Page 3 of Newly Undead in Dark River

“Ditch?”

“The one I woke up in. Under the welcome sign.”

The Sheriff's eyebrows knitted together, and I could basically see the cogs turning. “Sure. We'll go take a look out there first thing tomorrow night.”

“Why can't we go in the morning?”

Alice laid a hand on my arm and rested her butt on the table. She was looking down at me sympathetically. In my experience, that was never a good sign.

“Mika, we have something to tell you. This is going to sound outrageous and frightening, but I want you to know that we are here for you.”

My heart started to race, something in the back of my mind screamed that nothing was going to be the same again.

“Did my pet goldfish die? Are you two getting a divorce?” I deflected awkward situations with sarcasm. My therapist and I were working through it back home.

It was the Sheriff that answered. “No. Well, maybe, I don't know. I've never seen your pet goldfish, but I understand they die quite frequently.” Walker ran his hand through his hair, and my hands itched to follow suit. “Look, Mika, I know this is going to sound strange, but it's our opinion that last night, you well, uh, you died.”

I laughed. Maybe I'd stumbled into one of those reality TV shows. The producer was going to jump out any minute and make me sign a media release and a Non-Disclosure Agreement.

But the door never opened, and the two people opposite me never cracked a smile. “In case you guys didn't notice, I'm sitting right here, conversing with you. I haven't seen many dead people in my life, but I went to Great Aunt Milly's funeral when I was twelve, and she didn't talk back to me from the coffin.”

Alice gripped my hand. There was something off-putting about a doctor holding your hand like you were about to get really bad news.

“What Walker is trying to say, Mika,” they kept saying my name over and over like I'd suddenly forgotten it, “is that you are the undead. We believe you have been turned into a vampire. I should say, weknowyou've been turned into a vampire. It's thehowthat we don't understand yet.”

I blinked. And then blinked again. They were actually serious. They thought I was a vampire. I'd definitely stumbled onto a TV set. It sounded like something the SyFy channel would come up with. But my heart was thudding, and I felt like I was going to throw up. It was like my body knew they weren't kidding, and it was just waiting for my mind to catch up.

“A vampire?”

Walker nodded sympathetically. “The hunger, the light sensitivity, even the blank spots, are all symptoms of the Turning.”

“And you guys know this because...” No, that can't be right. My mind rebelled.

“Because we are vampires. The whole town is populated by vampires.”

I stared at them dumbly, expecting something, I'm not sure what. For them to turn into bats, or broodingly sparkle in the overhead fluorescent lights. But nothing happened. They just looked like ordinary people. Not overly pale, their eyes weren't glowing red, they didn't have crooked, needle-like teeth. Nothing.

Alice had mocha-colored skin and smooth blond hair that went all the way down her back. She wasn't unearthly attractive by any means. She was pleasant and professional; exactly what you'd want in a physician. Okay, so Walker was hot, but from what I remembered of the diner, it wasn't like I'd stepped onto the stage at Milan Fashion Week or anything out of the ordinary.

“Do you have any questions?” Walker asked. Uh, yeah, I had a few. Like could he pinch me so I would wake the hell up from this bad acid trip?

“So, I'm a vampire, and you're a vampire. And she's a vampire.” He nodded. “Do you, I mean I, have fangs?”

Walker bared his teeth, and there, gleaming white against his pink lips, were two pointed fangs. They were actually quite sharp, and I wondered how he didn't cut his mouth up with them. I looked at Alice, and she too was baring her fangs, which weren't quite as long as Walker's, and sat in her mouth with more ease. I eased my tongue over my own canines and found they'd elongated. I cut my tongue on them, and the blood dripped into my mouth.

Blood.

Hunger clawed at my stomach like a ravenous beast. Suddenly, I understood what the smell coming from the cooler was.

“Please.” It was a half yell, half sob, as I dived for the cooler. Walker was around the table in a flash, his arms like iron bands around my body.

“Calm down. Alice is going to get you something to eat right now.” As he said it, the Doc was getting a blood bag out of the cooler, like the ones you see in hospitals. She unscrewed the cap on the tube and handed it to me.

Walker released me from his hold, and I closed off the part of my mind that was grossed out at the thought of drinking blood, and let my body take over. I sucked that baby like it was my first cocktail on Spring Break in Cabo. All that was missing was the little umbrella and the frat boys trying to convince me to come to a snow party.

All too soon, the bag was empty. “I want some more.” My voice wasn't weak anymore, but it sounded slurred like I was drunk. Alice shook her head.

“With the two you had at the diner, and now this one, you've had enough. If you gorge yourself, you'll be vomiting for the rest of the night. I'll come see you tomorrow, and we'll discuss how everything works. For the remainder of the night, you need to rest.” She picked up the cooler and her doctor’s bag. “Are you taking her to your place?” she asked Walker.

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