With a quick choke I deposited him again and this time he landed on his feet. He rocked a little in his boots and his fists were clenched tight, but he did not take the bait. The other musicians stood behind their friend as if they stood a chance against me. I needed no entourage, nor did I need a friend. There were no friends amongst the Frenzied. Only positions to be attained to and often with much blood and suffering. The sooner he learned that the better things would go for him.
"I suggest you get busy with the song you promised the queen. Elegant Death, it’s called, correct? Do the gig and finish the song. That is all that is required of you." To the girl in the cage who curiously was not caged now, I said, “You should see that he stays inspired, young lady.”
"Where is the queen and where is my Sustainer? This is not what I was promised! All this murder--all this killing! We were promised a Sustainer! Bring him to me or I will tear this place to the ground. I will tear her up too." He did not look in Lisa’s direction but pointed at her rather awkwardly.
Oh my. The King of Rock and Roll had developed an attachment. Ah, what a risk, making such a high profile personality one of the Frenzied. I would have to kill him. How unfortunate for him.
Maybe the queen would kill him? I would leave it to her pleasure.
"What will you threaten me with? Do as you like. Tear this place up. Tear her up, as you say. I did not make you--I do not even like you. If you have anything against your queen, if you have regret over becoming one of us, I suggest you speak with her. I will let her know that you inquired about her well-being. It will be time to perform soon. Would you like some blood now, or do you want to wait?" I saw him melt before me. Just the mention of blood made him hungry for it. For all his pompous bluster he was a slave to his new hunger just as much as the rest of us. I could see that his teeth had gotten slightly longer. This was a clear indication that he was indeed very hungry and certainly not thinking clearly.
"I need blood now."
With a glint of a smile I joked, “I suppose it's too much to ask to hear you say please.”
I laughed as Rex raised his right shoulder as if he were fending off a blow. Oh, but he was a proud boy. I laughed again. No, he wasn’t meant to be one of us. He had no stomach for this life, such as it was and as it would be.
For all eternity.
I offered a mock bow. “Yes, my king. I will send you someone and when the queen arrives I will let her know that you wish to air your grievances with her.” With one last glance at the trembling girl on the couch behind him, I added, “I am sure you have a lot to talk about.”
I left laughing and firmly committed to killing Rex Teaser in the most horrible of ways. If only I could figure out what that would be? My feverish mind raced with the possibilities.
Hmm...
Chapter Ten--Lisa
“Everyone out! Go find your own food!” He said as his band grumbled and cursed at him. The one that wore too much eyeliner was so angry he could spit and in fact, he did spit. On the ground in front of Rex. They were clearly not happy with one another. Rex had believed Alice’s promises to live by the blood of a Sustainer and for some reason he believed that Levi would be strong enough to feed his entire band.
Rex wasn’t happy about this turn of events, having been sold on the idea of immortality with no strings attached, but outside of Queen Alice, no one cared. Not anyone amongst the Frenzied.
I wondered at what all this meant but then remembered myself. I had to train my mind to stay on subjects that would not anger Rex or cause him to suspect me of planning anything. Keep your thoughts under control, Lisa, because Rex can read you like a book. As a kind of defense, I began to summon up the Gettysburg Address again when he growled at me.
"Stop it, Lisa." His full lips were pale pink, not their usual red. His front teeth were odd now, the incisors showing slightly. No doubt he was hungry. Even as I recognized his hunger he smiled in my direction completely forgetting that he was angry with me. In the blink of an eye he went from angry to aroused--and ravenous. “You do not understand the hunger I feel. I need you. Help me, Lisa. Let me feel your warm flesh, your lively bones beneath mine. Let me live again. Help me,” His seductive tones did not belay my fears. Neither did his tears. Yes, those large, almond-shaped eyes were luminous with unshed tears. Imagine that the leader of the Black Knights, the most popular rock star on the planet wanted me, needed me. It was beyond my reckoning and every girl’s dream, except he was truly Elegant Death.
Murder with a sexy voice. The practical side of me knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that Rex Teaser would not be satisfied with a single sexual encounter. Even if I were to allow myself to be seduced by him it would not be enough.
And my baby.
"No, Rex. Think about this. He said he was sending someone. Please." I pleaded as I backed away from him, but there was nowhere to go. We were alone now, just the two of us. He could kill me and nobody would be the wiser. Dead bodies disappeared without a trace wherever this tour went. Didn’t anyone know? Didn’t anyone care?
On the tour bus, I had been fortunate enough to be left alone, the Frenzied slept together in the back of the bus with the blackout windows while I was left alone to sleep under the table like Rex’s dog, but occasionally the band sniffed in my direction. As the baby grew it would be more difficult to hide the fact that he had an appealing scent. I was sure that Rex would not be able to protect me, nor would he have the heart to do so as he clearly regretted his decision of making me his own.
Whatever that meant.
I assumed that I would be his lover, I was certainly no Sustainer, but I could be food.
A one time meal. I would not survive a mauling at his hands.
"Think about it, Rex. Think about this. We have to remember my secret. What will this do to...my secret?” I couldn’t bring myself to say baby. That would make the horror of this situation that much more real. Rex tilted his head at me; it was an odd angle and didn’t give me hope. An inhuman move, but luckily for me before he pronounced judgment, there was a tap at the door. Bryce had returned along with a woman. I immediately took note of her appearance as I was sure one day someone would ask me about her. She sported a light brown Afro, probably in her late thirties with large gold earrings and a gold pendant necklace. She smiled nervously as she clutched her notebook and pen. She wore eyeglasses, oversized pink eyeglasses which were perched at the end of her tiny nose.
"Are you up to an interview, your majesty?" Bryce asked without hiding his sarcasm. “I thought maybe an interview with the whole band? It would be good to include us all, mate.” Without getting into the details I knew exactly what was happening here. Bryce wanted to feed on the reporter, and so did the band. They would all feed on her and probably tear her from limb to limb. That was certainly a possibility. I didn’t think for one minute Rex wanted to conduct an interview. He strolled to the table and picked up his pack of cigarettes. Slinging one out, he lit it lazily and eyed his possible victim. I could almost hear his mind singing with joy.
“No, not at this time, Bryce. Just this pretty lady and myself. What is your name, dear?”
“Erma Logan. I would be happy to interview the entire band, but you’re why I am here. I am so honored that you would see me and just minutes before the concert. I have so many questions for you, Rex.”
Rex smiled with some amusement as he dismissed Bryce with the wave of his fingers. He was good at doing that, dismissing people. I could feel the tension rising in my throat.
"Rex, please," I whispered wondering without truly wondering what was about to happen. This woman was going to die. She was going to die in the most horrible way and there was nothing I could do about it except reason with him. But what reasoning was there with a blood-hungry vampire? Just as I've been forced to make a decision between Jessica and myself the other day, I was now forced to make the decision to live not only for me but for my child. When he growled slightly I shut my mouth. I removed myself from the couch and went to the
corner of the room to sit in a lonely blue chair.
Suddenly, the radio kicked on and the woman settled on the couch with her purse, notebook and apparently a handheld recorder. She didn’t speak to me, but ignored me, as most people did nowadays. I twisted the ends of my long hair nervously as Rex joined her on the couch. He flashed a devilish smile at me momentarily, but then all attention was on her. And she welcomed it.
“I’ve been hoping to speak with you for some time. I’m with Voyeur Magazine, we have chronicled your work for years.”
“For years? Would you like something to drink?” He took a long drag off his cigarette.
“No, thank you. I don’t drink. If you don’t mind, I’d like to turn this on, to record the interview. It’s common practice nowadays. I don’t want to misquote you,” Erma Logan offered up a plastic smile. She was all business, unaware that this would be her last interview.
Forever.
“Do you mind if I drink?”
Say no. Say no, lady!
“Sure, go ahead, Rex. If it helps you loosen up.”
“Oh, it helps me a great deal. And thank you.” Rex flicked his cigarette on the floor behind them. I stared at the smoke as the cigarette burned on the bare floor. These backstage rooms were always disgusting, I’d seen far too many concert backstages recently.
The woman screamed briefly, but I couldn’t look. Rex was on top of her, his long wiry body covering her completely. She moaned once and then there was nothing to hear, except Rex who was infused with her blood quickly. He was on his feet and walking to the door.
“Come on then, Bryce. You can have her. I left her for you.” Bryce wasted no time making his way to the near dead body. His face was the picture of evil, dark, soulless eyes, pinched cheeks, and dead looking skin. The others poured in behind him. Now I couldn’t help but look at the sight of the band crawling over Erma stealing the rest of her life. She was dead and a red-lipped Rex Teaser was coming for me. Not for my blood but for something else. I had a choice.
Fight and die or give in and live. His lips were on mine. I gagged at the taste of blood in my mouth. Undoubtedly Erma’s blood.
Strangely enough my disgust melted away, my body yielded to him. I smelled him, tasted him, wanted him. Oh God! What is wrong with me? I wanted Rex!
No! Levi!
But images of Levi vanished as Rex carried me out of the room and into another. A room I’d never seen before. A comfortable room with purple painted walls, scented candles, and a soft bed. Was this real or an illusion?
A bed just for us.
We fell into the silk sheets together.
Chapter Eleven--Virgil
“Look, Virgil. We need answers. Enough of this covert, secret agent bullshit. What the hell are we doing here? What is this place? Better yet how can we get out of here?" Levi tossed his spoon into his half-eaten plate and shoved it to the side.
The four of us were sitting together in the cafeteria. We half-heartedly raided the refrigerator and pantry. Naomi had smartly stashed bags of chips and other snacks for our escape. We’d already agreed that that was the goal. We couldn’t just sit back and let the rock and roll world be decimated by the Frenzied. The cafeteria staff had gone missing along with the rest of the residents sometime during the night. Or day. I was already confused about the time.
It was clear to me, although the rest of the group hadn’t quite caught on that we were being kept prisoners. In soft cells. For a reason. Agent Ford was making sure that there wasn't a repeat performance of what happened with me. We weren't leaving anytime soon. We weren't to interfere. We wouldn’t be rescuing Lisa. That's what I gathered. As heartbreaking as it sounded it was the truth of the matter. Even though it was absolutely contrary to what one wanted to believe about his or her own government this was the truth.
The Agency was going to resume its defensive posture. They were good at sitting back and watching. As if that were a strategy. That meant Lisa Dance was going to be sacrificed for the greater good. I barely had the stomach to say that to Levi but now was the time to be honest. I wasn't going to hide anything from my family anymore.
"They don’t want you to find her. They didn’t want me to bring you here either. And, I lost my job, Naomi. I lost my job at Hoffman about two years ago."
"What? Why?” Naomi gasped at my confession. Levi didn’t appear as if he believed me. About Lisa at any rate. He always knew I was a loser. I assumed he’d figured me out a long time ago.
"Because I have sticky fingers and wanted a little extra. I was doing some side jobs for another group, providing them with information. I got caught.”
Naomi put her hand to her mouth briefly. “Selling secrets? Selling corporate secrets, Virgil? How could you?”
I did not remind her that she’d agreed a long time ago to get a job to help make ends meet. Once Debbie is in high school I’ll find something. That had been her promise for years but it didn’t happen. She did nothing, except drift away from me. She even stopped waiting up for me at night.
“Huffman agreed to let me go and not press any charges but I lost my job, my reputation, my retirement fund. I lost everything. You didn't even notice." I had meant to tag on that indictment but it was still shocking to me that she hadn't noticed a thing. Didn't observe that I was not wearing my suit every day. Didn't see that I was no longer dragging her to countless board dinners and events with the company. It was as if she were relieved. Her expression said it all.
Disappointment. Always disappointment.
Jackson slid out from the table and awkwardly cleared his throat. “Uh, I'm going to get a can of soda. Anyone want anything?” Nobody wanted a thing except for this conversation to be over but I was on a roll now and I was going to tell it all.
"After that, I got some work, equally bad but certainly not as well paying. I got messed up with the wrong kind of people. People that didn’t take no for an answer when you owed them money. I was in trouble. I didn’t see any light at the end of the tunnel until I got the call about a job."
Naomi interrupted me. Her speech slurred slightly leading me to believe she’d taken her “medication” recently. How long until she ran out? Would the Agency provide her with more Valium? "You mean to say that after all of that struggle and effort, after all we went through you lost your job? Why did we even go through that? You got a degree for God’s sake! I couldn’t get my degree because of you. Why would you work for the mob? That's what you're talking about, isn't it?” Naomi’s pupils were doing weird things. Clearly, the drugs were having an effect on her. “Your cousin Dale.” That wasn’t a question, more like an indictment--and certainly the truth. “I can't believe you. You lied to me all this time."
"You lied to me every day, Naomi. Every day. Don't pretend you didn't." Our son slapped his hands on the table.
"Enough! I don't want to hear all this garbage. You can do your bitch session later. I want to hear the rest. How did you get here, Virgil? What is this place and how do we get out?" I glanced around the room looking for cameras but I didn't see anything obvious. That didn't mean they weren't listening or that they weren't watching. They were always listening and always watching.
Being purposefully vague I spoke in low tones. “I was delivering something for somebody. I can't tell you more than that. As I dropped off the delivery and went to leave I was assaulted. He got me from behind and took me to the ground. It happened so damn fast. I would later find out his name was Nikolai but they call him something else. He’d come looking for the guy I was working for and found me instead. I am pretty sure I was set up."
"Dark hair? About my height?” Levi asked me curiously.
“Yeah, why?”
“The Creep. That’s who started hassling me first; after I got the letter from the radio station. Dark, shaggy hair. Kind of raunchy looking?" I nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, that's him. Anyway, that’s how I found out that I had this unique blood. Blood that they all wanted.” I rubbed my tired eyes and cleaned my
glasses with my handkerchief before putting them back on. “It’s not just a type; it's our DNA that makes us much more substantial than their usual blood diet."
Levi asked the million dollar question, "And that's me too, right? I’m what they call a Sustainer."
"Yes, that's you but it's also your mother. Only her drug habit keeps her under the radar. It dims her scent."
Naomi visibly flinched at my observation but she didn’t argue with me about it. How could she? "And Debbie?" Naomi asked, her expressive eyes relaying the depths of sadness she was experiencing.
"No. Not all children of Sustainers become Sustainers themselves. If she was similar to us she may not have survived anyway, if the attack was savage enough. Even though we have special blood we are only human. The human body can only take so much blood loss and trauma. I am sorry to be so blunt but you want the truth,” I eyed Levi who closed his eyes for a moment.
Naomi sobbed into her hand. "Why didn't you tell us this, Virgil?"
Levi answered for me. “Because he doesn't want to be seen as a failure. That’s his fatal flaw. But enough about our broken family. How do we get out of here? How did you do it?"
Jackson returned with his soda and sat beside Levi.
"I thought I was being clever. I used a card to get out. It’s a relatively new technology but these cards make it easy to move around the facility. The key cards are just that, they open doors. They are some kind of computer lock. I wish I’d thought of it. That’s a million dollar idea." It was a difficult admission since my job at Huffman had been Chief of Technology. We were on the verge of breaking into all of this computer stuff when I got let go.”
“Fired, you mean fired.” Levi shook his head. “I would have been there if you’d included me. Debbie would have forgiven you.”
“Thank you for saying that. Of course, I have no one to blame but myself. Not really. I, Virgil Wallace, am my own worst enemy. Anyway, I grabbed the card and went up the same steps we used. I found keys in the van and headed towards home."
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