Created (Book 1 of the Created)

by Shaw, Shannon

  I gave a fake laugh before she could finish. She obviously sensed that her presentation of the situation wasn't helping me.

  "Long story short, don't worry, we have a temporary cure. Open the door so I can remedy the situation."

  The feeling was addictive. I lost myself again in my thoughts. Complicating the matter was all of the wicked imagery that was running rampant in my head. There was insatiable desire to feed. I wanted to taste the flesh of the humans sitting idly in the classrooms. Like cattle, the humans sat in the rooms waiting to be taken. I had a need to dispose of the bored to tears or too cool to be burdened to care students. The spoiled, lazy and damned were all begging for me to end their wretched existences. My hesitation was my undoing and salvation.

  With a bravado usually reserved for a movie action hero, Veronica forced open the flimsy door of the stall. Taking me by the throat, I was hoisted a couple of inches from the floor as she twisted my neck to one side with a single hand. Her other hand contained a collection of pills which she attempted to force down my throat. Righting my head, she forced my jaws open within her crushing grip. I knew she wanted to help me, though she had other responsibilities besides babysitting me twenty-four hours a day. Still I struggled and spat. The smell of sweet coppery goodness was making me more manic by the second. I needed a taste. One taste then this would all stop. A single taste. Even a droplet of the smooth and salty liquid would do, I convinced myself.

  She knew that a taste would be all of our undoing. Patiently, she worked my mouth open repeatedly as I fought to maintain the state of denial.

  I fought her by lashing out with my flailing arms and kicking feet. A few random strikes hit the intended target, including a partial knee to her face which tore her lip. She never wavered and never responded. She just maintained her grip and control through all of my efforts for freedom.

  Fangs were bared, both hers and mine.

  Anger and hatred welled inside of me.

  She hissed and cursed under her breath as another errant blow struck her.

  Finally, she caved to frustration. Punching me in the face with the hand containing the medicine rendered me woozy enough for her to take an advantage. The five green tablets were forced down my throat.

  Veronica let go of my face. Pissed at my reaction, she hatefully discarded me. This allowed me to drop onto the toilet with enough velocity to partially crack the porcelain bowl and destroy the cheap replacement seat when my backside made contact.

  The concoction set fire to my soul as it erased the thoughts, sounds, smells, and my conviction. Inside there was a tiny churning. I felt broken, but sane.

  Veronica towered over me to gauge if the drugs were working.

  The ole noggin was aching, but my body was working to repair itself. So was hers. The bloody lip she incurred was wiped away through a casual lick of the tongue. The small wound healed thereafter. In dismay, I watched her dark locks soften to a rich mahogany.

  As quickly as it all began, it had ended.

  Checking her nails, Veronica asked, "How do you feel now?"

  I thought I detected a bit of her trying to be a smart ass.

  My retort seemed better in my head than when it was spoken, "Less than human, but still alive."

  She smiled, then giggled.

  Thinking through what I had said for a moment, I picked up on what she thought was funny.

  In defense of the misstatement I said, "You know exactly what I mean."

  Veronica adjusted her clothes and dusted off a couple of the footprints from my pitiful attack. "I do, but it is still cute to hear you say. Let me warn you there are a couple of minor side effects to the Syntype Inhibitor."

  "As long as I don't sprout big ass bat ears or anything, I think I can deal."

  Clumsily, she tried and failed to reattach the door to the broken hinge as I did my best to gather myself. "They are minor, but potentially serious. First is irritability. The second is the insatiable need for sex.”

  My jaw dropped open I was sure of it.

  Veronica smiled widely then contained herself for a millisecond before bursting into laughter. "Sorry I had to. I really couldn't help myself. There is only the one which is the irritability. The other was to screw with you metaphorically." She began laughing even harder.

  I could see the humor, but really couldn't appreciate it since she was definitely taking advantage of my nativity to poke fun. At least it appeared to be good natured and not malicious, so even I let a little chuckle slip out.

  Striking a tone more reminiscent of the vampire I knew as she helped me up, she explained the nature of the medicine. "The Inhibitor uses the nanites in our blood to block the first initial feelings that develop from mass exposure to humans for the first time. They can also be highly addictive hence why they are carefully regulated by Walter and his superiors. I was given a small handful to aid you during the mission's beginnings since you didn't receive the immersion therapy that we are initially required to take in preparation."

  She lightly took hold of my face to inspect if she had done any semi-permanent damage. "A few amongst our clan crave the drug especially those that were part of the older groups. They have no need for the Inhibitor, but the surge in irritability makes them more aggressive which means they become more dangerous. They live for the rush. Others have attempted to adapt their own versions for the trade and services black market within the zones. In the vampire world, as in the human world, there is always a struggle for power."

  Before she could explain anymore, the bell to change class rang signaling an end to a class I did not get to attend. We both looked to each other for an answer. How could we explain away a girl in the boys’ bathroom?

  The bell had been followed by the approach of footsteps nearing the door.

  Veronica suddenly embraced me by placing her arms around the small of my back. She pulled me close, snug against her body which was hard and muscular.

  I wasn't sure what exactly was happening, but I wouldn't complain. To my surprise, her lips met mine as the bathroom door was opened by a single guy who was followed two seconds later by another.

  Both guys stopped cold when they saw us making out.

  I wasn't about to stop what was happening. The guys could watch for all I cared.

  Her lips were electric against mine. Passionate and playful were her kisses with an occasional nibble of my lower lip or the tip of her tongue pushing gently into my mouth, exploring.

  Veronica no longer felt like an alpha predator. In my arms, she was only a woman. Her firm breasts pressing into my chest. The hard veneer had broken away to reveal a softer being made of flesh. Suddenly she seemed human with all the emotional trappings that were part of that encumbrance.

  A rogue hand wandered across the small of her back, pulling her tighter into me. She didn't seem to be bothered. In fact, she reacted in kind, bringing her hand to my face and neck in a lovers embrace; forcefully she pulled me deeper into our passionate kiss.

  The guys laughed and nudged each other before bursting into laughter again as they exited without using the facilities.

  Our embrace did not stop. The kissing became more frantic, impassioned. Impassioned turned immediately to nothing as Veronica broke our connection. She looked at the floor trying to avoid eye contact. I actually did the same after checking on her.

  Her hair had become a golden brown but it quickly darkened as she adjusted the corners of her lips in the mirror. I didn't notice her quick departure to the bathroom mirror.

  "We need to go. We will be late for another class. A second time today will bring too much unwanted attention to a new student, so we need to get moving," she said.

  Damn, I thought. My heart was still racing, blood coursing in a torrent through my veins. I knew that it was part of our cover to maintain the appearance of a relationship and the kiss was needed to keep from getting us in trouble; a trouble that I created.

  Veronica was already moving through the door before I had started walkin
g. The time for reflection and want was over.

  Chapter 20

  The last two class blocks of my first day of high school were much smoother. Both of the classes contained Veronica who acted like nothing changed from before the incident in the bathroom.

  The thoughts of her kiss flashed before my eyes for the first forty five minutes of third block, erasing completely what happened in the class. During lunch as we sat and talked with the other GV16s, the images were occasional. Talking was not exactly right since we mainly sat and surveyed the humans who conversed around us. We each fingered at our food and a few bites were taken to do our best to appear normal as suggested, though it was obvious we didn't like human food. The food I had been given by the bitchy lunch room lady was insufferable. It was after my initial bite of human food, a piece of burnt hamburger steak, I discovered there was a reason it was recommend that we bring our simulated food. The simulated product from the base was at least edible and my body got blood nourishment in the process, but it was worse than the refrigerated blood and didn't satisfy any thirst. The GVs had a noticeable flaw in our design, an aversion to processed food. So far, there was no way to make the food consumed by the humans appetizing. I was sure, however, there was no way to make the crap being served here palatable even to humans.

  Thankfully lunch ended quickly, and I discarded my uneaten food. I drifted away from the crowd to allow my mind to settle.

  Finally the thoughts of our kiss had begun to fade completely as fourth block closed to an end.

  As we exited the last class of the day, a familiar odor arrived in the hallway. The odor was something from the Farm, but it was not the fragrant, pleasant smell carried in the pheromones of a vampire. The odor was musky, heady with a hint of earthy.

  Veronica seemed unaware or uncaring to the new scent. To think she was unaware was a mistake because she was a GV16 like me, and besides she was always aware. The odor was on top of us, but in the clusters of all the students massing in the hall, I had been unable with my new senses to place the source. It drew nearer. The odor was stronger with each deep inhale. Multiple sources were evident. There were at least three. Wait, maybe four.

  Turning to scan in the other direction, I was greeted with a rough shoulder throw. The blow was extremely accurate and well placed by a purveyor of the smell. The nature of the attack was malicious. My shoulder was dislocated and the pain was excruciating.

  Clutching my injured arm, and without regard to my cover, I spun to retaliate. "Hey! Hey!"

  I tried to move, but Veronica and Liam held me tightly in place by either arm. Liam was not exactly gentle in handling my displaced shoulder. Still I fought through the pain. I wanted revenge, and I wanted it now, but no matter how much I struggled they refused to let me go after my attacker.

  The halls were clearing. Cutting across the hallway into the next were three boys the same age as me. One was larger than me, but not as formidable as Liam. Another was about my size in regard to height, though he was considerably heavier. The smallest was tiny even compared to Logan. The smallest began to walk backward for a moment. The moment was full of intent and forethought which was apparent when he used both hands to flip me off before he disappeared around the corner with his pack.

  Veronica tried to soothe me. "This is not the place to take this up. Those assholes are part of the program too unfortunately."

  "Were those the ....," I asked, finally determining the source of the smell.

  "Yep. Dogs." Liam snarled, as he repositioned himself tighter around me.

  After a reasonable time passed with no struggling, both let go of me.

  My shoulder pain was ending as the healing process was already well under way, but not my pride.

  The scent had made me aware of the danger, but I hadn't been able to place the origin.

  I knew I needed to improve as a vampire or I was nothing more than a weak human. I had been singled out because I was new and they were testing me to gauge my reaction, though I wasn't sure if I had passed or failed. Considering the reaction from the smaller wolf, I took myself as being viewed as nothing more than a chump. I tried to shake it off, but the anger was only getting worse inside of me. Obviously, a side effect of those damn pills.

  Remnants of the foul aroma still hung in the air.

  Trying to regain my composure as the anger flooded through my very being, I lowly growled, "Wolves. Damn, ugly ass wolves."

  Chapter 21

  My shoulder was healed by the time our bus pulled up to carry us home. The injury was sore, but my shoulder was again in place and useable.

  I was ready for the bus ride. I think everybody was tired since not a solitary word was spoken. It truly had been a long stressful day. The day had not been all bad and the kiss with Veronica was a pleasant surprise. The issue with the wolves was something of a different matter.

  Why hadn't we been informed of the wolf team? The question was nagging at me. It bothered me more than any fallout that was to occur from the kiss with her. Lingering on the issue of the wolves being on the same school site gave me time to reflect on my own stupidity. Neither Liam nor Veronica had acted out of character when the group was sensed. For all I knew the information was in our packet or even in the training I was missing. There were definitely more drawbacks to not having been involved in the total process.

  I reassured myself that given time, everything would work out in the end, plus there was only one more day of school this week. During the weekend I was going to see if one of the guys would help me get acclimated. Asking either Veronica or Darby for help was best, but given the current climate with both, that seemed less than ideal.

  Darby. Thinking of her reminded me to do one simple task tonight; lock the doors and windows so we didn't suffer a repeat from last night.

  Having been lost in my own thoughts, I didn't realize how tiring dealing with the duplicity of being a vampire in a human school could be for us all. Looking around the bus, I realized that most of the group, except for Veronica, was in the sleep state. She looked to be lost in deep thought, so I opted not to bother her. Besides, the gentle, peaceful rocking of the bus back and forth on the rural roads leading to the base made me relaxed, so I decided to get some rest myself.

  I closed my eyes. My thoughts were calm and peaceful as I felt myself inch deeper into my sleep state. The relaxation allowed my mind to become clear as I drifted along. The last image in my mind was of the cute blonde girl I had knocked down in the hallway at school.

  The bus had stopped moving and Veronica was standing beside me. "Ethan, we are home. Ethan...Ethan wake up."

  My eyes sprang open at the last call of my name. "We are to the base already?"

  We were the only ones on the bus except the driver.

  She looked annoyed. "I am going to go through the list one last time if you would pay attention. The feeding is tomorrow night and it is optional, though I do think you should come get to know everybody better and see how we co-exist. While I am thinking about it, make sure you pick up some Inhibitor from me tomorrow morning before school, but be sure to do so in private so that the others don't want to take a sample for themselves. It will be the same departure time in the am. Now, let me think if there is anything else."

  Veronica stared at the ceiling and counted out details on her fingers as if she was consulting a checklist in her mind. "Get some rest. Walter is requesting we all go straight to our homes this afternoon to get recharged and ready for tomorrow. He has imposed a curfew on school nights at 10:00 pm until week three, then we are on our own. There will be GZ13 sentinels used to guard our doors and windows until then. Be sure to let your guard smell your hand before you enter the house that way we can insure and imprint with your particular guard. The guard is already on station."

  She tried to turn, but instinctively I took her hand in mine.

  "Can we talk about the encounter today with the other group?" I tried to be cautious about what I asked about around the driver. "I know I should
have reacted better to his act of intimidation, and I am sorry that I didn't."

  Veronica tilted her head, thought for a second then motioned for the driver to step off the bus. "The wolves are a bunch of jerks. Especially Haley, the one that bumped into you. Tristan is the short one who flipped you off. The big one is the worst. He even still goes by the name John. Avoid dealing with them at school at all costs. If there is a problem and it becomes personal, then save it for the Farm. Agreed?"

  "Agreed."

  I stood up as she began walking down the stairs out of the bus. "About the other thing..."

  Veronica cut me off. "It’s ok. I actually enjoyed it."

  I was going to discuss the manic state I had entered and leave the make out session alone, but I was glad she had said what she did. In fact it made me grin a little. Hell, a lot.

  We walked separately to our houses. I watched her disappear into the house before I tentatively approached the front porch of my own abode.

  Along the sides of the house were two roaming decomposing figures of death, each of who were chained to the wall with a very large, thick metal chain. The chain must have weighed at least thirty pounds easily. The heavy burden did not seem to deter as the figures shambled back and forth along the narrow pathways along either side of the house.

  The afternoon sun cast my door guardian in shadows which made it indistinguishable to determine its nature until stepping fully onto the porch with the figure. The figure paused his patrolling of the small enclosure to watch my approach. I had read about the other creatures on the Farm, and from their descriptions this thing on my porch was a zombie. The zombie was exceedingly thin with a very gaunt face. The Z, as stitched on its uniform, was in heavy decomposition with a very agitated disposition as I approached.