Created (Book 1 of the Created) (13 page)

Veronica broke the silence, "I see Darby didn't waste
any time in trying to get to know you or in leaving."

I wasn't surprised that she knew because I could still
detect the lingering scent too.

"Nothing happened. I mean I woke up and she was here
beside me. I don...,” I stammered before she cut me off.

"I know that too. Darby is a great friend to me and
will be to you too after we get her past this association, this bond that has
been created between the two of you. She is naive enough to believe there is
love after what happened. I have tried countless times to explain to her that
there cannot be love between any of our kind. Unfortunately the innate
qualities that were part of us as humans are maintained to a certain extent
after reanimation and Darby seems to have been either a confused teen or a
hopeless romantic. Neither one of those will help keep her alive during an
assignment."

I shifted uneasily in the bed as I spoke, "I never thought
that I led her on. If niceness and civility are not allowed without being
misconstrued here in
bizarro
world, then I guess I
will never fit into the mold of heartless vampire."

The words must have stung because Veronica remained without
a response as she opened the closet and shuffled through the garments. The
search she was conducting didn't take long to complete because soon she threw
down a white and red polo and plaid shorts upon the foot of the bed. Then she
pitched a pair of brown sandals onto the floor at the end of the bed.

Facing me, Veronica's skin looked hard as stone as the
direct sunlight pouring through the sliding door shone onto her face.

Sensing my discomfort at the realization of what we must
look like when the sun exposed our truth, Veronica stepped around the bed to
avoid further exposure. "I think you misunderstood my comments about
Darby. There was no accusation of wrong doing."

She paused as if in deep thought about what to say next.

I allowed her to gather her thoughts by sitting silently in
my bed.

Sitting down at my feet Veronica said, "You were
Darby's first at two major events in her life and it means a lot to her that
she try to continue her relationship she now sees with you."

My few hours since I had been a vampire had been full of
mystery, questions and growing danger, both perceived and real, so I should
have known more than I had when I first started, but still I was a novice. I
was tired of being full of questions and having to rely on myself appointed
guide for everything which undoubtedly now included spelling out what she meant
when she opened her mouth and picking out my clothes for school.

With a huff, I asked in a perturbed manner, "What
relationship? I didn't ask her to get in my bed and again I have never tried anything
with her. Is she crazy?"

Veronica was patient and did not resort to raising her voice
though what she said next was very sternly presented. "Vampires in our
world can neither sire others to become like us nor need to be sired in order
to finish the process from changeling to vampire. The virus must be in place
within a subject and allowed time to take the person to the next level. It
reanimates then shifts the body from the human realm into the realm of the
undead. Darby thought you would die without blood and offered you her blood
which you readily accepted. The vampire blood prompted you to finish becoming
your new self. Thus she has a perceived psychic bond with you that is unheard
of so far in our generation, but I guess is possible that you two are now
connected for eternity."

Dumbfounded all I could squeeze out was a weak,
"Oh."

Veronica slapped my sheet covered leg hard then stood.
"You need to get dressed. We still have some time."

Sitting up and rubbing my leg I said, "I thought we
only had a few minutes before we had to leave."

She smiled before she spoke, "I lied to get Darby out
of here without hurting her feelings. I just want you to continue to be
yourself around her and hopefully the attachment might fade or lessen
especially after I talk to her about her conduct this morning."

I shook my head up and down to indicate I understood the
need for the deception.

To allow me to get dressed, she turned to leave. I called
out to stop her, "You said there were two things and you mentioned only one.
What was the other?"

Veronica started walking away as she responded with a hint
of laughter.
"Her first orgasm."

We watched the other bus depart before Veronica's team
bordered the one to take us to our new high school.

The team consisted of three female GV16s: Veronica
Stace
, Darby Clark, and Chloe Garrett, a willowy redhead
who was about as friendly as a pissed off cobra. I determined quickly Chloe's
disposition when I attempted to say a simple hello and she shot me an evil
glare.

The other half of the team including myself was all male.
The other two were Logan Andrews, a skinny, weary looking kid who did not look
old enough to shave, and Liam Mansfield, who was a huge mountain of a man with
bulging biceps and who played the strong silent type to the hilt. Neither
acknowledged I even existed as I took a position between the girls in the front
of the bus and the boys in the back.

The seating I had chosen was out of necessity on two fronts.
One was to allow or separation from Darby and hope that Veronica was right and
her feelings would dissipate. The second was to sit nearer the males in the
unit in order to get to know them without hurting Darby.

I didn't want to cause a rift in my new friendship with the
girls because I privately worried that if I had to count on anybody except
Darby and Veronica I would be in big trouble. So remaining close to the two
could be critical for survival. The thoughts would make me worry and less
believable so I fought to squelch the doubt.

I passed the time of leaving the base by studying the
changing environment of the Farm. We passed by the seemingly abandoned
buildings that were home to Bayne and his vampires, then unkempt fields covered
in tall weeds and grass, kept fields of freshly planted crops and the woods in
which Veronica had rescued me. Clearing the last of the woods, a shape
flickered along the edge of the tree line, but was gone before I could
determine the nature of the being.

The remaining base topography was similar to what I had
already seen and for the next twenty minutes I considered the possibility of it
was a test until another town of dilapidated buildings inhabited by many
varieties of impatiently roaming wolves put us all on alert as we rolled down
the main street.

The wolves ignored us for the most part except for a lone
howl from a monstrously huge grey wolf standing beside a windowless general
store. The wolf seemed to issue a call that settled down the yelping and
frantic pacing. A multitude of the wolves sat down on the sidewalks and the
roadway to watch us drive through the town. Twenty or more scattered to hide in
the shadows of hulled out buildings and alleyways to be given away by their
glowing eyes.
 

The event was tense for a few fleeting moments then the town
was far behind.

Soon the military facility was before us. The expanse of the
base was not measured in blocks, but in miles. Pods of buildings and barracks
stretched as far as even I could see. The active facilities were easily given
away by the numerous guards surrounding each and the barriers within barriers
with additional observation posts as compared to the less active ones which sat
without the additional protections.

The gate before us was a mish mash of long concrete shapes
and armed guards. The bus driver stopped the bus a quarter mile from the gate
and allowed a human soldier to gain admittance. The first passed the manifest
and id through the open door to a rather stocky bald soldier who was standing
outside matching the information to the data on his clipboard.

The young soldier on board with us was sweating and nervous,
his hand inching ever closer to his sidearm.

His actions made everyone on edge, including our very human
driver who talked to the man calmly, "These students are just kids and
mean no one any harm so we need to relax."

The advice feel on deaf ears as the guard continued to
fidget with his right hand until finally Veronica spoke, "If I were you
Scott, I would realize that we are also trained soldiers such as yourself who
are being sent on a mission. We are all on the same side here."

Again the words did not have the desired effects as the man
spoke, "You are a waste. You are not soldiers, but killers who are lucky
to have survived this long."

Veronica smiled then turned cold when she answered, "Listen
dick, if you want to die today, try to draw your gun. Before it cleared the
holster, you and your buddy would be dead."

The clipboard toting soldier stepped onto the bus before the
younger man could be react to Veronica. Pushing the upset man from his way, the
guard passed the information to the driver, thanked him then shoved the other
man in fatigues from the bus. The rough action caused the man to stumble and
almost fall onto the pavement before the soldier righted himself.

From my vantage point as the base was shrinking from view, I
witnessed the bald soldier strike the younger man several times violently, the
last blow knocking him to the ground. The fallen man was surrounded and dragged
from the pavement by men wearing military police insignias into a nearby
hummer.

Veronica stood and beckoned the collective to the front of
the bus with a few subtle gestures.

Joining her, we huddled around awaiting our instructions.

While we waited as she thumbed through the folder in her
hand, I realized that I noticed little nuisances thanks to my heightened
senses.

I could hear the blood coursing through the driver's body,
even detect the fact that he was in the final stages of cancer. Additionally, I
could hear the slight skip of his heart. Even smell the beginning traces of
perspiration of his feet which I found nauseating.

My vampire colleagues were different. The blood did not
course as roughly, but like a trickle through their veins. The hearts mostly
lumbered inside the bodies of the others in my group instead of a normal
rhythmic beating of which I was accustomed to hearing with humans. I could even
determine the last blood type or source of blood consumed. We all had odors
that were pleasant and were really modifications created as lures to draw in humans.

The powers of my senses were amazing and I could have spent
hours determining how far I could carry each if not for the distraction of an
obvious connection that bonded use all: uniqueness.

Each of us carried a specific ability which was briefly discussed
within the binder, but not the specific of each vampire. Veronica could change
her hair color, but how or why would be a matter of further investigation
though it was something I had noticed already. Chloe had the unique ability to
change her eye color which apparently she used to match her outfits.

Darby, Liam, Logan and I were a mystery. So far nothing had
presented itself, but I was hopeful we each were as gifted. Picking up the
abilities of the others in our unit would be fun. I decided to use the rest of
the ride to help take my mind off of the anxiety of my first day of high school
with the local humans.

My study of the GV16s was broken when Veronica closed the
folder alerting us that she was ready to speak." I hope everyone has read
through the information given to you in your portfolio. Once we arrive on
campus at Butler County, we will have a few classes together, but besides lunch
we will be on our own. Remember, we are interacting to a point to make our
cover viable. This is training. If you need assistance that can be provided by
another member of our group then each of you will find a class schedule in the
notes app on your phone which will guide you to the one you are seeking.
However, if you find yourself needing help from Chadron personnel then in your
favorite's menu there is a speed dial listing for Walter."

Liam spoke up, "According to the folder, we are not
allowed to play sports or join clubs, but that is such bullshit. How can blend
in if we are not allowed to participate like the rest of the population?"

Chloe and Logan nodded in agreement.

Veronica was not rattled as she came nose to nose with the
hulking vampire. "If you want to answer to Mathias about why you think his
protocols are not good enough, then be my guest. If not, then you will shut the
hell up and do as you are told. So which will it be?"

Liam hung his head as he answered, "I will do as I am
told I guess."

Incensed Veronica snatched up his head, bringing him eye to
eye. "You guess?!"

Liam was scared of the fiery Veronica and it showed as he
replied weakly, "I will do as I am told."

Roughly Veronica flung his head away before addressing the
rest of us. Her eyes were aflame. "Anybody else got a problem that we need
to discuss?!"

Everybody was quiet and avoided making eye contact with her.

She continued, "Avoid sunlight as much as possible
because we all know that over exposure limits our abilities and hardens our
flesh making us appear vastly different than the appearance of the
humans."

We were all temporarily distracted including Veronica when
we heard the squirt of a nearly empty bottle.

Darby felt the sting of our stares. Looking up, she never
missed a beat when she exclaimed, "It is sun screen. Y'all have heard of
it right."

We were waiting for Veronica to say something, but she just
glared at Darby for the interruption.