CHAPTER NINE

Hey people I'm back with chapter nine. I want to apologise for the lack of updates for some time. I was and still am very busy. I know I said that chapter nine would be shorter than other chapters but I changed my mind because it wouldn't be fair for me to be gone so long and come back with a short chapter. In this chapter, our favourite vampire makes an appearance and you'll get to see a different side to Carter. And also, you'll witness a little torture session.

I want to address the issue concerning my English, or rather my way of writing. I had a few readers sending me PMs about some of the words I use and the way I use them. I am a South African and despite the diversity of this country I don't speak any of it's languages except for English. The way I use some of the words or the way I spell them is just the South African way of doing so. I can't change that, Okay?

I want to thank those who read, followed, favourited, and reviewed my story. It means a lot. I hope you enjoy this chapter. Please continue to let me know what you think.

(Chapter Song: Not Your Fault by Awolnation)

Concealers are watchers

"Wes? You in here?"

Carter lightly tapped on the door of the lab before she twisted the knob, opening the door slowly.

"Wes!" She called out again.

Wes was supposed to meet her for coffee at that coffee shop near the campus an hour ago. She'd been waiting there right after her last class of the day and when she reached there, Wes was nowhere to be found. She thought it weird because he was a very puntual man and she was the one who kept him waiting, not the other way around.

After sitting in that coffee shop for almost an hour, she decided to go back to the campus to see if he was still there.

Not finding him in his classroom, she decided to check him in his lab.

That's how she was currently standing in his lab, her eyes darting around searching for any sign of him.

Groaning with a sigh, Carter swiftly withdrew her phone and dialled his number once again.

First ring.

Second ring.

Third ring.

Fourth ring.

Voicemail.

She huffed in annoyance and put her phone back in her pocket. He was wasting her time and she had enough of it.

Turning on her heels to leave, Carter's ears picked up a very faint sound. It was distinct but with the help of her supernatural hearing, she could swear she heard a groan. A hoarse one.

She looked around the lab once again, her eyes searching for the source of the sound she heard. The lab was devoid of any living thing, except for her.

There were chemicals of different colours packed away neatly in racks. There was an aluminium table in the middle of the room. A not too large fridge occupied the far corner of lab. A few lab equipment were placed here and there, nothing unusual.

Although she did find the curtain in the middle of the room a bit weird.

She walked around the table and moved the curtain to one side.

The other side was almost empty, except for a table with straps on the corners, next to a door.

Her heels clicked on the floor as she made her way to the second door. 'Maybe he's in there' she thought silently. Reaching out for the handle, she froze when she heard another groan. This one was much louder than the previous one, and much closer too. It sounded as if the person or thing was behind the door.

Swallowing down her uneasiness, Carter gathered her courage and twisted the knob slowly and cautiously. The door screeched as it opened. Her heart was beating rapidly at this point. She felt as if she was entering a trap.

Before she opened the door fully, she took a moment to breathe in deeply then opened the screeching door widely.

Even though she knew something was off, her sight could never have been prepared for what she spotted next.

On a large table, much similar to the one in the other room, lay the most gruesome sight.

Strapped on that table was a bloody man. So bloody that he was soaked in it. His face was barely visible, his hair stuck to his forehead. The man's arms, middle section, and legs were all strapped to the table.

But the most disturbing sight was the state he was in.

His mid-section, starting from his chest down, was full of cuts. Deep cuts that gushed out blood.

It was horrific.

"God, what happened to you?" She asked. She took a few steps closer to him. He looked like he was passed out. His body was motionless until he slowly turned his head in her direction, staring at her through barely opened eyes.

She stood frozen on her spot.

"Tell me-you're the Angel of Mercy." His voice was hoarse, agonyfilled and barely audible.

Carter was surprised to hear him speak, and joke. In his state she have expected nothing more than groans and moans of pain to escape his lips. She didn't expect sarcasm.

"Who are you?" She asked in a whisper. She almost didn't expect him to hear her.

"The name's Enzo, darling."

Heavy footsteps were heard in the empty hallways of the large, almost empty residence, the sound of boots slamming against the flourished tiles, alerting the residents or rather the resident, of their arrival.

A woman of old age , frail and slender, appeared from one of the many chambers in the manor. She stood straight, her poster stiff as she fixed the forthcoming figure with an unwavering glare.

The figure belonged to a sickly pale, six foot tall man, dressed in a long black cloak.

"What news have you?" Asked she.

"We found a lead." He answered.

"And?"

"She's in America."

The old woman seemed to be pondering on something before a pleased look overcame her features.

"Very well then. We must start the search immediately. We must leave Europe tonight."

"What happened to you?" Carter asked once again. This time her voice was much stronger than before. The sight of him did not affect her as severely as it did a few minutes ago.

She walked around the table to stand by his side, closely inspecting his gruesome cuts. "And most importantly, how are you still alive?" She added when she saw the depths of his cuts.

The man did not answer her immediately but she didn't notice as she was too busy looking at the cuts all over his torso.

She noticed some thing strange.

"You can ask the delightful Dr Wes Maxfield all about how I'm still alive." He replied, his voice weak and barely louder than a whisper.

Her head jerked back in surprise. She wasn't sure if she heard that quite right.

"Dr Maxfield?" She asked just to clarify. Her head was currently spinning with so many different thoughts.

"The one and only."

Taking a few steps back, Carter turned her back on the bloody man as she tried to digest the little information she'd just received. This man, Enzo, basically said that Wes had something to do with what happened to him. It was crazy to think of it that way but everything was crazy these days. She didn't know what to think but she wanted to know more. She wanted to know more of what Wes has been hiding.

She needed to know more.

"What does Wes have to do with all of this?" She asked determinedly.

"I would say everything." He replied.

"That's not a good enough answer. You're going to have to stop being vague with me." She snapped.

He tried to chickle but choked instead.

"It's part of my British charm." He choked out.

Carter huffed in annoyanced as she walked closer to him.

"Let's play a little game called Truth or Pain. I don't think I have to explain the rules of the game to you." She said with a little menace.

She was running out of time and patience. Wes could walk into this lab at any moment and she did not want him to catch her here. She did not want anyone to know about what she had learned or what she is about to learn.

"Who did this to you?" She asked and waited for a respond.

"Sexy and brutal. I like that." Was the reponse she received.

With narrowed eyes she looked around the room searching for something specific. When she found it, she lunged forward and grabbed. She slipped on the sergical gloves and turned her attention to the man strapped on the table.

"I see you like it rough." She said before she roughly shoved her fingers into one of his open cuts, grabbing hold of some nerves and twisting them roughly, eliciting a painfilled groan from him.

"Just answer the damn question." She hissed.

She withdrew her now bloody hand to give him a chance to speak although she had to wait a while before he had the strength to speak.

"Today must be my lucky day." His breathing was heavy and his voice hoarse. "If you must know, Dr Wes tends to get a little too creative when experimenting on his test subjects."

"Wes experiments on humans, living humans?" She asked in disbelief.

"Not humans darling." She stopped herself from shoving her hand back down into his open wound.

She despised pet names.

"Call me darling one more time and I will show you what real pain feels like." She snapped, glaring dangerously at him.

For some strange reason, there were no heart monitors around or connected to him and despite his heavy bleeding, he was not dead. She found that weird and encouraging. She had this reassuring feeling that she wasn't about to commit murder and she wasn't bothered by the state he was in anymore. At frist, when she entered the room and laid eyes on him, she nearly vomited at the sight of him but now she felt normal, as if she was used to seeing people with gruesome wounds all over their torso.

The other strange thing she noticed was that her right hand, the one she used to get answers out of him, was tingliing with an odd sensation. It felt as if her vains were being tickled.

It wasn't normal.

"Someone's feisty." He breathed out.

She decided to ignore that and move on to her next question.

"If not humans, then what? You're clearly not a rat."

He turned his head fully to her with a hint of a smirk on his features. His eyes were barely open and they had circles of dried blood around them.

"Vampires."

And like a lightening bolt, her hand went right into his open wound, twisting his nerves once again, this time more roughly than before. He squirmed under her gruesome hold, his body jerking up in pain.

"Wrong answer." She said, pulling her hand out. "You might want to start giving me real answers because I'm running out of patience with you."

"I knew you were not the brightest crayon in the pack. Vampires are real, darling."

And again, she shoved her hand back into his cut. "Again, wrong answer."