Chapter 10

With Amy gone, I was free to go back to work and make some progress with the bats. Test subjects C and D, the new bats I added to the cage, tested positive for the virus. That suggested a small incubation window, which was a discouraging find. This virus had the potential to spread quickly.

With my new hypothesis, I began working on a serum to determine whether the health factor of the subject made a difference. It took the rest of the day, but I eventually came up with something to test on one of the new subjects.

I scoured the news to see if the numbers were climbing drastically. It was a steady climb, nothing crazy, but in the same report they talked about hospitals being slammed with patients that have flu-like symptoms. Which of course meant there weren’t enough tests. There could be hundreds or even thousands already infected.

I called my boss John to see if we were going to meet today. He sounded exhausted when he answered.

“John, has the president said anything to the general public about this? I didn’t see anything on the news.”

“Uh, yeah. He’s about to make a statement…”

The way he trailed off led me to believe it was going to be bad. Which was more like normal, for the president.

“You got my report, right?” I said. “You sent it off to him?”

“Yes and yes. Does that mean he read it? Hard no.”

“But the fact that this is a global pandemic… I mean, just based on how it’s spread in other countries, he should—”

“Turn on channel 5, he just came on.”

I ran to the break room and grabbed the remote for the TV on the wall. The special report banner scrolled across the screen, then it cut to the president at his podium in the press conference room.

“Many of you have probably seen the reports that the virus has reached our shores. It is true, we’ve had a few cases reported in several of our major cities, including New York, Los Angeles, Dallas, and Miami. But the numbers are still low. This… this just isn’t going to be an issue here like in other countries. Please don’t panic, there’s no cause for alarm.”

The reporters all started talking over one another, until the president picked one.

“The WHO has suggested social distancing and wearing masks could stop the spread of the virus. Are they going to be your guidelines as well?”

“Again, there’s no cause for panic. We don’t have enough cases for…for that kind of reaction.” He picked a different reporter.

“It’s also been suggested that a shutdown is the only thing that can halt this virus, do you—”

“We have a handful of cases. Of a flu-like virus.” He laughed. “Everybody just breathe! It’s going to be okay.”

“Really?” I said to John. “A viral pathogen that’s been proven to be transmitted through droplets in other countries… Does he believe the laws of science don’t apply to the US?”

“Wait for it,” John said. “It’s bound to get worse.”

President Lamp picked someone else.

“Mr. President, is it safe to travel to foreign countries? And are there any plans to stop incoming international flights?”

“Do you know how many people came down with the flu last year? Did we shut down the country for that?”

“It’s not the flu! I outlined the characteristics of this virus in the threat report!” My voice continued to increase in volume. “If we don’t do something quick, we’re going to have a lot of dead people, particularly the elderly.”

“We confirmed the meeting for tomorrow morning at 9,” John said. “Are you sure you want to attend? It’s just going to be more of the same.”

I took a deep breath and exhaled. “Honestly, at this point I would welcome collaboration. I only ask to stay on the project.”

“Tests not going well?”

I winced. It was a sore spot with me, but even a genius needs time to research a novel virus. “I’m making progress. It’s just, there are so many variables. Trying to pinpoint why one bat has mild symptoms and another dies has been difficult.”

“Keep working on it. Hell, he may want the whole lab to cover this.”

“Probably not a bad idea. I get the feeling this is going to be catastrophic.”

“Me too. God dammit, did someone mention bleach again? I gotta go.”

“See you tomorrow,” I said.

“Uh huh. Bye now.”

As I ended the call, I gazed out the window and noticed the sun was low in the sky. Though I wanted to stay, I knew it wouldn’t be safe. I gathered my stuff and headed home.

I was super vigilant on the way home, and even on the walk with Thundarr afterwards. I found myself wondering how to injure vampires. Not only for self-defense, but also to get the blood samples I needed. If I could just knock one of them out…

My cellphone rang and the caller id read, “Dad.”

I gulped. What if my dream has come true already? No, it’s too early, I reasoned. And besides, what am I going to, not take his call?

I answered the phone, “Dad, are you okay?”

“Sure, honey, I’m fine. How about you?”

I breathed a sigh of relief. Probably just a crazy vampire nightmare sequence, brought on by spending way too much time with vampires. Go figure.

“I’m fine. Just been working on this new project.”

“Making any headway?” He always sounded interested, even when I got all sciencey.

“Well…” I paused, not wanting to talk about it. So if figured I’d change the subject. “Oh you and Mom aren’t traveling any time soon, are you?”

“We don’t have any plans. You know I don’t do much these days, just watching golf and playing checkers with some of the old timers at the home.”

He’d mentioned volunteering at a local retirement home a few weeks back. I think my moving out left him feeling a little lonely. Not that my mother wasn’t around, but she had a bunch of activities to keep her occupied, and my father was always pretty simple. He remembered how sad the other retirees looked when he went to visit with his father. All they wanted was someone to talk with, take their minds off their physical imprisonment at the facility and their own constant discomfort. Mom and I both thought it was a great idea.

“How’s the condition?” I asked.

He groaned. “Oh, I’m fine. I can’t complain.”

As if to betray that answer, he had a coughing fit.

“Mm hmm.”

He laughed. “Of course I cough the moment I’m on the phone with you…”

“You’re taking it easy, right?”

“Funny, I thought I was the parent here.”

“I know how you are, fixing things and taking on new projects around the house.”

“And I know you too, baby,” he said. “You sound off.”

“I’m just a little tired, that’s all.

My Dad’s voice always got a little deeper when he was concerned about me or giving me advice. It was so cute. “I know you need to save the world and all, but please… Take care of yourself first, promise me.”

“Okay.”

Thundarr suddenly started barking like crazy. I looked outside and noticed the hazy pink near the skyline. The sun had just set.

“Dad, I have to go.”

“Is something wrong?”

I peered out the peephole of my front door and let out a sigh of relief.

“No, I just have a guest. You know how Thundarr gets.”

“Okay, baby. I love you.”

“Love you too, Dad.”

I opened the door and let Ryan in.

“Hi,” he said, as Thundarr jumped on him. He did his sleep trick with him again, and then lowered the big guy to the floor.

“He’s never going to get used to you, is he?” I asked.

“I don’t believe so. Animals consider us a threat.” A half-smile appeared on his face. “Makes it difficult to feed sometimes.”

For a moment, we just stood there. I so wanted to hug him, and from the way he looked at me, it seemed he wanted that too. Or, the more I thought about it, he could just want to feed on me.

It was a sobering thought. I cleared my throat and led him to my small couch, really only big enough for two people. “How did everything go with James?”

“I managed to avoid him. He was asleep the whole time I was there. How about your friend? Is she all right?” He looked toward my bedroom.

“She’s gone. And no, she’s not all right.”

“What’s wrong? Is she ill?” His eyebrows scrunched together. “From what I understand, the feeding process shouldn’t cause any permanent harm….”

“It’s not that,” I said, looking down. Even talking about it brought up feelings of guilt. “Galen fed from her, sure. But he raped her as well.”

“What?” He stood, his eyes ablaze. “You can’t be serious…”

“Amy is pissed. She talked about burning the mansion down. I’m afraid she’s going to go back there.”

“I can’t believe he would do that!” He started to pace. “I knew he was a jerk, but he’s gone too far this time.”

“How far did he go last time? I have a feeling Amy isn’t the first.”

“When James finds out about this…”

I snickered. “What makes you think he doesn’t know?”

“You don’t understand…” He sat back down, deflated. “When I was turned, it was like this. James took a new girl every night. His bloodlust was out of control.”

I took his hands in mine, and a grateful smile appeared on his face.

“I convinced James we had to do the right thing. We made a game of it, hunting in the woods. It was going fine until we discovered the gifted ones.”

“Gifted ones?”

“Do you remember what I said the other day, about how you smell different?”

I nodded.

He took a deep breath and exhaled. “It’s because you are different. You have an ability. We don’t know exactly what the abilities are when we come across a gifted, we can only find out…” he trailed off, looking at the floor.

“When you kill them?” I withdrew my hands, feeling a bit horrified.

“No! We don’t kill them. I mean, I never did… James kind of discovered it on accident. One of the gifteds had premonitions. He knew what we were. James panicked. He was afraid our family would become exposed. So he did kill that man, but it was more out of self-preservation than anything else.”

He continued, “That’s when James discovered, after he drank the man’s blood, that we can temporarily have the powers a gifted possesses. And when it’s integrated with our blood, the power becomes stronger.”

I remained silent, trying to wrap my head around what he said. I was just getting used to the reality that vampires exist. Now there are people with superpowers? And I’m one of them?

“Wait, what?” I laughed uncomfortably. “You think I have some kind of superpower?”

“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 refused 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.