by Dale Mayer
"Right. Even if they go to the police, chances are good that you’ll be listed as just another runaway, like so many of the others here."
Jared paled at the thought that there were more like him out in that horror factory. "That is so wrong."
"Like they care. Something about being on the top of the food chain." Bryce’s eyes flitted closed.
Jared rushed to ask another question before he lost Bryce to the drugs. "What about you? Why aren’t you out there?"
"I overheard them mention that my blood isn’t flowing like they want it to."
"Oh. How long have you been here?"
"Damned if I know. What day is it?"
Jared had to think about it hard. "I think it’s Sunday night – or maybe Monday?"
"Yeah and what month?"
"August."
"Then I’ve been here since around Valentine’s Day."
Jared fell back on the bed in shock. Dear God, please no.
"Although I don’t know about the year. But don't tell me that. I don’t want to know."
Jared bolted upright. "How can you say that? Surely someone will rescue us."
"Yeah?" Bryce hawked up spit from his throat. "Who?"
"I don’t know. My friends? I was out with them when I was kidnapped. I’m sure they're worried."
"Worried maybe, but enough to go to the police? I doubt it. Even if they did, we’re back to that whole scenario of you being a troubled teen who’d had enough and ran away."
"I can’t believe no one cares."
"That’s why this has worked for so long. Some of these people have been here for years, decades even."
Jared gulped. "Decades?" he whispered.
Bryce looked at him. "Decades," he said. Then he lay back down and pulled the blankets up over his shoulders.
"I don’t get why you’re so calm."
"Must be the drugs. Besides, the alternative is death. I think I’ll stay in suspended animation. I don’t have to worry about meals, where I’m going to sleep, or how I’m going to pay for my drugs. They’re all free here." He chuckled at his own words, and before they’d tapered off he started snoring, leaving Jared shell-shocked.
Could anyone’s life be so bad that this place would be considered an improvement? He pulled back the covers, only to realize that he had a catheter attached to a urine bag and his right arm had an IV connected to a pole. Was it safe to just pull all this stuff out?
The door opened just then.
"Whoa, where are you going?"
Jared pretended to be half asleep. "Water, need water." He pretended to have trouble swallowing.
"We’ll get that for you. You just lie back down again." Two men came in behind the nurse and helped him back under the covers. The nurse adjusted something on his IV. More drugs, he thought bitterly. He lay down as if ready to sleep, hoping they wouldn’t increase his medication.
"Thanks," he whispered after his drink and rolled over.
The nurse covered him up and patted him gently on the back. "Go back to sleep. You’ll feel better in the morning."
He doubted that. What difference would a night make?
Two orderlies moved over to Bryce's bed and wheeled it out of the room. Jared wished he knew why. He watched under his almost closed eyes to make sure everyone left. They left the door open. His heart pounded. Why had they done that? To hear if he moved?
Or had they forgotten about the door because they were moving a captive? The thought of escape tantalized him. Could he get out? He’d rip the damn needles from his body if it meant freedom.
After ten minutes without feeling any sleepier, he figured the nurse hadn’t increased his drugs. No one came in or out. Maybe they didn't need to be in the room to see him. To monitor him.
Why hadn’t he considered cameras before? Is that what had brought the nurses into the room? He rolled over as if still asleep. There was a camera at the far end directed toward his neighbor's side of the room. So that’s what had happened. When his buddy started to move around, they’d came running. Could he be out of camera range? Not with the lousy luck he’d had so far.
Chances were they'd come back and check on him.
Speaking of which, they had yet to give him his test results. They probably wouldn’t.
One didn’t discuss outcomes with lab rats.
"You okay, Tessa?" Her dad crouched down by her side, concern evident on his face. He reached out to stroke her shoulder gently.
She managed a tiny smile. "I’m fine. Just a little tired and a whole lot worried. I want Mom found safe and sound." She didn’t want to admit the last two days had taken a toll on her. Sitting in the bare room only big enough for the descending floor with only one door in or out hadn't exactly instilled confidence that they'd make it any further.
"Do we know if there’s another way in? Has that been checked out?" Tessa pulled her knees up to her chin and rested her head. Her mind spun with ideas. "What about knocking? Maybe they’re expecting someone?"
"Knock?" David laughed sarcastically. "If they can hear knocking, they'd have heard us already. We haven't exactly been quiet."
Serus stood up and ran his long fingers through his hair, staring down at Tessa.
Tessa closed her eyes, letting the others talk it out. They’d let her in on the final decision.
"Tessa?"
"Yeah, I’m here…just thinking."
"Sleeping is more like it." Cody scoffed.
David plunked down beside her. "I know you’re tired, but we can’t give up now. Mom needs us."
Tessa reared back. "Closing my eyes while you guys think about what to do is not giving up." She hopped to her feet. "Damn it, don’t you think I feel responsible? She’s in trouble because I insisted on searching for Jared."
"Hey," David stood up, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. "I didn't mean to upset you." He squeezed her shoulders. "You're not in any way responsible for what happened to her. Don't you ever think that."
She searched his eyes, wanting to believe him yet having trouble doing so. "We have to get her back. Safe. And now." Tessa strode to the door and pounded hard on the steel surface with her fists.
"Shit. Tessa, what are you doing?" Jewel hissed as she slammed back against the wall and out of sight in case the door swung open. The others rushed to line up beside her.
Serus placed a calming hand on Tessa’s shoulder. "Move, Tessa. Just in case someone does come. They won't question the presence of an adult as much as they will a teenager."
"Well, they’d better come. This is ridiculous. I want mom back." She pounded on the door again. Then kicked it several times, belatedly remembering how the stone wall had opened.
Snick. The door swung open.
Tessa turned to the others triumphantly. "There. Nothing like a good kick to get the job done."
Serus stared in astonishment. "What the…?"
"She did it!" crowed David.
"Shhh. Let's go." Cody jumped through the opening and disappeared from sight.
The others entered single file, with Serus bringing up the rear. Another long passageway, again with stone walls all around. Followed by another long set of stairs. Tessa couldn’t believe it. Who built all of this?
"Unbelievable," she whispered to Jewel as they crept along. "What is this place?"
"I don’t know. But it's beyond creepy."
Tessa ran her hands along the smooth walls. "Makes me wonder how long ago this place was built."
The men stopped in front of them. Tessa tried to see over Cody’s shoulder. Another door.
"Just kick it."
David glanced over his shoulder at her then back at the door. His big boot lashed out and he kicked the door in approximately the same place where she had kicked the last one.
The door opened silently.
They entered the next room to find computer screens along one wall, with rows of sterile office desks and computers filling the res
t. No people – no vampires. Nothing on the desks or floor to say anyone worked there. There were no windows either. Artificial lights hung overhead. Darkness and gloom hung over the room. The only sounds were the ones they made.
Tessa strode to the screens on the wall. Each monitor showed a small section of some kind of warehouse. She bent her head closer. Her heart thudded in her chest. Shock and horror slammed into her. "Are those people?"
"Where?" Everyone crowded around her.
"Oh no!" Jewel’s agonized whisper floated in the air around them. "They’re humans."
"What are they doing?"
Serus moved to a different monitor. His face grayed. "They’re not doing anything. They can’t. I think this is another blood farm."
"A blood farm?" David peered closer, confusion twisting his features. "Then these people aren’t alive?"
"Yes, they are. They’re probably in a drug-induced coma."
Tessa studied the people suspended in some weird apparatus. Tubes went into one arm and came out the other. Probably vitamins, nutrients and minerals in; blood out.
David shook his head, his eyes wide with disbelief. "God, I hope these people don’t know what’s going on."
"I hope Jared isn’t one of those," Tessa whispered.
"Most likely he is." Her father’s grim voice sliced through the air. "We need to find your mother before they make a decision as to what to do with their unwanted visitor."
"How will we find her here? This place is huge." Tessa moved from screen to screen. She couldn’t help feeling overwhelmed at what they faced.
Cody placed a hand on her shoulder. "We'll find her. There can't be too many people working here. Everything is automated. Look at the machines attached to each person. It would take very few people to keep this system running."
"Why aren’t they in beds or something? It looks like they’re covered in saran wrap." A shudder rippled down Tessa's back. These poor people.
"Probably to keep a sterile environment." Cody walked around the room to check the other monitors.
Jewel whispered behind her, "Are they nude?"
Tessa leaned in for a closer look. "Yes, they are. Completely."
"Oh Lord." Jewel gasped and closed her eyes briefly. Looking very pained, she added, "That’s a lot of flesh down there."
"No. It’s a lot of human suffering. That’s all I see." Tessa strode over to the computers. "Are these monitoring the people’s vital signs? Like an alarm system or something?"
"It’s a control center, but I think it’s the backup one. There should be a main system close to the rows of people for medical and security personnel to use." Cody stopped in front of one monitor. "Look, there's someone in a bed."
"Maybe a new arrival?" David suggested.
Tessa raced over to see if it was Jared. "I can't make out his features."
"Could also be someone sleeping after his shift." Jewel shivered and stayed close to David.
"Look!" Tessa pointed at the farthest monitor to the left. "There’s someone walking around down there."
David joined them. He pursed his lips then tapped the screen. "It could be a doctor or a nurse. They appear to be checking on that person. It’s probably like a first aid station or something."
Cody tapped a screen. "Where’s the security?"
"There may not be much." David glanced over at her. "Look around this place." He motioned to the computers and monitors. "It practically runs itself. No army needed here. No need for high security either. No one knows it exists, and even if they did, who could find it?"
"So where are mom and the others?" Tessa asked.
"I’m searching. I can sense her and Goran but can't reach them mentally." Serus studied the last row of monitors. "They could be almost anywhere. I doubt the entire place is under camera scrutiny."
Tessa walked around the room, overwhelmed at the concept and sheer size of the operation. "Is it even safe to unhook all these people? Will they die if we do?"
"I want to know what they are doing with all the blood. I’ve hardly tasted human blood and didn’t like what little I did have – so who is getting all this? And how? Do they have some sort of milk truck or something for storing and moving it all?" David studied the monitors, fascinated.
Cody wandered around. "The logistics required for an operation of this size would be unbelievable. It can’t be just Moltere. There have to be dozens of people and vampires involved, possibly hundreds. What if we’re in the minority? And everyone around us outside is involved?"
"No." Serus’s voice brooked no argument. "The black market is huge, but that doesn’t make those involved the majority. This sophisticated system shows years of planning and execution."
"How could no one miss these humans?" Jewel stared in horrified fascination at the rows and rows of suspended people. "How did all these people disappear and no one cared enough to search for them?"
"They could have been kidnapped anywhere around the world. You hear about human trafficking all the time. There is a huge network of smugglers, then there are thousands of runaways and the masses of homeless on the streets." Tessa pulled her jacket tighter around her belly. "I don’t think there’s any shortage of unloved humans – unfortunately."
"That’s horrible."
Tessa glanced over at Jewel’s face. Tears glimmered on the other girl’s cheeks. She was glad to see such compassion and caring from another vampire. "Yes, it is. Jared might have been targeted for that reason alone. Although he also might have become a target after seeing the vampires' faces at the movie theater."
"Doesn’t he have anyone that cares about him?" Jewel cried out in horror.
"Apparently not." Tessa couldn't remember Jared's exact words, only something about how his uncle wouldn't care if he never showed up again.
"Could the vampires have contacts within the human population? Human contacts giving over their own people?" Jewel’s eyes glistened with fresh tears.
David wrapped her up in a warm hug. "We’re going to help them. Don’t worry. We’ll get to the bottom of this."
Tessa watched the two of them. So that's how it was. She hid her grin. Then she caught Cody’s eye. She smirked at the look on his face. He already knew.
Then Cody winked at her.
Her eyes widened. Oh my goodness. Cody actually winked at her. She could feel the heat suffusing her cheeks again. She bent, hiding her face behind a curtain of her hair.
Her stomach danced with butterflies.
No. She admonished herself for losing focus. Jared first. Then she’d sort out these confusing feelings. A lot of things had changed for her these last few days.
That much?
Maybe. She stole another look in Cody’s direction. He looked at her. Instead of hiding, this time she straightened and smiled at him directly. His eyes widened, then he grinned.
Cool.
First things first. Spinning around, she cornered her dad. "Who can we call for help? The Council? The police? Someone? Anyone? This is a big operation. We need to take down all the tentacles, not just this center."
"I know. But let's get your mother first."
As much as she wanted her mother back safe and sound, she needed to know that this would never happen again. "Why not at the same time?" she countered. "We should call people to come as backup and to help clean up while we go in and save Mom and the others. These people are going to need help."
"They could be past that point, you know."
"I know, but I don’t want to consider that right now. We need humans to help us. This is too much for us to handle on our own."
Her dad frowned. "I don’t think it’s that simple."
"It’s only difficult if we make it difficult. Come on, Dad. This is beyond us."
Cody nodded. "Tessa’s right, sir. Even if we take this place down, the head honchos are just going to set up shop again somewhere else. They aren’t going to give up something this lucrative so easil
y."
Jewel gasped. Everyone spun around to look at her.
"Please tell me they don't have vampires hanging here?" Her voice rose in horror.
"I doubt it, Jewel. Why would they? Our blood is different." Tessa didn’t want to contemplate vampires feeding off their own.
"Then what about him?" She tapped the screen on the bottom corner. Everyone crowded around her. The camera focused on one single male.
Tessa frowned. "I’ve seen him before."
"Of course you have. That’s Daren. We saw a lot of him before he headed to Europe after his dad passed away a couple of months ago." Jewel’s jaw clenched on the last words. She wrapped her arms tightly around her chest as if warding off a chill.
David stared at the figure in the monitor. "Then why is he hanging beside those humans?"
It was Tessa who voiced the unspoken horror hanging heavily in the air. "Because he wouldn’t be missed."
*.*.*
Cody watched David with Jewel. And from the look on Serus's face, it was obvious this development was new to him too.
Now if only Cody knew why the hell he couldn’t take his eyes of Tessa. The kid sister of David – the Tessie thing – had disappeared long ago…somewhere around the time he noticed that Hooters outfit she'd worn at the Council house. Now he had trouble reconciling the two parts of a whole.
She kept surprising him. Like that energy stuff she kept seeing. Damn helpful, yet way weird. And then there was that locked door thing. Kicking it, yes, but in the right spot more than once?
Not a coincidence. At least not to him.
He turned around in the large room, staring and contemplating the planning and organizing that must have gone into it. This was a professional operation – on a massive scale. As a vampire, he could understand the lure of the product. However, as a modern one, raised without having tasted human blood, he abhorred the idea. He didn’t have any close human friends. Still, he knew many. He wouldn’t drink their blood – not if he didn’t have to for survival.