Introduction

Welcome to ‘and what happens then…’, and to our first venture into collaborative writing. Each week a new chapter in a novelette will be posted as a different author adds to the story. We will follow along with our readers to find out where the story takes us.

The inaugural novelette is: The Courier

The Courier: Chapter 19

Vol. 1; Issue 19
by Sarah

Lillian stood on the sidewalk unable to move. The small cottage taunted her from a few yards away.  Her father, hiding in this small house?  Her father hiding at all? Absurd.

The images of Mae imprinted in her mind sprang forth and reasserted the urgency she’d abandoned for that brief moment.  Without further delay she rushed up to the door, pounding on it with every bit of urgency she could manage.

The loud echoing clunk of the deadbolt reverberated far deeper than the small wooden door of the cottage called for. With one blink the door became immense. Heavy, deeply stained oak with intricate carvings.

Her heart stopped as the image of the small building was replaced with a sprawling home. Window upon window reflected the bright sun that she swore was a full moon just moments before.

“What’s the rush, toots?”  Bent over a walker, a bone-thin old man gave her a wicked smirk. “Ain’t no one here running anywhere.”

“What?” Lillian turned, eyeing every person on the now sprawling lawn around her. Each and every one of them was elderly, ranging from her dad’s age of fifty to some that looked nearer to death than life. “What the hell?”

“I’m surprised you managed to find me.” The warmth in her father’s tone was unfamiliar, unwelcome.

“What have you done?! Do you have any idea what’s happened?” Lillian spun, ready to attack.

He smirked from his wheelchair when she froze in place. “You’ve forgotten what’s real haven’t you?”

“Real? I haven’t forgotten anything.” Even as she said the words, she felt the doubt creeping up. Somehow his words nagged at her. No, it was treachery. Right now Mae was in trouble and he was the only one that could help.  “No! Stop trying to trick me, Dad. Mae’s in trouble. We have to help her.”

“Mae?”

“Yes, Mae. You know, your daughter!”

“Lil. You are my daughter.”

“And so is Mae! God, dad. Now isn’t the time-“

“No, Lillian. You are my only daughter.”

His utter calm was upsetting her more than anything that had happened. “No. Mae. My sister-“

“You do not have a sister. Or a brother. You were an only child.”

“No.”

“I’d hoped this wouldn’t happen.” His hand grasped hers, the grip strong. “I feared the worst after the accident.”

“Accident. What accident?”  The world around her started to go dark. This wasn’t happening.  She had to get away. She had to save Mae.

“You can’t force your delusion on me. I have more control than you do, young lady. Always have, always will. Stop trying to escape back into it. You’ll remain here and you’ll stay focused.”

“You’re the reason this is happening! Rutherford, he told me it was one of your sick games.” Fear started to close off her throat, and she looked down at her hand. The one that still clutched the case she’d taken from the limo. The case that had led her here.

“It’s unfortunate what happened. Rutherford was supposed to break through before things went too far. Unfortunately, you didn’t let him and a good scientist was lost. One that had started to make sense of what this is.”

Lillian’s eyes closed, “I don’t understand.”

“None of it was real – well, it was for as long as you were in the delusion.”

Nothing made sense. Everything that had happened couldn’t have been a delusion. It was real. She’d felt it, seen it, everything that had happened.  “Mae…”

“You always did want a sister.”

“I don’t understand.” Now she was whining. Part of her desperate to get away, to save Mae. Somehow, part of her was willing her to stay where she was. Maybe the torment could end.

“Sometimes I don’t either. I do think this is my fault in a way. It appears to be a genetic flaw that we both have. I had just told you about it before the accident. You must have latched onto that and used it to create your new world. First, by running away – and when that got too boring, you decided to add some excitement.”

“Wait. What accident?”

“The plane crash. Don’t you remember? That’s when it all started for you.”

“Plane crash?”

“It’s why you’ve become afraid to fly.” Her father leaned forward, meeting her eyes.  “Lillian. You have the power to change reality, just by thinking it. We both do.”

“That’s ridiculous.  I was just…”

A slow smile creased the corners of his eyes, a twinkle sparkling out from the green depths. “What were you doing, Lillian?”

“Chasing vampires.” Her lower lip started to push out and she sank into a nearby bench.  “None of it was real?”

“It was real enough. For at least a few days.”  He squeezed her hand, “Think back, Lil. What happened when I got back from the Gulf?”

“You left us.”

“I experienced some trauma over there. It took almost ten years for me to figure out how to control it, and another five to find someone I trusted to study what it was and how it happened. By the time I had control enough to be around you without putting you in danger, you wanted nothing to do with me. Remember?”

Bit by bit the memories started to surface. The argument she’d had with him. The one that she told him she wanted nothing to do with him. Two years later she’d gotten on the puddle jumper for a short flight. A mechanical error.

“Lil.”

“I don’t know what’s real anymore.”

“You will.”

“But…Rutherford.”

“An unfortunate accident. Trust me, if anyone understood the risk, it was him. He’s been watching over you for a while, and thought he could manage to get to you safely.”

Lillian lifted her eyes, searching for any sign of deception. “Am I insane?”

“No.”

“Are you sure?”

“No more than I am.”

“Not comforting.”

“I know.”

She shook her head, “What about all those people? Damien, Mae-“

“Damien and Mae were not really real. They will fade back into your imagination with everything else that didn’t come from something solid.”

“Like Rutherford.”

“Yes. Like Rutherford.”

“What now?”

“You have to trust me for a change. Let me help you.”

“I don’t have a choice, do I?” His laughter made her smile, despite the fears and doubts still clinging to her.  She stood and moved behind his chair, looking back at the case she’d left on the ground.  It faded before her eyes.

“Now that you’ve found me, there’s no need for that, is there?”

“I suppose not.” With a shrug, she pushed him back to the building. “Where to?”

“Just down the hall, to the right.”

Right after they turned the corner, she tensed. Something wasn’t right. Before she could react, two orderlies rushed out from a nearby room and grabbed her.  “Dad?”

“I’m sorry, Lillian.” Her father stood up from the wheelchair and walked over, pulling the cap off of a syringe. “You shouldn’t have come back. Trust me, it’s better this way.”

“No!” Lillian struggled against the orderlies, a small cry escaping when the syringe pierced her flesh. Her muscle burned as the medicine hit it, and slowly her fight grew weaker. “Dad…”

“Colonel?” Rutherford stepped from the room, a pristine white lab coat covering his sturdy frame. “Will she be any more trouble?”

“Ruth-,” her tongue felt swollen. She couldn’t complete the words.  Gray seeped into her vision, their voices started to muffle in her ears. Sounding far away.

“Not at all. I’m disappointed that you let her escape, Dr. I trust it won’t happen again. She’s far too valuable to our mission. We need her compliant.”

“It won’t happen again. I’ll kill her before I let her escape without completing her training.” Rutherford’s face hovered near hers, his wicked smile the last thing she saw before her eyes shut. Barely a whisper in her ears, his last sentence sent a chill through her numbing body, “She’s becoming easier to manipulate. This time she really believed you were her father.”

The Courier: Chapter 18

Vol. 1; Issue 18
by Denise

Lillian threw the note down in disgust. Obviously male chauvinism extended to vampires, and Damien’s certainty of his “seeding” shook off any remaining effects of his seductions.

She plopped down on the bed to think, clutching the rifle tightly like it was a lifeline. She realized with a wry smile that it really was her life line. The last remaining bullet and the gun were the only things she had that could possibly pull her out of this mess, only her delivery of the items was no longer in the form of a package. No, it had to be delivered with the same sniper-precision that had killed Rutherford and his driver.

Rutherford. Her heart skipped a beat, as she remembered their last moments together and his blood she’d only a just recently wiped from her hands. He had tried to save her, and instead she was in a worse place than ever before.

She then remembered his briefcase and once again wondered why he had been so insistent that she take it. Perhaps it contained something that would give her some direction. She hoped it did, at least.

Reaching for a robe that had fallen to the floor from the bed, she wrapped her naked body tightly as she went to find the briefcase. She had to find out. It was all she had at this point.

Picking it up, she stared at the offending combination lock. She felt she knew Rutherford well, but she doubted anyone really knew him well enough to know what he’d use as any password or combination. He kept a lot of his life private, and she couldn’t begin to fathom the secrets he took with him in his death.

Somehow, though, in his dying breaths he seemed to think she could figure it out. His birthday was too obvious. As was hers, for that matter.

“Maybe I should just shoot it open,” she said to herself. However, she figured another gunshot from the apartment would raise any eyebrows that had let the last one go un-investigated. Plus, she didn’t dare chance destroying whatever was inside, assuming it wasn’t bullet proof.

“Think, Lillian. THINK,” she chanted to herself. She could almost feel her sister being pulled from her life as the wall clock’s second hand clicked loudly in the quiet apartment.

Life had been so much simpler only a few days before. Alabama could have been on another continent at this point, and she knew already that there would be no fully going back to life as it was.

Alabama. As if watching a movie, scenes from her one night of passion with Rutherford right after she’d moved to start her new life flashed before her mind’s eye. It was the only night they’d ever spent together from beginning to end. She had cooked them dinner, away from any prying eyes of her new town. Instead of dessert, they’d made slow, gentle love, and she drifted into a peaceful, deep slumber wrapped in his arms.

“Promise me you will never forget this date,” he had whispered in her ear as he left. “It’s important. Never forget.”

And she hadn’t. May 23rd. The day had started with the most gorgeous sunrise. The rays of sun beckoned him from her bed. It ended with a steady rainfall.

She always felt that day had mimicked her mood. She’d spent most of it on a high from the night before, but as night fell, she too fell into a deep sadness. She had no idea when/if she’d see Rutherford again. She certainly didn’t know then that the next time would be the last time.

She moved the combination to 5-2-3. It was a long shot, she knew, but it was all she could think of trying. Licking her lips and holding her breath, she pushed on the latch. She was shocked when it clicked open smoothly. She didn’t know if she should laugh or cry in that moment. It had been a long-shot, but it worked. Rutherford had given her the answer so long ago, in another life and in a happier time.

As she opened the briefcase and shuffled through the papers inside, her eyes grew wide. Scribbled on a sheet of paper was a familiar name, with an address and phone number. It was the key that would unlock this whole mess.

She had found her father.

The Courier: Chapter 17

Vol. 1; Issue 17
by Melissa

“Damien, my sister, please release her.”

“I will. But I want you in exchange.”

At that very moment, after how he made her feel over the last couple hours, that wouldn’t be an issue. To trade herself for her sister was a no-brainer on so many levels.

“Fine.”

Damien got up and walked toward, what she assumed was the bathroom. His body was that of an Adonis. She felt a stirring again and wondered if he had some sort of sexual hold over her now, because she wanted him again.

She heard him laughing lightly from the bathroom, “Not any more tonight, Lillian. I have some other things to do. Besides, I have to go and release your sister.”

“Just like that? You’re going to release her, just like that?”

“Well, yes. This is what this was all about Lillian. I wanted you and the only way you would come to me willingly was if I took something precious from you.”

Lillian’s whole body started shaking with anger.

She heard the shower turn on and Damien whistling.

She jumped from the bed and ran out to the kitchen where she had left the gun.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you, darling.” Damien called out to her from the shower. “How do you expect to find where Mae is if you do to me what you did to Rosie?”

“UGH.” Lillian walked out into the living room and slumped, naked, onto the couch. Damien was right, if she killed him she’d have so many more steps to take before finding her sister, if she ever was able to find her.

This was the easiest. The surest. Her in exchange for her sister. A promise is a promise.

She picked up the bag that the gun had been in and felt around. There had to be more of a clue, this was no ordinary gun. It was, obviously, some sort of vampire killer.

In the bag, she found a small zippered pocket she had never seen before.

She carefully unzipped it and pulled out a small piece of paper. The tiny note read:

The bullets hold verbane powder. A strong herb that kills vampires. There are only 4 bullets. Use cautiously.

The note wasn’t signed and the writing was as tiny as the paper it was penned upon.

Vampire killing bullets, eh?

He was still whistling in the shower cheerfully. Apparently, great sex makes even vampires in a good mood. Interesting, Lillian thought.

Still holding the gun, she walked toward the bedroom.

All she would have to do, if Damien were dead, was find Trinidad. And really, that shouldn’t be too difficult once she located McLovin. A couple of days tops. And with Damien gone, her sister would probably be safe until she could locate her.

It is a shame though, to get rid of Damien. He was so good in bed. But, sex partners were a dime a dozen and when there wasn’t another body, there was always her Pink Rabbit.

She pointed the gun toward the shower and shot. Noticing the spicy smell of the bullets. The verbane.

She fired one more bullet into the shower before pulling back the curtain.

He was gone.

She ran into the bedroom and there was no sign of him.

On the pillow, she noticed a piece of paper. She grabbed it and began to read:

Lillian,

I will not take offense to the fact that you wanted to kill me. I completely understand.

I am honoring our deal and will release your sister. However, you will, most likely, never see her again. Trust me, she will be fine and with some counseling will be as good as new.

Lillian, just know everything I do is for you. You are the soul I have been without for centuries. But realize that now, you can never part from me because tonight, during our hours of lovemaking, my seed was planted and is now secure within your womb.

I will see you soon.

With all my love,
Damien

There was only one bullet left.