Blood Ties: Chpt.2

                   Run. Faster, quicker, harder. Lungs pounding, legs and arms burning. Move, move, move. Walls of buildings blur by, pedestrians scramble to get out of her way. Slowly he closes the distance, inch by inch. Hands reach out. Jerked to a stop her feet fly out from under her and arch upward as if trying to run into the sky. His arms encircle her, she fights and tries to pull his grip apart, but he's too strong, she only becomes more immobile. Her head tips back and she looks into his deep blue eyes, laughing, once again she kisses him. Her life is perfect, all is right. He returns the kiss tenfold, knowing she carries their child. For now, all is bliss. Together they make their way back to her apartment. They will tell her parents tonight.



O O O



         Jacob placed his pistol back into its shoulder holster. Grabbing the sniper's boots and ankles he hauled him to the backside of the roof. Looking down he spotted the open dumpster. Pitching the body over the side he watched as it fell and landed in the dumpster. Dropping the rifle after the body Jacob listened to see if Jennifer was coming.

         She wasn't. She must have left directly after hearing the shot. Slowly he sighed to himself.          

         "Bitch probably wouldn't have come if I had painted a sign advertising myself." He slowly thought about what to do next. The only reason he had killed the sniper was because he thought Jennifer would come running to investigate. He stared down from the roof and decided his plan of attack. He jumped from the building, landing in a half-crouched position.

         His knees flared, the pain hit him like all those years ago when he'd been shot, not that any guns could harm him now, he thought wryly. He still mentally reminded himself to look before leaping. Normally a jump from that height would break a persons legs, but Jacob wasn't normal. And he reveled in that fact. Standing up amid the broken asphalt he straightened his black trench coat. The light of a nearby street lamp reflected off his short brown crew cut hair.

         Sniffing the air he scented for where Jennifer had gone. Slowly reaching into his right coat pocket he removed his cell phone and placed a call.

         "She left. Yes. I'm sure. I don't give a fuck. He was expendable. Go west. Tribeca. Yes, she's heading back. Leave her alone. Monitor only. I don't give a fuck in hell what Jakowski said. You follow my fucking orders! MINE!"

         Placing the phone back in his pocket he sighed again. 'Ordering numb-fucks can be a real fucking pain,' he thought to himself. He began to leisurely walk in the direction Jennifer had gone. He had unfinished business with her. 'Just as long as Jakowski doesn't move it'll be fine.' He hoped. He could no longer trust Jakowski. He would have to put him on permanent displacement by morning.

         Whistling a tune he had first heard in childhood Jacob followed Jennifer's scent. The casual passerby would have thought he was a man out for a walk whilst lost in thought. Jacob was anything but that assumption. His mind was alert, eyes darting behind his dark tinted glasses, nose twitching at any scent that mingled with Jennifer's.

         Putting his current business out of mind for a while he walked and looked for a fresh person to drain. He found one. A young girl was huddling next to a large crate in the back of an alleyway. He slowly walked up to her, trying to present the image of a man just trying to help someone. As he walked he sized up the quarry. She was young, maybe 16 years old, tall for her age, bright blonde hair, and brown eyes. Her expression and eyes conveyed fear for her life. Jacob's eyes conveyed loving tenderness. And that did it. She had locked eyes with him.

And she was his.





O O O



         Mind in turmoil Jennifer began to hunt. She had heard the shot next to her safe house and had left quickly after that. Jennifer did not want to end up with a hole in her head, she wasn't sure she would survive that, despite her accelerated healing factor. She began to calm herself down, slowing her breathing, relaxing her posture, and focusing her mind on the task ahead. In order to create the amount of vampires needed to quarantine the island Jennifer knew she would need to kill at least five more every night for a week at most.

         'The most I can create will be 40, they should start really spreading by the third night, plus as long as I move throughout the state I can keep the government and those other idiots guessing where I'll strike next.'

         Jennifer silently walked down past the slums and into the area of the city where most of the parking garages where. Although the death rates were so high in this part of the city many still parked here during work hours and made the arduous journey back to their cars after dark to get home. Jennifer was counting on finding a number of fresh bodies this night.

         She reached the base of the garage. Empty parking lots surrounded the building and large corporate offices stood a block away.

         Her body tensed, she could hear the slight rotations of a HI-S Feed Camera, after thirty years of these nuisances, she had gotten remarkably well at noticing them. To a normal human, the world around her was darkness, to Jennifer however, the world was bright twilight. After only a few moments of searching she found the cameras. They were spread a fair distance, and Jennifer used this to her advantage as she calculated where she needed to be to avoid them. In a matter of minutes she made it to the top garage floor. 10 mixed vehicles were parked. Jennifer knew that she could only stay for an hour, so she hoped someone would come along soon. Her watch read 8:12pm.

         Slowly Jennifer tensed. The lower level lights had turned on, and slowly the other lights blinked into existence. Jennifer was positioned on the 7th level of the garage. Against Jennifer's doubts the person returning to their car was headed straight towards her.

         Lilacs, that was she first smelled. Her olfactory senses converted the actual pheromones into a recognizable smell. Jennifer began to notice accompanying scents, markers for age, gender, health, even height and weight. The scents of the woman's body opened a door for Jennifer, she could create a slight mental picture of the woman's state of mind. Unbeknownst to the woman, the mere act of retrieving her car had turned her into a target.

         Jennifer moved to the wall next to the stairwell entrance. Once there she waited for her quarry to appear. As she walked past, Jennifer moved behind and wrapped her arm around the woman's neck. Squeezing tightly she had the woman unconscious in less than twenty seconds.

         The woman was tall, she probably had lots of problems in small places, which Jennifer related to. She had deep brown hair and hazel eyes. The way her face was structured, Jennifer guessed the woman had Nordic blood in her. She was clothed in a knee length gray skirt and matching shirt. She had neither jewelry nor makeup. Jennifer's eyes regarded the woman as merely attractive, probably someone who wasn't the boss' secretary.

         Jennifer pulled the woman over into her lap as the lower level lights began to turn off.          Pulling the shirt collar away from the woman Jennifer prepared to bite. As she lowered her lips to the woman's flesh, Jennifer began to think about who this person might be. Could she be a single mother, a devoted wife, or merely single? What kind of life was Jennifer destroying? And, more importantly, how would she lead her new life?

          With cold calculated thinking Jennifer decided she didn't care. Whatever she was leaving, this woman would now serve Jennifer's purposes.

         Teeth punctured flesh and Jennifer drank greedily.

         She was drained before Jennifer even felt full. After she had finished, Jennifer bit into her own wrist, easily slicing open the flesh with her razor sharp incisors. Blood began to run down her hand. Jennifer held the bitten wrist to the woman's mouth, until the woman regained consciousness and began to suck at the wound. If Jennifer just bit a victim, without ensuring their death, they would change, but it took longer. This sped up the process, in less than four hours, the woman would be turned. Jennifer allowed the woman to drink heavily; the feel of blood draining out of her veins was pulling her into deep ecstasy and pain. The ecstasy almost brought her to climax, the pain brought her away from it.

         After a time that seemed to be forever Jennifer removed her wrist from the woman's lips. The woman moaned softly at having such good sustenance taken from her. Jennifer rolled the woman off of her lap and onto the cold concrete. Jennifer stood, tired and in pain. Although she had known what this would cost her each night, she was still amazed at the pain that it induced.

         A mortal would feel extreme pain as their blood was drained, but due to her heightened abilities and sensitive nerves, which included all the pathways from her nerves to her brain, Jennifer felt the pain much more severely. Each time she had allowed herself to be drained she had come out of it hurting and in extreme exhaustion. This was the time she was most vulnerable.

         Leaving the woman to her new fate Jennifer made her way sluggishly down to the bottom floor. Her body was still absorbing the blood she had taken from the woman. She needed a safe spot to hide until her strength was back up.

         "One down and four to go."



O O O



         He stroked her hair, reveling in her beauty and the life she would soon bring into the world. Pain had brought him to her; pain would bring them to their child. She knew this. And she didn't care. She loved him and their unborn child. It showed. They were young. But that didn't matter. First their love had sprouted and now it was a thriving flower. Slowly the car pulled up to the apartment. As always he got out first and opened her door to help her out. She could see the anticipation in his eyes.



O O O



         Jacob walked up the deserted street. The curfews were working, and the quarantine was removing potential homeless targets from the street. His team was scattered around the garage that Jennifer was inside. The team included 1 old race vampires, 1 new race, and 4 mortals. The vampires provided logistics and support, the mortals were foot soldiers and cannon fodder. Demitri, the old race vampire, was beginning to smell fresh blood and a newborn vamp. Logan, the new race, was busy tracking Jennifer and ordering the mortals around. Jacob was just fine with letting them run the show for now. It gave him more time for his thoughts, and those were mostly occupied with Jakowski.

         The man was a loose cannon, liable to do whatever he pleased to meet his own ends. And although Jacob was practically the same, Jacob had the drive to kill his competition, whereas Jakowski would wait for competition to take care of itself. And Jacob had no plans of doing that. What he did have plans for was capturing Jennifer and removing Jakowski.

         And Jennifer was the key he needed. Her genes and DNA would allow Jacob to finish his plan, and the U.S. Government would be happy to apply it to their "research" for him. However the only way to get at it was to capture her and harvest the gene. Whatever mutagen had created her had allowed this new breed, of which he was a member, to thrive and drive the old race to near extinction. That was why Demitri was willing to help, just as long as his people got a piece of the world after it was carved up.

         Jacob let his mind wander, going back to the first time he had heard of Jennifer. Back then she had been treated as a myth, the creator of an entire species, all unbeknownst to her. More had happened in her first 48 hours of new life than she could imagine. And if all went according to Jacob's plan, she would never know what she had done.



O O O



         They were elated. She hadn't expected them to be so receptive, she was only 19. But they were okay with the pregnancy and proposed marriage, and she had already changed her last name. They could tell he would be a good husband for her. Her parents insisted that they stay the night, the drive would take them too long, and her parents were worried about accidents. So to please them she had accepted. Her parents lent them the spare bedroom. As she lay down next to him she began to wonder of their future. She began to question if she had done the right thing. She was young and had a full life left ahead of her. Was she willing to sacrifice it for her child? She arrived at a quick conclusion: she didn't care. As long as she had him and their child she would make it through everything. As she slowly fell asleep, her final thought was about how handsome he looked lying next to her.

         The night wore on. Slowly he stirred. Moving quietly through the shadows he unlocked the front door. They came in.

         She awakened with a start.



O O O



         Deep beneath Cheyenne Military Base in the northwest corner of Idaho, the U.S. Special Directives Section 1 Team Leaders were meeting. A secretary passed around a thick report mixed with detailed photos profiling the recent project. Major General Whistler stood to address the attendees.

         "Project Alpha-K1 was a failure. The DNA substructures were unable to bond to the host subjects. The subjects died early this morning. However, I believe we cannot take this as the end, we must see this as the first step on a long road. When Jacob and his team return with the blood and DNA samples we will be able to perfect the procedure." Whistler sat back down to let the others have their say, and readied himself for their questions.

         Jonathan Acciords, a young man in military dress uniform bearing the ribbon of Veteran of the Battle of Washington and rank of a full bird Colonel, stood up. He addressed those around him, "The DNA substructure that was applied, if I am correct Major General, was that of a F. Catus Anura. The female subjects began subtle mutations before flat lining. It is clear in these pictures that the mutations were merely appearance related, the ears pointed, face restructuring, slight increase in length of nails. Despite this you had said the first mutations would be mental and physical. You also said that these mutations would signal success. So what I want to know is why did they flat line after you assured us they would not?"

         The question had been directed at Whistler, and he knew that whatever he said Acciords would just shoot it down. Acciords wanted results quickly, something Whistler could not give him currently.

         The photos in the report were of both male and female subjects; the females had begun to change in appearance only. Mental status and physical strength had not changed. The males on the other hand hadn't mutated at all, but had still flat lined with the females at around the same time. Acciords hadn't asked about the male subjects for a reason, and Whistler did not want to know why.

         "I believe," Whistler started, "that the deaths were an anomaly. We have not fully mapped the substructure proteins, and because of that the hosts were not screened to the fullest extent. As I said, when Jacob-"

         "General," Acciords cut in, "I do not want to hear about Jacob, I want an answer as to why they died when you told me they wouldn't. I will not continue funding to this so-called super-soldier project if all these subjects die on your watch. I have funneled too much money to a program that promises hybrid soldiers that will fight effectively but only puts out half mutations in fucking body bags! This is my money, and my authority! Get me fucking results within a month or I will personally see to it that you are subjected to the same god damned experiments!"          

Slowly a young man wearing black pants and black trench coat stood up and began talking.

"First, I would like to say that Jacob will fail. He fucks everything up. Secondly, I still have no reason to help you Jonathan. And because of that, I could very easily break your little neck right now. But I won't because I want to see Jennifer. Unless you bring her in alive and fully unharmed I will leave this contract and pull out all new vamps. You're human. And I love Jennifer. So unless you convince me that this is all worth it, things will get very unpleasant, very quickly. So think about that before you berate someone on this team." The man sat down again, his face an emotionless mask.

         Acciords sat down with a sullen look on his face. He had been put in his place but his rage would not dissipate for a while yet. Whistler knew this was not the right time to talk again. So he decided to let someone else face Acciords.

         The scientist next to him stood. "The second round of subjects will be entirely female. The female DNA structure is more receptive to mutations, our research indicates that because female is the human starting gender, it is more shapable to later mutations," he nervously scratched at his shirt collar, "F. Catus Anura still seems to be the most malleable DNA, again our research indicates that the reason lies in the chromosomes, and so we will continue to use it. The only foreseeable problem lies in the fact we cannot fully mold the host body to the restructured Catus DNA.  However after we studied the EVR," (Elder Vampiric Race), "DNA we found many breaks that were filled with unknown proteins, and an offset number of chromosomes. If studies of the Source, a.k.a. Jennifer Jakowski, reveal this same structure we will implement it into the mutations."

         The tension mounted in the conference room as Acciords began eyeing the man as if he would tear off his head. The scientist sat down just as quickly as he had stood up.

         Acciords stood up once again, "I want a new status report on the next group in 37 hundred hours. Dismissed," he paused. "And General, this time I expect results."



O O O



         She could hear voices, they were arguing. Not her parents, the voices were much too deep. Thomas was no longer in their bed. She got up and walked to the door to listen. She could discern Thomas's voice. He was arguing with someone. Creeping into the hall she could only hope not to step on a creaky board and alert them. She gritted her teeth and repeated a mantra of, 'I am not scared, I am not, '. But the truth was that she felt terrified. Thomas hadn't told her about any associates, and the fact that he had let them into her parent's home frightened her beyond anything she had felt before.



O O O



         "Mutations are inherent in large populations. When each individual of a species fights to survive those with favorable mutations prosper to spread their unique genes and DNA. Those unable to survive cannot spread inferior genes. Now, humanity has not evolved in a very long time. We live in a world that keeps all offspring, or as much as it can, so survival of the fittest cannot reign. Think back to the last time that you had to kill for your food. You never have. We have buildings stocked with food. Instead of spending your time hunting, you listen to music, or watch a vid-play. We have no reason to hunt for food or survival so we get stagnation.

         "The same genes are switched around repeatedly. Genes that would, through natural selection and survival of the fittest, fall out and be removed are instead passed on to more generations because everyone lives in this society. We have stagnated in this societal pool for so long that the only mutations that arise are harmful. Cancer is 31% more prevalent than it was 10 years ago. Auto-Immune diseases are killing children before they are teens. Our species is destroying itself with rampant genetic crossovers. The Disaster killed us! They killed us! But God has bestowed upon me a Vision! A Vision of the Glorious Revelation!

"God has shown me the way to save our race and restore humanity to its former glory. If you wish to participate in the Glorious Revelation, you must board the M-Transport Shuttle before 6pm tomorrow. If you come, I will share the revelation with you! Thank you, and may God have mercy on their souls."

         James Decallo's short squat figure stepped down from the podium in the Manhattan State Science Exhibitory and Exploratory Center amid avid applause. Jennifer sighted his head in her crosshairs. With a smooth tug of the trigger Decallo's bald and pealing head exploded into tiny bloody fragments. Dropping the 55cal military grade sniper rifle at her feet she ran to the edge of the roof and jumped. Her view into the windowed lobby had been perfect, and reflecting on her work she was certain this would bring Manhattan closer to chaos.

         Jennifer hit the ground in a crouch, asphalt crackling around her in uneven splinters. Standing up to run her mind took the back seat as she let her muscles move her out of the immediate area. She had turned 5 mortals and then had gotten restless. Although the increased vampire population would create chaos, good assassinations of essential political and religious leaders would increase the descent to madness.

         So Jennifer had made a stop at one of her arms caches and followed the night crowd.

The pseudo-scientific-religion Decallo had inspired had grown quickly; exploding in membership after the Newark Disaster in 2019.

         In reality, the Disaster had begun 60 years ago. In the early days of atomic testing, waste nuclear by-products needed to be stored somewhere. But at that time, not much was known about how harmful radiation was. So, the government built a bunker underneath Newark, NJ. The bunker ran from the northernmost tip to the southern most tip of the city. The width was half that. It was built 900 yards under the city, and most officials involved with the project thought that was a safe distance. The bunker was filled and the man spearheading the project, James Anarri, died of heart disease. When he died the files on the project were stored in a military warehouse.

Cancer, miscarriages, and unnatural births became prevalent and climaxed in 2018. At this time a government agent who was also involved in Green Peace found and released the project files, exposing the world to the Newark Disaster. Full-scale riots had followed; Newark was evacuated and abandoned. The nuclear waste was stored on rockets and jettisoned into unoccupied space. However the damage was already done. Mutates were born, long-lived strains of humans with physical deformities. Most people around Newark wanted to find a way to fix the problem. That's where Decallo came in.

         Decallo had been born in a highly radioactive part of Newark. While most of his peers had physical deformities, his IQ reached genius levels when he turned 10. His ability to manipulate people became apparent when he coerced his High School principal to have sex with him. He had excelled and thrived when others had wasted away. He preached induced mutations for the 'saved'. He gave his followers hope that they, and their children, could live.

He had then been quickly labeled as a heretical nutcase by his scientific peers, and had been moved to the FBI's watch list after he had his followers assault a government run test center to steal some virus or another. He was never charged though. But after Jennifer's shot his followers would believe that the FBI had assassinated him, and begin fighting an imaginary enemy, creating pandemonium in the streets for the police.

         Now, as she moved with lightening quickness down narrow streets avoiding police cruisers and pedestrians, Jennifer began to tire as dawn broke the skyline. She peeled back her sleeve, revealing her wristwatch, a paper-thin device with a dial an inch in diameter with a half inch band that wrapped and closed itself on her wrist. The band and dial were clear except for the hands and numbers that glowed iridescent red. The hands informed her it had been 12 hours sine she began hunting last night.

         A short time later Jennifer reached her brick faced safe house. The house was built into a row of small storefronts outside of Tribeca City limits near the slums. With only 1 window in front, and a large oak door protected with a ballistics glass door, the building was inconspicuous enough to server its purpose as Jennifer's refueling station. The inside was stocked with weapons, ammo, armor, and various torture devices. Knowing how to get information from informants had kept her alive when she was younger, now they were gathering dust.

         The biometrics scanner on the first door chimed as Jennifer slid her thumb down it. The door automatically opened up and Jennifer looked into the retinal scanner hidden in the knocker on the oak door. The scanner chimed as it acknowledged her. The door opened inward. Jennifer stepped inside and closed the doors behind her.

         Beep.

         The house exploded outward from its center from the force 12 blocks of water soaked C-9. Slivers of wood punctured through the kevlar of Jennifer's armor. Fire engulfed her body, searing away her protective pants and boiling the skin within. Her eardrums popped, her legs braking like match-sticks as large wood planks came flying at her. The large supporting beams collapsed onto her seemingly lifeless body.

Buildings neighboring the house lost windows in the incredible explosion, and the blast wave turned on car alarms for miles.

         As police sirens came within hearing distance Jacob's team closed in quickly to get ahead of authorities and reach Jennifer before she could begin to heal.

         "Yes, we have her. We'll be in soon. Don't send Jakowski. You can get as many samples as you need. Don't worry, she won't heal quickly from this. Not much. Ok." Jacob placed his phone back in his pocket and smiled. 'Today will be a good day,' he thought to himself.







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If you liked part 2 here's the links to parts 1 & 3

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Part 1

ID: 1570109   (Rated: 18+) Blood Ties: Chpt.1  Jen, a unique vamp, and a sweeping gov. conspiracy. by John Patricks

Part 3

ID: 1578729   (Rated: 18+) Blood Ties: Chpt.3  Past connections revealed, Jennifer is awake and angry. by John Patricks