Chapter Four

Andrew ran almost absentmindedly both of speed and direction. He noted that he was heading north, in the direction Alexander had claimed to find the strange ones…but north was a general direction, and North America was a big continent. Besides, even if he had a map, he wouldn't have gone there. What was the point? Andrew agreed with Alexander's assessment – they were interesting, but nothing more than that.

He considered Alexander's words – all of them. His perfect memory allowed him to replay the entirety of the conversation in flawless detail. He still couldn't decide what about Alexander had spooked him. He'd begun pleasantly enough, and the decision to leave had been impulsive. Maybe it was the fact that it hadn't taken long for Alexander to start speaking to him like a child. Maybe it was the unwavering confidence as he explained the path Andrew's life would take, as if it had been written in a book he'd read. Either way, Andrew's instincts had never failed him before in his short life, and he would continue to trust them until they did.

Andrew stopped running as soon as he caught fresh scent. It was a human, no, two, in the area. He'd just fed, and that was the excuse he'd give himself later as to why he acted as he did.

Without conscious thought, he floated closer to where he'd smelled the two people. It wasn't the practiced stalking of prey, but the edging close of someone who wanted to observe something undetected. He heard the two men arguing lightly a moment before he saw them – he had to crush the instinct to rush in and take them.

The men were obviously a part of a sharecropping effort – Andrew did not recognize their crop, or understand why they were growing it in the mountains, hidden. These questions never bothered him – it was the interaction between the men he was interested in. He knew he was falling into Alexander's suggestion that he'd have to learn to be close to humans sooner or later. A challenge was never something to be left hanging, not to Andrew, and he had resolved to learn about his prey as soon as he'd smelled these two.

Their argument was uninteresting and hard to follow. They were trying to decide between two dates to harvest their crop, and the travel arrangements they'd need to make to do it. As they spoke, they walked through the rows of shrubs, watering them. When they were obviously finished and about to leave, Andrew made a snap decision. He had been planning to take them both before they left – now, the sudden inspiration to try to pass as human struck him. There was nothing at risk for him in his new game – if at any point the farmers got suspicious, he could kill them and move on. He smiled at the idea of testing himself to such a point so soon after learning it was even possible, and strode out confidently to meet his first humans.

"Hello," he called, not wanting to startle them. If they ran, or even turned to run, Andrew didn't think he could suppress the instinct to take them. Both were surprised anyway, but didn't react as most humans who were startled.

"Hello," the larger of the two said cautiously, and Andrew could make out his hand holding something in his pocket. The smaller one did not speak, and also didn't conceal what he had in his palm. A large pistol was pointed in Andrew's general direction. He felt the thrill of a challenge strike him again, and smiled wider. Instead of setting the humans at ease, this seemed to unsettle them even more.

Andrew quickly smoothed his face and took a quick self-inventory, and almost laughed at how poorly he'd prepared for his little experiment. He was still shirtless, and the pants he was wearing were torn and too-small, taken off of a victim a few months earlier. He quickly developed an excuse for his condition, and told the tale with all the practice of a professional storyteller.

"I was wondering if you gentlemen might be able to help me," he said haltingly, on purpose. "I was lost on a hunting trip last week, and I think I've come down with a sickness," he explained earnestly, and was confident he would be believed. Most of his victims had come from hunting parties like the one he claimed to have lost. The two men exchanged a glance, and the small man's pistol disappeared beneath his coat. Andrew took this as an encouraging sign and continued. "I can't pay you, but I would be much obliged for a ride into town."

"A sickness?" the first man echoed, and took a few hesitant steps toward the vampire to see him more clearly. He studied Andrew's face, and an expression of suspicious crossed his own. "Is that what's wrong with your eyes?"

Andrew's hands shot to his face, trying to look surprised. "My eyes? Is there something wrong with my eyes?" he tried to sound worried.

"Only that they look like you've been drinking gasoline," the second man told him. "What town are you looking to go back to?"

Andrew shrugged – he didn't know where he was, exactly, let alone the names of nearby towns. "Wherever you can take me. I need to see a doctor," he said with a tiny trace of humor – he was thinking of Alexander's friend, Carlisle, when he said this.

The first man still had his suspicious look. "You don't sound sick. Or look it, except for your eyes."

Andrew thought he might have picked the most perceptive humans in the Pacific Northwest to try and hoodwink for the first time, but the thought encouraged him further instead of dissuading him. He decided to try a new approach. "Okay. If you think I'm fine, and I'm just wandering around out here in the cold with no shirt for fun, then leave. I'll stay here with your crop and wait for the next person to come out."

At the mention of the crop, both men traded another look, this one resigned. Andrew had been counting on their defensive attitude toward the hidden farm, and it worked. The small man sighed. "Get in the truck. Three rules," he stated. "No names. We don't want to know you and you don't get to know us. Two, you ride in the bed of the pick-up – we don't want to catch what you have. Three – and this is the most important – you will forget what you saw here." He had produced the pistol once more, and waved it at the swaying shrubs. "We found you while we were out checking fur traps. Got it?"

Andrew's curiosity was up – what were these two scandalous humans up to out here alone in the forest? He decided he'd unravel the mystery later if he got bored and went to climb aboard the truck. He tried to match the clumsy, slow, jerky movements of the farmers. His path took him to within ten feet of one of the humans, and Andrew instinctively held his breath. Once he was settled and the two humans were in the cab of the vehicle, he decided to test himself with one tiny inhalation. The flood of human scent was strong, very strong...but not unbearable. He smiled to himself as the vehicle began bouncing down the dirt path, pleased with his progress and anxious to see what would come of it.