Chapter 4
I filled out the paperwork while the doctors tried to revive Jasmine. One of them took me aside to ask me a few questions.
“Can you tell us what happened? We need to know what’s going on with her.”
I took a deep breath before I began. “I was sitting at home watching t.v. when she came in and collapsed on my floor. I don’t know exactly what happened to her.”
“Do you have any idea who did this to her?”
“No, I haven’t a clue,” I lied. I didn’t want the police to get involved with Luthar and get innocent people killed.
“Well, did she say anything to you at all before she lost consciousness?”
“No. I think she was in too much pain. Is she going to be all right?”
“We haven’t woken her up yet, but the other doctors are trying. If we don’t wake her up soon...” she trailed off, reluctant to finish.
“Please, doctor, she’s my best friend. Tell me what’s happening.”
“If we don’t wake her up soon, she may go into a coma.” She patted my shoulder reassuringly. I gasped and brought my hand to my mouth. I slowly walked to the lobby and plopped down, suddenly very dizzy. It must have shown in my face, because the doctor called for a nurse to escort me to a room to lie down. We passed by the trauma room where Jasmine was being attended to. They were busy hooking her up to machines and getting her to wake.
***
I woke up in a hospital bed. There was a nurse busy taking my blood pressure.
“What are you doing? There’s nothing wrong with me,” I struggled to get up.
She pushed me back down and said, “You fainted, so we took your vitals to be sure you were okay. You had an irregular heartbeat. We just want to be sure you’ll be okay to leave.”
“Is Jasmine okay? Have they been able to wake her up?”
“Your friend? Yes, she’s awake and doing fine. After we got her jacket off, we found that her broken arm was an open fracture. We got the wound flushed out to help prevent infection, but she’ll need surgery to fix the break.”
“Is it difficult surgery?” I was getting more worried about my friend.
“Well, yes. Here’s the part that has had us really confused. The injury on her arm looked as if someone just snapped it in half, punching the bones up through the skin. There are multiple fractures and bone fragments found throughout the wound. It looks as if someone squeezed her arm so hard, it shattered.”
I wasn’t surprised. Luthar was a master vampire; he was very strong, even stronger than me. Stronger than Jasmine, who was three decades older than me.
“Can I see her?” I asked.
“Sure. I’ll take you to her room. She’s awake, and is no longer in critical condition.”
We walked down the hall to another room where Jasmine was lying, asleep. She was dressed in a hospital gown, and was covered by about four hospital blankets. The nurse left and closed the door behind her. I quietly approached Jasmine’s bed and sat down in a nearby chair.
“Jasmine? Are you awake?” I whispered. Jasmine’s eyelids fluttered, then opened. She slowly turned her head to me and smiled.
“Hey, girl! How ya doin’?” she said in a low, husky voice, probably rough from screaming or from being choked.
“You said Luthar did this?” I questioned her, remembering the last words she had said before passing out.
“Yeah. Man, it was horrible. Those jerks,” she broke into a coughing fit before continuing. “They ganged up on me while I was out looking for dinner. They trashed me good, then drove me to your house. Carrie, they know where you live. They told me,” more coughing, “told me to tell you something.” She fell back, exhausted from the effort of just holding her head up.
“Shhh. Just rest. You can talk to me later,” I brushed some hair away from her face, gingerly touching her warm cheek.
“N..no, I have to finish. They said that this was only a warning. Luthar demands a showdown tomorrow night at ten. At the warehouse on 43rd and 8th. He won’t interfere until then, but if you don’t show, Luthar’s coming after you and your cats.”
“My cats?! What the hell does he want with my cats?” my eyebrows went up in surprise.
“I think he just said it for dramatic effect,” she smiled. She started to sound better as she spoke. “He said the only way you can keep your soul is if you kill him.”
“Oh, don’t worry about that. I’ll keep my soul, and I’ll kill him too,” I narrowed my eyes in anger at the thought of my foe.
“Carrie?” Jasmine interrupted my vision of hate.
“Yeah?”
“Could you get me something to drink? I haven’t had dinner yet.”
I laughed and got up, letting go of her hand. I rushed out of the room and out the hospital. As soon as I was out of sight, I transformed into an animal shape and flew towards my house. I loved the feel of the wind on my leathery bat wings and in my silky warm fur. I reached my home within minutes. I ran inside, grabbed a few bags of blood from the fridge and tucked them into my large coat pockets. I turned back into a bat and headed away to the hospital once again.
***
Jasmine noisily slurped from the bag of blood, finishing it in minutes. She grasped for the second bag, but I held it out of reach. She whimpered for the nourishing fluid.
“No, Jasmine, if you drink too much, it’ll speed up your healing process. We can’t risk them performing surgery on your arm and finding it’s already healed. Heaven knows what they’ll do then! I gave you just enough to keep your strength up. Any more, and it’ll put us in danger of discovery.”
Jasmine ignored me and continued to whine for her supper.
“Jas, vampires haven’t survived for thousands of years by being stupid and careless. I’m sorry, but you don’t get any more.” I slipped the bag back into my pocket and sat down.
“Are you going to fight Luthar tomorrow?” Jasmine asked, after a long silence.
“Yes, I have to. I told you I would let him make the first move, and I did.”
“It’s a fucking bummer that pounding me was his first move.”
“Hey, I’m sorry he got to you, but don’t worry, I’ll make him pay. Listen, Jas, I’ve gotta go. You need your rest anyways.” I left a kiss on Jasmine’s forehead before I left.
***
I had had a restless sleep that night, waking several times, sweaty from my nightmares. During my moments of consciousness, I formulated a plan. However, I would need the aid of my friends to make it work.The ER doctors were surprised to see me again. I had been there the night before with James.