Prison of Blood and Lies

Nine

I awoke in a stark gray room alone. I was in a bed. A single fluorescent light above my head brought painful light to the room. I shielded my eyes from the intrusion with a plush pillow.

 I moved my arms and legs and turned my head. I felt like hell. Every part of my body hurt. The throbbing in my head made me think it would explode. It was like I’d been out drinking and had way too much fun.

Then I remembered. I sat up and looked around the room.  There were no windows and no indication of where I was. The door at the far end of the room was closed. I patted frantically on the bed, looking for my purse. It was nowhere to be found.

“No, no, no. This can’t be happening again,” I whispered.

I flung the covers off and discovered that I wore the same clothes as earlier. How long had I been out? My mind felt slowed, like I was still under the influence of whatever had been given to me.

I rose from the bed and padded across the floor toward the door. To my surprise, the handle on the door turned and I was able to pull it open. It opened into an empty gray hallway. The tile floors reflected the intense lights from the ceilings.

No guards came rushing to push me back into the room. There was total silence. I look a small step out and looked around again. Nothing.

The institutional theme looked familiar but I couldn’t place it. I needed to get out of here. If my heart still beat, I was sure that it would be bounding out of my chest. Looking left and right, I tried to guess the best route of escape. To the right, the hallway ended in a wall. To my left, the hallway appeared to continue around the corner.

I jiggled some of the door handles around me only to find them locked. If it was still nighttime, a window would make a nice escape. If the sun was up, I’d be stuck in here until dark.

I followed the corridor around the corner, trying each door handle I passed. The hall made another corner and opened into a foyer. I peeked around the corner, checking for guards and for sunlight. I still couldn’t place my location but I was positive I’d been here before.

“Ah, Alice. You’re up,” a smooth voice said.

I jumped and moved into a defensive stance, ready to fight my way out of here.

I turned and found Gemba smiling at me from across the hallway.

The prison.

I was in the prison.

I shook my head. I didn’t understand.

“How? The last thing I remember was—”

“Come, sit. I’ll explain everything.” Gemba said. He motioned for me to follow him.

Sure enough, the foyer area had the metal detector and Robert, the guard. Robert inclined his head at me as I passed.

“Morning, miss,” he said.

Gemba pulled me into his office and I flopped down into the chair. Relief flooded through me.

“I don’t understand,” I said.

Gemba shook his head.

“You’re very lucky, you know that?”

“How did I get back here? The wolf. Tucker. He stabbed me with a needle.”

Gemba crossed his arms over his chest and tutted. “The police showed up just as he was carrying you away. If it weren’t for a 9-1-1 call for a disturbance, you’d be back in the midst of the supernatural s*x trade.”

“s**t,” I spat and shook my head.

I felt like I was missing some vital piece of information. Things weren’t connecting all the way with this story for me.

“So, how’d I get here then?”

“Again, I think the fates were on your side last night. One of the responding officers is a shifter. He called me when he say that you weren’t human. I intercepted the ambulance and pulled some strings.”

“T-thank you,” I didn’t know what else to say. Things could have gone more wrong than they did.

“What about the girl? And Tucker?”

Gemba shifted in his seat. “Unfortunately, Tucker escaped. The police shot him but it didn’t phase him, of course. Normal bullets aren’t going to take down a werewolf.”

“Cynthia is in the hospital and her injuries are being treated.” He gave me a half smile. “Of everything that went wrong, you did a good thing. She’ll get the help she needs.”

Cynthia? That must have been the woman’s name. At least I wasn’t a total failure last night. Some good could come from that disaster, I hoped.

“I just wasn’t strong enough.” I paused and looked down at my hands, doubt swirling thick in my mind. “I don’t think I’m the right person for this job. The wolf overpowered me so easily. I—“

“You’ve only killed humans so far, right?” he asked.

I nodded without looking up.

“What if I could help you get better?”

I looked up at him. He leaned across the desk and rested his chin on his fist.

I laughed.

“What,” he asked.

“Why would you do that? Aren’t there others who are more capable out there? Go ask them.”

“Nah.” He dismissed the idea. “I like you and I can work with you.”

I just stared at him, confused.

“You have spunk. Drive. You lost everything you ever cared about. Yet, rather than giving up and wallowing in self-pity, you’re out on the streets every night working toward vengeance. You play the long game.” He paused and I saw something flash behind his eyes. “We’re alike in that aspect.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. Why was he being so kind?

“Work with me how?” I asked.

“I can teach you. Look, you’re still very new to the whole vampire thing. And, if I didn’t know better, I’d say your maker was a succubus or incubus.”

I just stared at him from across the desk. This angel seemed to be very well-connected in the city. He knew every move I’d been making recently and he knew the police well-enough to save my skin.

“How do you figure?”

“You tried to hit me with seduction when we met. Remember?”

I nodded.

“That’s not a normal vampire thing. Either way, whoever your maker was, they passed on a very powerful gift to you. I can help you leverage it against our kind. Help you fight better. I think you’d make a pretty powerful ally in my fight to clean this city up. Supernatural crime is up, but I don’t need to tell you that.”

“I wasn’t, er, made here. I think.” I searched those painful memories. “Actually, I’m not sure. I was taken on a vacation in Costa Rica but escaped here my maker wasn’t there when I escaped. He’s still around.”

“Ah!” He snapped his fingers in the air and stood from his chair. “Speaking of daring escapes, I have something for you.”

He strode over to the file cabinet in the corner and opened the top drawer. He pulled out a large purse. My purse.

I jumped out of my chair and grabbed my purse from his hands.

“Oh! Thank you! How did you?”

I rummaged through the bag and found the two metal urns undamaged and intact. Relief flooded through me. I crossed the strap over my body and clutched it tight to my chest.

“You won’t be going back to the motel. The room is trashed and I hear from my shifter friend that the owner was pretty upset with you. It’d be best not to go back. She’s liable to press charges for the damages.”

He gave me a sly wink. I furrowed my brow.

“My friend collected your belongings from the room and gave them to me when he dropped you off.”

“Thank you, thank you so much.”

I paused and considered how much Gemba had offered me with so little in return. “Actually, thank you. For everything,” I said softly.

“Yes. Let’s give it a try. Show me how to be better so we can stop this from happening. I won’t let that dog, Tucker, stop me.”

He smiled so wide that just about all his teeth were visible.

“Wonderful. I was hoping you’d agree.”