Page 12 of Lost

“As long as we’re not at war and you give her or him a good home—yes, I promise.”

“Deal!” Kevin said.

“Deal,” agreed Tina. “Okay, pack the bags in here and take this Polaris.”

She opened the hatch of the metal box strapped in where the back seats should have been. Kevin loaded the bags inside after Tina moved the blankets, boxes of matches, and baggies of blood…

“Blood!” Kevin exclaimed. “We’re taking them blood?”

“Of course,” Tina said, nonplussed. “Vampyres can’t live on bread and jam alone.”

“But—blood!”

Tina cocked her head. “Young man, in this world where you say humans and vampyres reside as friends, did they also cure the fact that vampyres must have human blood to live?”

“Um, no.”

“So, humans there must be fine with vamps drinking blood, correct?” “Yes, I suppose so,” Kevin said.

“Well, I’m vegan. I really don’t see much difference between drinking human blood and eating a rare steak or a bloody rack of lamb.” She shrugged. “I wouldn’t do either, but to each his own.”

“Whoareyou?” Kevin blurted.

“Just a retired English teacher. Once you teach at a public high school for a couple of decades, not much rattles you.”

“Obviously. I wish I could’ve been in your classroom. I’ll bet you weren’t boring,” Kevin said.

“I’ll bet I wasn’t either,” Tina said. Then she surprised him by giving him a quick hug. “Stay safe. And remember our deal.”

“No way am I forgetting that you promised me a puppy!”

“Sylvia, you remember how to get to the ridge, don’t you?”

“Oh, I believe so. I seem to recall that we just kept taking right turns,” said Grandma.

“That’s it. Remember to take care at the gate. You touch that electric wire and it’ll fry you.”

“I remember,” said Grandma. She motioned for Kevin to get behind the wheel. “You’re driving, u-we-tsi.”

“Slow and steady,” Tina said as Kevin started the Polaris. “We’ve left those old oil trails rough, especially after what happened at Keystone. You’ll have to stop and move logs a few times. That’s on purpose.”

“I thought you were under Neferet’s protection because of your alfalfa crops,” said Grandma Redbird.

“I am, but lately the dogs have been alerting in the middle of the night, and it’s not at Dragon and our group. I think the Blue Army has been sniffing around here. Be sure you let Dragon know that.”

“I will,” said Grandma.

“When you come to the downed tree that’s too big to move from the path, that’s when you’ll be questioned,” Tina said.

“I have my code phrase. I am ready,” said Grandma.

Tina shook her head. “You know they’re going to believe you’re under the influence of a red vampyre. They may attack before you can convince them otherwise.”

“Then I’ll just have to be smarter and faster than they are,” said the old woman.

Tina smiled wryly. “Good luck.”

“Thank you, ma’am,” said Kevin.

“You don’t have to thank me for helping the Resistance, son. It’s the right thing to do.”

“I wasn’t thanking you for that. I was thanking you for trusting me—for inviting me in.”

“I see. Don’t thank me. Just don’t make me regret trusting you.”

“I won’t. I promise.”

Kevin put the Polaris into gear and headed in the direction his g-ma pointed—toward a barely discernible dirt path that disappeared into the darkness of the Oklahoma ridge. If he hadn’t needed to keep both hands on the wheel to maneuver around ruts and rocks, he would have been cracking the hell out of his knuckles.