The Vampire SEAL Collection, page 4
A bang on the door jarred me away from the mirror.
“Everything okay?” Sam asked.
“I’ll be right out.”
“Hurry, we need to go,” Sam called out.
Now he wants to go. Isn’t that what I’ve been saying all along?
I turned away from the mirror and took care of other business. I flushed the toilet then washed my hands, keeping my eyes glued to the sink. I didn’t want to look at myself again. When I opened the door, I found Sam standing near a lab bench, reading a sheet of paper. Neil was rummaging through a locker outside the bathroom door.
“Zombies look better than me,” I said as I pointed to my face.
Sam chuckled. That was the first time I’d heard him laugh in a long time. With my luck, joining in would only cause my stitches to burst.
My eyes gravitated from Sam to Neil, who was squatting with his hands buried in the locker and I froze. On the back of Neil’s neck just below his ball cap was a tattoo. It was some sort of symbol. It looked like a monogram constructed from the letters ‘P’ and ‘L.’ I wondered if Neil’s tattoo were similar to the one Dr. Case had. What would be the odds they both had the same tattoo? Were Neil and Dr. Case part of a gang or group? An ominous prickle skittered up my legs. I was beginning to think that maybe we couldn’t trust Neil.
“We need to go,” Neil said as he rose and stuffed a flashlight into a blue backpack.
As the three of us walked out, a two-way radio blared above the hum of the boiler.
We walked through the first floor of the garage building. The backs of my feet sprang out of the Nikes that Neil had given me, but the shoes were still better than walking in my bare feet.
Sam’s head kept darting from left to right, occasionally turning around to scan the area behind him. Neil walked briskly with his car keys in his hand, ready to unlock the doors.
I looked out into the night. The wind and falling snow seemed to be in a battle against each other. As I walked, trying to keep up with Neil, I read the blue signs that named the owners of each parking space. It appeared this floor was dedicated to the doctors of the hospital. The first car I passed belonged to a Dr. Angus Silva. Dr. Silva drove a gold Porsche with dark-tinted windows. His neighbor Dr. Lowenstein was AWOL tonight. I imagined he had the night off. The next space was home to a black Corvette. My eyes raked over the sleek hood as the overhead lights sprinkled a glow that lit up the blue speckles of paint, making the car appear more blue than black. As I admired the sexy curves of the car, my gaze landed on the license plate that read Case-96. I looked up and the blue sign above stated the car belonged to Dr. Leroy Case.
I wanted to laugh. To me, Dr. Case didn’t look like a Leroy; he looked more like a nervous Nelly. I was immersed in my own thoughts when I caught a glimpse of a man in the distance standing against a black SUV. I squinted in his direction. He was staring directly at me.
The hairs on my arms rose and a chill crept up my legs. He wore a black knitted cap; his face looked as if he hadn’t shaven in days. Our eyes connected as he tilted his head to one side. Another chill infused every pore inside me.
I turned towards Sam. “Look behind me. There’s a man leaning against a SUV. Is that the guy from the hospital?”
Sam peered around me. “What man?”
I spun around. The black SUV was still in its parking space, but the man was gone.
It couldn’t be the blue bandana guy, unless he changed his bandana to a hat. No, the man I just saw wasn’t as tall.
“You okay?” Sam asked.
“There was a man standing there.” I scanned the area and didn’t see anyone. I started to walk in the direction of the black SUV when distant sirens stopped me. Maybe that man was an undercover cop or he was working with the fanged dude. I ran toward Neil, lungs burning, ribs aching.
Neil pushed the key fob. Two beeps echoed around us. The headlights flashed on and all the interior lights illuminated inside.
I grabbed the handle of the rear door when Sam approached. He scanned the area one last time before he climbed into the front seat of Neil’s red four-door Dodge Ram truck.
I stepped onto the running board and jumped into the back. The buttery leather seats immediately sucked me in. Neil started the truck. The radio came on, and the engine began to purr. I sat back and sighed.
I peered through the dark-tinted windows at where the man had been standing, but there was still no one there. Once the truck rolled out of the garage, I rested my head against the backseat. With the exception of a car or two passing, the streets around us were deserted as we traveled north on Robeson.
Safe for the moment, I closed my eyes, drifting off, lulled by the hum of the tires. My body relaxed as the heat from the truck’s vents warmed the air. What a screwed-up two days this had been. How had my life spiraled so far out of control? It seemed danger lurked in every dark corner, waiting to jump out at me. What was next?
As the car moved, I opened my eyes and stared out the window, admiring a soft blanket of snow covering the budding trees that dotted the road’s edge. It wasn’t unusual for snow to be falling in early April in New England. I took another mental snapshot of the passing landscape. We were driving toward the Fall River State Forest. Where was Neil taking us? I started tapping my foot underneath Sam’s seat.
The Fall River State Forest was an area of town that no one wanted to be in after dark. It was located just on the outskirts of the city and only a couple of main roads led into and out of the forest.
I peered around Sam’s seat and out the windshield. Neil had the high beams on and the lights irradiated the piles of snowdrifts along the road embankments. Every now and then a pair of yellow eyes glowed, peeking through the trees.
“Is this Blossom Road?” I asked.
“Yep. We’re almost on the other side,” Neil replied.
“Where are you taking us?” I leaned forward, so I could hear him over U2 blaring on the radio.
As he turned down the sound, he said, “My parents have a place they’re not using in Westport. You guys can hunker down there for the night.”
“Westport?” I kicked my foot under Sam’s seat again.
“What’re you doing?” Sam turned around. “Stop worrying.”
“Yeah, right. Coming from my brother whose middle name is Paranoid. How’re we going to get back?” I asked.
“Get back to where?” Sam asked. “We’re not going back to Hilda’s. We’ll need to figure out our next move in the morning.”
Sam was right. Where were we going to go? I wasn’t going anywhere near Hilda or the hospital, not with that creepy fanged dude lurking around.
“I’ll be staying not too far from you. I’ll pick you up in the morning and I can help with whatever you need,” Neil offered.
Oh, I bet he could. I still didn’t trust him. I was curious as to why he was being so helpful.
“Why’re you so nervous, Jo?” Sam asked. “You’ve been listening to all that nonsense at school about murders taking place in the forest?”
“Well, it’s true, isn’t it? They did happen.”
Sam and Neil just looked at each other. They knew I was right.
Sometime in the mid-Seventies, a brutal murder took place on the reservation where the police found a fifteen-year-old girl tied to a tree. Ever since then the State Forest had been the site of several other crimes. High school kids were always having weekend parties in the forest. On Monday mornings, the school courtyard always buzzed about how great the party was.
I sat back and hoped that our final destination tonight was better than spending it in the hospital or being chased by some predator with long teeth. But something didn’t feel right. Why would the janitor of our school help us?
I leaned back and listened to John Mayer belt out “Your Body is a Wonderland.” I silently chuckled as I listened to the lyrics. The one thing I knew right now was that my body was not a wonderland. In fact, when I looked in the mirror earlier, I saw a wasteland.
Before long, the truck slowed. We were turning onto a driveway. Neil shifted the truck into park. The neighborhood had several homes along one side of the street. Each one looked deserted. But it was one o’clock in the morning and it was difficult to get a clear idea of the area with the blowing snow.
As I stepped out of the car, a For Sale sign on the front porch caught my eye. Just beyond the sign beneath the bare bulb of the porch light, a plaque was nailed to the wall. I read the sign and my jaw dropped, practically touching the ground.
Foster and Sons Funeral Home, est. 1962.
I took a hesitant step forward when Sam grabbed my arm.
“Not yet,” he whispered.
It was evident that Sam was not comfortable with the choice.
“Why here, Neil?” I asked.
“Well, for one, it’s a good distance from the hospital. Besides, nobody will find you here and it has heat and electricity.
I bet no one would find us here; it was what I was afraid of. The newspaper headlines would read, Dead Bodies of Twin Siblings Found in Abandoned Funeral Home.
“But a funeral home?”
“Better than the alternative, right?” Neil said, walking up the front steps.
What alternative was he talking about? Getting kidnapped or another foster home?
Great, I’m going to sleep with the dead tonight.
The tall streetlights, which lined the edges of the sidewalks, lit up the surrounding area. A local park dominated the block across the street with an ice rink covered in a thin layer of snow. It wouldn’t be too much longer before the ice rink turned into a roller hockey rink.
Sam and I were taking mental snapshots of the area when Neil waved to us.
“Sam. Jo,” he called out. “We need to get inside.”
The funeral home sat on a corner lot with a path from the sidewalk to the front porch, which led visitors to the entrance of the home. Sam walked along the driveway while I circled around the front of the truck.
“Sam, where’re you going?” I asked.
My brother had a suspicious nature about him and sometimes it drove me nuts. I couldn’t complain, though. His doubtful nature kept us out of trouble most of the time.
“I’ll be right there,” he said.
When I reached the door, Sam came walking up the path planting his footprints in the virgin snow.
“So, Mr. Paranoia, you satisfied?” I asked.
“For now,” he replied.
4
The funeral home had a large foyer, which I imagined had welcomed guests at one time or another. Now dust hung in the air and tickled my nose. I sneezed once, then twice.
“Bless you,” Sam said.
A worn Oriental carpet runner, which covered the dusty wood floor, clashed with the chintzy flowered wallpaper. As we stood there, taking it all in, a spitting and rattling noise resounded.
“What’s that?” I turned towards Sam.
“Sounds like Neil’s tinkering with the heater,” he said.
I walked over to a sofa table that butted against the wall next to a set of double doors. A black book lay open, its pages filled with signatures. This must be entries from the last wake or funeral. A slight chill caressed my skin and I closed the book. As I did, more dust bunnies flew into the air. I sneezed again, dragging the back of my hand across my nose as I made my way towards Sam who was sitting on a red loveseat.
“Don’t sit down too fast unless you want more crap up your nose,” he warned.
Heeding Sam’s advice, I eased down onto the velvet cushion. Slowly, I leaned back and rested my head against the couch. I released a loud sigh, which echoed in the small foyer-like room.
“Now what?” I asked.
“Sleep,” Sam replied.
Sleep would be great, if only I could relax. I couldn’t get the image of the bandana guy out of my head. I hoped that he was still looking for us somewhere near the hospital. Not to mention that sleeping in a funeral home wasn’t high on my list of favorite things to do. In fact, it was creepy. I started tapping my foot as we waited for Neil to emerge from wherever he was in the building.
“Jo, stop it,” Sam said.
“What?”
“Your foot. You do that when you get nervous. It drives me crazy, especially now.”
I blew out a breath and rose. I needed to do something. My mind wasn’t allowing me to relax. Curious as to what lay behind the double doors in front of me, I grabbed the doorknob and pushed in the door. I rooted around the wall, found the light switch and flicked on the lights. The room came to life. Centered against the back wall was a closed, shiny white coffin. A chill infused my whole body. If this place has been vacant for over a year, what was a coffin doing in this room? Is there a dead person in it? Not wanting to linger or even think about it, I switched off the light and scurried out. I had a feeling nightmares would be visiting me tonight.
“Anything interesting in there?” Sam asked.
“Nope,” I said as I sat in my original spot.
Another fifteen minutes passed before Neil emerged from somewhere in the building.
“I managed to get the heat on,” he said.
Sam jumped to his feet.
I didn’t move. After sitting for a few minutes, my body had grown stiff. My ribs throbbed as if someone had taken a sledgehammer and whacked me a few times.
“It should work through the night,” Neil said. “Let me show you around, then you guys can get some rest.”
Sam extended his hand and I grabbed it as he pulled me upright. We followed behind Neil to a set of stairs, which led to the second floor. On our way down the hall, we walked by two more viewing rooms, which had their doors open. Those rooms were empty—no coffins, thank God. The thought of dead people brought the image back of the man at the hospital with the long canine teeth. Yep, I’m definitely going to have nightmares tonight.
At the end of the hallway, we climbed a set of stairs to the top floor.
“You can crash in my dad’s old office,” Neil said.
When we entered the room, two floral couches sat adjacent to one another. The tackiness of the bottom floor filtered upstairs into the office. With the exception of the windowed wall and the wall of books, the chintzy flowered wallpaper matched the two sofas.
In front of the floor-to-ceiling window, a large cherry wood desk commanded the room. A pair of dark red velvet curtains covered the window, making it look as if blood were streaming down. Blood. Now that conjured up all kinds of images, but none more powerful than the tingle in my stomach right now. I wanted to slap myself. Stop thinking about all these terrifying images.
“Sam, here’s a spare key in case you need it. I’ll be back first thing in the morning with some food,” Neil said. “One more thing. Take this.” He handed Sam three twenty-dollar bills. “There’s a variety store a block north of here. It opens early in the morning. Get her something that fits better.”
As he walked to the door, I caught a better glimpse of the tattoo on his neck. The capital letter ‘P’ superimposed on top of the letter ‘L’ , and there was a red diagonal ring circling the black monogram letters. The ring reminded me of the planet Saturn with its outer band.
“I’ll see you in the morning,” Neil said as he padded down the stairs.
A few minutes later the front door shut and the lock clicked. His truck engine roared to life. Then silence.
Sam jumped onto one couch and dust flew in the air.
Ugh. I covered my nose so I wouldn’t sneeze. I guess I get the other dusty couch.
“Did you notice the tattoo on Neil’s neck?” I asked.
Sam leaned his head back against the sofa and closed his eyes. “Uh huh,” he mumbled.
“What do you suppose it is?” I asked.
“Not now, Jo. I’m tired.”
“Do you think he’s working with the guy chasing us?
“No.”
“Well, I don’t trust him,” I persisted.
“I do. Alright?” Sam took in a deep breath, and within seconds he was snoring.
“Sam?”
His snoring grew louder.
Sam had the right idea, but sleep evaded me. I was still curious if the tattoo had any meaning. As I waited for sleep to takeover, the wind howling followed the sound of Sam snoring. In-between the snoring and the howling, the heater sputtered. It was as if I were listening to an orchestra.
After a few minutes, the orchestra muted and the pounding of my pulse thudded in my ears as a list of questions scrolled across the darkness. Where are we going to go? Is the cop okay? Why is someone with long canines chasing us? Who is Neil? Why would a complete stranger help us?
As I pondered the answers to these questions, the noises around me faded, and a hot breeze caressed my neck, lulling me to sleep.
I woke up the next morning and the crick in my neck prevented me from moving it to the left. I eased my head from side to side to loosen it. The cracks reverberated in my ears and I shivered. I hated that sound. I inhaled, taking inventory of my body. The intake of air still burned and the pain in my ribs seemed more intense today than it did last night. I imagined it was going to take a while for my body to heal.
The other couch was empty. Where was Sam?
A loud bang sounded and I jumped off the couch, holding on to my mid-section as I ran out of the room. I peered over the banister.
“Sam?”
He appeared from underneath the stairs and tilted up his head. “I’m trying to get this stupid heater to work. I’ll be up in a minute.”
I ambled back into the office and over to the window. I pulled aside one of the curtain panels and peered out. The snow blanketed the trees, roads, and the surrounding homes. The park across the street showed no signs of life, but then again its barren appearance matched the still life in the neighborhood. The gray sky threatened as if it were about to deliver its second strike of snowfall.
I looked down. The freshly fallen snow covered the footprints Sam had planted on the walkway last night. Even the driveway didn’t show any signs of Neil’s truck. I stood in front of the window, staring out, wondering what we were going to do today. We couldn’t stay here. Well, I didn’t want to stay here. Even in daylight, the place gave me the willies.
