We watched as a large woman, wheezing and coughing violently, was shoved into the room. My father proceeded to extract the blood from the clone and inject it into the woman’s bulbous arm. As the last of the vial’s contents were used, a look of pure ecstasy washed over her face as her persistent cough subsided.
“I-I think we did it.” My dad’s voice trembled, a questioning edge cutting through the tremor.
My eyes were fixed on the woman, waiting to see her face turn blue or experience another unprecedented adverse reaction. At first, she stood frozen before the camera, her breathing slow and steady. I expected her to start choking again,but what unfolded was far more horrifying. Her eyes started bulging out of her head, and her legs began to spasm. It was like her extremities were trying to remove themselves from her body. A bloodcurdling scream tore from her throat as she launched herself at my father and the clone.
Fear glowed on my father’s face as the woman began clawing at them and throwing her fists in the air. Her face blazed red, and the raw power in her roar sent tremors through me. I watched in horror as the crazed woman’s fist connected with my father’s face, the sickening thud echoing through the speakers, then her long fingernails raked down the clone’s arms, leaving crimson streaks.
“Dante! Dante!” my dad screamed in terror as the woman hurled a nearby trash can with surprising force against the wall behind him.
As the woman descended upon them, I watched my father push the clone—pushme—into the arms of the feral human. The woman grabbed the clone’s shoulders firmly before lifting it up and sinking her teeth into its neck, tearing off a piece of flesh. A gunshot cracked through the air, and the woman crumpled to the ground.
“Research will continue, and we will develop a third trial.” With a shaky hand, my father furiously clicked the camera and walked off camera. “Goddammit, Dante, we can’t continue draining my son every year. We need to find the code, so our replicated blood doesn’t have an expiration, so we can mass produce it for our benefactors.” He must have thought the camera stopped recording, but it continued to document the empty room for an additional thirty minutes.
I don’t know when I covered my mouth, but once I removed my hand, it was like I was able to breathe once again. Did he have any conscience? The image of him callously tossing theclone to its doom haunted me, and a chilling thought wormed its way into my mind: would he do the same to me?
“We don’t need to watch anymore,” Jude whispered. “All we’re going to see is more of his heartless trials. It’s disgusting.”
I shook my head. “I need to see more. He’s trying to find a way to copy my blood to last longer, and I need to know if there was ever a success.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea, but if this is what you want, I’ll be here with you.”
I smiled at him to show my appreciation. The only other person who would’ve been by my side was Gabe, but his response would likely be completely different. Less supportive, more dutiful. It was strange to have this feeling of someone who genuinely cared if I was okay, rather than because he had to be.
We sat together, the hours melting away as we watched video after video of the trials my father continued to record. For every trial, he followed the same procedure: first, outlining the experiment’s parameters, then explaining the enhancements to the clone’s blood, and finally, presenting a human suffering from BRETH. The only difference was that a loaded gun sat on the desk, ready in case the reactions posed a danger.
Each experiment led to disastrous results: allergic reactions and becoming dangerous, like the first two were common, but the non-standard trials were visions that would haunt me forever. One man, driven mad by an unbearable itch, scratched his skin raw until he bled to death, while another savagely attacked the clone, tearing its limbs from its body in a frenzied rage before a bullet reached his head. Some of the more traumatizing cases involved a few experiments who got hold of my dad’s gun and ended their lives in front of the camera, showing a mixture of fear and relief on their faces before pulling the trigger.
Then we came to the last video.
“It is with regret to announce that Dante and I have agreed to halt the trials.” My father’s face was drawn, and the deep shadows under his eyes hinted at many sleepless nights. “We haven’t been able to find a way to replicate the exact blood we need, which has caused us to reach its expiration. There have been many safety concerns, and I’ll be unavailable to conduct these trials further as I’ll be focusing my efforts on creating self-sustaining living quarters for all. Dante will be taking over in a secure environment going forward.”
He was tired. My father was used to seeing results. He was a scientist, accustomed to experimentation, but the bitter taste of failure was something entirely new to him. It made sense he was passing the experiment to someone else to focus his efforts on something he knew he would excel at.
“It seems that finding a cure for the sickness we accidentally unleashed upon the world is more difficult than expected, but I know Dante will rise to the occasion. He’s just as passionate about perfecting this cure as I. We will continue to manage the Dogs and remain in contact throughout this process while I negotiate with world leaders to end this war. Dante and I hold a great sense of guilt for our part in initiating The Great World War and are hoping to correct our mistakes.”
He looked at the camera, a glimmer of light in his eye. He looked…human, like he cared.
“Holy shit,” Jude breathed. “Your dad and Dante created the sickness, built the Dogs,andstarted the war in this lab. Together, they created the end of the world.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
I’d been driving the electric car we charged at the gas station back in town for hours in silence. At one point, Jude attempted to turn the radio on to try to find anything to break the silence, but the static put me on edge. I needed to be alone with my thoughts. My body was shaking, and I was seething with anger. As we drove away from the small town, disbelief washed over me at what I discovered. There were thirty-five videos. Thirty-five versions of me were killed. Salvatore Asposito was one of the inventors of the Dogs. He’s been maintaining them this whole time.
I felt ashamed. Embarrassed. Confused.
The long drive was a perfect vehicle to get lost in my thoughts. I totally forgot what it was like to just…drive. I’ll admit, my initial reaction to Jude’s request was far from enthusiastic, but after a brief argument, I gave in. I remember having my license before the apocalypse—my friends and I used to drive without a purpose, listening to music, and going wherever the sunset took us.
It reminded me of right now. The only difference was that when I was with my friends, I didn’t want to murder my father.The sunset in front of us was magnificent. Hues of orange, blue, and pink painted the sky, each cloud resembling a breathtaking patchwork of farmlands. It was almost strange seeing such a beautiful landscape amid the desolate wasteland around us. The light coming through the windshield was a gorgeous amber color, as if infused with glitter.
It was the perfect time. Golden hour.
I turned to look at Jude in the passenger seat. His skin looked pristine in this light and almost exotic. How could he be this gorgeous? He was also in his thoughts as his head was turned to look out the grimy window, never blinking.
He squirmed uncomfortably in his seat, feeling my gaze on him. A half smile played on his lips, his eyebrows furrowing in a gesture of empathy, his face etched with concern. “So, uh… d’you wanna talk about everything we learned in the lab?”
I shook my head. I didn’t. Not at all. But I needed to before we got back to Silvertown.
Jude began speaking before I could answer. “I just don’t know why your father would keep the Dogs in commission. I’ve been racking my brain to think of what he would gain by making a deadly force that threatens both humans and vampires.” He shrugged and squinted his eyes. “I mean, the Dogs have killed both species, it would make sense if they only attacked humans, you know?”
