Earthwalker

153

Earthwalker: Earth can be Hell for a Vampire

by

Julie Achterhoff

Smashwords Edition

Copyright © 2010 Julie Achterhoff

All rights reserved.

The moral right of the author has been asserted.

The author reserves all publication, printing, distribution and selling rights. Anyone found guilty of illegal publication, printing, distribution or selling of this novel will be subject to prosecution.

The scanning, uploading and distribution of this book via the Internet, or via any other means, without the author’s legal documented permission is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only the authorized printed or electronic editions. Do not participate in, or encourage, the printed and electronic piracy of copyrighted materials.

Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated

Smashwords Edition License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the author's work.

This novel is fiction. All characters are the product of the author’s imagination and are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead is purely coincidental. Places or events are either fictitious or are cited in a fictitious context. Any resemblance to actual events is coincidental.

Dedication

I would like to dedicate this book to my wonderful children, without whose support I couldn’t have done this. They are the light of my life. I would also like to dedicate it to my forever love, Ron. He gave me the space and love I needed to complete this project. He is always there for me. He is my rock.

Apex Reviews

Reeling from the tragic loss of her only son and the subsequent demise of her marriage, Willa decides to escape to the high country wilderness of California. One night, she hears a horrendous crash, followed by painful moans, so she rushes to the aid of the hapless victim. What she doesn't expect to find, though, are the remnants of a strange spacecraft and a wounded young man for whom she'll eventually develop deep, passionate feelings, which, under normal circumstances, wouldn't typically be a problem - were it not for the fact that he's a vampire...

The latest offering from prolific author Julie Achterhoff, Earthwalker is an intriguing Sci-Fi/Fantasy read. Skillfully blending the elements of drama, suspense, and romance, Achterhoff has crafted an otherworldly tale of love and acceptance with a supernatural twist. As the story unfolds, the reader can't help rooting for the burgeoning passion between Willa and her star-crossed lover to further blossom - especially in light of the considerable challenges with which they're forced to contend. Given the fact that one of them is human and the other not, Achterhoff's ability to inspire such empathy proves to be quite the impressive skill indeed. An entertaining tale of interstellar romance.

Chelsea Perry

Apex Reviews

Chapter One

After walking down to the water’s edge, Willa cupped her hand in the fast flowing water to get a drink. Since she was at the headwaters of the Sacramento River, she felt it was safe enough to drink without her filtering water bottle. She stood up and looked around her. This was a truly pristine area she had chosen for a backpacking trip. It was early spring, and there was a light sprinkling of snow on the ground, but the weather forecast called for warm temperatures, possibly even hitting the 60s the next day. The trees around her already had tiny buds on them, ready to shoot out new growth. The grassy field she had just passed had hundreds of tiny wildflowers in bloom.

Willa looked up at the mountains around her. They were capped in white, and there was a soft lenticular cloud off to the side of the top of Mt. Shasta. It was beginning to get a pinkish glow to it as the sun went down. It was getting late. Time to set up camp. She turned towards the meadow and walked over to a copse of evergreen trees, stunted because of the high altitude. This, she thought, would make a nice place to put her small tent. After slinging her heavy backpack to the ground, Willa began the routine setup of her camp. She started by collecting twigs and fallen wood for a fire. There were some rocks to make a circle around it. As she built the fire, tears stung her eyes as she thought of her son, Nick, who had lost his life two years before as he rode his bike into the path of a drunk driver. She let the tears come this time. It was one of the reasons she liked to come all the way out here into the deep woods. Nobody to judge her here, or offer sympathy. She could just be alone with her pain.

Willa heard a twig snap and turned her head in the direction of the sound. A mother deer and two large fawns had come down to the stream to drink. She wondered if they’d noticed her. She sat down where she was and watched them. The smallest one lifted up its head as if testing the air. Its body quivered. The threesome moved on down the bank, away from where Willa sat, almost as if they sensed it wasn’t safe there. Maybe they smelled her human scent. Or maybe it was just their highly tuned defense system telling them that they needed to keep moving to stay alive. Whichever it was, it made Willa sadder because the deer could only see her kind as an enemy. She’d have liked nothing more than to have gone right up to the deer and hold one around the neck. To let her tears fall on its soft fur until no more tears would come.

How she missed her son. His crooked smile with teeth missing. His dark brown hair so soft like his dad’s. Willa let the feelings flow. She and Jake couldn’t stay together after what had happened. Something had broken between the two of them. They lasted almost a year after the tragedy of losing their only child. They stopped making love almost right away. It just didn’t feel right to enjoy each other anymore when they were in such pain. Jake started sleeping in the den and worked until he could barely stand up. Willa had more time on her hands with her part time job at a day care for elderly folks. Jake still worked at the ad agency in the city. Willa felt sorry for him because she knew he was trying to work off the pain rather than deal with it. They still spoke from time to time, but never for long. It was more a touching of bases than anything else, really. The love was gone from between them. Love was something stunted and half-dead to her now. It was from a different world; a world before her precious son had been taken away.

Willa realized something in that moment. She saw herself as a waxen statue, only existing until her time in this life came to an end. The tears were dry now. She felt as cold as the snow on the mountains inside. The moment was held for eternity in her heart and mind and soul. Sitting there for a while longer, Willa came to life once more as the cold infiltrated her clothes.

She needed to set up the tent and tend to the fire if she wanted to survive the night. She thought that living another day was okay. She could do that much. So she collected her tent and the stakes, and set up. Then she rolled an old log up into the fire and fed it until it warmed her. After heating up some water for her instant food pack and a cup of coffee, she ate and drank, almost mechanically. Then she got into her sleeping bag and looked for the way to sleep, but couldn’t find it at first. It finally found her and she began to dream.

Chapter Two

The sound was deafening. Willa jumped up and out of her sleeping bag. Her heart was racing like a stallion’s. She had no idea what the sound was that woke her, except that it was something big. Could it have been a bear? That made the most sense, but didn’t quiet her heart. In fact, if it were a bear, she was in trouble. Big trouble. She didn’t carry any weapons and felt completely defenseless. She waited a moment to see if she could hear anything else. Then there was a whoosh! And a roaring sound. Fire?

It took every ounce of courage to get herself to move. But move she did. She threw on her boots and jacket. Standing up from her crouched position on the tent floor, she reached for the door zipper and slowly unzipped it. She pulled back the flap ever so slowly and peeked her head out into the darkness. To the south she saw a soft glow beyond some deer brush. Inching her body further out of the tent, she tentatively made her way over to the outcropping near to where she had set up camp where she could see better. Yes, it was a fire. But it was only in one spot. Then she heard a cry as if someone were in pain. Willa stumbled back to the tent to grab her flashlight. Investigating the scene seemed like a really bad idea, but how could she leave someone who might be in need of help?

By the time she came back to the spot outside, the glowing fire was almost gone. Willa flicked on her flashlight and headed for what was now just a low glare. Sticks and pine cones crunched under her feet. Other than that there was only silence surrounding her. Then she heard the cry again. Hurrying now, she pushed herself through some thicker brush that she guessed was Manzanita since it was so tightly grown together. Finally, Willa broke free and came into a clearing and saw a wondrous sight. It was a small pod that looked like some kind of airplane without wings that had seemingly crashed into the ground. Smoke arose from it, but parts of it were still on fire. She couldn’t take her eyes off of it. She was mesmerized.

Then she heard a low groan to the left of the strange looking plane. Her eyes turned towards the sight of a young man, about her age, lying on the ground and in obvious pain. He was trying to sit up, but kept falling back down again.

Are you okay? she called from where she stood.

He looked up at her, startled.

I’m hurt, he said.

Willa took a few steps towards him. He didn’t seem like he was dangerous. For now anyway.

What happened here? she asked.

The man groaned again.

My plane crashed, he said, but something came across his eyes, like he was lying.

Finally Willa walked over to where he lay and crouched down to look more closely at his injuries. He was wearing a uniform she’d never seen before, but it was torn and burned away in places, especially his left arm and leg.

It looks bad. Let me go get my first-aid kit from camp. I’ll be right back, she assured him. She began to turn away to go, but he held her arm with his good one. Willa felt a strange sensation crawl up her arm. It felt like electricity.

Thanks, he said. I appreciate it very much. And he let go of her. She stared into his eyes a moment longer, then took off. The excitement she felt inside her was giving her an incredible energy rush. Willa quickly made her way back to her tent and retrieved her high tech deep woods first-aid kit, which even contained sutures should the need arise. She threw the pack over her shoulder and returned to the crash site. The man was still lying on the ground, moaning. She sat on the ground to his left and asked him if he could pull up his sleeve so she could get a better look. He tried, but cried out. She went for the scissors in her kit and began to cut away the cloth. He grimaced.

I’m sorry this hurts you, she said.

It’s okay, he replied, sucking air through his teeth.

What she saw shocked her. She had expected red blood to be coming from the wound. Instead, it was the color of an orange. She sat back on her heels.

Look, he said, I’m not from around here. I should tell you that Earth is not my home. I come from another planet. I promise, though, I would never hurt you.

As he was talking, it was as if Willa were hearing his words from down a long tube or something. She couldn’t move, and her arms and legs felt like jelly.

Please. You’ve got to help me. Nobody knows I’m here.

Willa blinked at him. What was he talking about? This person sitting next to her in agony was an alien? It couldn’t be true. He reached out and touched her arm. She flinched.

My name is Paul. Or at least here it is. I’ll understand if you want to run the other way right now and not help me, but I’m really in trouble here.

Willa started to come back into herself. She felt a deep sympathy for this person. It began to surpass her fears about the frightening situation she found herself in. She dug into her kit for burn dressings and came up with several that were marked. Cautiously cutting the rest of Paul’s sleeve off, she placed the pieces of saturated cloth over his burns. Although she was trembling, she did a neat job of it. Next she went to his leg and cut away the burned cloth. Some of it stuck to his skin, so she used the saline solution in the kit to moisten it and pried it off. Paul tried to stay quiet, but he almost passed out from the pain. His eyes closed.

Stay with me here, Paul, she said. We’re almost done.

Willa was able to get past the color of Paul’s blood, and take care of his wounds. She had taken some first-aid classes in college for her job at the day care, so she knew what she was doing. When she was finished she put everything away and stowed the garbage in a bag. Her hands stopped their shaking, and she washed them off with sanitizer. What was she supposed to do next?

Willa thought about getting the young man who called himself Paul and said he was from outer space, back to her campsite and maybe letting him use her sleeping bag for warmth. Even though the temperature was not very cold, Paul had started shivering.

I’m going to bring you back to my tent if you can make it, she said.

I don’t know if I can walk, but I'll try, he said.

Willa reached for his right arm to help him up. He cried out. This wasn’t going to be easy. She thought of running away from the scene and never looking back. What was she supposed to do in this strange situation?

I'm fine, said Paul, just give me a little lift and maybe I can get my feet under me.

Willa could feel the strength of his muscles as she helped pull him to his feet. His left leg was obviously in a lot of pain. He probably needed antibiotics for burns like these, she thought. Unfortunately, none came with her kit.

Paul put his arm around her shoulder and dragged his left leg as they slowly managed to get through the tangled undergrowth and back to her camp. It took a while, but they finally made it. Willa helped him get into her sleeping bag, and the shivering lessened.

You are a very kind person, Paul said as he looked up into her eyes. She looked away. His stare was intense. He had deep blue eyes that seemed to know her.

Thanks, she said. What else could I do? Willa was scared to ask him any questions, but her mind raced with them.

I know you must be wondering about me, he said. I’ll tell you what I can since you’ve practically saved my life.

Not knowing where to start, Willa couldn’t think of what to say. What do you say to an alien being who just crashed to Earth? Speechless, she just stared at the ground near her feet.

Come on. Ask me whatever you’d like to know, and I’ll try to answer you as truthfully as I can.

Well, she began, Where do you come from?

I come from a planet a lot like this one. It’s called Panterra in your language. It has plants and animals and water, too. We’re very low on carbon, though, so we come here to extract it.

Willa thought this over. It seemed reasonable. So he wasn’t here to do experiments on humans or anything like that. Good. That was a relief. Of course he could be lying. But his eyes seemed so truthful. She wanted to believe him. She needed to believe him.

Now, what else would you like to know? he asked.

Willa could tell by his voice that it was paining him to talk. At least he had stopped shivering.

You just stay quiet now, she told him. We can talk more in the morning. You need to sleep and heal right now.

Are you sure? I’m healing quickly you know. Ten times faster than you would. I don’t want you to feel you’re in any danger from me.

Don’t worry. I’m fine for now. By the way, my name is Willa.

Paul held out his good hand and offered it to her. Nice to meet you, Willa. Very nice indeed.

They shook hands, and Willa felt that electric feeling she had felt from before when she had touched his bare skin. It reminded her of when she was a kid when her cousin Rosie had dared her to put her tongue on the tip of a battery. The difference here was that she felt it through her whole body. It wasn’t an unpleasant feeling at all. In fact, it felt rather nice.

You just need to rest, she said. I’ll be right outside by the fire if you need me. With that, she grabbed her extra blanket and went outside to tend to the fire. Then she curled up next to it and closed her eyes. Sleep wasn’t soon in coming, however. How could it when a real live space man was only a few feet away with who knew what intentions? Her heart sped up with every new thought or possibility that entered her head. Her imagination began to run wild.

Finally, she must have worn herself out because the next thing she knew, the sun was shining on her closed eyes. Willa looked at her watch. It was 7:30. Her head was clouded with sleep. She thought she had had a dream last night, but she couldn’t quite get the memory of it to come into her mind. Then she remembered the crash. It startled her at first, and she felt afraid. She got up abruptly and went to the tent to see if it was true. There he was, sleeping peacefully. She could hardly believe it. So it wasn’t a dream. Her heart beat so fast she felt hot flashes flow through her chest. How could this be real?

Willa had always believed there must be other beings like humans on other planets. But that was just a theory. Now that she was faced with the fact that it was true, she couldn’t seem to digest it. Yet here he was; a real-life alien being. As she stared down at him, he slowly opened his eyes, those way too deep blue eyes of his. He smiled up at her.

Good morning, he said.

Good morning, she automatically replied back.

Paul pulled back the sleeping bag and began to peel away the dressing on his arm. She knelt down beside him, quickly telling him not to do that. You still need to keep that on, she said.

He smiled at her and pulled the dressing all the way off.

See, he said. All healed up.

Willa couldn’t believe what she saw. What had probably been the worst third-degree burns she had ever seen were now a soft pinkish glow on his skin. Paul unzipped the sleeping bag all the way down and removed the dressings from his leg. It looked the same. It was still pinkish and had no hair where he’d been burned, but it was healed.

Oh my God, she said under her breath.

I know, said Paul. Pretty interesting, eh?

Willa stared at the spot on his leg. She could hardly believe what she was seeing.

Don’t be scared, he said. I’m a very fast healer, that’s all.

He got up from the ground and stood tall beside her. Now let’s go assess the damage to my craft. And he was off. Willa thought twice about following him before she finally left the tent. He seemed to know where he was going, which she thought a bit strange because of the condition he had been in the night before. His clothing looked ragged where the fire had gotten to it and she felt a string pull at her heart.

They arrived at the scene of the crash. Paul looked it over, then began pulling away large pieces of a metal Willa didn’t think she’d ever seen before. It was seamless for one thing. For another it had a dull sheen that didn’t reflect the now rising sun. It seemed as if it absorbed the light instead.

Paul finished his inspection of the craft. Well, I guess I won’t be going anywhere soon, he said sadly.

My ship is destroyed. I’m lucky I lived through the crash.

What are you going to do now? asked Willa.

I’m not exactly sure. The communications are out. There is a place on the coast where I can meet up with a contact, but I don’t know how I’ll be able to get there without transportation. Paul looked at Willa with those eyes of his. You wouldn’t want to give me a ride, would you?

Willa was thrown off balance. This guy seemed okay, but he was not only a stranger, but one from outer space.

I don’t know about that, she said. I have a lot to do. A lie. But what did he expect from her? For her to skip out on her life and go on a road trip with him? True, it was only a few hours to the coast, but still.

Do you have any money? You could take a bus.

I do have some money, but just look at me. I’m a mess.

Look, she said, I can give you a ride to my place and maybe some of my ex’s clothes will fit you, although you’re a little taller than him. Okay?

Paul’s face brightened. And when he smiled, she felt that electricity go through her again. He was the most handsome man she had ever met. He was almost beautiful. She stared at him too long until he said, What? She looked away, embarrassed.

Nothing, she said hurriedly, and backed away. She kicked herself for staring at him.

They went back to her campsite and Willa began packing up. She had wanted to stay in the wilderness for a few more days. She needed it. But now things had changed. Oh, how they had changed! Paul helped her break down the tent and insisted on carrying it back down the long trail to her car. Willa carried her backpack. She shared her water bottle with Paul on the way down.

So you’ve come to Earth a lot before? she asked.

Oh yes. Many times. Usually with my father or mother. They’re going to be worried about me. The sooner I can get to the contact the better.