Darlings of Paranormal Romance (Anthology) (187 page)

He glared at her. "Then what do you
suggest?"

"I don't know," she admitted. "It has
to open somehow."

David leaned closer. "Sure, with a
special key like sound, electricity, pressure...the options are
endless." David studied the lever.

"Well we have to figure it out. Mom's
behind this door." Tessa's frustration was mounting. Rescue was so
close and yet so far.

"And just how do you suggest we do
that?" David’s sarcasm was getting to be a pain in the
ass.

She’d had enough. "I don’t know,
David. Feel free to step up to the plate anytime."

"That’s enough," Serus snapped at
them. "Worse case is we have to wait until someone else comes in or
out."

Cody frowned at the steel door in
front of them. "Yep, I considered that but was hoping we'd find
another way."

Too tired and confused to make any
more decisions, Tessa sat down on the floor and waited for the
others to decide. She’d gotten them this far. Someone else would
have to get them inside.

***

Jared waited until the nurse left.
Then he sat up and rolled over. He had different company. A young,
incredibly skinny male somewhere around Jared's age slept in the
bed beside him. Jared waited until he saw signs of movement from
the kid. "Hey, are you awake?"

"Yeah, for a little bit, then the
drugs will take over." The male yawned. "I’m Bryce."

"I’m Jared. How long have you been
here? Isn’t there any way to get out? Like I don’t want to just be
a milking machine for the rest of my life."

"No one’s ever gotten out of here.
Except for the last guy."

"Who?" Jared could hardly keep his
voice down. "How'd he get out? Do you know if he made
it?"

"Nah, he died."

"What the hell?" Anger surged through
Jared. "How can you be so complacent? Don’t you want to escape?" He
glared at the open door. "This is brutal. I’m too young to end up
like this."

"Maybe." Bryce was silent for a long
moment. "I bet you don’t have much in the way of family and no one
is going to care if you don’t come home." He suddenly looked Jared
in the eye. "Am I wrong?"

Shit.
Jared’s uncle would be happy if
he never saw him again. He slowly shook his head. "No, you’re
probably right. They might wonder when I’ll walk through the door
again, but less and less as time goes on."

"Right, even if they go to the
police, chances are good that you’ll be listed as just another
runaway, like so many of the others here."

Jared paled to think there were more
like him out in that horror factory. "That is so wrong."

"Like they care. Something about
being on the top of the food chain." Bryce’s eyes flitted
closed.

Jared rushed to ask another question
before he lost Bryce to the drugs. "What about you? Why aren’t you
out there?"

"I overheard them mention that my
blood isn’t flowing like they want it to."

"Oh. How long have you been
here?"

"Damned if I know. What day is
it?"

Jared had to think about it hard. "I
think it’s Sunday night – or maybe Monday?"

"Yeah and what month?"

"August."

"Then I’ve been here since around
Valentine’s Day."

Jared fell back on the bed in shock.
Dear God, please no.

"Although I don’t know about the
year. But don't tell me that. I don’t want to know."

Jared bolted upright. "How can you
say that? Surely, someone will rescue us."

"Yeah?" Bryce hawked up spit from his
throat. "Who?"

"I don’t know. My friends? I was out
with them when I was kidnapped. I’m sure they're
worried."

"Worried maybe, but enough to go to
the police? I doubt it. Even if they did, we’re back to that whole
scenario of you being a troubled teen who’d had enough and run
away."

"I can’t believe no one
cares."

"That’s why this has worked for so
long. Some of these people have been here for years, decades
even."

Jared gulped. "Decades?" he
whispered.

Bryce looked at him. "Decades," he
said. Then he lay back down and pulled the blankets up over his
shoulders.

"I don’t get why you’re so
calm."

"Must be the drugs. Besides, the
alternative is death. I think I’ll stay in suspended animation. I
don’t have to worry about three meals, where I’m going to sleep or
how I’m going to pay for my drugs. They’re all free here." He
chuckled at his own words, and before they’d tapered off he started
snoring, leaving Jared shell-shocked.

Could anyone’s life be so bad that
this place would be considered an improvement? He pulled back the
covers, only to realize that he had a catheter attached to a urine
bag and his right arm had an IV connected to a pole. Was it safe to
just pull all this stuff out?

The door opened just then.

"Whoa, where are you
going?"

Jared pretended to be half asleep.
"Water, need water." He pretended to have trouble
swallowing.

"We’ll get that for you. You just lie
back down again." Two men came in behind the nurse and helped him
back under the covers. The nurse adjusted something on his IV. More
drugs, he thought bitterly. He lay down as if ready to sleep,
hoping they wouldn’t increase his medication.

"Thanks," he whispered after his
drink and rolled over.

The nurse covered him up and patted
him gently on the back. "Go back to sleep. You’ll feel better in
the morning."

He doubted that. What difference
would a night make?

Two orderlies moved over to Bryce's
bed and wheeled it out of the room. Jared wished he knew why. He
watched under his almost closed eyes to make sure everyone left.
They left the door open. His heart pounded. Why had they done that?
To hear if he moved?

Or had they forgotten about the door
because they were moving a captive? The thought of escape
tantalized him. Could he get out? He’d rip the damn needles from
his body if it meant freedom.

After ten minutes without feeling any
sleepier, he figured the nurse hadn’t increased his drugs. No one
came in or out. Maybe they didn't need to be in the room to see
him. To monitor him.

Why hadn’t he considered cameras
before? Is that what had brought the nurses into the room? He
rolled over as if still asleep. There was a camera at the far end
directed toward his neighbor's side of the room. So that’s what had
happened. When his buddy started to move around they’d came
running. Could he be out of camera range? Not with the lousy luck
he’d had so far.

Chances were they'd come back and
check on him.

Speaking of which, they had yet to
give him his test results. They probably wouldn’t.

One didn’t discuss outcomes with lab
rats.

CHAPTER
THIRTEEN

"You okay, Tessa?" Her dad crouched
down at her side, concern evident on his face. He reached out to
stroke her shoulder gently.

She managed a tiny smile. "I’m fine.
Just a little tired and a whole lot worried. I want Mom found safe
and sound." She didn’t want to admit the last few days had taken a
toll on her. Sitting in the bare room only big enough for the
floating floor, with one door in or out hadn't exactly instilled
confidence they'd make it any further.

"Do we know if there’s another way
in? Has that been checked out?" Tessa pulled her knees up to her
chin and rested her head. Her mind spun with ideas. "What about
knocking? Maybe they’re expecting someone?"

"Knock?" David laughed sarcastically.
"If they can hear knocking, they'd have heard us already. We
haven't exactly been quiet."

Serus stood up and ran his long
fingers through his hair, staring down at Tessa.

Tessa closed her eyes,
letting the others bash the information around. They’d let her in
on the final decision.

"Tessa?"

"Yeah, I’m here…just
thinking."

"Sleeping is more like," Cody
scoffed.

David plunked down beside her. "I
know you’re tired, but we can’t give up now. Mom needs
us."

Tessa reared back. "Closing my eyes
while you guys think about what to do is not giving up." She hopped
to her feet. "Damn it, don’t you think I feel responsible? She’s in
trouble because I insisted on searching for Jared."

"Hey," David stood up, wrapping his
arm around her shoulders. "I didn't mean to upset you." He squeezed
her shoulders. "You're not in any way responsible for what happened
to her. Don't you ever think that."

She searched his eyes, wanting to
believe him yet having trouble doing so. "We have to get her back.
Safe. And now." Tessa strode to the door and pounded hard on the
steel surface with her fists.

"Shit. Tessa, what are you doing?"
Jewel hissed as she slammed back against the wall and out of sight
in case the door swung open. The others rushed to line up beside
her.

Serus placed a calming hand on
Tessa’s shoulder. "Move, Tessa. Just in case someone does come.
They won't question the presence of an adult as much as they will a
teenager."

"Well, they’d better come. This is
ridiculous. I want mom back." She pounded the door again. Then
kicked it several times, belatedly remembering that's how the stone
wall had opened.

Snick.
The door swung
open.

Tessa turned to the others
triumphantly. "There. Nothing like a good kick to get the job
done."

Serus stared in astonishment. "What
the…?"

"She did it!" crowed
David.

"
Shhh.
Let's
go." Cody jumped through the opening and disappeared from
sight.

The others entered single file, with
Serus bringing up the rear. Another long passageway, again with
stone walls all around. Followed by another long set of stairs.
Tessa couldn’t believe it. Who built all of this?

"Unbelievable," she whispered to
Jewel as they crept along. "What is this place?"

"I don’t know. But it's beyond
creepy."

Tessa ran her hands along the smooth
aged walls. "Makes me wonder how long ago this place was
built."

The men stopped in front of them.
Tessa tried to see over Cody’s shoulder. Another door.

"Just kick it."

David glanced over his shoulder at
her then back at the door. His big boot lashed out and he kicked
the door in approximately the same place she had kicked the last
one.

The door opened silently.

They entered the next room to find
computer screens filled one wall, with rows of sterile office desks
and computers filling the rest. No people – no vampires. Nothing on
the desks or floor to say anyone worked there. There were no
windows either. Artificial lights hung overhead. Darkness and gloom
hung over the room. The only sounds were the ones they
made.

Tessa strode to the screens on the
walls. Each monitor showed a small section of some kind of
warehouse. She bent her head closer. Her heart thudded in her
chest. Shock and horror slammed into her awareness. "Are those
people?"

"Where?" Everyone crowded around
her.

"Oh, no!" Jewel’s
agonized whisper floated in the air around them. "They’re
humans."

"What are they doing?"

Serus moved to a different monitor.
His face grayed. "They’re not doing anything. They can’t. I think
this is another blood farm."

"A blood farm?" David peered closer,
confusion twisting his features. "Then these people aren’t
alive?"

"Yes, they are. They’re probably in a
drug-induced coma."

Tessa studied the people suspended in
some weird apparatus. Tubes went into one arm and came out the
other. Probably vitamins, nutrients and minerals in; blood
out.

David shook his head, his eyes wide
with disbelief. "God, I hope these people don’t know what’s going
on."

"I hope Jared isn’t one of those,"
Tessa whispered.

"Most likely he is." Her father’s
grim voice sliced through the air. "We need to find your mother
before they make a decision as to what to do with their unwanted
visitor."

"How
will we find her
here
? This place is huge." Tessa moved from screen to screen. She
couldn’t help feeling overwhelmed at what they
faced.

Cody placed a hand on her shoulder.
"We'll find her. There can't be too many people working here.
Everything is automated. Look at the machines attached to each
person. It would take very few people to keep this system
running."

"Why aren’t they in beds or
something? It looks like they’re wrapped in saran wrap." A shudder
rippled down Tessa's back. These poor people.