sitting on a stump when Logan finally emerged from the woods. He carried a small bundle in his hands, and held it carefully.
“Where did you go?” she asked him when he came close enough.
“Back to the mill. I remembered something hidden there, long ago.” He nodded to the bundle. “I also brought our friend there and tied him up. He’ll be able to get out, eventually, but it gives us even more of a head start.”
“That’s good,” she said. “What’s in the parcel?”
“It’s for you,” he answered, and lowered it into her arms. She took hold. It wasn’t heavy, and felt soft in her hands. Like fabric, or cloth.
“What is it?” she asked.
“Open it and you’ll see.”
Slowly, she unwrapped the string that held it together. And pulled aside the brown paper flaps. Inside, she found a carefully folded piece of dark fabric. She held it up, and let it fall to reveal its shape. It was a beautiful black dress, delicately decorated with silk lace at the neck- and hem-line. The bodice had an elaborate pattern of flowers and shapes sewn into it that curved around the back.
“It’s beautiful,” Laura breathed. “But why did you give it to me?”
“It’s your size, I think. You should put it on. It’ll help us significantly with the tracking if we leave your old clothes behind. It might be uncomfortable to run in, sure, but…” he shrugged uncertainly, “…but I think it’ll help us get away.”
“You really want me to wear this?” Laura had never seen a dress that looked as exquisite as this one, much less worn one.
Logan nodded.
“Ok,” she said. “But only because it’ll help us get away.”
“Of course,” Logan smiled.