Graymere

“I’m not becoming a vampire, am I?” I asked Doctor Swift, probably sounding even more like the silly irresponsible child everyone here already thought I was.

She chuckled and shook her head. I felt a strange mixture of relief and offense.

I didn’t like being patronized, but then again, I was a junior agent who ran away from the asylum I was supposed to be investigating, got injured and locked up by children who weren’t even supposed to exist, and to top it all off, I led one of those children and their vampire pet straight to the clothing store above the time traveling train station. Sounds weird when you say it out loud, huh? So some junior agent messes up her first big gig, but at least she brought something back for show and tell. More specifically an unregistered person and her pet vampire.

The whole experience kept replaying in my head as Doctor Swift asked me all kinds of questions. It was supposed to help her measure my mental health and memory retention. At least that’s what she told me. She seemed especially interested in Broadmoor asylum. I suppose that was my mission, but it seemed that the agency should be more interested in my mission than my doctor. I hadn’t yet seen General Morgan, but she rarely made an appearance for agents as low ranking as myself. I thought Commander Stevenson would have stopped by, though.

At first I was relieved to be left alone, but soon I became bored and restless. Doctor Swift said she would do everything she could to keep Fire safe, but that didn’t let me rest any easier. Sapphire Graymere was the unregistered child of two time travelers believed to be long dead. She shouldn’t exist. It would be quite easy to fix the problem by incinerating her. Artemis too, though Mortimer was currently unaware off his existence. That was the practical solution, but the thought sickened me now. Was it because I knew them or because I was letting my emotions get in the way of my work? Still, to have an execution without trial? All for the sake of existing?

Although, Fire did assault an agent and attempt to gain access to Mortimer by force, so I guess there was some criminal activity there.

There was a knock at the door and Nurse Foxwell entered. He smiled warmly at me. The old man was always very friendly towards me. He’s been there as long as I can remember (he was there when my memory was wiped), always watching out for me. He’s the closest thing I have to a father.

“You look so much better, O.” Foxwell liked to call me O, to make it sound like I had a real name other than O431. Although I suppose Ophelia would also work with that.

“So I’m not going to die then? Darn.” He smiled faintly, but I knew there was something bothering him. “Any news about Fire?” I asked.

“O, there’s going to be an official vote later today, but the majority seem to be in favor of her execution. General Morgan supports it for public reasons, showing everyone else how we deal with threats like this. That bad things happen when you don’t follow the rules. Others like your Commander Stevenson support it for the sole purpose of keeping the timeline stable.”

“But they were isolated, and they weren’t interfering with anything.” I complained.

“Oh? I think we both know that they had something to do with the anomalies in Broadmoor. The lycanthropy? It can’t be a coincidence that your little captor just happens to have a shape-shifting beast.”

“Okay, that’s a valid point,” I conceded. “But what-”

“Listen” he began “I don’t want the girl to die either, but is it possible that you’re suffering from the effects of Stockholm Syndrome?”

I didn’t know what to say. It was another valid point. Why did I care so much for Fire and her family? Sure, she was beautiful, but she was somewhat emotionally unstable. It’s not like a relationship between the two of us would ever work out. Not because we were both women, nowadays no one cares about that, but because she was an unregistered person in the eyes of the law and I was an agent for Mortimer. It’s not meant to be.

A relationship between us could only ever exist at Graymere manor, a supernatural and mysterious place unknown to Mortimer. But after they destroy Fire, Graymere manor will probably be next. Hopefully Artemis and everyone can get away before then.