Page 145 of The Last Vampire
“We’re going to kill Lorena,” says Nate, his dark eyes now alight as they meet William’s.
“And then you’re going to turn her.”
PART THREEthe fallout
CHAPTER 42lorena
Everything happens so fast.
I’m still processing that William has been lying to me all along, that he can turn people into vampires, that I have been aiding and abetting possibly the single greatest existential threat to humanity—when all the air escapes my body at once.
My throat is caught in Cisco’s viselike arm, and I can barely feel my neck anymore, much less move it.
Tiffany’s sobs break through my numbness, and I’m almost relieved. Her catatonia was far worse than her cries.
“Come closer, and she’s dead,” I hear Cisco warn. But I’m stuck facing the floor, so all I can see are Nate’s and William’s feet.
“Why are you doing this?” William asks. Only his voice sounds different than I’ve ever heard it. He soundswounded.
Neither of them says anything for a long enough stretch that I wonder if they’re frozen. I can still see they’re upright and facing each other, but I don’t hear their voices. I scratch at Cisco’s arm, digging my nails into his skin, but it’s like he can’t feel it.
I want to scream, but I have no way of reaching my vocal cords. As if the line has been cut.
“Don’t worry,” says Nate suddenly, like he and William are mid-conversation. “I’ve come up with a solution that will keep us all happy.”
Cisco’s arm closes a bit more, and I squeeze my eyes shut from the neck pain. My head feels woozy, and I know I’m not getting enough oxygen.
“We’re going to kill Lorena,” I hear Nate say, as if from a distance. “And then you’re going to turn her.”
His words are a bomb going off in my chest, and my physical pain is eclipsed by my new fate. It’s only in this instant that I know I don’t want to be eighteen forever.
I don’t want to go into hiding. I don’t want to abandon my parents and Salma and everyone I care about. I’m not ready to die.
“I am the last Stoker, and I command you to stop.”
My thoughts are so fuzzy that I’m not sure if I’m hearing William or hallucinating. His voice is so full of authority that I feel the tension in Cisco’s muscles slacken by a fraction of a unit.
“If she dies,” warns William, “so do you.”
I suck in air as Cisco’s grip loosens a little more, and suddenly I fall to the floor coughing as something hard collides with him, knocking the vampire to the ground and making the whole room rumble.
My vision is still blurry, and I’m hacking as I feel around on the floor for Salma and Tiffany.
“Here!” says Salma, and my fingers find hers. We huddle closer together, against the wall, as the vampires fight. They’re blocking the exit, so we can’t get past them.
My vision settles, but the view doesn’t get any clearer. All I see is a blur of limbs, the three vampires punching, dodging, and kicking—until Cisco slams into a shelf, shattering it into a burst of books.
He doesn’t regain his footing quickly, leaving Nate alone to face off against William.
“Go,” he commands me, and I tug on Salma’s and Tiffany’s arms, pulling them up.
I don’t dare look back as we careen toward the tunnel. The three of us race to our room, running for our lives. We don’t even stop at the bathroom, even though I really need to pee.
I shut our door as soon as we’re inside, and we collapse onto Tiffany’s bed. She’s shivering violently, so I help Salma get her under the covers. “Areyou okay?” she asks, but Tiff doesn’t answer, burying most of her head in the sheets, the whites of her eyes larger than usual.
“Should we get the nurse?” I ask.
“I don’t think we should go out there,” says Salma, cradling her cast. She’s still on Tiffany’s bed, and I notice that her knees are trembling.
