by J B Stilwell
I pick and poke at the food, taking very small quantities of vegetables and meatloaf, uber-aware that Tucker is frequently glancing at me. I pick up a bottle of water and quickly move to the cashier line. After paying, I scan the seating area for an empty table, sit down and internally berate myself for the small quantity of food on my tray. I keep my head down as I unwrap my silverware and nearly fall out of my chair when Tucker plops down beside me. Ugh, now I’m not going to be able to eat at all.
“I’m starving. I didn’t get to eat dinner, so I haven’t had anything since lunchtime. Thankfully this cafeteria is open 24/7.”
I slightly smile at him, not sure if I should ignore him or attempt to be polite.
Tucker attacks his food with much gusto while I sit there making tracks in my mashed potatoes with my fork. He looks up at me and asks, “What? You’re not hungry?”
Busted. Now I have to do something. Distraction is the best course of action.
“So which team are you working with? I don’t remember seeing you in the room this morning.” I start to slowly take small bites of my food.
“Oh, I’m not a researcher. I work for the government archives. My job here is to collect data on the project for posterity and all that. In a way I’m a reporter who reports to the government instead of reporting about it.”
Hopefully that will be enough for him to leave me alone so I can try to eat without drawing too much attention to myself. I really just wanted some time alone to process my disastrous first encounter with Rick. I guess I could ask him to sit somewhere else, but that would be rude. My best bet would be to quickly eat my food then tell him that I needed to get back to work. I could then take a stroll around the facility while I gather my thoughts. Sounds like a good plan to me. Or not.
Tucker smiles at me, “How did you come to be working on this project?”
“I applied like everyone else. I have a background in environmental engineering and with my experience, I was one of the lucky fourteen.”
“Who did they pair you up with?”
“Rick Allstedt,” I reply.
“Ah, so you were paired with a vampire,” he states matter-of-factly.
“How did you know Rick was a vampire?”
Tucker smiles, “I’m an archivist, remember. I know a little bit about what’s going on here. I may not know faces, but I know names and some about each person’s background.”
I raise a questioning eyebrow, “So you really didn’t need to ask me how I came to be working on this project?”
He winks at me, “Just making friendly conversation.”
I look down at my tray, smiling just a little as a tingling sensation rippled throughout my body. Was the wink his way of acknowledging that he knows more about me than he’s revealing or could he possibly be flirting with me? Best not to think too much about it.
“Do you live around here?” he asks.
“Don’t you already know that?”
He laughs loudly, “I know where Emma Burcham is from originally, but I don’t know where she’s currently living.”
“Well, right now I’m currently living in Rowan. At least until the project is completed. Then I will return back to my permanent home which is in Huntington.”
“Oh, you never moved away from your birthplace?”
It is rather unnerving that he knows things about me, including the fact that I was born in Huntington. What else does he know?
“I’ve lived in a couple of different places, but none very far from Huntington. Until now. I’ve never even visited southern West Virginia, so Rowan is a complete mystery to me.”
“Maybe when you get done with your shift I can show you around town,” Tucker smiles brightly.
There’s that tingling sensation again. I feel like a fumbling fool because I don’t know exactly how to respond.
“That’s a friendly gesture.”
He grins rather deviously, “Well, I can be a friendly person...to some.”
Now I’m blushing. I concentrate on my food so I would have a reason to escape this situation as soon as possible.
“How are you and Rick getting along?” he suddenly asks.
Startled, I reply, “Fine, I guess. Are you...a....”
“A....What?”
“A vampire?”
He chuckles, “No, I’m human. You can’t tell?”
“My radar has been off recently.”
“Well, maybe that means they’re getting better at hiding it. Or else humans are becoming more animalistic.”
I give him a blank stare, saying nothing for several beats.
Tucker’s head drops. “I’m sorry. That was bigoted of me.”
I nod slowly. Wanting to change the subject, “You’re not from West Virginia?”
“Not originally,” he responds. “I was raised in upstate New York, but I’ve lived in West Virginia for the past ten years.”
I continue to nod, feigning casual interest.
“So are you a coal miner’s daughter?” he asks with a bright smile on his face.
Another blank stare.
“I’m serious. Was your father a coal miner?”
No longer able to withhold my irritation I say, “You’re serious. My father was an accountant. Not everyone from West Virginia works in the mines.”
He holds up his hands, “Whoah, I didn’t mean to upset you.”
I try hard not to roll my eyes. “How can you, in the space of mere minutes, go from being an outright bigot to being naively prejudiced?”
“What?” he responds. “That’s SO not what I meant.”
I stand up, no longer caring if I finish my food. “Now what I find ironic is that you called me rude.”
I calmly walk out of the cafeteria without looking back.
Chapter 6
I walk up to the door of our suite and take a deep breath. Not knowing exactly what I was walking into, I slowly open the door.
Rick is standing at the whiteboard writing a list. He started without me? He must be SO talented that he can do this all by himself. Like I’m not needed. He should prepare himself for some major disappointment.
I let the door close oh-not-so-quietly. Rick turns around and still manages to smile.
“You’re back. Thank God. I was afraid that I had upset you so much that you wouldn’t come back and I would have to do this all by myself.”
Damn with the assumptions.
“I’m still aggravated,” I say, “but we need to get started. What are you working on?”
Rick’s smile broadens, “I was just making a list of all of the vampire vulnerabilities and ways to kill.”
I lay my book near the sink, “Sounds pleasant.” I begin to read the list as he watches me intently. I’m trying not to be distracted by his gaze, but it is rather unnerving. Blood to survive, impaling the heart, decapitation, sun exposure, sleep during the day/up all night, fire.
I cock my head to the side as I continue to review the list, “Aren’t there some things missing?”
“Like what?” Rick asks.
“Like a crucifix or cross?”
Rick crosses his arms, “Myth. That doesn’t repel vampires any more than any other artifact. Some of us are even Christians.”
“What?”
He continues, “You’ll find that a lot of what people think about vampires is not true. When you’ve had to be in hiding for thousands of years, your existence becomes a mystery. The stuff of legend. And a lot of the ‘facts’ are not only plain wrong, they’re ludicrous.”
“Okay, what about a wooden stake through the heart? You just have impaling the heart.”
“Shoving something into the center of a vampire’s heart will kill them just as it would a human. After thousands of years in hiding, what many people fail to realize is that vampires are human, too,” he grins deviously, “human...with a twist.”
“But what about needing blood to survive?” I ask.
“Humans do, too. If all of the blood drained out of you
r body, you would die. It’s just that with our particular condition, our bodies do not produce red blood cells so we need to acquire blood from other means. Which is related to the fact that yes, we do have heartbeats.”
“Heartbeats?”
“Yes, heartbeats. Many of the myths suggest that our hearts are more or less dead in that they do not beat. But, how would we disperse the blood throughout our bodies to give us that warm glow if we did not have the internal pumping of a heart?”
“I had never thought of it that way. But what about things like garlic and holy water?”
“More myths,” he responds.
I pace back and forth trying to process all of this information. “In reality, vampires can be killed in many of the same way as humans with the exception of sunlight.”
Rick nods as he watches me.
“Why the sun? I mean, what about the sun is so deadly to vampires?”
Rick walks over to the island sink in the center of the room and rests his hands against it, seeming to choose his words carefully. “We’ve never really figured that out. Yet. We just know that if a vampire goes out into the sun, it’s as if the sunburn process is hyper-accelerated. There also appears to be a rapid dehydration part to the process, hence part of the result ends up looking like dried dust. Actually, more like sawdust because just like in cremation, pieces of bone and whatnot remain. The other part of the result looks rather wet. Almost like gelatin.”
I shudder.
He half smiles, “Sorry. Some of my reality is gruesome.”
I lean against the island, “It’s okay. I need to hear these things if I’m going to understand and develop any theories to affect our goal.”
“In the simplest terms, I guess you could say that it’s sort of like a sun allergy. And just like ‘regular’ humans, it is unknown as to why vampires have an allergic-type reaction when exposed to sunlight.”
I nod and stand in silence as I think of the possibilities. Doing actual work was a great distraction from the fact that Rick had previously aggravated my last nerve. And the fact that he is a total hottie. A hottie who totally rocks my socks. Sounds like something from a stupid reality show.
There is a sudden knock on the door then Mr. Caulfield and his female assistant walk through, striding with a purpose.
“Good evening Dr. Allstedt, Dr. Burcham,” Mr. Caulfield says.
“I just wanted to stop by to make you aware of some scheduling items while you’re working on the project. We expect that your meal breaks will be taken when needed, but every night at 2:00 a.m. there will be a project team meeting in the main conference room to discuss our progress and any other issues impacting our work.
“Further, we have other government employees whose primary job will be to observe and record the overall process for official documenting purposes. These employees, or archivists, will show up unannounced at various times. We do not want to inhibit the natural flow of your work by arranging multiple visits, when your behavior and work will be extra impacted by the expectation of the observation. In fact, each research facility is equipped with monitoring equipment such that you may not even be aware of the archivist’s presence. However, you will meet with your assigned archivist during the 2:00 a.m. meeting to discuss your project in detail.”
Archivist. Tucker. Surely the Fates would not be so cruel.
“If you are in need of anything, please see my assistant Allison and she will take care of everything,” he motions to the woman standing beside him. She is a svelte blonde with deep blue eyes, pouty lips and a bust line worthy of a Botticelli. I’m already suspicious of her.
Rick spoke up, “Thank you Mr. Caulfield. Dr. Burcham and I look forward to exceeding your expectations with our project.”
Mr. Caulfield allows himself a brief smile. “And I look forward to seeing you do so,” he turns. “Allison.” With that one word they both turn and walk out of the suite.
I hope that I never get to the point where my name is a command. I don’t do well with taking orders anyway, so using my name in such a way would just be an exercise in ridiculousness.
Rick turns to me, “Where were we?”
I look at my watch, “We only have about 40 minutes before the nightly meeting. We should try to finish our discussion of vampire vulnerabilities, and it might be helpful to know their strengths, also. If we’re going to develop something, we need to make sure that vampires won’t be naturally resistant to it.”
“Agreed.” Rick walks up to the whiteboard and makes a column for strengths under which he writes “unnatural strength/immunity.”
“Unnatural strength and immunity?”
He nods, “Keep in mind what you said earlier. Vampires can be killed in many of the same ways as regular humans. However, there are many things that would kill a human that would either not affect a vampire or just slightly annoy them.”
“Like what?”
“Common illness, both minor and severe. They don’t impact us at all. It’s as if we’re immune to them.”
I snort, “There goes my idea to use viral warfare.”
“Cute,” he says while smiling.
“I was just joking.”
He shakes his head, “I meant the snort. Cute.”
I look away as my face turns red for what feels like the millionth time today. What kind of person thinks that an obnoxious habit is “cute,” anyway? Wait. He’s from another era. Maybe everything that he thinks is cute is beyond my contemporary comprehension. Oh to live in a time when social faux pas is attractive.
“What else?” I ask without looking at him.
“We do have physical strength that surpasses humans. We heal quicker. A bullet would not kill us unless we were shot in such a way that it did irreparable damage to the heart. I’ve actually fallen great distances and got up and walked away. A human would have been killed on impact.”
“It’s almost like vampires are super-human,” I say. “Why wouldn’t everyone want to be one?”
“It’s not exactly glamorous having to hide your identity out of fear of being staked or burned alive by political and religious zealots. Not to mention the fact that the average human tends to frown upon the idea of drinking blood.”
I shudder again.
“For exactly that reason. Most people shudder at the idea. For vampires, it’s not just a way of life. It’s a necessity if we’re going to survive. I never would have thought of doing so before the turn, but now I know I can’t live without it.” He laughs lazily, “In a way you acquire a taste for it.”
I swallow. Bile is rising in the back of my throat and I don’t want to risk barfing all over the floor. I’m sure he wouldn’t find that cute.
Change of subject. “One last question before we go to the meeting. You were turned over fifty-two years ago when you were twenty-five. That makes you technically seventy-seven, yet you still look twenty-five. How is that possible?”
He prowls over to stand in front of me and looks deeply into my eyes, “It sort of goes with the unnatural immunity to common illnesses. We are impervious to aging.”
He looks over my face, starting at the top of my hairline and slowly making his way down to my neck. I can almost feel his gaze caressing my skin. My heart starts racing to the point that it feel like I am slowly suffocating with the thudding weight in my chest. Rick steps closer to me, his lab coat gently grazing mine. He leans forward, his head down as he continues to gaze at my neck. Any closer and we would be cheek-to-cheek. My mouth slowly parts in anticipation of what would come next.
In a breathy voice he says, “And...this...is just a small taste...of...our...form...of empathy.”
It is like someone turned the lights on and I can feel my legs buckle. My first reaction is to grab a hold of his arms to keep from falling. He looks down at me as I question him with my eyes.
A ruse. I suddenly feel like I was back in middle school when older boys would act like they liked me only to crush my fantasies in fits of laughter at the outlandish
notion that they could want to be with me. Again. Bastard.
I stand up straight and step back from him. I hold up a shaky hand, pointing an incredulous finger at him, “Don’t ever do that to me again.”
He smiles sadly, leaning against the island, “I wasn’t serious. I would never use that against you. If I wanted you, I would want you to want me, too.”
Ouch. “If I wanted you.” Maybe he is just talking and didn’t mean that the way it sounded. Well, not the way it sounded, but the way I took it. Score one for me for taking another step on the maturity ladder. It sucks to learn that everything isn’t about me, even when “everything” is detrimental to my sense of self.
I put my hands in my coat pockets. “Is that how you get blood from your victims?”
Rick practically hisses. “I have no victims!”
I flinch and step back some more.
“Vampires must survive on blood. That doesn’t mean that it has to be human blood. And MOST vampires, unlike the ones that we’re here to stop, do not take blood from a human without permission.”
I flinch again and move to the other side of the island.
Rick starts pacing in front of the whiteboard. “That’s one thing that humans and these vamp-scum have in common - a complete lack of understanding of the intimate bond that is created when you take someone’s blood. More intimate than sex. You’re not just giving a person your body; you’re giving your essence. That should be respected and regarded for the gift that it is. As far as I’m concerned, coercing a human to drink their blood amounts to rape.”
I look down, busying myself with memorizing the lines in the marble of the island. I glance at my watch while Rick continues to pace back and forth, fuming with every step. I decide that it was time to head to the meeting.
“Well, it’s about time to go, so I think I’m going to go ahead and find the conference room.” I totally fail at my attempt to be nonchalant.
