I don't remember ever churning them out this quickly. I guess I do write better under stress.
~*~*~
Jac rushed up the stairs and through the doors of Lisa's office just as she was leaving. "Good, you're still here." He gasped. "May I?"
Lisa smiled at his antics. "Of course. I have an appointment that I need to get to, you know the way out, right?" When he rolled his eyes she realized that, of course, he wouldn't have been able to find his way in if he didn't know the way, duh.
"I'll see you later then."
Jac looked around the corner and blinked a few times. "I will probably get home after you do." If he was 'searching' for a paper he would have plenty of time to look around; there were stacks of the stuff all over the room and a few of them had fallen over, creating a slippery carpet in places. He had brought the paper he was supposed to be looking for, just in case she wanted to see it when he got home.
As soon as Lisa left, Jac abandoned his, naturally fruitless, 'search' and walked over to the computer. He couldn't believe his luck. Or maybe it wasn't luck. He looked up at the ceiling and silently asked a question. Is what I'm going to find absolutely vital? Geez, this is going to sound bad, but could you let me know somehow? He nearly jumped through the ceiling when Lisa's computer beeped.
"Please close your files before leaving the room. Please close your files-"
Now he was sure it wasn't luck. Not only had she not shut down her computer, but she hadn't closed what she was working on either. She was supposed to shut down her computer before leaving and he knew she would not forget, normally. He walked over to the computer and opened the most recent files. Quickly he scanned them, not really trying to remember what was there, figuring it was best if he only remembered what he couldn't help remembering.
He didn't know what to look for except that it didn't have anything to do with her usual work. She had never been this stressed from work. In fact, she was usually excited by her job and it wasn't work so much as a well paying hobby for her.
It was something out of place. Something that didn't fit into the overall scheme.
He had already exhausted most of the obvious files and he was thankful that Lisa was someone who regularly cleaned out her computer; else he would have had to sift through heaven-knew-how-much information.
He clicked on the last folder that he had not checked yet and was not rewarded. He stared at a report about the effects of some chemical or other and wanted to bang his head against the desk until he knocked himself out. He was out of ideas. He stared at the screen, looking for anything he might have missed but found nothing. He got up and paced around the room, trying to think of where he would hide something he did not want found. He snapped around and kicked the wall under the garbage chute. "Damn it all! Where the fuc..." He stopped mid-word as the realization hit him. He quickly found his way to the recycle bin on her computer and opened it. There was a single file there. He opened it, but it was password protected, so instead pulled out a flashdrive and saved it. Then he went into the history and erased all traces of what he had been doing.
He could get the password out of her later, she talked in her sleep.
†
Lisa smiled devilishly as Jac walked through the front door. It appeared his search had been successful.
†
Jac began a monotone monologue. "Hey Lisa. It was pretty stressful today. There was nothing to do and I came up with the crazy idea that you might be hiding something. I wanted to know if you were." This was usually what got her to talk in her sleep. He didn't know why, but it worked, and Sleeping Lisa was more honest than Awake Lisa.
"Uhuhmph."
That sounded enough like "uh huh" for him to ask, "Was that a yes?"
"Mm hmmm."
Excellent!! He was on the right track! "I found a file on your computer that needs a password; it was in your computer's Recycle Bin."
"Alexandra."
"The password is 'Alexandra'?"
"Uh huh."
"Thank you."
Lisa smiled in her sleep and said, "Don' mention it." And rolled over.
†
The next morning Lisa left early to get something done at the Institute, clean her office she said. This gave Jac some privacy to look at the file he had copied from her computer.
He typed in the password and held his breath as it opened.
At first glance, it appeared to be a diary of her day-to-day worries at the lab.
Wen was annoying today; he wouldn't let the gravity problem go and kept asking me what he should do. How should I know! I'm biology, not physics!
I wish there was something to do; activity seems to have some to a standstill ever since that female arrived. There is only so much one can do with regular procedures, soon you start repeating yourself. I have been assigned to her and as interesting as it seems, I think that the time between discoveries has been greatly underestimated.
Jac kept reading; there had to be some reason she had this hidden like it was. There were a few more pages of similar complaints then he saw something that he had to reread to be sure he had seen it correctly.
I was attacked today by the female I am assigned to. She broke through the permaglass like it was paper and she had me in a headlock before I knew what was happening. She was successfully contained and I had no injuries worth mentioning.
Jac couldn't help but be surprised. Attacked? She doesn't seem scared. It sounds almost... Dismissive. He continued reading.
I spoke to Alexandra today, I mean really talked. I found out that she is not human but Methuselah, a long-lived race that lives by drinking blood. I couldn't believe it either. She needs some kind of medication that will prevent a repeat of the episode she had today. Since I have no desire to be perforated again I will see if her husband will relinquish the pills.
Jac could not believe what he was reading. There was no way that such a thing as mythical creatures could exist, that's why they were mythical! But if this is true… Then his wife had been attacked by a—he had to make himself think the word—vampire. Not only that, she had agreed to help this vampire.
If this was true, his world had been turned on its ear and he still had ninety degrees to go. He had no doubt that in the end everything would be completely upside-down. And here was the kicker: there was nothing he could do about it. He felt a giggle bubbling in his throat but cut it off before it could turn into hysterical laughter.
I visited Alexandra's husband only an hour ago. He is desperate to get Alexandra back, enough that he would let me, a human, and one he doesn't know at that, handle the process of getting her back. There is something up with Alexandra and Mat but I don't know what it is. The pills I got for Alexandra are white, not red, and when she first called herself a Methuselah something was off. I don't know.
Jac was at a loss to understand what was going on. There was no way that there could be vampires roaming around! Could there? He had a feeling that things weren't going to get any saner.
†
When Lisa walked in the door, she knew that Jac had been up to something. He looked like he desperately wanted her to tell him it was all lies and that there was nothing about the world that wasn't what he knew. Instead, she settled for, "Is everything alright?"
Jac gave her a look that said, you had to ask that, didn't you? and, are you kidding me?
"What's wrong?"
Jac did not waste any time getting to the point. "What exactly are you working on at the Institute?"
"I thought I told you that the other day." Lisa said. She wanted him to say what ever it was so he could get it off his chest.
"No, you told us you were investigating the possibility. From what I've seen, you have gone a long way from investigating, you're actually studying. Unless everything I've read in your little 'diary' is nothing more than a hoax. What is going on, Lisa?" As he spoke, he held up the flashdrive so she couldn't mistake what he was talking about.
"Where did you get that?"
"I took a look around your computer after you were left. I repeat, Lisa. What is going on?"
"What?!" She wasn't mad about him sneaking into her office, she was mad about him lying about why. Why can't he simply say that he was worried about me?! He didn't have to tell me that he left something in my office.
"I'm sorry for deceiving you, but I needed to know what you were doing. You haven't been yourself lately and I was worried about you."
Well, that melted her anger away like a flamethrower on a snowflake. "I've been stressed, yes, but it's also true that I've been lying to you. I had to. What would you have said if I told you what was going on? You would have locked me in here and not let me out until I was fired, admit it!"
Jac rubbed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Are you saying that what you're doing is healtier? Honestly you've become friends with a vampi-"
"Methuselah. They are Methuselah."
"Whatever, '...by any other name...' They are still a danger to your health and I cannot let this continue."
Lisa's temper flared as he insulted one of the people she cared about but she kept it in check. Anger would not get her point across. "Listen to me, Jac. These people are no more a danger to me than you are. We snatched Alexandra out of her home and dumped her into a cage at the Institute. Are you telling me that there is anything right about that?" Alright, maybe she couldn't keep her anger out of it.
"No, but that doesn't matter. You..." Jac's narrative died off as he saw her eyes blaze.
"'Doesn't matter.'?! She has endured God-only-knows how many months of hell and you want me to let that continue?! If that is really how you feel I can't believe I married you." Oh, she was mad and there was no turning back.
Jac felt like she had sucker punched him. "Lisa! Please, that's not how I meant it. I don't want you to be in danger, you are their prey, and I don't want you to see you get hurt because of that."
"I don't care. Yes, I might be prey to them, but as far as I am concerned, she is suffering and I'm the only one who can stop it! At first, I even... Oh, God, I even helped." Lisa started to sob. "I hurt her, Jac, I hurt her and I didn't care." She had collapsed and Jac's arms were holding her up now. "I didn't care because I thought it was okay! Because I was told to, I... I-" She choked and couldn't continue. I'm a monster. A remorseless monster.
Jac didn't know what to do. She was in such pain because she had hurt another living being, but he couldn't understand why she felt such guilt for something that would kill her if given half a chance.
Lisa's sobs had nearly stopped and she gently pushed herself away from him. "I am going to help her and there is nothing you can do that will stop me." He opened his mouth to say something but she put a finger on his lips. "And if you try to tell anyone what I'm doing I will leave you."
Jac regarded her sadly, knowing that, if it came down to it, she would keep her promise.
†
"So how long have you known her?" Jac was still reluctant to call Alexandra by her name but Lisa didn't bug him about it.
"Six months more or less. She actually broke out because she thought I was mocking her. It was an honest request." Lisa giggled as she remembered.
Her laugh disturbed him slightly. "In your diary you said something that led me to the conclusion that she has drunk your blood. Is this true?" He didn't want to know, but at the same time he felt that he had to ask. The very idea made him sick.
Lisa reflexively touched the twin scars on her neck. "Yes, she was starving after several months and could not help herself. It didn't help matters that she had been severely beaten only the day before."
"Severely beaten?" Jac knew his voice wasn't firm but he was too shocked to do anything about it.
Lisa's gaze sharpened. "Yes, as punishment for breaking out. I can only guess at what else she has endured. It was my help that allowed her to heal without complications and I would do it again in a heartbeat." The look on her face said he would suffer if he dared to argue.
Help. What a nice way to put it. "You said that you met her husband. Is he a... one of them?"
"Yes, as far as I know there hasn't been much romance cross-species. Though that would be interesting to find out." She finished thoughtfully.
Jac wrinkled his nose in distaste and Lisa smiled and rolled her eyes.
***End Chapter 11***
Well, I took rowergal's advice on this one and tried a different angle on things, though I don't know if it really counts...
Anyway, review peoples or I'll come after you with an armful of poison ivy!!
