contain.
She moved back, and it seemed to break him out of his trance. For the first time, he met her gaze, and a small smile spread across his face. “A heinous crime, but it keeps you safe. That’s all that matters.”
“Did you… kill him?” she asked, looking at her captor.
“No. The Vassiz are surprisingly hard to kill. Back there, in the mill, might be the first casualty of our race in generations. I could kill this one, though, if I fed. But if I did that, I don’t know if I could contain myself with you.”
Laura gulped nervously. And Logan laughed. “Don’t worry,” he said, brushing away a strand of hair that had fallen in her face. “I wouldn’t do anything to risk you.”
She gulped nervously again. But this time, it was a different type of nervousness. She felt a little lightheaded, and cleared her throat. “What was that word you used? I heard them use it, too. The Vassiz?”
“It is what we call our kind. To humans, we might be known as vampires. But to us, we are all a part of the ancient Vassiz race.”
The Vassiz. Somehow, it was easier to think of Logan as a Vassiz than as a vampire. “So what happens now?”
“We run. We get as far away as we can. We can’t make contact with anybody. Hopefully, we can escape the others.”
“Others?”
“More are coming. I think the first two were only scouts. Once they realize what I’ve done, they’ll put the entire militia after us.”
“The militia? How many are there?”
“Vassiz live in separate packs all over the world. We don’t communicate with one another much, outside the pack. But… I know there are five packs near us, on the west coast. Some are hidden, out in the wilderness, and others live right with humans in the city. I fear we’ll soon have all five packs after us.”
“How many… members… is that?”
“Maybe twenty-five, thirty vampires total. Once the elders hear of the scouts’ failure, they’ll recruit them all.”
Thirty vampires. All coming after her. For the first time, Laura felt truly terrified. She had seen what only two can do. “But you said vampires don’t communicate outside their pack. How are they going to be recruited?”
“We communicate through the dream realm,” he said, “in times of great need.”
“You said they can track us by my scent. How are we ever going to get away?”
“Our only chance is to run as far as we can, as fast as we can. That’s our only escape. We can’t face them.” Then he looked down at the body and nudged it with his foot. “Anyway, this guy is going to be out for a while, so we’ll be able to get a bit of a lead. But we can’t take my car.”
“Why not?”
“It has your scent. We have to go by foot.” He paused, thinking. “Do you have your cell phone still?”
“Yes, it’s right here in my pocket,” Laura replied, pulling it out.
“Give it to me. I don’t know how well these packs are integrated within human society, but I don’t doubt that one of them will have the connections to track our location by that.”
Laura dropped the phone in his hand. Giving it away, she felt it symbolic of starting her new life. Logan reached back, as if he were about to throw the phone far into the distance, but then he stopped himself.
“Actually, I have a better idea,” he told her. He put the phone into his own pocket, and knelt down to hoist the unconscious vampire on his back. “Wait here. I’ll be back.” And before Laura could blink, he was gone, an indistinctive blur racing away through the woods.
--
Laura was sitting on a stump when Logan finally emerged from the woods. He carried a small bundle in his hands, and held it carefully.
“Where did you go?” she asked him when he came close enough.
“Back to the mill. I remembered something hidden there, long ago.” He nodded to the bundle. “I also brought our friend there and tied him up. He’ll be able to get out, eventually, but it gives us even more of a head start.”
“That’s good,” she said. “What’s in the parcel?”
“It’s for you,” he answered, and lowered it into her arms. She took hold. It wasn’t heavy, and felt soft in her hands. Like fabric, or cloth.
“What is it?” she asked.
“Open it and you’ll see.”
Slowly, she unwrapped the string that held it together. And pulled aside the brown paper flaps. Inside, she found a