Chapter 6

I led the way back out of the theater. Darren seemed more sure of where his feet were falling than when I had listened to him shuffling along when he first came here. I pinned it to his now being a half-vampire. I'm sure he just thought it was because he was used to the dark now.

When we got outside I looked around. The moon was shining above and lightening our path. I told him to get on my back. "Keep your arms wrapped around my neck. Do not let go or make any sudden movements. We would not want you to fall off."

While he was hopping up, he looked down at my slippers. He looked confused, but did not say anything. I was wearing them because I would have to take them off to climb up the hospital wall. And because I thought they were awesome. As soon as Darren was secure I took off. I started gathering speed, then slipped into flitting speed. Darren did not notice anything at first, but he eventually realized we were going extremely fast.

We arrived at the hospital in a few minutes. "How did you do that?" he asked, sliding off my back.

"Speed is relative." I said evasively. We did not have time to discuss that right now. I tugged my cloak tighter around my shoulders then stepped into the shadows. "Which room is your friend in?"

Darren answered quietly. I looked up and counted windows until I found the right one. I told Darren to get on my back again. I walked over to the wall and tested its strength. It would hold us, but we might slip. I told Darren this. I stepped out of my slippers and began climbing.

Climbing the wall was easy. I had done it many times when I was watching Darren. I just had to dig my nails into the brick and haul myself up.

Soon we were at Steve's window. I tried opening it, but it was locked. I unlocked it with a flick of my fingers and stepped into the room. The moment my feet hit the floor Darren slid off my back and hurried to his friend. He looked at Steve worriedly. Steve was hooked up to many machines and he had tubes connecting him to the machines.

"The poison has worked rapidly," I said, looking down at the boy. "We might be too late to save him." Darren's face turned white at this, but I ignored him. I bent over Steve and checked to see if we would be in time to save him. We were. "We are in time." Darren's face brightened considerably. "But it is a good thing you did not wait any longer. A few more hours and he would have been a goner."

"Just get on with it and cure him," he snapped. I reached into one of my pockets and pulled out the little vial. I turned on the bedside lamp so I could see.

"I must be careful, this antidote is almost as lethal as the poison. A couple drops too many and..." I trailed off. I could tell Darren did not want to listen to the rest of the sentence.

I moved Steve's head to one side and told Darren to hold it like that. I made a small cut on Steve's neck and held a finger over it. I took the cork of the bottle off then lifted the bottle to my mouth.

"What are you doing?" Darren asked, confused.

"It must be passed on by mouth. A doctor could inject it but I do not know about needles and the like"

"Is that safe? Won't you pass on germs?"

I grinned at him. "If you want to call a doctor, feel free. Otherwise, have some faith in a man who was doing this long before your grandfather was born." I poured the antidote into my mouth and swished it around. Then I lowered my head to the cut on the boy's neck. Soon the serum was out of my mouth and into the body of Steve.

When I was done I sat back and spat out the last of the serum. I wiped the rest from around my mouth. "I am always afraid of swallowing that stuff by accident. One of the nights, I am going to take a course and learn how to do this the easy way."

Darren was going to reply, but then Steve moved and moaned. "What's happening?" He looked afraid something was going wrong.

"It is all right." I said, putting away the empty bottle. "He was on the brink of death. The journey back is never a pleasant one. He will be in pain for some time, but he will live." I explained.

"Will there be any side effects? He won't be paralyzed from the waist down or anything?"

"No, he will be fine. He will feel a bit stiff and will catch colds very easily, but otherwise he will be the same as he was before."

Steve's eyes opened very quickly and focused on us. He looked puzzled for a moment and he tried to speak, but then he went unconscious again.

"Steve?" Darren called, shaking him. "Steve?"

"That is going to happen a lot, he will be slipping in and out of consciousness all night. By morning he should be awake and by afternoon he will be sitting up and asking for dinner.

"Come, let us go." I continued.

"I want to stick around a while longer, to make sure he recovers," he replied.

"You mean you want to make sure I have not tricked you." I chortled. "We will come back tomorrow and you will see that he is fine. We really must go now. If we stay any—" Just then the door opened and a nurse waltzed in.

"What's going on here?" she yelled, surprised. "Who the hell are—"

I grabbed Steve's bed sheets and threw them at her. She got tangled in them and fell to the ground.

"Come, we have to leave immediately." I hissed at Darren. I held a hand out for him to take. He stared at it then at Steve, then the nurse, then the open door.

"I see," I whispered, lowering my hand. "You are going to go back on our deal." Darren hesitated, then opened his mouth to say something. Then he dashed madly for the door. I did not stop him, I only yelled after him. "Very well. Run, Darren Shan! It will do you no good. You are a creature of the night now. You are one of us! You will be back. You will come crawling on your knees, begging for help. Run, fool, run!" I laughed cruelly at him as he ran away from the room.

I flitted back to the old theater. So I would have to wait a few more days for Darren to come to his senses, big deal. At least I had Madam Octa back! She could help with the fleas, cockroaches, and lice around here.

I decided to not go watch Darren this time. He would come to me eventually. Once he realizes his situation is hopeless, he will come begging for help.

Dang! Another shortie! Ugh...*disgusted with self* -_-

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