Cora’s eyes fell and her voice sounded tiny. “No. I shot him, remember? Besides, I don’t think a werewolf can become a vampire. I don’t think you can switch from one supernatural being to another.”
“Yeah, but do you actually know this?”
She shook her head.
“Do vampires not make other vampires, then?” Daggett asked.
“They do,” Melanie spoke. “I don’t really know how to do it, but I know it’s been done.” There was so much hesitance in her voice. I got the impression that she didn’t want to actually answer us, but was humoring us anyway. I wish she’d do a hell of a lot more, though, since she probably had details Cora didn’t even know about. There was a lot of information flying around in that room, but for the most part, I think we were all still pretty confused about it all. Probably because none of us wanted to believe it, or I didn’t, at least.
I was suddenly running down in my head if I had ever accidentally killed someone. There were many months before I found Aga’s compound that I had to go old-school and chain myself up in a basement and hope the shackles were strong enough to hold me in place, so that I didn’t go out and hurt anyone. Most of that time frame was a blur, the events in my wolf form coming back to me the next morning like pieces of a dream you can’t quite recall. I could have done it. I could have killed someone. I figured the news not reporting any deaths in the weeks that followed meant I was in the clear, but Jesus, if they rose from the dead, I guess there would be no body to report on.
“How long does it take for someone to turn into, you know,” Daggett inquired. I half expected him to pull out a small notebook and begin taking notes.
Melanie shrugged again. “I don’t know. I woke up like this.”
“She didn’t even know what month it was,” Cora added.
“You said you were kept against your will?” Daggett asked.
Melanie nodded.
I chimed in. “How did you get out if you were in a cage?”
Melanie’s pale baby blues looked directly at me, and I got a chill down my spine. It was like looking death in the eyes. “It was a cell,” she said. Like it made a difference. “And I didn’t get out…I was broken out. We all were.”
“By who?”
She swallowed slowly and then licked the corner of her mouth. Her lips were white and dry, and she was trying to moisten them. “He…he calls himself Master. I don’t know where he came from or why he was helping us, only that he’s just like us, but more powerful. Master broke into the building and killed everyone. There was blood all over the hallways and the walls, and he let us feed on the bodies.” Melanie turned to Cora, apologetically saying, “I didn’t want to, but I couldn’t stop myself. I was so hungry.”
Cora’s eyes were shiny and the skin across her neck was tightened, but her voice remained sympathetic. “It’s not your fault,” she said.
“Tell me more about this guy,” I said.
Melanie’s hands were shaking as she twisted them in her lap. “It was like he was collecting us. He only showed interest in me and three other girls.”
“Molly, Veronica, and Tiffany,” Cora filled in.
“Yeah, them. He promised that we would get stronger and more powerful with his help, and that he’d take care of us. But I didn’t like what he was trying to sell. The things he wanted us to do were...wrong. I tried to get away, and they’ve been hunting me ever since. My brain was in such a fog, but Cora’s number was the one thing I could remember. I don’t know why.”
“What did this Master guy want you to do?” Daggett asked.
Melanie began to wiggle in her seat as a tear streamed down her cheek. “I don’t…I don’t want to talk about it.” She threw her face into her hands and began running her fingers through her hair, tugging on the strands so hard I thought clumps were going to fall out. “He gets in my head. I want him to go away. He won’t go away.”
She was getting worked up, and Cora inched closer to her so she could rub her back and comfort her. “It’s all right. Shhhh.”
Melanie rocked in her seat. “They’re all looking at me. Can you make them go away? Make them go away, Cora. Please.”
Cora looked up at us, and at that moment I realized how suffocating it must have been. We were a group of four huddled around her, staring at her like she were a circus act. “Can you guys give her a minute?” Cora asked. Cora ended up ushering us outside of the room, closing the door tightly behind her.
As soon as we got to the living room, an eruption of conversation broke out.
“This is absolutely amazing,” Daggett exclaimed.
Priscilla scoffed loudly. “Amazing? Are you fucking high? People are coming back from the dead with a taste for human blood, and you think this is amazing?”
“It’s an amazing discovery, you can’t argue with that. This is a real, honest-to-God way to escape death. Is that not exciting to you all?”
In unison, we all said, “No.”
“Does that pale-faced chick in the other room look excited to you?!” Priscilla yelled, and Cora shushed her.
“Come on, guys,” Cora began quietly. “She’s in the other room, not another planet. She’s fragile enough as it is, she doesn’t need you guys making jokes out of this.”
Priscilla shook her head. “Nah, this ain’t no damn joke, okay? This is fucked up, and if
