by D McEntire
Marie inwardly groaned. Here it comes.
“You left Athens, Georgia, to head to Louisville, Kentucky, on foot and all by yourself?”
Marie knew it was crazy and was somewhat embarrassed to admit it was exactly what she was doing. She quickly thought of something else to say to address the woman’s concern.
“A couple of friends travelled with me up until Elizabethtown, where I met you at the restaurant, but they were heading off in another direction from there.”
Oh boy, another lie. Karma is going to bite me in the butt big time.
Marie kept her attention focused on her coffee. She could not look someone in the eye and flat out lie. But, it didn’t mean she couldn’t tell a whopper or two when necessary.
The woman seemed to let the matter drop. She began talking about other things, and Marie was grateful for the change of subject. She didn’t want to explain where she was going and why. Frankly, she did not want to think about it at all. She was just going to do it.
Marie noticed the woman had turned off Interstate 65 and onto Interstate 64, and was now exiting the highway.
“Uh, Ms. Osgood? Where are we?”
Marie had never been in Louisville and still wasn’t sure where to go when she got there.
“We’re in Louisville, dear. I thought you said it was where you wanted to go?” The woman looked at her with a raised eyebrow.
“Oh, yeah. I wasn’t paying attention and hadn’t realized we were already in the city. Where exactly are you stopping?”
“I thought I would let you off somewhere more public than at the side of the highway. I work at the clinic, which is a block up the road. You can come inside to get warm and rest awhile, and I’m sure they will let you use the phone to call your friend.”
Marie almost smiled at the underlying intent of the comment about the use of a phone. She knew it was a non-subtle hint for her to call her family and let them know where she was and that she was okay. It may have even been the woman’s way of trying to get her to cancel this crazy trip and return home.
“Okay. Sounds good.” Marie wasn’t going to discourage the woman’s good intentions.
Marie was sorry they were about to part company. She had enjoyed talking to this lady who always seemed to smile. Her smile was infectious, and Marie found herself smiling along with her. She hadn’t had a reason to smile in a long time.
After the woman parked, Marie unfastened her seatbelt and got out of the car. She followed to the clinic’s steps where the woman veered off and took a ramp to a lower level of the building.
As Marie’s foot landed on the first step, a snowflake touched her nose, then another, and another. Glancing skyward, she saw the clouds had opened up and were now dropping slow flakes like a shaker of salt.
Breathing a sigh, Marie started up the steps to the front door of the clinic, telling herself it wouldn’t hurt to warm up and plan out the evening. She was going to have to find shelter for another night.
A sign on the wall caught Marie’s attention as she walked into the lobby. After reading the clinic’s operating hours, she was glad to find it would be open until seven o’clock tonight.
Since the lobby was occupied by only a handful of patients, Marie decided to go downstairs to the basement area and sit for a while. She wanted to plant herself somewhere unnoticed so she wouldn’t be asked to leave.
The basement housed the pharmacy, which was very busy at the moment. Both the line to drop off prescriptions and the one to pick up medications were lengthy, and the look on the faces of those waiting told Marie they had been standing for quite awhile.
Spotting an empty chair in the corner, Marie claimed it, but was quick to discover why it had been vacated. A not so pleasant odor emanated from the gentleman seated next to her. She prayed his wait was short. She didn’t know how long she could stand the smell and holding her breath until he left was not an option.
Luck was with Marie. After only ten minutes into her endurance, the man’s name was called and he was gone. Even though she was now able to breathe peacefully, she found herself wishing she had a can of Lysol to dissipate, or at least lessen, the smell.
Several hours passed and Marie’s loitering had gone unnoticed, or at least no one had approached her. Much to her chagrin and growing anger, her grandmother was still silent.
Marie riffled through her backpack and found enough change to buy cookies from the vending machine. Newspapers lay on an abandoned chair, which she quickly snatched to help pass the time.
Exhaustion began to overtake her body and settle into her bones. Marie leaned her head against the wall, and let her eyes drift closed.
Chapter Six
The man lay on a metal table, his face turned toward the ceiling. Marie stepped forward.
“I‘m coming. I will keep trying to find you, I promise. Please, hang in there.”
She reached the table and stood by his side. His eyes were closed. She reached out and placed a hand over his, feeling its warmth beneath her palm.
Her heart went out to him. She leaned over and kissed his forehead, then his cheek, then moved to his mouth.
“Miss? Miss?”
Marie felt a nudge on her shoulder. She opened her eyes to find a woman dressed in scrubs standing in front of her.
“I’m sorry, but we’re closing. You’ll have to leave.”
The woman looked her over. Marie felt her scrutiny.
“Do you have a place to stay? A place to go? I can call the shelters for you.”
Marie shook her head. “No, but thanks. I fell asleep. I didn’t realize the time.”
Gathering her things, Marie headed out the door. She hated leaving the warmth of the clinic. Her butt was numb from sitting on the hard plastic seat for so long, even though she periodically had gotten up to stretch and use the restroom. A couple of times her chair had been claimed after she had vacated it. Thankfully, she had kept her newspaper with her. It had proved to be her salvation during those hours of sitting.
The cold air hit Marie hard when she stepped outside. Snow blew in her face while she donned her knit cap and pulled it over her ears.
“Okay, Grandma. Where to next?”
Marie looked around for a moment, then felt a pull in a particular direction and went with it. She trudged through the snow, which was now several inches deep. Low, gray clouds filled the sky, and the snow showed no signs of letting up any time soon.
Marie walked almost a mile, pulling her jacket up to her face to try to stop the stinging of her nose from the frigid air. Her lungs were beginning to burn, and she found breathing more and more laborious.
“How much further, Grandma? It’s co—cold.”
Marie began to panic over her predicament. She was shivering so hard her body felt as though it was going to come apart. She had to find somewhere to stay for the night, and fast.
A building caught her eye. Through the blanket of snow steadily blowing in her face, Marie searched for signs of lights glowing in the windows. The place was dark, and no vehicles were parked nearby.
Determined to get out of the cold and snow, Marie trudged closer. When she was able to see the building more clearly, she gasped. She had found it. Marie almost leapt for joy, and probably would have done so if her feet and legs were not so numb.
“Can this be real? Am I finally here?” Her heart pounded. More than the cold and snow urging her on, she desperately searched for a way inside. She needed to know. Was the man inside? Was he still alive?
Peeking inside one of the windows, Marie could not see anything through the darkness. She stepped away from the window and noticed a plaque on the wall. The building had once been a U.S. Military Hospital.
Marie tried the front door and found it locked. Checking the side door also got her nowhere. “Got any ideas, Grandma?” Marie didn’t know why she bothered. Her grandmother would answer when she felt like it, or when she decided it was in Marie’s best interest.
After further study of the bui
lding’s exterior, Marie saw a boarded window on the second floor and felt a ray of hope. Balconies with cast iron railings lined each floor. Marie saw nothing she could use to boost herself high enough to reach the second floor railing, until she noticed breaks in a couple of bricks on the wall at the far end of the ground floor. She prayed the grooves were deep enough for her to use as hand and foot holds.
Feeling the uneven bricks bite into her hands, Marie climbed closer to the second floor railing, grabbed it, then pulled with all the strength she possessed. Weak and out of breath, she had to fight the urge to slump against the wall and rest awhile. She needed to get inside and out of the weather. Marie desperately hoped heat and electricity were still in working order in the old building.
Loosening the board over the broken window was not easy. Marie had to yank continuously before she was able to pry it from the frame.
To her dismay, the inside of the building was only slightly warmer than the outside. The heat was either turned off or both the gas and electricity services had been disconnected. Marie had to stomp her feet a couple of times to get warmth into her toes.
After turning on the small flashlight she kept in her backpack, Marie could see the second floor was in shambles. Broken glass was strewn across the floor, mixed with toppled tables. Sidestepping as much as the debris as she could, Marie made her way to the staircase and began climbing, trying to ignore the ache in her legs with every step.
Stopping on the third floor, she swung the flashlight while walking in and out of rooms. Each contained a small bed and a dresser with a television on top. Nothing resembled the room in her dreams.
Was she too late? Had her grandmother gotten it all wrong somehow? Maybe her grandmother had seen remnants of something which had happened long ago. It was obvious the building had been vacant for some time.
This time, she heard her grandmother in her head, scowling at her doubts and telling her to keep going. Marie made her way to the stairs and ascended to the next floor. A gasp of awe escaped her lips as she stepped inside the cupola. Sitting high upon the roof of the old hospital, she got a grand view of the area around her. Lights from what she guessed was downtown Louisville shone bright in the night, piercing through the veil of falling snow.
Snowflakes swirled around the windows, making her feel as though she was inside a snowglobe that had been shaken. Marie sat on a window ledge, momentarily forgetting her mission. She was mesmerized by the beautiful scene, until the room grew too cold and brought her out of the spell.
Quickly descending the winding stairs from the cupola, Marie passed the third and second floors, and arrived on the first floor. From what she could discern from the arc of light cast by her small flashlight the floor was wide open with no walls or rooms. The beam of her flashlight illuminated a pair of chairs and a couch by a large fireplace.
“Wow,” she murmured, unable to stop herself from inspecting it further. The fireplace’s mantle was made of marble. Marie traced the intricate designs carved into the marble with her finger. She noticed a pile of ashes in the pit, and a rack holding a cast iron poker, shovel and brush stood on the hearth.
Turning away from the fireplace, Marie followed the wall with her flashlight until she came to a door. Her heart beat fast, making her chest ache. She prayed she was finally going to put this matter to rest.
The door made a loud, ominous creak as it moved. Marie grimaced when she discovered it led to the basement.
“Don’t be a chicken,” she chided herself. She had to keep searching, which meant going down there, but the fraidy-cat side of her was adamantly saying, “No way.” The side demanding she continue her mission was being bolstered by her grandmother’s urging. It won.
Sucking in a deep breath and steeling her nerves, Marie slowly descended the stairs, all the while wishing she had a flashlight with a bigger beam. The steps squeaked as her shoes pressed on the old boards. Reaching the bottom, she swung her flashlight around the floor and walls.
A rat squeaked when the beam of light flashed across it. She jumped, let out a curse, then placed a hand over her racing heart. There was nothing in the basement but dust, rats and junk. She walked further into the room, shining her flashlight, searching for doors and hoping to find other rooms.
He has to be here.
This was the building, which had plagued her thoughts. This had to be where the man was. Marie refused to believe she had arrived too late.
Something scurried across her shoe. Marie screamed and dropped the flashlight.
“Damned rats.”
Blowing out a nervous breath, she pressed her hand against the wall for support and bent to retrieve the flashlight.
Marie heard a sharp click, then felt a short burst of air come from behind a crack slowly emerging in the wall. Dust blew around from the floor. Marie blinked and sputtered, trying to brush it from her face and eyes.
While a door opened out of nowhere, Marie retreated several steps, flabbergasted at what she was seeing. Why would an old hospital have a secret door?
When the door finally came to a stop, Marie found her flashlight and shone it into the tunnel. The beam only went so far. She knew she would have to enter the tunnel to find out where it led. Whispering the old phrase, “Curiosity killed the cat,” she held her breath and stepped inside.
Chapter Seven
The lock made an audible click, but Roster didn’t hear it. Even as he opened the door and stepped inside his condo, he didn’t hear the greeting called out to him by his neighbor. His mind was occupied, deep in thought. On the return flight from Colorado to Missouri, he had played and replayed the meeting with Dr. Pearson through his mind, but had been unable to shake the unease he felt about the man. His instincts screamed he had gathered enough about the man’s personality from his first look into the doctor’s eyes. Those eyes had been cold as ice.
After closing his door, Roster tossed his coat across the chair in the hallway, dropped his keys on the table and placed his suitcase on the floor. Unpacking was the least of his concerns at the moment. Right now, there was a more pressing matter. He felt compelled to send an urgent email to Dr. Stephanus Olivia and alert him of Dr. Pearson’s interests and odd behavior.
Although he and Frazier didn’t reside in the same state, they shared a common interest in the study of vampires. Both of them had been completely blown away after discovering the race truly existed.
Race. The word made Roster pause for a moment as he stood in the foyer of his condo. He could not help but view vampires as more of a race than a species. They were definitely more human than animal, at least as far as the second group was concerned. He would probably place the third group in that category as well, and he knew Frazier agreed with those assessments.
Roster booted up the laptop and logged in to his email account. Thinking of exactly what to say to Dr. Olivia left him staring at the computer screen. He did not want to appear as if he was crying wolf, but his suspicions needed to be aired. A voice in his head whispered taking no action would be a big mistake. He straightened and began composing a message, describing his and Frazier’s meeting with Dr. Pearson.
In summarizing their opinions of Dr. Pearson’s character and his behavior during their meeting and dinner, Roster stressed concern about the man’s true motives in studying vampires, and also mentioned the possibility of the doctor possessing a blood sample. Since Dr. Olivia possessed knowledge of various fanatical groups, Roster figured he would be able to discover any association with Dr. Pearson.
Leaning in his chair, he felt more than fatigue from the flight. The email was on its way. Roster hoped he had done the right thing and both his information and concern would be taken seriously.
He shut down his laptop, grabbed his bags from the hallway and carried them to the bedroom to unpack. Weary from his trip and his concerns, he intended to sleep and put it out of his mind for now.
Dr. Stephanus Olivia sat behind his desk, signing invoices for Olivia Laboratories and sifting th
rough the mail. While frowning over a report from one of the Watcher Cells, an incoming message alert interrupted his thoughts.
He was surprised to see the message was from Hal Roster, whom he had met at a convention in Miami. They had engaged in a long, interesting discussion on the topic of vampires. Dr. Olivia wasn’t naive enough to think no humans, outside of those in his employ, knew of their existence. Vampires ran the risk of becoming lab rats, or worse. Fear of the unknown often led to hatred in humans, and hatred led to violence.
After meeting Hal, Dr. Olivia had relaxed and enjoyed their conversation. Hal was definitely not one of those fanatics who were bent on destroying vampires.
The message was brief, to the point and quite disturbing. A scientist with interests who might exceed the study of vampires by mere observation was one cause for concern, but the man’s claims of possessing a sample of vampire blood was another. The idea the man may quite possibly be telling the truth sent a chill down Olivia’s spine.
The name of the scientist in question had Olivia sucking in a breath. Dr. Pearson.
Pearson was the man who had concocted a vampire drug, which had almost been released on the streets of downtown Louisville. Vampires expecting a euphoric experience would have received something they had not bargained for—excruciating pain and possible death. The drug was not a vampire narcotic, but a poison.
Tank and Trigg had destroyed the lab as well as the four humans who worked there, but Dr. Pearson hadn’t been located. Where was the doctor working now?
Dr. Olivia quickly composed an email of gratitude to Hal for alerting him to the issue and offered assurances the matter would be thoroughly investigated. He had already formed a plan of action, but didn’t state how he intended to handle the investigation. He was going to work his way onto Dr. Pearson’s list of close associates, discover exactly what the doctor had planned and if more poison was going to be sold on the streets to vampires under the guise of narcotics. If a blood sample did exist, it needed to be destroyed.