#vampire!adam

The apprentices meet up again the next evening. They were still unsure of what to do about their new charge. Amanda had stayed clear of the cell since her late night feeding and the testing room had stayed blissfully quiet. John had a lot of questions. She didn’t have any answers but promised to investigate.

They entered the testing room together this time. Adam had dragged the mattress off the bed and into the remains of the crate. It must’ve taken some effort. The crate was slightly too small for the mattress and through the splintered hole they could see where the mattress had curled up against the sides. He had dragged all the pillows and blankets into the crate as well. He’s making a nest. Amanda thought with great interest. She wondered what it would be like to curl up in that nest with him.

“What the fuck?” Hoffman snarls. “Wasn’t the bed we gave him good enough?”

“It’s the lights.” Amanda mumbles to herself.

“What?”

She gestures up to the fluorescent bulbs burning overhead. “The lights. I think they hurt his eyes.”

Hoffman glares up at the lights and then back at the crate. “I think he’s just trying to hide from us.”

“No. Think about it. The bathroom has been dark for a long time. I mean he would’ve been in there for months without light and now we have him under these lights all the time. I think it hurts his eyes. They’ve adjusted to the darkness.”

“That’s not a bad thought.” Lawrence muses.

“Okay…well…” Hoffman huffs impatiently. “How do we get him out?” He whistles through his teeth. “C’mere boy! Come on out!” He whistles again. “Gordon, tap the crate with your cane.”

“I’m not doing that.” Lawrence snaps.

“I’ve got an idea. Just wait here.” Amanda strides out of the room. She heads to one of the refrigerators and pulls out a well cut steak that she had purchased the night before. I hope you like filet mignon. She unwraps the plastic as she returns. Once she gets to the cell she puts the tray down on the floor and pushes it towards the crate. She backs up to stand at the same distance as the other two.

At first nothing happens. Amanda is disappointed that her bribe isn’t working. They all jump when a pale arm seems to leap from the darkness of the crate and snatch up the steak. Amanda breathes a sigh of relief. She squints into the crate and sees a shadow shifting just within.

“Hi.” She starts. She can feel his stare but he doesn’t respond. “Lawrence?”

Lawrence is staring at the crate. He seems lost in thought but is brought back to himself when Amanda says his name. “Right.” He nods and fishes through his work bag. He pulls out a pair of hospital green scrubs and hands them to Amanda. She tosses them through the bars of the cell.

“We brought you some clean clothes.”

There’s silence for a while before Adam squeezes his body around the mattress and out of the hole in the side of the crate. He walks over to the scrubs and toes them uninterestedly.

“And what am I going to do with clean clothes?” He gestures to himself. His body was covered in grime from head to toe. Dust and sweat coated his skin in layers. Blood and shit was caked deep under his nails.

“Um…” Lawrence floundered for words.

“I can get you some stuff to clean up with.” Amanda offers. “Some water, some soap, a brush. You can get cleaned up before you change. That would probably feel better, right?”

Adam only shrugs. Amanda figures that’s as good of an answer as she’s going to get. She looks briefly at Lawrence and Hoffman. They stare back at her blankly. She huffs and turns to get the supplies.

When Amanda leaves Adam turns his attention to the two men. He listens closely to the sounds of their hearts beating, the sounds of their breathing. He can smell their sweat. With only two now in the room he can tell them apart with little difficulty. He tilts his head back, eyes closed, and lets his new senses take over. Lawrence’s breaths were steady, but his heart beat quickly against his chest. Hoffman’s heart was slower, calmer. His sweat was the sweat of heat, while Lawrence’s had distinct nervous sourness to it. It made Adam’s mouth water. He tilts his head to face Lawrence and senses the man’s breath pause a moment, his heart rate steadily increasing.

Lawrence swallows. To Adam it’s the thick, thudding sound of swallowing against a dry mouth.

“Can I…can I take your temperature?”

“What?”

“I’d like to take your temperature. I’m…well I’m very curious about your…condition.” Lawrence pauses, shifting his weight off his prosthesis. “From a medical perspective.”

Adam stares him down a moment, processing this request. He finally scoffs and rolls his eyes. “Fine.”

“Thanks.” Lawrence rifles through his bag briefly before producing a thermometer. He bends down and sends it skittering across the floor and under the door of the cell. Adam steps forward to take it. “Just put it under your tongue, as far back in your mouth as you can. Then press the button and wait for it to beep.”

“I know how to use a thermometer, Larry. I’m not a fucking idiot.” Adam snarls. He slides the device into his mouth.

It takes a while for it to read, much longer than Lawrence had anticipated. When it finally beeps Adam tosses it back through the bars without even looking at it. Lawrence pulls on gloves from his bag before picking it up.

“Worried that it’s contagious, Larry?” Adam steps forward and leans against the bars.

“I can’t rule that out.” Lawrence responds as stoically as he can. This statement makes Hoffman’s heart rate increase.

Lawrence looks over the thermometer reading.

87.2 F

“What’s the word, doc?”

“Nice and normal.” Lawrence lies, he offers a smile.

Adam grins and steps back to the crate. “You’re a terrible fucking liar, Lawrence.”

Lawrence opens his mouth but Amanda pushes back into the room before he has an opportunity to speak.

“Here you go.” Amanda feeds the items through the bars: a metal basin of warm water, a bar of soap, a small bath brush, and a few towels.

“Thanks Mandy.”

“Don’t call me that.” Amanda huffs.

“So…are you all going to stand here and watch me strip and scrub?” Adam turns his attention to Hoffman. “I’m sure you’d like that, wouldn’t you, big boy?” He flicks his tongue through the air.

Hoffman scowls but Adam can smell him sweat. He grins with satisfaction as its scent turns somewhat sweet with arousal.

“Can’t a man get a little privacy around here?” He continues.

“I can keep an eye on him.” Lawrence offers.

“Hmm” Adam huffs. “Well you’ve seen one you’ve seen them all, right doc?”

Amanda eyes Lawrence carefully.

“I can handle him.” He reassures her.

She nods and looks at Hoffman. “Let’s go.”

Hoffman lingers for a moment before nodding. “We’ll be right outside.” He says to Lawrence before following Amanda out.

The two apprentices leave their new charge with Lawrence.

“Look at us.” Adam muses. “Right back where we started. Just the two of us, so close and yet so far. Funny how that happens, huh?”

Lawrence frowns. “I want to know what happened to you.”

“What happened to me is that you fucking left me there to starve. And starve I did, but it would never let me die.” Adam spits at Lawrence. “All I am now is hungry. There’s nothing else left”

“I don’t believe that.”

“Believe whatever the fuck you want.” Adam pulls his shirt off his body. He slings it at the bars and they ring under the force. The sound makes Lawrence jump. He steps back. Adam huffs a laugh before peeling off the rest of his clothes. He carefully scrubs away the layers of grime and visceral fluids that caked his skin.

Lawrence watches carefully. Admittedly, he is somewhat emaciated. The bones and sinews are too prominent, but Lawrence had seen worse. There is a strength to his movement which seems to surpass his physical form. Once the grime is scraped away Lawrence is able to get a better look at the condition of his skin. It has all the lividity of the long deceased. It seems less dehydrated now than it had previously appeared, there was a plumpness that was returning to the flesh. The vessels under the skin appear black as if filled with stagnant and coagulated blood. The many vessels of the eyes are engorged with blood in a deoxygenated purple hue, giving the whole sclera the appearance of being badly bruised. His eyes appear more sunken, yet somehow clearer and sharper than Lawrence remembers. However, he concedes that his memory of Adam may have been altered by the haze of blood loss and panic that had plagued him at the time.

Adam pulls on the green scrubs and Lawrence decides he doesn’t look any worse than some of his advanced patients. Those patients were suffering from the ravages of cancer. Lawrence could only guess at what Adam was suffering from.

“Would you let me check your heart and lungs?”

“My heart and lungs?”

“Yes. I brought a stethoscope.” Lawrence digs through his bag a moment before producing the stated device.

Adam stares at him for a long time and Lawrence fears that he will decline.

“If I can get more information about what’s happening to you, we might be able to figure out some kind of…treatment.” Lawrence explains hopefully.

“Fine.”

Lawrence nods and sets his bag down. “Great, just come up and stand next to the bars. I’ll have you stand perpendicular to me so I can listen to both sides of your chest.”

Adam stands as described, his shoulder resting against one of the bars of the cell. Lawrence comes to stand next to the cell. He puts the stethoscope in his ears and hesitantly reaches a hand through the bars to place the drum against Adam’s back.

At first he hears nothing. He listens closely but his straining ears are not rewarded.

“Um…take a deep breath.”

Adam draws in a breath. Lawrence is met with the distinct crackles and wheezing associated with damp, fluid filled lungs. He can only imagine what an x-ray of Adam’s chest might look like. He moves the drum to the other side of Adam’s back.

“One more breath, please.”

Adam draws in another and Lawrence hears the same on this side. The image of drooping, liquifying lungs fills Lawrence’s mind. They ooze black tar. He slowly moves the drum to rest on Adam’s chest, listening for his heart.

……ba……dum……ba……dum……

The rate is so slow Lawrence can scarcely believe it. He glances at his watch to keep count.

……ba……dum……ba……dum……

Only 20 beats per minute, basically dead. Lawrence remembers the only other time he had heard a rate so slow, back when he was in medical school. He had seen a man who ruptured his cervical vertebrae on a steering wheel as he was ejected out the front window of his car during an accident. Always wear your seatbelt, came the disapproving comment from the emergency doctor attending. Seared into his memory was the way the man’s pupils had widened when they discussed taking him off life support. Lawrence’s superiors had been disapproving of the notion that he could still somehow comprehend but Lawrence always wondered. Had he somehow been aware yet unable to express his wishes? The thought haunts him now.

……ba……dum……ba……dum……

Lawrence is lost in this thought when he feels Adam grab his wrist and pull his arm through the bars of the cell. His momentum forward stops abruptly as his shoulder impacts the bars. Adam reaches his other hand through and grasps the back of Lawrence’s head forcing his face against the cold metal. He bends Lawrence’s arm back to the edge of its range of motion to press the drum of the stethoscope to Lawrence’s chest.

Ba dum. Ba dum. Ba dum. Ba dum.

Lawrence pushes his free hand against the bars of the cell trying to leverage himself free. Adam’s grasp tightens against his skull.

BaDUMbaDUMbaDUMbaDUMbaDUMbaDUM…

“Adam! Please!”

Adam leans his head against the bars next to Lawrence’s ear.

“Now you can hear what I hear.”

BaDUMbaDUMbaDUMbaDUMbaDUMbaDUM…

Lawrence struggles and cries out.

“Hey! HEY!” It’s Amanda, screaming at the edge of the cell, frantically waving a raw steak through the air. Lawrence eyes her desperately.

“Let him go! Let! Him! Go!” She demands.

Adam pulls harder against the back of Lawrence’s head. Lawrence can feel the bones of his skull creaking against the metal. He screams.

“Please!” Amanda cries. “If you let him go I’ll feed you! As much as you want!”

Adam eyes the steak in her hand before turning his attention back to his living prey.

“I don’t want cow.”

Lawrence feels the skin over the brim of his nose stretch and split as Adam continues to force his skull through the bars. Blood trickles down his face.

“I’ll get you a person!” Amanda begs desperately.

Adam pauses his assault. He seems to contemplate his options. “When?”

“Tonight.”

He looks over Lawrence’s face, obviously struggling with letting go of such easy prey.

“I want them alive.” He says, staring into Lawrence’s eyes.

“Okay.” Amanda says weakly. “I’ll bring them alive.”

Adam pauses a moment before leaning down to Lawrence’s face. Lawrence flinches and struggles against the bars. Adam draws his tongue up over Lawrence’s bloody face. His eyes roll back in pleasure at the taste of living blood. He lets Lawrence go.

Lawrence falls back into Hoffman’s arms, who drags his body quickly back away from the cell.

“Are you fucking crazy?” The detective murmurs to him, but Lawrence is dazed from the attack.

Amanda drops the steak into the cell and bolts to Lawrence’s side, helping Hoffman get him steadied.

“Let’s get him out of here.” She huffs.

The hunger was overwhelming. In the darkness, Adam can smell the blood. He can smell the curdling flesh of Zepp’s remains. His stomach turns and he’s not sure if it’s from hunger or disgust. It’s hunger. He doesn’t remember how he came to be crouched over the body. Hesitantly, his tongue reaches out to the flesh. The rotting corpse is sour and liquifying. It’s delicious. He digs in, teeth and nails digging out clumps of flesh and shoveling them into his mouth. He needed it. Once he began he couldn’t stop. When the remains were nothing but gnawed bones he wept, not because of the inhumanity of what he had done but because he was once again alone with the hunger.

Time passed, the stench of Lawrence’s severed foot drove him mad with hunger. Many days he screamed and desperately tried to reach the meat uselessly rotting away on the other side of the bathroom. He was weak, and not able to break his chain. He heard the next game being arranged and played above him. He smelt the stench of their blood and flesh as they failed test after test. It was fear that motivated him to crawl back into the bathtub when he heard Amanda running into the bathroom. She had a boy with her. He could smell them both, their sweat and blood. He could hear their hearts racing and their huffing breaths. Amanda’s voice was almost deafening as she begged Xavier to just work together. Adam’s stomach twisted as he smelt Xavier’s blood, fresh from the cut he had carved into his own neck. Drool slipped involuntarily from the corners of his mouth. The boy lifted a weapon but he was too slow. Before another thing could be said or done Adam’s teeth were sunk deep into the man’s neck. Blood burst from around his mouth. Fuck. Fresh blood. It was the best meal he had ever had.

Amanda screamed, the boy also screamed. Xavier’s screams came out as gurgles as his trachea filled with blood. He struggled and pierced Adam’s flesh with the knife they were holding. Adam shakes his head like a rabid dog, his teeth rip long tears into the flesh, blood bursts from the wounds, the vertebrae dislocate, and the struggle ends.

“What the fuck?!” Amanda was crying now.

Adam crawls backwards into the tub, dragging his fresh prey with him. He pulls Xavier’s fresh body into the tub and begins the joyous process of consumption. Amanda and the boy run away.

The next time the door opens Adam is resting in the tub. He’s curled into a ball on one side, the bony remains of Xavier are stacked on the other. He’s hungry. The people are talking.

“I don’t see anything.” A flash of light swoops across the bathroom. Adam tracks its path above his hiding place.

“He’s in there.” It was Amanda.

“That’s not possible. He should be dead by now.”

“Well he’s not. He came out of nowhere and ripped that guy’s neck open. Look. Look at the chain.” Her voice drops to a whisper, but to Adam she might as well have been yelling. “He’s in the tub.”

“Huh.” Hoffman couldn’t deny that it looked as though Adam had crawled into the tub to die, but he doubted Amanda’s story. “Well…let’s give him something to eat.” He drags in the limp body of Eric Matthews. They had a chain attached to Eric’s wrist so they could pull his body back if needed. Hoffman and Amanda drag him out into the center of the bathroom. Hoffman whistles as one would for a dog.

“Come on out boy, we brought you some fresh meat.” He chuckles.

“It’s not funny.” Amanda hisses back.

“Sorry. It’s just…we’re trying to feed a dead man.”

“He’s not…”

A growl comes from the bathtub. Hoffman flicks the flashlight up just in time to see Adam crawling over the edge of the bathtub. His mouth and hands were black with dried blood. He sniffs the air before moving over Matthews’ unconscious body.

Hoffman and Amanda begin backing towards the door. Hoffman’s flashlight stays trained on the creature as it removes Eric’s shoes and rips his pants to shreds. He sniffs the fresh flesh that he had exposed before digging in. Ripping and tearing the calf muscles with his teeth and nails, he shovels the fresh flesh into his mouth and gags as he swallows it. He couldn’t get enough.

“Oh my god. What is he doing?” Hoffman whispers quietly as they reach the door on the other side of the bathroom.

“He’s eating him.” There’s a quiver in Amanda’s voice.

The pain begins to wake Eric up. He groans as Adam masticates his calf and by the time Adam makes it to his thigh he is alert and screaming. He desperately tries to kick Adam away. But the creature only responds more and more aggressively.

“Pull him back!” Amanda urges Hoffman. “Pull him back!”

Hoffman grasps the chain they had attached to Eric’s wrist and begins pulling him back towards the door. Not about to let his meal get away easily, Adam drives his nails into the rolls of flesh above Eric’s hips. The man screams and Adam begins dragging him quickly back to the bathtub.

Hoffman pulls as hard as he can. Adam yanks back, digging his nails deeper into the flesh. He digs his feet in and gains some purchase pulling the man back towards his bathtub den. Eric screams as his flesh is ripped open.

“Fuck!” Hoffman stumbles forward, he wedges his feet against the door to give him more leverage. “Amanda help!” Amanda grasps onto the chain and helps pull.

Adam senses his grip slipping. The thought of losing this meal was more than he could bear. He crawls up Eric’s body and starts ripping at his shoulder with his teeth. Eric screams in agony. “My arm! He’s eating my arm!”

Hoffman and Amanda pull. The echo of screams in the bathroom dampens any sensible words. They both dig in and pull with all their strength.

“Jesus, fuck!” Hoffman snarls. “He should not be this strong.”

“Well he also shouldn’t be alive, right Hoffman?!” Amanda hisses. “Do you believe me now?!”

“Shut. Up.” He hisses through gritted teeth.

Suddenly the chain gives causing Hoffman and Amanda to both fall backwards. Amanda stares at the slack chain for a while before slowly pulling it out towards them. Eric’s severed arm, still attached at the wrist by the chain comes out the door. Hoffman shines his flashlight into the bathroom and watches the last remains of Eric Matthews slip into the bathtub.

“I…I think we should call Gordon.”

“What’s Gordon going to do?”

Mark shrugs. “Hopefully tell us what the fuck is going on here.”

“If we can even get him to come down here again.”

Ultimately, it was on John’s orders that Lawrence returned to the bathroom. When Amanda initially brought it up to Lawrence he lashed out in anger, assuming that it was some kind of sick joke that she was playing. His refusal to investigate put Amanda and Hoffman in a tight spot. At first they tried to ignore the creature as they continued their work, but as time went on the creature became hungrier. Their work was frequently interrupted with its ear piercing screeches and demands for food. Amanda swears she heard it ripping its chain out of the wall and refused to enter the basement again. A few weeks later, Hoffman began refusing to enter the basement as well. He wouldn’t give the details of his experience but the gouges in his arm spoke to some kind of close call. At this stage, with neither apprentice willing to enter the basement, John requested that Lawrence investigate and put the issue to bed.

Lawrence was furious.

“If I find out this is some kind of sick joke I’m going to have both of you killed…slowly and painfully.”

“We’re not lying.” Amanda insists as he leads him down the hallway. Hoffman follows behind them, carrying a thick black trash bag.

“What is that anyway?” Lawrence asks gesturing to the bag.

“Roadkill.”

“He’s not going to eat that.” Amanda interjects.

Hoffman shrugs. “Only one way to find out.”

When they get to the door, Lawrence hesitates. He takes a shaky breath. “Okay. Open it.”

Amanda pushes the doors open. Lawrence steps inside and shines his flashlight around. Nothing.

“You two are fucking assholes.”

“No.” Hoffman shakes his head. “Look. He’s back in there.” He points his own flashlight to where the chain was draped into the bathtub. “That’s where he hides.”

Lawrence shakes his head. “It’s not possible for him to still be alive. It’s been…months.”

Hoffman opens his trash bag. The stench of liquifying roadkill fills the room. Amanda covers her mouth and nose. He whistles for the creature. “Come ‘ere boy. Come on out. I have something for you to eat.”

A low growl comes from the bathtub. Adam had been waiting, hiding. He didn’t want Lawrence to see him like this. He was afraid, but the smell of the roadkill turned something in him. He was so, so hungry. He needed to feed.

Lawrence trains his own flashlight onto the lip of the bathtub and jumps when a hand curls around it. The fingers were blackened with dried blood. Adam lifts his head. Lawrence takes a step back, startled. He observes the creature perched over the edge of the bathtub. Adam hisses at Hoffman, revealing multiple rows of razor sharp teeth. The whites of his eyes were so bloodshot they appeared nearly black. His skin was the blue-grey of a dead man. Whatever had happened to him, had changed his whole being. Hoffman extended the mangled raccoon towards him.

“Don’t feed him that.” Lawrence hissed.

Thick drool trailed down from the corners of Adam’s mouth. He reaches his hand out towards Hoffman and makes a grasping gesture in the air. “Give it to me.” He snarls.

“Don’t! Do not give that to him.”

“Give it to me.” Adam’s voice lowers into a deep growl.

Hoffman tosses the raccoon and Lawrence shoots him an angry look. Adam snatches the dead thing from the floor and drags it back into the bathtub. Lawrence can hear the sound of his teeth tearing into the rotten thing.

Lawrence was shocked. He backs slowly away, outside of the bathroom. Amanda and Hoffman follow after him.

“Well…what is that?” Amanda asks impatiently.

“I’m…I’m really not sure. I think we should talk upstairs.” Lawrence’s voice is small and distant. His mind was trying to wrap around what he had seen.

“What the fuck were you thinking?!” Hoffman screams over Amanda’s shoulder as she cleans the wound on Lawrence’s face.

“I was just trying to…” He’s at a loss for words.

“When are you going to learn? He’s a fucking animal.”

Lawrence shakes his head, it’s swimming with adrenaline. He can’t bear the thought that Adam meant him real harm. He had hoped that somehow through their shared experience they would have an instantaneous bond that would allow him to understand and control Adam. Surely Adam should listen to whatever he said. Lawrence’s hands ball up into angry fists.

He turns his anger on Amanda. “Where are you going to find a person for him to feed on?”

Amanda scowls. “Where am I going to find a person for him to feed on? I think you mean where are we going to find a person for him to feed on? You’re helping with this.”

Lawrence shakes his head. “No. I won’t participate in feeding him…people.”

Amanda’s face turns red with rage. “Like fuck you aren’t! It’s your fault I had to promise him that to begin with! He was gonna crush your head like a grape and I should’ve let him!.”

“I don’t think we should’ve promised him that.”

“Well you should’ve thought about that before you slid your arm in there like a fucking idiot!”

Lawrence huffs.

“Listen…” Amanda starts firmly. “We can use him. He’s powerful and motivated. We can use that to our advantage, but we have to keep him well fed.”

“Absolutely not.” Hoffman huffs. “He’s a loose cannon.”

“Not if he’s well fed.” She argues back. “When he’s well fed, he’s just…Adam. We can control him. We just have to keep him sated.”

“Easier said than done, I’m afraid.” Lawrence adds. He’s just…Adam. That was all he wanted wasn’t it? Just… Adam. We can control him. They needed to control him. It’s for his own good, Lawrence reasons.

The apprentices could not agree on a possible victim for Adam. Lawrence had argued that they could take a future player early but Amanda wouldn’t have it.

“Absolutely not. John plans these a certain way. They are all arranged according to his planning. If it’s not the right players then it’s not the right game.”

“Please Amanda.” Lawrence begged.

“No. The tests are made specifically for those players. We can’t take one early. Absolutely not.”

Hoffman remains silent on the subject. Picking sides now seems counter to his interests. He wants to be the first to control the creature, but he worries that Amanda is far ahead. Whoever can control that thing will be most valuable to John. Amanda won’t be the favorite for long.

“Why don’t we just take one of your patients Gordon? It’s not like they’re long for this world anyway.” Hoffman shrugs.

“No!” Lawrence is immediately enraged. “How dare you even suggest that!”

“Amanda please…” Hoffman appeals to her.

“No.” She shakes her head. “He won’t like that.”

“Oh, he’s against eating cancer patients now?” Hoffman spits sarcastically.

“No, but if they’re…” She furtively glances at Lawrence to let him know she means no insult. “If they’re full of chemicals they taste bad.”

“Did he tell you that?” Lawrence is shocked.

Amanda breezes past his question. “Anyone getting chemo is out.”

The room settles into a disturbed silence. Amanda finally breaks it in a quiet voice. She was loath to ask Hoffman for anything but now seemed like the time if ever.

“You know…criminals, right Hoffman?”

“I’m sorry?”

“I just mean…there’s got to be someone out there that you’ve looked into. Someone who’s a real piece of shit. Someone who deserves it?”

“You’re suggesting that I look through criminal records to find him a victim?”

Amanda frowns. “There’s gotta be someone…”

“I can think of a few.”

Lawrence looks taken aback at Hoffman’s cruelty. “Amanda, you can’t be serious. I mean…this is completely against John’s method. These people need to be given a chance. They could change.”

Amanda’s expression hardens and she shakes her head. “The way I see it, they’ve already made their choice. It’s game over.”

“I’ll need a little time to sift through some files.” Hoffman pulls on his jacket. “I’ll text you an address.”

“It has to be tonight.” Amanda reminds him.

“Don’t worry, it won’t take me long.” He says as he leaves.

Lawrence gives Amanda a worried glance. “We can’t really be doing this.”

“Doing what?”

“We can’t let him eat a person. This is…well I don’t know, there has to be something else.”

Amanda lifts an eyebrow. “It’s them or you.” She huffs.

Lawrence rubs his temple. “This can’t be happening.”

“Why not?”

“Because THIS DOESN’T HAPPEN TO PEOPLE! People don’t turn into flesh eating animals because they’re left in a dark room to die! They just starve to death! WHY DIDN’T HE JUST STARVE TO DEATH? THIS DOESN’T HAPPEN!” Lawrence is screaming now.

Amanda’s face curls into an angry snarl. “It is happening. Get used to it.” She snaps. She walks briskly out, leaving Lawrence to weep bitterly into his hands alone.

The grab goes smoothly. Nothing that the apprentices can’t handle. Hoffman provides them with an address and a picture of who they were looking for. He doesn’t offer any additional details and neither Lawrence nor Amanda ask for any. It doesn’t matter now. The less they know, the better.

The victim is waking up as they drag him across the concrete floor. Adam is up and pacing in front of the bars like a caged animal. His eyes stay fixed on the victim they pull in. He leans heavily against the bars and sniffs the air.

“He doesn't look alive.” He hisses.

“He is. Don’t worry.” Amanda huffs. They drop him a few feet from the cage.

Adam doesn’t reach for them. He tilts his head curiously. He listens to the slowly quickening heartbeat of the man on the floor.

“Aren’t you going to take him?” Hoffman huffs. “We did all that for nothing if you…”

“Shh…” Adam cuts him off. “He’s waking up.”

Amanda looks down and sees the man begin to stir. She kneels down and cuts the binds on his wrists.

“What are you doing?” Lawrence looks worried.

“Let’s go.” Amanda steps back from the cage.

Hoffman glances at the man coming to his senses on the floor then at Amanda. She seemed confident and so far she had been the most knowledgeable about Adam’s needs and wants. He hates to follow her lead, but this is a critical moment. He can’t mess this up, so he follows behind her. He’ll work on getting an edge over her instincts with Adam later.

Lawrence follows hesitantly. His stomach turns as he watches the man on the floor get onto his hands and knees. It was one thing to feed Adam this man when he was drugged, at least he wouldn’t know he was getting torn apart. Feeding him awake to Adam seems especially cruel. The dazed man looks to the door as Amanda grasps the handle.

“Good luck.” She calls as she pushes it shut.

Hoffman moves a few feet down the wall to watch from a glass porthole type opening. The opening was designed so two people could secretly view the room. Usually, this meant John and an apprentice. Now, the three apprentices try to cram in next to each other to watch. The man on the floor stumbles to his feet and slides a few steps away. He is certainly out of Adam’s reach from inside the cell.

“What the fuck is he doing?” Hoffman hisses. “He’s letting him get away.”

Amanda squints through her tiny section of the porthole. “No, I don’t think so.”

Inside the cell, Adam curls into the fetal position next to the bars. Lawrence’s gut twists. He gets a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. Something bad is going to happen. Adam begins to sob. Weak but heartbreaking sobs that rattle his body. The man also takes notice of this. He stumbles slightly towards Adam.

“This isn’t right.” Lawrence protests. “Something’s wrong. He doesn’t want to do it.” Panic begins to rise in his voice.

“I think he’s fine.” Amanda dismisses him.

Adam’s sobs continue, rising in pitch to be more desperate and frayed. The man steps towards him. “H…hey man are you okay?”

“He doesn’t like it.” Lawrence insists. “Please stop this.”

“It’s okay Lawrence.”

The man kneels down only a few inches away from Adam now. His hand reaches out tentatively.

“Amanda, please, stop this. Don’t let him do this. Amanda…”

“It’s really okay La…”

The man’s fingers graze the green hospital scrubs covering Adam’s right shoulder. That’s all Adam needs. His body suddenly unfurls, arms reach back through the bars and capture the victim’s head. He yanks them back against the bars, leaving him dazed and bleeding. Adam spins to face him as the man starts to crawl away. Nails pierce into the flesh of the man’s ankle as he is dragged toward the cell. His own nails chip off on the concrete as he scrambles for a hold. The momentum comes to an abrupt end when the man’s torso hits the bars. He screams in agony. Adam pulls harder trying to force the body through the small slats between the bars but the body won’t budge. It’s simply too big and awkwardly shaped to fit. He yanks the leg abruptly to the side, bending it laterally away from the man’s body. The knee bends back, there’s a sickening pop as the hip is forced to bend to the side. The ball of the hip dislocates.

Bile rises up in Lawrence’s throat. He turns away from the porthole and takes a few deep breaths. He clamps his eyes closed and tries to focus on the cool of the wall. The man’s screams reverberate through his chest.

Adam leaves the leg and reaches through the bars to grab the man’s arm. The man incoherently begs for his life. Adam wrenches the arm to pull it backwards through the bars. The elbow cracks and the shoulder lurches out of the joint. The man’s screams rise in pitch and volume. Sufficiently disjointed it’s only a small challenge to force the man’s body through the bars. The process breaks several ribs and fractures the wing of his pelvis. Adam wrestles the body into the cell like a dog wrestling a toy, wrenching him back and forth with increasing intensity. The man is still alive, mostly conscious. His body is a twitching tangle of flesh. He groans when his head gets lodged between the bars. Adam twists and pulls but the skull won’t come through. In desperation he finally reaches through the bars to grasp the man’s hair by the scalp. Both hands lift the head up then smash it into the floor, breaking his nose and busting out his front teeth. The man screams again, it’s only a gurgle this time as his sinuses fill with blood. Adam hammers the skull into the concrete again. The scream becomes a low moan. The hard bone of the skull turns into a fleshy pulp as Adam viciously bludgeons him into the concrete. The moaning stops. What remains of the head slides between the bars easily.

He wraps his lips around the thick artery entering the head. The final beats of the man’s heart push blood still red with life into his mouth. He gags on it. He wishes he could drown in it. Adam lowers himself to the floor and laps at the pools of blood. He will get around to the flesh of the body but the blood is the best part. It’s metallic and savory. The thickness of it coats his tongue. A sour aftertaste makes him salivate. Later, he would find thick globs of clotted blood hidden in the veins and arteries of that flesh. He would pick them out like fat grub worms and savor them like escargot.

Satiated, Adam sits back on his heels. His eyes flutter closed. The silence of the room lets him hear the heartbeats of the apprentices again. He tilts his head in their direction. Sharp eyes scan the wall for any defect, eventually meeting Hoffman’s eyes through the porthole. Thin lips pull back over teeth dripping with drool and gore.

Back upstairs in the warehouse the three apprentices sit down to talk. Amanda and Hoffman wait as Lawrence ponders the issue. There’s a heavy silence in the room. Lawrence fiddles with his cane.

“So…what’s wrong with him?” Hoffman finally breaks the silence.

“I don’t know.” Lawrence shakes his head.

There’s a long moment of silence.

“What do we do?” Hoffman is impatient.

“I don’t know.” Lawrence rests his head in his hands. “We can’t leave him down there.”

“Sure we can. Why can’t we?” Hoffman huffs.

“That chain isn’t going to hold him forever.” Amanda cuts in quietly. “We need to put him someplace more secure.”

“Right.” Lawrence agrees.

“He’s changing.” Amanda says distantly. “He didn’t have those teeth before.”

Lawrence nods. “He’s getting stronger. Every time we feed him…he changes.”

“Well then let’s stop feeding him.” Hoffman is resolute. “Problem solved. We just starve him to death.”

“If he could die by starvation he would’ve by now.” Amanda huffs, losing her patience. “Besides, he can’t stay in there. We have work to do and him being there is derailing the mission.”

Hoffman frowns, he couldn’t deny that Amanda was right in that regard.

“We need to move him. We have…cages.” Amanda suggests.

“We can’t put him in a cage.” Lawrence lifts his head in exasperation.

“Did you see the way he ate that roadkill?” Hoffman argues. “I think a cage is where that thing belongs.”

“He’s not dangerous.”

“He’s eating people down there! He’s killed two people with his bare hands. Actually, three if you count Zepp.”

“We can help him.”

“You don’t even know that he’s still in there. That thing could just be wearing his skin.”

“He’s in there. I recognize his eyes.”

“Oh my god.” Hoffman leans back in his chair in frustration, covering his face with his hands. “You don’t even know him!”

“Yes I do!”

“No you don’t! You were in that bathroom for 6 hours and he did nothing but lie to you! And you ate up every word!”

“Fuck you!”

“Okay, okay.” Amanda cuts in. “Lawrence, I think you’re being…sentimental. Hoffman is, unfortunately, right. We don’t know if that’s actually Adam.”

“It’s him.”

“Okay but the only way to know for sure, is to get him out of there, and watch him. Can we all agree on that?”

The two men nod.

“Okay. Now how do we move him?”

“He’ll follow me if I ask him.” Lawrence insists.

“You’re fucking delusional, you know that?” Hoffman hisses. “We hit him with a tranquilizer gun.”

“Don’t do that!” Lawrence stands, enraged. “You’ll kill him!”

“Didn’t we just say he can’t die?”

“We said he can’t starve to death.” Amanda huffs. She thinks for a moment. “Okay. Let’s…put him in a box, in a crate, and move him that way. We have lots of crates that would fit him.”

“I’m bringing a tranquilizer gun.” Hoffman interjects.

“I think that’s fine.”

Lawrence glares at them.

“It’s just as a back up plan, Lawrence. We’ll try not to hurt him.” Amanda soothes. She’s concerned that any weakness in their plan could be exploited by the creature. It was unclear how intelligent it was, but she felt it was safe to assume that it had at least average intelligence.

With the plan more or less decided the apprentices begin to make preparations. A cell was set up in a testing room with extensive camera monitoring. Lawrence had protested the idea of using a cell, but finally compromised when a comfortable bed with nice sheets and blankets was provided. Hoffman had protested the expense of the sheets but finally compromised when they agreed to transport the creature in a heavy wooden crate that would be nailed shut.

Finally, the day came. The door is opened but no sound comes from inside. The creature has returned to hiding in its bathtub nest. It didn’t respond to the sound of the door opening. Is it sleeping? Amanda wonders, more curious about what Adam had become than scared. Dormant maybe? Is it capable of sleep? Or something like it?

Hoffman and Amanda push the heavy box into the center of the room. Lawrence holds the flashlight. The scraping sound of the box felt like it was splitting Adam’s head in two. The noise was unbearably loud. He grits his teeth together at the sounds of each splinter breaking off against the tile. Now stirred, he perches on the edge of the bathtub. Amanda jumps when she turns and sees him. She slowly backs away as if she has encountered a wild animal. Adam watches impassively.

“You’re awake.” She starts, unsure of what else to say.

Adam says nothing. He blinks slowly. Thin, dry eyelids stretch over his bloodshot globes. He listens to their heartbeats and tries to determine which rhythm comes from each. It’s too difficult. He’s tired, and hungry. Always hungry.

Lawrence steps forward as Hoffman backs up to the door. Adam’s eyes move to rest on Lawrence as he gets within the radius of the chain that binds him.

“Hey.” Lawrence says quietly. His voice is low but quivers as he speaks, betraying his emotion at seeing Adam again.

“Hey.” Adam’s voice is hoarse, its sound is more similar to the breeze passing through bare branches than a human voice.

“We want to help you.” Lawrence edges a little more forward.

“We?” Adam glances past Lawrence to Hoffman and Amanda. “You and the ones who did this to me.”

“We just want to help, Adam.”

“Is that what you call this? Help?”

“Please. If you just let us move you we can help figure this all out.”

“You’re lying. All you ever did to me was lie. I believed you, now look at me.”

“I’m sorry. I want to help.”

Adam tilts his head. The vessels under his skin appear black in the shadows cast by the flashlight. He stands and takes a step towards Lawrence. Hoffman lifts the tranquilizer gun to his shoulder, attempting to get a clear shot.

“You want to help me?” Adam’s voice is quiet, weak again. “Take this thing off of me.” He points down to his ankle.

Lawrence hesitates before reaching a hand out to Amanda. “Give me the key.”

“Lawrence…” Amanda’s voice is unsure.

“Just give it to me. It’s okay.”

“Gordon, this is a bad idea.” Hoffman hisses from behind.

Amanda tosses the key to Lawrence. He steps forward. Adam doesn’t move. Up close, Adam’s appearance was even more disturbing. His dry, cracked lips were now spread over rows of thick, pointed teeth, their tips peaked out under the peeling flesh. The strips of dead skin there reminded him of peeling wallpaper in a long abandoned house. The rest of the skin had taken on the pale green of death and was too thin to obscure the veins and arteries underneath. Even standing this close Lawrence was unable to detect any motion of his chest that might indicate breathing. He just didn’t seem real.

Lawrence kneels to the floor. Adam follows suit, lowering himself down to the doctor’s level. Lawrence fumbles the key in the lock, his hands shaking.

“Steady, doctor.” Adam’s voice is dry.

Lawrence unlatches the lock and pulls apart the shackle. He barely heard the crack of the metal on the tile floor before he felt Adam’s hands against his throat. Adam pulls the doctor back against his chest, one hand holding him down, the other crushing his throat. Lawrence chokes, he flails but is unable to loosen Adam’s grasp. For a brief moment he marvels at the creature’s strength. He gasps for air. Hoffman takes aim and takes a few strides forward, but his shot is blocked by Lawrence’s body. Adam was using him as a human shield.

“Let him go!” Hoffman yells.

“Put down your weapon.” Adam hisses.

“You first.”

Adam laughs, it’s a wheezing sound. “I’m not falling for that one.”

“Hoffman, put down the weapon.” Amanda hisses through gritted teeth.

“Not a chance.” Hoffman holds steady for a clear shot.

“I’ll kill him.” This was not an empty threat. Adam’s hands tighten around Lawrence’s throat. Lawrence gasps and tries to pry Adam’s hands away. They felt like a cold metal vice grip. Lawrence’s face begins to turn a dull purple as he runs out of oxygen.

“Be my guest.” Hoffman challenges.

“As you wish.” Adam digs his nails into the flesh of Lawrence’s neck, but before he breaks the skin, Amanda takes action. She pulls a pocket knife from her back pocket and lances the tender flesh of her inner forearm. Blood bursts from the vessels in her skin and drips down her arm, off her fingers, and onto the floor.

Adam smells it before he hears it. The rich, sharp smell of blood. An overaged wine boiled down into a thick fruit compote. He drools, copious mucous dribbles over his teeth and across his lips before coalescing into thick strings that begin soaking Lawrence’s shoulder. The sound of the first drop hitting the floor was almost unbearable. He wants to rush to lick the precious spot off the floor. He wants to lick every inch of Amanda’s arms looking for the sweet source of it. He needs to feed. He’s not just a hungry man, he’s a starving man.

Now that she has his full attention Amanda uses the blade to waft the scent of blood over to him. The drooling increases. There’s an angry sound from inside his body. He’s more desperate now.

Amanda holds out her arm, still bleeding, to him. “Aren’t you hungry? You want some of this?”

Adam nods, his expression is more animal than human. His thick drool covers and soaks Lawrence’s shirt. Adam swallows. “Bring it closer.”

“I’ll let you have a little taste if you let him go.”

“Are you fucking crazy?” Hoffman hisses behind her.

She inches slightly toward Adam. “Let him go and you can have a taste.”

Adam shifts. His grip around Lawrence’s neck loosens slightly, Lawrence gasps for air. Adam sucks in a shaky breath. “Closer.” He exhales. “Closer.”

Amanda moves slowly, carefully towards Adam. When she’s within arms length Adam pushes the doctor aside and lunges for her arm. Lawrence collapses against the floor, coughing and gasping. Adam’s mouth is over the oozing wound in Amanda’s arm before she can even recoil. His fingers form an iron grip around her arm. They feel cold and lifeless, but so strong. Rigor mortis, the thought bubbles up from somewhere at the back of her mind. Adam laps at the wound, his tongue desperately seeking the crimson food he needed. His body shudders with delight. His tongue probes the laceration, pushing tissue aside, hunting for the pulsing vessel of his desire.

The feeling of his tongue on her exposed muscles bundles made Amanda’s arm light up with electrical heat. Nerves firing, overwhelming her. It takes a breath before she remembers what she needs to do. With Adam nursing at her wound she steps toward the box. He gives a low growl but follows along instead of trying to stop her. Encouraged, she makes her way, inch by inch, to the wooden crate. Adam follows like a starving animal being drawn along with bits of food. His tongue pushes deep into the wound, there wasn’t enough blood. His teeth begin to tear at the skin and muscles, desperate for more sustenance. She slowly backs him into the crate, resisting the urge to try to rip her hand away.

As he is backed into the crate Adam makes a low growl. He’s catching on, Amanda begins to panic. Hoffman appears next to the crate. He grasps the lid and nods to Amanda. She gathers all her strength then rips her hand away as Hoffman slams the lid shut. They’re slightly too slow.

Amanda screams as Adam’s hand grasps her wrist. His arm protrudes through the crate at the crack between the box and the lid. Hoffman leans against the lid with all his weight struggling to keep it closed. Lawrence rushes to Hoffman’s side and takes over holding the lid down. Hoffman runs to the door to get the tools he needs. Adam drags Amanda closer to the opening of the crate. She screams louder.

“Fuck! He’s got me! He’s got me!” She sobs.

Lawrence cries as he tries to force the lid down with more force but Adam doesn’t budge. He keeps his iron hold on Amanda’s wrist, not willing to let go of his next meal. He tries to reach through with his second hand. It grasps wildly at the empty air. Hoffman appears again. He has a power tool in his hand. He presses the end against Adam’s forearm and pulls the trigger. There’s a loud CLACK. Adam screams and withdraws his arm, releasing Amanda’s arm. The lid of the crate slams shut. Amanda falls back against the floor and clutches her wound, crying. Hoffman turns the nail gun to the crate and nails the lid of the crate closed.