I rush over to him and pull it from his coat before pressing it against his face so he can pull his hand away. “Is it downstairs? Did they release the drug?”
Marcus hesitates before saying, “It’s worse. It’s thicker… what the hell? We need to go down there.”
“Contact Brooks so we can see what we should do.”
“Okay,” he says, when I hear some chaos from the club and the music abruptly stops.
I look back, but I can’t see or hear what’s going on from here.
“Someone’s coming up the stairs,” Marcus says as he pulls me back, but instead of taking me back into the club, he guides me into the office.
“Can you hear what’s going on in the club? Why’d the music stop?” I whisper.
He shakes his head, but I can tell he’s distracted. “I don’t know, I’m… that smell.”
“We have to go down. Did the guy go into the club? We could rush down and see what’s going on if there’s no one downstairs.”
He hesitates but I know he’s going to give in, so he pulls my hood up before guiding me back out. We rush to the door that’s been left cracked and presumedly leads into the basement.
“The man must have been in a hurry,” I say as I glance back at the club that is oddly eerie without the booming music. I feel like someone’s going to catch us but with Marcus’s hearing, we should be fine. I reach my gloved hand forward and pull the door open the rest of the way before looking down at the steps. The basement is lit up and I can hear something down there. When I turn to ask Marcus if he also hears it, he’s recoiling.
“That smell.”
“But you have the mask on.”
He shakes his head. “I can… smell it through the mask. I can’t go down there.”
I look into the basement, knowing there are leads down there. There’s something going on that could help the case.
“We’ll call it in, see what we can do.”
“Yes, but… what if we can’t get permission? What if they move things? Marcus!” I know I’m being reckless and not following rules, but Marcus has made me lax.
Marcus is too hesitant about letting me go alone, though. “I think we should figure out what’s going on in the club because I don’t think I can go down there. I’m already on high alert after drinking your blood. I really can’t go down there.”
“Then I will,” I say. “I’ll be quick. You check out the club, see what it is, and I’ll rush down, snap some pictures and leave. Alright?”
He shakes his head. “No, I don’t want to split up. Let’s go back.”
I grab his arm. “Marcus, seriously? Are you really Marcus? Maybe you’re not Marcus. My Marcus would be all over doing something illegal and perusing a criminal basement that goes against work regulations.”
“I would… but you’re the one that follows the rules.”
“Not… really. Do you not remember how I got into this unit? I’m not as saintly as I look.”
He snorts loud enough I can hear it through the mask.
“Marcus, I’ll be quick.”
“No, if there’s something down there, I can’t—and you’re leaving!” he growls as I start down the stairs before he can stop me. “Dammit, Finn!”
“I’ll be fast!”
“I’m worried about you getting hurt! Not being fast!” But I’m too far to hear the rest. I’m careful as I move down the stairs and reach the bottom. I turn to face another door. This one has some hardcore metal and three locks on it, making me realize that I’ve reached the end of my mission.
At least I thought so until I realize that the door had been left unlocked in the man’s rush. Which is concerning, but this could be my one chance to do something about all of this. To keep more humans from being killed and more vampires from being forced to kill humans.
I slowly pull it open as I keep my body tucked against the wall so if there’s someone inside they won’t see me. I listen for a moment, but I don’t hear anything, so I slip around the corner to look. I turn my video camera on and begin to record. There are a lot of tables with equipment on them that I don’t recognize, but hopefully, an analyst will. When I reach the end, I come across another door that I pull open, and what I see startles me to a standstill.
MARCUS
I hesitate as I watch Finn move down the stairs. I can’t hear anyone down there, so he should be fine, and if I wait near here, I can call him if someone heads toward him.
I turn and start walking down the hallway just to see if I can tell what that noise is. Something’s going on, something big enough to make the owner, or whoever it is, rush up here and not lock the door behind him. I pull the mask off and slip it into my pocket now that I’m far enough away from the smell.
I move in silence that allows me to slip back into the club without anyone noticing me. I could probably strut right through the place without a single eye on me if I wanted, but I can’t go far in case Finn needs me.
Up on the stage, where the live band usually plays, is the bouncer holding the arm of a young man as the clubgoers gather around. At first, I’m confused. I’m not quite sure what is going on until I realize that the bouncer is holding the arm of a very young vampire.
“This vile creature thought he could waltz in here, and what? Attack us? Control us? We don’t have to put up with this shit!” the bouncer yells.
“Stop! That’s my boyfriend. We didn’t know!” a human woman cries as she tries climbing up the stairs. “Ow! Stop!” she yells at someone in the crowd, but they must let her go because she stumbles toward the steps that lead onto the stage.
“No vamps,” the bouncer says, and that’s when I see him use his other hand to spray what looks like perfume on the man. “Now get out before you cause any ruckus.”
He shoves the vampire at his girlfriend, and that is the moment I smell the faint hint of the drug. The vampire rushes for his girlfriend and bites right into her throat as the humans in the room panic. Some start running for the doors, others start throwing their glasses or whatever they can at the vampire who is tearing into his girlfriend’s throat as I push for the front of the room, but the jostling crowd is pushing me back. The spray wasn’t enough to affect me, but the man is young, and it shows.
Perry, the owner, leaps onto the stage, and I just barely hear him say, “What the fuck, man? Not here!” The others had questioned him, so he probably won’t recognize me even if he looks right at me.
I just reach the stage when Perry presses a taser into the vampire’s back that makes him recoil and jerk away from the woman. Thankfully, she’s more shocked and scared than anything as she cups her throat.
“It’s okay! Calm down, we have things under control! We’re going to call the police and have this savage escorted out,” the bouncer says as the music starts back up. People are confused, but humans are curious creatures if anything. They’re not going to leave when there could be more to see, even if it could lead to their deaths. It has always been a human defect.
I need to get Finn out of there because it looks like they’re headed toward the door. But they wouldn’t take the vampire into the basement if they’re planning on getting him arrested, right?