The Recruiters Read Free

The two possibilities I had found, Sabrina and Lisa, were a disappointment but our time there was valuable owing to our discovery that apartment walls weren’t thick enough to contain our sounds and it would be houses from there on out.
    My mind moved on to Dallas, our next stop. I got a job working at a local coffee house, alongside Tammy. She seemed perfect for Andrew, until I discovered her secret life – as a hooker. That was two months wasted. But I did have my first nightmare there. What triggered it was playing at the edge of my mind, but I couldn’t quite catch it.
    I moved on to Albuquerque, thinking I could come back to Dallas later. Three months there proved very successful. I found Janine a few weeks after arriving. She was fluent in Spanish, was a school teacher and loved kids but couldn’t have any of her own, which was perfect because I didn’t feel it was fair to ask anyone to give up their ability to have children just for love. I had experienced motherhood. It had ended tragically for me but it was enough for me to give up the possibility of having more children by becoming a vampire.
    Janine could continue teaching in the village outside the fortress after her training was complete. Most of her family had passed on – except for a brother that she barely ever spoke to – and she was in love with being in love. I brought Andrew over when we had been there a month, where we arranged for him to ‘run’ into her, as in a chance meeting, while walking in the park, shopping at the supermarket, in the library, or some other ordinary location. These chance meetings became more and more frequent. And he was spending more time with her each time he saw her. It wasn’t long before they were head over heels in love.
    I had two nightmares while in Albuquerque. There was that thought again, playing at the edge of my mind. The nightmares in Albuquerque had followed… what? What had they followed? Was it something I had seen? Someone? Was it my routine? Was it my work at the coffee shop? Nothing stuck out in my mind there.
    After my shift at the coffee shop I would always head home where my first stop was always the computer; checking emails, making notes from the day, checking the news… the news!… I gasped as the answer flew into the front of my mind.
    Matt whipped his head around, “What?” he said. “What’s wrong?”
    I held my hand up. “Wait,” I whispered. I ran to the table and flicked on the laptop. I knew it had only been generic headlines I had seen before, no names or specifics, but suddenly the theme of them came together. I searched the internet for specifics. Matt was behind me as my fingers flew over the keys. “When was the last time anyone heard from Bahiti?” I asked, as I tried to contain my frustration over the slow computer. My brain was already miles ahead of it.
    “ Ummm, I’m not sure. The last time I spoke to her was when we were with her in Egypt. Why?”
    “ And have you talked to Omoruyi?”
    “ Umm, no. Not since Nigeria. Why Sarah? Honey, what is it?” The concern in his voice was clear.
    I leaned to the side and showed him the first news article I had found. It was from right after our first anniversary.
    September 21 - Long time Haitian resident missing read the headline. Matt read aloud; “Musetta Glapion, a life-long resident of Haiti, frequently rumored to have ties to voodoo, has not been seen or heard from in several weeks. Her daughter Marie alerted the authorities after being unable to contact her mother. Police found that her home, and other homes on the property, had been ransacked. Foul play is suspected.”
    “ Hhhmmm, that doesn’t mean,” Matt said but stopped when I brought up the next article.
    Oct 3 - Nigerian man kidnapped from home. I heard Matt gasp slightly as he read, “Village elder Olatunde Adeyemi was taken from his home late last night. His great-grandson Omoruyi said the family had no idea why he would be kidnapped and that no ransom