Created (Book 1 of the Created) (15 page)

"Sorry for the intrusion, but I saw you staggering
around outside of class so I asked permission to go to the bathroom. So are you
ok?"

It was Veronica. There was clearly a twinge of concern in
her voice. I wondered if it was for me or for the mission. Casting aside
doubts, I knew if this girl, vampire or not, was willing to put her life on the
line to rescue me, there was some amount of importance in regard to how she
felt.

I managed a reply, "I am not sure. It is not hunger or
thirst as you call it. My senses are working overtime, and I cannot shut them
off. Everything is loud and
about a gazillion miles
per hour. My teeth are aching and I don't know what the hell that is
about?
 
Images of blood
all over the pace, death.
Then there is an urge to...to kill
everybody."

Veronica was standing outside the stall door. "Shit, this
just got real for you. You are being exposed to your senses in bulk. Sometimes
it is natural or sometimes it takes a trigger. All of our kind has to deal with
this after we are first exposed to humans, but none of us have been exposed to
this many at one time. Our true nature takes over. Call it sensory overload for
beings that are already ultra-sensitive. In the past, we had to fight through
the urges or give in. Eventually, it would work itself out... "

I gave a fake laugh before she could finish. She obviously
sensed that her presentation of the situation wasn't helping me.

"Long story short, don't worry, we have a temporary
cure. Open the door so I can remedy the situation."

The feeling was addictive. I lost myself again in my
thoughts. Complicating the matter was all of the wicked imagery that was
running rampant in my head. There was insatiable desire to feed. I wanted to
taste the flesh of the humans sitting idly in the classrooms. Like cattle, the
humans sat in the rooms waiting to be taken. I had a need to dispose of the
bored to tears or too cool to be burdened to care students. The spoiled, lazy
and damned were all begging for me to end their wretched existences. My
hesitation was my undoing and salvation.

With a bravado usually reserved for a movie action hero,
Veronica forced open the flimsy door of the stall. Taking me by the throat, I
was hoisted a couple of inches from the floor as she twisted my neck to one
side with a single hand. Her other hand contained a collection of pills which
she attempted to force down my throat. Righting my head, she forced my jaws
open within her crushing grip. I knew she wanted to help me, though she had
other responsibilities besides babysitting me twenty-four hours a day. Still I
struggled and spat. The smell of sweet coppery goodness was making me more
manic by the second. I needed a taste. One taste then this would all stop.
A single taste.
Even a droplet of the smooth and salty
liquid would do, I convinced myself.

She knew that a taste would be all of our undoing.
Patiently, she worked my mouth open repeatedly as I fought to maintain the
state of denial.

I fought her by lashing out with my flailing arms and
kicking feet. A few random strikes hit the intended target, including a partial
knee to her face which tore her lip. She never wavered and never responded. She
just maintained her grip and control through all of my efforts for freedom.

Fangs were bared, both hers and mine.

Anger and hatred welled inside of me.

She hissed and cursed under her breath as another errant
blow struck her.

Finally, she caved to frustration. Punching me in the face
with the hand containing the medicine rendered me woozy enough for her to take
an advantage. The five green tablets were forced down my throat.

Veronica let go of my face. Pissed at my reaction, she
hatefully discarded me. This allowed me to drop onto the toilet with enough
velocity to partially crack the porcelain bowl and destroy the cheap
replacement seat when my backside made contact.

The concoction set fire to my soul as it erased the
thoughts, sounds, smells, and my conviction. Inside there was a tiny churning.
I felt broken, but sane.

Veronica towered over me to gauge if the drugs were working.

The ole noggin was aching, but my body was working to repair
itself. So was hers. The bloody lip she incurred was wiped away through a
casual lick of the tongue. The small wound healed thereafter. In dismay, I
watched her dark locks soften to a rich mahogany.

As quickly as it all began, it had ended.

Checking her nails, Veronica asked, "How do you feel
now?"

I thought I detected a bit of her trying to be a smart ass.

My retort seemed better in my head than when it was spoken,
"Less than human, but still alive."

She smiled,
then
giggled.

Thinking through what I had said for a moment, I picked up
on what she thought was funny.

In defense of the misstatement I said, "You know
exactly what I mean."

Veronica adjusted her clothes and dusted off a couple of the
footprints from my pitiful attack. "I do, but it is still cute to hear you
say. Let me warn you there are a couple of minor side effects to the
Syntype
Inhibitor."

"As long as I don't sprout big ass bat ears or
anything, I think I can deal."

Clumsily, she tried and failed to reattach the door to the
broken hinge as I did my best to gather myself. "They are minor, but
potentially serious. First is irritability. The second is the insatiable need
for sex.”

My jaw dropped open I was sure of it.

Veronica smiled widely then contained herself for a
millisecond before bursting into laughter. "Sorry I had to. I really
couldn't help myself. There is only the one which is the irritability. The
other was to screw with you metaphorically." She began laughing even
harder.

I could see the humor, but really couldn't appreciate it
since she was definitely taking advantage of my nativity to poke fun.
 
At least it appeared to be good natured and
not malicious, so even I let a little chuckle slip out.

Striking a tone more reminiscent of the vampire I knew as
she helped me up, she explained the nature of the medicine. "The Inhibitor
uses the nanites in our blood to block the first initial feelings that develop
from mass exposure to humans for the first time. They can also be highly
addictive hence why they are carefully regulated by Walter and his superiors. I
was given a small handful to aid you during the mission's beginnings since you
didn't receive the immersion therapy that we are initially required to take in
preparation."

She lightly took hold of my face to inspect if she had done
any semi-permanent damage. "A few amongst our clan crave the drug
especially those that were part of the older groups. They have no need for the
Inhibitor, but the surge in irritability makes them more aggressive which means
they become more dangerous. They live for the rush. Others have attempted to
adapt their own versions for the trade and services black market within the
zones. In the vampire world, as in the human world, there is always a struggle
for power."

Before she could explain anymore, the bell to change class
rang signaling an end to a class I did not get to attend. We both looked to
each other for an answer. How could we explain away a girl in the boys’
bathroom?

The bell had been followed by the approach of footsteps
nearing the door.

Veronica suddenly embraced me by placing her arms around the
small of my back. She pulled me close, snug against her body which was hard and
muscular.

I wasn't sure what exactly was happening, but I wouldn't
complain. To my surprise, her lips met mine as the bathroom door was opened by
a single guy who was followed two seconds later by another.

Both guys stopped cold when they saw us making out.

I wasn't about to stop what was happening. The guys could
watch for all I cared.

Her lips were electric against mine. Passionate and playful
were her kisses with an occasional nibble of my lower lip or the tip of her
tongue pushing gently into my mouth, exploring.

Veronica no longer felt like an alpha predator. In my arms,
she was only a woman. Her firm breasts pressing into my chest. The hard veneer
had broken away to reveal a softer being made of flesh. Suddenly she seemed
human with all the emotional trappings that were part of that encumbrance.
   

A rogue hand wandered across the small of her back, pulling
her tighter into me. She didn't seem to be bothered. In fact, she reacted in
kind, bringing her hand to my face and neck in a lovers embrace; forcefully she
pulled me deeper into our passionate kiss.

The guys laughed and nudged each other before bursting into
laughter again as they exited without using the facilities.

Our embrace did not stop. The kissing became more frantic,
impassioned. Impassioned turned immediately to nothing as Veronica broke our
connection. She looked at the floor trying to avoid eye contact. I actually did
the same after checking on her.

Her hair had become a golden brown but it quickly darkened
as she adjusted the corners of her lips in the mirror. I didn't notice her
quick departure to the bathroom mirror.
 

"We need to go. We will be late for another class. A
second time today will bring too much unwanted attention to a new student, so
we need to get moving," she said.

Damn, I thought. My heart was still racing, blood coursing
in a torrent through my veins. I knew that it was part of our cover to maintain
the appearance of a relationship and the kiss was needed to keep from getting
us in trouble; a trouble that I created.

Veronica was already moving through the door before I had
started walking. The time for reflection and want was over.
        

The last two class blocks of my first day of high school
were much smoother. Both of the classes contained Veronica who acted like
nothing changed from before the incident in the bathroom.

The thoughts of her kiss flashed before my eyes for the
first forty five minutes of third block, erasing completely what happened in
the class. During lunch as we sat and talked with the other GV16s, the images
were occasional. Talking was not exactly right since we mainly sat and surveyed
the humans who conversed around us. We each fingered at our food and a few
bites were taken to do our best to appear normal as suggested, though it was
obvious we didn't like human food. The food I had been given by the bitchy
lunch room lady was insufferable. It was after my initial bite of human food, a
piece of burnt hamburger steak, I discovered there was a reason it was
recommend that we bring our simulated food. The simulated product from the base
was at least edible and my body got blood nourishment in the process, but it
was worse than the refrigerated blood and didn't satisfy any thirst. The GVs
had a noticeable flaw in our design, an aversion to processed food. So far,
there was no way to make the food consumed by the humans appetizing. I was
sure,
however, there was no way to make the crap being
served here palatable even to humans.

Thankfully lunch ended quickly, and I discarded my uneaten
food. I drifted away from the crowd to allow my mind to settle.

Finally the thoughts of our kiss had begun to fade
completely as fourth block closed to an end.

As we exited the last class of the day, a familiar odor
arrived in the hallway. The odor was something from the Farm, but it was not
the fragrant, pleasant smell carried in the pheromones of a vampire. The odor
was musky, heady with a hint of earthy.

Veronica seemed unaware or uncaring to the new scent. To
think she was unaware was a mistake because she was a GV16 like me, and besides
she was always aware. The odor was on top of us, but in the clusters of all the
students massing in the hall, I had been unable with my new senses to place the
source. It drew nearer. The odor was stronger with each deep inhale. Multiple
sources were evident. There were at least three. Wait, maybe four.

Turning to scan in the other direction, I was greeted with a
rough shoulder throw. The blow was extremely accurate and well placed by a
purveyor of the smell. The nature of the attack was malicious. My shoulder was
dislocated and the pain was excruciating.

Clutching my injured arm, and without regard to my cover, I
spun to retaliate. "Hey! Hey!"

I tried to move, but Veronica and Liam held me tightly in
place by either arm. Liam was not exactly gentle in handling my displaced
shoulder. Still I fought through the pain. I wanted revenge, and I wanted it
now, but no matter how much I struggled they refused to let me go after my
attacker.

The halls were clearing. Cutting across the hallway into the
next were three boys the same age as me. One was larger than me, but not as
formidable as Liam. Another was about my size in regard to height, though he
was considerably heavier. The smallest was tiny even compared to Logan. The
smallest began to walk backward for a moment. The moment was full of intent and
forethought which was apparent when he used both hands to flip me off before he
disappeared around the corner with his pack.

Veronica tried to soothe me. "This is not the place to
take this up. Those assholes are part of the program too unfortunately."

"Were those the ....," I asked, finally
determining the source of the smell.

"Yep.
 
Dogs."
Liam
snarled, as he repositioned himself tighter around me.

After a reasonable time passed with no struggling, both let
go of me.

My shoulder pain was ending as the healing process was
already well under way, but not my pride.