by Amy Cross
"I understand your concern," Benjamin says, "but please recognize that the Watchers have far more experience when it comes to these things. You must trust us". He walks over to Patrick and looks up at his face. "I've spent almost my entire life watching Patrick and studying him. I know so much about him. Sometimes, I feel as if I can even hear his thoughts". He turns to me. "Now that he has chosen to die, I have to make sure that he's kept under control, but I promise you that his death will not be painful, nor will it be in vain. You'll have the contact with him that you crave, but not yet. He must sleep like this, just a little longer".
"What if he's not asleep?" I reply.
"He is," Benjamin says. "Our scans prove it, and I can sense it". Smiling, he walks to the corner and grabs a set of steps, dragging them back over to Patrick. He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a syringe; removing the cap, he climbs the steps. "Trust in my experience".
"What are you doing?" I ask.
"Taking a blood sample," he replies. I watch as he sticks the needle into the side of Patrick's neck. He slowly pulls the plunger back, and the syringe fills with blood. "We have to monitor him closely," he explains as he removes the needle and replaces the cap, before climbing back down the steps. "Vampires aren't myths. They're not ghosts from fairytale stories. They're flesh and blood, and there's a science behind them. If you cut him open, you can see how he works. We're slowly starting to understand that science. Patrick is the first vampire we've ever been able to study so closely. You have no idea how our understanding of his species is advancing every day".
I swallow hard. It's not difficult to imagine that the day will come when Benjamin will want to 'study' me as well. Is that the real reason he's brought me here? Am I going to end up hanging from a wall with a giant spike through my chest? I look up at my father and feel, more than ever, that I have to get us both out of here. "Is that what you're going to do to him when he's dead?" I ask eventually. "Cut him open?"
"Wouldn't -" he starts to say, but then he pauses. "This isn't the right time for such a discussion, Abigail. You must be tired. Go to bed".
"And what about me?" I say. "Do you want to cut me open as well?"
He shakes his head. "I want to observe you. I want to help you. This is going to be an unprecedented scientific opportunity. I truly believe that as you grow older, and as you continue to develop through puberty, your true nature will become more apparent. When you were a child, you were able to pass for human. Perhaps you sensed you were different, but you were at least able to maintain the illusion. Now, though, things are changing. Tell me something, Abby. Where you bullied at school?"
"Maybe," I say.
"The other children could smell the difference," he continues. "They didn't know what was wrong with you, of course. It was an instinctive reaction, but they sensed a quisling in their midst. They were afraid of you, so they reacted with hatred. I imagine some of the bullying was probably very brutal, perhaps even physical. You're lucky that we came and saved you. If you'd stayed in Callerton, there's a strong chance that one of your bullies would have overstepped the mark and killed you before you become strong enough to fight back. The human reaction to difference can be shockingly violent at times". He turns and walks to the door. "Don't worry, Abby," he says as he leaves, "we'll get to the bottom of it soon. We'll find out what you are, and we'll decide what's best for you".
As soon as he's left the room, I walk over to Patrick and look up at his face. "Why do you let them do this to you?" I ask. I know he's awake, and I get the feeling he's stronger than Benjamin and the others realize It's as if he's willing to let himself be held here, even though he's in such excruciating agony. How can he hide all that pain? "I tried to set you free," I tell him, "but you've got to do it yourself. I'm not strong enough. Not yet, anyway. But I need you. I need to know what I am".
He doesn't respond. He doesn't even look at me. I turn and walk away, finding that Benjamin is in the next room, adding Patrick's blood to a glass vial. He smiles as he sees me. "Can I show you something, Abigail?" Without waiting for a response, he walks over to the far corner of the room and removes the cover from a small box. "Come and see," he says.
Cautiously, I walk over and look into the box. I see a group of chicks, and I watch as Benjamin takes some meat from a nearby container, chews it for a moment, and then spits it out for the chicks to swallow.
"Nice," I say, wondering why he's showing me something so disgusting.
"It's life," he replies, turning to another box. He takes out a different chick, but this one looks different to the others. It's slightly larger, its head is a different shape, and it has a different type of beak. "This one was born with certain abnormalities," he says. "I've kept it separate from the others, but now I think it's time to let nature take its course". He carefully sets the chick in with the others. "Let this be a valuable lesson, Abigail," he says. "People are picked on for being different. They get hurt, or thrown out of the community, or worse".
I stare at the chicks as they start pecking at the new arrival. Moments later, one of them draws blood. The new chick lets out a squeal as the others all pile on, and within a few seconds the new chick is dead. Their work done, the others leave the body alone.
"The quisling has to defend itself, or be defended, if it wants to survive," Benjamin continues, putting a lid back on the box. "In this case, the quisling was too young. Be in no doubt that your bullies in Callerton would have done to you what those chicks did to the intruder in their box, because they would have seen you as the quisling in their midst. It's a survival mechanism. It's how things should be, but fortunately we were able to rescue you before you were in any real danger". He pauses for a moment. "It's late. You really should get some sleep. I have some pills that will help if you're having difficulty".
"I'm fine," I reply, heading to the exit. I feel kind of freaked out by what I've just seen. "Tomorrow," I say, turning back to him, "will you tell me about my mother?"
He pauses. "What do you want to know?"
"What she was like," I reply.
He shrugs. "I didn't really know her. You'd be better off asking Shelley questions like that".
"I want to know how she died," I tell him.
"Do you?" He smiles. There's a curious look in his eyes, as if he's observing me keenly. "I suspect it would be better if we hold off on this discussion for a while," he says after a moment, but I get the feeling that he almost told me the truth.
"I want to know," I insist.
"All in good time".
Realizing that he's hiding something, I walk back over to him. "I want to know now," I say. "Not later. Not tomorrow. Now. I don't care if it's complicated, I just want to know".
He finishes setting Patrick's blood in the vial. "It might upset you to know the truth. We'll discuss the matter another time". He turns to leave, but I push a table in front of him to block his path.
"Tell me now!" I say, starting to feel a rising sense of anger in my blood.
"Interesting," he replies, looking down at the table. "Abigail, are you aware that this table was bolted to the floor?"
I look down and see that the table has been ripped away from a set of four metal mounts. "They must have been loose," I say, finding it hard to believe that I could have done such a thing.
"I don't think so," he replies. "You're stronger than you realize You must be careful in future. Your body is changing. Don't you feel it yet?" He pauses for a moment. "Perhaps you're ready for the truth after all, but... Do you really want to know?"
"Tell me," I say.
"Are you sure? Can you handle the anger?"
"Tell me".
"She was murdered," he says.
I take a deep breath. I never met my mother; I've never even seen a photo of her, but the thought of her dying in such a brutal way is almost too much to take in. "Why?" I ask. "Who killed her?" Suddenly a sickening thought hits me, deep in the pit of my stomach. I can't even bear to think about it, but it's as if suddenly I
can see exactly what happened. In my mind, I have the image of a girl who looks like me, but a little older; she's facing Patrick, and he's turning to her and...
"You see it, don't you?" Benjamin says.
"He wouldn't do that," I reply, tears streaming down my face. "Why would he..."
"You must stop judging him as if he's human," he continues. "Your father is incapable of feeling love for another creature. It's not his fault, it's just the way he's made. He's like an animal, really. Brutish and strong, but with no real soul. Love is an alien concept to him. He uses power and strength to get what he wants".
"He wouldn't kill her," I say, refusing to believe that it's true. Still, the image is clear in my mind: my mother falling to the ground, blood pouring from her body as my father stands over her.
"I wish I could tell you it was otherwise," Benjamin says, "but what you're seeing is the truth. Your father killed your mother". He puts a hand on my shoulder. "Do you still think he should be set free?"
Chapter Six
"Where's Abby?" I ask as I walk into the main room and find Benjamin and Todd working at a set of computers. It's late, but I feel I'm finally ready to talk to her about the past.
"In bed," Benjamin replies, before frowning. "Shelley, what's that smell?"
"I had one beer," I tell him. "Just one".
"You smell like shit," Todd says.
"Nice to see you too," I reply. "So what did I miss?"
Benjamin and Todd share an awkward glance. "Abby has been learning about her father," Benjamin says eventually. "Her view of him has changed quite significantly. She's starting to see him for what he really is, rather than hero-worshiping an impossible ideal".
I stare at him for a moment. "How much did you tell her?"
"I told her the truth," he replies. "Really, I just jogged her memory. She seems to have access to some of Patrick's memories. It's an interesting phenomenon".
"You can't just tell her stuff like that!" I say. "Is she asleep? I have to go and talk to her".
"Let her rest," Benjamin says. "You can talk to her tomorrow".
"She won't be asleep," I tell him. "Not if she's just found out what Patrick did to Sophie".
"She seemed to take it rather well," he replies.
"She's probably in shock," I say. "You might be an expert on a lot of things, Benjamin, but when it comes to teenage girls, maybe you should let me be in charge". I turn to Todd. "What about you? She's your flesh and blood. Don't you want to go and see if she's okay?"
"I'm needed here," Todd replies awkwardly.
"It was necessary," Benjamin says. "I needed to see how she's react. I needed to push her out of her comfort zone".
"You're an ass," I say. "You should have waited for me. I could have broken the news to her properly".
"You weren't here," he says. "You were busy drinking. I hardly think I should take a lecture on responsibility from someone who spent her evening in a bar".
"Well I'm here now," I say, "and I need to -"
"She's moving," Todd says. Benjamin looks over at a computer screen. "She's left her room," Todd continues. "She's heading for the exit. I'll lock the doors -"
"No," Benjamin says, interrupting. "I want to see what she does".
"She'll be outside in thirty seconds," Todd replies. "You can't let her through the door".
"Of course I can," Benjamin says. "I can get her back here at any moment".
Walking over to them, I see a tracer showing up on the screen. "You're tracking her?" I say, shocked at the way they're treating someone who's supposed to be in their care.
"I placed a transmitter on her clothing," Benjamin replies. "I want to see the limits of her capabilities. Trust me, the experiment is going according to plan. Don't interrupt us".
I turn to him. "This is all an experiment to you? She's a teenage girl". I pause for a moment. "Is that why you told her the truth? You just wanted to upset her, to see what she'd do?"
"I'm a scientist," Benjamin replies. "I want to provoke her and see if she exhibits any new abilities".
"And you?" I ask Todd. "Are you happy to let your niece be tested like this?"
"It's for her own good," Todd replies, not taking his eyes off the screen. "We have to know more about Abby. She looks human, but she's not. We can't just sit around and wait for her to develop when she's ready. We have to push her".
I take a deep breath, watching as the tracer shows Abby reaching the exit. "I'm going after her," I say. "She needs to talk to someone". I turn to leave, but Todd reaches out and grabs my arm, holding me back forcefully.
"You can't interfere," Benjamin says. "If necessary, we'll restrain you".
"Bullshit," I reply, but I can't get free of Todd's grip. As I struggle, he gets his arms around me and holds me tight. "Do you really want to turn this into a fight?" I ask him.
"Don't make it harder than it has to be," he replies.
"She's your niece!" I remind him. "She's Sophie's daughter, she's your only family! How can you let this asshole mess around with her emotions just so he can carry out a bunch of tests?"
"This is a unique situation," Todd replies. "It's in Abby's best interests that we learn about her strengths and weaknesses as fast as possible. Everything Benjamin told her is true. In case you've forgotten, Patrick did kill Sophie. Are you really saying we should have lied to her? Do you want to put Abby in a room with Patrick and let him kill her too?"
"He'd never do that!" I insist, still trying to get loose.
"I never thought I'd hear you defend him," Todd says.
"I'm not defending him," I reply. "I understand him, that's all".
"She's outside," Benjamin says, staring at the screen. "I want to let her go a little further before we go and bring her back. I want her to feel that she's really escaped, so I can see what she does". He pauses for a moment. "I also want to see how she reacts when we bring her back. Emotional distress could heighten her abilities and bring out powers she doesn't know she has".
"And then what?" I ask.
"Then my team will fetch her, and we'll see how strong she is".
"You're so sure you can control her, aren't you?" I say, shocked by Benjamin's confidence.
"We caught Patrick, didn't we?" He replies, smiling. "If we can bring down an adult, I'm sure we can bag a child".
"That's all they are to you, isn't it?" I say. "Specimens to be used in your experiments".
"You're too emotional," he says. "I'm hoping that she'll show a little aggression, that's all. Frankly, I've been disappointed in her so far. She's been acting like a human. She's been showing only the weakness she inherited from her mother. I want to see her other side".
"Being human isn't weak," I say, realizing I need to get Abby away from these people.
"I need to see more of her father in her eyes," he continues. "I need to know that she has that same rage. This could be the most important discovery of our lifetimes. If she's what I think she is, she could be of enormous use to the world. We could create an army of creatures just like Abby, all of them under our direct control. We'd be unstoppable".
"How much longer?" Todd asks, watching the screen as it shows Abby moving further and further away. "She's heading for the town".
"I didn't expect that," Benjamin replies. He studies the data for a moment. "Fascinating. I thought she'd go into the wilderness. I was sure she'd want to get away from humans, not go closer to them".
"Maybe you don't know her as well as you thought you did," I tell him.
He turns to me, and for a moment I see a hint of anger in his eyes. "She won't get far," he says eventually. "There's no danger of her actually escaping. My team can go and pick her up when I give the order. But it's good for her to think she can escape. I want her to still have some fight in her. I want her to be angry when we drag her back".
"So you can carry out more experiments?" I ask.
"I'm not the only curious one," he says. "She has questions about herself. Wouldn't you want to know
the truth about your own body if you were in her position?"
"There are other ways to learn that kind of thing," I tell him.
"Benjamin!" Todd says, with a hint of urgency in his voice. "She's moving fast. Faster than normal. We need to bring her back now!"
Benjamin turns to the screen. "Amazing," he says. "She's developing more quickly that I dared to hope". He pauses for a moment. "I was right to push her like this. Okay, it's time to go and bring her back".
I watch as Benjamin and Todd hurry through to the corridor. Following them, I find that the other technicians are gathering around the exit. They're carrying large spear-guns, as if they're going hunting. The spears are a couple of feet long, and at least an inch wide. "You can't use those things on her," I say, shocked at the thought that they're going to hunt Abby down like she's some kind of wild animal.
"Hopefully we won't have to," Benjamin says as he puts on some body armor. For an older guy, he's surprisingly athletic. "But if we have trouble stopping her," he says, turning to me, "we'll have to use whatever means necessary". He takes a gun from the rack. "There's no need to worry, though. If she's strong enough to need this kind of treatment, she's strong enough to heal her wounds. Just like her father".
"What are you going to do?" I ask.
"She won't come back willingly," Benjamin says, grabbing a gun from a rack near the door. "We'll have to sedate her, but it'll be quite harmless. We can't let her get too far". He smiles. "Don't worry, Shelley. Everything's under control. This is all in Abby's best interests". He turns to one of the technicians. "Stay here and monitor the prisoner. The rest of you, come with me".
As the lone technician returns to the main room, Benjamin leads the others out into the forest. They're carrying hand-held scanners that show them exactly where Abigail has got to. The sight of these half dozen men in uniforms, carrying weapons and with their heads covered by bulk masks, is terrifying. "I'm coming with you!" I call after them, determined to make sure that they don't hurt Abby when they find her.