Behind Blue Eyes: The Good The Bad & The Blood

  Chapter 10

  Ted and Tim knew they would need to get back to where they had hidden Sam’s body. What if some of the things they had learned were true? Would Sam turn into one of them? This could not be allowed, even if there was only a small possibility of him coming back as a vampire. He would not want to be one of them. He would rather stay dead. There was no choice. They had to remove Sam’s head and burn his body. The brothers were enraged, but there was no time for grief. Not yet, not while it still lived. Ted looked at Tim, unable to hold back the tears. “It would be dead now if we hadn’t lost track of it when we tried to help Sam.”

  “It could be the other side of the state by now. That bloodsucking monster has to die for Sam,” Tim said.

  “I know. We will finish it off, but we can’t put others at risk. You need to keep the dogs under control. There may be kids about in these woods. We don’t want to draw any attention to ourselves or get any kids hurt. You keep the dogs back, and if I see any signs of the bloodsucker I’ll radio for you to bring them in.”

  Tim was not happy, but agreed they could not take risks. What if the creature took a child as a hostage, or worse? Neither of the brothers wanted that. They were only there because they wanted to stop these abominations from taking innocent lives. It had all happened too suddenly to save Sam. There was no way Tim and Ted would let this one get away. They did not care about other vampires now, not even the smaller one that had killed Mandy. This one was going to be sent to hell, if it still lived. There was nobody else to help them now. Who could they possibly turn to for help? No one believed in vampires: the undead, demons who fed on humans.

  The brothers had first come across a vampire two years earlier. They had been on their way back from a party at the local community center. Not a lot usually happened in Blankerville. It was a small rural community with a population of three hundred people, mostly farmers, so the annual dance was a welcome change for young and old alike. The brothers had seen what looked like a man and woman in rather a passionate embrace before they recognized Mandy, the married woman from the next farm.

  They did not, however, recognize the man with her. He was smaller than average height with jet-black hair, slim build, maybe in his late thirties. It was dark so it was difficult to tell. He was wearing fancy city clothes, not the type the locals wore. The local men were hardworking farmers. There were no fancy coffee shops, bars, or clothes shops in Blankerville. They hardly ever got tourists in their town, as there was nothing to attract them. This was definitely not a familiar sight.

  They put their heads down and tried to make as little noise as possible on their way past, even though they were curious about this stranger.

  Ted couldn’t resist a quick look back. He saw Mandy’s body slump to the ground. Panicking, he had yelled, “Hey, what have you done to her?”

  The stranger turned toward them, wiping the blood from his face. His shirt had small patches of red on it, which they assumed was blood. The three brothers rushed over to Mandy, but the stranger slipped away into the darkness. When they reached Mandy there was no doubt she was dead; her throat had been torn open. They raised the alarm but the stranger could not be found.

  Later, when they told the full story, everyone talked about the killing. It was the first in thirty years, but no one really wanted to believe the details the brothers insisted were true. The sheriff had proclaimed the brothers to be drunks or insane at their insistence on seeing the undead, a vampire that preyed on the woman and killed her. Even though the post-mortem confirmed what they had seen as it revealed she had lost over eighty percent of her blood.

  The investigation concluded that it was the work of a madman. Vampires were the work of fiction, and no one here believed in fairy tales. The authorities knew they had been at the dance and assumed they had a little too much to drink on that dreadful night.

  The brothers were sure that it was no madman they had seen. It had to have been a vampire. There was no other explanation that fitted what they knew to be facts. They decided they were going to hunt this demon, to kill it and any others they came across. They had a duty to stop these monsters from killing innocent people. This creature was an anathema, the hated one. It had hidden itself from society for God knows how many years now, but its time was nearly up, as was that of any others they came across.

  All they knew about vampires was what they had managed to look up on the Internet, seen in films, or read in books (most of them fiction). They had spent a few months trying to prepare themselves, believing every word they read. They rehearsed the signs to look out for: cold skin, no heartbeat, they never aged, were incredibly fast and strong, possibly some kind of reaction to garlic, they could only come out at night, you killed them by putting a wooden stake through the heart, or cutting their heads off, and you definitely had to burn the body after you killed them because they had a habit of coming back to life. They lived on the blood of the living, either killing their victims or turning them into more vampires. It had been nearly two years since they had started hunting for these creatures, and this was the first they had come across.

  Sam’s death hit them hard but only strengthened their resolve.

  The old man in the park had survived. He was weak but had no memory of a creature drinking his blood. There was no sign of a large open wound, although his neck did look a little red. He stank of booze, had a rather bad attitude and gave the brothers an earful for disturbing him. He had thought they were crazy because no one had bitten his neck or drank his blood.

  The brothers just thought he was lying, or mad, or both. They were no experts but they knew what they had seen. They would not be swayed by any arguments anyone else put forward.

  Chapter 11

  Mia had been out nearly all day and knew she couldn’t put off going home any longer. Phil wouldn’t have left for work just yet but her mother would already be frantic. It was seven o’clock and supper would have been ready for over an hour. If she took the shortcut it would only take fifteen minutes to get home, rather than the thirty minutes to go the route she should use. Her mother worried about her cutting through the woods to Ashton Road, said she should always go through the school playing fields then along Maple Drive and down Curtis Avenue. She said that it was too dangerous a route for a ten-year-old to take, especially such a petite, pretty girl. But it wasn’t the woods that scared her. Mia was tempted to go the long way home, but reluctantly headed off along the quickest route, albeit at a very slow jog, to save her mother any further worry. As she entered the woods, she heard a noise. It sounded like a wounded animal, but there was no time to investigate just then.

  She arrived home at seven-eighteen. She looked nervously toward the sound of voices, shutting the door as quietly as she could.

  “Mia? Is that you?” Her mother appeared in the hall, her eyes puffy and red. “Oh, Mia, I’ve been so worried about you. I was going to call the police. Where have you been? I called everyone I could think of and no one had seen you all day.”

  “I told you not to fret, Jess,” her stepfather butted in. “She just forgot about the time. You know how she is. Our Miss Independent.” He ruffled her long, mousy-brown hair and left his hand lying heavily on her head.

  “Leave me alone!” Mia shouted.

  “You should have more consideration for your mother’s feelings,” he said, his fingers slyly pulling her hair.

  Mia twisted away from his touch, her gray-blue eyes blazing.

  “Mia, don’t speak to Phil like that. He was worried about you too.”

  Mia glared at him. More like he was worried I’d run away and told someone the truth about him. She shuddered.

  “I’d better get myself off to work.” Phil kissed Jess goodbye and winked at Mia. “Don’t forget,” he said to her, “I’m off all next week and if you are a really good girl, I’ll treat you to a very special surprise.”

  Mia stood there with a look of horror on her face. God, I must be the only kid in the world who wished they di
dn’t have school vacations.

  Her mother urged her toward the kitchen. “All right, let’s get you fed, and then you can explain why you are so late, and why no one has seen you about.”

  “Mom, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize the time.”

  Jess hugged Mia to her. “Honey, I’m not making a big issue of it for nothing. I really have been very worried about your safety since those reports of strangers in the area.” She rubbed her daughter’s back and kissed the top of her head. “I know you think you’re old enough to look after yourself, but you’re only ten.” She picked up an oven glove and pushed Mia toward the sink. “Go wash your hands while I get your dinner out of the oven. I hope it’s not dried out too much.”

  Mia silently did as she was told, feeling all twisted up inside, contrite and angry and frightened all at the same time. She didn’t feel hungry but would eat every last forkful to please her mother.

  After her bath Mia felt a great need of some reassurance. Lying in bed hugging her aged teddy, Finnie, just wasn’t enough. She knew her wayward behavior was irritating the hell out of her mother. How would she cope if her mother stopped loving her too? Her father had walked out when she was five so what was to stop her mother doing the same? If Phil said the wrong thing–if she said the wrong thing–her Mom would hate her and leave. Then she’d be alone. With Phil.

  “Mom,” she called out, her voice hardly sounding like her own. “Mom!”

  Jess ran into the bedroom, her face pale. “What is it, honey? Are you in pain?” She sat down on the bed and felt Mia’s forehead to check if she was feverish.

  “Mom, can I have a bedtime story?”

  “What?

  “Pleeease?”

  Jess shook her head in bewilderment, but took The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe from her daughter’s bookshelf. It had been a firm favorite from the first reading and the pages were well thumbed. She leaned back against the headboard and swung her legs up next to Mia’s.

  Mia snuggled into her mother’s side, Jess’s arm around her shoulders. Mia would get used to their new family set-up if given space and time, she was sure of it.

  An hour later Mia’s eyes were still wide open, shining with reflected moonlight. She stared out of her bedroom window at the woods, wondering about the sound she had heard. She concluded there must be an animal in pain out there, all alone. She could not think what animal would make that scream, it sounded so primal, but decided she would go to the woods tomorrow morning with her tent, just in case the animal needed shelter; she would try to find it and help if she could. Decision made she set her alarm clock and finally fell asleep.

  At six forty-five, her alarm went off. She knew Phil would be home at around seven fifteen; if she made enough noise her mother would wake, and Phil would have to play the nice stepfather. She was determined to never be alone with him again. Slam, went the bathroom door.

  Slam, the door went again as she finished and left the bathroom. Then she turned her music on as loud as she could without deafening herself in the process while she got dressed.

  “Mia, do you really have to act like a teenage rebel so early in the morning? Do you know what time it is?”

  Mia knew her mother wasn’t really annoyed with her and grinned cheekily. “Good morning, Mom. Did I wake you?”

  “You know you did, but that’s okay. It’s only Sunday, the day of rest.” Jess heaved a dramatic sigh, then smiled and held her arms out. “Now come here and give your old mother a hug.”

  Mia hugged her mother tightly. “Sorry, Mom.”

  “I’ll go make you some breakfast. Scrambled eggs?”

  “Yummy, with one toast please.”

  “Okay, at your service, ma’am.” Jess giggled. How she loved her daughter. But Mia had changed so much lately; she had become subdued and a bit of a loner over the past year. It was probably nothing. As Phil had said, she was just finding her independence and adjusting to having a father figure around after so long without one. But Jess could not help being apprehensive and worried that there may be more to it than that. Mia just wasn’t the happy-go-lucky girl she’d always been any more.

  Phil arrived home just as Jess was putting breakfast on the table. Mia quickly ate hers and ran to her room, out of his way. In the bright light of day it seemed a bit of a silly idea, thinking she could help a wounded and possibly dangerous wild animal, but she couldn’t help it. She was curious and went to the window. She watched the woods for any movement, straining her ears for any repetition of the sound she’d heard. She had to go and see if she could help the creature. She kept checking her watch: seven thirty, seven thirty-five, seven forty, eventually the time got to eight thirty. Finally she could leave without her mother worrying about where she was off to so early on a Sunday morning. Mia threw her tent out of the window because her mother would not approve of her putting a wounded animal in it. What if it was bloodied or covered with fleas, or something worse? What if the animal did its business in the tent?

  Mia ran downstairs. “Mom, I’m going out to explore the world.”

  Jess popped her head around the kitchen door. “Okay, Ann Bancroft, but before you get to either of the poles, you need to give your mother a hug and promise to be home before one for lunch.”

  “Okay, Mom, I promise. Love you.”

  “I love you too.” Before Mia shut the door Jess called out, “Stay alert to what’s happening around you, Mia. No losing yourself in a dream world.”

  “I’ll be careful, Mom!” Mia snuck around to the back of the house, picked up her tent and headed for the woods. The woods were vast, and you could easily get lost if you ventured too far. Mia always stayed in the smallest part, which was about a mile deep at most. She never went further in than a thirty-minute walk. She considered this to be her part of the woods, as she never saw anyone else venturing there.

  The cool, damp air beneath the towering trees brought goose bumps up on Mia’s uncovered arms. She shivered and put on her sweatshirt. She could hear ducks flying overhead and looked up to try and spot them. The sun was beaming through the tops of the firs, spruces and pines. Mia smiled, anticipating the coming warmth from the sun.

  When she reached the middle of her woods she threw her tent on the ground, still amazed at how you could just throw a round bit of material in the air and a tent would pop up, and that was all the work it took. She listened very carefully. She couldn’t hear anything of the creature now, so decided she would have to search every inch of the woods. Well, her bit of the woods at least. Even that could take a while. She headed toward the direction of the school. She walked very slowly, stopping every couple of minutes to listen. Nothing. Not a sound, or broken undergrowth, or anything else to give a clue to another living presence.

  After a while she headed back to the tent. The tent was her ‘base camp’ and she thought it best she had a plan. She had gone left to the school. Now, when she reached the tent, she would go right. If nothing were found she would circle the outer part of her woods. That should cover most of the ground she was comfortable in searching.

  Just as she reached her base camp, she heard a muffled cry, like something was in pain. She ran in the direction of the noise and a short distance away came to a sudden stop. She stood with her mouth open. It was a man, and he was obviously in a great deal of pain. When he tried to move a low muffled noise slipped out from between his clenched teeth. He looked like he had been burned; the sleeves on his jacket were almost completely gone.

  Mia did not know what to do now. She was looking for a wounded animal, possibly a lost cat or dog, but this was a man! She didn’t know if she should be scared or if she should run. Even if she decided running was the best answer, she could not move. Her feet were somehow now part of the ground, and it was unwilling to let her go.

  Cain sensed a presence, a female with a strong heartbeat. He was under no illusions about how grotesque he must look, but he was dying and he needed to feed. He might be able to conjure up enough strength to feed on her.
Maybe she would try and help him, then he would not have to work so hard and his reserves might be enough. He dragged himself toward the scent. A searing pain emanating from the wound in his chest running through his whole body almost stopped him but his desperate need drove him on. Then he saw the young girl. Too late! She had seen him. He was too weak to move quickly out of her line of vision.

  He kept his head down. He did not want to scare her any more than she may already have been. “Hello, child. What are you doing out here in the woods alone?”

  “I was looking for something.” Mia relaxed. She didn’t feel nervous any more, believing he posed no threat. She liked the sound of his voice, soft and somehow soothing. She guessed he was maybe thirty years old. She noticed all the blood, and that part of his body was as blackened and burnt as his clothes were, but still she thought he was very handsome, like a film star.

  She looked him up and down, a small frown between her brows. “Do you want me to get you an ambulance?”

  “Thank you, but no.”

  “I think you may need a blood transfusion,” she said in a rather nonchalant manner, as if she came across situations like this every day and she knew exactly what she was talking about.

  He wanted to laugh, but instead gasped sharply as a spasm shot through his chest. He managed to gain some control from the pain. He found this child to be amusing, and if nothing else, she might take his mind off the agonizing pain. “Why do you think I need a blood transfusion?”

  “It’s obvious. You have blood on your clothes and you’re very pale. My mom had to have a blood transfusion last year and she looked as pale as you do now. I have seen plenty of people who had to be given blood.”

  He nodded. “I see. I do need blood, but I cannot go to the hospital.”

  She cocked her head to the side, her eyes fixed intently on him. “Oh? Why not? Are the police after you?” She tried to keep her voice monotone so she didn’t sound like she was suspicious or alarmed, which of course she was.