Title: New Blood
Author: Christina A
Fandom: Poltergeist: The Legacy
Pairing: None
Characters: Nick, Derek, Alex, Rachel, and Kristin
Category: Team, Gen, Dark, Drama
Warning: None
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimers: I do not own any of the characters. MGM has that honor.
Author’s Notes: The ‘idea’ for vampires who strike out of a sort of viscious anemia was actually ‘borrowed’ from Blade.
Summary: A new type of vampire has been found in San Francisco, and the team wrestles with not-so-new issues.
*-*-*
New Blood
by Christina A.
“Ok, they asked if I believed in ghosts. What was I supposed to say to that? It was a symposium on the paranormal, after all,” Nick said, glancing at his companions.
“I think ‘yes’ or ‘no’ would have sufficed,” responded the elder man who was moving to the driver’s side door.
“I don’t know. I kinda liked the ‘I’ve been bit by a vampire and possessed by a demon’ response.”
“Thank you, Alex.”
Derek stifled a snort as he opened the car door. “Too much information,” he said, though the two younger people knew he wasn’t as serious as he let on.
“One can never have too much information,” Nick recited. “Some guy told me that.” He opened the door to Derek’s Land Rover and got inside. He missed the raised eyebrows shared by Alex and Derek.
Getting in beside the ex-SEAL, Derek started the car and said, “Well obviously that ‘guy’ didn’t intend for you to share your life experiences at a symposium, did he?”
“Now I didn’t share everything. I didn’t tell them about the possessed magician…”
“Or that soul chaser,” Alex offered.
“Or the Furies, who actually liked me.”
“The succubus did too,” Alex chimed in.
“And then there was…” Nick rambled on, thoroughly enjoying this tidbit of conversation.
As the Land Rover pulled away, all Derek could do was roll his eyes and sigh. It was a long drive back to Angel Island.
*-*-*
Handing out manila folders to his team, Derek said, “Vicious anemia.”
Dr. Rachel Corrigan opened her folder and examined the contents. “Three cases in a month. Prior to that there had been only three in the past ten years.”
“Did you notice they were all homeless?” Nick observed.
Taking notes, Kristin didn’t look up as she added, “Who would notice a few homeless people missing or dead. Let alone care to connect that they all died of the same thing.”
“Yeah,” Alex agreed sadly. “Very disturbing state of affairs. So we think they are murder victims?”
“Vampire attacks,” Kristin filled in.
“I doubt it,” Rachel disagreed. “We’ve been in contact with vampires before. The attacks weren’t like this.”
Derek had listened to all the conversation before he interjected, “We’re dealing with a different species of vampire. A different breed so to speak.”
“Species?” Nick questioned.
Derek nodded. “This vampirism is like a disease.”
Rachel sputtered a moment. “A… a… a disease? You’re saying a blood born disease. So anyone who has the anemia can be a vampire?”
Derek shook his head. “No. That’s not how it works. The process of turning is slower.” He handed them some more literature. “The anemia drives the vampire to consume the blood of other humans. Most victims are killed, not turned. If they are not killed immediately, the victim begins to change. It’s what eventually kills them.”
“And that person is later reborn as a vampire,” Kristin added. “From the looks of this, these vampires are similar in that they are vulnerable to sunlight, religious artifacts, and most likely staking. All these victims were killed at night, under the cover of full darkness. There was a cross, which presumably belonged to one of the victims, but it was bent almost to the point where it was unrecognizable.”
“So we can kill them,” Nick said, “That’s something at least.”
Alex sighed. “They definitely are different than the ones I…”
Nick, Rachel, and Derek looked up from their paperwork, fully understanding her fear.
Kristin, who had not been a part of the group at that time, had no idea what they were talking about so she continued with her observations. “I’ll hazard a guess that killing the leader doesn’t kill them all. To wipe them out, you literally have to do so one vampire at a time.”
“It could be epidemic in proportion by then.”
Putting down his papers, Nick responded, “I don’t think so, Rache. It wouldn’t happen. They wouldn’t perpetuate their species to the point where they’d cause their own extinction. We are still dealing with intelligent beings.”
Derek stood and walked to the window. His team was good, but they’d have to stay sharp for this one.
Alex nodded. “But when the hunger seizes you, you forget you’re human. All you can think about is the feeding.”
Nick shivered almost imperceptibly and then stood to get some water.
“But Nick has a point. Hungry, yes, but not ravenous to the point of insanity.”
“What do you mean, Kristin?” Rachel asked.
“Well, take a look at the victim of choice. Homeless. Probably ill already. What do the autopsy reports tell us?”
Derek spun quickly from the window and sat back down. “Were they ill?”
Rachel sat up straighter as Nick sat back down. “Cancer,” Rachel said. “From the looks of the tissue analysis, they each had cancer. Victim One had liver cancer. Victim Two had kidney cancer. The third was lung. All in different stages.”
“And none able to afford treatment,” Alex added and then it dawned on her. “These vampires know when someone is ill… terminally ill.”
“It makes sense,” Derek finally spoke. “Vampires have heightened senses. Smell included.”
“And they are training dogs to sniff out cancer cells in the human body. If dogs can do it…”
“Hold on a second, Rachel,” Nick interrupted, “Are you saying these vampires only prey on the sick and infirm. C’mon. Do-gooder vampires. No way.”
“Anything is possible,” Rachel defended.
“I don’t believe it. These vamps are performing their own twisted version of natural selection. And I’m sorry, but whether these victims are ill or not, killing is wrong.”
“No one is disagreeing, Nick,” Derek added. “But just maybe we aren’t dealing with pure evil.”
“I doubt that,” Alex interrupted. “I was one, remember.”
The briefing ended there, and Derek handed out assignments for this particular case. It was going to be a bigger challenge than even he could have believed.
*-*-*
Setting his cup of coffee on the dashboard of his car, Nick looked at his partner and sighed. “Graveyard shift.”
“Funny, Nick. Very funny,” Kristin responded. “Perhaps you shouldn’t have volunteered us.”
Nick shrugged. “This is the closest I’ve had to a date since my resurrected evil girlfriend killed my best friend.”
“It is a hazard of the job,” Kristin said as she settled back into the seat. “You really think that a vampire will actually just pop out and try to kill someone while we’re watching. You yourself said we were dealing with intelligent beings. I don’t think it would be smart to kill right now.”
“I just do what the boss says, Kristin. He says watch, and I watch.” He sipped his coffee again. “But I must admit, I’d rather be back at that house watching baseball.”
“Typical. Probably drinking beer and eating popcorn too.”
“Nope.” At her look, he laughed. “Potato chips. They’re greasier.”
She was about to chastise him when he moved forward suddenly and pointed. “What do we have here?”
“A homeless man stealing from another homeless man,” Kristin intoned, as if stating the obvious.
“Do they always ‘kiss’ before they steal from him?” Nick asked. He couldn’t help the sarcasm in his tone nor the smirk on his face.
Pressing against the window, she said, “Oh my God, no. We have to do…” She didn’t get the rest of the statement out as Nick left the car. He did so quietly, hoping that the vampire would be too preoccupied with dinner to notice the noise.
Kristin followed just as quietly. Working out with Nick had helped her to become much better on the field. She fell in silently behind him as they plastered themselves against the wall.
Pulling out his weapon of choice, he slowly rounded the corner. The sight of the vampire feeding on its victim temporarily brought back a rush of memories. He’d been that victim and knew the sweet euphoria that came with surrendering to the kill. Instead of making him weaker though, that vision only fueled his outrage as he carefully raised the weapon and fired, striking the vampire with a stake and killing it.
In a flash, he and Kristin were up and moving. “I’ll dump the corpse, you see to that man. Try to stop the bleeding.”
Kristin put a cloth to the man’s neck and spoke soothing words to him while Nick took care of business. The tandem then made their way back to the mustang with the injured man. He hadn’t been killed, which meant he was now infected and would eventually turn into a vampire. He was still human, but soon wouldn’t be. There was going to be a big debate over this one.
*-*-*
“He’s resting comfortably for now,” Rachel informed everyone.
“Not for long,” Derek added, moving to pour Rachel a drink. “He’s going to die no matter what you do.”
“And when he revives, he’ll be just like the one Nick killed tonight.” Alex hated the thought of this. That man upstairs didn’t ask to be put in this situation. He had nothing but life before and was very soon going to lose even that. She was at a loss for what to do. She, more than the others, was driven by the plight of the less fortunate. And this situation was the epitome of all she stood against. She jumped slightly when she felt two strong hands grasp her shoulders, but relaxed immediately as they began working out the kinks. Nick… He knew how to help her. Even after all she’d done, he took care of her.
“It couldn’t be helped,” Kristin explained. “The vampire moved so fast and that man, he didn’t struggle at all.”
“The vampire posed as another homeless person probably so that no one would get suspicious. We didn’t… not until it was too late.”
Derek sighed. His solution was going to be far from the popular one. But he was the leader and making the tough decisions was his job. “We’ll have to let him turn. He’ll instinctively seek out the other vampires. Once he leads us to the lair, we’ll be able to destroy them all.”
“Derek Rayne,” Rachel spoke up first. “This man is still a HUMAN BEING!!”
“There’s no cure, Rachel.”
“You haven’t even let me try!”
Her protest was echoed by another. “Sacrificing an innocent is NOT acceptable. If it were one of us, you’d risk your life and limb to find a cure.”
He sighed. “Can you think of another way to find the nest? I will gladly let you work on a cure, Rachel. You have all the facilities the Legacy has to offer. You can start now. Nick, Kristin, and I will start researching other ways to find the nest. But you have to be realistic. The Legacy has known about this breed of vampires for centuries. They’ve been looking for a cure for that long. The odds of you finding one before this man turns are very slim. Alex, you’ll help Rachel.”
As Rachel and Alex left the room, Alex commented, “Ever the optimist. I’ll go check on our guest while you get started.”
Watching the women go, Nick sighed. “It’s not going to be easy for them to accept.”
“You don’t know,” Kristin interjected. “Those two are just determined enough to find something.”
Derek nodded. “We need to figure out how else to track them. I don’t think the probe will work this time.”
“Probe?”
“You don’t want to know,” Nick responded. “Believe me.”
Kristin nodded, accepting the answer for what it was. Moving to the computer, she brought up a map of San Francisco and said, “I think they’d be close to their food source. Perhaps an abandoned warehouse.”
“You have any idea how many abandoned warehouses there are in this city?” Nick asked.
Kristin laughed. “This shows about fifteen just in the four block radius.”
“We should search them,” Derek said.
“During the day,” Nick continued. “I really do not want to walk into another nest of vampires that are awake. How long does the man have until he turns?”
“It depends. If he lost a lot of blood, it could just be a matter of a day or so.”
“We don’t have much time,” Kristin added. “That vampire was latched on rather tightly when we got to him.”
“Not to mention the amount of blood that was lost before we were able to get it stopped.”
“Vampire saliva contains an anti-coagulant so that the blood flows freely after a bite. Keeps them from having to reopen the wound. It takes some time to completely drain a human body of blood. Eight pints of fluid would take anyone a while to swallow.”
“I hadn’t thought of that. That’s well over 120 ounces of blood.”
“Takes you all day to drink a 32 ounce bottle of water,” Nick teased.
“Funny,” Kristin said.
Derek’s features remained unchanged. “I doubt that this man lost a lot of fluid. We may have a couple of days at the most. Not a lot of time, but enough. We’ll start searching the buildings tomorrow morning.”
“And a lot of research to do tonight. I want to find out who this man is.” Nick had taken the man’s fingerprints as soon as he got to the house. While they had been talking, the computer was searching for a match.
“Want some coffee,” Kristin asked as Derek left the control room to go to the library.
“Please.”
She laughed as she left to get them a pot of coffee.
Nick stared at the computer monitor as it ran through a match for the prints. It was a sad stereotype, but homeless people were often arrested for public intoxication. From the smell on the man they brought home, he imbibed regularly. So, he was taking a chance that he’d been arrested on at least one occasion.
Kristin set the coffee in front of him. “Just like you like it. Any luck?”
“Not… Wait! Yes, we’ve got it. Charles Kirkwood. He’s 60 years old. A veteran of the Vietnam War. Was sent to a psychiatric facility for observation for post-traumatic stress syndrome. He was released to his wife who died five years ago.”
“I don’t understand that. How do men like Charles slip through the cracks like this?”
“It’s easy to do. No one wants to deal with them so they end up on skid row with no home or family. In an ideal society, this wouldn’t happen.”
“But we’re far from ideal.”
Nick nodded. “We are.”
Cuing up her own monitor, Kristin said, “I’m going to search hospital records. See if he ended up anywhere for any kind of illnesses. If he follows the pattern, he should have a type of cancer.”
“Right.” Nick shook his head. “This man won a purple heart.”
*-*-*
Rachel, ensconced with what she was seeing on her monitor, didn’t notice Alex walk in.
“Rachel,” she said softly.
Jumping, the doctor put her hand to her chest.
“Sorry. He’s sleeping,” she informed.
“Best thing for him. Look at this.”
Alex leaned over and looked at the monitor. She’d seen slides of blood before. But nothing like this. “What is that?”
“His blood.”
“It’s mutated already.”
“Yes. And it happens at such a rapid rate. We have to stop the chain, but I’m not sure how to go about it.”
“A transfusion? Would that work?”
“I don’t think so. If it’s gotten into the bone marrow… We’re talking about mutating on a basic DNA level. He’s literally being recoded to be anemic.”
Alex sat down beside her friend. “Is there anything we can do?”
Rachel sighed. “I don’t know. If I were a geneticist.” Shaking her head, she finally admitted, “There still wouldn’t be anything I could do.”
*-*-*
The next morning, Nick, Derek, and Kristin walked through the open area between two of the abandoned warehouses. “It will take us the better part of today to search this one alone,” Nick said. “It’s been condemned and is no where near structurally sound. Just going inside could be dangerous.”
“We’ll only have to go down,” Derek said. “The upper floors allow in too much light.”
Nick nodded.
“That should cut our time in half.”
“The last one has three lower levels,” Nick informed. “It used to be a slaughter house.”
“Rats,” Kristin said.
“They all have them,” Derek countered.
“Yeah, but think about all that those slaughterhouse rats have to eat! They’ll be as big as small dogs!”
“Don’t worry. I’ll protect you,” Nick said. “I have my gun.”
“You’ll need more ammo,” Derek said. “Several clips actually.”
Nick stopped. “Then we’ll search the others first. Hopefully we don’t have to go in there.”
“My hero,” Kristin teased.
*-*-*
The first two warehouses revealed nothing, much to Nick and Kristin’s dismay. It was getting close to sunset, but the third warehouse was small and they thought to chance searching it, leaving the fourth for the next day.
Derek touched the handle for the door and stopped short. “They’re here.”
Nick and Kristin shared a look. Derek was having a vision. Neither wanted to be a part of that one. “Do we go on in or wait until tomorrow, Boss?”
Letting go of the handle, he said, “Tomorrow. There’s too many.”
“We’ll also need to make sure that they are all inside.”
“And we need to decide how to take them all out at once.” Kristin shuddered. This was her first run in with vampires, and last night, she’d read Derek’s report about the SF Legacy House’s collision with them. She did not want a repeat of history. “We take them all out,” she said again.
*-*-*
Rachel met Derek at the door. The look on her face very grim. “We’re losing him. The rate of mutation is exponential. I give him an hour or two at the most.”
Derek nodded. “I’ll take care of it,” he said solemnly.
“Derek,” Rachel said, watching as the precept walked past her.
Moving forward, Nick wrapped an arm around her shoulder. “I’m sorry. I was really hoping you’d be able to work it out. That we could save him.”
“Derek’s going to kill him,” she said.
“Rachel, honey, what would you have him do?” Nick asked as he hugged her close.
“I don’t know,” she sighed, hating the fact that medicine had failed to save him.
*-*-*
Derek sat at the foot of the bed, watching Charles Kirkwood take his last few breaths as a human being. He looked at the stake held in his hand. He couldn’t kill the man. He’d tried. He held the pillow in his hands and tried valiantly to kill him while he slept. He even contemplated asking Nick to do it. Nick had been an assassin as a SEAL. Nick could do so more easily than Derek.
But that wouldn’t be fair to Nick. Nick could do it more easily, but it still hurt his soul to kill another human.
So Derek sat and waited. He couldn’t kill the man, but he could kill the vampire.
It was a silent passing. Charles didn’t even open his eyes. Well, he did, but it wasn’t until after he passed over.
When the eyes opened, Derek stood up.
“Hungry,” the vampire who was formerly Charles Kirkwood said, his voice thick with fluid, readying for the kill. Sitting up with vampiric speed, he didn’t quite have vampiric knowledge as his need for blood caused him to be careless. He reached for Derek and was immediately impaled. He didn’t shriek, didn’t even cry out. Just looked down at the stake inside him and fell to the bed… dead for good this time.
*-*-*
Only one task left. The members of the San Francisco Legacy House stood outside the warehouse that was the living quarters for a nest of vampires. The plan was to divide up in pairs, armed with stakes, holy water, and crosses.
The ground floor was completely exposed to light. It filtered in from every nook and cranny. If something went wrong, this floor would give them the protection they needed. There were no shadows on this floor.
Descending the stairs, Nick insisted upon leading the way while Derek brought up the rear. Vampires didn’t have to sleep during the day; they just did because going outside was impossible. They could easily be awake in the darkness.
As Nick had predicted, a vampire was indeed awake, standing guard. Actually more than one. Nick, with some help from Kristin, took out the three guardians while the others planted the explosives to destroy the nest. It was an assault similar to the one they’d done when they rescued Alex. Fire would kill a vampire. When the buildings opened up, the rest would be exposed to daylight. Those who tried to flee would be staked by the members waiting outside.
It was a darn good plan. And true to the team’s ability to perform as one, it was a success. The nest was eradicated. Nothing but bodies was found in the rubble.
And there was a lot of rubble left. They’d succeeded in taking out the vampires and saving other innocents from being murdered. But what about Charles Kirkwood?
*-*-*
“Looking back on that moment,” Derek wrote in his journal, “I cannot help but wonder if we could have done something different. Yesterday, Nick showed me the profile on Charles Kirkwood. Privately, I can agree with Rachel. He was a man. A man who did not deserve the fate he had been given. He defended our country. Was taken prisoner and injured during the war. He suffered an illness that could have been easily treated with proper medication. Yet, through circumstances that he could not control, he lost his wife, his sanity, his home, and eventually his life.
“As a part of the Legacy, we do everything in our power to protect innocents. And it distresses me when I cannot save them. But I will not let Charles Kirkwood be lost amongst the shadows anymore. I have personally seen to it that he is interred at Arlington National Cemetery. The Legacy will take care of funeral expenses. He may not have been able to die with dignity, but I will see to it that he rests for eternity with it.”
Tags: alex moreau, dark, derek rayne, drama, gen, kristin adams, nick boyle, rachel corrigan, rating: pg-13, team