“Feisty, aren’t you?” he laughed. “Good, I like a little strugg-lack!”
Tim’s face contorted grotesquely and he began to convulse violently, his mouth covered with blood. Lucy felt his grip on her slacken and wasted no time thrusting him off of her. She rolled over his twitching body and back onto her feet. Swaying unsteadily, she reached the path back to the gate, but waves of nausea forced her to lean against the nearest crypt for support. She reached for her neck and gasped as her hand met blood, her blood.
Suddenly, the cemetery seemed to come alive. Shadows rippled in her peripheral vision and heavy footfalls echoed down every path, coming closer. A burst of adrenaline kicked Lucy’s survival instinct into gear, and she ran, not knowing or caring what direction she was going, stumbling, as she grew more lightheaded with every step. Her vision blurred, confusing her further, until in a blind panic, Lucy stumbled against the body of a large man.
“Evening darlin’,” he drawled, licking his lips as his gaze lingered on her bloodied throat.
Lucy shrieked helplessly and lurched backwards, tripping on her torn skirt. The man lunged, but just as he did, another much bigger man stepped from the shadows and attacked him from behind. The man fell, just inches from where she lay, with a metal syringe sticking out of the side of his neck. His attacker sidestepped the body and bent to retrieve the syringe, then held his hand out to Lucy.
“Can you walk?”
Lucy nodded weakly, taking his hand. Standing, she looked up at the man and staggered backwards. He was at least seven feet tall and broad shouldered. She swayed slightly and he reacted with surprising agility for someone his size, putting his arm gently around her waist, he lifted her from the ground.
“Sorry,” he growled, “but we gotta get you out of here a little faster than that.” Before she could react, he had carried her outside of the gates and set her on the curb.
“Jesus, Lucy!”
She looked up. Holding another of the strange weapons was the old man she had seen earlier. He dropped the weapon and rushed to where she was sitting. “Lance! Get me some bandages!” His voice was familiar, but Lucy was certain that she had never seen the old man before that night. He pulled a small plastic tube out of his pocket, broke it in half, and waved it under Lucy’s nose. She flinched away instinctively.
“It’s okay, Luce,” The man touched her arm gently. “You’re safe now.” He still held the capsule toward her.
“How…” Lucy’s voice was a husky rasp. She coughed violently. “How’d you know my…”
Suddenly the world went dark as Lucy slipped into unconsciousness.
Chapter 3
Lucy fought through the heavy fog that clouded her mind and noticed that she was in the passenger seat of a car that was tearing through the narrow streets at an alarming speed. Behind the wheel was the old musician that had been following Tim and her all night, and she had no recollection of how she ended up there.
“Who the hell are you? Where are you taking me?” In a panic, she reached for the door handle just as the locks slammed shut.
“Lucy, it’s me!” The old man’s voice did not seem to match his appearance and it was oddly familiar. “Try to relax, you’re safe now, but you need a doctor.”
“Miles?” That’s not possible! Lucy thought. The old man in the driver’s seat looked nothing like the man Lucy knew. He had dark, cocoa brown skin that wrinkled slightly around the eyes and forehead, dark brown eyes that were magnified by thick glasses, and thinning gray braids. Sure, he could have used makeup to darken his skin, and for all she knew Miles wore contacts to make his eyes lighter, but Miles was bald and she could see where this man’s hair was rooted to his head between the braids. No wig was that good.
“It’s really me, Luce.”
“How?” Lucy tried and failed to formulate a coherent thought.
“You were attacked. I’m taking you to see Abe, Dr. Glassman. Just try to stay still, okay Lucy?” He sounded like Miles, but as far as Lucy knew Miles didn’t even own a car.
“What happened?” Lucy unconsciously raised her hand to her throat and felt a thick layer of bandages. “Oh my god!” Bits and pieces of the grizzly scene in the cemetery were coming back to her slowly. “I was attacked. My neck…” Lucy’s eyes went wide and she gasped. “Am I…dead?”
The man who sounded like Miles chuckled. “No Luce, you ain’t dead yet, honey, but you got a nasty cut and you are very lucky to be alive right now.”
“No,” Lucy whispered, “not cut…” She paled as the memories fought their way to the surface. “He bit me! You were there!” She looked over at the old man in alarm. “I saw you! You followed us from the restaurant! What do you want from m- Ah!” Lucy fought to stay upright as the old musician swung the car into a well-hidden parking garage.
“Hold on Lucy.”
The car climbed the zigzagging path of the parking garage at speeds that had to be unsafe. Her stomach lurched and threatened to empty in her lap.
“Where are you taking me?”
“EJC Headquarters.”
The ground leveled and they raced along the roof.
“Why are we- Look out!”
Lucy braced her hands on the dashboard with an ear-splitting scream. They were speeding toward what looked like a solid concrete wall. The old man simply hit a button on the dashboard and the wall slid away just before they passed. They were now heading into a brightly lit tunnel, going through what Lucy would have recognized as an unassuming block of office buildings from the outside. On the far end was another solid wall. Lucy held her breath and waited for the wall to slide away as the last had, revealing a well-lit parking garage. The car screeched to a halt near the elevator.
“Come on.”
They got out of the car and called the elevator, which opened immediately. The doors closed as soon as they were inside and Lucy blinked. This was unlike any public elevator she had ever seen before. Aside from the fact that it was clean, there were no buttons to indicate the floor. Instead, there was nothing but a glass panel, which the old man placed his hand against. The glass lit green and blinked three times.
“Hospital.”
Lucy’s ears popped as the elevator made a rapid ascent. Seconds later, the door opened into a brightly lit hallway that did indeed look exactly like a hospital ward.
“Miles!”
Lucy caught sight of a red blur running past her and into the old man’s arms as she stumbled from the elevator. “Lona?” Lucy slumped against the wall and stared at the odd sight of her beautiful friend clinging to the old musician like a long lost lover. “So he really is Miles?”
“Lucy? What are you…?” Lona started, but stopped when she saw the bandage that was now almost soaked through with blood. She turned to the old man, who she clearly thought was Miles, with fearful eyes. “You were right, weren’t you?”
Miles nodded. Lona looked from him to Lucy with a strange expression. “But Dara said there was a Code One?”
“I thought there was,” Miles said, regarding Lucy curiously. Lona looked as confused as Lucy, who watched the entire exchange in frustrated confusion.
“Will someone tell me what’s going on?” Lucy did not like the way Miles was looking at her, as if he had never seen her before, even though he was the one who looked nothing like himself. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
“How do you feel?”
Lucy snapped. “What do you mean, how do I feel? I go on my first date in years and he pulls some sort of vampire wannabe stunt, and next thing I know I’m being kidnapped by some old guy who’s been following me, who turns out to be my friend in disguise, who obviously knows something’s up, but won’t tell me shit! I’m confused and tired. I feel like my head is stuffed with cotton and my neck itches like hell. How the hell do you think I feel?”
Lona winced. “You didn’t blank her, did you?”
“Yeah I did,” Miles said grimly. “But it didn’t take.”
“Will you stop spea
king in code?”
“I’m sorry, Lucy,” Lona apologized weakly. “We don’t want to keep you in the dark, but you wouldn’t believe me if I explained anything right now anyway. Not that I actually know what happened yet, but I suspect Miles has an idea. We need to have my dad look at you and make sure you’re not badly injured.”
Lucy opened her mouth to protest, but as if on cue, the elevator opened and a gray haired man wearing scrubs and a white physician’s coat rushed towards them.
“Miles! Where’s the Code One?”
“Right here Abe,” Miles put his hand on Lucy’s shoulder. “It looks like I was wrong. Still, Lucy was attacked this evening and injured pretty severely. Lucy, this is Dr. Glassman, Abe to everyone here. Abe, I believe I told you about Lucy earlier.”
Abe stared at Lucy with a puzzling expression. He seemed to be most intrigued by her eyes. “Yes, I believe you did. Well Lucy, why don’t you come sit over here.” He motioned to an exam room. Lucy eyed him warily. “I promise, Lucy, we’re just going to make sure that you’re okay. Then I will answer as many questions as I can. I need to talk to Miles for a moment and then I’ll take a look at your injuries.”
Lucy sighed and followed him into the exam room. Abe left, closing the door behind him. Lucy bit back the string of curses she wanted to shout. Clearly, the two people Lucy thought she knew well were living a dangerous secret life and she barely knew them at all.
Abe ushered Miles and Lona into another room.
“Lance’s report seems to have a lot of conflicting information and I think you both know why your Code One appears to be in perfect health. Anything you want to add?”
Lona’s eyes grew wide. “So you believe it? You think that Lucy’s a…”
“Not entirely,” Miles cut in. “Her grandmother was Emma Soriano, the senator, and Abe looked up her info earlier. Run the usual tests, but don’t expect usual answers.”
Abe did not question Miles’ cryptic answer, so Lona was still confused. “So what happened to Tim?”
“This,” Miles turned on his phone and showed them pictures of Tim’s body. “It was almost instantaneous.”
Abe snapped his head up in surprise. “How is that possible?”
Miles shrugged. “You’re the doctor, you tell us. I need to see Evan immediately. I told Hugh to fill him in and he’s probably got as many questions as we do.”
“I guess I should go grab her some clothes and that kitten of hers. I don’t think she’ll be going home for a while,” Lona volunteered.
“Take Lance or Hugh with you,” Miles warned. “I don’t want you out there right now, especially with so much of the team here at HQ.”
Lona agreed and left.
“One more thing, Abe,” Miles said as he turned to the doctor. “I blanked her, but it’s wearing off fast, real fast. Lucy’s a real sharp cookie. I’m not saying to tell her everything right now, but after what happened, she deserves at least some straight answers.”
Abe shrugged helplessly. “I can only tell her as much as I know, Miles, and right now, that isn’t a lot.”
Abe knocked on the door before opening it and Lucy let out an exasperated laugh.
“And what’s so funny?” Abe asked with a bemused expression.
“You,” Lucy replied, “knocking on the door, following normal doctor protocol like I’m here for a routine exam or something.”
“Well, I am a doctor,” Abe informed her with a disarming smile, “and right now you are my patient, so let’s take a look under these bandages, shall we? Don’t be afraid to tell me if anything hurts.”
“Alright. This is starting to itch real bad.”
Abe said nothing, but nodded slightly. He removed the bandage and withdrew a small light from his pocket, which he turned on and aimed at her neck, unable to believe that all of the blood on her clothing and bandages had come from the two small abrasions that had already begun to heal. He brought the light up to Lucy’s face and used his thumb to pull up one, then the other eyelid, which caused her to wince. Abe made a pensive noise. “Miles was telling me about your light sensitivity. I’d like to run a few tests, but first, tell me what happened tonight.”
Lucy recounted the details, as best as she could remember, starting with her date with Tim and ending in the cemetery. When she was finished, Abe smiled the practiced doctor’s smile that was meant to put the patient at ease.
“You have a couple of small abrasions, but they should heal on their own. But I’m giving you a course of antibiotics, just in case they do get infected. It looks as if Miles may have overreacted, which is understandable, considering what you told me. He saw blood and that you had been attacked, and assumed it was yours.”
Lucy frowned. Abe’s declaration that she was fine wasn’t adding up. “So now that I have the all clear, are you going to answer my questions?”
“We’re not finished yet. I need to draw some of your blood for some tests.”
Lucy looked aghast. “Seriously? Don’t you think you have enough of my blood right here?” She motioned to her bloody clothes and the discarded bandages. Abe laughed gently.
“I need a clean sample, Lucy. Some of that may not even be yours.”
Lucy backed away. “How do I know you’re not just going to drug me again?”
“I’m not. Here, watch me.” He opened a sterile package and pulled out an empty syringe. “See? It’s empty. I stick the needle in, pull the plunger and your blood fills this tube, okay?”
Lucy said nothing, but held out her arm, squeezing her eyes shut.
“You can open your eyes now, Lucy.”
Abe was already transferring the blood onto a slide that he stuck under the biggest microscope she had ever seen. For several minutes, he silently made adjustments, keying notes that Lucy couldn’t understand into a computer console next to the machine. Suddenly, he jumped up and switched on a monitor that was mounted on the wall. The screen lit up with an array of colored blobs that meant nothing to Lucy, but appeared to fascinate Abe.
“My god…” he murmured, leaning in close to the screen. “But that’s…” He moved back to his computer and started typing furiously. The monitor on the wall shifted, showing Lucy another set of incomprehensible data.
“What?” Lucy’s voice trembled as her impatience gave way to fear. “Is there something wrong with me?”
Abe did not bother masking his excitement. “No, Lucy, you’re fine, just a bit…unusual.”
“What do you mean by unusual?” Lucy’s voice cracked as she swallowed the panic that was swelling in her. Abe switched off the monitor and sat down across from her.
“There’s no reason to panic, Lucy. Unusual is rather usual around here. I know I’ve promised you some answers, but I’m afraid your test results have created a few questions that I’ll need to have answered before I can tell you anything definitive. I need to do a full analysis of your DNA. After that, as I have promised, I’ll answer as much as I can. But for right now, I’m going to suggest rest, lots of it. I can give you a mild sedative so that you can have uninterrupted sleep.”
Lucy shook her head. “No, I don’t want anything like that. I just want to go home and go to bed.”
Abe gave her a sympathetic smile. “I’m sorry, Lucy. I need to keep you under observation overnight. Lona went to check on your cat and she’s getting you some things from your apartment. Don’t worry, we’ll set you up in one of the long term resident rooms, you won’t have to sleep on a lumpy hospital bed.”
Lucy panicked. “What do you mean by ‘long term’ room?”
Abe seemed to understand her misgivings. “We’re a research facility, Lucy. A lot of our medical research is long term, anywhere from a week to several months. Our volunteers are given private rooms that are more like hotel rooms than hospital rooms.”
It was obvious to Lucy that Abe was not telling her the complete truth, but she sensed that he seemed to think he was protecting her from something. She only wished she knew what. But something
else was bothering her. “One thing, Dr. Glassman.”
“Please, call me Abe.”
“Fine,” Lucy sighed. “Abe, what did Lona mean when she asked Miles if he ‘blanked’ me?”
“A blank is a capsule containing an inhalant that causes a temporary short term memory loss. Miles intended to put the incident out of your mind until we could patch you up, let you rest, and analyze the results of your blood test. Typically, the effect wears off in about eight hours. Obviously, your results were not typical.”
Lucy started to bristle at the revelation that her so-called friend tried to erase her memory, until she remembered that she was well aware of the fact that people only had their memories erased in science fiction. “Can I assume that the result of me living through what should have been a fatal neck injury was not typical either?”
Unfazed, Abe simply nodded. “That is a good assumption.”
“Do you believe in vampires, Abe?”
Abe didn’t answer immediately. Rather, he studied Lucy’s face for a moment, and then looked back at the swirling blobs on the computer monitor. “I do, Lucy. Though, apparently, I don’t know as much about them as I thought I did.”
Lucy rolled her eyes. “You do realize you sound completely insane, right?”
Abe simply nodded. “I can see why you would think that, yes.”
“And?”
“And what?”
“Urg!” Lucy growled in disgust. “Fine, you are insane. You, Miles, Lona, everyone! I’m going home!” Lucy yanked the door open and nearly collided with Lona, who had just raised her hand to knock.
“Lucy!” she beamed. “I’m so glad to see you’re okay.”
“I’m not okay, Lona,” Lucy huffed. “No offense, but I’m not sure what the hell is going on here, but I don’t want to be a part of it. I’m going home.”
Lona’s surprised expression turned to confusion as she turned to her father. “What did you tell her?”
The Eyes of the Sun: The Complete Trilogy Page 3