She folded the letter up and placed it back into its envelope. The thick sheaf of papers she also found inside included a lifetime lease for the property and the understanding that the structure could not be altered or sold.
Maggie and Ben moved in a few months later, after their leases at the apartment complex expired.
IV
“Hello?” The voice that answered was familiar and comforting.
“Mom?”
“Angie! Oh my God! Are you okay, honey? Your father and I have been worried sick, just sick! We kept calling, but no one answered, and when we talked to the police, they told us about poor Brian.”
“I’m okay, Mom. But I have to get away from here; there are too many memories . . .”
“Oh, honey, of course there are. You could come home if you wanted. You could stay with us.”
“Would it really be okay if I did, Mom?”
“Oh, honey, of course it would be. We haven’t seen you in almost a year.”
“I have a few things to take care of, but I can be there in a couple of days.”
“We can’t wait to see you, honey. Oh, thank God you’re all right.”
She flinched a bit. Even the mention of God seemed to cause discomfort, but she was almost certain she could endure. There were things she didn’t understand about what she had become, but she was learning.
“I love you, Mom. I can’t wait to see you again.”
“Honey, all you ever have to do is come on by. The door will always be open for you.”
“I’ll see you soon and I have a surprise for you.”
“Really? Is it a good surprise?”
“I think you’ll like it.”
They said their good-byes and Angie Freemont carefully packed her bags.
She felt a twinge and the baby kicked. He was feeling stronger too, recovering from all that had been done to the both of them. She ran her hand over her swollen belly and smiled, even as the first hunger pangs hit.
She was always hungry. How could she be anything else? She was eating for two.
V
The bodies were gathered through the course of the day. They were more than anyone wanted to consider, and a surprising number of them seemed to be at least a week old. Though it took time, eventually they were identified.
Witnesses claimed that several of the corpses gathered had been alive and well until the sun hit them. No one really believed the accounts. The bodies that had most of those claims had obviously been dead for several hours or days.
VI
Boyd smoked his cigar and watched Danny as he maneuvered the radio-controlled boat.
“Fuck’s sake, Danny! It’s a big goddamn hole in the side of a cliff! How hard can it be?”
“About as hard as it is for you to get into Whalen’s pants.”
“What? Now you’re changing your mind about me and Whalen?”
“Hardly. I think you could get in her pants if you really wanted to.”
“She’s a married woman, Danny Boy.”
“So? She wants you!”
“So maybe if she was single, okay?”
“Being a dumbass about it.”
“You go around banging married women?”
That shut him up.
“So get the fucken thing in there already!”
“Relax, Richie. The best things take time.” He couldn’t decide if Danny was talking about Whalen or the damned boat, so he kept his mouth shut.
Finally the waves pulled back in just the right way and the water from the cave’s entrance spilled out. As the next wave came in, the boat was sucked into the underwater entrance.
“The SS Kelli has breached the defenses.”
“Good.”
“You wanna do the honors, Richie?”
“Yeah, if you don’t mind.”
“Knock yourself out.”
Boyd picked up the detonator and waited for one full minute as Danny kept urging the small motor further along. He waited until they could no longer hear the whining toy engine’s noises.
“Come on, Richie. Damn, I need coffee!”
“Fuck you and your coffee. It was my idea.” He pressed the detonator and the four sticks of dynamite let out a dull thump that was hidden by the waters.
They couldn’t see much at first, but after watching for a while they saw that the undertow wasn’t doing as many weird things anymore. There wasn’t a delay or a sudden gulping of the ocean.
“Did that close it off?”
“I guess we’ll know tonight, Danny Boy.”
“Yeah. I guess we will.
“Ready to go?”
“Yeah. I’m bored, Richie.”
“Ain’t you always.”
VII
He was miles away, but he could still hear them as they screamed. How could he ever not hear them? They were his children.
Jason Soulis stared out at the waters and looked at the dull gray clouds that hid the sun away. In the distance, he could hear the crows cawing and chatting to each other. Maggie could have her human and he wished her the best.
He preferred the crows. He knew where he stood with them and never once worried about their duplicity.
He really hadn’t expected the detectives to find the caves and supposed that was his fault for not realizing just how perceptive they were.
“I’m glad I let you live.” He smiled and stretched, stifling a yawn. “I suspect you will prove interesting to have around.”
Deep beneath the house he’d left behind, the vampires were trying to find a way out of their newly sealed prison. Far too much rock had fallen to allow them to simply swim out as they had before.
