Blueblood: A Dark Southern Aristocracy - 26. Amanda

Things with Amanda were not good, not because she was resistant, but the pain she had to endure for the first few days was leaving her a bit disheartened and glum. She was new and then again, so was I, so I opted to talk to her. There was one major difference between us. I was a vampire because I chose to be, she hadn’t been given the option. Ursula talked to her, Gabriella talked to her and now I walked in where she was sitting as she watched TV. The door was open a crack. She’d been given a room at VUN, but nothing personal was out. It looked like a sterile college dorm room at best. She looked up as I knocked.

“Whatever.” She glanced at me and said and was watching TV again.

“You’re going through something very hard, I know,” I said coming in. I motioned to an empty chair. “May I sit?”

“Does it matter?” She said glumly. “We’re in the same boat, both turned against our wills…yadda, yadda…” she started to say what had been said to her.

“Not exactly.” I sat nodding. “No one has told you, you were raped?”

Her eyes grew. “I was bitten! By a vampire! He made me a vampire! I wasn’t raped.”

“Oh, but you were. You were taken without your consent or even understanding as to why you were bitten.” I said. “It happened to me. That’s true. We’re both vampires, but our circumstances are very different. When I was bitten the first time…”

“The first time!?” Amanda asked in shock. “Wait, wait…you were bitten more than once!? I was told that wasn’t possible.” She said in disbelief. “I was told, once bitten and survive, you would be a vampire. He couldn’t feed on you again.”

“Normally, that’s true, Colin was already a vampire, but he was on the serum and shot it into my heart right after I was first bitten,” I said. “The first bite was done by a creature for the sole purpose of tormenting Colin by making me a vampire. The serum worked preventing the vampire venom from working to make me a vampire.”

She was now sitting up. “But you are a vampire.”

“The first time I was bitten, I was bitten by a man that was bent on destroying Colin. He did it out of vengeance. That was the rape. It wasn’t even because he needed my blood. The venom had not worked its way into my system. With the serum and several blood transfusions, my blood was replaced and I escaped this the first time. That was definitely rape.” I said clearly. “The second time, my husband was being forced to see if he could resist biting me. They wanted to see if Colin would surrender to the vampire in him and bite me…maybe even kill me. Colin was kept from the serum and turned back into a vampire. When he bit me the second time, that was in love. It was my choice.”

She nodded. “You’re right, we’re not in the same boat. You chose to be one. My life is over!”

I frowned. “You’re life would have been over if we hadn’t stepped in. With treatment, you can get some of that life back.”

“With serum, I have to have all the time!”

“Be upset, be angry, but not at us. What happened was terrible, but we are trying to give you some of your life back. We’re trying to help you through this horrible event.” I said. “If you could call someone, who would that be?” I asked.

“My boyfriend and my parents.” She said logically. “I’m sure they’re worried sick!” She was young so everything she said was being very dramatic.

I nodded. “Let’s start with the boyfriend. What would you say to him?”

“That I was fine and in…” she thought looking around her room. “I don’t even know where the hell I am! It isn’t a hospital.”

“You’re somewhere safe. Now, what would you say to him?”

“I was attacked and I’m being treated because of the attack.” She said simply.

I smiled. “And he would want to see you.”

“Yes!”

“Then he’d want to know how you were attacked and what happened.”

“Yes.” She said less adamant.

“Would you tell him? And what about your parents?”

Then she hesitated. “Well, I know they’d want to see me.”

I grinned. “You hesitated. Why?”

“Dad is military and he’d insist on seeing me. Then he’d want to know what I’m treated for and who was the best…” She nodded. “Insist I see another doctor…probably military.” She smiled. “He’s very protective and a take control kind of guy.”

I smiled. “Most fathers are. You know who my husband is.”

She smiled. “That really nice looking hunky guy? Colin, right?”

I nodded again. “That’s him. You know Gabriella?”

She smiled again. “She’s very nice.” She nodded.

“That’s Colin’s little girl. She’s his daughter.”

Her eyes grew. “No way!” She shook her head. “He’s too young, or she’s too old, but not possible.”

“Laws on aging are different for us. They were turned at different times in their lives. She is his daughter. I bring that up because he’s extremely protective of her. I know how he would react.”

She shook her head. “I have to tell them eventually.” She moaned dramatically. “And Douglas.” She smiled. “That’s my boyfriend.”

“Does your parents know he’s living with you?” I asked knowing they didn’t.

“Of course not!” She said. “Daddy would kill him…and me.”

“Colin is over two hundred, Gabriella is over one hundred and fifty and he’s still struggling with the idea of her and Alex are more than friends. Being a protective father never ends!” I said making her laugh. “Your father will want to know how and when.”

“Okay.” She nodded. “But what about my school!” She moaned. “I’ll lose my scholarship!”

“Even if a Congresswoman and Senator said not to let it slip?” I asked.

Her eyes grew again. “They’re not…”

“They either have a relative as a vampire or have seen them and understand,” I explained. “The senator saw you after you were brought in.” I smiled. “At least, if they do take it away, I think we here at the VUN can help.”

She smiled. “You’d help with my school money?”

I chuckled. “Well, Colin would look for a good investment. Will that be you? Where are you in school?”

“I’m a junior at NYU.” She shrugged. “I hope so he’d see me as a good investment. My grades are pretty good.”

“What happened was not our doing. You are what you are now. You can’t go back, but only forward. There will be changes you have to make.” I said. “Quit wallowing in what happened to you and take charge,” I instructed. “We are trying to find a way to reverse this vampire venom. Undo what’s been done. Until we do, we’re all in danger of exposure. If people find out you are a vampire, they will want to examine you.”

“People? As in medical people?” Amanda asked.

I nodded. “Medical and even military, which you said your father is in.” I pointed out. “Think of an alien autopsy. They can see us as a threat and want to determine what makes you a threat or not. Then your life most definitely won’t be your own.”

“What will I have to do?” Amanda asked.

“Keep our secret,” I said simply. “Help us to prevent this from happening to anyone else.” I smiled. “And stop thinking about the bad things. There are good things about being what we are.”

“Like?” She asked.

“How old are you?”

“Twenty-two.” She replied.

“Physically, you’ll be twenty-two from now on,” I said. “You won’t die from any natural cause other than sunlight if you don’t take the serum.”

Her eyes grew as the idea of her possible immortality hit home. “I’m not going to die?”

“You can be killed, we’re not bulletproof, or you can die in a crash,” I said to be clear. “But there is no disease that will take you. Colin hasn’t had so much as a cold since 1850.”

Now, it was beginning to dawn on her how things had changed for her. “But Douglas isn’t a vampire. He’s twenty-five.”

I nodded. “And he will age normally with a girlfriend that will always be twenty-two.” I decided it was time to move to another subject. “Ursula and Gabriella told you something about being a vampire.”

Amanda nodded. “I will say, I really wasn’t listening. I was too upset.”

“Are you and Douglas planning to have a family?”

She shrugged. “Not any time soon, but maybe.”

I frowned. “Well, until Dr. Holm finds a way, you can’t have children. None of us can. The venom rewrites our DNA. We make the venom that makes new vampires, keeping us vampires and we reproduce by venom.”

She shook her head as she considered it. “No kids?” Then she shrugged. “I guess I don’t have to worry about taking the pill anymore.”

I nodded. “There are other benefits.”

“Benefits?”

“You won’t be able to store much fat.” I grinned. “In fact, you’ll be hungrier than you have been. You’ll eat and not really gain weight. Colin eats a lot!” I chuckled. “So do I now.”

She smiled. “Really? I’ve just been allowed to eat again. The food tastes great!”

“Your senses have been enhanced. Not only your taste buds but sight, hearing and even touch. You’ll be able to see when other people have to use flashlights. Hear things others can’t, except maybe a dog.” I smiled. “You need to decide, in spite of what happened, are you going to help or not.”

“But Douglas will be aging.” She said softly.

I nodded. “Now, you understand why I had Colin have me. I love him and don’t want him to be alone. I knew he was the one for me and he knew I was for him. He didn’t want me to become a vampire, but I am. Now, he won’t be alone. If you tell Douglas and he decides to become one because you two are meant to be together. Make sure he is the one.”

“But I’m not an active vampire. I can’t make him one.”

I nodded. “But you can be if you decide to make him one. You simply don’t take the serum and make him one.” I shook my head. “But then you have to start all over with the serum and pain…”

She nodded grimacing. “I get it.”

“What were you studying in college?” I asked.

She thought. “I was looking into nursing or something like that. I was taking courses for a medical background. Maybe a practitioner.”

I smiled. “Have you thought about Psychology or Psychiatry?”

She nodded. “I was taking pre-med things to possibly do that. I am pretty undecided.”

“George has enough knowledge for several medical degrees,” I said standing. “You can, too. This is new for us, trying to stop this from happening to others, but there will be others.”

“What do you need? A Psychiatrist?”

I nodded. “We can use one. There is no counselor for victims yet. You know what it’s like and can relate to victims better. I’m not, but I understand what happened. I talk to you with that knowledge. I’ve met different kinds of vampires. The one that bit me first was an evil man and became an evil vampire. Colin is not, nor is Gabriella. I am a vampire by choice. I just met a vampire that likes where he is and doesn’t want to change because he’s happy and threatens no one.”

“And the vampire that turned me?” Amanda asked.

“He’s all predator. There’s really nothing human about him. I think we’ll have to end him.” I said sadly. “We’re trying to reach that part of him that may be inside, but nothing’s happening yet.” I headed to the door but stopped before I left. “Amanda, I came to ask you for help. We’re new at this. I am at least. What happened to you shouldn’t have happened to you, but it did. Accept that. Now move forward, take charge of your life and decide if you want to help or not. It is your choice now, but decide. Be proactive. Your life isn’t over. It’s just going in a different direction. Now, it’s up to you.” I watched as she looked away, but I could tell she was thinking. The TV was forgotten.

It was later when Ursula came to me and Colin as we were dealing with our “guests.”

“What did you tell Amanda?” She asked in wonder.

“I told her the truth. Why?” I asked.

Ursula shook her head. “She’s like a different person. I go in there and she’s asking about Holms' Laboratories and what we did. She’s even asked to help!”

Colin smiled nodding. “And that’s a bad thing?”

Ursula shook her head. “Not at all, but…”

“I merely pointed out she could wallow or deal with it. I guess she decided to deal with it.” I said.

Ursula nodded. “Well, perhaps you need to talk with the others that are still part human.”

There were only four that seemed to have any humanity still in them. George, Colin, Alex and I discussed what we should do with the rest. George wanted them ended immediately. Alex and Colin were on the fence. I was still hoping that with a supply of blood given, realizing they didn’t have to hunt now, they’d begin come back as human.

“If we do end them?” I said reluctantly. “Is there a way to do it without pain?”

George nodded. “An injection. It’s a form of radiation I insert. Harmless to us, but it’s like liquid sunlight. I could put them to sleep and we can end it peacefully.”

I nodded a shrug. “Then let’s do it.” I frowned. “There won’t be any bodies to dispose of, will there?”

George shook his head. “Just like with Brett.”

The vampire that made Amanda was first. Using the sun gun, we got him under submission and then George injected him with something and he was out. Then he inserted something into his heart and he began to disintegrate.

Ruben came with about four other people, three men, and one woman. They were agents he was having work with us. Now came the part where we decided what to tell them.

“They have been told to reveal nothing,” Ruben said. “They know to keep things quiet about this.”

Colin shrugged. “I see no other choice.” He said. “Let’s show them.”

George was not happy. “The more that know…”

Colin nodded. “Give me something else.” He begged. When George didn’t reply, Colin nodded. “We show them.”

Taking them into an observation room, we showed them the vampires that were not showing any humanity. They looked like homeless people if not for the fangs and hissing.

One of the men, a tall dark headed man in his thirties looked in horror as he looked at us, wondering why we did see it as... “Kill them! Kill all of them!” His name was Mark Goddard.

Colin nodded. “And that’s our problem. You see, I am one of them.”

Mark looked at Colin in shock. “You say they’re vampires!”

I nodded. “And, so are Colin and I.”

“And we are, too,” George said next to Burke.

“And me,” Alex said.

“But we aren’t blood-sucking predators now,” George said. “But we’re still vampires.” He explained about the serum and how it worked and why we decided to include the FBI.

Shelly Vargas was the single female there as an agent who was petite and sort of pretty with brown short hair and brown eyes. She probably was pretty when she wasn’t in FBI mode, but looked very competent. “And we’re to hunt them down?”

“Find them and let these men take over extraction or whatever,” Ruben instructed. “I chose you four by your records. You’ve dealt with serial killers. These are serial killers, believe me.” He said pointing at the vampires. “To protect people, we need to stop this.”

“I’ve dealt with computers and searches.” Stan Martin, in his late twenties, another agent who was blonde and fair skinned. “I dealt with cyber-crimes.”

Ruben nodded. “And we’ll need that to search for these creatures.” He grinned. “I think you’ll like the computers they use here, very cutting edge stuff.”

“We want to stop this,” I added. “This is an epidemic that’s been going on for thousands of years and we want to be the cure. We need knowledgeable manpower. With the help of Ruben Chance, we’re starting to do that.”

Chuck Slaughter, another blonde man who was obviously a former jock in high school nodded. Six feet and maybe six inches? Big! Bigger than Colin. “When do we start?”

“Linebacker?” I asked. “Defense or offense?”

“Offensive tackle.” He smiled. “How’d you know?”

I shrugged. “Lucky guess.”

“Gentlemen.” Ruben clapped his hands once, satisfied he had chosen correctly chuckled. “We start right now.”