“But Mama, look at their clothes! Look at my clothes! I won’t fit in here! I fitted in, in my old school in Nara!”

(Excerpt Alma Chapter 1)

 

            We sat in our vehicle and looked at the kids who appeared to be my age or older, all stream through the front doors of the large school building.

            The students were a mix of Caucasians, Asian-descent or Native Alaskans. I spotted a couple of African-American kids, but their hair was treated so it looked smooth and straight, not like my frizzy hair.  All of their clothes looked like the latest fashion and they all carried the latest models of laptops or tablets or mobile phones.  I saw how they pretended to look busy by messaging each other using their technology, as they checked their class schedules on their tablets. Some of them even wore large earphones to listen to loud music and block the world out.

            I knew I was going to stick out with my old clothes. My laptop was second-hand and used to be Mama’s and my mobile phone was old so it didn’t have all of the extra features of the newer models.  In Nara none of this mattered, but here I was worried that I wouldn’t be accepted because of it.

            “Can I move back to Mali and live with Uncle Bouren and Aunt Menaka?”  I passed her a pleading look.

            “No," she was quick to glare. “Your father left me for another woman and now you want to leave me too?”

            “But Mama, look at their clothes! Look at my clothes! I won’t fit in here! I fitted in, in my old school in Nara!”

            “Then make them fit in with YOU!” she flared and next, she hit the control for my door to make it open. “Now go to school!”

            With a huff to show my unhappiness, I climbed out of the vehicle.  Then as I slowly walked up the concrete path towards the large building, I looked back.  Mama powered up the hover-car and I watched the vehicle rise into the air.  Lastly, she threw me a wave before she flew off down the road.

            Merde! I’m all alone and I’m going to have to ask one of these fashionable kids where the school office is to pick up my class timetable.  I walked through the doors to find a crowded school corridor with lockers lining the walls.  The students stood with their friends in front of them, either putting things in or taking them out, as they all talked loudly.

            There weren’t any signs that I could see for the school's office, so I was going to have to ask for directions.  I started to walk over to two girls who appeared to be my age, who were touching up their made-up faces using small mirrors.   Mama would never let me wear make-up to school.  Now there’s another reason why I’ll stick out like an elephant next to a giraffe.

            “Pardon," I smiled as warmly as I could. “Could you please tell me where the school office is?”

            “Down the corridor and turn left," one of the girls answered without looking away from her mirror.

            “Merci - er - I mean thank you," I replied awkwardly.

            Merde!  They were like the neighbour Mama and I encountered.  Only worse, the teenagers here won't even look at you.

            I walked down the corridor and I turned left just as the girl directed only to find another long corridor.  Mon Dieu, please don’t make me have to ask for directions again!  Feeling lost, I started to walk down this hallway past more lockers and kids chattering loudly.  I still couldn’t see any signs of any school offices so I stopped and looked about, confused.

            Just then a pretty girl with long black hair and dark brown eyes noticed me standing in the middle of the corridor.  She was standing with a similarly looking friend and I think they were Native Alaskan. The first girl walked up and smiled which immediately made me like her.

            “Hi, you look lost," she laughed, but not meanly.

            “I’m trying to find the school office.” I told her.

            “It’s just down the end of this corridor," she pointed.  "The door is hidden, so I’ll show you.”

            “Thank you!” I gushed in relief.

            Next, both girls walked me down the corridor and as they did, they openly examined my appearance.

            “Where’s your accent from?” the second girl asked out of interest.

            “I just moved here from Mali.”  I answered.

            “Mali?” the second girl echoed in surprise. “That’s a big change coming to Alaska.”

            “Where’s Mali?” the first girl enquired.

            “In Africa," the second girl answered for me.

            “Wow," the first girl sounded impressed before she stopped and pointed out a door.  “There it is.”

            “Thank you very much,” I said gratefully to the two.

            “Good luck on your first day," the first girl smiled then she and her friend walked on.

            I gave them a wave as they departed and I wished I could be in their classes but unfortunately they were younger than me. 

 

*****

I came from a climate where a ‘hot day’ could reach forty-five degrees Celsius; to a climate which could drop to minus forty-five degrees Celsius.

 

(Excerpt Alma Chapter 1)

 

9th September 2380 – Nine Months Previously

 

            The hover-car landed with a gentle thud on the side of the road out the front of Alma High School and powered down. 

            Our second-hand hover-car wasn’t as shiny and new as the other models that we passed on the streets, or even those that were parked in the student car park.  Our vehicle also made a loud humming noise coupled with a slight rattle when we were zipping from A to B whereas the newer models moved almost soundlessly.  These differences only aided my self-conscious tendencies which were nerve-wracking when starting at a new school.  

            Mama turned off the ignition and turned to give me a brave smile. 

            She ordered, “Don’t be scared.”

            “I’m not,” I lied.

            “Today is my first day at my new job.” Mama continued. “I’m not scared, I’m excited.”

            “Mama, I’m not scared.” I repeated.

            She wasn't convinced though as she examined my face which looked very similar to hers in features, but our colouring was different.

            Mama was full-blooded Mali with the typical smooth, dark brown skin, big brown eyes and short afro hair. Her eyes were her best feature as they were large and yet pointed in the corners which gave her a feline-like quality. Mama was 170 cm’s tall and skinny.

            I wasn’t as tall as Mama, I was at least ten centimetres shorter. I was 16 years old so I still had a couple of years left where I might reach her height. My hair was long and frizzy and my skin was a light brown colour. My paler skin came from my father since he was Caucasian French.

            My parents divorce had just been finalized.  Papa had moved back to France at the start of their separation and with its completion, Mama and I moved to Alaska.  It was thanks to her getting a job at the new hydro power plant which operated just outside of Alma.

            It was ‘fall’ as they called autumn here.  Mama and I were already wearing coats as we had to adjust to the colder climate. I had moved from arid conditions to almost arctic.

            I came from a climate where a ‘hot day’ could reach forty-five degrees Celsius; to a climate which could drop to minus forty-five degrees Celsius.  Alma had odd daylight hours being so close to the Arctic Circle.  In summer, I've heard that there are days where the sun doesn’t set until 11 PM and in the middle of winter, there are days when it doesn't rise until 11 AM.

            I didn’t want to come here. I didn’t want to leave Mali. I miss my Aunts and Uncles and I miss playing soccer with my cousins. I miss the warm weather and the warmth of my family.

            Alma has a population of around 7,500 and people here aren’t as friendly.  When Mama and I first moved into our small, two bedroom townhouse which was in a complex, we asked a neighbour for directions to the supermarket. The lady was snobby and only gave a short answer which wasn't helpful.  Now I'd be going to school with people like this and I've been dreading my first day.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

How could we make the Detective and Forensic Scientist understand that this was a war between Werewolves and Vampires?

(Excerpt Alma Introduction)

 

It took me a minute or two to regain my bearings and recognize physical sight instead of my gifted sight.  I blinked then I blinked again as my mind returned to Alaska.  I lay on my back, breathing deeply to slow my racing heart.

            Eventually, I turned my head to look at the digital clock sitting on my bedside table and saw the time read as 7.49 AM.

            Were the Sabre’s awake, especially Aunt B and Uncle Dec?  I wanted to run into their bedroom and deliver my warning.  I knew they'd believe what I had ‘seen’ in my sleep, but what would their reaction be?

            Would they harm the Moscow Police Officers?  I've seen what Uncle Dec can do to protect his family.  Could we think of a peaceful solution instead that prevented his arrest?  How could we make the Detective and Forensic Scientist understand that this was a war between Werewolves and Vampires?

            The smell of bacon and eggs cooking filled my room, indicating that he was awake and preparing food for the family as usual – which now included me.

            Uncle Dec wasn’t really the cold-blooded murderer the Officers thought.  But how to make them see this, without exposing the Sabre family and the Lokoti Tribe’s secret?  Now that would be tricky. 

            Oh dear Mama in heaven, what do I do?

            Anxiously, I jumped out of bed and flung open my bedroom door.  I raced down the upstairs hallway in my flannel pyjamas then slowed as I approached the staircase.  But just as I started down the stairs, I stopped.

            I saw below the Sabre family congregated around the table with Uncle Dec carrying people’s plates out from the kitchen.  He and Aunt B were dressed but their children were still in their pyjamas.  Susanna was wearing her ‘Scooby Doo’ set and Sophia was wearing dark purple satin.  Lucia sat in her usual seat in a white singlet top and grey pyjama bottoms.  They looked just like a regular family preparing to eat their Saturday morning breakfast.

            “Mali, you’re right on time.” Uncle Dec greeted, as he carried out a plate and put it down at my spot.  “Pull up a seat.”

            But I couldn’t eat, not with the bad news I was carrying inside.

            Aunt B noticed my hesitation and she asked, “Mali, what’s up?”

            I opened my mouth to answer but I couldn’t find my voice, I was so nervous.

            Lucia and Sophia noticed this as they looked up from their food whereas Sues seemed oblivious and kept on eating. 

            “Mali, are you OK?” Lucia looked on concerned.

            “Spit it out!” Sophia prompted.  “Our breakfast is going cold!”

            My wide eyes met Uncle Dec’s curious ones as he stood beside his seat at the head of the table, holding the last plate of food which was for himself.

            “I had another storm dream.” I uttered out.  “They’re coming for you.”

            His eyes narrowed as he squared off his shoulders defiantly as if he thought I meant more Vampires. 

            “Who Mali?”  Aunt B stood up in alarm. “Who are coming?”

            “The Moscow Police.”

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"The Legal Department of Hodge Endeavor may be protecting their real identities, but it doesn't mean you can't simply interview them."

 

(Excerpt Alma Introduction)

 

This gave Griggori an idea and he turned to Julia with a hopeful expression.

            "What about their daughter... this Lucia Grace Sabre...was a birth certificate created for her?"

            "Da," she nodded.  "But like her father, there are no medical records for her with any of the hospitals in Alaska or the rest of the US."

            "Where was she born?" he quizzed.

            She wandered back to her computer and pressed in a few commands before announcing, "It was a home birth, at their address on Lokoti Tribal Lands, overseen by the tribe's Medicine Man."

            "Well, he would have medical scans or blood work for the family," he brightened.

            "Again, we would need a subpoena to get that information," she said unhappily.  "What would we say to your Lieutenant to get him to issue the order?"

            He deflated in a defeated manner by bending over his computer and covering his face with his hands.

            "If only we could scan this Declan and Bianca Sabre and then we would have the evidence we need to solve this case," he sighed.

            Julia opened her mouth to say something but then she hesitated and closed it again.

            "What?" he noticed.  "What were you going to say?"

            "The Legal Department of Hodge Endeavor may be protecting their real identities, but it doesn't mean you can't simply interview them."

            "It doesn't?"

            "You've talked to numerous witnesses at the nightclubs the murders happened," she drawled.  "They all described a huge, hairless, mutant, albino grizzly.  So why not talk to another witness who's seen the same thing?"

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Two hundred years is a long time to be married."

 

(Excerpt Alma Introduction)

 

"What do we know about Hodge Endeavor?" he postulated.  “The company began in the early 20th Century, starting out as a Pharmaceutical company which branched into Medicine and Engineering.  It made its money with cutting-edge technology in the field of medicine and computer science.  After World War Two, the company began a Finance division which worked on the Stock Market, known as The Hodge Endeavor Shares and Stock Exchange.  They have never made a bad investment.  Numerous times over the centuries the company has been audited but it has always come out clean.  It's politically connected, it helped organise the ‘Apology Admission’ that was signed by all of the world’s governments.  It did it by sponsoring financial, medical and educational aid to the former Third World countries, putting them on par with the First World’s economies.”

            "Politically connected, da," she deflated.  "Imagine telling your Lieutenant that your chief suspect is centuries old, has human and canine DNA, is OO Positive which shouldn't exist in nature, and has false birth certificates created for him by the most powerful company in human history."

            "What if our Mr X, or we should call him Declan Sabre, has a passport?"

            Next, he headed back to his computer, sat down on his stool and returned to work.

            "What are you looking for?" she pondered, as she came over to look.

            "Da, I was right, he does have a passport," he spoke excitedly.  "Now let's see if he's visited Russia on the dates the recent murders were carried out."

            Julia looked over his shoulder as he pressed a button here or there on the touch-screen however, he couldn't find anything.

            "Declan Sabre does have a passport but he hasn't used it yet."  Griggori groaned.  "According to this, he's never left the country."

            Tiredly, he rubbed his face and Julia gave his shoulders a sympathetic rub.

            "Da, he hasn't used his new passport yet," she pointed out.  "But what if it's because it's new, like his latest driver's license?  What if we did a search on his previous passports under his previous incarnations?"

            "It wouldn't hold up in court," he shook his head.  "His Defence Attorney could argue that it's a different Declan Sabre with a different date of birth."

            "Who've all lived at the same address with the same woman?" she arched her eyebrows.  "Two hundred years is a long time to be married."

"Once the US Government reorganized itself and law enforcement was re-established, the multinational corporation Hodge Endeavor protected Declan and Bianca Sabre by issuing fake ID's for them."

 

(Excerpt Alma Introduction)

 

“So, what do we know about the year 2101?" she sat down on her stool.

            "It was the year all of the world's governments signed the Apology Admission for World War Three," he shrugged.

            "So between the years 2062 when the Third World War occurred up until 2101 when the Admission was signed, we had chaos and lawlessness, da?"

            "Da," he verified.  "The US including Alaska would have had the same problems as Russia and many other countries did."

            "Nuclear fall out causing birth defects and radiation sickness, riots, governments collapsing, the media in disarray, looting, neighbour fighting neighbour over food and unpolluted natural resources," she listed off.

            "There were no longer functioning government departments which would have distributed driver's licenses, birth certificates, marriage certificates, death certificates or passports.  So our Mr X could have easily slipped through the cracks with no-one to identify him."

            "Once the US Government reorganized itself and law enforcement was re-established, the multinational corporation Hodge Endeavor protected Declan and Bianca Sabre by issuing fake ID's for them."  She agreed.

            Griggori stood up to stretch his legs again and he slowly began to pace up and down as he thought aloud.

"I have the case file open and what's interesting to note that on both times, Mr. X rescued the same woman."

 

(Excerpt Alma Introduction)

 

"The huge, hairless, mutant, albino grizzly sounds like what our Mr X might be," Griggori continued.  "In 2364 there was a 'wild animal attack' in Alaska where witnesses described this creature as the one who did the attacking.  Three victims were mauled in a supermarket car park with their heads being eaten through.  It appears to be the preferred way our Mr. X kills his targets."

            "I saw this case file too," she nodded along, before returning to her Forensics notes.  "This creature has the same DNA as our Mr X and look at the blood work, Griggori.  The victims were OO Negative, but they're a different type of OO Negative."

            "So they're not the same species of OO Negatives from Scotland and St Petersburg?"

            "Nyet," she shook her head.  "Did you see there was a second attack in the same place again?  In 2372 Mr X mauled another three victims in the supermarket car park, who were also OO Negatives, but they too were another species.  Their blood work doesn't match the previous OO Negatives in the first attack nor the OO Negatives in Scotland or St Petersburg."

            "Da," he pointed at his computer screen, "I have the case file open and what's interesting to note that on both times, Mr. X rescued the same woman."

            "Huh?" she blinked, as if she misheard him.

Again, she left her computer with its Forensics reports and went to his to look on his which the InterPol reports were on.

            "On both occasions our huge, hairless, mutant, albino grizzly mauled the OO Negatives who were reportedly mugging a woman.  On the first occasion she was pregnant and on the second she had two small children with her.  Mr. X would suddenly appear on the scene, the security camera outside the supermarket would be disrupted by static so there's no footage of the animal attack, he would maul the three OO Negative muggers and then run off.  It's the same MO of our recent murders and the same description of the attacker."

            "Who is this woman?" she enquired.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A large creature which was supposed to look like a huge, hairless, mutant, albino grizzly but DNA analysis put it in the canidae family.

(Excerpt Alma Introduction)

 

“Tell me in linear order.” Griggori requested. 

            “In China in 2226 AD, a large group of grey wolves were found dead in a remote area of the country.  Some of them had been killed by a silver sword, evident by the traces of metal in the singed flesh around the cuts. However, most of them had been mauled by a larger animal.  The DNA in the animals' wounds belonged to Mr. X but the animals also had OO Positive blood type.”

            “Wolves with OO Positive blood?" Griggori pondered.  "Why would Mr. X eat the wolves, especially if part of his DNA is canidae?"

            “As I said before, Mr. X is not a particular eater.” Julia said coolly. “May I also remind you that motive is your department!”

            “Yes, of course Babushka," he rubbed her back affectionately.  "Please continue.”

            “In Scotland in 2236, there was a report of a break-in," she began. "When the Police came to investigate, they found large amounts of OO Negative blood splatter as well as two different types of OO Positive blood.”

            “Wait, I remember this case, I read about it tonight.”  He moved over to his own computer.  “Nothing was stolen but the house was trashed.  It appeared to be the scene of a fight from the large amount of blood on the walls and floors.”

            Julia remained at her computer as she read out the results which had been uploaded to the InterPol Forensics Database.

            “Several samples of OO Positive saliva were found mixed in with the OO Negative blood.  From analyzing the DNA in the saliva, it appeared that there were two different kinds of OO Positives involved.  Mr. X appeared to work in conjunction with another type of OO Positive.  You see the differing third and fourth sequences here in the DNA?  Whoever fought with Mr. X was also OO Positive but they were a different type of species of OO Positive.  But the OO Negative victims must have fought back, because upstairs in one of the bedrooms there was a large blood stain which belonged to the different type of OO Positive.”

            "So our wolves in China had OO Positive blood and there's another kind of OO Positive in Scotland, which brings us to three different types of OO Positives."

            “In New Orleans in 2240 a ‘wild animal attack’ was blamed for three human deaths," she went on.  "Mr. X’s blood and saliva were taken from the crime scene.”

            “I looked at this case as well," he pressed his touch-screen computer to bring up the Police Report.  “A large creature which was supposed to look like a huge, hairless, mutant, albino grizzly but DNA analysis put it in the canidae family.  Several security cameras caught footage of the anomaly.  US Police couldn’t fathom how this mystery animal vanished in the middle of a city, while leaping across rooftops running at 300 kilometres per hour.”

            Julia left her computer for Griggori's to see what he had, which he put on ‘replay’ to show her.  Her eyes widened as she watched a blurry image run on all-fours across the New Orleans city skyline.  The 'animal' deftly leapt from rooftop to rooftop as it bolted in an impossible speed, which accounted for the blurriness.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“How can you link Mr. X to the murders today and to the ones 236 years ago?”

 

(Excerpt Alma Introduction)

 

Reluctantly, she set aside her cold Chinese food and together they congregated around her computer so she could explain the readouts.

            “I have been able to isolate several saliva samples in the victims’ bites to allocate them to specific members of the OO Negative and the OO Positive species.  I believe I have even found the perpetrator of your latest crime.”

            “You have?” his eyes bulged.

            “But Griggori, I must warn you," her voice dropped.  "I do not think you will be able to take this information to your Lieutenant.”

            “But why?”

            “Your OO Positive murderer in our latest OO Negative killing spree, is the one and the same.  It’s the same OO Positive who killed his own kind as well as one of the OO Negative victims found 236 years ago.  I will call this particular member of the OO Positives, Mr. X.”

            “Very well," he gave a nod. “How can you link Mr. X to the murders today and to the ones 236 years ago?”

            “Mr. X’s DNA was found on one of the twelve OO Negative species killed in 2145.  His DNA was also found on the younger male and female OO Positives ravaged necks.  It would appear that Mr. X and these two OO Positives were also of the same species.  From the blood found in the stomach of the older male OO Positive who had been impaled, as well as the younger male whose neck had been ravaged, they too killed two of the twelve OO Negative victims.”

            “The same species of OO Positives attacked the twelve OO Negatives together and then they turned on each other?” Griggori summed up.

            “Da.”

            “Can you postulate why?”

            “Forensics can uncover a lot, but not everything," she said haughtily.  "Motive is your job, Detective!”

            “My apologies Babushka, please continue.”

            “Mr. X’s DNA turned up in several more crime scenes over the years," she frowned.  "He does not appear to be selective in his victims, as he has fed on OO Positives, OO Negatives, humans and animals."

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"The tissue samples taken from their skin showed extreme photosensitivity and several of their major organs weren't functioning. Their bodies appeared to be in a form of biological stasis.”

  (Excerpt Alma Introduction)

 

Next, he asked, "If the OO Positive victims were strong with amazing immune systems, what were the OO Negative victims like?"

            "Quite the opposite," she announced.  "The tissue samples taken from their skin showed extreme photosensitivity and several of their major organs weren't functioning.  Their bodies appeared to be in a form of biological stasis.”

            “What?” he blinked in disbelief.

            "What Forensics discovered in their autopsy 236 years ago match what I've discovered today," she began. “The tissue samples that were taken from the organs such as the liver, those cells were necrotized.”

            Griggori frowned, “You mean my victim had liver disease?”

            “Nyet," her voice dropped and she looked uncomfortable saying this. “Her liver was dead and from the preserved state it was in, I'd say it as well as several other organs hadn’t worked in some time, perhaps even years.”

            “But that's impossible!” he stood up from the stool in shock.  “When I ran a background check on her, I didn't find any medical records showing visits to hospitals for organ failure.  If this woman was dying, she would have been in a hospital, not in a nightclub!  A nightclub, that's in the middle of the city yet eyewitnesses claim they saw a large animal mauling her.  A large animal which suddenly appeared in the middle of Moscow and nobody knows how it got there.  Yet when we checked the security cameras to see the attack, there was unusual electrical interference which created static..."  

            As he vented his frustration at this nonsensical case, his voice trailed off as if he heard how ridiculous all of this sounded.  She watched him rub his forehead with his hand, giving away his stress.  Sympathetically, she put her hand on his arm and gave it a supportive squeeze.

            “You can see why the first case 236 years ago was simply dismissed as a wild animal attack, da?” she said ruefully.  “Who can seriously investigate a case such as this when abnormal seems to apply.”

            “Or paranormal," he muttered, while looking away.

            “Hmm?”

            “Julia," he turned back to his amore.  “Can you do something for me?”

            “Of course, Griggori.”

            “Are the Forensics records from 236 years ago accurate enough that you can use the original blood sample taken from our OO Positive friend and compare it to the OO Positive sample you found on our latest OO Negative victim?”

            “I believe so," she frowned thoughtfully.  “Why? What are you thinking?”

            “I’m betting that aside from our latest victim from two days ago, we’ll find many more cases that have been 'swept under the rug'.”

            "You want me to comb through Forensics reports for the last 236 years?” she blanched at the idea.

            “Please Julia, I’ll help!" he pleaded.  "I will look through the InterPol Database for wild animal attacks, or murders where the instrument of death was a sword.  Can you go through the Forensic Reports, looking for OO Positive and OO Negative samples?  You said so yourself, that with the OO Positive blood samples, their DNA had canine aspects.  What if we're looking for humans can turn into canine-like creatures?”

            She faltered at the idea, it was nearing her shift and she was looking forward to getting out of the lab and besides, his idea did seem farfetched.

            “I’ll have dinner delivered and consider this a date," he took out his mobile phone.  "Does Chinese sound appealing?"

            He knew it would as it was her favourite food.

            “Grigorri…” she smilingly shook her head, “…you'll owe me for this later on in the bedroom.”

            “Fair is fair," he gave her a grin.

            “We're talking candles, Griggori!" she waved her finger in his face.  "Scented candles and massages!"

            “Of course, Babushka.”

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We're dealing with a creature from the canidae family that's over two hundred years old.

 (Excerpt Alma Introduction)

 

“Look at the results and at what happened to the blood samples that were added to the OO Negative.  The samples were drained of all their nutrients and healthy cellular functions before it too turned OO Negative.  However, with the blood samples added to the OO Positive, they weren't drained.  They were immediately converted to OO Positive and instead of being depleted of red and white cells; they increased in numbers.”

            “So OO Negative takes away and OO Positive adds to the blood it comes into contact with?” he summed up.

            “Da.”

            “And the blood sample taken from the latest corpse I brought in, is OO Negative?” he checked.

            “Da.”

            “Then how does OO Positive come into this investigation?”

            "The blood under the nails of the latest victim is the perpetrator's blood," she said.  "And guess what kind of blood type the murderer has?"

            "OO Positive?"

            "Da."

            "So the latest victim has OO Negative blood and the murderer has OO Positive blood?" he clarified.

            "Da, but Griggori, all your victims in this murder spree are OO Negative.  Yet, they all tried to fight off their attacker, which explains the blood under their long nails.  The blood that I've taken from each of the victims nails are OO Positive."

            "So it's the same perpetrator?"

            "Da, but look, this OO Positive suspect has the same DNA which was taken from three other corpses which were autopsied 236 years ago.”

            He watched as she hit a new command into the touch-screen.  Three faces appeared on the screen, a man and woman whose heads were barely attached to what was left of a ravaged neck.  The third victim which was a middle-aged male had a singed hole in his chest where his heart used to be.

            “Who are these people?” he wondered.

            “They couldn't be identified so they were simply called Jane Doe and John Doe.  Their deaths were written off as a wild animal attack from the nature of the bite marks on the youngest male and female's necks.   The older man’s death was by being impaled with a long, sharp, metallic object such as a sword.  But the Police declared him dead possibly by the same perpetrator because of the claw marks on the rest of his body.  The clawing and teeth marks were concluded to be from a species in the canidae family."

            "They thought wolves did this?" he arched an eyebrow, sceptical.  

            She nodded, "But see here, the DNA retrieved from the bite marks?”

            “It’s the same as our OO Positive blood type," he squinted at the screen.

            “These three victims and the ‘animal’ that supposedly attacked them, all had OO Positive blood," she sighed.  “But look at the year that the victims died, 2145 AD.  The DNA of the murderer who killed them has the same DNA taken from our latest victims.  We're dealing with a creature from the canidae family that's over two hundred years old."

“It doesn’t exist, there is no such blood type in the natural world as OO Negative," she sat upright in a huff. "It's a category they made up to classify an unclassifiable blood sample that shouldn't exist.”

 

(Excerpt Alma Introduction)

 

9th June 2381

 

            It was raining heavily from a rumbling sky when he made a run for it from his hover-car to the entrance of the Moscow Police Station.  He grimaced when he felt the icy water seep inside his suit collar which only made him run faster.  The angry sky flashed once more before a deafening clap of thunder chased him inside of the building.

            He shook himself off once he was inside the front door.  The water droplets easily fell off his new suit with the water fortunately not soaking into the fibres.  The artificial clothing was light weight and water resistant however, his dark hair was a different story, it was soaked. 

            “A lovely summers’ day outside?” a co-worker joked upon passing.

            “Da,” he said sarcastically, “with tropical sun showers.”

            The female officer laughed before putting up a clear plastic umbrella then venturing outside.

            Once he'd shaken off most of the water he walked down the busy hallway.  The Police Station was always abuzz with activity and this wet day was no different.  In fact, he noted that the uniformed and non-uniformed officers moved around with a louder hum of work today.

            Recently with the spree of murders including the one which had brought him here, there was public pressure on the Police to catch the killer or killers.  The public couldn’t understand how the use of 24th Century scanning equipment hadn't identified the murderer/s yet.  But as he told several different World Wide Media reporters, “Identifying the DNA left at the scene of the crimes is easy.  Finding the culprit who the DNA comes from is the hard part.”

            After turning down several corridors he entered the Forensics Lab via a set of frosted over, automatic glass doors.

            Then he saw her as she was leaning over her touch-screen computer going over the latest scans from the recent crime scene.  Her blonde hair complimented her white lab clothes.  Although the lab smelled sterile, the fruity fragrance of her shampoo tickled his nose.  The very sight and smell of her gave him pause.

            “Griggori," she acknowledged his arrival while not looking up.

            “Babushka," he returned teasingly.

            “Julia," she gave him a quick glare.  “In the office, you call me by my proper name.”

            “As you wish.”

            When he came over to sit on the available stool beside hers, he noted that they were alone in the lab since the other technicians had left for the day.   Julia returned to her work and he sat quietly to allow her to concentrate.  Besides, this way he could admire her beautiful profile that was lit up by the light coming off the computer screen.

            “Look, there it is again!”  

            Her shrill voice was accentuated by her Russian accent.  The Forensic Scientist hit the computer touch-screen bad temperedly.  The screen blinked in protest before re-displaying the same information as before.

            “Woah there, Babushka," the Detective gently restrained her.

            Whilst holding his lover in his arms, his face was considerably closer to the screen than before and that was when he saw it.

            “OO Negative?” he uttered in disbelief.

            “It doesn’t exist, there is no such blood type in the natural world as OO Negative," she sat upright in a huff.  "It's a category they made up to classify an unclassifiable blood sample that shouldn't exist.”

            “But this classification that was created 300 years ago has the same blood type as my corpse which is two days old," he argued.

            “It was 236 years ago that Forensics then invented this classification," she corrected.

            Griggori used this chance to move closer to her computer and press the touch-screen to bring up records of this phenomenon.  As he went over the data, she thought she should narrate what he was seeing, since he wasn’t educated in Biology.  His knowledge with Forensics extended to using a scanning device to check a suspects' DNA but that was it.

            “The OO Negative sample is neither human nor animal, but it has characteristics of both.  It is parasitic in nature and completely void of red and white cells.  It appears to feed off other sources of blood from either human or animal, to replenish its missing cells, proteins and sugar levels.” 

            “Then what’s this?” he noticed a link to another file in the bottom corner of the screen. “OO Positive?”

            Julia leaned forward to use her index finger to press the link for him as she continued:

            “OO Positive is the exact opposite of OO Negative, it’s rich in red and white cells, antibodies, blood sugars and proteins.  But there's something else."

            "Da?" he waited for it.

            “Both OO Negative and OO Positive are communicable by infection of the blood.  If either OO Negative or OO Positive blood infected the blood of a human, they would become either OO Negative or OO Positive.  But the patient infected with OO Negative blood would soon need to consume more blood to replenish itself."

            "Why?" he asked, confused.

 

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