Growing Wildflowers | WLW

Culver's Root

The silence in the van is too heavy, pushing on my chest until I can't breathe right. I don't feel good about this. Sophie's head is turned toward the back doors while she listens for anything that might be happening on the outside. The privacy window between Aurora, John, and us is up but faint country music streams in softly from the radio up front.

Jamie's sitting on the bench seat in front of me. She pulls my hand into her lap and draws patterns on it with her thumb. She smiles at me, and I try to mimic her calm expression, but I can't keep the jitters from my hands. She leans forward and waits for me to do the same.

"Everything's going to be okay," she whispers in my ear when I'm close enough.

I force a wobbly smile as I sit back again.

The van slows to a crawl. My heart clenches in my chest. The privacy window slides open.

"There's a road block," Aurora says over her shoulder. Red and blue reflects across her features.

"Might just be police," John offers, then shrugs. "Or someone stole a cruiser."

"Can we drive through?" Sophie asks.

John shakes his head. "They've got vehicles blocking the road."

"Can we go around?" Mrs. Vanderbilt asks.

"Not unless this thing's got four by four," John answers, patting the glove compartment. Turning to Aurora now. "Don't get any closer. If it's newborns they might smell the humans."

"What's the plan?" I ask, praying someone has an idea.

Aurora pushes the car into park. "I'll go see if they'll let us through."

"No," John and I say at the same time.

Aurora flashes him a look. "Excuse me?"

John opens his mouth for a moment before choosing his words. "Aurora, I don't want you in the middle of this." He squeezes her hand. "I don't have a good feeling about this."

She rests her free hand over his. "You're all recognizable. It has to be me." She smiles her famous 'Aurora smile'. "I'll be careful." She runs a thumb across his cheek before she gets out of the car.

I wait until the door shuts to move into the center aisle. "John." My voice is pleading. "She's going—"

He puts a hand up to stop me. "Stay sharp. You see the slightest act of aggression, we're out there. You hear me?"

I swallow the lump in my throat and force myself to nod. Aurora closes the distance to the roadblock. A few people step forward, bright red eyes and not a uniform in sight.

"Blood suckers," John mutters.

"Parker's lot?" Sophie asks.

I nod.

No one speaks as Aurora gestures to the van and then the road. Her vibrant laugh filters in from ahead. A newborn in a bullet proof vest watches her skeptically while she talks. It's obvious he's the one in charge by the way he takes control of the situation. He shakes his head and motions to his phone.

"He's not buying it," John says and pulls on the handle to his door.

"Give her a second," I tell him. "Aurora's smart."

John opens his door a crack so we can hear what Aurora's saying.

"Listen, lady. If Parker wanted to send a van out of town, he would have called me," he argues.

Aurora sighs. "No offense, sir, but... How long have you been one of us?"

The man's eyes go wide. The other vampires with him giggle. Like it's embarrassing to be freshly turned.