“I thought he was a hybrid human.”
Mercer sighed and his grin faded. Apparently, we’d already pushed his welcome to the max. “He was. But he’s developed a ‘cure,’ if you can call it that. It’s far from perfect, but he no longer has a need to drink blood to survive. He’s no longer one of us, just plain human.” His fangs slipped out and a malicious grin spread slowly across his face. “I don’t think he’d like visitors, though. He’s quite the recluse.”
“I don’t care what he likes. I demand to see him.”
Mercer’s stare bore into me, and my skin tingled from the strain. He was an alpha vampire for a reason, but I was betting Christian could muster the same kind of threatening stare if he wanted to, if he needed to.
Right on cue, Christian stepped up to Mercer. He was obviously at least two inches taller than his former second and definitely bulkier. Mercer didn’t back down, though. His glare shifted from me to his former leader, and a challenging eye match followed.
“I suggest you let us through. This is still my hive.”
“It hasn’t been your hive in months. I’m leader here now, and the hive does as I say.”
“Mercer….” Christian was losing his patience, but he did well not allowing it to show.
“Your human army won’t get far. I don’t suggest you try to oppose me.”
Christian snarled. Both had their fangs in full show now, their eyes flashing even brighter as their halos overtook the colored irises. Their growls made my skin crawl, but I readied myself to slice through Mercer’s henchmen at any second now. His seven bodyguards shifted on their feet, similarly prepared for a fight.
“They are far from just human, even you know that, Mercer.” Christian’s words bled through his clenched jaw as he looked like he was actually puffing out to be even taller than he was a moment before. I swallowed the knot in my throat. Mercer had to let us in. I’d kill each and every one of them to get to Rick if I had to. “You know they could match us sword for sword, brawn for brawn, in combat. They have none of our weaknesses and everything we’ve longed for.”
Mercer breathed heavily, his anger leaking from his glare as he flicked his eyes from Christian toward us and back again.
Mercer’s second in command, a Hispanic male with equally short hair, spat on the ground and hissed. “Hybrid human scum.” His fangs extended, and he looked mighty hungry for a fight. He was in front of me and eyed me like a filet mignon. Great. A psycho second is always fun to deal with. Bring it on.
“The pot calling the kettle black now, are we?” I huffed back. Flashing my machete, I threw him a wide smile and fluttered my eyelids. “Such atrocious manners.”
“Philippe, enough!” Mercer’s biting command made Philippe crane his neck to the side in surprise. Mercer glared at him until he stepped back, away from us, still fuming but focusing his anger on the grainy earth below. He looked peeved, but it was oddly satisfying to see his ego deflated with so few words.
“I apologize for my second. He craves the days of fighting and blood. We are a peaceful hive now and do not require such barbaric ways anymore.” Another daring glare flicked over toward Philippe, and the second in command’s presence was diminished as he flinched from his commander’s gaze. He glared at the ground, his anger seething underneath his deflated exterior. I knew better than to ever trust this man. He was an explosion ready to happen.
“Come,” Mercer said smoothly. “I will escort you through our facility. Welcome back, brother.” He held his arms out and gave a tight, welcoming hug to Christian. The rest of us were left baffled, mouths agape at the sudden change in attitude.
What, no more fighting? I held back a groan and pondered tucking away my weapons.
Mercer turned, parting his warriors, who followed behind our group. I still held one of my machetes out, unwilling to put it away. The group oozed aggression, and I wasn’t going to get caught unawares. I wasn’t the only one on my toes, either. Elijah kept his oversized hunting knife gripped in his hand. Gotta love the guy, he understood the game even more than I did.
“Do you trust them?” I whispered over to him. The group had funneled back into two side-by-side columns. Christian was listening to Mercer as we made our way through the curves, turns and twists of the canyon with Mercer’s group taking up the rear with their captive feral dogs in tow. As long as one of them didn’t lunge at us, I was beginning to think me might actually make it back out alive. Still, I couldn’t help keeping one eye on them and one eye forward.
“No,” Elijah said. “Not one bit.”
“That’s reassuring.”
“You asked.”
Sometimes Elijah was too blunt for his own good. I’d grown to like his rough demeanor. He’d been leader for so long in Vida, he really had no social skills. Still, he had my back, and I had his. He’d become like a big brother, even more so than Blaze had ever been. I was relieved that he didn’t seem to have any romantic intention with me, like Rye and Christian. I just couldn’t take it if he did. Having a strong male influence around that wasn’t out to tie me down was refreshing. Still, it made me sad that Sarah was highly interested in him, but he didn’t show any interest in her, either. Or anyone, for that matter. I think he was completely missing the romance gene, actually. I decided I’d have to ask him about that one day.
“What if he tries to trap us?” I asked.
Elijah spun the knife in his hands and grinned. “We can take them, and their feral slaves. Been aching for some more action anyway.”
I laughed but ended up clearing my throat as Christian and Rye both glared at me at the same time. Geez. Can’t have any fun at all.
“I’m sure we’ll get our chance soon enough,” Elijah added.
“That’s what I’m afraid of,” I muttered as the group came to a stop in another opening in the canyon. This one was smaller than the one where the ferals had attacked us. Mercer waited momentarily as he stared at the wall right before a soft hum from all around us turned into a roaring rumble, and the wall began to shift. It slid smoothly inward, opening up to a dark hole within. As the dust that puffed up from its movement finally rested, I could see bright overhead fluorescent lights heading into a long ramp that led down onto the ground floor of what looked like one side of a large warehouse.
What is up with hybrids and warehouse hideaways? It reminded me of the warehouse fortress underneath the airport in the middle of the city which Blaze headed up. Lately, I hadn’t been there as often as I used to go, especially with Jeremy taking to the citizens of the underground city of Vida quite well. He never wanted to leave. Who could blame him? It was the only place in Vegas that had other human kids there to play with. It was his paradise, but nothing but sheer claustrophobia for me.
We marched into the compound, and the large rock wall slid shut behind us with a slow, stomach-shifting rumble. I peered back at it, hoping the sinking feeling of doom sitting like a rock in my stomach would go away. The wall was painted black on the inside, reinforced with sheets of metal and steel. The entire place was like that: dark, black and very much confining. I could feel the air siphoning away from me in a rush to suffocate.
“Wow, who knew this was under all that rock!” Sarah spun around, in awe of the hidden fortress. It was definitely impressive, but it did little to stifle my dread.
“Yeah, pretty cool,” I muttered. My mind was on the mass of hybrid vampires gathering to study us. More and more poured in from different halls and doorways, down the metal steps to the upper floor and out from behind the rows and rows of vehicles and storage containers that lined the belly of this place. If the city of Vida looked sterile, this one was the complete black opposite. It was all dark, dark and more dark. Most of these vamps probably never saw the light of day, especially isolated out there so far from any shelter except the slot canyons. Their pale skin was more proof of their reluctance to leave this sanctuary. Not my idea of the perfect place to live.
“Welcome to our underground fortress. It spa
ns the size of ten football fields. We have living quarters in the third floor surrounding the warehouse and toward the rear. Greenhouse and animal pens are located on the ground floor toward the back, so are the stockrooms, deep in the mountain. Headquarters is just above us.” He pointed up toward the stairs lining the warehouse and leading into a doorway off to the right. “Not much to look at, but it’s home sweet home.” Mercer gave us a wide grin, which only succeeded in making him look even scarier.
This Mercer was visibly relaxed now that he was within the walls of his home. I eyed the mass of vampires surrounding us and noticed that there were no humans. Great. I hoped none of them were hungry. We probably smelled appetizing to them.
“Where do you pen up the leashed Zompires?” Elijah’s snarky tone was not lost on Mercer, who faced him with a sly smirk pasted on his lips. Maybe he wasn’t so statuesque after all.
“We keep them near the armory. They are considered weapons.” He turned and continued forward until he reached a set of metal steps leading up to a single doorway. “I believe Rick would like to meet you, too. Shall we surprise him?” He turned, punched a code into a keypad on the side of the door and flung it open. Shuffling in, I muttered my own little obscenities at the mention of Rick.
Oh, I bet he just can’t wait to meet me.
Chapter Four
Circus of Lesser Things
“Where is he taking us?” Sarah whispered. I shrugged, but Christian had obviously heard us and immediately offered the answer.
“The Freaks Lab.”
“Say what?” My mouth hung open at the pet name they had for the lab. It didn’t sound very promising. In fact, the name did wonders to freak me out, and I fought to not turn and run away. Even so, another part of me was jumping up and down like an amused two-year-old, ready to play with the toys.
Christian frowned but didn’t repeat what he’d said. I guess it was a sensitive subject. This only made my adrenaline surge, ready to trash the place for even existing. Any place with a name like that could only mean horrible things happened there, like what had happened to my mother. The darn two-year-old stopped clapping in my head and started whining protests. Yep, good times.
Mercer approached another coded door, and the locks clicked opened before he shoved at it to help it along. Inside, we all filed in and stared down at a room that really should have been a museum of Ripley’s believe it or nots. I almost choked on the rancid bile tumbling up my throat as I took in the atrocities before me. Blinking hard and deepening my breaths kept me from losing my cool as the room narrowed in my vision and my disgust multiplied.
Row upon row of acrylic tanks filled to the brim with yellow-tinged fluid were occupied by bodies, mutilated beyond recognition. A collective gasp shifted through the group as we were silenced, our words stripped from our mouths at the horrid sight. Nothing I’d ever seen would have prepared me for this. My legs felt weak, but I stepped forward, hoping they wouldn’t give up on me as I moved along.
The first tank held a large man, or what would’ve been a man in a past life. He now had large fangs jutting out of his upper jaw and wild, reddened irises that were enlarged so much, he looked bug-eyed and disproportioned. His skin was a tough, wrinkled and abused leather littered with scars and missing chunks, leaving his body gaping open, displaying sinew with tendons dangling from bones. The bulk of muscles underneath the remains of shredded cloth bulged abnormally and appeared to almost split the skin from their massive size. Thankfully, the thing was dead. I wasn’t sure I could stomach seeing something like that alive.
Fortunately, everything else in the tanks was also dead. The corpses were all in differently morphed states and hung suspended in the fluid, like puppets left abandoned by their owners, awaiting their last dance. Mercer led us deeper into the lab, giving us little time to ponder the creepiness of the creatures whose eyes seemed to follow us as we made our way forward. It sent shivers down my spine, but at least I wasn’t turning colors like Sarah was. Her pallor had intensified, matching her skin to the yellow fluid surrounding us and reflecting the dim lights overhead.
“Hey, you all right?” I slipped my hand onto her shoulder, and she gave me a weak nod but didn’t dare to look me in the eye. I made sure to keep one step behind her in case she decided to spew what little lunch we’d had. She wasn’t looking like she could tolerate much more of this. If she collapsed, she’d never stop beating herself over it. I hoped the next room would hold less gruesome displays.
At the end of the rows, the rest of the lab emerged, looking much like a regular chemistry lab I’d had in high school. Long black tables with shiny tops filled the room. Some had stacks of test tubes, clean and ready to be used. Others had sinks in the middle of their surfaces next to Bunsen burners sitting under glass vials with bubbling fluids of every color. Cabinets filled with all kinds of chemicals and refrigerators with packs of blood and bits of other non-mentionables lined one side of the room. It was well stocked and a lot bigger than the lab in Blaze’s hive. I wondered just how many people had been destroyed in the confines of this place. Studied to bits, literally. It was the last place my mother had entered before losing her grip on reality, and I was pretty sure she hadn’t been the first or the last to meet their fate here.
Her loss left an icy sliver of my heart empty and growing even harder as time went on. How do you let go of such pain? I hadn’t, and doubted I’d ever be able to. Maybe by removing Rick’s head from his body would I find some kind of peace. I was looking forward to it, more so than anything else I planned for the future.
Did I even have any plans beyond that? I brushed the thought away because I couldn’t answer that question. I had no answers beyond the now. There was no future for me or anyone else like me. My desolation held its grip on me and wouldn’t let go, but I’d think more on it later.
Speaking of Rick, the man sitting at one of the tables had whirled around in his chair to observe us with his studious eyes as we filed into room, filling it up well enough. He didn’t look anything like I’d thought he would. He wore glasses, had sandy blonde hair and a lanky, thin body that looked ill-suited for fighting. His blue eyes twinkled with a hardened light of knowledge, eyeing each one of us up and down as he satisfied his own curiosity. Tiny lines were etched across his face from the corners of his eyes and into the chiseled line of his cheeks. There were no halos, no perfectly smooth and uninterrupted coloring to his skin which fitted the unnatural look of the hybrids so well. In fact, the signs of aging and slight discoloration to his skin marked him as only one thing.
He was human.
This revelation felt disjointed as I stared at him with sharpened daggers emerging from my glare. Okay, so what if he was human? It didn’t brush away all the evil he’d done and was probably still getting at in the middle of this God-forsaken desert. Hell, it probably made him even more dangerous to still be in possession of his human traits, more in control of his insanity than the vampires whose cravings overwhelmed them without regard to life. Maybe he was a hybrid human like me, but that conclusion quickly faded as I heard Rye whisper the answer to me.
“He’s not infected. Pure human, no hybrid to him. Not a hint of infection or mutation.”
Great.
I’m not sure if Rick heard him, but his sudden smile told me he most certainly knew who I was and what we were talking about as well. “I wondered how long I’d have to wait to meet you, April.” He stood up but didn’t approach me. It made me wonder if he could possibly fathom the amount of hatred coursing through me at this very moment. No, he couldn’t even imagine how much distain I harbored within my mind for this pathetic man. It was so strong it had sucked away at my life, bit by little tiny bit every day since my mother had killed herself. Each moment he breathed in life was a second my mother would never have ever again.
“The pleasure is not mine.”
His smile didn’t waver. Even in the presence of vampires, he seemed cocky, untouchable even. There was nothing more I wanted to do t
han to adjust that attitude, permanently.
“We’ve come for answers, Rick. Good to see you again.” Christian offered his hand out to the man and they clasped and shook them, like old comrades. It only fueled my anger, but I pushed it down before I could burst and lose the fragile grip I had on my temper. I couldn’t risk losing my mind in this place, it would only hurt the others with me. We were severely outnumbered, and my vendetta could wait until the answers I sought out were in my grasp.
“Christian. I knew you’d be too stubborn to just disappear. Good to see you’re doing well.” Rick squinted as he examined Christian’s face. “The medicine I gave you, did you have any adverse effects from it?”
“No. I feel wonderful, actually.” Christian looked happy, like he was recalling the times he’d been delusional and mad from the green withering, the vampire sickness. “If fact, I have great news about another use for it.”
“Really?” Rick’s eyes lit up, making him look even younger than he appeared. He may have been human, but he was aging very well. He had to be near forty, maybe mid-forties, but I couldn’t be sure.
“Well, another mutation was living in that underground city I told you about. Her scratch was lethal, gave any victim an amplified version of the green sickness. But my blood counteracted the poison completely. It was truly amazing.”
The scientist nodded, pushing his glasses up his nose as he listened. His eyes flicked toward me but never hovered long. He was smart not to do so. I practically ground my teeth down to nubs, my jaw aching from the tension. All I wanted to do was push everyone to the side as I ran across the rest of the room, grabbed him and slammed him to the ground to make him beg for his pathetic life.
“How did you know your blood would help? A mighty shame you couldn’t bring me a sample of the creature’s blood.”
“I don’t know, I just… when I saw them suffering what I’d suffered from, it just clicked. Yeah, it is a mighty shame.”