by W. J. May
"Not that old." Serus crouched down to try to see where they were going. "Makes me realize how damn lucky we've been to not run afoul of more of his inventions." He turned and appeared to count heads as if reassuring himself that they hadn't lost someone else. "When Moltere was under fire from the rest of the vampire clan he was rumored to have built in a lot of self-defense systems and getaway chambers. I thought the gossip was all rumors."
The floor came to a gentle rest so slowly that it took a moment for everyone to realize they'd stopped moving.
Another empty room.
Tessa headed for the door on the far side, not bothering to explain. She could see the energy wisps, proving she was on the right track. "This way."
A flat steel door with a short handle faced them.
"Damn." Tessa fished in her pocket for her dad's credit card again and slid it down the seam to find the locking mechanism. After a few frustrating minutes, she realized she couldn't open this door. "This isn’t working. I can't get it open."
"Step aside, maybe I can rip it off its hinges." Her father grasped both sides of the steel door and pulled. The steel refused to shift. He refused to give up.
Finally, Tessa tapped him on the shoulder. "It’s not doing anything."
He glared at her. "Then what do you suggest?"
"I don't know," she admitted. "It has to open somehow."
David leaned closer. "Sure, with a special key like sound, electricity, pressure...the options are endless." David studied the lever.
"Well we have to figure it out. Mom's behind this door." Tessa's frustration was mounting. Rescue was so close and yet so far.
"And just how do you suggest we do that?" David’s sarcasm was getting to be a pain in the ass.
She’d had enough. "I don’t know, David. Feel free to step up to the plate anytime."
"That’s enough," Serus snapped at them. "Worse case is we have to wait until someone else comes in or out."
Cody frowned at the steel door in front of them. "Yep, I considered that but was hoping we'd find another way."
Too tired and confused to make any more decisions, Tessa sat down on the floor and waited for the others to decide. She’d gotten them this far. Someone else would have to get them inside.
***
Jared waited until the nurse left. Then he sat up and rolled over. He had different company. A young, incredibly skinny male somewhere around Jared's age slept in the bed beside him. Jared waited until he saw signs of movement from the kid. "Hey, are you awake?"
"Yeah, for a little bit, then the drugs will take over." The male yawned. "I’m Bryce."
"I’m Jared. How long have you been here? Isn’t there any way to get out? Like I don’t want to just be a milking machine for the rest of my life."
"No one’s ever gotten out of here. Except for the last guy."
"Who?" Jared could hardly keep his voice down. "How'd he get out? Do you know if he made it?"
"Nah, he died."
"What the hell?" Anger surged through Jared. "How can you be so complacent? Don’t you want to escape?" He glared at the open door. "This is brutal. I’m too young to end up like this."
"Maybe." Bryce was silent for a long moment. "I bet you don’t have much in the way of family and no one is going to care if you don’t come home." He suddenly looked Jared in the eye. "Am I wrong?"
Shit. Jared’s uncle would be happy if he never saw him again. He slowly shook his head. "No, you’re probably right. They might wonder when I’ll walk through the door again, but less and less as time goes on."
"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 to think 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 run 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 three 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.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
"You okay, Tessa?" Her dad crouched down at her side, concern evident on his f
ace. 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 few days had taken a toll on her. Sitting in the bare room only big enough for the floating floor, with one door in or out hadn't exactly instilled confidence 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 bash the information around. They’d let her in on the final decision.
"Tessa?"
"Yeah, I’m here…just thinking."
"Sleeping is more like," 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 the door again. Then kicked it several times, belatedly remembering that's 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 aged 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 she had kicked the last one.
The door opened silently.
They entered the next room to find computer screens filled one wall, with rows of sterile office desks and computers filling the rest. 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 walls. 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 awareness. "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 wrapped in saran wrap." A shudder rippled down Tessa's back. These poor people.
"Probably to keep a sterile environment." Cody walked around checking out the 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 is a control center but I'd think a 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 off 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 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 at 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 wandered around the large room.
"I’m searching. I can sense her and Goran, both of them, 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 hu
ndreds. What if we’re the ones in the minority outside? 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 could all these people disappear and no one care enough to search for them?"
"They could have been kidnapped anywhere around the world. You hear about human smuggling all the time. There is the 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 ever 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 heat climbing her cheeks again. She bent, hiding her face behind the fall 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. These last few days a lot of things had changed for her.