The Vampire's Pastry Chef (ONC 2022)

16 - Stay

Twice in thirty minutes, Autumn got up and went to check on Jordyn. She stood outside her daughter's closed door and listened to her talking to her friends and responding to Twitch chat. Everything seemed to pertain to whatever game they were currently playing and not the fact that a vampire had nearly eaten her mother.

Going back downstairs, she began to pace the floor and gnaw on her thumbnail. What was going on out there? Was Corbin okay? Why did vampires exist? How long was she supposed to wait?

Autumn reached for her cell phone, intent on calling Mr Feldman, when she spotted movement near the garden. Racing up to the kitchen window, she hopped up on the counter and peered through the faint blue glow that surrounded the cottage.

Two men emerged from the path—and one was carrying the other.

Oh, God—Corbin!

Against Mr Feldman's orders, Autumn raced to the door, unlocked it, and ran out into the night. "Corbin?" she shouted, a sob catching in her throat.

Mr Feldman looked up, a sticky black substance streaked across the front of his shirt and trailing in ribbons down his pants. "Autumn! Get back in the cottage and turn on the shower."

Autumn stopped in her tracks, an icy river of fear coursing down her back. Mr Feldman had Corbin draped over one shoulder and was practically dragging him across the dirt.

"Corbin!" she shrieked, covering her mouth with both hands. "What happened?"

Corbin's shirt and pants were in tatters, hanging off of his body by a thread. Long, deep slashes were carved into his chest and he seemed to be missing a chunk of flesh from his shoulder—right where the vampire bit him. The same black substance oozed from his wounds, bubbling softly in the moonlight.

He wasn't bleeding. Why wasn't he bleeding?

The butler continued to drag his employer down the path. "Don't look at his face, Autumn," the man cautioned. "Don't look."

Bile rose in Autumn's throat.

"Get the shower ready. We have to get the venom out of his system."

Horrified, Autumn swallowed hard and bolted for the cottage. She threw open the front door and ran up the stairs into her bedroom. Down the hall, Jordyn loudly laughed and jokingly taunted a friend.

There wasn't that much in the shower to begin with—just a few bottles of shampoo, conditioner, and body wash. Autumn pulled them off of the shower seat and onto the bathroom floor. Spinning around, she began pulling towels down from a nearby rack and threw them on top of the toilet seat. Where was the antiseptic? she wondered, throwing open the medicine cabinet. But it was bare, save for a bottle of Advil and some Band-Aids.

Heavy footsteps accompanied by heavier breathing announced the butler's arrival. Autumn spun around as Mr Feldman dragged Corbin's body into the bathroom. Autumn pressed herself up against the back wall, eyes wide as the butler man-handled Corbin onto the shower seat.

Corbin's head lolled towards his ruined chest, blond hair matted with the black goo. Quickly, Mr Feldman pulled the remains of Corbin's clothes off his body and wrapped them in a bundle. Reaching into the shower, he cranked the handle and pulled the detachable showerhead off its hook.

"Autumn."

Autumn's head snapped up, her whole body shaking.

"I need you to wash all of this off. The venom from the Fallen's bite is preventing Corbin from healing. I have to run up to the house, but I'll be right back." He paused and looked directly at her; the butler's eyes widened slightly as he realized how scared she was. "Autumn," he said gently.