As promised...here is chapter two! Remember - this is raw, unedited, and unrevised! And, of course, this is RATED M for mature audiences. What has been read cannot be unread! I hope you enjoy... ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- CHAPTER TWO THE WHITE HOUSE WASHINGTON, D.C. Vice President Jonathan Stirling watched the president hit his ball across the White House putting green. The ball rolled to the far side of the green, coming to a stop just before entering the thick grass. Secret Service agents stood guard in not-too-distant vantage points, ever vigilant. A personal aide to the president also stood some distance away, ready to handle any of the president’s needs at a moment’s notice. The midday sun shone bright as the two men took advantage of a few precious moments alone, away from cabinet and administration members and the prying press. “The world is not a happy place,” the president said. “Sometimes I just want to crawl into a hole and let the world run itself.” Stirling chuckled. “The U.S. can’t solve all the world’s problems, Warren. We can only try.” President Warren Harrison took a deep breath and held it for a moment before exhaling. “These rare breaks are increasingly too few and far between.” Stirling stepped up and prepared to take his turn on the green. “The world relies on us to lead and set the tone for others to follow,” he said. “No one ever said being president was easy.” “Don’t I know it. And I sure have gotten grayer over the last couple years because of it. Got quite a few more lines on my face, as well. Not sure how you’ve escaped the stress-aging curse. You’re just as old as I am but I practically look like I could be your father.” Stirling shrugged. “Clean living and good genes.” The vice president tapped his ball. It rolled to a stop just inches away from the president’s. “Nice putt.” Stirling nodded. “The world’s leaders don’t know what they want, Warren. They say they do, but they don’t. Everyone chides on about the lack of peace but then no one is willing to compromise. We see it all too prevalent within our own borders. The public votes officials into positions of power expecting them to fight for their interests and their interests alone. There’s no compromise in that. Then everyone wonders why nothing gets done.” “Every man for himself, huh, Jonathan?” The president hit his ball away from the vice president’s, sending it back across the green. “That’s why the United States needs to not only take the lead, but take control. You know as well as I do that the world would run amok more than it already does if we weren’t around to police it.” Harrison shot his vice president a stern look. “Careful there. People don’t like us referring to ourselves as the police.” “You know what I mean, Warren.” The vice president took his stroke. The ball stopped near the middle of the green. “Who else is going to stand up for the weaker ones in the world? Help those when disaster strikes? Punish those who overstep their bounds? The U.N.? I don’t think so. They’re just another establishment of elected leaders who don’t get along and can’t get anything done. We’re the land of the free and the home of the brave. It’s up to us to take care of the garbage and sickness that plagues the planet.” The president leaned on his golf club. “I can’t say I disagree. I knew what I was getting into before being sworn in two years ago. But, hell, running the world sure takes a lot outta ya.” He tapped his ball. It stopped about three feet away from Stirling’s. “Running the world takes a lot out of all of us,” Stirling said. “We have our hands in every major combat zone or hot spot in the world. We’ve got troops in the Middle East monitoring the situation with Iran and Syria. Iraq and Afghanistan are still on our radar. And we aren’t ignoring what’s going on with Egypt, Pakistan, and Palestine, either. We have ships in the East China Sea keeping close watch over Beijing and North Korea. Our ears are open to what the Soviets are doing. And we have troops in various hotspots in Africa and Central America – too numerous to list.” “I get it, Jonathan. We’re everywhere.” “Yes, Warren, we are. But not because we want to be. Because we need to be. The world needs us. Without us maintaining control, the world would surely dissolve into World War III.” “But how do we know we’re not contributing more to the cause and not the cure?” Stirling smiled. “We are the cure, Warren. The world may not realize it yet, but when they do, they’ll be looking to us without question or concern. The Earth is a lost child. We’re here to nurture it along. It’s been that way for decades.” “It’s different now, though. The most recent recessions have left our government broke – or should I say, more broke than usual. As a result, our military is ill-equipped and ill-funded. If something major were to happen, we may not have the might of our forces to back things up. We could be faced with a catastrophe.” “You worry too much, Warren. We have the responsibility to keep watch over others and, if necessary, take appropriate measures when things don’t go as they should.” “But that’s just it. Sometimes I struggle with it being us to decide what others in the world should be doing. Who are we to choose their path for them? Who are we to play God?” “God has nothing to do with this, Warren. And we don’t need to choose their path.” Stirling sent his ball across the green. It struck the president’s ball with enough force to knock it into the thicker grass surrounding the putting green. “Sometimes, the world just needs a nudge to get it going in the right direction.” Stirling’s cell phone rang in his suit jacket pocket. He took it out and looked at the caller I.D. “My apologies, Warren. I need to take this.” “You go right ahead. I have to get to my next meeting anyway.” The president gestured to his aide who rushed over and took his golf club. Harrison and the assistant walked away, escorted from a short distance by his Secret Service agents, while the vice president continued his call. “This is Stirling…Yes, yes…I see…Good. Meet me in my West Wing office in ten minutes.” * * * “The test in Atlanta was a success. We finally have what we have so long been seeking.” The vice president sighed. “It’s been a long time coming, indeed, Samuel. Who was it that discovered it?” Secretary of Defense Samuel Ellis leaned back in his chair. “A scientist by the name of Geoffrey Appamattox.” “And there’s no chance of this being another false alarm? I’ve grown weary of the claims of victory only to be disappointed in the end. Too many researchers crying wolf.” “Dr. Virginia Swede witnessed first-hand the effects of the completed agent.” Stirling bounced his fingertips together as he looked at the two people sitting across from him on the other side of his desk. In addition to the defense secretary, the only other person in his White House office was Secretary of State Andrea McCullough. “Finally, a reliable source,” Stirling said. “I must admit I was growing skeptical this day would ever come.” Andrea leaned forward in her chair. “Do you know how they did it? I mean, I can’t even imagine where the venom for all the testing came from. No one is prone to giving that up voluntarily.” Stirling looked at the defense secretary. “Well, Samuel? Care to enlighten our colleague?” “Sure. The DoD has special teams known as Night Squads who would gather up, well let’s call them volunteers, for use in the extraction process. The volunteers would be shipped to our people in Spokane at NIOSH. Without getting too graphic, I’ll tell you the scientists there had special machines capable of extracting the venom from the fangs of the volunteers via a process not too dissimilar to getting poison from a snake. It’s not pretty, believe me. I’m not certain many survived the process. But sometimes sacrifices need to be made. All in the name of science, of course.” “Of course,” Stirling said. “I feel for those who lost their lives, I really do. May the eternal death be kind to them. Thanks to their sacrifice we’re finally on track toward building the perfect world.” “Not only have we done it,” Andrea said, “but we’ve done it before our rivals in Russia, Sweden, and Australia. The race is over, and we won.” “We haven’t won anything yet. A laboratory test subject is just that – a single person turned in a control environment. Samuel, how soon before the next level test can be conducted?” “We’ve already begun preparations in New Mexico. The site has been picked out for some time, as you know, so it’s mainly a matter of moving in the equipment and the personnel.” “Good. Be sure we track those movements carefully. We don’t want to do anything to tip off the media or any unwanted witnesses who may get word out prematurely.” “Definitely, Jonathan. That shouldn’t be a problem.” “Do you think I should inform any of our international partners about this?” Andrea asked. “No,” Stirling replied. “We need to keep this to ourselves until the next test is complete. Once we have the assurance of the success of that test, then we can prepare our global friends for the final solution.” “I know some of them are getting a bit itchy, but I can keep them at bay for a little while longer.” “I’m curious, Samuel, with this recent development, what about the status of Project Z? Do you think there’s any chance of there being advances in that any time soon?” The defense secretary shook his head. “I don’t believe so, Jonathan. That’s a completely different technology that we’ve only begun to explore. Honestly, I believe we’re still a good twenty to thirty years away from any sort of successful tests.” “No matter. There’s no rush for that. We’ll have plenty of time to examine those avenues later. But for now…” The vice president picked up a small remote control device from his desk and pointed it at the bank of office windows. With the press of a button all the windows instantly fogged over as the privacy glass was activated. “…the recent breakthrough is cause for celebration.” Stirling loosened his tie and unbuttoned the top button of his shirt. He worked his fingers behind the collar and grabbed at what appeared to be loose skin on his neck. He carefully pulled the layer of skin up, eventually removing a thin, macabre mask. His face underneath was nearly identical. He set the mask on the table before reaching into his eyes and removing glassy oval-shaped lenses that had covered not only his irises, but the entire sclera of each eye. He sat those down next to his mask. “You can remove your UV protectors,” Stirling told his guests. Samuel and Andrea copied the vice president’s actions. “That’s so much better,” Andrea said. “Even though those masks are form-fitting, they can still be a bit stifling.” Stirling took a key from a jacket pocket and unlocked the lower left drawer of his desk. He opened the deep drawer and first took out a plain white table cloth that he spread out over the middle of his desk. He then removed what looked like a medium-sized, stainless steel cooler. He set the container on the cloth and opened it. “Is that what I think it is?” asked Samuel. Andrea could barely sit still in her chair in anticipation of what the vice president might have for them. Stirling reached into the cooler and pulled out three glass jars. He sat one in front of each of the administration secretaries and the third in front of himself. Samuel picked his up and looked at the bloody red mass inside. “Is this what I think it is?” Stirling nodded. “Fresh from this morning. These aren’t cheap. I was anticipating us having them in celebration soon, though I didn’t figure that was going to be today.” Andrea took the sealed top off her jar, stuck her nose inside, and inhaled deeply. “You don’t know how long it’s been since I’ve had human heart, Jonathan. You’ve really outdone yourself.” “Then let’s have a toast.” They each pulled up their shirtsleeves to prevent them from getting bloodied. Then they reached into the wide openings of their jars and pulled out the dripping wet muscle. They held them up over the middle of the desk and touched them together as if clinking together wine glasses. “To the future,” Stirling said. “To the future,” Samuel and Andrea repeated. Stirling opened his mouth wide. His eye teeth cracked and fell away as they were replaced by two long, sharp fangs. Samuel and Andrea revealed their fangs also. The vampires dove in to their delicacies. Biting, sucking, chewing…they devoured their meals in a ravenous fashion. Blood oozed between their fingers and dripped onto the white cloth. Samuel let out a low, guttural moan as he ate. Andrea breathed deeply as she grew increasingly euphoric. Within about a minute, the hearts were gone – consumed completely by the creatures who continued to pant and hiss in their fresh intoxication. Stirling was the first to fully regain his composure. He looked at his companions. The sclera of his eyes had turned completely red, making his normally dark blue eyes look almost purple. “So that’s it then,” he said. “Samuel, alert your people at the DoD. It’s time for the town test.”
Posted on: Fri, 13 Sep 2013 10:01:41 +0000
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