Symbiosis: A Vampire Psycho-Thriller

by Louise Atkins

  ‘Emily, it’s Theo Linton at Premier.’ Theo was one of her regulars.

  ‘Hi Theo. You’ll have to get in quick; we’re nearly full for this edition.’ They weren’t, not yet, but he wasn’t to know that.

  ‘I heard this was another one of your special editions.’

  ‘No, no. Just our regular publication date.’

  ‘Come on, Emily, you know it’s a bit more than that.’

  ‘What makes you think that?’ she asked.

  ‘Got a message from someone at your office actually.’

  ‘Really?’

  ‘Absolutely. Said I needed to get into this issue or I’d miss out.’

  Was this some sort of loyalty test from Bernstein? Or even Simon? Was he trying to get her the sack?

  She glanced around her, eyes narrowed. Where was he? Not at his desk. He could have made a call like that from anywhere. Test or not, she would be careful.

  ‘So, did this mysterious caller say what this edition was about?’ She asked, eyes still roving the office.

  ‘Nope, wouldn’t say anything more than this was the best edition yet.’ Sounded like Simon for sure, and yet, suddenly she realised the truth of those words. They were leading with an amazing piece of news. Speculation? Possibly, but the Security Forces knew and weren’t stopping them.

  Emily sat more upright in her chair; she was part of this, and this might be what was needed to end the murders.

  ‘Sounds like a good tip off to me,’ said Emily, picking her words carefully.

  ‘Tell me a bit more about it then,’ Theo said.

  ‘Can’t. Sworn to secrecy. If I told you, I’d lose my job.’

  ‘Just hint. I’ve been advertising with your paper for years …’

  ‘I know. But I still can’t tell you any details. Let’s just say, whoever gave you the message knew what they were talking about. How’s that?’

  ‘Nothing more?’

  ‘Nothing more.’

  ‘Okay, I suppose. We want a whole page spread.’

  ‘Can’t do it, I’m afraid.’

  ‘Too full already?’ Theo asked. She could hear the incredulity in his voice, tempered with eagerness. A memo from Bernstein had informed her that no one was allowed to run a full pager in order to get in as many different advertisers as possible. And, of course, their rates had increased. Emily knew she’d be negotiating with Theo over that one, but she had to play the game. For all she knew, Bernstein and Simon were listening in on her. ‘Training purposes’ taken a little too far.

  ‘Only room for a half page at best.’ She trotted out the line.

  After telling him the prices, haggling to a level that was still way above normal rates, Emily hung up and turned to her computer once more.

  Just in the time of that phone call, three new adverts had been sent – all from deals on the phone that morning.

  Emily worked, chasing up more calls, sorting what she’d already had for the rest of the day. She surveyed the call log. Despite all that she’d managed to clear, Amanda was going to be in for a busy evening. Thirty minutes to go.

  And yet, it seemed she was going to be thwarted at the last moment. As soon as the vampire staff arrived, they were whisked into the staff room for a repeat of the briefing that morning. All she wanted to do was get out of there.

  Eventually, Amanda arrived.

  ‘That was some welcome,’ she said. ‘I could have done without the Bernstein boasting session to start my day.’

  ‘It’s all a bit much – all this ‘the paper’s greatest moment’ stuff,’ Emily replied.

  ‘All totally over the top if you ask me. My advice to you – don’t take it all too seriously, Emily. This’ll only be our greatest edition so far until the next greatest edition so far comes out. They’ll catch the chap in the end. Take it from me, I’ve seen it all before.’

  Emily looked at Amanda in surprise. It was too easy to forget sometimes that Amanda had lived almost twice as long as she had. ‘Just take it easy. Go home, open some wine, relax.’

  Shrugging her coat on, Emily realised she was tired. She’d not stopped, and the emotions of the previous week had drained her. Wishing the situation were different did not help. But tonight, perhaps with that prescribed glass of wine, she might sleep.

  Bidding Amanda goodnight, Emily left for home.

  Fifty Three

  Rumour was Emily’s greeting at work on Friday morning. Had she heard? One of the journalists, Simon Jones, had been arrested in connection with the HeadHunter case. Did she know anything? No, no, she didn’t know anything. Her shock was more genuine than anyone could have guessed at. There had been much public reaction to the paper’s revelation that the HeadHunter was also possibly responsible for the vampire deaths. Most of it demands to catch the murder. And that it was Simon who had broken the story now seemed even more significant.

  ‘Did you hear yet?’ Amanda demanded as Emily approached their desk.

  ‘Yes. Someone I don’t even know just told me.’

  ‘I can’t believe it,’ Amanda said.

  Emily followed Amanda’s gaze to Simon’s desk. For once, it showed no sign of use.

  ‘Are you all right, Em? You look a bit pale.’ Amanda asked. ‘Here, you might as well sit down – it’s all yours now anyway.’

  Emily sat.

  ‘I’m just a bit surprised. Shocked, I guess,’ she said.

  ‘Isn’t everyone? It’s a bit twisted – he came up with the nickname and everything.’

  ‘Do they definitely know it’s him?’ Emily’s words were hollow; she’d been right.

  ‘Don’t know. All anyone’s heard is that he’s been arrested in relation to the murders.’

  ‘That’s awful. I just can’t believe it.’

  The actual handover from Amanda was swift. No one was sure what Simon’s arrest would mean for the paper – increased readership or would the public shun them? Emily realised she didn’t care. Amanda’s parting words hung in her head:

  ‘Maybe we’ve all had a lucky escape.’

  Had she? Had there been signs and she’d simply missed them? Had Simon seeking her help the previous week been some sort of test? If she’d refused him, would he have killed her?

  No. It was unthinkable. There had to have been a mistake. Shrugging off a shiver, Emily turned to the computer screen, not really relishing a day of chasing clients, but desperately hoping there’d be enough to do to keep her mind fully focussed.

  One of the paper’s other journalists had been dispatched to Security Forces House to see what he could discover; he’d been refused any information. A rumour had buzzed around late in the day that even Bernstein couldn’t find anything out. The Net update that had been issued by the paper simply stated that Simon Jones was ‘helping the Security Forces with their enquiries.’

  At home that evening, Emily trawled the Net for everything she could gather about the HeadHunter. Nowhere could she find any mention of the numbers that had been discovered. She wasn’t sure if that was good or not. Had Simon, could Simon, have made it up in order to gauge her reaction? He had been so genuine, so horribly excited by what he’d found. And he’d trotted off to the Security Forces, schoolboy proud of his theory.

  Unless… the realisation twisted her insides further, unless he’d been meant to find it. It was possible that the Security Forces had been laying a trap. And Simon had walked straight into it. That would certainly go part of the way to explaining why he’d been given access to all the murder scenes.

  Emily scanned the list of dates of when the HeadHunter’s victims had been found. Had she been with Simon at any of those times? She just couldn’t be sure. Maybe she had. But then, Simon had been busy – investigating the missing vampires. She just didn’t know.

  Should she try to contact him?

  The question loomed large. She probably wouldn’t be able to. If he was under arrest, the Security Forces would have his phone – and – if he was simply helping with enquiries, then she had noth
ing to worry about, did she?

  When Emily checked her phone the following morning, there was a single message waiting for her. It was from Amanda. The latest update was that Simon had been released, but only on bail. What did that mean? Did they think he had done it? Bail didn’t mean he was free to go though, she was sure of that. Should she call him? What if the Security Forces were monitoring his calls? She did not want to get involved. What she needed was distraction.

  It turned out lunch with Sadie was exactly what she needed. Distraction, and eventually, confession. About Simon. About Lucas. Sadie had chided her for not saying something sooner, but how could she have when all their conversations had revolved around Rachel’s death for so long? Of which, there was still no news. They tentatively discussed the possibility that she had been the first victim of the HeadHunter. It was not a welcome thought.

  The late afternoon gloom had gathered, sending Sadie to meet her boyfriend and Emily, reluctantly home. Sadie had suggested that Emily join them, but even though she wasn’t looking forward to another evening on her own, she also had little desire to be reminded of what she no longer had.

  Her mobile rang not long after she got back.

  It was Simon.

  Her hand hovered over the phone. It continued to ring at her. Her lungs felt frozen, a battle to release the air captive inside her. Emily fought the urge to ignore it. He could still be testing her, and if he was guilty…

  ‘Hello?’ she said.

  ‘Emily, it’s Simon’

  ‘Where are you?’ she asked, non-committal.

  ‘Outside the newspaper building,’ Simon replied.

  ‘Not at Security Forces House then?’

  ‘No. I need to speak to Bernstein.’

  ‘I heard you got arrested.’ Emily tried to keep her voice level.

  ‘No. I was just helping with the inquiries. You know that. You know that, Emily.’

  ‘I heard you’re only out on bail.’

  ‘No. That’s not true.’

  ‘Then why are people saying it? Why did the Security Forces keep you overnight?’

  There was a pause. She could almost hear Simon catch his breath. She had to ask. Had to know, but still she chose her words carefully:

  ‘Do they think you did it?’

  The question hung there. It was all too unreal. What was she actually going to do if he said yes?

  ‘No. Do you?’

  ‘No.’ She managed it without the tell-tale hesitation that might give her away. How else could she answer? ‘Why did they keep you so long then?’

  ‘Any question of my involvement was irrelevant. I have witnesses to where I was on the murder nights.’

  ‘Then why didn’t they release you straight away?’

  ‘It was because of the quotes. They’ve accepted the idea of them being from RAGE. It was the one on the woman. I …’ Now he was hesitating she realised. ‘I wrote it. In RAGE.’

  ‘You write for RAGE?’

  ‘It’s a bit more than that.’ He paused. ‘I run it. It’s mine.’

  Silence. Cold, cold anger masked any fear she felt.

  ‘And you didn’t think to tell me this last week? You pretended not to know who the people were who’d written that rubbish, and yet one of them was you.’

  ‘I needed your help.’

  ‘You lied to me.’

  ‘No. No. It was just an… omission. I didn’t want you to hate me.’

  Emily let her silence answer that one. ‘Too late now I guess,’ he added.

  ‘Lying? Not telling the truth? An omission? What is it about me that people, men, just lie to me? First Lucas, and now you.’

  ‘It’s hardly the same thing. I’ve never lied to you about vampires. He conveniently forgot to tell you that he wasn’t alive anymore.’

  ‘You know the way I feel about RAGE.’

  ‘That was even more reason not to tell you. I wanted you to trust me again. I still care about you, Emily.’

  Neither of them spoke.

  ‘Not that that matters I suppose. In a competition with him, I’m already the loser.’

  ‘What do you mean by that?’

  ‘You chose him over me once, and I know it’s him you still want.’

  ‘I… I …’

  ‘Admit it, Emily. As soon as you met him, we were finished. You just didn’t have the guts to end it. And now this? You believed what everyone said about me. Did you really think I could have killed those people?’

  Her voice was too small, too shaky to be convincing. ‘No, I didn’t. Honestly, Simon.’ Fear wrung a small tear from her eye. ‘But, I don’t care for you in that way.’ She forced strength into her words. ‘I don’t want to be with you.’

  ‘I don’t know why you don’t just go to him.’ Simon’s voice was low, full of threat.

  ‘Who?’

  ‘Lucas. Your precious blood sucker.’

  ‘I don’t want him either. He lied to me.’

  Simon laughed, a harsh dry sound, rattling through the air waves. ‘You don’t care what he is. He’s probably even more perfect now you know he’s a vamp. I don’t even know why you stopped seeing him. You don’t really care that he lied to you. It doesn’t matter to you one bit. Go to him. But don’t come crying to me again when he’s messed your life up so much that you don’t even recognise yourself. Let’s hope he can protect you from whoever the HeadHunter actually is.’

  He hung up.

  Emily sat, rigid. Slowly her hand lowered the phone to the table. She felt detached from it. Looked at the mobile as if it were an alien object. She drew in a ragged breath, blew it out. Dragged in another, and another until her heart stopped banging so painfully.

  She busied herself with thoughts that would hold her anger in place and not let her give in to the truth that had been forced upon her. Why had it surprised her to find out about Simon and RAGE? It made sense now – why he’d had all those copies, made sense too, given his attitude to the vampires. He had witnesses to his whereabouts which put him in the clear. She supposed she should feel relieved about that.

  But, what she’d said about Lucas kept pushing at her. Simon was right. She did still want to be with him. And that had made her a liar too when she said she didn’t want him. She didn’t care that he was a vampire.

  Emily picked up the phone. As he’d made no attempt to contact her, to apologise, she had to accept that he didn’t want to be with her, but she had to find out why he hadn’t told her. Simon had been wrong about that. Lucas’s lie had hurt. While she was still fuelled by anger, she would call Lucas, come right out and ask him.

  But… no. He might not speak to her. She wanted to do this in person. It had to be that way. And it had to be today, before she lost her nerve. It had to be now. She got her coat.

  Taking a deep breath, Emily dialled the number, forcing trembling fingers into accuracy. No chance for misdialling here.

  ‘Gabriel?’

  ‘Yes?’

  ‘It’s Emily Gregory. I know about Lucas.’ She lowered her voice, looked warily at the other occupants of the tram. Were they all vampires too? ‘About him being a vampire.’

  ‘For the record, I told him to tell you. We’ve got nothing to hide.’

  ‘We?’

  ‘Vampire too.’

  ‘I want to see him, to see Lucas. I’m on the tram heading into the vampire housing district, your housing district. I need his address. He’d never tell me, I know why now.’

  ‘Emily …’

  ‘I need to. I need to know why he didn’t tell me. Gabriel, please.’

  Her desperation obviously reached him, as Gabriel gave her the address she needed.

  Emily stared out of the tram window and felt the courage wash away with the rain that had begun to hammer down outside. Were all her travelling companions vampires? There were only a handful of people on the tram. The majority of vampires would just be getting up. It was morning for Lucas.

  The tram slowed. Stopped. It was his district. Get
off or stay on?

  Emily rose.

  She was soaked through the instant she got off the tram. She didn’t care. She had to find Lucas’s block. There were more people. She seemed to be the only one going towards the housing blocks. Did all the vampires know what she was? She looked around her. Wary.

  Emily quickened her pace, put her head down. How was she going to get in? Like the human blocks, these operated with a door buzzer system. If she pressed his number, he might refuse to see her. And she had to see him. She’d have to wait, but that meant being close enough to get in without too many people noticing.

  She didn’t even know what she was going to say. Suddenly, her chance came. A man left the building, but held the door open for someone coming behind him. Emily darted forward. If they asked, she would say that she was just visiting a friend.

  ‘Thanks,’ she murmured as she slipped through.

  Hitting the button for the twelfth floor, Emily huddled into the corner of the lift. Tried to make herself small, invisible if she could, when other people, vampires, got into the lift. Then, she straightened. The everyday world was just like this. You only knew what anyone was by the time of day they played their role in society, or if they told you. It didn’t matter that she was outnumbered here. She was doing nothing wrong. Just because she had never been in a vampire housing district before, didn’t mean that humans didn’t visit all the time.

  Emily stood outside Lucas’s door. She looked a mess, she knew it. Her hair was plastered down. Why hadn’t she put make-up on? Brought an umbrella? What was she even going to say to him? Suppose he had someone else there with him? That thought nearly made her turn on her heel. But, no. Even if he didn’t still want her, even if she’d been replaced, she still had to know why he hadn’t told her. She had to. Emily raised her hand to the door and knocked.

  It was opened. And there stood Lucas. Smart shirt. Aftershave, fresh from the shower. Ready to go out. She turned to go.

  *

  ‘Emily …?’ Was it really her? ‘What? How …?’ Lucas began.

  ‘Lucas, I’m sorry,’ she said, half turning back. ‘You’re obviously about to go out, I’ll leave.’ She was turning again, turning away from him.