Charlie kept staring at me. I couldn’t tell if he was stunned or jealous.
“You believe me?” I asked.
He put his hands on his hips and flashed me a grin like he heard this sort of thing every day. “What do you think? I told my dad I thought you were a vampire years ago.”
He walked across the kitchen to where I was sitting on the floor, then he reached down and offered me his hand. He was very trusting. If he’d known how much I wanted to help myself to what was flowing through his wrist, he might have run for his boat.
I took his hand and stood up. Then I started changing out of my wet clothes and into the dry ones he’d brought.
“I can’t help you with the blood,” he said. He started digging through the refrigerator, then he stopped to look at me. I was hopping up and down trying to get my foot through the second pant leg. It was tough because my skin was wet and the material kept bunching up. I bumped into the counter and slipped to the floor.
“Aren’t vampires supposed to be super-coordinated?” he said.
What could I say? I was having an off-day.
He turned back to the refrigerator. “What have you been living on?” he asked.
I had to answer him with my teeth clenched. I had never been this hungry. Not ever. “Animal blood of some kind. I don’t really know. From a cow, maybe? I thought it was strawberry syrup.”
“Would Nurse Ophelia know?”
I nodded. “But she’s gone. She never came back to work.”
“What do you mean, she never came back?”
“I mean she never came back. The night before I left, she didn’t come in. I think something happened to her.”
Charlie walked over to the telephone. “I hope not,” he said. “Maybe she just got sick.”
“She never has before.”
“Well then, she was overdue.” He picked up the phone and started dialling.
“Who are you calling?” I asked.
“You,” he answered.
He waited, then started speaking.
“Hi. It’s Charlie Rutherford. I’m calling for Zack Thomson or Ophelia. I was hoping someone could let me know what is happening. If someone could call me back as soon as possible, I would appreciate it. My family is very worried. Thanks.” Then he left a number and hung up.
I slipped back to the floor and put both hands over my stomach. I was so hungry I nearly bit myself. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t lie still. It was worse than being hit by that van.
“Do you know her home number?” Charlie asked me. “Or her last name?” He must have meant Nurse Ophelia.
I shook my head and grunted a no.
“Damn . . .”
Charlie walked over to the fridge and opened the freezer. He took out something that hit the counter like a big block of ice. I heard scraping noises. When I looked up, he was jabbing something with an ice pick. Then he reached down and handed me a cold chunk of pink stuff that looked like part of someone’s brain.
“What is it?” I asked.
“Frozen hamburger,” he answered.
I knew better than to eat it, so I just sucked on it. It didn’t do much. At least, not right away.
“So, you can drink animal blood?”
“I guess so.” I waved my hand like I was hailing a taxi. “Keep ’em coming.”
For about an hour or so, he fed me frozen hamburger, then frozen steak, then frozen pork chops. I didn’t chew on them, I just did my best to drain every bit of moisture from each piece. It helped pass the time while my stomach went nuts.
We talked the whole time. I told him everything, starting with Mr. Entwistle’s motorcycle stunt and ending with my flight from Al and Barky.
“I’ve got an idea,” he said. He handed me another piece of frozen pork, then he slipped on his windbreaker and headed for the back door.
“What are you doing?” I asked him.
“Ordering breakfast,” he said.
I waited while Charlie did something behind the cottage. He was making a lot of noise. The sound was metallic, like someone shaking cymbals. Then I heard footsteps on the roof. A few minutes later, Charlie came back.
“What was that all about?”
“Squirrel traps,” he said.
I fired the last piece of frozen pork into my mouth. “You’ve gotta be kidding,” I said.
“Hey, I’d rather rid the island of squirrels than watch the neighbours’ dogs disappear one at a time. Unless you have plans to rob a blood bank?”
He had a point. “Do you think it will work?” I asked.
“What, the traps? Yeah, better than throwing rocks . . .”
“No,” I said. “I mean squirrel blood. Do you think I can drink it?”
“I have no idea.” He threw up his hands. “Who do I look like, Anne Rice?”
He didn’t look a bit like Anne Rice, but I didn’t think there was any point in saying so. Instead, I just sat on the floor and held my stomach.
“Here, try sipping this,” he suggested. He handed me a glass of water.
I shook my head.
“Blood is mostly water,” he said. “If you can drink cows’ blood, you should be able to handle this.”
That made sense. I put a few drops in my mouth and let them slide around. Then I swallowed. Nothing happened. Nothing bad, anyway, so I took a few more sips. I nodded to Charlie. I was going to be all right. At least for a while.
“So, what will you do in the morning?” he asked me. Morning was about two hours away.
“I need to get in touch with my uncle.”
“I was thinking more about the sun,” Charlie said. “What are you going to do when it comes up and you can’t be in the light?”
“Have you got a place I could hide?” I asked. “Somewhere that’s dark?”
“There’s the tool shed.”
“Won’t anyone look in there?”
Charlie laughed. “Dan’s a pencil-pusher. Do you think he knows a hammer from a hamster? He spends so much time at the office he barely has the energy to lift a mug of coffee when he comes up. I don’t think he’s ever been in the shed. But if I tell him there’s a vampire in there, I’m sure he’ll steer clear of the place.”