Vampires, Eh?

Chapter 3

"Did you really have to get her blood all over my shirt?" Huxley asked Calvin.

Huxley was holding Jess's arms and Calvin had her legs. Drew watched as they carried her lifeless body from the trunk of the car to the backyard of the house they were staying at. Rhys carried Anna up the stairs to his room. Drew knew that Rhys would not want any of them to interfere.

Huxley stretched his arms over his head after they dropped the body into the fire pit. Calvin wiped his hands on his jeans.

"I had to act quickly," Calvin said. "That blonde was ready to fight."

"She's human," Huxley said. "What kind of damage could she have done?"

"Did you see what she did to Drew? Blondie is not like the others."

"Her name is Anna." The two looked at Drew to see him step closer to the fire pit. He lifted his blood-soaked shirt to show the wound. "She got me pretty good. Who knew that she was carrying a stake on her?"

"Is that why Rhys is turning her?" Huxley asked.

Calvin rolled his eyes. "He seriously isn't doing that, is he? I thought he would just finish her off upstairs."

Drew tucked a stray piece of hair behind his ear. He looked down at Jess's body to see her eyes were open and fixed on the sky. Anna was not going to forgive any of them for killing her friend.

"I wish he was," Drew said. "I told him that it was a bad idea. He doesn't seem to care."

"When was the last time he turned anyone?" Huxley asked.

"In 1917."

"Hannah?"

"Hannah."

Calvin scoffed.

"The sap needs to toughen up," he said. "Now, let's get rid of this body."

He walked away from the fire pit and went into the house. When he came back, he had lighter fluid and a match. Flames erupted from the pit and lit the night air. The warmth of the fire brushed against their cold skin. The horrid smell of burning flesh filled their noses. After decades and decades of this smell, none of them reacted to the stench. Their house was secluded and surrounded by a thick brush of trees. No one else knew what was going on.

They stood around the crackling fire in silence. Drew looked over his shoulder when the back door to the house opened. Rhys stepped outside. He had thrown on a hoodie and shoved his hands in his pockets. He stepped off the deck and stood around the fire.

"Tell me you killed her," Drew said.

"She's not breathing anymore," Rhys said.

"That's not funny," Drew said. "You need to kill her."

"You know what will happen if I kill her now."

They all knew the terrible fate that laid ahead for them if they were to die again.

"So we're supposed to travel with a girl now?" Huxley asked. "That's going to cramp our style."

"The 90s were thirty years ago," Rhys said. "You need to update your lingo, Hux."

"He's right, you know," Calvin said.

"About the 90s thing?" Huxley asked.

"No." Calvin shook his head. "I'm talking about the girl thing. It's not even that she is a girl. I don't want to train a new vampire."

"I'm taking the responsibility for her," Rhys said.

"I predict she doesn't make it a week," Drew said.

Rhys glared at Drew, who shrugged his shoulders.

"She's going to survive," Rhys said.

"I'm surprised you're not up there with her now," Drew said. "You know she'll need a babysitter for a while."

"If you want her to live," Calvin added.

"I know what I am doing," Rhys said. "I don't need the three of you telling me what to do."

Huxley's eyes grew large. "I never said anything."

"Hux, you're forgiven," Rhys said. "The rest of you need to leave me alone."

Rhys turned around and stormed away from the fire. Drew bit down on his lip as turned back to face the fire.

--

Anna groaned as she rolled onto her side. The pain was lacing its way through her muscles. Her temple ached so badly that she could barely open her eyes. She cradled her head in her hands and curled her fingers into her scalp. She was panting for breath as pressure was increasing in her chest. Tears were building up in her eyes and she dug her teeth into her lip to stop herself from crying.

The door opened and a sliver of light came into the room. Anna let out a slight cry as the light caused her head to throb even more. The door closed. The deafening sound of someone's shoes against the hardwood floor as they walked caused her so much pain she thought that she was going to be sick.

The bed dipped as Rhys sat on the edge. He put his hand on her back and she flinched under his touch. He had changed her out of her bloody dress and into one of his T-shirts and a pair of his sweatpants. Anna was in and out of consciousness and had not realized that she was no longer wearing that skimpy dress.

"Feeling like death?" he asked.

She squeezed her eyes shut as his voice caused her head to pound harder. She let go of her head with one hand and swung out to hit Rhys. She needed to get him away from her. He chuckled and grabbed her wrist. He laid her hand down in front of her face.

"Anna, you need to roll onto your back," he said.

"No," she moaned.

Talking made her gums feel as if they were on fire. She cried as Rhys grabbed her shoulder and rolled her onto her back. Every move made her muscles feel like a thousand pins were stabbing her. Her warm tears rolled down her cheeks.

Rhys bit into his wrist until he felt his warm blood touch his tongue. He pulled Anna's hands away from her face.

"Open your mouth, Anna," he said.

Anna's lips parted to say something, and Rhys shoved his wrist against her mouth. The blood touched Anna's lips, and a sharp pain shot through her gums. She latched onto his wrist. The sweet taste of blood filled her mouth. She would have drained Rhys of all of his blood if he did not pull her off.

The pain in her skull calmed enough that she could open her eyes for a moment. Rhys was smiling. Anna shivered, and Rhys pulled the blankets up to cover her body. She wanted to get up and run, but there was not enough strength left in her body. She took her last bit of energy to curl into a ball on her side before falling out of consciousness again.