Authors: Laira Evans
The interrogation room was empty
but the process was much the same. After chaining me to the chair
they proceeded to leave. Strangely, the blond, pinch-faced man
hesitated for just a moment to leave a folded leaf of paper on the
table beside me. The words were on my tongue to ask the reason why
but he was gone before I could overcome the stubborn silence that
enveloped me.
'Is it supposed to be for me? Why would they give me
a letter?'
Even chained to the chair it was easily in reach. It
was a mystery, a temptation, a trap?
I slipped a hand underneath my
shirt, shifting the knife to my front. I had to contort myself a bit
to reach it thanks to the handcuffs but I didn't think I had been too
awkward about it. Still hidden beneath my baggy shirt I slowly turned
it over and over again. Even now that I was in a slightly saner frame
of mind its weight was not ominous or dark as I had half suspected it
would be, but oddly comforting. It was a good luck charm against the
onslaught of the unknown. The nervous shaking of my hands stilled. I
lifted the paper to read.
Hello, my little
fanged one. If you're reading this message then my assistant has done
as I asked.
“
What is this, are they
trying to trick me?”
You would do well
to learn from him. Disobedience has a price, Miss Fisher. I must
commend your talent at disguise, you hide your nature well. Until I
saw you drink from that man I could have sworn you were human.
Whatever it is you are, you must realize the truth of my deception,
must understand that Chains, as they call him, was but a means to an
end.
My breathing turned quick and
shallow, blood rushing in my ears.
I can take care
of you, if you let me; show you how to safely satisfy your Thirst,
the endless desire to feed. I must ask that you destroy this letter,
its discovery would make freeing you a far messier process. A lengthy
investigation could negatively impact your family, after all.
The knife shattered in my hand.
My claws grew in seconds, the sensation like the burn of a
reawakening limb.
'Was that a threat?'
No matter how politely
it was worded the letter represented an ultimatum, and neither option
was acceptable. “I've had enough of just sitting around.”
The chain links gave an agonized shriek as I ripped them apart. I
turned from side side to side, examining my outfit. “No
pockets,” I sighed. I'd become rather dependent on pockets over
the last few years. Well, it's not as if I had much to fill them with
at the moment, only a knife and a single piece of paper that I'd be
tempted to burn in effigy if it wasn't such an important piece of
evidence. Well, sometimes you just made do with what you had.
Making a jail break was against
everything I had sworn as a police officer, but on the other hand at
least if he couldn't find me he couldn't blackmail me either. This
was the best option to keep Holly safe, and if I was careful I could
still watch over her from the shadows.
I slipped the folded note under
my bra and tied the knife to my pants with a few pieces of torn
fabric from my shirt. I walked up to the front of the door,
considering my options.
'So, what now?'
I wasn't sure how much
I trusted my amplified hearing but as far as I could tell no one was
standing behind the observer's window. Bulletproof though it was I
imagined I could break through it with enough effort. If nothing
else, it would be quieter than breaking down the steel door.
'Then
again...'
My fingers curled around the doorknob with deliberate
slowness, listening with thinly veiled amusement as the latch slowly
pulled back into its socket, allowing the door to swing free.
'Well, that's convenient.'
I shucked off the slippers
they'd given me, tiptoeing silently down the hallway at a superhuman
pace with the prison footwear held in one hand.
'I would make such
an awesome super-spy.'
I wasn't entirely sure where I was going
but I let my ears guide me, easily avoiding the few officers that
prowled the halls. I imagined I'd find what I was looking for
eventually if I just kept going. At the very least I might find
something to vent on. With luck I'd be out of here before they even
finished their meeting.
Echoing past several corners I
heard a door slam open followed by a multitude of footsteps.
'Never
mind then.'
I paused for a moment, reconsidering my plan, or lack
thereof.
'I think this is the point where I'm supposed to take to
the air vents.'
I was fairly sure there were worse ideas, and
with people approaching on all sides I didn't have much time to think
of a better one.
'It's settled.'
Twelve seconds later I was quite
pleased with myself, if a bit dusty. No one would ever say again that
I, Julie Fisher, middle school basketball drop out, could not jump.
And if the previously locked grate now found itself slightly crooked
for having been persuaded to open, well, it's not as if anyone ever
looks up. I'd seen enough horror films to note that particular
failing in humanity. To be honest, my plan probably wouldn't have
worked in a real police station, but this had originally been an old
office building. When refugees had starting pouring into the city
the police force had expanded drastically to curtail massive
outbreaks of gang violence – not to mention all the crazies
that came out of the woodwork after the apocalypse.
'Alright, time to shuffle.'
I made fairly steady progress even though I only moved when the
passageways below me were clear. It was surprisingly dry in here, my
throat was growing more and more parched.
What voices penetrated from
below were distorted in their travel and further obscured by the
relentless hum of the fans. Still, from what I could tell they
definitely knew something was going on and they were not at all happy
about it. It was probably time to start hurrying. While I hardly
had a clue where I was anymore, I did have some idea of what I needed
to find. I needed information on the case, and on just what the hell
vampires were if it turned out I wasn't one of them. Because at this
point, a vampire was my best and really only guess as to the culprit.
As to how the missing persons cases
and Chains related, it was too early to say.
'I hope this is it.'
My
fist flew downwards, propelled with a force far greater than the size
of my muscles could ever imply. Through a quirk of engineering my
punch dislodged the metal panel I was kneeling on as well as my
target. “Aiieh!”
“
You!”
I had landed in a crouch inside
a long, narrow room. A table surrounded with empty chairs filled most
of the space, a few forgotten papers cluttering its surface. Beside
me stood a projector, along with a familiar mustachioed man. “Oh,
hi there Fred.” My hand snaked out to crush his radio the
moment I saw him glance at it. “Come now, let's play nice.”
I think my newfound freedom was making me feel a little frisky.
Either that or I just wanted to bite him.
I could hear his heartbeat
accelerate, lungs expanding as he prepared to shout. “None of
that now.” I slipped around to his back, knocking him to his
knees with a well-placed kick as I went. I may have misjudged my
strength a touch if his grunt through the hand I had covering his
mouth was any indication. “Now where is it, you must have one.”
I pressed closer to him as I searched for a cellphone. “Found
it!” He twisted to look at me, eyes peeled wide. “What's
wro–” I pulled back the moment I realized my fangs were
at his neck, teeth clicking together like marbles as I clamped my
mouth shut. “Sorry, little peckish at the moment.”
Still standing on Fred's calves
and covering his mouth to prevent any inopportune outbursts I dialed
Alex's number. “Hey, it's me. I need you to sniff someone out.”
Fred squirmed as I twisted my foot in annoyance on his calves. “What
do you mean you're not my bloody hound? You tried to kill me, you owe
me.” I had to apologize to my captive for wrenching his head
sideways at Alex's next response. “Now listen here you
hairball, that was an accident. Besides, you tried to kill me
twice
.
No more excuses. I'll be at your house in thirty minutes as soon as I
escape the police station.” I crushed the phone in my hands as
a way of hanging up the moment he started spluttering incoherently. I
stepped off Fred, cautioning him with one clawed finger at his lips
against any outbursts. He didn't alert the rest of the station so I
figured it half worked.
“
You’re a vampire!”
While I was slightly heartened
that Fred was finally showing some human emotion for once I had hoped
it would be a more positive one. “I'll explain everything, just
don't freak out.” He started running and I knocked him out with
a punch to the back of his head. My hand dragged over my face in
disbelief.
'My fangs may have tickled him a little but that's no
reason to be unreasonable.'
Sedately stepping over his body I
locked the only entrance to the meeting room, propping a chair
underneath the knob for a little insurance.
The video setup was a bit
foreign to me but I had the thing working after a minute or two.
Thankfully one of the tapes was neatly labeled “Chains.”
No matter how long I pressed fast forward the manic monologue of
protestations continued. The dead man they had dragged past my cell
was a high school music teacher and was quite vocal in confessing his
crimes. I idly picked at my fangs as his monologue continued. His
voice was halting, wavering like a weak reed, though occasionally his
volume rose to a shout. And yet, he was unmistakeably the old man
from the park that played so beautifully. It was hard to reconcile
the two faces I had seen from him. There was one thing particularly
telling about his confession: never once did he mention any of the
missing persons. The monster that had taken Jake was still out
there, still killing, and likely was the same person who sent me the
letter. I flipped the projector off. I didn't need to see any more.
If the mastermind behind these
abductions ever got his hands on my family... “I won't let that
happen.” A hand rattled the door from the outside to no avail.
I was out of time. I could feel vibrations through my feet as
reinforcements came running. The door wouldn't last long.
I flipped over my comatose
companion, evaluating him slowly. In truth I didn't really know
anything meaningful about him but at this point I didn’t have a
whole lot of options. I grabbed a pen from his chest pocket but
hesitated as I went to write on the back of the letter I had been
given. A key rattled in the lock, there was no more time.
Take
this to Captain Morris, no one else,
I
wrote
. My script
was practically chicken scratch in my haste.
Be
careful of Bruce
,
I added.
I felt
guilty about incriminating him. He could be completely innocent even
if he wasn't human, but there was a limit to the number of risks I
was willing to take. If what I was planning didn't work out then the
letter would be my only backup. It was a shame that Morris seemed a
step away from insanity at times. I was certain he knew at least a
little about the supernatural world, perhaps even more than me for
all that I was a part of it myself.
The door opened but rebounded
powerfully off the chair, shutting once more. “Time to go.”
I stuffed the letter in his pocket and jumped for the vent, claws
sticking into the metal like a cat's on a tablecloth. Hand by hand I
dragged myself up, ignoring the half-blunted edge as it dug into my
stomach and legs. The chair exploded, splinters bouncing off my
still-exposed ankles. “She's up in the vents!”
'Lovely.'
I scurried like
a rat in a hole, forgoing all attempts at stealth. The shaft shook as
someone entered the air ducts behind me. Faster and faster I went,
metal warping from my frantic kicks until finally –
'Here!'
I crashed downwards, directly onto the front desk. An officer
gaped at me from the doorway but I payed him no mind. I sprang into a
sprint and went straight through the window, glass sparkling around
me as we flew through the air. “Ah!”
Strong though I was, it appeared
glass could still cut my skin with little effort. The sun wasn't
helping things either. Though clouds stretched as far as the horizon
the light still pained my eyes, even if it didn't burn immediately
burn my skin. It was like staring into a furnace with a bit of
cotton candy in between.
'Stop daydreaming and
run
.'
Sirens started up from the garage as I cut across traffic.
A minivan threw on the brakes in
front of me, a child's hand pointing through the window at my ghastly
appearance. It made me feel a little better about denting their car
by running over the top of it. Rude behavior had consequences, I was
just teaching the kid a lesson. Though, I had to admit this was
probably more of a
'do as I say not
as I do'
sort of lesson. After all, if I was a model citizen I
probably wouldn't be running from the police in the first place.
I glanced back when I heard a
bike spin to a stop behind me. “You there! Stop and put your
hands in the air!” I sped up instead. I knew the fence in front
of me well. It was the same one that had nearly gotten me killed a
few days ago when Alex was chasing me but this time I was ready for
it, and no bicycle cop was going to stop me. My muscles coiled, and
then I was airborne. For a brief moment gravity disappeared. I
slapped the wall at the apex of my jump, the added lift giving me the
last few inches of height I needed to clear the fence without injury.
'Success!'