Fallen Blood (7 page)

Yeah, that would have been cool, except that he had no idea what would have happened if they shot him. As far as he knew, he could still be killed with a gun. After all, he had injured himself in the past and he had bled. He also healed, but not like how all those stories always talked about. No, he healed normally, just like everyone else, that was, until he ate. Once he consumed blood, everything changed. Since he didn't eat every day, in an attempt to ration what he had, it was two days until he had eaten the last time he'd injured himself, but once he had, the cut had not only healed, but literally sealed itself shut, leaving not even a scar, when the wound was clearly deep enough to leave one.

The sound of Heather's voice announced her presence in the house. She was accompanied by several officers by the sound of it.

"I'm telling you, he was here."

"Well, he's not now. We're checking his house to see if he's over there. Do you wish to file a complaint against him?"

"Yes, I mean no, I mean...I don't know."

"Was he attempting to assault you, Ma'am?"

"What...Brian? No, he was just..."

"If he wasn't trying to hurt you, why did you call the police for help?"

"I didn't. I was calling about my parents."

"And where are they?"

"I don't know, that's why I was calling."

Brian heard the sound of a police radio going off, and a few seconds later the officer that had been questioning Heather spoke again.

"Ma'am. were going to need you to come to the police station with us."

An officer walked into the bedroom and looked around. Brian watched as he picked
up a
few things and looked at them, before putting them back down.

"What? No, I need to find my parents." He heard her say.

"I know...Heather, is it?"

Brian didn't hear her respond so assumed she must have nodded her head in response.

"We need to clear this up, Miss, and I'm sure we can help you out back at the station." Another screech of the radio announced another call to the officer.

"Just a second, Miss, I need to answer this." He heard him say. He could hear the radio dim, presumably as the man walked outside. The officer in the bedroom started opening dresser drawers and rummaging about in them.

"Alright, Heather, we're taking you downtown to answer some questions," The other officer said, a few moments later, as he clearly had returned.

"Why? Am I under arrest?"

"No, Ma'am, we just need you to come with us."

He heard Heather begin to struggle as the her rescuer must have begun to force her to come with him.

"Stop it, you're hurting me! I haven't done anything!"

Here it was again. A choice. Not just any choice, but a choice that once again involved her. A choice that went against everything his family had taught him about keeping himself secret. He should just stay here in the shadows until everyone was gone. He could listen to the love of his life be physically restrained and dragged out of her house by force, and decide what to do from there...or he could make the wrong choice and rescue the damsel in distress.

He heard Heather scream in pain as the sound of handcuffs closing came from the hallway. The officer in the bedroom was now on his knees looking under Heather's parents' bed.

Really
, Brian thought.
Am I ever going to get a choice again?

He really hated moving quickly. It somehow used up his core strength whenever he did. Some of his abilities didn't seem to tax him at all. Others, like moving so fast that he could knock out three police officers before they realized he was right on top of them, did. In fact, that was one of the worst, for some reason. Couple that with the fact that it was broad daylight outside, and that all added up to one thirsty young vampire. The one thing he had going for him was that he was still indoors. Granted, the front door was wide open, and sun was streaming into the hallway where he was standing with two of the unconscious officers, but for part of the run, he had been sheltered by the house.

"What...Where did you come from?" Heather looked up from her knees, her hands looked painfully locked in handcuffs behind her back.

"Happy to see me?" Brian asked with a smile.

"No...yes, I don't know."

"Well, if you like, I can just leave you here and let officer friendly drag you downtown kicking and screaming when he wakes up."

She looked down at the unconscious men, her eyes widening slightly. How she had failed to notice the two men sprawled there on the floor was beyond him. Given the look on her face, though, she had.

"Brian, what did you do?"

"I'm....saving you? Can't you see?" He smiled and pointed down at the two men posing as he did so.

"Why?" She sputtered.

"Well, let's see, you were screaming for help and telling him to let go of you." She just stared at him, and from her look she was having a hard time digesting it. "Look, we need to go. I mean
really
need to go. They're not going to sleep there all day, and I think that some of their friends outside may object to them suddenly taking a nap right now. So, what say we take ourselves elsewhere?"

"Where are we going to go?" She asked, as she stood herself up without the use of her hands. He was actually impressed with her maneuver. Yet, she was right, he hadn't thought it out that far yet, and he was getting hungry. He needed to get into his house and eat, but right now that seemed to be a problem. Plus, in a normal situation like this, he would have just went home and hid. With all the cops crawling about, he doubted they would let him just stroll across the street, grab his supplies, and just mosey on his way. No, this was going to take some thought.

"I'm not sure, Heather, just not here. Now, are you coming, or would you like to stay here and explain all this?" He pointed at the officers again.

"No." She said sheepishly, "I don't understand what's going on. They're...supposed to be the good guys." She nodded down at the men.

"Apparently they missed the memo on that one." Brian said, as he started rummaging through the men's pockets.

"What are you doing? I thought we were leaving?"

"Do you really want to go looking like that?" He nodded toward the handcuffs. "There should be a key here on one of them, but damn if I can find it."

"Brian..."

"They always have one on them, at least in all the shows I've seen." He continued to frisk them

"Brian!"

"
What
?"

"Freeze!" A man's voice shouted at him from the doorway. Brian turned and to see that a lone officer stood in the doorway, his revolver drawn and held in both of his hands pointing right at him.

"This isn't what you...think?" Brian stood up slowly with his hands held up just a little past his shoulders.

"I said freeze!"

"Okay, Okay, I'm freezing, but this has been a terrible mistake."

"Walk over here!” The officer yelled, “Away from the others." Brian moved toward the man, until he was several feet away from Heather and the two unconscious officers.

"Now, on the ground, and keep your hands where I can see them. Now!"

Brian hesitated for a second before the officer began to order him again. What he did for love? How old was that song? Right now it was playing in his head, and no matter what he did, he couldn't shake it.
Lets see, how did that go? The things we do for love...The things we do for love.

The smell of the carpet said that it hadn't been cleaned in a while, which was surprising, as he had been sure that Heather's mom was one of those women who were really into cleaning, but the smell of it, with his face down in, clearly said her carpet wasn't on her list of priorities. Maybe he should have rushed the man. It might have worked. He may just have made it to him before the officer could pull the trigger. The problem was that he had been standing in the doorway, and that was literally flooded with sunlight. It would have taken a lot out of him, and he was already feeling his strength at an all-time low. No, he was sure he was doing the right thing.

The officer put his knee in the small of his back, and he could hear the sound of opening handcuffs.

"Put your right arm behind your back," the man ordered. When he didn't immediately comply, the officer grabbed his arm violently, and pulled all the way back, pinning it in what he supposed would be painful for most.
The things we do for love..
He wondered if that song would haunt him for the rest of the day. Just as the handcuffs locked onto his wrist, and he felt both of the man's hands, Brian spun on the ground so he was facing the officer that was on top of him. Grabbing the man by the throat, he squeezed, and heard a satisfactory gurgle as the man choked and tried to gasp for breath. The thought of squeezing just a bit harder did play around in his mind for a brief second, but no. He hadn't killed any of these police yet, so why start with this one. Besides, he was sure Heather was watching everything, and the last thing he needed right now was for her to think he was some kind of monster.

The man's body left an imprint in the sheet rock where Brian had flung him. He expected the man to get back up after that, but surprisingly, the officer remained where he had fallen. The other police, on the other hand, were now starting to move and rouse themselves. This was not how it went in the movies. They should have been out for hours, but of course this was the real world, and he just hadn't hit them hard enough.

"Brian, how did you do that?" She was staring at what he thought was the officer he threw, or it could have been the imprint in the wall. Either one, he didn't have time to explain right now.

"Turn around, Heather." He grabbed the handcuffs and snapped the chain that that held the two cuffs together. "That should work for now. Where's your back door?"

She pointed. "This way. How did you...?"

"Vitamins." He answered. "Are we going?"

She nodded, and took off running. When they came to the door he stopped her before she opened it.

"Let me look first." Cracking the door open, Brian peered around at the backyard. He was surprised there was no one guarding it. He supposed he had either already gotten all of them, or maybe they had gone to the front after securing the house. Either way, he wasn't going to complain about his good fortune right now.

"It looks clear. Let me go first." She didn't respond, so he guessed she understood. Stepping out into the back, it appeared he had been right. No one told him to freeze, or even asked him who he was. He waved for her to follow him, and as she did, he headed for the back fence. It only took him a moment or two to help her over it, then scale it himself. Now, all he had to do, was get to his intended destination. The idea had started forming as he had broken her handcuffs. It had occurred to him that if the agents had taken Heather's family away for questioning, then wouldn't it be so with...say, Chuck's family, as well? If his hunch was right, then they had a ready-made hideout just waiting for them to happily break and enter it.

-----

It took them longer than normal to reach Chuck's home, what with taking all the back roads and alleyways. Sirens had been in abundance ever since they began their little adventure, and he was sure it was all because of them. The entire police force was up in arms and looking for them, he was sure. Not that it really mattered. Life had been getting a little too boring these last few years. The only thing he could find to take the edge off his boredom were his little flings with Heather each night. That really was all he had. To be honest, it wasn't enough any longer. Sure, he loved her and he needed to be with her, but he was finding himself constantly looking out over the town each night, contemplating if he should go out there. The idea of maybe hunting sent shivers of excitement through him even now, as he thought about it. Not that he would have actually hunted anyone, just the prospect of doing what just might be natural for him to do. The call of the wild was there, and it was getting stronger each night. It wasn't strong enough to overrule the caution his mother and aunt had taught him, but it was growing, and he was sure given enough time, it would.

But now, the thrill of the hunt was with him anyway. Well...sort of. He was out, and even if he wasn't the one doing the hunting, he was involved in the hunt. That counted for something. The unknown, the uncertainty. It was enough to make him feel alive. Really alive. He liked it, so much that he wasn't sure he could go back to his old life, not that it would ever be possible after knocking out half the town's police force.

"There." He pointed. "That house is where we're going to hide."

"Chuck's house?"

He nodded.

"Why Chuck's?"

"Because I'm betting they took his family as well?"

"Why would they..." recognition flared in her eyes. "This is about the old Warren's place last night?"

"I believe so. After all, the agents did come up out of the basement right after Chuck went down there."