by P. T. Hylton
“Fed?” Robert asked. “On who?”
Mark shrugged. “Just some guy. It was in a canyon about two weeks ago. I remember the feeling of surprise at sensing prey for the first time in so long. Then I did what came naturally. As I fed, my mind came back.”
“Damn,” Robert said. “That’s intense.”
Jaden nodded his agreement. Two weeks ago… there was only one person they could have fed on.
“Thank God you found us,” Mark said. “There’s no way we could go back to the way things were. We’d been searching for food every night. Even after only two weeks, our minds were beginning to slip a little.”
Aaron said, “Our plan was to walk into the sunlight if we didn’t find food soon. Like Mark said, there was no way we were going back.”
“Well, I’m glad we were able to help,” Jaden offered.
“You guys mind if I ask you something?” Mark nodded at the empty blood bag on the table in front of him. “You clearly have access to blood. You’ve got a whole herd of them locked up in this mountain, right?”
“It’s not like that,” Robert said, the hint of a growl in his voice.
“Well, you’ve got blood. Why aren’t you helping the other vampires? Changing them back?”
Jaden thought a moment, considering how much to tell them. The answer came to him quickly. These two were vampires. They needed to know the truth. “Vampires have been around for a very long time, but our numbers have always been controlled. There were always one hundred of us, no more, no less. Then, the infestation happened. It was the first time the supply of humans couldn’t keep up with the demand for blood. It was the first time there were ever Ferals, at least as far as I know.”
“Ferals?” Aaron asked. “That’s what you call them?”
Jaden nodded. “Until tonight, I didn’t know they could be changed back. I thought their minds were lost forever. I was hoping they’d die out on their own, eventually. It was the only way to let them out of their misery.”
“Huh,” Mark said. “And now that you know? You’re going to help them?”
Jaden frowned. “What could I do? Look, there’s a lot you don’t know about this world. There aren’t many humans left, not nearly enough to bring all the Ferals back. If we brought too many back, they’d wipe out the humans and we’d all starve. So, no, I’m not going to help them.”
“Damn,” Aaron said. “That’s cold. Especially when you haven’t felt the hell of starvation firsthand. You’re leaving them to a fate you can’t understand.”
“Maybe not,” Jaden said, “but I have to do what’s right for me and my people. I hope in time, you’ll come to understand my point of view.”
Mark and Aaron stared back at him, dour expressions on their faces.
“I know we’ve hit you with a lot of information,” Jaden said. “We’re going to give you time to process. You can spend today in here.” He gestured to the bunks in the corner. “We’ll bring you more blood tomorrow, after sunset. Until then, try to get some rest.”
Jaden started to rise, then he realized there was one more thing he hadn’t said to them.
“Welcome to Agartha, gentlemen.”
Garrett “Firefly” Eldred finished his food and set his utensils on his plate with a satisfied sigh.
The meal had been delicious. How could he have expected anything less? It had been prepared by the best chef on New Haven, a woman who normally worked in the Hub’s finest restaurant. The way she conjured such a rich array of flavors, textures, and aromas from the airship’s limited food supply was a wonder. Tonight, she’d prepared a bean soup and pasta with a rich sauce. The taste of the sauce’s slightly tart flavor, with a hint of sweetness, lingered on Garrett’s tongue.
Tonight, the celebrated chef was cooking in Fleming’s apartment rather than her restaurant.
And why not? It was a celebration. Sarah had finally been released from the hospital. She wasn’t completely recovered from the gunshot wound that General Craig had inflicted on her—the doctor said she’d probably always have a bit of a limp—but she was free of the hospital and ready to return to work.
To celebrate, Fleming had invited her and Garrett to his home for dinner. His inner circle, Fleming called them.
Garrett was fairly certain you couldn’t make a circle out of two points, but the phrase still filled him with pride. On the GMT, he’d been a member of the team. But he hadn’t been Alex. He hadn’t been Simmons. When CB wanted to bounce ideas off someone, he would never pick crazy old Firefly. And a promotion? Forget about it. Garrett would have been waiting decades before making captain, if not for Fleming.
He was grateful and excited to be part of Fleming’s movement, the movement that would bring humanity back to Earth. Even if he didn’t always approve of Fleming’s methods.
Fleming raised his glass, a fifty-year-old red wine from his personal collection. “I’d like to raise a toast to the two of you. You believed in me before you had any real reason to think I could accomplish my lofty goals, and you both went to extraordinary lengths to help make our dream a reality. To you.”
Garrett’s smile wavered. He didn’t like to think about those “extraordinary lengths” he’d gone to for Fleming. Still, he forced the smile back onto his face and clinked glasses with the other two.
Fleming took a small sip, then set down his glass. “I didn’t just call you here tonight to celebrate.”
“Shocker,” Sarah said with a chuckle.
Fleming smiled. “So maybe I’m predictable. As we get closer to Resettlement, there’s a threat we need to discuss.”
“The GMT,” Sarah said flatly.
Fleming nodded.
Garrett swallowed hard. They were right. He knew it in his heart. After what had happened with the Council and General Craig, CB would never accept Fleming as the true leader of New Haven.
At the same time, the GMT was Garrett’s family. Whatever good was in him today was at least in part due to his time in the GMT. The years spent under CB. The battles fought next to Alex and Owl. He’d do what he needed to do when the time came, but it would rip his heart out to go against his friends.
“The GMT is our greatest threat,” Fleming said, “but I believe they can also be our greatest ally.”
Garrett sat up a bit straighter. Ally? That was a surprise.
“That’s where you two come in.” He turned to Garrett. “You’re our way into the GMT. CB asks about you in every meeting. He still cares about you. That means you have leverage over him.”
Garrett swallowed hard.
“The GMT has a lot of missions coming up. They’re going to be busy little beavers in the coming weeks. I want you to take a small team, four or five of your most promising recruits, and accompany them on some of the missions.”
“Wait, you want me on the surface?”
Fleming nodded. “Just a few times. The purpose is threefold. One, I’d like you to watch Alex and the team on important missions. Their role is crucial to Resettlement, and I need to make sure they aren’t purposely throwing a wrench in things. Secondly, I need you to get close to Alex. Rekindle your friendship. See if there’s any way you can convince her to swallow her dislike for me in the interest of Resettlement. Finally—and this is the reason we’ll give to CB and Alex for your presence—it’ll give your people some much-needed field experience.”
Garrett thought about that. Firefly, back with the GMT. He’d never been close friends with Alex, outside of work. In fact, outside of the GMT and the occasional group dinner or night at Tankards, he hardly spent any time with her. He wasn’t sure they’d ever had a one-on-one conversation.
And yet, they’d been through so much together. The nuclear plant in Texas. The snowbanks in Colorado. If he could re-establish that bond, it could be his way in. Maybe he could win her over. She’d been a fan of Fleming, once. If he could convince her to get behind Resettlement, maybe he could save the GMT.
If not, Fleming would eventually decide it was time to
crush them. There would be a tragic accident, the GMT would perish, and New Haven would move on without them. Their old teammate, Firefly, was their only hope.
“I’m on it,” he said.
“Good.” Fleming turned to Sarah. “I have an even more important job for you. Alex is the face of the GMT, and people love the GMT. But if something happens to her, she can be replaced, and Resettlement can still move forward. There’s someone else we couldn’t resettle without.”
“Brian McElroy,” Sarah said.
“Exactly. We can’t proceed without his brilliance. That’s why I need you back working in his lab as quickly as possible.”
Sarah raised an eyebrow. “I thought you might have a more important position for me. I mean, after everything I’ve been through.”
“There is no more important position.” Fleming touched her arm. “Listen, I understand. The glory will come. You will receive the title and the attention you deserve. But there is real work to do first. I need you to learn everything you can from Brian. Starting with the daylights. I want you to become an expert. Follow him like a shadow. Siphon every brilliant morsel you can from his mind. Just in case.”
He stopped for a moment, looking away.
“There’s something else?” Sarah said.
Fleming nodded. “Just as importantly, we need to keep Brian happy. Show him that maybe there are other aspects of life just as important as science.”
Sarah tilted her head, not getting it yet.
Garrett could see where this was going, and he suddenly felt a bit queasy.
“People like Brian McElroy get caught up in their own heads,” Fleming continued. “They need something to connect them to the pleasures of the real world around them. They need something tangible to cling to. When that happens, things like politics start to seem a little less important. You’re a beautiful and intelligent woman. I’m sure you can think of a few ways to put him in the right mindset.”
For a moment, Garrett thought he saw a flush in Sarah’s cheeks. Then it was gone, replaced by a smile.
“I understand,” she said. “I’ll do what I can—everything I can—to win Brian to our side.”
“Excellent.” Fleming put a hand on both of their shoulders. “My inner circle. That’s what I love about you. You can see the big picture, and you’re willing to do what it takes to make our dream a reality. That’s how we’re going to do it. That’s how we’re going to bring humanity back to the surface.”
12
Alex found Brian in his lab, working on daylights. Now that she thought about it, he’d been in there every time she’d passed by for the last week. If he was sleeping at all, he was being pretty tricky about it.
He smiled brightly when he saw her, and the circles under his eyes seemed to fade a little with the smile.
“Hey, Captain! How you been?”
Alex shrugged. “Not bad. Busy saving the world.”
“Same here.” He leaned a bit closer and lowered his voice so the technicians working on the other side of the laboratory wouldn’t hear. “Word is you’re going down to see our friends in Agartha again.”
She nodded. “Fleming says it's time for Jessica to come home. He wants her intel. That’s sort of why I’m here. Is there somewhere more private we can talk?”
He led her to his office, an eight-by-ten-foot room with a single window that looked out on the lab. It was cluttered with stacks of paper and half-constructed gizmos that Alex couldn’t identify. He hurriedly moved an old hard drive off of a chair so Alex could sit.
“I hear Sarah’s coming back?” she asked, as he moved the junk off of his own chair.
“That, she is. Made a full recovery, I guess. I’ll be glad to see her. I’ll just have to make sure everything’s nailed down before she gets here. Things have a way of walking off and showing up in Fleming’s hands when she’s around. No offense.”
Alex held up her hands. “Hey, I’m guilty as charged. I own up to my role in taking those daylights.”
“The difference is, you’ve changed. She hasn’t.” His expression turned dour for a moment, then he forced a smile onto his face. “What did you want to talk to me about?”
Alex scooted forward in her chair. “It’s about the trip to Agartha. I need to figure out a way to speak with Jaden.”
“The head vampire?”
Alex nodded. “I was wondering if you could help me arrange a plausible breakdown for the away ship.”
He leaned back in his chair, lacing his fingers behind his head. “I see. You need to be there at night.”
“Exactly. The ship’s a backup. It shouldn’t raise too many eyebrows if it breaks down, right?”
Brian frowned. “Fleming’s a lot of things, Alex, but he’s not an idiot. If you spend the night down there, he’s not going to believe it’s an accident. The guy’s already suspicious of us. If you do this, he might stop playing politics and decide it's time to throw you in a cell. Or worse.”
She sighed. “That’s kinda what I was thinking, too. I was hoping you’d do your genius thing and come up with a workable solution.”
Brian leaned forward, and his chair let out a high-pitched squeak. “Look, as good as you are at combat, as good as I am at mechanical engineering, Fleming’s just that good at politics. He’s three steps ahead of us. He’ll see through any breakdown ruse.”
“I guess you’re right.”
“I know I am. You said it yourself: I’m a genius.”
Alex laughed.
“Look, you really need to talk to Jaden? You’re going to have to do it during the day. Get into Agartha fast, get all the information you can, but make sure you get back here before sundown.”
After Alex left Brian’s office, she went to see CB. Technically, he had an office at the Hub to go along with his fancy colonel title, but he still seemed to spend all his time at GMT headquarters. She found him in his sparse old office, angrily tapping away at the tablet in front of him.
He didn’t look up as she entered. He just kept typing with his index fingers. His fingernails made a loud click every time they came down on the screen.
“You don’t have to type that hard, Colonel,” she said. “You keep pounding away at it like that, you’re going to either break the screen or your fingernails.”
He grunted. “You know what the most significant change that comes with a promotion is, Goddard? It’s not pay. It’s not respect. It’s paperwork. If I knew being a colonel involved filling out so many forms, I would have stayed a lieutenant.”
Alex lowered herself into the seat across from him. “That bad?”
He set the tablet on the desk and looked at her. “I’ve got engineering up my ass wanting to know why we’re using so much power, so I’ve got to fill out a report to keep them happy. Agriculture is requesting some damn seed found only in central Asia, so I’ve got to prioritize that request. The badges are so depleted from the way Firefly cherry-picked half their officers that they’re asking for the GMT to pull shifts for them, and I need to put together a detailed breakdown of our time that proves we can’t help. On top of that, Fleming is ordering more missions in the next few weeks than would be humanly possible for a team of fifty.”
He gestured at the cast on his arm.
“And that’s not to mention this damn thing. I can’t wait for it to come off next week.”
Alex whistled softly. “And to think, I thought fighting vampires was the tough part.”
A slight smile crossed CB’s face. “Speaking of fighting, I heard you had quite the evening the night before last.”
She suddenly wished blushing was a voluntary action. “I’m sure I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Oh?” he asked. “I received a report of an extremely drunk young woman causing a scene at Tankards.”
“Not uncommon,” she countered. “Why would you think it was me?”
“This young woman knocked out three bouncers.”
She winced. “Guess that explains
my bruised knuckles.”
His face grew serious. “Alex, I’m here if you want to talk. And I don’t mean that in some bullshit, theoretical way. I’m really here. Right now.”
“I know that. Thanks, CB. I’m just not ready to talk about it. Not yet.”
He nodded. “Okay. I can respect that. What time are you and Owl off to get Jessica?”
She sat up a little, happy the conversation had moved on from her emotional state. “About an hour.”
“Good. And you will be back around eighteen hundred hours?”
Something about the way he said it made her think this wasn’t just a casual line of questioning. “Yeah. Why you want to know?”
He looked away. “No reason. I just thought I might meet you when you come back. To make sure you made it safely. And Owl. And, you know, Jessica.”
It all clicked, and Alex smiled. “CB, why didn’t you ever tell me you had a thing for Jessica?”
“It’s not like that. I just want to make sure you get back safely.”
She didn’t have any interest in his coy games. Not after everything that had happened. “You should go for it.”
For a moment, he looked like he was going to protest again, but instead he said, “You really think so?”
“I do. And don’t wait. We both know nothing’s guaranteed. Make the time you have the best it can be.” She stood up and started to go.
Then CB called her back. “Alex, I need you to do something for me when you get back tonight. Something dangerous.”
She turned back to him, her interest piqued. “What is it?”
“I need you to get a tape from a camera.”
Owl began her descent toward Agartha about thirty minutes after sunrise local time.
Alex had been quiet for most of the trip, thinking about the covert mission CB had given her, and what it would mean for the future of New Haven if she could get that tape.
Now that they were getting close, she needed to focus on the task at hand.
“No facts this time?” Alex asked Owl.
Owl glanced at her, annoyed. “First, this isn’t a real mission.”