Created (Book 1 of the Created)

by Shaw, Shannon

  Leaning into my personal space, Veronica began. "Part of this information is rumor and part is truth. Many of the older generations are ignorant of the world outside the fences choosing instead to believe this is the entire world. The humans they encounter are either food or our loyal overly protective servants. Other generations know, but pretend theirs is a kingdom in order to lord over the lesser beings within their dominions. All are content in the roles within the framework that has been built over the many years."

  From her head tilt she was concerned that I was keeping up with her.

  Not worried about my comprehension, Veronica advanced the story. "About forty years ago, the United States government began an endeavor to construct a new weapons program called Generations. There were extreme successes and colossal failures during the early days. The hardest part was the technology needed was far behind the concept idea. Finally, the government sought outside resources to carry the project forward."

  Beleaguered and mentally drained I spoke before I could forget my questions. "What was the basis for the project? You know, what was the end product?"

  "Ethan, the project was to use the monsters of the different folklores of humanity to inflict terror upon their enemies. The U.S. paired their researched design models with Chadron corporation’s genetic modifiers. The implementation brought it to Fort Cooper, Alabama which was called the Farm for short. Here the experiments could run free and train for when the need arose to send the toys into foreign lands. Soon though, our brothers and sisters were being hunted by the arrogant millionaires, or the Monster Hunters club, that allowed wealthy elite to donate money to the development of future warriors while providing true field data at somewhat less risk than sending soldiers into battle."

  I cracked off a smart ass retort. "Super soldier Darby? Super soldier me? Super soldier you? We are kids. These people must be insane."

  Adjusting a smeared corner of her red lipstick, Veronica then delicately yawned.

  Unimpressed, I bemused silently.

  "Our generation is the newest, the most ready. GV16s are perfect killing machines. We have been designed to have a laundry list of abilities at our disposal. These range from hyper sensitive hearing, smell and vision to super speed and strength. Then we have the other qualities more characteristic of our given virus parameter. So, since we are vampires, the basics apply. The blood craving is real. We are cunning, charming, aggressive, unrelenting and exotic. No one can resist the lures we possess when used to effect humans."

  Cringing about having to ask her another question, I paused then proceeded. "Veronica how could this happen? How did I become a vampire?"

  "Explanations run much faster when they are allowed to go on unimpaired instead of made burdensomely slow by obviously trivially answered rabble," Veronica was running out of patience.

  Her words bothered me enough I wanted to explode.

  However, my mouth stayed shut because I have to know as much as she was willing to share.

  Walking to one of the tinted windows Veronica looked conflicted as she spoke, "Nanotechnology. When they first started, the government was using a virus developed by the Germans during WWII. This virus mimicked the symptoms of being a vampire or whatever other creature they could dream up using a conventional frame work such as a human or a wolf. This virus wasn't perfect and the genetic modifiers that were at play so uncharted that many of the first generations included deformities and uncontrollably dispositions of almost pure evil."

  The question I had wanted answered she had dodged thus far with the long winded explanation of how we had arrived through science, but I wanted to know about me personally. Time had to be given to see if she knew the truth about my origin. Rubbing my chin, I listened intently as she explained.

  "Chadron was brought in when the project stalled after the first few cycles of creations were deemed failures. Dropping Bayne or his brood would do short term damage in confined or limited use, but those monstrosities standout and have inherit weaknesses that make them very limited. Eventually, the threat would die down and life would stabilize. The government wanted to ultimately have a monster that looked and acted like a human. The evil they desired to create would appear to be like the average citizen of the target country."

  Joining Veronica at the window, our hands inadvertently brushed. A shiver ran down my spine, not of fear, but of attraction. I shook it off or tried, but damn it was hard because she was so fucking beautiful. Even her smell of cinnamon was warm and disarming. I felt myself lingering on thoughts of touching her exquisite face. Slowly, my hand inched without regard for my commands until almost even with her shoulder, suddenly I stopped. Deciding for safety and sanity, I needed to cool any thoughts about her. I scanned the world on the other side of the glass.

  Pointing out the window at a series of muscular young men on patrol, Veronica seemed different, older than when we were in the forest together. "Once we were alive, living, like those soldiers out there on the street. We were young men and women with families and bright futures and in an instant, for whatever reason, were suddenly and with finality gone. Ethan, we have been given a second chance at life. We are all so very, fortunate. To be selected is so rare. Chadron only uses the healthy and the young who have recently been deceased. We were selected because of scarcity of our genes and made into something even more uniquely beautiful with the chance of immortality."

  Still looking out at the street long after the soldiers passed, I drew a deep breath as I dealt with how the facts of my own demise must be buried somewhere deep in my mind.

  Veronica could tell the thought must have been burdening me. "You can't remember because your thoughts were stripped away. The ones that make you remember who you were. And whoever you once were is a fractured image that no longer works. The government and Chadron go to great lengths to make you forget you were human. They say it makes you that much more lethal since you can't sympathize with your assignments."

  "Oh". My head felt so heavy.

  Turning from the window, Veronica rested her back against the frame. Briefly, I thought I saw a tear, but must have been mistaken.

  The nearby construction in the building had all but stopped except for the random banging of a hammer. Left to the quiet, we had to deal with the uneasiness of trying to forget the past as well as deal with our resurrections.

  Already shaking, head bowed, I knew it was time to find out the difficult answers. "Veronica, you may not want to tell me more, but I have to know everything. Please don't deny me a chance to find out who I have become."

  "Ok," she said.

  She walked away toward a small card table to rearrange an old deck that had long since been forgotten there. "Nanites are introduced into the bloodstream. These tiny devices alter the DNA inside of us while others provide a more efficient means to get the virus into our nervous system, but more importantly the devices are used to control us. With a single flip of a switch, we can all be rendered into dust. It provides them with a failsafe. The older ones were controlled by brute force, but technology has made the whole issue of death very subtle."

  She paused speaking and shuffling then promptly started again. "Others within the Town say it is there to remind us about who our God should be and that we are their servants."

  "Are we?" I asked.

  "I don't know. I tend to believe we should be thankful for what being alive. Normally, I tend to let others worry about such nonsense." Veronica was still shuffling the cards with her back to me.

  "So are we going to play cards now or what?" I playfully quizzed her hoping to break up the solemn mood the conversation had undertaken.

  There was a light, airy laugh from the sultry female vampire.

  "Is that a no?" I asked as I moved toward her position.

  She did not answer directly.

  Peering out the window Veronica became monetarily preoccupied then in a rushed manner tried to progress my movement into becoming a vampire. "The next few days are going to be fierce wi
th our going to high school, you having to deal with adjusting to life here and becoming a vampire, plus you first official feed will be soon. If you survive, then everything should be fine. It is getting near night time and there is still a lot of information in your folder for you to process and memorize. There is a secondary folder in your house. That folder contains your basic information about assimilation into vampire culture here on the Farm."

  I knew that it was going to be a long night of reading and pondering my new life. Sighing, I returned to my seat.

  "Ethan, we need to go before the feeding time for the red zone. It begins in a while and they ask us to be inside when it takes place. No matter what you hear tonight, do not open your door."

  She tossed me a key. "Thanks, but which house is mine?"

  I couldn't help, but stare as she moved closer to me almost as if she was circling her prey. The move was imperceptible, but it had occurred I was sure of it.

  She faced me then glided through the door. "Come on, we must get you settled before the Town is sealed off for tonight."

  Heeding her beckoning, I followed suit. Calling up to her, "Before it is forgotten, I guess a thank you is in store for getting me out of harm's way. I really didn't understand, but I am sure you had your reasons. What did that mob want?"

  Half turning as she walked she answered, "You were left to die or survive in the woods on your own. The group you saw was upset because they knew I had intervened breaking up what they consider the natural cycle of events, but no one had ever been dropped off that far in the forest before. So, I had to do something. Most of the recoveries are made in or near the town under traditionally calm settings, if you can call our little world here calm. I am still at a loss as to why you were placed in the middle of the wolves' zone."

  Confused, I wanted to make sure my mind wasn't over reaching. "It sounds to me like I was left to die."

  Opening the door to exit the building, Veronica turned the knob as she explained. "I agree."

  Chapter 15

  The inside of my new home was unsurprisingly retro.

  Veronica had said the 'Town' was a very small town when the U.S. bought the property in the 1970s. Named Weber, the town was so small it wasn't included on the majority of the original local maps. A single main street lined with brick and wooden buildings stretched for a few blocks with a few other structures hidden around the peripheries down sunless alleyways.

  The houses occupied by the vampires were built later at the edge of the forgotten stores. The original intent was for housing scientists and officials back before the different types of beasts were allowed to roam freely.

  The housing was dated and appeared aged as the last remnants of sunlight fought through the cracks in the wooden blinds covering the room in a color very similar to orange marmalade.

  Dust covered the entire small living room and attached kitchen. The hardwood floor was in decent shape and bore a series of foot prints tracking between the living room, kitchen and through a door beside the kitchen that must have been a bedroom.

  My curiosity led me to follow the path into the kitchen. Without deviation, the footprints moved to a recently new refrigerator. Opening the door left me to experience a feeling too incredible for words as I beheld white plastic bins containing clear plastic athletic looking water bottles with easy open tops filled with a dark red substance that I knew from the aroma was fresh blood.

  The image shocked me at first. After the image sank in, I thought about what I was and how I had to think of surviving in my new role.

  Still it was all new to me and things were always a learning experience. "I guess vampires don't need real food."

  Each bin was labeled by blood type or species with dates of donation and expiration. The bins filled three shelves.

  There was a thirst and a need to take one out, but I resisted.

  Scanning through the top two shelves, I noticed that the bottles with human blood displayed labels that denoted these did not have a long shelf life if I wanted optimal taste and flavor. The types were O and A of various degree.

  The lowest shelf contained blood from deer, foxes and rabbits. The slight smell permeating through the plastic was not unpleasant nor was it as intoxicating as the containers of human blood.

  Shutting the door, I stepped around the bar and to the door I presumed contained my bedroom. The presumption was correct.

  The tiny room housed a separate bathroom with a small tub and shower combo, toilet, sink and a fragment of a mirror. Stepping into the room, I thought about looking to see if I could see my new self, but wasn't sure that was my best course of action.

  Exiting, I admired the bedroom. There was a sliding glass door covered with new modern vertical blinds to the left of the bed. The blinds did not mesh well with an interior that had not been updated in over forty years. The dark real wood paneling and the stark white were an odd mix together.

  Recently, the bedspread and linens had been replaced with a modern twist on 1970s decor which didn't help make the lightly stained wooden bed appear in better shape.

  Finishing the room were a couple small tables and a matching chest of drawers.

  Daring to peek behind the accordion style doors guarding the contents of the closet, I was pleasantly greeted with a selection of new shoes and clothes reminiscent of the position I would be playing for the better part of considerable future. Trendy t-shirts, jeans, khakis and polo shirts filled the expanse with the occasional Oxford mixed in for good measure, all of which were hung in order by color. Then to complete my wardrobe at the far right side of the closet hung an assortment of ties, belts and accessories.

  "At least they are trying hard," I laughingly mumbled.

  Moving to the chest of drawers, I found socks bound and sorted by color and boxer briefs folded and pressed. Each pair was stacked neatly with the labels facing in the same direction.

  Satisfied with at least part of my new lot in the world, I proceeded to the living room to find the packet Walter and Veronica had spoken about earlier in the day.

  The living room consisted of a moderately worn, though useable, floral print couch with wooded accents, green leather chair, two dark bronze lamps sporting multicolored glass shades, and two dark walnut tables all coated with inches of dust.

  "I know where the priorities were in the planning or my arrival," I quipped as I wiped two inches of dust from the back of the chair.

  Taking a seat in the green chair, I grabbed a white plastic wrapped binder labeled orientation from the table nearest the chair. Ripping into the covering, I tore the binder from the protective sheath easily. Placing the binder upon my lap, I thumbed through the pages without reading any particular item. Scrolling back to the beginning of the information, I decided to begin what I hoped was a definitive guide about how to be a vampire, the abridged version.

  The guide wasn't voluminous in any means. The document read like an owner’s manual and wasn't more than thirty pages in length. A large percentage of the content had already been explained or I had witnessed firsthand.

  Skimming through the content, there was new information which made me want to explode with anger and some that was fantastical which made me smile.

  The reading passed swiftly.

  Arriving at the last page, I found a hand written scribble across the typeface from Darby, "Don't believe it all. There is so much more to our world than the humans will ever know."

  Studying the words from Darby, I knew I would find this out whether I wanted to or not and sooner than I would ever be ready.

  Finishing the information in the binder, I felt better armed to survive a few more hours. I needed to read the cover information for my placement at a local high school, but the hour was early and there was a lot running through my mind.

  Time crawled and what I dreamed was an hour was actually a matter of minutes. Then ten more joined the crawl.

  Soon, a thirst was building inside of me. This thirst was different than the other one. The one
before I was a vampire.

  I could detect the blood in the fridge as my hunger grew. The thought of consuming the blood was revolting, yet I knew I had to have it to survive.

  I blinked.

  Looking around, I found myself standing before the open fridge staring at the containers of blood. I couldn't remember how I had gotten to the kitchen or how I had opened the fridge. Glancing at the clock on the wall in the hallway, I realized said two hours had surpassed.

  The field guide had stated that vampires, until gaining control over the desire for blood, could experience lapses in time. It was disturbing to know that my body was no longer my own. Shutting the door, I sighed before making my way back to the chair.

  The binder was shredded.

  Undoubtedly rage was another issue.

  My bout with confusion was interrupted by a loud lonesome howl. The howl was followed by a chorus of similar calls interspersed with growls, barks and laughter.

  The low calls of upset cattle snorting quickly became loud thunderous bellowing. The bellowing grew louder and louder until it was rendered into high pitched cries of distress from animals in great pain. The sounds echoed through the thin walls of my new home.

  Against my better judgment, I made my way to the curtain covering the door to catch a glimpse. Hesitant to sneak a peek at the night's happenings, I stood behind the flimsy protection of the wooden door listening.

  Snarls, snaps and the occasional sounds of quarreling canines popped about the small town as the sounds echoed off the solid frames of the old structures.

  The cows were now silent.

  Drawing back the curtain on the door slightly, I watched three wolves devour the carcass of a fallen animal. There must have been twenty in all. Each of the wolves was gorging itself on the large bovines. The creatures were either tearing at a fallen beast or lazily gnawing on a snatched away limb. Body parts were scattered about the feeding pen with a few having been thrown thirty feet outside of the structure. Blood dripped from the sections of fence and the muzzles of the large wolves. Several lapped at the entrails and spilled liquid flowing across the concrete.