Steven held her hand securely. ‘We’re ready.’
He could see Catherine’s shoulders relax. She had been tense from the moment she walked in. He suspected she thought they would say no. He could not think why, he did not think they planned to hurt them in any way, at least he hoped so. It would be strange if they did. He tried to remain at ease, convinced it was just his macho instinct out to protect Caitlin again.
***
Caitlin followed Catherine and Isaac, her hand in Steven’s – she did not want to let go. The corridor had an austere quality, nothing felt welcoming anymore and she did not like the sound of this testing. She was not going to let them in on it though, she had to rise above it, and she would be brave. Ever since she had changed she had vowed that she would never fret again. These people knew what they were doing, they had her best interests at heart. It was easy to tell herself this fact, even though doubt lingered at the back of her mind. She fought the urge to run and just gripped Steven’s hand harder.
When they made their way out of the lift and faced a very clinical corridor further alarm bells rang, but she kept her composure. She would do as they said. She would conform.
At a set of metallic double doors, Catherine turned to face them. ‘Steven, you can go with Isaac now. I’ll stay with Caitlin.’
‘You said we would stay together,’ Steven retorted.
‘I did,’ Catherine replied, ‘as much as possible. We need to separate you for a moment, it won’t last long.’
Steven gave Caitlin a fleeting kiss on the lips, his hands on her face. ‘We’ll be together again soon.’
Caitlin nodded and followed Catherine through an electric door, which sealed shut as soon as they walked through. The room was a small box shape in clinical white, and properly formed, there was no sign of rock anywhere. She imagined it was soundproof. A round table in the centre of the room housed a small laptop. Catherine flipped it open, typed for a while and almost instantly another set of metallic, double door opened. They had been constructed to blend into the décor, she had not even realised they were there.
Catherine glanced in her direction and smiled. ‘Let’s go. It might seem weird but this security is necessary, we carry out a lot of research in here. Have done for many years.’
Caitlin did not even want to think about the kind of research she was talking about. She followed, her hands clenched into fists.
A large expanse greeted them. A lot of people worked on a range of tables. It had the feel of a scientific research laboratory.
Caitlin could not help checking it all out, her mouth hanging slightly open. She could see the men and women were using what she recalled were pipettes to create new mixtures in large glass containers, some over Bunsen burners, others being swirled around to give a mixture of colours. A lot of them were a red colour, ranging from a deeper to a clearer colour. They were all so busy, and none of them looked up, they worked like robots. It was bizarre.
They crossed the room and walked into a smaller office.
Inside, a lady wearing a lab coat greeted them and stood up, ‘There you are.’
Catherine made her way over and gave her a hug, ‘Else, this is Caitlin. Caitlin, this is my daughter, Else.’
‘Your daughter?’ Caitlin nodded and bridged the gap to shake her hand.
She was slightly shocked when Else gave her a hug, ‘It’s so nice to meet you. Steven has given us a few scares in the past, but this one tops the lot,’ she chuckled, ‘he brought a human back with him.’
‘I’m not a normal human,’ Caitlin smiled.
Else seemed to consider this, and glanced at Catherine, ‘No, I know that. But, you are different.’
‘Anyway, I’ll leave you with Else. She has a lot to talk to you about,’ Catherine smiled at her daughter and walked out, the room sealed immediately.
‘So?’ Else said.
Caitlin gave a slight frown, uneasy. ‘So?’
‘Caitlin, I’ll be honest with you. I have to carry out some tests to check if you are like us. We have reason to believe you might be different.’
‘Would that be a bad thing?’ Caitlin blurted out.
Else gave a half-smile, ‘No need to think like that.’
Caitlin noticed she did not answer the question, she started to worry.
Else sat down, and asked her to take a seat. ‘This might take some time, can I get you a glass of water?’
‘No, but some of what you are brewing outside would be great,’ she smirked.
‘Ahhh, yes, you know what we’re creating then? You’re quick.’
‘We had some in the room, I think. Is it blood?’ Caitlin asked.
Else nodded, ‘It has the properties of blood that we require. We are still trying to create the perfect blend. It takes time.’
Caitlin leaned back on the chair, and said, ‘I guess.’
Else leant back and took a bottle out of what looked like a small fridge. ‘Enjoy.’
Caitlin un-swirled the cap and took a slug. She felt instantly refreshed, more relaxed, ready for the inquisition.
‘Caitlin, the questions are going to be very personal,’ Else hesitated slightly, ‘are you okay about this?’
Caitlin took another slug. ‘Sure.’
Else pursed her lips, her eyes narrowed. ‘Okay, so first obvious question, you are in a relationship after all. Are you sexually active?’
‘Wow,’ Caitlin exclaimed, ‘straight at the jugular!’
‘I’m sorry, you said you didn’t mind,’ Else ran her hair through her wavy brown hair, her hazel eyes darted for the first time.
‘It’s okay.’ Caitlin got comfortable and put one of her feet under her leg. ‘To answer your question, I have been sexually active, but we’ve held off whilst we settle in. Don’t want to end up pregnant now do I?’ she scoffed.
Else looked down at the table and mumbled, ‘Indeed.’
Caitlin had no idea where this was going. She hoped it would end soon.
‘So when did you have your last period?’
‘Jeez, again?’ Caitlin sighed aloud, ‘I can’t remember.’
‘Interesting,’ Else clasped her hands together.
Caitlin thought about this and sat up, both feet now on the floor. She placed her arms on the table, ‘Hang on a minute. Do you think I’m pregnant already?’ Her eyes widened, this was not a good thing.
‘No, we don’t think you’re pregnant,’ Else was abrupt.
Caitlin mentally counted back the weeks. At a rough estimate, she had a period before Steven changed her. But, she had taken the morning after pill when they had unprotected sex. It would explain why she had not had a period since. She did not want to voice her thoughts aloud, but Else seemed pretty convinced.
‘Why don’t you think I’m pregnant?’ Caitlin asked, wary.
‘We need to do some tests,’ Else said, ‘I need to take some blood and we have to do some x-ray scans. None of it will hurt, and you can have as much of this stuff as you like.’
Caitlin nodded and finished the bottle. A knot had formed in the pit of her stomach, she felt sick.
‘Other than this, you feed from blood, eat food and are the same as you were before the change, right?’ Else asked, mechanical now, as she got up and made her way around the table.
‘Right,’ Caitlin answered, her voice whispery. She felt sleepy.
Else’s face seemed to blur in front of her and Caitlin struggled to stay upright. ‘I feel so tired all of a sudden,’ she slurred.
‘Then have a rest,’ Else said, ‘let me help you.’
She felt Else’s arms pick her up and she nestled into her shoulder, and said, ‘Yes, I need to sleep.’ She closed her eyes and thought nothing more of the fact she had just been carried away like a baby by a near stranger.
The image of a little boy with Steven’s features flickered in front of her, he was laughing and being tickled. She had always pushed the image of any child they might have away, even though at times it resurfaced. As her
mind moved to the subconscious state, she wondered why she would be dreaming of a baby boy again. It made no sense.
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Chapter 20
Barren
Steven was bored, really bored. He had been led by Isaac to a small room and met up with Dr Johannes, who had not changed one bit since he last saw him. Although this time he wasn’t fretting as much as he had when Steven was attacked by the tapir, for obvious reasons. Dr Johannes had checked out his foot, made light conversation and then taken some blood and it had all been over in the space of ten minutes. Then he had been asked to wait and they had left him alone in a clinical room, to twiddle his thumbs.
He hoped Caitlin was okay. He had no idea why her testing was taking so long. A part of him wished he had asked more questions, made sure she was looked after properly. It was all a bit surreal. It made him think of a time when Ingrid had implied that if they were ever discovered by humans they would be tested on like lab rats. He was starting to feel like a lab rat, and it was their doing. He could not pinpoint what they were all so afraid of, but he knew there was something that had got them all hot and bothered, and not in a nice way either.
He had just about started to doze when the door opened and Catherine walked in. ‘Steven.’
Steven quickly rubbed his eyes and stood up. ‘What’s going on? Why’s this taking so long?’
‘Sit down, Steven, we need to talk.’
It sounded serious. Catherine sat down next to him.
‘Go on then, I’m listening,’ he folded his arms over his chest.
‘It’s about Caitlin,’ Catherine paused, as though she was having difficulty finding the right words.
‘What about Caitlin?’ He edged out of his seat.
‘This is complicated.’
‘As complicated as you make it,’ he sighed.
‘Okay, hear me out. When I finish you can talk, okay?’
‘Sure.’
Catherine looked away from him as she spoke, ‘My mother could not have more children after the change. Of course she was nearly fifty so everyone assumed it was because she was older. It probably was.’
Steven watched her, focused now, his hands clasped together.
‘We wanted to know if Caitlin could still conceive. Isaac had a suspicion that she wouldn’t be able to have children, since she was changed not naturally born.’
‘And?’ he could not help getting impatient.
‘It turns out Isaac was right. Caitlin is barren, her age is frozen and her reproductive organs have stopped working. She cannot have children.’
Steven’s first thought, and it made him ashamed to think it, was that they could have had sex after all. He pushed the thought aside, this was bad. Defensive, he blurted out, ‘Caitlin never said she wanted children, it might not be something that bothers her.’
‘Yes,’ Catherine looked at him now, her eyes sad, withdrawn.
‘How can you be so sure?’
‘We x-rayed her internal organs, her ovaries and fallopian tubes have shrivelled up, her uterus has collapsed. She does not produce any eggs anymore and never will. But, there is more.’
Steven could feel the blood drain from his face. ‘More?’
‘Yes, I’m sorry,’ she paused again. ‘Caitlin’s blood remains human-like. We think this is why Emily attacked her. It appears any of us could drink her blood and regenerate. Do you understand what I’m saying?’
‘You mean, she’s in danger here? She could be attacked?’
‘Well not exactly, we don’t know for definite. We don’t think we can entrance or manipulate her. She’s just appealing to us in a way none of us are appealing to each other. Do you remember how Ingrid was repulsed by you when she first met you?’
‘Yes, well, I heard about it,’ he said.
‘Caitlin doesn’t repulse us. It seems that when a human is changed, they lose the ability to reproduce, but remain human enough for us to feed from them whilst keeping them alive.’
Steven closed his eyes and placed his head in his hands, then he whispered, ‘I created a blood donor, one that would not die.’
‘You understand then,’ Catherine sighed. ‘Judith was also a donor for my father. It explains why he kept her away from everyone, why he was so protective.’
‘This is impossible. Caitlin will hate me again.’
‘Again?’ Catherine asked, her tone surprised.
‘Yes,’ Steven raised his head, ‘She distanced herself from me. She was not in love, but then she was. Oh, I don’t know what to think.’
‘Interesting,’ Catherine mused, ‘perhaps her natural defences were kicking in, protecting her. But now, you are both in love again?’
‘I guess, but not for much longer,’ Steven grunted, he got up and paced. ‘What the hell have I done?’
‘You might have inadvertently stumbled on our future. A future where we don’t have to kill any more, a symbiotic relationship with humans.’
Steven stopped pacing and fought to control his anger, ‘What do they gain from this bargain?’
‘A longer, youthful life. It’s not a bad thing.’
‘I’m sure Caitlin will be grateful,’ he retorted, his voice laced with sarcasm.
Catherine stood up, ‘I’m here to ask if you want to explain it to her.’
‘Are you crazy? Of course I don’t want to tell her,’ he shouted, before he managed to calm down. Eyes narrowed, he continued, ‘But I guess I have to, or I should,’ his shoulders slumped in defeat.
‘I can come with you. You need to put a positive spin on it, for her sake,’ Catherine stressed, ‘besides, we have plenty of children here. She will always be able to help with ours.’
‘I’m sure she’ll be happy to hear that,’ he snapped, bitter.
‘You didn’t want to have children, is that the problem?’ Catherine studied him.
For the first time he really loathed Catherine, so clinical in her approach. ‘No, I don’t need to have children. I’ve never given it much thought.’
‘Caitlin needs you, and you’d be wise to do what you can to hold on to her. She’s a great asset.’
Steven could not believe she had called Caitlin an asset, as though she was an object, an item to be bought and sold. Then again, if what they were saying was true, she was just like a walking blood bank for any of them. And she would regenerate him if he ever got sick or injured. He could see the advantage she referred to, he just did not like to think of himself as a bloody leech attached to the woman he loved.
***
Caitlin rubbed her eyes as she awoke. For once she could not remember a dream, nothing. Her mind was completely blank, erased even. She tried to remember what had happened before she fell asleep and came up empty. Her finger traced the vein on her right arm, it was itchy, and she realised a plaster was over it. Strange. She made to get up and realised she was slightly light headed, but she forced herself to sit.
Almost immediately, there was someone by her side. ‘Caitlin, you don’t have to sit, lie down.’
Caitlin frowned and noticed she was only wearing a flimsy gown, with no underwear. She pushed the gown as low as it would go, then looked up and remembered. The woman in front of her was Else, she had been talking to her and then, well, she had no idea. ‘What on earth is going on?’
‘We’re looking after you. We needed to run some tests.’
‘Tests?’ Caitlin’s eyes widened, she repeated the question as the realisation hit her, ‘What tests?’ She slid her legs over the side of the bed and made to stand.
Else stood in front of her and prevented her from getting up. ‘Don’t worry about that now, rest. Steven is coming to see you soon.’
Caitlin hesitated, but she did not have any fight left. She remained seated, her hands limp on her lap, and closed her eyes. Steven. She loved him, she really did. She wanted to be with him, and yet a part of her wished she was in a dream. She wanted to wake up and be back at university leading a normal life. She could not
believe they had run tests on her. She was doing everything she could to stop freaking out.
Slowly, she opened her eyes again. Else had gone, but a covered plate sat on a tray on the bedside unit. She was hungry. She leant over, placed the tray on her lap and lifted the silver dome off the top. Immediately, she got wafted with the smell of garlic. It was what looked like a fish stew, with tomatoes and herbs. Her mouth watered, she was ravenous now. She picked up the metal spoon and scooped some in her mouth. Her taste buds exploded as she savoured the first mouthful. Whoever had cooked the dish knew what he was doing. She wanted the recipe.
A few minutes later, the large bowl was empty and her mouth was on fire, there was some serious chilli in the dish. She loved the burn, not enough to hurt but enough to stimulate her taste buds.
She picked up the glass of water and downed it in one. She remembered the red stuff she drank in Else’s office, but could not remember what happened next. She had a feeling she had been drugged. In fact, she was certain she had been. She lay her head back on the pillow as tiredness overcame her again. As she dozed off, she wondered if they had put anything in the food, or the drink. She doubted they would have done that, and yet the thought remained.
*
The sound of Steven’s voice made her stir. She was under the covers again, still practically naked. She fought to open her eyelids, they were still so heavy. It reminded her of the worst flu she had ever had. Her entire body was in agony, and she was exhausted even though she knew she had slept for hours. Even so, the fact Steven was there brought some consolation. She stretched slightly and then lay on her side to face him, her eyes now open.
‘You’re awake at last,’ Steven said, his hand reaching out to stroke her cheek. His thumb gently rubbed her cheek as his fingers gently caressed her lower jaw.
She closed her eyes for a second, enjoying the feel of his hand. When she opened her eyes again, her voice sounded hazy. She still felt half asleep. ‘Steven, why am I being drugged?’
‘Drugged?’ Steven removed his hand, a guilty expression plastered on his face. His eyes never lied.
The Evolution Trilogy: Hybrid, Complications & Return Page 76