Sisters of Fate

"I went towards the guest room in the back of the house and before I got very far, found Penance blocking my way."

"Where are you taking her?" she asked.

"She can't stand up," I said. "I was going to take her to a room where we could lay her down and then YOU or Pru could look her over and see what's wrong with her."

"Get out of the way sister," said Patience weakly. "He's only trying to make me comfortable."

"Penance moved out of the way, grumbling as she did so."

"I turned around and spoke to her."

"I'm not going to be able to open the door when we get there, or to handle getting the stuff off of the bed. Could you please help me?"

"I think that she knew that I was just trying to calm her unease by allowing her to accompany her friend. She followed behind me and jumped to open the door that I showed her. Of the three guest rooms in the house, I'd picked the one that Terri liked the best. It was on the opposite end of the building from our room. The room was painted yellow and had large windows to let the sun in. I placed her gently on the bed and told her that Pru would be in to check on her. I asked her if she needed anything. She said that she was fine so I left with Penance tagging along behind me."

"I found Prudence. She was trying to calm the little guy down. He was screaming. He was obviously distraught."

"What does he have to do with this?" I asked.

"He's one of our computer tech people," she said.

"I grabbed the little guy and dragged him out of the room. He followed me after the first few steps. I took him into my office and sat him down in front of the computer. He booted it up and then looked at me."

"What do you need me to do?" he asked. "He didn't seem to be nearly as upset or nervous."

"That was pretty slick," said Penance.

"Pru, can you get him started on anything you can think of that involves computers or the internet?" I asked. "When someone has been through a traumatic experience, getting them back in familiar territory like computers is helpful."

"She asked him to contact their home base and let them know what had happened."

"I noticed that Penance was still favoring her arm and saw the reason. Her shoulder was dislocated. Her shoulder and Patience both needed medical attention. I have a friend who is a nurse. She works as the medical tech for a large manufacturing company. She has to be at the plant by 6 .m. so I thought that she was probably up already."

"I dialed the number into my iPhone and started talking to her. She wasn't actually up but she did agree to stop by. She said that it would be about an hour. I went to tell Patience about it, but she was asleep. I told Penance that we'd have a nurse here in under an hour and she nodded her head at me. I offered her ice to help keep the swelling down, but she decided to wait for the nurse."

"She kept looking at me as if she expected me to grow horns and a tail at any moment."

"Finally Prudence, Penance and I all went into the office where Myron, the computer guy was working out something on the internet. We all sat down in comfortable chairs to talk."

"After I left here, I was really worried about leaving you alone with your wife..." said Prudence. "I was really sure that he'd try something through her. I expected him to try to have her kill you. You did almost kill him with that rock. Anyway, when I got back to the convent where we were staying, everything was already over. It looked like someone had pulled the fence down. There was no one in the security shack and I decided to give them hell about that. I guess I thought that they were shirking their duty."

"Anyway, when I got inside all I saw were bodies. I went completely through the building and found Penance trying to drag Patience out the back door. We picked up Myron who was hiding in a supply closet in the basement after that."

"It was awful," began Penance. "We'd been back for a while. In fact, I was beginning to worry about Prudence when I heard a scream from downstairs. I grabbed two of my hand maces, because someone..." she paused and looked at me.

"...Someone had shattered the shaft of my pole mace. I did recover the head of the mace, it's over three hundred years old and was used by a famous Polish saint..." she said.

"Sister, we're not really interested in the history of your mace," said Prudence softly.

"As I looked down the stairs, I noticed that the entire lower level was full of those thralls," said Penance. "I realized then that the vamp had doubled back and followed us home. He's a lot smarter than any one of those things that we've ever faced. Most vamps are like animals. I've never even heard one speak. I mean let's face it; they're dead. Their brains don't work anymore. Except for being at least twice as strong as a human, some rudimentary psychic abilities and those long assed teeth, they're less than human."

"I've staked a few of them myself, but this guy is scary. He let the thralls act as cannon fodder. The security men wasted their bullets on the thralls. They did find one or two rounds and shot him when he finally came in, but we all know that bullets don't work against those creatures. Perhaps if they'd been blessed or soaked in holy water like our weapons, but it was futile. With the thralls taking over the first floor, the vampire came up the stairs. Patience tried to stop him. We thought it was a fluke. Her first crossbow bolt went into that ratty coat he wears and it just hung there. She reloaded and hit him again and we noticed that apparently he's gotten armor from somewhere. That is incredible for one of those creatures to be able to reason out the fact that he could protect himself by wearing armor."

"I tried to stop him, but he simply batted me away with the back of his hand. He wasn't even interested in me. The blow he struck me with tossed me across the room and I landed on this arm and dislocated it. He hit Patience even harder. I swear I thought her back was broken when she bounced off of the wall. At that point, several of the surviving security people attacked him and he lost sight of us. That was when I grabbed Patience and pulled her into one of the offices on the second floor."

"I knew that both of us were out of the fight. I picked that office because it had one of the old dumbwaiters they used to use for laundry. I got us into it and climbed down the shaft holding Patience in my injured arm. It hurt like hell. I could hear people screaming and dying from the shaft as we made our way out. Then it got quiet. I hid us under some piles of clothes in the laundry room. I heard footsteps stomping through the house and I stayed silent and motionless. They faded and I stayed that way anyway. I'm ashamed to admit it, but I was afraid. Several times as we waited there it would get very quiet and then the noise would start up again. Sometimes it was just outside of the laundry room and I expected to have to try to fight for our lives at any moment. Then it was quiet for a while, but I was still afraid to move. Finally I heard footsteps moving around the building again. I thought that there was only a single person making them."

"I was sure that he'd sent the thralls away and come back to look for us or listen with the building quiet. He really wanted to kill Patience. When the footsteps got close to where we were, I heard Prudence calling out and I yelled for her. Prudence helped me with Patience and we got out of the building."

"Prudence got us into her car and then she went back into the building to see if she could find anyone else who needed help. She told me that if anyone showed up to get the hell out of there. I was so afraid that he was still there and he'd find her or find us. She came back a few moments later with Myron and we got out of there."

"Why did it take so long for you guys to come here?" I asked.

"I had no idea where Prudence was driving us," said Penance. "I was just glad we got out of there. None of us are from here. Our home base is in Boston. It seemed like Prudence was lost for a while because we seemed to be driving around in circles. Her car doesn't have very much range before she has to plug it in. Luckily, she was letting the thing charge while she was at the convent. Then we just showed up here."

"I drove around in circles because I had to be sure that he wasn't following us," said Prudence. "After that I drove around waiting for the first signs of the sun to show up in the sky. The one thing they get right in the movies is that they can't stand sunlight."

"Prudence looked at me then and, as usual, when we looked at each other it was as if something passed between us."

"I didn't want to risk having him follow me here," she said.

"This is exactly where you should have come, Pru," I said. "...Even if that bastard was right behind you."

"Penance looked at us and tilted her head slightly. She raised one eyebrow and had drawn a breath to say something when Myron excitedly came into the room."

"I made contact," he said happily. "We're ordered back to Boston. All we have to do is get to the airport. We're to contact the local Bishop to arrange transport there. This night mare is over, Blessed Lord."

"Patience shouldn't be moved until she's been seen by a medical professional who can determine how serious the injury to her back is," I said. "And you Penance, we should immobilize that arm to make sure that you don't do more damage to it."

"I don't need any help from a...MAN," she spat. "And for your information, I don't really like the way you..."

"I guess everyone was on edge because as Penance spoke, the doorbell rang and it was enough to send everyone into a panic. I looked out through the peephole and saw my nurse friend, Janice."

"Janice came in and I introduced her to everyone. She looked at Patience first. She said that Patience needed x-rays and an MRI. From the fact that besides the pain, she had a great deal of weakness in her legs, Janice suspected that one of her spinal disks was pressing on a nerve and preventing that nerve from sending the impulses throughout her lower body. It might require surgery and putting her in a sitting position might do more damage. She suggested that Patience be taken to a hospital in an ambulance."

"Next, she looked at Penance's shoulder and had me help her pop it back into the socket. Penance screamed so loudly they probably heard her in Boston, but was very relieved when the pain was over. Janice put the arm in a sling and told her not to use the arm until she could move it without pain. She told her that it would probably take a few weeks."

"The four of us stood around Patience and we filled her in on what was going on. Janice had given her a powerful pain killer and we waited to hear from the Bishop. Myron had called him and given him Janice's instructions. Prudence and Penance were having a very animated argument about something. When the argument was over, Penance came over and spoke to me."

"You're not that bad...for a MAN," she said. "Thanks for your help back in the alley with the vamp. And thanks for letting us hide here."

"I could tell that was hard for her to say. I just nodded as she walked off in a huff. She turned back to me at the last moment though."

"Just so you know, I could have beaten you," she said.

"I laughed as she went off and sat by Patience to wait for the ambulance. Prudence came over and sat by me."

"Jason," she said. "I may have the answer to your problem."

"What problem is that?" I asked.

"I spoke to a couple of the older priests and they know of a ritual that may be able to free your wife from the vampire's control," she said.

"That's great," I gushed.

"Yes," she said sadly. "You could have her back and try to save your marriage."

"It can't be saved," I said. "I just wanted her back so I could legally get her out of my life. I need a new start. I just need to get rid of all of the old business before I do."

"Just as I noticed that Prudence had a growing smile on her face, I felt her hand grab mine between us. From across the room came the second loudest scream I heard that day."

"What are ya trying ta do to her?" yelled Penance.

"Penance, leave them alone," said Patience.

"No, Patience," screamed Penance. Her Irish accent got thicker with her anger. "Do ya not see it? He has his hands on her. And he's been calling her Pru and looking at her with cow eyes ever since we got here. I've known her for six years and I don't get to call her anything but Prudence or Sister and he's already calling her Pru and she's eating it up. What did they do before we got here? I'm telling you this isn't right."

"The bad thing about it is that we'd have to take her to Boston with us," said Prudence, as if Penance hadn't even spoken.

"I nodded and told her to do whatever she needed to do to save her."

"The ambulance arrived then and I went downstairs to let them in. The Bishop, whom I'd met once before when Terri and I were first married, was with them. He said a prayer over Terri's sleeping form and then the ambulance techs who obviously worked for the church gave Terri a shot to keep her asleep for the trip to Boston.

"As they carried Terri out to the ambulance, Prudence stopped me in the hallway."

"Jason, what did you mean when you said that I should have come here even if the vamp was right behind me?" she asked.

"I already told you, you're always welcome here," I said.

"I could see Penance trying to listen to us and she was seething."

"Jason, no lies between us," said Prudence.

"Pru, if you were in trouble or fighting for your life, no matter what it was, I'd need to be there fighting with you," I said.

"Jason...I..."she began. But before she could say another word, Penance grabbed her hand and dragged her away from me.

"Goodbye Jason," said Prudence as Penance pulled her into the car. I stood there in the doorway waiting and watching as the cars drove away."

"I tried to get some sleep but I couldn't get her out of my mind. I told myself all of the logical things. I tried telling myself that she was a nun. None of the things I told myself worked. I tossed and turned in the bed wondering what would happen and whether or not everything would be okay."

"Just as I started wondering about the secret process that would free Terri of the vampire's control, the phone rang. I looked around and noticed that it was beginning to get dark again. I stumbled over and picked up the phone. It was the Bishop."

"Hello sir," I said. "Are you calling to tell me that Terri is okay?"

"Actually, I'm just getting you on the phone for someone else." he said.

"There was a moment of fumbling and then another voice came on the phone."

"Hello MAN," she said. "Let me speak to Sister Prudence."

"Pru isn't here Penance," I said angrily.

"But she has to be," said Penance. "She took your wife and all of her weapons and..."

"Oh shit," I said. "She's gone after him. We'd figured that as soon as it got dark, the vamp would try to call Terri again. Why the hell wouldn't she take me with her?"

"Even as I spoke, I was getting dressed. I could hear Penance moving around in the background as well."

"Penance, I'm going after her. I'll call you when I find her," I said.

"No, I'm going with you," she said. "Pick me up at the church your wife goes to."

"I wasn't in the mood to argue so I didn't. The church was on the way. I figured that the vamp would return to the scene where we'd originally seen him. If I was wrong, Pru was dead and I wouldn't be able to live with that."

"I pulled up at the church. My Mustang was breathing fire and letting everyone in the vicinity know that we were there."

"We can't drive that car it's too loud," said Penance. "We'll take Prudence's car."

"Obviously the Almighty was looking out for us that evening and he'd done something to me. I got into that car, a Chevy at that and I didn't complain. I knew that I'd need several showers after this was over to wipe the Chevy odor off of me, but all I cared about was getting to Pru before she was hurt."

"I had to admit that Penance was right. Pru's car was a lot quieter and in this case that might come in handy."

"Penance and I were reluctant allies. We made nice for the sake of saving a person we both cared about. After some awkward silences, we both started to talk at the same time."

"What did you do to Sister Prudence?" she asked.

"If you guys do this all the time, why the hell aren't you better prepared?" I asked.

"We rarely face anything this powerful," she spat.

"I didn't do anything to her," I said at the same time.

"You do know she went after this thing to protect you, don't you?" she said.

"What are you talking about crazy woman?" I asked.

"Think about it," she spat. "We'll be out of here in a few hours. We just needed to wait for the private plane they're sending for us. But she got to thinking. The two people who did the most damage to that beast were Patience with that crossbow bolt and YOU. That thing is pissed and out for revenge or maybe it's just an animal and protecting itself on instinct. With Patience out of the area, it would go after you, dummy. For some reason Sister Prudence found that unpalatable. She got this really weird look on her face just before sundown when she left. Your wife had sat straight up even with all of the drugs in her system and tried to go out."

"The Volt moved through the early evening nearly as quietly as a whisper. The only sound it made was the sound of the tires rolling over the ground. To a guy who loved the sound of eight pistons in a synchronized mechanical symphony, it was scary. I told myself over and over two things. I alternated them in my mind. God wants you to drive this piece of shit. You're doing it for Prudence."

"Do you love your wife, MAN?" she asked suddenly.

"No," I said honestly. "At one time I really did. But she betrayed me. That's all gone now."

"Patience thinks that you love Prudence now," she spat. "She also thinks that Prudence loves you. You know that won't work don't you. She'd lose all of her powers and become a normal nun if you soiled her. You should also know that Sister Prudence lied to you. She told you that there was a process to save your wife. There isn't; she just needed to use her as bait so she could save YOU. Why are you stopping?"

"We're here?" I said. "Maybe you should stay in the car. You're not going to be much help with only one arm."

"She didn't bother answering. She just rolled her eyes at me like I was crazy."

"I pulled around behind the bar into the alley that we'd battled in the night before. The all electric car was whisper silent but it didn't matter, we were too late. I jumped out of the car followed by Penance just in time to see the vamp walking across the alley with the limp form of Prudence in one arm."

"Hey fucker," I screamed. "If she's hurt..."

"He just looked at me and bared his fangs, hissing like a giant raggedy cat. I rushed at him followed by Penance who carried a mace in one hand. I picked up another rock and threw it at him as I closed the distance. He snatched the rock out of the air and slammed it to the ground beside him, then bared his fangs again. I guess that was his way of telling me that I wouldn't be able to get him that way again."

"He dropped Prudence as if she was a sack of potatoes and then gestured. From the darkness, three big homeless guys rushed Penance and I. We made extremely short work of them. Penance only had one arm so she brought the flanged mace down on the head of one of the men. The sharp metal flanges crushed his skull with a sickening sound. I'd brought my Golden Oriole Katana. I figured if I was going to die I might as well have my favorite sword in my hands. I thrust forward and split the chest of the guy nearest me. My thrust punctured his heart and dropped him immediately. I ducked and then cut the right leg of the other guy. He started bleeding profusely but still tried to stop me. Another slash and I cut the Achilles tendons on both of his legs. No matter what the vamp wanted him to do, if he couldn't walk, he couldn't get to me."