Hunter's Moon

Chapter 28

            Taylor ran across the football field, doing her best to maneuver around the various waking vampires underneath the tarps. The vampires were slow and sluggish, giving Taylor the nerve to actually attempt reaching Juli.

        Taylor knelt beside her. “Juli? Juli, can you hear me?” Taylor shook Juli's shoulder gently. No response. Taylor undid her heavy jacket, happy for her long-sleeved shirt underneath, and wrapped Juli in it. As she wrapped Juli in the jacket, she stopped to check for a pulse. She was always horrible at finding a pulse. Try as she might, she knew there was nothing to find. She looked around at all the waking vampires and debated the value of attempting CPR there, or trying to move her back to where Matthew and Robert were.

            “Help!” Taylor called out. “She's not breathing!”

            Not knowing how to safely move her, even if there wasn't a minefield of vampires, Taylor began CPR. As she tried desperately to save Juli's life, the things running through her mind were how ineffective CPR actually was. How depictions of CPR in movies and television were horribly inaccurate with regards to how often CPR was actually successful.

            The irrational, panicked part of her mind told her that she wasn't performing the life-saving technique correctly. It was a loud aspect to her brain that she wanted desperately to shut off. The smaller, yet steadier, voice told her that yes, she had just recently passed a re-certification course, she had to trust herself; she did know what she was doing.

            She found herself in a rhythm with the CPR, and as much as she wanted to get another look around her, check on the vampires, she didn't risk it. There was one in front of them, clearly in her line of sight that was pushing itself up onto its knees. The tarps had been laid out rather thickly, to block any potential sunlight, she assumed. Taylor realized that the vampires had not anticipated anyone crashing the party.

            What felt like forever, never stopping, keeping the rhythm up, was actually only a handful of seconds. She felt Juli move underneath her while she was blowing into Juli's mouth. Juli's eyes popped open and recognition erupted from her eyes.

            Taylor pulled away. “Juli! Are you okay? We've got to get out of here! Can you move?”

            Juli felt horrible. Her body ached as if she had been hit repeatedly with all manner of blunt objects from head to toe. She couldn't muster the energy to move a muscle, whether arm, leg, or neck. A sharp stabbing pain was shooting down her spine that made her wish for one of the migraines she usually got. She saw Taylor over her. Taylor had given her CPR. That is what she'd seen in the vision! Not that they were a couple. Juli knew that the two of them we still going to be close friends, just not what she first thought. She tried saying, “Can't move, so weak,” but it came out in a mass of jumbled sounds.

            Heart destroyed, the Stramos's body slid down the blade of Robert's hatchet. Matthew smiled at Robert. “Wasn't he supposed to be the 'Big Bad'? Went down pretty easy.”

            “You watch too much TV.” Robert replied. “Weren't there two of them before? Where's the other one?”

            Matthew realized it was a good question and started scanning the area. The one advantage being out in the open area of the football field was that there wasn't anything to hide behind.

            “Help!” he heard Taylor call from mid-field. “She's not breathing!”

            Robert and Matthew both turned to look at Taylor. She was starting CPR on Juli. All around her were vampires just starting to rise. “What is she doing? She's got to get Juli out of there,” Matthew said, about ready to charge in to grab them both.