Before he could speak, though, the lights suddenly turned out, and plunged them into utter darkness. There were several screams, and then the sound of alarms. Doors all around them snapped shut.
They were locked in. Harper's breath caught in her throat. This was it, she thought. This is the end. And would it be a grand finale? Would it be a superb battle of brains and brawn? No, she thought. No, she didn't think so. She thought, in fact, that they'd all die in the dark, and nobody would even remember their names.
TWENTY-ONE
When the lights turned out, Alec heard everyone suck in a deep breath. The doors had been sealed. They were trapped in here. What would happen now? Would there be a fire that they all perished in? Would there be a bomb? What was the army's contingency plan if the vampires escaped? Because they had to have one.
Part of him wanted to just give up. It was too much; the experiments, the pain, the fighting, and now the dark. Slowly his eyes adjusted and he saw the Afterlife and Serendipity crews standing together in a tight circle. Sarah was still a wolf, and Samuel was still a bear. The vampires they'd freed were standing close to each other too.
He was about to say something, though he didn't know what it would be, when the lights turned back on. For a moment, he thought that this was a good thing. It meant that it was only a fluke, or some safety measure that had been tripped.
Then Alec looked around. Surrounding the group were soldiers, all holding guns. They had come in while it was dark. So this was their plan; mass killing. He looked at his team. It was bad enough when he thought Chloe was dead; now the rest of them would die too. At least he was with them. He wouldn't continue on after they were gone. He wouldn't be forced to go through the guilt and the pain of losing them.
The soldiers began to lift their guns. Before they could, the door to the lab burst open and a man came out. He was taller than Alec, and far more muscular. He wasn't carrying a gun, but it didn't look as though he needed one; he could tear someone apart with his hands if he needed to.
"There's no need for more bloodshed," this man said, staring up at the men with the guns. "We can resolve this peacefully. Now who's in charge here?"
For a moment, nobody moved or spoke. Then Alec moved forward. "I am. Who the hell are you?"
"I'm General Walker," he said. "I'm in command of this compound and the people within it. I assume you are one of the vampires that we've been trying to treat?"
"You mean, experiment on," Alec said. "Because that's what this really is, isn't it? An attempt to weaponize vampires? It's sick."
"Our goal is to cure the disease of vampirism," General Walker said. "Anything else we're studying is secondary to that."
"I don't believe you," Alec said sharply.
The general met his gaze. "I'm sorry you feel that way," he said. "Certainly, you might have a different viewpoint than those of us in charge. I imagine that you feel hurt and angry and abused." He turned his eyes to the others. "I'm sure many of you feel that way. But think of what you're doing for all the vampires in the world. Think about how you're helping them."
There were a few murmurs in the crowd. Alec couldn't tell if they were agreeing or growing angry. His attention was too focused on the general. "You lie," he said. "You pretend we're here for some sort of cure, and you have to know that one doesn't exist. It's impossible to become alive again once you're dead, and that's exactly what we are. We're dead."
He turned towards the group. "We're dead," he shouted out. "We're dead."
This time, there was a rumbling of agreement.
"Stop it," General Walker said. "If you stop now, you can return to your room, and we can forget this nasty little incident and the guards you killed trying to lead these men and women away from what could be their salvation."
Alec spun around. He was so angry that he finally understood the meaning of the phrase seeing red, because everything was a red, hazy blur. He was aware that he'd shifted into his vampire form.
"You're nothing more than a torturer," he said. "And I'm going to kill you for it."
He leapt towards the man, and the soldiers raised their guns again.
"There's no need for that," the general told them. "I can handle this man."
"Watch out, Alec!" Harper suddenly shouted. "He's a vampire!"
But her cry was pointless; it was immediately obvious what the man was. As he stepped forward to meet Alec, he became even more muscular, his eyes glowing a pure black. His teeth had sharpened into canines. He was a vampire, but he was like no vampire Alec had ever seen. He was gruesome in his transformation.
"What the hell?" Alec said. "What are you?"
The general ignored him, and Alec realized that the man hadn't just been experimenting on the vampires; he'd been experimenting on himself. He was both disgusted and angry at the same time. He quickly closed the distance between, his hand moving towards the man's throat.
General Walker caught his fist halfway, and bent his arm back. Alec felt it snap. The man was strong; much stronger than he'd originally thought.
He ignored the pain in his arm, and threw himself full force into the fight. Immediately, though, it became clear that this man was far too strong for him. Whatever he'd been doing, it had worked. His strength was incredible. In less than two minutes, he had Alec on the ground.
He didn't kill him, though. He put a boot on his chest to hold him in place, and looked at the crowd. "Now you see, this is your hero. He's hardly more than a rag doll. Look at what you can become!"
Alec tried to fight, but couldn't. He couldn't even catch his breath.
"Look what we can do for you," General Walker said. "Look what you can do for your country! Don't you want your lives to have meaning? You could stop wars. Endless bloodshed would finally be over once you show your strength! Unite, brothers and sisters. Unite, and help us conquer!"
"No."
The word came from somewhere behind them. A small, mousy looking man stepped out. It was the scientist, Brian Larke, holding a pistol. The general turned slowly around. "What did you say, Larke?"
"I said no," Brian said. "This isn't why I agreed to help you. This isn't why I've been working night and day for weeks. This isn't what I want."
"It's not up to you," General Walker said. "You're a contractor, nothing more."
"I am far more than that," Brian said. "I guess I forgot that." He turned to the group. "In my desire to see vampirism cured, I have done you a great disservice. I know that now."
General Walker growled, deep in his throat. "Then you'll die too," he said, and leapt towards the scientist.
Brian raised the gun, and everything seemed to go in slow motion; one moment the general was lunging across the distance between him and Brian, the next moment, he was crumpled on the floor.
Brian had fired the gun. The bullet had struck the general in the head, and he'd toppled over. Brian walked over to him, and drew a stake from his lab coat. He bent down, and closed his eyes. He murmured something, and Alec was certain it was a prayer. Then he slid the stake into the man's chest. A moment later, and all that was left of General Walker was a pile of dust.
There was silence, and then there was thunderous applause. Every vampire was clapping and stomping their feet and whistling.
For a moment, everyone had forgotten about the soldiers stationed in a circle around them. They were lifting their guns once more.
"No," Brian said. "No! Put those down! Your general is dead, and if you decide to avenge him, you are no better than him. He practiced inhumane things and he dragged the rest of us in on it. Maybe we were looking for answers, or we were looking for a cure, or we just wanted to see how things turned out... but it isn't right, and you know that! So put down your weapons, and think about the future -- the real future."
Slowly, one by one, the soldiers lowered their weapons. Some looked confused, some looked ashamed, and some looked relieved.
Brian turned to the vampires. "I can't expect forgiveness from you," he said. "The thi
ngs we did... the pain we put you through... nobody should have to endure that. Yet, you did. And here you are, still strong. Still living. This man," he pointed at Alec, "he said that you were dead, but you aren't. You have a long road ahead of you, but you are not dead."
This time, when Alec looked at the crowd of vampires, he saw something that touched him more than any words could have. He saw tears streaming down their faces, he saw them clutching hands with the people next to them, and he saw genuine belief and relief on their faces.
TWENTY-TWO
The members of Afterlife and Serendipity sat together in a cafe, gathered around one of the tables. Brian was sitting there too, in ordinary clothes and wearing a pair of spectacles.
"I truly thought we could cure them," he said.
Harper and the others watched him carefully, listening intently to everything he had to say.
"It was my fault," he said. "The kidnappings... that was my idea. I told the general that I could do something, that I could change them, that I could make them human again. I didn't mean for so many to die from the experiments, that was the general's doing. I knew what he was planning, though. I knew that he wanted a group of super soldiers, and I didn't care. I just wanted a cure."
"Because of your son," Alec said.
Harper couldn't imagine having a child who was turned into a vampire. The thought raced through her mind; a child that would never hit puberty, who would never go on a date, who would never grow old or have a family. Her heart went out to Brian; if she'd been in his position, she might have made the same decision that he did.
"Yes, because of my son," Brian said. "He's only nine years old, and I don't want this life for him."
"It's the only life he has," Alec said. The others were silent, letting them speak. "I know it's hard, but at least you have him. He didn't get hit by a car, he didn't get cancer, he didn't get kidnapped and killed... he's with you, and he needs you, not some cure."
"I realize that now," Brian said. "I'm going to focus on taking care of him. Making sure he knows right from wrong, teaching him that killing is never right, and that he must remain steadfast in his purity."
"That's what you should have been doing from the start," Alec said. "Will the quarantine lift?"
Brian nodded. "Yes. We've halted all research, and we're evacuating the military over the next few days. Of course, they will still be watching Phoenix. With all the vampires here, they can hardly not watch it."
"I think they're going to be alright," Alec said. "I think they'll adjust, and that they'll be good citizens."
"I think so too," Brian said. "I want to ask you to stay."
Harper drew in a sharp breath. She saw Conner glance at her, and felt her cheeks fill with color. Why did everything have to be so damned hard? She had Conner. She shouldn't be worrying about losing Alec.
Yet, she was. She tried to turn off her feelings for him, and she couldn't. They connected on a level that was far past physical.
"No," Alec said.
"No?" Brian asked.
"No," he repeated. "I can't stay here. I have work to do in Las Vegas. I have a team there, and I can't abandon them."
Harper saw Chloe smirk from her chair, though she didn't say anything. She knew Chloe was proud of the fact that she'd been right about Alec being a victim of General Walker. She'd been his advocate the entire time, and her loyalty had been correctly placed.
"But if you're not here," Brian said, "who's going to advocate for them? The vampires? And who's going to help them... and teach them?"
"I think you know the answer to that," Alec said quietly.
"No," Brian said. "I couldn't. Not me. I can't."
"Why not?" Alec asked.
Brian shook his head. "Because I did this to them," he said. "I experimented on them. I kept them locked up. I..."
Alec nodded. "You did, but you also freed them, Brian. You gave them another chance, and that's what they'll remember. They'll remember that you were the one to stop the general."
"I didn't have a choice there," Brian said. "It was the only thing to do. The only right thing. I hardly remember what it's like to make the right decision..."
Harper couldn't help it; she leaned forward and took Brian's hands in her own.
"You are a good man," she said. "You had hard decisions to make. You made a mistake, but that's all it was, a mistake. You weren't evil like the general. It's time to stop blaming yourself and start looking toward the future. You can give these men and women something they didn't have before, and that's the opportunity for a future."
"She's right," Chloe said gently.
The others all nodded their agreement.
"I don't know," Brian still said.
"Brian, sometimes all the choices are hard ones," Harper said.
Her eyes flicked over to Alec, and then over to Conner. Conner wanted to reach out and touch her, she saw that on his face. But what would that do to Alec? What would that do to her? She felt like she was being pulled in opposite directions by two men who cared for her. How had her life gotten this complicated?
"Will you stay?" Alec asked.
"You should stay," Chloe urged softly.
Brian looked at the others. They all nodded their agreement.
"I don't know," he said again. "I have a son..."
"A son who will fit in perfectly here," Harper said. "This is the perfect place to raise him. He'll be amongst his own kind, amongst people who understand him and his special needs. He'll be able to make friends with the other children who were changed."
Alec nodded. "Harper's right. This is the perfect place to raise him."
"Then change me too," Brian said.
"What?"
"Change me," Brian said. "Make me immortal so my son will never be alone."
"Do you realize what you're asking?" Alec asked. "Do you realize what that will do to you? You'll be undead. You'll have all the cravings and struggles and--"
"--All the things my son will have," Brian said. "All things the people here will suffer through. How can I help them if I don't understand what they're going through? No, I need to be one of them. Then I can help them."
Harper thought for sure that Alec would refuse. He wouldn't allow someone to willingly become a vampire. She had asked once, and he'd nearly bitten her head off over the request. Not literally, of course...
"I'll do it," Alec said.
Everyone at the table drew in a breath of surprise.
He ignored them, though, not looking at the others. He met Brian's gaze solidly. "If you want to be a vampire, I'll turn you," he said. "It won't be fun. It's going to hurt a lot, and you're going to hate me for it on some days."
"No, I don't think I will," Brian said softly. "I think I'll be eternally grateful for it, Alec. Please."
"Fine," Alec said.
"No!" Samuel burst out. "Enough people have died!"
"I'm not dying," Brian said.
"You are," Samuel said. "You're giving up your life."
The scientist smiled. "For my son."
"It doesn't matter what it's for. You're still giving up your life," Samuel repeated.
Harper watched Sarah take Samuel's hand. She gave it a soft squeeze. "It's his decision, Samuel. Leave the man alone. He's doing what he believes is right. And who are we to judge that? Who are we to make that call?"
Samuel looked like he wanted to argue more, but he met Sarah's gaze and didn't. He sunk back into silence. Wren put a hand on his shoulder, and Heather took his other hand and squeezed it. Seeing them like that reminded Harper that they were part of the Serendipity team. They would be staying in Phoenix. How would Sarah and Samuel handle that?
"Come on," Brian said to Alec. "Let's go somewhere private."
"You want to do it now?" Alec asked.
"Yes. The sooner the better."
Alec looked over at his team. Sarah nodded. Chloe nodded. Conner looked uneasy, but in the end, he jerked his head in consent. His eyes finally fell on Harper.
>
"It's his choice," Harper said.
"Alright then," he said to Brian. "Let's go."
TWENTY-THREE
"So, the quarantine is lifted," Samuel said. He was back in the hotel, sitting on the edge of Sarah's bed. "You guys can go home now. Back to Las Vegas. I guess you'll leave pretty soon, huh?"
"Yeah," Sarah said. "We're planning to leave the day after next. Brittney and Harper want to go shopping first. We're renting cars to drive back, thank God. I can't handle a flight again right now."
Samuel laughed. "Not a big fan of flying?"
"No, not at all," she said.
"Want to know a secret?" he asked.
"Sure."
Samuel grinned at her. "I hate flying too."
She brushed her hair away from her face, wishing she'd put it in a ponytail. She gathered it into her hands, and then let it fall back on her shoulders. "It's a good thing Las Vegas isn't that far away."
Samuel looked up. "What?"
"It's not that far," Sarah repeated.
"No," he said slowly. "I suppose it isn't."
"I know you have work to do here in Phoenix," Sarah said. "I can't ask you to leave that, and you can't ask me to stay. You know I have a life in Las Vegas. But this doesn't have to be goodbye."
Samuel nodded. "So you're saying..."
Sarah sighed. It was hard for her to speak. She felt like there was something stuck in her throat. She swallowed a few times.
"I'm saying that I don't want this to end."
Samuel blinked at her. "Are you sure? I don't want to force anything, and you've been quite... adamant that this can't go anywhere."
"Are you trying to get out of this?" Sarah asked curiously. "Was I just the welcome distraction you needed? And now that I'm going back, you want to return to your former life without all the complications?"
Samuel laughed. She loved the sound of it; it was deep and throaty and real. He stepped forward and took her in his arms.
"Sarah," he whispered, "I've never felt like this about anyone else. I couldn't go back to normal if I tried."
A Phoenix Never Dies (Afterlife Book 6) Page 11