"We just want to help," I said, putting on my best leader voice. Kane used to mercilessly make fun of me whenever I used it. What had he called it again? Your Everyone-Listen-To-Me Tone. My heart tightened for a moment as I pushed away the thought of my missing friend. One step at a time in this journey. First, Cam and I would help these humans.
Warily, a woman stepped out from behind the building. “Thank goodness, we've been so scared." She emerged with a companion, a young man around her age. Both of them were in good health, but they seemed awfully… fresh and unscathed to be out here in this mess. They both wore basic outdoor clothing, no Bureau uniforms or patches, no outdoor fatigues like Lyra used to wear.
"My name is Jennifer," the woman said, her voice wavering. "Johnny and I were out exploring ghost towns when the whole world changed. We've been trapped here for months." She wiped at her eyes, but I hadn't picked up the smell of salt from tears. It was typically a pungent scent for me. Cam furrowed his brow as Jennifer went on. "I cannot believe you found us. Oh, Johnny, we're saved."
Johnny muttered a few words, tripping over himself and mostly looking at the ground. In their gear bags, they had plenty of supplies, and the man had a large camera strapped to his side.
"She looks familiar," Cam muttered under his breath. Only I heard it, and Jennifer just smiled awkwardly under Cam’s searching stare. Lyra told me some humans just have faces that look similar to a lot of people’s.
"Are you injured?" I asked, hoping to broach the strangeness of the situation with the basics. Even if this woman was strange, I couldn't just leave her and the mumbling guy out here on their own.
"No," Jennifer said with a little choking hiccup. "Thankfully, we've been able to stay out of most of the danger."
Cam and I approached. What else could we do? I wouldn't tell them I was a vampire, but I needed Cam to catch on to that.
"My friend is Cam, and I'm Lance," I said, pulling the first human-ish name I could think of out of my brain. Lyra liked a celebrity named Lance. Perhaps one day my knowledge of humans will extend beyond Lyra's anecdotes… Cam caught my eye and smiled weakly at the survivors.
"Nice to meet you."
Jennifer's eyebrows shot up. "Scottish. You said you're working for the Bureau?" Her companion, Johnny, stared nervously at me. Why would she care about where Cam came from?
"Yes, I'm helping the Bureau. We have a strong exchange program in Scotland when it comes to supernatural-related messes," Cam said. "We can assist you… but I have to admit that we don't actually know where we are yet." His tone was polite but cautious. His new warmth seemed to suddenly drop away in this professional setting. Maybe Jennifer's question had put him on edge. It was an odd one.
Jennifer studied me now with an appraising air. I felt suddenly self-conscious of my shadows. There was something prying and rude about her gaze, but I couldn't put my finger on it.
"Did the meld affect you?" she asked, blinking innocently. "Sorry, it's just your skin seems a bit… different." Wasn’t that rude to tell another human being?
I managed a polite neutral quirk to my lips as I cooked up an excuse. "We have Research and Development to thank for that. They gave us Leftovers camouflage. It's an experiment they're doing to see if it helps us adapt to the area."
Jennifer swiveled toward Cam. "Oh. Why aren't you wearing it then?" This woman was starting to get on my nerves. We were here to save her. Even a vampire knew basic etiquette in a situation like this.
"It's normal for experiments to use a control group," Cam said smoothly.
Jennifer stared at him for a second too long, but she smiled and shrugged. "Okay. How interesting." This woman was… interesting. It made me miss Lyra terribly, for some reason.
I eyed the camera on Johnny. It seemed like a reasonable item to bring along, although a camera was naturally fragile in the Leftovers. Cam and I needed to keep any survivors we found safe, but I had a weird feeling about these two. Their presence just added to our troubles at the moment.
“So, you don't know where we are," Jennifer confirmed.
No. We had no idea where we were, and now I needed to keep my identity as a vampire safe from these two while we looked for the rest of Callanish and my vampire allies.
"We'll find out," I promised them. Leftover camouflage or not, Cam and I were their only hope to get out of this situation.
18
Roxy
My head pounded with pain. The creature's howl sent an icy shudder of fear down my spine, but I wasn't going down without a fight. I struggled against the beast, my arms and legs flailing as it tightened its jaws around my body for a better hold. The pressure was light enough not to hurt me, but I could only kick my feet helplessly and shake my head and arms around.
The comm was gone. The Hellraisers might not be able to save me. I pressed against the creature's jaw, but it wouldn't budge. Its spiny teeth were blunt at the ends, allowing it to hold me with just enough pressure to pin me easily, but not completely crush me. Was it taking me somewhere specific? It rushed through the forest at nauseating speed. Pain from hitting my head and the passing foliage catching at my skin made me hiss in complaint. Terror rocketed through me. Where was this thing going? Deeper into the Leftovers we went.
It knocked me heedlessly through the bushes. This is
