Page 98 of Heal Me

“What?” I groan, trying to jerk away, but he has one of his arms around me from behind. Trying to lift my arm and fling behind me to gouge out Tom’s eye, it’s like I’m moving in slow motion. I toss my head back trying to headbutt him, but my body’s not cooperating.

“No!” I scream, or I try to, but my voice sounds strange, or maybe I didn’t even say it out loud.

I’m fighting against whatever drug he injected me with, but the drug’s winning. No longer being able to feel my limbs, I fight tooth and nail but can’t keep my eyes open, spiraling into a terrifying darkness.

* * *

Rousing, I take inventory of my body—my head pounds, my mouth feels dry as cotton, and my eyes are heavy weights. It’s cold, and I try to warm myself with my arms, but soon realize I can’t move, because my wrists are tied to something.

Daring to open my eyes, I discover I’m in the corner of an industrial-looking kitchen that’s seen better days, my wrists tied to the armrest of a reclining chair identical to the one I sat in while donating blood. Struggling to understand why I’m here, or where here even is, it all comes back to me in a jumbled rush.

Running into Tom.

Tom catching up to me.

Tom drugging me!

If Gabe doesn’t kill him, I will. Holding on to that anger and not letting fear take a foothold, I wait for my opportunity to escape.

Following the sound of hushed voices, I spot Tom having a serious discussion with two women in the doorway. My eyes bug out of my head as I glance back and forth between the women—it’s Allie, William’s girlfriend, and the “creeper” from the hospital…Lisha, I think is her name.

I must have made a gasping sound, because all heads turn to me. “Good, you’re awake,” Tom says, striding over and checking my pulse. My legs aren’t tied, and I’d love to kick him in the balls, but he’s too far away. Patience, I tell myself. He didn’t think it necessary to bind my lower half, and I can use that later to my advantage. “How are you feeling?”

“Like a woman who’s been drugged and kidnapped,” I say with as much venom as I can muster with my groggy voice. “Let me go, and my boyfriend won’t kill you.”

“The business consultant?” He smirks. “Sure.”

“You were right, business consultant is bullshit. He and his brothers are mercenaries, and they will hunt you down,” I promise.

“I call bullshit,” Lisha says

“You’re sisters?” I ask, looking between the two women. I knew the creeper looked familiar. It’s her black hair and goth look that threw me, but she and Allie have an eerily similar face and build.

“Twins,” Lisha corrects me.

“Does William know you’re a lunatic?” I ask Allie.

“William is in the other room, waiting his turn. AB-negative,” Allie says wistfully.

“What is this place?” I ask, deciding to go with the safer question.

“Welcome to my coven,” Tom says.

“You’re witches?”

“Vampire coven,” Lisha interjects as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world.

“Now I call bullshit,” I say. Gabe told me vampires are a myth. But this woman looks like she believes she’s a vampire, and that might be even more dangerous.

“I’m a third generation vampire,” Tom says, as if it’s a thing of pride. “Charlotte, as you know, my grandfather helped open the blood bank. A noble cause, yes, but also self-serving, as he’d like to drop by to get a little taste every now and then. The problem with modern technology is that it makes it more difficult to sneak a little taste here and there,” he says angrily. Grabbing a thermometer from a drawer, he walks to me and shoves it under my armpit until it beeps. “That’s good. You don’t have a fever.” He’s angled his body to where my legs can’t reach him, and so I wait to make my move.

“What about your oath to do no harm?” I try to reason with him.

“I do no harm in the hospital setting. What I do in my down time is my business.”

“Drink,” Allie says, bringing over a bottle of water with a straw. “You need to be properly hydrated.”

“Fuck off.”

---