Dark Season: The Complete Third Series (All 8 books) (21 page)

"I know," I say. "I'll be better next time. That was just, like, a one off thing".

He pauses, clearly not believing me. "We need to check the wasteland nearby," he says eventually. "There's a forest. If Abby's anywhere nearby, that's where she'll be". He puts a hand on my shoulder. "Things like this happen, Shelley. I'm sorry you had to see it, but it's not exactly new".

"What kind of creature killed them?" I ask, pulling trying to make sure things remain professional.

"I don't know," he replies. "Something we need to keep an eye on, that's for sure. There were marks on the ceiling, so I suspect it was something large. A Haridon maybe, or a Golv. There are a lot of creatures that could come out of the woodwork at a time like this. Anyone who captures Abby would be able to ransom her to the highest bidder, and there would be a
lot
of interested parties. That's one of the reasons we need to find her as soon as possible".

"So they don't want to kill her?"

"The dumb ones might," he continues, "the ones who just want to hurt Patrick and make sure the vampire race stays dead. But the smart ones will want to get hold of her and use her for their own benefit. They'll keep her alive and then they'll pass her on to the ones who have the really dark plans". He pauses. "She'll be dragged into a never-ending nightmare, and I promise you that it will be a thousand times worse than anything you think Benjamin might do to her".

I take a deep breath. "Then what are we waiting for?" I ask. "Let's go and find her".

We turn and head away from the house, but Todd stops as his phone starts ringing. "I was about to call you," he says as he answers, "we just found -" He pauses, listening. "Here? Okay. We're going to check the forest area to the north. Meet us there". He disconnects the call and turns to me. "That was Benjamin. Patrick has slipped his tracker. They don't know where he is, but they know he's on the move. We have to find Abby before he gets to her".

Chapter Seven

Callerton, New Mexico.

Down on the forest floor, I sit by Donna's body. Now that I'm closer, I can detect a very heartbeat, but she's clearly badly hurt. Reaching out, I roll her onto her back and I'm startled to find that she's staring straight up at me. After a moment, she blinks, but she doesn't move the rest of her body.

"You fell," I say, trying not to let her see that I'm upset. "I didn't push you. You fell".

She opens her mouth, but no words come out. She looks so calm and peaceful, but also very pale.

"Why did you go up there?" I ask, failing to hide the trembling anger in my voice. "Are you really that scared of me?" I stare at her, and I see from the look in her eyes that she's terrified. "Donna!" I continue. "For fuck's sake, say something! Am I really so terrifying?"

"My neck," she says quietly.

"Your
what
?" I ask.

"I broke my neck," she whispers, her eyes still fixed on me. "I landed on my head. I felt my neck crunch and..." She pauses. "I can't feel my body, I can't... I can't breathe properly. I think I'm... I'm slowly suffocating".

I look down at her torso, then over at her broken arm. Reaching out, I grab her discolored hand. She should scream in pain, but she doesn't. "Can't you feel that?" I ask, starting to panic. I squeeze the arm again and again, feeling the jagged, smashed bones grinding against one another. "Doesn't that hurt?" I shout at her.

"I can't feel anything," she replies. Her voices seems to be getting quieter and quieter, as if she's fading away. "I don't..." She pauses. "If you kill me now," she continues after a moment, "it'll be better than... I don't want to be like this". There are tears in her eyes, but she seems so calm. "I can't breathe properly".

"I'll take you to a hospital," I say. "They can help you. They can make you okay again".

"They can't fix this," she replies. "I don't want to be a cripple for the rest of my life. Just let me die. I can't breathe anyway". She lets out a gasp, trying but failing to take a breath.

"No!" I say, reaching my hands under her body and picking her up. I turn and start carrying her toward the town. "I'm going to get you to a hospital," I tell her, "and they're going to help you. It's going to be okay. Maybe... Maybe there's some new technology they can use. They'll sedate you, and then they'll do something to fix your neck. If there's a -" I look down at her face, and I see that she's passed out, and her pale skin looks more pale than ever. Stopping, I try to sense her heartbeat, but it's gone. "Donna?" I say, but I already know what's happened. She's gone.

Gently setting her back down on the forest floor, I stare at her face. She looks so... pathetic, and weak. All she did was fall from a tree. How can a human die so easily? How can something so fragile even exist in the first place?

"I'm sorry," I say, my heart racing. I spent the whole night working out how to kill her, and then this happened. I didn't even get to experience the thrill of ripping her apart, but... I look at her pale, bare neck. She's only been dead for a couple of minutes, so she'll still be warm. Taking a deep breath, I lean closer. Her skin is soft and unbroken. I run my tongue against the tips of my fangs. Is it wrong to want to bite her? Opening my mouth, I lean even closer and I shut my eyes. I wait and wait for the moment of truth, but finally I pull back. I can't do this. I can't bite a dead girl, it feels wrong. "Sorry," I say again, getting to my feet and walking away.

Seconds later, I feel the pain again. It strikes deep in my stomach, and I immediately drop to my knees and bend over, resting on my elbows. The razor blades are back in my body, and it feels as if I'm being sliced up. I close my eyes again, trying to block out the pain, but it's no good: I just have to wait for it to pass. This time, though, it feels stronger than ever, as if it's never going to end. I roll onto my side, clutching my belly. Unable to keep quiet any longer, I let out an agonized scream. Usually, the pain starts to subside right about now, but if anything it's getting stronger and stronger. I open my eyes and stare up at the light blue morning sky. Something's seriously wrong with me, but I have no idea what to do. I can't keep living with this pain, but I don't know what's causing it. Glancing over at Donna's body, I suddenly realize: maybe it's the blood. Maybe I don't have a
choice
. Maybe I
have
to feed.

With the pain getting worse and worse, I get onto my hands and knees and start crawling across the forest floor, heading back over to Donna. I thought the pain would be getting weaker by now, but it's worse than ever, spreading all the way up into my chest. Unable to take it any longer, I manage to reach Donna's body. I grab her arm and pull her closer, and then I sink my fangs into the side of her neck. Her skin is cold, but I immediately feel warm blood bursting into my mouth. It feels good, and the pain seems to go away a little. Drinking some more, I realize that this is too slow. Pausing for a moment, I look at Donna's dead face. She looks so beautiful and peaceful; I don't want to do this, but I have no choice. I take her head in my hands and slowly rip it off. I hear the sound of her skin tearing and her bones breaking, and I see the muscle twisting as I finally get the head separated from the body. Blood starts pouring from the wound and I lean closer, drinking it in as fast as possible. Finally, I feel the pain subsiding a little more, though it hasn't entirely gone away.

After a few minutes, there's no more blood coming from Donna's body. The pain is still intense, so I get to my feet and start staggering away. Although the thought terrifies me, I figure I no longer have any choice: I need to go back to Evan and Ruth, and I need to get them to call Benjamin and the others. Whatever's wrong with me, I can't survive out here on my own. I need help, and I need people who know how vampire bodies work. I don't trust Benjamin at all, but at least he seems to know about vampires. Collapsing onto the forest floor, I let out a scream of pain. The respite was only temporary, and once again it feels as if blades are spinning in my belly. I guess I can't even get as far as Evan and Ruth's house. Maybe I'm dying... Maybe my human and vampire sides can't co-exist in the same body, and I'm tearing myself apart? I guess it's totally possible that I'm a failed experiment, that my father was wrong when he thought he could have a child with a human mother. The pain is getting worse and worse, and I feel as if I'm about to pass out. I try to breathe, but the pain has almost completely taken over my body.

Suddenly I become aware of a figure standing nearby. Barely able to move, I turn and look up. At first, I can barely even focus, but finally I see Patrick looking down at me. He stares at me dispassionately, as if I'm just some kind of interesting object he's stumbled across.

"Help me," I say, barely able to speak as the pain spreads through my body. I reach up to him, but he doesn't take my hand. He just continues to stare at me. I try to grab at him, but I feel too weak. "Help..." I whisper, before letting out a scream. I can't take this any longer. I just want the pain to stop, and if that means death, then I'll take death. Closing my eyes, I fall onto my back and I wait for it all to end.

After a moment, I feel Patrick's hands reach under my body, and he picks me up. I open my eyes and realize he's started to carry me. Barely able to remain conscious, I start to feel that maybe - just maybe - the pain is getting a little better. For a moment, I wonder whether everything's going to be okay, but suddenly it comes back worse than ever. I close my eyes again, trying to block out the agony, but it's no use. As Patrick carries me away, I scream again. The pain is intense, and it builds and builds until it feels as if my mind is going to explode. Finally, mercifully, I lose consciousness entirely.

Chapter Eight

Callerton, New Mexico.

"She was here," Benjamin says, looking down at the decapitated body we've found on the forest floor. He uses his foot to push the body aside, then he walks a couple of meters to where the severed head has been left. "The body has been drained of blood. One of the arms is broken, and she has a few scratches here and there. Abigail was obviously compelled to feed. I wasn't sure whether she'd have that need, but I guess now I know". He pauses for a moment. "Given the injuries this girl sustained, I can't help thinking that perhaps Abigail tortured her a little before she killed her. If so, that's a worrying development. It means she's as heartless and cruel as her father".

Taking a deep breath, I try to hide the fact that I feel nauseous. I've already let Todd see me vomit because of one dead body today, and I really don't want Benjamin to think I'm weak. I have to just hold it in for now. Worryingly, the feeling isn't too strong this time, which means me think that maybe I'm becoming desensitized to all the violence I've seen. I don't want to be that type of person.

"Do we know the name of the victim?" Benjamin asks, turning to Todd.

"Not yet," Todd replies. "We're working on it. We're trying to find out if any girls have been reported missing overnight, but the local police aren't exactly the most helpful bunch. They say there's nothing they can do until the DNA tests are done".

"Are they happy to let us handle the case for now?" Benjamin says.

Todd nods. "Honestly, I don't think they care too much".

Leaning down, Benjamin picks up the severed head and stares straight at its face. "She looks to have been around the same age as Abigail. Perhaps they knew each other previously. It might be worth checking to see if any students are missing from the school Abigail attended". Sighing, he drops the head, which lands with a heavy thud on the forest floor.

"Hey!" I say, taking a step forward.

"Is something wrong?" Benjamin asks, looking puzzled.

"Just..." I pause for a moment, looking down at the head. "Shouldn't you have some respect for the dead?" I ask. "She was a real person".

He smiles. "You're quite right. I'm sorry". He turns to Todd. "The events of the past twenty-four hours have changed my perception of Abigail a great deal. I wasn't sure that she'd have the same blood-lust that we've seen from her father, but now there can be no doubt. She captured and tortured this girl, before killing her and drinking her blood. I wanted to believe that Abigail had more compassion, and more humanity. Now we have to accept that she's far more dangerous".

"Are you sure Abby did this?" I ask. "Maybe it was Patrick..."

Benjamin shakes his head. "I've seen Patrick's victims. He rips them to shreds. Anyway, he doesn't need to feed any more, not now that he's dying. Abigail killed this girl, and she did it for one reason only. She wanted her blood. She must have been overcome by a need to take a victim. She's a lot more like her father than I anticipated. From now on, we approach her with extreme caution, and we take no risks".

"Where is she?" I say. "Why did she come here, do this, and then leave?"

Benjamin pauses. "I'm not sure," he says. "Perhaps... I'm worried that she might have been found by Patrick. If that has happened, we're going to need a lot of luck in order to find them. He could do incalculable harm to her; he could take these dark elements of her personality and twist them until she's nothing more than a clone of her father. We could lose her forever".

I look over at Benjamin's soldiers, who are searching the forest, checking for any sign of tracks leading away from the dead body. It's hard to believe that Abby would do something like this, but I can't deny the evidence that's right in front of me. She looks so much like Sophie, but it would be too easy to assume that she lacks Patrick's darker edge. For the first time, I start to wonder whether Abby is entirely safe. After all, if she killed this girl, she might turn on anyone. She has Patrick's soul, but Sophie's face, and that's a deadly combination.