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  Yet, it was a new day. There were things that needed to be done. They had to come up with a plan. She couldn't hide in his house forever, no matter how tempting the idea was. Sooner or later, whoever those agents worked for were going to come looking for him. He had driven the SUV outside of town and hidden it out in the woods, but he was sure they would find it eventually, probably in not very long at all, then they would come looking for who had killed their people.

  The good news was that he doubted they would think it was Heather. That would mean someone else in the area was a bigger liability than her, or at least he hoped they would. There was no way they would think that a teenage boy could have taken their CIA agents out, assuming they actually were CIA. What did he know? He had no idea what was going to happen. The shit was going to hit the fan. That was all he knew for sure. Agents or criminals, did it matter? Someone was going to be pissed, and he was smack dab in the middle of it. Him and Heather both.

  Well, whatever happened, at least he was with her. He couldn't ask for more than that. Now however, he needed her up, and a plan.

  "Heather." He shook her and she moved, actually, she stretched.

  "Heather, are you awake?" Her eyes snapped open, and her entire body tensed. A moment later she sat straight up and looked around the room, confused.

  "Where...Where am I?" She asked

  "It's okay. You're safe for now."

  "Brian?" She looked up at him, her face clouding as if she were trying to remember something.

  "Are you hungry, Heather? I have some food downstairs, if you would like to eat."

  It was as if a light went on in her head at that moment. The confused look disappeared, and worry took its place.

  "Mama? Mama!" She shouted then, jumped off the bed so quickly that it startled Brian into inactivity. The teenage girl ran down the stairs and looked like she was heading for the front door.

  "Heather, no! Don't go out there!"

  But it was already too late, as he heard the front door slam open and Heather's voice calling out for her parents, likely running across the street toward her house. Brian walked to his window and looked out as she reached her front porch. A few seconds later, she was inside her house, he assumed looking for her parents. Now what? What was he supposed to do now? If anyone was watching, they now knew she was here. Brian looked up and down the street from his window. He didn't see anyone heading for the girl's house. Of course, they could already be in there waiting for her. In fact, she could already be in their custody, and any second now a fleet of black SUVs could come screaming up the street to take her away and anyone else stupid enough to be involved with her. Well, if that was the case, then he really didn't have any real choices. He had better hurry over there and get ready for his ride.

  The first thing he heard when he entered the house was Heather crying. He found her in what he assumed was her parents' bedroom. She was sitting there on the edge of the bed, oddly enough holding a red bathrobe and crying into it.

  "Heather?" He asked, hoping he wasn't intruding.

  "They didn't even give them time to put it on." She sobbed at him

  "The robe?" he asked.

  "Why did they take them away Brian?”

  What was he supposed to say to her? He had no idea what was going on. He didn't have anyone to ask for help. All he had was his aunt, and he only saw her these day's when she would drop off his shipment. What was that once, maybe twice a week? Sometimes it would be once a month if the supply was big enough. Then he wouldn't see her for so long, he wondered if she would show up when he was out again, or what he was going to do if she didn't show up.

  "Heather, we need to go. They could come back at any moment, and we can't be here if they do."

  "Why? What did I do? I didn't do anything wrong."

  This wasn't getting anywhere, and they really couldn't stay here any longer.

  "Heather, look at me." He walked over and grabbed her chin, turning her face in his direction. Looking into her eyes, he said again. "Heather, we need to go. Come with me."

  The distraught teen smacked his hand away from her and stood up. "I'm not going anywhere until I find out what happened to my family."

  Great he thought. Strike two. I'm not batting a thousand today.

  "Heather, these are bad men, we can't stay here. Hell, I'm not sure we can stay at my house, but it's better than right here where they're expecting to find you."

  "You go if you want, but I'm not going anywhere." She walked to the phone on the table next to the bed, and picked up the receiver.

  "Heather."

  She dialed three quick numbers

  "Heather, who are you calling?"

  He heard the clear voice of a woman come over the phone. "911, please state the nature of your emergency."

  "I need to speak with the sheriff." Heather answered.

  "Heather, don't..." he walked to her.

  "Stay away from me!" She choked, and tried to push him away with one arm.

  "Ma'am, are you in danger?" He heard the woman's voice over the phone.

  He couldn't believe this was happening. After all the trouble he went through for her, all the things that he'd done just to protect her, it was all about to unwind right before him, and he was helpless to do anything about it.

  "Heather, you're not thinking clearly. We need to talk."

  "Talk about what?" she asked as tears ran down from her eyes, as she looked up at him

  "Ma'am, are you in trouble, do you need assistance?" The voice squawked.

  "Those people could have been the police, and if they are, they were looking for you."

  "Why? Why would the police of taken my Mama?" She sobbed again.

  "Ma'am, what is the address you're calling from?"

  Brian reached over and hung the phone up with his finger, as the woman continued to talk on the other side of it.

  "I think it had something to do with the house you and Chuck were at last night."

  "What?" Confusion filled her face again.

  "I think Chuck stumbled into something when he went down stars last night."

  "I didn't see anything."

  Brian softly took her arm with one hand, and took the receiver out of her hand with the other.

  "Heather, we have to go. As in now."

  "But, my parents.." she started, shaking her head.

  "Heather, they most likely have traced that call, and know exactly where you called from. That means the police will be here any moment, and we really shouldn't be here when they get here."

  "Brian, I'm not going anywhere until I find out what happened to my parents. Now, you can go if you want to, but I'm calling the police."

  "No, Heather, you can't, you've got to trust me."

  "Trust you, Brian?" She started to shout, "I don't even know you!" she pulled her arm out of his hand and backed away from him.

  "That's not true. We've been going to school together for years."

  "So? I don't know you. I've never even talked to you before now." She pulled farther away from him, her face turning to disgust. "Who do you think you are, coming into my house and telling me what to do?"

  "Heather..."

  "No! Get out of my house...Now!"

  Brian stopped walking toward, her and just looked at her. She looked at him like he was some kind of monster. Didn't she understand what she meant to him? What he did for her? What he would do for her? He could hear sirens in the distance, and from the way they were getting louder, it was obvious they were coming this way.

  "Heather, don't...!"

  She turned, and ran for the front door. "Help me!" She yelled as she ran outside. Tires screeched, as police cars came to a stop out in front of the house. He could hear Heather shouting, and the sounds of men's voices joining hers. It was only a matter of seconds before they would come into the house in search of him. Yet, a part of him didn't care. He wasn't sure how he expected her to react, but this wasn't it. So he stood there, playing over the last few minutes in h
is head, trying to see what exactly he had done wrong, and no matter how he looked at it, no matter which side he looked at it from, he still couldn't see it.

  Shaking his head, Brian walked to the bedroom closet. He could hear the police enter the house from the front door as he opened the closet and walked into it as he shut the door behind him.

  Well, he was certainly going to have to handle this differently the next time he talked to her, he thought. It was a good thing he had been right about the closet, it was so dark in it, he couldn't see a thing in here, but then, that was the point, wasn't it? The sound of someone in the bedroom came through the closed door. He clearly heard what he assumed was an officer say the word clear. First, he needed to eat and rest up just a bit. Not sleep, since he really didn't sleep any more. It was like food. He could eat it, and it would keep him alive, but he would start to get weaker and after a while regardless, his abilities would stop functioning. He wasn't sure how long that would go, or what would happen after that, as he really didn't like going without his special powers.

  The closet door flew open. A police officer pointed his gun into the closet, while he shined a bright flashlight with his other hand into it at the same time. Brian could see the stress and tension on the man's face as he shined the light into Brians face.

  "Clear!" The officer shouted, then moved out of the bedroom, followed by the other officer Brian couldn't see. He could smell, but not see. Their heightened tension had their hearts pumping like jackhammers in their chest, and their bodies gave off the smell of the one thing he needed at the moment. Still, he was just going to have to wait and get it once he could get back to his house. He had to admit, the thought had crossed his mind of just jumping out of the little closet and sinking his teeth into the startled police officer, and make it look like it was something out of a movie. That would really have given them something to talk about back at headquarters.

  Yeah, that would have been cool, except that he had no idea what would have happened if they shot him. As far as he knew, he could still be killed with a gun. After all, he had injured himself in the past and he had bled. He also healed, but not like how all those stories always talked about. No, he healed normally, just like everyone else, that was, until he ate. Once he consumed blood, everything changed. Since he didn't eat every day, in an attempt to ration what he had, it was two days until he had eaten the last time he'd injured himself, but once he had, the cut had not only healed, but literally sealed itself shut, leaving not even a scar, when the wound was clearly deep enough to leave one.

  The sound of Heather's voice announced her presence in the house. She was accompanied by several officers by the sound of it.

  "I'm telling you, he was here."

  "Well, he's not now. We're checking his house to see if he's over there. Do you wish to file a complaint against him?"

  "Yes, I mean no, I mean...I don't know."

  "Was he attempting to assault you, Ma'am?"

  "What...Brian? No, he was just..."

  "If he wasn't trying to hurt you, why did you call the police for help?"

  "I didn't. I was calling about my parents."

  "And where are they?"

  "I don't know, that's why I was calling."

  Brian heard the sound of a police radio going off, and a few seconds later the officer that had been questioning Heather spoke again.

  "Ma'am. were going to need you to come to the police station with us."

  An officer walked into the bedroom and looked around. Brian watched as he picked up a few things and looked at them, before putting them back down.

  "What? No, I need to find my parents." He heard her say.

  "I know...Heather, is it?"

  Brian didn't hear her respond so assumed she must have nodded her head in response.

  "We need to clear this up, Miss, and I'm sure we can help you out back at the station." Another screech of the radio announced another call to the officer.

  "Just a second, Miss, I need to answer this." He heard him say. He could hear the radio dim, presumably as the man walked outside. The officer in the bedroom started opening dresser drawers and rummaging about in them.

  "Alright, Heather, we're taking you downtown to answer some questions," The other officer said, a few moments later, as he clearly had returned.

  "Why? Am I under arrest?"

  "No, Ma'am, we just need you to come with us."

  He heard Heather begin to struggle as the her rescuer must have begun to force her to come with him.

  "Stop it, you're hurting me! I haven't done anything!"

  Here it was again. A choice. Not just any choice, but a choice that once again involved her. A choice that went against everything his family had taught him about keeping himself secret. He should just stay here in the shadows until everyone was gone. He could listen to the love of his life be physically restrained and dragged out of her house by force, and decide what to do from there...or he could make the wrong choice and rescue the damsel in distress.

  He heard Heather scream in pain as the sound of handcuffs closing came from the hallway. The officer in the bedroom was now on his knees looking under Heather's parents' bed.

  Really, Brian thought. Am I ever going to get a choice again?

  Chapter 6

  He really hated moving quickly. It somehow used up his core strength whenever he did. Some of his abilities didn't seem to tax him at all. Others, like moving so fast that he could knock out three police officers before they realized he was right on top of them, did. In fact, that was one of the worst, for some reason. Couple that with the fact that it was broad daylight outside, and that all added up to one thirsty young vampire. The one thing he had going for him was that he was still indoors. Granted, the front door was wide open, and sun was streaming into the hallway where he was standing with two of the unconscious officers, but for part of the run, he had been sheltered by the house.

  "What...Where did you come from?" Heather looked up from her knees, her hands looked painfully locked in handcuffs behind her back.

  "Happy to see me?" Brian asked with a smile.

  "No...yes, I don't know."

  "Well, if you like, I can just leave you here and let officer friendly drag you downtown kicking and screaming when he wakes up."

  She looked down at the unconscious men, her eyes widening slightly. How she had failed to notice the two men sprawled there on the floor was beyond him. Given the look on her face, though, she had.

  "Brian, what did you do?"

  "I'm....saving you? Can't you see?" He smiled and pointed down at the two men posing as he did so.

  "Why?" She sputtered.

  "Well, let's see, you were screaming for help and telling him to let go of you." She just stared at him, and from her look she was having a hard time digesting it. "Look, we need to go. I mean really need to go. They're not going to sleep there all day, and I think that some of their friends outside may object to them suddenly taking a nap right now. So, what say we take ourselves elsewhere?"