Mixed Blood

Chapter 14

The process of moving the subject was not as monumental an effort as they thought, but it still took almost two weeks. The anesthetic gases were becoming less and less effective every time they were used, and no one wanted to get anywhere near him when he was awake. Adjustments were constantly being made to the plan because of the unpredictable nature of... whatever it was.

But the Organization is nothing if not prepared. They decided that, instead of attempting to build a whole new containment system just for this creature, they would use the one set up for the dragons. It wasn't being used, and it was highly unlikely that this facility would ever hold a dragon or even a dragonkin, so... why not?

Some adjustments had to be made, though. The vault was enormous, way too big to just allow a singular, human-sized subject to have to themselves. The engineers were preparing to divide the space into three. One space for the creature's living quarters, one in the middle where experiments would be run, and the third as a communal office space for the scientists.

To everyone's surprise, however, those plans were vetoed by the directors themselves. The unseen heads of the Organization sent new plans and new orders. The vault was to be divided in two, but not equal proportions. The side that contained the creature would take up about two thirds of the space. A full bathroom and bedroom with necessities were added, as well. Of course, cameras heavily armored against magic were installed so he could be watched every second every day, but it gave him the illusion of privacy.

The remaining third of the room was to be used by the ones given the monumental task of studying him. When that was announced, the entire science sector imploded with excitement. Everyone wanted an opportunity to study the vampire who was supposed to be dead. Betting pools were started, debate sessions became heated, and even a fight broke out between the general anatomy and the genetics departments.

What was he? How did he survive? Was it a spell that he cast or sheer willpower? There were thousands of questions, and with every theory came even more questions. They were all ready to pick him apart down the micro level and unveil all his secrets.

So, when Doctor Lily Smith received the external hard drive preloaded with everything the Organization knew about the vampire species as well as the mysterious Nolan Wes, she very literally screamed in excitement. This was the opportunity of a lifetime, and she had not expected to get picked.

The mood around the facility quickly went from teeming excitement to bitter jealousy. One of the other departments practically rioted against the decision. What were the Directors thinking, giving such a monumental task to a historian?! What could she possibly learn from a subject as important as him?! That department was considered so insignificant that Lily was the de facto head because she was the only one employed in it!

Having buried herself in the many gigabytes of data sent to her, Lily didn't even know that her appointment had caused such a stir. The question "why me" hung at the back of her mind but was quickly solved on page one of the summary document. Nolan Wes was, at a bare minimum, five thousand years old! A subject that old was rarely ever studied for their knowledge of the world! And the best part... the Organization was guessing his age! They knew he had to be five thousand years old at least because he was active when the first werewolf was killed. But they had plenty of reason to believe that he was even older than that.

She had so many questions. Lily considered herself a well-rounded historian, but her specialty and theses were centered around the Mediterranean countries between two and three thousand years ago. Exactly when they had physical evidence that the vampire king resided in Egypt, meaning there was a high chance that Wes was there, too!

He was a living relic. A well of knowledge. A true, once in a lifetime chance to speak to someone who was there! Someone who knew and understood and participated in the traditions. Someone who broke bread with famous figures of the past. Someone who watched Ancient society pull away from human integration, just to start again a few thousand years later.