Created (Book 1 of the Created) (11 page)

From her head tilt she was concerned that I was keeping up
with her.

Not worried about my comprehension, Veronica advanced the
story. "About forty years ago, the United States government began an endeavor
to construct a new weapons program called Generations. There were extreme
successes and colossal failures during the early days. The hardest part was the
technology needed was far behind the concept idea. Finally, the government
sought outside resources to carry the project forward."

Beleaguered and mentally drained I spoke before I could forget
my questions. "What was the basis for the project? You know, what was the
end product?"

"Ethan, the project was to use the monsters of the
different folklores of humanity to inflict terror upon their enemies. The U.S.
paired their researched design models with Chadron corporation’s genetic
modifiers. The implementation brought it to Fort Cooper, Alabama which was
called the Farm for short. Here the experiments could run free and train for
when the need arose to send the toys into foreign lands. Soon though, our
brothers and sisters were being hunted by the arrogant millionaires, or the
Monster Hunters club, that allowed wealthy elite to donate money to the
development of future warriors while providing true field data at somewhat less
risk than sending soldiers into battle."

I cracked off a smart ass retort.
"Super
soldier Darby?
Super soldier me? Super soldier you? We are kids. These
people must be insane."

Adjusting a smeared corner of her red lipstick, Veronica
then delicately yawned.

Unimpressed, I bemused silently.

"Our generation is the newest, the most ready. GV16s
are perfect killing machines. We have been designed to have a laundry list of
abilities at our disposal. These range from hyper sensitive hearing, smell and
vision to super speed and strength. Then we have the other qualities more
characteristic of our given virus parameter. So, since we are vampires, the
basics apply. The blood craving is real. We are cunning, charming, aggressive,
unrelenting and exotic. No one can resist the lures we possess when used to
effect humans."

Cringing about having to ask her another question, I paused
then proceeded. "Veronica how could this happen? How did I become a
vampire?"

"Explanations run much faster when they are allowed to
go on unimpaired instead of made burdensomely slow by obviously trivially
answered rabble," Veronica was running out of patience.

Her words bothered me enough I wanted to explode.

However, my mouth stayed shut because I have to know as much
as she was willing to share.

Walking to one of the tinted windows Veronica looked
conflicted as she spoke, "Nanotechnology. When they first started, the
government was using a virus developed by the Germans during WWII. This virus
mimicked the symptoms of being a vampire or whatever other creature they could
dream up using a conventional frame work such as a human or a wolf. This virus
wasn't perfect and the genetic modifiers that were at play so uncharted that
many of the first generations included deformities and uncontrollably
dispositions of almost pure evil."

The question I had wanted answered she had dodged thus far
with the long winded explanation of how we had arrived through science, but I
wanted to know about me personally. Time had to be given to see if she knew the
truth about my origin. Rubbing my chin, I listened intently as she explained.

"Chadron was brought in when the project stalled after
the first few cycles of creations were deemed failures. Dropping Bayne or his
brood would do short term damage in confined or limited use, but those
monstrosities standout and have inherit weaknesses that make them very limited.
Eventually, the threat would die down and life would stabilize. The government
wanted to ultimately have a monster that looked and acted like a human. The
evil they desired to create would appear to be like the average citizen of the
target country."

Joining Veronica at the window, our hands inadvertently
brushed. A shiver ran down my spine, not of fear, but of attraction. I shook it
off or tried, but damn it was hard because she was so fucking beautiful. Even
her smell of cinnamon was warm and disarming. I felt myself lingering on
thoughts of touching her exquisite face. Slowly, my hand inched without regard
for my commands until almost even with her shoulder, suddenly I stopped.
Deciding for safety and sanity, I needed to cool any thoughts about her. I
scanned the world on the other side of the glass.

Pointing out the window at a series of muscular young men on
patrol, Veronica seemed different, older than when we were in the forest
together.
"Once we were alive, living, like those
soldiers out there on the street.
We were young men and women with
families and bright futures and in an instant, for whatever reason, were
suddenly and with finality gone. Ethan, we have been given a second chance at
life. We are all so very, fortunate. To be selected is so rare. Chadron only
uses the healthy and the young who have recently been deceased. We were
selected because of scarcity of our genes and made into something even more uniquely
beautiful with the chance of immortality."

Still looking out at the street long after the soldiers
passed, I drew a deep breath as I dealt with how the facts of my own demise
must be buried somewhere deep in my mind.

Veronica could tell the thought must have been burdening me.
"You can't remember because your thoughts were stripped away. The ones
that make you remember who you were. And whoever you once were is a fractured
image that no longer works. The government and Chadron go to great lengths to make
you forget you were human. They say it makes you that much more lethal since
you can't sympathize with your assignments."

"Oh". My head felt so heavy.

Turning from the window, Veronica rested her back against
the frame. Briefly, I thought I saw a tear, but must have been mistaken.

The nearby construction in the building had all but stopped
except for the random banging of a hammer. Left to the quiet, we had to deal
with the uneasiness of trying to forget the past as well as deal with our
resurrections.

Already shaking, head bowed, I knew it was time to find out
the difficult answers. "Veronica, you may not want to tell me more, but I
have to know everything. Please don't deny me a chance to find out who I have
become."

"Ok," she said.

She walked away toward a small card table to rearrange an
old deck that had long since been forgotten there. "Nanites are introduced
into the bloodstream. These tiny devices alter the DNA inside of us while
others provide a more efficient means to get the virus into our nervous system,
but more importantly the devices are used to control us. With a single flip of
a switch, we can all be rendered into dust. It provides them with a failsafe.
The older ones were controlled by brute force, but technology has made the
whole issue of death very subtle."

She paused speaking and shuffling then promptly started
again. "Others within the Town say it is there to remind us about who our
God should be and that we are their servants."

"Are we?" I asked.

"I don't know. I tend to believe we should be thankful
for what being alive. Normally, I tend to let others worry about such
nonsense." Veronica was still shuffling the cards with her back to me.

"So are we going to play cards now or what?" I
playfully quizzed her hoping to break up the solemn mood the conversation had
undertaken.

There was a light, airy laugh from the sultry female
vampire.

"Is that a no?" I asked as I moved toward her
position.

She did not answer directly.

Peering out the window Veronica became monetarily
preoccupied then in a rushed manner tried to progress my movement into becoming
a vampire. "The next few days are going to be fierce with our going to
high school, you having to deal with adjusting to life here and becoming a
vampire, plus you first official feed will be soon. If you survive, then
everything should be fine. It is getting near night time and there is still a
lot of information in your folder for you to process and memorize. There is a
secondary folder in your house. That folder contains your basic information
about assimilation into vampire culture here on the Farm."

I knew that it was going to be a long night of reading and
pondering my new life. Sighing, I returned to my seat.

"Ethan, we need to go before the feeding time for the
red zone. It begins in a while and they ask us to be inside when it takes
place. No matter what you hear tonight, do not open your door."

She tossed me a key. "Thanks, but which house is
mine?"

I couldn't help, but stare as she moved closer to me almost
as if she was circling her prey. The move was imperceptible, but it had
occurred I was sure of it.

She faced me then glided through the door. "Come on, we
must get you settled before the Town is sealed off for tonight."

Heeding her beckoning, I followed suit. Calling up to her,
"Before it is forgotten, I guess a thank you is in store for getting me
out of harm's way. I really didn't understand, but I am sure you had your
reasons. What did that mob want?"

Half turning as she walked she answered, "You were left
to die or survive in the woods on your own. The group you saw was upset because
they knew I had intervened breaking up what they consider the natural cycle of
events, but no one had ever been dropped off that far in the forest before. So,
I had to do something. Most of the recoveries are made in or near the town
under traditionally calm settings, if you can call our little world here calm.
I am still at a loss as to why you were placed in the middle of the wolves'
zone."

Confused, I wanted to make sure my mind wasn't over reaching.
"It sounds to me like I was left to die."

Opening the door to exit the building, Veronica turned the
knob as she explained. "I agree."

The inside of my new home was unsurprisingly retro.

Veronica had said the 'Town' was a very small town when the
U.S. bought the property in the 1970s. Named Weber, the town was so small it
wasn't included on the majority of the original local maps. A single main
street lined with brick and wooden buildings stretched for a few blocks with a
few other structures hidden around the peripheries down sunless alleyways.
 

The houses occupied by the vampires were built later at the
edge of the forgotten stores. The original intent was for housing scientists
and officials back before the different types of beasts were allowed to roam
freely.

The housing was dated and appeared aged as the last remnants
of sunlight fought through the cracks in the wooden blinds covering the room in
a color very similar to orange marmalade.

Dust covered the entire small living room and attached
kitchen. The hardwood floor was in decent shape and bore a series of foot
prints tracking between the living room, kitchen and through a door beside the
kitchen that must have been a bedroom.

My curiosity led me to follow the path into the kitchen.
Without deviation, the footprints moved to a recently new refrigerator. Opening
the door left me to experience a feeling too incredible for words as I beheld
white plastic bins containing clear plastic athletic looking water bottles with
easy open tops filled with a dark red substance that I knew from the aroma was
fresh blood.

The image shocked me at first. After the image sank in, I
thought about what I was and how I had to think of surviving in my new role.

Still it was all new to me and things were always a learning
experience. "I guess vampires don't need real food."

Each bin was labeled by blood type or species with dates of
donation and expiration. The bins filled three shelves.

There was a thirst and a need to take one out, but I
resisted.

Scanning through the top two shelves, I noticed that the
bottles with human blood displayed labels that denoted these did not have a
long shelf life if I wanted optimal taste and flavor. The types were O and A of
various degree.

The lowest shelf contained blood from deer, foxes and
rabbits. The slight smell permeating through the plastic was not unpleasant nor
was it as intoxicating as the containers of human blood.

Shutting the door, I stepped around the bar and to the door
I presumed contained my bedroom. The presumption was correct.

The tiny room housed a separate bathroom with a small tub
and shower combo, toilet, sink and a fragment of a mirror. Stepping into the
room, I thought about looking to see if I could see my new self, but wasn't
sure that was my best course of action.

Exiting, I admired the bedroom. There was a sliding glass
door covered with new modern vertical blinds to the left of the bed. The blinds
did not mesh well with an interior that had not been updated in over forty
years. The dark real wood paneling and the stark white were an odd mix
together.

Recently, the bedspread and linens had been replaced with a
modern twist on 1970s decor which didn't help make the lightly stained wooden
bed appear in better shape.

Finishing the room were a couple small tables and a matching
chest of drawers.

Daring to peek behind the accordion style doors guarding the
contents of the closet, I was pleasantly greeted with a selection of new shoes
and clothes reminiscent of the position I would be playing for the better part
of considerable future. Trendy t-shirts, jeans, khakis and polo shirts filled
the expanse with the occasional Oxford mixed in for good measure, all of which
were hung in order by color. Then to complete my wardrobe at the far right side
of the closet hung an assortment of ties, belts and accessories.