Secrets Of Sanctuary Hospital Nightmare Of The Dark Shadows (13 page)

I could hear someone’s footsteps coming
toward us, Amelia spoke. “Now that you are bandaged up, you should
really try to eat and drink this, it will help you gain your
strength.”

“Thank you” Fumbling around to feel the items
on the tray she placed in my lap, I feel a cup. “If I could, I
would really like to call my family right now.”

“I’m sorry...We have been talking, but I
don’t even know your name.”

“I’m Mia St. Cloud.”

“Mia, I don’t know how to tell you this, but
I don’t think that you should try to call your family right
now.”

“Please, I need to tell them where I am and
make sure my children are alright. I don’t understand, why won’t
you let me call them?”

In his silence, all I can hear is the
pounding of my palpitating heart. Something happened that he
learned about when we traveled back, that is why he was in such a
hurry.”

“I don’t know how to tell you this, so I’m
just going to say it. Your family made it back to the vehicles, but
they were attacked when leaving.”

Panic overtakes me, I have to know. “Are they
dead?”

“No, but some of them were captured. The
others heard the vampires talking about how your son and husband
were curing the children. When David heard, he knew the value of
this type of power and despite Marlena being there to take them
out, he ordered another attack. He got instructions to Marlena to
go and find out as much about the powers of your family before
taking them out. In the fight, they grabbed your son, but missed
your husband. David wanted to spare them long enough to discover
the source of such power.”

“Andrew would not have left without Jacob,
they must still be on the grounds looking for him.”

“They are not. When David only managed to get
Jacob, he sent another in his place like they sent Marlena in yours
so your family left the grounds believing that they had Jacob. Like
you, he was replaced. They also have my son and daughter who I
thought were killed and three others from your group, a man and two
women.”

“How could this happen? How could they
replace my son?”

“I told you that this is a very powerful and
old family, the stories about David and his powers are obviously
true. They must have returned to the area where your children were
and overheard the same information that I had heard. David would
never let that type of power slip through his fingers. Although his
desire for revenge is strong, his quest for unlimited power is
relentless. They are probably trying to assess your family’s powers
now and try to ascertain how many more family members were not with
you on the land so that they can report back to David and see if he
still wants them all destroyed or if he wants to put a new plan in
place to capture them and harvest their powers first.”

“Please, I have to get in touch with my
husband and tell him what has happened, if my son has been bitten,
he needs help! Please, I know that he will come for me and rescue
my son and your children as well; we have nothing against your
kind. Please, I need to speak with him!”

“Mia, we need to be careful, obviously David
does not want your son dead; he wants to know how to secure your
son’s power. As to calling your family, we may put them and the
ones they captured in more danger by trying to get in touch with
them. David and his kind would have killed my children instantly,
but they must know that we have you and being unsure as to whether
you are dead or alive, they are keeping my children to ensure that
you do not interfere with whatever plans they have. If I allow you
to get in contact with your family, they will have no reason to
keep my family alive. Do the others they captured have powers that
David might want or are they just bargaining chips to control your
son?”

Unsure of what I should tell him and knowing
the extreme stress because of the loss of his wife and other
children, I hesitate. I need to treat him now as if I am dealing
with a hostage type situation. In this type of situation, I know
that people can be driven to extremes. I have to protect Jacob and
the others. Although I don’t believe Grant is bad, I don’t know
enough about this situation and those surrounding me to make good
decisions.”

“Grant, I don’t know why they grabbed the
others or even who they grabbed. In fact, it makes no sense for him
to grab them unless he replaced them too. My thoughts drift
wondering if they are part of the St. Cloud family and if the
others would return for them if David hasn’t replaced them. Even if
Jacob was replaced, could he replace more? Forcing myself from my
introspection, I return to the situation at hand. Despite Grant
telling me it would be dangerous to call my family, is he keeping
me from doing this because they have a plan, a plan which could
endanger Jacob and the others, I need Grant to stop and think about
what his next move may be. “I understand that this is very
stressful for you, I’m glad that your children are alive, but
please you cannot do anything rash or unthinking. I know that you
do not know me or my son, but really we have been fighting against
dark forces ever since entering this realm and I beg you not to do
anything that would put anyone in danger. I know first-hand how
when someone is being held, they can be used as a bargaining chip
to get their loved ones to do the capture’s bidding, but it never
works out. They never give you what they promise, please you need
to believe me, that is how I lost my sister and her husband.” The
stress of this situation and past events crash over me like a
rolling surf and I can’t stop the tears streaming down my face as
fear grips my heart at the thought of Grant being manipulated into
a situation that could hurt our families, the way Nicholas had been
manipulated all those years ago.

His resigned response is a mere murmur. “I
know how evil this family can be and how barbaric they are. I saw
how they ripped one of my children apart in front of my wife before
killing her. They have no conscious and their barbaric nature makes
them the most dangerous enemies that we have ever come across. They
have gotten away with their actions for far too long. I need to
talk to the others, eat and I will return shortly.”

Forgetting the tray is on my lap, I sit up
straighter causing the tray to tip over. Grant sits beside me.
“What happened?”

“I forgot about the tray. I’m sorry.”

“Didn’t you see it? Did the tea burn
you?.”

“No, I can’t see. I didn’t get burned.”

“If you’re blind, why did they leave you
alone in the woods?”

“I wasn’t blind before I hit the tree.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know.”

“I’m sorry for the mess.” I feel around
trying to clean up the spill.”

“It’s nothing, I’ll have Amelia come and stay
with you while I’m gone, but please do not try to contact anyone or
leave. I won’t be gone long. I know that you’re anxious about the
situation too and don’t know me or my family, but like you, we also
have been fighting the darkness and I will not be manipulated by
them. I am only going to talk to our elders, nothing more. If you
promise that you won’t do anything foolish while I’m gone, I
promise the same.”

Amelia removes the items from my lap. “Who
are you really and why did you come here? You may have fooled my
brother, but you will not fool me. They have never kept prisoners
before, nor have they ever transformed into someone else. My
brother may be right and you may be a powerful witch, but you must
be working for them, there is no way that David would have the
ability to transform into other people and not use it. I won’t let
you destroy what is left of our family or our pack. I bet that you
are even feigning your blindness to get my brother’s sympathy. What
happened, did the wolves get too close to you so you feigned being
a victim. Did you change Marlena to look as if she was going with
whomever my brother saw on the land so that he would think you were
some helpless victim in need of his help before you try to take us
out one by one, the way you took out Elizabeth’s family, brutally
and slow. I’m sure that they have already killed my niece and
nephew now that the message of their capture was delivered, but let
me assure you that you will not take another life, not here, not
now, not ever!”

The unmistakable determination in her voice
alerts me that she has a plan which will not be good for me.
“Amelia, I’m sure that you can tell, I am not a vampire, nor am I
part of that family. I swear I am not feigning anything. I came
here because my father was being honored for saving the life of a
dignitary’s son, maybe you saw it in the paper, his name is Dr.
Angelis. After the ceremony, my family and I were going to assist
in setting up the records for the new terminal unit that was
established in town, it is being run by Dr. Jamison. A picture of
Dr. Jamison, my husband, Andrew, and my brother-in-law, Lucas
Masters, was in the paper the other day. If you don’t believe me,
you can see for yourself, download a copy of the paper from a day
or two ago.” Although we’re quite a few miles from the hospital,
I’m sure that the local paper probably carried some word of it.
Trying to keep my voice as sincere and quiet as possible despite my
oncoming fear that her silence is evidence of her resolve to do
something which may put me at a further disadvantage than I am now,
I continue trying to reason with her. “Amelia, I don’t know why
this David has never used his transformation powers before, but I
assure you that I don’t know how to transform people and I would
never help anyone who kidnapped my children, under a mistaken
impression or not. My children are the most important people in my
life. All I want to do is make sure they are alright and if my son,
Jacob, is being held prisoner, all I want to do is get him
home!”

Grabbing my wrists, she jerks me off the bed.
“Now I know you’re lying, my brother saw your son transform from a
mouse to himself. You know exactly how to transform. Move now!” She
shouts, pushing me forward. Stumbling, she jerks me to my feet and
pushes me through the doorway. I can feel the fresh air.

“Amelia, please I’m telling you the truth, I
don’t know how to transform. In fact, my son only learned how to
change himself today so that he could escape and it wasn’t even
from me. I am not in league with this family and I do not want to
harm yours.”

Pushing me over some upraised metal, she
hoists my legs up and crams me into a small, cold, steely space. A
lid slams shut just above my head. My heart palpitates wildly. I
have been shoved into the trunk of a car and she is starting the
engine! Screaming, while kicking my feet against the top of the
trunk, I need for someone to hear me in hopes they will stop her
and get Grant. If I had only kept my telephone, I could call for
help. The car’s engine roars, pushing past capacity, thrashing over
bumps, swerving erratically, we must be traveling over grass and
tree roots. As my head thrashes against the unyielding surface, I
can feel the gash open again and am unaware of how long we travel
or whether I have lost consciousness. The car jerks to a halt,
slamming my body up against the metal side, and I can feel more
skin ripping open at the wound. A cool rush of air pulls me from my
haze as Amelia grabs my shoulders hoisting me out of the trunk
without any effort at all.

“You are back where you belong and I’m sure
that your group is waiting for you. Deliver this message from me, I
didn’t kill or harm you so they have no reason to come on our land,
if they do, we’ll be ready for them!” Raising me higher, she slams
my body toward the ground.

Unbearable pain radiates through my body, I
struggle to voice my plea. “Amelia, please, I am not with them and
I can’t see anything, all I want to do is get back to ...”

Slamming the car door, she reeves the engine
and the car quickly retreats from me.

Alone, unable to see, and without a hope of
communicating with my family, I am sure of only one thing, I am on
enemy territory and if the animals do not devour me, they will. My
heart sinks as I consider never being able to see my children
again, never knowing if they are safe, and never being able to warn
them that these barbarians are out to annihilate them.

Moving forward, I stumble and fall. I’m
lightheaded and feel ooze dripping from my wound. Placing my hand
on my head, the bandage is saturated. Tears well in my eyes, but as
my fingers glide down to feel if the other bandage is also
saturated, they skim the strap of my pendant. Images of similar
pendants which adorn the necks of each of my wonderful children
flow through my thoughts as does Andrew’s angelic face.

Ever since entering into this surreal world,
everyone has told me that I am strong. I need that to be true now.
I need to stay calm and think clearly if I am ever to have even the
slightest chance of seeing my family again. Sitting up, I
concentrate on the spells Emma taught me about how to draw upon the
energy in nature to make myself feel better and give my wounds the
ability to heal. Pulling just above the hem of my shirt,
surprisingly I rip enough to tie a tourniquet around my head. As my
fingers reach up, it feels as if the bleeding is slowing, so I
repeat the spell a few more times.

Something furry crosses my outstretched legs.
I let out a gasp and clasp my hands over my mouth to stop the
oncoming scream. I can’t afford to alert them that I am on their
territory. Listening intently as I try to push the scream down, I
hear the animal retreating through the dry brush. Telling myself
that it isn’t anything that wants to hurt me, I stand and focus my
thoughts on projecting a shield around myself to repel any oncoming
future threats. Outstretching my hands, I move forward but hit the
ground as my feet catch on underlying roots. Slapping the ground in
absolute frustration, this is impossible! I can’t see, don’t know
where I am going and the estate is vast. How will I ever find my
way off and even if I do, who would help me?