Free Vampire Redemption by Phil Tucker

been dedicated to researching the vampire phenomenon, seeking to understand the physiology and nature of the disease so as to best cure it. Can a therapy be developed? A vaccine? That's our goal. We've learned much these past few years, but I regret to say that no real advances have been made. The more we learn, the more baffled we become."
    Wigner stopped before an elevator and pushed the button, turning to smile at her once more. "Now, you can imagine how excited we were when we heard of the mysterious properties your blood is purported to have. A genetic mutation, no doubt, that may hold the key to unlocking the most pressing enigma of our time. We have much, much to learn from you if the initial tests come back positive. This is going to be a very exciting time, Selah. Very exciting."
    The brushed steel elevator doors opened and they all stepped inside. Selah stared sullenly at the floor buttons. There were eight of them. Four above ground, four below. That gave her pause. Wigner pressed the button for the second floor below ground, and with barely any acceleration, they began to drop.
    "This is the perfect facility to test these claims. We're cleared to work with right up to Level 4 Biohazards, though of course, your blood isn't being considered a hazard at this time. Still, it's wonderful to have all the resources we might need right here at Thought Canyon. That's what we call the base, by the way. A little name I came up with. Thought Canyon. It has a nice ring to it, don't you think?"
    Selah ignored him. She knew the tone of voice. He was talking to keep her quiet. Keep her soothed. He didn't care about her or her opinions. How many teachers had spoken to her in the same placating manner in the past? There was no point in engaging with him. He didn't see the girl. He only saw the blood coursing through her veins. Chilled and uneasy, she hugged herself and stared at the doors. Somehow, the fact that they were going underground only made things worse.
    The doors opened and they were immediately assaulted by the sound of monkeys screeching. She blinked, surprised, and then looked up at Wigner who laughed warmly.
    "Oh, don't worry, they're not loose. They get rowdy around lunch time, that's all. Come along."
    They stepped out into a narrow hall that was lit with fluorescent lights, the walls composed of bright brushed steel partitions with huge windows embedded in them, their edges rimmed in black rubber. A spongy mat of linked blue rubber hexagons the size of quarters covered the linoleum floor. Selah slowed down and stared in through the windows to her right. She saw a large room whose walls were lined with cages. One set ran along the floor with the second row above them on a broad shelf. Chimpanzees, gibbons, baboons, small spider monkeys--it looked like every kind of primate was caged in there, staring out at her as she walked by. Some were anxious, gripping the bars and swaying back and forth, lips pulled back from yellowed incisors, eyes wide, while others lay curled on the floor of their cages, heads wrapped in a web of their long fingers.
    "Necessary," said Wigner with judicious solemnity. "Still, they're well treated for all that. We run a very conscientious lab here. Come along."
    Selah walked as slowly as she could, staring through each massive window as she passed. Two scientists were within, crouched before one of the cages and examining a chimpanzees where it lay. They turned to look at her as she passed. One was a young black woman, perhaps in her late thirties, her hair smooth and lustrous in the harsh lighting, the other a white man, his hair golden and his expression pensive and distant.
    "I'm--I'm being kept with the monkeys?" That fact was only now sinking in.
    "What? No! Not at all." Wigner laughed again in a hearty and unconvincing manner. Selah was beginning to really dislike his laugh. "On the same floor, yes, but you will soon discover that you're not alone here. The primates have their own wing,