Sunwalker

SUNWALKER

S. T. SANCHEZ

© 2016 by  Sarah T. Sanchez

All rights reserved.

All characters and events in this book are fictitious, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is strictly coincidental.

Cover designed by Courtney Johansson

Edited by Courtney Johansson

_____________________________________________________

Library of Congress Control Number : 2017907741

To my kids

Eden, Maximo and Kyler

For always being my biggest supporters.

Dream Big!

Chapter 1

It’s a Girl, sort of

Just one more big push. You’re almost there, the doctor coaxed. He glanced up to check on his patient. Everything seemed normal. He had done home births before, but this was different. He was just as nervous as the patient was, or maybe even more so.

His patient was lying on the bed, her eyes closed and scrunched together. She was trying to focus on her breathing and press through the pain of the contractions. Her normally beautiful black hair was plastered down, sweat rolling down her face. She managed a meager smile when she noticed he was looking at her.

Everything seemed normal, but he felt off. Maybe because he was delivering Elaine’s baby. He had delivered hundreds of babies. He was Dr. Adam Marsh, the highly sought-after neonatal surgeon. Normally he wouldn’t take on a patient he knew so well. Maybe it was the atmosphere. It was a little eerie. It was like he was in the hospital but, he wasn't. The room had been made up just like a room in the maternity wing at his hospital. Every detail was present, including the lingering smell of bleach. Elaine laid sweating and panting, her feet propped up in the metal stirrups.

She had been very adamant about not wanting to give birth in the hospital, but at home, an alternative that many mothers opted for nowadays, mainly for the comfort and relaxed setting.

But that had obviously not been Elaine’s reason for choosing this option. She had an IV coming out of her right arm in order to stay hydrated, and all the normal machines had been brought in to monitor the fetal heart rate and contraction strength and duration.

At first glance, it would appear to be a normal hospital room; white tile floors, white walls, bright lights—but for some reason it felt strange. Normally he would have a staff of nurses assisting him. But Elaine had requested—or rather, demanded—that it be just the two of them.

Aaahhhh! Elaine screamed as she struggled through the exhaustion, forcing her little kicker out in a bittersweet moment, grasping the rails of the bed for support. She rested a moment and then wiped the sweat from her forehead with a small washcloth, setting it back down on the small table beside her bed.

Adam guided the baby out carefully. He clamped the cord and cut it. Normally that would be a privilege reserved for the father, but there was none, he thought sadly. He moved the baby over to a small table, and switched on the heat lamp. It was a girl. Adam worked carefully and quickly, suctioning and cleaning her off.

Oh, no! he gasped.

Elaine glanced over.  No! Elaine sobbed into her pillow.

He set the infant down in the small plastic portable bassinette. It was identical to the ones used in hospitals. He turned to her, his eyes fighting back the tears. Elaine. I’m so sorry…I know what this meant to—

She fought back the tears. Boy or girl? she asked, glancing over at the half-bloody infant that lay crying in its bed.

Adam shook his head. Elaine. Don’t you think knowing will just make it harder? I’ll dispose of it quickly and then you can put this all behind you. He turned quickly and reached for the baby.

Elaine bolted straight up. Don’t take another step, she ordered.

Adam hesitated. Don’t worry, you won’t see a thing. You shouldn’t have to watch this. He turned back towards the small bed. Why did this have to happen?

Elaine pulled herself up out of her bed, half staggering, blood trailing down her legs. Adam, if you lay one finger on my baby, I WILL kill you. Her eyes were half crazed.

Adam stopped, stunned. He had thought she had merely not wanted him to dispose of the creature in her presence. She couldn’t really want to keep it. He turned and put his hands up slowly, trying to show her he meant no harm. He walked cautiously towards her, much in the same way a parent approaches a child who is holding something breakable that they don’t want dropped, and spoke hesitantly. Elaine. Please...lie back down. He warily reached forward and put his hand on her shoulder.

She shook it off violently. I’m keeping my baby, she insisted.

She had clearly lost it. Adam coaxed her back into the bed and pulled up a chair. He took her hand in his and caressed it slowly. He spoke to her carefully, as if talking to a scared child. Elaine, I know how much you wanted this. I wanted it too. Of course we all would have loved for a part of Dylan to go on living. I know you miss him. I miss him too. But that thing has to be destroyed. There are laws. Dylan would have—

Elaine spat back angrily. Don’t you dare say Dylan would have destroyed our child. NEVER! She shook her head fervently, tearing her hand away from his. Just because you were his brother doesn’t mean you knew everything about him. I know he would have protected our child. We created that baby out of love. It cannot be wrong.

Adam sat quietly beside her, trying to think of a way he could rationally explain things to his sister-in-law, who was obviously not thinking clearly.

Boy or girl? she asked softly.

Adam glanced over at the whimpering creature in the bassinet. Girl. He sighed reluctantly. Maybe if he just gave her a minute, then she’d be able to see things clearly, begin to think rationally again.

Elaine smiled, gesturing to her daughter. Bring her to me.

Adam shot up out of his chair, nearly knocking it over. NO!

Adam, bring her to me or leave. Either way, I will keep her and you will not tell a soul.

Adam regarded her incredulously. He started to speak, but she cut him off.

You swore to Dylan. She shook her head back and forth. You swore before he left on his last assignment, that if anything happened to him, you would protect me and our child. This is my miracle, my little piece of him, she reminded him.

Adam turned in frustration and paced beside the bed. That, he pointed at the crib, is not the child that he was envisioning! he yelled. He didn’t care anymore. He had tried to be patient and that clearly wasn’t working.

Elaine propped herself up in her bed. And did he specify? she yelled back. He knew the risks and still he wanted a child. Did he tell you only to protect the child if it were human? NO! He was prepared for either and so am I!

Adam slumped back down in the chair, burying his face in his hands. Elaine, please! he begged. She was being impossible; the law was clear, the creature had to be destroyed.

My daughter, she demanded.

He opened his mouth, as if to argue, but sighed instead. He slowly walked back over to the small creature that lay in the bed. She appeared so human. Could Elaine be right? Would Dylan have wanted him to protect this being?

He pulled her out and finished cleaning her off. She would have been beautiful for a human baby. She had the same jet-black hair as her mother, and although most babies’ eyes changed color within a few weeks after they were born, he doubted hers would. She had the same dark green eyes as her father. He cleaned out her mouth, avoiding the four prominent sharp teeth.

He wrapped her in a white receiving blanket and brought her to her mother.

Elaine reached for her eagerly and caressed her in her arms. Hello, Lilly. I’ve been waiting a long time to meet you.

You are not naming that monster LILLY! Adam screamed.

Elaine's expression changed to one of sadness, pity even. Just leave. Come back later or don’t. I know this is hard for you. You weren’t expecting this. She paused, looking down at her daughter. Maybe I should have told you earlier that I was planning on keeping my child no matter the outcome, but I wasn’t sure you’d help me. She placed her hand over his. Just leave. You’ve already helped me. Lil…the baby is here. Just sign the birth certificate and leave. I won’t ask anything else of you. You’ve kept your promise to Dylan. If I had given birth at a hospital, she’d be dead already.

Adam glimpsed down at the piece of paper on the nightstand.

I can’t sign that. She’s a monster. I won’t lie for you.

You’ll do it for Dylan. You promised him. You promised you’d take care of us. Sign it and then you can wash your hands of us.

Adam sighed in defeat as he wrenched the pen from his pocket. He scrawled his name quickly and spun to leave. She was right. He’d done more than anyone else would have done, family or not. After all, he could lose his medical license, go to jail, or worse. He could walk away, conscience clear. He turned back, leaned forward, and kissed Elaine on the forehead. Goodbye, he whispered. He walked toward the door. He would not come back. He paused at the foot of the bed. There was blood everywhere. The placenta was lying on the ground on a pile of towels.

He should stay and clean it up. He should, but he couldn’t stay here another minute. He felt like he was suffocating. Adam walked swiftly to the bedroom door, swung it open, and then closed it behind him.

He paused, disoriented, glancing around. He was in a small hallway; brown carpet lined the floor. On the wall were framed pictures of Elaine and Dylan, taken throughout the years; wedding pics, vacation pics, family pics. There was a picture of Dylan in his Marine's uniform, taken the day he left. He seemed to be peering down accusingly at him. Adam’s eyes locked on his brother's. I’m sorry, he said, and then stormed out of the house.

Lilly, Elaine smiled and leaned down to kiss her daughter lightly on the top of her head. I love you.

She cradled her daughter in her arms, attempting to spend a few minutes just enjoying her. She tried to not worry, but there was so much that needed to be done, so many problems to be addressed. It was no use, worry came with the territory now.

This had always been a possibility. She had prepared as best as she could. But now that Lilly was here, there would be a lifetime of concerns.

Lilly cried loudly. Surely she was hungry. Elaine carefully set her on the bed, and awkwardly pulled herself off of it. Pushing her IV stand, she walked to the corner of the room where she had a small, white mini fridge. She opened the door and pulled out one of the plastic pouches.

She returned to the small plastic crib and pushed it back towards the bed, carefully avoiding the mess that was splattered all over the floor at the foot of the bed. That would need to be cleaned up. But first, Lilly was hungry.

Pulling a bottle out from beneath the crib, she opened it up. She cut open the pouch and let the red liquid slide into the bottle, glancing at the label on the pouch. O negative. She hoped that Lilly didn’t have any allergies. Could a vampire be allergic to a specific blood type? She wasn’t sure. Everyone knew relatively little about them.

She pulled herself back onto the bed and cradled her daughter in her arms. She brought the bottle to Lilly’s lips and immediately Lilly stopped crying and started sucking like a pro.

Lilly downed the entire bottle within a few minutes. Should she have more? How much should she drink? How often? All of these questions and more swarmed around in her head.

She watched her daughter. The baby seemed happy and content, so Elaine decided to wait before offering another bottle. She cradled Lilly closely and leaned back on her pillow, exhausted.

Elaine had blood on hand. She had ordered some from a black market supplier she had found. But blood had a short shelf life of only a few weeks, so Elaine had not ordered much. She hadn’t even been sure her daughter would be a vampire, or if she was, how much blood she’d need. It’s not like Elaine could ask anyone.

The world had changed so much over the past ninety years. The west coast was completely gone. Overrun by vampires. California, Washington, Oregon—all a wasteland. That is where the world first became aware of vampires, where myth became reality.

Some of the vampires had grown sick of hiding in the shadows, and decided to feed publicly. Panic ensued. Hundreds of thousands of humans were killed, drained of their blood. The government, believing the situation had become so dire and believing a nuke would destroy all the vampires, ordered the strike. So on June 8th, 2025, at 8:01 a.m., the US government fired a nuclear bomb into central California. To be fair, the initial blast probably killed a few vampires. But vampires didn’t get sick and die. They existed in a different state than humans. Not alive, like a human would define it, but not dead either. The radiation did nothing to them. It killed millions of humans, between the impact and the fallout from the radiation after, but the vampires emerged unscathed.

The world changed. Walls went up. Smaller cities were abandoned. Vampires came out more openly. Elaine had studied all of this in school. She still had a hard time imagining a world without walls.

Then came the biggest breakthrough, the one that had changed Elaine’s life. In December of 2055, a French geneticist named Frédéric Beauvais discovered a gene that created vampires. No one had ever before thought that vampires were born. No one knew how the vampire species had begun, but they knew vampires could change a human into one. Most scientists believed creation came from a bite from a vampire. However, none could explain why it didn't seem to happen every time. But through his research, Dr. Beauvais proved that when a certain gene, which he named the Sang gene, was present in a human, there was a chance that child would be born a vampire.

Dr. Beauvais' breakthrough was huge. Vampires weren't some kind of demon as others had imagined, they weren't some mutation from being around too much radiation, or eating foods covered in pesticides or pumped with too many hormones, as some had hypothesized. Some vampires were born. They came directly from the human race. They weren't some evolutionary event gone wrong.

It was so rare for a vampire to be born and not created. The majority of the vampire population had been created. The vampire gene that was needed to give birth to one was rare—only one in a hundred million carried it. If a person was a carrier, there was a one in a ten million chance that they would give birth to a vampire.

They even had a test to see who was a carrier, thanks to the breakthroughs of Dr. Beauvais.

Elaine thought back to the day she and Dylan were tested.

They had walked into the clinic, carefree. They were being tested as a precaution, more to appease their parents than anything else. If either of them had felt an inkling of what was about to happen, they would have never gone in. Ignorance is bliss, or would have been. Neither of them really thought there was a possibility that either of them could be carriers of the gene.

The nurse called Dylan first and then Elaine. The test was quick, just a finger prick. The blood was analyzed immediately. It took about five minutes.

Elaine and Dylan were sitting in the waiting room on a comfortable faux leather sofa, sharing a bag of Cheetos they had bought from a vending machine. A nurse walked out, flanked by two doctors wearing gray scrubs. One was older, white-haired and wore dark thick-rimmed glasses. The other was dark-haired, shorter, and most likely Hispanic. The nurse pointed at Elaine and Dylan as she whispered something to the two men.

Dylan and Elaine were ushered quickly into a room where they sat, waiting as the two doctors just stood there staring at them.

Elaine was sure that one of them had the gene. Why else would there be all this commotion surrounding their tests?

What’s going on? Dylan finally asked when it was clear that the doctors had no intention of speaking.

The older doctor cleared his throat. Uhh um, pardon me, let me introduce myself. I’m Dr. Wilson and this is Dr. Hernandez. We’re just waiting for some equipment to be brought in here, and then we are going to retest you both personally.

Elaine reached for Dylan’s hand and squeezed it nervously. Is something wrong? Does one of us have the gene?

A nurse walked into the room, pushing a small cart with some type of machine on it. It was big and shiny, with many switches and dials on it. She whispered something to Dr. Wilson and then left.

Please don’t worry. We think the nurse contaminated your tests. She’s new and we just want to retest to make sure you both get accurate results.

The older doctor walked up to Dylan and pricked his finger, while Dr. Hernandez pricked Elaine’s.

They sat quietly waiting as the doctors ran their blood samples through the machine. The minutes ticked by slowly. Elaine's heartbeat pounded so loudly she was sure everyone could hear it. Sweat beaded up on her forehead. She dabbed at it with her sleeve.

Finally, the machine began printing out a piece of paper. Dr. Hernandez walked over and took the paper. He read over it slowly and gasped.

NO, Dr. Wilson said, as he rushed over to the machine, ripping the paper out of the other doctor’s hand and read it.

Elaine began to cry softly. No. One of us has the gene, right? she asked.

The doctors didn’t answer at first. Then Dr. Hernandez walked over and put a hand on each of their shoulders. "I’m sorry. This is unheard of, literally, but you are both carriers of the Sang gene. We’ve run the test twice."

There was silence, other than an occasional sob from Elaine. Dylan hugged her tightly.

Both of us? Dylan asked when he found his voice again. What does that mean? Can we have…kids? Then in a whisper, Normal kids?

The young doctor glanced at Dr. Wilson; the uncertainty was written all over his face.

The white-haired doctor sat quietly for what felt like a long time. He drummed his fingers on the desk. NVs are very rare. Most of the vampire population is made up of CVs, he began. The percentage of humans that carry the vampire gene is nominal. Those who actually give birth to an NV is even smaller.

They both sat there, not understanding a word of what the doctor was babbling on about.

I’m sorry Doctor, Dylan interrupted. We’re a little lost…DVs and CVs…I don’t have a clue what you’re talking about. He looked at Elaine for reassurance; she nodded in agreement.

The doctor’s face turned red. I apologize. I'm used to speaking with other doctors. Let me try to explain. He reached for an opened bottle of water and took a few swallows. Are you aware that there are two different types of vampires?

Dylan nodded.

Yes, some have always been that way and others were once human but have been turned by another vampire. Elaine responded, more of a question than a statement.

The doctor nodded. Yes some vampires have been born as they are. We call those NVs, or Natural Vampires, because they are born that way. They are rare, but they are also faster and stronger and usually even more intelligent than those the vampires they create, the CVs. Your odds are definitely higher, given that you both carry the gene, but NVs are so rare that I believe it is highly unlikely that you would actually give birth to a NV, the doctor added reassuringly.

Elaine peered down at her very own natural-born vampire. Highly unlikely. Sure. She laughed out loud, slightly hysterically.

The world had changed so much. She hoped one day society might learn to accept her daughter. Sixty years had passed since Dr. Beauvais' discovery, and for now the only thing that had changed was that genocide was now not only supported by the government, but mandated.

I wish you were here, Dylan, Elaine whispered. Your daddy loved you so much, she added quietly. She leaned down and kissed Lilly on the top of her thick black hair. She was sleeping soundly.

Elaine watched her daughter sleep for some time, amazed at this tiny creature in her arms. She was beautiful. It saddened her that she could not share this joy with her family, or Dylan’s parents. They would react like Adam had, that was for certain. Not to mention the fact that it would be such a heavy burden for any of them to carry a secret this big. A secret that would endanger anyone who knew.

The law was clear. If a vampire was born, it was burned immediately. It went against nature, they said.

Against nature. How could that be when two people created this baby out of love? Nature created Lilly. It wasn’t like she was some test tube baby, or the result of an experiment gone wrong. Elaine loved her child. She would defend her to the death. It didn’t matter that she was a vampire. The love would have been the same whether she was human or not. Lilly was her child. She had carried her for nine months, felt her as she’d grown and moved inside her. Elaine had cried when the child was born, not because of the fact that her baby was a vampire, but because she knew this life would be harder on Lilly.

Elaine was still uncertain on how exactly she would be able to keep Lilly hidden, undiscovered. Especially since humans were endeavoring to hunt down vampires to the point of extinction.

There was so much to do, but first, she must sleep. She shifted comfortably on her side and cradled Lilly in her arms, then drifted off to sleep quickly.

Elaine awoke famished. Lilly was staring up at her with her dazzling green eyes. She was quiet and seemed content.

Elaine glanced around the room. Lilly had been born at two-sixteen that afternoon and it was still light outside, so she knew that she couldn’t have slept too long.

She got off the bed and realized the IV was still sticking out of her arm. The bag was empty so she decided to take it out. She’d drink plenty of water and get some food in her system. She would be fine. She set Lilly in the crib softly and walked to the bedroom door. As she walked around, she was reminded of the mess on the floor. That would be cleaned up after she had some food.

She was in some pain, but not too much. Elaine walked out to the kitchen and opened a can of soup. She didn’t even bother reading the label. The hunger was so intense that she didn’t care. She grabbed a large green ceramic soup bowl out of the cupboard and poured the soup in. It was chicken something. She walked over to the microwave and punched in a minute and thirty seconds, tossed the bowl in and hit start.

She turned behind her to reach for a spoon in the silverware drawer and froze. Had the microwave clock said eleven something? Surely that was a mistake; she was just so hungry, that she’d read it wrong.

Elaine turned around and hit the end button on the microwave, waiting for the time to be displayed. Eleven-twenty-three. Impossible, she thought. Maybe the power went off and the time was messed up.

She walked to the living room. The television remote was on the small wicker table next to the black leather sofa, where she always left it. She aimed it at the television and hit the power button. Elaine scrolled through to the news channel—they always had the time displayed. On the bottom right-hand corner of the TV, the time flashed eleven-twenty-five. Impossible.

Elaine punched the volume up. There was a reporter standing behind a pile of rubble. She was explaining how the Vampire Assassination Squad had just destroyed a clan of vampires late last night, on Wednesday.

Today was Thursday! She had slept all night and half the day away. Lilly must be starving and soaked.

Elaine rushed back into her homemade hospital room. She picked up Lilly. She still seemed content. Her baby wasn’t crying. Elaine’s worries started to diminish until a new thought occurred to her. What if Lilly was so weak from missing so many feedings that she was too tired to cry?

Elaine rushed to the fridge and pulled out another pouch of O negative. She poured it hastily into a clean bottle, only managing to get about half of the contents inside, while spilling the rest on the floor. She hastily offered it to Lilly.

Lilly didn’t seem to want it. Maybe baby vampires didn’t need to eat as often as human babies. Elaine then remembered her diaper. She fumbled underneath the crib for a new one, and swiftly had the old one off. It was dry. How could that be? Lilly was almost a day old. Shouldn't she have gone by now? Elaine studied her, concern written all across her face, but Lilly seemed fine, content.

She knew there would be differences between raising a vampire versus a human infant. Maybe this was the beginning.

She decided to wait another day and if Lilly didn’t eat or have a wet diaper by then, she would have to call Adam.

Once Elaine was somewhat reassured that Lilly was doing all right, she went back to the kitchen and ate her soup, not even bothering to heat it up this time. She just ate it cold—no, she devoured it.

Then she got bleach out and cleaned up the mess from the birthing process that laid at the foot of the bed. The placenta was disgusting. The mess wouldn’t have been so bad if she hadn’t had to clean up the placenta. And because she had slept so long, things had begun to smell.

When everything was finally clean, Elaine felt exhausted all over again. She was about to lie down and rest for a little bit when she noticed she was in the same bloody nightgown as yesterday.

Pushing Lilly in her crib, she walked down the hallway to her room. They were done with the hospital room. She wanted her own bed and her own shower.

She pushed Lilly all the way into the bathroom and up close to the shower door. Elaine cranked the hot water on and stepped in. The water felt amazing. She felt so dirty and grimy from the whole giving birth process.

She reached over to her shower caddy and pulled out a large bottle of lavender shampoo. Pouring a generous amount into her hand, she massaged it through the tangled, matted mess that was her hair. Elaine rinsed her hair through with conditioner and then found her large bottle of body wash. She lathered it up well and scrubbed herself head to toe. When she was finished, she just stood there, letting the hot water envelop her.

Only when the shower doors began to fog, inhibiting her view of Lilly, did she decide to shut off the water.

She pulled on a clean pair of sweats and then collapsed on the bed with her daughter beside her.

Lilly, if I pass out again, please cry and wake me up if you get hungry, Elaine said in a cute baby voice, letting Lilly hold tight to her little finger. She was strong, much more so than a human baby. Elaine would have to be careful. At just a day old Lilly could already squeeze her finger so much that it was actually slightly painful. In a few more weeks she probably wouldn’t be able to let Lilly hold on to her finger.

She held and enjoyed Lilly, talking about Dylan to her. She wanted Lilly to know her daddy. Elaine told her the story of how she and Dylan had met. She told her how they fell in love and sometime in the middle of telling her how much her Daddy had wanted her, Elaine and Lilly floated off to sleep.

Chapter 2

Dinner

Seventeen years later

L

illy grabbed her bag and shoved until her history book overcame the mess inside. Bye, Mom! she called as she opened the front door.

Have a good day at school, tell Lex hello for me, Elaine called from her bedroom.

Lilly skipped down the sidewalk and jumped over the car door into Lex’s Maida.

Probably one of the last days you’ll be able to keep the top down, Lilly noted. She noticed out of the corner of her eye that Lex just shook her head and rolled her eyes. What?

I hate you, you know that, right? She shoved Lilly playfully on the shoulder. You just seem to glide down the sidewalk all elegant and then jump into the seat so gracefully. If I tried to do that I’d fall flat on my face, or worse, Lex complained.

Lilly laughed. You know you love me. Besides you can do plenty of things I can’t.

Like what? Lex demanded as she shifted into first and started down