The Meridian Gamble (57 page)

And then I see it, over his
shoulder; a gas hissing from the ceiling. My throat is on fire from that damn
tube, but I gurgle in dismay, trying to point. And the young man turns.

“Oh shit!” he screams.

And quickly,
they slap a gas mask over my face, and wrap me up in blankets. It’s dark, and I
can’t see, but I can feel them carrying me down what must be the corridors of
the vampire dungeon. And somewhere along the way, it all becomes too much, and
I pass out again.

When I wake next, it’s to that
strange prickling sensation in my brain that comes from the vampire telepathy.
But it dissipates quickly, and I think maybe it’s part of a dream I’m rousing
from. I look around at the room I’m in, which is nondescript, but immaculately
clean. The walls are white, and I’m on a little steel bed, like something a
soldier would sleep on. There’s a wooden counter with a sink and a
refrigerator, and doors on either side of it that lead to unknown places.

I look down and I’m wearing a white
gown that reminds me of a hospital.

Maybe I’m dead, I think, or in
Heaven, or perhaps the place that floated in the clouds. But would Heaven have
a steel desk with an iMac sitting on it in every room? You’d think the decor,
at least, would be better.

But I was rescued, I remember it
now. There are marks on my arm where the horrible vampire monitoring devices
were clamped to me, and tubes were stuck in my veins. And I wonder how long
those bastards were drinking from me. I wonder if Marion and Tom raised glasses
of my blood in toast.

And who saved me? It had to be the
Luminos. They were the ones who invaded the Florida tower, with help from
Roland. Maybe he gave them the codes to enter the New York facility, so they
could find me. Or maybe Adam or Lina came to my aid.

But before I can ponder my fate
much longer, my eyes adjust to an unusual sight; two people suddenly appear in
the room. It looks like they walk straight through the wood of the door.
They’re smartly dressed, like kids from Soho, and I think for a moment that the
girl has a cute mini-dress on, which has a black and white print of a cartoon
cat. And it’s comforting to know that not everything has changed, that I can
still get a quick rush from the thought of shopping.

It’s the Twins, Arie and Lenore.
The weird Emo vampires are here with me.

Or are they? Have they died?
Because it almost feels like they’re spectres.

“She’s here,” Arie says. “But I
don’t think she can hear us.”

“I’m not even sure where here is,
but I know it’s the desert somewhere. It feels like Arizona or Nevada,” Lenore
says, walking about the room. “We’ll have to look around more.”

And I wonder who they’re talking
with. Whoever it is, it must be where their bodies are, because I get the
feeling they’re not really in the room, that their presence here is some form
of astral projection.

“So that’s the gift,” I say, with a
laugh.

And their heads dart back in my
direction.

“She can see us,” Arie says,
kneeling in front of me.

“Of course, she can. Meridian has
skills. She would make a great vampire,” Lenore says, almost wistfully.

“If you can see us, pretend like
we’re not here,” Arie says. “But say something random, like ‘waffles,’ so we
know for sure. They’ll think you just want breakfast.”

“Waffles,” I say, with a sigh of
frustration. It’s hard not to look at him when he’s standing right in front of
me, yammering away.

“Good,” Arie says. “We can’t let
them know of our presence. But we’re coming for you, Meridian. We’re going to
rescue you from this place.”

And the two disappear, just as
quickly as they had arrived. And I wonder when my life will stop becoming
increasingly bizarre.

As soon as they leave, a knock
sounds at the door.

“Yes?” I call out.

A woman peeks her head into the
room.

“Meridian? May I come in?”

And she enters without waiting for
my reply.

The woman is tall and a bit on the
plain side, with dark brown hair that’s short with a few curls, and thick
glasses. She wears dark blue slacks, and a light blue button down shirt with
the sleeves rolled up. There’s a clipboard in her hand.

She looks a bit like a social
worker.

The woman takes the chair from the
desk and brings it to the bed. But before sitting, she goes to the cabinets
above the sink and takes out a glass that she fills with water, from what looks
like a purifying tap. She brings it back to me, and sets it on the bedside
table. Though I can barely lift it, I put the glass to my mouth and drink,
gratefully.

I want that water so badly. It
feels like I’m drinking in life force.

“Thank you,” I say.

And she stares me over for a
moment, analyzing me.

“Did you mention something about
waffles?”

The woman has an English accent,
and I wonder if I’m even in America anymore.

“I would love a waffle. I’m
absolutely starving.”

“I’ll take you to our dining area
in a few moments, so we can get you something to eat,” she says. “But you were
heard saying something else. Something about a ‘gift?’”

“‘The Gift of Life,’” I say,
without hesitating. “I understand what it means now. It’s funny how you can
only grasp these things when they’re almost taken away from you.”

But from her expression, she seems
unconvinced.

My eyes shift just a bit, and I spy
a little dome on the ceiling that looks like the ones that house security cameras
in the hallways of Creative Quorum, the ones the partners had Roy Thompson
install when they became convinced the janitors were stealing.

“Yes, we’re monitoring you,” she
says. “I’m sorry, it’s a precaution.”

“That’s okay, I understand,” I say.
“Actually … I don’t understand. Any of this. Who are you?”

“My name is Evelyn Lewis, and I
work for the Luminos. They’ve rescued you. You’re in one of our safe houses.”

It doesn’t exactly come as a shock
to me, but now I’m more worried than ever. Being among the Luminos hasn’t
exactly worked out for me in the past, and I wonder if I’m in more danger now
than before. But as I look at her, I don’t see the telltale glow around her
body, and I wonder if she’s lying.

“You work for the Luminos, but
you’re not one of them?”

“They hire outside contractors
quite often, consultants and foot soldiers. Just like the vampires. But some of
the Luminos are here in the complex. You’ll meet them soon enough.”

“Is ‘the General’ here?”

Evelyn says nothing at first,
hesitating. But she finally nods her head.

“Yes, he’s here. You’ll see him
shortly,” she says.

And I start to involuntarily
tremble, just a bit. I’m not sure I want to see him again, my old father from a
past life. His presence has always meant a death sentence for me. In fact, it
might be better to go back to the tanks.

“You know, you’re a very lucky
girl,” she says, seeming to sense my hesitancy.

“You call it luck? To be trapped in
a vat of goo?”

“To be rescued. You’re the only
person we’ve ever managed to extract from one of the vampires’ lairs.”

“It wasn’t luck,” I tell her,
solemnly. “Everything the vampires do is calculated. If I was pulled out of
that place, it’s because someone wanted me alive.”

Evelyn Lewis says nothing, and
simply looks away for a moment, pondering my words.

“So tell me, how long was I in
there? Do you know?”

“We think several weeks. It’s been
that long since you were spotted on the streets.”

And my head spins. Weeks of my
life, gone in an instant. It’s such a strange difference from the usual few
hours I’m used to sleeping, or the odd day that’s gone by when I remember a
past life. I suppose I am lucky, that the time I was comatose wasn’t measured
in years. If so, my legs and arms might have atrophied and been irreparably
damaged, no matter the advancements of vampire science. As it is, I’m surprised
I can move them at all.

I flex my arms and stretch my legs
just a bit. They seem stiff and a bit numb, but at least I can use them.

“Listen, you’re safe now. And you
said you’re starving. Why don’t I help you get ready and we’ll find you
something to eat? And afterwards, I can give you a tour of the place,” she
says. “You can start by having a bath.”

“That sounds … fantastic.”

She helps me to sit up in the bed,
and slowly stand. I put my arm around her shoulders, and manage to take a few
steps across the room, toward the bathroom. And I feel more comfortable around
her, now that she’s helping me in this way.

“It’s amazing. I almost feel like I
can walk.”

“It’s something in the way they
stimulate the limbs while their … subjects are floating in the tanks. It’s very
advanced, though I think we should take it a bit slow for now.”

She takes me to the bathroom, which
is just a simple room, with a plain white tub, and a sink and toilet. But it’s
one of those strange bathrooms that has a separate shower, too, which I’ve
never quite understood. I put the lid down on the toilet, and Evelyn helps me
to sit there for a moment, as I watch her start filling the tub.

“Do you like it terribly warm?” she
asks.

“Just a bit hot,” I say.

The water begins to flow, but I
can’t really take her companionship anymore. I need some time to myself, to
gather my spinning thoughts.

“You know what? I think I can
handle it from here, if you don’t mind.”

“Of course. I’ll come back and check
on you in a while.”

She leaves, and I manage to pull
myself up on the sink, and I slide into the tub. My legs are so numb, it’s
almost painful, just to sit here. I consider asking her for some drugs, but my
discomfort reminds me that I’m alive, somehow. And just being here feels like a
gift.

This is one of my favorite things
in the world, just to sit against the smooth porcelain surface of a tub as warm
water slowly fills up around me. Normally, I could wallow here forever, but my
stomach begins to growl. I’m absolutely famished. Obviously, whatever
nutritional paste they’ve shoved down my throat only served to sustain me,
because I’m starving for something more, and the thought of the Luminos dining
area begins to sound more and more appealing.

I wash my hair and scrub my body,
and after about 20 minutes or so in the tub, I climb out and dry off. I stumble
outside to the room, propping myself up along the way. I go to some of the
drawers on the long cabinet by the sink, and I quickly find clothes, jeans and
a T-shirt. And though it’s nice to have something clean, I still wrinkle my
nose in disgust.

This certainly isn’t the vampire
tower, where Adam provided me with the best brands. The jeans are stiff and
ill-fitting, and I find a bra which fits too snugly, that I pull a white
T-shirt over. And I think to myself that if the Luminos really want to compete
with the vampires, they should up their style game.

Evelyn Lewis finally returns as I’m
finishing getting dressed. She knocks on the door briefly, before pushing her
way in without waiting for my reply, no doubt thinking I’m still in the bath.

“Oh, Meridian. I’m sorry to
interrupt you,” she says. “Are you ready to go?”

She has a wheelchair with her,
which I’m more than ready for, because I’m too tired from my exertions to walk.
And I hop in, and she rolls me away.

Outside of the room is a little
hallway, and I’m fascinated to find out that it leads into what looks like an
airplane hangar. The structure we’re in is wide and has a very high ceiling,
one that curves upwards a hundred or so feet high. There are little offices
that have been constructed inside, one-story buildings with rows of doors that
face each other with a wide walkway between them that stretches as far as the
eye can see. And interspersed between the doors are more small hallways that
branch out to unknown parts.

The place is a hive of activity;
people are standing around, talking, as others rush off to unknown tasks. An
electric cart drives past us toward the front of the structure, carrying
equipment in its flatbed. To the right of me lies an open area full of
vehicles, tanks and jeeps, but I can’t figure out where the opening is that
leads outside, though maybe I can’t see it because my eyes are still irritated
from the weird fluid in the vampire tanks. For a moment, I’m afraid we’re in
some bizarre underground facility, and I begin to have an irrational panic over
the idea of being deep within the ground, or maybe underwater.

I don’t see any of the Luminos
walking around, but every once in a while, someone looks my way with interest,
and I get the feeling it’s more than a casual glance.

They know me. They know who I am;
the girl who was saved from the vampires. And I wonder if any of them realize
there’s more to my story.

“Come on, let’s go to the
cafeteria.”

Evelyn pushes my chair across the
walkway and down another little hall. We come upon a door through which
delicious aromas emanate. The room inside is simple enough, it's just a large
space with ten or 12 long tables, but instead of windows, there are square
panes of frosted glass that are mounted on the walls and lit from behind. Large
television screens hang at either end of the tables, one plays a cable news
show, the other some sort of soap opera, which makes me think it’s still day outside.
Diners are gathered at both ends of the room, watching the shows of their
choice, aside from the few who are grouped in the middle, reading or having
small conversations.

She takes me up to the bar, where
there’s a modest selection, though everything looks tasty. There are a few
pre-made salads and some pastas that the chef heats up on demand, with whatever
meat or tofu you desire. Next to the pastas are heated trays with little
medallions of steak and chunks of breaded chicken, and further right are a few
vats of soup.