Page 63 of Starved Until Sunset

“Of course you can come in, Cody,” she said. “I’ve been waiting for you.”

“Grandma, no!”

But Cody was too late. The clunking sound of the push bar engaging reached him even as he ran forward, hand stretched out. She staggered a bit as the door was wrenched open and out of her hands. An elderly man stood just over the threshold. Malice shone in his eyes, and he dug his fingernails into the metal door with a terrible screech. Cody recognized him as one of the men who had lived in Parson’s Pines until very recently.

“Let me give you a kiss, Grandma,” the man said.

“Get out!” Cody shouted.

The man’s manic expression clouded with rage. “You have no right to cast me out. She invited me in.”

Felicia had moved away from the door and now looked at him with a confused expression. “Cody?”

“Stay back, Grandma. He’s a bad man.”

Cody brought his hand up and thrust out the silver cross he’d grabbed when leaving Felicia’s room. The overhead lights flashed off the cross, and the monster at the door hissed and lifted a hand.

“Get out and stay out.”

“You’ll pay for this.”

Cody saw a blur of motion before the door slowly swung closed. Relaxing a bit, he lowered his arm and looked at his grandmother.

“You okay?” Cody asked, slowly approaching her.

“Was that my grandson?” Felicia looked toward the door. “Did you send my grandson away?”

“No, Grandma. He was a bad man pretending to be me. I’m Cody. I’m your grandson.”

“You are?”

“I am. And you’re safe. Let’s get you back to your room.”

As he walked down the hall alongside her, Cody’s heart clutched at the sight of two small red scabs on the underside of her right wrist. She’d already been bitten, and not on the neck where people might ask about it, but on her wrist. Dammit, how could he have let this happen? And how many times had she been bitten? Anger burned through him, a flash fire that burned away thoughts of caution and reluctance to get involved.

No way would he see his grandmother turned into a vampire. No fucking way.

After making sure she had taken her nighttime medication and gotten into bed, Cody closed the blinds on her windows and turned on a low wattage lamp across the room. She’d fallen asleep almost immediately, mouth dropping open and head turned away from him toward the window. He really hoped she’d sleep through the night.

Cody hung the cross on the plastic hook once again, then quietly closed the door behind him. No one was at the desk. The nurse on duty was most likely making evening rounds, and he debated waiting around to alert her. But how would he even explain what was going on? Tell them an old man was running around outside the building thinking he’s a vampire and he shouldn’t be let inside? No, he needed to talk to someone who understood that vampires were real, and would be prepared to take action. Someone he loved like family.

He went to the door and it slid aside. Pausing just inside the threshold, he looked out into the parking lot. The pole lights shone circles onto the cars in the lot. He’d parked farther from the doors as usual, and darkness surrounded his truck. Because of course it did.

“Fucking vampires.”

He knew full well it wouldn’t be the last time he said that as he left the relative safety of the building and jogged to his truck. The moon had yet to rise, so the night around him was dark. Crickets and frogs competed for attention, which he took as a good sign no predators lurked nearby. Reaching his truck, he got inside and locked the doors, taking a moment to slow his breathing. First, he would make a stop, then he would find out where Demmy was and get to him. Argument or not, they needed to be together. Cody needed to be with him.

After starting the engine, he switched on the headlights and jumped. An elderly woman stood just off the asphalt surface of the parking lot, squinting into the sudden light and lifting a shaky arm.

“Oh!” she said, then staggered backward a few steps.

“Oh, fucking hell.” Cody reached for the door handle, but stopped. He looked out the windshield at the old woman. She had braced herself against a tree and was staring back at him with a frightened expression. It could be an elaborate trap to get him out of the truck. But she also could have wandered outside as he knew some residents did. If that was the case, she would be an easy target for any vampire that came along.

“Jesus juggling Christ under the big top,” Cody said. “I hope this isn’t the last bad decision I make.”

He shut off the engine and, leaving the headlights on, opened the door. The woman watched him, adjusting her position slightly to keep from falling over. She wore a white cardigan over a long-sleeved blouse and polyester pull-up pants. The headlights flashed in the lenses of her glasses and picked out a few pine needles that had gotten stuck in the cottony puff of her white hair.

“Hi there,” Cody said, as calm and soothing as he could manage. Fear burned along every nerve inside him, but he tried to tamp it down. “I’m Cody. I’m Felicia’s grandson. Do you know Felicia?”