by Holly Hook
"This will only hurt a little," the doctor said. "We'll get you back to Normal in no time."
"Has anyone ever tested this?" I asked, trying to get my mind off my hunger. Looking at the doctor's face let me check out the ceiling without looking suspicious. The ATC wanted no one to see the treatments they tried, because this room had no cameras, either.
It had a dozen starving vampires though. Did they know Bathory was coming for them and that she'd make them kill if they wanted to survive? Trish would recognize her. She was smart and Xavier had told her about our enemy. With her help, we might have a chance. Trish still fought. Some patients had lost hope. I'd have to give it back to them.
And I knew where an exit was.
Footsteps approached the room, and the guards outside stood aside to let someone in. I hadn't been paying attention, or I would have known Richard Grimes was coming to watch. He was alone today and smelled of coffee. The young professional stood at the edge of the room, near the door. The fabric of his suit sleeves rustled as he crossed his arms and waited in silence.
"There have been no mass tests, but I've heard this procedure has promising results," the doctor told me. He walked away as two ladies in scrubs messed with plastic tubes and readied needles. They hadn't eaten today.
And then they stabbed a huge needle into one arm, and then the other. Bags and machines surrounded me. Other people seethed with pain, including Brendan, as they hooked him up. A wave of panic washed over me.
Who knew what this would do?
But at last, the bustle of activity stopped. A bag hung on each side of me and everyone else strapped to a bed. There was one empty bag for the blood they'd drain from me. The other remained full, which would replace mine. Why did the ATC think this would work? Was Grimes a moron? I hoped they'd figured out blood types.
And what would they do with all the vampire blood they took? Maybe the ATC would sell it on the black market to those people who wanted to become vampires and hadn't succeeded. Grimes might be a career criminal with no interest in curing anyone. He even had a fitting name.
"You have a rotten beside manner," Trish shouted. "You've done nothing to explain this procedure to any of us patients or go over our treatment options. None of us have consented to this. I didn't sign any consent forms. That leaves me open to sue--"
"No one will sue anybody," Grimes said. "This is for your own good. It is the mission of the ATC to eliminate vampirism from the face of the Earth within a few generations. The condition has ruined lives, split apart families and forced its victims to hide. Think of what it has taken from all of you and think of the good that will come once you become Normal one day. You will get Normal jobs, keep Normal hours and have Normal families."
Grimes spoke with passion and hope. I detected no lie in his voice. He was a man with a vision and he believed in it. Maybe I was wrong about the black market.
"I've been a doctor long before you, Mr. Grimes," Trish shouted. "I know about ethics. If the public were to find out about this, they'd have no choice but to shut you down."
Richard Grimes stepped farther into the room and scrutinized me for a moment. I was the closest patient. Then he turned his gaze to Brendan and to a man on the other side of him who appeared to be in his twenties. Grimes had eaten nothing, either. He seemed to live on caffeine alone.
But there was something odd about the way he walked. I couldn't put my finger on it. It was nothing I'd noticed before. Something sounded off.
"Shall we begin treatment?" he asked. "I promise, the pressure in your arms will be the worst part. It will not be unbearable."
His words trembled just a bit. The man was nervous about something and I had the feeling it started with B.
But it was daytime, and even she couldn't tolerate the sun. Unless the creek water was dirty and would help to block—
A boom sounded from outside.
And then another.
Grimes didn't notice, but a guard's radio went off in the hallway.
Someone was attacking the facility, and no matter who it was, the danger level had gone up by a factor of ten.
If I didn't move now, I might never move at all.
Chapter Thirteen
The guards didn't burst in and tell Grimes to seek cover. In fact, only I seemed to hear the radio going off from outside the transfusion room doors.
Another boom sounded. It was Xavier trying to break inside or Bathory and her people were setting off explosives. Maybe she'd hired Normals to work for her, since a lot of her old vampires got roasted by dragon fire.
And here, listening to the creek was impossible.
A woman in scrubs turned on a rectangular machine next to me.
I could hear a sucking noise, and then my right arm twinged with pain. A pressure built inside as the machine extracted my blood and siphoned it up into the bag.
The sound was horrible. Around me, other machines came to life. People groaned. Brendan drew a terrified breath.
If I were Normal, I might have passed out.
"I can't do this!" Brendan shouted in panic.
Another roar of hunger filled my gut. It overtook the pressure in my arm. I was a hungry monster and I couldn't take this anymore. The guards who remained in the room shuffled along the edge towards the exit as if trying not to alarm Grimes. This was my last chance.
I wanted to hurt the people doing this to Brendan.
Another explosion followed from outside, but it was closer. It must be Xavier. Who else could get past the guards? If I didn't get out, he'd do more damage than he needed.
With a growl, I pulled at the metal shackle that held my wrist to the bed. It squealed, letting everyone in the room know something was up. One guard at the edge of the room stopped and looked around, unable to place the noise.
The first shackle broke free, and I ripped at the second one, warping and breaking it. Xavier's god blood was still on my side. I ripped my bare ankles out in the next second.
The guard cursed and bolted around tables.
A taser fired and a spring shot at me.
I rolled off the table and listened as the business end struck the bed, tried to discharge, and failed.
"Code Red!" a guard shouted. A radio crackled and beeped. "Code Red!"
But the other guards didn't storm into the room. The explosions continued. I only had four to contend with and none of the doctors had guns.
The pressure stayed in my arm, but I pulled the needle out. Some of my blood dripped onto the floor, scentless. Four guards stormed towards me, drawing weapons. Tasers or real guns, I couldn't tell.
"Get back on the bed!"
It was the mean Sunning Room doctor. She rushed at me, scowling, with two guards behind her. The power trip was going to her head. The two guards, both men, stepped to the side so they wouldn't hit the doctor when they fired.
They'd shock me and then she'd stand over me, mocking me. Rage filled me at the thought.
I shot off the floor, in my thin hospital gown, and rushed her before the guards could react. Grabbing the doctor by the front of her lab coat, I dragged her back towards the wall and turned her around so she served as a shield. Both guards stood there, tasers aimed at us, but neither fired. No one wanted to shock fellow Normals.
Radios went off. "We need your assistance up front! Drop everything!"
The other two guards stood there, indecisive, and burst through the double doors. Patients had gone silent, even Brendan. Machines still hummed and blood flowed through tubes. Some people lifted their heads and craned their necks, trying to see.
And Grimes stood in the middle of the room like he wasn't sure what to do.
He was studying me. I didn't like it. He might recognize me.
Then he would order the agents to kill.
Another explosion sounded from outside. Guards shouted in other parts of the building. Staff ran. The mean doctor tried to free herself from my grasp. She was easy to hold.
I had to take charge.
&nb
sp; "Back up," I yelled. "Release people or I'm going to kill her."
I couldn't believe the words coming out of my mouth. But my stomach roared and I would do something almost as bad.
"Please," the doctor said, trembling. "I know you didn't choose to Turn. I know my bedside manner wasn't the best, and I apologize." A sob rose in her throat.
"Oh, now you admit it," I said, lifting my voice up to my normal happy tone. "You know, we enjoy being hunted by the ATC, disowned by our families, and doing these painful sunlight treatments. That's why we all Turned. We all also enjoy not being able to tolerate the sun and not being able to go to school. Okay, I take back that last part. School sucks." What was I doing? "Now, everyone. Release the patients. Maybe if you do that, they'll fight for you and hold off what's coming. Because I hear explosions from the front of the building, and I know there's a creek under this place that an enemy can use to get inside the facility. You'll need all the help you can get."
Grimes shifted. "You hear the creek?" he asked me in shock. "She's coming?"
"Sir," one of the two remaining guards said. "Get to the safe room. Now! There are explosions happening outside. They radioed it to us."
"No!" Grimes shouted. He whirled in a circle.
"Release the other patients!" I shouted. "It's your only chance! None of us are with her. She forced us into the open so we'd be here when she attacked. We can help you."
What was I doing? Most of the patients might not even know about Bathory's plan.
"Yes," Trish said. "We'll help you fight her."
"What's going on?"
"Who are you talking about?"
Patients and doctors all started asking questions at once.
"Just do it! We'll help you hold them off! We won't hurt you!" I yelled.
I wasn't sure a hundred percent on that last part. I was hungry, and biting this doctor would break everyone's trust. That was something I'd do when no one else was looking. But my stomach threatened to cave in on itself now that I'd lost some of my blood.
Grimes trembled. "Release them," he ordered. "If she got through--"
Another explosion. This one was close enough for all to hear. It sounded as if someone were at the front gates of the facility. Gunshots followed.
Magic fizzled.
War magic.
Xavier was breaking through. He'd made it here before Bathory, but these people didn't know it wasn't her. And now they might battle him. People would die.
Grimes spun in a circle.
"What are you doing, sir?" a guard asked.
"Release them!" Grimes ordered. "I'm the owner of the ATC, and that is my order." He waved to everyone standing. "You heard me. Unhook them before the Normal blood weakens them too much. Let them drink the rest that's in the bags. That will keep them from attacking you."
The staff went to work unhooking everyone and pulling out needles. Brendan got up the moment the male doctor released him. The doctors and nurses all backed away from the beds as patients got up, removed needles, and stretched.
I couldn't believe it.
Grimes had ordered the release of a bunch of hungry, tortured vampires. Either he feared Bathory that much, or I had an amazing ability to convince people. Judging from the way he trembled, it was the former. I expected the new owner to run, but he stayed.
More shots fired outside. Another blast of magic followed. Men shouted. Soon, Xavier would get in, shell-shocked. He'd be a killer of bystanders. And the military—when would they get here? They must be on their way.
The underground creek was the way out, then.
The two guards still trained their tasers on me and the doctor as patients reached for the bags of Normal blood. So far, no one was attacking Normals. Everyone knew if that happened, the truce was over and security would rise. Good behavior was the only chance at escaping now.
"Janine," Brendan shouted, tearing open the corner of the blood bag. "We missed something. Bathory's hired--"
Grimes interrupted in panic. "Everyone! Finish feeding. We need to fight." He faced me and cast his glance at the doctor. "Bite her. Don't kill her, but bite."
It was the last thing I expected. The guards' jaws fell open, but Grimes ordered them back.
"No!" the doctor shouted, unbelieving.
"You're also terminated," Grimes said, leveling a glare at her. "We were not to use the Sunning Room on patients until after the transfusions started. It causes way too much pain."
I did as he wanted.
I bit.
It was just what I needed. The doctor had pizza for lunch along with an energy drink, which was ironic as she was supposed to preach good health. Strength flowed into my body and chased the weakness and the agony away. The doctor took it pretty well. She only seethed twice before I released her. My stomach still demanded more, but I didn't want to betray Grimes's sudden trust. I knew the truce wouldn't last long, that as soon as we held off whatever was coming, things would go back to normal. The mean doctor staggered away from me and towards the guards. Blood seeped out of her neck, but she'd be fine.
Grimes backed away and shouted at everyone to finish again. I ignored him and rushed over to Brendan, who polished off the last of the blood bag. He faced me with that red gaze. "We need to get everyone out of here," he said. "How did they catch you?"
Another explosion followed. More men shouted outside. Most of the guards had left the building to deal with Xavier. It was our chance to retrieve my cousin.
"I came here on purpose," I said, taking his hand. The other vampires would have to fend for themselves. I knew Trish could. "My cousin got caught because of me."
"The werewolf?"
"We need to free him," I said. "Now that Xavier's here--"
Brendan opened his mouth like he wanted to say something, but he closed it and nodded. "Why didn't you tell us they got your cousin?"
I didn't answer him. I'd explain it later. Holding Brendan's hand, I pulled him through the double doors and up the ramp.
The hallways were empty of everyone except for two orderlies running towards the basement. They passed us without slowing. I smelled metallic fear. An alarm blared from wherever the security room was. Outside, a helicopter circled the facility. The military was already mobilizing. Soon, soldiers would break in. They might even blow up the whole place if Xavier was dangerous enough. No one wanted a raging god walking around.
And I'd seen a god die before. It hadn't been pretty. Could an explosion end Xavier?
It would end us.
I pulled Brendan into the Lycanthropy Wing. He struggled to keep up with me. My full strength had come back. The doggy smell filled the area.
We burst into George's room.
"Yo, Janine's cousin," Brendan said. "We're breaking you out."
George looked up from his wheelchair. He already knew something was wrong since he was pulling against the silver chains that bound him to his chair. A growl emerged from his throat. "Who are you?"
"Never mind that." I leaned down and pulled at the chains. It took effort—they were thick—but I snapped them one by one. "Xavier's here to break us out, but we want to be out of here before he gets inside. His magic is too much for him to handle now, and the military's on its way. They might go overboard, too."
"Actually -" Brendan started.
"How did you get here?" George asked. He had a funny smell, almost plastic. They'd drugged him, all right, but I hoped it was wearing off. "How did they find you?"
"The ATC tracks our phone calls," I said. "I came here to get you out."
"Janine, never risk yourself for me."
"Yell at me later." I snapped the final chain around his torso and went to work on the shackles, which were easy compared to those. "We need all hands on deck. Try not to bite ATC people. We made a truce."
"Those never last long," he said, trembling. The guy was ready to shift.
"Or soldiers," I said. "We need to get the other prisoners out of here. There's an underground creek the vampires can
take out of here in the basement."
"I'd drown," George said. He stood from the wheelchair as hair sprouted from his arms. "My best bet is to run through the woods."
"The electric fence," Brendan reminded him.
Another huge explosion followed.
The lights all flickered and went out. Electric fizzling and a fire started outside. A transformer had blown. Xavier had taken it out. My gray vision snapped into place.
"Not now," George said. "I think I can leap over it. We've got to free the other two werewolves. We'll escape together."
My thoughts turned to the two women. I'd free them and leave George in charge. The three of us rushed to the other two rooms, and Brendan and I led the way since George's night vision wasn't as good as ours. One woman was more drugged than the other, and George urged her up, telling her he'd get the two of them out of here. Once I'd freed them (which took a full minute) I hugged George so tight he gasped.
"Get out of here," I said.
"You go to that creek," George ordered me. "Now. Don't worry about us." His skin rippled as he shifted.
Brendan and I turned away, bolting down the hall. The sound of three werewolves shifting was horrible. I'd never heard it since biting Xavier, but now every popping bone and tendon met my ear.
Flashlights swung. Feet hit tile. Doors unlocked. Grimes had ordered his staff to free the vampires still in their rooms. That saved me from having to do it. I didn't want to leave anyone behind even though I knew the Normals would have a harder time getting out of here. They couldn't swim out the creek, either.
I stopped in the hallway, seized by indecision.
Brendan did the same. "What are you doing?"
"We're leaving people to die. I screwed this up."
"We're doing our best," he said. "People will die no matter what. This is Bathory. All we can do is hope for the best."
"But--"
"Where's the basement?" Brendan asked. "She'll kill us both for knowing her secret."