by Andrew Lynch
Claire was waiting at the big glass entrance for me. At least, I assumed the blonde woman in the white lab coat was her.
I waved as I got closer.
She threw me a smile, and said, ‘Hey. Anderton, right?’
‘If you are Claire, then I am Anderton, yes.’
I was now close enough to see her ID badge. Claire Winters, lab technician. She must have been about five foot two, and aside from her lab coat, was wearing running trainers and black leggings.
‘So, Miss Winters, it’s ready?’
She grinned wickedly. ‘Oh yes. Come on through to my lab.’
As we walked through the spacious lobby, I said, ‘I didn’t know this was such a big University town.’
‘Oh, it’s not really. Average size,’ Claire said, ushering me through automatically opening doors.
‘It must have cost a fortune to build,’ I said, admiring the curves. Of the building, of course.
‘Yeah, I wouldn’t ask too many questions about that.’ She started walking backwards so she could talk properly. Quite the multitasker. ‘There are some very rich people that put a lot of money into Sanctuary. No one’s quite sure why. I personally think it’s actually a shadowy underground organisation.’ She chuckled, to show me that she was half-joking, at least.
‘A shadowy organisation that wants to make sure the populace is well educated? Sounds terrifying.’
‘I know, right? It’s devious!’
I followed her through winding corridors, my shoes tapping a staccato rhythm. It was eerily silent for such a large building, but I guessed that was just Universities on the weekend. I made small talk, and she laughed a lot. After a few minutes, the air was thick with the smell of chemicals. She finally picked one of the glass doors to open. As we stepped in, she flicked a switch, turning the glass door and wall behind us opaque.
‘Well that’s kind of cool,’ I admitted.
She grinned again. ‘We do have some awesome tech. Anyway, the guy said you’d need something very specific.’
‘I was told you knew the situation?’
‘Oh yes. Not to worry there.’ She held up a test tube with a deep purple liquid swirling inside. She had labelled it “Lyfe”.
‘Why is it called leaf?’
She lost her grin. ‘What? No, it’s pronounced life.’
‘Oh. That makes more sense. I’ve got to say, I haven’t seen a formulation that looks quite like this before. It’s normally… lighter.’
‘Well, this isn’t what you’ve had before. It’s not identical.’
‘Hmm. What will this do to me?’ I shrugged uncomfortably, remembering past experiences. Still, I appreciated the room’s air conditioning compared to the furnace that was the outside in this town.
‘I’ve never seen the old stuff in action, so this is a bit of a guess. But it’s your standard stuff. Dulls your inhibitors, tons of adrenaline. It will just get you really amped up.’
‘Amped up?’ I remembered the last time I had gotten “amped up”. ‘That’s nice, but I require something a bit more than simply “amped up”.’
‘Don’t worry. It’s good.’
‘You’ve tested it? It’s safe?’
She barked out a laugh. ‘It’s as safe as something like this can be. Afraid of a little danger, Scion?’
The word startled me. She shouldn’t have known what that meant. She must have just heard it somewhere and was testing me. I ignored it. ‘I try to avoid danger whenever possible, actually. It’s probably why I’m still alive.’
‘Yeah. I’ve got to admit, you’re not quite what I was expecting for someone that likes to hunt and kill monsters.’ She started pushing things around on her desk.
‘I think “like” is a bit of a strong word. But now that you mention it, you’re not quite what I expected from my chemist over here.’
‘Aren’t we just a couple of anomalies.’ Her grin returned, and she handed me a small metal box from her desk. ‘That should keep you going for a while.’
‘Thank you,’ I said with a smile.
‘Did you hear about what happened? In the park?’ she asked.
‘As soon as I read it, I contacted you, yes. I’d been foolish to wait so long.’
‘You didn’t have this. There was nothing you could do then, right?’
Was she fishing for information on me, or was she just being nice? ‘Maybe, maybe not. I suppose you don’t know what it was?’
‘Nah. There’s not much of an active hunting network in Sanctuary. A few lone guys pass through every few months heading to the big cities, but that’s it. Never had monsters before.’
‘Don’t be so sure. Sometimes they’re good at hiding.’ I realised that she was excited. ‘But that means you’ve never seen one?’
Her grin widened. ‘Nope! If you need some backup, just give me a call. I’d love to see one.’
I ignored the comment, and made a mental note to never get her involved.
‘Did you see the photos?’ she asked. ‘There was blood everywhere! What does that tell you? Was it a monster?’
Maybe she was just a harmless thrill seeker. There were a lot of them around this calling. ‘Not anything particularly. Monsters hunt and kill for all sorts of reasons. Sometimes to feed, sometimes just for fun.’
‘Could it be a pack or a herd or something?’ she asked. Rather morbid, I felt, but of course it wasn’t real to her.
‘Monsters are very solitary. I’ve never seen more than one at a time. They don’t tend to gather together. From everything we - I - know, there’s maybe no more than a dozen monsters of any type per state. Maximum.’
She tapped a finger to her chin. ‘What about werewolves? They run in packs, surely?’
‘They’re tortured and deformed humans, driven insane once a month by a cursed biological contaminant. They kill each other just like they’d kill humans.’
She seemed gratified by even that tiny bit of information. ‘So, when are you going to get whatever it is?’
‘As soon as I can. I don’t want any more people dying because of my laziness.’
‘You’ve got my number. Just call and I’ll help out.’
I smiled. ‘Thank you, Miss Winters. I’ll keep that in mind.’
As I stood waiting for the elevator doors to close, she gave me a little wave of her fingers and another infectious grin. Perhaps I’d contact her again, ask her to meet for a drink. Getting better acquainted with my support staff could only be a good thing, right?
On my way out I took a look inside the metal box. Ten vials of Lyfe. I’d have to try one when not hunting, to see just how strong it was, so really it was nine. I wondered if it would give me the same rush as before. The same feeling of… I closed the box. I took it because I had to. I took it to make the world a better place for Richard and his friends. This drug had earned me a reputation I’d rather forget. I did this for him, not myself. For him. I pushed the memories aside and stepped back out into the blazing sun.
I had wanted to start a new life in Sanctuary, but my old contacts had made that impossible when they told me they’d heard word of something big happening here. The mutilation last night must have been the start of it.
I put the steel box in the back of the car. I allowed myself a moment to feel the sunshine on my face. I ran my hand through my short brown hair. I’d known that getting out of this life would be hard, but I hadn’t expected this from the moment Richard and I had landed. As soon as I’d turned my phone on, I’d gotten the call. It had just been a heads up. A warning for my own safety. Before I knew it, I’d told them that I’d handle it. You can’t just magically leave the Scions.
My thoughts were interrupted by a man on the sidewalk shouting a, ‘Hello!’
I turned and saw a man in navy shorts and a polo shirt. His blonde hair was artfully styled and he was taking his sunglasses off, hanging them on his collar. I didn’t recognise him.
‘Hello?’ I said.
‘Mr. Anderton, right?’
<
br /> My muscles tensed. How did he know me? ‘Yes, that’s right. And you are?’
‘Tom. Looks like you’re having a rough day.’
‘I’m afraid I’m new in town. I can’t quite place you, Tom.’
He gave a brilliant smile as he shaded his eyes from the sun. ‘Sorry, it’s Tom Miller. I’ve seen your picture in the school newsletter. Rel’s dad.’
I put thoughts of monsters, drugs, and death from my mind. My teacher’s brain kicked in and I returned his smile. ‘Oh, Mr. Miller. So nice to finally meet you.’
We shook hands. He had a remarkably strong grip.
‘What brings you to the university?’ I asked.
‘I work nearby and saw your car outside. Thought I’d catch you quickly.’
‘Ahh. I suppose this is about Friday night?’
‘I think we should have a talk.’
‘Yes, definitely.’ I looked around hoping to find a nearby pub. Then I remembered this was America. We’d have to go with the local coffee shop instead, as it was only midday. Sanctuary had a perfectly acceptable local coffee chain called “The Grind”, and Tom and I had plenty to talk about. Maybe a talk with him would sort the kids’ issues out, and who knew, maybe I’d make my first real friend in Sanctuary.
Chapter 10
Reliquiae
What was I becoming? My hands… they… pompoms? I waved them half-heartedly.
Yes, I had signed up so that I could cheer for Rick, and yes, I felt stupid, and yes, I now had to spend more time with Sasha, and yes I was still going to do it anyway. Peter and Bhav were already on the squad, Erin had no interest, and obviously, Ariel couldn’t shout out any of the words.
You have to plan for the future. Okay, right now, I was constantly on the verge of biting someone. But I was positive that in a month’s time I’d be just fine. However, in a month’s time, it would have been too late to join the cheerleading squad this semester.
I was dressed in the school colors. White, blue, and yellow. Well, technically, it was eggshell white and saffron yellow with sky blue highlights, according to the school prospectus.
I suppose the fact that someone had taken the time to be oddly specific on the colors proved they really cared about the team. Great. However, I wouldn’t have minded if the person who then designed the costumes had given me more than what I would consider a belt for a skirt. I wriggled and pulled it downwards for the fifth time in as many minutes.
Then again, clearly the budget was being stretched in every aspect of costume design, as the top barely covered my midriff. Peter and Bhav also seemed to be wearing clothes several sizes too small, but when I asked them about it, they didn’t seem to mind this obvious exploitation.
That wasn’t just unfair, it was downright creepy. A group of boys were huddled at the top of the bleachers while we all practiced, and I was pretty sure they weren’t there to study.
“Yeah,” Sasha said. “I can see why someone like you wouldn’t like these uniforms.”
Damn. She must have overheard me. I tried to play nice. “I didn’t mean I don’t–”
“I know what you meant,” Jessica said, skipping over to get in between us. “Don’t worry!”
Sasha looked at her like a cat would look at a mouse. Then she looked at me like a cat would like at something even the mouse would hunt. ‘Water break.’ She walked off to pose in front of some people. She just happened to be drinking water too.
“You know how she can be. Don’t mind her,” Jessica said cheerily, her smile absolutely perfect.
“I was just pointing out that they could have sprung for a bit more fabric on the costumes. That’s all.”
“Hey now. At cheer practice, we keep it happy. There’s no room for sadness when you need to be cheering.”
I half smiled and lifted a pompom.
“That’s the spirit! And don’t you worry. She just doesn’t like people criticizing her skills.”
“Her skills? I didn’t say anything about how good she is at cheer leading.”
“No, silly!” Jessica playfully hit me with one of her pompoms. “The costumes. She designed them.”
“Oh. Good. Because for a second, I thought she didn’t like me for no real reason. But now I see it’s completely justified. Thanks, Jessica.”
“No problem! I’m going to get some water, and then we’ll go back to making sure we’ve got the basic cheer sorted out.” And with that, she hopped happily away.
I walked over to Bhav and Peter who were talking to another male cheerleader, a guy I didn’t know.
“You’re really going to need to put wall plugs in first. I know it’s tempting to just go for it, but trust…” Seeing me join them, Peter stopped talking about whatever that was. “Hey, new cheerer! How are you finding it so far?” He raised his hand to give me a high five, but dropped it when he realized he wasn’t going to get a response.
“Have you ever jumped into a shark tank?”
“I did once,” Bhav said. “It wasn’t too bad.” I hoped he was joking.
“Well… it’s a metaphor, okay? I’ve made a terrible decision.”
“Because of the costume?’ Bhav asked. ‘I agree, the white is a bit harsh with your skin tone.”
“Actually, Bhavesh, I had not known that, but thank you for bringing it to my attention. I was actually referring to Sasha.”
“Yeah. She’s a bit… crazy.” Peter said.
“I haven’t really seen her be crazy. She just doesn’t like me, and doesn’t mind making that very obvious.”
“Well, word of advice, don’t let her show her crazy.”
The other guy sniggered.
“Oh, come on, Dave. That wasn’t funny.”
Dave waved himself out of the conversation, giggling to himself about wanting to see Sasha’s ‘crazy’.
Boys.
“What was he laughing about?” Sasha demanded. I jumped, having not heard her come up behind me.
Peter and Bhav’s faces dropped, and they both shook their heads and walked away.
“Gotta hydrate,” Peter called as they walked off. “You two should catch up though!’
“Jessica told me to come and apologize, so… here I am,” Sasha said.
I waited a few seconds, but apparently she was done. “Okay. Thanks?”
“Yeah.” She looked about as uninterested as a person could be before actually developing narcolepsy. “I heard you went to Rick’s house. Why?”
How did she find that out? Who could have possibly told her? Would Rick have? Oh yeah, he said she was going to take him out. Jeez, had he been talking about me behind my back?
“I was tutoring him. How was your date with him?”
“Pretty amazing. He kept asking about our ‘pearl industry’ or something, but apart from that we got on great. He did say that you were acting really weird though. I told him that yeah, that’s because you are.”
I let out a defeated little, “Oh.”
“Yeah. He seems cool. Which is why I thought it was weird that you had been to his house. Right?”
“Yeah. I dunno.”
“Yeah.” She pulled her hair back into a ponytail, ready to get back to practice. “It’s probably best to stay away from him.” And she began rounding up the resting cheerleaders.
God damn, she was a bitch. But she had a point. Keeping my distance from Rick was probably a very good idea right now.
I felt my hunger coming on again. It had been intermittent throughout the week, but physical activity like leaping around with the cheer squad seemed to suppress the urge. Getting annoyed, like at Sasha now, clearly made it worse.
But on the up side, the guys were about to start their football practice, so I might get to catch a glimpse of Rick from across the field! Which was probably a terrible idea for keeping my instincts under control.
I saw Peter and Bhav share nervous glances. Oh yeah. The football team coming out was great for me, but for them… well, they’d gotten really good at ignoring certain words
from certain people. People with names you’d expect, like Chad.
The countdown to start the cheerstrosity that was this humiliating experience began. Sasha was in the lead, and I was… still stood by the bench. I ran over to catch up. There’s nothing worse than being late to start the routine.
At least, that was what I thought. Until I slipped in my usual clumsy way, and fell into Peter, who collapsed onto Bhav who…
We fell like dominoes.
Chapter 11
Reliquiae
I was sitting in English class and couldn’t concentrate.
The whole week had been a struggle. I went to as many classes as I could, but when my head wasn’t spinning, I was so hungry. No amount of food could get rid of this hunger. I’d tried. I ate as much as I could until my belly swelled and I almost threw up, but I was still hungry.
I knew it wouldn’t work. On Monday, I’d caught myself looking at Peter. At his neck. I had drooled at the thought of what was beneath his skin.
I had found that I felt weak and dizzy when on my own or with other supes, but when I was around humans, I felt strong. They were all a cool glass of water in the middle of the desert. Irresistible. When I smelled them I was moving faster and feeling stronger. I guessed these were Draugr instincts. I think… I think I was hunting them.
I shook my head, trying to get rid of the memory. But it wouldn’t go, and I couldn’t concentrate.
Because of him.
He smelled so good. I was all the way at the back of the class, and he was at the front.
I don’t know why I could smell him over all the others, but it was definitely him I was smelling. He was talking about something. Books probably. Or grammar. Who knew? He was wearing a gray waistcoat and pants, with a light blue shirt underneath. It was too hot for him. I didn’t need to be able to smell his sweat to know that.
Mr. Anderton took a break from the blackboard to look in the textbook. As he did, he dusted his hands off, and to try and cool himself down, rolled up his sleeves. As soon as he did, I saw why I could smell him.