by Casey Bond
“Neither did Victor.”
“First, Kael challenged him, and now General Ticher is going to ignore his orders and command the military his way. Victor will either fold or make them pay, and my money is on the latter.”
“There are a few other things you should see.” Her thumb scrolled through the data, searching.
“What about the purple smoke Special Containment used when the clones started falling from the sky? What was that?”
She tensed. “You’re not going to like it.”
“He poisoned the witnesses?” I guessed.
She shook her head. “Sort of. The smoke is a neurological agent, developed by Kael, of course. It erases short term memory.”
“What?” I breathed.
“They used it on everyone who saw the Eve clones, but they’ve been using it for years. They’ve used it on Eve. And, Maru, they’ve used it on you.”
“On me?”
Her eyes brimmed with tears. “You… I don’t know if you want to know all the things they did to the Assets, Maru. It’s horrific. Inhumane on a level I can’t even…”
“I need to know,” I told her, steeling my voice and bracing for what she was about to show me. If she was crying, I might, too. Especially after reading Eve’s letter and knowing Kael was using her to bait Enoch, and that the two were walking into their trap together.
She handed me the second communicator and hugged her knees to her chest. “I can’t watch it again.”
With her head turned away, she cried as I played the videos she’d queued. In the first one, Eve sat in a hard, partially-reclined plastic chair. The fluorescent lighting cast a ghostly glow over her skin. She wore a hospital gown and squirmed uncomfortably in her seat. Her wrists and ankles were bound tightly in metal clamps, and there was a leather strap across her abdomen that secured her body to the chair.
Kael entered the room holding something round in the crook of his arm. “Good afternoon, Asset Eve,” he greeted cheerfully.
“Kael,” she groaned. “I’ve been in here forever.”
“I apologize for the delay.”
“What is that?” she asked, nodding to the metal device in his hand.
He brought it out from under his arm and showed her. “This is a replica of a vampire skull.”
“A stainless-steel mannequin?”
Kael smiled. “And yet so much more. You see her fangs?”
He opened the metal vampire’s mouth so Eve could see the protruding fangs. “A vampire’s teeth are about thirteen millimeters longer than a human’s canine. Can you imagine such a small measurement leading to so much destruction?”
“I had no idea…” Eve answered, testing the strap by trying to sit up in the semi-reclined seat.
Two soldiers entered the room and flanked Kael, each carrying a tranquilizer gun.
“What is this?” she asked.
“You’ve been upgraded, so you must understand my need for personal protection.”
“Why would you need to be protected? I’m the one being upgraded, right?”
“No, Eve. You are being tested.”
“Tested?” she asked, staring uncertainly at the gleaming silver head.
“During your mission, you risk being bitten by a vampire. Victor feels that it is imperative you not only know what it feels like, but that you know how to handle such a wound.”
“My tech suit is impenetrable to fangs, so it should protect me from a bite. And if I were bitten, it would accelerate my body’s healing response.”
“What if you are caught without your tech suit?”
Eve ticked her head back and scoffed, “Why would I be without my suit?”
Kael gave her a cruel smile. “Life isn’t always scripted. There are variables that no one can predict, Eve. We must think of all possibilities and prepare for every danger.”
He entered something into the tech on her hand. “What are you doing?” She tried to pull her hand out of the metal clamp, but it wouldn’t budge.
“Disabling your pain receptors.”
“You’re not using that thing to bite me,” she warned.
“Actually, I am,” he replied matter-of-factly. “And then you will know what a vampire bite feels like. The people of Verona are being bitten, brutally attacked at times. You need to feel this, to know their pain, so you will know what is at stake if you fail in your mission.”
Eve argued, “I know what’s happening out there. I watch the broadcasts. You don’t have to use that thing to bite me. I get it.” She tried to pull her feet out of the restraints, she wriggled her hands back and forth, and she arched her back to stretch against the leather strap. Nothing worked.
“You only know what Victor allows you to know, but there is so much being kept from you, so much you need to learn, and we are running out of time.”
He demonstrated the device, explaining what he was about to do. There was a button on the back of the skull that opened the mouth and another that snapped it shut. Eve flinched as metal clashed against metal. Then he depressed the button to open the mouth and positioned it on the soft flesh a few inches above her knee. He hit the button to close the mouth and the fangs sank in deep, blood seeping down her leg. Eve’s scream made the guards jump backward.
They trained their guns on her with shaky hands. Kael released the jaw and eased the fangs from her leg, quickly snapping them on her arm. More screaming. More blood. Eve was sobbing for him to stop, but when he snapped the other arm and leg, she was done begging.
“I’ll kill you if you bite me with that thing one more time, Kael. I’ll kill you, and I will enjoy every second of it,” she promised.
Not bothering to respond to her threat, he positioned the device at her neck. She twisted to get away, and before he could depress the button, she had torn loose from her restraints. Faster than my eyes could track, she held him by the throat, pressed up against the door glass, which was splintering under the pressure of his skull.
“I told you I understood the stakes,” she growled. Just as quickly as the explosion occurred, she sighed and fell to the floor, releasing his neck reluctantly as she collapsed. Two bright red darts stuck out of her back.
“She never told me this,” I said through clenched teeth, fists balled.
“They wiped her memory of it, and then used her suit to speed the healing process. She had no idea it even happened.”
I took a deep breath. “Does it get worse?”
She nodded.
The next video began. I stood at Eve’s side in front of the arena, where soldiers had just released ten vampires into the arena at once. “They want us to slay them all?” she asked, apprehension in her voice. “This is the first time they’ve given us more than two vamps at a time. Where are Titus and Abram?”
“They aren’t coming,” I answered quietly. “These are yours to slay, Eve.”
Victor entered his viewing box, unbuttoned his freshly pressed suit jacket, and sat down.
“Don’t show them weakness,” I continued to coach her, “or the vamps will see you as a meal.”
“Good,” she grinned, winking at me. She flicked her eyes to Victor, more worried about his opinion than ten vampires. “There’s no way I can fight more than a few vamps at a time. This is crazy,” she said, louder.
“Show us what you can do, Eve!” Victor shouted. “It’s them or you.”
A camera was trained on her as she stepped up to the door. It slid open on whisper-quiet tracks and quickly closed behind her. Surrounded by vamps, she backed up until her back bumped against the door, then she turned around and began banging her fists on it. The vampires smiled, closing in on her. She lifted her head and smiled at me through the glass door, removed two stakes from her holster, and struck so fast, none of them saw her coming. In less than a minute, she’d slayed ten vampires single-handedly.
Victor gave her a satisfied nod as he stood, and then clapped in appreciation. “Well done!”
She gave him a bow and walked to
the exit where she handed me her stakes. “I did it!” she exclaimed. “I knew I had to strike fast because there were so many, but that was intense.”
“Clever – making them think you were scared.”
“I was scared,” she admitted, adrenaline still pulsing through her as she bounced on her toes.
“So was I,” I responded, glaring at the space Victor had just occupied.
The video feed ended and I looked at Yarrow. “I don’t remember any of this. Why didn’t I go in with her? Normally, I would’ve gone into the arena with her.”
“What if he ordered you not to?”
I gritted my teeth. Victor was my commander, and if I wanted to remain Eve’s trainer, I had to play by his rules and follow his every order.
“The next video is… weird.” Yarrow pointed to the screen where a camera panned in on Abram’s face. His pupils were like pinpoints.
“What’s the matter with him?” I whispered, but Yarrow shook her head.
Victor came in from the left of the video and stood in front of Abram. “Is he ready?” he asked, looking over Abram’s shoulder.
Kael answered, “He is.”
Two soldiers led Abram into the arena. Victor followed them inside. “Do you know what you’re fighting?”
“Vampires,” Abram answered in a malicious tone.
“Yes, but one vampire in particular. She’s dangerous, she’s fast, and she’s strong, but if you don’t stake her, she will stake you. Only one of you will make it out of this arena alive. Do you understand?”
Abram nodded mechanically. “I do.”
“Good,” Victor said, clapping him on the shoulder. “Wait here.” The guards escorted Victor from the arena and sealed the door behind him. Once Victor was safely ensconced in his personal viewing booth, a set of soldiers motioned for someone to approach. Eve and I came into view, walking into the other side of the room that led to the arena.
“Ah, there you are. This will be a sparring match in the arena, to practice with one another before you are tested on actual vampires,” Victor announced, walking over to shake my hand and then Eve’s.
“He’s holding a stake,” I noted with an edge in my voice.
“Yes, for practice. The end is blunted.”
As Victor handed Eve a blunt stake, she glanced at Abram through the Plexiglas. “He looks… off. What’s wrong with his eyes?”
“I’m sure it’s just nerves. Anticipation before a fight, that’s all. Now, onto the floor you go.”
As soon as Eve stepped through the door and it slid closed behind her, Abram thundered toward her with his pointed stake raised. I darted to the door and tried to open it, but it was sealed tight. “His stake is sharp!” I yelled to her through the glass. Eve disappeared in a blink, and I prayed moved out of his way.
“What is this?” I wheeled around to ask Victor.
“She has to get stronger, Maru. This training will ensure that if she has to fight her way out, she’ll be more motivated,” he answered.
My eyes snapped back to Yarrow as my body vibrated with rage. “This is just the tip of the iceberg, isn’t it? I thought I was training her! It terrifies me that I can’t remember what actually happened…what I let happen to her. I was responsible for her.”
“You couldn’t have known,” Yarrow pleaded, taking my hand. “Maru, you’re the kindest man I know. You wouldn’t have allowed it. I know that. I’ve seen the footage of them using neuro gas on you.”
What she was telling me didn’t help the boulder-sized ball of guilt in my gut. I was so sick from what I’d seen, acrid bile stung the back of my throat.
“I got the tech, Maru,” Yarrow revealed. “I can implant it in you, make you untraceable, and send you back for her.”
I nodded. “Please.”
She removed a bag from her backpack. “I’ll have to sedate you.”
“I can handle the pain.”
“Maru—”
“I want to be lucid,” I interrupted, my voice stretched as thin as I felt. “I never want to forget another moment of my life, even if it’s painful.”
“Okay, then you can watch the live, streaming feed from the Haven during the procedure to occupy your mind. We’ll need something for you to bite down on, too.” She reached in her backpack and grabbed a bundle of white fabric. “And you’ll need this.”
It was a tech suit. In one of the darkened bedrooms, I undressed and tugged on the too-tight suit, then made my way to the kitchen. Yarrow worked by candlelight, but she worked fast. With a wooden spoon clenched between my teeth, I cried, panting as she cut me open. Not only because of the pain, but because of the video feed that showed thousands of humans thriving in what looked like a neighborhood, helping one another, actually smiling. And it was all because of the monsters we were told to hate.
Yarrow threaded wires into my veins, wove and inserted circuitry between muscle and sinew, until it fused with my body. She didn’t even have to stitch me up. The suit was already working to accelerate my body’s response and the incision began to close on its own, my skin knitting together without a blemish.
“I wish I had their upgrades,” I posed ruefully.
Her eyes widened. “That’s another thing I meant to tell you.”
Just then, Enoch’s device buzzed on the table. I picked it up to read his message. I’m in the alley out back, he had written.
I looked up at Yarrow and showed her the message, pressing a finger over my lips. I walked to the bedroom and retrieved my clothes, pulling them on top of the suit. I grabbed a nearby pen and pad of paper, and scratched until the ink came out. I’ll see you to the Haven. Then I need to jump. Don’t tell him what I’m planning.
She nodded rapidly, her expressive brown eyes wide. I grabbed her hands and mouthed the words Thank you.
She’d risked everything to help me.
I slipped Eve’s letter into her bag as I gathered our things. She would keep it safe for me. Eve wanted it burned, but a fire here was too risky. Even the smallest amount of smoke would be noticeable in an area believed to be abandoned.
She grabbed the notepad and scrawled: Only I can track you. I’ve protected and encrypted your data so many times, the techies would spend months unraveling it all. No one will know you’ve jumped or where / when you are. They’ll eventually notice the missing tech, but I think you’ll be home before they realize what’s happened.
I nodded.
Kael has been letting them jump on their own, but directing when and where they land. He has the ability to move them through time at his command, and he has the ability to terminate any or all three of them at any time. I’m afraid if he finds out the tech is missing, he might be able to hack in and terminate you as well. I’ll do my best to cloak your data and keep him away from you.
My stomach sank.
“Thought you should know,” she whispered. “I need to tell you more later.”
I nodded and guided her to the back door, where I slid the furniture out of the way and peeked into the alley.
Enoch stood there alone, a few feet from the door. “Are you ready?”
“We are,” I answered, holding the door open for Yarrow.
Chapter Ten
Eve
Titus ran beside me through the fields and into the woodland between Asa’s plantation and Enoch’s. “Thanks for not ditching me,” he finally said, breaking the tension in my shoulders loose.
“I wouldn’t do that. We don’t leave each other behind, right? Teammates to the end?”
“Teammates to the end,” he confirmed with a smile.
To the east, we heard the sloshing of boots coming from a nearby creek. Titus drew a stake. Mine was already clutched in my hand.
The vampire heard us coming. He was standing in the middle of a wide, shallow stream, facing us. His eyes were sharp and they caught on my stake and then Titus’s. “You expect that splinter to protect you?” he taunted. He smiled, baring his fangs. Moonlight glistened on the water as it moved
lazily around him.
“Where are your friends?” Titus asked.
“What friends?” the vampire asked with a chuckle.
Suddenly, two vampires rushed us from behind. We staked them easily, but while we were distracted, our little friend moved. Titus and I stood back to back and circled in a protective stance, ready to take action, but he was nowhere to be seen. I had a sudden thought and looked up into the tree’s canopy. “Up there!” I yelled.
Titus cursed as the vampire pounced, landing on his back. I heaved the vampire off Titus easily and slammed him onto the ground, but he was scrappy. He kicked my legs out from under me and snapped at my throat as I landed on the ground beside him. I managed to hold him off me while Titus slammed a stake into his back. The vamp reared. He wasn’t dying. He clawed at the stake, almost catching hold of it. “It’s not in far enough!” I declared.
Titus tackled him to the ground belly-down and slammed him bodily against the earth until the stake sank into his heart. The vamp gasped and sputtered until the strength leached from his arms and legs and he went limp. As he withered, we kept a wary eye all around us. Titus rolled him over and removed his stake, rinsing the blood off in the stream.
“Watch your back, Eve. Blood in the water is known to attract sharks.”
Maybe that wasn’t a bad thing. If they came to us, we wouldn’t have to hunt them down. Plus, we could have the upper hand.
Grass rustled just upstream. Titus froze and pointed toward the tree. I climbed it quickly while he hid along a steep section of riverbank.
The vampire was young, like the other three we’d slain. “Where are you?” he whisper-yelled. “Lads? I feel terrible. I need help.”
I dropped down from the limb on which I’d been standing. “There’s nothing they or anyone else can do to help you.”
“Who are you?” he asked, his eyes darkening as I pushed my scent out to him. My blood called to the feral part that his recent transition to vampire had awakened.
“Who sired you? Tell me, and I will make your death quick.”
