Surviving Paradise (Full Draft Version)

CHAPTER 25

"Stop, just hold up, what do you two want?"

"A snack, thought that was obvious by now, and you are?"

"Ashton Black. My uncle is Caleb Black."

"Ah Caleb Black, and how is the mad scientist? "

CHAPTER 25

The entire weekend was peaceful in a way that the days had not been for quite awhile. The foursome watched tv, played games, cooked, did some light cleaning and laundry, and never left the house. It was almost as blissful as the days on vacation had been. Only once was the mood interrupted, when Gabrielle sent a text requesting Allisa’s presence in her office on Monday morning.

At least it was in the morning though Allisa thought as she snapped the phone closed, and remembered the times Gabrielle wished to meet at night. Day and night blurred somewhere before noon for the vampires. Noon seemed to be the equivalent of bedtime for the older ones.

Allisa stepped hesitantly through the portal she had created into the outer area of Gabrielle’s office. Gabrielle had not mentioned wanting to look at research and testing material, but since that had been the normal subject of meetings, Allisa had stopped by the lab to print some paper charts. Nervous as always in this building of vampires, even though none were visible at the moment, Allisa clutched her files and raised a fist to knock on Gabrielle’s office door.

It was unusual that Gabrielle’s assistant was absent from the desk in this area. Ashton's voice directly behind her caused her to lose her grip, and papers fluttered to the floor. With an apology he gathered them with warp speed, stuffing them back into the large manila folder. As he handed it over, she smiled her thanks, then froze when she met his eyes.

Jerking away from his compelling gaze, she protested uneasily, “Ashton, why...?”

“Trust me.” The seconds ticked by as she stubbornly stared at his Nike’s on the stone floor. Why was he wanting to daze her? Their conversation in her office after her last meeting with Gabrielle replayed in her head. Ashton had seemed so earnest then, that he would never misuse that particular power, or talent as the vampire liked to call their abilities. “You trust me don’t you?”

His voice had a quiet authority that she had never heard, and suddenly she realized she was not hearing it. He was implanting the words silently. More shaken than before, she made the mistake of swinging her startled eyes back to his face, if only to see that his mouth wasn’t moving, and that’s when he had her.

Her panicked pulse slowed to a slow steady beat, and she smiled her thanks realizing the papers he had picked up were neatly tucked away in the folder in her hand. Light on her feet, she followed him as he led the way down a hall.

“This way.” Ashton stopped in an alcove. Large double wooden doors were flanked by two large vampires each with their hand on the wooden end of something that looked suspiciously like a stake, sheathed in a leather holder.

One of the vampires reached to hold a door open for them to pass through, and Allisa slowed, bothered by the mass number of vampires in the large room. A room that was stone and windowless like the rest of the building, but this room was at least three stories high. A mummer went through the crowd and she felt every eye on her. A vampire was suddenly at her side, tugging her down an aisle in the midst of the standing crowd. The area where he stopped was open floor with only a few vamps standing here and there, and she quickly recognized a courtroom type set up.

Gabrielle was standing where a judge would be, and when Allisa looked fearfully back for Ashton, she saw that the room had inclined down. Hundreds of vampires standing in a sweeping hill formation above her was a frightening sight. When she turned back to Gabrielle, although the elder vampire’s face remained frozen, Allisa felt calmed, as if Gabrielle were reassuring her.