Chapter 15
Maeve had arrived on the third flood about 5 minutes after Barnabas. When she realized Barnabas had not taken the tunnels, she sensed his presence above the basement. At that point, she concluded Barnabas had followed the smell of blood he desperately needed. So she ran up the stairs to the third floor and followed the signs to Room 333. Using her own psychic radar to hone in on her intended target, she found him ducking into a room down a hallway. She saw another man enter the room moments later so she waited. Sensing no impending danger from the man, she decided to see what would happen. It was wiser to link with the man than Barnabas, because her bond with him had strengthened and he would certainly be alerted to her arrival. Eventually, she thought, she would have to explain this to Barnabas if he would come to his senses.
As she waited, Maeve wondered who this man could be since she did not sense any fear coming from him. From what she could tell, he was familiar with Barnabas. The man's emotions were friendly and calm. This puzzled her. She did not think Barnabas knew anyone in town. After a few minutes, she felt the man move and suspected he was on the go. She looked around the corner and saw the two men walking in the direction of Room 333.
As she followed the men, she felt Barnabas' psychic radar hit her own. She knew he was aware of her and she had to act immediately. As her pace increased, she noticed the other man turn around and look at her. All of a sudden dropping his cane, Barnabas grabbed the man by the throat, turned around to face her and gave her a threatening look. Still psychically connected to the man, she felt his nervousness was because of her and not Barnabas. So telepathically, she shared with him some of her strength to sustain and calm him. At that point, she knew he was in no danger. She changed her plan as she approached the men.
"Do not come any closer," Barnabas snarled between closed teeth, "or I will kill him." He hoped his bluff would stop her.
"Barnabas?" whispered Willie, puzzled and nervous from this exchange. He watched the woman closely and she did not seem threatening to him.
"Shhh, Willie." Barnabas whispered completely confused and thrown off balance.
"Barnabas, darling, you should not have run off like that." Maeve said as she came up to him. As she got right up to them, she observed the deserted hallway.
"Willie?" Maeve repeated the name, connected with his eyes and smiled. She recognized him immediately as the man in her dream. She extended her hand to shake his however Willie did not move. So she grabbed Willie's hand, she pulled him out of Barnabas' grip faster than either of them realized. It was a good thing Barnabas did not have a strong hold of Willie's neck.
"So you are Willie." Maeve said, shaking his hand, standing between Willie and Barnabas. She smiled and winked at Willie.
"Do I know ya?" Willie asked being cordial and baffled. He glanced at Barnabas and shrugged. Barnabas said nothing, picked up his cane off the floor and stood in shock.
"No, not formally," she said looked into Barnabas' face for any mirthfulness. "My name is Maeve and I am a friend of Barnabas'. I am very happy to finally meet you, Willie." They politely shook hands but Maeve could sense some trepidation coming from Barnabas' loyal friend. Willie was confused by her greeting.
"Barnabas, I don't understand. You said she . . . " Willie looked from Barnabas to Maeve.
"He told you that I was I am a slayer and in pursuit to kill him. Am I right?" She knew this because of her link with Willie and could tell from their expressions that she was not far from the truth. "Well, Willie," she said with a lower voice, "It is partly true. I am a slayer and I was tracking Barnabas but not to kill him."
"Really! That's good news," Willie said enthusiastically. Still puzzled, he said, "Then I don't understand why . . ." Before Willie could finish his statement, Maeve looked around and gave Willie a warning look.
"Willie, do you work here?" Maeve asked knowing already and wanting him to direct them immediately towards Room 333. Barnabas, fiddling with his cane, also looked in that direction. The thought of blood being this close began to consume his awareness again.
"Yes, as a matter of fact, I was just tellin' Barnabas that I work at the Blood Repository." Willie was surprised in how much this woman knew about him and Barnabas. It was obvious to him that she liked his friend. So why was he afraid of her? Willie could remember many of Barnabas' love interests and they were always in danger of his wrath. This time was different. Barnabas seemed fidgety but enamored with her at the same time.
"Did you hear that, Barnabas?" Maeve interrupted his thoughts. "Your friend works at the Blood Repository." Maeve placed extreme emphasis on the word "Blood" and knew Willie understood. He was smarter than Barnabas gave him credit, Maeve thought.
"Yes," responded Barnabas, dreamily looking in that direction. His lust for blood started to increase and the urge to rush in that direction started to push him. He began to walk in that direction, not aware of anyone else around.
"It's this way." Willie said falling in line with Barnabas' stride. Maeve followed worried about Barnabas' condition. When they reached Room 333, Willie suggested, "Wait here a minute and I'll see if anyone is in there." Willie entered the room, leaving the two alone. Barnabas morosely looked at Maeve and she smiled. She held his hand and they both felt a warm, sensual passion moving gently up their arms. Surprised and relieved, Barnabas felt the blood-lust subside to some extent. The door to Room 333 opened and Willie invited them in. Not holding hands, they walked in together.
"We'll have to do this fast, Barnabas," Willie whispered, "I don't know when anyone will be back." Willie turned to go into the back room, but before he did, Barnabas felt the urge hit him with great force.
Barnabas gasped and lunged toward Maeve, wanting so desperately to sink his fangs in her neck. As he grabbed her shoulders, Maeve said sharply to Willie, "NOW, Willie, hurry. I am not sure how long I can keep him under control." Not interested in any explanations, Willie fled into the back room.
For several minutes, Barnabas held on to Maeve's shoulders as she held him at arms length. If anyone walked in, they would see two people holding each other curiously. However, Barnabas felt something entirely different. It felt like the intake of blood and the warm sensation permeated his blood stream. This relieved his desires. Unwilling to release Maeve's arms, he forced their arms to bend. Maeve looked into his eyes, and knowing what he was thinking, she kissed him. Just then, the front door opened.
"Excuse me!" The entering nurse exclaimed.
"Oh, we are sorry. We are waiting for Mr. Loomis." Maeve said quickly releasing Barnabas, who walked away from both of them.
"Oh? This is not normal procedures," she said shaking her head, "to have visitors here. I will go find Willie immediately." Noticing Barnabas' discomfort, she asked, "Is he ok?"
"Yes, of course, we are just a little upset from a recent lose." Maeve replied to the nurse as she was exiting to the next room. Barnabas was relieved when Willie reentered the main room.
"I'm sorry I took so long but I couldn't find a container large enough." Willie whispered, holding a plain brown paper bag large enough to hold a quart of blood. "Here, take this, hurry." Maeve took the bag just before the nurse came back into the room where they all stood.
"Well, thank you Willie, Barnabas will certainly appreciate this. We better get going, honey." Maeve said to Barnabas as they both walked to the door.
"See ya later, Barnabas." Willie remarked. He knew his wife would ask him about his day. How was he going to tell her and not lie, he pondered nervously. The nurse watched them exit then was heard telling Willie there would be no visitors allowed again.
Barnabas started for the stairwell and entered. After they walked down half way, Maeve handed the bag to Barnabas and walked down a few more stairs to keep guard.
"Take it now," she said. Without arguing, Barnabas proceeded to drink. It did not take long to finish the quart bag. His body soaked it up like a sponge. Never receiving blood like this before, he wondered if this was going to be the norm. Silently, they exited the hospital and walked down the street. For the first time that night, Barnabas could feel and smell the clean air.
He took a deep breath, looked at Maeve and asked, "What now?" She smiled.
As Willie got ready to leave work, he wondered if he would see Barnabas again. Now however, he had to go face his wife.