Rebirth: Chapter 80: Defection

‘What the hell are you talking about?’ Agent Simpson demanded, ‘Any dead bodies recovered from battle sites are treated so they will burn if they turn into vampires.’

‘The guy you chopped up is the one who treated them,’ said the soldier, ‘he was supposed to shoot the bodies with silver bullets but we switched the ammo with regular bullets.’

‘So why do you want to help us if you’re ready to set vampires loose in here?’ asked Doctor Owen.

‘I was carrying out my orders because I didn’t know any better. As a vampire, I didn’t think I had a choice. Now I’ve met you three and seen what you can do, I want to help. You’re not like everyone else here.

‘I had heard of Doctor Owen’s work but the message I got was different. We were told that you wanted to kill all of us. I always hoped there was someone out there that could help us and now that I know there is, I want to be part of it. I don’t want to be part of this pointless war any more.’

Agent Simpson thought to herself for a second and turned to Doctor Owen. ‘That makes two of us.’

‘I was hoping you were going to say that,’ he said, ‘I’ve had more than enough of these macho assholes.’

‘Okay,’ I piped up, struggling to get my words out, ‘now we’re all friends, what do we do? I’m lying here with my guts turning into mush, we’ve got masses of vampire bits to sort through and a squad of vampires in the morgue down the hall are starting to get hungry. How the hell are we going to get out of here?’

‘We need to take care of those vampires first,’ said the doctor, ‘Private…?’

‘Skinner, sir,’ said the soldier.

‘Private Skinner: go down to the morgue and finish off the vampires. I take it you can pilot one of the helicopters on the roof?’

‘Yes, I’ve got one fuelled and ready to go.’

‘Good. Agent Simpson and I will pack as much equipment and as many samples as we can fit into the steel cases we brought back from Hartley House. Detective Ryder: unless Private Skinner here tells us otherwise, you’re just going to have to ride it out for now.’

That wasn’t exactly what I wanted to hear. The thought of getting an injection and waking up far away from The Brotherhood a few hours later was very appealing to me.

‘You said the pain would go away, didn’t you?’ I asked hopefully.

‘It certainly won’t get any worse. It’ll subside in a while. As soon as we get out of here, the doctor can give you a shot.’

‘I can hardly wait,’ I said, remembering last night’s dreams and questioning whether I would rather be unconscious or not.

Private Skinner checked his gun was loaded and made his way to the door, but was stopped by Captain Stein who bounded into the lab, followed by a pair of soldiers.

‘Where the hell are you going, Private?’ Before he could answer, Captain Stein spotted me perched on the edge of the bed clenching my stomach. ‘Jesus Christ, he’s turning, isn’t he?’

‘I can’t say for sure,’ said the doctor, ‘I’m just going to have a look at him now.’

‘Bullshit! Look at the state of him. He’s turning into a bloodsucker and you know it!’ Captain Stein’s rage knew no bounds. Only he really knew what he was capable of.

‘Then leave us alone to treat him!’ the doctor shouted.

‘Not a chance, Doc,’ said Captain Stein, ‘Strap him down.’

‘What?’ Agent Simpson exclaimed.

‘Detective Ryder is your next subject, Doctor Owen,’ said Captain Stein as he drew his gun and pointed it at the doctor, ‘The son of a bitch is a vampire. Chop him up.’