Page 9 of Healer’s Reckoning (The Healer’s #3)
Ava
“You can’t.” The answer comes from the woman vampire behind me.
“I’m going to talk to my brother,” I say through grit teeth.
Somebody grabs me from behind and wrenches my arm painfully behind me. “We say what you can and can’t do.”
The guy who came for me in the bathroom waves a hand, and I’m released. I meet his eyes straight on. “You let me talk to my brother, and I’ll do whatever it is you need me to do.”
He seems to think about my offer. “Fine.” He smiles, but there is no warmth in it. “You get five minutes, and then you give us what we need.”
Knowing I’m literally making a deal with the devil, I refuse to think about what they’re going to do to me. “Deal.”
He steps out of my way, leaving the path to my brother wide open. I walk over to the door and reach out to turn the handle. “I should probably warn you. He’s not the same person he used to be.”
I glance over my shoulder. “That doesn’t matter.” I face the door.
He shrugs. “If he tears you limb from limb, don’t tell me I didn’t warn you.”
I don’t look back. “I’ll take my chances.” I take a breath and open the door. My brother doesn’t move as I close the door behind me. His eyes are closed, but his chest is moving up and down way too quickly to be sleeping. I approach the bed, unsure what to do next. I look around the glass enclosure. My brother is hooked up to so many different things. I have no idea what they’ve been doing to him in here. He looks so much older, and yet, he still looks like my little brother. My heart breaks at what he’s been through. If only I'd known he survived that night. I swallow and push the regret away. I only have right now. “Brandon,” I say softly as I touch his arm. His eyes flash open, and he grabs my arm and twists. I cry out in pain and try to break his hold on me.
“Brandon, it’s me, Ava...your sister.”
I look up and stare at his eyes. I try not to recoil, but they’re not the blue they used to be. They’re nearly red now, and it’s absolutely terrifying. He sits up and pulls me close. Hope rises in my for a second, and then I’m suddenly airborne. I hit the wall, cracking my head against the glass. I’m stunned for a moment. An alarm shrieks, and he grabs his ears and lets out a pitiful sound. I stand to my feet, shaking and in pain. And yet, I can’t get over the sight of him. “Brandon,” I say over the alarm. “It’s okay. It’s me. It’s Ava.” I’m careful not to get too close this time. His eyes meet mine, and I see the confusion. And then as I watch, the red begins to fade from his eyes, and the blue begins to return. I take a step closer. “Do you remember me, Brandon?”
He stares at me, and the red fades even more. “A-aaa-”
Hope burns in me, and I step closer. The door to the room crashes open, and two people in navy blue rush in. The first one nods at the door. “Out.”
The other one raises a hand with a syringe. “Wait, don’t—” I start forward, but they shoot him up with whatever is in the syringe. I watch the blue fade as the red takes over again, and then he slumps into the state he was in when I first came in here. Tears prick my eyes, but I push them away. Somebody grabs my arm and drags me out of the room.
The guy with dark eyes that led me here studies me, and I will myself not to squirm under his perusal. “Interesting.” He stares me down a moment longer. “Every time you give us what we need, we will give you five minutes with your brother. You don’t give us what we need; you don’t see your brother.”
I nod. I don’t know what they’re going to do to me, but I know it’s pointless to fight against it. They’re stronger than I am. They can just force me to do whatever it is they’re going to do anyway. This way at least, I get something out of it.
The guy smirks, and I get the vague sensation of familiarity again. “Look at us working together, Healer.” He nods his head toward the exit, and I follow him back the way we came. When we get back to the room I started in, my unease grows once again. “Remember our deal, Healer.” With those ominous words, the man leaves the room, leaving me in the charge of the female vampire.
“Let’s get to work.” She looks over at me. “On the bed.”
I walk over to the bed that looks like a hospital bed and climb on. “What are you going to do?” I can’t help but ask. She doesn’t bother answering, not that I thought she would.
The door to the room opens, and a male vampire walks in. This one is wearing the navy uniform that all the others in the last room were wearing. He walks right over to my bed and grabs my arm. “What are you doing?” My question falls on deaf ears. Within seconds, my arms and legs are strapped down. My heart starts racing; the last time they did this, they tried to drain me of all my blood. They put some kind of mask over my nose, and I’m in a full-fledged panic now. I feel a prick in my arm, but I can’t turn my head to see what’s going on. I start hyperventilating and feel like I’m going to pass out. The edges of my vision darken, and soon everything around me blinks out.
When I come to, it takes only seconds for everything to come rushing back. The mask is no longer over my face, but the IV is still in my arm. I look down at it and see the blood in the line filling up the pump. They’re collecting my blood. I test my restraints, but they’re too strong. I’m not sure how long I lay there, coming in and out of it. Finally, a female vampire in navy comes into the room. Without a word, she unhooks me from the IV but leaves the port in. She shocks me by undoing my restraints. Without a word, she leaves the room. I sit up slowly, giving myself a chance to adjust. The door opens, and a male and female vampire enter.
“Let’s go.”
I don’t bother asking questions. They don’t touch me as we walk. Soon, we’re outside the house that I spent the last three days in. The tall female vampire from the house opens the door. “You’re back.” She steps back and allows me inside. The other vampires leave, and it’s just the two of us once again. “Make sure you eat to replenish your strength.” She leaves me alone in the kitchen. I stare after her and wonder just how much blood I lost; I feel like nothing is how it should be. Out of curiosity, I walk over to the front door. It’s unlocked. I glance behind me and then open the door. “You won’t make it two steps, Human; don’t even think about it.” I close the door. It’s pointless right now anyway; I don’t even know where to run. And I wouldn’t leave my brother behind anyway.
I walk over to the fridge and pick out a rice bowl to eat. After heating it in the microwave, I sit at the table. Minutes later, my bowl is empty; and I’m suddenly feeling exhausted. After going to the bathroom, I head to my room and crash on the bed. It feels like no time at all passes before somebody shakes me awake.
I open my eyes to the female vampire standing above me. “Time to go.”
“What?”
Two vampires in navy show up out of nowhere and grab my arms. They pull me up before I can get my feet under me. “Let go.” They don’t listen.
Finally, when we get outside, I yank my arm away. “I can walk on my own.” I’m glad I kept my shoes on when I laid down. They don’t touch me after that, and we head back to the same building as earlier. This time when they take me into the room, I know exactly what to expect. Before I’m ready, I’m strapped to the table, the IV is reconnected, and the mask goes on. Just like before, it’s not long before I pass out.
When I wake up, I stare at the ceiling and try to shake off the dazed feeling. I lay there for a little while before one of the vamps comes in and unstraps me and unhooks my IV. They start down the hallway that will lead us back to where we came in. “Wait, I’m supposed to get to see my brother every time I do this.” I expect the vampire to argue, but he doesn’t say anything. He leads the way to the room where my brother’s cubicle is. When I step inside, he’s in the same state as before. His breathing is fast, and he doesn’t seem at all relaxed. I stay a few feet away from him and don’t touch him. I learned my lesson last time. “Hey, Brandon,” I say softly. He doesn’t move, and nothing indicates that he hears me. I continue anyway. “It’s Ava, your sister.” I stare down at him for a few minutes, unsure what to say to him. “I guess I want to say I’m sorry. I’m sorry they took you; I’m sorry I didn’t know you were still alive. I’m sorry you’re in this place.” I lower my voice for the next few words. “And I’m going to get you out of this place. I don’t know how yet, but it’s going to happen. You’ve got to just hang on until I—”
The door opens, and a vampire steps inside. “Time’s up; let’s go.”
“Bye Brandon; I’ll be back.” I follow the vampire out of his room, and they walk me back to the house.
“Eat up,” the female vampire in charge of me says before disappearing. I’m not really hungry, but since I don’t really know how much blood they’re taking, I know I need to eat. I grab a bowl from the fridge, not really caring what it is. After warming it up, I sit at the table to eat. I manage to eat most of the bowl and drink an entire water bottle. I’m so tired, I can barely keep my head up. I shuffle my way back to my room. A quick glance at the clock on the wall shows that it’s just after seven. It's way too early for bed, but my body doesn’t seem to get that memo. I quickly change into the pajamas they provided me. After a quick trip to the bathroom, where I find all the cosmetics I need, I crash in bed. My mind can’t help but dwell on the fact that they’re taking care of me, and that scares me more than them being terrible to me.
After a dreamless sleep, I wake up the next morning feeling somewhat rested. I take advantage of the fact that they haven’t come for me yet and take a shower. I feel better after a hot shower. I make my way to the kitchen and eat a piece of toast and an egg bowl. The door opens, and two vampires step inside. “Time to go.”
We take the same path back to the building. Today it’s three times we do this process. After each session, they let me have a few minutes with Brandon. Each time, he’s in that sleep state, but I talk to him anyway. I tell him where I’ve been and what I’ve been doing with my life in the last two years. And then it’s back to the house to fuel up and rest before the next session. After my third session, I’m too tired to eat. I crash in bed before I even have a chance to change into pajamas.