THE CURSE : Vampire Venom by scongrove |
Detective Sanchez’s knuckles shown white as he gripped the steering wheel of his unmarked car. Although his eyes were trained on the road ahead, his mind was miles away. He was thinking of everything that had occurred at A&E Pharmaceuticals. If he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes, he wouldn’t have believed it. Sure, after he’d become aware of the Breedline species—a secret society of humans with the ability to shift into giant wolves—he now viewed the world in an entirely different perspective. What he’d thought was only fictional, like something out of a fairy-tale or believed to be a myth, was indeed real. But what Dr. Henry Michaels had done was on a whole new level of insanity, not to mention unethical. The physician, obviously nutty as a fruitcake, had went too far. Using young girls, he’d created real-life vampires. And they were nothing like the vampire’s he’d previously met, who had practically saved his ass. Lenny, his wife Amelia, and her brother Augustus—eighteenth-century old vampires known as hybrids, whose diet consisted of mainly animal blood—had explained to Manuel, his partner Frank, and the Breedline crew all about the vampires Henry had discovered. They originated back in Lenny’s era, known as Biters and brutal killers. In accordance with the True Bloods—the very first natural born vampires and the creators of hybrids—they considered them a genetic defect… a mistake… an inbred to their kind. Biters were the product of a hybrid vampire and a succubus. And they had an insatiable appetite for human blood, preferably in males. At feeding time, Biters used their hypnotic abilities to lure in their victims. Going by what Manuel remembered, Lenny had said the Biters only turned females and that they could also communicate with one another telepathically. How Henry managed to get his hands on a Biter so he could reproduce them remained a mystery. The Biters were just the tip of the iceberg. Henry used his own children, and his patients as guinea pigs to devise what Manuel clearly saw as an abomination. What he’d done was incomprehensible and downright pure evil. How could anyone be so warped to do such a thing? He couldn’t even fathom the thought. The whole thing was too surreal, too unconscionable, much less moral. And those poor families of all the victims Henry had destroyed. He couldn’t imagine what they were going through, not knowing if their loved ones were dead or alive. It made him feel guilty because he knew what had happened to them all. When his mind took him to the dreadful incident with his partner, he shifted uneasily in his seat, worried what the next twenty-four hours would be for Frank. Flashbacks, more like scenes out of a night terror, came rushing back. His head swam with images… horrifying images of sharp-pointed teeth and blood. Lots of blood. Frank’s blood. He’d been attacked and bitten by one of Henry’s monstrosities. Manuel said a silent prayer. Please God… I’m begging you. Whatever it takes, I’ll do anything you ask. Just please… look out for my partner and keep him safe. He paused to swallow. No, he thought. Frank’s not just my partner. Hell, he’s like a brother to me. He ended the prayer and said aloud, “Amen.” Then, a sudden sense of relief washed over him, realizing Frank was in good hands. He’d be safe at the Breedline Covenant while they monitored him, making sure he hadn’t been injected with vampire venom. He stared at the road, continuing to think. Manuel kept wondering if he and Frank had made the right decision when they’d agreed to leave A&E to the Breedline, deciding to get rid of all the evidence by torching the place. If they’d decided otherwise, it might jeopardize the Breedline Covenant’s secret, along with Lenny, Amelia, and Augustus. The more he thought about it, the more he knew it was the right decision on so many levels. Besides, what other choice did they have? If they tried to explain what really happened, and that vampires really existed, he and his partner would surely get carted off in straitjackets and placed in an institution for the mentally deranged. He cringed as a new image came crashing down. It was of a small, white padded cell. Yeah, he feverishly thought. We did the right thing. Despite their plan to keep the dreadful ordeal with A&E Pharmaceuticals a secret, they still had Maximum Pierce and Kian Adams to tend with. Both had been connected to Dr. Henry Michaels and with Jena’s kidnapping, but they also knew way too much about the mad physician’s ghastly experiments. Most likely, they’d sing like a canary if they turned them over to the authorities. So instead, the Breedline had come up with a solution to their little dilemma. They offered to keep the two culprits in their custody until Manuel and Frank figured out what to do with them. And if the detectives couldn’t solve the issue, the members of the Breedline council, along with their queen Tessa, would decide their fate. Killing them was not an option. The Breedline species weren’t cold-blooded murderers, but they did believe in justice. And they’d make damn sure Jena’s assailants paid for their crimes. Finally, Manuel came back to focus when he found a vacant spot in the parking lot at the Jones Therapy Clinic. Earlier, he’d made an appointment to speak with Dr. Katie Mendoza—who years ago, worked in law enforcement at the same precinct where he and Frank had been detectives during most of their careers—about the Harris case they’d been working. They were hoping to find the person responsible for Kevin Russo’s bizarre murder. Whomever had killed the guy, had to have had supernatural strength. Mr. Russo was found with his heart ripped clean from his chest cavity. And the heart was MIA. While going through old files, Frank had discovered a homicide report that dated back twenty years. Dr. Katie Mendoza—formally known as Officer Katie Mendoza—was the first responding officer to arrive at the crime scene. Going by the report, a Joe Harris had brutally beaten his wife while their five-year-old son, Joseph was present. It stated in the report, after the little boy shot his father, trying to defend his mother, was later placed in foster care when his mother died due to her severe injuries and his father was hauled off to prison. After gathering all the information and with the Breedline Covenant’s help, it all pointed to the boy who’d shot his father. But there was something else. Something peculiar about this Joseph Harris guy, who they couldn’t seem to locate. According to what Roman had told them, he knew the Harris family as a kid. They lived in the same neighborhood. Roman was just a few years older than Joseph. Not long after Joseph was placed in foster care, he’d been diagnosed with a mental illness and ended up in a psychiatric institute. The same institute that the detectives had shut down for kidnapping Judge Weaver’s granddaughter, along with many others, and was getting paid by A&E Pharmaceuticals for illegal experimentations. Roman explained of his parents’ concern at the time for Joseph’s welfare, and when they went to check on him, wondering if they could help the boy, something strange happened. While Roman’s parents visited with Joseph’s physician, leaving him alone with the boy, he viciously attacked Roman. It took three guards, but finally, they managed to pry the boy’s hands from Roman’s throat. By what Roman had described, Joseph wasn’t the kid he’d remembered. He was no longer the timid, shy, and frightened boy, but rather something else. Something demonic… evil. When he looked into Joseph’s eyes—or whatever the hell it was—it was like peering into the depths of hell. Manuel recalled Roman saying it was as though an evil entity had taken over the boy’s body. He also remembered it referring itself to him as the Shadow. To add to all the madness, Roman’s description matched Jena’s when she came across a stranger the night Frank’s niece was attacked. The guy acted as though he was going to attack Jena. But when she shifted into her wolfish creature, the guy became confused rather than terrified like any normal human being and backed off. Before Jena had the chance to find out who he was—or what he was—they were suddenly interrupted by a group of people. Not wanting to be seen in her wolfish form, Jena had no choice but to leave. As Manuel cut the engine, unbuckled his seatbelt, and reached for the door to exit his vehicle, he prayed Katie Mendoza had more information on this mysterious Joseph Harris. To be continued. . .
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