The Source (2 page)

I sit up in my chair,
hugging myself tightly, “I’m sorry.  I didn’t mean anything bad.  I
just really want to do well on this project.  Not just because I need the
money, although that’s really nice.  I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t agree
with the reasons behind the project.”

Rick nods as a sad
look mists over his eyes.  Not a look meant to garner pity, but a look
that says he had seen way too many bad things in his life…er, existence…and he
doesn’t want to see any more.

“Okay,” he says,
“Let’s start again.  I’ll go first.  My name is Rick Allstedt.
 I got my PhD in Genetics from Stanford where I specialized in studying
viruses and bacteria.  Before getting my PhD, I was in hiding like most
other vampires.  I got my undergraduate and graduate degrees while I was
still alive, but thankfully with the recognition of vampires, my degrees were
accepted so I could continue on with my doctorate.”

“How long…”. I start
hesitantly.

“How long did it take
me to finish?”

“No,” I continue,
“How long since you…um, became a vampire?”

“Oh, approximately
fifty-two years ago, give or take a few months.”

I don’t really know
what to do with that information.  It just seems like an important
question to ask.  I just look at him with what must have been the most
stupid expression on my face.

Rick laughs softly,
“I was twenty-five when I was turned.”

I can feel my face
turning bright red.  My radar is not as good as I thought.  Yep,
country bumpkin in the big city.  Look at me, I have no sophistication nor
do I know what I’m talking about.  God, can we please just get to work?

“Why don’t we talk
about you?” Rick says with a brief smile on his face.  I can’t tell if his
eyes looked kind or pitying.  Either way, I don’t really feel in the mood
to open my mouth again.

“Um, well,” I stumble
over my words, “Um, let’s see.  My name is Emma Burcham.  I…uh, got
my PhD in Environmental Science from, um, Drexel University,” I say while
looking anywhere but at him, “I specialized in Environmental Engineering.”

I look at my notebook
and wait.

He sits silently
staring at me.  At least I think he’s staring at me.  I really
wouldn’t know since I felt too uncomfortable to look up.  How long are we
going to sit here?

“Well, Emma Burcham.
 It’s very nice to meet you.  I look forward to working with you and
getting that fifty thousand dollar bonus.”

We move our notebooks
over to the whiteboard so that we can brainstorm any ideas to solve the
problem.  But, what really is the problem?

Taking a deep breath
I try to forget the first impression of a young and inexperienced girl that I
provided Rick during our one-on-one meet-and-greet. I pretend to be the serious
researcher that I am.

“So we know the
criminal element within the vampire community is the problem,” I begin, “But
what exactly is the nature of the problem, aside from committing crime?  I
mean, are we talking all forms of crime or is FOHVA focusing on something
specific?”

“Well, from my early
discussions with Mr. Caulfield, FOHVA is initially focusing on vampires who
kill humans.  Of course, any innovation that would deter all vampiric
criminal behavior would be ideal, but stopping needless human deaths is the
first priority.”

I cross my arms and
try not to sound too offended, “Early discussions with Mr. Caulfield?  Was
this something that was done for all researchers and I just missed the memo?”

There’s that brief
smile again.  Is my ignorance so amusing?

Rick says, “Not at
all.  I was brought in early, like some of the other researchers, because
of our first-hand knowledge of the subject in question.”

“I hope you mean
vampires and not violent crime.”

Chuckling loudly,
“Yes, vampires.  FOHVA wanted some initial information from us regarding
various issues surrounding vampire behavior. Mostly what you would call
subcultural characterizations.”

Okay, something else
that doesn’t make sense.

“Shouldn’t FOHVA
already know all of that?  I mean, vampires have been accepted for ten
years.  That’s enough time to gather data.”

He nods slowly,
“Sure.  But FOHVA itself has only been in existence for a little over four
years.  When vampires first came out, as it were, the first inclination
was to treat them the same as humans.  It took a few years for the U.S.
government to acknowledge that there are some rather significant differences
between humans and vampires.  Enough differences to necessitate the
creation of a federal office to deal with those differences.”

Okay.  Although
I would like nothing more than to ignore it, for the benefit of the project, I
need to try to act like an adult and admit my ignorance.  Ignoring your
own ignorance is the currency for bravado.

“You were right,” I say.

“I beg your pardon,”
Rick replies, a perplexed look on his face.

“Getting to know one
another actually was the best idea because I realize that I am beginning a
research project to solve a problem with a population that I know nothing
about.  I wouldn’t even know what questions to ask to begin our
brainstorming.”

Rick smiles.
 “I’ll get more coffee.  Let’s go back to the table.”

I pick up my notebook
and slouch my way back to the table.  Why is it that admitting that I
don’t know everything feels like admitting defeat?  What exactly am I
fighting?  That is the question, I guess.  Hard to conquer your enemy
when you don’t even know who your enemy is.

Sitting at the table,
I open my notebook and stare at the blank pages.  In a way it’s like
looking at my life.  Nothing much to say.  But that’s going to
change. I’m going to start taking note.  Not only of what I learn in this
research suite, but in life in general.  At least figuratively, as far as
my life is concerned.  

Rick sets our cups on
the table, “What do you want to know?”

“Everything,” I say,
“Everything about being a vampire.”

He laughs, “That’s
rather broad.”

I smile, “I don’t
know where to start if I don’t know anything about it.”

“Touché.  So you
don’t have any vampire friends?”

I put on the best
poker face that I can, “No, I do not.  I have seen vampires and have had
brief interactions with them, but talking to you has been the longest I have
spoken to one.”

Rick nods, “Well,
let’s start at the beginning then. Well, at least at
my
beginning.”

“I was turned in the
winter of 1959.  I was twenty-five at the time, which means that I was
born in 1934.  At least I think.  I stopped keeping track after the
turn.  I was living in Lexington, Kentucky at the time.  My parents
were both dead, so I was on my own.  I had just finished my graduate
program at the University of Kentucky and was working with a research team to
train chimpanzees for the space flight program.  It was a really exciting
time because the project integrated the mystery of space travel with research
into the intelligence and genetic comparability of chimpanzees.  I was
literally having the time of my life.”

Rick’s eyes are big
and bright as he continues recounting his story. He seems to becoming livelier
as he talks. A vampire becoming livelier when talking about becoming a vampire.
I need to forget every story I’ve read because it doesn’t look like Rick is
beating himself up too much about being a creature of the night.

“I felt like I was on
the brink of something great.  Like I was doing what I was born to do.
 I don’t know, it was like I was building a scientific legacy that people
in the future would read about.  I practically lived night and day at the
research facilities.  I was always on campus either working or walking the
grounds postulating about what COULD be.  And that’s when I met him.

“It was while I was
walking around campus, thinking of all of the scientific possibilities and
implications of what we were doing, when I saw this young man passing out
fliers to anyone who would take one.  I was surprised that he was doing it
since it was so cold.  Snow covered everything that stood still, and some
things that didn’t, which is why I liked to walk the campus at that time - the
apparent solitude.  But there he was, walking about, searching the barren
grounds for someone to take a flier and practically mobbing each unaware
individual that passed by.  It was amusing to watch from a distance, but I
was inquisitive enough to want to know what was going on.

“As I walked closer,
he practically skipped up to me saying, ‘What’s happenin’, dady-o?  A
bunch of people are goin’ to hang tonight at this real cool joint.  It’s
gonna be a blast, dig?  All the info is on the flier.’

“I just stared at him
as he wiggled in front of me like he was going to pop.  ‘I don’t have much
free time.  Have you given a lot of these out?’  He practically
hopped up and down saying, ‘It’s cool, man.  There’s already a lot of cats
and cherries gonna be there.  I’m just trying to get some of these college
hipsters in on the fun.  You’ll really be missin’ out.  Time to
relax, drink a little, chat up some hot young things.  Sure you’re gonna
pass?’

“I looked at the
flier, a feeling mixed with dread and anticipation.  I hadn’t been to many
functions since being in college.  To be honest, I had been working and
studying ever since I entered as a freshman.  Even as an undergraduate,
when I was a part of the elite group on campus, I still did nothing that could be
considered social.  And at twenty-five, I had never had a girlfriend.
 Hell, I had never even held a girl’s hand.”

“Slowly I said,
‘Sure, I might stop by and check it out.’  The young man replied, ‘Far
out!  Tell ‘em Jimmy sent you.’”  And with that he hustled off to
find more students and my fate was sealed in one moment of choosing fun over my
future.”

I sit waiting for
Rick to continue, but he doesn’t.  He just sits there as if he were
looking through me, as if he were literally looking into the past.  I
clear my throat, “And Jimmy was at the party?”

Rick blinks as his
eyes come back into focus.  He pinches the bridge of his nose, closing his
eyes as he appears to struggle to swallow.  He takes a drink of the
lukewarm coffee, coughs, then continues, “Yeah, Jimmy was there.  He was
sort of like…not the host, more like the ringleader or master of ceremonies.
 The host, if you could call him that, was a man who called himself Johnny
Venture.”

“Johnny and Jimmy?” I
ask.  I can’t help but have a huge grin on my face, my brow slightly rising.

He returns my smile,
“Yeah, sounds really threatening, right?  That’s what I thought, too, but
I think you may know a little something about making assumptions.”

I shift
uncomfortably, my face burning as my admission of guilt is put on full display.

Rick thankfully
continues, “Anyway, I showed up and it seemed like everyone was paired off into
couples.  There were no large group of friends talking to one another,
just pairs of people with drunken gazes on their faces, like they had seen the
heights of inebriation and were stuck in the point beyond that. I don’t think
that I could have had an intelligent conversation with anyone and was
reconsidering my decision to attend this particular function.  And that’s
when Johnny approached me.  He stuck out his hand and said, ‘Welcome!
 The night is just getting’ started and you arrived at the best time.
 Just by lookin’ at you I think that you’re the type that enjoys the
company of an intelligent woman, yes?’ I confirmed this to which he said,
‘Fantastic!  I have just the dolly for you.’  

“Johnny then left
momentarily and returned with a rather plain looking girl with black hair.
 He introduced her as Sue Ellen.  He urged her closer to me, then
gave me a knowing smile, winked and left me to my own devices.  

“I struggled to speak
to Sue Ellen and ended up making a fool out of myself because I could not quit
stammering.  Sue Ellen finally smiled and suggested that we find a private
place to get to know one another.  She led me to the back of the
establishment to what looked like the business office.  There was a couch
against one wall.  She gracefully sat down and waited for me to do the
same.  My palms were sweating and I felt slightly ill, but I did manage to
sit without tripping over myself.  I couldn’t bring myself to say anything
so I ended up just looking at her like a buffoon.  She had the sweetest
smile and smelled better than the aroma of my mother’s freshly baked bread
because that was the first thing that I thought of when she was close to me. 
Through my nervousness, I started to develop this undeniable sense of coming
home.  I was reminded of my mother and her providing for me when I would
return home from school.  That was my first lesson in the subtle powers of
the vampire.

“You see, vampires
can be master manipulators.  Given that by our very natures we are
predators, nature has endowed us with special abilities to help ensnare our
prey.  Since our main culinary target is the human race - a rather highly
developed animal, comparably speaking - conversely our characteristics are
rather highly developed as opposed to the predatory gifts found in other
animals in the wild.