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. An idea formed in my head, 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.

“Yes, master,” I said. “I will obey.” I was glad I hardly ate anything the whole day. Vomiting after you pledge your undying allegiance might look a bit suspicious.

His grin grew wider than before, full of bad intentions. He brushed my hair back away from my neck. Those hideous fangs slid out, razor sharp. “This will only hurt for a second,” he whispered, and right as he was about to chomp down on my neck, I plunged the contents of the syringe into his arm.

“What the hell?” he roared, grabbing the dosed arm.

But I didn’t bother to explain. I took off, running toward my desk. I grabbed my purse, slinging it over my shoulder, and made a run for the door. But right as I pushed the door open and escaped, Galen’s hand shot out and grabbed my arm through the open crack.

“Where do you think you’re going?” he hissed.

I tried to yank my arm back, but Galen’s grip was too strong. “Anywhere you’re not.”

“What did you inject in me?” he practically screamed.

I remembered my taser in my purse. Ryan said they could be killed or hurt the same way as humans. Maybe I had a chance, at least to get away…

Slipping my free hand inside my purse, I then grabbed the taser.

“Bitch, if you don’t tell me—”

Through some miracle I was able to activate it. Fifty thousand volts later, Galen’s body spasmed and hit the floor. I quickly discharged the cartridge and bolted toward my car, running so fast my lungs burned. I nearly reached the door when Galen suddenly appeared in front of me. I couldn’t stop myself. I ran straight into his arms.

He closed one hand around my throat and lifted me in the air. “You don’t have to be alive for me to take your blood,” he said, his voice gravelly.

I gasped for air, unable to speak. My arms and legs flailed helplessly, hoping to make contact with his body but failing. I began to feel dizzy as my vision faded.

This is it, I thought. He’s going to win. He’s going to kill me.

But then I heard footsteps nearby.

“Put her down, Galen.”

Ryan’s voice. I fell to the ground hard.

“As you wish, brother.”

I coughed repeatedly, still gasping for air. My vision returned, right as Ryan threw a punch that knocked Galen down.

“She’s off limits, we discussed this.”

Galen made it to his feet rather quickly, considering he’d been injected with a virus, tasered, and now punched.

“You’re not my sire. I don’t have to listen to you.” He wiped the blood from his nose, and I looked at the back of his hand longingly. I so wanted to collect a sample…

“Then I will just have to keep kicking your ass.”

Galen laughed awkwardly, as if to challenge him. But Ryan was visibly taller and stronger. In a fight, it didn’t seem like Galen would stand a chance.

“What I lack in strength, I make up for in planning. One day I’ll be ready for you. And you won’t walk away from that fight.”

Then he disappeared into the night, running off so fast, he was a blur.

“Are you okay?” Ryan asked, avoiding my eyes.

I swallowed hard, still trying to breathe normally.

“I’m okay,” I croaked out.

He shook his head. “No, you’re not. I’m sorry, I would’ve gotten here sooner, I just didn’t realize…”

“It’s fine.” I made it to my feet slowly, feeling sore from that fall. “I mean, I’m alive, right?”

“Are you hurt?’

Something within me snapped. He’d been gone, I mean, out of my life for a whole week. And then, like some kind of superhero, he showed up out of nowhere to save the day. “I’m not well. Not physically or emotionally.”

He softened, his lips parting open.

“At least in any way that matters,” I added, turning my back to him. “Not that you care.”

“Liz, I stayed away to keep you safe,” he said, and placed one of his cold hands on my shoulder. “You know that, right?”

What difference does that make? I sighed. “Fine. Then go. Disappear out of my life again.”

I limped to my car. With a shaky hand, I punched the wrong button to unlock my car and the alarm went off instead.

He took the keys from me and shut off the annoying sound. “Let me help you.”

“I just got used to you being gone,” I said, feeling my eyes well up in tears. “Look this has been a really hard day for me, and I don’t need—”

He interrupted me with a hug. In his strong, cold arms I melted into him. It was exactly what I needed, what I craved.

The sound of a police siren flickered on and off. As I pulled back from the embrace, I saw the flashing lights.

“Ma’am, are you okay? Is this man bothering you?”

The voice sounded like the cop I’d met before. “Officer Jones?” I asked, squinting against the ray of his super bright flashlight.

“Liz! I thought that was you.” He turned off the beam. “Everything all right?”

“Yes, I’m fine.” I approached his vehicle and frowned at seeing him in his uniform. “Oh, did you not make detective?”

“No, I passed,” he said and sneezed. “It’s just with all this craziness, I’m on patrol a little while longer. It’s where I’m needed.”

“Understandable.”

“I heard a car alarm go off,” he said, and then grabbed a tissue and blew his nose. “At this time of night…”

“Oh, no, nothing’s wrong. I just pushed the wrong button.”

“That’s not the guy you were trying to avoid last time, is it?” he said quietly.

“Nope, that’s not him. He’s okay.”

“All right, then,” he said, flashing a smile. “It was nice running into you again, Liz.”

“You too, Officer Jones. Thanks for stopping by.”

“Please, call me Edgar. And it’s my pleasure.” He eyed Ryan for a second, before his gaze came back to me. “Stay safe.”

“You as well. The world is a crazy place now.”

“Indeed it is.” He waved to me as he drove off.

Ryan’s arms were folded against his chest when I returned. “On a first name basis with him?”

“What the hell does it matter? I’m a mistake, right? You made it pretty clear the last time we were together that you wanted nothing to do with me.”

He shook his head, looking down. “I’m getting you home, no arguments.”

It was comical watching him squeeze into my tiny car. He had to push the seat all the way back to drive it. And even then, his head was practically touching the ceiling.

I stole glances at him the whole way to my house. The way he left last time, it was like an open wound. A wound that had just started to heal. And his presence managed to tear it open again.

He followed me up to my apartment, which I told him wasn’t necessary, but deep down I knew it totally was.

“I guess this is it,” I said when we made it to my door. I kept my gaze fixed on the floor. Thundarr began barking up a storm, smelling Ryan.

“Shhh!” I whisper-yelled, but it had no effect. It was too late for a barking dog, and if he kept it up, I might get evicted.

“Can you knock him out?” I asked.

He nodded and followed me inside.

The dog chomped down on his arm, and when Ryan did his whole “sleep” command, the dog’s jaws were still attached.

“Doesn’t that hurt?” I asked, as I pried the dog’s jaws off his arm.

He winced. “Very much so.”

Then he unbuttoned his shirt and took it off. That had the effect of amplifying his musky scent, and the sight of his defined biceps was even worse. But what really got to me was watching his injured arm heal itself in seconds.

I thought of my father and how much that blood could multiply his chance of survival, especially after my last failure. And I just broke down.

I turned away from him, but then I felt his hand on my shoulder.

“Are you okay?”

I shook off his touch and ran to my bathroom. Inside, I locked the door behind me. Then I slid down to the floor with a thud.

Ryan knocked on the door. “Liz, what’s wrong?”

I wiped my eyes, trying not to sound like the pathetic hot mess I was. “Just leave.”

“Not until you tell me what’s going on.”

The tears persisted, and I let them flow. Once I was this gone, there was no stopping them anyway. Sometimes a good cry is exactly what is needed. The kind that makes your mascara run down your face and gets your eyes all puffy.

“Please let me in.”

It was clear he wasn’t going to leave anytime soon, so I rose and looked at my reflection in the mirror. It was as horrible as I thought. I splashed some water on my face and patted it dry, wiping away the small, dark splotches of makeup around my eyes. It didn’t stop the tears, but I at least felt a little better.

I unlocked the door.

He hugged me and I didn’t fight it. I was too tired, and it felt too right.

“Please tell me you know I never thought you were a mistake. Don’t you understand?”

“Understand what?”

“That I’m falling in love with you, Liz Meyer.”