CHAPTER 6
The street, which had until recently been a battleground, was now eerily silent except for the last embers of flame which were crackling along the ashen remains of the telephone pole. The bodies of Landon’s relatives lay motionless in the street, along with several members of the town who had come out with Will to help fight them. The remaining townspeople were regrouping slowly around the site of the explosion. Peter watched them with a wary eye, keeping Ashe hidden behind him. They had run out of bullets and most now carried improvised weapons they had picked up in the course of the fighting. Peter had no doubt they were planning to use those weapons on himself and Ashe.
A few of the townspeople had taken notice of Peter and were now coming his way. Peter knew the look on their faces, the fear and hatred that made them blind to the reality of what had just happened. Peter and Ashe had saved the town. If Landon hadn’t been stopped, he would have blown half the town of Morris into smithereens.
Peter tried to keep Ashe hidden as the hunters approached, but she stepped out from behind him and held on to his hand. She hadn’t left him when he was fighting Landon, and she wouldn’t leave him now. They were in this together until the end.
“It’s him,” Jerry said stopping short of the truck. He held a wooden stake in his hand whose tip was stained black. His hands were wet with the same color. Peter remembered the days he had spent working side-by-side with the man. It all seemed so long ago.
A woman Peter recognized as one of their neighbors waved towards Ashe. “You can come with us, sweetie. Don’t worry. We won’t let him hurt you.”
Ashe held more tightly to Peter’s hand, squeezing until he could feel the bones shift. He squeezed back reassuringly.
“I’m not going anywhere,” Ashe said. “And I won’t let you hurt him.” She pulled her lips back into a threatening grin. Her new vampire fangs shone white in the flickering firelight.
The woman gasped. “She’s one of them!”
Jerry took another step forward. “We’ll just have to kill you both, then.”
“No we don’t.” The blond man from Ashe’s memories appeared out of the crowd, his face streaked with soot and the gun in his hand bloody along the barrel. It was the first Peter had seen of Will since the battle’s start. He had kind eyes and a stoic expression, and Peter could see why Ashe had found a friend in him. If things had been different, maybe Peter could have too.
Will put a hand on Jerry’s shoulder forcing him back. Peter saw a black look cross Jerry’s face, but Will didn’t seem to notice. Will turned to face the group of hunters.
“They’re no danger to us. We should let them go.”
There were shouts of dissent. The hunters were too keyed up from the battle. They had lost friends, maybe even family in the fighting. They were not about to let two vampires walk free.
“Those things we fought tonight,” Will said, wiping blood from a gash on his lip earned during the fighting with the vampires, “are not the same as the two people who stand in front of you. We know Ashe, and Peter, and they’re good people. No one has gone missing since they moved here, and not one of us has been turned. This isn’t twenty years ago. Not all vampires are bad.”
Jerry didn’t seem convinced. He shoved Will to try and get past him. Will countered with a punch to the jaw that not only stopped Jerry but quieted most of the others as well.
He turned to Ashe. “Go, while you still have the chance.”
Ashe stood rigid. She seemed to still be in shock from the battle. “Come on,” Peter tugged at her arm. “He’s right. We have to go.”
Ashe let Peter lead her away from the truck, back towards their own house and the car still parked in the driveway. The battle was over, and their time in Morris was at a close. There was nothing to do but get in the car and drive far, far away.
They were back on the road, but this time there was a destination in mind. Shortly after leaving the house, Peter had called his parents. They had already made arrangements for Ashe and Peter to meet them in Europe, after finding out about Ashe’s transformation from Winnie and becoming concerned about the repercussions it would have with the rest of the clan. Ashe was glad to be leaving the country. She needed a change of scenery, a new life. She promised herself that this time things would be better. It couldn’t always be bad. Ashe wouldn’t let it.
Ashe watched the streets of Morris roll by for the last time. The theater was nearly finished, with its grand re-opening less than a month away. It was too bad Peter would not be able to see the result of all his hard work, though after finding out about the theater’s past it would have been impossible for him to enjoy being there anyway. A little while later they passed the library. The trees out front looked even more sinister in the gloom than they did during the day, but the building itself was beautiful as ever. The clock face on the building showed an early hour of the morning. Ashe felt weary but didn’t want to sleep. She needed to know the town of Morris was far behind her before she could close her eyes.
The night sky warmed as the stars gave way to the glow of dawn. The miles blurred together as they tended to do on long car trips, but still Ashe watched the scenery out her window. She wanted to keep Peter company as he drove. It didn’t matter that they were too tired to talk; just knowing that they were sharing the same view of the sun coming up through the fog on the horizon was enough. Once the fog cleared, they would have to change direction to be out of the direct path of sunlight, but for now they could enjoy the experience.
They had been driving for a few hours when they stopped at a small roadside gas station. It reminded Ashe of the one in Morris, where she had made her decision to stop their running and try and make a life for themselves. She had still been human then, and naive. Now she knew what the world was like for people like Peter. Now she was one of them. She would never make the same mistakes again.
As Peter washed the smashed bugs from the windshield, Ashe went inside to pay for gas and grab a snack. They hadn’t had time for breakfast and Ashe was starving. She bought a donut and a coffee and headed back to the car. Chances were; they wouldn’t stop again until evening. They had a plane to catch that night and too many miles in between. If only Peter’s parents had realized just how far they were from any international airports, Ashe thought, they wouldn’t have been in such a situation.
“What’s in the bag?” Peter asked as Ashe got into the car. She pulled out the donut, realizing she wasn’t feeling very hungry after all. She threw it back in the bag and took a sip of coffee instead.
Peter made a motion to stop her but he was too late. The liquid burned her tongue and made her eyes water. She felt sicker than she ever had before, her body rejecting the coffee as if it were poison. But it was poison, she thought. Anything but blood was now dangerous to her.
Peter rubbed her back as she choked out the remainder of the coffee. Ashe felt like crying but found she could not. Instead she felt only a deep ache in her chest and a cold that was entirely different from the chill of death that was always around her. Ashe told herself it was stupid to be so upset over a cup of coffee, but in truth it was much more than that. She would never enjoy real food again, nor the warmth of a sunny day or the fluttery feeling in her heart whenever Peter kissed her. Time would start to move at a strange pace as she got used to watching the world around her age without her. She was a vampire now and there was no going back, no second chances at a normal human life.
Peter put his arm around her. “I know it’s hard,” he said. “But you’ll get used to it. It’s not all bad, trust me.”
Ashe leaned into him. She wanted to believe him, but right now it was still too hard.
“Let me show you something,” he said. He took his arm from around her and turned the key in the ignition.
“Don’t we have a plane to catch?” Ashe asked.
“It’ll only take a minute,” Peter replied giving her no hint as to where they were headed. Ashe was left to wonder as left the gas station and turned in the opposite direction of where they were headed. There wasn’t much in the area except the gas station and the surrounding woods.
Peter pulled off the main road and onto a dirt path that led towards the woods. The trees soon surrounded the car they were driving and Ashe had the sneaking suspicion that Peter had no idea where he was going. Not long after, Peter stopped the car.
“We’re here,” he said.
There was nothing around them but the dirt road and the forest. Ashe didn’t know why he had chosen this place to stop over any others. Nevertheless, she got out of the car.
“What did you want to show me?” she asked.
Peter jogged around to her side of the car, the hint of a smile on his lips. She didn’t trust his expression.
“Tag, you’re it,” he said, slapping her lightly on the shoulder.
“Are you serious?” Ashe asked. Though she wasn’t clumsy by any means, she had never been much of an athlete. Besides, she hadn’t had the urge to play tag since she was in elementary school, and even then it had seemed a little too childish for her. Ashe had always preferred to play the piano or read to running around the neighborhood with kids who didn't know the difference between a dictionary and a thesaurus. Ashe had always felt out of place with people her age. It was no wonder she got along so well with Peter.
But Peter was looking at her right now with such expectation to indulge in his childish game of tag that she had no choice but to give in. “Fine,” she grumbled. “You’d better start running.”
Peter sprinted off through the trees and Ashe followed. Immediately she noticed a difference from before. Her movements were swift and sure, her muscles far stronger than even the most well-trained runner. It was more like gliding than running, and she had never felt anything like it. She realized at once why Peter had brought her out here. He wanted her to experience the full potential of her new powers. He wanted her to know that being a vampire wasn’t all bad.
But no matter how fast she ran, or how good it felt, Ashe could not catch up with Peter. She tried to reach out to him with her mind, to track his movements through what he was seeing. She caught fleeting glimpses of him through the trees but even those grew farther apart until she was entirely alone. It was clear that she still had a lot of learning to do before she could be a match for the likes of Peter.
Ashe reached out her mental net again, scanning the forest for Peter’s consciousness. She was slowly getting the hang of using her new powers, practicing whenever she could and mostly on Peter. She had learned not to try while he was driving, however, after a close encounter with a tree trunk caused by her trying to project images into his mind. The car had been spared, luckily, but Ashe promised after that not to exercise her abilities while Peter was in operation of any vehicles or in particular need of his mental faculties. This game of tag, however, was a different matter. She would use whatever advantage she had to catch him.
There was something alive, running fast ahead of her. It wasn’t Peter but it caught Ashe’s attention and she changed course to pursue it. It had a small, thudding heartbeat and its blood was pumping fast. Ashe could almost taste the fear coming off it in waves. It must have known a predator was on its tail.
Her fangs extended and her vision tunneled towards the rustling underbrush ahead of her. Ashe was spurred on by her hunger for fresh blood. Until now she had survived on the jars of blood Peter had packed with them before leaving Morris, but the jars had been on ice in a cooler in the back of the car and tasted of death. Ashe wanted live blood, and soon she would get it.
She pounced on her prey, catching it with her new lightning quick reflexes and sinking her fangs into its throat. The creatures struggled in her grip then was still. Sweet, warm blood welled up in Ashe’s mouth. It was a wild taste, like of the forest itself. She could barely believe how good it felt to finally, truly feed on a living animal. Ashe drank until the blood stopped flowing, and only then did she come back to her senses. When she did, she was aware of two things. One was the animal still gripped in her red-stained hands, a fluffy cottontail rabbit like one of those from a fairy tale but with its head at an unnatural angle and its glassy eyes staring unseeing up at her. The second thing she became aware of was the wolf.
It crouched between the trees, watching her with the rabbit. Ashe was not scared though. She could sense the understanding between them, two predators who knew well both the value of life and the necessity of killing. She tossed the dead rabbit towards the wolf.
“Go ahead,” she said.
The wolf eyed her for a while, its pointed ears twitching, then sauntered up to the rabbit and grasped it between its jaws. It turned around and disappeared back into the forest like a shadow. Ashe turned the other way. She still had to catch Peter.
Luckily he was not far, leaning back against a tree looking like he had all the time in the world.
“You’re slow,” he said before sprinting off. This time Ashe was close on his tail. The rabbit’s blood had invigorated her, making her even stronger than before.
She felt herself grinning as she caught up to Peter, and burst into laughter as she tagged him.
“Pretty good, isn’t it,” he said, starting to laugh himself.
Ashe had to agree.
“Better than gas station coffee?”
Ashe punched him. She couldn't believe he was already making jokes at her expense again. Peter stumbled back a few steps. “Ow, watch it. You’re a lot stronger than you were before. You could break an old man’s bones if you’re not careful.”
Ashe was glad to see some of the old Peter, and she felt some of her old self coming back as well. It felt good to laugh again.
“Ready to go back?” Peter asked.
“Yeah,” Ashe said, even though she knew there was no going back. Not really. There was only forward.
Ashe’s parents were standing outside the airport, David looking as always like a man from another time period with his long coat and brimmed hat resting low across his brow. He was little more than a silhouette in the night against the bright lights streaming out of the airport’s large glass windows, but Ashe recognized him immediately. She beamed as she saw him, practically running up to meet them with little regard for the luggage she had left behind with Peter. Ashe’s mother pulled her into a fierce hug, her wild red hair getting into Ashe’s face and tickling her nose.
“Mom,” Ashe said, trying to get free of the woman’s embrace.
“You’re so cold,” her mother replied and started vigorously rubbing Ashe’s back in an attempt to warm her up. “You should have worn a coat.”
Ashe wrestled herself free and held her mother at arm’s length. “It’s just how I am now,” she replied a little awkwardly. Though her parents knew about what had happened in Morris and Peter’s decision to turn her in order to save her life, Ashe wasn’t sure that her mother had really accepted it yet. The reality of it would probably set in after a few days, the realization that Ashe was no longer human.
Ashe’s mother frowned at her, eyeing her up and down in that concerned way only parents are able to. She seemed to be looking for anything else worth worrying about. Maybe a missing limb or an incurable disease. Except, of course, the vampirism, Ashe thought with a small laugh. That was definitely concerning, and definitely incurable.
Peter caught up with the luggage and set it down at their feet. “Everyone here?” he asked, looking around for his family who were supposed to be meeting them as well.
“Vanessa and Agatha were around here somewhere,” David grumbled. “And your mother and father went to call a taxi.”
There was a loud familiar giggle from behind them and everyone turned. Vanessa and Agatha had their arms linked with a tall, handsome man in a pilot’s uniform who was no doubt delighted to have such two beautiful women fawning over him. His face was beet red and he looked about ready to topple over in joy.
“My daughters, you know better than that.” Peter’s father stepped out of the shadows like a wraith, the sternness of his expression making up quite well for the shortness of his stature. Ashe and the others could only watch the scene unfold, feeling glad the man’s fury was not directed towards any of them.
The young man in the pilot’s cap began to apologize profusely, his face turning an even more alarming shade of red. The two women reluctantly let go of their prey, pouting in a manner that better fit a child than a woman of two-hundred years. As soon as he was free, the young man shot away into the crowd with surprising speed. Ashe thought that was the best thing he could have done. Though small, Peter’s father Otto was no man to cross.
“What have I said about humans?” Otto was lecturing as he led his daughters back towards the group.
“Peter was dating Ashe when she was still human,” Vanessa protested. “You didn’t say anything then.”
Ashe couldn’t help but smile. Vanessa was never the most tactful woman, but she sure had a lot of spirit which Ashe could admire.
“That was different,” Otto snapped.
“I don’t see how it is,” Agatha chimed in.
Otto looked like he could have punched a hole through one of the large windows behind him, but he held his tongue. Ashe suspected that his daughters would get more of a lecture once they were safely back home. Wherever home was.
She didn’t have time to ask Peter because a car had rolled up and Peter was already loading their luggage into the back. Vanessa chatted loudly to Agatha as they piled into the back seat. “It’ll be easier once they get married. Mom and Dad will be so caught up with introducing Ashe to everyone that they’ll forget all about us. I’m so glad we’re back in Prague. Those American men just aren’t my type.”
“Married?” Ashe asked.
Vanessa was too busy talking to Agatha to hear her.
Ashe turned to Peter, who smiled back shyly. “It’s not really a marriage, since us vampires obviously aren’t religious. It’s more of a formality. Sign a couple of papers, get entered into the clan registry...”
Ashe couldn’t believe that Peter hadn’t told her they were getting married until now. Of course, she had assumed she would spend the rest of eternity with him, but she hadn’t really thought about it in formal terms. She was going to become an official part of his family, his clan. It was all too much to take in and she felt like crying.
“Are you okay?” Peter asked, noticing the change in her.
She hugged him fiercely and gave him a kiss. “For a hundred-year-old, you’re pretty stupid,” she said. It was all she could manage through the rush of emotion.
“Then why was I assigned to be your tutor?” Peter replied.
Ashe laughed and got into the car with Peter close behind. He twined his fingers into hers, their hands resting together on the seat of the car. Ashe didn’t know what lay ahead, but she didn’t mind. She had Peter, and that was all that really mattered.