“It’s just from a donor,” Siri replied. “Does it matter who it’s from?”
Calida flashed a smile. “It’s just so impersonal this way.”
Ryan carefully studied her. Calida had undergone a definite change in her behavior from the morning. He looked at his watch and noticed that the sun had completely set. Her physical appearance also had undergone subtle, yet observable changes. Two small white points peeked from the lower edge of her upper lip. And both lips were now fuller and more inviting. Her pupils had changed from that unforgettable mirrored blue to a soft violet color.
Calida brought a corner of the blood bag up to her mouth. Her fangs extended and she closed down while turning her head to the right making a razor like slice through the plastic. She pulled away from the bag and spit out the corner.
“You don’t mind if I drink alone?”
Both scientists fell silent and even Siri began to fidget in her chair.
Calida positioned the open corner at her mouth and began to drain its contents. Her throat muscles visibly worked as she swallowed the first mouthful, but she suddenly stopped and her eyes opened wide.
Calida’s face exploded.
Blood would have sprayed all over Ryan and Siri if not for the plexiglas wall in front of them.
Ryan jumped up. He could only see Calida’s legs and feet. The large blood splatter coating her side of the plexiglas concealed her upper half.
“What
“I don’t . . . .” Ryan stopped.
Siri also sprang to her feet. “What happened?”
Blood ran from Calida’s nose. Her mouth gaped open and her delicate looking fangs gleamed red in the light of the cell. She gagged and coughed until she finally composed herself.
“It’s horrible! It tasted horrible! What’s in it to make it taste like that?” She threw the blood bag down on the concrete.
“Uh . . . there’s an anti-coagulating agent . . . sodium citrate, you can actually taste that?” Ryan asked.
“Can I taste it? It’s horribly sour.” Calida’s eyes were a deep pink that Ryan associated with strong emotions.
“Calida,” Siri began, “we didn’t know this would happen. Most of our stored blood has chemicals added to keep it fresh.”
“You people are crazy. That wasn’t fresh.”
“We’re sorry,” Ryan said. “We didn’t know you’d react like this.”
“Well, I can’t wear this anymore.” Calida tore the blood stained patient gown from her body like tissue paper. “And may I have something to clean myself with? Or do you want to look at me naked with blood all over my face and neck?”
“I’ll get you some things to clean up with.” Siri quickly went over to the door and left.
The heavy scent of blood diffused through the air on both sides of the plexiglas and Calida’s eye’s slowly returned to the soft violet color. She gave Ryan an injured look, then smiled, and started to laugh.
“What’s funny about this?” Ryan asked. He could feel his heart pounding.
“You, the look on your face . . . you put me in a cage and think you can feed me like a zoo animal.”
“Look, we’re sorry about this. After you get cleaned up we’ll get a rabbit, okay?”
Calida pulled her lips away from her fangs. “I don’t want a rabbit.”
“So you won’t even try one?”
“You try it.”
The bag of blood on the floor had spilled out and formed a large puddle that crept toward one of the floor drains. Calida stepped through it and left a trail of bloody foot prints as she walked over to the feeding station.
“What about this?” she asked, sliding a finger along the plastic tube on her side of the plexiglas.
“Uh, we sort of have a protocol we’re trying to follow.”
“Oh, come on sweetheart, I want to see if you taste better than what’s on my feet.”
“Is that necessary?”
“I’m the one walking in blood.”
“Let’s just follow the protocol.”
“The protocol? And how’s it working out?”
“You said you’d try a rabbit tonight.”
“I lied . . . vampire, remember?”
“You’re not being helpful.”
“I’m supposed to be helpful after you’ve put me in here?”
“And you’d be helpful if you weren’t in there?”
“You’re so clever . . . and here I am naked covered in blood.”
“If we start using this,” Ryan said, pointing at the station, “and give it to you as it comes out of our veins will you start cooperating?”
Calida gave Ryan a bloody smile. “I gave you the precious bit of my cheek, didn’t I? For the right blood I’ll do anything.”
“Yeah, but you’re a vampire, remember?”
“Don’t ever forget it. I may kill you one day.”
“I’ll be careful,” Ryan said. “When Siri gets back we’ll get you cleaned up and use the station.”
“The two of us?”
“It’s my design so I’ll go first.”
“To be honest, Ryan, I’m expecting to be a little disappointed with you.”
“Why do you say that? You’ll be getting blood straight from a person.”
“Not all blood is the same, silly man. Sometimes it’s too salty, sometimes it’s bitter, even a little sour. But once in a while it’s real sweet. I always remember the sweet ones.”
“You sound like a real connoisseur.”
“I am.”
The door to the cell opened and Siri walked in carrying fresh towels, soap, a bottle of blue shampoo, and another patient gown. “Calida, I’ll turn on the water supply to that shower head and you can get cleaned up,” she said. “Ryan, why don’t you call your lab and get an update or something? Figure we’ll need thirty minutes in here.”
Calida looked at him. “Thank you, Siri for allowing me some dignity. And remember Ryan, when you get back . . . .”
Siri stared at Ryan.
“Don’t ask,” he said. “Miss Vampire is being difficult.”
Ryan left the cell, annoyed. As a purely visual exercise, Calida’s body didn’t hold any secrets for him.
Ryan headed for his laboratory so he could get the sample of Calida’s epithelial cells prepared. This would take at least half an hour, which meant that she would just have to wait to be fed. It was a clear early March night and already the spring peepers were starting their chorus from the wetlands surrounding the facility. The five-minute walk breathing in the cool, fresh air cleared his mind and allowed his sense of smell to reset from the odor of blood.
Back inside his lab he completed the prep work on the sample. Ryan considered taking another THC pill as an added measure against Calida, but he placed the vial down next to the keyboard. Designing the feeding station was one thing but now, with his participation imminent, its purpose became a disturbing reality. Although the process did hold a certain morbid fascination for him, he needed to approach this from a scientific point of view. Of course with her that could be extremely difficult. Calida had intruded into his personal mind space and he didn’t know if that was entirely her fault.
The phones in the lab started to ring. Ryan reached over to the phone at his workstation and placed the call on the speaker so he could continue entering the test parameters of the sample.
“Ryan, here.”
“My good Doctor Ryan,” the voice of the Director beamed from the speaker. “Doctor Lei has briefed me on your progress and I want to congratulate you, both of you, for getting her to cooperate.”
“She doesn’t have much choice.”
“No, perhaps, but there seems to be a developing, and how should I say this . . . a friendship between you and her.”
Ryan stopped entering on his keyboard.
“I hadn’t noticed that.”
“Oh, come no
w, Doctor, I’ve been watching the video feed. There is an attraction.”
“Her only attraction is for my blood. She’s made several comments about feeding on me, I think.”
“She is a vampire after all, Doctor Ryan, but I’ve noticed that these comments are more of a friendly or even, and I apologize if I’m wrong here, possibly romantic nature.”
“You’re wrong.”
“It is important for her to start trusting us.”
“I don’t think that’s in her nature.”
“Many living creatures can learn that with acceptable behavior comes reward.”
“Where’s this going?”
“Please allow me to simplify. Your relationship—call it what you like—must be allowed to develop. This is also true of Doctor Lei. We want her to feel that this is a place of safety for her.”
“She’s in a cage. She’s pretty safe.”
“Ah, but here our two paths of understanding can cross.”
“I don’t understand you at all.”
“This creature has great value in many areas, would you agree?”
“Go on.”
“Besides the research value, which is considerable, she can also be trained to be a contributing member of society.”
“What? Society is her food. We’ve already discussed this.”
“Not all food is worthwhile, do you understand?”
“I’m beginning to, and I don’t like the implication.”
“This agency, Doctor Ryan, serves a singular function. We are given the task to protect this country against only the most sophisticated threats both abroad and within.”
“So does the FBI and CIA. We’re just somewhere in the middle of the two, or at least that’s what you told me when I joined this project.”
“We are more independent than I originally explained. That was for your protection as well as the agency’s.”
“Okay, so you held back. What’s this got to do with her?”
“I’ve explained it quite clearly, I think. We want her to join our efforts.”
“Join the agency, as in become an operative?”
“Precisely, Doctor Ryan. She would be a tremendous asset.”
“Are you saying that you want to let her back out into the world?”
“She must be convinced that to work with us would be beneficial to both her and the agency.”
“I can’t believe you’d considering giving back her freedom when several nights ago five men died taking it away.”
“Is there a better incentive we can give her than her freedom? Of course it will be a conditional freedom. In the end she’ll find my offer impossible to refuse.”
“So this is all a lie . . . the research, everything?”
“No, conduct your research, find out all that you can about her, but the time will come when she we’ll be given the choice to join us, or be confined to that cage, indefinitely.”
“How much of this does Siri know?”
“Doctor Lei follows her instructions, so the question is, Doctor Ryan, can you?”
“Look, I’ve got to get back to the subject—she’s being difficult with our feeding protocol.”
“Oh yes, you are on the menu tonight, isn’t that so?”
“As I said, I’ll go first to make sure the system works properly, but you better have the other donors ready.”
“Not to worry, that has all been arranged.”
The speaker made an audible click and the dial tone came on. Ryan reached over and turned the speaker off. He stared at his display for a moment, placed his hands behind his neck, and leaned back in the chair. The Director’s motives regarding Calida didn’t surprise him. The man manipulated everyone to suit his needs. Yet Ryan didn’t believe Calida could actually be controlled to the point where she would do as the Director asked. The man was clearly insane.
The phone rang again, but Ryan ignored it and stood up. He picked up the THC pills, hesitated, and placed them back on the desk. It was time to get back to the isolation unit. He’d been gone for nearly an hour and he knew that if he didn’t show up soon they’d send someone to find him. Not that he really cared.
Chapter Six
“I believe that a scientist looking at nonscientific problems is just as dumb as the next guy.”
—Richard Feynman, American Physicist
Ryan walked up to the medical building and noticed that additional armed men had been placed around the perimeter. With Calida awake, not even the Director was taking any chances. Ryan had no doubt that if she somehow managed to get outside the building she’d instantly be cut down.
He stepped out of the air lock and was waved on by the two armed men. William entered the code on the entry keypad and the door opened. Ryan took a deep breath and stepped inside.
The pleasant fragrances of body soap and shampoo filled the air inside the cell. Calida brushed her hair as she sat on the cot. She wore a fresh patient gown and had on a pair of white flip-flops. Ryan made a quick inspection of her cell. The blood on the floor and plexiglas barrier had been washed away.
“Hello Siri,” Ryan said. “Everything seems nice and calm, again.”
“Except for you,” Calida said. “I can hear your heart beating for me. So fast . . . how sweet.”
“Please, Calida,” Siri said. “For us, for Doctor Ryan, this is a strange situation, so don’t upset—”
“It’s fine,” Ryan said. “She’s waited patiently. I shouldn’t have rushed back.” Ryan walked over to the feeding station, removed his clinic jacket, and sat down. He entered some commands on the laptop that controlled the apparatus, made a mistake, and reentered. Ryan gestured to the chair on the other side of the plexiglas. “Please sit.”
Calida put the brush down, stood up, and walked over to the chair next to the feeding tube, her flip flops smacked as she walked. “So, am I going to be disappointed?”
“Please, sit down,” Ryan again instructed, ignoring her.
Calida sat down and expectantly waited with her lips just inches from the feeding tube.
“Before we start,” Ryan said. “Place the end in your mouth and gently bite down. You’ll need to apply just the right amount of force.”
“Siri has explained it to me.”
Ryan looked at her. Her eyes were a vivid deep violet color. “I just want this to go as smoothly as possible,” Ryan said. “And I’ll only be able to give you a pint of my blood.”
Calida frowned. “You’ll just have to get me more. Siri has told me that there will always be enough.”
“Okay, but we need to start off slow to see what your needs are.”
“Seems like poor planning for a bunch of scientists,” Calida said in a light, mocking tone. “If you want to keep a vampire caged you’ll have to feed her.”
“Then don’t be difficult.”
Calida moved forward and started to gently mouth the feeding valve. She kept her eyes on Ryan who turned away and looked at Siri.
“We can get started,” he said. “Siri, connect me.”
“All right.” Siri walked over to Ryan and took hold of his left arm. She opened up the IV needle from a sterilization pouch, rubbed the injection site on his skin with alcohol, and inserted the needle. She then connected the line from the feeding station. “You’re all set.”
“Don’t be nervous,” Calida said. “Your heart is so fast.”
Ryan could feel his heart racing. Calida’s senses were extraordinary. “I’m not nervous,” he said, and entered a command on the laptop’s keyboard, made another mistake and again reentered. Both of the small pumps began to slowly turn and blood began to travel from his arm up to the small reservoir above the pumps. All three watched as the reservoir began to fill with his blood.
Ryan nodded at Calida who surprisingly moved her lips away from the feeding valve. She reached out with her right hand and pinched the valve with her fingers. Blood began its journey from the reservoir, around the circulating pump heads, and down the tube on her sid
e of the plexiglas.
“Uh, what are you doing?” he asked.
Calida moved closer to the plastic valve and watched as blood began to drip out. She then opened her mouth and allowed several drops to land on her tongue which she slowly smeared against her upper lip.
“Hmm . . . I was wrong about you,” Calida said. “You’re actually kind of sweet. Salty and sweet.”
“Calida, please,” Siri said.
Calida’s eyes became deep violet and she reached up and wrapped her left hand around the feeding tube.
“You can start anytime now,” Ryan said, growing impatient.
Calida took the entire valve assembly into her mouth and carefully bit down. She began to feed, yet she never took her eyes off Ryan who could see her throat muscles swallow once every minute or so. The feeding went on for a while with the only sound being the low electric hum of the pumps. Ryan began to relax. Calida rested her hands on the inside of her thighs and gently rocked back and forth, but her eyes stayed locked on his.
Ryan felt himself being shaken. He turned away from Calida and noticed that Siri’s lips were moving.
“Ryan . . . the alarm?”
“Huh?”
“The alarm.”
“Oh. Yes. The alarm.” An electronic beep announced that the target volume had been delivered. Ryan reached forward and shut off the delivery valve. He glanced at the laptop’s display and realized that he had gone past the one pint target volume by two ounces.
Calida kept the valve in her mouth for several more minutes. She gave a final hard suck and tilted her head back. A drop of blood escaped from the right corner of her mouth and ran down her chin.
“So, who’s next?”
Siri removed the IV from Ryan’s arm and disconnected the needle from the tube.
“How much more do you need?” Siri asked.
“The same.”
“All right,” Siri said. “Um, Ryan, let me sit down in that chair and you can help me—”
“No, Siri,” Calida said. “I don’t want to think of you as food.”
“But I am?” asked Ryan.
“You just were . . . what you did for me was sweet, and I’m not only talking about your blood. I guess I should say thank you.”
American Blood: A Vampire's Story Page 7