Chapter 13

Maeve left Barnabas' room and thought about her strategy in case she had to confront two vampires. The man in the morgue would rise right after sundown and she had to see that he was destroyed. Maeve decided it would be easier to use the tunnels. She used tunnels in other cities many times before and always made it a point to learn about them everywhere she went. Vampires used the tunnels to get around so it surprised her Barnabas hadn't discover them before.

As she approached the basement of the hospital, Maeve dug into her backpack, took out her bowie knife, and attached it to her belt. It was very effective in cutting heads off bodies. Then she relocated the pencil and bottle of holy water into her pants pocket. Swinging the pack onto her back, she opened a door that lead into the basement. After a few steps, Maeve heard a male's voice.

"Excuse me, can I help you young lady?"

Maeve spun around and came face-to-face with the maintenance man who just closed another door.

"Ah, yes, thank you. I think I'm lost." She started to cry. "My brother was killed and is somewhere in the morgue. I lost my way and I am so upset. Can you help me?"

Feeling sorry for her, the man walked her to the morgue door. "Oh thank you so much. I think I would like to see him alone. Thank you again." She shook his hand appreciatively and the man smiled as he walked away.

She cautiously opened the door and looked around the empty cold, sterile room. As she walked through the room, she looked at the few bodies that lay on the aluminum tables. Each one had a name tag except one. Lifting the sheet off the body, she saw a female cadaver and sighed. It had to be here, she thought, but where?

She saw a door to another room labeled "Police Evidence." Going through those doors, she found another table with a body covered with a white cloth. Lifting the sheet, she saw a young naked man's body almost as white as the sheet. She turned his head to the left side and saw two puncture wounds with bruises around it. Holding her bowie knife, she looked at the wall clock and it read 6:29 p.m. Three more minutes before the sunsets, she thought. Maeve was still facing the cadaver, when she heard the door open from the other room. She stood very still, almost holding her breath, when the door to the Police Evidence room opened. She swung around holding the knife over her head and saw Barnabas standing in the doorway.

"NO!" Barnabas roared looking behind her.

Instinctively, she spun around to face the man who had been lying a moment ago, dead, now he stood in front of her. She swung her knife a second too late because the confused vamp slapped her clear across the room against some cabinets. Barnabas started to advance on the vampire but Maeve screamed for him to wait.

"Stop! Barnabas, let me do this."

She stood up and advanced on the newly born vampire. He was still perplexed over his situation, which gave Maeve time to attack him with her stake. His instincts kicked in and started to fight with her for several minutes. The bowie knife was knocked out of her hand when the vampire hit her. However, this did not slow Maeve down. The vampire tried several time to overpower her by biting but she was always one step ahead of him. He stabbed her in the arm with something sharp and blood squirted out. Barnabas stood off to the side near the door watching patiently for the moment she would need his help. Several times, he thought she would need him but she quickly recovered and continued her attacks. When she was stabbed, feelings of excitement from the smell of blood increased his blood lust. However, he controlled the snarls and growls he heard himself making.

Taking advantage of the vampire's confusion over the smell of blood, Maeve attacked swiftly and suddenly. If Barnabas had not been watching intently, he would have missed the exact moment it happened. Maeve jabbed the stake with such force into the vampire's heart that it went clear through his body. He collapsed onto the floor with a hard thunk. Quickly, Maeve removed the stake and inserted the pencil into the heart of the dead vampire. Then she poured some holy water into the hole which made the flesh sizzle over the pencil.

"Barnabas, quickly help me lift the body onto the table before anyone comes in."

Instantaneously, Barnabas effortlessly lifted the body on the table. The smell of blood drove him insanely anxious to attack anything alive. Dazed, he looked around and saw her bloody knife on the floor. The vampire had used her own knife! The smell of the blood caused him to look at her with hunger. He saw her bloody arm and walked towards her.

"Don't worry, Barnabas, he didn't hurt me," interpreting his intent correctly and using a soothing voice. "It is only a cut but I heal quickly." She looked into his eyes as she was quickly bandaging her arm to stop the bleeding. However, Barnabas was feeling the blood-lust and it was getting out of control. He continued to walk towards her, his fangs protruding.

"Wait Barnabas!" she said loudly, picking up her stake and stepping back. "I can help you with your current problem."

"Yes, you could if you put that away," he spit as he stopped his advance. He looked at the stake and replied, "So you want to help me with my problem, do you? Like you helped him?" he hissed, nodding to the body on the table. She had to be tired from that fight, he thought. He might have a chance to overpower her. "No, my dear, you do not want to help me. You want to destroy me," he remarked crazed with hunger.

"Destroy you?" Maeve was amazed at how quickly Barnabas was able to switch back and forth between his humanity and his vampire consciousness. She noticed his glare on the stake and the tension in his body. She would have to talk swiftly and show some force, which at this time might be the only thing that could plunge through his blood-lust.

"You silly man! Did you think I wanted you down here just to kill you? You have not been paying attention. Why would I make love to you, just to destroy you?" She was unsuccessful in keeping her voice down. The sounds vibrated around the empty room like an echo chamber. She had forgotten what it was like to get angry at an obstinate man.

"Chicanery, my dear, I have met women, powerful women, who just want to suck me in and then stab me in the heart." He stared at the stake and then gazed into Maeve eyes. He tried to get into her mind and hypnotize her. He found her mind powerful enough to block his thoughts. His body started to relax when their minds met. She was calming his lust and anger at the same time. "Is this one of your tricks, to calm me down and then stab me in the heart?"

"A trick? No my dear Barnabas, but I do want to stop you from hurting yourself and others. At the moment, this," shaking the stake, "is the only protection I have to stop your advancement."

"Ha, you are wrong my dear. That is not the only tool you have to stop me." He knew at this point he was powerless to control her so he had to find another way to flee.

"I DO know and understand what you are going through, believe me." Maeve said patiently.

"What do you know about it?" he snapped, thinking he had never let anyone know about him and live, except a few of his victims.

"I know what you are feeling right now and I know what you want to do. Without hurting or killing anyone, I know exactly where to get what you need." Maeve knew she was treading on thin ice but she had to get Barnabas to ignore the lust and use his head.

"Are you volunteering yourself, my dear?" Barnabas said with cold calculating eyes.

"Look where you are, Barnabas," she patiently said ignoring his threat. "It is right here, and no one has to get hurt or die." She held her stake tightly, "including you." He looked around and saw dead bodies, smelled the blood and other fluids that penetrated the room.

"What do you want me to do, take the blood from these dead bodies?" he said disgustedly. "You are wasting my time."

"Barnabas! Dear, we are in a hospital," she said aspirated, finally loosing patience with him. At that moment, the door opened and the coroner walked into the room. Barnabas spun around and stood across from a man covered in blood. He growled and started to advance on the man who stood very still, almost in shock, hypnotized by Barnabas' gaze.

"Barnabas!" screamed Maeve. Barnabas turned to face her and their eyes met again. He faced her with hatred in his eyes for being cornered. He snarled at her, bearing his fangs for a moment but she reacted unexpectedly.

"Barnabas, dear. It's ok. This ISN'T my brother." She pointed to the dead body on the table. "I am so happy darling. We can leave NOW," she said quickly grabbing Barnabas' arm and leading him out of the room. They walked past the coroner, who stood frozen against the door. After a moment, the coroner found his voice as he stared at them heading for the exit.

"Excuse me," the coroner cleared his throat and nervously said.

"Yes sir?" Maeve said, still lightly holding Barnabas' arm but turning to look at the coroner. Barnabas took this opportunity to bolt out of the door and down the hallway towards the tunnels.

"Is he ok?" asked the concerned man, not remembering what just happened to him.

"Oh yes, he was quite upset to hear that my brother might be dead, but that man wasn't him." Maeve lied, and quickly excused herself by saying, "I must go to him now and help him home. I am so sorry if we disturbed anything."

As quickly as she could, Maeve left the morgue and hurried towards the tunnels. She suspected Barnabas was in no condition to be in public and would be looking for the first person he could find to alleviate his enormous appetite.