Page 4 of Making Haven
Chapter Three
Devin
As Lawrence picks meup and begins to run once more, I can’t decide if I’m terrified, disgusted, or horny. Maybe it’s a combination of all three. I’m going to blame the emotions flooding through me from the shock of almost meeting my death, because nothing else makes sense.
‘What other choice do you have’ continues to play inside my head, over and over. The choice to let Lawrence pick me up and whisk me away was easy. I was in a life or death situation and in that split second, it was easy to trust him. The alternative was to fight. I’m not a betting man but if I was, it was easy to see I’d be betting against myself. The situation was clear. If I had stayed, I would be dead right now.
I’m alive, but at what cost?
What the fuck am I going to owe this guy?
I tuck my face under his chin again as he runs, this time doing my best not to toss up my dinner as he moves at a speed that boggles my mind. When he’d rescued me, he’d hissed at that werezombie, causing it to pause in its pursuit of me. His teeth looked sharp yet the shinest white I’ve ever seen. His eyes arepiercing blue that seem to be able to see into my soul. His hair is straight, shaggy around his forehead like he cuts it haphazardly himself, and white as marble. Then he’d ripped the thing’s head clean off its shoulders. I’ve never seen strength like that, especially from someone who is shorter than me with a willowy, thin build. If that show of strength didn’t make it obvious enough, the speed with which he’s running is enough to tell me he’s not human.
Which begs the question, what the fuck is this guy? And why the fuck did hesaveme?
As I come down from the adrenaline rush of surviving a near death experience, my body flags. The only thing keeping me from falling asleep against Lawrence’s chest is the fact that I have to hold onto him for dear life. His chest is covered in blood and I’m careful to keep my face away from those parts. Wouldn’t it be ironic if I was saved only to get myself turned into a zombie because I accidentally licked blood from someone’s shirt?
I’m not sure how long we travel before Lawrence’s steps are finally slowing down. Once he’s down to a leisurely walk, he clears his throat.
“We’re here.”
“Where’s here?”
“My home.” Lawrence carefully puts me down but doesn’t go far, keeping an arm around my shoulders to help me walk. I look around, finding a giant gate that encompasses a community on top of a hill. It looks like every horror movie I’ve ever seen where a little family moves into a haunted house before they’re all killed by some demon or ghost.
“Homey,” I murmur as I look around.
Lawrence snorts, shaking his head. “I don’t really have visitors so you’ll have to forgive if it’s not the most welcoming sight.”
“S’fine.”
Lawrence opens up the gate and helps shuffle me through before turning back and locking up once more. Then we begin walking up the road towards the houses. One of them is clearly his while the rest look a tad more rundown, like he hasn’t gotten around to cleaning them up. It’s a ghost town which only adds to that eerie feeling.
“So,” I say, looking over at Lawrence, “what the hell are you?”
“Seems kinda rude to ask that,” he says, raising his brow, but I can tell he finds me amusing rather than off-putting. “What makes you think I’m not just a superhuman who’s evolved thanks to this shithole world we live in?”
I roll my eyes, turning back to the road in front of us. “Yeah, okay. And I’m the President of the United States and just happen to be out here in the middle of nowhere.”
“Lovely to meet you, Mr. President. Now that I have you here, I have a few choice words about this whole ‘let’s experiment on making super soldiers’ thing because let me tell you, it’s backfired spectacularly.”
I don’t trust this guy as far as I can throw him, but for the moment, I feel my shoulders relax ever so slightly. “So really,” I say again, “what are you?”
I’m glad the moon is out, shining a bit of light onto everything or this place would be even creepier. We continue up the road and I notice a lush garden outside the one house that looks lived in. It’s full of veggies, flowers, and a bush that looks like a raspberry bush. My mouth waters. It’s been so long since I’ve had somethingfreshto eat, something that didn’t come from a can I’d found in an abandoned building.
That reminds me of the carrot still clutched in my hand. It must have come straight from his garden. Now that I don’t feel like my stomach is going to upheave itself, I take a tentative bite.
The crunch sounds between us. The guy gives me the smallest smile as he watches me eat. It’s sofresh. I could cry with howgood this carrot tastes. It’s been two years since I had a fresh veggie and I think I had forgotten how great they can be.
Maybe being rescued by this guy isn’t so bad. Maybe whatever he wants from me will be worth it. Maybe.
“I’m a vampire.”
My body locks up with tension and I stumble, hissing through my teeth as pain lances through my leg. “Fuck,” I grit out, warring with myself on whether or not I cantake a fucking vampire on. The answer is probably no, but my sword is sharp. If I had the upper hand of surprise, I could probably depart his head from his shoulders.
That feeling of ‘hey, maybe this won’t be so bad’ flees in record time. I feel my walls coming up around me. I have to look out for myself. I have to keep myself safe.
“Before you reach for that pretty sword of yours, just know I’m not going to hurt you.”
