“What happened?” I ask shakily. Finn looks up at me, a grim expression on his face.
“A fight with the vampires. We were outnumbered; they caught us unawares when we were transporting some of the new recruits to a safe house.” He glances at the young man who’s holding a bunched up towel to Finn’s lower leg. The wound is just below his calf muscle.
“Fucking bastards shot me,” Finn continues, letting out a sharp
gush of breath.
“The DOH have a doctor on retainer, he’s on his way now,” says the young man, addressing me.
“Oh, how long do you think he’ll be?” I say with worry, just as there’s a knock at the front door, my question instantly answered. I go to the door and let in a grey haired man in his late fifties. He doesn’t look like a doctor in the clothes he’s wearing, sweat pants and a black t-shirt. He quickly shoves myself and the young man who’d been seeing to Finn from the room, Wolf follows us out.
We sit quietly in the living room and listen as the doctor works on Finn, at first there is nothing much to hear. Suddenly, Finn lets out an almighty growling noise and then there is quiet once more. I think about the doctor removing the bullet from Finn’s leg, not a pleasant experience I imagine.
I look to the man sitting across the room from me, in a chair by the window, his head in his hands. “Are you a slayer too?” I ask him.
He nods silently. He only looks about eighteen or nineteen years old. I wonder what could have encouraged him to want to join the DOH. Either a vampire did something to him or his family, or else he’s just young and foolish, thinking he can save the world and kill monsters in the process. Looking at him now, I have a feeling he’s regretting having ever gotten involved with the DOH. He’s definitely one of the new recruits Finn had spoken of. He looks like he’s in shock, like he wishes he were anywhere but here right now.
He rubs a hand over his jaw, then he turns to me. “It puts it all into perspective really,” he says, his voice shallow. “Seeing people die. One minute you’re laughing and joking and the next you’re being attacked and killed by men far stronger than you will ever be. Watching your friends die, seeing the life leave their faces.”
He reminds me of how I’d been after I’d first seen Ethan kill all those slayers in that empty industrial estate. Then again, that hadn’t been the first time I’d seen a dead body. When I found Matthew still and lifeless in my old apartment, I hadn’t spoken for days afterwards. Compared to that, this slayer whose name I don’t even know is holding up pretty well.
A half an hour later the doctor comes into the room and tells us that Finn’s all bandaged up, then he leaves, perhaps off to take care of some other gruesome DOH tragedy. Why can’t Pamphrock see how pointless this fight against the vampires is? The young slayer goes in to speak with Finn, and I allow them some privacy, remaining in the living room. Wolf is sitting up beside me again, the couch almost groans under his heavy weight and it makes me smile for a minute. I pet his head and he rests it on my lap. Ten minutes later the slayer leaves, so it’s only myself and Finn left in the house.
When I go into the kitchen he’s sitting at the table knocking back a handful of pills.
“Antibiotics,” Finn explains.
“Right. So do you want to tell me what exactly went down tonight?”
“It won’t be happening again,” Finn answers. “The vamps had been lying in wait for us when we were bringing the recruits to their new sleeping quarters. There were fifteen of us in that van Tegan, only young Danny and myself came out alive.”
He grabs the open bottle of whiskey from the table top and knocks back a long gulp. I pull it out of his hands. “You can’t drink that when you’re on antibiotics, Finn,” I tell him, and he quirks an eyebrow.
“What, you want to play the role of nurse do you? Because I think I’m in the mood for a sponge bath.”
“You should have become a comedian instead of a vampire slayer,” I say, rolling my eyes. “That way there’d be less of a chance of you getting shot. Unless of course you happened to offend the wrong person, knowing you that’s probably what would happen.”
Finn doesn’t seem to be listening to me. His eyes are somewhere else, replaying the blood and violence and death he’s witnessed tonight.
“How many vampires were there?” I ask softly.
“Five. We got two of them though, the other three scampered once they’d had their fill of blood.”
“I’m really sorry Finn,” I tell him, though I doubt my sympathy is going to make him feel any better about losing all those young slayers.
“Sure you are, it still won’t make you think twice the next time Cristescu tries it on with you.”
I remember Ethan touching me earlier tonight and feel a terrible sense of shame. Finn’s right. Nonetheless I reply, “That’s different. I need to keep him sweet to save Rebecca, you know that.”
“Yeah maybe,” Finn replies. “Did you get any more info on your dad?”
This time it’s my turn to take a swig from the whiskey bottle. “Sort of. Ethan says it wasn’t a vampire who took him. Or made him leave town. Or whatever it was that happened.”
“And you believe him?” asks Finn incredulously.
“He wouldn’t lie to me.” Or is that just what I want to think?
Finn laughs at me, like I’m some sort of naïve child. “If it wasn’t vampires, then who was it Tegan?”