Picky Eater

Ch 11: You're the lucky one

The first time Ben watched Nino 'mesmerize' another human, was when they first met at the Halloween party. On his way to the bathroom, Ben was relentlessly hit on by Lincoln's ex-boyfriend. Nino appeared and convinced that guy his drink was empty, and he needed a refill.

Later, Ben learned from him that vampires could only mesmerize humans with suggestions that made sense. Suggestions that could actually happen.

A light was at the end of the tunnel.

Those goons mesmerized Ben based on a lie. He had a sliver of humanity to latch onto and he held it in a death grip. Ben would never give Evie up.

He knew he couldn't bring them anywhere close to the house, so he followed his lie and took them to a grocery store. One he sometimes shops at, but not his local one.

This wasn't a full-fledged plan. It was a step-by-step guess of what to do, make something up on the spot kind of plan. Ben just focused on keeping them away from Evie. That was the mission. He'd worry about whatever came next when he got there.

Ben kept his thoughts clear and his expression empty while his heart pounded at the top of his throat. The summer sun was unforgiving, and trickles of sweat slid down his back. He just thought about his apartment, his sanctuary full of the Ventura family, who came to him for help. Evie wanted to wait there for her mom. Nothing else.

Even in adulthood, making friends was hard. He never got enough practice as a kid. So, he intended to nurture his precious friendship with Evie by making sure she stayed happy and healthy.

Leading the vampires away, Ben listened to them talk. The man, John, sighed. "This heat is a killer."

"I told you we didn't feed enough," the woman, Jane, replied. "The summer is so annoying."

"The sooner we find Evelyn, the sooner we can return home. Besides, this guy smells good. We can grab a snack before we follow her trail."

"Snack? We can't let him live. He's seen the kid's face and ours."

Ben wondered about his last words to friends and family. How would the world remember Ben Robinson? For his spicy vampire novels? For his inability to memorize any song completely? For chasing around the same guy who'd never love him back?

Ben didn't like the sound of that.

Maybe his legacy is his bad ideas. Taking a deep breath first, Ben made a run for it, diving into the park. It was a long shot, but he stumbled upon a LARPing event with everyone dressed up like it was for medieval times, smacking their sticks around and not in a sexy way.

"Get back here!" John yelled, but Ben didn't stop.

He chose every path compiled of the most people. Ben took out his phone, noticing a flood of texts from Nino. He called him and Nino answered immediately. "Ben, I'm sorry."

"Listen to me. Gabriel knows Evie is in the city. You need to take her and go. Find a different safe house."

"What?"

"I don't have much time. Leave without me—"

Someone screamed, and Ben thought he was going to scream, too. Bones jumping out of place, Ben whipped around to see the vampire woman with her foot on someone's neck. All the blood drained from Ben's face.

One of the human girl's friends stepped up. "Hey, what the fuck?"

The vampire, John, punched him hard enough to knock him back and out. They weren't pulling punches. "Who's next?" He egged on the crowd.

Jane didn't stop looking directly at Ben. "Stop running."

"Ben!"

Ben could hear Nino in the receiver call out to him.