On the Edge of Humanity (32 page)

Kate leaned in and whispered, “Your father is pissed.”

“How do you know?” I asked as I looked down at him.

“He bites the inside of his cheek. It’s a habit he has. In another second or two he’ll let out sigh to try to calm himself.”

Kate knew more about my father than I did, which set off a spark of anger, igniting a flame of jealousy within me. My daddy issues were beginning to surface, but I wasn’t ready to face them. I started tapping my foot on the floor.

“Like father, like daughter,” she said.

“What?” I slid her a sideways glance.

“Stop tapping your foot.”

Commander Mason let out a sigh just as Kate had predicted. He cleared his throat and the buzz in the room quieted. I wondered what he was so mad about. Was it because I was late?

“As most of you know, I’ve been absent for the past two weeks. You’ve been informed that the Plutariums had kidnapped me. While they were the reason I was missing, I won’t reveal the full details today. What I would like everyone in this room to know is that we have a very important mission at hand—one that involves my son, Sam. While he may be family, we’ll still follow all the protocols that we’ve learned. I don’t want anyone straying from our rules of engagement. With that said, I need everyone to do their job, man their posts and pay attention to detail. I don’t want any screw-ups. Understood?” Commander Mason waited for acknowledgement.

“Yes, sir,” the audience said in unison.

The room vibrated and I had to cover my ears from the loudness of the deep baritone of collective voices.

“Good. Now, the team leads will report to Senior Chief Cooper and pick up your orders. Once you have those in hand, gather your team and study the plans. As I said, pay attention to detail and know your role.” Commander Mason looked at his watch. “Okay, we have two hours before we leave. Let’s be safe out there.”

The thirty or so SEALs started to rise when a siren blasted through the speaker. The pain stabbed my ears and I thought blood was going to ooze out. I covered them and winced. What was the siren for? Was there a fire? Everyone in the room froze, looking at my dad and Webb. The alarm stopped, but a red light flashed from the ceiling every few seconds.

“Man your stations,” a voice crackled through an overhead speaker. “This is a red alert.”

“What’s going on?” I asked.

“I got to run. Go down and stay with Webb.”

“Wait,” I called as Kate ran out.

Before I could make my way to the podium where Webb was standing, Tripp was beside me.

“Jo, come with me.”

I followed him down to the side door where Webb had just exited through.

“Hurry,” Tripp said as he held the door open for me.

I entered a bustling room full of vampires. It was as if I had stepped into the command center at NASA. Video screens hung from the ceiling, revealing every nook and cranny in the building and outside around the perimeter. Several desks and tables shaped in half circles were set up with monitors displaying different types of pictures and information. Several large TV screens hung on the back wall just beyond the computers, desks and surveillance equipment.

The epicenter of the Jupiter Sentinels’ headquarters reminded me of a nest of ants. I didn’t move, watching as my father stood next to Kate who drew on a whiteboard. Her hand moved smoothly, drawing a blueprint of what appeared to be a building. Webb stood near a male vamp who pointed to a computer screen showing an empty courtyard. One of the bald men who sat in the front row earlier stood behind a lady as she typed, her fingers flying across the keys. I shifted my glance from the lady to the TV monitor on the back wall.

A picture of the outside of Highland Memorial Hospital popped up. After a few more keystrokes, the TV screen split into four pictures of the inside of the hospital. Why were there pictures of the hospital on the screen? Was that the place where the Plutariums were keeping Sam?

I leaned in to Tripp who hadn’t moved either. “What’s happening?”

“We had a breach. Someone hopped our fence and is now somewhere on the property.”

I thought about the man I had seen in the courtyard. Was that the same guy they were searching for? Maybe I should’ve said something to Kate or Webb earlier.

A radio crackled in the room. “Echo four, come in.”

Webb pulled the radio from his belt. “Echo four, go.”

“Sir, we have the intruder.”

“Bring him to room five,” Webb radioed back.

“Yes, sir. Charlie two out.” Then the radio went silent.

Webb walked over to a room in the far corner that was enclosed with a picture window. It reminded me of the one in Ben’s hospital room. My father joined Webb in front of the window as they waited for the intruder to enter.

Kate sidled up next to me. “You should have a seat. This might take awhile.” She waved her hand, pointing to the lounge area, which was another room along the left side of the command center. “There are drinks in the refrigerator. Maybe even some you’ve had before.”

I winged up an eyebrow. Was she talking about the flavored juice boxes? My gums started throbbing and my throat burned at the near mention of them.

“You’re going to need all the blood nourishment you can get before we head out to rescue Sam,” she said.

While the blood sounded appetizing, my stomach growled for human food. I stepped around a few desks and tables and walked into the lounge. A four-foot refrigerator butted up against the counter on the back wall. I made a beeline for it and pulled the door open. My gums were hurting just thinking about the creamsicle flavor I had a few days ago as a human. Would it taste differently this time?

My choices were limited. I was bummed that the only flavor available was vanilla. Oh well, I plucked it from the shelf, inserted the straw and sucked it down. Immediately my throat lost its burn. I decided to grab another box when my father cleared his throat.

“Don’t drink another one,” he commanded.

I turned. “Why?”

“For the first few months it is essential that the only blood you drink is mine.”

“But Kate—”

“Kate should know better. I’ll have a chat with her later. If you feel the need for blood, you need to let me or Dr. Vieira know immediately,” he explained, sounding worried.

“How will I know if I need blood or not?” I asked. Now I was beginning to worry.

“You’ll know. I need to talk with you about Sam, but not here,” he said as he walked out of the lounge.

Did he want me to follow him? I opted to since there was something in his voice that scared me.

On my way out I stopped, scanning the sea of military personnel as they prepared for a mission to save my brother. If it weren’t for this mission, what else they would be doing during the day? Weren’t vampires supposed to sleep all day and conduct their business at night? I couldn’t help but think about evolution and the vampire. How did vampires evolve? Darcy had told me they were night creatures. But the vampires around me like my father, Webb and Dr. Vieira were walking proof that the vampires of today blended in with humans, walking the earth during the day where the sun didn’t burn them to ashes.

I shivered. Just thinking about it, not to mention me as a vampire, was mind-blowing. I pinched myself to make sure I was still alive, even if it was as a vampire, which led to several other questions. If vampires existed, what other creatures walked the earth among humans? Did werewolves and fairies or witches and warlocks exist? Was there a whole supernatural community I wasn’t aware of?

“Jo?” My father nudged me.

I blinked a few times, then looked up.

“We’ll go into the conference room off the war room where it’s quiet.”

I was about to turn and follow him when a man sitting in the glass-windowed room caught my eye and I gasped.

“What’s wrong?” my dad asked.

“That man.” I pointed at the window. “Is he the intruder?” My heart raced.

“Yes. Nevertheless, he’s not a threat. Why?”

“I know him. He’s a Plutarium. But I thought he was dead.”

Everyone in the room picked up their heads.

My dad grabbed my arm and pulled me all the way into the conference room. “Sit down.”

“Hey, what did I do? Why are you—?”

“Quiet.” He paced the floor a few times, then scratched his head.

Geez, what’s got him so huffy?
I didn’t like the sound of his voice. My heart was still racing and now he gave it more reason to sprint.

“Did I do something wrong? All I said was Plutarium.”

There was something bugging my dad, and it wasn’t because I blurted out
Plutarium
. It had to be because of the guy sitting in the interrogation room—the intruder—Neil Foster. The man who helped Sam and me. The man I thought was dead. Then it dawned on me. Was Neil working for my dad? Was Neil my dad’s source and the friend he spoke of who owed him a favor? Was that how my dad got the picture of Sam?

“We need to talk about Sam,” my father said.

“He’s still alive, isn’t he?”

I waited as he paced the floor. I started tapping my foot, then stopped, remembering what Kate had said,
Like father, like daughter
. A rush of darkness washed over me, then light reappeared. My eyes must’ve changed. I stared at my father waiting for him to say something, anything.

He stopped, knelt down in front of me and looked up. His eyes had blackened to pools of tar. The outer edges had a silver rim, unlike Webb’s whose eyes took on a red rim when they turned black. He grabbed my hand.

Oh, this can’t good.

I sat in this same room on Monday with Webb kneeling down telling me I had to become a vampire to save Sam. Fast-forward the clock to a few days later, now I was sitting in the same chair in the same room about to hear bad news again. Had my sacrifice been in vain? A knot formed at the back of my throat. I swallowed, trying to prevent myself from screaming.

“Jo. I don’t know—”

“You ass—I don’t want to hear it.” Tears spilled out without hesitation.

“Young lady, you will not speak to me like that. Frankly, I won’t have my daughter talking like a truck driver. I’m your father, even if I wasn’t there for you. I’m here now and I expect you to treat me with respect if for no other reason than the fact I’m your elder. Are we clear?” He was still kneeling and he hadn’t let go of my hand.

More tears spilled and I balled my right hand into fist. A rage of fury coursed through me. I’d had enough of people telling me what to do, trying to rape me, to kill me, bullying me.

Damn the victim, damn the vampires, and damn my father!

“Yes, you’re my biological father, but who are you to appear out of nowhere and start barking out commands? I’m not in your military squad, Commander. You told me Sam was alive and that we’d save him. So don’t bring me in here and tell me he’s dead because—”

The door opened and Webb walked in.

“Commander, a word please.”

“Come in, Lieutenant,” my father said, not taking his eyes off me.

Webb stood at the door. He must’ve sensed the tension because he didn’t move. Silence filled the room as Dad and I stared at each other.

“We need to leave. It’s time,” Webb said.

I broke the staring contest and glanced at Webb. His eyes widened when I looked at him. Was there something on my face? If there was, I didn’t care. I wanted to strangle my father, who still glared at me.

“Sir?” Webb called again for my father’s attention.

“Give us a minute,” he intoned.

Webb left the room. My father stood up and I braced for impact.

“The purpose of this conversation is to inform you of some ground rules and expectations when we arrive at the place where the Plutariums are keeping Sam. I also want you to be prepared for the worst in the event we can’t save him,” he said.

“Wait. I didn’t become a vampire for nothing. You promised we would save Sam,” I said.

“He’s still alive according to my source, but he’s in bad shape. When we get into the facility, our mission is to remove him first, put him under Dr. Vieira’s care and bring him back here. That’s where you come in. You’ll need to be there with Dr. Vieira the whole time and will need to do everything Dr. Vieira tells you. I don’t want any drama from you, back talk or temper tantrums. I’ll explain everything to you when I know we have completed our mission. Are we clear?” He was standing in front of me, arms crossed over his chest with his eyebrows pulled together.

He spoke to me as if I were one of his soldiers and the biggest bratty kid he had ever met. Well, there was probably some truth to bratty right about now.

I nodded.

Since I had shed my human existence to save my brother, I had to do everything I could to ensure my new vampire life included Sam, even if that meant being the good and proper daughter, stalling my anger for my vampire father for another day.

“So I’m going with you?” I asked, looking for confirmation.

“You and Dr. Vieira will accompanying us, but will stay in the van until we bring Sam out.”

It wasn’t the answer I wanted to hear. I had a feeling, as a brand new vampire, my mettle was about to be tested.

Chapter 19

I
sat in the backseat of
the van. Webb was driving and Dr. Vieira sat next to me, behind my dad who commanded the front seat. The van was set up to accommodate a patient in much the same way as an ambulance. The stretcher was in the back along with compartments filled with gauze, Band-Aids, needles, and other medical items needed to take care of someone on the road. A cooler sat in-between Dr. Vieira’s legs and I hated to even ask what was in it. I suspected it was my father’s blood for me since I had to give Sam my own blood. At this point, I didn’t even know how I was going to do that.

I took several deep breaths and gazed out the windshield, trying to keep my mind off Sam. Cars passed and humans went about their day like any other I had imagined. If humans knew a person like me, a vampire, lived among them… I thought about Ben. How was he going to react to my new physical status? Hell, how was
I
going to react to it? Could I still go to school? Could I still be friends with Darcy? I let out a breath. I had forgotten all about her. I wondered, as the van zipped through the streets of Fall River, what Darcy was doing at this moment. Given her fiery temper, she was probably pulling out her hair trying to find Ben and me. I prayed I would see her again.

Webb pumped the brakes as he slowed down for the red light ahead. I couldn’t see much of my surroundings since the van didn’t have any back windows.

“Jo, remember to stay in the van,” my father said.

Right, the last time someone told me to stay in the car, I was attacked. Webb glanced at me in the rearview mirror, waiting for my response. Then my father turned, pulled down his sunglasses and peered at me above the rims.