by Dale Mayer
"Don't say that. Rhia would have let us know." Serus's face took on a grim look. "I would know if she were in trouble."
The cell phone jingled, relieving Tessa's anxiety, and she hurriedly read David's text.
"He suggests we bring in the media," she said, studying the mixed feelings crossing both men's faces. "Hmm. What do you think of that idea? Or do you consider that with another age old prejudice?"
Goran's snort left no doubt about his opinion. "The media can't be trusted at the best of times. This time isn't going to be any different."
"Don't you know anyone who's honest? Someone from before whom you respect, whether you like them or not?"
"Hell, no."
*.*.*
Jared studied the group gathered around him deep in conversation. They were all so blockheaded about what they believed to be right and wrong. How would they feel if they'd been the ones strung up?
He admitted the idea of humans doing something like this to their own kind was unbelievable – and, yet, it was likely true. How could they not be involved, with so many missing? As for the idea of two of the team being on the wrong side – duh; he'd been saying that since the beginning. That huge guy was definitely a bad guy. Anyone could see it.
He wandered back to stand in the doorway.
"So many," he whispered. And yet no one had known? Not possible. Humans had to be involved. This went all the way to the top.
Did they have anyone they could trust? Being a teen meant he had no access or power. His family wouldn't help. He'd actually wondered if his uncle had even sold him to the farm in the first place.
But why not contact those on the Council who guarded the treaty? He remembered something about that class from school. He should ask Tessa. She'd remember. Not that he'd had a chance to see her yet. And the way things were going, he may not get to for awhile. He eyed the phone in David's hand. Where had his phone gone? If he had it, he could ask Tessa himself.
Cody nudged him. "What's up?"
Jared pointed toward the cell phone. "Just wondering what happened to mine."
"Did you have it when you went to the movie?"
Surprised that Cody knew about the movie, Jared nodded. "I haven't seen it since or my own clothes, for that matter." He glanced down at the clothes he'd woken up in. "One of you found these, didn't you?"
"We found a whole pile of clothes. Your phone might be in that mess, too." David glanced over at Rhia. "What do you think, Mom? Should we go back out there, or have we already raised enough suspicion just by being here?"
She shrugged. "I don't know. I haven't heard anyone out there talking. They all appear to be working. If any of them are imposters, what are they waiting for? Why haven't they made their move?"
"Don't you know the team members?" Jared asked curiously. He'd assumed everyone in the vampire population knew everyone else. They were a small population, but all of them were very long lived.
"I recognize a couple of them, but don't know them personally. The one taking the numbers off the people and matching them to serial numbers is the daughter of an old school friend. Her name is Tami, but I haven't seen her or her parents in years."
"The redhead?" Cody asked, puzzled. "I thought her name was Cathy. That's what her nametag says."
Rhia's eyes widened. "I don't think so. I'm sure it's her."
"Maybe it is." Jared fisted his hands on his hips and let a snicker escape. "Who's to say the name on her uniform is correct? Or maybe she's one of the ones who sneaked in."
"Oh, no. She'd never do that. Her mother, Tia, is horribly opposed to the whole farm scenario."
"That's her mother – not her. We don't know what the daughter's feelings are on this mess. If she's wearing a name tag that's not her own, then we have to be suspicious."
"Why hasn't anyone else on the team noticed that two of the people working with them aren't the ones they started out with?" Jared asked.
"Because they might not know the other team members. Not everyone knows everyone."
Cody rolled his eyes.
Rhia added, "They've had a bunch of new transfers within the last month."
"I wonder why?" Jared snapped. "They've probably added more spies to help them keep their ears to the ground. The bigger this project grew, the more danger there was of being exposed. Particularly once they started snatching people like me off the street."
"I wonder why they're grabbing as many as they are." David studied Jared. "You were brought here with another man, weren't you?"
"Two other men-one of them died inside that stone cellar. I think he had a heart attack." Bitterness rolled through his words. "The second man was about my uncle's age, maybe younger. I haven't seen him since we arrived. I presume he's been strung up."
"Makes you wonder which is worse," David said.
Jared stared off in the other direction, willing the images of that poor man further back in his mind. "I wonder what they did with the dead guy."
"I don't know, but Tessa brought his identification back with us so he wouldn't be forgotten."
Shock slammed into Jared's chest. "What? She saw him?"
"We were right behind you." Cody grimaced. "In fact, we almost rescued you then, but the vamps got away. I wouldn't move as fast as Tessa wanted me too. I didn't believe her. I also didn't think she should have been out there in the first place. But she's changed. She's not exactly the same obedient kid I knew from before."
David laughed. "That's because you never saw her when she was being Testy Tessa. She's been wilful since the day she was born."
"That's not nice, David." Rhia's smile softened her reprimand. "We're wasting time. We need to make a decision."
David nodded. "I think we should split up. Let them wonder where the rest of us are. That will stop them from being too sure of themselves."
Cody agreed. "We don't dare let them lock us all up. The others would walk into the same trap."
"I've been a prisoner once, thank you. Not again." Jared jutted his chin out.
Ian wandered over to the door and peered around the corner. "No one's out there. Where did they go?"
"They have to be somewhere." Rhia glanced nervously out the door.
"Maybe they're waiting for us to look for them, so they can take us by surprise," Ian muttered.
Jewel, who'd stepped closer to the open doorway, halted and looked back at him. "Did you have to say that?"
"Just saying, you know?"
"This is ridiculous." She gulped. "We might as well say we're prisoners now, just like when we were inside that stupid hidden room in the house. Why don't a couple of us walk out of here, as if we're going to the surface? And then why not leave?" she asked thoughtfully. "That might be the best answer. We know the people are here and need help. So why don't we leave right now and go tell someone?"
"Good idea. Cody couldn't help but agree. "So some of us will try to leave, and the rest will stay."
"I'll stay," Rhia said. "You kids leave."
Tessa sent a text to her best friend. Catherine would remember the lecture about the Council members they'd listened to in school only a week or so ago. The topic had been something to do with the history of the treaty. Tessa couldn't remember the details, but her friend would.
She leaned against the barn wall impatiently, not sure if her phone's reception or the battery would give out first. There was no guarantee that Catherine could answer her right away, and the chances were good that she'd ask a million questions before Tessa could get the information she needed. She glanced over to where Serus and Goran leaned against the vehicles, each one holding a piece of paper and a pen they'd scrounged from one the vans, as they'd rallied together to come up with a list of potentially trustworthy friends to help them. She hoped their choices would be better than the ones they'd already called.
David had sent her a short text a moment ago. Two of their group were going to walk out as if looking for fresh air and the others
planned to stay and see if the team stopped the two who planned to leave.
She hadn't told either of the elders about this yet.
Her phone rang. Catherine had sent her an answer, and a panicked, where are you?
Ignoring her friend's question, Tessa read off the names of the Human Council members. Rogan, Massey, and Taylor. Perfect. Now how could Tessa contact them? And how fast? Her battery was dying.
"Tessa." Goran said. "Your father and I have come up with a list of ten people we can contact. We don't have everyone's phone numbers, but we can call the some of them."
"Good. Do so, and quickly, before my phone dies." She handed the phone over to Goran, who immediately dialled the first number.
Serus pulled her aside. "We’re trying to explain this is a little delicately."
She snorted. "You think?" Then, taking advantage of the private moment, she told him about David's text.
He spun around, as if the others might have sneaked out without his seeing them. "What? How long ago did they leave? Shouldn't they be out here by now?"
"I'm not sure." Tessa shrugged. "But I don't think it's been long enough yet."
Her father glared at her. "Did he say who's coming out?"
She met his eyes. "No."
"Your mother had better be one of them." He shifted his stance and rested his hands on his hips. "This is getting too dangerous."
"Are you kidding?" Tessa stared at her father in surprise. "You know she's not going to leave any of our group down there alone while she walks out."
"No, she won't." A grim look settled across her father's face. "Unfortunately."
They waited. And waited. Goran continued making calls, while Serus and Tessa stared at the outbuilding.
It was taking too long. Finally, Tessa said, "This doesn't look good."
Goran chose that moment to walk over to them and hand the phone to Tessa. She snatched it up and texted David. Where are you? No one is out here yet.
"There. Now we wait again."
Serus pointed at the tiny phone in her hand. "What good is that thing if you're always waiting on it?"
"It's a phone, Dad, not a computer."
"Whatever it is, it's not talking to you."
He was right. Heavy nervousness settled into her soul. No one had yet come out, and no one had answered her text. Not good. She could only hope David still had his cell phone. Otherwise, they had no way to communicate.
"Why don't you ask Mom? You can talk to her, find out what's happening."
"I've been trying to." Worry crept out of his eyes. "I can't tell if she's asleep, injured, or if there is just too much mass between us."
Just the thought of anyone hurting Tessa's mother make her blood fire up. All at once, her fatigue disappeared, swallowed up by the swiftly building anger that had risen to take its place. Who were these people? She was ashamed to call them vampires. Her people had been, at one time, vicious and untamed, but that had been a long time ago. So why do this now? Why risk everything with this farm?
She turned to her father. "What's the chance some of their original captive humans have died, either from old age or because the means the medical team has used to keep them alive all this time has failed? Maybe the surge in kidnappings is to replenish their numbers."
"Has there been a surge in kidnappings? Or did we only notice because they chose a friend of Tessa's this time?"
Goran spun around. "A vehicle is coming."
"Can you tell who it is or what kind of vehicle it is?" Serus peered down the road.
Effortlessly, Goran took to the air and soared high over their heads.
As Goran took off, Tessa couldn't help but remember her experience in Cody's arms. Flying with him had been such a unique sensation. Had the magic been Cody, or the novelty of the experience? She hadn't felt the same magic when Goran had carried her. So the source of magic had to be Cody.
"I loved flying," she said to no one.
"You've come a long way this week, honey, but I don't think even you will manage to fly without wings." Her father tugged on her arm. "Let's slip around the corner until we see who is driving up."
The engine sounds grew steadily as they ducked to safety. Serus wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "Let's hope they're on our side."
"How will we know? Can't be the people Goran just called. It's too soon. Even Taz said he'd be an hour at least, if not twice that. Are any of them fliers? It would be safer if people traveled in multiple ways."
"We don't generally travel that way anymore. We have vehicles like everyone else." He squeezed her upper arm in warning as a large black van came into view. Tessa stiffened. Why did bad guys always pick black? There was no logic for her immediate fear of that vehicle. She was a vampire. Black was her color. But still...
Dad tugged on her shoulder and pulled her deeper into the shadows. Tessa risked a quick glance around the corner just as two large men got out of the van and walked around to the back of it. Crap. They were huge. Tessa huddled in silence, wondering where Goran was.
She opened her mouth to ask, when one of the men said, "Where are the others?"
"They'll be along in another hour. We're early because I need to check the valve on the first collection unit. That sucker needs to be replaced. I've been telling people this for years, but no. Everyone bitches about money."
"Considering the type of money they make off this plant alone, imagine what they make off all of them together."
Tessa swayed. All of them? So there were more body farms. Grateful for her father's steadying grasp, Tessa leaned against him and eavesdropped on the men's conversation.
"We can't get too upset. They're putting good money into our pockets too," the first man said with a chuckle. "Not to mention the discount we get on prime food."
"Isn't that the truth? It didn't use to be that way. Who ever heard of buying blood?"
"Times have changed. We can't go and slug back a teen or two anymore."
"And why is that again?" The man's voice rose in a cranky tone.
"The humans didn't like it." Raucous laughter filled the air as the two opened and closed the van doors and banged equipment around.
Tessa turned to her father and whispered in his ear, "We can't let them go down. Our group won't know they're bad. And with more coming, Dad, we have to do something."
"I know. Hang on. I'm trying to locate Goran."
Wishing he'd hurry up, Tessa bit her bottom lip. They didn't have time for this. As soon as the men had collected their stuff, they'd descend, and then it would be too late.
Her cell phone rang-its ring was shockingly loud in the sudden silence. She scrambled to shut it off as Serus dragged her back around the end of the building.
"Stay here."
She gulped and checked the text. It was from David. Did they make it out?
Oh shit.
No. Who tried to leave? 2 bad guys just arrived. She typed quickly, huddled at the base of the house. She sent the message and sat frozen, waiting. Had the men heard her phone? Where had her dad gone?
"Well, now. Lookey here."
Tessa stared up at the man who'd suddenly appeared in front of her like a ghost. Crap, he was big.
"Are you lost, little one?" He smiled a nasty-rotten toothed grin that made her blood run cold. She couldn't be taken a prisoner again. She just couldn't.
"Don't you talk?" He squatted down in front of her. "What the hell are you doing hiding back here? Come on out. I have a place where you can warm up. You don't like the dark, do you?"
She shook her head. He thought she was human, and a scared one at that. Thank God. That gave her a slight advantage, and she'd take it. Where the hell was her father? Or Goran, for that matter.
The man grabbed her by the shoulder and stood her up, taking her with him. "Let's go, Missy."
"No, wait. I don't want to go."
"Too bad. You're trespassing, and we don't like people sticking t
heir noses into our business."
"Wh-what business?" Tessa asked timidly. "I was lost and just hiding here until daylight came and I could find my way home."
He dragged her around to the front of the shed where the other man waited. No sign of her father.
"Where did that kid come from? And what's she doing here?" The second man was as big as the first and twice as ugly. Tessa shuddered.
"She says she's lost." The men exchanged grins that made her stomach tighten. Assholes.
"Well, if she wasn't before, she is now. How the hell did she come to be all the way out here, for Christ's sake? We're out in the middle of freakin' nowhere."
"She's with me." Serus stepped around the vehicle and came up behind the second guy. He reached for the man's throat. His grip couldn't have been there for more than a couple of seconds when the man slid to the ground unconscious. Or dead. Tessa closed her eyes.
"Let my daughter go."
"What the fuck? What did you do to Warren?" The big man obviously didn't get it. Tessa almost felt sorry for him. She spun around, slipped under his arm, and ran.
"Hey, get back here," the man shouted.
His shout was cut off as she bolted around the corner of the building. She glanced back to see her father's hand wrapped around the guy's throat.
He called out, "Tessa, come on back. It's safe now."
"I'm not sure any of us are safe anymore." She walked slowly toward him, studying the men at his feet. "Are they vampires, or humans? As far as I'm concerned, they're way too big and just too stupid to be either species."
"I don't know for sure, but I'm starting to wonder if the blood they're drinking is affecting them. It’s making them bigger, maybe."
She crouched beside the big man who'd found her. His face was flaccid, his skin tone odd. Still, he was breathing. "Didn't you say it made vampires more aggressive?"
"Maybe, but these two weren't."
"Where's Goran?" she asked.
"He's searching for the others who are supposed to be arriving soon. We have to capture as many of them as we can."