The Beast Within (The Elite Series) - By Jonathan Yanez Page 0,31
found him there,” she replied in a New Jersey accent. “No, he was lying in the front lawn. It looked like a dog bite or something on his neck! I know, right? I called 911 as soon as I saw him.”
“Connor,” a male voice interrupted. It was the same doctor he had talked to when he had carried Katie in. “She’s going to be fine. She’s coherent now and wants to see you.”
Connor sighed with relief.
“Thank you,” he said genuinely. As he shook the doctor’s hand, he felt a weight lift from his shoulders.
“Of course. Please follow me.”
As Connor walked beside the doctor, he couldn’t help but ask, “There’s been more than one patient brought in for a bite like this, hasn’t there?”
The doctor nodded. “It’s the strangest thing. I haven’t seen an animal attack in months, and within the past twelve hours, we’ve had multiple people brought in, all bearing the same type of bite marks. It doesn’t look like any dog or animal bite that I’ve ever seen. You said you had no idea what happened?”
“No, she called me and I found her like that. How are the other victims doing?”
“They—they didn’t make it. So far, Katie’s the only one that we’ve been able to stabilize. Keep in mind that she’s gone through a lot. She’s mumbling some pretty strange things, but that’s to be expected from someone who’s lost this much blood.”
The doctor guided him through the maze of halls and rooms and soon stopped at room number 237. “Try and make your visit short. She needs to rest and I’m sure the police will be here soon to take a statement,” the doctor said before he walked away, leaving Connor by himself.
Connor opened the door to find Katie propped in a hospital bed. She wore a light blue gown that made her eyes seem bluer than normal. Her right arm was attached to an IV and the left side of her neck was bandaged securely. She looked better, not as pale as before, and when he pulled up a chair next to her, she even managed a smile.
“Hey, you came for me.”
“Of course I did.”
“Connor, I think… I think I’m going crazy.”
“Well, if you ask me, I think you’ve always been crazy.”
“No, Connor, this is serious. Do you… do you believe in vampires?”
“Like Dracula? No, I don’t think so.”
She thought for a second, then said more to herself than to Connor, “No, I couldn’t have imagined it all.”
“What do you remember?”
There in the small hospital room, she told him a story he would have discounted in a heartbeat was it not for the conversation with Morrigan just a few hours earlier.
CHAPTER 8
SINCE RANDOLPH HAD BEEN A guest at her house, Katie’s father seemed to grow more and more uncomfortable. He spoke to her mother in whispers and was away from the house a lot. Randolph seemed nice enough and he and Katie’s mother got along all right. He was introduced as her mother’s distant cousin, in town on business. He was going to spend just a few nights in the guesthouse.
From the beginning she didn’t trust him. Katie had never heard her parents speak of a distant cousin, and his weird blue eyes gave her the creeps. But after a few days with him, she decided to give Randolph the benefit of the doubt. Everything was fine until that night, when she overheard her parents arguing.
“You said he was in town for just a few nights, Julie.”
“I know, Howard, but what do you want me to do? He’s my cousin. I can’t kick him out.”
“Kicking him out is exactly what we need to do.”
“Shhhhhhh. What if he hears you?”
“Hears me? Hears me? The man is in the guesthouse—how could he hear me? This is what I’m talking about, Julie. You’ve been acting strange ever since he arrived. What aren’t you telling me about your cousin? Is he a criminal or something?”
“No, no, Howard, don’t be silly. He’s just a little—a little different. He’s almost done with his business in town and he’ll be gone soon. You know how big my family is on loyalty.”
“I know, I know. It’s just that I’ve never heard you talk about him before and it seems strange you would be so inviting to someone you don’t know.”
“He’s family, Howard. I don’t have a choice. Listen, you have to trust me—everything is going to be fine.”
The conversation was over. Katie thought it was kind of weird, but didn’t give it a second