by Cas Martin
‘Thank you, that’s very kind.’
‘You’re welcome. It’s the least I can do.’
‘Right, let’s get this show on the road, shall we?’ Decision made, Elizabeth rolled up her other sleeve. ‘I presume you are capable of doing this?’
‘Normally a nurse would do it, to maintain our protocol with any live volunteers. But you’re correct, I am more than capable of getting blood from a human,’ he said with a smile.
‘I’ll take that as the joke it’s meant to be, rather than kill you now then,’ Elizabeth smiled back. His eyes went wide and Monica looked away to hide the smile of her own.
She crossed the room and pretended to look at posters of the human muscular-skeletal system while Harlan prepared to take the blood. She needed the distance.
Despite the promises she had made about not taking advantage of a blood bond between them, to deny its existence was a lie. It wasn’t a form of ownership, but at times like this it might as well be. She knew that if she saw Harlan draw blood, even in a scientific manner by needle, instinct would kick in. Possessive aggression would rise within her and Harlan would feel it, even if Elizabeth didn’t. If that happened, then he might realise that last night was not the first time. He was a smart man, more than capable of making that link.
If he did, then that would be another mark against Elizabeth. She was putting herself in enough danger without people believing they had a regular thing going on.
She feigned interest in an unfathomable piece of equipment as Harlan lined up five test tubes with purple lids. ‘I’ll mark the labels with ‘Subject A’. I can’t leave them blank. It could lead to confusion. I can’t risk having unidentified test tubes lying around, but this will be meaningless to anyone other than the three of us. Any objections?’
‘No,’ said Elizabeth before Monica could respond. She looked resigned to whatever happened next, but stoic as well.
‘Right, that should be everything,’ said Harlan and snapped on a pair of rubber gloves. ‘Are you ready Miss Hastings?’
‘As I’ll ever be.’
‘If it hurts too much, or you feel faint at any time, then let me know.’ Harlan wrapped a tourniquet around the top of her arm and squeezed at the pump until her veins started to pop.
Monica watched his face for even the slightest hint of bloodlust. There was nothing. He was the consummate professional. She turned away again. The man worked with blood every day of his life. It stood to reason that he would have developed a certain detachment to it by now.
Monica couldn’t help it as her eyes were instinctively pulled back. Harlan sterilised the soft flesh and slid the needle in. Elizabeth didn’t even wince. He picked up the first container and clipped it onto the back of the needle. As blood began to fill up the glass container Monica knew she should look away. Memory rose within in her, more than just her mind. In her veins.
She looked up to find Elizabeth staring back at her. Her face gave nothing away.
As Harlan popped off the glass vial and put it into the rack, Monica gritted her teeth. She forced her feet to remain rooted to the spot. It was unnatural to watch another vampire take the blood of someone who belonged to you. Monica knew she shouldn’t feel that way, would never voice the thought out loud, but it was there.
All Monica could do was stand and watch while she was put through the most exquisite torture.
If Harlan noticed any change he didn’t show it. Not a single glance in her direction until it was all over. He slid the needle out and placed a small square of gauze over the tiny hole that remained. ‘Press on that for a few minutes while I dispose of this correctly.’
Monica watched as he put the needle in the sharps bin and snapped off his gloves. There was no blood on them. That made her feel calmer.
Certain she could breathe again, she walked over to Elizabeth and placed a hand on her back. ‘How are you feeling? Not too light headed?’
‘No, I’m fine.’
‘I wasn’t sure. I didn’t know how much I’d taken last night.’ Monica heard the guilt in her voice. ‘How’s the bleeding? Has it stopped?’
Elizabeth peeled back the square of gauze to reveal a small red-brown stain. The puncture wound was visible, but didn’t fill with blood again.
‘Back to normal.’
‘Do you want Harlan to find out why last night was different? I know he’s looking for something else, but he might find something?’
‘I’m not sure.’
‘It might be useful in case you ever get bitten by someone other than me.’
‘If that happens I’ll be as good as dead anyway. The chances of it happening voluntarily are slim to none. I can tell you that now.’
‘You told me that you’d never let me bite you again, but that still happened.’
‘That was different. It can’t happen again. Once we sort this out, I expect you to do better at keeping yourself away from death’s door,’ she smiled to soften the words, but Monica could tell that she meant it. A favour too many in their friendship.
‘I’ll do my very best, I promise.’
‘Good. If Harlan spots something, then by all means let me know. But if he doesn’t notice anything unusual, then let’s keep it between us, okay?’
‘Deal.’
Monica stepped back as Harlan returned with a tray of equipment. ‘So, what’s the plan?’ she asked.
‘I will start with the simple and the obvious. In my experience, you should never make things more complicated than they need to be just for the sake of it.’
‘For us non-brainiacs?’
‘I have two samples of infected blood here. I’ll add human blood to one and Subject A’s blood to another. Then I’ll check for noticeable differences in the way they mix. If there are none, then I will have to consider other options. I’ll know within the hour.’ He moved with quiet confidence, ensuring there was no cross-contamination between the samples. One bottle was labelled ‘CONTROL’ in thick black letters. That bottle would remain untouched unless there was a problem. It would just sit there, unused, until this whole thing was over. Then it would be destroyed.
For some reason that bottle bothered her.
An hour would be worth the wait. Then she would have no choice but to return. Until then, she couldn’t sit there and do nothing but stare at blood. ‘Anyone want a coffee?’ she asked.
‘No thank you,’ said Harlan, scraping a spatula backwards and forwards across a Petri dish. ‘No caffeine. Don’t want the shakes.’
‘Elizabeth?’
‘A coffee would be great. Maybe something to eat as well if you don’t mind?’ She stifled a yawn. ‘Whatever there is.’
‘Do you want to come for a walk with me? Get some fresh air.’
‘No thanks, I’ll stay here. Maybe once I’ve had something to eat.’ Elizabeth smiled and Monica guessed she wasn’t ready to leave Harlan alone with her blood. She didn’t trust him yet.
Monica felt a surge of relief as she closed the door behind her and went to find the cafe.
She ordered the drinks and a ham and cheese croissant for Elizabeth then sat down. Part of her wanted to rush back, but the other part relished the freedom.
Although she only allowed herself a twenty minute reprieve, when she swiped back into the room she could sense that something had changed. Elizabeth still sat on the stool, but she looked more alert now. Harlan moved backwards and forwards between microscopes with a nervous energy.
‘What did I miss?’
‘Unbelievable,’ Harlan muttered, but it was to himself rather than in answer to the question. Monica looked over at Elizabeth who shrugged.
‘He just keeps saying that. I presume that means he’s found something.’
‘I can hear you,’ Harlan said distractedly, ‘I need to process this myself first.’ He scribbled some notes on a legal pad next to the first microscope and braced himself against the workbench. ‘I can’t believe it.’
‘What have you found?’ asked Monica. Sh
e didn’t have time for this.
‘See for yourself.’ He pointed in the direction of the first microscope. ‘That is infected blood combined with regular human blood. The pathogen is the thing that looks like a spaceship, for want of a better description. As you can see, it has crisp clear edges. It works by inserting the long thin end of itself into our haemoglobin molecules and renders them useless. Now look at this slide.’
He led them to the second microscope. Monica leaned in to take a look. ‘In here, I would expect to see exactly the same thing. Elizabeth’s blood should produce the same results. Can you see the pathogen?’
‘Um, no?’ Monica tried to remember what it had looked like.
‘Exactly. It started out the same. But for some reason, it attacked Elizabeth’s cells in the same way as a vampire's. It doesn’t leave them alone like other human cells.’
‘What? Are you saying I could have the infection?’ Elizabeth grabbed him and he shrank back.
‘Sorry, I didn’t make myself clear. But yes, you may have been infected when Monica fed from you. But it doesn’t matter.’
‘How can it not matter if it attacks my cells in the same way it attacks yours?’
‘Because yours fight back.’
‘What?’
‘There is something different about you on a cellular level. The pathogen knows that and targets you as a non-human. Your immune system responds and destroys it. All I need to do now is isolate that function. Then I can multiply it and produce a powerful vaccine. Miss Hastings?’ She hadn’t let go of his collar but she didn’t share his joy at the discovery.
‘I don’t understand. Why does it think I’m a non-human?’ There was panic in her voice. Monica understood what she was afraid of.
‘I don’t think he’s saying you’re not human, are you Harlan?’
‘No. Sorry. Oh dear. Not at all. You must remember that on a cellular level, everyone is different. You are rare. Probably not unique, but certainly rare. Whoever manufactured this disease would not have had access to blood like yours. The pathogen was designed to work in a very specific way. It does not account for alternatives.’
‘So I am completely human?’
‘Yes. I apologise for scaring you.’
‘Thank god.’ Elizabeth let him go at last and sat down on the stool with a thump.
‘I really am sorry. It never crossed my mind that it would be a concern of yours.’
‘It didn’t cross mine either until it became a possibility.’
‘You need to eat something.’ Monica handed her the croissant. ‘And a cup of coffee to warm you up. So what happens next?’
Harlan closed his eyes. She wondered what calculations whirred in his brain. ‘By the morning I should have something of a prototype. Then I have to test it works.’
‘How?’
‘Come back with someone who is sick and willing to take a chance. It will either cure them or kill them quicker than the decline itself.’
‘People may be happy with either option. We’ll head back to New York. Elizabeth, you’re coming with me,’ she held her hand up as Elizabeth began to object. ‘I know I said the choice was yours but you need to rest. You need to eat and sleep. You can go back to your hotel, or you can stay in my apartment if that makes you feel safer. There is always a guard outside the door. I don’t mind. Then the plane can bring back an infected volunteer and we can see if this vaccine works.’
‘But what about…?’ Elizabeth looked over at the table where the vials stood in a neat little row.
‘Most of your blood will actually be destroyed as part of the process,’ Harlan confirmed. ‘It will exist as a series of separate compounds, none of which can be put back together again.’
‘What if you need more?’
‘If I’m close to the answer, then I may use the control bottle. If that still isn’t enough then we may need to rethink the strategy anyway. Monica will have to make that decision.’
He could give no more of a guarantee than that.
‘Which I hope doesn’t happen,’ said Monica, the excitement of the find starting to wear off a little now that there was a caveat suddenly placed on its potential. ‘But, if it does, then we’ll have to do something about it. I hate having to make tough decision, but it’s hardly as if I’m a stranger to them, is it?’
‘Okay,’ Elizabeth finally nodded. ‘I’ll go back. I’ll stay at my hotel room and catch up on some sleep.’
‘I’ll send a guard anyway and have him booked into the next room. He can stay nearby until dawn and then have a place to rest during the day.’
‘You don’t have to do that.’
‘The least I can do is offer you some protection.’
‘Thank you.’
‘We should be the ones doing the thanking here. You’ve got us that much closer to saving hundreds of lives. You’ve already saved one. There is nothing you need to thank anyone for.’
‘Just promise me…’ Elizabeth trailed off and Monica knew what she was asking.
‘I will,’ Monica nodded.
46
He walked up from the subway and out into the cool night air, not as far away from home as he would like. Garth felt his feet move him towards his destination while his mind turned the facts over and over. His recent conversations with Elizabeth had him worried. She’d told him not to and that had somehow made it worse.
It wasn’t that he distrusted Monica. Well, he still did, just a little, but that wasn’t his main concern. Monica was open about who she was and what she would do to protect her family. She never lied, not as far as he knew. That didn’t mean Elizabeth wasn’t in danger. She wasn’t his family, but the allegiance between them was about as close as he would ever get. If Monica could do what it took to protect hers, then he would do whatever he could to protect his.
It was this decision that had got him up from his bed that evening and out into the street. The den he had discovered would be the tip of the iceberg. There had to be more of them. More vampires spreading the disease and with it came the risk to humans as well as themselves. The more dangerous and out of hand this got, the greater risk to those who knew of them. Right now, that was still a short list and he knew Elizabeth was at the top of it.
He had two twenty dollar bills in the back pocket of his jeans. That was all. He didn’t know if the price went up on your return visit but he wasn’t taking any chances. They wouldn’t get any more out of him than he could afford to pay. He wasn’t planning to use anything at all, but he wasn’t a fool. He knew that money would have to exchange hands tonight if he was just going to get his foot through the door.
Shonda and her cronies could take the bag if they wanted it once he’d got his information.
As he turned down the street, no one came to accost him this time. It crossed his mind that maybe, just maybe, he should have told someone where he was going and what he was planning to do. A quiet voice at the back of his mind had warned him not to. Elizabeth had enough to worry about. It was his job to be concerned for her right now, not the other way around. He would take the fury that would come his way. Once he had what he needed and the two of them were okay.
He banged on the door and it was no surprise that Shonda opened it a few seconds later. She was in charge here, as much as any human could be. He noticed she had a black eye and found himself oddly unmoved by it. There was a time when he would have been incensed by any vampire-related injury inflicted. But Shonda wasn’t unsuspecting. She wasn’t an innocent victim who didn’t see it coming.
Garth tried hard not to examine his feelings as he stepped over the threshold and into the darkness of the hallway. Tonight he would try to find out more. A different room, a different group of people. The more information he could get the better.
A cough behind him made him turn around. Shonda was looking at him expectantly. ‘Oh yeah. Right.’ He dug into his pocket and handed her the twenty. She took it and shuffled off into another room. Alone in the hallway, he looked around.
The wallpaper was faded and cracked, curled and damp in the corners. Whoever owned the building obviously saw no need to do any maintenance. Garth wasn’t sure he would either in the circumstances. The yellow of tobacco smoke stained every surface, mixed in with traces of other substances no doubt. The building reflected its occupants like a mirror.
Shonda returned, dangling a small baggie between her bony fingers. A small, smug smile graced her lips and he knew what she thought. That they had him. He was happy for her to live with that illusion. ‘Well? Are you staying?’ It was hardly an invitation but for a second he considered walking out the door again rather than heading deeper into the lion’s den. He forced himself to nod.
She shrugged as there was another knock on the front door. ‘If you’re staying, then get the hell out of the hallway. Come find me when you need some more.’ With that she was pressed up against the peephole, ready to receive the next lost soul to come walking through her door.
With her back turned, Garth took the opportunity to climb the stairs. The next floor had three rooms from what he could recall on his disoriented sojourn to the bathroom last time. One of them would be a better place to start.
The bag in his hand felt like a time bomb waiting to go off. He felt it there and knew how dangerous and powerful it was. But he held on tight. It gave him legitimacy in a place like this. He needed to blend in when he didn’t know exactly what he might find.
As he reached the top step, he saw an open doorway in front of him. There were people in there, bodies lying around in the darkness. Unlike the downstairs room that he had been sent into last time, this one had no couches, only a king size bed in the middle of the room. Three people lay on it talking. Another two sat on the floor. He couldn’t tell if they were just listening or if the glazed look in their eyes meant they were on the other side of euphoria and blasting towards oblivion.
There were other rooms he could choose, but he decided to be bold. If there was a hierarchy, some kind of twisted rule system, then he was sure someone would tell him soon enough if he crossed a line. Until then, he would simply watch and wait. He took a step inside the room and stopped, his eyes adjusting to the darkness. ‘Mind if I join you?’ he asked. The back of his neck was already tingling. Not one vamp, but two. Neither of them were ones he had seen before. The female one waved him in and pointed to an empty chair in the corner. He took that to mean it was fine.