by Dale Mayer
Her father studied her face, worry lining his features and filling his gaze. Then he gave a short nod and released her. He glanced over at Goran. "Looks like the vampire clan is going to go through a major population reduction."
"About time. Used to be, we had space to roam. A whole country to enjoy. Now the world is full everywhere." Goran walked over to join them, holding his injured shoulder with his right hand. He stood tall in front of Tessa. "Tessa, I owe you my life. Another couple of minutes, and I'd have gone up in flames instead of them."
She gave him a small smile. "No thanks needed. I was trying to figure out what I could do to even the odds, and then I realized Mother Nature could do it all on her own." Desperate to find some semblance of control, she glanced around, careful to avoid the remains on the ground. "Dad, I thought there were more than just these four."
"Yeah. And more joined those." He grinned, a smile that made her blood run cold. "I took out several, and Goran caught another couple before they injured him. We left them where they fell. If the sun has reached them in the meantime, so be it."
Such a cavalier attitude belied the look in his eye. Tessa had no doubt that they were dead before he left them. Her father was nothing, if not thorough. Now to add to his rage, his wife of several hundred years and his youngest son had been taken prisoner. The death count would rise. From the look on Goran's face, he wanted a heavier role in the slaughter, as well.
"We need to go get Mom and the rest of them out of there." She started in the direction of the outbuilding.
"Think you're old enough to take charge, do you?" Goran called out after her. "You haven't been alive long enough to know what that means,"
"Maybe, but you two are so old, you've reached your second childhood. So one of us has to act like an adult." She halted and snickered at the looks on their faces. She doubted anyone had ever spoken to them like that before. As ancients, they garnered respect without having to do anything. Being powerful Council members only added to their potent images. She wasn't sure why she'd done it. Except she'd hit some kind of wall – and had climbed over it.
Serus's eyes rounded at her teasing. The he laughed and laughed. "She's got us there, Goran."
"Harrumph."
Tessa strode over to a hidden mechanism that should lower the floor and studied the changes Goran had made to keep the men out of the building. Reaching over she reconnected the plug he'd popped out. She didn't dare comment about how quickly the others would have figured it out, as well.
Goran and her father joined her inside the shed, removed their helmets, and dropped them on the ground. Setting the floor to descend, Tessa walked over to Goran.
"Will that heal on its own?" She motioned toward his injured wing.
"Eventually." He rotated it slowly and winced. "I don't think it's broken, but I won't try flying for a bit."
"Not to worry. More than a few doctors are down below. I'm sure one of them can fix you up." She grinned at the look of horror on his face.
Serus grabbed her and pulled her into a close hug. "I'm really proud of the way you handled yourself out there."
"Thank you." Almost euphoric from his praise and her sense of accomplishment, Tessa grinned up at him. "I guess being able to walk in the sunshine has some uses, huh? And I'm sorry if I'm a little sassier or should I say...disrespectful right now?" She wrinkled her nose. "I feel like a different person."
"I have to admit I've always been jealous that you could walk in the sunshine," he admitted.
Rearing back, she stared up at him. "What? Are you kidding me? I've spent my whole life trying to be more like you, and now you tell me that?"
"Don't." He shook his head. "Don't ever try to imitate anyone else. You're fine the way you are. After seeing how you've grown these last few days, let me change that – you're perfect just the way you are."
"Well, look at this. We've got company. And don't they look so close. This must be the infamous Serus and his retarded daughter, Tessa."
Both Serus and Tessa stiffened, then gazed at each other with horrified realization.
Turning slowly, still in the protective circle of her father's arms, Tessa stared at the four men in white lab coats, two of whom carried guns, as they waited for the floor to fully descend. She glanced at the opening above them. The clouds had moved in again to blot out the sun. She and her Dad could jump up, but they wouldn't be able to out jump bullets. And what about Goran, could he fly?
"I don't remember seeing any of you before," she said carefully. Her father tightened his grip on her shoulder.
The biggest man, a heavy set guy with an oversized jaw, gazed at her with venom in his beady eyes. "Don't worry. I'll make sure my face is the last one you'll ever see."
***
The warehouse was huge, but had limited hiding places. Cody halted at the end of the hallway, and David stepped up beside him. Cody looked in both directions, and then shrugged. "Where to?" he asked.
David met his eyes. "Maybe the computer rooms. There shouldn't be but one or two techs – if any."
"Except that's where Ian and Jewel went, and they didn't make it. We need to avoid any cameras, as well."
Racing toward the end of the warehouse, they passed endless rows of bodies. Cody had to admit he was becoming a little paranoid. These people were the living dead, something vampires were often called. But these poor souls were the real thing. He gulped and turned the last corner. The maintenance room should be up ahead. They might find a place to hide near the large machinery – if the room was empty. It would give them breathing space to formulate an attack.
"Damn it, David," he said. "We need a plan. We can't just freakin' hide forever."
"I wasn't planning on it. If I can get to the server room, I might be able to send a message."
"The server room? That little room you mentioned earlier? The one we passed on our way down here?"
"No. This one has a wall of servers and a dedicated computer. We can create a hell of a surprise for them."
"Hmm." Cody didn't think the group in charge would leave that room unguarded, but he'd been wrong before. Look at how little Miss Cute Sunshine had surprised him.
They reached an open doorway and came to a halt. Cody had no idea what the heavy equipment inside the room did, but it took up a lot of space. They walked forward tentatively.
"What are you two running from?" An older tech, wearing a white lab coat that barely closed over his belly, stepped in front of them, a puzzled frown on his face. He glanced behind them, and then looked at them again. "Nobody's chasing you, as far as I can see. And I don't know who'd be doing that to begin with. So what's wrong, boys?"
Cody met David's questioning gaze. Was it possible that he didn't have any association with the others?
"Have you seen the rest of the team?" Cody shifted to check the area around them.
"Not since we arrived. I came straight here. I'm a mechanic and have been trying to figure out this system. It's very sophisticated. I can't remember ever seeing one quite like it before." He turned, and the boys followed automatically. Cody didn't buy the absentminded professor look, and yet he didn't disbelieve it, either. To him, it seemed as if this end of the warehouse and the other end were at odds.
Weird. And dangerous.
"See how this machine keeps the blood warm and flowing?" He pointed toward a large steel pane with flashing lights. "They must have miles of piping, but the collection tank isn't here. In fact, I'm not sure where the heck it is. So much is going on, it's going to take me a while to understand the system. I'd hate to touch anything and mess things up."
Cody stared at him.
He pointed out a large silver machine on the other side of the room. "From what I can figure, this machine pumps nutrients from that big vat into the distribution channel floating overhead."
He pointed up at the ceiling where Cody noticed the large delivery system of pipes for the first time. A control panel sat off to one side, along with a bank of monitors with fancy
flashing lights from some kind of alarm system.
"Wow. How long would it take to put something like this together?" Cody wondered if the man might let something slip, but he simply stood staring in admiration at the machinery high overhead.
He blinked. "I can't imagine. It's not just setting up something so huge; it's also the many tests necessary to perfect it. How many people died during that process? How many didn't get the right nutrients or lost too much blood? How did they determine an ideal age group and decide at what point people were too old?"
He shook his head, and for the first time, Cody thought that maybe, just maybe, he was one of the good guys. Sadness tinged the old vampire's face. His name tag read, Bart. Cody decided to test it out.
"Bart. That's an unusual name."
"Yeah, it was my mother's idea." The old man glanced down at his tag, then back up at him. "She loved anything off the wall. Good woman. But I lost her back during the war."
"I'm sorry," Cody said.
"It's okay. It was a long time ago. I thought we'd done way with all that foolishness back then." His face tightened, and he nodded at the masses of people hanging behind him. "And yet here we are again."
So maybe he was one of the good guys.
"Most of them are going to die, you know?" His black eyes pierced deep into Cody's conscience.
"I've wondered about that. I was hoping we'd find a way to save them," David said. "Surely we have the technology now."
"It's not the technology that's the problem, but rather the length of time the people have been strung up."
David grimaced. "So the newest arrivals should be okay?"
"Maybe. Seems they ran this place almost like a hospital. They recorded the names of the deceased, too, along with details like why they died, how long they were here, and their age at time of death. You know, those kinds of things."
"I hate to ask this, but where are the ones who didn't make it?"
"I wondered the same thing, and I haven't got an answer for you. At least, not yet. They've disposed of them somewhere. I just don't know where." The aging vampire wrinkled his face and wandered around the large room. "I suppose I should wander down to the other end of this mausoleum and see if I can roust up a hot cup of something. Gotta admit, I'm feeling the chill down here."
Not a good idea. Cody sorted through his options, then asked, "How long have you worked with this team?"
"The team? Oh, I've never worked with any of them before. My buddy asked me to step in for him. Well, he didn't say so in that many words, to be honest. He was drunk to his gills and couldn't work the emergency. I decided to step in and help him out. Now I'm kinda wishing I hadn't." He sighed. "This really ain't my kinda thing. Getting a little too old for this. Then again, so's my buddy, Tom.."
"Yeah? Has he done this for a long time?"
"I think so. Decades, anyway. Can't remember when he started. He was all pumped up about it in the beginning, but as time went by, he became old and tired like the rest of us. Actually, I'd have to say he aged faster than the rest of us." Bart ran his fingers through his flyaway hair. "I always figured he had a health condition or something. I asked him once, and he hinted about bad blood. I didn't ask any more questions."
"Bad blood," Cody said cautiously. Could he have been drinking the blood taken from their victims? At the beginning, maybe while they were still testing? That would make him a bad guy.
"That's what he said. Back then, a bunch of people got sick. They did seem to recover, but weren't ever quite the same after that."
David walked over to a computer panel on the largest machine. "Do you have any idea who might have pulled together something this big?"
"I could probably pull a few names out of my brain, but for sure...no. I just have my suspicions."
"Hmm. Ever hear anything about a new mind altering drug?" David asked.
Cody's gaze widened. He nudged his friend to silence.
David ignored him and stared at Bart with curiosity. "Well, have you?"
"Why? Are you looking to shorten your life?" Bart studied him back.
David's brow creased. He frowned.
Cody suddenly understood what the man was trying to say. "It's that harmful?"
"Oh, very. A new variation pops up every decade or so. Wouldn't surprise me if it wasn't time for that again."
"Hmm. So..." David's frown deepened. "If you don't know who's behind all this, how do you know the others on your team aren't involved?"
"I don't." Bert reared back and ran his fingers through his hair as he stared at the two of them. "Are you just asking this for fun, or are you trying to work your way around to asking me something real?"
Cody and David exchanged glances. They really needed Bart's help if – and that was a big if – he wasn't one of the bad guys.
"We think some of the others are part of the group that formed this warehouse scheme," David blurted out.
Bart's eyebrows shot up. He pursed his lips. "Well, now. I'm not sure about that. We have a couple of nice young girls on the team. I can't see them being involved."
"My mother identified one of them as the daughter of an old friend, and she's wearing someone else's name tag."
Cody decided they might as well go all the way now that they had Bart's attention. "My dad found two team members unconscious and tied up in the back of one of the trucks that brought you here."
"Say what?" Bart's astonishment appeared real.
Cody relaxed somewhat. "Right. So we know for sure that two members of your team aren't who they say they are."
"And two of our people went up to catch some fresh air and didn't arrive at the surface. Nor have they come back," David added.
Cody studied Bart's face and found nothing except surprised concern.
"And what? Do you think they're being held somewhere?" The man asked. When both nodded, he stared out the open doorway. "Well, now. That changes things. You said a couple of you went to leave. There were what, seven, eight, of you when we arrived?"
"Yes. Right now, three are up top. Two went up to join them and didn't make it. Then there is my mother, and Jared."
"Speaking of Jared – where is he?" Cody spun around. Had he come into the room with them? They'd only been here for five minutes. Okay, maybe for a little longer, but he'd have surely caught up by now. Shit.
Cody walked to the open door and looked around. The hallway was empty. No sign of Jared or anyone else.
"David, did you see Jared behind us?
"No. Never thought to look, either. I just assumed he was following us."
"Yeah. Me, too."
"Uh oh," David said, staring at Cody in growing concern. "Did he go to explore the tunnel alone?"
***
Jared made it to the bottom of the stairs without meeting anyone. The rocks sat just where Cody had said he'd left them. Thank God. That was encouraging. Maybe he could find a way out of this place without encountering anyone else. The other side had to run out of bad guys sometime. He just didn't know when.
He paused in the doorway, loathe to close his last option. He might be able to get back inside later, but he had no guarantee that he could.
Taking a chance, he stepped through and allowed the door to close behind him. He tried the knob, relieved when the door reopened under his hand. Now that he knew he could get back in, he contemplated the two directions he could go. Left or right? He'd never been a gambler, but he found himself wishing he had a quarter to flip to help him decide the next stage of his life.
He turned left. Instead of walking, he picked up his pace until he loped along at a steady run. He wouldn't consider himself a runner, yet years of playing football and soccer at school had kept him fit. The tunnel's finished appearance soon went from clean white tile with a dirt roof to mostly dirt with less and less tiles on the walls – until it became dirt everywhere except for the shiny rails. Surely something motorized moved along them at some point.
Twenty minutes later, nothing had changed. A
ll he saw were more rails and more dirt. The lighting continued along the reinforced beams, even when the height of the ceiling lowered at various points. Cooler and darker, he had a sinking feeling that he was going deeper into the mountain. He might be halfway to China before this sucker ran out. His biggest worry was the lack of any place to hide should someone come along. His mind went through potential options and came up with only one. He would have to play dead.
After another fifteen minutes of jogging, he slowed to catch his breath. The drugs must still be affecting his system. He was already gasping for air, and he shouldn't be this tired so soon. The tunnel appeared to be horizontal. Not going up or down in elevation. And that was just weird.