Vampire Of The New World

The waves continued to l.a.p against the white sandy shore and the cheerful chirps of birds could be heard, but Lisa was oblivious to them all as she tried to recall everything that she heard. It was a different number, but it was Jon's voice he heard. How could there be a storm when all the reports indicated clear weather and calm seas. She recalled the slight tremor in Jon's voice as he tried a weak laugh. Then, he mentioned the possibility of being offline for one week. One week! Surely, he could find some way to communicate earlier than that. Perhaps, if it were a severe typhoon of disaster proportions, but again the weather reports.

"Are you alright?" asked Nestie, looking at Lisa's face intently.

"I don't know, Nestie. It's just too uncharacteristic of Jon to just call without any real explanation."

"Well, you can try calling him again."

Lisa quickly pressed the call button. She frowned and there was a concerned look on her face as she listened to the voice on the other side saying that the number was out of coverage area. She also tried Jon's number, even sending him a message to reply or call as soon as he can. Lisa retrieved the phone number Jon used to call her and noted that the number was different from the usual mobile provider. She told Nestie about this and Nestie took her phone to look at the number.

"It's a satellite phone," Nestie said. "Makes sense to use one if all the other communication lines are down." He then returned Lisa's phone. "Maybe there really is some communication problem where he is."

"I suppose so," said Lisa, feeling a bit calmer. "I will just have to leave for Cardena as planned and hope he gets there before my vacation leave is over." Lisa picked up her bag along with the seaweed samples she had collected and went to a waiting truck with Nestie.

The National Institute of Marine Sciences (NIMS) where Lisa worked was a government agency located within a university campus in Malen. When it was established twenty years ago, there was only one small building that housed a small research laboratory and specimen storage. Gradually, the institute was able to attract donors to supplement the meagre funding it received from the government. The donors were mostly from international nature conservation groups and wealthy diving enthusiasts who the directors managed to network with. At first, the projects undertaken by the institute were on cataloguing the large diversity of marine plants that lined the coastal waters of the archipelago. Then, conservation became a major thrust as the institute was able to raise awareness on the damage being done by human activity on the rich diversity of the marine ecosystems. It was a Herculean task as the growing economy also attracted droves of tourists to the islands, making even greater impact to the environment. Undaunted, the institute continued to perform its mandate and partnered with local government units and non-government organizations in order to direct attention of tourists and locals alike on the importance of sustainable tourism. There was still plenty of work to be done, but the growing awareness spurred by their programs had started to make a difference in people's behavior.

Recently, funding came in the form of pharmaceutical companies keen on creating the new wonder drug. The institute used the additional funds to start a satellite research laboratory in the Isla Verde group of islands which students, visiting scientists, and marine researchers use as a base for all of their activities. The sleeping quarters were reserved for marine biologists who would often need to start their work early in the morning to gather specimens for their research.

The Isla Verde group of islands was chosen by the institute because their research pointed to the area as the center of the world's marine biodiversity. Lisa's team selected Bello Island for their specimen collection as it proved to contain a wide range of seaweed including those that they were interested in.

Lisa's team was composed of four researchers led by Nestie who specializes on seaweed biology. The team was able to obtain extracts from several promising seaweed species that could help find the cure for cancer. Research has been slow, but the immense reward of finding a new anti-cancer drug remained the main impetus for the team to continue with their work.

Lisa pulled into the driveway in front of the institute and Nestie got off with the specimen bags. After parking, Lisa joined Nestie and approached the guard at the door of the institute.

"Good afternoon, Sir. Good afternoon, Ma'am," said the security guard politely.

Lisa smiled and asked, "What time did Delia and Renz arrive? Their car's at the parking lot."

"They just got here, Ma'am. They're probably inside the laboratory," said the guard as he opened the door.

Lisa and Nestie thanked the guard and went straight to the laboratory. Inside, they found Renz preparing the seaweed specimens. Delia was busy at her laptop to update their database and create her report.

"How was your collection?" asked Nestie.

"We have good news, Sir! We're done with our list! We finished early," said Delia smilingly.

"Congratulations!" beamed Nestie. "You can leave for Malen early!"

Delia and Renz looked at each other. Then, Renz said, "Actually, Sir. We're thinking of spending our extra day tomorrow to go to the beach."

"Really? You go to the beach every day. You do dive for a living!"

Renz frowned and went back to getting extracts from the seaweed they collected.

"Just joking! You guys need to relax!" Nestie laughed loudly. "Of course, you can have your day off. Just finish everything today and I'll give you the whole day tomorrow to do whatever you want."

"Thank you, Sir!" said Renz.

"Thanks, Sir! You are too kind!" echoed Delia.

Lisa smiled to herself upon hearing the ecstatic voices of the young researchers. "How about me, Nestie? Do I also get a day off tomorrow?"

"You know you do," said Nestie. "You can go to Cardena one day early."

"You're the best boss ever! Can I also get a raise?"

"Don't push it," said Nestie with a stricter tone.

Lisa smiled and asked Nestie, "How about you, dear? Don't you have anywhere to go to?"

"There's so much work to be done. I'll just be here continuing our research." Nestie avoided Lisa's gaze.

"I have an idea," said Lisa, standing up and turning to Nestie. "Why don't you join me in Cardena? Celie, my cousin, has plenty of room at her house. I'm sure it's okay if I bring a friend along."

"You called me your friend! I'm touched!" said Nestie sarcastically. "I accept, but only because I am concerned for your well-being and I want to stop you from doing anything stupid."