The Source (20 page)

“Good morning. As we began this project,” Bree states,
“the first thing we focused on was the different ways that vampires could die.
Of course, there are many ways that are similar to humans, but for the
protection of the human population it only made sense to study the ways that
were specific to vampires.”

My spine becomes rod stiff. I only hear every other
word that she says as she begins detailing the research that she and Abe have
done, which sounds a lot like the work Rick and I have done. The synchronicity
is uncanny. I glance at Rick long enough to see the muscles in his jaw twitch as
he grinds his teeth. I look back at Bree as she continues to explain how the
sun was the source of the solution, causing an accelerated form of dehydration
in vampires. She and Abe have developed a pepper-spray-like device, which
includes vampire effective dehydration-inducing elements. The idea is to spray
the mixture into a vampire’s eyes so that it will absorb into the body quickly,
then within moments the vampire will rapidly dry up and fall to its untimely
death. The mixture is simple, nothing more than a concentration of saline and
alcohol at elevated levels and mortuary-grade formaldehyde. The theory is that
once the liquid hits the blood vessels, preferably in the eyes, the blood cells
within the vampire will begin attacking neighboring blood cells to obtain the
moisture needed to remedy the dehydrating effects of the spray. Actually the
process would only spread the drying effect as the cells literally suck the
life out of one another.

“Now a demonstration,” Abe announces.

Two men in white medical jackets move a cage on wheels
into the conference room. Of course trapped within the bars is FOHVA’s favorite
vampire guinea pig, Thalia.

I look at Rick as the podium is moved and replaced by
the mobile cage. Rick still doesn’t look at me, but slowly takes my hand into
his. It’s as if he wants to comfort me, but doesn’t trust himself to look into
my eyes. Maybe he’s just has upset as I am, but his seventy-seven years of
practice have perfected his stoicism.

Thalia paces back and forth, completely unaware of
what is getting ready to happen. Bree walks up to the cage with a metal
canister in her hand. Thalia sneers at her as she stalks up to Bree, doing her
best to look intimidating. Without fanfare, Bree squirts the solution into
Thalia’s eyes. Thalia screams as the skin around her eyes begins to dry,
looking like worn shoe leather. She digs her fingers at her eyes as the drying
begins to spread over her body before she collapses onto the floor.

And that’s it.

Looking like an extra from “The Mummy Returns,” Thalia
rubs her eyes with her knuckles then looks up to scan the audience, waiting for
something else to happen.

Bree’s head twitches back as she faces the crowd. Abe
raises his eyebrows, watching Thalia as if he is waiting for the solution to
complete its job.

Thing is, it already has. Thalia is still alive.
Dehydration is evidently not the way the sun kills vampires. I look at Rick who
finally meets my gaze, a questioning look in his eyes.

I lean toward him, whispering, “Maybe that’s why the
blood seemed to re-animate the dead cells. They weren’t completely dead in the
first place. Just damaged.” I turn my head back toward Thalia. “I guess that’s
another vampire mystery. Dehydration that would kill a human only weakens a
vampire. I would be willing to bet that after one or two feedings, Thalia would
be good as new.”

Suddenly Thalia falls face forward, her body
completely still. Gasps resound throughout the conference room. Mr. Caulfield
nods to one of the white-jacket men to open the cage. The medical assistant
kneels beside Thalia, resting two fingers against her throat then one of her
wrists. He exits, locks the cage again then approaches Mr. Caulfield,
whispering in his ear and gesturing to the body lying on the floor.

Turning to the room of researchers Mr. Caulfield says,
“Thalia is still alive. She is weakened, but she still lives.” He regards Bree
and Abe. “It is possible that she is weak enough that her body will eventually
give out, but we cannot predict when or if that will happen. Incapacitation is
a good first step, but it’s not good enough. If Thalia would regain her
strength through feeding, then it’s possible that she would still be a threat.”
He turns to the side of the stage. “Allison.”

Allison nods and accompanies the medical assistant
back to the cage. Once the door opens, Allison enters as she removes a small
bottle from her coat pocket. She turns Thalia’s head to the side and quickly
empties the bottle of red liquid into her mouth then quickly exits the cage,
the medical assistant re-engaging the lock.

Several moments pass before Thalia opens her eyes and
raises her head, slowly looking around the room in an apparent daze. Her skin
begins to look softer, as if an old shoe has been oiled back to its healthy
sheen.

Mr. Caulfield’s lips quiver as he turns back to Bree
and Abe. “And it is so. A vampire sprayed with the weapon you developed could
still pose a threat.” He nods, his steely gaze unflinching. Bree looks away to
glance at Abe before meeting Mr. Caulfield’s gaze again. His thin lips purse
together, his tone dismissive, “Try again.” And with that he turns and leaves
the conference room, promptly followed by Allison and the white jackets as they
push the cage from view.

I stare aimlessly at the floor as people slowly start
to mill about, moving toward the door. When the room is almost clear, Rick
turns to me. Putting his hand on my shoulder he says, “Come on. We should
probably get back to the suite.”

I look at the clock on the wall and inhale deeply.
“It’s about time to go home. Maybe we should just try to get some rest and
start fresh later tonight.”

He agrees. “Okay. But let’s talk briefly, preferably
in a less public place. Like the suite.” He gets up, stretches his long legs
and waits for me to collect myself. I finally rise from the chair and follow
him to the door. Before I get into the hall, Tucker taps my arm.

“Hey, Emma. Do you have a moment?”

“Sure,” I respond. “A brief moment. What’s up?”

Rubbing his hands together, “Well, I wondered if you
had changed your mind about going to the abandoned mine yet.” I start to
interrupt him when he continues, “I know, I know. You said no, but I had an
idea. If you’re up to it, I thought maybe we could get something to eat and
then stroll around the area.  And if not there, we could go to the park and
walk, just relax and enjoy the morning air. Help to relieve the pent-up stress
of the whole project almost ending tonight.”

I wriggle my nose as if smelling something rotten.
“Not the mine. A walk would be nice though. I could use the distraction.”

Tucker smiles, nodding as he continues down the hall.
I turn to see Rick standing a few feet away, his eyebrow cocked as if he is
aiming a hundred questions at me. I ignore him and start walking to the suite
in silence, trying not to glance in his direction. I almost feel like if I look
at him, I will have to suffer his recriminations - as if avoiding his eyes will
keep him from saying anything. Not so much.

“A walk with Tucker as a distraction?” he asks as he
follows me into the suite.

I try to subtly ignore him as I walk to the whiteboard,
posing as if I were diving right back into work. He stays behind me and the
quiet lingers.

“In a way I’m happy that they went first. We were on
similar tracks and if we had finished first, I would be the one embarrassed
right now.” I make a big show of studying the whiteboard.

“Nice re-direct,” he says. “And why be embarrassed?
How else would you know that it wouldn’t work unless you failed? Speaking of
things that won’t work, back to Tucker. I thought you didn’t want to have
anything to do with him? Or did he and I have a chat for no reason at all?”

I turn to him. I can’t decide if he is genuinely
concerned about my choices or if he is just miffed that his efforts were a
waste of his precious time. I drop my hands to the side, at a loss for words.
Rick just watches me as if he is waiting for me to unveil some great mystery. I
exhale quickly and walk over to the center island, my eyes darting around as I
grasp for a way to explain things. I really shouldn’t have to, but I had acted
as if Tucker put me off to the point that Rick felt the need to intervene. Not
my problem, by the way, but still the way things are. Although I didn’t ask him
to do the things he had done, he seems to feel entitled to know what is going
on.

I shake my head. “If I hadn’t said yes, he would just
continue to ask. Maybe by going this one time, he’ll get over it. He’ll see
that there is no need to pine over me, and I’ll have the opportunity to
emphasize that I just want to be friends.”

He crosses his arms, his jaw twitching. “By being
alone with him. A man that has so far shown that his elevator sometimes doesn’t
reach the top. Sounds like a safe plan. And by the way, by going with him so
he’ll stop doesn’t work. If anything, you’re encouraging him. I’m a man. I know
these things. If I were him I would be excited as hell because if you agreed
this time, then the walls must be coming down and I’m close to getting what I
want.”

I look at him, my eyes widening a bit. “I hadn’t
thought of it that way. But I’m sure everything is going to be okay. We’ll be
at the park. It’s a public place. I’ll tell him that I’m not interested, and
that will be the end of things.”

He lets out a gush of air in apparent exasperation and
places his hands on my shoulders. “Emma, never doubt what a man in lust is
capable of. Even a human male has a piece of the hunter in him, and once he
gets a taste, he will do anything to get more. And if he’s a man with no morals
or sense of reason, that can turn dangerous very quickly.”

I just look into his eyes as they move back and forth
over my face, my lower lip quivering. I would normally step away from him,
afraid to have my mind influenced, but I can tell that my thoughts are my own.
There is no tingle of psychic invasion, just the tingle of burning tension
building low in my body. He seems to care more about me than his wasted effort,
and damn me if it so is
not
feeling like brotherly concern.

He suddenly removes his hands, smiling. “Besides, if
something happens to you, then I’m going to be seriously hurting with the
project. Not much luck for me to win it on my own.”

I slowly close my mouth, trying not to let any of the
moisture escape from the corners of my eyes. Of course. The money. The project.
That’s what he is concerned about, not me specifically.

I step back. “I think I’m going to call it a night
like I suggested. A lot has happened. Should just regroup and start fresh
tomorrow.” I walk to retrieve my jacket and purse while he stands, unmoving, in
the center of the room.

“Sounds like a good idea,” he says. “I’ll walk you to
your car.”

I walk past him, slightly smiling. “No thanks. A nice
girl like me shouldn’t walk around outside with a predator, right?” I turn my
head and quickly walk from the suite before he can respond.

Yeah, great plan. If I can’t ignore it, run from it -
and pray that it doesn’t run faster.  

At round noon Tucker calls to see if we were still
meeting to walk in the park. He asks again about getting something to eat, and
I tell him I have errands to run and would just meet him at the park. Adding a
meal just makes it seem too much like a date, and Rick is right about not
wanting to give him the wrong idea. It’s hard to appreciate the wisdom of
someone when you’re trying so hard to be angry with him. I guess that’s what
being mature is all about. Boy, it sucks.

I meet Tucker at the Lieutenant George Robert
Stevenson Memorial Park. Lieutenant George was from the town of Rowan and was
killed in combat in Desert Storm. One thing the people of West Virginia are
proud of is the fact that the state has had more soldiers involved in every war
than any other state in the U.S. Unfortunately that also means the need for a
lot of memorials.  West Virginians do not take honoring their fallen soldiers
lightly, and the Lieutenant G.R. Stevenson Memorial Park is just one example.

I arrive at the park at 3:30. I want to make sure that
it is close enough to work time that I won’t have to make any more excuses for
not going to lunch or an early dinner. A little over an hour should be just
enough time for him to realize that he will only ever be my co-worker. Embrace
the awkwardness.

“Hi,” he says with a broad smile on his face.

I close the door to my car and walk over to him to
stand on the gravel path, trying not to smile too much. “Hi.”

“I’m glad you came.” He tilts his head toward the path
and starts walking. “I thought that after everything that had happened you
wouldn’t agree to a walk.”

I briefly close my eyes. Such a telling statement,
screaming at me that Rick was without a doubt right when he had said that
Tucker would get the wrong idea.

“To be honest,” I begin slowly, “I wasn’t going to
come. But I thought that this would be a good time to talk about things.”

He nods, putting his hands into the pockets of his
faded jeans. I look up to see that his head is tilted down, eyes looking at the
ground. I quickly look around, suddenly wanting to make sure that there are
other people in the park. I struggle to say the words that I need for him to
hear. His head rises.