Being Human: Mother Knows Best

By Ldynwaitin

Chapter Eleven

A Really Bad Plan

Josh shouted for help as the roof below his feet began to crack and groan. He actually felt the roof drop under him. His added weight was enough to send the unit down through the age-weakened roof, bringing him with it. As soon as Aidan and Randal saw the roof begin to buckle they both ran to him. Aidan immediately noticed that he was not running as fast as he should have. It had been so long since he drank blood, he was already feeling the drawbacks.

Josh had to think fast, he quickly pulled off his backpack and threw it towards Randal. He caught it as he was sprinting towards Josh. Randal suddenly stopped, and grabbed Aidan.

"Let me go," Aidan screamed. "I can get to him in time."

"No," Randal said. "You're to weak. You won't make it, he'll fall through."

"I…I put the I-Pad in the backpack," Josh stuttered. He nervously gasped as he heard a groaning sound below. "We may be needing it, can't have it damaged when this thing breaks through."

"What about you?" Sally cried out. She was standing next to him. He saw Aidan fight to free himself from Randal's hold. Josh knew that Aidan would try anything to save him, but he was not strong enough, quick enough. His extra weight would bring them both down. He could see Aidan pulling away from Randal's grip. He had to try something soon, before all of them would be dragged down.

Josh looked at Sally, she still stood by his side. "I have a plan," he told her. He jumped in the air and landed hard on top of the cooler unit. As soon as he jumped Aidan was able to pull himself from Randal's grip. He cried out, as he began to reach for Josh, but he was to late. The roof under Josh was falling away. Aidan began falling into the hole, until he felt a pair of strong hands grabbing his legs. With his legs held tight he swung through the hole in the roof. The last thing he saw was Josh gripping the cooler unit as it fell below.

Aidan swung in Randal's grip. Randal felt the roof still giving under him, he quickly backed up, dragging Aidan with him. He didn't stop until he knew they were safe. Aidan quickly scrambled up, he ran as close to the edge as possible to the gapping hole. Tightly gripping Josh's backpack, Randal followed Aidan. They stood at the edge of the hole, waiting for the dust to clear.

Sally hadn't moved an inch, she hovered in the air above the hole. "JOSH!" she shouted. "Are you all right?"

"Look at what you did," Dana angrily shouted to the other ghosts. "I can't wait for another one that can see us."

"This is all your fault," Sally screamed at them. Her voice grew deeper as she growled, "Get out of here, get out of here before I shred you all!" In an instant they all popped out.

Once the dust began to settle Aidan could see Josh. He was lying next to the fallen unit, two floors down. Once it hit the sixth floor the unit busted through to the fifth. Aidan shook his head, it was a Vampires worst nightmare. Broken wooden beams surrounded Josh.

"Aidan," Sally gasped. "He's not moving."

Aidan could see Sally was upset, he heard her voice change when she yelled at the other ghosts. He needed to find a way to push her thoughts for revenge back. "Sally, see if he's all right."

She immediately popped down next to Josh. She shouted his name, but received no response. She could see his chest moving up and down, that was a good sign that he was alive.

"He's unconscious, I don't know how badly he's hurt," she shouted to Aidan.

Pulling the flashlight out of the backpack, Randal shown its beam down, he saw a section of the floor that looked sturdy to him. Turning the light off, he leaped into the hole before Aidan had a chance to stop him. Landing hard on the sixth floor, he hopped down to the fifth, he hoped it would hold him. After a few seconds he began to breath.

A second later Aidan was by his side. "That was a stupid thing to do," he told him.

"Both floors could have been just as weak as the roof."

Randal shrugged his shoulders. "It was the fastest way I could see of getting down here."

Concerned for Josh, Aidan decided now was not the time to argue. He tried to find a way of reaching Josh through the forest of splinters. With Randal's help they slowly began to move the broken beams away. It took them ten minutes of hard work before reaching Josh. Randal immediately examined him. He found a large bruise on his forehead.

Listening to his breathing, he was thankful that it was strong and steady. "It's a good thing we're so close to the full moon," Randal said. "He is strong now, and will only become stronger. But he's had to take so much beating the past few days, so much." Randal slid his arms under Josh's legs and back, he easily lifted him up. He looked to Aidan, "Do you know of a place we can rest until he recovers?"

Aidan pointed ahead. "This way." He wanted to be the one to help his best friend, but he was so weak right now. It had been so long since he last fed, he couldn't remember the last time he had blood.

Following Aidan, Randal carried Josh. Sally was by his side, she continued to talk to Josh, trying to make him wake up. This section of the Sanatorium was in the worst condition. Above them water dripped from a recent rainfall. The floor was damp and smelled musty. Old leaves were strewn everywhere. The walls here were blackened, there had been a fire here years ago. Aidan led them to a set of small cement stairs. He began to climb down, coming to a landing he stopped.

"This leads to an old storage room," Aidan explained.

He tried to open a door on the landing. It stopped half way. The dampness warped the wood. He slammed his shoulder into the door and tried to open it wider. He cursed his weakness. If he was feeding properly the door would be open by now.

"Get back," Randal told him

Aidan stepped to the side. Randal tightly gripped Josh in his arms. Lifting his foot he slammed it into the door. It flew open, smashing into a wall. Aidan swiftly moved through the doorway.

This room was filled with old medical equipment from the days the Sanatorium was a Tuberculosis hospice. Weaving past metal bed frames, and tables Aidan worked his way to a backroom. Coming to a metal door, he found this one opened easily. Inside he immediately saw a large crack in the ceiling. Half the room was damp, while the other was bone dry. Randal carried Josh to the dry section.

Aidan found a musty mattress in the room, he placed it in the dry section. In a corner he found a pile of bed sheets still wrapped in their original packages. Tearing one open he placed it on the mattress. Randal then gently laid Josh down. Sally sat by his side, she looked up at Randal, "Think he'll be okay?"

Randal nodded his head, "I didn't feel any broken bones. He should be okay, but there is another that I need to take care of first." Randal turned around and walked out of the room.

"Where are you going?" Sally shouted to him, but he did not answer her. Aidan kneeled by Josh's side. He gently touched his forehead. There was some blood oozing from a bruise. With his blood on his fingers, Aidan was reminded just how thirsty he was. Even with the knowledge of the horrible reaction he would have to his blood, he actually contemplated drinking Josh.

"Wish he'd wake up," Sally said. Her fingers gently stroked his head. "Hey Josh, guess we finally found a way keep you quiet."

Aidan sat by his side, ten minutes later he heard Randal come back. Smelling a strange scent, he looked up. He saw Randal holding something in his arms.

"Saw this on the roof. Right now," Randal said. "The one that needs help the most is you, Aidan."

He lifted his arm. Gripped tightly in his hand was a squirming opossum. Aidan's face twisted in disgust, he shook his head, "I don't drink animals."

Randal squatted down next to Aidan. "I've been a Vampire longer than you think. Other than Mother, I'm one of the oldest. In the old days we did not just drink humans, we also drank from animals." He lifted the opossum, "There is no shame in it. An animal has strength, and courage. They are noble, they do not kill for revenge or for the 'thrill' of it. You'd be surprised how strong you'll feel if you try it."

Aidan shook his head, he would never stoop so low as to drink from an animal.

Randal sat cross-legged on the floor. He lay the opossum in his lap. His hand gently stroked the creature. It soon began to calm down. "Aidan, I am proud to say that in all of my life, or unlife, I've never tasted human blood."

Getting Aidan's attention, he continued. "I saw what it did to our kind. Mother turned us into monsters. She loved the high that human blood brought her. It became addictive, the more you drank, the more you wanted. But animal blood, it is different. I don't crave it, need it. I drink when I want to, nothing more."

He looked down at the creature in his lap. "You really don't need much from them. With the humans, at first a little is good enough. But like an addictive drug, you soon need more and more to get that high."

Randal held the opossum in the air by its tail. "You could have saved your friend, back there, if you were not so weak. You know that."

Aidan angrily shook his head, even though deep inside he knew he was telling the truth. If he had fed that day, he would have been quick enough to grab Josh before he fell in, but he didn't. And now Josh paid for his weakness.

"Feed," Randal pleaded with him. "Your friend needs you to be strong enough to protect him for the next day. WE need you. In the condition that you're in, I can see that will never happen. We need two strong vampires to help fight Mother. Do it Aidan, do it for your friend, do it to help us end Mother's rule, do it for yourself."

Aidan stared at the animal in Randal's hands. He was repulsed by it, but he was so hungry, so thirsty now that he even contemplated drinking from Josh, even knowing the horrible consequences.

"It is not as bad as you think," Randal told him. "Their blood is sweet and giving. And as I said, you don't need that much. Just a few draws, that's all I ask."

"Aidan," Sally gently said. "Please, try it. I can see you're in pain. What harm will it do, please for me, for Josh."

Taking in a deep breath, Aidan nodded his head. Sally sat silently by Josh. She had no idea what Aidan was going through, only Randal would know. Deep inside she hoped that Aidan would listen to them. Now that she saw him nod his head, she waited to see if Randal was right.

With a large grin set on his face, Randal gently cradled the opossum. He softly spoke to it. "You are strong, and noble, thank you for your sacrifice."

He stroked the creature until it lay limp in his arms. He held it before Aidan. "The stomach will give you the rich blood you need." He pointed to the center of the animals stomach. "As I said, a few draws, not enough to kill it, but enough to quench your thirst."

Aidan took the limp animal from Randal. To his nose it was not as offensive as Josh's Wolf scent. If he was able to drink from him, he should be able to drink from this animal. He looked down, its stomach moved up and down with each breath. Aidan's eyes turned black, his teeth clicked out. Bending down, he dug his teeth into the soft furry stomach. The first draw of blood was the same as with a human.

It was warm and thick. It flowed down his throat. He waited for the high, but it did not come as quickly as it did with a human's blood. He took in a second draw, swallowing he noticed that he could feel his strength returning. His senses were becoming more acute. He took in a third draw, he sat back, allowing the hot blood to flow down his throat.

Randal gently took the opossum from his hands. "That should be enough." He lay the opossum in a dark corner to recover. Coming to Aidan he looked at him, he saw his eyes were still closed.

"Was it as bad as you thought?"

Aidan opened his eyes, he thought he would be saying yes, but he couldn't, he was shocked to find that Randal was right. He did feel strong, not the high from a human, but his strength was just as great, if not greater.

"It was not AS bad," Aidan said. "Could have been worse."

Randal chuckled. "The only reason why Mother's never forced me to drink human, is because I took very good care of her Phelan's." He moved to sit next to Josh. He touched the wound, he was happy to find it was not deep, but it was open. He used his knife to cut a bed sheet into strips. He carefully wrapped it around the wound. "I've had to watch after hundreds of wolfs for Mother, hundreds." Finished bandaging the wound, he lay Josh's head down. "Yet this one, I don't know…he was so different."

Aidan knowingly smiled, "I know what you mean."

"I see now why you made friends with him." He stared at Josh. "He is the first one that talked to me, was easy being with me, accepted me. I guess that was because of you." He sat back, staring at Josh. "You know, my brother was about his age when mother recruited me. Our father died when I was young, I grew up fast, we had to back then. I brought my brother up. I taught him how to be a game warden, showed him all the tricks I knew."

"The day finally came when he was ready to move to the next village, take in a wife, help our family grow. Until…." He angrily shook his head, "I forgot about that, him. She made me forget. Had me all riled up telling me how noble our kind was. We were you know, in her time. That was before she killed them all and made us in her twisted image." He suddenly realized his hands were fisted tight, loosening them he sadly sighed. "Friends are hard to make, I hope he thinks of me as one."

"I know he does," Sally said. "Josh can be a pain sometimes, and a bit of a whiner, but deep inside he has a good heart. He wouldn't hesitate to give his life, for his friends."

"I knew that the very next day of his captivity," Randal said. "That's why Mother wanted him. His greatest strength lies in the principles that he upholds, values that are no longer taught, or forgotten in these modern times."

Aidan agreed. "He's a man who stands by his word, and is willing to die for it. I used to joke with him that he had an old soul," Aidan said, with a smile.

As Sally and Randal waited for Josh to wake up, Aidan stared at Randal. He'd been a Vampire for hundreds of years, and in all that time he thought he knew everything there was to know about being a Vampire. It took an old game warden to show him a new trick. As he waited for Josh to wake up, his thoughts turned to tomorrow.

At first he felt that Josh's story of Mother drinking his blood was just that, a story. After drinking the opossum's blood he began to think that there may be a way for him to stop Mother's rule. All they had to do was wait it out one more day, just one more day. He never knew it would be the longest day of his life.