Page 4 of Resurrection
“I hate when I have to babysit.” The deep voice, way too close for comfort, makes me scream. Pressing both hands to my mouth, I even stop breathing.
“Stop bitching about things and do what you’re told.” Another voice, this one sounding bored, disturbs the silence. “Unless you have a death wish. I doubt the Council will be happy to offer you a day off because you don’t feel like babysitting.”
“The pathetic humans thought we were monsters.” The deep voice chuckles gleefully. “Let’s see what they think after theItalians spend some time here. They’ll beg us to rule over them as long as we stay here.”
“I wonder why they came,” the bored one drawls. “And unannounced at that. The Council almost burst a vessel when they popped up out of nowhere at their doors.”
“You think they’ll try to take over?” The deep voice sounds worried, and anything that worries a monster makes me want to scream and run. Gulping down panic and taking slow, shallow breaths so they don’t hear me breathe, I stand frozen, listening.
“I hope not!” snapping, the bored one shuffles around. Oh God, vampires are sitting right above my head on the fire escape of the building. I have no idea how they didn’t see or hear me. Unless they got here right after me when I heard them speak.
“I thought you didn’t care one way or another.”
“I don’t. What I care about is my own head. Seventeen dead since they came here a few days ago.” Pregnant silence stretches, making me think that was it. “Not all of them human.” My eyes widen at that last sentence.
“What are you saying? It’s a takeover for sure?” The cracking of the metal railing accompanies the deep voice.
“No…” the bored one stretches the word. “I think they are searching for something.” More shuffling. “Or so it seems.”
“Searching for what?” After a long moment, a gasp is barely heard above my head. “You don’t seriously believe those ridiculous stories, do you?”
“I don’t know…Sebastian is here, too.” I have no idea who that is, but by the sound of fear in the voice of the monster, I pray I never find out. Sniffing makes my thought process freeze. “What’s that stench?”
I almost jump out of my skin when a growl comes from the shadows. The mutt jumps out in the open, baring its teeth and looking around with his hackles up.
How the hell did he get here without me carrying him up the ladder? Was it him following me around, watching?
“This city is getting more disgusting by the night. Let’s move spots, then we can keep an eye on the other side,” the bored one says after spotting the mutt’s display of hostility at the empty street.
The cracking and groaning of metal tell me they are moving. My oxygen starved lungs are screaming at me to take a proper breath instead of the pathetic little sips I’ve been doing. Sweat trickles down the side of my face, but I don’t dare move. The sound of boots hitting concrete startles my soul out of my body for a second. I watch the backs of the two monsters as they walk away, unaware of my presence. The one on the left is the one with the deep voice. I know because I hear him speak before they disappear from view.
“I hope I never cross Sebastian’s path,” he tells the monster on the right.
So do I, buddy, my mind answers him silently while my legs turn to noodles, crumpling under me, and I drop on the ground.
Chapter Three
Soundlessly gulping air, trying my best not to weep with joy for not being seen, I look at the mutt. He stands in the same spot, growling, terrifying noises coming out of his chest until the two vampires disappear from view. When he turns back towards me, he sits on his butt, all noise stopping as his tail twitches. Frowning, I continue to watch him warily. His tongue lolls out, and the tail moves faster.
“Unbelievable,” I murmur incredulously under my breath. Leaning my back on the building, I close my eyes. This whole scenario feels wrong, and everything in me screams at me to run and hide. Nothing good can come out of this.
It’s almost as if I’m challenging Lady Luck to prove that she can be as cruel as her sister Hope.
The mutt trots closer to me, looking around as if he understands the danger we are in and doesn’t want to give me away. His snout nudges my hand, looking for a scratch. Absentmindedly, I rub his head while I’m trying to come to grips with the fact that the damn dog might’ve saved my life just now. I want to be angry and tell him to go away, but those keen brown eyes stare at me adoringly.
“You little shit. I have a soft spot for you, and you know it. If you get me killed, I’m going to be pissed.”
Stiffening my shoulders so I don’t walk around like I’m epileptic, shaking and stumbling over my own feet, I lift myself up. Calming down my breathing, glancing down to make sure the mutt stays put, my focus shifts to my surroundings. If the conversation I heard is anything to go by, it’s no wonder there is not a soul around. Whoever this Sebastian character is, I hope he never gets anywhere near me. Not that he will know I’m around if he does. The stench that bothered the two vampires has saved me more times than I like to count. If their stomach is turning when you are near, they can’t concentrate on looking deeper into who and what you are. All everyone wants is to get as far away as possible. Snickering, I glance down at the mutt.
“Two stinking buddies is what we are, mutt.” Frowning, I watch him perk up at my voice. “I need to give you a name if I’m to let you stick around.”
One more quick sweep around me and I gingerly start walking down the street. The hotel visit can wait. There must be someone there if the vamps were keeping an eye on it. Self-preservation tells me I should get as far away from here as possible. That tingling feeling between my shoulder blades comes back with a vengeance, but now that I know it’s the mutt, I ignore it. Darting from one shadow to the next, squeezing between vehicles, trees, and buildings, I continue on my search for medication. Seeing the pharmacy after a few turns, I almost hoot with joy.
The building glows like a beacon of light nestled in the middle of an empty parking lot. Goosebumps cover my arms, and I rub my hands over them, my eyes dancing in my head while looking for a threat. This entire trip tonight seems too good to be true. In my experience, nothing comes this easy, and never without a hitch. That was life before the Council took over.The mutt bumps into my thigh, making me look down at him. He does it again, this time a little harder. By the looks of it, even he doesn’t like being out in the middle of the night. Taking his advice, I creep up towards the building. One side of it is dark, the lights left inside the store not reaching it. Bolting from behind the tree I was using as cover, I head straight there.
Hitting the wall harder than was necessary in my rush to get away from open spaces, my palms scrape against the rough surface. Turning around, pressing my back on the wall, I stick my head around the corner to see if anyone noticed my wild dash across the empty lot. Of course, no one did since it’s a ghost town tonight, but I can never be too careful. When everything stays as quiet and as undisturbed as before, I release the breath I’ve been holding. So far, so good. Now, I only have to figure out a way to get inside the damn building that glows like a lighthouse without being seen. I have broken into homes after watching for days to make sure no one was around, so I could get some clothes and other necessities. I’ve never taken from those that have too little. Growing up, I liked the stories of Robin Hood, and I convinced myself that I was like him. I’ve even taken more than I need but left it when seeing groups with children for them to find. Watching from a hiding place, my heart would beat faster, matching their happiness when discovering the treasures I’ve left for them. A store, on the other hand, has never been one of the things I considered getting near. Not unless I had a death wish.
Crouching down, I stay there for a while with no desire to move from the shadows. Not a sound reaches me the entire time, and that raises my suspicions. This doesn’t feel right, no matter if Death himself has come to LA. Where is everyone?
