Partway to a new colony world, board
member Geoffrey Ames is woken from hibernation by the caretaking crew of the
Lucian. They require him to look into the matter of their fellow crewman Morgan
Heller. Morgan’s claims – such as being over 1500 years old – would normally
land him in the psychiatric ward, except he can back up some of his other
claims.
Here is an excerpt to give you a sample:
Delara and Geoffrey entered the cell.
Along the far wall were a bed and a toilet. A small table had been placed
between the bed and door, along with three folding chairs. Without ceremony,
Delara set the first aid kit on the table and sat down. Geoffrey paused and
studied the prisoner who stood on the other side of the table. Morgan Heller
was below average height, but with plenty of muscle.
Morgan grinned and waved to the chair
beside Delara. “Please, sit down.”
Geoffrey looked from him to Delara, but her
face was turned away. He looked back to Morgan and nodded before sitting down.
“I’d offer you a drink, but,” Morgan
spread his hands, “I must have misplaced the key to the wine cellar.” He
chuckled to himself then sat down.
Geoffrey began, “Mister Heller–”
“Please, call me Morgan.”
“Mister Heller,” Geoffrey continued,
gaining a smirk from Morgan, “my name is Geoffrey Ames. I’m a member of the
Board of Directors woken to look into this … situation.”
“Good morning, Mister Ames.”
After a pause, Geoffrey asked, “Mister
Heller, why do they have you locked up in here?”
Morgan frowned and glanced at Delara, who
replied, “I thought it best if he hears your story without any preconceived
notions.”
“I see.” Morgan turned back to Geoffrey
and stated, “The reason they have me locked in here is because of what I am.”
When he didn’t immediately continue,
Geoffrey prompted, “Which is?”
“I don’t know. The closest word for what I
am is … vampire.”
For several seconds there was only
silence. Then Geoffrey nodded and turned to Delara. “You woke me for this?”
Delara only smiled and opened the first
aid kit. She took out a pair of scissors and held them up in front of Geoffrey.
She opened and closed them a few times, and turned them around so he could see
both sides. “What are you doing?” he asked.
Instead of replying, she slid them across
the table to Morgan.
Morgan sighed. He picked up the scissors,
opened them, and then swept a blade across his forearm.
Geoffrey jumped up, knocking over his
chair. “What the hell is going on here?”
Delara stood and put her hand on his
shoulder. “Geoffrey, look at his arm.”
Against his better judgment, Geoffrey
turned to look at Morgan’s arm. The wound wasn’t deep, with only a little bit
of blood. But then he watched as the wound closed. The edges of the skin just
rejoined.
Delara sat back down and took a wipe from
the kit and passed it to Morgan, who cleaned the blood from his arm. A light
pink scar was the only indication something had happened.
Apparently none the worse, Morgan looked
up to Geoffrey and explained, “I heal very quickly. That’s why I’m in here.
There was an accident that several people witnessed. They saw me gravely
injured, and then I healed right before their eyes.”
“There is security footage of the accident
as well as his healing,” Delara stated.
Geoffrey looked from Morgan’s arm, to the
scissors, to Delara, then to Morgan’s smiling face. “If you’ll excuse me,”
Geoffrey said, then he turned and left.
***
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