Created (Book 1 of the Created) (36 page)

She had seemed to sense the shift in my mood. "Always
remember regrets are better than never trying and what happened tonight is not
regret."

There was so much that I had wanted to say to her about what
had transpired on the roadside, but had refused until I had calmed. As I had
calmed, I realized there was more than her callously disregard for our
friendship for her selfish satisfaction, though it still didn't make it right.
There was also blame to go around that I hadn't tried harder to break her
spell. There had to be a part of me that wanted her. Her comment ate away at me
as I was left alone in the flurry of activity of what was the training center.

I had refused to attempt to broach the topic of what we had
done until we were back at the base and the car was stopped. Now she was gone,
and I wasn't sure what the long term effects would become as her words repeated
in my head.

Ashamed and pissed, I made my way back to the town which I
had begun referring to privately to as Velma. It was such an easy name, and I
thought with work it might catch on with Darby and the others. I had derived it
from the words vampire and realm. It worked for me at least. By placing an
actual name to the Town, as it was called, it seemed less cold and foreign.

To arrive at Velma would have been quick had I chosen to run
the distance, but instead I had opted to walk at a human pace. I should have
run. I had planned to drown myself in the sounds and experiences of the night
on the base, but thoughts bombarded me. I humbly made my way through the base
in what remained of the night as two questions nipped at my heart. Did I really
love
Sunnie
? If I did indeed love her, then why did I
have lust and desire for Veronica?

Pushing against myself, I tried to block out the imagines of
either. The night should have been alive on the base, but everything was gone
including the sound that usually filled the air. Even the insects and the
trucked in wild game that many of the base hunted appeared to have disappeared.
For some reason, the beasts were scared into deep hiding. I could sense they
were there, but even the curious stayed hidden as I passed.

Left alone, I progressed faster than I had imagined I would.
Soon I found myself nearing the main base road upon which I met a manic Darby.
She was pacing back and forth across the expanse of the roadway in clothes,
appropriate for bed and not being alone in the middle of a dangerous world of
monsters, even though she was a powerful vampire in her own right.

The pink oversized Victoria's Secret night shirt was cute on
her and flattered her body well. Darby was also devoid of footwear. Her bare
feet were blackened by the dirt and grime rising from the pavement as she moved
at near full vampire speed while biting her thumb nail.

I was upon her position before she knew I was there causing
her to startle and tumble into a ditch alongside of the pavement. "Darby,
I didn't mean to scare you. I took it for granted that you knew I was
approaching. Let me help you up."

She readily took my hand, and with a light pull, I stood her
upright before me. We both looked at each other. I rather quizzically looked at
her and her angrily at me. "Where did you come from?" She asked.

"I was with Veronica outside of the base doing a
training exercise when we got an emergency call to return."

"Duh.
I knew you were with
Veronica and it smells like you two were doing some very close and creative
training," Darby said.

I dug my hands deep into my pockets as rocked back on my
heels "Anyway, what are you doing out here alone dressed like that?"

Darby asked, “What do you mean like this? Do you not like
it? I picked it up online a couple of weeks ago."

I wanted to question how she had money and internet access,
but decided to pass in an effort to find out why she was here in the middle of
nowhere pacing the road. "Not what I meant, but anyway let me try again.
Darby, why are you here in the middle of the night?"

Darby sighed, "Now I get what you mean. Uh, I was
looking for Veronica and you after the order came down."

"What order?" I inquired.

Darby said, "The order to exterminate any of us that
were found outside of the perimeter. I had known that the two of you had left
the Farm because I overheard you two at school making plans to allow you to see
Sunnie
. So, I went to V's house,
then
to yours after the order was aired over the base's speaker system. I thought it
was a scare tactic to keep us in place, but I was scared they might actually
execute you two if you were found."

I was confused, which had been most of my night. "Why
would Chadron issue that command? What has happened, and you still haven't
explained why you are here?"

She shook her head as she thought, "I was here because
I was afraid to go any closer to the training center. I thought maybe I would
mistakenly get attacked for attempting to escape." Her answer made sense
in a Darby sort of way. "Chadron issued the order when it learned that
there were reports of deaths tonight in several of the human communities
involving wild animals."

"Could it have actually been wild animals?" I
asked skeptically.

Darby cocked her head to one side as if to say you should
know the answer to that question without asking.

"Jeez it was worth a shot, but how could one of us have
done that? There are safe guards and stuff that prevent us from doing something
that horrific."

She wrapped her arms around me in a warm embrace as she
buried he head into my bare chest. "I don't know what has happened, but
everybody is terrified that we will be extinguished and the program destroyed.
I am so glad to have found you. Where is Veronica so we can get back to the
house and wait this all out?"

Running my fingers through my hair, I said, "She was
carted off with the other group leaders about half an hour ago."

Darby released her hold on me,
then
took my hand in hers. "I am sure she will be back later when all the
details are worked out and they find the monster that did this horrible thing.
No pun intended. We need to get back to my house and wait for her there."

It was interesting that Darby could poke fun at our
condition. I was surprised that she had thoughts that ran that deep and were
that self-aware. The perplexity of her statement made me grin. Contemplating my
next move, I decided that she was right in her observation that we had nothing
we should do until we were given more details.

I adjusted my fingers that were interlaced with Darby's to
better accommodate her tiny fingers without accidentally fracturing them. We
were ready to begin the journey home.

It was hours of waiting alone at Darby's watching sitcoms
from the nineties that had made me wish for the solitude of my own home. Darby
had insisted I stay and curl up on the couch with her until Logan came over in
the morning or Veronica got home, whichever came first. Her laughter at the
ridiculous nature of the cast of characters featured during the impromptu
marathon kept me sane. Darby's enjoyment was my tether to the moment and not to
what had transpired hours ago. I chose to stay because at this moment we both
needed each other.

We drifted into our sleep states around seven am, Darby
first. The bus for school would arrive soon, though given the current status of
the creatures upon the base, it was doubtful we would be allowed to attend.
Darby and I both gave into our need for even a little rest.

The time for the departure came and went as I held Darby and
we slept. The bus didn't run, but we were oblivious to that fact until later
when we awoke. We were both lost to the world outside the protective walls of
her house. Hours of the day slipped away as we both drifted in and out of our
catatonic state. There was a deep thudding sound that became a desperate
knocking on the door.
 

We were awakened from our sleep states by a deep rattling of
the old wooded door caused by excessive knocking. Darby stretched and rose,
then stretched again as she proceeded to answer the door. Before she could open
the door, there were another harder series of knocks that sounded more urgent.
Darby threw open the door to reveal a beleaguered Veronica standing on the
other side of the glass.

She appeared on the verge of collapse. There was a tired
look behind her eyes that was unusual for her. The smell of recent blood
consumption permeated the air around her. There were trace amounts spotted
around her lips. Even her clothes showed tinges of recently dried blood as the
once yellow lace of her corset was stained. The blood was a mixture of wolf and
human. The provocative attire that was naturally formed to fit hung all wrong.
It was evident that she had been part of a very long night.

I was still holding a grudge and rather angry with her about
her masquerading with
Sunnie's
scent yet I still felt
compassion and something akin to love for her. She staggered into the living
room and fell on top of me. Without a word, Veronica went into her sleep state
as I cradled her head. Stroking her hair as she slept was almost an automatic
response. Darby handed me a wet cloth with which I cleaned her face and mouth
then smoothed out her brown hair. Soon she was as radiant before, lying still
in my arms.

Darby and I continued the television marathon, but
eventually switched to police dramas. We sat quiet and still as Veronica
rested. We never saw or heard any of the rest of our group that morning or
later in the afternoon. Patiently, we continued being vigilant until Veronica
sat up.
"Blood.
I need blood."

Darby retrieved a couple bags from the fridge.
"Warm or cold?"

Veronica hoarsely answered, "It doesn't matter. Just
bring me the blood. I am so dry inside."

Darby tossed her a bag, and ferociously, Veronica ripped
open a bag. First she hesitated,
then
she poured the
cold oozing liquid down. She was ravenous. The contents diminished rapidly as
Darby and I watched the bag empty and fall to the floor. Veronica gestured for
another which Darby supplied. The bag was devoured in similar fashion to its
predecessor. Two wasn't enough. Veronica waved for her friend to get her
another bag of blood. Darby complied. This bag was savored.

Veronica drank readily, but slowly. There even were a few
pauses, but still no words until the last drop was upon her tongue. "Thank
you Darby."

She slid her hand around to find mine, but I moved it in a
small act of defiance before we touched. Her head flew around to find my eyes
which I averted. She leaned back against the couch and stretched her arms high
overhead, slicked her hair back then interlocked her hands behind her head all
in an effort to get comfortable.

Veronica blinked hard then asked, "What time is
it?"
 

Darby and I answered in unison. "Three pm."

I rose and took away the empty blood bags, placing them in
the trash in an effort to help Darby clean up the mess while getting some
needed separation from Veronica. "Where have you been Veronica? Darby has
been worried sick." I made sure I implied that I had not been worried,
though I honestly had been to a degree.

The coldness I had attempted must have resonated with Darby
and Veronica because both turned to me with eyes full of sorrow and hurt.
Veronica's sorrowful eyes suddenly showed fire.
 

Darby tried to direct the conversation at Veronica to
divulge the information we both craved. "You have been gone all night.
What gives? Did they capture whatever was killing the civilians? Why are you so
tired?" The questions were rapid fired as would be expected of Darby.

Veronica maintained eye contact with me. "The group
leaders were rounded up to meet with the military liaison Leslie Smith and
Mathias
Dencourt
, who you both got to unofficially
meet the other night at the Pit. The meeting was to determine the appropriate
course of action in regard to what our actual role would be in apprehending the
creature that was terrorizing the surrounding communities. After the meeting,
we followed our orders as given. I was sent to deal with the humans and wolves
who were involved in the escape at some level. Each group leader had a specific
assignment that had to be carried out. Mine was basically information
retrieval."

"Torture you mean?" I asked. "Then I am
guessing assassination."

She looked down at her blood and dirt covered boots.
"Yes that was my task."

"Why did you have to torture and kill them?" Darby
quietly asked.

Before Veronica could respond, I interjected. "Darby,
the escape was not a fluke. This was part of a plan wasn't it Veronica?"

"A very detailed plan.
Whoever
is at the heart of the scheme has done a great job of hiding their identity and
the actual purpose behind letting a monster loose into the human population.
A very contagious monster."

Darby was on the edge of her seat. I joined the pair by
retaking my original seat beside Veronica.

She continued, "The virus that made us and the others
has now been synthesized to reproduce in a live human host." Veronica
paused, allowing the news to sink in. "Chadron had been trying for years
to develop the virus so that when a carrier infected a human, that human could
infect another and so forth until the enemy was killing itself from within. The
virus has not perfected. Just as we had to have qualities that made us
acceptable recipients, the victim has to have the right chemistry or the virus
is ineffective. The U.S. is trying to keep quiet the news that a contagion has
been released into the general population as we do the cleanup work.
Brayden
led his group as part of the cleanup effort. Many
human lives had to be sacrificed after they came in contact with the wolf.
Whole families murdered to protect us all."