Running Wild (Sequal to I'm Not A Vampire)

Escape

"We'll just have to make a run for it," I muttered.

"But they'll catch us."

"Not necessarily. We have a better chance of getting caught if we stay here."

"I know, I know. On three?"

I nodded. "On three. One...two...."

"Three!" we dashed out from under the table, flying right past our family as we sprinted toward the elevator. From behind us, I heard the voices of the group shouting, and the sound of footsteps pursuing us. I glanced behind me, and was horrified to see that they were closing in on us. Drake and I slammed into the elevator. I practically broke the button for our floor as I repeatedly. The last thing I saw was the wide eyes of my family, staring at me as the doors closed.

We were both panting as the elevator took us steadily upward. "That...was...close...." I gasped, looking at Drake.

"Yeah...." he nodded in agreement. "Blade...how...are we gonna...get back down there?"

"Running," I replied as the door opened. "Running and dumb luck."

So we went back into our room to get our stuff. Drake had the idea to wait a little while, catch them off-guard. No doubt they'd be waiting outside the elevator now, waiting for us to come back down again. I agreed, and sat down on the bed to wait. It was only after he sat down next to me and put his arm around my shoulders, pulling me against his stable frame, that I realized I was shaking. "Hey," he murmured. "It's gonna be okay, alright?"

I nodded slowly, but I wasn't so sure. I knew Drake could tell, because he took my chin gently and guided my face to his. "I won't let them take you away from me, Blade," he said as he kissed me softly. "I promise."

The warmth I could feel coming off his body had an oddly calming effect on me, and all of the sudden I knew everything was going to be fine. Drake would make sure nothing happened to me, I trusted that. "Okay."

He pulled away and rested his forehead against mine. "I love you Blade."

"I love you too, Drake," I sighed and stood. "Come on, lets go."

He nodded and grabbed his bag, following me to the elevator. We were silent on the ride down, and when the door opened, we hid behind the wall and peeked out. Sure enough, our family sat on a bench across the lobby, talking quietly among themselves. Thankfully, they weren't looking at us. "Maybe they won't see us if we just act natural," I whispered, figuring that taking the optimistic alternative move wouldn't hurt our odds anyway.

Drake turned and shot me an incredulous look. "Are you crazy? Of course they'll see us!"

"Maybe not," I replied, looking back at my family with calculating eyes. "If we just act natural, maybe they won't notice us, and we can get out of here without them even realizing we left."

He considered this for a moment, then nodded. "I guess it might work. What've we got to loose, anyway?"

I didn't bother answering that. We both knew exactly what was at stake here, what we could loose if this didn't work. We'd loose each other.

"Alright," I muttered quietly. "Let's just walk out of the elevator and act normal. Keep your head down and walk toward the door."

Drake nodded and did as I said, with me following close behind him. We walked calmly toward the exit, keeping our heads down and our faces hidden in shadow. My heart was thundering in my chest, and I was resisting the urge to hyperventilate as we neared the group, but we just passed right by them without them even looking up. I couldn't believe it. My heart let out a small sigh of relief.

We were about twenty feet away from the door when Drake and I heard a shout from behind us, the unmistakable voice of Ashlyn. "There they are!!!"

Drake and I didn't hesitate. As soon as the cry rang out, we took off running, eyes locked on the exit. I didn't need to look behind me to know they were chasing us, I could hear their footsteps. Adrenaline pounded through my system as we burst through the hotel doors and sped toward the car. I skidded to a stop just before plowing into the side of the car and yanked the door open as Drake raced to his side and jumped in. Through my window, I could see my family burst through the hotel doors, looking around for less than a second before spotting us and sprinting toward us. "Drake," I said, my voice tight with panic. "Start the car."

"It won't start!" he replied, and I looked over to find him turning the key over and over again in the ignition, only to get weak sputters from the car. "Goddammit!"

"They're getting closer," I whimpered, heart racing as I watched the group neared the car.

"Come on," Drake was urging the car under his breath, turning the key a little faster. "Come on!"

Our family was less than ten feet away now. "DRAKE!!!" I screamed in panic.

Finally, the car roared to life, and Drake wasted no time in slamming his foot onto the gas. We jerked forward and sped out of the parking lot, narrowly avoiding hitting an elderly couple who was getting out of their car. We both breathed a sigh of relief as we watched our relatives fade into the distance. "That," he breathed. "Was probably the scariest thing I've ever been through."

"Me too," I nodded in agreement, gazing at him with wide eyes and trying not to think about how close I had come to loosing him back there.

"How did they even find us?" he wondered aloud, glancing at me briefly.

Suddenly my stomach dropped as I remembered my dreams about Ashlyn, and how we'd seen the sign for the hotel in the last one I'd had. Was I...no, there was no way I was actually communicating with my sister through my dreams.

Drake, glancing over at me again, must've seen my expression and realized something was up. "Blade, what's up?"

"N-nothing," I lied.

He raised an eyebrow at me. "Don't lie to me, angel. What was that look about?"

Reluctantly, I explained to him about the dreams I'd been having, and my theory that maybe, somehow, I'd been talking to her in real life and accidentally let slip a few details of our whereabouts. I completely expected him to call me crazy or laugh in my face, but he didn't. In fact, to my complete surprise, he took the entire thing with dead seriousness. "You can't have those dreams anymore, babe, if you can help it. We can't give away our location so easily. What happened back there can't ever happen again."

"I know," I sighed and looked out my window solemnly until I felt his warm hand on my knee.

"Blade, I'm sorry. I know it's hard," he said, his voice as soft as silk, as gentle as the slight summer breeze. "but I just don't want us to get caught. I don't want to be forced away from you again."

"I don't either," I turned back to him and smiled slightly. "I'll try not to have any more of those dreams. Anything to keep us together."