Blood Land by J.R. Lawson (top ten ebook reader TXT) 📖

probably from losing blood. Just stay awake a little longer!”

“I don’t think I can!”

“You have to! Just do it!”

But Nora couldn’t. She felt her vision slipping, and, darkness starting to cloud her sight, her grip loosened and she slipped off of Rogan’s back. Rogan felt it, and he looked down as he saw her fall.

“Shit!” he screamed as he then dove quickly catching up to her limp body and finally catching her. He now carried her in his arms as he continued to fly, as fast as he possibly could, looking ahead of him at his destination: it was the hospital afar off. The building was starting to close up; the large metal sheets covering the windows. However, luckily, the windows on the top floor had not yet been done, and that’s exactly where Rogan decided to aim his trajectory. He flew fast and hard, and in what seemed like an instant, he was right in front of one of the top floor windows. Nora regained consciousness only for a second to look up at Rogan as he used his hands to cradle her against his chest and lower his head as the two of them suddenly crashed through the glass window.

The two of them fell to the floor on top of all of the broken glass that now littered the room. A nurse ran in, hearing the commotion and screamed. A few other nurses and a doctor scrambled in at her alarm as Rogan stood up, still in his hellion form, the florescent lights in the room illuminating his grotesque and terrifying appearance.

The doctor in the doorway then shut the lights off quickly and flipped a different switch that activated a second set of lights in the room. Rogan lifted his arm over his eyes as the newly lit ultraviolet lights hit him. He instantly changed back into his human-like form and backed up quickly as several of the nurses pointed guns at him and screamed at him to back up. However, he backed up too far, which caused him to trip and fall backwards out of the window to the ground below. A nurse and a doctor ran to the window to look down but couldn’t see much due to the darkness.

“I see a body!” the nurse shouted, “It’s dead!”

“This girl needs help!” another nurse exclaimed. She was kneeling on the floor next to Nora who was unconscious again. It was then that the other nurse quickly pulled a large metal sheet over the broken window and the doctor and nurse near Nora picked her up and carried her out the room and into the hall.

 

***

 

It wasn’t until the next morning that Nora woke up. She looked around to see that she was in a hospital bed and Will was asleep in the chair next to her.

“W—Will?” she stammered as she stirred in the bed, trying to sit up.

Nora’s voice seemed to wake him because Will also stirred, opening his eyes, and looking over at her, “Nora!” he excitedly exclaimed as he sat up in his chair, “how are you feeling?”

“I…I think I’m o.k. What happened?”

Will just stared at her with a stunned expression, “You really don’t remember?”

“I only remember….being carried by Ro—uh…a vampire. And there were other night-flyers chasing us.”

“You and that hellion that had you crashed into this hospital; through a top story window. You were cut up pretty bad. And you had some attack wounds,” Will explained, “The doctors and nurses found you. They stitched you up before you’d lost too much blood. They saved you.”

Nora just sat looking down at her hands that were in her lap. She was thinking about all that had happened; and thinking about Rogan. He had saved her. Why had he done that? Especially when he was so horrible to her only moments ago; it was enough to tie her brain into knots.

“What happened….to the vampire that had me?” Nora then found herself asking aloud.

“Uh….why do you want to know that, Nor’?” Will confusedly asked.

“Just tell me. Do you know?” Nora urged.

“Um, a nurse said it…fell out of the window. They used the backup ultraviolet lights in the rooms to force it to change and it fell backwards to the ground. They said they saw it fall….and that it’s dead.” Will concluded.

“Are you sure?” Nora asked, a small bit of sadness in her voice.

“Yes, from what I heard anyway,” Will answered, “Nora, what is the big deal anyway? Are you worried about it coming back after you? Because that’s not going to happen.”

“No, Will I’m not worried about that. The truth is…” Nora hesitated for a minute before continuing, “The truth is that I was concerned. I hoped that he was o.k.”

“Nora, why would you concern yourself with the wellbeing of a hellion?”

“He saved me, Will.”

“No it did not save you,” Will sternly stated, “It had you because it was going to eat you.”

“No he wasn’t! He was saving me from the others that were chasing us! Besides, why would he crash into the hospital if he was trying to eat me?”

“I don’t know! Maybe it wasn’t looking where it was going. And the other hellions were probably chasing you because they wanted what it had. They wanted its food source. That’s all, Nora. I mean, think about it. Why would some random hellion want to help you?”

Nora sighed and looked down for a second before she answered, “Because…because he was the same vampire that I helped. The one I shot and nursed back to health that one night several months ago.”

“A—are you sure?” Will now stuttered in awe.

“Yes.”

“How? How do you know?”

“I….” Nora thought for a minute. She didn’t want to tell Will about the previous encounter she had with Rogan last night for fear that he would be upset, “I recognized a scar he had that I had noticed when I was helping him the first time. It was him, I know.”

“Wow,” was all Will said as he slumped back in his chair in obvious disbelief. He looked over at Nora with some concern.

Nora noticed this, “I guess it doesn’t matter though,” she then softly stated, “He’s dead.”

“I…I’m sorry, Nora,” Will sympathized. He then stood up and put a hand on her shoulder, “Are you going to be o.k.?”

Nora just nodded, trying to hold back the lump in her throat that was beginning to grow. She wanted to cry even though she didn’t really know why. Did she even really care? Rogan had been so horrible to her, however he did save her. It was so confusing, yet somehow it obviously meant something to her because she felt sad finding out that he had died.

“Yeah, I’ll be fine,” she finally found the strength to say.

“O.k. well, I was thinking of going back to my dad’s room…” Will began. He looked down slightly almost somewhat ashamed of mentioning it.

“Its fine, Will, you go be with your dad,” Nora genuinely said, looking up at him and smiling.

Will then looked up and smiled back, “Thanks, Nor’,” he said. He then started to walk toward the door, “If you need anything just call the nurse and she can come get me.”

“I’ll be fine, but thanks,” Nora smiled again as she then watched him turn and walk through the door.

CHAPTER 5

ONLY A COUPLE of days had now passed and more leaves fell from the trees in Will and Nora’s neighborhood, exposing more and more the bare branches of their, soon to be, winter guise. The two of them were at home and it was still early morning.

“Are you sure you’ll be fine here at home alone?” Will asked for the umpteenth time.

“Yes! Yes, I promise I’ll be fine!” Nora reassured again.

Will just looked at her as he stood in front of her. He put both of his hands on each of her shoulders and sighed, “O.k. if you’re sure. Call me whenever you need to. I can come running back here in a second.”

“I’ll be fine!” Nora exclaimed, “Really, I’m not a baby. Besides, my injuries are all better, my stitches are out and I feel fine! Also, I have some things I want to get done today,” she then turned her gaze over to the door that led down to the attic.

Will focused his gaze there too and pushed his glasses slightly up his nose as he asked, “What kind of things?”

Nora turned back to him with a look of seriousness, “I want to get rid of the blood that’s in the freezer.”

Will just stood in speechlessness for a minute or two, “O-oh…are you sure?” he then managed to stutter.

“Yes. I’m through fooling around and pretending it isn’t dangerous for us to keep it. It needs to be done. Are you o.k. with that?’

A smile crossed Will’s face, “I’m definitely fine with that. I’m glad you’ve decided to do it,” then the smile faded as he got serious, “But, how are you going to get rid of it?”

“I was planning to sell it.”

Will became instantly concerned, “Sell it where?”

Nora was hesitant to respond as she then paced a bit in place before answering, “The Blood Lands….”

“Nora, no! I won’t let you go there!”

“But, we need the money! I can’t just throw it away, besides that might just attract more hellions. What would you want me to do instead?”

Will sighed and took of his glasses to rub the bridge of his nose. He then shook his head, “I guess you’re right,” he then put his glasses back on and looked up at her, “But can’t you just wait for me to go with you? I’d feel a lot better if we went together. I worry about you going alone.”

Nora sighed, “O.k. I guess…” she reluctantly agreed.

Will smiled, “Thank you. Now I need to get going,” he picked up the backpack that was by his feet and slung it over his shoulder, “Call me if you need me o.k.?”

Nora smiled back, “I will, but I promise I’ll be fine.”

They both walked toward the front door and Nora opened it as Will stepped through.

“Tell your dad I love him for me. And that I’ll be up there to visit again,” Nora added as Will walked toward the street. He turned around for a second as he walked, “I will! Thanks, Nor’!”

Nora only watched him walk away for a minute before then going back into the house and closing the door.

After several hours of packing up small frozen jars of blood into a cardboard box, Nora had decided to head out for the Blood Lands. She knew Will would be upset that she had not waited for him, but she didn’t want to wait to get this done. She was tired of the trouble it was causing and she wanted to be rid of it as soon as she possibly could. Besides, she could take care of herself. Just because she’s had a recent near-death experience, Will was feeling all protective of her. Nora smiled briefly at this thought however, and felt herself blushing a bit. She wasn’t going to deny that she liked that he felt that way about her.

Finally, after much walking, she made it to the Blood Lands. She looked out at the city and took in all the sights. She’d never been to the Blood