Allie looked at Sara with newfound appreciation. “You work here in the nursery?”
“Yes.” Sara grabbed a stool and gave it to Allie and they both sat by the desk in the room. Sara waved her hand in the room. “I have worked here for a year.”
“A vampire nursery?” Allie asked with skepticism.
Sara smiled at her innocent friend. “They are not really vampires, Allie. They are just different people.”
“They are vampires! Are you one of them, too? Tell me the truth!”
Sara took a deep breath. “No, I am not.”
Allie was not moved by her denial: she knew the truth despite Sara’s words.
“All babies are kept here and we look after them. These are the only three born this year. They will die quickly if not cared for. About ten are born each year, but on average less than half survive. The adults are not around; they come by once in a blue moon and never stay long. The babies are fragile, so we care for them. I like babies and hate to see them die. Come here; let me show you something.” Allie followed her to the incubators.
“They look so human, don’t they?”
Sara smiled at her innocence and pointed at the first baby. “She is smiling but she really can’t see you that well. She can see shapes and patterns. That is why you are wearing the jacket; she responds to the crest on the jacket by instinct. It represents adult members of the family. When you wear this jacket she sees the crest and knows you are safe.” Sara smiled and added teasingly, “She also knows you are not food.”
“Are you serious?”
“Yes, I am. Make sure she sees you and the badge. Never dangle fingers in front of her. If she sees them and not your badge ... well, don’t do it.” Sara smiled again. “You want to feed her?”
“Oh yes! Can I?”
“Of course.” Sara opened the incubator, touched her on her shoulder, and lifted the baby. She turned the baby toward Allie and held her out. “Now let her look at your face and then your badge and then your face again. Smile, Allie.”
Allie put on a big smile and swore the baby smiled back at her. Sara put the baby in a crib next to the incubators and had Allie stand next to her while she opened the baby’s mouth. “Watch this.” The baby’s gums were toothless. Beneath the gum line on her upper jaw there was a tiny circular spot. Sara took a pencil and pressed its tip into the spot. A sucker came out and extended downward for an inch and ended in a sharp spear-like point.
“They don’t have teeth. They have these two suckers behind their upper gum line that can pierce skin; then they feed on the blood that way. You know, kind of like a leech; they attach themselves to you and suck until full. Look here . . .” Sara pointed to the baby’s chest and took her out of her blanket to show the area. “See how clear her stomach is? When she feeds it can expand and hold the entire volume of blood of an adult man. About ten pints worth before she gets full and lets go. That is why you don’t feed them without them being able to see your badge. You can stop them anytime you want as long as you display your badge. Part of the reason I like this job is because I am the adult and I am in charge of everything.” She wrapped the baby then handed her friend a bottle. “Here, feed like normal.”
Allie looked at the small bottle and the thick red liquid inside. “What is this? Oh my God! This is not blood, is it?”
Sara chuckled. “It is a protein shake with a touch of blood; she gets her nutrients that way. Hold the bottle down to her and put the nipple on her bottom gum, right in the center. Lean over her so she sees your badge as she is sucking from the bottle.”
“Okay. How does she suck from the bottle. Does she bite into the nipple?”
“At first they do, then they recognize the object and the feel and just suck.”
“My God, I wouldn’t want to try to breast feed her. Could you imagine?”
Sara burst out laughing. “You are so crazy.”
Allie fed the baby from the bottle, and took one of the baby’s hands with her free hand. She detected nothing unusual about the hand or the feel; it was a real live baby complete with the normal baby smells associated with all newborns. Allie laughed as she played with the baby. “What is her name?”
“I call her Jessie,” said Sara.
“You call her? What is her real name?”
“They don’t have real names like we do. Their parents give them a pet name that we can’t pronounce and when they are older they get the right to pick their own name.”
“Oh wow! I would love that! The right to pick my own name. Little Jessie, you are one lucky lady.”
Sara laughed. “You act like you hate your name.”
“I do, a little bit anyway. If I had my way I would pick a name I could do something with, like Rebecca or Alexandra. I hate Allison, it is so plain.”
“Yeah, I know what you mean. I have to be saddled with Mae and if I have a girl she has no choice but to be saddled with the name too. It is so unfair what parents do to us. I wish I could have chosen my name. Believe me, Mae would never have been a choice for me, not in a million years – or two.”
They chuckled.
“Do you have to burp her when she is done feeding?”
“Oh no, well, sometimes. Never put her close to you where she can’t see your crest. If that happens you are in serious trouble. No matter what you are doing you must face her at all times. Got it?”
“If you say so.”
“I do.” They finished feeding baby Jessie. “If it is necessary to burp her, turn her over in her crib and then do it that way instead of trying to pick her up and put her over your shoulder.”
Allie did it and lightly tapped her on her back until she burped. She then turned her back over and held up Jessie’s arms and hummed as if dancing with her. Sara checked her diaper to see if it needed changing.
“Is she good to go?”
“She is ready for a good night’s sleep,” said Sara. She put her back in her incubator, tucked her blanket around her, and turned out the light before they left the room.
The next room Sara showed Allie had two small twin beds in it and a television on a stand. The room was like a hole in the wall; it had a dirt floor and dirt walls, like a cave. Allie was fascinated by the entire experience and quickly forgot about the walls and focused on the room itself. Right down to its furnishings, it made Allie think of a motel room.
“We will sleep in here tonight.”
“Tonight? I thought we were waiting for the boys to leave so we can go home.”
“The hunters are still looking for them and they will shoot anyone they see. It is also not safe to be out when you don’t know where the boys are at; they could attack from different angles. Don’t worry, you are safe here and we will leave in the morning. We can see everything clearly during the day. Which bed do you want?”
Allie had no preference as to where she slept, if she slept at all, so she simply took the one by the door. She was still wired from the day’s activities and it would take a lot for her to wind down to sleep. She was also worried about her parents – especially her mother, who would worry about her until she returned safe and sound.
Sara eyed her as she stared off into space. A moment ago she had been so happy. “Do you want to take the chance and go home tonight?”
“No.”
“Would you call your parents if you could?”
“Yes. They are probably worried half to death by now, especially my mom.”
Bethany quietly entered the room while Allie was talking. “Are you settling in all right?”
“Yes, I’m fine.”
Bethany sat down on her bed. “You have been through a lot tonight, haven’t you?”
“More than I would have imagined, that’s for sure.”
“I have lots of children here, Allie. Are you here to save them or to help destroy them?”
“What?”
“I suppose we will have to let time decide our fate.”
“What?”
Bethany smiled. “Never mind. Allie, I
have to be serious with you for a moment. When you leave here tomorrow you have to swear to keep this a secret, all of it. If you tell anyone, including your parents, you are putting the lives of everyone here in harm’s way. People out there are afraid of us and they will kill us because we are different. All of us, including the babies. That is why we live in secret and stay apart from you. Your kind kills everything different, and we do not have the numbers to fight a battle like that. I have to ask you to swear to keep this a secret from your parents and everyone else. Can you do that for us?”
“You are a vampire, too?” Allie said with wide-eyed curiosity.
“We are not vampires,” said Bethany.
“Yes, you are. Why do you keep denying it after I have seen all this?”
“You are fighting a losing battle, so give up and let her have this one,” Sara interjected before Bethany could respond.
“All right,” said Bethany. She smiled at Allie and asked again, “Do you swear?”
“I don’t keep secrets from my parents.”
More forcefully now: “Do you swear?”
“I swear,” said Allie. Bethany nodded and left the room. Allie could not say she was disappointed.
Allie lay down on the bed and tried to get some sleep but could not. She kept thinking about everything she had seen and done and what new things she would do tomorrow. She looked over at Sara, who was lying on her side with her back turned to her. “Sara. Hey, you asleep?”
“Girl, what do you want?” she said sleepily.
“What is the name of your job?”
Sara rolled over to face her friend. “They call us Cavers. You should have guessed that by this room and us being underground. It is a combination cave dweller and caretaker; we are nannies to their children. Baby-sitters without the big bucks, because we live here with them.”
“Oh!” She thought about it for a moment then asked another question. “Why do you do it?”
“I like babies; they are helpless and need somebody to watch over them.” Sara sat up in bed and looked at her friend. Clearly this young girl wanted to know as much as possible – the issue was just in how much to reveal. “My family is one of many that help them in secret. We know about them and have traveled with them since I was seven. We don’t really need or want anything, but if we do, all we have to do is ask and we can have it. Their family structure is different; it’s our job to care for their young, not theirs. They leave them with us and do whatever they do and we raise them through their school years and then they leave. Our job is to care for them and make sure they blend in and act like everyone else.”
“Your mom and dad work here, too?”
“My mom; my dad is an engineer, remember?”
“Oh, I forgot. Why did she ask if I would destroy the children? Do I look crazy?”
“Yeah.”
“Sara!”
Sara laughed.
“They ask everyone that; it’s an old prophecy.”
“Prophecy?”
“Yeah, there is an old story that a human girl will join them as a Caver. She is the Destroyer of Worlds. She will wage war, destroy the kingdom and kill the queen. She also has the power to destroy the children. Don’t worry about it; it’s just a fairy tale. Like I said, they ask everyone that.”
“Oh, that’s a relief. How did they find you?”
Sara yawned and stretched. “That is a long story. Get some sleep and I’ll tell it tomorrow.” She got up out of bed and opened the top drawer of the nightstand between the beds. She took out a single pill, and passed it to her friend with a glass of water. “Sleeping pill.”
Allie swallowed the pill obediently and slid back under the covers. Before long, she was fast asleep.
Chapter 8