Symbiosis: A Vampire Psycho-Thriller

by Louise Atkins

  ‘They’ll step in when the time’s right,’ someone replied to a comment about them. ‘They might make it worse if they wade in too. Another element in there.’

  Emily couldn’t see how it could get much worse. Lucas was safe at home, she kept reminding herself. He was safe. She was ashamed that her first thoughts had been for him. What of Simon? He was there. She was surprised how much that upset her, scared her.

  It was the first sign of fire that changed everything. It was the added level of violence needed to actually stop the fight.

  ‘Bastards. Worthless, evil bastards.’ That came from one of the layout team. A vampire, she was sure. ‘Those shits at RAGE are going to have a lot to answer for. Fire. No vampire can survive that.’

  ‘No human either,’ someone else added. ‘Don’t forget that.’

  The end came quickly after that. The Security Forces stepped in. Sirens sounded even louder than the cries of the dispersing mob. And then, it was finished. It appeared arrests were made. The crowd was allowed to escape, on foot, the less fortunate ones in hospital transport. But all were moved on. The Security Forces saw to that. No one was permitted to linger.

  It took half an hour for the journalists to return. Simon was not the first back. A couple of his colleagues arrived, one had a cut to his forehead, another a bruise appearing over his right eye; that one had cracked knuckles too, defending himself, or so he claimed. Emily tried not to eye the door too often as those already back exchanged stories.

  ‘Two human deaths. Unsure how many vamps dead. Dead again, I mean.’ Simon’s words silenced the room. ‘We’ll have to wait for the missing persons there. And, look at my souvenir.’

  He held something up for them all to see. Emily’s relief at seeing him return, apparently unharmed, was tempered, yet again, by disgust at his attitude. What he’d returned with was a mask. A hideous caricature of a vampire, complete with a pale face and fangs that dripped moulded blood.

  ‘All the members of RAGE were wearing these. A lovely touch of irony, I’d say. I got this one from one of the men they arrested. Said I could keep it. Make a great picture of the front cover.’

  ‘I’ll be the judge of that.’ Bernstein’s voice cut across them. ‘Enough of this. The story’s here. Get to work.’

  Forty One

  What an unexpected boost to my cause. A lucky break some might say.

  Was I there at the riot? Of course I was. Did I intend to be there? Of course I did.

  And the masks – what a perfect touch. Hid me, just as their fire hid my work. Not all of those vampires killed tonight burnt to ashes. Oh no. I was there to help some of them along. How many were mine? I lost count. Carless, but killing was simply too easy tonight.

  Perhaps though, my greatest pleasure this evening has been in the feeling of solidarity. In not working alone for a change, having the company of others who feel as I do. Should I recruit them you wonder? No need. I am more than capable of completing this work on my own. And besides, why would I want to share the glory that will rightfully come my way?

  Forty Two

  Lucas stepped off the tram, his senses informing him he was the only one of his kind there. Moving along the platform, Lucas took a seat on a bench that faced the middle portion of any tram as it drew up. He noted the Security Forces officer, trying to look invisible at the far end of the platform. They seemed to be everywhere since last week’s ‘RAGE riot’ as it had become known in the press. Not quite the same as what his kind were referring to it as – the RAGE massacre. Sixty-seven vampires were gone.

  As he’d expected, the response of the government had been carefully staged – enough outrage and condemnation as was proper and the promise of an investigation to be launched. It had been tempered, of course, with the usual reminders of freedom of speech.

  Lucas supposed he’d been lucky. He’d escaped to the edge of the mob before the fires were started. Gabriel too had come out of the whole thing unharmed and had proudly announced he’d been in the thick of it – yet had somehow emerged without a mark to be seen. He’d even claimed it to be one of his best evenings out ever. That was until he had been told that one of his personal army of champagne waitresses was missing, assumed deceased.

  He pushed thoughts of it away because today it couldn’t matter, as Emily didn’t know he’d even been there. An image of her popped into his head. It was from the night they’d gone to Bar One. The turn of her head, eyes wide, teeth just catching her bottom lip as she turned back to him at Security Forces House; the way her eyes had lost their life-sparkle when she’d mentioned Moonshine; his last picture of her that night, looking up from something in her hands, then waving goodbye. He could add to that mental album now. He conjured the intensity of her gaze as he’d tucked that strand of hair into her hat. Where had he found the courage to do that? His brain then offered him her look of surprise when he’d put his arms around her on the ice rink. He supposed he’d taken advantage of a cliché but it had felt good, even if only briefly.

  Lucas was sure that she wanted to be just friends. But then, what did he want? What could there possibly be between them? She was human. He was a vampire. Yes it happened, but it rarely had good consequences. That she was almost definitely unaware that he wasn’t her kind was obvious. How did he casually drop that into the conversation? It shouldn’t matter, but somehow it did.

  And, what about her boyfriend? She hadn’t mentioned him and there was no way Lucas was going to bring that up. There was little hope that they’d split up since they’d last met, was there?

  He wanted to see her. He wanted to see her without wondering about the consequences. If he were Gabriel, he would meet her, seduce her, savour her and then move on, dismiss what he at least felt they’d shared that Friday night in Moonshine.

  Was his plan for their second meeting just a stupid mistake? Ignoring that thought as best he could, Lucas took a second to be still. To dissect off the metal smell of the tram, the scents of the other humans that jostled at him. He was certain he could find Emily that way now. But that element of her essence which really drew him, that had indeed given him the idea for this day out, was not there. That note of freshness, of wide skies simply wasn’t there.

  He wrapped his coat more closely around himself, glad that the day had been blessed by being so overcast that lights had been necessary even when his alarm had gone off at midday. It suited him perfectly, although it was hardly ideal for where they were headed.

  He’d fortified himself as best he could and WeatherNet had informed him that any bursts of sunlight that might be strong enough to harm him, simply were not a possibility. His preparations had involved two visits to the Donation Centre, one the previous night and one already this morning. A fresh feed was always the most potent and would sustain him well. That she made him so hungry worried him. And sickened him. And excited him.

  Checking the display board, he saw the next tram was due in three minutes. If she was on any of the next three trams, she’d be early too. Was that a good sign? What if she wasn’t on any of them?

  Three minutes changed to two. Lucas watched the tick down of the seconds. She wouldn’t be on this one, she wouldn’t.

  He rose. Just in case. The tram doors opened, spilled out more humans with their warm blood, their beating hearts and their life. Again, he sampled the air while the people cleared. Nothing. No. There. He turned, eyes scanning. There. She had arrived.

  She hadn’t seen him. She had on the long black coat that she’d been wearing the very first time he saw her. He knew she hadn’t been wearing it on that Friday. There was something pleasing in that; it completed a circle.

  In the end, they met somewhere in the middle. Most of the other people had moved on. Lucas had stood and she had turned in the right direction, and so, they had met.

  ‘Glad to see you’re wearing your hat. You’ll need it today,’ Lucas said.

  ‘I’ve not taken it off. Obviously I have, but, you know what I mean. Where are we going? I�
�ve been trying to guess,’ Emily replied.

  ‘You won’t.’ The security of knowing she’d not be able to leant him confidence, and confirmed his choice.

  ‘Do you want to hear my guesses?’

  ‘I’d love to, but we need to walk to another tram stop. Other side of the Entertainment District.’

  ‘Hmm. Interesting.’

  They fell into step easily and, as she reeled off her suggestions, Lucas felt himself relax. He was surprised at some of her choices – how close they’d been to the several hundred back-up plans that he’d actually made.

  ‘Art gallery was certainly high on the list,’ he admitted. ‘I’ve a friend who owns one.’ He didn’t add that taking her there in the daytime was also the best way to avoid Gabriel at this stage.

  ‘I’m impressed.’

  ‘Maybe I’ll take you another time,’ Lucas said.

  ‘I’ll hold you to that.’

  As they stepped onto the platform on the next tram station, Lucas allowed himself a long, long look to fully hold her in his mind. She was looking around, curiosity drawing up the corner of her smile. Her hair was tied back. He wanted to release it and let its smooth shine rub off onto his fingers. He imagined its silkiness to be the texture of his photographic paper, the expensive, quality pages, the pages he reserved for his best images. Her neck was protected by a patterned scarf; he wanted to unwind it and then wrap them both into it.

  Stop. Just stop. He shut his eyes at the effort of it.

  And realised that she was talking to him:

  ‘I’ve never been to this tram stop before.’

  ‘Lucky you. It goes north,’ Lucas said, gaining control once more.

  ‘What? To the Manufacturing District?’

  ‘Yep.’

  ‘We’re not going to see your factory, are we?’

  ‘No, definitely not. I wouldn’t do that to you.’

  ‘Where are we going then?’

  Did he detect an edge to her voice? Was she worried?

  ‘Are you all right?’ Emily said, and touched his arm. He looked down at her hand on his sleeve and then full into her face. Brown eyes, set between long lashes, cheeks flushed from the cold, her breath grew from her lips. He was careful to breathe into himself the air that contained her. She dropped her eyes, but not her hand.

  ‘Sorry. Yes. I’m fine. I was just worried that you might be worried.’

  ‘Me?’

  ‘About where we’re going. I suppose it doesn’t really need to be a secret, but …’

  ‘I trust you,’ Emily interrupted.

  It was a simple answer. And as he turned his eyes to meet the uplift of hers, he saw that it was genuine.

  ‘There’s plenty of people where we’re going. Maybe not plenty, but people. You’ll be safe.’ His words seemed to be marching out on their own accord, yet his eyes were still held, were still holding hers.

  ‘I trust you,’ she repeated. ‘I know it’s stupid, I hardly know you but,’ she hesitated. ‘But that night, in Moonshine, you saved me.’

  ‘Saved you?’

  ‘I sometimes, I …’ she began, and then seemed to change her mind. ‘I can’t explain it really. It doesn’t make any sense. It’s just,’ she shrugged, ‘I know I can trust you. There’s something about this, about that Friday, about seeing you again at Security Forces House that way. It’s kind of like fate, or something. Despite everything.’

  She took a step back and turned her attention to the tram board.

  ‘You probably think I’m completely mad now.’ She did not look back at him.

  ‘No. Of course not.’ But why wasn’t he going to admit that he shared that sense? That he’d been building it for longer than she could possibly know? Far longer than he could ever tell her.

  What he offered was:

  ‘Here comes the tram.’

  He swiped his credits card twice before she could protest, and they selected seats on the right hand side. She sat next to the window and the whole of his left side rested against her, her human warmth a blaze through their clothing. The contact they’d had at the skating rink had hinted that she could unlock this heat within him. He’d been this close to humans before, closer even, and never been affected like this. He fought the urge to move nearer and instead, shifted slightly away.

  ‘I think you’ve been lying to me,’ Emily said, looking back at him from the window. Only the slight smile and the way she cocked her head at him prevented an indignant reaction.

  ‘And why is that?’ He managed to return, glad he hadn’t fallen into the trap she was laying when she said,

  ‘I think you are actually taking me to this factory you’re working on, only you didn’t want to say anything until we were on the tram in case I refused to go.’

  ‘Spot on. How did you guess?’

  Now his smile echoed hers.

  ‘You can see it,’ Lucas said. ‘We’ll go past. There’s a tram stop right by it, if you did want to get off …’

  ‘I might pass on that one today.’

  ‘Fine by me.’

  ‘Is that what you were doing this morning?’ Emily asked.

  ‘This morning?’

  ‘At work, you know, this morning, why we didn’t meet until now.’

  ‘Yes.’ Technically it wasn’t a lie; he had been working on it after midnight, which was morning. ‘I finally got it sorted. I think. I hope.’

  They’d been through three tram stops already. Lucas knew there were five more until they reached the end of the line.

  ‘And there it is.’ He reached across her to point out the factory and tried to view it, and its surroundings with her fresh eyes.

  When this district had been built, it had gleamed. He’d seen it. The factories had been like palaces, their potential harnessed inside perfect steel. At first those who had survived had had to use old power plants; in those days the immune had simply needed to function. There’d been no energy, no desire either to rebuild. His kind had brought that. The knowledge, gathered by eyes far older than his, eyes that had seen so many trends come and go, had been able to analyse the best of what had once been. Analyse and use that to persuade, to rekindle passion in humans. The passion to live once more, inspired by the dead.

  And so, the redesigning had begun. He’d been forced to be part of it. He knew, although none of the Committee had ever had the courage to properly confirm it, that that was the main reason why he’d been changed. He’d resisted. The same way he’d resisted everything at first. His depression at his loss had made him so strong in his rejections. But, it had proved futile. The Committee had forced him to be involved.

  The factories powered on. The tram showed gaps between them wide enough for massive transport vehicles, but from the tram, the toppling height of the buildings dwarfed the roads into alleys.

  ‘This place is amazing. I’ve never been here before. What does your factory do?’ Emily cut across his musing, and they were past. Onto the next production giant.

  ‘One of the ones I work on regularly is a water plant. Cleans, recycles, sterilises. All the things needed to keep us alive and healthy.’

  ‘Good.’

  ‘You approve?’

  ‘I approve,’ she said with a nod. ‘You may continue to design. Tell me about it.’

  ‘The factory?’

  ‘Yes, and your job, other stuff you’ve done.’

  ‘Are you sure? None of it’s very interesting.’

  So he did. Carefully. He told the truth about most of the projects he’d worked on. Told the truth and only lied by omission, by missing out when he’d actually worked on some of the projects. She listened. Asked intelligent questions too.

  The tram slowed.

  ‘We need to change here.’ Lucas said. He got up, thought about offering her his hand, but didn’t.

  ‘Change?’ she queried, standing beside him.

  ‘Yes. I’ll explain when we’re off.’

  They let the factory workers off first. Lucas was surpris
ed to see many non-workers, like themselves. They were, of course, all headed in the same direction as them. Where else would they be going?

  ‘This way,’ he directed as they stepped off the tram. He had to admit, he was enjoying the confused look on Emily’s face. He laughed a little, just inside and realised how good that felt, how it lightened his heart.

  ‘We’ve come to the most northerly edge of the world that I know, and you say we still need change trams. I give up. Where are we going?’

  Lucas stopped and turned to face her. This was as far as she’d ever been. His incredulity faded as quickly as it had surfaced. Why should he be so surprised? Her world was small, defined by society, limited by time. She was lucky. Was it for him to break that?

  ‘What’s the matter?’ Again, she raised a hand to his arm.

  ‘It’s just that, that I’m not sure now if we should go.’

  ‘No. I want to. Wherever it is.’

  ‘It’s not horrible or anything.’ Lucas offered, more to himself than for her.

  ‘Is it where the other people from the tram are going?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Then it must be okay. It’s sort of,’ she paused, as if searching for the right word, ‘exciting. Life is short. Rachel’s …’ Again she paused, eyed the pavement and then looked back at him with tear-glassed eyes. ‘That Friday showed me that, and maybe what happened at Security Forces House too. Us meeting. The coincidence of it …’

  Her words, the mention of what had drawn them together, hung between them. Not a barrier; it was almost a beacon, drawing them to the same shore. Lucas nodded, tried to read her heart in her eyes. Tears filled them, but she blinked fiercely at them and then smiled.

  ‘Okay. Let’s go,’ he said.

  They moved off again. And, because it felt like the right thing to do, Lucas took her hand. When she didn’t object, he wished he could melt away her gloves to have her skin next to his. He checked himself before that thought went any further.