Birth of Jaiden by Jennifer Malone Wright Page A

the blessings
that you have given me.
    Amen.”
    Jeremiah lived in a large
two story home on Lake Tahoe. His house had a full basement which
he used as his lab. One of his concoctions sold to some big
company, Alex couldn’t remember which one. Jeremiah made millions
from it, which was why he was able to afford such a nice place on
the Lake.
    When Alex pulled into the
driveway, all the lights were off except for a single bulb burning
above the front door. As he had been instructed, he entered without
knocking and went straight down the stairs to the lab.
    “ Hello,” he called as he
descended the basement stairs.
    “ Come down,” Jeremiah
called out to him.
    Once in the lab, he felt
strange. He always did when he was there. The whole place was a bit
eerie; a few lights were on above tables that held beakers and
tubes full of colorful liquids. Jeremiah sat in front of a computer
at a table in the shadows and pounded away at the keys.
    When he didn’t stop
typing, Alex asked, “What are you doing?”
    “ Putting all of my
information into my journal,” Jeremiah answered.
    “ So, everything you have
ever done is in there?” Alex pointed at the computer.
    “ Yes.”
    “ Aren’t you afraid someone
will steal it?”
    “ No.” Jeremiahs eyes never
moved from the screen.
    “ O…k then. Well, I’m
here.”
    Jeremiah rolled his chair
away from the computer and stood. He hobbled over to one of the
tables and picked up a syringe. He held it up. “This is
it.”
    Alex nodded but remained
silent.
    “ Now Alex, you do understand
that this has not been tested? There is no way to test it except on
you. You are the test.”
    Again, Alex nodded. “I
understand.”
    “ You could die when the sun rises, Alex.”
    “ But, if it does work.”
    “ Then you will be one of
the most powerful vampires ever. You will have the advantage of the
daylight when the rays of the sun would roast any
other.”
    Alex was nervous about this;
there was more riding on it than ever. He knew he had to do it,
though, he had waited too long. Danielle had said that he would see
the sun again, and simply the possibility of it was more than enough motivation for Alex to
give it a go.
    “ I want Danielle to be
with me,” Alex told Jeremiah.
    “ That’s fine, but you will
stay here. I need you close in case something happens and we need
to get you inside. There will be no going up to a mountain top to
see the sunrise, ok!”
    “ Ok.”
    The doorbell rang and they
heard the door open and shut again. Then, they heard Danielle’s
voice call out, “It’s me.”
    “ Come down,” Jeremiah
called with his gravelly voice. Then he turned to Alex. “I am not
going to tell you what is in this.” He waved the syringe in the
air.
    “ That’s ok.” Alex curled
his lip. “I don’t want to know.”
    Danielle entered the lab
and came to his side. “So, the time has come.”
    “ Yes, and I’m glad you’re
here with me.”
    “ I am always with you when
you need me, Alex.”
    “ If something happens to
me, what will happen to Jaiden?”
    Danielle looked at him in
a reprimanding way. “There will be no questions like that. Have
faith that it will work.”
    “ Yes, but
still…”
    Jeremiah put his wrinkled
hand on Alex’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, Danielle and I are here to
bring you to the safety of darkness if anything goes
wrong.”
    “ Then I’m
ready.”
    “ Ok.” Jeremiah held up the
syringe. “You’ll have to take this every night at least four hours
before dawn. It needs time to take effect, which is why I called
you here so early.” Jeremiah flicked the syringe with his index
finger.
    “ I’ll give you a week’s
supply. When you run out, come see me and I’ll do some tests and
give you another week’s supply.”
    “ I understand.”
    “ I’m just going to inject
you now to make sure you don’t have any side effects to the formula
itself.”
    Alex nodded, took off his
jacket and set it aside. Then, he rolled up his sleeve