Read Online Running From the Night by R. J. Terrell - Free Book Online Page B

here when you’re done. Don’t take too long praying, though, it’s rude to keep other people waiting who need to go, you know.”
    “How considerate of you.”
    Luck was with him, and there was a line for the two restrooms. He needed to figure something out fast. Interesting though this conversation was, he was not about to sit for another couple hours and have a conversation with a thing that was going to kill him and drain the blood from his body. He wiped his sweating palms on his pants, thinking. The line moved two steps.
    Okay. What do I know about vampires? This is crazy! There’s not supposed to be such a thing! Okay. Most of the stories have some religious background, so I’ll just leave the holy water and crosses alone. I’ve seen the guy’s reflection, so that’s proof he wasn’t totally lying.
    The line moved again. Two more people in front of him.
    Sunlight seems to be one weakness. He didn’t come after me till night, and he referred to me waiting him out till daylight. Too bad it’s the middle of the night. Okay, scratch that. What else?
    The two girls in front of him went in, leaving him next.
    Garlic, stakes, silver, fire?
    A few minutes later one of the two girls came out of the door on the right. Glancing over his shoulder to see a line of at least five more people behind him, Jelani sighed in relief and went in. The vampire wouldn’t break down the door with people watching. Hopefully.
    Once he’d closed and locked the door, Jelani started pacing. There’s no way he would last till dawn, and he obviously couldn’t overpower or outrun the guy.
    “If I at least had my knife I could make a try,” Jelani whispered to himself. He turned and looked in the mirror at himself. “I’m about to die,” he whispered to the reflection staring nervously back at him. He sighed and closed his eyes.
    After a moment, he opened his eyes again and reached up and put his hands on the mirror, leaning forward to press his forehead on the glass. The mirror made little ticking sounds from his weight, and he froze. He looked up at the mirror, then at the corner, an idea forming.
    Seconds later, he took off his shirt and bunched it in his hand to muffle the sound, then he pressed it to the bottom corner of the mirror and gave it a thrust with the butt of his hand. There was a muffled crack and a six-inch shard of the mirror broke away. He went to the other side and did the same, coming away with a similar sized piece. After cleaning up the glass from the floor, he wrapped the shards with toilet paper and carefully placed them in each of his pant pockets. Only got one shot at this.
    He exited the bathroom, passing down the hall and by several waiting patrons. True to his word, the blond bloodsucker was waiting for him near the counter, smartly placing himself between Jelani and the exit to the coffee shop as well as the bookstore.
    “Have a good pray? Get a good cry out while you were at it? So what now? Did you want to peruse the store a bit before we go? Maybe read a few verses from the Bible to get yourself prepared?” Jelani walked right by him, never looking back. “You look pretty determined there, bud. You got some kind of daring escape planned? You think you can take me down before I drain you dry?”
    Jelani put his hands in his pockets and quickened his pace. “Do you torment everyone you kill with so many questions?”
    The vampire went quiet for a minute as they exited the bookstore and turned left on Howe Street. “You know, I’ve been pleasant for this long because this isn’t personal, but if you speak to me like that again, I will snatch out your throat.”
    Jelani said nothing.
    “And speaking of throats, you must not value yours as much as you let on. It’s a pretty dark street, and there’s no one around.”
    Jelani’s pulse quickened. The man’s voice had gone deep and raspy. This is it. Live or die.
    A cold, firm hand grabbed his arm and spun him around. In that same motion, Jelani