Vamps by Nancy A. Collins Read Free Book Online Page B

of the attack.
    â€œWhat have I done?” She groaned.
    A distant rumbling, a burst of air, and a swirl of trash from the tunnel signaled an oncoming train. Realizing there was no time to lose, Cally leaped off the platform onto the wounded stranger below.
    â€œHold still! Don’t move!” she shouted, pulling him more evenly between the rails.
    â€œWhat are you doing?” he cried, his brown eyes wide with fear as Cally pressed her face as close to his as a lover’s.
    â€œSaving your life!” Cally could smell the blood leaking from his wounds and fought to ignore the hunger it aroused in her. This was no time to get distracted. “If you don’t keep still, we’re both gonna lose a leg in a second!”
    The ground beneath them began to tremble as they lay there wrapped in each other’s arms. The man-made thunder filled their ears and rattled their bones. Cally pressed her head against the young man’s chest as he lay motionless beneath her, staring up at the speeding undercarriage of the subway cars passing inches above his face. After what seemed like an eternity, the train finally came to a stop above them.
    â€œWhat do we do now?” he asked in a hoarse whisper.
    â€œWait until it leaves,” Cally whispered back. “No one knows we’re down here. Even if someone’s on the platform, I doubt they could hear us if we yelled for help.”
    The young man didn’t say anything but instead tightened his grip on Cally, pulling her as close to him as possible. As she listened to his heart pounding in his chest, she breathed in the scent of his skin. She found it strangely comforting, even soothing.
    After a long minute the doors chimed closed and the subway train’s wheels began to turn. Cally held perfectly still as the cars click-clacked by over her head, fearful that the slightest movement might end in disaster. She marveled at how warm the young man’s flesh felt against her own. She closed her eyes and took another, deeper breath, savoring his smell so she could remember it later.
    After the last car passed by, she finally lifted her head and looked around.
    â€œIt’s okay,” she said reassuringly. “You can let go of me now.”
    â€œAnd I was having such a wonderful time,” he said with a weak laugh.
    â€œWe’ve got to get you out of here before another train shows up,” Cally said as she stood up.
    â€œSounds like a good idea to me.”
    â€œHello? Anybody there?” she called out. “Man on the tracks!”
    Cally listened for a response, but all she heard was her own echo.
    â€œCan you stand?” she asked.
    â€œYeah,” he said, nodding. “I think so.”
    As Cally helped him to his feet, the young man grimaced and fell into her. She staggered slightly as his body became deadweight and then effortlessly scooped him into her arms. She easily jumped back onto the train platform, carrying him over one shoulder. Moving with the grace of a cat, she propped his body upright on a nearby bench and gently stroked his left cheek, wiping away a smear of blood.
    â€œHey! What are you doing there?”
    A transit worker was hurrying toward them with an alarmed look. Suddenly realizing she was covered in grease and filth from the tracks, Cally figured he had mistaken her for a runaway trying to roll a commuter.
    â€œMy friend needs an ambulance,” she said quickly. “I think he’s hurt. He fell off the platform onto the tracks.”
    â€œHoly Christ! How’d he manage to get back up?”
    â€œI went and got him.”
    The transit worker gave her a dubious glance. “A young lady like you dragged this guy back up onto the platform all by yourself? Gedoutta here!”
    â€œI guess it must have been adrenaline or something,” Cally said with a shrug. “You know, like that womanwho picked up the car to save her kid.”
    â€œOh, yeah! I remember reading