The Thirst: From 'Bridget's Nights'

One morning when he woke us he began to taunt me, as he often did lately.

"You look uncomfortable Bridget. Can I get you anything? I'd offer you a snack, but I've already given you that."

"You're a prince of a host alright Wilhelm. Tell you what though," he leaned closer to the window at my words. "Have you got any decent Irish whiskey around? I think its close to Saint Patrick's Day and I thought a toast or two would be appropriate."

Wilhelm snorted angrily. "You want a drink?" He whispered something to his assistant, who nodded and left. The two of us exchanged looks, okay, on my part glares, for a few minutes until the other guy returned. He held a good size bottle.

Wilhelm took the bottle and moved to the drawer. He put it inside, awkwardly as it was almost too large to fit, closed the lid and pushed the button.

"Catch!"

The tray slid out and the bottle started to roll off. Weak as I was, I managed to catch it. It was heavy, and full of a clear liquid. Figuring "what-the-hell", I opened the top and took a sniff. It was alcohol alright. Rubbing alcohol.

Wilhelm laughed loudly as I stared at the bottle, rolling it over to study the label. I also read German. "What's wrong, Bridget? Stomach not strong enough for that? Well, I guess you'll have to content yourself with something hot and wet then."

I continued to stare at the bottle. Wilhelm roared. "Look at her, Johann! Just gaping. She's losing her mind faster than I would have thought."

I turned and threw the bottle at him. Days ago he had been braced for my charge. This time he wasn't prepared and he ducked as the bottle shattered and its contents sprayed over the window.

"Well, well, losing your temper I see," he mocked as he regained his poise. "It won't be long now. Your hands are trembling and you look paler every hour." His voice dropped. "Go ahead. Once you feed you'll feel so much better. And you get to go then, back to the world. Go ahead," his voice rose till he was shrieking. "Kill her! Drink her blood."

Lillian burst into tears and cowered into the corner. I shushed her and gathered her into my arms as I always did, rocking her until her sobs faded.

"You won't hurt me, will you?"

"No, no, no, no. Never." I leaned against the cold metal of the cell and she rested her head on my shoulder. Once again, she fell asleep there. I gently stroked her hair. "Never," I whispered to her sleeping form."

I waited and watched for the next few hours. I had no idea how much time was passing. I didn't know if the opportunity that had been dropped into my lap was going to work. I refused to let myself doze, for in one respect Wilhelm was right. I was losing the battle. My will was being overcome by my hunger. Lillian's heartbeat was a call that I was afraid I could no longer resist if I allowed my concentration to slip for even a minute. But the time passed and I saw that what I hoped was taking place.

Lillian had awakened. I called for the honey pot. The drawer opened and I took the metal pail, staggering as I did so. She used it with me kneeling beside her as I always did, blocking the view of her from the two scientists and the guard with them.

"Lillian," I whispered.

"Yes, Bridget?"

"In five minutes this will all be over one way or another. I promise that." I squeezed her hand. She nodded with the confidence that only an innocent could show.

Lillian stood and I picked up the bucket with my right hand. My left hand reached inside my torn blouse and found the little silver cross that hung around my neck. I held it, a reminder of my own innocent days. I could see in my mind the day my parents gave it to me to celebrate my First Communion. I knew the delirium was taking me when I thought I could hear my mother and father talking to me.

I closed my eyes and said the most heartfelt prayer I had uttered in centuries. "God, give me the strength to save this innocent with me, one way or the other. Let me break free of this prison or," I thought of the wooden spoon whose handle I had sharpened by scraping it on the floor, "Or guide my hand and forgive me for doing what I will have to do."

I summoned the crumbling remnants of my will. I focused myself on the one task ahead of me, concentrating on that and only that, as my long dead lover and teacher Ling had taught me three centuries ago. In one movement I spun the metal bucket around and around while spinning my body to add to its momentum. Three spins and I slammed the bucket against the window with all of my strength. The bucket crumpled. And from the point of impact a network of cracks run across the entire window.

I had not waited to admire my handy work. I had dropped the bucket, sprang to the far wall and pivoted there, kicking off against it. I had room to take three bounds and I leaped into the air, my foot leading in the martial arts move the Chinese vampire had schooled me in so long ago. I hit the center of the cracks, and the window shattered.

Wilhelm and Johann gaped at me. The guard in the room was just as amazed, but he reacted faster. He reached for the pistol holstered at his side with one hand while he reached for the button that would flood the chamber I had just left with the lethal gas. I don't guess he stopped to consider that with the window shattered he would be a victim also. I didn't care what his thoughts were, though, all I cared about was Lillian. So breaking his neck with my hands was not only the first item on my agenda, I did it with no hesitation or regret.

Johann attempted to run past me while I was occupied with the guard. I backhanded him into the wall of recording and sensing machines. I don't know if the impact killed him or if it was the multiple short-circuits he caused. I turned to face Wilhelm.

He was still in shock. However, amazingly, the emotion fast coming to the fore was anger.

"You, you BITCH! He sputtered. "You've ruined everything."

"Yeah, well, I'm so sorry. Sue me."

"Years of preparation and planning, all gone. Destroyed by a brainless slut." He paused in his rant and I interrupted.

"Hey, you can call me a slut but brainless? Who was it who gave me the chance to break the window?"

"What do you mean?"

"Just recently, an old friend was commenting about the use of plexi-glass in making bullet resistant shields for cars and so forth. He told me that although quite strong, the material is subject to damage from some unexpected chemicals. The leading culprit is isopropyl alcohol. It causes the material to develop cracks, rendering it vulnerable. And son-of-a-gun, what did you pass me to taunt me? Rubbing alcohol, a form of that very solvent."

Even in the last extreme, Wilhelm refused to let go of his theory. "You would have killed her, had I not made that error. I know it. One more day and you would have done it."

"No I wouldn't. I had a back-up plan that fortunately I won't have to act on now. As most prisons do, you wisely kept metal utensils out of the hands of the prisoner, namely me. Someone furnished Lillian two wooden spoons to eat with once." I pulled it from my back pocket and showed it to him. "See, I sharpened the end. Its just long enough to reach my heart. Had I not broken the window I was going to kill myself."

"You think you've won, but you haven't. You broke the rules and now you will pay for that. Say goodbye to Lillian."

For a moment I panicked. Did he have another way to release the gas other than the button they had shown me before? And why was I standing here showing off how smart I was instead of grabbing Lillian and taking off for the hills?

Amazingly, Wilhelm tried to brush past me. Somewhere in that twisted mind of his lurked the idea that I would simply let him by, because somehow he thought he was still the one in control. That was a mistake. Not only had I already killed to protect Lillian, but I was hungry. And the man who was responsible for that was right beside me. Silly man.

I opened the door to the cell after I had found a washroom and cleaned up. I didn't want Lillian to see how I had left Wilhelm. She already had seen enough of the stuff of nightmares. Now that I was fed, my shakes had stopped and I was back in complete control of myself. I didn't even kill the other four guards I encountered on my way out. I simply disarmed the three who saw reason and had them carry the fourth one to safety once I was assured they were all that were left.

Lillian and I stood on a hill looking back at the lab. Smoke billowed from the door, since I had taken care to set a fire in the observation room and two other places. Of course I wanted Wilhelm's corpse destroyed. I could see no way for him to rise as a vampire, having been careful to avoid him receiving any of my blood, but my father taught me to avoid taking unneeded chances. I also wanted all traces of his experiment gone, including any information about Lillian or myself.

"Are we safe now?" asked Lillian, holding my hand.

"Pretty much so sweetie. We still have to get across the border, but the worst is behind us."

"Are you going to be my Mommy now?"

My eyes filled with tears. Why is it vampires can still cry? I had long ago made peace with what I was and, indeed, enjoyed the opportunities my unending life afforded me. But two things always wrenched my heart; the loss of the sun and the fact that I could never be a mother. I mastered myself and knelt beside her, enfolding her in my arms.

"Darling Lillian, I would love nothing more than to be your Mommy. But I think first we should check and see if Wilhelm was telling the truth about your family. If he was," I took one of those deep breaths I don't need, "If he was then, yes."

I held her for a very long time. Then I asked her to join me in a prayer of thanksgiving. Then we set about finding out just where we were.

As it turned out, Wilhelm's lies and half-truths extended to Lillian's family. We found them alive and well, except for being frantic about their missing child. I got us all safely across the border into West Germany and saw them settled before leaving.

I had thought to get up and away very early in the morning, so I could catch an Air Force flight to the States before daybreak. Everyone else was still asleep, but a certain beautiful little girl caught me going out the door.

"Do you have to go Bridget?"

"Yes Lillian, I do. I need to go home."

She threw her arms around me. "I love you Bridget."

I hugged her as hard as I dared. "I love you too, baby," I whispered. Then I was gone.

I never saw her again, but I will always be thankful for the faith that Lillian had in me. Wilhelm was wrong. The thirst is strong, but it isn't as strong as love.

(The End)