Bloodistan // Vampire Thriller

1.5

"Are we going to die?" Kenneth asked, his voice quiet.

Walter Karim finished his tea in one gulp and placed the glass down in the middle of the table. His face gradually unclenched. "Octopus won't kill you, that's for certain. Diplomatic ties have advanced quite a bit. Most of them have learned to vocalize which was a pretty big hindrance. And they're the ones who expressed interest in getting the international community involved, right?"

"So, what's the real danger, sir?" Tasha asked. She felt she wasn't contributing enough. She did not really want to talk about this, though. She wanted to go outside and twirl. She wondered why she hadn't outgrown that yet.

"Rogue Tanin families along the way. That's the only real danger. But, your security detail will be here soon and they should keep you safe. They're experienced with taking delegations across so they know the protocol. And you do as well, I'm sure. You must have all been thoroughly briefed. So really, there's nothing to worry about."

Tasha picked her tea up and tried it again. Going in expecting the cloying sweetness, it wasn't half bad. "What language do they vocalize in?"

Walter smiled. "Good question. I was waiting for you to ask. Oddly enough, English. They decided it was the best language to learn for diplomatic reasons. So, three of them came over to our labs last year, made us teach it to them and went and spread the word, I suppose."

"English. Okay."

"Which reminds me." Walter got up, pushing his chair back a fair bit and stretching. "Miss Markov, can I have a word with you? In private?"

Helen giggled. "And here I thought I was special."

"My darling, you are a class apart from the rest of womankind." Walter took Helen's hand and kissed it. Tasha glanced over at Al who was peering at his tea, his face a little flushed.

Tahsa got up and nodded and the two of them walked outside the café. Tasha blinked into the suddenly furious sunlight. The place was still practically deserted. A blond woman in a lab-coat was face-timing someone outside the supermarket opposite. Other than that, the streets were silent and empty.

"That's the research centre over there." Walter pointed to a domed, brick building a few kilometres west. Perhaps it was the only building here not sporting a cross.

"And the residences?" Tasha asked.

"There's room inside for essential staff. The rest of them stay in hotels when they're called. An assignment lasts only a couple of days, usually."

"Mmm. So, what's the private thing we need to talk about?"

Walter pulled a stained handkerchief out of his pocket and dabbed at his forehead. "The private thing. Yeah. It's about your job, Tasha. See, the linguist and translator is in a pretty weird position here."

He turned and looked at her, not saying anything for a while.

"Weird, how?"

"Well, weird as in they really need linguists. That much we found out from our interactions with the phages. Vocalized language is their new obsession."

"Obsession?" Tasha twisted her calf, poised for a twirl.

"Yeah. They're very strange. In a way we can't even begin to describe. The one's you'll be dealing with, they'll look like us. But remember that that is a disguise. It's what they've been using to take us and kill us for centuries. They're just utterly...alien. They might ask you strange things. Personally. Be cordial, especially to the brood mother. Answer all their questions. But if they ask to tap you, don't agree."

Tasha raised her eyebrows.

"You have very pretty eyes, Natasha," Walter said, dabbing at his head again. "Just be careful. This Turkish girl working with us last year, Aylin. She let one of them talk her into tapping. She killed herself a week later. They probably didn't even mean any harm. You just can't keep your head with that kind of psychological interference."

"Okay," Tasha said.

"You'll be fine."

Tasha walked down the stairs, standing on the edge of the road. She heard the quiet crunch of military grade vehicles coming in from the distance. The security detail. Everything was beginning to feel all too real now. "I'll be fine," she said.

Thanks so much for reading. I hope you enjoyed this part and the chapter as a whole. Please leave me a comment down below if you did. I really appreciate your interest in Bloodistan.