C a p t u r e d

24: He Can Smell You

       

Chapter Twenty-Four- He Can Smell You

Abusive

1.      A vampire/Donor relationship

  Tyson could smell us. From near, from far, anywhere we went.

  Before he kidnapped me, he'd been able to track me. After he sucked my blood the first time, he could legitimately find me anywhere, any time.

  This was bad. Awful. Terrible.

  I was used to him knowing where I was. How I was. When I bled.

  But he couldn't sense the phantom ache that told me that suicide might be comforting. He couldn't sense the fire he shot off into my brain. He couldn't sense how fucking bad I needed to leave here.

  Jackie? No way. I never wanted to see her again. Same with my crappy ex-babysitter and my "parents". What had they ever done for me, besides tell me what to do?

  I've got to be honest with you, reader. Please don't judge me.

  As a child, my parents were never there for me. They were neglectful. Intolerant. Worked too much. They'd both planned to be a free couple with no children, but I was a mistake that just kind of happened.

  They'd never really cared about me. And I think that even from a young age, deep inside my gut, I always knew it.

  My school experience was tainted. So was my college experience. I've been so afraid of myself and my manic-depressive nature that I never really tried to know myself.

  I'd been kidnapped for five months. I wasn't a minor. I'm sure that my parents thought that I ran off again. When I was in high school, I ran away one time and got on a Greyhound bus and went to Ohio. They caught me after three days, but when I was done, I told them one thing.

"I don't have anyone I care about in my life. So if I ever run away again, it means I've given up on you."

  And even worse. At the time, they didn't even try to deny it or say anything. All they did was ignore me more and send me to therapy.

   "Oh my God, we never talk to our daughter! Therefore, she must be crazy."

   I highly doubted that the police force was after me. I highly doubted that my family knew I'd been kidnapped. So if I came back to Earth (the normal Earth), ever, first thing I'd do would be to change my name, move somewhere else and be completely safe and perfect.

  Only problem? Tyson could track me. He could smell it when I bled. How far did his senses go?

  And besides, he could teleport. That barely boded well for a 'new beginning'.  

  If I could solve the whole smelling-blood problem, and that teleportation problem, and that obsession-with-his-Donors problem, he would go away everything would be perfect.

  Just kidding! Even that wouldn't make things perfect!

  Sasha and Hayden were vampires, too. I didn't know how to deal with that. I mean- of course it was good to have someone to take me outdoors. But being some kind of a fucking pet could only last so long.

Say we did escape. Hayden and Sasha would surely run to their family.

  How would they explain vampires? What if their families went straight to the nearest news station?

  Everything would change. The vampires would find us, and they would be on us in two seconds flat.

  I got shivers just from thinking about it. But I had to stay focused and determined.

  I'd lost a solid chunk of my sanity. I had to focus on keeping everything else.

  I slept in Nam Ha's room that night. She wasn't in there for a while. Tyson was in the other room, sucking her blood. I could hear it.

  I was thinking so hard. I kept waiting for Paul to show up in my dreams, begging me to help end Ji. But luckily, he didn't, so I didn't have to think about it or anything.

  The next morning, Tyson was comatose in his bed. He'd been drinking wine, apparently. And now, for the next few days, he was asleep.

  That made me feel a little better. Now I couldn't feel so guilty about not telling him about Paul and Ji.

  It was Wednesday, according to Aubrey's watch. She sat in front of me at the table, eating strawberries while reading a dusty old copy of Little Woman.

  "How is it?" I mumbled.

  "Very kind. Strawberries reduce your-"

  "Mmhmm great!" I said quickly, before she could spill a random science fact. "Now listen. The twins have been in the Labyrinth for a week."

  "Yep. And Tyson's been asleep for a week."

  "Yes, but..."

  "What?" Aubrey murmured. "Did Nam Ha refuse to let them out?"

  "Yes...."

  "Well Tyson has the other key in his jacket, but if you take it, you'll be personally liable." She eyed me under her lashes. "I wouldn't recommend that."

  I took in a deep, controlled breath. "Well, the twins tasered me before, so it's not like I like them. But I wanted to ask them something..."

  "You need to be on Tyson's side, Laurie."

  I rolled my eye and went upstairs.

  Tyson was fast asleep when I got to him. His breaths rose in and out easily, like he wasn't an undead vampire who'd been around for thousands of years.

  I sat by his side and dug through his pockets, roughly, because I knew he wouldn't wake up. But it wasn't in his coat, so I tried his pant pockets....

  "Laurie, what are you doing?"

  I closed my eyes and stood up like a rabbit as Uzair stepped further and further into the room. A white shirt barely stretched its way over his thick muscles.

  "Hi Uzair," I muttered meekly.

  I was still standing over Tyson's body. Uzair watched me with iron eyes.

  He said, "You know, I know you were looking for an escape route. Hayden told me."

  I shrugged. "I didn't find one, so I'm sticking around. Apparently."

  "I don't want to be repetitive, Laurie. I don't have time for this either, so I'm just going to get it out... Vampires can smell lies."

  Ugh. This again?

  Blood, I could get. Fear, made sense. But lies? What the fuck?

  "They're adept to half-truths. It's like a certain kind of ESP. This is why most older vampires stay solitary- they can read through everyone."

  Life like that would suck. Or manipulation would keep from making it boring.

  I spoke, softly. "He can't read see Ji's lies, though?"

  "Likely, more than he cares to admit."

  God. Just thinking of his fucking psycho sister sent chills down my back.

  He was scared. There was nothing else to think about.

  I stared at the skinny-and-skeletal body of Tyson, like he was going to wake up any second. He must be ravenous by now.

  "Laurie, I know you hate it. We all hate it. But Tyson could find you anywhere.... If you want to get out, you need to let someone Turn you."

  No way. No way. How could he even suggest it?

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This was the rising action. Its only goes up from here, my friend.