Tested

Chapter Two

Chapter Two

Dawn hadn’t broken when Dad woke me. He looked as though he hadn’t slept at all. “We should eat,” he said. “Then we leave. We’ll move farther north and head for the coastlines until we can find someone who will help us.”

I stretched. “We should stay. We can make a difference here.”

“This isn’t how you make a difference.”

“But if we just—”

“The world isn’t safe, Jessica! We’re not staying here to be picked off with the rest!”

I flinched at his raised voice. Just once, I would have liked to be the one making the decisions.

“Get dressed and warm up,” he said. “I’ll get us some food. Be ready to leave after that.”

I nodded, but he was already on his way out the door. Throwing my head back, I stared at the ceiling. It didn’t feel right to run and hide when people needed help. I couldn’t stop thinking about the Irish woman. She had been so firm in her convictions. She didn’t ask people to help; she demanded it, and it felt right.

I took a quick shower, dressed, and then plaited my wet hair to keep it off my face. I switched the television back on, desperate for some news that didn’t come from my father’s mouth. It wasn’t that I didn’t trust him, but he was too biased to ever give me the full story.

The same station was still airing clips. The reports were quick and panicked, flashes of shaky footage and blood, so much blood. Somehow, information had broken through, but all it gave us was bad news. The war was coming our way. No matter what my dad said, we couldn’t outrun it. The vampires were coming for us all.

Dad returned, but he didn’t have any food with him. “We have to run. People are losing their minds here. It’s too dangerous for everyone.”

“Vampires?”

“Humans, more like. Panic makes people do crazy things.”

I knew not to argue when he wore his determined face. He wasn’t cruel to me, but if I didn’t obey, I would pay for it later.

“Keep your mouth shut, no matter what happens,” he said. “Don’t look anyone in the eye and do not, under any circumstances, attack without my say-so. We can’t afford for anyone to get suspicious of you.” He paused then added, “Wear a hood.”

I was ready within minutes, and we hurried out of the hotel. The streets were quiet, but tension hung in the air. I gulped down the fear and anger, knowing I needed to keep calm, but it was hard when the atmosphere was so full of emotion.

We caught a bus. Most of the seats were empty, but the few travellers on board were abuzz with speculation. Some people were trying to live normal lives, even amidst all the madness and suspicion. Lately, we had seen plenty of people with suitcases, ready to leave, but there was nowhere to go.

“It’s some kind of joke,” a middle-aged man announced. “Some hackers playing a joke on the whole country.”

“Cutting off phone lines isn’t a joke,” a woman said. “My neighbour’s sister called her weeks ago and said something odd was going on in London.”

“And did she say it was vampires?” he asked scornfully.

A few nervous titters filled the air.

“No, of course not, but—”

“It’s not possible,” the man said. “You’ll see. It’s ridiculous.”

I turned in my seat. “And that woman from Ireland? Was taking the head off that… thing a joke?”