A Little Undead (14 page)

'A coma, that could be
serious. God help me if he dies because I'm sure the Law and my
conscience won't be on my side.'
Drinking
blood from the man who tried to help me after the crash until he
nearly died – I was pretty sure there was a special circle of
Hell for that. Who had he been? The truck driver, perhaps? Even if
he had technically hit me rather than my car slamming into his, it
would be rather mean spirited to fault him for hitting a car that ran
a red light after sunset.

'Holly!'
That blow to the head must have shaken me more than I thought if I'd
forgotten that crucial detail. Unless they'd unexpectedly decided to
be merciful she was probably here at the station as well. Perhaps
not in a cell, but she'd definitely be questioned. I had to stay on
my toes here to make sure she wasn't implicated in any way, even if
my own sentencing was nearly certain. It was probably best to avoid
mentioning her at all, lest they think she had something to hide. I
did my best to stretch my limbs to wake up properly without being too
obvious about it. I had to be in top form for what was to come.

The journey ended without any
fanfare, a stiff door opening to reveal an oppressive interrogation
room. Three chairs, a narrow rectangular table, gray walls, and a
blacked out window. Considering who was sitting in two of those
chairs I couldn't say for certain the room was any improvement on my
cell. Here I didn't even have a pillow to bury my head under. “Sit.”

'Thank you Fred, terse and to
the point as always. Nice to know I've gone from incompetent rookie
to drug addict to half-rabid dog in your eyes. Little sis would be so
proud of me.'

I held still as he linked my
handcuffs to a chair that was itself nailed to the ground, my eyes
burning from the shame of my situation. He and his partner left after
that, apparently feeling the chain links were sufficient restraint.
If either of them had personally seen me throw that man last night
hard enough to dent a car I doubted they would have been quite so
confident. Unfortunately if I ever wanted to see my family again then
supernatural feats of strength in front of a camera and multiple eye
witnesses were definitely a no-no. Even as I made the resolution to
hide my abilities I came to realize just how hard it would be.
Whatever the blood-fueled power was that dwelt inside of me, I could
tell it wanted out. Every lick of fury I felt at my confinement
reverberated against it, whipping up the power like a storm does the
sea.

'I need to stay calm.'
I
kept my eyes closed as I lifted my head, arching my back over the
seat of the chair until I heard my spine crack.
'Dignity is for
politicians.'
Taking two deep breaths I assumed the best posture
I could and opened my eyes. A well-groomed woman in a business suit
sat in front of me, back against the wall. To my right was the
blacked out window Fred was probably hiding behind, and to my left
was Captain Morris. More than ever he managed to look like my town's
old Mayor. Now
that
was a
man carved from stone. He'd led the town well, back in the days
before we unified with the Republic, but he was too stern for the
people to accept during peacetime. Too unyielding and unforgiving
.
It was a shame that this time I was guilty of more than breaking
curfew to look at the stars..

“
Coffee?” asked the
female interrogator.

“
No thanks.” I bowed
my head until I could draw my fingers through my hair, its strands
wild and snarled.
'Lovely.'
I knew a comb was a luxury I
might not see for a long time. My chains rattled softly as I
attempted to cross my legs before remembering the link to the chair
lying in between them. Honestly, what was I doing anyways. What did
I care if she looked ten times better than I did right now, this
wasn't a pageant.

“
Julie, my name is Barbara
and I'm here to help learn your side of the story. I hear you're new
in town, is that true?”

“
....”

“
I'm sorry, I didn't quite
catch that.” Her voice was like honey, but I knew it wouldn't
take much for her to bear her fangs... that saying struck a little
too close to home these days.
'I probably shouldn't be talking to
her at all.'

Nonetheless I spoke. “I
guess it’s been nearly two weeks now.”

“
Anything you liked in
particular about our town?”
'That smile of hers almost
looks real.'

“
There's a shop near my
apartment that makes a mean turkey sandwich.” Though if my
reaction at the diner was any indication I wouldn't be having another
any time soon. Even now I could feel that accursed memory of eating
that man's leg rise within me. I wondered if I would ever be able to
eat meat again without thinking of it.

“
Julie, do you mind
telling me why you wanted to become a police officer?”

'
To protect Holly,'
was the first thought that crossed my mind. However, that would be
both an unwise and embarrassing thing to say.
I shuffled
slightly in the chair. When in doubt, deflect. “That's getting
kind of personal, don'cha think?”

“
Of course, of course.”
Barbara pulled a large photograph from the file on the table beside
her. The picture had very little color, blood staining the ground
beside the crashed police car. Just like when my Thirst arose, the
only thing that stood out was that same red fluid. “We have
eyewitnesses of you trying to kill the truck driver that called 911
for you. Your finger prints were in the car, the owner of which, one
Jake Williams, was found strung up with barbed wire at the train
station this morning. It was the same car that video surveillance
shows you entering several minutes before the accident. The question
here is why.”

My body became tighter and
tighter as she spoke. When she finished I could feel my muscles
quivering. It was a little odd that they hadn't mentioned Penny, but
the labs probably just hadn't finished analyzing that crime scene
yet.
'Don't think about her now.'
“Listen, it's not
what you think, you have to believe me.”

Barbara put away the photo
before speaking. “I'm here to get your side of the story Julie,
that's all. But you have to admit that things don't look very good.
If you can give us some sort of explanation for why you did it then
maybe we can make things go easier for you.”

I waited for a moment for her to
say something more but she simply kept her soft eyes locked on mine,
waiting in turn. “I,”
'I what? I'm a monster that hurt
a man only trying to help me?'
“I don't know what happened
to Jake. Someone pulled him through the windshield at the
intersection. The only reason I was in the driver's seat was to get
the car out of the way of the truck I saw coming at me.”

“
Can you tell me why you
started working with the serial killer known as Chains?”
Barbara's voice was compassionate yet firm as she clotheslined me.

“
I would
never
help
a serial killer.” A voice in the back of my head whispered I
had nearly taken my first step in becoming one last night. How long
would it be before I grew hungry again and started looking at humans
like they were food? Would I be able to stop before they died if I
didn't have sirens blasting in my ears? Not everyone had a
werewolf's strength to be able to push me off. That truck driver
certainly hadn't. In truth, I felt a little hungry already.

“
Maybe he forced you?
Threatened your family?”

“
I swear I've never met
him.” I felt a twinge in the pit of my stomach, tension growing
in my jaw.
'Am I changing again, even without Alex or Bruce near
me?'

“
Let me speak for a
moment,” replied Barbara, “don't worry, I'll give you a
chance to talk once I'm done.” Pushing aside the urge to
hyperventilate I took a deep breath and relaxed my clenched hands,
willing fervently for the process to stop. “Maybe he threatened
you? Threatened your family?” I felt her eyes comb my face,
searching for a reaction. I kept my eyes near closed, hoping they
hadn't had a chance to change. My eyeteeth pressed eagerly at my lips
but I could tell they weren't fully elongated. I held my breath for a
moment, but it gradually became apparent the process had thankfully
stalled, even if it refused to reverse itself. “All the
previous victims were young women just like yourself. Maybe you were
just searching for some justice. Perhaps you followed a suspect and
then things got out of hand. Just tell me, and I'll help you if I
can.”

'Enough. No more, no more
accusations, no more false compassion, just let it end.'
“Let
me make a phone call, please.”

“
After–”

“
I don't want to talk
anymore.” Barbara turned towards the captain and received a
subtle nod.

“
Fine. We'll talk again
tomorrow.” Fred and his partner filed back in to release me
from the chair as the captain swirled his coffee. My interrogators
were no doubt just waiting for me to leave before deciding my fate.
Still, as long as they were showing enough mercy to allow the phone
call they probably still had some doubts about my crime. They
probably had a hell of a time searching for a set of false teeth at
the scene of the accident. That’s when I heard Captain Morris
tell a joke to the pretty interrogator and laugh.
‘Doesn’t
he even care? Are emotions just a game for him to be switched on and
off at will?'
Maybe if I were
so callous I wouldn't be trapped in here.
My eyes pressed
closed as Fred left me by the phone at the end of the dead-end
hallway.

“
Hello, Fisher residence,
this is Susan speaking.”

I held the phone tight to my ear
as if at any moment it would fly away. “Mom, it's me.”

“
Julie? I didn't recognize
the number.”

“
Listen, Mom, I've gotten
into a bit of trouble. Don't worry, I'm sure it will all blow over
soon.” I tried to sound confident.

“
Julie, it almost sounds
like you're in jail. Is this some sort of cop joke?”

My throat closed up and I could
say no more. I hung up the phone without another word. Even Fred
seemed downcast as I was put back in my cell.

“
Click.” I heard the
door to the hallway swing open, wheels running along the concrete
floor. I inclined my head to see Mr. No Name, Fred's silent
assistant, drop a tray of food through the open slot at the bottom of
my cell's bars. It looked suspiciously like my middle school's
cafeteria food. That was saying something seeing as there was actual
rat meat and sawdust in it on a few occasions.
'I'm really
starting to dislike this guy.'
Unappetizing or not, I felt I
really should try and eat it.
'How long has it been since I've
eaten, anyways?'
The only thing that came to mind was the
muffin, and I'd barely even eaten the edges of it.

I tried to summon an interest in
the meal but my stomach refused to comply. Then I heard a strange
sound, like the beating of a drum left too long in the rain.
'What
is that? It sounds like a heart beat.'
I felt my mouth grow
crowded, lips curling back over my fangs as my cell's contours lit up
in my eyes like a park at midday.
'Frikk.'
I hid my face in my
pillow as the officer came back pushing the empty cart. “Click.”
The hallway door opened again as he exited, far louder than before.

At the limits of my hearing I
could hear whispers, muffled as if diffusing through a wall. I only
managed to listen clearly to one of the voices. It was barely
audible through the cacophony of humming electrical equipment and the
snores of a pair of drunks sleeping off a bender in another cell, but
its contents were chilling. “... she must be Chains, or at
least involved with him. It was that man’s blood on her
clothing, the only question is-,” the door snapped shut,
cutting off my wide-eyed eavesdropping.

It figured that practically the
only area of science to advance in the post-Infection era was in
criminology. Not that the technology was cheap, by any means. If
this had occurred in one of the communities at the far north of the
continent they never would have had the resources to check for DNA
samples.“I'm screwed, aren't I.” An attorney was
practically out of the question. They tended to get snippy if you
didn't tell them the truth, which happened to be the one thing I
couldn't tell them. I didn’t even have a decent alibi for the
killings at the start of the week. My home town was close enough that
I could have just driven here during the night and been back home
with none the wiser by morning. The military checkpoints were
notorious for leaking like a sieve.
‘I may have to
reconsider the vampire defense.’
It was a tossup at the
moment whether having a psychiatrist try and convince me with heavy
duty medication that I wasn’t some sort of vampire would make
me go mad any quicker than my current situation.

I covered my ears with my hands
but it was no use. The steady, endless beating of the hearts of my
fellow prisoners continued to assault my sanity. I wasn't even put
in the same cell block and yet I could still hear them so clearly.
There was a growing question in my mind of just how bad this would be
when I was truly hungry.
'And will I be able to eat the prison
food, or will I–'
I didn't want to say it, not even in my
mind, but how long would it be before I started thinking of humans as
my food of choice? I had hardly spent a week in this city but it
seemed like with every passing day I was losing another piece of my
humanity. Could I actually starve to death if I went to jail without
access to fresh blood? Or would I instead live some tortured
existence off the blood of rats and worms and other foul things that
crawled and slithered beneath the earth.