Nightmare City

The hospital stay was a speedy blur. A few doctors examined me, poked me with needles and prodded my head. I was placed in a very large, very loud machine several times, pictures of my brain were recorded, scanned, and peered at.

The food was both horrendous and awful. Picking at it did little good, Mom insisted I eat some and even threatened to feed me herself.

Chris bought some magazines from the gift shop, not wanting to stray any further away from me. He kept a tender, smothering, watch over me at all times, to make sure I was eating, to make sure no hunters stormed my room, guns blazing.

It was the worst three days of my life, but not because I was there, because of what wasn’t. One thing kept repeating over and over in my head, spilling from my lips. “When can I go home?”

Mom sat next to the bed, Chris was out of the room, raiding the vending machines for something I could stomach. She had brought an old shoebox with her, it sat in her lap, the white cardboard faded and yellowed. “I wanted to talk to you about that. I can see that things are rough for you, I’m not blind. Just tell me how much.”

“I don’t know sometimes, Mom.” I put a hand to my head. A thick bandage covered my temple, protecting the slow to heal wound underneath. “I think it’s really bad right now, but most of the time, things are good. Life is pretty normal, except for these... things... that happen every now and then.”

It was undeniably true. Gabriel and I had our differences, sure, but we had managed to live together for half a year. It was insane, but I was starting to miss arguing with him.

Mom lifted her hands up, stopping me from continuing. “That’s not what I meant. How much money do you need?”

Now I was lost, and this time it didn’t feel like the concussion’s fault. “I don’t need any money, Mom. I inherited Katrina’s whole estate.”

She placed a hand on my own. “It’s okay honey, I know you don’t want to tell me the details. That’s fine, I won’t ask, but I have something that can help.” She lifted the lid off the shoebox. It was filled to the top with bundles of wrapped envelopes.

“What’s all that?”

“It’s all yours, sweetie.” Mom cleared her throat. “From you father.”

My father? I had never known the man, never really even thought about who he was. Mom had been the only one I attached to when I was younger. Other kids in school had single moms as well, so his absence was never perceived as a loss.

Nevertheless, the shoebox stuffed with envelopes called to me. I lifted one hand, reaching out, then paused, hesitant. “What’s going on, Mom?”

Mom ducked her head a little, as if she was embarrassed, an expression I had never seen on her before. Perhaps I was hallucinating again after all. “I’m afraid I’ve lied a bit to you, about your father.”

“Lied? You never talk about him. When did you lie?”

“I lied when I told you he’s never contacted me after he discovered I was pregnant with you. That’s not true, he’s been sending these.” She lifted one of the bundles out of the box and slid off the rubber band, then she handed it to me.

My hand shook as I grasped the papers, I tried to hand them back quickly, but Mom wouldn’t take them. I wasn’t ready for this, I definitely wasn’t ready for this. “Mom, I can’t do this right now. I have other things to worry about, I don’t have the energy to open up another Pandora’s box. I need to get home, I have to check on Gabriel.”

She brought her hands to my face, shushing me gently. “I know sweetie, and this can help. I’m sorry I kept them from you so long, my pride kept getting in the way. I promise I’ll let it all go, if it can help you be safe.”

I dropped the stack into my lap and picked up the top one. It was postmarked over a decade ago, Mom’s name and address a handwritten scrawl. There was no return address.

The envelope had never been opened. I tore the flap messily, revealing only a single slip of paper. I pulled it out and looked it over. “This is a five hundred dollar savings bond.” I said hollowly. What had I been expecting? And explanation? An apology?

Mom nodded. “He sent one each year on your birthday, and then again at Christmas. Every mother’s day, he sends another one for me. Sometimes there are postmarks, sometimes I guess he just sticks them in the mailbox. I never cashed them, even when they matured. There was never a letter of any kind, so after a while I just stopped opening them.” She shrugged in defeat.

I stared at her in disbelief. “Are you serious?” I exclaimed. “With all we’ve had to struggle...” My breathing became faint as the memories overwhelmed me. “What about when the apartment flooded? Or when we lost the electricity for THREE days? You made me eat an entire bottle of ketchup!”

Her head was bowed. She gripped the box tightly, till her knuckles were white. “I was determined to take care of you on my own...”

“You PAWNED Nana’s good necklace when we were three months behind rent!” My blood was rising up, making my face feel flushed.

Mom turned her jade eyes on me. “That doesn’t matter right now. What matters right now is making sure you’re safe. There should be enough in this shoebox to pay off the nasties that have been following you. You might even get Gabriel back mostly intact.”

She was utterly crazy, I was sure of it now. “You think I borrowed money from THE MOB?!” My voice rose to something close to a roar. I felt like I was spiraling down a drain pipe, what the hell was happening with my life? Wasn’t ANYTHING the way I had thought it was?

“Of course not sweetie, I know you’re too smart for that. I know it’s all your housemate’s fault. I also know that you care for him, so whatever trouble he’s in, I’m going to help you both out.”

I dropped the papers into my lap and covered my face with my hands. “The whole world’s gone insane.” My voice was muffled by my hands. “I just want to go home.”

“The doctor is writing up your discharge papers now, then I’ll be taking you back to the apartment.” She patted my knee comfortingly.

“What?! No. I’m going back to my house. Gabriel might be there.”

“If he is, he’s not answering the phone.” Chris said, entering the room with his cellphone in hand. “His cellphone is going straight to voice mail, too.”

I massaged my uninjured temple. “Do you have any good news for me?”

“The doctor is just down the hall, he’s got your discharge papers.”

I threw my sheet off of me. “Good, I’m getting dressed. I’ve spent far too much time laying around here, being useless.”

“Sweetie! You were unconscious for most of it.” Mom objected.

“Then I was being extra useless. Gabriel needs me, I can feel it. He’s probably gotten into piles of trouble while I’ve been here.”

Mom looked over at Chris, who shrugged helplessly. “I’ve never been able to stop her from doing something she’s set her mind on, have you?”

Mom gathered the envelopes back into the box and covered it again. She stood up. “All right, then, but whatever happens is all on you.”

“Understood.” I gave her my best determined look. It was rather difficult in a hospital gown with my head bandaged, but I think I pulled it off.

“You got a head full of cement, you know that? Dense and hard as a rock.”

“I know, I get that from you.”

********

It was strange, Mom standing on my porch, looking out at the sea of white gravel surrounding the house. “Did Aunt Katrina not like plants?” she asked. She kept rubbing her upper arms, as if she was cold, but the pre-summer night was warm. “Or... grass?”

“She was getting on in years.” I said as I unlocked the front door. Chris was waiting in his jeep, ready to drive Mom back to the city once I was settled in. “Most likely she couldn’t look after a big yard, this was just easier.”

Of course, I couldn’t tell her the real reason for the metric ton of gravel, with salt underneath, blanketing the land. Great Aunt Katrina had Gabriel locked in the attic for fifty years, and since he could absorb life energy from plants, she had sterilized the surrounding area for a quarter mile.

I got the door open and turned on the porch lights. I grabbed the handle of rolling suitcase Chris had loaded up with my things from the hospital. Mom’s shoebox was in there too, but I would think about that later. “Are you sure you’ll be all right?” she asked me, looking doubtful.

“She’ll be fine.” a new voice said from the side of the house. To my surprise, Callie was walking up to us, her footsteps making no sound on the gravel. She smiled at me warmly. “I’ll look after her till Gabriel comes back.”

“Callie!” I cried happily. “You have no idea how happy I am to see you!” If anyone in the world could help me find Gabriel, then it was definitely Callie.

“I don’t know how I feel about leaving two young women alone in the middle of nowhere.” Mom said sternly.

“Angie will be perfectly safe with me.” Callie said, laying her influence on thick. “You should go home and get some rest. Angie will call you as soon as anything changes.”

Mom’s expression cleared instantly. “I guess you’re right.” She wrapped me up in a big hug and kissed my cheek, then headed back to the jeep.

As soon as Chris pulled the jeep out of the clearing and to the road I turned the Callie, who tackle-hugged me at the same time. “Angie!” she cried. “Thank goodness you’re okay!”

“Callie, are you crying?” I asked in disbelief.

“Of course I am! You have no idea how close you were to death. If the bullet hadn’t ricocheted before hitting you... a silver bullet can kill a human just as effectively as it can a vampire.”

I wrapped my arms around her shoulders. “I’m sorry I worried you.” I said softly.

“It’s not your fault.” Callie pulled away from me and gave me a once over. Her hand went to the bandage on the side of my head, but she didn’t touch it. “It’s all his fault.”

“Who? Gabriel or the hunter?”

“Neither, this is all David Lucien’s fault.” Callie’s blue eyes were as hard as sapphires, and her voice was icy. “I didn’t see it at first, but after what’s happened, it’s becoming more and more clear.”

“We’d better get inside so we can talk.” I told her. “There is a lot to go over.”

********

“David has been pulling a lot of the strings behind everyone’s backs.” Callie said once we were settled in the living room. “I’m still not even sure about the full extent of it.”

I sipped from a cup of lemon tea gently. “Isn’t that his job? He is a lawyer. Don’t they do all the dirty stuff behind the scenes.”

“Except he’s following his own interests now.”

“What’s he been doing?”

“I won’t be able to see the precise details until I see him personally, but he’s been getting rid of your Great Aunt Katrina’s memories.”

“Memories? How so?”

“After you and Gabriel went to the empty gravesite, he sold it. Then, after you went to the Fertility Clinic with Gabriel, I saw that he was the one who attacked it. Your line keeps crossing his.”

Of course Callie knew I had gone to the Fertility Clinic. There was little she didn’t know about me. Her future telling and clairvoyance bordered on scary sometimes, and I still wasn’t sure how it worked.

“Selling an unused grave doesn’t sound terribly suspicious, but why would he attack the Fertility Clinic?” I asked in confusion. “Why would he steal frozen eggs?”

“The line is a dead end, so my guess is that he destroyed them.” Callie replied. “I won’t know for certain until I see him in person, though.”

“It doesn’t make any sense. He was the only one who knew about them, and he was the one keeping up with the payments. He could probably just go there and claim them any time he wanted. Why bust in and smash up the place?”

“I still don’t know that. His line zigzags all over the place. It crosses your line, my line, even your mother’s. He’s everywhere and I can’t keep track of it all.” Callie gave me a long look. “You have no idea how I felt when I saw your line split. I saw two futures, at the same time, one of you in the hospital, and one-” she stopped, her eyes welling up.

“And the other in the morgue, I’m guessing.”

She nodded. “Angie, if it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t be here. You were the only person other than my sister who ever took care of me. I’m trying to live on my own, but if something ever happened to you, I don’t think I could take it.”

She pulled me close and we hugged for a long moment. I was the first to pull away, there was something pressing on my mind and if I didn’t get it out I was going to go crazy. “Can you tell me where Gabriel is now? He’s not answering his cellphone, and I’m worried he’s got himself kidnapped or trapped or something.”

Callie gave me a long look, her blue eyes wide. She looked to the side when she said, “I don’t know where Gabriel is.”

“What do you mean? Can’t you... uh... follow his line or something?”

Her shoulders sagged. “No, I can’t. I’ve lost his line.”

Foreboding drew over me like dark clouds. “I’m not going to pretend I know what I’m talking about, but how did you lose his line? He lived here with you like I did.”

“I can follow it up to a certain point, then I can’t see it anymore.” she said. “I don’t know how to explain it.”

My gut twisted painfully. “Is he...” My mouth went dry and I tried again. “Is he...”

She shook her head. “I’m not sure, I’ll try to explain it as best I can. Usually when someone dies, the line is cut, dead. Gabriel’s doesn’t end, I just can’t see it any more. It’s shrouded in darkness, I’m not sure if it continues or not.”

“That’s bad, isn’t it?” I asked nervously. Dread was filling my legs with cement. My teacup felt heavier by the second. “Something happened to him.”

She looked back at me, her eyes sad. She nodded slowly. “Even if he’s still alive, the Gabriel we both know... doesn’t exist any more.”

My teacup slipped through my numb fingers, hit the coffee table, and shattered.

Callie put a hand on my shoulder, both to steady and to comfort. “I’m so sorry, Angie.” She cleaned up the broken cup, and the spilled tea while I sat there numbly.

“Callie, I think I need to be alone for a bit.” I said softly.

She was in the kitchen, but she still heard me. “If that’s what you want.” she said. “I do have to get back to my room mate. He’s almost as trouble prone as you are.”

“Take care of yourself.” I rose from my seat and walked Callie to the door. “Come by tomorrow night, if you can.”

She nodded. “I’ll be here to check up on you. Chris will be here before me though, even with traffic.”

“Thank you, Callie.”

“You’ll feel better in the morning. I know that for certain.”

I didn’t answer, opening the door and seeing her out. I leaned against the door for a moment, concentrating on breathing properly.

The house was utterly still, absolute silence ringing in my ears. During the daytime, it was like this while Gabriel slept, before Chris had moved himself in. Other days, I savored this time, some peace and quiet away from Gabriel’s abrasiveness. Now, I just felt hollow.

I should probably lay down, I could tell I was tired in a very distance way. I still needed plenty of bed rest to heal fully. I couldn’t just down a pint of pig’s blood and regenerate.

The staircase went up a mile high, it was forever before I reached the top. My bedroom door was the closest to the stairs, but I didn’t want to go in there. It was insufferably normal in there. I passed the door to Callie’s old room, it would probably go to Chris now.

I stopped at the door at the end of the hall, the one that led to the master bedroom. I put my hand on the knob and opened it slowly. The room was dark, and my hand went to the switch by the door automatically.

The doorway led into a short hallway with closet doors on both sides. Knowing Gabriel, both of the walk-in closets were full. The vampire loved his expensive white button down shirts.

The windows lined the two walls opposite the door. They were all covered with thick black garbage bags, and duct taped in place. There was a massive desk in the corner, with an impressive leather chair. Gabriel’s laptop sat in the middle, closed.

The door to the master bath was to my right, the king-sized bed to the left. I turned left.

The bed was neatly made, in fact the whole room was neat as a pin. I hadn’t really thought about it before, but Gabriel was rather fastidious and tidy. That was one of the good things about living with him, I was never cleaning up after him.

I lay down on the bed, tucking my hands under the pillow. The blanket was cream colored and soft. The mattress was firm, yet yielding. It was a nice bed.

I breathed in slowly. Gabriel didn’t have a scent of his own, but I could smell his cologne, mixed with whatever it was that he put in his hair.

I turned to my back, looking up at the ceiling. He was still alive, wasn’t he? Surely Callie would feel it if he had died, wouldn’t she?

You have no idea how vampire powers work.

My hands clenched, the nails digging into the pillow. He was hurt, most likely. The hunter had probably injured him and he was laying low while he made his way back to the house. He probably broke his cellphone, again.

It’s been three days, surely he could have made it home in that amount of time... if he were alive.

“Dammit, Dimitri! Knock it off!” I sat up quickly, hurling my pillow across the room.

It bounced off the desk and fell to the floor.

I looked at it stupidly. Dimitri? Why had I-

Startled, I turned to the side and saw him leaning against the bathroom door. His violet eyes glittered in mirth.

“What the hell are you doing here?” I demanded.

He spread his arms out and gave me an elaborate shrug. “I’m not here.” he said simply.

“Who do you think you’re fooling?”

“It’s the truth.” He stepped towards me, lifting on hand and touching my forehead with the tip of his finger. “I’m right here.”

I brushed his hand away irritably, but he was gone before I touched him. I turned back to the desk and he was seated in the chair, Katrina’s diary open in his hands. “Where did you get that?” I demanded. “I gave that away.”

He shook his head and sighed. “It’s not the real one, this is your memory of the book. It’s all very interesting, I must say. Who knew Gabriel had such a bitter, yet graceful enemy?”

“Close it right now!” I shouted. “That’s not for you to read!”

“As you wish.” He snapped the book shut and held it out to me. I crawled to the end of the bed and reached for it, but he let it go. It vanished before it hit the carpet.

I narrowed my eyes at him. “Stop trying to break my brain.” I warned.

His long fingers closed over my outstretched wrist. He leaned his face close to mine. “Oh, it was broken a long time before I ever came here.” he whispered.

“I don’t get your crap, Dimitri.” I said irritably, trying to free my hand from his vise-like grip. “Why are you so obsessed with me? Didn’t your dad send you in my mind in the first place just to spy on Gabriel?”

“This is true, but as so often happens, once I was in your mind, seeing the ordered disarray that was available. Well, I just have to disturb the peace.”

“You’re sick, Dimitri, you’re one of those guys that can’t pass a crystal unicorn without smashing it to pieces.”

“You’re probably right about that. Now that Gabriel is dead, your mind is in a terrible state. You’re ripe for... consuming.”

I pulled on my arm, straining to get as far away from him as possible. “So, what? You were just waiting around for Gabriel to leave the picture so you could make your move? Sounds cowardly and lame to me.”

“I was planning on killing him myself, but I will admit you’re not my top priority at the moment.”

“Cowardly, lame, and opportunistic. I see...” I tried to grab his arm, hoping I could at least pry his fingers off of me, but he disappeared before I touched him.

I fell back on the bed and Dimitri was over me the next second. “You’re so cute when you’re frustrated.” he smiled at me.

“Get off of me.” I said, my teeth gritted together.

“Perhaps... if you beg.”

“Ugh, get over yourself.”

“Hmm? Perhaps you’re biased towards the way I look?” One second Dimitri was over me, his legs straddling my waist, and in the next second, it was Gabriel. His eyes glowed bright red and a smile I had never seen before crossed his lips. “Maybe you prefer this?”

My eyes widened. “Stop this, right now.” I said, my voice little more than a gasp.

“Why? This is the only way you’ll be able to be with him, now.”

I buried the heels of my hands into my eyes. “Leave me alone.” Sudden tears burned down my cheeks. “NOW!” I screamed.

After a long moment, I uncovered my eyes. The room was empty, calm and still. I reached under my head and pulled down the pillow, burying my face into it. My whole body shook as I cried.

********

Pain was like the sea; vast, flowing and ebbing. Stormy one second, still as glass the next, but it was always there, and I was drowning in it. Death’s weight did not pull me under, I just continued to drown, endlessly.

I had no sight, the pain had robbed me of it. It had scoured my voice away, till there was nothing left. It bound me, so I could not move.

“Don’t play with dead things.” A haughty voice, tiny, and unmistakeably female. It was a blessed skiff in my sea of hurt.

“I think it’s still alive!” A boy’s voice. He sounded very excited that I was still attached to the mortal coil. I was... less so. “Hey, are you alive?” he asked tenderly.

I was in too much pain not to be, but when I tried to express that feeling, all that came out was a distressed groan. I think it was mine, but I wasn’t completely sure.

“Oh, don’t move.” the boy’s voice filled with concern. “You’ve been burned very badly. Were you out in the sun? You should really have known better.”

The sun! I recalled instantly a scorching white hot flame engulfing my body. No wonder I couldn’t see, my eyes were gone.

“You don’t have much skin left, and your arms are gone. Lucky you were wearing pants, or your legs would be gone, too.” How could he sound so cheerful right now? Was he really so happy that I still somehow managed to keep my legs? It didn’t matter to me, I couldn’t feel them anyway.

“I’m going to get you out of here.” he said. “We’ll rescue you. We know a very good doctor that can help you.”

“Speak for yourself.”

“We can’t just leave it here.” the boy pleaded.

There was a long silence, in which I contemplated how easy it would be to just expire right here. The only thing I could recall was that burning, searing, blistering, light. Would I be able to forget if I just let myself die? Would it finally let me?

“All right, just stop looking at me like that.” the girl grumbled. Her voice came from a little distance away. “You’re carrying it back by yourself, though.”

“I know.” the boy answered cheerfully. “I wouldn’t want you to mess your dress anyway.”

Why did they keep calling me ‘it’? Was I so badly burned that they couldn’t recognize my gender? What was my gender? Who was I at all, except for a vessel that held agony?

“I’m going to cut you down now. I’ll be careful, but it’ll probably hurt a lot. I’m sorry for that.” The world lurched and fire pulsed. The pain surged again, an echo of the blistering heat, but still enough to send me back into the depths of unconsciousness.