The Spirit of the Potomac

“Asa told us that Gwen and Tala had run north, so the seven of us walked in that direction through the forest. I could hear someone sobbing and another yelling up ahead. A group of people approached us from the west. Far to the south, I heard someone or something murmuring strangely. I must have activated Auspex – no way I could have heard that with my normal hearing.

“The kids introduced themselves as Allie, Chris, and Pam. The frenzied one was Malcom. Pam told us they been kept in a basement for days by a man in a cowboy hat who called her ‘pudding.’ They were driven to the bridge and ordered to walk through the Wall, or they would be shot. It burned their skin, but they were able to pass. They didn’t remember anything after that.

“Before we reached the beach, we ran into Gwen’s ghouls approaching from the west. They told us they had left Ben in the car on the other side of the Wall. Asa had just enough time to tell them that Gwen was in the north before they ran forward, leaving us alone. Asa was justifiably pissed, but I grabbed him by the shoulders and told him that he needed to stop freaking out. I’m the crazy one. I can’t be the only one staying in control. 

“We walked out onto the beach. Gwen was yelling at Tala. That it was all Tala’s fault, and Tala had given everything away. Later, we found out that Tala had opened her mind for Jinx to read. Jinx grew angry over something she had seen there and fled. Gwen bit Jinx and suffered the same madness that infects others when they bite me. Guess I’m not the only poisonous Malkavian. Jinx had escaped with the box and bird skull into the Potomac, and Tala did not give chase. 

“At the time, though, it was just chaos. Gwen started shouting at her ghouls, demanding a reason for why they had not provided back-up. Paolo said they had been ambushed on the Alexandrian side of the wall. Then Ruth ran through and grabbed Giuseppe and Elizabeth. Tala later told us that Ruth carried a demonic hand that made a hole in the Wall for her to slip through.

“Asa asked if Tala was going to be okay. She said she would never be okay again. Asa then turned on Gwen, and they fought. I let them go at it. That’s why I heard Ben whisper my name. Tala perked her head up. She looked like a predator. Covered in blood. Hollow cheeks and eyes. Before I could say anything, she vanished before my eyes. I was about to try and find Ben myself when she teleported back in front of me. And in her hand was –

“God. Listeners. This is hard to talk about. Makes me wish all of this was a dream I was having in an insane asylum. I can talk about it now because everything’s fine. But Tala stood in front of me, holding Ben’s hand. His hand which was attached to his arm all the way up to his shoulder and then not attached to anything at all. It hung in the air for a moment, like the rest of Ben was invisible and would reappear at any moment. Then it swung down, and blood gushed out. The silence felt like it lasted an eternity until a scream pierced the night air. Ben.

“Asa acted first. He grabbed the arm from Tala’s hand and ran forward. For a moment I froze. I wanted to tear her apart. Rip her throat out with my teeth. Thrust my hand through her ribcage and pull out her heart like she had just done to the cultists. But Ben was still alive. His screams echoed in my ears. I ran after Asa. He was kneeling beside Ben, holding the arm against Ben’s bleeding shoulder. A brilliant blue light flashed from Asa’s forehead and lit up the night.

“And then there was Ben. Alive. Whole. His arm back on his body like it had never been gone. Not even a scar remained. The only evidence was his torn sleeve, still wrapped around his wrist. I knelt beside Ben and clutched him to my chest. He was still soaked from the swim in the Potomac and not nearly as warm as he should have been. But he was warm enough. Still breathing. Still alive. He said he was hungry. 

“Listeners, I know what I’ve said. What I’ve promised. I know I shouldn’t have given Ben my blood. But I didn’t know how Asa had fixed him, if he was still hurt. George and Tala told me that, as long as a ghoul has a vampire’s blood in their body, they can use it to heal. I couldn’t risk him dying from some internal injury. I pulled the knife from my pocket and sliced open my forearm. I didn’t even flinch. Maybe I’ve gotten used to it. He drank from me. 

“Ben looked up at me. Eyes shining with tears. Lips red with my blood. He told me he loved me. Listeners, I still don’t know what I should have said or done. Should I have said it back? Of course I care for him. He’s my best friend. He’s my only friend. He keeps me grounded. Sane. Ben is the best goddamn thing that’s ever happened to me. And he nearly died because of me. 

“I just nodded and held him close to my chest. Even if it’s true, I couldn’t say it back. Not now. Not while there’s a risk that my blood is compelling him.

“Let’s um, let’s take a commercial break, shall we? I think I need to go scream or cry or jump out the window. Bury myself along with the corpses outside. Be right back.”

* * * 

“Dawn is almost up so I’ll make this next part quick. We took Ben back and Asa tried to get Tala to apologize. I didn’t care. I wanted her to stay as far away from Ben as possible. It was hard to stay mad, though. She looked so lost and broken. Gwen’s ghouls were in the process of acquiring a yacht. I tried to look for Cedric in the cobweb and couldn’t reach him, but I could feel him closely. Remembering the noises I heard from the south, I set off in that direction. I was going to ask Ben to come with me, but then Tala decided to join. She raced ahead and howled when she found Cedric. He was in bad shape. Whimpering. Muttering nonsense. I wondered if that’s what I look like, when I’m having my nightmares.

“I tried to use Dominate to reach him, but like with Jordan, there was no response. With Dominate, it’s like, I can feel the person’s will inside their mind and manipulate their intentions or memories with my words. With Jordan and Cedric, I couldn’t feel them at all. I forced blood into my limbs and lower back to carry Cedric. Tala was certainly strong enough, but I didn’t trust her. We walked to the yacht and sped south down the Potomac and back north on the Anacostia River. We docked by the Congressional Cemetery. The air around felt cold and oppressive. Like molasses. And like millions of eyes were staring us down.

“We met with a man named Carlos in front of a large manor next to the Cemetery. He recognized Cedric and Jordan and raised an eyebrow at Gwen. I couldn’t tell if he was excited or nervous. We were escorted to different bedrooms. We put Cedric and Jordan in one. Asa got one, and Ben and I shared. I warned Ben to stay away from me in case a nightmare led me to frenzy, but I had a feeling he would be there when I woke. I think Tala and Gwen went to share a bedroom.

“So that’s where I am now. Sitting in the bathtub and recording this for you, my dear listeners. I don’t know if we’re safe here. I don’t know if I’ll be safe anywhere. We didn’t stop the ritual. But I rescued Cedric and Jordan. We saved Pam, Allie, Malcolm, and Chris. Ben is alive. Damien’s cult is either dead or scattered across DC. And I’m not a drooling, raving lunatic in an insane asylum. Probably. Hopefully. 

“Stay safe out there, listeners. I’ll be back to take your calls after a short message from our sponsors and the vampire god in my head. DJ Zachariah out.”