Vexing Vampires

3 - Tromping Thru The Forest

Dawn was coming. You couldn't really tell yet but the darkness seemed just... less dark. Relief loosened her shoulder muscles; not that sunlight would really change their circumstances much, but at least she'd be able to see where she was going and could stop stumbling through the woods like a drunken bear.

Oh and hopefully the looming threat of being gunned down would be done with the darkness.

There was that.

"Ve must stop soon."

"Not tired already, are ya," Jane shot back. It sounded meaner than she intended but she was having a hard time not blaming him for this whole catastrophe even though she knew it wasn't his fault... directly, anyway.

"No I am not, but you vill be." His tone was perfectly even - no inflection whatsoever.

"What are you talking about? I'm perfectly fine. I doubt that's suddenly going to change in the next hour or so."

And that's when it hit her.

She did feel fine, perfectly well and good.

Not at all like she'd been up for twenty-four hours and hadn't eaten in the last ten. Not at all like she'd been drugged, kidnapped and possibly molested-

Nope. Nope, not thinking about that! Repress! Repress!

- and not at all like she'd been traipsing through the woods... in below freezing temperatures... for the last four or five hours and wasn't even breathing hard.

"Adrenaline," she muttered to herself. "Gotta be the adrenaline."

Right.

They were walking parallel to the road, just keeping it in sight and they were coming across houses more often now; most appeared empty, windows dark with no vehicles and undisturbed snow, though it was still hard to be sure.

While the raging pandemic should have caused the population to spread out, the resulting violence and unrest was actually causing most cities to shrink inwards, with higher concentrations of people packing into even smaller areas. People were sleeping in city parks instead of country homes, flu or no flu.

At least that's what was happening back home in America, she didn't think things were much different here in the Czech Republic.

Some hard-core people would still be around, but so would the gangs and bandits; those just wanting to stay in their homes wouldn't make it obvious they were still there.

A half hour later and the sky was considerably brighter. She could see Zed watching her from the corner of her eye and it was starting to weird her out. It was like he was waiting for something.

She was getting tired - well, really, her brain seemed to be going perfectly fine but it was getting harder and harder to keep walking. It was strange; if she was tired enough to be having trouble moving, shouldn't she be having a hard time thinking?

Jane's skin felt tight, like she'd gotten a mild sunburn in the middle of the night.

Probably frostbite - wonderful.

"There." Zed pointed to a house through the trees; it looked like it had been abandoned long before the flu hit with its broken windows and hanging siding.

"What about it," she mumbled. Her face felt stiff, the muscles barely moving enough to make the right words.

"Ve vill rest there for the day."

She wanted to protest. She had to get to the Embassy and pick up her brother... and then get the hell out of this godforsaken country, but she couldn't make her mouth move anymore.

Zed took her hand and tugged her towards the house.

What was it with this guy? Why was she even with him? He was the King of the kidnap-y goth gang from hell as far as she was concerned. Of course they had just escaped from a military death squad so yay for survivor solidarity... still... it was weird.

She plodded after him and it took way too much concentration to keep her feet moving.

Zed went into the house and left her standing in the snow. The house must have really been decayed because the door knob just broke off in Zed's hand. He was in there for a while and the sky got brighter.

Her skin was starting to sting pretty good now.

She kinda hoped somebody was living there. And that they had a dog. A dog that would bite Zed on his lily-white tukas.

Heh.

Tukas.

Finally he came back, motioning her to follow but she couldn't move. She just stood there.

After a moment of staring at each other he came and picked her up bridal style; she found her face naturally falling into the curve of his neck.

Wow. He smelled really good.

Her brain was pretty much mush but that smell was absolutely divine... kinda made her mouth water...

They thumped down a rickety sit of stairs, which should have made her fear for her life but she was so tired now.

One long blink later and they were in a basement cum root cellar. It was pitch black and Jane couldn't see a thing. He sat down - on the floor she guessed - and shifted her around until he was leaning against the wall and she was sideways across his lap with her back against another wall.

She felt like a puddle of goo.

His arms wrapped around her with his hands locked together over her hip, her nose still in his neck.

"Wuz wrong w'me," she finally managed to slur.

Zed was silent so long she thought maybe she hadn't actually said anything out loud but then, "You are newly turned. The sun has much power over you... but you are strong. Never have I seen one so new hold out so long. Sleep now, young one. I vill be here vhen you vake."

That didn't explain anything but she slept.