Bitten (Book 1 - Book 4)

Natalia trotted back down the stairs. She could now see that the many different groups of people in the living room were conducting meetings. Most of the topics she heard consisted of repairs and costs.

Back in the kitchen, tea and freshly baked chocolate chip cookies were being passed around. Nadine and Harold's children were there looking happy to be snarfing down the cookies. Becky's face was smeared with chocolate.

"You stay out of trouble,’ Harold said to Michael in a stern voice. “Watch over Becky.’

Michael towered over his father.

“No one will pick on her with me around,” he said, standing straight.

“Ill help,” Loden said, taking a napkin from his mother to wipe Becky's face.

“Stay in the house. You have games and books.’

"Yes, sir,” Michael said.

Natalia could see that Harold was the boss over the children. Nadine seemed content to stand there and nod. Natalia felt as if she was more concerned about her husband's behavior than that of her children.

Natalia chugged her tea and ate three cookies.

Moralis joined them, wearing jeans and a t-shirt.

“Ready, you two? We don't want to let Gussy get too much rest.’

He also grabbed a handful of cookies.

“Ready,’ Uri said.

Harold nodded that he was ready.

They turned to the door only to have it opened by Grazie.

“Hey. Hi, Harold."

“We're heading to the sewers to flush Gussy,” Moralis said.

“Where do you need me?’ Grazie said.

Behind him, Tia came in carrying Grace. Behind her were the other children.

“Mirren will tell you. We have to go.’

“Okay.’ Grazie turned to Harold's children. “Hey, Michael. Loden. Is that Becky?"

Becky giggled.

“We'll get the kids together and keep them occupied,’ Grazie said to Harold.

“Thanks,’ Harold said, looking pleased

Tracy was the last in the door.

“Oh, my, you are so cute,’ Tracy said, picking up Becky.

Harold smiled big, showing all his teeth. Even Nadine, who had been so stone faced, smiled.

There was controlled chaos while the children filed from the kitchen to the other rooms. However, this didn't delay them. The delay was when Moralis and Uri stepped over to Grazie, and there was a whispered conversation. Natalia wasn't able to pick up on what was being said.

“Let's go," Morals said, heading out the back door.

Natalia followed Uri. They all went out to the street.

I'm predicting a lot more walking and running,” she said with an exaggerated groan.

Uri smiled while his eyes ogled up and down her body. She knew what he was thinking.

“He's on foot, so should we," Moralis said, staying serious with his eyes on the street.

“Can't sniff him out in a car,’ Harold said.

Despite his size and pudginess, he trotted along with ease, keeping up with them.

There were few signs that Viperia had been invaded. The only obvious sign that something had happened was the storm drain. Someone had replaced the grate, but there was still one ladder nearby.

Uri slid over the grate while Moralis got the ladder. He motioned for everyone to go down, while he stayed topside. Once everyone was down, he pulled the ladder up.

Natalia wondered if he was going to jump down.

However, he didn't. Instead, he felt over the edge for the hand holds. Once he was hanging on the wall, he pulled over the grate, then he climbed down.

Natalia wondered what that would do. The grate wasn't locked. Anyone could climb up and slide it over and be out.

Moralis seemed to know what she was thinking.

“Looks secure,” Moralis said in a quiet voice. “Enough to put Gussy off. I don't think he’s in any good shape to make that climb. We hope.’

'Viperians, that don't eat our diet, get weak," Uri said.

“He's been gone long enough,’ Moralis said.

Harold took the lead, trotting down the sewer.

“What about you, Harold?" she said.

'We get supplies of grubbies and sanguine tea. The Council makes sure of it,” he said.

They trotted along until their sewer line joined up with the main line. Harold motioned with both of his arms flailing backwards for them to stay back. He paced up and down the area sniffing.

“He passed this way. Didn't go up to the storm drain. I can't tell if he passed this way multiple times. He could have come up and then back down the main sewer line."

“Uri. Nattie. Stay here. We'll go down and see if he went the other way or if he took any other turnoffs.”

Moralis and Harold disappeared down the sewer.

Natalia slowly sniffed the air, then bent down. There were a lot of scents, and most of them weren't pleasant, but she wasn't picking up Gussy's.

“He's got an awfully good nose,’ Natalia said about Harold.

“Bloodhound,’ Uri said.

“I heard you three got into a lot of trouble together.’

“Actually, Harold kept us out of a lot of trouble. His nose often warned us when someone was on to us. Gave us enough of a lead to get the hell out of wherever we were."

Natalia's ears tuned in to a noise. She held her breath. It was coming from the other direction. Uri seemed to have heard it as well. They both watched.

Natalia felt a shiver go up her spine.

“I hate rats,’ she said when two appeared.

“Watch them,” Uri said. “If they don’t seem to be in a hurry then they weren't flushed.’

The rats didn't seem to take any notice of them while they sorted through the garbage. Then they scurried up the wall and were gone.

Natalia felt the heebie-jeebies as she looked up. She didn't see them, but there was the sound of scurrying feet.

“Regular rat highway up there,” Uri said.

'I didn't want to hear that,’ she said with a shiver.

They don't jump,’ he said with a soft chuckle. “But... they might push each other off.’

She eyed him with displeasure on hearing that.

There was the faint sound of footsteps coming from the direction Moralis and Harold had gone. Uri pulled her back, but it was just the two men returning.

Harold trotted past, motioning for them to follow. He bent low, then slowed to a walk, weaving back and forth.

“He's not doing so well," Moralis said in a quiet voice.

Natalia thought he meant Harold since he was weaving.

“Looks like Gussy nearly drowned himself coming up the pipe. Threw up his last meal. We figured he only passed this way less than a few hours ago.’

“Bet he lost consciousness for a while,” Uri said.

Moralis nodded.

“He's hardly Viperian anymore.’

Harold picked up the pace and stopped his zigzagging.

Natalia wrinkled her nose to a new scent. It wasn't pleasant. There was a pile of vomit. The smell almost caused her to retch

“He tried to eat a rat,’ Harold said.

Natalia grimaced and stepped away.

They moved on.

Harold was no longer bent over. He seemed to be following a clear trail. Even Natalia could still detect the faint smell of vomit, although, she couldn't tell if it was just imprinted on her nose or if it was from the trail. At any rate, she figured Gussy now smelled of his own vomit and that was what Harold was detecting, especially since it was so fresh.

Despite, she had only been in this part of the sewer twice, she knew where they were and where Gussy was heading. He was heading toward the port. She remembered last winter having made the trip to find blood meal and church money on a ship.

Harold made a turn. She knew they were nearing the metal ladder where they would make the climb up.

“Let me go up first,’ Uri said. I'll make sure we don't have a trap.’

Uri climbed up fast, but stopped when he reached the top. Natalia thought he was taking a long time looking at the grate. Then, he slowly moved it and disappeared. It was a couple of minutes before his head reappeared.

“Come on up,” he said, calling down.

Moralis motioned for her to go next. She climbed up as quick as she could. Harold was next, with Moralis last.

They all stood close to the grate while Harold paced the area

“He's still on foot, but he’s heading back into the city,’ Harold said.

They started that way, only to find themselves circling back.

“Nope. He changed his mind," Harold said.

They were now clearly heading for the port.

Saturday was still a busy day for the shipping yards, especially during the summer when the water was ice free. A big ship was coming in. There were horns and loud speaker announcements blaring throughout the area. Cranes were in operation either moving cargo onto ships or off. Most of the people in sight were on ships, but there were still a handful walking along the docks. A road between buildings and the docks was full of truck and car traffic

Harold led them to a side gate that wasn't monitored. There was a chain and lock, but it wasn't fully fastened. They were able to gain access to the shipping yard with no problem. Once inside, no one seemed to give them any attention despite they didn't look like the typical yard worker.

“If he gets on a ship, we'll lose him,” Harold said.

He was again bending over to follow the trail. Unfortunately, the trail led them right to a berth that was empty.

“He went out on a boat,’ Harold said. “Or at least that's what it looks like."

“I doubt he went to sea,’ Uri said. “Let's spread out.’

Moralis looked around.

“Nattie, go up on that tower by the crane,’ Morals said. “Be a look out."

“Phone coverage sucks,’ Uri said, looking at his phone.

"Yeah, during the day, all the radio traffic and the crane activity kills it,’ Moralis said. “Do what you can.’

“I've been up there before,’ she said. “Wish I had a clip board to look more official.”

"You just have to smile,” Uri said.

“And tell them I'm with Environmental Services, and I'm monitoring water quality.’

Uri grinned.

"You got it."

The three men dispersed. Natalia climbed the tower. She took out her phone like she was taking notes and pictures, while she looked over the area.

If Gussy was on a ship, it would be hard to pick him out. The ships were huge, and the people she did see looked like ants. If he stole a truck or car, it would be impossible to see that it was him. There was way too much activity going on to find that one person.

The crane near her stopped. She could tell the man was parking it for the day. While he climbed down from it, she gazed over the area again until she heard him approaching. She kept her focus on her phone. He walked right past her, ignoring her. While her eyes followed him, she could see that others were stopping for the day. The crew on a smaller boat jumped off, checked that ropes were secure and then disappeared toward the main gates.

She checked her phone, this time really looking at it. It was getting to be mid-afternoon.

"Hey, we're closing up.”

She jumped at the voice. A man below her was staring up at her.

“Just finishing up. I'll be down shortly,” she said

He nodded and headed toward the gates.

Fishing boats were streaming in, settling between the bigger ships. Their catches didn't require the cranes. Trucks appeared to load up the catch of the day. Then, they were gone.

Natalia had yet to catch sight of Uri, Moralis or Harold. She had no idea where they were, and had received no texts or calls. She knew it was past the time that Victoria needed nursing. Her breasts were feeling full and tight. She wondered if poor Mag and Mirren were dealing with a screaming baby.

A truck passed, driving fast. Her eyes followed it. She knew it was heading to the gates. Her eyes swung back to find the area was now deserted. All the cranes were stopped. There didn't appear to be anyone on any of the ships around her. Even the water lapping against the docks seemed to diminish.

The sun was hot. The smell of fish, diesel fuel, and salt wafted up to her. She could even smell the asphalt of the road and the rubber of the tires being used to buffer the ships against the docks. She did a slow scan of the area. There wasn't a single person in sight. Nothing moved.

A familiar musky scent wafted up to her. It was faint and unexpected. She looked down and around. A man had just left a building. He was carrying a lunch pail like one of the workers. He also wore one of the high visibility vests that the crane operators and the drivers wore. However, it didn't match the rest of his outfit. He was wearing dress slacks and a white silk shirt.

Damn, Natalia thought.

She stood.

That was Gussy.

She made her way off the tower, trying to keep him in sight. At the bottom, she quickened her pace and brought out her phone.

Damn.

No phone service.

What the hell?

She walked faster.

There were now buildings in the way, but she could still faintly smell his cologne. She slowed and edged around a building.

Gussy was nowhere in sight.

She stopped to listen and sniff while she sent out a text to Uri that Gussy had just left the port and she was on his trail.

Yeah, right, she thought. I already lost him.

Her phone still had no service.

She tilted her head to check the direction of the wind and see if she could catch any sound.

The main gates were a number of buildings away. She could tell the gates were slightly ajar and that there was a guard in the guard shack. At the pace Gussy was going, she knew he hadn't gone out that way. He had to be heading toward a side gate, but one different from the one he came in from. She wondered if he knew the area.

She moved at a jog across the open area to another set of buildings. The air movement between the buildings carried his cologne. He had gone this way.

She paused to listen, but heard nothing human.

Keeping to one side, she walked as silently as she could. Even thought she knew he was losing his Viperian senses, she didn't want to cue him in just in case.

She reached the end of the building and carefully peered out, checking up and down the area. The rattling of a chain caused her to step back. She crossed over to the other building and peered out, having to take a step or two before she could see around a slight curvature in the building. Halfway down, Gussy was trying to undo a chain. This one, however, was locked. He looked up to see about climbing the fence, but there was razor wire overhead. With frustration, he smacked the chain and continued on. In no way was he trying to be quiet.

Natalia waited, checking to see if her phone had sent the text. She still had no phone service. The feeling of frustration flooded through her while she peered around the building again. Gussy was almost out of sight. She trotted out, keeping close to the building. After two more buildings, she knew he was heading toward the main gates. He had to be somewhat disoriented, she thought. Why didn't he go out the gate he had come in? Unless, he wasn't remembering where that was. Gussy turned around a building and was no longer in sight. She turned before that building, and hurried to the end, where she paused. The main gates were just one building away and in clear view. She would be able to see him go out them.

However, there was now a police car sitting at the gates. A guard was leaning against the car, talking to the officer inside. She looked hard. There didn't seem to be any Viperian markings on the car which meant it was a non-Viperian officer.

Gussy still hadn't appeared. Was he waiting? Why? He could easily walk right up, wave at the guard, and walk through the gates. There was nothing illegal about leaving the docks after hours. It was getting in after hours that was blocked. So where was Gussy? Why was he waiting?

Then, it dawned on her.

Gussy wasn't able to see the bioluminescence that marked Viperian cars. Since he wasn't getting a diet of grubbies or sanguine tea, he could no longer tell if this was a Viperian police car or not. Because he couldn't tell, he had to play it safe. He wasn't moving until the police car left. Natalia hoped he wasn’t going to double back. How the hell was she going to monitor that?

The guard stood. She caught the sound of laughter. Then, the guard returned to his shack. The police car backed up and turned around. The moment it was totally out of sight, Gussy appeared. He did exactly what she thought he would do. He waved at the guard.

"Good night. Have a good weekend,” he said with a sassy tone to his voice.

The guard just nodded and waved back.

Gussy walked out of the gates, heading in the same direction as the police car.

Natalia had to wait until he was at least a block away.

She walked fast to the gates. The guard never even looked up when she stepped through. She broke into a jog. Gussy's figure was getting smaller and smaller. She didn't want to lose him.

She started running, figuring she could get closer. Maybe she could pretend to be someone out for a jog. Maybe...

Natalia stopped dead.

A car pulled up by Gussy. He got in. The car drove away.