Page 9 of Burn Falls

“Alastair!” the mom hissed and I tried to hide my smile.

“I can’t listen to this anymore,” the younger girl said and stood.

“Why don’t you all go grab some coffee? You don’t need to hear this,” Calla suggested.

“Calla’s right,” the younger daughter agreed. “Let’s go find some food or something.”

“What if your father wakes up?” the mother asked.

“I can assure you that it won’t be for several hoursifhe wakes,” I stated.

“Just go. I have a few more things to tell Dr. Young,” Calla spoke.

I watched as the three others left, and then turned my attention back to Calla, my gaze going straight to the pulsing vein on her neck. I needed another bag of blood or Calla would find out exactly what type ofpeopleattacked others by biting them.

“What is it that you need to tell me?”

She looked away, and I saw a tear drop from where it had settled on her cheek and onto her black coat. “You said that he lost a lot of blood and his organs could be damaged?”

I nodded.

“Do you know how much he lost?”

“I’m not one-hundred percent sure yet, but given his carotid artery was severed and the amount of blood on the table, it was several liters.”

“He lost a lot at the distillery.”

I touched her knee again because I knew the chances weren’t good for him. The only way for him to survive would be if I turned him myself, but I’d never turned someone, and I wasn’t doing it now.

“He’s getting a transfusion now, and hopefully he’ll make a full recovery once we bring him out of the coma.”

She nodded, tears still streaming down her face.

“Is there anything else before I go back to check on him?”

Calla sighed. “I want you to give it to me straight, Dr. Young. Is my father going to be okay?”

The answer was no, but for some reason, I couldn’t tell this woman the truth because a part of me wanted to prevent any more pain that she’d have to go through. “It’s too soon to tell. He might make a full recovery and we’ll know more after at least seventy-two hours. I’ll go check on him now and in the meantime, get something to eat and drink with your family, and go home if you need to. It might be several hours before we know anything.”

She nodded. “Thank you, Dr. Young, but I’m staying.”

After my shift ended, I changed out of my scrubs and dialed Athan. “Any chance you’re near Anchorage?”

“I’m in Russia, working.”

I closed my eyes for a brief second. “Fuck.”

“Why? What’s going on?”

“Human guy just turned up in my ER with a vampire bite. You know if anyone is in the area?”

“Haven’t heard anything, and I’m flyin’ solo here in Russia as usual.”

“Well, apparently I’m not any longer. My patient was attacked in Burn Falls, my fuckin’ doorstep.”

“Just because no one has taken up residence in bum-fuck Alaska besides you, doesn’t mean they were never going to go there. No telling how many more humans Renzo’s army has turned since we left in ‘32. There has to be thousands of us by now.”

“Yeah, but Burn Falls has an almost zero crime rate and a small number of residents. There are only distillery workers here, and a few people who don’t want to live in Anchorage, and that’s an hour away.”