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WARNING: Some portions of the following work of fiction contain explicit sex. If you are under 18 (or whatever age is appropriate for your location), HIT YOUR BACK BROWSER BUTTON NOW. If you find explicit sex offensive, please don't offend yourself by reading further.

The full disclaimer for this work of Vampire Hunter D fanfiction is at the beginning of Chapter 1.

Author: Charlotte MacFarlane
Email: duckey@ns.sympatico.ca
Feedback: Please, yes, lots.
Forward to others: would be flattered if you did.
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Chapter 5 The End & The Beginning

She was cold, and wet, there were still tubes in her, and they hurt. She was being handled by people, but it was hard to hear them. Their voices were muffled. She felt her body turned over and was laid on her back. Fluid ran out of her ears. It was then the voices came clearer, but she still couldn't move. "She's ready. Take her to the operating room. We'll get the new base in place."

She heard the clatter of the gurney wheels across the floor, and felt it hit a number of obstacles along the way. She could only discern they were doors. She then felt the gurney stop. "Lower the suspension suite to her hips please, and remember, she's dead. So don't ogle her too much."

"Pity. She's got some nice tits. You sure this will work?"

"Absolutely, Admiral Feldman. Your clone will be completely protected from the suspension fluid. The cell will run off her body's natural EM field. Your memory engrams will be stored on circuits under the protective layer. You'll never know you were downloaded, as they say."

"Her eyes are open."

"Not to worry. Muscle spasm. Captain, please escort the admiral to the download center. We'll be ready in a few minutes."

"Yes sir. Admiral, this way."

"What will happen to her?"

"She'll be used as clone material. Her brain was downloaded before they went ahead with the earlier procedure. Most likely just a few years ago. Their memories are stored in the main computer. If something happens to one of them, they'll just download the brain of someone else into the clone. She may only live 5 years as a clone, but her body can supply unlimited clone able material."

"Good. See to it the implantation goes well. I want to make sure she's around when I wake up." She heard another door close and saw vague figures begin to surround her.

"The government sure they want to clone that guy?" asked a women.

"Ours is not the place to question. We've been cloned, and will wake with them. Lets just get on with this." The man reached up and pressed her eyelids closed. A few moments later, another door was heard opening and closing, but nothing was said. Then a searing, agonizing pain spread across her stomach. She could hear the words, retractor, and sponge, used and realized they had cut into her. But why? She tried to scream but found no sound. She tried to move, but her body wouldn't listen to her. She tried to tell them through her pain full breathing, but they ignored her. Then blackness came over her.

'Is this the end?' she thought, but there were no answers.

When she opened her eyes again, she could see dozens of tiny white lights above her. The pain had subsided substantially, but there was a strange pressure on her stomach now. "Clear!" someone yelled. Then there was a new pain; all over hundreds of tiny needles were felt driven into her skin all at the same time. Why didn't they make sure she was still unconscious for this? Again she tried to move or scream, but it wasn't any good. What were they doing to her? And why? "Ok, she's ready. Reconnect her to the base. The wires will connect to the electrodes automatically. Jack, you going for downloading now?"

"Yeah."

"Wait up."

She was alone. A chance to get away. Perhaps it was her own fear that kept her from moving while they were there, but now. She was alone. Again she tried, but her body wouldn't move. She could feel her brain tell her body to turn over, her arms to push her up, and her legs to propel her up, but nothing happened. She just lay there. 'What did they do to me? Please, somebody, help me. Please. If I'm dieing, please take me quick.'

Soon she felt other hands on her. Tiny tugs on her skin and then a needle in her shoulder. The again she could feel being cold and wet. Then she had the feeling of floating, and all was quiet. She felt her body quiver from time to time, heard the rumblings of the complex around her, then all was quiet.

For a long time.

Then she felt the tubes pulled out of her, from everywhere, and the tiny pains in her skin were gone, like plucked hairs. She could move at last, but not very well. Her feet were secured to something as well. Then not. She wanted to breath, but she knew she couldn't. She was under water, or some kind of fluid. Then there was the surface. Air, life, escape. Desperately she took that first breath, and realized she was in trouble. She couldn't hold herself upright. She couldn't feel her hands, nor her feet, and she wasn't sure if her legs were doing what her brain told them to do. She was going to drown. 'No,' she thought. 'There has to be some way out, some way. Some....one.' Another desperate breath and she called out, only her voice got caught in her throat, and only a harsh whisper that even she could barely hear, escaped her. Fighting back to the surface she called again. "HELP!! I CAN'T SWIM IN THIS!! HELP!!"

Barely a minute had passed, and she heard another voice. Strong, and male, concern edged off the words he spoke, but some how he still sounded cold. But all she knew was that she didn't want to die in this horrid place. "Grab on!!" Above her she felt a bar. Desperately she tried to grab it, but she couldn't her hands just slid away, as though the skin felt like jelly. She couldn't give up. There was a chance, and she would take it.

She tried again, and again, but each time her hands slid off the bar that offered her the chance to get away. Finally one last time, she threw her hands around the bar, urging with all her might for her fingers to grasp the steady metal, and finally they listened. Relieved, she allowed the man on the other end to pull her threw the muck she was in, to a firmer footing. She tried to wipe away the residue, but not having much success. He tried to help her, but she couldn't...wouldn't let him. For all she knew, he was one of the ones who did this to her. He had to be. Who else would it be in this place? Something must have happened, maybe the government had a change of office, and the new administration had put a stop to this project, whatever it was, and ordered all the captives released. But she wouldn't take that chance. She heard him try to calm her, but she wouldn't listen. He'd done enough to her. "Get away!!! Don't touch me!!!" She staggered to her feet to find a wall behind her. She could barely see, her glasses where who knows where, and the place was dark. "What have you done to me!!!?"

"Miss, please calm down." He had a light with him, not a bright one, but a light all the same. She could see it come towards her, which meant he was coming closer. She jumped back, but her foot caught on something and she fell to the floor. Her muscles ached, from supporting her, and she could feel them start to spasm. The fluid around her rose a few inches up her chest, she went to rise again, only to have something slide across her lap. She recognized the feel. A person. The light from the man shone on the face, puffy and pale, all wrinkled from being in the fluid too long. Was that what she looked like? Was she going to die? No. No! NO! She screamed, and pushed the body away, scrambling to her fumbling feet, feeling her way along the wall. She turned a corner, and then another, ahead of her she could see a light, the only brighter light in this place. It had to be the outside, or at lease better lighted corridors for her to use to find a way out. She followed the wall, feeling it smooth in places and then cracked in others, then the floor became jagged, and rocky, as though it had been broken up. But she didn't care. There was a chance she could get out, a chance she could get home. Perhaps it wasn't too late. She could only have been gone a few days. Her father would definitely be worried, and he'd know what to do, how to go about getting to the bottom of what they had done to her.

She stepped out into the blinding light and screamed. It was too bright. Brighter than her lamp that hung right over her bed and shone in her eyes when she forgot to turn it off after reading in bed. She tried again to see, but it was no good. She saw blurred shadows pass by her as she spun around, and could hear footsteps behind her. Then she heard a deep rumbling growl. She slowly turned and could just make out the shape of some large beast. It looked like it had spikes on its back, and four legs, as the shadows and light filtered around it. And the breath, it was rancid. Worse than the smell of the local butcher shop after slaughter. The only thing that came close was the smell of a pheasant her father cleaned after hunting. Oh it reeked. Slowly she tried to back away. It growled again, and she could make out it was moving, towards her. She had to find a way back inside the tunnel she came out of, maybe it was too big to follow. It couldn't have been too far away. Quickly she turned around and ran, but her legs were still barely listening, and all she managed was to stumble to the ground, sliding in the fluid that ran all over the ground.

She could hear metal against metal, clanging, and scraping. The great beast roared, and turned to the attacker. It howled, and growled. There had to be another person there. Perhaps it would eat him and leave her alone. She tried to move away, but found that her breath was too short, and her mind was racing with panic. She had to calm down; panicking wasn't going to get her anywhere. Accept into more trouble. She could see the shadow of the beast rise higher, its great tree trunk legs slashing around in the air. Then she heard the strangest sound. If you have ever squished bread dough in your hands when it was still wet, you'd know that sound. There were sounds of things dropping in puddles, and the shadow of the beast fell to the ground. Then the blood. Lots of it. Red, deep red. Was it the beast's, or the one who drew the beast away, was it going to come for her. 'Don't panic,' she thought. 'Get your bearings, get up. Run!!"

"Are you all right?" she heard the same voice ask. It was him. The man from inside. But why? Why would he save her after what he did to her? Questions. Too many questions. Can't breath, can't think, can't do anything.

'Help me, someone!' And all she saw was the darkness.

Soon she could see shadows, the sounds all came back to her, too much for her to handle all at once. Screaming she sat up. It was dark out. But she was warm, and dry. For once she was dry. Her hair was loose, and flew about her face. What she'd give for an elastic right now. Quickly she tried to catch her breath, tried to figure out what had happened to her. "Are you better now?" asked that voice. It was calm, mostly uninterested, but a voice all the same. It reassured her that she was alive. But for how long. She turned to the person whom the voice belonged. A dark figure sat across the fire pit, the flames casting shadow and light across his form. But still she couldn't see him. "I'm not your enemy," he said. "Here." He tossed a bag across the fire, stuffed full. It landed softly, and she discerned it was mostly filled with clothing. "After I got you settled here, I went back down to the Ark. The storage room was broken open. I found your picture on one of the bags. I assume it was your personal affects. I went through the other bags and took some clothes and other items. I hope the clothes fit you. No one else survived so they won't be missed."

Survived? What had happened? There were dozens of people in that detention room. She was sure they all went through what she did. Why didn't they survive? "Where am I??" she asked, trying not to seem the child she was sure he saw. Frightened, stupid, and easily scared. Oh well that's what happens when someone kidnaps you and does horrible things.

"A cave, above where I found you. I don't normally hold up in caves, but it started to rain and you needed shelter." she could feel him watching her. She felt slimy, like that stuff was still on her. Was that what he was looking at. She, again, tried to wipe it off, the feel of her skin was like rubber. "Easy, I found a river after climbing out of the chasm. I washed off all that stuff."

She didn't listen as she continued to wipe her arms and chest. She then had a chance to really look at the suite she'd been forced to wear. A white body suit, complete with sleeves and leggings, some dignity given her at least. She wore it still as she sat before him, a blanket over her legs. She crawled from her sleeping place and supported herself against the cave wall as she stood. Maybe there was still a chance to get away. Rain never bothered her before. She doubted it would now. She'd crawl through a monsoon to get home if she had to. "Please, rest. You've been through a lot," he said, crossing the cave to her. She pushed him away and followed the sound of the rain. He followed. "Wait!" He turned her to him, only to have her shake him off. She turned again and kicked her left leg high as her turn completed. Kevin's teachings in self-defense on the weekends at lease was going to pay off. But he must have been expecting it. He stepped back before her foot came near him. Still weak from what happened, the maneuver unbalanced her and she fell back. She felt his hands suddenly come around her and pull her upright, but things moved so fast, and her mind wasn't ready to process everything, not only that, she felt sick. Her head spun, and her vision completely left her. Then darkness took her again.

It was some time before she woke again. Of that she was sure. The surroundings were different. And it was sunny out. The warmth from the window was felt even from where she lay. And he was there. That same man. He had a cloth in his hand and was wiping her brow. The cloth was wet, and cold. It felt nice. Why was he doing this? He stuck her in that awful place. Why help her? Or did he? She only assumed that he was the one who did those things to her, only because he was there. He didn’t have to help her, yet he was. She needed answers, and perhaps if she stopped acting like a child she might actually get them. “Who…who are you?” she asked quietly.

“I was wondering when you’d ask that,” he said calmly. “I’m called D. What’s your name?”

“Kale,” she whispered.

“Kale. Not to worry. A doctor has been sent for.”

‘A doctor? No!’

“We’ll have you back on your feet in no time.”

“No…” she tried to rise, but he held her down. How could he do this to her? Not now. No more doctors. Doesn’t he think they’ve done enough to her! “No…no doctors…no more…NO!!!” she screamed over and over, then fell silent as sleep took her.



"I...remember," she said softly. She sat up to see D, holding her hand, his eyes reflected worry and fear for her. His eyes asking her, even before he parted his lips for a single word. "I remember. That's what really happened," she turned to Delron, who through the whole encounter had been dictating what he saw, what she felt, and what she thought to all in the room. She wiped her tears form her face. "I can't believe I'd forgotten that."

"You didn't forget, Kale," offered Delron. "You suppressed it. There's a difference."

"But why? Why did I start remembering now?"

"Something triggered it. Your defenses were down, because of your loosing your baby. You remember after they put you in the truck, I got the sense that the truck was moving, but not?"

"Yes."

"Do you think it may have been flown somewhere?"

She thought for a moment. She'd been on a plane before, not many times but she had been. And the feeling...was...the same. "Yes," she said at last. "Yes it was."

"That could be what triggered all of this. You were psychologically wounded, and the flight from the ground to here just ate away at your reserves, without you even knowing it. The rest was just coincidence."

"So what will happen now?" asked D, grateful that when she woke up she seemed better, and knew who he was.

"That is up to her. Now that she remembers there's little else I can do. Though there is a dark place that I touched, and you Kale, pushed me away from it."

"I did?"

"Yes. Have you had any mind walker training in your past?"

"No."

"Interesting. When I touched that part of you, you seemed quite adamant that I stay away. It seemed unusual. Would you mind if I try again? You probably don't remember it, because of all else that has been happening, but maybe now you'd be willing to face it."

"You can try, though I don't know what area you'd be refer..." for a moment she was quiet as she felt, for the first time, the presence of something strange in her head. Almost like the feeling you get when you go swimming. She felt like the water, as someone swam inside her brain. Then she knew then where he was going. Where he was drawing her to. "NO!!" she screamed, and Delron fell out of his chair. The force of her pushing him away catching him completely off guard. "No. That's...that's no place for you."

"I understand," he said, pulling himself back into the chair. "I guess that even I have a dark place like that. A guarded vault of memories, too painful, or too precious, to share with anyone. I'm sorry."

"No, I'm sorry. I should have realized what you meant."

"How could you? That same place is different to everyone." He patted her arm as he got up. "Well, my work is done. Now that you remember, and no longer afraid of what they had done, you can put the memories where you wish. It's all up to you."

"Come. All of you," Dracula called softly, rising from his own chair near the foot of the bed. Adrian and Corbin joined him. "Let us leave them. Delron, I will pay your fee for her. Come Adrian, let them be."

Alone at last, D crawled across the bed and held her close. "I'm sorry," she sighed, leaning into his welcome strong arms. "I remember, what I said to you a while ago. What we did. It must have hurt you deeply."

"Not as much as seeing you in pain," he said.

"D?"

"Yes?"

"Hold me..."