Page 33 of Missing Moon
“Are ghosts, too?”
“Yes. All sorts of things are real that most people don’t believe in. Spirits, definitely.” I glance over at him.
We eventually reach the downtown area of Klamath. There is at least one hotel here, though I’m pretty sure he’s going to leave as soon as possible.
Emerson glances at me. “You’ve run into vampires before.”
I half smile. “You could say that.”
He closes his eyes and tries to slow down his breathing.
“Relax. There aren’t that many of…” I almost say ‘us.’ “There aren’t that many of them.”
He nods, breathes.
“What are you going to do now?” I ask.
“Get the hell out of Klamath.” He gives a nervous laugh. “Probably go do something safe and sane, like spend a weekend sleeping in an abandoned hospital.”
“Sounds reasonable.” I smile. “Umm, is this okay? The hotel? Do you have a car somewhere?”
“Yeah, it’s… here in the parking lot.” He points out a black Toyota SUV. One of the smaller ones.
“Thanks again for saving my life.” Emerson offers a hand.
I shake it. “You’re welcome. Drive safe.” But before I release his hand, I spend a few minutes clearing out his memory of last night’s events, including meeting me. When he’s good and empty—with his last memory being casually walking through the woods before the craziness hits. I nod and release him. He steps out of the Momvan, looking back at me with a perplexed look on his face... until I give him the suggestion that I’m just a nice person he met who gave him a ride to his car. He nods, smiles, and waves.
I wave back.
Chapter Thirteen
Psychic Intuition is Never Wrong… Mostly
I spend about fifteen minutes driving aimlessly around the downtown.
Eventually I stop for gas. After filling up the tank, I sit there in the Momvan thinking. Why would I need to go to downtown? Something urged me to come here. A few minutes of thinking gives me no clues. I don’t see anything going on worthy of note. Just some people walking around. One guy on his phone.
Phone.
Aha! That’s it!
Cellular signal works downtown. Come on, Sam. Wake up. You need information.
I pull my phone out and call Max.
“Hello, Samantha. I hope you are having a pleasant morning.”
The sound of his voice makes me absolutely certain he’s smiling. It’s amazing how much destroying your psychotically evil mother so you no longer need to worry about her taking over the world and turning it into a nightmare hellscape can boost a guy’s mood.
“So far, normal. Got a strange question for you.”
“Oh, boy. I’m listening.”
“Have you ever heard of a vampire spontaneously exploding into a cloud of dust and bone bits upon having its head cut off?” I ask.
Max hums to himself in thought for a moment. “I cannot say that such an event lingers in any recent memory.”
“Drat. I was hoping you might be able to give me some clue as to what I’m dealing with up here.”