Elizabeth and the Vampire's Cabin (16 page)

Once
Elizabeth was strapped with the knives, he took her to Kyla's cabin on the
other side of the island. It looked like almost every bone in Arthur's body was
smashed. No one had any clue how he had gotten like that. Joe hadn't seen a
boat anywhere in sight when he found the body. There were more questions than
answers, but realizing how dire the situation was, he had taken him immediately
to the nearest shelter: Kyla's cabin. He laid him on Kyla's bed and began
tending to him immediately. He and Kyla both bit large gashes in their wrists
and let as much blood as possible flood Arthur's mouth. Aaron later told
Elizabeth that vampire blood was thought to have healing properties for both
humans and half vampires. Though he admitted that he had seen no evidence of
it.
 
Lyle and Marnie gently tried to wipe
off as much dirt and blood from Arthur as they possibly could without jostling
him.
 
Then Joe had run off to fetch the
other vampires and held a meeting at Kyla's.

Though
Elizabeth had seen Joe once before, she had been too frightened of his giant
fangs to get a good look at him. He was a Neanderthal in every sense of the
word. His prognathism, the apelike jutting out of his jaw, was even more
pronounced because of the large fangs his mouth had to sustain. The giant head
had deeper brow ridges than any one of the half Neanderthals, and he had the
bun that Aaron had described seeing in his father. He was also bow legged and
bow armed, which caused him to move similarly to a chimp. However, he was still
more upright than any ape. But for all this, she saw that he looked like a
gentle soul. She could see it in his unusual, blood red eyes, and she understood
how Aaron could come to trust this man.

At
the meeting, Elizabeth met two other vampires for the first time. They were
introduced to her as Cal and Ren. These two were brother and sister. Both were
half Neanderthal, but she thought they were very human looking. They were both
upright and had no prognathism. The only thing unusual was that they were very
broad, like football players, and had brow ridges a little too pronounced.
Other than that, they could easily pass as modern humans. Cal looked to be
about twenty and Ren around thirty (though Elizabeth knew they were probably
much younger when they became vampires). Cal had on a brown hoody and an old
pair of jeans. He looked like a typical young man. Ren was not what Elizabeth
would have expected of a female camper. She wore a knee length, off white dress
and gold sandals. Elizabeth wondered why she packed clothes like this for a
camping trip to an island. And then she remembered that she too had packed
dresses. And she had packed them for no other reason than she sometimes felt
like wearing a dress. She wondered if Ren had been relaxing in her pretty dress
and gold sandals when Joe gave her the news. Either way, she was happy to see
such normal looking people. Kyla was a wild woman in furs, Joe looked like a
monster, and Aaron, though she loved him, would always be a little creepy to
her.
 

Curiously,
Gar was missing. Or maybe not so curiously. Elizabeth had a strong feeling Gar
was still upset with Aaron for not allowing him to have her.

"I
bet it was Gar," Aaron said bitterly. "He's the only one not
here."

"Just
because Joe didn't find him that doesn't mean it was him," Ren stated.

"What
about the aliens? The last time we saw Arthur, he was being abducted. Wouldn't
they be the prime suspects?" Elizabeth questioned.

"I
don't think so," Kyla said. "I've never known space aliens to harm
anyone like this. I think it's more likely that Arthur, somehow, arrived back
on this island and was attacked."

Joe
grunted to get their attention and then signed something to the rest of the
group.
 

"I
don't think so," Aaron said. "Arthur was clumsy, but I think it is
highly unlikely that he fell. I think we should all be safe, stick together,
and look for Gar as a group. He's a wolf. He can't have gone far. He can't swim
off the island like Joe or Kyla."

"I
disagree about everyone sticking together," Kyla said. "Marnie and
Lyle can't possibly go with us. It's too dangerous. I won't do that to
them."

"They
can stay here," Aaron countered.

"No,
that's also too dangerous. What if this is Gar's doing? What if he comes here
and decides to finish Arthur off. They won't stand a chance against Gar. I
won't leave them alone."

"Why
don't we leave Cal," Ren suggested. "His animal is a giant lion. He
can protect them all from Gar."

"I'm
fine with whatever people here want to do," Cal said. "If you want me
to stand guard then I'll stand guard."

Joe
was sitting at Kyla's dining table and he pounded on it. Everyone looked over
to him and he began signing.

"Joe
wants to stay behind to watch over Arthur and I agree," Aaron said turning
to Elizabeth. "He's a medicine man trained during the Paleolithic. But he
was also trained as a doctor in California during the 1800s. Don't ask me how
that happened. The wild west was a lot wilder than Joe, so they could handle
him treating patients with those fangs."

This
surprised Elizabeth, but then she remembered Joe's kind eyes. He certainly had
the bedside manner to be a doctor.

Everyone
agreed that this was the best course of action. Joe would tend to Arthur and
Cal would stand guard. Cal morphed into a prehistoric lion, far larger than any
modern day lion, right before their eyes and curled up in the living room.
Elizabeth had not been prepared for the sheer size of him and gasped. Aaron
pulled her close and they walked out the door with the others.

The
group decided that they would spend the whole night looking for Gar if they had
too. And they would start on Gar's property. While they were walking to Gar's
plot of land, Elizabeth decided to make conversation.

"I'd
like to ask you all a question," she said. "How did everyone get
their names? Or did they have many Joe Newman's and the like during the Upper
Paleolithic?"

"My
birth name was Renin," Ren answered. "I've altered it over the
millenniums to fit time and place. The same goes for my brother. His name was
Caldo, but he goes by Cal. We use the last part of his first name when we need
a family name. So, when we are out in civilization, he's Cal Doe and I'm Ren
Doe."

"I
was always Kyla," Kyla said. "And my last name is always changing.
But when I need official documents or a bank account, I tend to use the last
name Stone. It's because I'm from the Stone Age." Kyla smiled with pride.
To her, being from the Stone Age was an honor. It meant you were tough and knew
how to survive under extreme conditions.

Kyla's
mention of a bank account made Elizabeth wonder....

"Kyla,
what do you do for a living?" she asked

"Contract
killer," Kyla responded.

Aaron,
sensing Elizabeth's discomfort, changed the subject.

"Joe
was always Joe," Aaron said. "It's an easy name, so any Neanderthal
could have pronounced it. But that last name, Newman, now that was a clever
idea he got. Do you know where the first Neanderthal remains were
"discovered" in the twentieth century?"

"No,"
Elizabeth responded.

"It
was in the Neanderthal in Germany. In English, it would be the Neander Valley.
The valley was named after a hymn writer named Joachim Neumann. But he authored
his hymns with the last name Neander, which was the Greek version of his last
name. Joe learned this and saw that last name Neumann. What does that sound
like? It sounds like "new man." Joe agreed that the Neanderthals were
a new group of men in a new world. He would probably sign to you that he
considers modern humans to be an old people in an old, developed world. You
guys have all of this technology and history behind you. But the Neanderthals
had to start from scratch and died out within 100,000 years. That's not very
old."

"What
about you, Aaron? Why the name Aaron?" Elizabeth was curious about this.
After hearing everyone else's answers she was certain she would get a profound
explanation.

"My
first name is Ayro, but it didn't sound right for the times. I chose Aaron
because I liked it," he said simply.

"Oh,"
Elizabeth answered back equally simply. "May I ask what you do for a
living?" Elizabeth was a little afraid of what the answer might be.

"I'm
a silent partner at a winery in Temecula."

Phew!
Elizabeth thought.

"You
know, Gar really wasn't so bad," Aaron said. "He was the one who got
into contact with Marnie and Lyle when we all wanted to rent out an island.
There aren't too many landlords who are fine with vampires. He made all the
arrangements for us to live openly here. If it hadn't been for Gar, none of us
would be on this island right now."

Maybe
I thought to harshly of Gar, Elizabeth thought.

When
they reached Gar's land, they went to his tent to make sure he hadn't returned.
But there was no sign of him and no inkling as to where he might have
gone.
 
Ren saw his canteen, shook it, and
heard the swish of water. She took it with her in case they all got thirsty
later. They decided to walk every square inch of Gar's land (which wasn't
much). The island was only about fifteen acres total. The biggest chunk was
Kyla's at five acres. Then Aaron's came in at four. Ren and Cal shared four
together. Gar only had two acres to himself.
 
And he had only accepted such a small piece because it was prime land
for hunting. There was a freshwater stream with fish, a waterfall, numerous
hiding places, and caves.

It
didn't take them long to make a meaningful discovery. Aaron was about to walk
past a tree when he saw something dripping from it right in front of him. He
looked down. It was red blood. He looked up and his jaw dropped.

"Kyla,
look!" he shouted. He pointed up. Kyla, who was not far from him, looked
up to where he was pointing. A sound of horror, not quite a scream but not a
gasp, escaped her lips. Elizabeth saw the interaction take place, remembered
her dreams from before, and felt a chill run down her spine.

A
bloodied, tortured body was hanging high up by a noose from the tree. Its face
looked nearly ripped off. And the body was wearing Gar's clothing.
 
The two vampires looked away and at the same
time noticed the letter nailed to the tree.

"Whoever
did this..."Aaron trailed off shaking his head.

Chapter
18: The Letter

They
all gathered around the letter, careful to keep away from the blood dripping
from the tree, and read the short note that had been scrawled onto it:

Dear
All,

      
I am a powerful and determined
individual. I know what I want and I always want the best. There is a prized
possession on this island. Her name is Elizabeth. A female half vampire. And a
very powerful one at that. She is the best of her kind that I have ever seen.
What a companion she would make for any vampire. Aaron is not deserving of this
rare find. And neither are any of you. All of you, except Elizabeth, will die.
You will all be murdered one by one, and your bodies will be mutilated beyond
recognition, unless you take the coil of rope left at the bottom of this tree
and tie Elizabeth to the trunk. Then, I will allow all of you, except
Elizabeth, to leave the island immediately. Or...you can find a way to escape.
Though I doubt you will. You've all walked into a trap and this piece of land
is not near the shore. Even if you manage to escape the island, you will not
necessarily escape my desire to end your lives.

Signed,

Must
Have Half Vampire

Elizabeth
couldn't help it. She started laughing hysterically. They all looked at her
startled.

"Don't
you see? It's like some stupid personal column! Am powerful.
 
Am determined. Looking for companionship. Man
for Woman. Woman for Man. Vampire for Half Vampire. It's friggin'
hilarious!"

Aaron
walked up to her and slapped her across the face. She stopped laughing and
quickly apologized for letting her nerves get the better of her.

"Don't
apologize," Aaron said. "We're going to leave right now. Kyla's boat
will carry us far away from here."

"Wait
a minute. Shouldn't we make sure Gar is really dead? Or at the very least pull
his body down for a proper burial?" Kyla asked.

"I'm
not touching his body," Ren said emphatically. "I know we can only
die from the blood entering our own bloodstream, but I don't want to take any
chances."

"Yeah,
me neither. Besides, I can smell his decay. That is definitely a dead body. And
I'm not superstitious. I don't need to bury people to feel like I've pleased
any higher powers," Aaron said.

Aaron
led the way off Gar's land. He was about to cross over the markers that
established Gar's territory when he banged his head on...nothing? Aaron looked
around confused. He put out his hand and felt an invisible wall.

"Oh
my God! It's a forcefield!" he shouted. "The space aliens want
Elizabeth?"