Rare Blood

Chapter Twenty-Two: Soldiering On

This is it. I'm going to die, was the only thought Faye had as she fell. The wind rushed past her pasting the white cotton of her dress flat against her curves, the fabric billowing out behind her. Her stomach bottomed out as the rocky ground below approached in the darkness. Time slowed allowing her to see the jagged tips that were about to impale her with a staggering clarity. She screamed.... then her eyes popped open.

Faye was awake, wrapped in a pair of solid arms, warm and secure, but her heart felt like it was about to beat out of her chest.  A now familiar voice cooed in her ear, "Easy Love.  It was only a dream."

She eased out of his arms, sitting up, trying to find her bearings; it didn't feel like a dream. "I, I was falling. It was so... real."

"You started twitching.  I was gonna wake you," he said, giving her trapazoid a gentle squeeze.

She rubbed her palms over her eyes then focused on the green numbers displayed on the digital clock, four twenty-two. She took a deep breath and let it out slow hoping the adrenaline flooding her system would stop. At the rate her blood was pumping there was no way she was going to fall back asleep, at least not anytime soon, and with Cyrus' heavy hand smoothing up and down her back she had a new reason to feel awake. She looked over her shoulder at him. He looked guarded, like he was feeling uneasy. You're not the only one, she thought then said, "Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you."

"You didn't. I was up."

"It's so early," she said like she thought he was out of his mind.

He shrugged and continued rubbing her back.

"Did you sleep at all," she asked curiously.

"No," was his casual reply.

"Cyrus..." she said not liking that he was sleep deprived. It seemed foolish on his part, but then he said, "I can go for days without it."

"Sleep? Is that like a vampire thing?"

"Yes and yes.  I wanted to keep watch," he answered.

"Wait... So you just laid there... watching me," and the question made obvious the anxiousness she felt.

"Watching over you," he corrected like there was a difference.

It took a few minutes, but she realized there was. He meant he was making sure nothing happened, he was protecting her. She felt bad for being weird and offered, "Since I'm up, I can keep watch while you sleep for a while, if you want."

He smiled that sideways smile she realized he used when he was amused at her and said, "No, and if you're not going to lie back down we should get on the road. We leave now and we can make it to my place just after midnight."

"Oh man..." she whined at the thought of being trapped in a vehicle for another day.

"You can sleep as late as you want tomorrow. I promise," he said trying to entice her.

She rolled her eyes, but scooted off the bed heading into the bathroom to shower and dress.

They were in the truck and moving a half hour later. Cyrus put the gun in the glove compartment, and when she objected, he told her it was for the best because he wanted her to be able to reach it if she needed it. That brought all of the crap she was trying not to think about right back front and center.

It was a new day, but Faye was filled with yesterday's worries, plus a few new ones. She stared at the glove-box wondering why he made a point to say he wanted to give it to her right before they got to his cabin. The reasons were not good, obviously, and she decided she wasn't ready to know. The sun wasn't even up and until she had some coffee she wasn't going to ask any earth-shattering questions.