Fallen Blood Page 9

  "Are you sure they were going to Woodland?"

  The officer looked a bit confused at that question. "Why wouldn't they be?"

  Great! The man had no idea where he was going. They very well might be going the wrong way. If they were, then how was he going to find her now, short of waiting until tonight and traveling to her? Unbelievable! He wanted to rescue her now.

  "There they are." The sheriff pointed out in front of them. Sure enough, Brian could see the top lights of a police car in the distance. It was quite possible that it could be the one. If it were, he had to come up with a way to rescue her.

  "Do you have your handcuff keys on you?" Brian asked him. The man nodded. "Good, give them to me." Reaching into the top pocket in his shirt he pulled out two little silver keys on a small metal ring and tossed it to him. So that's where they keep them, Brian thought as he pocketed the keys.

  "Alright, if this is them, I want you to take them into custody. Be warned, they are heavily armed and may try to shoot us."

  'I understand." The officer answered. "Here." He pulled out another set of keys and tossed them to him. "Unlock the shotgun."

  Brian did as he was asked. As he sat up, he could see that they were almost on top of the other police cruiser. "Hold on." The officer said, as he passed by them then turned in front of them, slamming on the brakes. Smoke rose from the tires as they came to a stop. The sheriff wasted no time jumping from the car while grabbing the shotgun.

  "Out of the car, and keep your hands where I can see them!" Brian climbed over the shift to the driver's seat and out of the car, crouching down so the agents wouldn't see him.

  "Officer, is there a problem?" He could hear one of the agents say.

  "Keep your hands where I can see them!" The sheriff yelled.

  "I was just going to show you my ID."

  "You, over here with the other one."

  "Officer, this is all a big mistake..."

  "The mistake was you impersonating a federal officer! Now, both of you on the ground, hands outstretched above your head." Brian heard the sheriff pump the shotgun. "Now!"

  "Okay...okay." A gun went off, then Brian heard the shotgun go off, twice in rapid succession as another gunshot fired. Brian then heard the clatter of the shotgun hitting the ground.

  That was a bit unexpected, he thought. Oh well, it's now or never. Running as fast as he could, Brian shot around the end of the car, prepared to attack whichever agents were standing up, hoping against hope that his speed would be enough to take them off guard. To his surprise, he found both agents and the sheriff laying face down on the ground. a pool of blood forming under each of them. Hmm. That didn't go as planned, not that he had a real plan. He supposed he'd hoped the sheriff would have arrested both agents and taken them back to headquarters, where he would have had to explain why he thought they were terrorists. Who knows? Maybe they were? Running to the side of the other cruiser, he could see Heather sitting back there wide eyed.

  Opening the door, he told her to be calm as he reached behind her and snapped the cuffs off her wrists.

  "Brian did you see that? Brian...What are you doing here?"

  Brian smiled and lifted his hands apart "Why, rescuing you, of course."

  The sound of tires screeching as air brakes hissed announced an eighteen wheeler coming to a stop. A large, overweight trucker with a black baseball cap jumped out of his cab as it came to a full stop. "Does anyone need help?" The man yelled, as he stopped and stared at the dead officer and agents. Brian rushed up to him and looked him in the eyes.

  "You're going to help us."

  "I'm going to help you," The man repeated. "You want me to call for help?" He pointed at the bodies.

  Brian shook his head as he led Heather to the truck, "No, I'm sure they're fine."

  The man looked at him blankly, then stumbled back to the truck and climbed in.

  "Where to?" He asked.

  "Just drive." Brian answered.

  The man stepped on the gas and the big rig lurched forward.

  "I'm Bobby," the man volunteered.

  "I'm just keep driving." Brian responded, deadpan.

  "Okay, Brian..." Heather looked at him strangely.

  "What?" Brian shrugged.

  "What's going on?"

  "I told you, I'm rescuing you."

  "Brian...You're just the boy next door. At least...I mean, that's what I thought before all this happened."

  "What do you mean?"

  "Let see, where should I start? How about you taking out several police officers at my home? Or those guys in black at Chucks? Or how you got that sheriff to help you save me. Come to think of it, why are all these strangers risking their necks for us?"

  "Heather."

  "Yes?"

  "Sleep."

  Heather stared at him wide eyed for a second. "I think I'm going to sleep now. Good idea." She made herself comfy then laid her head on his lap. In seconds she was sleeping.

  "Wow, I'd pay a pretty penny for that trick." Bobby laughed, as he drove along.

  "I'm sure a lot of people would." Brian answered. At the moment, he felt sorry that he could. How was he ever going to have a real relationship with her if he kept doing that? He just panicked, and he didn't know what to do. it seemed logical at the time. The problem was that she would just ask the same questions again later. There was no way of getting around it. Either he was going to be constantly putting her to sleep, or he was going to have to make her forget it all. He might be able to do that, but he just didn't like the sound of that.

  If that's all he wanted, why didn't he just suggest her years ago? He could have had her then, Chuck or no Chuck. No, he didn't want her that way. He never wanted her that way. He needed her to want him legitimately.

  The problem was, would she want him once she knew what he was? The possibility of losing her, especially after all he did for her, was unbearable. He didn't know if he could live with it. Like it or not, he might soon have to find out if he could. The overcast sky started to drop rain onto the windshield, and the trucker turned the wipers on. Their rhythmic scraping filled the cab.

  "Looks like it's going to be raining" Bobby said looking up at the sky.

  In more than one way.

  Chapter 10

  The big white truck came to a stop just outside a small motel. The rain had been nonstop for the last few hours, and it seemed like a good time to stop, as there was currently a pause in it's downfall.

  "Bobby, you wait here and watch her while I get a room." The trucker smiled and nodded. Heather took that moment to wake up, and stretch.

  "Where are we, Brian...Brian?" She asked as he started to walk away. He had no idea how much time he had before the next downpour, and he really wanted to avoid it, but then, he didn't want her to jump out of the truck and follow him to talk to the motel clerk. That would be real hard for him to explain, so he doubled back to let her know what was going on.

  "I'm getting us a room."

  She looked around quickly, trying to get her bearings.

  "it's okay, Heather. I figured we should take a break."

  "Are you sure we should stop?" She asked

  "Yeah, we're a ways from town now. If they were going to find us, I think they already would have. Besides, wouldn't you like to eat something?"

  "Yeah, that would be good." She smiled at him.

  "Wait here, I'll get us a room."

  "Hey, kid." Bobby spoke up.

  "Yeah?"

  "Could you see if there's a room for me, too? I'm bushed and hungry." Brian nodded, and headed off across the street to the motel's office. He wasn't all that sure letting Bobby stay was a good idea. He had intended to just let him drive on and forget the two of them, but having a ready-made driver did seem a bit tempting to him right now. The real problem was what he had been thinking about the entire ride. To tell Heather or not to tell her? Every show he ever watched had always shown the girls being furious with the man for not letting them in on their secret. Y
es, he knew that was only the movies, but he couldn't help but wonder if any of that was true. He had real feelings for Heather, and he really wanted to let her know how he felt. But would she feel the same for him if she found out later what he was? He really had to chance telling her now. He didn't know exactly what he was going to do if things didn't go his way, but he had to at least try to reach her.

  The clerk was easy enough to suggest, it may have helped that the sun was mostly gone. His abilities always seemed to be strong when the sun was down, proving, at least in his mind, the truth of what he was. He could see Heather peering over Bobby as he walked to the drivers side of the truck and dangled two sets of keys.

  "Thanks kid, you're a lifesaver. I thought I was going to drop here pretty soon.."

  "No problem, it was the least I could do for you." The big man climbed down and helped Heather down as she followed after him through his door.

  "How much do I owe you?" Bobby started pulling out his wallet.

  "You don't owe me anything." Brian lifted his hand up

  "Nonsense." The trucker said, "Fifty bucks cover it?"

  Heather reached over and took the money as Brian was about to tell the man no again.

  "Thanks, Bobby, we appreciate it." She smiled at him.

  "It's the least I could do. You two kids need all the help you can get. Well, good night, I'm going to go get a quick bite to eat first." Bobby said, as he headed toward the little cafe that shared the same parking lot with the motel.

  "Heather, you didn't need to take that..."

  "Do you have any money, Brian? Because I sure don't, and he was asking to help us."

  "We can do this without help, Heather, you just have to trust me."

  "I do trust you...somewhat, but I just don't understand some things."

  "I know, and I'm going to try and clear it all up for you if I can."

  She stared at him for a second, and he wondered what she could possibly be thinking. Did she think he was lying, and just putting it off, or did she really believe him? She nodded after a moment.

  "Are you sure I'm not going to be taking a nap again real soon?"

  He swallowed hard when she said that, but before he could answer her, she turned and headed off to the little cafe that Bobby had just went off to. Well this is going to be awkward. Not only did she seem to notice something was up, but by going to a public place, she was putting it off and letting him squirm for a bit. He was just going to have to, he guessed. At least he had time to think about what he was going to say, not that he thought it was going to help. He had been going over it in his head the entire ride.

  Bobby looked up from a cup of coffee as Brian walked into the cafe. The trucker lifted his cup to him when he saw him. Heather had already taken a booth, since the sign at the door said seat yourself. He wasn't really hungry for food right now, but he thought maybe a piece of pie would be nice, and since Heather had fifty bucks, he wouldn't have to suggest anyone.

  "Thought you were going to get some sleep, what's with the coffee?" Brian asked Bobby as he went past him.

  "It's decaf." Bobby smiled, then did a fake yawn with his other hand.

  The waitress was just getting to Heathers booth as he slid in on the other side of the table.

  "So, can I get you some coffee, Love?" The little waitress asked Heather.

  Heather shook her head. "How about a coke and some fries."

  "Alright." She started writing on her little tablet. "What about you, Hun?" She asked Brian.

  "Um...Some water and maybe some cherry pie?"

  "Sorry no cherry, how about strawberry rhubarb?"

  Brian nodded "Sure, that would be good,"

  "Alright, I'll have that order up in a jiffy." She walked off.

  "So you're going to tell me." Heather looked at him expectantly.

  "Not here. When we get to our room." Brian said as he looked around

  "Why not now?"

  "Because it's a secret."

  "Brian, you're very strange. Like a mystery in a mystery."

  "Why do you say that?" His stomach was starting to feel queasy. He intended to tell her everything...well, almost everything, he figured he'd leave the dreams out. But he didn't expect her to be the one in control about it. He wanted time to ease into it. To let her get used to some of the ideas involved.

  "Well, let's see...where do I start?"

  "Heather, I'll tell you later, I promise."

  She smiled at him. Warm and genuine, and he was surprised that her hand slid across the table and grabbed his. "Brian, I know, I trust you now." She pulled back her hand, but the feel of her touch remained. It had been warm and soft, and he would have sworn that he felt a little electric charge surge through him when they touched.

  The waitress interrupted his thoughts as she slid the pie in front of him. "I figured you wanted it now." She said, as she put his cup of water down.

  "That's fine." He said.

  "Yours will be up in a minute, Sweetie." She smiled at Heather as she left.

  "So what brought on this change of heart?" He asked, as he cut a piece of the pie off and ate some. It was actually pretty good. He had to admit, though he didn't eat much any more, he still had a sweet tooth.

  "What change?" She feigned innocence, and he kind of liked this game she was playing.

  "The trust?" He asked as he took another bite of pie.

  "Well, you have rescued me how many times?" She smiled, perking up. "I'd say that makes you my hero."

  "Well, yeah, I guess..." He was sure he had to be blushing, and from the look she gave him, he guessed she noticed it as well.

  The waitress walked up and slid a massive plate of fries in front of Heather. "Anything else?" She put a bottle of ketchup on the table.

  "Yeah, could I get a bottle of mustard, too?"

  The waitress gave her a strange look and crinkled her nose for a second. "Coming right up."

  "Mustard?" He asked conspiratorially to her.

  "What? It reminds me of Hamburgers, and I like to mix it up and dip in it when I'm not really that hungry." She smiled, as Brian made a face.

  "Why not add a some relish or pickles while you're at it?” he asked.

  She laughed and gave him that smile again. "I think that would be pushing, it silly."

  The two of them sat there and finished their respective food in silence for the most part. Brian was grateful for that, as it gave him more time to think about how and what he was going to tell her. He kept thinking that maybe he should just put it off, but the way she was acting, he felt the cat had been let out of the bag, and he was just going to have to live with it now. He was done with his pie first, so he tried to look around the cafe and seem preoccupied with his thoughts, He could see Heather out of his peripheral vision looking up at him as she swirled a french fry in her concoction of condiments. He tried to act like he didn't notice, but he was sure she could tell.