Read Online Hunting Daylight (9781101619032) by Piper Maitland - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Piper Maitland
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pacing the length of the tent.
“I hate to dump more crap on you, Jude. But there’s a lot of talk around here. Once you sign up with Al-Dîn, they don’t let you go. People are wanting to get the hell out. If we don’t go soon, we’ll die.”
Jude nodded. “When do we leave?”
“I got a dig scheduled for tonight. When I get back, we’ll put our heads together and come up with a plan.”
From outside, the PA system crackled, and then Lenny’s nasal voice blasted. “Briefing in the mess pavilion at eighteen hundred.”
Insects boiled in the warm, dusky air as Jude andHamilton walked to the meeting. A few spotlights had been shattered, and glass littered the path.
“This camp is falling to pieces and Lenny knows it,” Hamilton said.
“Or he doesn’t care,” Jude said.
They sat down at a table in the back of the pavilion. The other scientists were already seated, looking grim and hollow-eyed, as if they’d wandered into a funeral home. Jude didn’t see Parnell or Walpole, but he wasn’t surprised. When Lenny strode in, two men began whispering in French.
“You guys need to chill,” Lenny said. He folded his arms and walked between the tables. “Let me explain what’s going on. Then I’ll try to answer your questions.”
A dark-haired scientist stood up. He appeared to be in his midthirties, a wiry chap with elongated ears and a pixie face. “Why are the bats so large?” he asked.
“Survival of the fittest,” Lenny said. “The bats gradually adapted to their environment. We found antelope and wildebeest bones in a cave—baby bones. They dated back four thousand years. The large bats were, and still are, supreme hunters. When they were still evolving, the smaller ones died off.”
“Got an update on the death toll?” Hamilton said.
A blush spilled across Lenny’s cheeks, bleeding into his port-wine stain. “If you don’t let me finish talking, I’ll add you to the list.”
Hamilton’s lips clamped shut. Jude inched down in his chair and forced himself to breathe slowly.
Lenny moved to the front of the pavilion. “We’re inan unmapped region of the Birougou,” he said. “There’s extreme biodiversity out here. The bacteria and viruses are just as unusual. The bats you saw this morning are unique. They carry an atypical DNA virus.”
A man with auburn hair and a narrow fox-face raised his hand. “Have we been exposed to it?”
“No.” Lenny grinned, showing his incisors. “No need to worry about this one. You’re immune. Now. But three thousand years ago, you would have gotten infected. That’s what happened to the Lolutu tribe who lived here a few thousand years ago. The Lolutu got infected with the virus—either they got bitten or they may have eaten the bats. The virus caused a change in the Lolutu’s stem cells. A change that inhibited aging and boosted immunity. The Lolutu also lost the need to ingest food and developed a craving for blood.”
Jude sat up a little straighter. Was Lenny saying that a virus had turned the Lolutu into vampires? Didn’t he know that immortality wasn’t a contagious virus?
Lenny paused dramatically. “The Lolutu were the first vampires.”
“Bullshit,” Hamilton said.
A man at Jude’s table got to his feet. His small face was overpowered by a beard that grizzled out like a Brillo pad. “Vampirism is
not
a virus,” he cried.
The other scientists sprang from their chairs and began shouting.
Lenny raised his hands. “Shut the fuck up so I can talk,” he yelled. “Or the bats will be the least of your problems.”
The group fell silent and returned to their seats.
“A few weeks ago we tested a bat,” Lenny said. “It had high levels of monoclonal antibodies.”
“Who cares?” The man with the pixie face shrugged.
“You should,” Lenny said. “In our main lab, we injected vampire rats with monoclonal antibodies. This allowed the rats to endure sunlight for up to two hours. No burning. No blindness. No side
“I hate to dump more crap on you, Jude. But there’s a lot of talk around here. Once you sign up with Al-Dîn, they don’t let you go. People are wanting to get the hell out. If we don’t go soon, we’ll die.”
Jude nodded. “When do we leave?”
“I got a dig scheduled for tonight. When I get back, we’ll put our heads together and come up with a plan.”
From outside, the PA system crackled, and then Lenny’s nasal voice blasted. “Briefing in the mess pavilion at eighteen hundred.”
Insects boiled in the warm, dusky air as Jude andHamilton walked to the meeting. A few spotlights had been shattered, and glass littered the path.
“This camp is falling to pieces and Lenny knows it,” Hamilton said.
“Or he doesn’t care,” Jude said.
They sat down at a table in the back of the pavilion. The other scientists were already seated, looking grim and hollow-eyed, as if they’d wandered into a funeral home. Jude didn’t see Parnell or Walpole, but he wasn’t surprised. When Lenny strode in, two men began whispering in French.
“You guys need to chill,” Lenny said. He folded his arms and walked between the tables. “Let me explain what’s going on. Then I’ll try to answer your questions.”
A dark-haired scientist stood up. He appeared to be in his midthirties, a wiry chap with elongated ears and a pixie face. “Why are the bats so large?” he asked.
“Survival of the fittest,” Lenny said. “The bats gradually adapted to their environment. We found antelope and wildebeest bones in a cave—baby bones. They dated back four thousand years. The large bats were, and still are, supreme hunters. When they were still evolving, the smaller ones died off.”
“Got an update on the death toll?” Hamilton said.
A blush spilled across Lenny’s cheeks, bleeding into his port-wine stain. “If you don’t let me finish talking, I’ll add you to the list.”
Hamilton’s lips clamped shut. Jude inched down in his chair and forced himself to breathe slowly.
Lenny moved to the front of the pavilion. “We’re inan unmapped region of the Birougou,” he said. “There’s extreme biodiversity out here. The bacteria and viruses are just as unusual. The bats you saw this morning are unique. They carry an atypical DNA virus.”
A man with auburn hair and a narrow fox-face raised his hand. “Have we been exposed to it?”
“No.” Lenny grinned, showing his incisors. “No need to worry about this one. You’re immune. Now. But three thousand years ago, you would have gotten infected. That’s what happened to the Lolutu tribe who lived here a few thousand years ago. The Lolutu got infected with the virus—either they got bitten or they may have eaten the bats. The virus caused a change in the Lolutu’s stem cells. A change that inhibited aging and boosted immunity. The Lolutu also lost the need to ingest food and developed a craving for blood.”
Jude sat up a little straighter. Was Lenny saying that a virus had turned the Lolutu into vampires? Didn’t he know that immortality wasn’t a contagious virus?
Lenny paused dramatically. “The Lolutu were the first vampires.”
“Bullshit,” Hamilton said.
A man at Jude’s table got to his feet. His small face was overpowered by a beard that grizzled out like a Brillo pad. “Vampirism is
not
a virus,” he cried.
The other scientists sprang from their chairs and began shouting.
Lenny raised his hands. “Shut the fuck up so I can talk,” he yelled. “Or the bats will be the least of your problems.”
The group fell silent and returned to their seats.
“A few weeks ago we tested a bat,” Lenny said. “It had high levels of monoclonal antibodies.”
“Who cares?” The man with the pixie face shrugged.
“You should,” Lenny said. “In our main lab, we injected vampire rats with monoclonal antibodies. This allowed the rats to endure sunlight for up to two hours. No burning. No blindness. No side
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