Survivor Reborn (Kieran Grey Psionic Hunter) Read online

  Tanaka snuck up behind me, whispering lightly in my ear, “The vampires haven’t supported anyone outside their own for over a thousand years. It means that they’re your protection and backup.”

  “You are well versed in our ways dear Tanaka.” Yuric turned back to us.

  How in the hell could he’ve heard the whisper that far away? Vampires are so creepy!

  “He is right Child, simply call my name into the night air, and I will come to your side. Then you may ask of me what you will. Until Jacob is stopped, that is. No vampire is to act against you during that time. To do so is to face death by the Council. Any vampire that stands against you, you are welcome to destroy . . . with our blessing of course. With that in mind, I bring gifts. Jamison,” Yuric said the name like a command.

  The other man stepped forward. I had forgotten he was even there. Jamison was tall, thin and tall, as if he’d been stretched. Even his head looked like it had been pinched together. His eyes glistened with a liquid-bronze color. He placed two large cases on the table.

  “Everything has been customized specifically for you, to help you in your . . . endeavor.” Jamison spoke with an accent similar to Yuric’s, yet less refined. It was like the differences between Old English spoken by peasants and nobles. Jamison was a peasant to Yuric, in voice and action. He opened the cases, laying out each item on the table as he explained it. He started by pulling out a large box filled to the point of bursting with small silver marbles.

  “First off you have these. They are light grenades. Similar to the flash/bang distraction devices the police use. Each one of these spheres will explode creating a flash of ultraviolet light ten-times brighter than the sun. The light from them is strong enough to kill all but a master vampire. Master vampires will be burned and blinded, but they heal rapidly. The light and sound created by these will temporarily blind and disorient everyone around the blast. Lycanthropes are easily blinded, sometimes permanently, due to their enhanced vision and the light sensitivity that comes with it. As for humans, if you are too close you’ll be sunburned as well as temporarily blinded. Or, at the very least you’ll get a nice tan. To activate, just place your thumb over the textured spot. Push in then turn, it doesn’t matter which direction. Once activated you have three seconds before detonation. Since they have to be turned after being pushed in, there is little danger of one going off while being carried in your pockets with whatever else you might have.

  “Next we have new guns for you.” He placed two pistols on the table. “These are modified Walther P99 QA’s with custom grips molded to your hands. Each clip will hold twenty rounds of specially made ammo. I’ll explain the ammo shortly. They both have built in laser-targeting sights that work like any normal-targeting-laser. However, the laser emitted is a heavy ultraviolet beam. It will burn the flesh of any vampire it touches. The lasers are a secondary weapon. It is possible to kill a vampire with just the lasers, but it would take some time. Instead, use them as a deterrent. Activating the laser, then dragging the beam across the skin of a vampire will act like drawing a scalpel across the skin of a human. Not necessarily life threatening, but very painful. It could be enough to save your life, or to help you with a particularly hardheaded interrogation subject. Let’s move on.”

  He then pulled out a six-inch purple light stick.

  “These work like a regular chemical flare,” he explained. “Simply bend until you break the glass inside, then shake. Each of these will give you six hours of light. The difference is that it is a heavy ultraviolet light. Not near as strong as the light grenades, but strong enough to severely burn a vampire, keeping them from attacking . . . in theory anyway.” He held up some small, thin one-inch ones. “These are emergency burners. Each one is the same light as the large ones, but it only lasts ten minutes. But it is enough that you can usually get away.”

  “These weapons are all designed to kill vampires,” I accidently whispered my thought out loud.

  “Yes they are,” Yuric said with a sigh. “Jacob has many vampire followers, you need to be prepared against them. I trust you will not use these weapons against the Council.”

  “Of course not, I was just making an observation. Thank you Yuric, and thank you to the Council as well for their gifts.” I was truly happy with the weapons.

  Why’d Marsala warn me about gifts from the Council?

  * * *

  After a few formalities we moved out to the shooting range so that Jamison could explain the ammo that went with the guns I’d just been given. He held up a single odd-looking bullet.

  “A normal bullet is designed to wound, stopping the target but not necessarily killing them. These bullets are designed specifically to kill, usually in just one shot. They are legal for you to use because of your Hunter Class license, but they are illegal for the rest of the ‘civilized’ world. Each round is caseless eliminating the problem of spent brass flying through the air and case extraction. The primer also dissolves after ignition. That allows you to use these anywhere and not worry about slipping on, or being tracked by your empty cases.

  “Instead of gunpowder, they use a solid gel propellant. Think of them as small rockets. The gel allows them to fly straighter and farther than a normal bullet, hitting the target with a greater impact. For example, the standard .40 round that would be used in these guns before they were modified, fly at around a velocity of 980 feet-per-second and hit with an average impact of 420 foot-pounds. These new custom rounds fire a projectile of the same weight at a velocity of 1835 feet-per-second and deliver an impact energy of 2807 foot-pounds. Also, they have a built in sonic nullifier that allows the bullets to be fired silently. There is relatively no noise at all when fired. The recoil is also negligible when compared to a normal bullet.

  “There is a detonator inside each round. It’s a two-way detonator, both explosion and implosion. There is a small nano-computer inside to control the detonator. If the round hits the intended target, it explodes. If it hits a target it was not intended to, it implodes so there is less collateral damage. The nano-computer uses an image recognition system to determine if it hits the right target or not. There is a miniature camera in the nose of the bullet that supplies the image. The walls of the bullet have a high silver content, turning them into devastating shrapnel upon impact with a vampire or shifter.

  “Regular weapons may hurt a vampire or shifter temporarily, but they will heal most wounds in under one hour. Wounds from weapons made of silver heal human-slow on vampires and shapeshifters, taking several days, to a number of months to fully heal. A well placed wound from a silver weapon could kill instantly.

  “Inside, the bullet is prefragmented. It contains two dozen small spheres. When the detonator goes off, it throws out the spheres in all directions. The spheres inside are suspended in a liquid gel containing an ultraviolet radioactive isotope. Essentially, it is sunlight in a bottle. Upon impact, the gel is expanded through the body by the spheres, burning the tissue of a vampire. Each sphere also contains either silver nitrate or a specially designed poison a hundred times more effective than cyanide. They expand the lethality to include humans and shapeshifters. Each sphere explodes once it has reached a certain distance from the bullet core, spreading their toxins through the system.

  “The entire round enters the body the size of your fingertip, then explodes out to the size of a basketball in under a nanosecond, literally blowing your target apart. So far no one has survived being shot with one of these rounds. And yes, they have been tested extensively on a number of different individuals. Let’s demonstrate.”

  Jamison stepped up to the firing block pointing at the targets already in place. “Before you are a small number of ballistic gelatin target bricks. The yellow ones are designed to simulate human tissue; the blue ones are equal to that of a shapeshifter, and the red ones are the same as a vampire. Each one may look human at one time or another on the outside, however the cellular density is vastly higher in nonhuman’s, making them stronger and harder
to injure. Are you currently armed?” Jamison asked me. I nodded. “Then please shoot one round into each of the three targets on the left. This will demonstrate the effect your current ammo has on the different tissue types.”

  He stepped out of the way. I stepped up to the block.

  Only the second time to use a gun in my life, and it has to be in front of an audience. Wonderful!

  Taking out my gun, I fired a single round into one of each color gel. I amazed myself at the accuracy of which I shot. I really was a good marksman–woman–whatever.

  Jamison pressed the button that brought the gels up to the table. He produced a knife the size of my forearm from out of nowhere, using it to split open the gels. Each one showed just how far into the gelatin the bullet had gone. How far they would’ve gone into a person if I shot them. The yellow human gel had a hole clear through it, larger on the way out then on the way in, with a huge bubble-hole in the center of the target. The blue and red gels held the bullets close to the surface. They had only gone in less than a half-inch each. It showed how ineffective regular arms were against vampires and shapeshifters, even with the fancy silver plating.

  No wonder it takes an entire SWAT team just to bring down one of them.

  Jamison handed me one of the new Walther pistols. He told me it was loaded with the new ammo, and to shoot the next set of gels. This would show just how much more effective the new ammo was. I took the gun. It was light, fitting my hand perfectly with the custom molded grips. I had to wonder for a second what they used as a model to customize the guns to my hands, then I decided I didn’t really want to know.

  Moving over I took aim at the second yellow gel brick and fired. There was no recoil at all. The shot was almost noiseless. The only sound was a light PISH of the air moving. The propellant gel acted as a tracer for the bullet. The light-blue line went straight into the yellow gel. It exploded instantly. Nothing remained. I fired at the blue and red gels. They exploded into nothingness. Everyone was amazed.

  I was ushered to the last target. A red mannequin.

  “Shooting this will give the effect of firing on a vampire. This is to show the damage in proportion to a body,” Jamison said.

  Without a second thought I fired. The chest of the red dummy exploded. The gaping hole left was large enough for a basketball to pass through without touching the edges. We all stared at the hole.

  Yuric stepped forward clapping. “Impressive.”

  “Her shooting or the ammo?” Tanaka asked with genuine interest.

  “Both actually. Now my dear, are you pleased with your gifts?”

  What else could I say but the truth? “Yes Yuric, I am very pleased.”

  Chapter 8

  Yuric left after giving me my gifts. Emmy left shortly after. She told me that she was going to contact Detective “Ren” Michaels of the St. Carver P.D. Ren was the lead Detective handling the cases connected to Jacob. Emmy still believed the best way to find the one who “killed” her sister was to have me start investigating Jacob again. Besides, Yuric and the vampires wanted me to catch Jacob too. If not just kill him when I got the chance. Whichever came first.

  Emmy mentioned that Ren was also a psionic, specifically a touch-clairvoyant. She could see things in anything she touched with her bare hands. It was a good trick in helping her to solve crimes. Unfortunately, the modern courts still wouldn’t convict anyone on just the vision of a clairvoyant. They still had to have solid evidence. That allowed many guilty criminals to walk. Ren knew without a doubt they were guilty, she just couldn’t get enough proof for the courts.

  Tanaka suggested that we go out to lunch, then swing by my old apartment to pick up whatever I needed. Marsala declined when I asked him to join us. He was afraid his size would be “unpleasant” for the other patrons. It was hard to argue with him on that. I hugged them both. They were like my family now. It was the first time in over twenty years I had felt like I had a family.

  Before leaving the Armory, I donned my new weapons. The new guns had a special double holster, placing them both at the small of my back with two spare clips each. Marsala and Tanaka both convinced me to take the Glock as well in a shoulder holster with freshly reloaded clips. They pointed out that it would be very difficult to draw one of the guns from my back while sitting, especially strapped in by a seatbelt. Also, I may need to just wound someone instead of kill them. Which, as disturbing as the thought was, wasn’t a bad idea. I placed a few of each size light stick and a few of the light grenades in the pockets of the jacket.

  No harm in being prepared.

  * * *

  Tanaka was leading me towards the north motor pool when we ran into Nikolai again.

  “Officer Grey, may I have a minute of your time, as a friend?” he asked cautiously.

  Before I could answer Tanaka chimed in, “Go ahead. I’ll get some packing boxes and get the car ready. Nikolai, just bring her to the motor pool when you are done.” He jerked a thumb over his shoulder towards the door we’d been walking to, then turned on his heel and left us standing in the hall.

  Nikolai gestured me through a door and down two more halls. We ended up in another part of the Bestiary. He finally led me to a giant door. He shuffled his feet outside the door, I swore he looked nervous.

  “I want to introduce you to the door guards. They rotate which doors and when they are on duty. But, there are two of them resting here now. They will share your scent with the others.” Nikolai wasn’t telling me something.

  “What do you mean scent?” I asked warily.

  “The guards are tigers. Genetically engineered sabertooth tigers. If I introduce you to them as a friend, then you will be allowed to pass them regardless. That way no one could use them against you.”

  Alright, so we can add sabertooth tigers to the list of really strange things in my new life. “Do you think someone would do that?”

  “You were forced out of your coma. Some view you as no longer human. I do not know of anyone that wishes you harm. If you let me introduce you to the guards, then they could never be used against you. It is something I only allow for my friends.”

  “Thank you, Nikolai. I would be honored to be introduced as your friend.” I felt a warmth deep inside of me for some reason. It seemed to be a good idea to have as many allies as possible.

  “Once inside you will have to drop your shields. They will then have to come very close to smell you. You must keep your shields down the entire time, and show as little fear as you can. Treat them as if you were their master, and you have no fear of them. Only then will they accept you.”

  “Why do I feel you aren’t telling me everything?” I asked.

  “I was just trying to think of how to best prepare you. The tigers are quite large. Their claws are sharper and stronger than most metals. Also, it will be necessary that you allow them to smell your blood. Just a little drop or two each. It will help to define you as a friend.”

  “Are they anything like the monsters in the arachnid area?”

  “They will not harm you while I am there. But, many do consider them monsters.”

  “Alright, besides I like cats. They’re just big cats right?”

  “Yes they are big, very big.”

  He pushed the large door open. After he was inside he motioned for me to join him. I followed the werewolf inside the large room. He stopped a few feet from the door, signaling me to stay there. I looked around the room. The light from the hall was the only light in the room. Everything else was swallowed in darkness. I teetered off balance because my heels had a problem, like I was standing over a hole. I looked down. There was a set of claw marks scratched into the floor at my feet. Each individual claw had dug a hole as wide as my hand, and a few inches deep in the concrete. The marks were spread wide, real wide.

  Deep growling filled the room. That’s when I realized that I couldn’t see Nikolai anymore. Fear started to creep inside of me. I started to call out in the darkness, but I was stopped by another growl. This on
e was slightly different. The sound of metallic claws clicking on concrete started in the dark. The clicking slowly grew louder.

  “You must drop your shields now,” Nikolai’s voice boomed in the hollow darkness. I jumped. You try being in my place and not jumping.

  I forced myself to relax. I didn’t know if I could do this. Trying not to be afraid. I closed my eyes. Seeing nothing was better than seeing only a little. I could hear something that breathed deep. Slowly my shields fell. Once they were gone I felt the hot wind on my neck. The wind blew in and out against my skin. I had to fight not to run screaming from the room.

  I opened my eyes. The sabertooth tiger was huge, white with black stripes and red eyes, with those giant oversized fangs jutting from its top jaw. The claws and fangs looked like polished steel glistening in the dim light. Its shoulder was a good few feet taller than I was even in the heels. The head alone was almost as big as my body. It slowly circled me. Sniffing me in each nook and cranny it could put its huge nose.

  “Lift your hand.” I still could not see Nikolai but his voice sounded close.

  I raised my right hand in front of me to my chest level. The second tiger came forward to sniff at my hand. The one behind me stuck its nose in my hair, blowing it around my face and back again as it sniffed my scent in deeper. I closed my eyes again.

  I suddenly felt like food.

  A large rough tongue licked my hand in a slow slurp. I caught the scream in my throat.

  Are they going to eat me?! Am I going to be their lunch?

  Nikolai said they wouldn’t hurt me as long as he was there. I hope he was truthful with me, and that this isn’t a revenge plot to get back at the old Kieran.

  Nice genetically-engineered-giant-sabertooth-tigers, good genetically-engineered-giant-sabertooth-tigers, please don’t eat me! Honestly, I don’t taste good . . . at least I hope not. Oh please let me not taste good. Just this once!