Blood Land, J.R. Lawson [electric book reader .txt] 📗

Nora answered, “I’m not in trouble at all!”

“Yes, you are,” the woman next to the cop now intervened, “You don’t have to pretend, the vampire isn’t around now.  All you have to do is come with me and everything will be fine.”
            “I’m already fine!” Nora shouted, “And I’m not pretending!  Please just leave me alone!”

“Ma’am, please just keep your voice down,” the policeman now asked Nora, “Are you sure you’re not in trouble?  You really don’t need any help?”

“No,” Nora now calmly spoke to the officer, “I’m fine. This woman doesn’t know what she’s talking about. I just want to buy my groceries and leave…please.”

The officer looked at Nora for a few seconds and then looked at the woman next to him.  He sighed a bit and then spoke, “Well, if she says she’s not in trouble there’s really nothing I can do.”

“What?!” the woman now exclaimed, “No, she’s in trouble!  There’s a vampire here keeping her captive for blood farming!  I’m sure of it!  Can’t you at least arrest him?!  He’s probably around her somewhere!”

“Look, even if that were going on and you could prove it, the blood farming thing is within the Blood Land jurisdiction.  We human cops have no authority over that.  And if this young lady says she’s fine I can’t force her to go anywhere with you.  I’m sorry.” The cop then turned to Nora and nodded politely. “I’m sorry for the trouble ma’am.”

Nora just silently nodded and began to attempt to head back to her cart of groceries and leave the store but all of the sudden the woman grabbed her by the arm. “Hey!  Let go of me!” Nora shouted.

“You can’t go!  You have to come with me!” the lady shouted at her as she then grabbed her other arm.

“Stop it!  Let go!!” Nora shouted again.  She looked around her but the security guard had already made his way out of the store.  She then attempted to pull herself from the woman’s grasp but the lady just held tighter.

“You can’t leave!  You must come with me!” The woman just kept shouting.  Nora looked into the woman’s eyes and almost saw a tinge of craziness welling up inside them.  The sight frightened her.

“If you don’t come with me…bad things will happen!  They’ll kill me!  I promised them I’d bring you to them!” the woman now shouted, holding Nora tighter still.

“Stop it!  Stop it let go!  Someone help me!” Nora shouted but the woman then began to pull her toward the door to leave the store and no matter how much Nora struggled she couldn’t break free from this woman.  She also didn’t understand why no one else in the store would help her.  She couldn’t go to that protection shelter with this lady!  Kale wouldn’t’ be able to get to her if she was there and she didn’t want to even think about what would happen to him if he were to try to get her out.  All she could think was that maybe Kale was right outside and he would do something to help her.

CHAPTER 27

 KALE STOOD PATIENTLY outside of the store, his arms crossed as he waited for Nora to come out.  He started to sway a bit in his spot nervously as the thought that Nora seemed to be taking quite a while had suddenly crossed his mind.  The next thought he had was that maybe he should go inside to see what was taking her but a familiar voice next to him quickly nixed that idea.

“Just quit worrying.  She’s gonna bring the girl out here.”  It was Aaron.  He and a girl who stood beside him were standing around the corner of the store.  The both of them had peered around for a small second while they conversed.  It was obvious to Kale they were waiting on something and he was pretty sure what the something was.  Without hesitation he quickly darted behind a nearby car in the parking lot.  He crouched as he only just looked over it to still keep an eye on Aaron and the other girl all the while trying to think of a plan for when Nora decided to walk out of the store, unaware of the danger outside.

“I don’t know.” the girl with Aaron now said as she decided to take a few steps out from behind the store’s corner.  She was a bit tall, almost as tall as Aaron, and her bright red hair was in a very short pixie cut style.  She wore a dark green shirt that barely met her belly button along with black skinny jeans.  She also had the familiar long black trench coat that all of Dagon’s lackeys seemed to wear, which made Kale immediately deduce that she was indeed a vampire.  He didn’t have to notice her pale skin and red eyes to know this for sure.  “It’s been a really long time.  I think the human you picked was a weak one.  She’s too fuckin’ dumb to carry it out.  The one Dagon wants is gonna figure it out and get away.  Besides, isn’t Rogan with her?  What do we do about him?”

Aaron quickly reached out and grabbed the girl’s arm to pull her back behind the corner with him. “Don’t worry about Rogan.  I can take care of him.  We just have to make sure we got that girl.  She’s who Dagon wants.”

“But that woman isn’t going to be able to bring her to us!  Why don’t we just go get her?!”

“Because, Kari,” Aaron now said in a slightly hushed but stern tone, “Dagon doesn’t want us making a scene.  He wants this done as neatly as possible, remember?  Unless, you want to get him mad…”

“Gah it’s just so fucking frustrating to wait like this!” Kari now shouted, throwing her arms up in defeat.

“Too bad!  We’re doing it Dagon’s way and that’s that!”  Aaron shouted back, causing Kari to then sigh in submission and lean her back against the wall.

“Shit…shit…” Kale cursed quietly to himself as he ducked back behind the car he was hiding by.  What was he going to do?  All of a sudden, a shrill scream caused him to look back up and over the car.

“Let me go!!  I said let go!  I’m not going with you!  Someone help!” It was Nora screaming.  Kale noticed the lady that she had encountered earlier in the store was holding her by both arms and trying to force her to go somewhere.  He also clearly noticed Aaron and Kari peak their heads around the corner of the store and eye Nora.  He had to think of something to do now and fast.  It was then that after only a minute of pondering, Kale pulled back his fist and punched with much force the side of the car he was crouched behind.  In less than a second, the alarm inside the car went off, causing a loud and startling noise that filled the parking lot.  Right after, Kale swiftly moved to the next car and did the same.  He then proceeded to go quickly from car to car in the parking lot, making all the loud, obnoxious alarms go off.  This, however caused the effect that Kale was hoping when a crowd of people soon came hastening out of the store to check and see what was going on with their vehicles.  This crowd was exactly the cover he needed to get to Nora as he noticed Aaron and Kari get lost in all of the humans rushing the parking lot.

“You have to come with me!  Please!  If you don’t they’ll kill me!” the woman holding Nora pleaded her as her grip on her arms grew even tighter.

“Let me go!  I’m not going with you anywhere!!”  Nora was through with this woman.  She had had it.  She wasn’t going to let this crazy person take her anywhere and so in a fit of rage she kicked the woman in the leg.  The woman yelled out in pain and momentarily let go of Nora.  Nora turned to leave her, but because the large group of surrounding people exiting the store was so big, she only got so far before the woman grabbed her wrist.

“Stop!” she screamed at her, “Just let me go!!”

“I need you!  I need you so they’ll give me what I want!  Don’t you understand?!” The woman had a mixture of anger and utter craziness in her eyes.  Nora could tell this woman was seriously desperate to not let her get away.  She didn’t know what she was talking about or why it was she was so frantic to have her.

“Let her go!” A booming voice now came from behind Nora.  She saw fear in the woman’s eyes in front of her as she instantly let go of Nora and stared up at whatever it was that commanded her.  Nora turned around to see Kale now standing behind her, a look of utmost seriousness and anger on his face as he glared back at the crazy woman.

“Get out of here!!  NOW!” Kale yelled again but the woman fell to her knees instead.

“Please!” she now sobbed, “I need her!  I need her!  They’ll kill me if I don’t—”

“I’ll do much worse to you if you don’t get the fuck out of here!” Kale screamed at her a third time.  Nora glanced up at Kale’s angry face.  His eyes burned and the usual red that they were seemed brighter and more intense now.  She admitted he did look quite scary as he shouted, his fangs showing beneath his lips as he did so.  She looked back at the woman who seemed to have the same thought as she did and in her cowering and sobbing state, finally turned and began to hasten away.  Nora only watched her go for a second before she then felt Kale grab her arm.  She turned to him in time to hear him say, “Come on, let’s go!” as he then led her through the crowd of people, which was starting to dissipate quickly.

The two of them hastened a short distance before they made it to a small alleyway between two buildings.  Kale let go of Nora and turned to her.  “Are you o.k.?”

“Y-yeah, I’m fine, but Kale, why did we leave like that?  The woman was gone.  We left our groceries—”

“Forget the groceries.  Aaron was there.”

Nora now looked up at Kale with terror.  “A-Aaron?  Why?!”

“He must have found out where we were…somehow.  And Aaron and this other vampire Kari were there waiting for you to come out.  I think that crazy woman was sent in to get you.”

“Oh my god…” was all Nora could now say.

Kale looked around the corner from where they were hiding. “Good, doesn’t look like they followed us.” He then turned to look back at Nora and noticed the fear on her face.  “Hey, are you all right?”

“Am I alright?!” Nora now said in a panicky tone, “Some crazy woman basically attacked me and then you tell me that Aaron and some other vampire was there to take me to Dagon?!  I’m not alright, I’m really freaked out!”

“Look, it’s o.k.  They didn’t see us.  We got out of there.” Kale now stood in front of Nora, trying to calm her.

“I