by Kat Stiles
“I was there when James killed that man.” His gaze met mine. “His smell was similar to yours.”
I didn’t get it at first, and then I remembered my dreams. And I realized something else. “That’s why James invited me to the mansion. Galen must’ve told him.”
“Psychic ability is… coveted. To see the future is a powerful thing.” He seemed to look at me in a different light, like I was some kind of god or something.
“It’s my dreams,” I said. “Sometimes they show me what’s coming. I’d hardly call it psychic.”
“It is amazing,” he said softly.
“And now because of it, I’m on James’ radar? And Galen? So what, they’re going to kill me?”
“No, gifteds are too precious to kill. If I were to guess, he wants to turn you. Or keep you.” Again he looked away, as if he were embarrassed.
“Keep me?”
“He could persuade you to stay and let him feed off you.” When he noticed my horrified look, he continued, “I mean, I don’t really know, I haven’t spoken to him, it’s just—”
“Wow, your best friend sounds like quite the guy,” I said as I stood. “First, he condones Galen doing whatever the hell he wants to Amy, and now he’s going to add me on as a personal slave?”
“No, I would never let him do that.” The look of anguish on his face spoke volumes. But still, I couldn’t get past the fact that he still called them brothers.
“Then why are you still there?” I asked.
A resigned smile appeared on his face. “I can’t leave, Liz. He’s the sire. I owe my life to him.”
I remembered in the dining room, when Ryan came in. It was like James instantly placated him. “Can he control you?”
“More like influence. Sires have that ability over everyone in the coven.”
“So in reality, you couldn’t do a damn thing if he captured me, could you?”
“I think I could break free, if I needed to.”
“But you don’t know that. And you’re the only thing standing between them and me, aren’t you?”
He fell silent.
“I am so fucked.”
“It’s not hopeless, Liz. I’ll talk to James. He set down a number of rules that we’re supposed to live by, and the most important is what I’ve told you, not interfering with humans.”
“Did Galen get a copy of those rules?”
He sighed and stood. “I know it looks bad, and I honestly don’t know what’s up with Galen, but I’ll get to the bottom of this. They should be waking up now.”
In order for him to get to the bottom of it, he’d have to go back at night. Which would leave me alone and vulnerable.
“Before you leave, I have to ask you something.” I stood, and grabbed a pen and a scratchpad from the adjacent end table. “How exactly do you kill a vampire?”
He cocked an eyebrow. “You want me to tell you how you can kill me?”
“Not you, obviously. Galen has a way of showing up, like everywhere. I mean, do I need to carry a wooden stake around with me?”
The warm laugher that rang in the air was a welcome sound. “No. We die the same way as humans. Only it’s harder to kill us, because we’re stronger and faster.”
“Good to know.”
“And sunlight. Prolonged sunlight exposure could kill us.”
“Some kind of advanced version of hematoporphyria… interesting.” I scribbled a few notes, already eager to do research on it.
“Hema what?”
“It’s a kind of skin sensitivity to sunlight.”
“Oh.” He rested his hand on my cheek. “I will protect you. You have my word.”
For a moment, we said nothing. I didn’t want him to leave—his cold touch was somehow comforting. I could smell his musky scent, standing so close to him. His gaze moved down from my eyes to my lips.
Patience was never one of my virtues. And even though I knew it was dangerous, I couldn’t resist brushing my lips against his.
He groaned and kissed me back. I felt the most delicious sensation of cold, as his tongue intertwined with mine, kissing me deeper. His fingers burrowed under my hair, spreading the cold throughout my scalp and sending an exquisite chill down my spine. I’d never been so turned on in my life.
He made his way to my ear, nibbling the lobe, and that almost sent me over the edge. My whole body felt warm, alive. I slipped my fingers into his hair and pulled it, beckoning him to go further. He groaned again, but this time it was deeper. Scarier.
And I could feel myself getting more and more turned on.
He left a trail of kisses as he moved from my ear down to my neck. He pressed his lips to it for a moment, and then that amazing cold suddenly disappeared.
He took a step back from me. As I opened my eyes, I could see why. His fangs were fully extended, his breath jagged.
“I… I’m sorry,” he said, as he moved past me toward the door. “This was a mistake.”
“Ryan, wait!”
But he didn’t stop.
I realized two things that day. First, making out with a vampire was dangerous. And second, I didn’t care.
I wanted him.
I had to believe Ryan talked to James, Galen, or perhaps even both. I didn’t hear back from him, but I knew he was freaked out from our last encounter. I wondered if I would hear back from him, if I would ever see him again. I rationalized that if he were able to convince them to lay off me, then never seeing him again would be worth it, to stay safe. Alive.
I sighed, feeling a disappointment so intense I almost cried. I never wanted anyone more in my entire life. The thought of never touching his cold skin again was unbearable.
As a distraction, I threw myself into my work. I took John’s advice and avoided the meeting with the president. I reasoned that my opinion didn’t matter regardless, so why should I subject myself to his toxic masculinity if nothing I said would be heard anyway? If I was being honest, I was bummed at not hearing back from Ryan.
It wasn’t a huge surprise that Frederick got the study. But what did catch me off-guard was that he kept me on and was actually pretty decent about it, letting me continue on in my vein of research. He wanted to investigate it from a different angle, using monkeys and samples from recent patients here in DC.
Amy called to tell me she was taking some time off. I could tell by her tone she was angry, and that some of that anger was still directed at me. I understood this was how she was processing what happened, and the best thing I could do for her would be to listen and give her time. But after years of never letting anyone in, I simply wanted my new friend back.
I did get a bit of a pleasant surprise from the vampire bats—my new test subjects C and D, who had contracted the virus, had differing reactions. Test subject C, the one that was smaller, became lethargic and showed many of the same symptoms as the deceased bat had. But test subject D, the one that was slightly overweight, was asymptomatic, like test subject A. This was the outcome I had hoped for—it suggested that obesity wasn’t tied to a higher probability of severe symptoms or even fatalities. Now I had two bats with the virus that were faring well. To take my mind off my personal life, I studied them day and night, looking at the differences and similarities between the four bats, including the deceased test subject B. It was exhausting but exhilarating work.
I also looked into solar simulators, and was able to find a handheld unit that ran on batteries. It was a bit bulky, but I was eager to test it, to discover just how well it simulated actual sunlight.
It was at the end of the week that the virus cases began to ramp up. Instead of new cases reported in the hundreds, they jumped to the thousands. The CDC issued a warning to stay at home if possible, and to wear face coverings around others. The president continued to downplay the virus and the growing case numbers, insisting that more tests becoming available accounted for the uptick. But anyone even slightly skilled in math knew the truth. And no matter how many times John advised him to, the president ref
used to wear a mask, even around diplomats who had recently traveled overseas in countries decimated by the outbreak.
The only good news about so many new virus cases, is that we had more data than we could dream of, to analyze and come up with some hypotheses. A growing list of odd symptoms was compiled to detect the potentially infected, as there weren’t enough tests available to administer to just anyone. Fear mounted more and more, and as a result, basic supplies became unavailable, even online. With a president who refused to take the virus seriously and no vaccine nor medication to treat it, I couldn’t blame the public for the mass panic that ensued.
At 4:00PM, word came down that a shutdown was imminent. Not for us, obviously, but for the general public. I was grateful that the president finally listened to reason. And also sad, because I knew things wouldn’t be the same for a long time. Maybe even never.
But I was close to an answer. Or at least a possibility to test. I spent the rest of the weekend developing a serum to simulate the key factors common to test subjects A and D, who were both doing well. And the next day I administered it to test subject C, whose vitals were growing weaker and weaker since the day he became infected.
I fully expected the bat to die. Not because I was a pessimist, but because the creature was already near death—its respiratory system was giving up. But what happened was nothing short of a miracle.
Test subject C recovered.
Chapter 11
I knew there was a lot more testing to do, and vitals to take, and everything else, but I still considered it a win. A win I desperately needed.
The first thought I had was sharing it with Ryan. And then I remembered he was out of my life. By his choice.
My cell phone rang. The caller ID read my mother’s land line.
“Baby, are you there?” she said.
“Yeah, what’s up? I can’t really talk now.”
“It’s your father. He’s uh… he’s not doing so well.”
All of the happiness I was feeling at the modicum of success disappeared in an instant. The dream I had about my father… no, it can’t be. “What are his symptoms?” I asked.
She rattled off a list of flu-like symptoms, nothing crazy. Until the last one, loss of taste.
“Oh no.” I choked back the tears that threatened to fall and screw up my speaking voice to an incomprehensible mess of sobs.
“The nursing home he volunteers at, they all got it there. I’m really worried about him, Elizabeth. Should I take him to the hospital?”
I didn’t have an easy answer. Did I trust the overrun hospitals would take care of him? No. But on the other hand, what else could we do?
“Yes. I’ll come with you.”
“There’s no need for you to come, I’ve been told they won’t admit him unless his condition is critical. I just want to know for sure if he’s got it.”
“I can test him. I’ll be right there.” I sighed, knowing this would be difficult. “And Mom, please wear a mask around him. Try to keep your distance.”
“Uh, okay. But I mean, it’s just the two of us. I have to take care of him.”
“I know you do, just…just be careful.” I can’t lose you both, I thought.
“Okay, sweetie. I love you.”
I grabbed the industrial mask I used when working with the virus, and the stuff I needed to test my father’s blood, including a microscope. I was so anxious to get to him that I left work in the middle of the day without telling anyone.
At my parents’ house, it felt so strange having to use a mask around them. I looked like some post-apocalyptic video game character, and I was sure it scared my father.
I checked a number of indicators, just to be certain. All of them lead me to the same conclusion: my father had contracted the virus.
And with his COPD condition, it was practically a death sentence.
I took the rest of the day off to talk to my mother about observing his symptoms, and when she should call the hospital. We both cried a little, both afraid. My father was such a major part of our lives, it was scary to think about the possibility of losing him.
For both our sanity’s sake, I tested my mother as well. I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw there were no indicators in her blood. At least I didn’t have to worry about her too.
I returned back to the lab to setup my new tests, now that test subject C was in remission. I ran a battery of tests on the poor guy, and we were both exhausted when I was through. I infected more bats with the virus, and I replicated a dozen vials of the serum formula to further test. I also wanted to try another species, to confirm it wasn’t something that would only work on bats. I injected six healthy mice with DESVID-2. And I waited, continuing to analyze my results.
Days passed in a blur. The mice and bats both tested positive for the virus, so I applied my serum and observed them. When I wasn’t working with the test subjects, I was thinking of Ryan. And how much I simply wanted to touch him again. It was an empty feeling, one I’d never experienced before.
Why was he affecting me so much? We’d spent so little time together, it didn’t make sense. I think more than anything else, I missed feeling so alive when I was around him. It’s like my senses went into overdrive, and his mere proximity made my body hum with excitement.
I checked in on Amy, and she said she was doing better. Because she was an assistant, the lab considered her non-essential personnel, so she didn’t return to work. I made a point to schedule a video chat with her later, so I could sort of see her again.
My father’s condition was worsening, but not quite so bad as to be admitted to a hospital. I visited every other night, to see him for myself and spend time with him.
Without Ryan or Amy, I felt the sting of loneliness. To experience friendship and romance, even for the brief time that I did, made it acutely painful to lose both. I didn’t realize what I was missing all those years I lost myself in academia. And I longed for that ignorance once more, to quell the discomfort, the emptiness I felt.
The bats recovered fully, and to my amazement, so did the mice. It was a good sign, something hopeful in my sad little existence. Maybe there was a chance I could help my father before he deteriorated beyond the point of return.
But I knew better than to crack out the champagne. With studies like these, until the data of hundreds of test subjects were analyzed, cautiously optimistic was all I allowed myself to be.
When I got to work the following morning, the tiny flicker of hope in my world dimmed. In the mice cage, some of them were unusually still. Two moved about, but the other four didn’t move at all. Upon closer examination, I discovered they were dead.
“Oh no,” I groaned. To have a solution so promising suddenly fail was the worst. Like finding someone you connect with, only to have it ripped away from you. I spent the rest of the day and night doing autopsies on the dead mice and observing the two living ones. I tested them all for the virus, and the indicators were gone, as if they were healed. If that was the case, then why did four of them die?
I finally determined the cause of death in all four mice was exsanguination.
Blood loss.
Did the serum cause them to bleed out somehow? And if it did, why didn’t I see any evidence of that in the cage?
I took my glasses off and rubbed the bridge of my nose, beyond discouraged. Still, I would need to do more testing—there might be something I could salvage from the serum. Plus there may have been some kind of anomaly with the four mice that died, which I could prove or disprove with more mice test subjects.
I injected seven healthy mice with the virus. I was about to inject the eighth, when I heard a sound just outside of the clean room I was in. I knew it was too late for anyone else to be there. I peered around, hoping it was security or something.
But then my stomach sank, as I caught sight of the most disturbing grin in the whole world.
Galen.
I should’ve known he wouldn’t just let it be. A idea formed in my hea
d, a plan that might just get me out alive. I pocketed the syringe I was holding and walked out to meet him.
“It’s so nice to finally see you again.” He laughed. “Is it crazy that I miss you, despite all the headaches you cause? I mean, the whole world is going to shit, and here I am with you.”
I was so exhausted, or maybe it was just what happened—my father contracting the virus, that I didn’t care anymore. “Look, I don’t have time for your games, what do you want?”
My stomach dropped as he bridged the distance between us, moving impossibly fast and positioning himself uncomfortably close to me. I tried to not think of all the many ways he could instantly kill me, hoping that my “gifted” status would somehow spare me.
“Hasn’t it been obvious what I want?” he said, his regular creepy smile fading. “You, of course. Or more accurately, your blood. And who knows? Maybe if you’re good, I could give you something in return.” His hips rocked in a lewd manner, punctuating his repelling offer. “Just like I gave your friend…”
The coppery smell of his breath unsettled me. I had to make a move, if I didn’t want to end up another one of his victims. My hand still held on to the syringe with the virus as I calculated the probability of success for my plan. It occurred to me that I just assumed vampires were immune to the virus. Ryan said he healed faster than others, because of his powers. But to truly know if all vampires were immune would require testing. And I couldn’t think of anyone better suited to be injected with a potentially deadly virus than this asshole.
I took off my mask. “It’s not like I can fight you, right? You’re stronger and faster than me.”
He tilted his head, observing me. “Yes, I am.” He gazed into my eyes, and I felt nauseous. “You want to give yourself to me. Satisfy my every whim.”
I blinked, wondering if this actually worked on anyone. And then my lips parted. I suspected it did work…when he used it on Amy.
Every fiber in my being wanted to tell this jerk to screw off. But the more I considered it, the more I thought this could work to my advantage.