Fallen Blood (3 page)

"No, let me go! They have my parents!" She struggled wildly, trying to escape his grip. Brian turned her forcefully toward him and shook her to get her attention.

"Listen to me!"

"I have to stop them!"

"Heather,
look
at me!" He shook her again, this time more forcefully, and she turned in response trying to knock his arms away. He barely felt her hands striking his arms as he bent down and locked his eyes to hers

"Heather, relax, it's going to be alright," he said, as he looked deep into her blue eyes.

He felt the fight going out of her as he spoke to her.

"But my parents.." she trailed off

"You're going to be alright. Trust me."

She stared at him for a moment, confusion crossing her face not for the first time tonight, and nodded.

"Okay then, we need a plan." He pulled her to him, and gently caressed the back of her head. The smell of her hair filled his nose with her sweet scent. He didn't feel any resistance from her, her body was completely relaxed against his. He couldn't help but wonder if she were in some form of shock.

He hoped she was alright, as if anyone could be, with what was going on around them at the moment. Something strange was happening, and that certainly said something, given his regular life.

Car doors slamming brought him away from his thoughts, as he moved back to the window with Heather, and watched as all but one SUV pulled away from Heather's house and left in a convoy. The remaining vehicle pulled under an old weeping willow whose branches hung over the street and parked itself facing Heather's home. A stake-out, no doubt waiting for someone to return home. Someone currently held in his arms. Yet, he still had no idea what they could possibly want with her. He was there, and he hadn't seen them do anything that would cause this kind of reaction.

What could Chuck and his friends possibly have done down in that basement?

"We've got to do something Brian," she started saying, gaining more strength in her voice as her determination began to resolve. "We need to go to the police or..."

"Heather, look at me." He bent down trying to get her to look at him.

"No... We need to get help."

"Heather, wait!" He grabbed her chin with his left hand as he continued to hold her with his right. "You need to sleep."

"No...I need to..."

"Sleep, Heather. We will get help after you sleep." He forced her to look into his eyes.

"Sleep..." she mumbled, "we'll get help in the morning?”

Brian nodded "Yes, after you sleep." She smiled and closed her eyes, her form going limp and her legs buckling.

He caught her before she hit the floor, lifting her easily then carrying her up to his room. He laid her on his bed, and watched as she curled into a fetal position. Her breathing was deep but at least it was relaxed. He stood there and watched her for several minutes. The rise and fall of her chest was one of the most beautiful things he thought he had ever seen. It was amazing how wonderful she looked even with the scratches and smudges on her.

It was almost like a dream, standing here so close to her. The fact that she was in his bed was a miracle in itself. He couldn't have dared to hope for this before. But here she was, sleeping in his bed. All he wanted to do was to climb in next to her and slide into a spoon position with her. The thought of it was nearly driving him mad, but he was going to have to control himself. There were too many things he needed to do. First, he needed to find out what was going on. The best way to do that, was to go back to where it all started.

He headed out of his bedroom, pausing and looking back at Heather's sleeping form a moment. He probably should have thrown a blanket over her, but it was already starting to get warm this time of year, so she should be fine. As he turned and headed down the stairs, heading for the front room, he wondered what she was dreaming about. This would be the first time that he hadn't shared her dreams with her in a long time, and he wondered if she would miss him. It couldn't be helped, and if he hurried, he should still have time to catch up to her in whatever adventure she was on.

That brought a smile to his face. The things she dreamed of... well he needed to concentrate, so he had to put those memories aside.

He laid down on his mothers old couch. He really didn't keep that much of the old furniture that came with the house. He didn't have much of a need for it, as he rarely left his room. Everything he really needed was there, so what did he need the rest of the house cluttered for?
Okay, relax. I need to clear my thoughts.
That wasn't going to be easy knowing who was waiting for him upstairs in his bed.
I need to concentrate on Chuck.
The idea seemed repulsive to him. A part of him rebelled against the idea of thinking of that monstrous goon. After all, he spent most of his day trying to forget the stupid jock. But, right now, he needed to see where he was and what was going on, and truth be told, he knew Chuck better than he knew the others.

Slowly, he cleared his mind, remembering the times that Chuck was with Heather in the school. How they ate together during lunch time, and walked between classes together. That infuriating smile and the ugly bright Letterman's jacket he wore.

A pop sounded in his head, and his front room blurred to his eyes, as he raced to wherever the big jerk was. He stopped abruptly and the blurred vision cleared, sending bells ringing through his head, and causing him to see stars.

"What the?" He grabbed his head, as it throbbed painfully. "I can't hurt myself in this form!"

He looked around at his surroundings, trying to clear the flashing lights that filled his eyes. He was standing in the stairway that he had seen Chuck head down. Turning and looking behind himself, he could see the doorway that led to the room with the old gray couch the girls had been sitting on.

"This doesn't make any sense..." he said out loud, "I don't see Chuck anywhere."

He was sure that this was impossible. He always went to whomever he thought about. Yet, here he stood, his target nowhere to be found. The stairway looked dark the further down it went, but from what he could see, it leveled at a landing then turned right and went on, descending some more. He wasn't too sure how any of the guys were able to walk down it without breaking their necks, as the darkness was almost tangible in this form.
Well, I guess I'm just going to have to go the normal way.
He shook his head and began to walk down the stairs.

Three steps away from the landing, he found he couldn't go any further. He didn't feel a wall, or any kind of obstacle in front of him. He just couldn't move another step forward. It was the wildest thing he had ever experienced. He looked at the walls and the steps, but he couldn't find anything that would obstruct him from preceding further into the basement. He had no idea what was going on. He pondered the problem for a moment before returning to the top of the stairs, determined to see if there was any other way down

"Something isn't right here." He scratched his head. "None of this makes any sense."

He paused in the room with the couch, and thought about the last time he had been here. Well, not here physically, but here in the spirit, anyway. It took him moments in his ethereal form to see that the entire house was empty, with no discernible entrance to the basement except the stairway that was barred to him. This whole place was really starting to give him a bad feeling. Something was going on that he couldn't explain, things that he didn't think were possible.

He didn't like that at all. He went through his life believing he wasn't subject to the normal rules of the universe. If he wanted to see someone, he just went. Doors and locks meant nothing to him.

Yet, here, in this broken down abandoned house, stood a stairway that blocked him better than any door or lock he had ever encountered before.

"I wonder if I could physically walk down there?" But what would that accomplish? He'd seen that people didn't come back up once they went down there. Were Heather's parents down there, or were they someplace else?

He needed answers, and he needed them now. He started this for Heather, to help her and to get answers for her. Now, he found he had questions that needed to be answered as well.

Several minutes later, Brian stood up from the couch, still thinking about the invisible wall that he had run into. Before leaving he had tried twice more to get through whatever it was, failing each time. In his final attempt, he had actually taken a running start from the top of the stairs and tried to jump to the bottom landing, only to be stopped short at the same place. It felt like a solid wall that time, as he had bounced on it. Lucky he hadn't been solid at the time, or he most likely would have fallen onto his rear end. Besides being a bit ignoble, he had no doubt those wooden steps would have been painful to fall onto.

Walking to the front window, Brian pulled the curtain aside and searched for the hidden SUV. Unfortunately, it was still there. He really had hoped it would have gone by now, but if any of those crime shows that were so popular these days had any shred of truth in them, then they would most likely remain until Heather was found. He wondered if the government would even consider looking in his house for her. To the best of his knowledge, no one knew his true feelings for Heather, so that alone should keep her safe, but still...she couldn't stay here forever even if he wanted her to. Sooner or later, she would leave, or people would come looking for him, and wonder where he had disappeared to.

The walk up to his bedroom gave him a chance to decided on a course of action. He needed information, and those men in the SUV would most likely have some for him. The question was, would it be worth the risk? That's always what it seemed to be in his life. Risk verses reward. There was always that battle going. Should he continue the risk of going to school, or was the risk of not going even higher? It seemed each day that he got older, more and more risks were required of him each day. Much more than when he was younger, or when his mother was still alive.

Heather was still fast asleep as he entered the room, he had no doubt she was tired after the ordeal she went through tonight. Hopefully, the next day would bring some much needed answers. She was so beautiful laying there on his bed. The curve of her hips rounded perfectly as she slept in the fetal position. She had grabbed one of his pillows while he had been out, and now hugged it tightly to her face and breasts, and even now her hair looked like golden thread spun perfectly and placed just right on her head. He wondered what she was dreaming right now. He was supposed to be there with her in her dreams...he had waited all night for this chance, and now it was passing away. First thanks to Chuck and his stupid party, and now this.

"It wouldn't hurt to visit just for a second." He said to himself, as he wrestled with what needed to be done and what he wanted to do. He could slip inside for a few minutes, make sure she was okay, then slip back out and finish what needed to be done before the sun came up. He knew it would be hard to leave once he joined up with her, but he was finding it hard to concentrate without being with her.
Just a few minutes
he thought.
What's it going to hurt? After all something could go wrong and who knows when I could get this chance again.

Carefully, he climbed onto his bed, taking as much precaution as he could not to wake her. Slowly, he slid up to her until he was perfectly spooned next to her warm body. Her touch was like paradise. The sound of her soft breathing was like listening to a masterful orchestra, and her heartbeat the rhythm of her soul. If there was a heaven, this had to be it. He couldn't imagine anything more wonderful than being curled up on his own bed with her. The thrill of it threatened to prevent him from relaxing, but relax he was going to have to do. He needed her tonight, and he was sure she needed him, at least he hoped she did. He closed his eyes and just listened to the symphony that her body sung to him. Her scent was intoxicating, and the perfect vehicle to help him make the transition. A pop sounded in the back of his head as he slipped from his corporeal form. There was no distance to travel, so he found himself at his destination almost at once.

A grassy field rolled all around him. The smell of summer was strong, as flowers seemed to be freshly growing everywhere he looked. Nearby, he could see her rolling around in the flowers laughing and just enjoying herself. She wore an almost see-through summer dress, pink with blue flower patterned on it. He almost didn't want to bother her, as she looked to be having so much fun rolling in the grass, throwing flowers up into the air.

"Heather?" He called to her as he walked closer to her.

"Brian?" She paused sitting up and looked at him. "Brian!" She squealed and jumped up and ran to him lurching into his arms and hugging him. "I wondered where you were."

"I'm her now, Heather." He pulled her head back enough so he could look into her beautiful eyes, and admire here perfect face.