‘Dammit,’ Reuben muttered. ‘I can’t let her see me. Not yet.’
He must have slunk away, behind the house. I’m not sure, because I wasn’t looking. My attention was fixed on Mum’s car, which had braked near the front veranda. The engine stopped but the headlights stayed on. The driver’s door popped open.
‘Mum?’ I said, picking up my pace a bit.
‘Toby?’ She emerged from behind the wheel, her eyes round with horror. ‘Oh my God! What happened?’
‘Huh?’ For a second I didn’t understand. Then I realised that she was staring at my foot. It was spotlit by the headlight beams. ‘Oh. Right. This,’ I mumbled, stopping to glance down.
‘And your head!’ she squealed. ‘And your wrist! What happened to your wrist?’
I didn’t know where to begin. With the overturned truck, perhaps? With Danny’s assault? With the dog bite? All kinds of thoughts and images rushed into my brain as she threw her arms around me; I still hadn’t settled on a good starting point when Nina’s grandmother climbed out of the front passenger seat.
‘Where’s Nina?’ she croaked, then erupted into a fit of coughing: hack-hack-hack. If it hadn’t been for the cough, I might not have recognised her at first – not without her cigarette. Even her steel-wool hair was engulfed in one of those old-lady scarves that you see on the Queen, sometimes. She also looked older than she had before, all creased and stiff and colourless.
Mum looked pretty bad too. She was wearing trackies, for one thing. And she didn’t have any makeup on.
‘Nina’s inside,’ I confessed. ‘But—’
‘She’s here? Nina’s here?’ Mum broke in.
‘Yeah.’ I took a deep breath. ‘There’s a whole bunch of people here. That’s what I have to tell you. It’s a long story . . .’
Estelle, however, wouldn’t let me finish. ‘Who’s this?’ she squawked, nodding at Sergio. ‘I don’t think I’ve met him, have I?’
‘That’s Sergio. He’s – we’re —’ I didn’t know how to put it. Did Mum know the truth or not? Had Estelle filled her in, yet?
‘Let’s go,’ Sergio said abruptly. ‘Now. Come on.’ He was dancing from foot to foot, as if he needed to empty his bladder. I understood how he felt, but I also realised that Mum wouldn’t be going anywhere unless I provided her with an explanation.
So I opened my mouth to give her one – just as somebody roared like a wounded buffalo inside the house.
Mum gasped. ‘What on earth . . .?’ she said, pulling away to listen. A muffled crash made her cover her mouth in alarm.
That’s when I decided not to waste time explaining things. Not yet, at least. Not until we were well on our way. ‘We should go. Right now,’ I urged.
‘Not without Nina,’ Estelle insisted. She slammed the car door behind her, then trudged towards the house in what looked like a pair of orthopaedic sandals. She was wearing something that could have been a nurse’s uniform.
‘I wouldn’t go in there if I were you,’ Sergio warned. It sounded so much like a threat that I quickly tried to clarify the situation.
‘It’s not safe,’ I said. ‘There’s a guy in there – Danny – who’s had a bit of a meltdown.’
‘You mean Danny Ruiz?’ Estelle didn’t seem especially concerned. As she waved a dismissive hand, I suddenly remembered that she knew all about Danny. ‘So what’s new?’ she said. ‘He’s always having meltdowns.’
‘Yeah, but he’s really mad this time.’ I couldn’t stress this enough. ‘It’s because Barry McKinnon’s in there, and Danny doesn’t like him.’
‘Because Barry bit his neck,’ Sergio added.
Estelle stopped in her tracks.
‘He what?’ she cried, in a strangled voice. ‘Oh, Christ, no!’
‘What on earth are you talking about?’ Mum sounded frantic. She flinched as another distant, animal roar split the night air. ‘Isn’t Barry Nina’s uncle?’
Bang! The front door flew open. Danny Ruiz stood there, silhouetted against the light in the hallway. ‘a-a-a-u-u-gh!’ he bellowed.
Then he lurched onto the veranda, still clutching his neck.
‘Get in the car,’ Estelle snapped. She beat a hasty retreat, waddling back towards the seat she’d just vacated. But the rest of us were rooted to the spot.
‘Who – who—’ Mum stammered.
‘That’s him,’ I said. ‘That’s Danny Ruiz.’
‘O-o-o-a-a-a-gh!’ More bellowing. Danny kept losing his balance; he swayed and stumbled on his way down the veranda steps.
That’s when I realised that he was twitching like someone with epilepsy.
‘Let’s – let’s get in the car,’ I croaked. Mum didn’t argue. She grabbed my elbow, supporting me as I hopped along.
Sergio was ahead of us; he reached the car before we did, plunging into the back seat like a rat into a drainpipe. I was crawling in beside him when Reuben charged out of the house, waving Danny’s rifle.
‘Oh my God!’ Mum shrieked. ‘He’s got a gun!’ Then she dropped her keys.
I don’t think she recognised Reuben at first. She was too busy scrabbling around in the driver’s footwell. As for Reuben, I doubt he even noticed her. His attention was fixed on Danny, who was struggling to his feet again.
‘For God’s sake, Rowena, will you close the door?’ Estelle said fiercely.
Mum did as she was told, groping around for her keys with one hand while she pulled her door shut with the other. Whomp! ‘Oh my God,’ she kept whimpering. ‘Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God . . .’
‘What’s wrong with Danny?’ Sergio’s voice was high and frantic, like a police siren. ‘Is he bleeding to death?’
‘No,’ Estelle replied. By this time Danny’s dogs had surged onto the front veranda. But they were strangely subdued. Instead of running to join him, they hung back, looking disoriented.
Reuben ignored them. He advanced towards Danny, adjusting his grip on the rifle.
‘For Chrissake,’ Estelle hissed, before lowering her window a few centimetres. ‘Reuben!’ she squawked. ‘Get back inside!’
Danny heard her. He must have, because he turned his head. He even took a step in our direction.
Something was wrong, though. His leg buckled. He fell to one knee.
Estelle quickly wound up her window again, coughing like a machine gun.
‘I don’t get it,’ Sergio whined. ‘Where’s the doctor? Why doesn’t he do something?’ At that very instant, Dr Plackett emerged from the house. He was wearing his sunglasses, and he seemed to be arguing with Reuben.
‘Where the hell is Nina?’ growled Estelle.
Suddenly the engine roared. Mum had found her keys, at long last. She released the handbrake, craning around to check that nothing was behind her. Then she reached out to change gears.
‘No!’ Estelle yanked at the handbrake. ‘Not yet.’
‘What are you doing?’ Mum screamed.
‘Wait. Just wait.’
‘Let go!’
Next thing I knew, Mum and Estelle were wrestling for control of the handbrake. I couldn’t believe it. Outside, Danny was flat on his stomach, groaning and shuddering. Reuben was edging towards him, rifle raised. Dr Plackett was trying to grab Reuben’s arm, without success; Reuben repeatedly shook him off.
‘Nina’s in there!’ Estelle snapped. ‘We can’t go without Nina!’
‘He’s got a gun, can’t you see?’ Mum shouted back.
‘Yeah, but he won’t use it,’ Estelle insisted. ‘Not on us.’
‘How do you know?’
‘He won’t, Mum.’ I could be sure of that, at least. ‘It’s okay. Swear to God.’
‘It’s not Reuben we should be worrying about,’ Estelle confirmed, before she dissolved into another fit of coughing.
Mum caught her breath. Her head swivelled. She stared through the windscreen.
‘Reuben?’ she echoed. ‘Is that – is that Reuben Schneider?’
‘Mum—’
‘Oh, my
God! It is him! It’s that lunatic!’
‘Mum, listen—’
‘It’s all a plot! We’ve been kidnapped!’ Mum rounded on Estelle. ‘You bitch!’
She launched herself at Nina’s grandmother, who raised her arms in self-defence. If I hadn’t intervened, God knows what would have happened.
‘Mum, don’t!’ I thrust myself between the front seats, before Mum could do any serious damage. ‘Stop it!’
‘Get out! Get out of this car!’ she screamed at Estelle, past my left ear.
‘Mum, listen! Someone else tried to kidnap me! Reuben was the one who stopped them!’ I appealed to Sergio. ‘Isn’t that right? Isn’t that what happened?’
‘Yeah,’ Sergio agreed, in a distracted sort of way. He was watching events unfold outside the car, where Reuben and the doctor were yelling at each other.
‘And the rest of them too. They came here to help,’ I went on, desperately trying to explain. ‘Reuben and Nina and Dr Plackett—’
‘Toby, this is all a conspiracy!’ Mum cut me off. Her voice cracked on a sob as she fumbled for the handbrake. Her eyes were glazed with panic and she was trembling all over. ‘We’ve got to get out of here, now!’ she ranted. ‘We’ve got to get away from these people!’
‘Mum, you’re not listening! Will you listen to me?’ I gave her a shake, which surprised her so much that she seemed to snap out of her mad fit. She blinked, gasped, and shut up. ‘What Reuben told us is true. Okay? He wasn’t lying. I’m a werewolf, Mum.’
‘Oh, Toby!’ she wailed.
‘Just let me finish—’
‘You’ve been brainwashed!’
‘I have not!’ She was making me mad. ‘Do you think I’m stupid? Is that what you think?’ Before she could answer, I ploughed on. ‘We’re werewolves, Mum. Me and Sergio. And Reuben. And Danny. I swear to God, we’re all werewolves.’
‘Not Danny,’ Estelle interrupted. ‘Not anymore.’
I was so intent on convincing Mum that I didn’t really absorb this comment. Not for a second or two, anyway. Sergio was the one who reacted first.
‘Whaddaya mean?’ he asked Estelle. ‘Whaddaya mean, Danny’s not a werewolf anymore? Of course he is! How could he not be?’
‘Because Barry bit him,’ Estelle rejoined. She spoke in a kind of hoarse, flat, weary drawl, rubbing her wrist where Mum had scratched it. ‘Once you get bitten by a vampire, you’re a vampire. Full stop.’
In the brief pause that followed this announcement, I heard the distant creak of rusty hinges over the noise of our idling engine. A quick glance informed me that Nina had finally pushed open the screen door at the front of the house. She was wearing sunglasses and carrying the pistol.
‘Oh my God.’ Mum dropped her face into her hands. ‘You’re insane,’ she muttered brokenly. ‘You’re all lunatics, and you’ve kidnapped my son . . .’
It’s funny; when I heard what she said, all my doubts fell away. Mum didn’t believe in werewolves, but she was dead wrong. So why couldn’t she be wrong about vampires too?
‘Are you serious?’ I turned to Estelle. ‘About vampires, I mean? They really exist? Really and truly?’
‘Yeah,’ she rasped.
‘Oh, Toby,’ Mum groaned. She raised her head. ‘Can’t you see what they’re doing? They’re trying to make you—’
‘Shut up!’ Sergio snapped at her like a dog. Then he addressed Nina’s grandmother. ‘So Barry’s an honest-to-God vampire? Like in the movies?’
‘No, love,’ said Estelle. ‘Not like in the movies. Believe me, it’s nothing like the movies.’ She was peering out the window at Nina, who had shuffled over to join Reuben and Dr Plackett. ‘It’s a disease, that’s all. It’s just a bloody awful disease.’
‘And that’s why Barry bit someone?’ Sergio pressed. ‘Because he’s got the vampire disease?’
‘Yeah, but he must have been blooded.’ Estelle frowned as Dr Plackett knelt beside Danny’s motionless form. ‘Barry must have smelled fresh blood,’ she mused, ‘or he wouldn’t have gone for this bloke. Someone must have been bleeding.’
‘That was me,’ I admitted. ‘One of the dogs bit my arm when I was holding Danny . . .’
‘Well, there you are, then. That’s what happened. Barry smelled your blood on Danny.’ Estelle spoke so matter-of-factly that it wasn’t hard to accept what she was saying. I didn’t get the feeling that she was trying to coax or persuade anyone; in fact she sounded a little absent-minded, because she was watching Dr Plackett check Danny’s pulse. ‘See, the first time any vampire smells fresh human blood, you’ve got a problem,’ she said. ‘Either he bites someone or he doesn’t. And if he does, he’s always going to be trouble. But if he doesn’t, then he’ll pretty much behave himself till the end of time. Like Sanford, for instance. Or Nina.’
‘Nina?’ I nearly choked.
‘Nina’s been a vampire since 1973.’
‘But—’
‘She’s my daughter, not my granddaughter,’ Estelle confessed sadly. ‘She’s fifty-two years old.’
I was floored. Speechless. So was Sergio, whose mouth had dropped open. We exchanged a flabbergasted look.
Then Mum said, ‘How dare you?’ She was talking to Estelle in a trembling voice. ‘How dare you tell such abominable lies to these children? How dare you involve them in your sick, pathetic fantasy?’
‘My sick, pathetic fantasy?’ Estelle gave a derisive snort. She didn’t seem the least bit bothered. ‘You’re the one living in a fantasy world, darl, not me. You don’t know what’s really going on.’ She pointed through the windscreen. ‘Danny’s turning into a vampire right now. In front of our eyes. And you want me to get out of the car?’ She shook her head. ‘Not on your nelly.’
‘So are you a vampire?’ asked Sergio.
‘Of course not!’ The old woman’s tone was caustic. ‘I just told you I didn’t want to get bitten! It wouldn’t matter if I was already a vampire, would it?’
‘Yeah, but . . . I mean, if Nina . . .’ Sergio trailed off suddenly. He seemed confused – and I understood why. How could you live with a vampire and not become a vampire yourself? Wouldn’t you end up on the vampire’s menu?
Unless, of course, the vampire was ‘behaving’ itself. Maybe that was what Estelle actually meant, when she’d referred to vampires who ‘behaved’.
‘It doesn’t run in families, love. It’s not like being a werewolf,’ she told Sergio. Once again, her attention was fixed on the huddled group near Danny. Nina was wringing her hands, her brows knotted and her neck taut. Reuben was shaking his head in disbelief. Dr Plackett had rolled Danny over.
My stomach did a backflip when I saw that Danny needed mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.
‘What the hell is going on?’ Estelle shouted, after lowering her window again.
Two faces turned towards us. They wore shell-shocked expressions; the glare of the headlights had leached them of colour. Nina glanced at Reuben, who took a deep breath. But when he opened his mouth, nothing came out. He appeared to be lost for words.
Dr Plackett was still pushing on Danny’s chest. He didn’t pause to reply.
‘Could you switch the bloody engine off?’ Estelle asked my mother. ‘I can’t hear a bloody thing.’
Mum bridled. I could tell that she was about to refuse. So I leaned forward and said, ‘Please, Mum? We have to know what’s going on.’ When she hesitated, I tried something else. ‘It’s the middle of the night. Where else am I going to find a doctor, all the way out here?’
‘Yes, but—’
‘That guy’s a doctor, Mum! And I’ve got a sore foot!’
‘Yeah, but he’s a vampire too, isn’t he?’ Sergio objected. ‘Can a vampire be a doctor? Or is he just a doctor for vampires?’
I could have strangled Sergio. There I was, trying to calm my mother down, and he’d started talking about vampires – a sure-fire way of making her mad. To my surprise, however, her only response was to turn her key in the ignition.
S
ilence fell, thick and heavy. The only sound was the rush of the wind.
Then Nina began walking towards the car: crunch, crunch, crunch. She wasn’t holding the pistol anymore. It was stuffed into Reuben’s waistband.
‘So what’s wrong with Danny?’ Estelle asked her gruffly. ‘Has he passed out? Is that it?’
‘He – he . . .’ Nina stalled for an instant. She had to swallow and clear her throat before continuing. ‘He’s dead,’ she quavered, glancing over at the body in the dust. ‘He just . . . he just . . . died.’
‘What do you mean, dead?’ Estelle spoke indignantly. ‘He can’t be dead.’
‘He is.’ Nina’s voice was thick with unshed tears. She jumped aside as Estelle pushed open the front passenger door.
Mum said, ‘You’ve killed someone? You’ve actually killed someone?’
‘It’s impossible,’ growled Estelle, struggling to her feet. ‘He’s passed out, that’s all.’
‘Oh, my God, no.’ Mum was beginning to lose it. She sounded hysterical. ‘Oh, no. Oh, no . . .’
I didn’t blame her. Do you know what I actually told myself? This is just a dream. Seriously. This is just a dream. I’ll wake up in a minute.
‘He must be asleep,’ Estelle declared. Having extracted herself from the car, she stumped towards Dr Plackett, still arguing with her daughter. ‘You always look like a corpse when you go to sleep. Your heart stops. Your breathing stops—’
‘Yeah, but Danny’s only just been infected.’ Over by the veranda, Reuben had found his voice at long last. ‘Remember how long it took with Barry? Much longer than this.’
‘At least twenty-four hours,’ Dr Plackett agreed. Then he sucked in a lungful of air before bending over Danny again.
‘That’s right. So he isn’t a proper vampire yet,’ said Reuben. ‘Is he?’
There was no reply from Dr Plackett, who was blowing into Danny’s mouth. It was Nina who observed, ‘I’ve never known any of us to keel over at night. Isn’t it only meant to happen during the day?’
By this time Sergio had scurried after Estelle, so I decided to follow his example. It wasn’t easy. For one thing, I had my sore foot to contend with. And then there was Mum, who made a grab for me as she jabbered something about the police.