The Source (11 page)

Not an easy lesson to
learn, but I'm still waiting on someone to rescue me.  And it's too much to
hope for Rick to be that person, but the possibility is exciting.  I just wish
I knew if he were flirting or just being nice.  It's so hard to tell the
difference sometimes.  Maybe I should just come right out and ask him.  Yeah,
because that would show just how sophisticated I am.  Forget it.  Better to
just accept that Rick, like so many others, sees me as the girl who's a good
friend.

I jiggle the mouse to
get the screensaver to quit saving and resume reading about the movie editing
software.  Once I get through the basics, I feel comfortable enough to guide
myself the rest of the way through the program. 

I select the first
video, the one of the vampire who was apparently walking into the sun on
purpose and click play.  When I get to the point where it appears that smoke is
rising from his body, I pause the footage and zoom in on one of his exposed
arms.  The zooming made the resolution look warped so I use the editing
controls to refine the quality as much as possible.  I’m able to get the image
to appear somewhat clearer, but still with a slight digital peach fuzz
encircling the vampire's arm.  I go ahead and push play again, setting the
speed to slow motion.  The skin appears to change color and darken.  I can only
guess at this point since the footage is in black and white.  The vampire's arm
began to tremble, something I had not noticed before.  The skin then began to
wrinkle like a paper bag before breaking off into pieces then collapsing into a
pile of mush. 

In this video, there
is no indication of fire anywhere on the vampire's arm.  I decide to go through
this same process with the video that was actually in color.    There may have
been small flames and I didn't recognize it because of the lack of color.  I
decide to review the last video we saw, the one of the female vampire in the
white room. 

Before I have a
chance to click play, Rick walks back into the room and resumes his seat beside
me.  He doesn’t say anything and his face is completely blank.  I just look at
him, waiting for him to say something.  He smiles at me. "So, what do you
have?"

Okay, Mr. Secretive
Rendezvous.  I nod to the computer. "Well, I used the software to zoom in
on the first piece of footage.  I couldn't get the resolution to be completely
clear and the black-and-white made it difficult to discern, but it appeared
that the vampire's skin changed color, wrinkled, then fell apart."

"Hhhmmm.  Not
exactly consistent with symptoms of an allergic reaction."

"No," I
agree, "nor did I see any indication of fire which would rule out that the
sun causes vampires to catch on fire."

He nods, "Sure,
but these are a lot of assumptions to base on one observation.  What if what
you saw was only symptomatic of this particular vampire's reaction and not
representative of vampires in general?"

I smile as graciously
as possible. "I thought of that.  That's why I'm going to view the last
piece of footage since it's more recent and in color."

Rick looks at the
computer screen and I can see that his body has stiffened. "Okay, let's
take a look."

I go through the same
steps as with the previous footage and we begin viewing her torso up-close and
in slow motion.  Again the resolution isn’t perfect, but it’s the best we can
do.  And again, the female vampire's bodily reaction is the same as the male
vampire's, with no indication of flames of any sort.

I click pause and
wring my hands in my lap.  Thinking out loud I say, "It's not enough.  I
wish I could get closer.  Under a microscope would be ideal."  I jerk when
I realize what I had said and look at Rick.  He studies me for a moment then
slaps his hands on his knees. "I have the feeling that the government can
accommodate us again in this request."

He stands, flexing
his hands into fists so tight that his knuckles appear to be bone.  He turns
and walks out the door of the suite.

Was it something I
said?

It isn’t long before
Rick strides back into the suite.

“Get your things. 
We’re taking a field trip.”

I look up from the
computer as he continues to walk to the center island without further
explanation.  “Field trip to where?”

Without looking up,
he says, “I told you the government could accommodate us.  We’re going to
another facility where they have a criminal vampire in a holding cell.  You’ll
get your wish about getting a closer look.”  He rummages around his papers and
picks up a clipboard.  Before I can even get up, the door opens again and Ms. Montgomery
walks into the room.  She only comes in a few steps before stopping, as if she
is waiting for something.  I try not to frown as I get up and walk back to the
closets to get my coat.  When I return to the middle of the room, Rick is
standing with Ms. Montgomery by the door.  I pick up my notebook from the
island and head in their direction.

Without prompting,
Ms. Montgomery says, “Another research team will be joining us.  A military
vehicle will take us to the other facility.”

I follow them into
the hallway.  Rick looks at me and nods as if acknowledging that things are
going as planned, although he looks like someone has just run over his puppy. 
No, not even that.  He looks like he has just made the decision to have a
beloved pet euthanized.  It isn’t a happy occasion and he has made the decision
to do something more. All because of what I had said.  I don’t think I could
feel any lower than this. 

We walk in silence to
the back of the facility where we leave from the rear exit.  The other research
team is waiting for us, standing beside a black sports utility vehicle.   As
luck would have it, Tucker is one of the people waiting for us.  I pretend to
be as relaxed as possible, even briefly smiling, to cover the fact that the
muscles along my spine feel like they are gripping onto one another, holding on
for dear life. 

Rick begins
introductions, holding out his hand to shake the hands of the other
researchers, “Hello, I’m Dr. Rick Allstedt.  This is Dr. Emma Burcham and our
archivist Ms. Sarah Montgomery.”

The female of the
other group, a model-beautiful Asian woman, makes the other introductions. “I’m
Dr. Bree Vinh and this is Dr. Abhilash Krishnamurthy.  Our archivist is Tucker
Dutrieux.”

I shake everyone’s
hand, but only raise my hand in a slight wave to Tucker. “Tucker and I have
already met.”  Rick slowly looks from me to him as he shakes Tucker’s hand.

“Very good.  We are
not complete strangers then.  And you may call me Abe for short,” Abhilash says
as he squeezes my hand.  Abe is a very tall Indian man who speaks with only a
hint of an accent.  His eyes are so brown they are almost black and his skin is
the color of warm caramel cappuccino.  I try not to show how much I approve of
this much-needed distraction.

Tucker clears his
throat.  I look from him to Rick who signals that we should be on our way.   

We have to sit three
to a row in the middle and back as two men in military uniforms take up the
front.  I look at Rick. "Will anyone be meeting us at the other
facility?"

"Yes.  Mr.
Caulfield will be there to oversee the experiment."

Experiment?  Okay,
that's rather ominous.  I want to ask what experiment, but don’t want to show
my ignorance in front of the other research team. 

We travel over rocky,
hilly terrain for about fifteen or twenty minutes.  There is near silence the
entire trip.  The night is pitch black and without the aid of streetlights, I
feel as if I am actually traveling down into the earth itself.  If it weren't
for the headlights, I would have no idea that we were making any progress
instead of riding in place on the SUV tram to nowhere.

When we arrive at the
other facility, Mr. Caulfield is waiting to escort us into the building.

"Good evening,
ladies and gentleman.  I trust that this experiment will be fruitful and set
you on the right path in your research.  Shall we?"  He gestures for
everyone to enter the building, making sure to take the lead.  The military
guys remain outside by the door, like camouflage bookends. 

We are led to a
holding area with only one cell being occupied.  What appears to be a female
vampire with dirty blond hair is walking in circles around the white room, with
a glass wall allowing us to observe her without any threat to our safety.  When
she sees us, she bares her fangs.  If we could hear her, we would probably be
inundated with the hissing sound of one seriously pissed off vampire.  When we
were all positioned in front of the glass wall, she walks over to leer at us. 
After looking at each of us, she bites her wrist causing a free-flow of blood. 
She spits some of the blood on the glass then uses it to finger-paint the words
"buffet" and "tasty morsels."  Well, at least we know what
she thinks about us.

Mr. Caulfield allows
one corner of his mouth to twitch as if he is withholding a smirk.  "This
is Thalia.  She was captured by the Drug Enforcement Administration in a sting
operation.  She was part of a gang of vampires that were running a drug ring in
the Appalachian region, West Virginia specifically.  The point of their
arrangement was to tap into a market for drugs within the poorer parts of the
region, where people are desperate for an escape.  The drug trade was a front for
the steady influx of buyers who unwittingly became victims."

Bree steps closer to
the glass wall. "They lured people in with the promise of drugs, and then
drained them," she states rather than asks. It’s almost as if there’s no
possibility she could be wrong. Either she’s that smart or she has some serious
personality issues. Just hope they don’t clash with my issues. That could get
messy.

"Exactly, Ms.
Vinh," Mr. Caulfield replies.  "Not only that, they were adept at
making it look like a drug overdose, because with the exception of some early
mistakes, they would often not completely drain the victim.  They would leave
them hanging on by the barest threads of life, then inject them with drugs to
finish them off."

"How did they
get the drugs?" I ask.

Mr. Caulfield looks
at me, an act of recognition on his part. "Good question, Dr. Burcham. 
There are humans who are willing to partner with such vampires.  If the price
is right.  Let us be clear, the heads of drug cartels are not in business to
change the world.  They want to make money.  If a vampire can provide money,
the kingpin doesn't care about the reasons the vampire wants the drugs.  They
only care about getting payment without raising the suspicions of the
authorities.  Since these type of humans know that those type of vampires also
do not want to attract that type of attention, it appears to be a safe
transaction where everyone benefits."

"Only they were
caught," I say, staring blankly at Thalia as she continues to write tomes
in her own blood, urging us to step in the room for a bite.

He nods. "As
what usually happens.  Particularly with the creation of FOHVA.  Now what does
that have to do with our visit tonight?  Thalia gives us the unique opportunity
to observe, up close, the effect of sunlight on a vampire."

Abe speaks up,
"Isn't that unethical?  Using an unwilling participant in an experiment,
must less a lethal one?"

A tight, thin smile
graces Mr. Caulfield's lips. "She chose to participate when she killed
forty-six humans."

I lower my head slightly,
not making eye contact with anyone.  Given the shuffling around me, it seems
that I wasn't the only one who is unnerved by Mr. Caulfield's comment.

He continues,
"We are at this facility as it is more equipped with vampire
accommodations.  Given that we need sunlight - natural sunlight - for the
experiment, both teams will spend the rest of the evening here and after
sunrise, the humans within the group will accompany some technicians to the
observation deck.  The vampires in the group will be able to rest comfortably
underground.  If you are not comfortable with this arrangement, please let me
know and we will escort you back to the main building."

Mr. Caulfield turns
to go. "I do want to say congratulations.  Both teams seem to be
progressing well.  And the fact that you came up with the idea of this
experiment makes me optimistic in your results.  Good job, everyone."

Then how come I don’t
feel so good about any of this?

A woman in a white
coat leads us to a room that looks like a recreational suite in a college dorm,
complete with cots for napping.  There is a pool table, Ping-Pong and plenty of
reading materials to help us pass the time.  I would rather sleep the time away
so I plop down on the second cot.  Rick is busy looking around the room, which
gives me time to observe everyone else.  Bree is also checking things out while
Tucker and Abe are on the couch talking.  Ms. Montgomery is sitting at one of
the tables reading an academic journal.  We are definitely a rockin’ fun group.

I rub my eyes, still
trying to determine if I had heard Mr. Caulfield correctly.  Because Thalia had
killed humans, she is being caged like an animal and the government is taking
advantage of that fact by using her as a guinea pig.  I would never suggest that
a murderer shouldn't be punished, but going to the extent of using alleged
perpetrators for scientific experiments doesn’t seem moral to me.  I say “alleged”
because how many others are there?  And how are we certain that they're
guilty?  I guess the moral compass depends on whose ethics are turning the
dial.