Bloodlust: The Series 2
Two Days Before
It was night when they were shackled, the hunter was torturing Lenore, wanting information on where the rest of nest was going to meet up. The hunter had taken a sharp looking blade and dipped it into a mason jar full of poisoned blood and starting cutting on Lenore. "I won't tell you anything." Lenore said defiantly. As the hunter dipped into the poisoned blood again and cut along her chest, her arm and along her face.
"We'll see." The hunter said. As he grabbed more knives from the table.
The contaminated blood did its job, it coursed through her veins robbing her of her strength and making her very sick.
Gagged and tied to the chair sitting next to Lenore sat a boy who was forced to watch the horrors being forced upon Lenore.
It took hours, and Quinn could feel it, the feeling of hopelessness as he watched his mother figure Lenore being reduced to a dribbling mess.
Quinn put his head down, tired of watching Lenore being tortured.
"Gordon! Stop this." A tall lanky man shouted.
The tall lanky man moved closer to Lenore, going for her binds. But the hunter Gordon stopped his attempt. Gordon did a reversal and had the taller man in his grasp, his tainted knife firmly against the taller man's throat.
The shorter man, raised a gun and pointed directly at Gordon's head. Gordon smiled cockily. "Relax, I just want to show you something." Gordon said as he took his knife and cut along the taller man's arm, he held the man's arm over Lenore's face and a few blood drops fell on it, immediately Lenore's fangs came loose and she hissed hungry for blood.
"See?" Gordon said. "Nothing but a monster."
But it lasted only a second as Lenore regained control and whispered. "No, no."
Shocked at what he had just seen Gordon's grip loosened and the tall man broke free from Gordon's grip, the tall man taking out a spare knife, cut Quinn's bonds and finally Lenore's.
Too weak from the poison, the tall man picked up Lenore bridal style and carried her safely outside with Quinn in tow.
Once outside the tall man put Lenore in the backseat of the old car. Quinn got in next to her. The tall man looked at them in the rearview. "Where's your nest?" he asked looking directly at Quinn.
With a fierce look, Quinn looked directly in his eyes. "How can I trust you? I don't even know your name."
"My name is Sam." The tall man said. "And you can trust me because my brother is currently fighting that other hunter giving us enough time to escape."
Quinn, looked over at Lenore, she leaned against the cool window and held her arms tightly as she shivered.
Sighing and realizing he had no other choice. Quinn told Sam where to go.
A few minutes of driving on dirt roads and gravel highways they made it to the meeting spot: the graveyard.
A group of six people came into view the headlights making their eyes glow. Sam opened the car door and was about to get out when Quinn stopped him. "You'd better let me do the talking lest they tear you apart."
Quinn opened his own door and got out and when he did, a girl about seventeen came running up to him and hugged him fiercely, the woman moved his face from side to side looking for wounds, other than his black eye and split lip.
Just when Sam thought it was safe to get out and made a move to do so. A big burly man came running up to the antiquated car and tore Sam out of it and threw him to the ground.
When Sam stood up again, the man closed the distance and with a clawed hand wrapped around Sam's throat and squeezed.
"Eli, stop!" Quinn shouted and broke away from the girl.
For a moment Eli stopped and the animal within contained, and made eye contact with Quinn, but a soft whimpered from inside the car, snapped Eli out of the moment and resumed squeezing Sam's throat.
Realizing Eli wouldn't stop Quinn, went to the antiquated car's backseat and tried to rouse Lenore from her slumber. "Lenore, you have to wake up! If Eli tears apart the human he'll start a feeding frenzy."
Lenore moaned and her eyes opened for a moment, Quinn, grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the car. Lenore, with little strength held onto the door and steadied her.
"Stop! Eli." Lenore managed to yell.
With Lenore's command the semi-circle broke up, Eli dropped Sam to the ground and made eye contact with her.
"We need to leave." Lenore commanded again.
Lenore, with help from her nest made her way to one of the trucks, with Sam forgotten and alive.
"Here, kid." Sam said as he tossed Quinn a flip phone, "If you need my brother or I just call the number in there, and we'll come I promise."
"Thanks." Quinn said pocketing the phone and making his way over to where Lenore rested inside the truck.
Sam, dusted himself off and made his way over to his car and drove off. Quinn looked behind him out of the back window and watched Sam's taillights until they couldn't be seen anymore.
In the backseat hooked to a blood pack and wrapped with a blanket rested Lenore, shivering.
"Will she be alright?" Quinn asked Star.
Star turned around from the passenger seat and faced Quinn, "hopefully with enough blood and some rest, she'll recover."
"Where we going?" Quinn asked.
"Texas." Star answered.
And so they did, for the next three days they drove and drove and until they finally made it to their destination Texas.
"Lenore! Wake up!" somebody said as he shook her awake. Lenore opened her eyes.
"Huh?" Lenore asked, her voice groggy and weak. Her vison blurred remnants of the Deadman's blood still coursing through her veins, Lenore sat up and pain raided in her chest and she looked down, white bandages covered her chest and right arm. She lifted her other arm and she felt something held her arm back. It was an IV with a blood pack hooked onto it.
Lenore's vison cleared and she focused on the man who spoke. It was Eli.
"What happened?" Lenore asked her voice hoarse.
"It was that damn hunter, which you wouldn't let us kill!" Eli said his voice intense. Lenore waited for him to continue. "He nearly tortured you to death and almost succeeded."
Lenore breathed heavily, remembering what had happened. "What happened to Quinn?" Lenore asked her voice a whisper.
"He's fine, Star's taking care of him, and the hunter wasn't much interested in him." Eli finished.
"Just you." Eli said looking at Lenore, Eli grabbed her hand and rubbed it with his thumb. Lenore gave him a small smile. Eli cupped her chin and leaned in to kiss her, before their lips could meet the door slammed opened and a woman and child entered. Eli and Lenore broke apart.
The woman gave them a toothy smile before she allowed the child in.
"Lenore!" the child yelled. The child ran and hopped onto her bed and hugged her fiercely.
"Quinn." Lenore said her voice quavered, tears threatening to fall.
Lenore held Quinn at arm's length and examined his face, Quinn's lip was split and a black eye, but otherwise he looked okay.
"I thought you said he was unharmed?" Lenore asked Eli her brown eyes looking directly him in the eye.
Eli shifted uncomfortably. "Under the circumstances, he's fine."
"Come on, honey, let's let Lenore rest a little longer." The woman said, leading Quinn out of the room.
"Thanks, Star." Lenore called as Star and Quinn left the room.
Star saluted and left with Quinn in tow.
"Where are we?" Lenore asked.
"Texas." Eli answered.
Lenore yawned, sleep threatening to take her once again.
Eli noticed. "Rest, will talk later."
Lenore raised an eyebrow. "Giving orders now are we?"
Eli shrugged his shoulders. "Only when you're incapacitated."
Lenore yawned once more before, shifting herself back under the covers and closing her eyes. Within minutes her chest rose and fell signaling sleep.
Eli, sighed and shut her door and left.
Hours later
The Texas sun was high in the sky raining down heat and mugginess that made you long for air-conditioning, Quinn started sweating in his black metal t-shirt, and he took the back of his hand and wiped the sweat that was beginning to form on his forehead.
The nest had to leave Red Lodge rather quickly and he didn't get to say goodbye to Christina his sister. Quinn made a little stone pile and sat the biggest stone on top, he knelt in front of the pile and said a few words under his breath. Quinn laid Christina's favorite flowers on her makeshift grave, yellow roses.
Quinn went back to the house, embracing the sweet feeling of air-conditioning.
To be continued.