Cullen - Origins [English Version - FINISHED]

Chapter Fifty-Seven

Lewis watched in silence as his colleague scribbled with a concentrated look on her notebook. Since he had shared his impressions with her, both of them had been thinking about a way to counteract the poison. Arsenic and cyanide already had their respective antidotes, so it was easy for them to know how to help their patients. Only the third poison, Fugu poison, was giving them trouble : no known antidote existed for this deadly poison. Their patients had only a few hours left before they died. What could they do ? Lewis had found the poison with his wolf's sense of smell, and that thought brought him back to Seth and Jacob. Could Werewolves counteract the poison with their physical abilities ? Was it even possible ? It was obvious that the drugs had worked faster on Jacob than on humans, so maybe their bodies could heal on their own ? His instincts told him that they wouldn't have much choice : even if they were to remove the arsenic and cyanide from their bodies, there was still Fugu's poison that would kill them, if they didn't find an antidote in time.

Lewis had not met the other patients, but what he had been told gave him a clue as to their true nature. The smell in the corridors he had caught a glimpse of confirmed his hypothesis. Vampires. If his meager knowledge of them was correct, they could not die from Fugu's poison ; it paralyzed the muscles and caused respiratory arrest, resulting in death. Vampires do not need to breathe. So the only ones in real danger in this story were Seth and Jacob.

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When the sheriff heard a noise behind him, he turned to the door to face a policeman.

- So ?

Left alone in the Holy Mother's office to continue his search, the others had joined their colleagues to question the building's employees. Charlie had asked to be notified if anything interesting came to light. Something was going on behind his back, and he wanted to know what it was.

- You won't believe this. The policeman said as he approached him. One of the employees in the surveillance room told us about a death chamber in the basement.

Charlie's eyes opened like saucers.

- A what ?

- A death chamber, sir. Repeated the policeman.

- But that's...

The sheriff stopped in mid-sentence. The word impossible that was about to come out of his mouth finally didn't cross the barrier of his lips. Impossible did not fit the situation. Indeed, if a week earlier someone had told him that vampires existed, he wouldn't have believed it for a second. And yet... Now he had no choice but to believe it, since it was reality. So a death chamber, why not ? In the end, it made sense. The Holy Mother must have done countless searches, as the room was littered with notebooks and loose papers, and she had surely caught vampires before. A shiver ran down her spine. If there was one thing he didn't want to see right now, it was dead vampires. But he didn't have much choice if he wanted to understand what the Holy Mother was up to. Besides, he had to destroy all evidence of the existence of vampires. If people realized that these legends existed, everyone would panic and there would be anarchy. The Holy Mother's research would never be believed by judges, and they would simply call her crazy. But if doctors did autopsies on the bodies, they would know for sure that they were not dealing with humans.

Charlie met the policeman's eyes. What to do ? No one would approve of his plan to burn the death chamber without a good reason. And everyone would find it strange if he decided to go it alone.

- Well, let's take a closer look. He finally decided.

Hopefully, it didn't exist and it was only a false rumor...

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- Is there anything else you gentlemen would like ?

Smith and his men declined with a joint nod, and returned to their silent observation of the surroundings. The waiter then turned to another table near theirs, where two women were seated. Smith sighed inwardly, annoyed at not being left alone. The uninteresting conversation of the trio was ringing in his ears, although he preferred not to hear it.

- What refreshments would you like, ladies ? Said the waiter.

- Two Cokes please. And don't forget the ice cubes ! Replied the blonde.

The waiter nodded as he wrote on a piece of paper.

- With the heat they're predicting for the end of the day, you're right ! Exclaimed the young man.

- It is exceptional besides ! Retorted the brunette.

Smith rolled his eyes behind his sunglasses. Who cares ?

- Did you see the ads ? The blonde exclaimed. They were talking about Bogachiel State Park, and it looks like it's been closed since this morning.

Smith listened, suddenly interested. His two sidekicks in front of him exchanged a glance before discreetly doing the same.

- Yes, it's all over the news. It must be a big case, almost all the policemen of Forks went there ! The waiter agreed while the brunette nodded.

What the... Smith's blood ran cold. Still dazed because he had just heard, he hastily took out his phone from his pocket while straightening up. He hurried out of the bar, followed by his two comrades. When he reached the other side of the road, and Smith had finished talking on the phone, he turned to the other two.

- This time we attack. He grumbled.

- What's the plan ? Asked the blond man with an evil grin.

- We go for it. We have to get around the police to get our money. Then, we get out of this city.

The smile of his two acolytes was enough for him as an answer, and he turned the heels to join the long black car parked on the carpark to hundred meters from there.

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