April 23, Anno Domini 5,632
Day 113-1111 Year of the Third Interstellar Imperium
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'Ow.' Anne thought as she took a halting half-step toward where Liz was starting to recover from the worst of her fright. The moment she tried to put any weight on her injured leg, it buckled under her. She yelped from the pain, and again, louder when she landed on her outstretched arms and the damaged one also folded.
Liz scuttled over, kneeling beside her friend asking,"Are you okay? Anything broken or something?"
"No. Nothing like that. I just don't think I can walk without help, though. I'm hurting in places I didn't know I had...Get whatever that thingee was he used, it's over there, then help me up."
"Sure. But where'd he GO?" Liz scooped the small metal case from amid the layer of dust without realizing it was all that was left of the guy. "Who, WHAT, was he? Anne, he tried to bite me!"
"Long story. I'll tell you all about it later. Right now, let's go home."
They managed a half dozen hopping steps before Liz noted, "You're not doing too good at all; I think I turned my ankle, it hurts, and my head is sore. Maybe we should see about getting help. There's a public comm ..."
"No! No hospital, no cops, no questions. Just help me get home, please."
"Awight, lousy idea, but if you insist... At this speed though, we won't reach your place before noon. My house is a lot closer, you can crash there."
Anne though a moment, then the pain and stiffness convinced her. "Okay. I'll think of something to tell Mom, just no way can I explain any of this to a doctor, not now."
They retraced their earlier path in a slow-motion three-legged race. Liz let them into the darkened house, whispering, "Mom and Dad are asleep, great. I'll set up the extra bed in my room, while you make your call. Don't try to move around alone- all we need is for you to collapse on something in the dark and rouse everybody. I'll be right back."
Anne punched in the code for her house, careful to stand mostly out of range of the pickup so her ruined appearance wouldn't be so noticeable. When her Mom opened the connection, she launched into her prepared tale.
"Hi. Um, Liz had a little accident on the way home tonight... No, not too bad, just a big bump on the head..But the doctor said to keep an eye on her for the next few hours at least. Any problem if I spend the night here, with her? There's no school tomorrow, and I could make this like more like a regular sleep- over than observation... Thanks a million. If everything goes okay, we'll eat here and then do the stuff we'd planned on anyway, I should be home a little after lunchtime.. You too, bye."
Anne was shaking from both the effort of standing, and relief that her Mom had gone along with the abrupt change in plans without too many follow-up questions. Even her fingers were trembling as she retrieved the ticket from her wallet and slowly punched in the unfamiliar alpha-numeric string. The call went through almost at once, the screen displaying the carrier's logo and the 'This circuit is audio only' message. For this hour, his 'hello?' was crisp and alert. Aware that Liz was returning soon, Anne hurriedly whispered, "Gerrard, we have a problem..." Just from the way he grunted, she sensed his increased focus. "Liz and I were attacked by a vampire a little while ago, on our way back from the club..."
"Good heavens! Obviously, you were able to get away. Are you hurt? Did your friend survive? Was she turned?.." The questions poured out in a stream of concern.
"Lord no, she's in better shape than *I* am. It's just that Liz saw the whole show; from when it first went all fang-face and tried to bite her, up to it going 'poof' in a cloud of dust when I staked it..."
"The vampire is dead? Instead of fleeing to safety, you stayed to try and slay it all by yourself? Untrained as you are, that is so incredibly, deadly dangerous... You could both have been killed, or worse."
"Well, uh yeah. It's not like I had a whole lotta choice - we were trapped in a narrow alley and it was pretty much it or us. And as far as taking it on alone, I didn't turn down any of the vast amount of help available, if you catch my meaning."
"I suppose so - it just frightens me without end, the idea of you putting yourself in such mortal peril without the proper training to deal with it..."
"I know, I know. I've just had a very painful lesson in why I need lessons. But what are we going to do about Liz? Tonight she's still all shook up and half in shock, but comes morning, things'll be a lot different. The girl saw too much, and she's too smart to settle for some lame tale about 'guys with brain viruses' or 'a trick of the light'. Unless you have a really kill cover story warmed up, I'm afraid we're gonna have to tell her the truth."
"That's the absolute *last* resort. Forget about meeting me for a training session on the green. Instead, bring her around to my apartment as early as you can, and for god's sake keep her from talking about this with *anyone*"
The connection broke, and Anne stood staring at the blank screen a moment longer, speaking to it as much as herself, "Right. And how do I do that, if she starts babbling to her family before I can get us out of the house- smack her on the OTHER side of her head?"
Liz re-appeared from deeper inside the house. Familiar surroundings and the mundane chore of setting up for a guest had had a calming influence. "Get through to your mom? Good. I've gotten everything ready. Just lean on me some more and we'll have you off your feet in a minute."
The two of them had partly turned and managed only one hobbling step when they heard the door opening. They stood rooted, like forest browsers caught by surprise, as the hall lights flooded on and the door swung wide.
Bass ambled in: gangly limbs, unruly hair, and zero fashion sense.
"Hey Liz - ard face. Howcum you're still up? Isn't this about a week past your bedtime?" The banter aimed at his sister tailed off in confusion when he caught sight of the person behind her. "Huh, Annie?...
"Yeah Sherlock. She had a little accident earlier tonight, and will be crashing in with me. Go to bed, and so help me, if you wake up mom and dad, I'll club you."
"No prob.." Bass started to say, then caught a better look at the torn and bloodied clothes, and the visible bruises,"What's going on here? You sure you're okay?, 'cause it looks more like you were in a real bitchin' fight..."
"That too," Anne mumbled, then waved her arms to shoo him away. "Ow. Just, just go away. Don't look at me for a while. Git. Yeeowch"
Bass went one way, and they hobbled the other. Entering Liz's room, Anne not quite collapsed on the end of the bed, facing the folding cot that filled most of the floor space.
"You can borrow some of my stuff for tonight, it might be a little big on you but...oh my god, Bass was right- " Liz had gotten her first good look at Anne in decent light and was shocked at the damage. "Gahd, your clothes are like wrecked, and the bruises- your arm, your FACE..."
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