Fallen Blood (11 page)

The man nodded as he answered. "Picked her up like ten minutes ago...I was there when they walked her by. She looked real scared of them. Made me feel bad for her."

"Ten minutes? Are you sure?"

The man nodded again.

He still couldn't see how this was possible. He never saw a black SUV show up, and he certainly never seen Heather being led out.

"Alright, catch them." Brian started to buckle himself in.

"I'm off duty right now. I'm not supposed to use my lights to pursue unless it's an emergency."

"It's an emergency."

The officer stared at him, his face showing signs of a struggle. Brian locked eyes with him. "Those men are not government agents. They're terrorists, and they have kidnapped that girl."

He turned the engine on and took off down the street. "We're going to need back up." He said.

"No time." Brian put his hand on the radio, stopping him from calling. "We're going to have to handle this ourselves."

"Alright then, hold on tight." The deputy switched on the lights and gunned the cruiser.

"How do you know which way they went?" Brian asked.

"They were traveling in a city of Woodland police cruiser. Only one way they would be going."

Back to the town the two of them had just escaped. It kept coming back to that time and again. No matter how far away they tried to get, something just kept trying to suck them right back into it. He hoped Heather was alright. He wasn't sure how he was going to get her back from the agents. Most likely, he was going to have to kill more of them, and this time he wasn't sure how he could do it without Heather seeing him do it. He'd have to worry about that once he caught up.

If they caught up.

No he couldn't think that way, he
was
going to catch up.

Fifteen minutes later, Brian still hadn't seen any sign of Heather's cruiser. Brian had the sheriff turn off his siren and radio, as dispatch was trying to get a hold of him. He would have to worry about that if and when the others caught up to the two of them. Right now, he was worried they had gone the wrong way. He kept wondering if each minute was taking him farther in the wrong direction from her.

The thought and urge to turn back was almost irresistible, after all, the only thing he was going by was this man he never met before. He didn't think it was possible to lie to him while he had him under suggestion. Even if it were, why would he lie to him, or for that matter take him at high speed in this direction?

"Are you sure we're going the right way?"

"Only way back to Woodland, son."

"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.

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. Yes, 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