Dead by Dawn

by Wellman, Bret

  When they reached the conference room in the adjacent building, he couldn’t quite remember how he’d gotten there. He was so tired.

  The room was small and dark. There was a wide screen television that stretched from wall to wall. In front of the television was a single leather-backed chair.

  “Have a seat,” said Smith.

  Bennet did as he was told, wanting to close his eyes as he sank back into the cushions. There was a single glass of water on the table to his right. It still had ice in it from whoever put it there.

  Smith began to close the door.

  “You’re not going to be in here?” asked Dr. Bennet.

  Smith shook his head. “I wasn’t invited.”

  As he closed the door the room went completely dark. He might have felt uncomfortable, or at least odd, but in truth it felt good. It was quiet; he could already feel himself beginning to rest.

  Maybe that was their plan. They put him in here to take a quick nap before the meeting. He could get some rest and be more alert when it came time to report.

  Illumination pierced his eyelids and he knew his peaceful rest was being cut short. Dr. Bennet strained to open his eyes against the glare. It stung.

  Not only had the television clicked on, but so had a light that was hanging above him.

  There was a man on the screen. He was clean cut, wearing a black dress suit with a blue tie. He sat straight, giving off confidence and authority.

  Dr. Bennet knew the man well. Hell, he’d voted for the guy. But why were they showing him a video of the president? Was he going to meet him?

  “I’m sorry we couldn’t have this meeting in person Dr. Bennet. For obvious reasons I have been forced to stay aboard Air Force One. I’m sure when this is all over we can greet in a more formal matter.”

  Dr. Bennet took a drink from the water glass. He was completely shocked that the president recorded a message specifically for him. It was the type of thing he thought he could only dream about.

  “I’m sure you have a few questions for me,” said the president after an awkward pause. He had an odd look on his face.

  “Yea,” said Dr. Bennet. “Like when the hell are they going to let me sleep.”

  The president furrowed his eyebrows slightly before sliding back into his expressionless appearance. It was a small gesture and even if Dr. Bennet hadn’t been so tired he might have missed it.

  “I’m sure considering the circumstances, you can find a way to make a sleep schedule that works.”

  Dr. Bennet let out a laugh that sounded just as sleep-deprived as he was. “Easy for a guy who gets to relax on a jet this whole time to say.”

  “I can assure you I have been doing a whole lot more than relaxing Doctor,” said the president.

  Dr. Bennet broke out in a cold sweat. He was suddenly wide awake and aware that the video on screen was live.

  “Mr. President, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to.”

  “It’s alright, we’re all under a lot of stress. Some outbursts are to be expected.”

  Dr. Bennet was too embarrassed to admit it was less of an outburst and more stupidity caused by sleep deprivation.

  “I’m so sorry,” he repeated.

  “I believe we have a meeting to get to?” asked the president.

  “Um, yes. Though I haven’t been told what exactly for,” said Dr. Bennet.

  “The crisis we are facing is only growing more dire with every passing day, so I am going to be quite blunt with you. I have been informed of a recent discovery of yours, I would like you to elaborate on just what it was.”

  Dr. Bennet stuck one finger under his collar and pulled away from himself in an attempt to relieve the tightness his shirt seemed to be causing. The choking feeling in his neck did not go away.

  “Um, yes. Just this morning.” He took a deep breath to try and relax.

  “Well actually it started yesterday with an MRI scan. Obviously we couldn’t see the vampire’s brain because the scanner uses mirrors. What we did catch was a blue spark that appeared to be floating in space. Our best conclusion at the time was that we were able to see neurons firing inside the vampire’s brain. What we later discovered was a transmission of sorts.” Dr. Bennet paused to take a sip of water, trying to swallow the lump in his throat.

  The president was stone faced.

  “After further testing we were able to pinpoint a low frequency signal emanating from the vampire.”

  “And you determined the vampire was trying to use this method to communicate with other vampires?”

  “At first we believed so. We thought the vampires might have a way to communicate with each other telepathically. At first we were panicked thinking other vampires could know where we were testing. A quick read on the surface let us know the signal was not making it above ground. For whatever reason, our lab’s structure and the layers of earth were enough to stop the signal.” He cleared his throat. “We also discovered another signal while we were doing our reading up top. This one was far more powerful. We scanned in a ten-mile radius and we still have readings coming in from all across the country. The signal is everywhere.”

  “And your conclusion on this new signal?” asked the president.

  “If our original theory of telepathy was to be correct, there would not be one powerful signal, but many smaller, weaker ones. Like the signal given off by our vampire. This one larger signal would hint towards a queen bee of sorts, if I may.” He took in a long and deep breath in an attempt to calm the quiver in his voice. “It’s one signal sent from one vampire directing his colony on what he wants them to do. The smaller signals are most likely so the smaller vampires can report back.”

  “There is a vampire with enough power to send out such a signal? Do you actually believe that?”

  “After studying the vampire we captured for this long, I can honestly say I’m ready to believe anything.”

  “Continue with the hive mind theory,” said the president. “If it’s true, is there a way we can use it to our advantage?”

  “The vampire we captured has been cut off from the signal for well over a week now. So far it hasn’t died and its body takes the blood we inject into it. Having said that, I still think it will do great damage to the vampires’ efforts if we were to cut the signal. It all depends on how attached they are to it. At the very least it will break their unity and cause them to become unorganized. Some vampires might even turn on each other over territory and food disputes. At the most, the separation could drive them mad. Some might even die on the spot.”

  “Quite the reward for killing one vampire.”

  “Indeed Mister President.”

  “I’m going to need you to tell the United Nations what you just told me.”

  “What?”

  “We go live in one minute.”

  Dr. Bennet was just beginning to relax when his heart rate doubled. “Mr. President please, I’m not ready.”

  “It will be fine Doctor, repeat everything you just said. Well, maybe try to hold back the attitude you had at the beginning of our conversation.”

  Dr. Bennet squirmed in his chair. The shadows seemed to close in from the corners of the already small room. He didn’t know what to do. He couldn’t get up and run when the President of the United States was watching him. For all he knew, General Smith locked the door. How bad would it look if the United Nations came on and he had his back turned, beating on a door handle that wouldn’t open.

  “Ready?” asked the president.

  The box around the president shrank and his image was whisked to the upper left side of the screen. In his place the screen was split between twenty different people of various ethnicities. Dr. Bennet was now staring at some of the most powerful people in the world, and they were staring right back at him.

  He was going to have a panic attack, or maybe a full on heart attack. Yes, he was sure it would be the latter. To counter his nerves, Dr. Bennet dove into his speech. If this meeting was going to kill him, he mi
ght as well try and get out the important information first.

  He repeated everything he had just told the president, this time with a minimal amount of breaths.

  When he was done, an Asian man was one of the first to respond. Dr. Bennet could only see his lips moving, a few seconds later he heard an English translation come through the speaker.

  “This signal has been heard all over China as well.”

  “How long have you known about this,” asked the President. “And just when were you planning to inform the rest of us?”

  “Without further knowledge of the signal we felt we should study it more before bringing it to light.”

  The President shook his head in disapproval. “As a result we lose precious time because you have failed to share important knowledge.”

  “We will judge what information is important and what is not.”

  Another man began talking and the translator was soon speaking. “How do you suggest we pinpoint the source of this hive mind?”

  Dr. Bennet shrugged. “I really don’t know, we’ve only recently discovered the signal at all. It takes time to discover these things.”

  “Meanwhile France burns,” said another.

  “We all do,” said the President. “Let’s not forget that.”

  “You might be able to take a wide range of reading and trace the signal to where it’s strongest,” Dr. Bennet blurted. “Or,” he shook his head. “I don’t know, discover where this outbreak started.”

  “We need to discuss what weapons should be used,” said one of the many people.

  “It would be foolish for us to set any limits at all,” said another.

  A few people began to speak over each other.

  “Nuclear attacks should be documented and passed by us all before any detonation can occur.”

  “All nuclear attacks must be strictly forbidden.”

  “You have been a great help Dr. Bennet,” said the President. “You have a nice day. Make sure you take a nap before going back to work.” Although his voice came out the loudest, there were at least four people talking at the same time.

  The television went black; everyone and their arguments disappeared. Dr. Bennet was alone again.

  With his nerves still doing backflips, Dr. Bennet got up and went to the door. Major General Smith was waiting on the other side. He was standing like a statue on the far side of the hall.

  “How did it go?” he asked.

  What little was left of the excitement from the conference faded. Dr. Bennet took one step out of the room and then collapsed.

  Chapter 19

  Tranquility greeted Adam as he woke up. The sun fell into the hallway, lighting the dust in the air. Barry was still asleep. His face lay on a pillow soaked in drool.

  Adam strained, trying to hear something, anything. There wasn’t so much as a bird chirping.

  His own footsteps seemed loud and unnatural as he got up. With such stillness in the air, the neighbors could probably hear him walking.

  He made his way downstairs, barefoot. The front door was directly in front of him. He crossed the landing and placed his hand on the doorknob. It felt cold. He took a deep breath and twisted it open.

  A thick fog met him on the other side of the door. It was warm and muggy, the air smelled like camp fire.

  Adam stepped onto the porch and into the fog.

  “Hello?” he called. His voice echoed throughout the neighborhood. “Is anybody out here?”

  He waited.

  When no response came, he decided to walk down to the street. Every step he took was like walking through a dream. The fog wrapped itself tight around him, making it hard to see anything beyond ten feet away.

  “Hello,” he called again. Only his own voice returned to him.

  Adam began to walk, stepping gingerly on the pavement in his bare feet. It was eerie. He felt like he was the last man on earth. He wrapped his arms around himself, covering his bare skin and pushed on.

  With each new step he walked farther into the still world. Adam felt like he needed to pop his ears, the silence was so dense.

  At that moment, he felt more alone than he ever had in his life.

  When he was getting near the end of the street, he could make out the shape of a parked vehicle. It was sitting in the middle of an intersection. As he got closer he realized it was the National Guard Humvee.

  “Anybody in there?” he asked, looking in through the windows.

  There was no one. The back right door had been left open, it was as if the soldiers inside had simply walked away.

  Adam kicked something hard and let out a small cry that sounded much louder than it was. He closed his eyes and balled his hands into fists, waiting for the pain to pass.

  When it was bearable, he looked down at what he kicked.

  It was one of the soldier’s rifles and it wasn’t the only one. A whole platoon’s worth of guns were lying in the street around him. He spotted a military helmet as well, and the sheer number of shell casings that littered the ground was staggering.

  Adam began to back up. He took one step at a time as if he were avoiding land mines.

  The horrible scene began to unfold right before his eyes. It was as if the fog was unveiling just enough of the scene for him to get a glimpse into the happenings of the night before.

  The machine gun turret on the Humvee was bent in half and there was blood smeared all over the vehicle’s windshield. There was a severed arm on the hood.

  When Adam thought he was free of debris, he turned towards the house and picked up his pace.

  Barry was awake when he got back. He was in the living room watching the President give a speech on the TV.

  “Something really bad happened,” said Adam.

  Barry shushed him. “Listen.”

  “…the single greatest tragedy in human history,” said the president. “In the past week there have been more deaths than any single recorded disease ever in such a short period of time. This plague is still spreading at an alarming rate. People around the world are struggling for their lives.”

  Both Barry and Adam were completely silent.

  “So far there have been few answers. Well, I’m here to confirm what most of you have already figured out. This is not actually a disease, not in the traditional sense. What we face today is the culmination of previously overlooked history. It is the result of us taking facts and turning them into myths because of our ignorance. It is because of an enemy who has lurked in the shadows and fooled us into believing its non-existence. What we face now my fellow Americans is the truth that one of our greatest myths is not a myth at all. What we face are vampires.” The president paused as a mob of people behind the camera began to question. He waited for them to calm. “By now some of you are aware that this outbreak started on the east coast and has begun to move west. What you don’t know is that the pentagon has a plan to stop this, to stop the vampires from spreading any further. Soon we will push back, and they will fall. For now I have declared the easternmost states as lost, and am calling for an evacuation. All citizens still in these states are to head west. You will find people waiting to take you in at the border.”

  “If you have any question to ask the President, now is the time,” said a male voice from somewhere behind the cameras.

  The room erupted into voices again. They hushed as the president pointed to one of them.

  A woman’s voice spoke up, “How do you plan on keeping the people safe after they have evacuated?”

  “Thank you for the question,” said the president. “After extensive study of vampire anatomy, we have created a fleet of self-sustained safe havens all along the evacuation border. These facilities will repel any and all vampires, giving people a safe place to sleep.”

  Adam felt his phone vibrate. He pulled it out and read the text.

  Attention!

  An evacuation notice has been declared in your state. All residents are to immediately head in a western direction. You
have been assigned a location below that will lead you to a shelter.

  -Your shelter location is in Marietta, OH-

  Officials will be waiting at the border to take you in.

  Leave as soon as possible and remember, do not travel at night.

  Adam looked up to see Barry reading a text of his own.

  “They want us to leave our homes,” said Barry.

  “Sounds like it.”

  On the television, the President was walking away from the podium. The screen soon switched back to the courtroom drama that had been playing on the station before the broadcast.

  “We can take my car; I need to pack.” Barry took off running up the stairs.

  Adam sat down on the couch. He kicked his feet up on the coffee table and began to watch the courtroom drama.

  In the show, a man cheated on his wife with the babysitter. His wife smashed the windows out of his car when she found out. Now the husband was trying to get the wife to pay for the windows.

  When Barry came back down the stairs, he was holding a duffle bag.

  “Let’s go,” he said, opening the front door. “Come on man. Traffic is probably going to be horrendous and we don’t wanna be caught on the road after dark. My family’s going to meet us there.”

  “I’m not going,” said Adam.

  “What?”

  “I said I’m not going.”

  “Yea I got that, but why?”

  “What’s the point? The vampires are going to be there too. Might as well stay where we’re comfortable.”

  Barry dropped his duffle bag and walked into the living room. “Didn’t you hear the President? They’re going to put us somewhere safe.”

  “We’re safe here Barry, as long as we stay in the hallway at night. They can’t get to us.”

  “They’ll find a way,” said Barry. “It’s only a matter of time.”