Everafter Nell Stark

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.I was in training to be a doctor.The results wouldspeak for themselves.And besides, I was shut up in here, at their mercy.I could either throw a futiletantrum, or follow orders.I turned slowly and walked to the back of the room, trying not to let them see just how frightened I was.A cabinet door opened and shut behind me, but I didn t look back.I perched on the stool that Clavierhad vacated and pressed my eye to the lens.With a few slight twists, the slide came into focus.Myblood.The red cells were most abundant, of course, while the larger white cells were much moreinfrequent.For a moment, I was captivated by the complex beauty of it so many components, allworking together in harmony.To keep me alive.And then I saw the parasite.Page 36Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.htmlIt had a half-moon shape, like a scythe, and it was in the process of devouring a red cell from the insideout.My God, I thought, watching the monster effortlessly eat through the cell s membrane.It wasreproducing in there.And when the cell burst&My stomach pitched and rolled, and I clutched hard at the table edge to keep myself upright.That thingand the thousands of others like it in my bloodstream were incontrovertible proof that something wasterribly wrong with me.Unless and the shock of this revelation turned my knuckles white unless thiswasn t my blood.What if this was some elaborate ruse? Sure, I d been watching him as he made up theslide, but not closely enough to see through a sleight of hand.I ripped off the Band-Aid and opened the drawer in the same movement, yanking out a fresh slide andsqueezing the tiny hole in my arm as hard as I could.A drop of blood welled up and I caught it on theglass.I looked over my shoulder, certain that the big guy would be two-thirds of the way across theroom by now to stop me from exposing the lie& but they were all where I had left them, watching me.Expressionless.Snarling, I discarded the old slide and snapped the new one into place, but when I peered back into thelens, the same horror awaited me.I slumped.Clavier wasn t lying about the parasite.Could he be tellingthe truth about everything else? I didn t want to believe it.How was I supposed to take them at theirword when they were talking about the stuff of thriller novels and horror films? Vampirism? Eternalyouth? One thing I knew for certain: that thing inside my blood was killing me, not making me ageless.And how the hell had I been infected in the first place?A sudden suspicion made me lurch to my feet and stagger toward Clavier, despite the blinding surge ofpain that radiated up my thigh. You! Did you do this to me? Put this in me? In the hospital did you? Iwas eye to eye with him now, but no matter how close I got, he refused to take a step back.Hispreternatural calm infuriated me, and I clenched my right fist, finally surrendering to the violent impulsesthat had been plaguing me all weekAt that instant, an aroma filled the room: sweet, tangy, metallic.My head whipped around and salivaflooded my mouth.My throat spasmed, the burn so intense that I couldn t help but cry out.Behind me,Helen was squeezing the contents of a bag of blood into a mug.A bag of blood.My brain was repulsed.The idea of drinking that was anathema.It was sick, twisted, wrong.Perverted.But my body took a step forward, and then another.Tears leaked down my face as the fire in my throatblazed hotter than it ever had.My gaze was locked on the cup.I wanted it.Needed it.The scent waftingup from it was& heavenly. You are starting to understand, aren t you? Helen said quietly.My brain demanded that I stop moving,but my body continued its slow stalk toward the table. The parasite is making you immutable andstronger.Though you can be killed, you have already ceased to age.But it demands blood in return.Forthe rest of your existence, you will crave it crave it like nothing else on earth.Alexa,my brain howled.It s Alexa that I crave, Alexa that I need.More than what is waiting onthat table, more than anything.But my legs continued to move.The urge to lash out at Clavier hadbeen completely subsumed by the impulse to gorge myself on the contents of that mug. Drink, Helen ordered, taking a shallow sip before holding it out to me.I stood before her, breathingPage 37Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.htmlhard, hands trembling.My eyes were transfixed by the small movements of the viscous fluid as it sloshedgently against the ceramic walls.Need spiked through me, crackling under my skin, white and hot.Itreduced me to instinct.I had to feed.I snatched the cup from Helen s hands and tilted it to my lips.As the first thick rush hit my tongue, mybrain screamed in revulsion.But for the first time since I d woken from my coma nearly two weeks ago,the thirst eased.I drank and drank, tilting both my head and the mug to catch every last drop.When itwas empty, I set it onto the table and licked my lips.My throat throbbed greedily.The fire was slightlymuted, but still present. More. It was a demand, an imperative.My rational thought was bound and gagged.I channeled thewill of the parasite. Yes, more.You will always want more. Helen s long, low laugh began to wake me from thefeeding-induced haze.The aftertaste lingered on my teeth, my tongue, a so-sweet hint of copper. Whatyou just consumed has barely taken the edge off.Cold, preserved blood is a poor substitute for thattaken from the source.I blinked and shook my head.Coming out of the thirst-induced fog felt like waking from a lucid dream.Ilooked at the mug on the table.I had drained it.The hairs on my neck stood straight up, but otherwise,my body refused to react.It was satisfied.Sort of.And my nausea had disappeared. The source? Bagged blood will not sustain you, Clavier said, stepping forward to dispose of the remnants of thebag. Only blood taken directly from a live human is truly nourishing.My brain rebelled again, and without the enticement of that rich aroma to distract me, the panic returnedfull force. You want me to kill people? Just to& to get a fucking meal? Oh God [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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