AHC2 Vampire Asylum

by Amy Cross

  "No," Katia replies. "It can't be true."

  "Every word," Dronigan tells her. "And now, it's time for you to let me inside, so that I can complete my work."

  "I can't," she whispers. "I can't unlock the door for you. It'd be suicide."

  "You've already done it," he replies. "While you were talking."

  She looks down at her hand and realizes, to her horror, that he's right: the bolt has been slowly slid across, as if she was doing it without thinking. Before she can close it again, the door is pushed open and she's sent slamming into the wall; dazed, she slumps down onto the stone floor.

  "Thank you," Dronigan says as he steps inside. Having regained his former size and shape, he stops to look around, as if he's unable to quite process the interior of the building. "I've reached in before," he says, with a puzzled expression, "but this is the first time I've entered properly. After all these years, it feels good to finally enter."

  "Please," Katia whimpers, still on the floor. "Don't do it. Don't hurt anyone..."

  "I didn't wait all this time just to come and be merciful," Dronigan replies, "although for now, at least, I intend to let you live. There are others in this place who deserve to die first." With that, he turns and walks across the room, heading for the stairs that lead up into the main part of Tor Cliff.

  "Wait," Katia says, trying to get to her feet despite the bruise on the side of her cheek. "Please, just -" Dropping down to her knees, she feels a sharp pain in her head, and her thoughts seem to be jumbled. Finally, she drops down to the floor and passes out, while Dronigan's footsteps echo in the distance as he makes his way up into the heart of the building.

  Part Seven

  Dark Genesis

  Prologue

  "Have you seen Abby?"

  Almost jumping out of her skin, Katie spins around and knocks a small box of glass vials off the workbench, sending them smashing to the floor of the lab.

  "Is that a no?" Mark asks.

  "Sorry," she splutters, grabbing a dustpan and starting to clean the mess up. "I mean, no, I haven't. She hasn't been in for a few days."

  "If you see her," Mark replies with a sigh, "can you tell her I'm looking for her? I've been trying to call her cellphone, but it's off, and she doesn't seem to have opened any of my emails." He pauses for a moment, watching as Katie frantically tries to clean up the broken glass. "Are you okay?" he asks eventually.

  "Sorry," she says, finally getting the last of the glass cleaned up and pouring it into the nearby trash can. "It's just that with Dr. Hart not being around, I've kind of gotten used to the idea of having the place to myself, you know? I just come in every morning at nine, potter about, try to keep busy and then... Well, then I go home at five and try to relax, and I guess I just hope each night that she'll turn up the next day."

  "Huh," Mark replies with a frown.

  "Do you think she's okay?" Katie asks.

  "Abby?" He pauses. "Yeah. Sure. I mean, I'm pretty sure she can look after herself. She seemed fine the other night when we went out for a drink, but..." Another pause. "As soon as you see her, just tell her to get in touch with me. Tell her it's urgent."

  "Is something wrong?"

  Mark heads to the door, before glancing back at her. "There's just a case I've been working and I think she might be able to help. I might end up sending some samples up to you for analysis. If Abby isn't back soon -"

  "I can do the samples," Katie replies, taking a quick puff on her inhaler. "I mean, totally." She waits for a reply. "I can!" she adds. "Really, I know what I'm doing!"

  "Yeah," Mark says awkwardly, "but I feel like maybe Abby knows a little more about certain... unusual situations, if you know what I mean."

  "Unusual situations?" Katie asks.

  "No offense," Mark continues, "it's just that Abby and I have got a pretty good working relationship going on, so I'd kinda like to get her opinion on a few matters. It's not a reflection on your abilities, Katie; I'm sure you're a brilliant forensic examiner, but there's something about Abby that makes me feel like she's particularly good at..." He pauses as he tries to come up with exactly the right words. "Just... unusual angles," he adds finally. "Different perspectives."

  "Huh," Katie replies.

  "When she turns up," he says, "make sure she calls me immediately." With that, he heads out the door.

  Left alone in the laboratory, Katie stares at the door for a moment, seemingly lost in something of a daze. Finally, however, the faintest of smiles crosses her lips.

  "I don't think Abby Hart's coming back any time soon," she says quietly. "In fact, I think the bitch might be lost for good."

  Chapter One

  Dronigan

  There are so many of them: all pretty, all weak, all so easy to kill.

  Now that I've grown so strong, I feel a kind of burning pulse in my soul, quickening with every new meal. Taking a step forward, I crash into the wall, shaking the entire building; it takes me a moment to steady myself, and finally I turn to look back at the carnage I've caused. There are several smeared blood trails running across the kitchen floor, some of them interrupted by fragments of shattered bone. Reaching down, I wipe some of the blood onto my finger and then lick it off.

  It tastes good, and rich.

  But where is Abby Hart?

  Closing my eyes, I listen out for some sign of her presence. I remember her voice so well, and I'm convinced that at any moment now she's going to reach out to me and help me find her. It has been several minutes since I was last able to detect her soul, and I can't shake the sensation that she suffered some kind of terrible injury that interrupted her thought processes mid-flow. I have paused all death and all dreams in Tor Cliff, just to protect her, but I still need to ensure that she suffers no pain. Whatever else happens, I must keep her safe.

  "Abby," I whisper, my voice reaching out beyond my mind and searching the dark, empty corridors of this place. "Speak to me."

  After a moment, I realize that there's a noise coming from nearby. I turn my great, powerful body and spot a nurse cowering in the corner. She's partially hidden by a metal trolley, but I can see her terrified eyes staring at me, and I can hear her rapid, panicked breath. I blink once, my vast eyes having become swollen and engorged after the feeding frenzy, and slowly I make my way toward her. Her breathing is getting even faster, until finally she takes a deep breath and stops making any sound at all. Carefully, I reach out and push the creaking trolley out of the way so that I can get a better look at her.

  "No!" she shouts. "Keep away!" With that, she holds up a pair of scissors that she seems to believe might keep her safe. They glint in the artificial light, and I can't help but feel a little amused that she thinks she can use them against me.

  I blink again.

  "If you come near me, I'll kill you," she says firmly, clearly trying to summon up as much courage as possible. "I swear to God, I'm a nurse, so I know where to do the most damage. I'll drop you to the floor before you even know what's happening."

  Staring at her, I feel a sense of absolute calm and peace start to resonate throughout my body. The prospect of another meal is always of great comfort, and there's definitely a part of me that wants to savor this moment. Is it possible that I've begun to control my appetite a little better? After the great feast I've enjoyed over the past few hours, my belly is starting to feel full, almost to the point that it urges me to stop eating for a while.

  Almost.

  "Where is she?" I ask, my voice sounding much larger and duller than before.

  She stares at me.

  "Where is she?" I ask again, more loudly this time.

  "Who?" she asks.

  "Abby Hart," I tell her. "I must speak to her."

  "I can help you," she says suddenly. "If you want something, just tell me. I'm not like the others. I'll... I'll just help you, and then you'll be happy, and you can let me go. Is that okay?"

  I try to consider the offer on its own merits. The woman's words make sense, but I can
also feel the impressions left by her thoughts, and it's clear that her mind is filled with panic. There is nothing she can possibly to do help me, of course, but I'm interested in the fact that she wants to try. All the other nurses ran screaming and had to be dragged back toward my mouth, yet this one is attempting to strike some kind of bargain. Is it possible that she's stronger and more intelligent than the others, or is she merely more terrified?

  "Please don't hurt me," she whimpers, with tears falling from her eyes. "Please, I don't want to die..."

  "There is nowhere else to go," I say after a moment.

  "I can leave," she stammers. "If you let me go, I'll just walk out the door and never come back. I swear, I won't tell anyone about anything that happened here. It'll be like it never happened. I'll go so far away, I'll find a place where they haven't even heard of Tor Cliff, and I'll make myself forget everything!"

  "Where?" I ask.

  "Where?"

  "Where will you go?"

  "Away from Tor Cliff."

  I frown. "Explain. How can you go away from Tor Cliff? From horizon to horizon, this is the world."

  "There are other places," she continues, still holding the scissors in her trembling hand. "Places a long way off. I come from one of those places, and I can go back there."

  "And these places are not here?" I ask, trying to make sense of this strange jumble of ideas. I feel as if my mind is expanding, pushing at its limits in an attempt to understand concepts and ideas that have never before trouble me. My whole life has been spent in this place, and although I have sometimes looked at the horizon and wondered if there might be something out there, I have always written off such ideas as childish fantasies. "There are other worlds?" I continue. "Other places that are... beyond the limits of the forest?"

  She nods.

  "Beyond even the horizon?"

  "There are so many places," she continues. "Lots of worlds. If you let me go, I'll leave and you'll never see me again. I can even tell you how to get to some of the other worlds."

  "And you'll still exist," I reply, "but not here. You'll think and feel and live in another place, with no reference to Tor Cliff?"

  "Tor Cliff isn't everything," she tells me. "It's just one place. Even if you spent the rest of your life traveling, you'd never be able to see everywhere in existence. The human world alone would take years, and then there are other places, like the great library or the ruins of Gothos. There's so much out there, it'd be crazy to limit yourself to Tor Cliff and the forest."

  I pause for a moment. "These other places," I continue eventually, feeling my appetite beginning to stir again, "do they have food?"

  "I... Yes, of course..."

  "So once I have finished on this place and the dead forest that surrounds it," I add, "I do not need to wait for more food to come to me. I can go past the forest and over the horizon, and I'll find more food. Lots of food."

  "I can help you," she says. "If that's what you want. If you'll let me live, I'll help you. I'll tell you the best places. I'll show you the way. Whatever you want, I'll give it to you, but you have to promise not to hurt me."

  I take a deep, slow breath as I try to work out what she's really offering me. Up until this point, the notion of venturing beyond the horizon had seemed too insane to consider, but now I'm starting to understand that there might be much more of a world beyond the boundaries of this place. My appetite, which was starting to become dulled, is now swelling again, and I can barely stop my mind from rushing with thoughts of a whole new world to consume. Distracted by the possibilities, I don't notice at first that the nurse has begun to crawl away. Finally, however, I glance over at her and see that she has almost made it to the door.

  Reaching down, I grab her leg and pull her toward me.

  "No!" she screams, lunging at me with the scissors, which dig into my flesh and send a ripple of pain through my body.

  At least, I think it's pain.

  "I will find these places," I tell her, holding her upside-down in front of my face. "I will consume them all. Perhaps they will offer different tastes and different sensations. I would like to know all the things that the world has to offer."

  "But you need me to show you!" she shouts.

  "Yes."

  "So if you kill me, you'll be lost!"

  I stare at her for a moment. I know that she's right, but at the same time, I can't deny the hunger in my belly. Opening my mouth wide, I drop her inside.

  "No!" she screams, trying to climb back out. "You can't -"

  I bite down hard, shattering her bones and bursting her blood all through my mouth. She lets out another, garbled scream, which I ignore. With my next chew, I grind those bones into smaller splinters, enjoying the rich, full sensation coursing through my body. For a few minutes, I remain in place, chewing what's left of her and rolling the mess across my tongue, until finally I swallow and she's gone. All that's left is the taste of blood in my mouth and the feeling of more meat and bone in my belly. I feel momentarily sated, as if my appetite has been fulfilled, but after just a couple of seconds I realize that I need more and more.

  After wiping blood from my lips, I turn and lumber across the kitchen before smashing through the door and reaching the hallway. I need more food, and fortunately I can already sense many more living beings nearby.

  First, though, I need to find Abby.

  Chapter Two

  Felix

  "We must hurry," Nurse Silk says, stumbling past me before stopping to rest against the door-frame. "The longer we stay in this place, the more we -" Before she can finish, she gasps and clutches her stomach, as if she's in great pain.

  "Here," I reply, slipping her arm over my shoulder so that I can take her weight. "We'll find a way out," I continue. "There has to be a route." In the distance, there's a loud boom that causes the entire building to shudder.

  "What was that?" Nurse Silk asks.

  "Dronigan," I continue, supporting her as we make our way back across Dr. Cole's laboratory. "They say he's become angry. He might even have begun to break into the asylum. There's something happening on the lower levels, but that's a good thing. It means they'll be distracted, so we can run."

  "Stop," she says suddenly, reaching out and grabbing hold of a nearby bench. "Wait, I need to -" Again, the pain seems to be too great and she drops to her knees, letting out a groan as she closes her eyes tight shut. Whatever's happening to her, it seems to be threatening to erupt from within. "Something's wrong," she hisses. "I should be..."

  "We can work out what happened later," I tell her, trying to get her back on her feet. "Right now -"

  "I should be dead," she replies, staring at me with wide-eyed panic. "I felt myself die, but something... I wasn't allowed to leave my body."

  "We'll -"

  "Why am I still alive?" she asks, staring at me with wide, terrified eyes. "I remember..." She pauses for a moment, as if she's desperately trying to remember the truth. "He pushed me back," she adds finally. "When my soul left my body, Dronigan refused to allow me to pass on to the next life. He took hold of my mind, twisted it around and then forced it back into my flesh and blood. He said he was no longer satisfied consuming souls, that he wanted me mind to be in my body so he could consume them both together. Until then, he's not letting anyone dream or die. He thinks we taste better this way."

  "We'll go far away," I tell her. "Away from Dronigan, away from Tor Cliff. We'll leave this madhouse behind, but we have to get going -"

  "No," she says firmly. "I can't -" She pauses, as if the pain is in danger of taking over her entire body. When she turns to look at me a moment later, there's a distinct redness to her eyes. Her mouth opens, as if she's about to say something, but finally she lets out a long, deep, guttural growl that seems to be coming from the very back of her throat.

  "You need help," I tell her, as her eyes become redder and the growl grows longer. "I'm going to find someone who can -"

  Before I can finish, she lunges at me, pushing
me down to the floor and climbing onto my chest. Still completely naked, she presses one of her knees against the pit of my stomach before leaning closer to my face and baring her large white fangs. She's still growling, and as her eyes become darker and narrower, it's as if her entire body is beginning to change. I've seen this kind of transformation happen to other people, of course, but I had no idea that Nurse Silk was a werewolf, and even now there seems to be something very different about her. Patches of fur are starting to sprout from her skin, but as she snarls at me, I can't help but notice that her fangs look narrower than before, and her scent is changing.

  "Listen to me," I say firmly, trying to get past her anger and reach through to her conscious mind, "we have to get out of here. Whatever you're feeling, you need to fight it!"

  She tilts her head, as if she's struggling to understand me.

  "I know you can hear me!" I continue. "I don't know what these barbarians have done to you, but you can still push back. Whatever they do to your body, they can't change the person inside. Try to remember who you really are!" I wait for her to respond. "I know you can hear me," I add. "You're in there somewhere, trying to get out. You just need to find the strength to fight back. Believe me, I know what it's like to feel so much rage and anger coursing through your veins."

  She leans closer and sniffs me.

  "Vampire," I whisper, finally recognizing the unusual strain in her scent.

  She lets out a faint growl that twist to become more of a hiss.

  "That's not possible," I continue. "You have the scent of a werewolf, but..." Staring into her eyes, I try to work out how this could be happening, but the truth is, I've never seen anything like this. She's strong, too, and although I try to push her away, she has me pinned down tight.