The stress was getting to Sam, and his nerves were like a ticking time bomb. There wasn’t enough blood for both Adeline and to sell to support the household. And they were still waiting on approval from the state-funded health insurance program.
Damn bureaucracy. Nothing is working out right, and the government is dragging its feet. Sam was about to take out his frustrations on Kristen and Bethany. He marched to the workroom at seven a.m. and flipped on the lights. Both girls woke with a start. Sam’s expression said that nothing good was going to come out of that morning.
He cracked the plastic lids of two water bottles and pulled the tape off the girls’ mouths. “Drink this. You’ll get another bottle in a half hour, then we’re doing the blood draws.”
Kristen guzzled her water then took a deep breath. “Where’s Molly? What did you do to her?” She yelled out her name. “Molly, answer me.”
Sam snickered as he leaned forward within an inch of her face. He exhaled hot air against Kristen’s cheek. “Don’t waste your breath. Molly can’t hear you. She’s left the house.”
“Did you let her go? Where is she?”
“I’m in charge here and don’t owe you an explanation. Now finish your water.” He pushed the bottle into her mouth and tilted it. “Drink all of it.” He did the same with Bethany before he taped their mouths again and left the room.
Back in the living room, Sam sat with the computer on his lap and a cup of coffee at his side. He searched the Internet for a person or group in the market to buy human blood. Adeline lay propped up on the couch with two pillows supporting her head. Sam had already served her breakfast. Now she relaxed with hot tea while she watched TV.
Sam knew finding somebody he could trust would prove difficult, and he was wary of those sites, which might be monitored by law enforcement. He’d be careful. He would write down the website URLs and contact information before private messaging anyone who might be helpful. He wouldn’t use his own computer, either, but would correspond with them using the public library’s computer lab. The alarm sounded on his phone. Sam closed his computer then stood.
“What was the alarm for?” Adeline could barely raise her head as she faced her son.
Sam noticed the increasingly dark circles around her eyes, and her skin had taken on an ashen color. “Time to give the girls more water and let them use the bathroom. I’ll be back in a bit, Mom. Need anything?”
“Just a hug.”
Sam knelt to the couch and gingerly hugged his mom. He was shocked at the way her bones protruded—she was getting weaker by the day. “We’ll do your transfusion in about an hour, so just relax until then.” He set the remote next to her hand and left the room.
Back at Kristen’s side, Sam set the bags and tubes on a table and took a seat next to her. He opened another water bottle, removed the tape from both girls’ mouths for the second time, and tipped the bottle between Kristen’s lips. She clenched her teeth, and he swiftly slapped the side of her face. “Open your damn mouth and drink this, or would you rather have me knock out your teeth?”
She grudgingly opened her mouth, and Sam jammed the bottle in. Kristen gasped for air once the bottle was empty. Sam grinned and looked to his right. “Are you going to play nice, or am I going to have to show you who’s the boss?”
Bethany opened her mouth. When the water was gone, each girl was allowed to use the facilities. Then Sam forced them back down on the chairs and bound them tightly.
“Why do you have four bags instead of two?” Bethany asked as she watched Sam prepare Kristen’s arm for her blood draw.
“Because I’m taking two pints from each of you today.”
Her voice cracked as she spoke. “That’s too dangerous.”
He laughed in her face. “I’m a lot more dangerous than the two pints of blood you’re worried about giving. You’ll live.” He stood, grabbed the duct tape, and stretched a piece across her mouth. Then he shot her a threatening glare. “And if I want your opinion, I’ll ask for it.”
Sam snapped his fingers against Kristen’s inner elbow and sank the needle deep into her vein.
An hour later and in a weakened state, both girls sat in the chairs as Sam watched them. Their heads, too heavy to hold upright, drooped against their chests.
“You two will be useless for the rest of the day.” He shut off the light and locked the door behind him.
He entered the house and called out, “Ready for your transfusion, Mom?” Sam entered the living room and saw the remote lying on the floor. He was at his mother’s side in two strides and knelt next to her. “Mom?” He pressed his ear against her chest and shook her shoulder. “Mom?”
Sam carefully lowered Adeline to the floor and tipped her head back. He listened again for breathing and heard nothing. He feared he’d break her fragile bones, but she was unconscious. He had to begin chest compressions.
He repeated aloud the instructions he had learned at the hospital. “Tilt head back, pinch nose, form a seal with the mouth, administer two rescue breaths, and continue chest compressions.”
After three rounds of CPR, Adeline finally took a breath on her own. Sam leaned back against the couch in exhaustion and cried. “That’s it.” He stared at the ceiling in despair. “I have to sell the blood and get more women. I don’t have a choice anymore.”
With Adeline in his arms, Sam carried her down the hall and placed her on the bed. He covered her with blankets and raised the side rails. He went to the kitchen. Sam pulled the refrigerator door handle and removed one of the pints of blood he had just put in the shelf on the door. It was still warm. With the bag in hand, he returned to Adeline’s room and hooked it to the IV pole. After inserting the line into the needle port, he turned the valve. He scratched out a note and placed it on the roller table that he wheeled to Adeline’s bedside. She couldn’t miss it when she woke up.
He grabbed his coat and the information he’d gathered from the websites earlier, then he walked out through the garage. He had to contact somebody that day.