Lauren scooted further back but reached a point even her small body couldn’t fit through. There was no possibility I could follow and pull her out. Upon finding she couldn’t progress any further down the passage, she buried her face in her arms. Her reaction to me, though understandable, made me feel sick. I don’t know why I cared, but I did.

“I was up at a farmhouse in east Tennessee,” I announced. “The basement in the barn out back was designed to hold people like you. Have you seen it? It had rebar cages wrapped with silver wire and a big furnace at the end.”

A soft sob escaped her lips, and she huddled down further. Her breathing quickened as she tried to stifle her sobs. Again, my stomach turned. It was a feeling I was not accustomed to. She seemed to know the place. More time went by. I didn’t know what to say. Her voice cut through the tunnel like a knife. “Just do it. I can’t handle it anymore,” Her voice quivered. “If you’re going hold a gun over my head, just pull the trigger.”

“I’m not going to.”

She looked at me, shaking her head. “You reek of death. I knew it was you the moment you entered the cave. Don’t lie to me. Killing things like me is clearly what you do.”

“You’re right; I kill monsters. Try to anyway.”

She looked at me, face streaked with tears. “You’re going to have to kill me. I’m not leaving. I won’t make the same mistake twice,” she shouted, “Leave me. Dead or alive here is better than being around you!”

“I’m not going to leave. You are going to get out and tell me what you know about the farmhouse. You’d better not make me crawl down there and drag you out,” I stated.

She wiped her eyes on her sleeves and glared at me. “Go to hell.”

“Fine,” I muttered. She’d come out.

I got up and made my way back out of the cave to an anxious puppy. The pup was whimpering softly, head resting over the side of the cliff. He let out a loud, happy howl at the sight of me. I called to him. “Come here boy. It will be fine, just to the edge.” He climbed far enough for me to grab him. With one arm holding him haphazardly over the cliff edge, I clung to a young tree trunk with the other. I shoved him unceremoniously into the mouth of the cave. He scampered through the cave, happy to be back on the trail. I crawled after him. I caught up to him where he hesitated at the drop. I moved in front of him and dragged him down the tunnel behind me. It was difficult. He struggled and fought, but I managed to get us to the bottom. He howled and lunged for the end of the cave. The echoes made my eardrums ring. I held firm to his collar. The last thing I needed was for him to get stuck in the little tunnel along with Lauren. As I walked to the tunnel mouth, he yipped and whined excitedly at the sight of Lauren.

“You can come out or I’m going to put a cap in his head.”

“You bastard,” She snarled from the back of the tunnel.

“You have a minute. If you aren’t out by then, he’s dead.” I pulled my phone from my pocket and set a one-minute timer. I held it up so she could see it.

“I hate you.” The timer was ticking down, and she wasn’t moving. The pup was yipping and whining at her.

“You have thirty seconds,” I pulled my forty-five from its holster and clicked off the safety. This got her moving. She crawled forward, and I pulled the pup back, giving her room to get out. The timer went off as she reached the mouth of the cave. Her eyes went wide. She scrambled, tumbling out of the tunnel. I let the pup go, and he bounded to her, licking and jumping on her. I slipped my gun back in its holster and clicked the safety back on. She petted and rubbed the dog, glaring at me. I stood there, no doubt looking every bit the monster I felt. I was done with caves. Nothing good ever seemed to happen in them. “Come on. Let’s get the pup out.” As I turned away from her I mumbled, “I hate caves.”

She didn’t say anything but got up. I picked my pack up off the ground. Getting out of the cave with the pup proved difficult. I had to shove him up ahead of me. Lauren was kind enough to bring the pack up after, though she would not talk to me. I climbed out of the cave first, then lay on the cliff’s edge. I grabbed the pup from her arms, and immediately clipped him back on the leash. He was unruly and likely to run off after a scent now that we found Lauren.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

I reached down and grabbed the pack from Lauren and then helped her up. The soft, cold touch of her skin was distracting. I pulled her up and over the side of the cliff face. I didn’t want to let go, so I withdrew quickly, overcompensating. Again, I didn’t know what to say, so I stood quietly, taking deep breaths. I was glad to be out of the cave.

“What are you going to do to me?” Lauren asked, breaking the awkward silence.

“It’s more like what to do with you,” I grumbled. I needed Grace. She was going to kill me, but I needed her help.

Lauren’s face seemed to go whiter if that was possible. “Why would you leave me alive instead of killing me? I’m a monster, right? It doesn’t matter what you do to a monster! I can see it in your eyes. Worse yet, I can smell it.” I didn’t know what that meant, and I was sure I didn’t want to.

I took a long look at her. Heavens, she was beautiful. She glared at me. “My blood is like crack to vampires, and you don’t seem keen on eating me. If you didn’t try to kill me or others, then are you really a problem?”

“You’re full of it. If you’re willing to kill a puppy, you’re capable of anything.”

I shrugged. “I’m not interested in making you like me. We need to figure out a living situation that is suitable for you but does not put others at risk. First, I need to track down some human traffickers and put them six feet under. I have a friend in the FBI that may need to sit down with you and ask a few questions.” I started dumping my pack out. I couldn’t carry the pup on my bike without it. I stuffed the hound in the camping pack. His floppy head stuck out the top, looking around. “It would be easier if you carried him,” I told Lauren and gestured at the bike. “We have a long way back to the truck, and we aren’t walking.”

Lauren didn’t look happy about riding on the dirt bike but did take the pack. The pup licked the back of her head, baying softly. He was tired. I had pushed him too hard for his age. I straddled the bike, revving it on. Lauren got on a moment later, stiffly grabbing my jacket with her hands. She soon abandoned trying to hold on to just my jacket for stability and wrapped her arms around me. I didn’t mind, no in fact I didn’t mind it at all, but I should. The trouble with vampires is they’re attractive predators. My solution has always been to kill them on sight. I don’t know what to do with whatever Lauren is.

Once we were back to the Jeep, Lauren took the pup out of the backpack. He was droopy and lethargic. “He did a good job today,” I said and walked over to the truck. I opened the back of the cab and grabbed a water bottle and Cliff Bar. “Feel free to get whatever you need. I don’t have blood, but there is some food.”

She didn’t talk to me, but she did get in the truck, shutting herself and the hound in the back of the cab. I loaded the dirt bike in the bed and grabbed a five-gallon gas can. I poured it into the Jeep’s tank. This way, when Gregory sent someone to get it, they could drive it out. I unloaded my odds and ends from the Jeep into the passenger seat of the truck. Lauren was curled around the pup in the backseat. They both appeared to be asleep, but I doubted she really was. I pried my eyes off her and got into the truck.

It was late by the time we made it back to the hotel. I pulled the truck into the hotel’s parking lot and pulled a plastic key card from my pocket. “You managed to lose another one of my cars,” Hobbs sat in the dark puffing on a cigar. The red glow illuminated his face softly. He sat comfortably in the same chair next to the small dining table where he had eaten Chinese with Lauren just days ago.

“It’s full of gas and ready to be picked up. Though I admit, this job has been a mess.”

Hobbs waved his cigar in the air. “You have a habit of getting in over your head. I have become accustomed to it. I will have someone pick it up, but that is not why I am here. You asked for some information and a deal. The group you’re looking for is a group that has been smuggling and selling what they are calling ‘exotics.’ They call themselves ‘The Carnies.’ They had a base out in the mountains, but you seem to have found it already. Your friend in the FBI is set up with his trailer. Heavens, they should get him a new one. The thing can’t be livable. Anyway, they were smuggling ‘exotics’ from there to the Virginia coast, then shipping them all over the world to private collections. These exotics are running about three mil, which seems low considering what they are, but I digress.”

I tossed my empty pack on the bed. “Do you know where they are located now?”

“No, not yet,” Hobbs stood. “Also, your little friend is on a missing persons list out of Michigan. Her family has a ten thousand dollar reward out for anyone who gives information that will lead to her discovery. They have a couple private investigators out on the hunt as well. Oh, good job on dealing with the monsters; they seem to be gone. Half of your payment,” He pulled an envelope from his suit pocket and handed it to me. I took it. “You have a day left before this room is no longer yours. If the monsters don’t show in another month, the rest will be mailed to you as usual.” He tipped his hat and saw himself out. I looked in the envelope. There was about fifty thousand. Fair enough. A dark sedan pulled up, and he got in.