Page 56 of The Captive and the First Blood Game
“Then why didn’t you do something?” Reyna raged.
“Iwasdoing something. I still am doing something.” He pointed to his lab. “This is what I’m good at. I’m not a fighter. I have never been able to stand up to William or his ambitions. I never could have gone in and retrieved you as bravely as Meghan did. But I gave her all the information she needed to get you out of there, and I worked on the inside for many, many years, as Beckham does now. Do not discredit my service to the organization because it does not align with what you wish it could have been.”
Reyna sighed. She understood what he was saying, but she still thought it was shitty that Elle seemed to forgive him for his transgressions against humanity just because he had grown a conscience.
“But as I was saying…blood diseases,” he said, returning to his lecture. “Many of these have no impact whatsoever on a vampire’s eating habits. Anemia is problematic to the human if they cannot produce enough replacement red blood cells after having been fed on. Or hemophilia would be incredibly problematic for a human if their blood is unable to clot, even with the added clotting components found in vampire saliva.”
“Venom,” Reyna told him.
“Excuse me?”
“Vamp venom. Saliva sounds way too scientific. I’m really going to make venom a thing.”
Washington laughed. “Venom it is,” he said, indulging her. “A few new diseases, however, have sprung up in the last hundred years that affect vampires both physiologically and cognitively. The most prevalent is called cogitare anemia. Have you heard of it?”
“No. What is it?”
“Humans are the carriers, like mosquitos carry malaria. It does not affect them except that it appears like they have regular anemia with a deficiency in red blood cells. But in vampires…” Washington tapped the pen in his hand. “Here, take a look. This is what happens to vampire blood that comes in contact with a human host infected with cogitare anemia.”
Reyna leaned forward with interest despite herself. She pressed her eye to a microscope and watched the interaction as the two specimens were combined. Her eyes widened with shock as the perfectly normal vampire blood seemed to shake and tremble against the invasion of the new blood.
“Whoa. What kind of reaction is that?” Reyna asked, pulling back.
“What you’re witnessing is the deterioration of the antigens on the blood. Antigens are markers on the surface of red blood cells that invoke an immune response; they are also what determines your blood type. There are 342 different known antigens in a person’s blood. The most common are the Rh antigen, which you either have or you don’t, and the ABO antigens.”
Reyna leaned back against the counter. “So, this disease destroys antigens on the blood cell? If a person is A negative or B positive, and it rips that away, what does that mean for the vampire?”
“Excellent question. If a vampire no longer has a blood type, then they can no longer drink from a blood type match.”
“Oh God,” Reyna whispered as realization dawned on her. “They revert back to how they were?”
“Worse, I’m afraid. Without a blood type match, the disease effectively eliminates the ability for higher thinking and exacerbates the animalistic tendencies of my brethren. But if it goes untreated, the red blood cells can further deteriorate so thatanyblood they ingest will be rejected. It’s the same response we see in humans when they receive a non-match blood transfusion and the blood is rejected. And while the vampire is frantic for food, they seek out more people to eat and pass the illness back into the human population.”
“It’s passed from vampire to human. Does it pass from human to human?”
“Yes. Though we’re not entirely sure how, as there are no symptoms in humans, which makes it more difficult for us to track. It is like men who carry the HPV disease with no signs and then spread it to women who can then get cancer. This is the blood disease that has been circulating so effectively throughout the city.”
“What does that mean for the population?”
Washington frowned. “There are more rogue vampires on the loose, more humans are getting attacked, and the disease is spreading swiftly. I haven’t seen anything so widespread in decades.”
Reyna’s head swam with all the new information. “And there’s a cure?”
“We’ve found a way to stop the deterioration of the red blood cells. However, new blood cells would have to be created, and a safe blood supply would need to be acquired to keep everyone safe. We’ve never had an outbreak like this.”
“It sounds engineered.”
“How so?” he asked.
“It sounds like someone is trying to drum up hysteria in the population. Like when the recession hit ten years ago, it was prime picking for Visage to swoop in like a savior. No one bothered to look more closely because we were in such dire straits. This blood disease sounds like a similar issue.”
“That is an interesting theory. It would fit the intensity with which the disease seems to be spreading. Especially considering we have a cure.”
“So someone is keeping them from being treated?”
“It’s a possibility.” Washington drummed his fingers on the counter. “Well, thank you for your insight. It is always nice to have another person to bounce ideas off of.”
“You think he’s planning something, don’t you?” Reyna asked intuitively.
