Forty-three
After the men were in their bedrooms, trying to get to sleep without the girls next to them, Pike opened a closet and took out five white coats with matching pants.
“What are those?” TJ asked, stepping over to squeeze the down-filled fabric.
“Actually, they’re snowmobile suits,” Pike said, “made by Po-larTech. They’re the latest things in cold weather technology, and they’re guaranteed to keep you toasty warm to fifty below zero. I thought they might be nice to use when we’re making our patrols and the weather is freezing. Plus, the white colors will blend in with the snow, making us all but invisible.”
Sam nodded her approval. “You’ve certainly thought of everything, Elijah.”
He grimaced. “Probably not, there’s always something overlooked, but the trouble is, you don’t know what it is until you need it and don’t have it.”
As the three of them shrugged into their snowmobile suits, TJ asked, “What’s the plan of action for tonight?”
Pike zipped up the front of his white coat. “I thought tonight I’d walk both of you around the perimeter of the place and get you familiar with the landscape so that when you’re out there alone on patrol you’ll kinda know what to expect.”
The girls turned and walked toward the door, until Pike scolded, “Uh-uh ladies. What’s rule number one?”
TJ snapped her fingers. “Our weapons.”
“Yep, always keep them by your side,” Pike advised, picking up their katanas and handing one to each of the girls. The swords were in long scabbards with attached slings so they could be worn over the shoulder for immediate access in case of attack. He took one of the machetes for his personal use.
“Okay, off we go,” Pike said, leading the way out the door.
As they moved out into the frigid night air, there was a light snow falling, but very little wind.
“I can’t believe these suits,” Sam said. “I’m not even chilly.”
“Wait until you slog through a quarter mile of knee-deep snow,” Pike said, grinning. “You’ll actually work up a sweat in these suits no matter how cold it is outside.”
He led them across the property, pointing out landmarks such as extra-large trees, irregularly shaped boulders, and even a small dry stream that bordered the acreage the house was on. He picked a path that would keep them clear of the explosive booby traps and out of range of the motion-sensor lights so their movements wouldn’t cause the lights to come on, giving away their positions.
It took them about forty-five minutes to walk the perimeter, their progress slow because of the deep snow carpeting the ground and the necessity to weave in and out of the thick forest. When they got back to the cabin, they were all indeed sweating as Pike had said they would be.
He shucked off his coat and over-pants and went into the kitchen and turned on the coffeepot, which he’d prepared before they left.
While the coffee brewed, he sat on the couch across from the girls. “A few more suggestions. I know we’re all doctors and we’re supposed to know this stuff, but it never hurts to remind you of a few things. When you’re exposed to cold for long periods, or extreme cold for short periods, your body combats the stress by burning up carbohydrates at an incredible rate.” He pointed to a small table next to the front door. On it were piled dozens of candy bars of various brands. “So, three things when you leave to make a patrol: first, your weapon; second prewarm yourself with a hot liquid like coffee or tea and carry a thermos of it with you at all times; and third take a few candy bars and eat them as you move around. If you do all that, the weather shouldn’t be a problem for us.”
“I love it,” Sam said, grinning, “eating candy without guilt.”
“What if we see something suspicious?” TJ asked. “Do we engage or just run back to the cabin yelling for help?”
Pike slapped his forehead, a rueful expression on his face. “See, I told you I would forget something.” He went to the closet and took out two small handheld devices that resembled rather large cell phones. “These are the latest things in extreme hiking,” he said, holding them up. “They both have GPS receivers so you cannot get lost, and they also incorporate a two-way radio as well as a signal you can activate in case you’re incapacitated or hurt and the other receiver will lead the rescuers right to you.”
“So, when we go out, we make sure someone in the cabin has the other one and has it turned on, right?” Sam said, taking one of the radios from Pike and examining it.
“Right,” he said. “And if you come upon someone who is too close for you to talk into the radio without being heard, you can just depress the key three times and wait and press it three more times, the international signal of distress. Go on, try it,” he suggested.
Sam pressed her key three times and the radio Pike was holding spewed forth three short bursts of static, clearly audible to all in the room. “See,” he said, “If we hear that, we’ll know you’re in trouble and there are hostiles close by.”
He got up and went into the kitchen, returning after a moment with three jugs of steaming coffee on a tray. “As soon as we’re through with the coffee, we’ll start our individual patrols, going out one at a time while the other two keep watch here around the cabin.”
* * *
Thirty minutes later, Sam was out on patrol and Pike and TJ were left alone in the living room. He tried to keep his eyes off her, not wanting to make her uncomfortable with the situation, but he couldn’t help himself. His eyes seemed to move to her and lock on her like radar in spite of his best efforts to concentrate on something else.
After a few minutes of this, TJ noticed his discomfiture and shook her head, smiling at him. She got up from her position on the couch across the room and moved to sit next to him, placing her hand on his thigh as she turned sideways and looked up at him.
“Elijah, there is absolutely no reason for you to be so uncomfortable in my presence. I won’t bite, you know.”
“I know, TJ,” he almost stammered, feeling like a shy schoolboy sitting next to the prom queen. “It’s just that I still love you, and I don’t want to cause any trouble between you and Shooter by inadvertently showing it too much.”
Her eyes softened and she reached up and caressed his cheek with her hand. “I know you do, Elijah, and I love you, too, and I guess I always will. After all, you made me what I am today, for good or bad, and in doing that you formed a bond between us that will never be broken. It’s just that I love Shooter, too, in a different way, but no less strong for that.”
She dropped her hand back to his thigh, accidentally brushing against the erection her touch had caused.
He cleared his throat and looked away, moving his leg away from her hand.
“Elijah,” she said softly, a flush on her cheeks, “there’s not need for false modesty between us. We know every inch of each other’s body and we’ve made love dozens of times, and I see no need for either of us to be ashamed of that or to try and forget it.”
As she spoke, she moved her hand back to his lap and covered his penis with it, gently kneading the hard flesh. “Don’t get me wrong,” she whispered, light from the fireplace dancing in her eyes, “I’m not trying to seduce you or to be coy, but ever since we met again, I’ve longed to touch you like this. When we’re apart, even though I love Shooter as much as any woman can, I still feel an emptiness like something in me is incomplete.”
Pike turned toward her, unable to keep from pressing his pelvis against her hand as she massaged him. He slipped his hand up under her sweater, forcing his fingers under her bra and cupping her breast in his palm. Just as he was leaning down to taste her sweet lips, they heard Sam at the front door.
Quickly moving apart and rearranging their clothes, they watched as she came through the door, stamping snow off her boots on the mat.
She glanced at them, and then she did a double take, her eyes sparkling. “Oh, did I interrupt anything?” she asked, a slight smile curling her lips.
“Uh, no. Of course not,” Pike said, blushing furiously.
“Oh, good. Is there coffee ready?” she asked, moving toward the kitchen, pointedly not looking at the bulge in Pike’s trousers and the flush on TJ’s cheeks.
Sam was as close to TJ as any sister, and their minds seemed to be linked together ever since her conversion the previous year, so she knew exactly what she’d walked in on.
She smiled to herself as she prepared a cup of coffee, thinking it was sweet that TJ was still bonded with Pike, even though she knew TJ’s love for Shooter was deep and sincere.
She leaned back against the counter in the kitchen, drinking her coffee as she considered this. Vampyres were rarely monogamous, even if they were happily committed to their mates—it was just not a part of their makeup. Sex to the vampyre race, while often an integral part of feeding, was also considered a way of showing affection and jealousy was rare among the breed.
Sam even, God help her, still felt occasional twinges of desire for Morpheus, the man who’d transformed her and intended her to be his mate. If he hadn’t been so clearly and completely evil, Sam was unsure whether she would’ve been able to betray him and help try to kill him.
Good for you, TJ, she thought, take your pleasure with Elijah if you want and I won’t think the less of you, but please be careful not to hurt Shooter. He’s a sweet guy and as a Normal, won’t understand the slightly skewed way we vampyres look at such dalliances.
TJ, in the next room, glanced at Elijah and kissed him quickly on the cheek, being fully aware of what Sam was thinking and agreeing completely with her.
When Sam reentered the living room, Pike hesitated for a moment, and then he said, “Sit down, Sam. There’s something I need to discuss with both you and TJ without the men present.”
Sam’s eyes went to TJ and they both shrugged, thinking it was going to be something about what had just happened between he and TJ.
“While doing research on the vaccine we’ve all been using,” he began, looking at his hands clasped together in his lap rather than at the two of them, “I’ve done extensive tests on my own blood cells, both to see if there is some way to improve the vaccine and to make sure there are no untoward side-effects.”
The girls watched him, wondering just why he was bringing this up at this particular time, with their enemies so close at hand.
He looked into the fire for a second, and then he continued, “One of the things I noticed was that the level of free radicals in my plasma was not increasing, and on some days it was even decreased.”
Sam looked puzzled, but TJ suddenly appeared very interested. “You say your level of free radicals decreased over time? Were there any other changes?”
He nodded. “Yes, in addition a few other tests of waste product levels, nitrogen, ammonia, and such produced results that have convinced me that in spite of the treatment’s success in diminishing the Hunger, it does not cause us to start aging normally.”
Both TJ and Sam were startled by this revelation. They’d both assumed as long as they were under treatment, they would age normally, like human beings did.
“What?” Sam said, frowning. “Are you sure?”
Pike shrugged. “As sure as I can be without a long-term study. Like I say, just about all of the tests on my blood that have to do with aging have remained constant or even slightly diminished. I can only conclude from the evidence that I am still not aging in spite of the treatments against the vampyre bug.”
TJ and Sam glanced at each other and then back at Pike. “Elijah, why are you bringing this up right now?” TJ asked.
He took a deep breath. “Because, in case something happens to me in the near future, I want you both to be aware of this and be thinking about what it means to each of you personally.”
“What do you mean, to us personally?” Sam asked, puzzled.
“Both of you are deeply in love with Normals. Have you considered what is going to happen as they age and you do not?”
Sam’s hand went to her mouth. For some reason, even though she knew vampyres lived extraordinarily long lives, she never even thought of how that would affect her. She’d been too concerned with trying to control the Hunger that had consumed her prior to the treatments with the vaccine to worry about whether she was getting older. “No, I hadn’t thought about it,” she said, looking at TJ, who shook her head showing she hadn’t considered the implications either.
Pike leaned forward, a gentle, kind expression on his face. “Each of you has two choices, and only two as far as I can see. One, you can go on as you are, staying with your lovers as long as you can, watching them grow old and feeble until they die and you are left behind still the same age you are now, or . . .”
“Oh, no,” TJ said, her eyes fearful of what he was going to say.
“Or, you can consider performing the Rite of Transformation on Matt and Shooter, and once they’re transformed, undergoing treatment with them. You wouldn’t age and neither would they, but you’d still be free of the vampyre curse of depending on the blood of others to survive.”
TJ stared at Pike, knowing what it must have cost him to tell her this. If he’d just kept his mouth shut about it, Shooter would’ve grown old and died and then TJ would’ve been his alone. She had never met anyone so selfless before, and it made her bond with him even stronger as she realized he was giving her this chance to stay with Shooter forever for the sake of her own happiness and with no regard for his own.
“Then, we’d be mates forever,” Sam whispered, her eyes turned inward as she considered the possibilities.
TJ gave a sardonic chuckle. “You realize that you’ve just told us about the first real youth serum?”
“Yeah, all you have to do to live forever is to become a blood-sucking monster, a creature of the night, as the legends say,” Pike responded, though his serious expression belied his light tone. “I’m sure people would be lining up in the streets to sign on to our program.”
Pike shook his head at the absurdity of the idea and stood up and started to put his snowmobile suit on, carefully avoiding TJ’s eyes. “I thought I would give you the information I’ve discovered and leave you to discuss it among yourselves while I go on patrol.”
He grabbed a handful of candy bars off the table and stuffed them in his pocket. “I’ll see you both in a little while,” he said, a sad smile on his face as he stepped out of the door and disappeared into the falling snow.
When he was gone and the door was shut, TJ looked at Sam, her eyes wide, “Well, Sam old friend, what the fuck do we do now?”
Sam sighed and glanced toward the bedrooms. “The only thing we can do, TJ: leave it up to the boys.”