Chapter Five

The two humans in the cab of the pick-up truck obviously thought their conversation was made private by the roar of the diesel engine. Andrew listened with amusement as they discussed what to do with him. It seemed as if they were conflicted by the basic human instinct to take care of their own and the greed at having a potential monkey wrench in their clearly illegal operation. As they spoke of different options, including killing Andrew and dumping his body, Andrew reflected that his "rescuers" were more predator than prey. If they were all like this, Andrew would never have to feel bad about killing humans again.

The smaller man, who was clearly the leader, was the one most willing to commit murder. He decided against it in the end – obviously, he wasn't quite malevolent enough to kill a young man just for wandering into the wrong part of the woods. As the road went from red clay to course gravel, the beginning of civilization started to present itself. At first, it was just signs of logging activity. Then, as the road became more packed and solid, the first wooden houses began to dot the landscape. Andrew felt a thrill as he realized this was as close to a human society as he'd been. There were always humans in the wilderness. Going into their habitat had never been necessary.

The truck pulled off to the side of the road before they could really get into the heart of town. No houses were visible. The smaller man got out of the passenger's seat and walked around to the bed of the truck. Andrew did his best to look like he was panting shallowly while not breathing at all. The man rested his forearms on the side of the bed and studied Andrew intently.

"You don't look sick," he told Andrew again, full of suspicion. Andrew was annoyed that his act hadn't fooled the human. "As a matter of fact, you look like you're in the best shape of your life. You sure you need to see a doctor?"

Andrew, who never had any intention of going to a medical professional, smiled. "I guess not. I'm feeling better just getting out of the forest." He looked around. "Are we in a town?"

The man didn't take his eyes off of him. "Almost. We're heading into Big Bend. No hospital, but there's a doc."

Andrew pressed for more information. "Are we still in Oregon?"

The man looked at him like he was crazy. "Oregon's at least eighty miles north. You mean to tell me you wandered eighty miles, sick and alone?"

Andrew shrugged, not really paying attention. The man's comment put them in northern California. For some reason, California rang familiar with the newborn, but he couldn't break through the mental barriers to remember why. "How should I know? You just said it – I was lost."

The man didn't let it go, as Andrew expected. The young vampire tasted the air, and suddenly he could smell adrenaline mixed in with the scent of blood and sweat. The man knocked on the door of the cab twice, and at the signal, the driver stepped out. He pulled out his gun again, and was not shy about pointing it in Andrew's general direction. Eyes narrowed, he said, "I don't like this one bit. This stinks. Who are you?" There was no question that the gun was trained on Andrew, now. "You'd better come clean right now. Who sent you to the farm?"

Even though the pistol wasn't dangerous to Andrew, a deep part of him resented being threatened. Before he could stop it, a low snarl ripped from his chest. The gun wavered, as did the man behind it. He took an involuntary two steps backward, and then changed his earlier question. "What are you?" he asked in a voice that was every bit as shaky as the gun he held. Andrew could hear that the bigger man behind him had also retreated a few steps, as well.

Andrew lithely hopped out of the bed, and slowly and deliberately stalked toward the man with the gun. He had a smile on his angel's face, but that somehow made him seem exponentially more dangerous. "No. My turn. You're going to answer some of my questions, now."

The man was brave. Even as he stepped backward, he chambered a round into the pistol and steeled himself. "Stop right there. I got no problem shooting a kid," he warned.

In less than the time it took to blink, Andrew darted forward, snatched the gun, and backed away a few paces. As the man looked in shock both at his empty hand and Andrew's suddenly-full grip, he let out a little moan. In one quick motion, Andrew ripped the slide off of the pistol and dropped the weapon to the ground in two pieces. "There. Now we're both a little safer," he said soothingly, but like his smile, this did nothing to set the man at ease. "What were you two doing in the forest?" he asked lightly, as if he didn't care for the answer.

The man took a moment to look surprised, and glanced at his partner, who was a full twenty-five yards away from the developing confrontation. "You mean you don't know? I figured some nosy bastard or a John Law sent you."

"What were you two doing in the forest?" Andrew repeated calmly.

"Growing pot," the man said, with a look that said he didn't quite believe that was what Andrew was asking him. "You know, marijuana?"

At that word, Andrew's locked memory cracked just the tiniest bit. He got a flash of a party, other humans standing around laughing in a smoky room. Someone was playing a guitar in the corner. Another person had a cigarette, but it wasn't a cigarette…and then his memory slammed shut, revealing nothing else. Andrew snarled again in frustration.

The man must have thought that Andrew was protesting his activities with his growl. "Now hold on! I know it's illegal, but that's just because the timber barons make the laws around here, and -"

"I don't care about that," Andrew cut him off. He wanted time to interrogate this man. The more he interacted with them, the more he realized he needed to learn. Not only that…it was like he already knew, but he was re-learning. More than anything, he wanted to talk until this man set another trigger off in his mind, perhaps allowing him to remember something, anything, else.

He was out of time, though. The wind carried the breeze from town toward him, and he could smell two creatures approaching. One was a wild, if unattractive, scent he'd smelled a few times before. The other was deliciously human. Young and female, from the smell of it. He honestly didn't want to kill these two men, but they knew he was different. They might not know exactly what he was, but they knew enough to raise the alarm.

Andrew made a snap decision. He reigned in his strength and lightly landed an open hand to the man's temple. He went down hard, and Andrew was relieved that the skin hadn't split under the blow. He leapt the truck and the road in a single bound and struck the second man in a similar fashion. Both unconscious, he carried them fifty yards into the forest, out of sight of the road. He would come back to them to finish them if necessary, but he had a feeling he'd be far away before they awoke.

He would have been lying to himself if he said he'd left them alive out of mercy. The truth was, the approaching female smelled ten times more appealing than these men. The truth was, he didn't want to spoil his appetite before dinner arrived.