by Dale Mayer
"Not a problem. It's not like these people are going anywhere." The woman's tone and smile didn't match.
A chill slid down Tessa's spine. Eager to get away, she walked over to her dad. "Let's go. She needs to get back to work."
"Thanks," Goran said, nodding at Cathy. Then he stepped in line behind Tessa and Serus.
Cathy reached out and snagged Goran's arm. "Wait. Let me look at your shoulder."
"No!" Tessa spun and put herself between them. "He doesn't want any help."
The other woman gave her a look of acute dislike. "He could use a shot. It won't hurt him, and it would help heal him."
Tessa raised an eyebrow. All of her instincts screamed for them to get away, and yet Goran hadn't moved. She nudged him toward her father. "He'll be just fine."
"You're making a mistake."
"No, we're not." Walking behind Goran, she glowered at the other woman, who held a hypodermic needle. "Use it on one of those poor people. I'm sure they'd like to be pain free."
"They don't feel anything," Cathy spat.
Talk about creepy...
Keeping a wary eye on the blonde technician, Tessa caught up with the elders. Once they were out of ear shot, she said to Goran, "That needle wasn't going to heal anything. You were liable to end up hanging like the others."
"I wasn't going to accept that shot," Goran protested. "I was being polite when you shoved me away. She was only trying to help."
"Help, my ass. That shot would have done something you didn't want done," Tessa said darkly. "She was up to something. I'm sure she's one of them."
Serus stopped. "If she is, we need to take her out."
"How can we do that?" Goran protested. "All she did was to offer me a shot for pain."
"Seriously?" Tessa rolled her eyes. Goran was a smooth ladies man and always went out of his way to woo his next girlfriend. He didn't see women in the same light as she did. She knew just how devious and deadly the females of her species could be. "She was trying to whittle down our numbers. Right now, she's warning them we're on our way. Of course, they already know that because of the cameras. Those assholes are hiding around here somewhere, planning to jump us as soon as they can."
Serus shot her a look of concern. "Cameras, needles...when did you become so smart?"
"The cameras were there when we first arrived, remember? They know exactly where we are. I wish we had an idea of how many we're fighting down here." She added, in a snappy, irritated voice, "Cathy's definitely one of them."
"Let's get your mother and your brother and get the hell out of this looney bin." Serus studied the area around them as if trying to determine where to go next.
"If that woman is one of them, then we should go back and incapacitate her." Goran refused to take another step. He stuck out his jaw. "She seems so innocent. She could have blindsided the others."
"Go for it, if you're up to fighting her." Tessa looked at him. "She looked battle ready and had that needle hidden in her pocket. All she needed was to get one of us away from the others."
Serus shook his head at his old friend. "Depends on how badly injured you are, Goran. If she gets the drop on you and jabs you with that needle, then you could be in real trouble. Who knows what's in it?"
"I'm not injured that badly," Goran protested again. "Come on, my ego can't take much more."
"What if she's already managed to hook up with some of her group? Then you're up against how many?" Tessa marched forward. "Every time we split up, we get into trouble. I say we stay together."
"Since when did she get to be boss?" Goran grumped, but there was no heat in his voice.
Tessa grinned. "Since you became injured."
Serus chuckled. "Apparently, she's growing up more vamp than human – all orders and sass."
"Like hell. Besides, this is only a minor wound."
By the time Tessa reached the far side of the bloody building, she felt as if she'd walked miles already. The cool temperature was also getting to her. Just as she had done outside, she wished she had on another layer.
She went to take another step, but Serus grabbed her shoulder and pulled her back. "Shh."
"What is it?" she whispered. She couldn't see anything. Serus pointed down the line of bodies ahead of them, where someone stood half hidden between the rows. She couldn't tell what the person was doing or if they were working or hiding. She crouched down and peeked below the bodies. Two sets of legs.
Tapping her dad's calf, she motioned for him and Goran to take a look. Both men crouched down beside her.
"Think they're waiting for us?" she whispered.
Serus nodded, and then glanced over at Goran. Seconds later and with a grim look, Serus motioned for her to stay behind. He and Goran took off in a casual walk toward where the two stood out of sight.
Tessa chewed her bottom lip and waited. She blinked, and was surprised to see both elders already on their way back toward her, with big smiles on both their faces. Surely they couldn't have taken down the vampires that fast. From their smirks, they were obviously very proud of themselves.
Shaking her head, she waited until they reached her. "Please tell me you at least checked their faces to see if they belonged to the original team, or if we need to worry about more people than we originally thought."
Rolling his eyes, Serus grinned. "Yes, there were two of them. Satisfied?"
She smiled reluctantly.
He pointed toward a hallway in front of them, with two closed doors they needed to check. She shuddered. Who knew what might be behind them?
Goran walked over and opened the first one. Nothing.
Then he opened the second door.
*.*.*
Cody slammed the door shut behind the new arrival.
"Mom?" David asked hesitantly. "Is that you?"
"Oh." She spun around in shock. "I didn't see you two there. How are you, David? Did you have a good nap? I hope Jewel's still asleep. The poor dear is so tired."
She looked like Rhia, her voice sounded like Rhia’s, but the words coming out of her mouth...hell, no. No way was that David's mother.
Cody looked sideways at David, who stood with his mouth open and his eyes wide.
"Mom, are you feeling okay?" David asked. "You aren't acting like yourself."
"Of course I am." She fussed over his clothing, straightening his shirt. "What are you talking about?"
David shook his head slowly. "Who are you, and what did you do with my mother?"
"David..." She frowned. "That isn't funny."
"Ya think so?"
Cody studied Rhia's haughty features closely, checking for dilated pupils, marks, anything that would explain her odd behavior. Drugs had to be responsible. With her isolated, maybe now they could get to the bottom of this. Only, she was a formidable opponent, drugged or not, and David wouldn't be able to grapple with her. She might act odd, but she was still his mother.
"Stop it," she said, her exasperated tone showing a slight hint of the old Rhia.
David perked up. "That's better. You almost sounded like yourself then."
Cody nodded toward where Jewel slept. "What did you give her?"
"Some drugs to help her sleep. She wasn't making any sense. I could only think she was suffering from sheer exhaustion. All that worry is for nothing, you know. Everything is fine here."
"Fine?" Cody queried her cautiously. "How is it fine?"
She pivoted so fast, he stepped back. Yeah, she was still a vampire and a dangerous one at that.
"I don't understand why you're upset," she said. "Jewel and Ian carried on quite a storm, talking about conspiracies and bad guys, blood banks and a whole mess of garbage."
"Blood banks – she thought there was a blood bank here?" David studied his mother carefully. "As in maybe that has something to do with all those bodies out there?"
"Well, of course it does. Obviously, we're going to have to move those poor people."
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Both Cody and David released a sigh of relief.
"Right," Cody said. "Good. At least we're on the same wavelength."
"Exactly. We can't have humans coming in here trying to take them all back again. We have to keep our food sources safe."
Say what? Shock held Cody immobile.
"Wait a minute." David gulped. "You're part of this?"
"Enough games, David." Her hands went to her hips, and she looked down her haughty nose at him. "I told you that."
"Sorry," he said meekly. "I'm just a little confused."
"About what?" Exasperation filled her voice. She shook her head. "I've been here forever."
"Really? So when were you last at the house?" David asked.
Unsure which one would lose it first, Cody kept his eye on both of them. In his book, Rhia was the more dangerous of the two.
A frown formed between her eyebrows. "What do you mean? I go home all the time."
"Fine. When was the last time?"
"I don't remember." A glimmer of confusion slipped into her black eyes. "And that's odd. Oh, well. My mind is so full right now. That's all." She brightened. "Now, I really must go check on the others. Ian didn't want his shot, so he required a little more persuasion. I should go check on him."
Cody walked a few paces past her and turned around. "Where is he?"
"Down at the end of the hallway. With everyone acting so weird, we had to designate two rooms to keep them contained."
She walked to the doorway. Cody followed her.
"Weird? In what way?" David stepped in front of his mother to distract her from Cody's approach. "I don't understand."
"That's the problem. No one does. For some reason, everyone is in some kind of weird mental hallucinogenic state. Some of the things they've been saying...well, I'm glad to see that you're normal, at least."
"So am I." David smiled gently, and then nodded to Cody.
He reached an arm around Rhia's neck and pressed down on the spot his dad had shown him.
"What are you–" Rhia then collapsed.
*.*.*
Jared pulled up to the only structure he'd seen since leaving the blood farm. Several other carts were parked in front of a low standing platform with stairs on both sides. The space was large enough to hold cargo for multiple carts. He hopped off his, and then approached the stairs cautiously.
He had yet to see anyone down here, and he didn't want to start now. He should have thought to grab a lab coat, something to help him blend in. He reached out and tested the door. It opened under his hand.
Still cautious, he studied the dark interior. If only he had vampire vision. Searching the area to the right of the door, he found a light switch. He flicked it on. The room was large, with stacked boxes on one side. On the other side...well, he wasn't sure what that was. Large silver metal containers of some sort, plugged into the wall.
Walking over, he could see each of them had a chart flashing on top. Reading the labels, he frowned. Names and dates. Stepping back, he studied the size of the sealed canisters. They weren't big enough to hold people, were they? Or bodies? Surely not! He understood the need for a body disposal system, but using canisters? A ditch out back was much more likely.
Further down the long room, he came to a desk and then another computer system. The room also had a track running down the center. Not raised tracks, like the ones in the tunnel, but right at floor level so they wouldn't trip anyone up. He walked further inside and spotted a forgotten jacket hanging behind a series of cupboards. He snatched it up and put it on. Warmth wrapped itself around him. He hadn't realized how cold he was until now. He wandered around trying to figure out exactly what this building might be, and all he could determine was that it was some sort of way station – a stopping place for travellers. But why was it here?
At the far end of the room, he found a set of barred, floor-to-ceiling doors. Like barn doors, he mused, stepping back to study them. He searched for a smaller door and found one on the other side, past more boxes and half a dozen empty canisters.
He peered inside the containers. They had small interiors. Not enough room for a body. He headed to the door.
But it opened in front of him.
Tense, Tessa stood aside as her father opened the second door. This room was lined with beds, several occupied by patients hooked up to machinery. She spun around and bent over, trying to stop her stomach from heaving. She didn't have anything left in there to upchuck. Unfortunately, her stomach didn't see it that way.
"Tessa?"
"I'm fine," she croaked, waving her father and Goran away. She straightened up and took several deep breaths before continuing. "Seeing them like this reminds me of waking up after being kidnapped."
"Oh." Her father spun, looked at the row of drugged people, and then turned back at her. "Is that how you were?"
"I woke up with needles in my arm. I was alone, except for two thugs. And no, I haven't seen them since."
"You let me know when you do." Her father's features hardened. "Those assholes are mine."
She grinned. "Thanks Dad." She walked over to study the faces of the bedridden patients "So, who are these people, and where did they come from?"
"This last one is Ian," Goran said from the far end. "I don't see David, Rhia, or Cody though, thank God."
"Ian?" Tessa strode over to the bed where Goran hovered. "Is he okay?"
"Damned if I know."
Ian's face had a slack, drugged appearance, and his skin was a white milky color. Even his lips had a bled out look. Had she been as far under as he appeared to be? How would she know if she had been? His other arm had a needle in it, connected to tubes attached to a machine similar to the ones hooked up to the other two people in the room. She frowned. "I had a series of needles in my arms, but don't remember a machine. I don't know what they're doing here."
"Do you know any of the others?" Serus wandered down the hallway. "One I thought was part of the team."
"That would make sense. She'd have to be taken out and replaced if she wasn't one of the bad guys."
Goran nodded. "Yes. Then who is this other male?"
"Hard to say." Tessa frowned down at a middle aged man. "This one is naked. What's the chance he was hanging up and they needed to take him down?"
"Ian is still fully dressed."
"As is the team member. Still, it's possible."
Tessa reached down and lightly slapped Ian's face. "Ian, wake up."
"That ain't gonna do it. The boy's been drugged. We need to get those damn things out." Goran didn't waste any time. He ripped the tape off Ian's arm. To Tessa's surprise, Ian never even grimaced as hair peeled away with the tape. Next, Goran pulled out the needle. Glancing up, he told her, "Do the other arm."
Wrinkling her face, she tried to gently pull the tape free. That didn't work, so she took a deep breath and ripped it off. Ian lay motionless. Shaking her head, she pulled the needle straight out. A bead of blood formed at the puncture mark. Grabbing a tissue from the side table, she wiped off his arm. "I wonder how heavy a dose he has been given. He might take awhile to surface."
"He's got five minutes to wake up. If not, we'll have to use stronger methods.
Tessa hoped he would wake up. She really didn't want to know what Goran meant. Turning around, she watched her father shake the shoulder of the other team member. "How is she?"
Serus shrugged. "Who knows? She looks as lifeless as Ian."
"I'd just as soon not hear that term, thank you." Tessa grimaced. She leaned over a third person. "What about this man? It's hardly fair to leave him here like this. I think we should unplug him, too."
"Doing so might kill him, if he's been on the drugs for a long time. Taking him off cold turkey could cause an adverse reaction. The other consideration is that he might be getting nutrients from whatever they're giving him."
She hadn't thought of that. He looked so abandoned and unloved. Surely someone in
the world missed him.
"It feels wrong, but I guess our choices are limited," she said, raising an eyebrow at her father and Goran. "So we leave him until the others get here?"
Goran and Serus glanced at each other before turning their combined gazes on Tessa. Suspicion in his voice, her father asked, "What others?"
*.*.*
"What do we do with her?" David asked, his arms wrapped around his mother, supporting her dead weight.
Cody ran to the bed beside Jewel's and pulled back the covers. "We'll put her here."
"Okay," he said, inching that way. "How about a little help here?"
"Sure." Cody raced to David's side, scooped up Rhia's legs, and helped him stretch her out on the bed.
David looked at him. "What’s the chance she'll be normal when she wakes up?"
"I don't know." Cody shot his friend a look. "Depends on what drug they gave her."
"She won't be."
Cody and David spun around. Bart stood near the wall rubbing his barrel stomach.
"Jesus, where have you been? I forgot you were even here." Cody brushed his hair back and stared at Bart.
"I was hiding."
David shook his head. "Why, for God's sakes?"
"I didn't want to get involved." Bart shrugged. "I'm a machine kinda person. Don't do so well with confrontations."
"Great. Now you tell us. Why didn't you stay back with the machinery then, instead of coming with us?"
"I figured I wouldn't be able to hide forever," Bart said sheepishly. "With you two young ‘uns, I might have a better chance of getting out of here in the same shape as I came in. The only reason they forgot about me is because I'm so good at blending into the background."
"You are good at that." David turned his attention back to his mother. "Tell me you didn't hurt her."