Ella
A game of cat and mouse
An early start was nothing new to me, although once it meant labouring to ensure the house was perfect before step-mother's feet touched the bedroom rug. Today I crept out the kitchen door in the half-light to climb into Seth's motorcar for a strange journey. I would protect one step-sister and ensure the other stayed incarcerated. Let's hope the War Office didn't get the two confused.
It was a short trip to our tiny train station. The dark green engine awaited us already, a steady plume spiralling up from its funnel. The train had two carriages hooked up behind it. One was for passengers, with large windows for watching the scenery chug by. The other looked like a metal box, devoid of any windows or source of light. Steel bands reinforced its sides and an armed guard stood at its single door.
My curiosity was piqued. I frowned at Seth and indicated the armoured carriage with my head.
He glanced at the secure carriage and then shrugged. "No doubt something the War Office wants to keep under wraps and probably why the train was in Cornwall."
But what? I couldn't imagine the secrets the War Office kept from one of their most senior officers in this war. We already had the dead rising up and a long-dead witch. What else could be left, legions of Nosferatu or werewolves?
A driver in blue coveralls leaned out his window at the front. Charlotte and Lieutenant Bain stood on the platform. The lieutenant held her hand and she nestled against him, seeking either warmth from the chill morning or comfort from whatever lay ahead.
I smiled. My suspicion was correct and a romance simmered away in that kitchen. Good. Charlotte deserved to find happiness. Bain was a pleasant chap, and he even did the washing up!
"Not too nervous I hope, Charlotte?" I asked.
The smile she shot at me was distinctly nervous. "I hope they leave enough blood for me to make it home."
"I'll make sure of it. I'll not leave you there." I rubbed her arm, trying to be reassuring. What would I do if they imprisoned her next to Louise? I contemplated how hard it would be to commandeer a landship and break her out.
Another soldier waved us on board and then signalled the driver. Inside, the carriage was comfortable with large brown leather seats and tables between them. Brass luggage racks lined the two walls and curving arms held lanterns closer to the tables. At the rear corner a counter held hot water so we could make tea, and a variety of sandwiches and cakes were hidden inside containers. Out of the landing to the carriage was a tiny convenience, for our comfort. There would be no toilet stops on this journey.
Seth opened up his satchel and dropped a load of dispatches and reports on a table. "Work never ends," he said, as he settled into a crinkled leather seat. The lieutenant took the seat opposite and pulled his own workload from a near identical beaten satchel.
I was relieved I left my piles of paperwork in Seth's office. There was nothing in my research that couldn't wait until tomorrow.
"How about a game of cards?" I asked Charlotte and we settled into the opposite table.
The trip was long and tedious. Dawn broke the horizon, and as we chugged east we watched farmers going about their lives in never ending fields. Charlotte and I kept ourselves entertained with cards, I spy, and finding common pleasant memories.
The train discharged us at the Charing Cross station and another soldier waited on the platform to lead us out to a waiting vehicle. We were certainly having the royal door-to-door treatment. The War Office must want to keep a close watch on Charlotte's blood. The ride to the War Office was so short we could have walked, unless they wanted to make sure Charlotte didn't escape into the lunchtime crowd.
Her nervousness grew, and by the time we climbed out of the car I was worried she might bolt like a frightened horse. I took her hand. "I'm here, remember."
She threw me a weak smile and then her gaze sought out the lieutenant. He winked and her spirits lifted a smidge.
We walked up the steps of the War Office building and into the grand, tiled entrance. People swirled around us, each one intent on their own journey, dodging around one another and either scurrying up stairs, down, or through mysterious doorways.
"Bain and I are needed for a briefing. I need to convince a few of the bigwigs that we're not all insane pursuing Crowley and Millicent. Do you ladies want to wait until we are free to join you, or push on solo?" Seth asked.
The lieutenant shot a worried look at Charlotte. As much as I wanted Seth's support, I was sure I could handle a doctor. I left my sword in the train, but I had a large knife in my boot. Knowing Louise, I suspected the best chance of her letting something slip would be if she were lording it over me, not trying to impress Seth or lure him to the dark side.
I took Charlotte's hand in mine. "We will cope admirably on our own. I also suspect you would be a distraction to Louise."
"Fair point," Seth said and he leaned close to kiss my cheek. "She did seem intent on spilling my blood last time I saw her. We'll regroup afterwards and you can fill us in on the return trip."
The two officers took the sweeping stairs to the airy offices above. Our escort guided us to a side door and a dim stairwell that headed down into the earth. The door closed behind us and blocked out the bustle and activity in the main entrance. High on the walls, electric bulbs flickered in wire cages. They cast a yellow light over the stairs as we trod around and downwards.
The stairs levelled out and stopped at a short hallway and another enormous metal door. Charlotte and I exchanged glances. The door looked like it would withstand a rhinoceros charge. A soldier sat in the chair, but he jumped to attention on seeing our guide.
"Sergeant," he gave a brisk salute that our escort returned.
"We're going to the medical unit," the sergeant said.
The soldier unhooked a keychain from his belt and unlocked two brass locks. A turn of the handle and a door six inches thick swung inward. Our guide waved us through to the next stretch of hallway with more locked and closed doors. I felt as though we tumbled through a labyrinth.
"The medical unit is this way," our guide said, leading us through another sealed door. The next door opened to reveal a room that was an odd mix of hospital and mad science lab. It looked how I imagined the lair of Mary Shelley's infamous Doctor Frankenstein.
Five empty narrow cots with crisp white linen and sharply made corners were lined up along one wall. A metal track encircled the ceiling above each one and a pale blue curtain was tied back against the wall.
Metal shelving covered another wall, each level holding all sorts of jars, bottles, equipment, and stacks of fresh linen. A long bench ran through the middle of the room, and men in white coats bent over microscopes. Others wrote on clipboards as findings were called out. They turned as we entered and a large man stepped forward.
"Miss Jeffrey?" he asked, glancing between Charlotte and me.
"Yes," we answered in unison.
He frowned. Apparently we had confused him.
"This is Miss Charlotte Jeffrey, who survived the original pandemic and then had an unfortunate incident with one of the Turned. I'm her sister." I still kept hold of her hand. There was no way they were prising a family member from me.
"Ah." His gaze lit up. "I am Doctor Yule. We have read the reports about your wound, Miss Jeffrey, and your subsequent recovery. You are the only known person to have been scratched. Other survivors seem to be avoided by the Turned."
Charlotte remained silent but her grasp tightened on my hand. "I confused it with a chicken, it scratched me by accident trying to bat Henrietta away."
"A chicken?" The frown returned to the doctor's face.
We would have more explaining to do, and I didn't have all day. I needed to prod this doctor along. "You wanted a blood sample from Charlotte?"
"Yes. Most definitely. We believe we can manufacture a vaccine that will protect the rest of the population. Take a seat, please." He gestured to one of the cots.
Another white-coated man wheeled a trolley over. A kidney shaped silver bowl held a needle and syringes. Next to it lay a cotton tourniquet, a glass bottle, and a roll of tubing.
Charlotte paled. It was just as well she was already seated.
"Just how much blood do you intend to take? She needs to make the trip home, you know." These doctors needed to see her as a human being with a life to lead, not an endless supply of blood.
Doctor Yule stuck out his lip and then sucked it back in again, looking like a sullen child. "A quart gallon will suffice. Although more would be better."
These people would drain her dry if they thought they would get away with it. "For you perhaps, not for Charlotte. You will not be taking that much from my step-sister. If you are so desperate for more blood, I suggest you can find volunteers amongst yourselves to be scratched."
A tray clattered and someone else gasped. As I suspected. All well and good to stick needles into Charlotte, but they wouldn't dare venture out of their laboratory and face real danger.
Yule narrowed his gaze and stared at me. I stared back until he broke the connection and backed down.
"We will make do with a pint this time. Would you roll up your sleeve, please?" He picked up Charlotte's arm and placed it on the trolley. Then he tied the tourniquet around her upper arm. A large vein popped into prominence over the inside of her elbow. With an alcohol wipe, the doctor cleaned her skin. Then he picked up a rather large needle. I wasn't so sure I could watch this bit. "You may feel a brief sting as the needle goes in."
Funny that I could remove the head from a vermin, but I couldn't watch a needle slide into Charlotte's arm. She drew in a sharp breath, her hand squeezed mine, and then she exhaled. At which point I figured it was safe to look again.
"Good," the doctor muttered. Next the tubing was attached to the shunt on the needle and screwed into the bottle. Dark red blood flowed up the clear tube and dripped into the bottle. "You can make yourself comfortable on the bed. It won't take too long to fill the jar, but we need you to stay for an hour afterwards."
Charlotte settled back against a pillow. Another was placed under her arm. I perched on the bed next to her, ensuring they took not a drop more than they asked for.
"We'll fetch you a cup of tea and a biscuit. You may feel a little faint after this." He pointed to one of his workers and the man nodded and disappeared through another door.
I was relieved that the doctors stuck to their agreement and no one forced Charlotte into a cage to be studied. With her life force swirling in the bottle, they removed the needle and placed a small bandage over the wound.
"You will need to rest for the remainder of today, but you should feel fine tomorrow," Doctor Yule said.
The door opened to reveal our guide. "Ready for the next visit?" the sergeant asked.
"Perfect timing," I said as I helped Charlotte to her feet. She swayed a little and reached for me. "Do you feel up to confronting Louise? Perhaps you should stay here and I'll talk to her alone."
"No." Her body wavered but her tone was firm. "I need to do this for me. It wasn't so much blood, really."
We continued deeper into the labyrinth. We took another spiral staircase down until I wondered if we might emerge in Australia. The next locked door opened to reveal the most unusual boudoir I had ever seen.
Part of the room was decorated in opulent excess. Velvet wallpaper in deep purple with a flock print adorned three walls. Expensive oriental carpets were laid on the floor. An enormous four-poster bed with heavy drapes that matched the wallpaper dominated one wall. A settee covered in a pretty lilac floral was positioned in front of a fireplace. A table and chairs were by the third wall, giving the occupant a place to eat or perhaps write letters.
The fourth wall was stout metal bars, as though we stared at an expensive exhibit in the zoo. A plain table and two chairs sat in the small chamber before the bars. Within, Louise reclined on the settee and filed her nails.
"Don't put anything through the bars. She bites," the sergeant said, then he retreated to the far side of the room.