Thirst No. 2 Read Free Page A

the hotel and trying to sleep. It is only then that I become aware that two men are following me.
    They are fifty yards behind me. In the dark it is hard to distinguish their features, but it is clear they are both Caucasian and well built, maybe thirty years old. They move like two good ol ' boys, one dark featured, ugly, the other bright as a bottle of beer foaming in the sunlight. I think these boys have been drinking beer—and stronger—and are feeling uncomfortably horny. I smile to myself as I anticipate the encounter, even imagine what their blood will taste like. Then I remember I am not who I used to be. A wave of fear sweeps through my body, but I stand and wait for them to come to me.
    "Hey, girl," the one with dark hair says with a Southern accent. "What are you doing out at this time of night?"
    I shrug. "Just out for a walk. What are you guys up to?"
    The blond guy snickers. "How old are you, girl?"
    "Why?" I ask.
    The dark-haired one moves slightly to my left. He flexes his fists as he speaks. "We just want to know if you're legal."
    "I'm old enough to vote," I say. "Not old enough to drink. You boys been drinking tonight?"
    They both chuckle. The blond guy moves a step closer. He smells of beer, whiskey. "You might say we've been looking at the wrong end of a few bottles tonight. But don't let that worry you none. We're still fully capable of finishing what we start."
    I take a step back. Perhaps it's a mistake that I show fear. "I don't want any trouble," I say.
    And I mean it, although I feel as if I can still take them. After all, I am still a master of martial arts. A series of swift kicks to their groins, their jaws, should settle any unpleasantness. The dark-haired guy steps off to my left, and wipes at his slobbering

    Create PDF files without this message by purchasing novaPDF printer (http://www.novapdf.com) mouth with the back of his arm.
    "We don't want trouble either," he says. "We're just looking for a good time."
    I catch his eye, and really do wish that my stare was still capable of burning into his brain.
    Seymour was right—my wishes have already settled into a pattern of wanting what I have lost. Yet I do my best to make my voice hard.
    "Sometimes a good time can cost you," I say.
    "I don't think so," the blond guy says. "You agree, John?"
    "She looks like a freebie to me, Ed," John responds.
    They've used their names in front of me. That is a bad sign. It means they're either too drunk to know better, or else they plan to kill me. The latter seems a distinct possibility since they clearly intend to rape me. I take another step back, and am tempted to reach for my gun. Yet I don't really want to kill them, especially since there is no need for their blood. Knocking them unconscious is my preference.
    Actually, it is my second preference. Surviving is my first.
    "If you touch me I'll scream," I warn them.
    "No one's going to hear you down here," John says as he reaches out to grab me. "Take her, Ed!"
    They go for me simultaneously, John close on my left, Ed three feet in front of me. But it is John who reaches me first. He has pretty good reflexes for a drunk. Before I can twist away, he catches me in a bear hug. Briefly I struggle, and then go limp. When Ed closes within two feet, however, I shove back against John and jump up, lifting both my feet off the ground. Lashing out with the right, I catch Ed in the groin. He shouts in pain and doubles up.
    "The bitch got me!" he complains.
    "Goddamn it!" John yells in my ear. "You're going to pay for that."
    In response I slash backward and up with my left elbow. The blow catches John square on the jaw and his hold on me loosens as he staggers back. In an instant I am free. Since Ed is still bent over, I do him the favor of kicking him in the face, breaking his nose. He drops to his knees, his face dark with blood.
    "Help me, John," he moans.
    "Help him, John," I mock as John regains his balance and glares at me with death in his eyes. I gesture