American Blood: A Vampire's Story Read Free

the truck, “
her
, to be destroyed without getting answers?”
    “She’s a killer and we’re only food to her. She’s evil.”
    The Director looked longingly at his pipe for a moment. “You’re wrong about her—she’s no more evil than I am. I know some of her history, this one. She has been on this earth for a long time.” He put his pipe in a jacket pocket and stared directly at Ryan. “Yes, we’re food to her, but so are cattle to us. Within her are solutions to diseases, cancers, and longevity. You’re a scientist my good man. This messy field business isn’t for you. You shouldn’t have tagged along with the tracking team.” And the Director again looked toward the truck backing up the road. “She will be very useful.”
    “Useful? How? Five men, good men, just died, and how many others just in the last few years?” Ryan shook his head and took a deep breath. “You asked me to help you find them, to end the mindless killing and I did. Its last moments had some humanity, leave it at that.”
    “Humanity you say? This one was always a bit different from the others. Yes, she had a small spark of humanity, always buried deep within that would surface at times. She’s a monster to be sure; she would consume either one of us without any pause. It’s her nature.” The Director turned and looked at the clean up taking place. “If I told you there was an opportunity . . . to change her, what would you say?”
    “Change her into what? She can never be human again. I’ve seen the preliminary mapping studies of these things. Their coding isn’t even primate anymore. Any remaining trace of us in their genes is a ghost lost in time.”
    The Director took his pipe out of his jacket again. “This one’s different, and I have plans for her.”
    Ryan absorbed this turn of events. He wanted to say something, but the Director had already turned away, hurrying toward a blue sedan that had just arrived.
    The truck, with their prize secured, continued down the road and disappeared as the first ray of sun broke through the early morning gloom of the Maryland countryside.
     
    R yan kept to himself during the long, cold drive back to the facility. The five dead agents had been gathered in individual bags for safe keeping until the pieces were handed over to their families with whatever fabricated story the agency would surely use. Five viewings with the caskets closed tight. The two agents riding with him glanced at each other, sharing quick moments of disbelief at what they had witnessed back there. They ignored Ryan, which was fine. His own mind still struggled to distill the reality of what had happened. He should never have demanded to accompany the forward team. The Director had been right, he wasn’t a field man.
    They arrived at the facility just after noon. They pulled into the gate and were immediately waved through. The driver took them around the main building and came to a stop by a large open loading bay at the southwest corner. Ryan got out and walked to the rear to help carry out the dead.
    “You’re not needed here,” the driver said.
    “These men saved my life.” Ryan tried to push past the driver.
    More agents began to swarm around the truck and attend to their fallen comrades.
    “Just go back to your lab,” another agent said. “We can take care of our own.”
    The driver stepped in front of Ryan. “You don’t belong here.”
    Ryan watched as a line of agents began to remove the bags of tragedy from the truck. “I just wanted to help,” he said, but they had turned their backs on him and began speaking softly to each other, shaking their heads. Maybe they already blamed him—field agents were always suspicious of his type. He didn’t ask and headed for his private quarters in the main building. He had an uncomfortable need to wash away the grease of death that had fused with his sweat.
    A voice from his room intercom informed he was needed at the facility’s medical unit in ten