Cliff’s Descent by Dianne Duvall

Chapter One

Two years later

Cliff listened to the activity in the hallway outside his apartment. Male voices murmured. Boots clomped on the floor as additional guards joined the already large contingent that manned sublevel 5 of network headquarters. Weapons clicked and clacked as guards checked magazines. Rustling sounded as tranquilizer guns slid into holsters.

One might not think all that would be necessary to keep two vampires in check. And on an ordinary day it wouldn’t. But apparently Bastien was bringing in a new vampire he had managed to recruit.

Cliff, Joe, and Vince had been the first vampires in history to essentially surrender to the Immortal Guardians when the latter defeated Bastien. Cliff loved the two-century-old British immortal like a brother. But damn, he was glad Bastien hadn’t won that last horrific battle in the basement of Bastien’s home. He knew his friend wasn’t happy. Seth, the immensely powerful Immortal Guardians leader who had punched Cliff in the face that fateful day, had pretty much forced Bastien into the fold. And neither Bastien nor his new immortal brethren were the least bit thrilled with the situation.

Cliff still held out hope, however, that Bastien would eventually find happiness among their ranks. Particularly now that Bastien had clearly developed feelings for Melanie Lipton, one of the doctors Cliff worked with on a daily basis.

Seth had delivered on his promises. Or most of them anyway. Cliff, Vince, and Joe had not been thrust into jail cells. They had been given very nice apartments at the headquarters of the East Coast division of the human network that aided Immortal Guardians.

Cliff glanced around. He wouldn’t have been able to afford anything so ritzy before his transformation. His apartment rocked. But he had not been allowed to leave sublevel 5 once since his arrival. And no matter how nice the premises were, they hadn’t alleviated the difficulty of going two years without setting foot outside.

True to Seth’s words, researchers here at the network toiled pretty much night and day, searching for a cure for the virus or a way to keep humans infected with it from going mad. Alas, they had not yet succeeded. And Vince had not been able to hold on.

Sadness struck at the memory of the friend he’d lost the previous year.

At least Vince had chosen his own end, one far more honorable than embracing the madness and inflicting untold horrors upon random, unsuspecting victims.

Cliff was beginning to fear he and Joe would suffer the same fate.

Joe wasn’t doing well. Even though he hadn’t been infected with the virus as long as Cliff, Joe had had a number of psychotic breaks in recent months and had begun to rant maniacally in his apartment.

Kinda like he was doing now.

“Don’t let them take you! Get out while you can!” he bellowed in the apartment next door.

Cliff winced, his enhanced hearing allowing him to hear every word despite the heavy titanium-and-concrete-reinforced walls that separated them.

“Run! They’re lying! If you let them take you, they’ll steal your thoughts! They’ll steal your memories! Big fucking chunks of them! And they’ll plant new ones! They’ll brainwash you! They’ll brainwash you the way they have me! They’ll make you think it’s you! That you’re fucked up in the head! But it’s them! It’s always been them!”

Cliff’s stomach churned. Joe was getting worse. The madness that seeped into him bore a heavy dose of paranoia. In his lucid moments, Joe knew Melanie and Linda and the other doctors here at the network were trying to help him. He even felt great affection for the former. Neither woman had ever treated the vampires like monsters. Though they must have been nervous as hell—if not downright terrified—the first time they met Cliff and the others, Melanie and Linda had shown them only kindness… even while combating violent outbursts.

Could network headquarters sometimes feel like a prison? Yes. Cliff missed having the freedom to come and go whenever he liked. He missed fresh air. And moonlight. Feeling a breeze on his face. Hearing the crickets chirp. But he would willfully surrender all of that again and again to keep from harming men, women, and children whose only offense would be crossing his path. He didn’t want to brutalize and butcher people the way he’d seen vampires consumed by madness do. Or vampires who weren’t consumed by madness but simply got off on the strength vampirism gave them.

Joe felt the same way Cliff did. In his lucid moments.

But he wasn’t lucid now.

Cliff heard Melanie talking to Chris Reordon, the head honcho at the network, out in the hallway. Crossing to the coffee table, Cliff snagged a pen and a piece of paper, then scribbled a quick note.

YOU NEED TO SEDATE JOE. HE’S RANTING AGAIN. AND IF THE NEW VAMPIRE HEARS SOME OF THE THINGS JOE IS SAYING, I GUARANTEE YOU HE’LL BOLT.

As soon as he finished, he folded the paper and moved to stand beside the door to his apartment.

Though the network had done a nice job coating the door with a thin sheet of wood, it didn’t change the fact that the damn thing was as thick and heavy as the door on a bank vault. So were the walls. Chris Reordon left nothing to chance, so he’d made damned sure any vampires housed here couldn’t break or tunnel their way out.

Cliff listened to the conversations that filled the busy hallway beyond. Carefully timing the delivery of his message so it would miss Chris Reordon and attract the notice of Dr. Melanie and Dr. Linda, he slipped the piece of paper under the door.

A few seconds later, paper rattled.

“What is it?” Linda asked. A moment passed. “I’ll take care of it.”

“Thanks,” Melanie said.

If the two said anything else, they did so with sign language, having learned it shortly after the vampires’ arrival so they could converse without the vamps listening in.

Cliff paced his apartment. Joe might rant and have violent breaks on occasion, but even when the voices he heard were at their loudest, he didn’t direct his aggression toward the women.

At least he hadn’t yet.

A knock sounded on the door to Joe’s apartment.

Joe quieted.

Cliff tensed.

A clunk sounded.

“Knock, knock,” Linda called cheerfully. “Hi, Joe. Can I come in?” The door clunked shut.

“What’s that?” Joe asked, a reserved tone tinged with a hint of suspicion replacing his shouts.

“I think I’ve finally perfected my praline recipe. But just to be sure… I was hoping you’d taste them again for me and tell me what you think. Your taste buds are so much more sensitive than mine. If anyone can tell me what I did or didn’t do right, it’s you.”

Silence fell… and stretched long enough to worry Cliff.

“Did you use less vanilla this time?” Joe asked slowly, haltingly, as he struggled to achieve lucidity and beat back the voices.

“I did,” Linda said, a smile in her voice.

“Okay.” A rustle sounded, followed by crunching. “Mmm. These are good.”

Cliff relaxed.

“You really think so?”

“Mm-hmm.”

“Anything else you think I should change?”

“No,” Joe responded, sounding a little more like his usual self. “I think you nailed it this time.”

“Thank you!”

More rustling ensued that Cliff suspected resulted from Linda giving Joe a hug.

Damn, he loved that woman.

He loved both women. Melanie and Linda were the perfect combination of sweet and ballsy.

“You seem a little tense,” Linda said, concern entering her voice.

Joe’s crunching slowed.

“Do you want me to give you something to take the edge off?”

More silence. Then… “Yeah. I think… I think maybe you should.”

And there was just something about the women that touched the vampires so deeply that Melanie and Linda were always able to reach them even when the vamps were at their most unstable, their most violent. When Vince had been in the grips of his last psychotic break, he had attacked pretty much everyone within reach except Melanie and Linda.

Cliff sank down on his sofa. He hoped like hell the same would be true when he started to have psychotic breaks. Because he would rather die than harm those he cared about.

Linda stayed with Joe until the sedative she administered banished the voices and eradicated for a time the paranoia that plagued him. Then she returned to the infirmary to continue her research, leaving the pralines behind for Joe to enjoy.

Sublevel 5 quieted.

In her office across the hall, Melanie suddenly gasped. “I see why Seth calls ahead to warn Sarah.”

“Sorry it took so long,” Bastien said.

Richart must have teleported him in. Damn, Cliff envied him that gift.

“Did something happen?”

Richart answered. “There were other vamps at the rendezvous site.”

“Pissing on my property,” Bastien grumbled.

Cliff frowned, angry on Bastien’s behalf. The Immortal Guardians might have demolished Bastien’s farmhouse and the tunnels beneath it, but it was still his place. He hoped Bastien kicked their asses.

“I didn’t know ’em,” a new voice blurted. “They just happened to be there, checking out Bastien’s legendary lair.” That must be Stuart, the new vampire.

“Ah,” Melanie said. “I assume you kicked their asses?”

“The madness had progressed too far in all of them,” Bastien told her. “They were beyond our help, so we destroyed them.”

A smile entered her voice. “And enjoyed it a little too much, I’m guessing.”

“Just with the pisser.”

Cliff grinned.

“Dude,” Stuart said, fascination entering his voice, “you’re dating a human? Y’all can do that?”

Melanie must have made some kind of affectionate gesture.

The quiet that followed made Cliff shake his head in amusement. Bastien still couldn’t believe Melanie cared for him and constantly worried about the possible repercussions fraternizing with him might have for her here at the network.

“Yes, we’re dating.” Melanie sounded as though she was trying not to laugh. “And the jury is still out on whether or not it’s acceptable because Bastien has a bit of a checkered past.”

Cliff had to laugh at that. Checkered past was a hell of an understatement.

“I didn’t formally introduce myself the other night,” she continued. “I’m Dr. Melanie Lipton. It’s nice to meet you, Stuart.”

“Yes, ma’am. I’m sorry I cut you.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Cliff knew she didn’t mind the skirmish that had resulted in Stuart wounding her because it had led to her first kiss with Bastien. “Welcome to the network.”

“Thank you.”

“I head the viral research we’re doing here and frequently work with the other vampires. There are two currently in residence—Cliff and Joe.”

“Welcome, Stuart,” Cliff said. He didn’t raise his voice. Vampire hearing was so acute Stuart would have no difficulty hearing him despite the thick walls that separated them. “I’m Cliff. It’ll be nice to have another vampire to hang around with.” Although he hated to admit it, having a vamp around who wasn’t yet battling the madness would help him when his own fight began.

“You’re one of the vampires?” Stuart asked hesitantly.

“Yes. I know you’re probably scared…”

“Is Cliff talking to him?” Melanie murmured.

“Yes,” Bastien said softly.

“I sure as hell was.” Cliff had been terrified he had just handed himself over to people who intended—as Vince had accused—to use him like a lab rat. Particularly after he met Dr. Whetsman. That asshole had refused to work with the vampires unless they were restrained. “But you can relax. Dr. Lipton is great. So are Dr. Machen and some of the others we work with.” Hopefully he wouldn’t meet Whetsman for a while because the man was still a prick. “And you don’t have to constantly be on your guard here, worrying about humans discovering what you are or vampires attacking you or wondering if you’ll find a safe place to rest during the day. You made the right decision.”

“How do I know you’re not an immortal just saying that to get me to drop my guard?” Stuart asked, his tone vacillating between suspicion and hope.

“Well, for one thing, immortals are powerful enough that they don’t need to coax you into letting down your guard,” Cliff responded candidly. “They can overpower you and do whatever it is you think they might do with very little effort. For another, I was one of Bastien’s followers. I surrendered the night of the final battle with the immortals at his lair and have been living here ever since. But you’ll learn all of this and more eventually.”

“What about the other one? Where is he?”

Cliff wasn’t sure how to answer that.

“Where’s Joe?” Bastien asked.

“I think he’s resting,” Melanie answered slowly. Apparently she wasn’t sure how much to say either.

“I’m here,” Joe said, his voice low and emotionless now that the sedative had kicked in. “The virus is fucking with my head today. Listen to Cliff. He isn’t as far gone as I am. I think… I think I’m not seeing things clearly right now. Cliff is.”

Silence fell.

“Can you help us?” Stuart asked, his tone subdued.

“I hope so, Stuart,” Melanie said. “That’s why I’m glad you’re here. The more I learn and the more insight you and other vampires can provide me with, the closer we’ll get to finding a method of preventing the madness.”

“What can I do?”

Relief suffused Cliff.

“For now?” Melanie asked. “If you aren’t averse to it, I’d like to take a small sample of your blood, then we can get you settled in your new apartment.”

“It’s… it’s really an apartment? It’s not a cell?”

Cliff answered swiftly, afraid the query might start Joe ranting again. “This isn’t a prison, Stuart. We live well here. We each have our own apartment with whatever furnishings and electronic gadgets we want, though our phone and internet activity is monitored for safety’s sake.”

“So… I get my own place?”

“Yes,” Melanie said, the smile returning to her voice. “We want you to be comfortable and, more important, happy here.”

“I’ve never had my own apartment before,” Stuart said with a note of awe. “Or my own room. I always had to share… with my brothers or with a dorm mate. Man, I had some sucky dorm mates.”

After living in close proximity with nearly a hundred vampires in various stages of insanity, Cliff could relate.

Melanie laughed. “Well, let’s hurry and do your blood work so you can get settled.”

Bastien and Richart left to continue their night’s hunt. A moment later, Cliff heard beeps as someone typed the security code into the electronic keypad outside his apartment. A clunk sounded; then the door swung inward.

Melanie smiled as she pushed the door open. “Hi, Cliff.”

He rose and circled the sofa to join her. A lanky guy who looked like he couldn’t be more than twenty years old stood behind her. When he peered into Cliff’s apartment, his eyes widened and his jaw dropped.

Cliff smiled. Most of the furniture was brand-new. An impromptu (or not so impromptu) sparring session he and Bastien had engaged in when Bastien tested the stimulant Melanie had developed to counter the tranquilizer mercenaries used on Immortal Guardians had reduced most of his old stuff to splinters. Everything he and Melanie had ordered to replace it was top of the line. Very posh, as Bastien would say.

When he reached them, Cliff offered his hand. “Hi, Stuart. I’m Cliff.”

“Hey,” Stuart murmured distractedly as he shook it. Then he pointed behind Cliff, his finger wagging back and forth. “This is your place?”

“Yeah.”

The younger vamp seemed stunned. “It’s like something out of a movie.”

Cliff laughed. “Like I said, we live well here.”

When Stuart stopped gawking at the apartment, he looked at Melanie and Cliff as if he couldn’t quite believe it all.

Melanie winked up at him. “Want me to pinch you so you know you’re not dreaming?”

That managed to spark a smile. “Maybe.”

She grinned. “I thought you might feel more comfortable in the lab if Cliff came with us. Let’s get that done, then I’ll show you your place.”

Cliff accompanied them and kept up a running conversation with Stuart when his unease returned in the infirmary. He seemed like a good guy. Once Melanie led Stuart to the apartment that would officially be his, all his nervousness evaporated. He didn’t even seem to care that he couldn’t leave the apartment without Melanie or one of the others unlocking his door. He was too jazzed about having his own place… and a roomy one at that.

Cliff shook his head with a smile as he sank down on the sofa in his own apartment afterward. It looked like Stuart was going to be a nice addition to sublevel 5.

He heard Melanie call Bastien on the phone and tuned out whatever they said in case their talk turned amorous. Some things he just really didn’t need to hear.

“Hey, Joe,” he called as he picked up the PlayStation controller. “You up for some gaming?” He felt a little guilty that he hadn’t checked on his friend since Stuart’s arrival.

The pause that followed lasted so long Cliff wondered if perhaps Linda had given Joe a strong enough dose of the tranquilizer to knock him out.

“Sure,” Joe responded finally, sounding exhausted. “Okay.”

Sobering, Cliff grabbed the remote and turned on the big-screen television that graced his wall. He’d asked Melanie to test the tranquilizer on him when she’d developed it. He’d been curious to see if it would calm the anxiety that sometimes gripped him and, at the same time, concerned about testing anything on Joe while he was unstable.

While it had definitely eased the anxiety, he hadn’t liked the sluggish way it left him feeling.

“What do you want to play?” he asked Joe.

“How about—”

A thunderous boom drowned out whatever Joe said. The floor shook so violently the sofa shifted underneath Cliff. Chunks of Sheetrock dropped from the ceiling, exposing the titanium it concealed. Dust and smaller pieces floated down like snow.

“What the hell?”

Another boom followed, seeming to rock the whole building. Framed artwork leaped off Cliff’s walls as he clung to the sofa cushions. Books fell off shelves. Shit tumbled out of his kitchen cabinets and littered the countertops and floor. Then the room plunged into darkness.

Seconds later, dimmer reserve lighting he hadn’t even realized his room possessed flickered on as an alarm began to blare.

Wonk! Wonk! Wonk!

“Code red! Code red!” Chris Reordon shouted over the hallway intercom.

Oh shit. Cliff had been around long enough to witness the drills the network periodically ran. And this one—a code red—meant the network was under attack.