Free He's Watching Me by Wesley Thomas

vein, if it hasn't already. It is so close to my neck, which isn't good. Why do you think vampires suck blood from your neck?”
    Creepy blood-sucking fiends were something Laura really didn't want to think about right now.
    “Okay, okay, I'll do it,” Laura promised, taking a deep inhale.
    She tried to find the same courage that had been used when leaving the wardrobe. She searched hard, heeding it out from within her, until she felt that same warmth and power that had possessed her only minutes ago. Laura wrapped her fingers around the candlestick firmly.
    “Wait!” he hollered.
     
    “You need to open the box and get everything we are gonna need first,” Toby instructed, eyelids fluttering, but forcing himself to stay lucid.
    Laura relinquished her hold and opened the first aid box, pulling out objects as per Toby's instructions. Plenty of bandages, alcohol cleanser, and a safety pin. Soon enough there was a neat pile aside the first aid box, ready and waiting to be used.
    “Right, do it,” Toby ordered, biting his tongue and tensing in preparation for the impending pain.
    She admired his gallant attitude and felt awfully responsible for this whole thing. But there was all the time in the world to feel guilty, right now she needed to get a hold, both of herself and the candlestick. Her grip relocated itself on the stick as she took a deep breath and yanked it out. There was a moist squelch as Toby squealed through gritted teeth, clenching every tooth through painful whimpers. Heaps of blood, without hesitation, gushed from the wound. Globules of crimson fluid soiled clothing and stained flesh, spurting from the puncture energetically.
    “Quick, put some alcohol cleanser on a pad and rub the wound,” Toby told her.
    She obeyed. But from several movies she'd seen Laura could have sworn it was more important to clog the wound first. But then again her parents weren't wealthy doctors. She laid him down on the floor as the blood's flow eased off, giving her the opportune time to quickly clean the gash.
    “Now wrap the bandage around tightly, and use lots of it,” he advised, eyelids drooping and lips barely moving.
    Laura spun a bundle of white round and round. When she was finished it looked as though he was wearing an armband, ready to go for a swim. Then to add the finishing touch a safety pin clipped the padding together. A circle of red stained the bandage, but the hectic rush of blood had appeared to decrease considerably, platelets rushing to heal and clot the injury.
    “You did a great job,” Toby half heartedly smiled, energy draining.
    “Being told by someone much younger than me, but thanks,” she laughed, but was pleased with the job she had done. Laura just hoped it was enough.
    “Now we just have to wait for the police, and that shouldn't be much longer now. Hang in there,” Laura rubbed his head like a caring mother, flinching at how cold it was. Now all they had to do was wait.
     
    It was 00:30am on the digital clock in the panic room. The good news, Laura should be dead by now, but wasn't. But the bad news was that their hope was evaporating. So much so its existence will have disappeared all together very soon, leaving pessimism embedded into them.
    “Where are they?” Toby asked, resembling a ghost, bags puffing his bloodshot eyes and lids drooping like a decrepit old man.
    The whites of them marked with tiny red squiggles, adding to the look of exhaustion and lack of well-being. Laura ransacked her mind for an answer that would sustain the last reserves of prosperity that may dwell within him. Tell him that the traffic was bad? Yeah right, at this time the roads would be dead. Tell him that they were downstairs waiting to get in? No, unrealistic. So she was honest.
     
    “I don't know Toby, they should be here by now, I'm sure they are on their way though,” she stroked his arm gently.
    “Pass me the laptop, I think I just found a way out of here,” Toby abruptly informed, growing