Twisted Thorns

Chapter Sixteen

"Alucard, what are we going to do? He's just a little boy..." Lizzie trailed off, the lump caught in her throat.
"I know, but his parents are missing, probably dead, and he's been bitten by a Naga."
"A... what?"
"A Naga. I've sent some samples off to get tested. For now, Theo needs to be in quarantine. The last thing we need is an outbreak of a disease."
"Where is he, Alucard."
"Sophia... you can't see him right now. You need to rest, you've broken your arm. And we don't know if Naga venom is infectious, or if he'll turn into one of them."
"I'm fine! But you need to let me see him! He's probably petrified-"
"Alucard. Lizzie. What is going on?" Both of their heads snapped up to see Sir Integra walking towards them, cigarette in hand, flanked by two officers.
"Sir!" Lizzie stood to attention, Alucard bowing slightly at the waist.
"Master." He said, rising again.
"You have the fangs, Alucard?" Alucard reached into his pocket, pulling four long, yellowed, curved fangs out of his pocket, with a fleshy piece of meat hanging off the thicker end. He handed them to her, and Integra handed them to Lizzie. "The lab technician is running tests on Theo as we speak. He will need some kind of support. Take the fangs to the laboratory, and I'll call down if I need you back up here." And with that, she turned on her heel and swept away from the pair.
"Elizabeth..."
"You heard her Alucard. After you." she waved her hand in front of herself, gesturing for him to lead the way. Squinting his eyes at her, she smiled largely.

"Elizabeth, you know if the Naga venom is toxic or causes any kind of transformation, Theo will need to be-"
"I don't want to hear it, Alucard."
"Eli-"
"Shut up. Just open the door." she said, staring up into his face in defiance.
"You're far less complacent than I remember." he sighed, sarcastically. He punched in the number to the door, which Lizzie tried to get a look at. She failed as he covered it over.
"Elizabeth, I can see into your mind. You aren't sneaking in here while I'm not here. It's dangerous." he opened the door, holding it and motioning her to go first.
"Psht." Lizzie rolled her eyes at him, passing him while trying to avoid contact. She obviously couldn't as the door way was far too small for the two of them. Their hands brushed, and a familiar rush of electricity surged through her hand, up her arm.

The corridor they had stepped into was made entirely out of glass and metal panes. It was the exact thing she thought she'd see in a horror movie. The lights in the rooms were off, meaning you could only see a foot into the room from the lights in the corridor.
"What's moving in there?" Lizzie asked, cupping her hands so she could get a better look. She was about to move backwards, when a face came rocketing toward her from the darkness. The body that accompanied the face smacked into the glass, and they started pounding as she hopped back and screamed. She jumped right into Alucard's open arms. "Are you okay?" she asked, amusement clear on his face.
"What the... is that a ghoul, Alucard?"
"Yes."
"Why is it here?" she was puzzled, not taking her eyes off of the enraged ghoul that was clawing at the grass with intent.
"Meet test subject GH 2047. In the Hellsing labs, they analyse the genetic code of each test subject, and they will expose it to UV rays, blessed silver compounds, you get the idea."
"To what ends?" she was terrified of the answer. She knew Hellsing worked closely alongside the Queen and Parliament. What if this was some sort of biological weapons lab?
"Do you really think my Master would let that happen? No, we're looking for a viable cure. So far, nothing. This way, Elizabeth." he started to stride down the corridor, leaving her with the increasingly irate ghoul. Lizzie started to jog to keep up, her short legs finding it difficult to keep up with his long stride. Alucard opened a door to a generic looking laboratory, a large white room full of cupboards, flasks, beakers, chemicals and other equipment. Sophia saw a glass window separating the lab from another room. The other room had a small white table, in which Theo sat on. He was bloody and dirty, and he looked depressed. His shoulders were slumped and his head hung low. The bite on his arm was sore, and looked infected. Sophia tore her eyes away from the window and realised Alucard and herself were not alone in the room. A man in a white lab coat stood in front of them. He was five foot five at best, and one of his sleeves was folded and pinned to the side of his coat. He had no left arm. Lizzie tilted her head slightly, wondering how he lost it.
"I lost it in an unfortunate explosion in another laboratory. I got off lucky, the other guy killed himself after it made a mess of his face." he smiled at Lizzie, and she looked down, ashamed of her unabashed staring. She was embarrassed that, even after working as a nurse, she let her curiosity get the better of her social understanding.
"Sorry... I don't mean to stare." she mumbled.
"Not a problem, it's not something you see everyday. My name is Doctor Lester, pleased to meet you. Now, the problem at hand. These slides, Alucard." he stepped away from the microscope. Alucard looked through the microscope, flicking through the slides.
"Elizabeth, come and see this." Lizzie moved to the microscope.
"So the first slide is normal human blood cells. The next, Theo's blood."
Both slides looked similar. Theo's blood was a little... different. The cells were dying and multiplying faster than the first one slide, and their form were strange, and an odd colour.
"I'm going to run some tests on the venom sac you brought me, see what I can find."

After ten minutes, he stood back and said:
"Checking the venom and testing it with live human blood cells, it seems the zootoxins act as a parasite. It works a little like a vampire bite. However, this particular venom doesn't seem to kill live cells. After infection, the cells in the zootoxins will shed their cellulose, and inject itself straight into the live cell."
"How can it get through the live cells' own cell wall?"
"Before shedding, it seems to use the cellulose as a syringe. It penetrates the cell and will then inject itself into it. Then the shedded wall will disperse. Seems without the cytoplasm and the membrane, the wall is 'allergic' to the plasma around the red blood cells. So in short terms, Theo will theoretically not die due to infection, but will carry the toxins in his blood. So he could infect others potentially. However we'll have to keep him with us to run more tests and to keep him away from the general population." Lizzie heart thumped. What of his parents? Suddenly the radio crackled.
"Hello? Lizzie are you there?"
"I'm here, Seras."
"We found Theo's parents."
"Great! We'll need to start by moving them to a place near the manor-"
"They're dead, Miss. Pip and I found them in their house. Murdered, miss." Lizzie went silent. She put her hands over her face. No. Not this again. Poor boy.
"Any other family?"
"No Miss."
"Dammit." He's all alone in the world.

"Come on, Theo. Let's get you in a bath and put you to bed." Lizzie said, holding his hand as they walked up the stairs.
"Is your arm okay? I thought for sure that... man broke your arm." Theo looked at her in horror.
"I'm a super hero! I don't get broken bones!" She smiled, rubbing his shoulder.
"The way you lifted that snake man off the floor! With your mind! Wow! You must be a super hero!" He made an explosion motion with his hands on the sides of his head, showing his mind was blown. Lizzie stopped and thought. Louse had called her a witch. She threw him against a wall. She had thought she'd blacked out and thrown him, but Theo had seen it. She did it without touching him.

Alucard read into her mind as she replayed the scene in her head. His eyes narrowed. Elizabeth? A witch? But how? He stopped, as small things began to knit together. He bid her a quick goodnight and headed for the archives in the library.