Chapter 10

Mark sat at the table in the drab, sparsely furnished apartment, his mind lost in the haze of the past few days. Time had become distorted; it felt like a month since his conversion. After two nights in a hotel — during the first of which, Vivian had completed his conversion — a woman linked to Robert had set him up in this remote place, far from town, facing the highway. It was late at night and traffic was sparse. He could hear individual cars and see their lights as they sped by.

He was frantic about Julia. His mind reeled as he thought about it. They had only let him see her once, in the apartment she in with Vivian. Julia been in the bedroom. He’d opened and closed the door behind him, walking toward her with open arms. He felt his chest clutch as he recalled those first, chilling words.

“Get out,” she’d said.

“What?! Julia, it’s me. Are you okay?”

“I said get out,” she’d yelled.

He had stared at her. At her eyes. There was something in them he’d never seen. They weren’t Julia’s eyes.

There was a soft knock at the door and Vivian poked her head in. “Everything okay?”

“No,” Julia had said. “I don’t want to see his face.” She’d turned away.

“Mark,” Vivan had said, taking his hand. “Let’s give her some time.”

He’d followed Vivian out of the room in a daze. She’d talked to him in muted tones – Julia was experiencing some negative after-effects of her conversion. It wasn’t uncommon. It should pass, but it wasn’t a good time to upset her. Better to wait, let her mind settle. She’d been saying other things – things Vivian didn’t want to repeat. Julia’s mind wasn’t her own. Vivian had seen this before. It would get better, but the best thing to do now was wait it out.

And then, two days later, Robert had told him Julia was gone — had walked out the following morning. There was a camera in the unit facing the door and it showed Julia, wearing one of Vivian’s coats, carrying a grocery bag and walking quietly out the door. Vivian had been in the shower. A CCTV camera outside the entrance showed her getting into a cab. Robert had shown him all the footage. They were searching for her everywhere. Mark had provided them with details about the location of her parents and her sister, as well as everything he could think of about her friends, where she might go, what she might do. They had found nothing so far – not a trace of her.

Mark was having trouble thinking ... remembering. Moments of sharp clarity emerged when he relived the harrowing kidnapping and the hideous scene with Julia, but his default mental state was hazy, befuddled. His conversion was a blur except for the initial explosions of pleasure.

Vivian had warned him there would be a period like this but had reassured him it would pass in a few weeks as his body and mind adjusted to the changes. He was nonetheless frustrated by his inability to think clearly about what had happened. Why had Julia said those things? Why had she left? Just walked out? It didn’t make any sense. But he kept recalling her look as she’d stared at the dead man; remembered her abruptly turning away from him as he’d tried to comfort her; remembered their heated discussions in the days leading up to the irrevocable step; remembered those eyes, those unrecognizable eyes. And now, he wondered, guiltily: had she been right? Was she now just trying to get away from it all? To get away from him? He’d spent hours lying on the bed, staring at the ceiling, trying to make sense of it all.

He tried to think that all through, to recall everything they had done and said to one another. About what they had been told about the benefits of becoming an Elysian: the boost in intelligence, the sexual capabilities.

But Julia wasn’t an Elysian — she was a Dacian. Had that suddenly turned her against him, against all of them? But how could it happen that fast? Had she gone to join other Dacians? How would she know where they were? Had they somehow contacted her?

His brain refused to cooperate. He’d have an idea and try to build on it but then discover it had all dissolved into a jumbled mess.

He realized he was tired. He went to bed.

________________________________________________________________________________ Mark was dreaming. He was making his way through tall, whispering grass, higher than his head. He couldn’t see beyond the closest blades but, somehow, he knew which way to go. He looked down and realized there was a tigress walking with him, guiding him with her magnificent body. He could feel her warm, lustrous fur against his skin, and the strength and solidity of her muscles as she gently moved him this way or that. As they made their way through the tall grass, a shimmering light appeared in the distance. It grew brighter and more radiant with each step, beckoning them forward...

He woke up.

Next to him in bed, bathed in moonlight, was Lilith.

“OHH!!” Mark exclaimed with a start.

“Hello again!” she said, reaching over and turning on the light.

“What the hell? What are you...? How did you get in here?” Mark said.

“You have window; I have glass cutter,” Lilith replied, her eyes shining. “It’s all just rock-paper-scissors, darling. You just have to know what the other person has.”

“But how did you get up to the window? It’s the second floor!”