V.A.M.P.s

Chapter 1

The doors slide apart and Benjamin enters the laboratory. He quickly turns his head and shields his face with his arm. His eyes strain from the bright lighting almost like he has an aversion to it.

"Reduce illumination, level five."

The computer obeys his commands and the room dims drastically.

"That's better." Mumbles Benjamin as he ponders which one of his assistants forgot to reset the lighting before they left. Tiresomely he makes his way to the wall sized digital screen at the back of the room his age affects his pace. Benjamin promises himself when he finds out who it was he will make them suffer. Maybe I will make them re-catalog thousands of samples, or demote them to clean each and every test tube in the storage warehouse, or better yet cut them from the project and throw there ass out on the street. There will be plenty of time for that later though as he reaches his destination and struggles to pick up a tablet computer.

"Access project Daedalus."

The screen displays of a series of complex equations and three dimensional models as it runs through the program.

"Pause."

The display stops on an equation, it would be all jargon to you or me but two things in particular stand out. The Greek letter α which stands for alpha and the Greek letter Ω which stands for omega. Benjamin runs the calculations in his head over and over. After awhile he puts the tablet down, rubs his sore hands and stretches his tired back.

"Can you really read that screen in this darkness?" Comes from a voice behind him.

This startles Benjamin and he turns to see who is in the room with him. The lit butt of a cigarette illuminates a seated robed figure. Benjamin relaxes as he recognizes the person before him.

"Wouldn't you prefer the light?" The figure mocks.

"Wouldn't you prefer to be on time?" Benjamin retorts.

The figure stands up from the chair and approaches Benjamin. "I am." It holds up it's arm and taps it's wrist with the index finger of the other hand. Not so much to showoff a watch as it is wears none instead it does so to signify the universal sign for time. "My master values his time, as I mine."

Benjamin checks his timepiece. In disbelief he realizes in fact he is the one late and ponders wether his old age has finally caught up with him. He shakes those kind of thoughts off, no, I can't start doubting myself now and he tries to change the conversation.

"Well, do you have it?"

The figure reaches into the folds of his robe and pulls out an small, intricately, ornate box. Benjamin eyes widen and he reaches for it, but the figure pulls it back. "Do you know how much trouble it was to get this?"

"Yes!" Benjamin chides him. "If the task was too hard to accomplish then maybe I should find someone else to make a deal with." He holds his hand out impatiently.

"The box." He adds insincerely. "Please."

The figure gently places the box into his outstretched hand.

Benjamin takes the box over to nearby table and with a swift brush of his arm clears the current experiment occupying that space. It makes an awful sound as it smashes on the floor and sends shards of glass and pieces of metal and plastic everywhere.

The figure takes a drag from it's cigarette. "You know a thank you now and then wouldn't be too much"

Benjamin ignores him. He walks over to cabinets that store scientific equipment. Gathers the tools he will need, places them on a metal cart. He retrieves a vial filled with a blue liquid from a cooler and places it on the cart and pushes it back to the table.

The figure exhales the smoke. "Do you really think this will work?"

Benjamin lifts the latch on the ornate box, opens it and carefully removes a vial of red liquid that glows in the dim lighting of the room. Benjamin holds up the vial and examines it with his eyes.

"A thing of beauty, yes?" The figure says.

The smoke from the cigarette having wound its tendrils through the room finally reaches Benjamin's nostrils. He swats at the smoke with his hand. The banter was starting to get on his nerves, but he will not tolerate this fowl intrusion. "Don't you have other errands to run?" Spitefully. "For your master?"

The figure strolls off into the darkness. "Just remember your part of the deal."

Benjamin places the vial of red liquid into a centrifuge. Turns it on, with a whir it spins the vial round and round. When the machine finishes he removes the vial and siphons of the lighter part. Takes the blue vial and adds its contents to the left over denser contents of the red vial. He places the combined vial into a agitator and turns it on. After a while the machine dings it's task complete. Benjamin takes a syringe and transfers the  purple liquid into it. He smirks.

"God help them."

Benjamin grasps the syringe firmly in one hand and injects the solution into his arm. He seizes up an abruptly slumps over the table visibly weaker. He chokes and sputters, his fists pound at the table, his body thrashes violently and crashes to the floor upon the broken shards of glass and smashed pieces of scientific apparatus that are strewn about.

What to him must seem like an eternity but to us would be but a few moments in time pass by. He lets out some groans, he slowly moves his limbs. He gradually rises off the floor, his face and hands have lacerations and pieces of glass are stuck in his skin.

Benjamin heads toward a full length mirror, his age does not restrict his pace. He stares at himself in the mirror. The lacerations on his face begin to fade, he pulls out the shards of glass and the holes close up and heal. In doing so he notices his hands are no longer wrinkled and spotted, they are smooth and firm. His face changes too and his frame is no longer weak and frail, he tears his shirt from his chest, and a muscular body stares back at him from the mirror.

He sprints to the nearest table and rips it from it's mounts, and lifts it above his head as if it were weightless. He heaves it effortlessly across the room where it crashes down to the floor and the sounds echo in the silent room.

"God help them all!"

He laughs manically.