In Dreams: Bleed Out

Hide and Seek

On the way out the door I convinced Alexandre to drink some more blood as compensation for all the sleep he was missing.  He growled an agreement, but I could see his mind was already focused on the hunt.  This side of Alexandre still thrilled and terrified me, but I couldn't deny how it made my own blood sing in response today.  Even the baby was restless, kicking and shifting until we were on our way down the road.  I slurped blood from a bag steadily and handed a bag off to Alexandre, who drained it and tossed it into the backseat without regard.

"Sooo, where're we going?"  I asked finally, unable to stand the tense silence any longer.  Alexandre glanced at me briefly, and I could see him trying to get a hold of himself.

"It appears our news van was tagged in an online post by some young adults wishing to find internet fame.  She has an ingenious system.  She can hide in plain sight with that thing.  Who questions a news van parked in random places at strange hours..."  Alexandre grumbled.  "The location is a few hours drive from here, at a recently closed free clinic.  I don't know if she's scouting locations, or..."

"If she has another victim."  I snarled, making the baby jump.  Alexandre echoed the sound and the car shot forward.  Dawn was creeping across the sky as Alexandre turned off into a small city.  He put an address into his phone to the closed clinic and followed the GPS along the twisted streets looking for it, hissing when the sun made it above the buildings, blinding him.  I grabbed his glasses from the dash and tossed them to him.  I shoved mine on for good measure, almost bouncing in my seat as I looked for the van.

"Would you please hold still."  Alexandre snapped and I froze.  He glanced at me guiltily.  "Sorry."  He said in a voice that lacked apology.  I glared at him evilly but returned to my search for the van.  The GPS on his phone announced our arrival at the clinic, but there was no van in sight.  I cursed.

"We should go in, just in case."  Alexandre said with worry, as he pulled into the empty parking area.  All trace that this had once been a clinic had been removed.  The sign was gone, there was no glass left that had not at least been cracked, no signs or curtains, the door was knocked off its hinges.

"I thought you said it was recently closed."  I whispered to Alexandre.

"Within the past year, it's not in the wealthiest part of the city..."  He waved a  hand at the broken concrete and dilapidated buildings surrounding it.  "Statistically, there would be a higher crime rate from those just desperate to survive."  I bristled but understood what he was saying.  Poverty was harsh, and would squash you like a bug, so you did what you had to to survive, even if that meant escaping your reality because you couldn't face the fact that you didn't have enough money to cover bills for the month again.  Some people turned to church, some turned to work, some food, some alcohol, some drugs.  I sighed and stepped forward, then sniffed carefully.

"Is that..her?"  I asked Alexandre through clenched teeth.

"There are several scents here, hers to me is..sharp..."  Alexandre said, flustered.  I stepped forward again, carefully, into the building.  Alexandre grabbed my arm.  "Don't be rash."  He said urgently, looking into my eyes.  He placed a hand on my stomach.  "Protect yourself and our child first and foremost.  Do not make me lose you after it took so long to find you.  Not over some madwoman.  DO you understand?"  Although he was trying to restrain it, some of the sire bond leaked into his demand.  I clenched my jaw.

"She's a human, Alexandre."  I snarled.

"And therein lies the flaw.  You're overconfident.  Don't make a mistake because you underestimate your opponent.  Humans did and do still manage to kill vampires.  We're not invulnerable.  And you're pregnant."   He hissed.  His voice carried menace, but his eyes were overcome with heartache and worry.  I took a step back, but Alexandre refused to release my arm, so I looked away.

"I can't promise to be calm about this Alexandre, this woman killed me and countless others.  I don't know what I want to do to her, but I promise you..."  I nailed him with my gaze  "I will do nothing to endanger our daughter."  Alexandre's troubled expression didn't clear, but he released my arm.  Following me into the first room, Alexandre immediately took a protective stance next to me.  He was right, there had been a lot of activity in here, but there was only a handful of recent trails.  

"This way."  Alexandre offered quietly, leading me through a door to our left that opened onto a corridor with rooms off each side.  The grey carpet changed to linoleum floor and I tried to walk more quietly to muffle my steps.  Alexandre's nostrils flared and I saw him motion for me to slow down.  He started peeking around door edges carefully, his attitude making me feel as though my killer must have been all over this place.  I tried to trace the individual scent he was after, but I was picking up at least three unique scents that had been up and down this hall.  Which one was it?

The corridor abruptly turned right, but Alexandre paused, shaking his head.  He whispered for me to stop and stepped around the corner, then stepped back to wave me on.  The corridor split off into a bunch of intersecting branches after that.  One hall to the right circled back the way we came, the square it formed housed a couple of exam rooms and a long empty area that could have been anything, but I was betting once held a lab or nursing station.  The hall then continued forward before offering a split left and right, and things just got worse from there.  Eventually we found ourselves in what had to have been medical records, storage and supplies.  There were still rows of metal shelves, cabinets bolted to the walls, some with the glass broken out and doors torn off, and a few filing cabinets sitting around in the room.  Then I heard it.

"I think I'll set the next one up right here."  The sickly sweet voice of the nurse floated back to me accompanied by the sounds of something metal being tossed and something breaking.  "Hmm, yes... perfect..."  She cooed.  I felt my fists clench.  Alexandre put a hand on my shoulder to steady me.  I shook it off and began silently pacing down the aisle of empty shelves.  More clattering from in front of me.  I could hear Alexandre on the other side of the shelves.  I knew the sound he made was almost too quiet for a human to hear, especially one involved in something else.  As she came into view, I propped myself up against one of the heavy metal shelves and observed her tossing things away from a wall, setting up a little "staged" area.  Her motion caused her smell to hit me hard due to her exertion, and I got what Alexandre meant about it being a 'sharp' odor.   It was like she bathed in hand sanitizer.  It was masking another scent I couldn't identify, was she ill?  She probably smelled good to humans, it was kind of sweet, fruity even, what was that?  Alexandre took his cue from me and hung back, waiting in the shadows at the other end of the shelves.  The nurse tossed a metal filing cabinet drawer out of her way, cursing, and caught sight of me standing there observing her.  She squeaked and straightened, placing a hand on her heart, which I could hear speed up from my position.

"Oh sorry, I didn't know anyone was here, I was just..."  The words died on her lips as she realized who I was.  "It's you..."  She whispered.  "You look...  different... but it's you.  You're the one who lived!"  She advanced on me.  I didn't move, a gentle smile on my face.

"How did you live?"  She demanded rapturously, still advancing on me.  I heard Alexandre growl.  The Nurse froze.  "Did you... bring a dog?"  She asked suddenly and I laughed.

"Not exactly, in some ways he's worse."  I replied and Alexandre's next growl was directed at me, but there was no malice in it.  I chuckled.  The Nurse searched the shelves with her eyes.  I stepped forward to circle her.

"Carys..."  Alexandre warned from the shadows while I sized her up.  She studied me warily, but when Alexandre spoke, her head snapped in his direction.

"You brought someone else?  And a dog?  Just for me?"  She clapped delightedly.  "And look at you!"  She spun on me suddenly  "Not only did you survive, but you even managed to thrive, increase, go forth and multiply, if you will."  She laughed and licked her lips, eyeing my stomach.  "I've never drained a pregnant woman before, but then again, I've never drained the same person twice before either."  She laughed.  Alexandre snapped, he snarled, jumping from the shadows towards the Nurse, but a loud bang interrupted the staring contest the Nurse and I were having.

"Now, you didn't think that I did all this alone did you?"  She asked sweetly, and I heard Alexandre's roar of pain before the smell of his blood hit me.