Hello Darkness

Chapter Thirty-One

It only takes me half a second to decide that I'm not going to run. Whether I like it or not this band of weirdos might have the answers I need. Answers I want more than anything. Eager to get the cuffs off my wrists, I nod. "Fine." I resist the urge to spit in Redbeard's face as he reluctantly removes the cuffs.

I never expected the moment people believed me would feel like this. Instead of feeling complete and whole, I feel my body drifting away like I'm watching from a distance, like what I'm experiencing isn't real.

"Tell us all you know about these creatures." The man that spoke up leans back in his chair, a pair of gold rimmed aviators dangling from his collar.

"Joe knows more than I do. I went to him looking for answers." The key burns against my sternum, hidden beneath my dress. This dress doesn't have pockets, it's only weakness, and in lue of leaving the key behind I'd strung it on a long silver chain and nobody asked questions. I tried it on the briefcase and it didn't fit. It could go somewhere else important. Maybe these goons knew where it went.

"But you've been around one?" A woman asks. "Joe saw for himself."

My throat bobs, and I hold my breath. Talum. He can't be...You're in more danger than you understand. The day in Joe's shop, he'd been so defensive, but that was all because Joe was being ridiculous, right? But the car ride, he'd been hiding something. The spot where he'd held my arm pulsed a chilly echo. Vampire. Vampire. Vampire.

I desperately search for the ends of my unraveling nerves and pull them, securing everything back into place. I look right into Joe's hazel eyes and lift my chin. Nana once told me that when you're feeling weak, pretend you're strong. I can't risk looking weak now. "How do you know?"

"He's from one of the families I've been watching. I've witnessed a few members of their clan feed from the blood bags they get from those drives. I won't risk getting close to their clan leaders though, and he's up there."

My stomach curls into a tight knot and the ice around my heart solidifies. "Who?" My voice cracks. "Who are their leaders?"

"The Silvano's lead the clan that live in the Northern Gates. Lazarus and Selene. The one that was with you reports to them."

I look away, my hands curling into fists. It was Lazaraus. Talum lied to me—about everything. How could I have let someone so close to my parents killer into my home? And I told him so much—I showed him my father's documents.

"What kind of things were they doing at Sypris?" I don't care that I'm shaking or that my eyes are filling with tears. This isn't weakness—this is hate. And if anything it gives me strength.

Joe gestures to a chair, but I don't take it. My legs are too jittery—I need to pace.

"What do you know about Project Siren?" he asks.

They read my blank stare. I'd heard that name only once, when my father was on the phone. He'd taken the call out to the garage. Shortly after my mother sent me out to retrieve some meat for dinner from the extra refrigerator. He'd been speaking about work. Sirens and greek mythology have always fascinated me, it's the only reason I remembered. "I've heard it, but only once when I was young. What does it have to do with this?"

"As I mentioned before, Sypris was running tests on vampires. We had informants that worked on the inside. It was highly classified and not easy to obtain actual documentation, but our informant was able to obtain a few things. Most was just his verbal accounts—the tests were at the very least inhumane."

I want to speak with this informant, pick his brain. Maybe he knew my father. "Where's your informant now?"

"Dead." Joe's soft face remains solemn, expressionless but he continues, "They'd been experimenting with weapons and drugs to protect humans against these creatures."