Her eyes adjusted to the magnification of the microscope. Yes, she thought. No complications! Everything is perfect! “Hey, Stephen, want to go out to dinner to celebrate?” She said as she looked up in time to see Stephen smashing his microscope on the back of her head.
Her face fell into the Petri dish. Stephen took a clump of hair from the back of her head and threw her backward onto the floor.
Shelly was reeling in pain. She held her head with her hand. “What the hell, Stephen?”
Stephen smashed the microscope across her jaw, instantly breaking it. “Sorry, dear. I need your serum. All of it.”
Shelly was barely able to mutter, “Why?” before Stephen slammed the heavy instrument several more times to her face.
“Don’t worry, sweetie. I’m not taking it to a competitor. Oh no, it’s far worse than a rival company,” Stephen said as he slammed the scope one more time.
He took off his red-stained gown, gloves, and facemask and threw them on a neighboring table.
Stephen took out his phone from his pocket and dialed.
“You have the serum?” a voice boomed at the other end.
“Yes, sir.”
“And the good doctor?”
Stephen looked at the inert body of Shelly. “Motionless, dead. Just as we agreed upon.”
“How much of the enzyme do you have?”
“Much more than we anticipated, sir. Hundreds of beakers!”
“Excellent. Take all of it, and I will text you where to meet. Good work!”
“Thank you, sir. I will await your text.”
“And to make sure I know it’s indeed you, what type of carrying case will you have? Our enemies are smart at deception.”
“I will be carrying a green tote bag, sir.” Stephen hung up. He grabbed the green tote bag and hurried to the fridge. Carefully, Stephen took the beakers by the trays they were housed in and placed them in his large carrying case. He went back to the desk and put the gown and anything else that had blood on it, and set it inside the large bag.
He had to hurry. In forty minutes, the building officially opened.
Stephen went back to his work station, put on the jacket he came in with, and delicately put his tote bag across his shoulder.
He pressed the first floor of the elevator and waited patiently. He got out and passed the information booth where Lacey sat talking to another employee.
He went by her and nodded.
Lacey stood up. “Doctor Ward, leaving so early? You barely just got here.”
He turned around and noticed Lacey was tall with long brown hair. He had never paid attention. “Yes, family emergency, I’m afraid.”
“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that!” Lacey replied with downcast eyes.
“Thank you,” he said as he started walking away. He stopped and turned to Lacey. “I almost forgot, Lacey.”
Lacey looked at him expectantly. “Yes, Doctor Ward?”
“Doctor Leadstone asked me to tell you she doesn’t want any interruptions for the rest of the day. She has a hectic day ahead of her.”
“Of course. I will see Doctor Leadstone is not disturbed. Thank you, Doctor Ward. I hope everything works out with your emergency.”
Stephen nodded and walked out of the building with a smile on his face.
Chapter Five
The Council of Blood ~
Present Day, July 11th
Clayton shook his shoulders loose and took a few deep breaths before he entered the hotel lobby. He checked his phone and realized he was running late.
His previous meeting with the leaders of the different blood types was a hundred years ago, right after the Stranger bit another eight expecting mothers. At that time, secrecy was essential. Now? He did not care who knew. It was he who had requested the meeting through open channels. Something was brewing, Clayton could sense it.
One troubling event no one was talking about was the Stranger was past due. She had not appeared, nor had any pregnant women been bitten this year. He was positive about that. His spies were widespread. Once families were bitten, they tended to behave differently, or a surge of human killings occurred. He looked at the date on his phone—July the eleventh. Even taken into account the last change of the human calendar in 1752, (3) the date and time were always the same—May the fourth at seven thirty-three in the morning. Clayton had no idea why a specific time or date, but he was certain no one had been bitten and changed.
Another thing troubling him was the statement from a vampire several weeks ago that said his kind was on the way out with the mention of the Great Yeomen Purge of 1751.
It was there where his beloved wife, his twin boys Grady and Markus, his father, mother, his younger brother Milas and his younger sister, Beatrice, died at the hands of the O type vampires did not sit well with him. He shrugged back the horrific memory.
He was the last to enter and sit down. The other seven blood types were already seated. Clayton sensed tension among the factions.
“Sorry, I am late,” Clayton remarked. “I wanted to make sure I dined before I got here.”
“In case of what?” the O negative leader, Maryl Rosser, the Seeker, asked.
“I like to be at full power when I am in the midst of discussions with the leaders of the other seven blood types.”
A person unknown to Clayton rose from his chair. “Since I am the newest member, and many may not know who I am, I am the leader of the O Positive blood type. My name is Ray Greenwell, the Conqueror.”
“What happened to Sol, the former leader of your group?” Clayton asked in surprise. Usually, he had intel on the latest changes in the other types.
“Our people age slowly but not nearly as slow as your A & B blood types. I challenged Sol, who was old, and he lost. I defeated him, quite easily I might add,” Ray the Conqueror boasted.
“Why are we here, Clayton? Why did you call this meeting?” the leader of the AB negative group, Platov, the Compromiser asked.
Clayton studied
