Chapter 1: The test
I pushed on the door but it didn't move. I felt a little foolish and read the sign on the door that suggested I "pull" the door in order to open it. I shook my head and chuckled a little at myself. Then I pulled. Nothing. I shook the door again but it is clearly locked. The buzzing neon sign in the window clearly states that the store is open. I cup my hand against the glass to look inside. There are several people inside shopping. I try the door again but in vain.I take a step back and think. Just then a woman comes from the parking lot and walks right into the store without a problem. I run for the door but it shuts before I can get to it and it's locked once again. I once again look inside the shop and see that everyone is crowded around the windows and they are staring at me. I back away from the glass and stand there staring back. All at once they start laughing and pointing. I feel a sharp pain in my back. The people inside are laughing louder. I feel dizzy and I fall to my knees. I put my hand to my chest. My shirt is wet. I look down to see blood. There is blood all around me. I had been shot! Someone shot me in the back. Everyone inside is laughing and pointing. Some are laughing so hard they have to wipe away the tears that are streaming down their faces. I try to get back onto my feet and after a few tries I manage to keep my balance. I hold my hand tight against my wound and I walk up to the store. I can't speak because the pain is almost enough to make me pass out. I put a bloody hand against the window of the store. I manage to whisper "Help me" before blacking out. all the while the patrons inside are laughing and patting each other on the back.
I wake up and i'm in a hospital. My head hurts a little. I try to lift my arm to touch my brow but I find that my wrists are bound to the gurney. The room is completely white. I hear a faint long beep. I look over and see the heart monitor. It's flatlining. I start to panic but feel weak. A doctor comes in with a nurse and injects me with something. It makes me sleep almost instantly.
When I wake up again I am in my room in my bed. My mouth is dry. I sit up in bed look at my hands. There is no sign of blood on my hands or my clothes. I touch my chest. There is a bandage. I take off my shirt and see the large gauze taped over my left breast. I pull the tape away slowly. Under the gauze is a very large jagged scar. I start to sob. It wasn't a dream. It all happened. My door opens and a nurse walks in with breakfast on a tray.
"How are you feeling?" She asks me.
"What happened to me?" I yell.
"Calm down, Christie. You just had an accident." She put the tray down beside my bed.
"No..they were laughing..they didn't help me." I start to hyperventilate.
The nurse walks over with a glass of water which I happily take.
"The police said they found you bleeding on the ground. There weren't any witnesses." The nurse said.
"No they are wrong. There were all these people in the store. They saw the whole thing." I give her back the glass of water.
"Christie. You almost didn't make it. In fact its a wonder why you are alive right now. The police found you bleeding. You had a giant hole in your chest right over your heart." She put the tray of food on my lap.
"Yeah. I was shot in the back..the bullet must have come out of my chest and-"
"No one shot you with a bullet," she interupted. "You were shot with some kind of sedation gun. Then whoever did this to you cut out your heart. Sometimes tramas like this can make you think you are seeing something you aren't. You probably imagined all those people in the store." She walked back to my door and lingered there for a moment. "Don't worry. As soon as we find your heart..we'll put it back. Until then you need medicaton..or you'll die." She walked out of the room and closed the door behind her.
I looked over to another heart monitor in my room. I was hooked up to it but it must not have been working because it was flat lining. I looked at the oatmeal and bananas, the nurse gave me and felt angry. I knocked the tray off my lap and onto the floor.
Someone sedated me...and ripped my heart right from my chest. And somehow I am still alive..
I looked at the clock next to my bed. It was 3:33am. It was still night..why was the nurse bringing me breakfast this early in the morning? There were just too many questions that needed answering. I got out of bed and walked over to the window and opened it. The cool night air gave me goosebumps.
"I see you are awake." A man's voice came suddenly behind me. I turned quickly to see a man sitting on the end of my bed. The bedroom door was still closed. He had appeared out of thin air.
"Who are you?" I take a step back only to find that I'm at the windows edge.
"Allister. I'll be your mentor." He rose from the bed and out-stretched his hand. "Please let me escort you out." I slowly walked to him and gave him my hand.
"What has happened to me?" I immediately felt like he was someone I could trust. But then again I was under heavy medication.
"There are hateful people who will do anything to kill off our kind. You may not know this now but you are one of us." He waiting with me outside of the bedroom door.
"Who is 'us'." I asked.
"The living dead." He lead me out the door.
"Like a vampire?" I felt silly asking.
"Exactly."
"That's ridiculous!" I laughed!
"About as ridiculous as living without a heart?" He looked sternly at me.
I didn't know what to say.
"They have your heart because they knew you were one of us. Someone you love must have kept you hidden from the truth all these years, if you knew nothing about this."
"My father. He takes care of me. I'm always sick. I have found that I usually sleep the day away and wake up at night feeling better. He always makes me dinner." I fumbled around with my thoughts.
"You're father kept you out of the sun and he fed you the nutrients you needed to survive." Allister led me down the hall.
"But don't vampires need blood to survive?" I felt like a cheesy hollywood horror film.
"Yes. And I'm sure all of your food had blood in it." We walked out into the kitchen. There at the table smoking a cigarette in the dark was my father with the nurse. The nurse excused herself and left. Allister stood by the sink and told me to sit at the table. My father looked upset.
"Allister tell me what is going to happen to her." My father's voice was on the brink of breaking.
"She is being used as bait. She will live without her heart for only a short while. The drugs are the only thing keeping her alive at the moment but they will not last. She will feel her heart calling to her and she will follow it. When she does, we must follow her. They are counting on us to do this. It is how they will draw us out. We must be ready for whatever they throw at us."Allister walked over and stroked my hair. "She is the test."
I pushed on the door but it didn't move. I felt a little foolish and read the sign on the door that suggested I "pull" the door in order to open it. I shook my head and chuckled a little at myself. Then I pulled. Nothing. I shook the door again but it is clearly locked. The buzzing neon sign in the window clearly states that the store is open. I cup my hand against the glass to look inside. There are several people inside shopping. I try the door again but in vain.I take a step back and think. Just then a woman comes from the parking lot and walks right into the store without a problem. I run for the door but it shuts before I can get to it and it's locked once again. I once again look inside the shop and see that everyone is crowded around the windows and they are staring at me. I back away from the glass and stand there staring back. All at once they start laughing and pointing. I feel a sharp pain in my back. The people inside are laughing louder. I feel dizzy and I fall to my knees. I put my hand to my chest. My shirt is wet. I look down to see blood. There is blood all around me. I had been shot! Someone shot me in the back. Everyone inside is laughing and pointing. Some are laughing so hard they have to wipe away the tears that are streaming down their faces. I try to get back onto my feet and after a few tries I manage to keep my balance. I hold my hand tight against my wound and I walk up to the store. I can't speak because the pain is almost enough to make me pass out. I put a bloody hand against the window of the store. I manage to whisper "Help me" before blacking out. all the while the patrons inside are laughing and patting each other on the back.
I wake up and i'm in a hospital. My head hurts a little. I try to lift my arm to touch my brow but I find that my wrists are bound to the gurney. The room is completely white. I hear a faint long beep. I look over and see the heart monitor. It's flatlining. I start to panic but feel weak. A doctor comes in with a nurse and injects me with something. It makes me sleep almost instantly.
When I wake up again I am in my room in my bed. My mouth is dry. I sit up in bed look at my hands. There is no sign of blood on my hands or my clothes. I touch my chest. There is a bandage. I take off my shirt and see the large gauze taped over my left breast. I pull the tape away slowly. Under the gauze is a very large jagged scar. I start to sob. It wasn't a dream. It all happened. My door opens and a nurse walks in with breakfast on a tray.
"How are you feeling?" She asks me.
"What happened to me?" I yell.
"Calm down, Christie. You just had an accident." She put the tray down beside my bed.
"No..they were laughing..they didn't help me." I start to hyperventilate.
The nurse walks over with a glass of water which I happily take.
"The police said they found you bleeding on the ground. There weren't any witnesses." The nurse said.
"No they are wrong. There were all these people in the store. They saw the whole thing." I give her back the glass of water.
"Christie. You almost didn't make it. In fact its a wonder why you are alive right now. The police found you bleeding. You had a giant hole in your chest right over your heart." She put the tray of food on my lap.
"Yeah. I was shot in the back..the bullet must have come out of my chest and-"
"No one shot you with a bullet," she interupted. "You were shot with some kind of sedation gun. Then whoever did this to you cut out your heart. Sometimes tramas like this can make you think you are seeing something you aren't. You probably imagined all those people in the store." She walked back to my door and lingered there for a moment. "Don't worry. As soon as we find your heart..we'll put it back. Until then you need medicaton..or you'll die." She walked out of the room and closed the door behind her.
I looked over to another heart monitor in my room. I was hooked up to it but it must not have been working because it was flat lining. I looked at the oatmeal and bananas, the nurse gave me and felt angry. I knocked the tray off my lap and onto the floor.
Someone sedated me...and ripped my heart right from my chest. And somehow I am still alive..
I looked at the clock next to my bed. It was 3:33am. It was still night..why was the nurse bringing me breakfast this early in the morning? There were just too many questions that needed answering. I got out of bed and walked over to the window and opened it. The cool night air gave me goosebumps.
"I see you are awake." A man's voice came suddenly behind me. I turned quickly to see a man sitting on the end of my bed. The bedroom door was still closed. He had appeared out of thin air.
"Who are you?" I take a step back only to find that I'm at the windows edge.
"Allister. I'll be your mentor." He rose from the bed and out-stretched his hand. "Please let me escort you out." I slowly walked to him and gave him my hand.
"What has happened to me?" I immediately felt like he was someone I could trust. But then again I was under heavy medication.
"There are hateful people who will do anything to kill off our kind. You may not know this now but you are one of us." He waiting with me outside of the bedroom door.
"Who is 'us'." I asked.
"The living dead." He lead me out the door.
"Like a vampire?" I felt silly asking.
"Exactly."
"That's ridiculous!" I laughed!
"About as ridiculous as living without a heart?" He looked sternly at me.
I didn't know what to say.
"They have your heart because they knew you were one of us. Someone you love must have kept you hidden from the truth all these years, if you knew nothing about this."
"My father. He takes care of me. I'm always sick. I have found that I usually sleep the day away and wake up at night feeling better. He always makes me dinner." I fumbled around with my thoughts.
"You're father kept you out of the sun and he fed you the nutrients you needed to survive." Allister led me down the hall.
"But don't vampires need blood to survive?" I felt like a cheesy hollywood horror film.
"Yes. And I'm sure all of your food had blood in it." We walked out into the kitchen. There at the table smoking a cigarette in the dark was my father with the nurse. The nurse excused herself and left. Allister stood by the sink and told me to sit at the table. My father looked upset.
"Allister tell me what is going to happen to her." My father's voice was on the brink of breaking.
"She is being used as bait. She will live without her heart for only a short while. The drugs are the only thing keeping her alive at the moment but they will not last. She will feel her heart calling to her and she will follow it. When she does, we must follow her. They are counting on us to do this. It is how they will draw us out. We must be ready for whatever they throw at us."Allister walked over and stroked my hair. "She is the test."
VIEW 4 of 4 COMMENTS
toothpickmoe:
Well done. Keep 'em coming.
jtiberius:
Philip K. Dick meets Richard Matheson meets Cameron Crowe...