Night Realm (31 page)

“Okay. Tell me the story, Doctor Becker,” Marks suggested. He put the phone on loudspeaker and activated his recording device, then sat back in his chair to listen.

It happened in Germany’s Black Forest more than a decade ago. Marlon Becker and some associates had been enjoying some time out after a conference in Stuttgart. They were camping beside a river just on the outskirts of the forest. A fire was burning nicely in the centre of their small tent city. One of the associates had even brought along an acoustic guitar so they could have a sing-along. Aided by the consumption of Schnapps and bottles of Becks beer, the atmosphere was relaxed and merry. They were even toasting marshmallows like school kids on a summer camp. Everything was going so well until midnight.

The group soon became aware that something was lurking in the woods, stalking them. It was evident after a few minutes that there was more than one unknown creature out there just beyond the firelight of the campsite. There were two, perhaps even three.

Becker thought they might be wolves, but that assumption was soon dispelled when they all heard a series of sharp hissing sounds. Wolves weren’t known to make a noise like that, and there was never any howling or growling. Also, every so often they heard rustling sounds in the trees above them. Wolves weren’t known to climb high into the trees, either.

The five in the group huddled close to the fire, their nerves on edge, not knowing what was out there or what to expect. Becker took a piece of flaming wood from the fire and bravely moved over to the edge of the forest, trying in vain to discover what was stalking them. It was as he stepped into the woods that the first attack came.

He heard the initial commotion rather than saw it. The creature had attacked the camp from the opposite side to where Becker was exploring with his makeshift torch. He rushed back to find one of his colleagues lying on the ground. The man’s shoulder was obviously dislocated and he writhed around on the ground in severe pain. The only female in the group had gone to his aid and was trying her best to comfort the man and ease his agony.

When Becker queried what had happened, another man in the group had told him that a demon-possessed man with flaming red eyes had rushed into the campsite and knocked their friend to the ground. The possessed man had then disappeared up into the trees.

Nothing happened for another ten minutes or so, then the stalking started up again. Becker was sure now that there were three of them out there. The second attack happened soon after.

Becker was proven right when three men walked into the small clearing, all homing in from different directions. One had eyes that burned like fire, the second man’s eyes were black as midnight on a moonless night, while the third had the bluest eyes the doctor had ever seen on a man.

The men weren’t human. Simultaneously all three opened their mouths to expose long and lethal fangs protruding from their upper jaws.

The injured man on the ground was set upon first. At the same instant the red eyed one grabbed hold of the woman attending the wounded man and sank its fangs into her neck, where it proceeded to suck and slurp with the most hideous of sounds. Becker flailed madly at the creatures with his burning piece of wood. It had little affect on them, though.

A cold realization struck him as he fought to ward them off. A legend had come to life. The three were not demon-possessed men. They were vampires.

When the vampire attacking the woman was done with her, the thing seized her by the head and twisted it so ferociously that it ripped clean off her neck. It spun away in the dirt like a top. There was no blood. The vampire had already sucked her veins dry.

The man on the ground with the dislocated shoulder was now dead, as were his two other colleagues. That just left Becker all alone with the three creatures.

They formed a circle around him and ever-so-slowly closed in on him. Becker still had the piece of wood in his hands, but by now the flames had been extinguished. Still, he brandished it as menacingly as he could, hoping for a miracle and salvation from his impending fate.

Salvation did come, but not in a way he ever expected.

The vampire with the black eyes rushed him, hitting him in the chest and knocking him to the dirt. Becker felt all the air expel from his lungs and he lay there, with the thing on top of him, laboring for breath. His head spun, both from a lack of oxygen and from his head striking the ground when he fell. The vampire opened its mouth, its fangs covered in the fresh gore of his colleagues. A putrid stench wafted from its throat as it stared down at him with those dark and lifeless eyes. Becker tried to wrestle free of its powerful grasp, but he was pinned helplessly to the ground. All he could do was wait to meet his fate and take it as bravely as he could.

When he closed his eyes and prayed that his soul would go to heaven and not hell, he felt the vampire’s hot breath on the exposed skin of his throat a moment before the fangs pierced the flesh. The pain was like receiving two hypodermic needles at once. The thing hissed and sucked and he felt the blood starting to leave his body. But after only a few seconds of feeding the vampire let go of his throat, moved his head away, glanced at his companions, then stared down at the doctor with a bemused expression.

“Something’s not right with his blood,” the creature said to the others in a perfectly human voice. “I can’t drink it.”

“They fled into the forest then and never came back,” Becker said into the phone. “I still have the scars on my throat from the two puncture wounds.”

Marks was sitting at his desk in stunned silence, rubbing absently at his chin. He shook his head slowly, still not sure whether to pay any heed to the doctor’s tale.

“So, did you ever figure out why the vampire couldn’t drink your blood?” Marks eventually asked.

“My very first thought was I must have had a serious disease of some kind that I didn’t yet know about. No symptoms of any kind had manifested and I felt fine. Still, the very next day, after the police were done interviewing me, I had blood tests run on every disease known to mankind and put a rush on the results.

“I knew the legend stated that anyone bitten by a vampire who lives will soon turn into a vampire themselves, so I was expecting that to happen within a matter of days. It never did and there was absolutely nothing abnormal found in my blood. That got me thinking that maybe there was something to the biological makeup to my blood, rather than a disease, that rendered me impervious to the vampire bite. They wouldn’t drink my blood and I couldn’t be turned into one of their kind.”

“This is a very intriguing tale, Doctor,” Marks commented.

“It’s not a tale, Detective,” Becker said with a serrated edge to his voice. “Every word of it is the truth.”

“Sorry, Doctor. Please continue.”

“That was such a frightening experience that night that left four of my friends dead. I knew there was something special about my blood
, so I was determined to find out what it was and replicate those properties into a serum that could be injected into others to render them safe from the vampire bite.

“Only problem was the vampires wouldn’t leave me alone long enough for me to fully focus on my research. They were as curious as I was as to why I was immune to them. They kept stalking me, making me nervous. I couldn’t concentrate. I was always scared and looking over my shoulder, afraid to venture outside after dark. They didn’t seem to want to kill me, or they would have already. They had plenty of opportunities. In the end I sold up everything and left the country, settling here in Australia, as far away from my enemies as I could get. Here I’ve continued my work and have made great progress.”

“So you’ve developed the serum?” Marks quizzed.

“Yes, I have.” Becker hesitated, took a deep breath, then said, “Detective? They are here in this country. Not the same ones that attacked and killed my friends, but others. And your murder cases are not unique. There have been similar cases over the past decade in Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth. All unsolved. I tried to offer my opinion to police in all cases, but was quickly dismissed each time as nothing short of a lunatic. Also in all cases traces of the
Porphyric Hemophilia disease were present.”

“How much of this serum have you managed to develop?”

“Only some samples at the moment.”

“Well, put a rush on preparing some more. Just in case.”

“So, does that mean you believe me, Detective?”

“Let’s just say I’m trying to keep an open mind. This case is unusual and I’m open to all avenues of enquiry. Thank you for your time, Doctor Becker. I’ll be in touch.”

“You’re welcome,” said Becker. “And thank you for hearing me out.”

Marks hung up the phone and immediately got in touch with police in Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth.

Ryan sat at
McDonald’s
eating a gourmet meal of burger and fries and washed it all down with some healthy Coke. He gazed across The Esplanade and down toward the beach. The sun had just been consumed by the mountains in the west, leaving the beach bathed in gloom. Twilight had set in.

He was a little worried about Chelsea. She hadn’t been home since she left last night to meet up with her new boyfriend, Travis. As rebellious and errant as she was in many ways, she usually always came home each night. Who was this Travis guy? Ryan really wanted to meet him. The protective big brother thing was coming out in him. He couldn’t imagine Chelsea bringing Travis over voluntarily just to meet her brother. She couldn’t give a rats what his opinion of anything was anyway, let alone his appraisal of her boyfriend.

He pondered his earlier conversation with the lovely Angela Cartwright. Vampire diseases, anti-vampire serums. What was that all about? Why was this Doctor Becker researching and developing stuff like that? And more pertinent to Ryan, why was Selena Thorne interested in this doctor’s bizarre research? But then again, maybe it was other research Becker was working on that she was interested in. No. His gut instinct told him it was all about the vampire stuff.

So who was Selena really? What did Ryan know about her? Not much, in all honesty. Why did she always wear gloves? Was he correct earlier in the day when he
’d had the thought that she wore them so people didn’t notice her cold hands when she touched them? Possibly.

But vampires weren’t real, he reminded himself. They’re a myth. Selena was probably as much of a tripper as this Becker obviously was. She did seem a little eccentric in some ways. While she
appeared normal enough on the surface, she was probably just some sort of delusional weirdo.

Ryan didn’t really feel like asking her out on a date anymore. After finding out about the vampire stuff, he really felt like he’d been turned off her in that regard. Vampires didn’t really turn him on. It was a buzz kill.

His iPhone rang and he pulled it from his pocket to answer it.

“Speak of the devil,” he said when he saw who it was that was calling him. He answered the call. “Hi, Selena.”

“Good evening, Ryan,” Selena crooned. “Are you free to talk a moment?”

“Certainly. How did we go? Did you get what you wanted?”

“I did, as a matter of fact. That’s why I’m calling. I have your money for you, ready to collect tonight.”

“Cool.” He glanced across the mall, where the stairs rose up to
Bliss
. “I’ll come in as soon as the club opens.”

“I won’t be in the club tonight,” she told him. “If you would like to come to my home
, you can pick up your money here.”

“Sure,” Ryan agreed, though he felt anything but sure. “What’s your address?”

“I’ll text it to you as soon as I get off the phone.”

“Excellent. I’ll see you within the hour.”

After he’d ended the call he felt a little nervous. Something was gnawing at him, but he wasn’t sure what it was. Did he really believe Selena was a vampire? Not really, but he did sense she was up to something.

Her text came through with an address all the way out in Guanaba. Before he drove out there, Ryan went up to his apartment to get his gun.

*  *  *

“You’re a fool, Travis,” Selena said to her little brother.

“I love her.”

“Love her! You barely know the girl. How long have you known her? Seriously?”

Travis shrugged. “I don’t know. About a week.”

Selena snorted and shook her head. “A week.” She fixed her brother with her penetrating gaze. “You don’t even know what love is. Besides, you’re a vampire and she’s human. How can it possibly work?”

Travis looked away from her face and stared at the floor. “It can work.”

It dawned on Selena then. “You didn’t?” she said and he slowly nodded. “You’ve turned her?”

He shrugged again. “Well, she hasn’t turned yet, but it’s only a matter of time.”

Selena sighed heavily, exasperated. “She’s your responsibility then, Travis. It’s up to you to keep her under control. I don’t want her out there running rampant like your brother and his two new pets are. We’re attracting far too much attention to ourselves. You got it?” She fixed him with a hard stare again, locking Travis’ eyes on hers. “You keep her on a very tight leash.”