A Fanged Secret

Chapter 3

After Cathrine finished showing me the first and second levels of the old, tattered building, we make our way to the main entrance. It's the only opening to the building that isn't barricaded, which means it's usually guarded. The main lobby is a small space with two rooms attached on either side, one looks to be a storage room and the other is an office. When we get to the middle of the room, Shawn and Percy emerge from a second hallway that leads to this entrance. Shawn  is holding a long hose that is patched in places with duct tape, he turns to me and probably sees the confused look plastered on my face,

 "The water tanks are too heavy to carry back and forth, so we use a hose that we attach to some underground pipes that still work at the river. They lead straight into a filter that Percy built, then it gets deposited into the tanks." He smiles then stuffs the hose in a black backpack that I hadn't noticed. He puts the bag over his shoulder as I ask,

"Why don't you just keep the hose connected all the time?" He gestures for us to head out as he responds, 

"We tried, but if we aren't there to observe the water going into the hose then rocks tend to clog it." I nod then focus on the breeze in my hair as we step outside, it's a warm, soft breeze. The hospital looks much bigger from the outside than I'd expected it to, however, I guess Cathrine only showed me the first two floors, so there's still much more inside I have yet to see. We begin walking across the large parking lot full of broken glass and old cars, none of them repairable. The giant hospital building stands in the middle of a big city, the buildings around it look like they have been hit by bombs, windows are shattered, walls have bullet holes, and knives can be found along the sidewalks.

 "Humans attempted to fight off the vampires," Percy says, "They used bombs, guns, anything they could get their hands on really." He continues as I nod, "There are a couple of ponds nearby but the closest ones are dried up, so we need to go down to the river," Eventually, we end up passing some smaller stores until we turn into an area that leads out of the city and into a small, tree-coated area. Down a couple of meters is a river that's surrounded by large, lush trees. Probably planted by people to make the place look more lively. Shawn places the bag down on the dirt and takes the hose out carefully, trying not to make an accidental incision in the mess of rubber and tape. I stand out of the way while the three of them unwrap the tube and attach it to an opening in the water. While they finish attaching it, I shift my gaze to the tangle of trees, and small building I see far behind us. My ears then pick up the faint sound of cracking twigs from my far left. I turn to the trees in curiosity, then a woman, her shriek pierces my eardrums. Loud enough to catch my full attention but the other three don't seem to hear a thing, they continue setting up the contraption. I turn to look in the direction we came and hear it again, only louder, closer. Shawn, Cathrine, and Percy all go quiet. I hear one of them drop the hose and I swing around to see Cathrine and Percy bolting out of the water. Cathrine came towards me and Percy turned back to help Shawn.

"Fuck, we need to go, now," Shawn says after dropping all the items into a nearby bush so you couldn't see them without thoroughly searching. Cathrine turns to me, grabs my arm and drags me along the river's edge to a small patch of dense foliage. It's denser than the rest of the forest and makes for a great hiding spot. We crouch down into the leafy green bush and peek out through to the water's edge. We both spot Percy and Shawn, they're rushing to the other side of the river. It's knee-deep at most, and the current isn't very fast so it's easy for them to get across.  They crouch down in another spot of dense bushes across from us and we sit for a couple of minutes, still listening to twigs snapping. Even more time goes by as we hear another scream, then it's silent once again. I can hear Cathrine's shaky breaths as she places a hand over her mouth. Footsteps crawl slowly down the path we had followed to get to the river, and a figure emerges. They are covered head to toe with a black cloak, but you can't miss the piercing green gaze that sends a shiver up my spine. As my eyes are locked, I'm slapped with the scent of blood, it's strong, I look over, and Cathrine looks petrified. The smell circulates through me. The person makes their way down the river, coming closer to our hiding spots, when they stop they're about twenty feet away. Under the shade of a large leafy green tree, they lower their hood. I catch a glimpse, they have platinum blonde hair, emerald green eyes, and skin as pale as the fur of an arctic fox. Cathrine's jaw drops like she's been blinded by her pale shine.

 "Holy shit, look at her teeth," Cathrine whispers to me. She has a good eye, the woman's teeth are razor sharp, from the looks of it they could tear you apart in a second. I brush my tongue against my own teeth, comparing them to hers, they aren't quite the same, but still sharp. She's just standing there, silent, stationary. We continue to sit, mimicking her silence. I keep a close eye on her as she raises her arms in front of her, then a bright light flashes. All I see is white, then we hear a third scream, a shriek louder than any other. The light subsides as the scream ends, the woman is nowhere to be seen, but my eyes widen as I see Percy's body. He's hung by his neck on one of the shortest trees around us. Cathrine's eyes widen as well as she covers her mouth in disgust, shock, and sadness. I can hear her faint sobs, her breathing becoming uneven and erratic. Shawn, who is still on the other side of the river also looks horrified, his mouth is dropped open. 

"Oh my god," Cathrine says between sobs, "How did she do that? How did this happen!" She yells and slams her fist into the ground, creating a small dent in the soil. I sit there bewildered and shocked, this must be a dream, a tear slips down my right cheek. Percy's body looks drained, his skin pale white, there are small hints of blue around his eyes and mouth, no traces of blood anywhere, inside or outside of the body. I climb out of the bushes and walk up to the river near where he's being hung. His eyes are wide, and his mouth is drooped open.

 "Fae, that thing could still be out there," Shawn says while emerging from the bushes on the other side of the river. I ignore his remark and make my way across the river to take a closer look at Percy's corpse. It's hung low enough so that I can study his hands, they are dry and white as bone. Shawn comes up behind me and places a hand on my shoulder, "I thought they only came out at night," he says through tears of his own. I look back at him with a dull, sad stare,

 "she left no blood behind, that's for sure," I told him, while still holding Percy's lifeless hand.