Jackal. He was alive.
The doors at the end of the hall swung open. I leaped upright as the bald man emerged looking very tired, smears of blood on his white coat.
“Your friend is going to be fine,” he said, smiling, and I collapsed against the wall in relief. “He’s lost a lot of blood, has a slight concussion, and there was an old gunshot wound on his leg, but he isn’t infected. I expect him to make a full recovery.”
“Can I see him?”
“He’s sleeping now.” The bald man gave me a severe look. “You can visit him later, but I believe you need stitches, too, young lady. Judging from those rips in your clothes, I’m surprised you’re not in worse shape. Has someone examined you? Hold still a moment.” He swung a strange device off his neck and stuck the ends in his ears. “This won’t hurt,” he promised, holding up the shiny, metallic circle on the end of the tube. “I’m just going to listen to your heart, check your breathing—”
He moved the device toward my chest…and my hand shot out, grabbing his wrist before either of us knew what was happening.
He jumped, startled by how fast I moved, and looked up at me with huge round eyes behind his glasses. I met his gaze sadly.
“You won’t find anything there,” I murmured, and he frowned a moment, confused. Then his face drained of color, and he stared at me, frozen. I heard his heartbeat speed up, and a sheen of sweat glistened on his brow.
“Oh,” he whispered in a tiny, breathy voice. “You’re a… Please don’t kill me.”
I released his wrist, letting mine drop to my side. “Go on,” I muttered, turning away. “Do what you have to do.” He hesitated, as if fearing a trick, that I would turn and pounce on him the second his back was turned. Then I heard his footsteps, sprinting off down the hall, running to spread the word about vampires in the hallways. I didn’t have a lot of time. Hurrying to the surgery doors, I pushed my way inside.
The room was dark, save for a single bright light that shone down on a bed in the middle of the room, surrounded by beeping machines and shelves of metal instruments. Zeke lay on his back, clean gauze wrapping his chest, one arm in a sling, breathing peacefully. His pale hair gleamed under the lights.
I approached the bed and leaned close, smoothing the hair from his eyes, listening to the sound of his heart. “Hey,” I whispered, knowing he probably couldn’t hear me, unconscious as he was. “Listen, Zeke, I have to go. There’s something I have to do, someone I have to find. I owe him a lot, and he’s in trouble now. I just wanted to say goodbye.”
Zeke slept on. I put my hand on his uninjured arm, squeezing gently. My eyes burned, but I ignored them. “You probably won’t see me again,” I murmured, feeling something hot slide down my cheek. “I got you here, like I promised I would. I wish…I wish I could’ve seen your Eden, but this place isn’t for me. It never was. I have to find my own place in the world.”
Bending down, I brushed my lips to his. “Goodbye, Ezekiel,” I whispered. “Take care of the others. They’ll be looking to you now.”
He stirred in his sleep, but didn’t wake. Releasing him, I turned and walked away, out of the room and through the doors. As they swung shut behind me, I thought I heard him murmur my name, but I did not look back.
*
WALKING BACK THROUGH the main hall was a much more hostile journey than when I’d arrived. The men and women in white coats either glared or cringed back from me, huddled along the wall, watching as I strode through the room. No one from our original group was there to say goodbye. Probably better that way. Caleb would make a fuss, and the others might want to know where I was going. But I didn’t know where I was going. All I knew was Kanin, and now Jackal, were out there. I had to find my sire, see if I could still help him. I owed him that much. As for my “blood brother,” I was pretty sure he would find me, eventually. And I didn’t want to be around those I cared about when he did.
Outside, the storm had moved on, and the stars glimmered brightly through the clouds. A breeze cooled my skin, smelling of sand and fish and lake water, and a new beginning. Just not for me.
A squad of soldiers came rushing up to me, led by Sergeant Keller. I raised my hands as they surrounded me, leveling their guns at my chest, their faces hard with suspicion and fear.
The sergeant stepped forward, his previously smiling mouth pulled into a grim line. “Is it true?” he asked, narrowing his eyes. “Are you a bloodsucker, like the doc says?” When I didn’t reply, his face hardened. “Answer me, before we start pumping you full of holes to see if you die or not.”