Blueblood: A Dark Southern Aristocracy - 22. Alexander Chance Returns to the World

Things were slowly coming back to normal. We instructed Mom and Gabriella to come to Manhattan before we all went back to Charleston.

“I wonder why we haven’t heard from Alexander Chance?” Colin pondered. “I assume he’s in New York or at least nearby.”

“Why?” I asked. “His great, great nephew works in New York, but his great, great niece is the Congresswoman from Maryland. They probably spread out through the generations.” I pulled Colin closer. “You can text Ruben and ask him.”

Colin bumped his head gently to mine. “Now, why didn’t I think of that?” He grinned. “Old age.” He offered to explain his lapse.

Ruben texted us back that his uncle lived in the Adirondack Mountains in the upper part of New York State. He even gave an address so Colin and I flew by helicopter up to those mountains. The Adirondacks had been more sparsely populated when Alexander had moved up there and now there were resorts and more people moving there, making it harder to be a vampire. We landed where we could and it was a mile or so on foot. He lived in an area that was very isolated, a cabin, sort of dilapidated greeted us. We were told the cabin hid a passage that went underground. We arrived just before sunset and waited. It wasn’t long after the sun did go below the horizon we heard the cabin door open. A man came out, saw us and instantly opened his mouth and hissed. He was better than Gabriella had been when I first saw her. He was clean and he almost looked like a regular guy on a hunting trip, but the fangs were telling us he was not. He had been turned in his forties. Too bad about the thinning hair because it would be with him for all time. But not a bad looking man. He looked a lot like Ruben…or rather, Ruben looked a lot like him.

I held my hands up to stop him. “Use your senses, Mr. Chance,” I told the man and walked toward him. “You won’t get anything from us. Colin could smell when we weren’t a target. I’m sure you can, too. We’re both vampires.”

“But unlike you, we can move around in daylight and eat real food. We aren’t slaves to the hunger and blood lust.” Colin told him. “We can offer help to you. If you’re interested in returning to civilization. I know right now the blood lust is all you’re really thinking about and the hunt. If you’re interested, we’ll be here to answer any questions.”

Alex looked a little confused but sniffed. “You’re vampires?” His voice was a little scratchy. That’s apparently what happens when there’s little moisture in your body. He suddenly jerked his head at something he sensed. “I will be back.” Faster than a man, he ran off it the direction he must have sensed…whatever.

It was about two hours before he came back, wiping his mouth…with a CLOTH! He was clean! He looked at us with narrowed eyes when he looked at us.

“Who are you?” The man asked, his voice better since he fed. “I smell something…wrong about you. Why?”

“I’m Colin Wentworth,” Colin said coming up to the man. “This is Devon Wentworth.” Colin waved in my direction.

The man nodded. “Brothers? Cousins? You don’t really look like each other. You’re family?”

A person from the 18^th century was okay with it, so was a man also in the early 20^th century. “I say we are family! We’re married.” Colin said.

The man nodded, but not really bothered by the idea. “I see.” He shrugged. “Things change in the world.” He folded his arms and looked at us. “Are you from the city? You sound Southern. You both have accents.”

“We do? I say you do.” Colin chuckled as he glanced at me. “We are Southern.”

“How’d you find me?” Alexander asked.

“Ruben,” I answered.

He nodded as he scratched his head. “Yes. He must have trusted you to tell you about me.”

“He helped us recently when the FBI and others tried to raid Holm’s Laboratories,” Colin said smiling. “Do you know what that is? What it is?”

Alexander smiled with a nod. “Ruben told me about the place. Apparently, there are other vampires there. He believed that. I didn’t question it.” He shrugged. “How was I to get there?”

I frowned. “But you traveled across the Atlantic. It’s just a few hundred miles to Manhattan. I’m sure Ruben or Grace would have helped you.”

His eyes widened. “You know about Grace, too?” He shook his head. “My niece and nephews must trust you.” He looked at us doubtful, afraid to hope. “But you can’t take the vampire out of us.”

“No.” I shook my head. Rolling up my sleeve, I showed the back of my arm and pointed to the little round disc that still could be seen if you look. “There is a doctor that came up with a serum to attach itself to the venom.”

Colin rolled his sleeve up, too and showed his. “We both have these discs. With these, we can go back in the sun and not burn. Our lives are real and almost normal again.”

“Almost. That can be you if you want.” I added. “Be warned. The first injections will be painful.”

Colin nodded. “Very painful.” He chuckled. “But your heart will start again and you can eat!” He grinned as that was a favorite of his.

“And the food will taste amazing! You’ll have the senses that are enhanced, but not gain weight from eating too much. That is good and bad. You won’t be able to store much fat, so you have to eat often.”

Alexander tilted his head. “Why are you doing this?”

“Are you happy here?” Colin asked waving at the surrounding forest and mountains. “It is beautiful, but are you by yourself?”

Alex nodded. “I pretty much have been since I came back in 1951.”

“Do you want to change that?” I asked. “There are other vampires out there and you can be around them and other people. You don’t have to be alone. We want to bring them back and help them.”

Trust was a very uncertain thing with vampires. He was thinking about whether he should or not. “How will I get there?”

Colin smiled. “We can take you. If you’d feel better, have the means just a mile or so that way.” Colin pointed the way we came. “I promise, we don’t want anything but to help you.”

Alexander’s face looked puzzled. “Why?”

Colin sighed. “Because I know what it’s like. I lived over a hundred years as a vampire when I was turned against my will. I know how lonely it is. You are lonely. I know it.”

Alexander’s eyes held surprise in them. “Over a hundred years old? How old are you?”

I chuckled. “He’ll be 205 in November.”

Alexander’s eyes grew more. “Really? And you?” He asked me.

I shrugged. “I’m only thirty.”

Colin grinned and shook his head. “Rub it in.” He shoved me lightly.

Alexander chuckled. “You’re just a puppy.” He thought a little more.

“You’ve never killed a person?” Colin asked carefully.

Alexander looked shocked. “No, absolutely not. I hunt game. Deer and even bear. I would never do to anyone what was done to me.”

Colin used what he felt and nodded. “Good.” He motioned toward the helicopter. “Do you want to risk it?”

Alexander looked back at his cabin. “I have things here.”

I nodded. “You can come back.” I smiled. “In the day time.”

He thought a minute more and then shrugged. “It will be…interesting. I suppose I should take the chance. What can I lose? I’ve already lived longer than I was supposed to. I’ll take the chance.”

I chuckled. “That word was used a lot during Grace’s campaigns. Don’t take a chance, choose Chance. And other such phrases.”

Alexander laughed. “She is my niece.” He walked to me holding his hand out to me. “I’m Alex.”

I nodded. “You know my husband.” I put a hand on Colin.

Alex nodded. “Legally married?” He asked a little surprised. Not about us, but the law.

Colin nodded. “Legally married.”

Alex chuckled. “Things have changed in the world.”

We took Alex back to VUN. He was staring wide-eyed as he saw inside offices.

“I really didn’t have electricity,” Alex said doing the turn to see it all. “I have a generator to use some things Ruben brought me.” He chuckled. “Even a cell phone. I get calls from Ruben and the others of the family, but I sometimes forget to charge it.” He shrugged helplessly.

Colin nodded. “No charging things here is needed.”

“VUN is very secure,” I added. “We have some very advanced things here.”

“VUN? Is that what you call it?” Alex asked. “What is that for?”

George came up to us. “It’s the name Devon gave this place. It stands for Vampire United Nations. Unfortunately, it’s catching on.” George growled at me but was smiling.

I rolled my eyes. “Well, it’s better than Holm’s Laboratories!” I pointed out. “That was just so…clinical.”

George just rolled his eyes, but he shook Alex’s hand. “I’m George Holms. Welcome back.” He walked with us as we headed back to the actual lab.

Alex leaned in and sniffed. “You’re one, too.” He smiled and looked around. “All of the others are human. I get the feeling there were others, but not here now.”

Colin looked at George surprised and then back at Alex. “You can smell that?”

Alex nodded. “Smell and sense. It’s hard to describe, but…I know there were others like you three. I feel…” he stopped and closed his eyes. “…three others. One is female.”

Even I was amazed. “Before you were turned…what was your abilities? How sensitive were you? Smell, sight, touch.”

Alex smiled. “I always had a sensitive nose, which annoyed my late wife. I always knew when she cleaned and what she didn’t. I wanted to be an aviator, my vision was great. I had 20/10 and could see things others couldn’t.” He grinned. “This morning, when I hunted…I heard and smelled the deer. I knew where he was and how far.” He shrugged. “Living in those mountains, I was isolated and it just made things sharper. I was a tracker before, even in the Army. I was in line to become an aviator, but my ability to track they wanted to flush out Germans was used by the Army.”

“Well, the serum won’t change all of your abilities,” George said. “But it will hurt at first.”

Colin nodded. “A lot.”

Alex nodded. “I was turned in 1944 during the war. I only knew of that one vampire. He was scared away before he could kill me. I know he would have. Pain now to start reversing what happened won’t be too bad.” He smiled waving at Colin and me. “I know you were like I am and I see what you do now. I’d like to return to the world. If pain happens, it’s worth it.”

George inserted the serum into Alex’s heart and we waited. It took a few hours before Alex settled down and slept. Colin and I went to our apartment to sleep. It had been a long day.

Mom and Gabriella returned while we were asleep. In the morning, we checked on Alex.

Alex sighed rubbing his chest where the serum had been injected. “You weren’t lying. That serum hurt!”

“Yes, but once the serum becomes a part of you and the drug level evens out,” George assured. “I’ll tailor make the serum for you, using that to make the serum work better. Once that happens, I’ll create a disc for you. That will be inserted and you’ll have to have one once a month. There won’t be pain then.”

Alex smiled at the prospects. “When can I see sunlight?”

“A few more days,” Colin promised. “In fact, we’ll all go on the roof to watch it together.”

Gabriella and mom came in. Mom hugged me and Colin as did Gabriella. I looked at Alex’s reaction to them. He sniffed again.

“Okay, they both seem different,” Alex observed. He pointed to Gabriella. “She’s like us.” Then he pointed to mom. “She’s human, but…she smells different. Why?”

I smiled. “What do you sense?”

He shook his head and shrugged. “It’s just…off. Even as a vampire, I wouldn’t have gone after her.”

Mom smiled. “I take something to make me this way. George says it’s a disflavor. It makes vampires not want to attack me. Is it bad?”

Alex sniffed again. “No, but…not appetizing at all.”

I pulled Colin over to me closer and whispered to him. “I don’t smell a thing from Mom.”

Colin shook his head. “I don’t really either. Not anymore.”

“If he can sense things like this after he takes the serum, we might be able to use him to locate others.” I pointed out.

Colin nodded. “You’re right.”

Another couple of days and doses and we took Alex to the roof of VUN. Alex had the usual reaction as the horizon brightened. Alex’s actions were also typical. He looked with a little trepidation but was smiling as the first rays of sunlight hit him. He touched his arms as the tingling began, but smiled.

“This is a strange feeling,” Alex said.

“It will fade with time,” I said. “You won’t always feel it.”

Gabriella smiled. “I sort of liked it.” She took Alex’s arm. “I miss it now.” Alex returned the smile, but held interest, in Gabriella.

I watched Colin’s eyes grow as he saw it, too. Putting my hand on Colin, I turned his head to me. “She’s an attractive, grown woman. He’s a vampire. It will probably happen. If not with him, there will be others. Don’t be such a Dad.”

“I am a Dad. Her Dad.” He said simply. “It’s a father’s job to protect his child!”

I shook my head. “You are. She’s not a child now. Leave her alone. I’m her step-father, so I’m telling you. Let it go.”

Colin huffed, but looked back at the conversation Gabriella seemed to enjoy with Alex.

Meals were also new for Alex and like all of us, he was enjoying it extremely well. More than I did, but not as much as Colin. I supposed, the longer you had been without, the more you liked it. By the end of the week, George had begun working on the serum and Alex’s blood to make the disc for Alex.

Colin looked at his phone and smiled, knowing what it was about. “I think someone wants to see you.” He smiled at Alex.

Alex looked puzzled. The door opened and four people came in. Ruben, a man, and two women.

Ruben shook Colin’s and my hands. “This is Carrie, my wife.” He presented a blonde woman in her late thirties. She was a little heavier than she needed to be, weight was a problem for her. The other woman I recognized as the Congresswoman, Grace Chance. “You may know my cousin Grace. This is her husband, Matt Vega.” He pointed to a man that was attractive in his late forties or early fifties. Cuban? He was Latin. Grace was in her mid-forties, but the appearance was perfection. Dark hair that was done for a woman of her years. Ruben looked behind us. “Uncle Alex?” He walked toward Alex as his smile got bigger. “You look…normal!”

As the family reunion was underway Colin, George and I talked.

“Guys.” I began. “We have a great computer system, but lack the manpower. Ruben has access to the manpower, but not our computers. Alex can track.” I was looking at puzzled faces. “Are you sure you’re as old as you claim and can’t see it?”

Colin nodded. “You want to use the FBI to track vampires?”

George frowned. “If we start working with the FBI, aren’t we doing exactly what they want? We become agents.”

I shrugged. “Not for the political things.” I shook my head. “We will stop the killings. There are hunter vampires out there and dangerous. We find them and either they agree to be treated or die.” I tapped my disc. “We have means to go in the world and look for others!”

Colin was nodding as he understood. “Think about it. With Ruben and Grace, our backgrounds could be secured. No one will necessarily be able to find out about any of us.”

George shook his head. “This is a direction I hadn’t wanted to go. This is not what I intended!”

“It’s a way!” Colin stressed for George see the logic. I saw George struggle with it, but he was seeing the logic.

We spoke to Grace and Ruben about this new possibility.

Grace sighed as she thought about what we proposed. “A division to investigate deaths would be good and stop deaths. Seeking out other vampires!?” She shook her head. “I can’t do it alone. How would we support this? Financial resources are watched!”

Colin nodded. “Yes. We have the money here. The nation's taxes wouldn’t be necessarily used.”

Ruben nodded. “It could work. I could block any inquiries into your pasts. Using agents, that will take a few special agents.”

I nodded holding my hands up to stop them. “This is new for all of us. I don’t relish the idea of working for the FBI or any agency. Nor do I think the FBI should work for the VUN. A privately sponsored division using FBI would be tricky, but a cooperative alliance would work best. We would show results if anyone asks about it.”

Grace nodded. “I have a couple of people I might propose this to. A couple are senators. Let me see. I’ll feel them out and see. If they agree, they will want to see this place.” She smiled looking around the room. “It’s impressive.”

“You think it could work though?” I asked.

Ruben smiled shaking his head. “A vampire seeking unit! That would be awesome!”

Grace patted his arm asking him not to get too excited too quickly. “Give me a few days. I’ll talk to some people and I’ll let you know.” She smiled at us but looked back at her uncle. “What you’ve done for Uncle Alex, I say absolutely yes. The others might need convincing.”

We ended the visit with a new purpose. Colin needed to assure George. “We need to find the others. That’s why we began Holm’s Laboratories, George. To help others who were turned. This is what it’s all about. That’s why we built this.”

George sighed. “I suppose.” He looked at me grinning. “Now you have something else to name.”

I grinned. “A vampire locating task force? I’ll let you know.”

George smiled again. “But leave the vampire out of the name. It might freak some people out.”