Before I can explain, Mathew clears his throat. “First, I want to apologize to each of you for the way we welcomed you. You need to understand that it was only done to protect the people of this town. We needed to be positive that none of you had been infected by the virus.” He pauses and directs his attention at Aiden. “Or that any of you would be a danger to us.”
“If you thought we would be dangerous, why did you bring us here?” I interrupt, putting my arms on the table, reminding them that I still have the knife.
Mathew’s pale eyes glance at the knife then at me. “I didn’t expect you to arrive with others. It surprised me. Also, when we saw the wounds and blood on Maci, we needed to make sure she wasn’t bitten; that none of you were.”
I place my knife on the table and fold my arms. “I can understand that. We all want to protect those we belong to.”
He nods in agreement. “Exactly.” A bead of sweat drips down from his forehead and he wipes it on his sleeve. I remember that Nichelle told me earlier that Mathew had been bitten. I wonder if he is changing, if he is putting his people at risk right now.
“Nichelle told me you were bitten,” I say. “Yet you haven’t changed. How is that possible?”
“That isn’t the reason I brought you here,” he replies, looking pale and worn out. “When I worked with the doctors at the colony, we were experimenting with our medications on animals. It was difficult to see what kind of results we were getting. So Gabrielle and Monarch began stealing children for our experiments. They rationalized their antics by telling themselves they would only steal children who had been neglected or abused in their homes.”
Aiden’s eyes flicker with rage. “That’s bull. Sylas and I were never neglected or abused by our parents.”
He gives him a sad look. “I’m not sure how come the two of you were chosen, but after they stole you, they had to slow down on the amount of children that they were stealing. Your parents did a massive search trying to find you. Everyone at the colony worried we’d all be found and then locked away.”
Aiden jumps up, toppling his chair over. “Stop lying.”
Nichelle instantly jumps up in front of Mathew, putting herself between Aiden and him. “Watch it. I’m not afraid to take you out.”
Aiden laughs sardonically, throwing his head back. “Like you could.”
She glares at him, her voice dropping low with a warning, “Want to find out?”
Aiden laughs again, but it fizzles out and he lets it go, picking up his chair. “So you knew about everything? You were a part of it?” he asks Mathew. “How can you stand to live with yourself after the torture you put all of us through?” He’s shaking from head to toe and I can tell he’s about to do something based on his anger.
I gently place my hand on Aiden’s arm. He glances at it as I pull him back down in his chair. “Easy, okay? Let’s hear what he has to say.”
Mathew’s expression is full of remorse as Nichelle sits back down in her seat. “When I found out how bad things were,” he says. “The horrible experiments and torture that were being conducted, I didn’t stay. I left the colony and came here. But it was already too late to stop the cycle of what was going on. All I could do was try to prepare myself, and as many others as possible, for what was going to be inevitable.”
“Cedrix told me that the world is this way because of greed,” I say. “Can you tell us what happened? How the world became this way; how the vampires came into existence?”
He looks surprised. “You know Cedrix?” he asks. I nod. “He’s one of the few doctors that tried to put an end to the madness before it became worse.”
“I knew him,” I tell him. “We all did… but he’s not alive anymore.”
Mathew’s eyes fill with anguish and he lets out a deep sigh as he looks down at his hands. “I’m sad to say that I’m not surprised. Death is more common than life anymore.” He returns his eyes to me and they’re watery, something I don’t understand. “And he was right when he told you that it was greed that started this. He knew exactly how it all started; we all did because we were all part of it. We are all responsible.” He takes a trembling breath. “And the reason the vampires came into existence was all because of one little girl named Kayla.”
My jaw drops. I’m shocked, stunned and a little pissed off, amongst other things. Everyone looks in my direction, waiting for me to say something or hurt them.
I shake my head, my hands starting to tremble. “You’re lying.”
“Kayla, please calm down,” Mathew says. “I’m not saying you’re responsible. The doctors kept trying different injections on all the children. Usually they would end up dying or worse, turn into something that was half-dead, half-alive. However, when the injected you, it was as if your body became stronger and adapted to each serum they tried. Monarch decided to turn you into a perfect soldier. He didn’t allow you to make any connections with children. There was a day in the lab when he thought everything was perfect and he tricked you into biting someone.”
I can remember sinking my teeth into someone very well. “Gabrielle,” I say quietly.
“Yes, and that day started the change,” he explains. “Gabrielle immediately knew that he was changing into something; something stronger and more powerful than he had ever imagined. The rest of the doctors became excited and envious; they wanted to experience the same thing. So they injected themselves with the virus. The shot was called the fountain of youth; it would provide eternal life to those who took it. By this time, I’d left the colony, but from what I understand, the virus was marketed to the elite within the next few weeks. These elite groups of people became known as the Highers.”
“But something went wrong with the virus?” Aiden asks, pushing up the sleeves of his jacket.
Mathew nods, reclining in his chair. “It wasn’t too long before the Highers developed a thirst for blood and started feeding off humans. In addition, there was something about the Highers’ bite that caused people to forget they’d been bit. But the humans could only endure so many bites before they became infected and turned into what we now call vampires. As you know, their bite is deadly and immediately infects their victim, causing the disease to spread as they turn.”
I remember the Highers feeding off the vampires, and so this doesn’t make sense. “But why did I see the Highers feeding on the vampires?”