Keeping Human

Chapter Eight

Nelly felt somebody kick her foot. Her eyes shot open in defence.

Seth was not phased. "Get up." He ordered grumpily. "We're heading into town."

Nelly's eyes adjusted to the light and she squinted to see properly. "Town?" She asked, feeling her back crunch as she stretched.

"Your arm." He murmured. "It's bloody." He gestured towards where she had mutilated herself in order to save Seth's, and her own, life.

She glanced down at it, not realising the constant stinging pain until her attention was drawn to it.

"What if they ask me how I injured it?" She asked, stumbling to her feet.

Seth raised a brow. "We tell them you dropped a knife."

Nelly's eyebrows lifted sarcastically and he left a small smirk in replace of his usual surly smoulder.

"Let's go." He said turning away from Nelly and towards the thickness of the trees.

She stumbled along behind him for a while, not noticing the grumbling of her stomach until it pierced through the woodland.

Seth stopped in his tracks and turned around. "You're hungry."

It was more of a statement than a question but Nelly nodded nonetheless.

He took his hand to his forehead and rubbed downwards. "Come here." He gestured, leaning down so she could reach his back.

Carefully placing her hands on his shoulders, she did as she was instructed and hopped onto his back. She hissed through her teeth at the pain from her arm, and dangling dangerously close to the vampire's jaws.

Approaching the town, Nelly looked down from the hill they stood upon; the morning mist coated a thick layer across the buildings. Only the clock tower was visible through the fog.

Seth gently lowered Nelly to the ground where she stumbled slightly; he grasped a hold of her arm and led her down the hill towards the centre of town.

The two of them walked down the cobblestone path, the sign reading Wetherton hung loosely on the metal pole it was attached to. The wind blew it vividly back and forth, the squeaking created an eerie atmosphere.

The town was very unsettling.

Glances came from all directions, Seth gently loosened his grip on Nelly's arm. "Hold my hand." He said hesitantly.

Nelly frowned as an elderly woman gave her a nasty look. "Why?" She said rather uncomfortably.

Seth rolled his eyes and grabbed a hold of Nelly's warm hand. He gulped slightly at the touch. "This town is full to the brim of mortals, like you; but unlike  you, they're not all entirely stupid."

Nelly narrowed her glare. "You mean, they know about your kind and the wolves?"

"They suspect." Seth said. "It's better if you hold my hand rather than if I hold your arm; they might think I'm holding you hostage."

Nelly glared in his direction. "Aren't you?"

Seth shot her a glance. "We're almost there."

Nelly furrowed her brows. "Almost where?"

"We have to wrap up that wound and heal it, or it'll get infected." He said quietly. "I know a doctor, he will help us. There's a clinic not far from here, your arm needs to be cleaned and bandaged."

Nelly shuddered. "This man...is he a-"

"-Vampire? Yes." He cut in and gently ushered Nelly towards the clinic that sat in the centre of town, crowded by creatures much like himself all taking a hungry glance at the human he was holding. The thought of a vampire handling her blood set her teeth on edge.

The chime of the bells above the door welcomed them into the clean-smelling clinic. Only two people sat in the spacey waiting room, a mortal elderly woman by the front desk and a male middle-aged vampire in the furthest corner from her, clutching a brown paper bag over his mouth and rapidly inhaling.

Seth gently nudged Nelly towards the seats nearest the mortal lady, and made his way to the front desk. "Stay here, and don't go near that man." He ordered.

Nelly nodded, glancing over at the man in question. He was trembling, and the bag began retracting faster as his dark eyes rested on hers. She instantly felt threatened.

After speaking to the woman at the reception, Seth entered the door behind it with a quick glance back at Nelly.

She watched him disappear. Her anxiety grew a little stronger. She could almost smell the tension in the air.

The elderly lady beside her looked down at Nelly's arm curiously. "That looks painful, darling. How did you do that?" She said with furrowed brows beneath a pair of thick glasses.

Nelly fumbled for her words; piercing eyes stared at her from across the room. "Oh, I uh, I cut it...on uh, barbed wire. Yeah." She mumbled.

"Oh dear, that's no good is it? I hope they fix it up right quick. Dr Hanson is the best here, I'd say he's practically magic." She beamed. "Arthritis is what's done me, but I swear the moment he touches the joints in my fingers, the pain floats right away!"

Nelly raised her brows, pretending to be intrigued. Of course the poor woman was healed quickly, she was being touched by a vampire; she knew the arthritis never really disappeared like the elderly lady said it did, it merely was masked by the psychological touch of the creature. They can't cure you, but they can make you think you have been.

"That sounds wonderful," Nelly smiled, "I only hope he can heal this as quickly."

At that moment, the side door opened and Seth reappeared with another man in tow. The man was wearing pale blue scrubs, with a stethoscope around his neck and a clipboard in his right hand.

The doctor nodded at Seth before turning to the man sitting at the other side of the room. Seth scurried over to Nelly. He took her arm to pick her up, but released the grasp quickly as the elderly woman frowned in their direction. He led her towards the door he had just emerged from.

Looking back, Nelly noticed the doctor hand a small vial to the man; inside was a rich-looking, red liquid. Blood. He gently patted the man's shoulder and smiled.

As Nelly entered the consult room, the doctor turned to the elderly lady. "I'll be with you in but a moment Mrs Charles." He smiled and followed Nelly into the room.

Quickly, the stench of cleaning supplies sneaked up her nostrils. The man outside clutched the vial intently and eagerly darted from the clinic in moments.

The doctor shut the door behind them and took a seat at his desk with a frustrated sigh. He lowered his glasses and placed the clipboard on the counter-top. Biting the inner of his cheek, he took a glance at Nelly before reluctantly grabbing a hold of the clipboard that he had just placed loosely on the side. He studied it for a moment and rubbed his forehead.

"What're you doing, Seth?" He asked without looking up.

Seth glanced at Nelly. "Protecting."

The man looked up, tapping the pen against his clipboard. "You know what they've been saying about you? There's a bounty on your head."

Seth gulped. "You've heard?"

The man raised a brow. "Everybody has heard, Seth. They're offering a lot for you..." he glanced at Nelly, "...a lot more for the girl."

Seth subconsciously took a step towards Nelly. "You don't know the full story."

"I know that my family is in debt with the High Tower, and twenty-thousand could help settle such a debt." The man threatened.

Seth tilted his head. "Please, Hector. I need your help." He slowly leaned in towards the man in scrubs, whispering something in his ear.

Nelly frowned, her eyes wavered to the two exchanging quiet words.

The doctor, Hector, sighed again and gestured for Nelly to take a seat in front of him. "Sit." He ordered.

Seth released a breath of relief and like the man, gestured towards the chair.

Nelly took a seat, her arm was shaking, her stomach was rumbling. "What are you going to do to me?" She questioned.

The doctor put down the clipboard and headed towards the overhead cupboards. "If you want to avoid infection, I'm going to have to clean the wound and dress it, before it causes serious damage."

She frowned. "Who are you and why are you helping me?"

"You are a chatty one." He said flippantly. "Hand me your arm." He ordered, reaching out his hand and placing a bunch of supplies on the table she sat at.

Hesitantly, she handed her arm over to the man, with a quick glance at Seth, who nodded in approval. Nelly hissed through her teeth as the alcohol pulled her skin to a close.

"They know what you did to Angela." He said ominously.

Seth's face paled, even more so than his usual deathly skin-tone. "How?"

Hector looked up, his hand still on Nelly's arm. "Why did you do it?"

Seth closed his eyes and frowned, bringing his hand to his head and rubbing in distress. "She was after Nelly."

The doctor made a face. "So? She's who Lady of the Lair wants, and Lady of the Lair gets who she wants, one way or another."

Nelly furrowed her brows. "I'm right here." She glanced at Seth. "You have to tell me what they want with me sometime."

Seth removed his eyes from Nelly's and glanced at Hector. "How did they know about Angela?"

The doctor rolled his eyes. "f*****g dogs. They yapped. The smell was all over the mortal couple's house, they're after Nelly just as much as Lady of the Lair is."

Nelly's eyes widened. "They have my brother and sister."

"And it will stay that way, I'm afraid. Even if they were to give them what they want, they can't risk losing the upper hand."

Nelly hissed again, flinching at the touch of the doctor's hands. "Sorry." She mumbled and looked at the doctor's work.

"How does it feel?" Seth asked.

"It stings like a b***h, but stinging equals good, right?"

The doctor smiled slightly. "Right. Keep it dressed once a day, painkillers work, the usual - ibuprofen, paracetamol and the like. Stick close to him," he nodded at Seth, "and don't die out there." He winced his eyes and turned his attention to Seth. "And you - get out of this town, go to London, go to the Tower, apply for PROTECTION - don't come back here."

Seth nodded. "I will. Thank you, Hector. I won't forget this."

"Yes you will, forget you ever saw me and we will call it even." He said with a slight smirk.

Seth smiled and opened the door. Nelly smiled gently at the doctor, awkwardly scooting from the room with her newly bandaged arm.

"Leslie Charles." Dr Hanson called from the consultation room. The elderly lady smiled at Nelly as she exited the clinic and met her doctor.

The bell chimed once more as they left the clinic, and Seth took Nelly's warm hand and led her across the street to where lights shone through the window and gentle jazz soothed the air.

A cafe? Is he going to take care of me or is this some kind of trick?

A lady with green hair and tattoos opened the door for them as they entered - the rain patted against the glass windows. People were sitting and smiling all in one beautiful room. They chatted with friends, or laughed with the waitresses, any kind of interaction seemed heartfelt and kind. Something Nelly had become rather unfamiliar with.

"What can I get you?" She said soothingly and led them to a table: a booth with white leather seats and a mahogany desk between them. Nelly sat down.

Comfortable.

Seth nudged Nelly expectantly. "Go ahead," he started, taking a seat himself, "order whatever you want."

"Uh," she hesitated, but he relaxed in his seat and she gulped, "I'll have the blueberry pancakes...and a vanilla latte, please." She glanced back at Seth who made a face.

"I'll have the same." He nodded.

The lady left and scurried back to the counter.

A man laughed in the distant room. A group of women chattered behind her. The bell chimed and another man entered the cafe. Each noise made her jump, made her skin crawl, made her stand on end. Was she becoming accustomed to being afraid?

A few moments passed, the woman returned and placed their food on the table, along with their drinks. She made stacking all of those cups and plates look easy. After leaving, Nelly stared ahead of her toward Seth, who was examining the room.

You don't have to wait for permission." Seth mumbled, not taking his eyes off of the intricate artwork that detailed the ceiling.

"There's a vampire staring at me." Nelly bit back, slowly lifting her mug to take a sip.

"A witch served you coffee and you didn't bat an eyelid."

Nelly raised her brows, "Pardon?"

"A witch?" Seth furrowed his brows.

"I...I didn't know witches were real." Nelly scoffed and took another sip of her coffee.

Seth sighed. "Witches, fairies, all the miserable lot." Seth shook his head. "Witches...vile creatures."

Nelly raised a brow sarcastically. "Really?"

"What?" Seth shrugged. "Dabbling in all that nonsense is just pure evil."

"And drinking the blood of innocents to survive an endless death isn't?"

Seth's expression seemingly sunk.

She furrowed her brows, suddenly feeling bad for her outburst. "Seth...I, I didn't mean it like that...I just..." she paused, "can I ask, h-how did you turn?"

Seth frowned and grit his teeth, churning them in his mouth. "No, you may not. It's not a story you'd like." His face changed suddenly, he began sniffing the air. "We have to leave...now."

∘

The sun cowered behind the clouds as four hooded figures entered the village, cloaked in the coming darkness; their footsteps masked by rain.

The largest of the group stepped forward and pulled down his hood. His deep scarlet eyes reflective in the bright street light; a gash across his left eye deepened into his skin. He glanced around, despite the bright lights from the cafe, no life was present in the ghost town.

He frowned cautiously. "You must keep in line here, Ana, there are many mortals itching to seek us out and expose us."

The lady behind him scoffed and joined him. "Wetherton is hardly a town to worry over, Sir." She retorted in a thick satin accent.

"Still," Ephriam sighed and glanced at her at his side, "we must keep our wits about us."

"The man here," Elias began, "he knows where to find the troublesome girl?"

Ephriam furrowed his brows. "I believe so," his brows etched slowly into a devious smile, shared with the dark-skinned vampire behind him, "what a crime."

The clinic awaited them; as they entered, the bell did not chime, their bodies moving like shadows in darkness. Hector's office was the only room with light, darkness seeped through the others. Facing away from the door, he sat with his nose in a book, an amass of files and folders left to gain dust on his counter. He did not hear the four vampires approach.

"Good afternoon, Hector." Ephriam breathed.

The doctor jolted and pushed up his glasses. "The old ones!" He exclaimed. "M-My council, you caught me at a very troublesome time. What can I do for you all?" He spun his swivel chair to face them and placed his book on the desk. "Are you here for a check-up?" He joked awkwardly.

"That is a very displeasing name." Anastasia raised a brow at the very mention of 'the old ones'.

Ephriam nodded slightly and sighed. "We are here on very serious business young man, very serious. I trust we are not holding up a patient?"

Hector stumbled. "N-Not at all. What business?"

"Nelly Fox," Elias cleared his throat, "has created quite the drama. Now, it has been brought to our attention after the discovered death of an elderly mortal couple found beheaded in their home in Veciba."

"I-I know nothing about that." He stuttered.

"Of course you don't." Elias smirked.

"Easy, friend." Ephriam held out a calming hand. "We know she was here, we know who she was with, and we know you spoke with her - tell us where she went and we will be on our way."

Hector shuffled in his seat. "I...I."

"You wouldn't want to get into any trouble over a human, would you?" Ana raised her brows suspiciously.

Hector shook his head and took a moment. He hung his head. "London. They were heading towards London."

"Any idea why that might be?" Ephriam pushed.

Adeline, the small girl beside the trio scribbled something down on a notepad.

"I..." Hector sighed, "the man that's with her...he's my friend. I don't want him hurt..."

"Detective Seth Thorne will be judged accordingly. He will not be harmed so long as he cooperates. That's out of your healing hands, doctor. Now, what were they heading to London for?"

Hector gulped. "PROTECTION."

Anastasia raised a brow. "Interesting, I wonder why that is." She glanced at Elias and Ephriam with a smirk.

Ephriam nodded. "Very well. Thank you very much for cooperating."

"Y-You're leaving?" Hector asked hesitantly.

Ephriam scrunched up his nose. "Well, not quite...there's still one thing we need to take care of."

"What's that?" The doctor said nervously.

"You." He smiled and with a click of his fingers, the two vampires standing either side of him caught the doctor arm by arm.

"What are you doing!" Hector struggled, but the harder he pulled, the harder they restrained him.

"Hector Hanson, you are hereby sentenced to death for suppressing information on an active fugitive from her Majesty, The Queen, Ysabelle Callista and her council subjects."

"No!" He begged, "Please! Please, this has nothing to do with me. PLEASE!"

"Oh, my dear boy. Yes, yes it does." Eprhaim's expression changed nonchalantly and turned to exit the room with Adeline as the two vampires restraining the doctor pulled and pulled until his body turned into nothing but ash piled onto the linoleum floor. His screams echoed for miles, and floated away into the evening air.

CHAPTER EIGHT, END.