Living in Darkness (Bloodbreeders) (28 page)

“Let’s get those supplies up here, I’m starving,” said Derek.

“You’re always hungry,” Ashley teased, bumping him with her elbow. “So,
where’s the basement door?”

“Down the hall to the right,” I said, pointing in the direction.

“
Ain’t
you coming with us?” Bo asked with his
usual suspicious manner.

“Sure, I’m right behind you,” I said. “Shall we?”

Bo got there first. He reached
out and wiggled the knob, but it wouldn’t budge. “Seems to be locked,” he said.
“You got the key?”

“Somewhere,” I said, pretending to check my pockets. “But you could
probably unlock the door faster than I could find it.”

“Sure, it’s your house.”

He began working on the lock. When I heard it click, my heart jumped
into my throat, feeling like it was close to bursting. “Wait, I’ll go first,” I
said, stepping up to Bo. I just couldn’t go through with it. These kids had it
hard enough without the danger I was offering. This was my problem, and if
anyone was waiting down there, I would deal with it. Bo did a little bow,
“Ladies first.”
 
I slowly began
descending the stairs, reaching out with every sense that I had. To my
surprise, I felt absolutely nothing. Could it be true?
No
traps?
When we reached the bottom, I saw that my senses were right. It
was empty. I let out a breath that I didn’t even know I was holding.

“Where, to now?” Bo asked. It was only then that I realized that I only
knew one room down here.

“Well, I’m not real sure,” I said. “I had my supplies delivered before
I arrived, and I don’t know exactly where they put them. I guess we’ll just
have to search the place.”

“Okay, let’s spread out,” Brandon said. “Ashley, you come with me.”

“Why?” she argued.
“I don’t need a babysitter.”

“Fine have it your way,” he said as he took off for the south hall.

“Wait,” she said, running to catch up. “I’m sorry. I don’t want to be
alone down here.” I could hear him chuckle a little as they moved away.

Bo and Derek turned to me. “Guess we’ll be taking care of you,” Bo
said. It was a sweet gesture, and I even felt myself blush a bit.

“I would be honored to have you both at my side,” I said with a smile.

“No offense, but I’ll go first,” Bo said.

“And I’ll watch our backs,” said Derek.

I was proud that they were willing to take care of me, despite my
looks, and even more than that, I was amazed at their chivalry. What would they
think if they found out the truth about me? I wasn’t that anxious to find out,
and for now, I was keeping it to myself.

We went from room to room, but all we found were normal bedrooms that
lacked one thing: windows. They didn’t seem to notice, so I didn’t bother to
mention it. We made our way back the way we came, and ran into Brandon and
Ashley.

“Nothing this way except two bathrooms, and four bedrooms,” Brandon
said.

“Yeah, some with real nice dresses in ‘
em
,”
Ashley smiled.

“Nothing this way either.” Bo added.

“Well, I just don’t know where else to look,” I said, trying to sound
perturbed. “They should have had it here by now.”

I stood there for a few minutes, with my hands on my hips, as if deep
in thought as to where my supplies could have gone, while the kids joked and
laughed with one another. What I was really thinking was how I was going to
handle the approaching dawn. I wasn’t ready to tell these kids my secret, but I
knew I had to do something.
First things
first
,
I told myself.
Just do your best to hurry the little ones
back upstairs, and handle it from there.

“Well, do y’all want to check out the kitchen?” I finally said.

Most of them responded with a simple “sure”, but Derek said, “Should
have started there first, don’t
ya
think?” Brandon
walked up to Derek, and slapped him in the back of the head. “Hey, that hurt,
you stupid jerk!”

“Then watch your mouth,” Brandon said. “You’re always running off at
the mouth.”

“Yeah, so shut up, will
ya
?” Ashley
interjected.

“You know,” I said looking at the four of them. “Why don’t you guys go
on upstairs without me? Just make yourselves at home. I’m going to get ready to
lie down for a while. I don’t get much rest at night, but I can usually sleep
all day.”

“We always get around at night,” Brandon said.

“Yeah, ‘cause we don’t want to go back.” Derek jumped in.
 

Ashley snapped her head toward him, and mouthed “
shh
!”
Meanwhile, Bo stepped up, and leered down at Derek.

“What?” Derek asked. “Well, we don’t, do we?”

“No, but leave it alone,” Bo hissed through gritted teeth.

“Look,” I said. “It doesn’t matter to me, okay? We all have secrets. So
why don’t we just get comfortable for the day, and we can go over things when
we get up?”

They stood there, not knowing what to say. It was obvious that they
weren’t sure they could trust me yet, I’m sure they didn’t trust in anyone but
themselves for that matter. After all I’d been through I couldn’t say I blamed
them.

“It’s okay, really,” I said. “I know you wouldn’t be out this late if
you had homes to go to. I don’t have a family I can go to, either.”

“Yeah, but you have this nice house, and money,” Derek said. “With us,
it’s ‘what you see is what you get’.”

“Well, to be honest,” I sighed. “I don’t own this place. I just stay
here now and then.”

“And now
we
have a
place for a few days,” Ashley said. “And I’m really tired, guys.”

“Yeah, she’s right.” Brandon said, looking up at me. “We’d be out on
the ground tonight if it wasn’t for you, so thank you.”

I smiled at the four of them, and nodded in acknowledgement.

“I best get to sleep. I may have to take a small trip tomorrow night. Oh,
I almost forgot. If you get up during the day, stay out of sight, and please
make sure no one bothers me before nightfall.”

“Sure,” Bo said, with a curious look on his face. “But why stay out of
sight?”

“Hey, can we go with you tomorrow night?” Derek asked eagerly,

“Tell you what. Let’s all get
some rest, and we can go over things when I get up.”
“You don’t have to explain. We will do what you ask,” Bo said stepping up to
me. “Like you said, we all have our secrets.”

“Thank you,” I said. He nodded, and they made their way toward the
stairs. “Sleep anywhere you want. Please, make yourselves at home.”

Ashley and Derek both gave me a little wave, then they disappeared from
sight, then I heard the basement door click shut. I turned, and went to find a
room for myself. I stopped in front of the room I had stayed in months ago, and
the thought alone brought back my fury. I lowered my head, clenched my teeth,
and with a deep breath, made my way further down the hall. I went all the way
to that last door and opened it.

The room was very similar to the rest, only it had its own bathroom
attached. I was still amazed how different it all was from the farm. I would be
lying if I said I didn’t enjoy the modern conveniences of indoor toilets and
running water. But, what I wouldn’t give to be
back
home with my family, to have it all be a very bad dream.

I pulled a gown out of the closet, and went into the bathroom. I took
the water basin from the shelf, filled it with water, and washed myself as best
I could. I slipped into the clean gown, and went for the bed. No more had I
gotten
settled down, when I stood up and wedged the vanity
chair under the doorknob to the main door. Last thing I needed was for someone
to come in while I was resting away the daylight hours and being at my most
vulnerable.

I got back into the bed and made myself comfortable. I thought I’d go
to sleep easily, but I couldn’t shut off my mind. There were too many thoughts
ricocheting
off of
each other. What was I going to do
with the four kids upstairs? How am I going to help save the two I left in
Cuba? The only thing I was sure about was that I needed to go back to Burkett. First,
to see if I could find Martin. I hoped he was still at the cemetery, although
it was doubtful.
 
If not, at least maybe
he’d left a clue to his whereabouts. And second, to check on my family. Even if
it’s just to steal a look from afar, I need to know they are okay
.
My
parents had been through so much, and I could only pray that they were alright.

Dawn had come. I could feel the pull of it. As I started to drift away,
I could see the sweet faces of Garvin and
Tanda
,
peering down at me as the water swept me away. Very clearly, I heard my own
voice.
“
I’ll come back for you. I promise… I promise!” All I have left
in this world is my word, and my word is my bond. Then darkness took me once again.

Chapter 22

When I woke at sunset, I could hear the little ones running about, and
every so often the scuttling would be interrupted by the sound of laughter. I
sat up on the side of my bed, cradled my face in my hands, and wondered about
what lay ahead of me. I knew I had to get back to Burkett, but wasn’t sure what
I would find. Would Martin still be there? If not, all I could hope was that he
left some hint as to his whereabouts. In what condition would I find my family?
I could only pray that they would be alright. My father has always been a very
strong individual.
 
He never faltered
when it came to keeping things under control, so I wasn’t too worried. Just
knowing I was this close to seeing them, if even from a distance, made the
anticipation rush through my body.

I stood to go upstairs, knowing that I needed to tell
the four upstairs something, but the question was what?
The truth was not an option at this point. I needed
them, if nothing more than to be my eyes when I couldn’t use my own. I knew it
probably would take a lot to scare them off – after all, they were just alone
as I, but nevertheless, it was a chance I couldn’t afford to take.

There was a loud thump overhead, followed by loud voices. I stepped
into the hall, and strained my ears to try
and
hear
what they were saying.

“You’re not going down there, Derek.” Brandon said.

“You can’t tell me what to do! You’re not the oldest anymore, Brandon. Renee
is, so back off or else,” Derek demanded so pointedly loud, that I may as well
have been standing right next to him.

“Or else, what? Huh? We just met her and I’ve been your brother all
your life.”

“Brother – not mom or dad!” Then I heard scuffling, so up the stairs I
went.

I came around the corner to see Brandon with Derek in a headlock, and little
Derek was trying his hardest to get out of it. Ashley and Bo saw me first.

“Sorry, Renee, they just started in,” Ashley said.

“It’s okay,” I said. “I have this one.”

I walked over and grabbed Brandon by the collar of his shirt. I did the
same to Derek, and lifted them both up, so their feet were dangling above the
floor. Derek screamed in shock of being suddenly suspended above the ground.

“That’s enough, both of you!” I said as I lowered them gently back to
the floor.

Until that very moment, I had no idea that a normal was like a doll to
me.
Something I’ll have to remember in
the future
,
I thought to
myself. I raised my head slowly, and noticed every one of the kids staring at
me with terrified expressions on their faces.

“What? Why are you staring at me like that?” I said, looking down at
myself, as if inspecting for something out of place. “Did I sprout another head
or something?”

They all looked at one another, Brandon still rubbing his neck.

“How’d you do that?” Bo asked timidly.

“Do what?” I said, playing dumb. “Break up a fight?”

“You picked them up like that,” Ashley said in amazement, snapping her
fingers. “Then
ya
held
them there… how?”

I just stood there, not knowing what to say, so I said the first thing
that came to mind. “I used to break up my brothers all the time.”

Brandon looked at me for a second,
then
said,
“I thought you told us you didn’t have a family.”

I walked over to the sofa, and sat down.
Now what
?
I thought.
Well, as my folks always said
,
‘
The truth may be hard to swallow, but it’s far better than wallowing in
the guilt because you lied
.
’
So after a few moments of mental deliberation, I asked them all to sit down,
and proceeded to tell them the whole story – from Martin, to Cuba, to now. No
one spoke at first. Then, to no one’s surprise, Derek broke the silence.

His brow wrinkled up as if confused.