Chapter 20: Faith in Me
Disclaimer: I own nothing to do with Underworld. I would be much richer if I did.
Nyssa lay back on the bed, pausing briefly before curling into the thick down comforter. She took deep breaths, the comforting and familiar smell of her mother and father further influencing the on-coming sleepiness. As a small yawn escaped her lips, the mattress shifted down behind her. A pair of warm, muscular arms pulled her back and enveloped her. A soft smile came across her face as her father pressed a kiss to her temple.
"Tired, princess?" She nodded, turning over and burying her face in his chest. His deep-throated laugh rumbled in his chest and soothed her further. Another pair of arms came around them both. This time, cool, pale hands caressed her cheek, brushing back a few errant curls. Nyssa turned her head slightly, catching her mother's loving gaze. Selene leaned forward and kissed her cheek before-
A soft mew escaped Nyssa's lips, a simple reaction to a simple pain. Something cold ran over the throbbing spot briefly before soft cloth covered it. The light before her closed eyes grew brighter as whoever stood over her disappeared.
At first, her eyes refused to focus, as if Vaseline stuck to the surface of the lenses. It was when she went to rub her eyes that panic shot through her and the blurriness crawled away. Lifting her head, another sharp pain stabbed, this one, she remembered, from Marcus in the car. Fighting back tears, she looked down the length of her body. Two clamps held each arm and leg down to the steel table. She no longer wore the pajama dress, but a black tank top and loose black pants; several wires connected to sensors on her feet, calves, chest and forehead. The prick of pain actually led to an IV site in her right arm.
Gasping, she let her head fall back to a soft pillow and stared up at the ceiling. Tears trickled down her cheeks, slipping onto her neck and behind her ears. Nyssa bit down on her lip to prevent herself from sobbing out loud. Crying wasn't helping her situation, but she couldn't help it. Closing her eyes, she fought to get back to those memories of their last night together as a family. All she wanted now was to be back in that bed, between her parents, drifting away into slumber as they told her how much they loved her.
Clamping her fists, Nyssa forced her eyes open again. If she could wipe at her tears, she might have torn at her flesh as well. The fear and anger over the last weeks, over her life, boiled beneath her skin. With or without help, she had to escape again. She wanted her mother, her father, the house in Denver, the big bed and the safety and love that everyone there provided her. Tugging at the clamps, it was plainly obvious that they were stronger than average steel; Nyssa could bend steel easily now thanks to Thomas and Victoria's instruction.
After a few moments, the metal began to cut and she paused to recuperate some of her energy. Marcus' drugs had wore off by now and it became easier to control her muscles again. In that pause, she turned her head to the left first, recognizing several trays of medical tools: scalpels, suction, probes, IV equipment, and the like. They were going to do something to her physically. A shudder racked her body and she fought down the fear and threatening tears. Trying to distract herself, she turned her head the other way.
A wave of terror rushed the blood to her head and she fainted, eyes wide open as she beheld her wolven ancestor, William, strapped to the table next to her.
Marcus stared into the mirror for quite some time now, he knew. Flecks of blue in his eyes danced about as he reached back and tied his hair into place. Erika's right. It is getting very long now. A sighing laugh echoed in the small bathroom. The absurdity of his thoughts gave him some amusement in a time where his cold heart pounded within his chest. With one last look, he stepped into the hallway and made his way toward the surgical lab.
As far as anxiety went, Marcus had never felt these kinds of nerves before in his entire existence. Everything that once he controlled now lay in the hands of science, more specifically in Bethany's hands. He knew of her successes and failures when it came to regeneration; he was no fool to the obvious risks this procedure held.
Should Nyssa die before it was completed, William would die as well. Should the virus not act accordingly, William would remain in this state forever, trapped in the body of a lycan.
He came upon the entryway when a dealer came flying through the hallway. The young vampire stopped dead in his tracks and bowed.
"My…lord," he spoke reverently as he panted.
"What news?"
"The safe houses…in the city have been attacked all at once. The renegade clan struck at the same time at every house. We've lost almost all of our men in the city. We were able to get a tracking on them and they are currently en route here, my lord." The vampire looked up and backed away slightly. Marcus' eyes flared violently, black edging around the pure blue irises. He watched as the Elder took a deep breath, clasping and unclasping his hands.
"Double the guard on the doors and send out a convoy to divert them before they reach the entrance. Nothing will go wrong today."
"Yes my lord." The dealer bowed again and rushed back from where he came. Turning on his heel, Marcus punched in the access code and the doors slowly opened to reveal the surgical team already geared up. They bowed to him, watching as he entered and sealed the door behind him.
"Is everything ready?" he asked as Erika, head to toe in nurses' regalia, came over and helped him to put on the gloves, mask, cap and gown. The team took no chances when it came to the health of their 'patient'.
"Yes, my lord," Bethany replied happily. She gestured to her side and Marcus followed it, meeting a pair of beautiful blue eyes that shook with fear. He walked over and gently caressed Nyssa's hair, his smile hidden behind the mask. A thick band of leather tightly held a strip of cloth over her mouth, her breathing causing condensation on the strap. Quickly closing her eyes, she tried to winch her head away from his touch.
"Was she given anything for pain?" Marcus asked, seemingly concerned for his niece's comfort.
Bethany shook her head. "Unfortunately, my lord, we had to flush her system. There cannot be anything in her blood that could possibly interfere with the radiation." He nodded with a mockingly sad sigh. He turned back to face the child, smiling even more as her shaking vibrated his hand.
"This won't take long, Nyssa, I promise you." He watched her tears for a moment, finding noguilt orreaction to them. "Start the procedure now."
Three vampires checked the restraints on William, a thick titanium chain laying across each band for extra support. Everyone gave a thumb's up and Bethany nodded. Another vampire stepped up beside Nyssa, lifting the cover off a tray to reveal three IV kits laid out in their gleaming splendor. Bethany handed one set to the vampire and kept one. Carefully, the vampire started an IV on the interior of Nyssa's right thigh, tapping into the main artery. Bethany step up another in the cephalic branch just beneath Nyssa's left clavicle. Once both were in place, she punched in several keys on a machine; both IV tubes ran into it.
"Starting drain sequence," she called. The vampires moved up on either side of William, setting up IVs in his chest and arms. The thick, dark red blood flowed through the tubes, collecting in a container hidden away inside the machine. Marcus' eyes darted back and forth between the two tables, watching as Nyssa tried vainly to struggle against the clamps with muted cries barely coming from behind the gag.
"All clear IV ports," one of the vampires announced.
"Starting bombardment," Bethany called out again. A computer screen flickered near William's head and she moved over to it quickly. Punching in a few keys, the machine responded with loud beeps and the whirring of an engine. Standing back, she looked up to Marcus.
"Each of the viruses responds to radiation differently," Bethany said; an explanation of the actual events might set her master more at ease. "In fact, they work in opposites; what makes one strong makes the other weaker. We found that the vampire virus can be weakened if radiation is applied at high levels at a set interval. In this case, when the child was born, for some reason the strains of the virus in her blood went back to their purest forms, as if she was the original carrier of both. In order to jump start William's cells, we're basically weakening the vampire virus and strengthening the lycan virus. It's like putting his own blood back into him. Now, the child doesn't have as much blood as William, but his body should start to regenerate as soon as we reach the threshold level for life to be sustained."
"Isn't the purpose of this to get him out of lycan form?" Erika asked, stepping back as the machines kicked in overdrive.
"Technically, yes. But to throw the vampire virus at him at full strength in this state may cause an adverse reaction. The cells will form triple platelets, but in this way, the strengthened lycan virus will react first then the formation of the hybrid cells will occur. Its much safer for his body to react in an order than all at once to the fresh blood supply."
Erika jumped slightly; the radiation process caused flashes of blue light and crackling sounds out. The noise grew louder to the point where it didn't sound like sparks and crackles anymore.
"What's that noise?" Erika whispered to Marcus. He cocked his head, listening for a moment. A growl escaped his throat.
"Gunfire," he said loudly. The scientists all looked to the doorway as a rapid succession of fire went off behind the steel panels. Despite her weakness, Nyssa smiled beneath the leather wraps; her parents were here. Marcus stepped forward and grabbed Bethany's arm.
"Finish the process." His voice was low and dangerous.
"Transfusion is already inprogress," she told him. Marcus watched the altered blood flow from the machine and into his brother. His heart pounded so hard he barely noticed Erika's grasp on his hand tightening.
Her eyes refused to budge from Nyssa's tiny form, watching each breath get harder and harder for her to take. Her skin became as white as snow then tinted blue, drawing down over her bones and muscles as the two IVs sucked away the precious blood. Beneath her eyes and just below her collar bone, black marks appeared as the blood got pulled away far too quickly. Tiny fists clenched as the child tried to fight against the ever growing darkness in her eyes. It was not mercy Erika felt, but a pulling curiosity with the scene before her; it was like watching a car accident in motion, she just couldn't look away.
Screams and gunfire grew louder and the vampires began to look about frantically. This room had no other exit beside the main door. Sensing their fear, Marcus went back over to the door and tapped something into the code pad. A shrill, metallic sound echoed as a third set of doors closed on the inside of the lab. All of the noise from the outside reduced drastically.
"67 complete," Bethany yelled. The monitors around the massive lycan began to come alive. All watched with wide eyes as a faint pulse flickered across the EKG; the tectonic machine paper printed out the faint brain waves.
"75 complete!" Moving over to the bedside, Marcus took hold of William's massive hand. Where once the skin was cold and dead, a soft pulse and gentle heat spread slowly.
"86!" Everyone except Marcus flew back as violent convulsions rattled William's body. The titanium creaked and strained against his muscular body, the table shaking with his movements. Loud beeps and buzzing registered the sudden changes: his heartbeat pounded across the screen, brain waves going wild as regeneration began.
"Look!" Erika whispered loudly, pointing to William's arm. Thick, chunky fur receded back, slowly revealing a pale white skin much like that of Marcus. Muscles deflated with groans and bones crackled against nearly a millenia of being in a lycan state.
"94, my lord!" The body took on a human form as the fur continued to disappear. "96!" A banging on the door followed by the metallic clink of bullets bouncing off its surface only caught the attention of one of the vampires. "98!"
Marcus' smile grew as he felt his hand being squeezed. Every machine screamed out their information, including the two hooked up to Nyssa...
"Stop! Sto-" The vampire's pleas were cut short once more as Michael pounded his head into the steel doors. A distinct crack of the nose cartilage came with a swift oozing of blood followed closely by the vampire being thrown across the room. His vision blurry, he merely waved his arms violently at nothing. He cried out in terror as a hand lifted him against the wall. Pitch black eyes pierced him through and through.
"Once more," Selene's voice cut like a razor as she moved behind Michael. "Open the door!"
"I can't! The only...access codes are...for the...scientists," he choked against the tightening grip on his throat. Selene eyed him carefully, watching his vision go between her and her hybrid with trepidation. Michael cast a quick glance over his shoulder and she nodded imperceptibly. With a swift movement of his thumb, he cracked the neck of the vampire, letting the body lop to the floor.
"Michael!" They turned to see Thomas, blood drying from a wound on his temple, dragging someone behind him. With a harsh jerk, he stood his captive up, snarling at him. "One of the lab rats. He's got the codes to the doors." The scientist barely blinked before Selene snatched him from Thomas, pinning him to the wall. Raising her Beretta to his forehead, she gave him a silent warning.
With shaking hands, he passed the key card to her and stammered, "Zero-three-zero-nine." Relinquishing her hold, Selene walked over to the pad and swiped the car. A yellow light came on and the screen flashed green writing: PLEASE ENTER PASSWORD. The light turned green with the access code; the doors hissed as they pulled apart, metal grinding against metal from the bullets and indents they made.
The first set of doors parted, followed by the second. Several lycans arrived in the small interim and held their guns at the ready. Michael moved beside Selene, breaths coming out in growls and hissing. Selene slapped another clip into her weapon and raised it.
The third set of doors opened up and the group rushed in. Several scientists immediately put their hands into the air, dropping their equipment with loud bangs. The lights in the room were dimmed and made it harder to see at first. Just as their eyes began to adjust, a cry came from behind Selene. One of the men flew out into the hallway, his throat torn out savagely. Two more lycans let out gutted screams and landed close by the first.
Amongst the confusion, the lights flashed on, flickering a few times. Selene covered her eyes as the brightness blinded her momentarily. When finally she let her hand down, she immediately saw what the low lights hid. The machines buzzed loudly, registering a missing heart beat. Where once there was pure white skin now there were black and blue marks, making the taut skin look more like that of a hybrid. Through the bruises and visible bones, Selene barely recognized the corpse of her own daughter.
A blood curdling scream caused everyone within the complex to halt, their blood turning to ice. It only stopped when Selene was slammed back into the far wall, a large, human hand closing her throat effectively. Through her tears and loss of oxygen to her brain, she looked into a familiar face, barely recognizing it. Pressure on her wind pipe stopped her sobs as she gasped for air.
"You must be Selene," a deep voice spoke; much deeper than the memory of that face. As the darkness called, the same face came into her peripheral vision as Michael hit the ground, blood seeping from wounds on his chest. Her eyes grew wide before rolling back in her head, the vision of Nyssa lying dead the only thing she took with her into unconsciousness.
A/N: Oh, the suspence. (dodges computer monitors)
Until next chapter,
anthestria