The Underground City of Cinders

Chapter 15

A gentle humming encompassed me as I awoke from my long slumber. There was a pulsation of light from street lamps passing by overhead. A soft thumping filled my ears. What is that? I opened my eyes to see Chase pulling me against his rigid chest. I drew in a long breath, reveling in a scent that differed from the sterile morgue. The thumping grew louder and I realized it was his heartbeat. A fiery sensation parched my throat. I tried to ignore the burning and focused on Chase. It was a long while before I was able to lift my head up but when I did Chase hugged me tightly. I could hear the distress in his voice, "How are you feeling?"

My muscles are on fire and every breath I take scorches my throat. There is a huge laceration in my leg, I have never felt more dehydrated in my life and considering the fact the Miranda sliced up these scrubs, I am half naked. I smiled at Chase, "I'm doing better now that you're here. How did you find me?"

Chase motioned toward the driver seat in front of us, "I had help. Dimitri was the one who suggested we look for you in the hospital. After the wreck he called me and picked me up. If it wasn't for him I wouldn't be here right now."

I nodded, "Well then I owe you both thanks... Big time. It was so horrific being in that place. The things I witnessed down there..." I shuddered, "The woman there took my blood... lots of it. After that Miranda came into the room. I don't really remember what happened after that."

There was an edge to Dimitri's voice, "You passed out, and you were unconscious when we found you. Miranda was... She won't be a problem anymore. We need to get you somewhere safe so you can rest and get some blood in you. You must be exhausted."

I nodded even though I knew Dimitri was paying attention to the road, "Everything hurts. I feel like someone replaced my muscles with lead weights. Where are we going?"

"I need to stop at my apartment to pick up some blood. Chase is adamant about you staying at his place. I don't like the idea but I'm inclined to let him watch over you at least for a bit. I have some business I need to take care of and there is no way I will be leaving you alone."

I groaned. Great. Now I'm going to have Dimitri watching over me like a hawk. I glanced up at Chase, "Pick up blood?"

Chase nodded, "Dimitri has some blood bags in his refrigerator. He stocked up in anticipation of your arrival. He knew it would come in handy being that you are a newborn."

I scrunched my nose, "Blood... bag?"

Chase chuckled, "I know it sounds gross but it will help."

I shook my head, "But it will be cold."

"We can always warm it up."

I had to hold back bile, my throat burned hotter even thinking about blood, "That seems so... uncivilized."

Chase glanced toward the driver seat, "Just drop us off at my house Dimitri, I will take care of things."

A look of worry flashed across Dimitri's eyes as he peered at us in the rear view mirror, "I don't think that is wise Chase, not as thirsty as she is."

Chase stared back at Dimitri, "Don't worry about it."

Dimitri sighed and returned his attention back to the road, "You're funeral."

It wasn't long before we pulled up in front of Chase's house. As soon as we stepped out of the car, Dimitri sped off. A familiar sense of home flooded over me as Chase carried me into the house. He gently set me down on the couch and disappeared from the room for a moment. When he returned I caught a glint of metal as he admired the knife in his hand, "I know this is going to be hard for you. Try to take it slow. You have lost a lot of blood so you are going to want to gorge yourself but fight the urge. You'll thank me for it later." I nodded hesitantly. I didn't want a cold bag of blood but this isn't quite what I had in mind either.