by JN Moon
As we approached and stayed hidden in the parks treeline, again I heard that screeching sound. “Why do they do that? Surely, they don’t want to announce their presence. That’s just dumb!”
“They don’t think like us. They’re removed and see themselves as top of the food chain. Governments cannot contain or control them; their will, their survival, predatory instincts are above anything. Usually they wail when they have caught someone, a wail of victory.”
I wasn’t impressed and my stomach churned at that thought. They sounded primitive, but by announcing where they were, that could help Marcus and me. He looked at me and a slight grin upturned his lips as if he had the same thought.
“Their confidence in themselves, having none to challenge them, helps us, gives us the advantage,” he offered.
Peering out through the trees, I heard the faintest sound and looked up to see a shape. Like giant bat type wings circling and then it shot off. A lump came to my throat, and I remembered the size of the children. How their features had seemed too big for their stature. I guess they’re all grown up now.
There were four criminals, nothing unusual about them, but Nikki raised a hand for us to stop. Here in this time, these vampires would determine what crime was going on, in case they could gain from it. The crime, not unusual, involved drugs and a vast amount of money. We pounced and within minutes, we were satiated and they were dead.
We picked up the money and searched their belongings. Their phones were different from what I was used to.
“Leave the phones!” Trish whispered urgently. “Every phone, including these, have tracking devices. It’s too risky to use.”
I couldn’t believe it! I would have no phone. That was like living in the dark ages.
Marcus muttered to me, “I don’t want to wait in the dust here anymore.”
“Why are they using money, if it has no value here?” I whispered urgently.
Nikki replied, “It is used, but only underground. You could hardly buy drugs or weapons with credits.” She looked at the notes, bound together with elastic bands, “You’re right to ask, if people get caught with it, they’re immediately taken in for questioning. But the authorities have never, so far at least, been able to completely banish it.”
Before we could do anything, Anne whipped out a scalpel and took hold of one the criminal’s right hand, making a clean incision between the thumb and finger. Trish appeared alongside and held up a small transparent plastic bag. With tweezers, Anne produced a tiny chip and popped this in the bag. They did the same with all the others.
“We’ll have to dispose of the bodies, otherwise these are useless. We have a place to do this.”
We hadn’t realised just how organised these dystopian vampires were, and we hadn’t noticed that Nikki had slipped away and pulled up with a car.
“It was theirs,” she said indicating to the criminals. “I found it by their scent. C’mon, let’s get the bodies in.”
We couldn’t go with them, as there wasn’t room, but decided we would go back to their hide out. We would need a chip if we wanted to get around without those drones shooting us.
“Will the drones sense we’re not human?”
“Fortunately, they’re not that sophisticated yet. Kyle is our tech expert. He’ll take these to friends, they’ll alter them, and then you can use them,” Anne explained.
“What’s the price?” I asked.
“Freedom of course. Take us with you. If you don’t, we won’t help you, and you won’t get anywhere fast without these. Remember, humans know of our existence, that’s why every single human has personal security and why every single human is chipped. It’s done at birth. The drones can detect you fast. But with these...” Kyle held the plastic bag of ID chips from Trish. “With these, you’ll have an easier time, you’ll be accounted for.”
“So, these chips don’t hold facial recognition tech?” I asked.
“Wear a hood and don’t look up much. In the main they just register your details, address, function, age and there’s no alarm unless you have a criminal record. Or, unless you don’t register at all, but you know that from earlier!”
“But they were criminals? I’m sorry to fire fifty questions at you!” I said.
“Criminals usually have the cleanest tags. We all have ex criminal tags in us. You still need to use the precautions and avoid the city centre especially after curfew. But you’ll get by with them.”
All I could think about was getting back to my own time, where we didn’t have surveillance on this epic scale and masses of the crazed beasts flying around.
We met back at their hide out, minus Kyle and Nikki who were busy burying the dead and altering the new tags.
They seemed calmer now and the night was still. No sirens, no wails from the winged demons, just silence.
“How did you all come to know each other?
Trish answered, “We came to find each other quite easily. You know yourself it’s a small city, and to survive we have to stick together. We have other friends and contacts but it’s best to stick in small groups to avoid detection.”
“Do you always kill your prey?” I tried not to sound judgemental or shocked. I couldn’t judge them anyhow after the amount I had killed, that was something I was fairly good at blocking from my mind most of the time. Tonight brought it home, now I was able to control my emotions. A long time coming, that.
“Not at all. But we wanted their chips, and without their chips—even had we managed to extract these from them whilst keeping them alive—they would be detected, and in that, so would we. As it goes, you needed these ID’s. So long as you’re not actually picked up by the authorities, you’ll be alright and no one in the authorities will be wiser. As for the criminals, their families, friends, they’ll be too scared to report it, seeing as though they’re felons. They’ll assume the blood angels have them, and that would pose an investigation into their families, their friends and so on.”
Marcus asked, “So we can’t go into the city without the chips?”
“What happened to you last time? In the city, drones monitor everyone; they scan for ID chips. If you don’t have one, they assume you’re a criminal, since you aren’t registered. The penalty is death, or worse, prison. If your ID matches their database, you’re clear. If not, well...you know that already.” She paused here. “Before this, the blood angels would roam the streets. They managed somehow to blend in, at least in the darker hours. They left carnage, everything went bat-shit crazy. Military were deployed, but even they couldn’t cope with the amount of deaths. Tagging became compulsory.”
“What a messed-up world, all because of one hybrid! We’ll still need to access the time loop and after the curfew! You spoke of a necromancer, or someone who can help us enter it. We have experience of time portals, but this is different. I want to see if those strange vampires still appear, or if we need something to help get us through it!” Marcus sounded as determined as me to get out of here and get the boy back.
“There are some that might be able to help. We can ask. Our world is a tight community so someone is bound to know someone. Necromancers tend to hate our kind and on paper, they look like model citizens, but I suspect there’ll be some who will find this too interesting to resist. Night is nearly over. We would be better off going tomorrow at early evening.”
Kyle and Trish came back with our tags and a needle to inject them in our hands. It wasn’t particularly painful, but I was keen to see just what information these held before injecting it.
They produced a hand-held device and held this over the chip. There were names, dates of birth, addresses, and occupations. Under Legal Information there was nothing—meaning we had no criminal record—and a general health status. It was creepy, but it had to done. I’d get it out afterwards, and I ensured they didn’t put it too deep in our hands.
And so, we were ready. We chatted to them about their civilisation. How people no longer worked in jobs to pay bills. Obviou
sly, there were people who were happy with less demanding work and found their pleasure in other ways, but society was encouraged to find a meaningful outlet for work. How far you progressed and what contributions you made determined your status. Wealth was no longer the driving force and living to work, to pay bills, and accumulating stuff became an archaic system. It seemed that as death was so close in everyday life, living took on a new meaning and was celebrated more. But we would still change it, if we could.
As Kyle and the others settled down to rest after the night’s hunting, I took Marcus aside. I needed to speak to him in private. We wandered up out of the basement and found a small, dusty room at the back of the building.
Pulling the amulet out of my pocket, I said, “Maybe Jamie can help? He said he’s been to other realities with Emidius. It has to be worth trying. But I need some privacy.”
“Sure, I’ll watch out for you. You think maybe he can get us back? I hope so; this time is crazy!”
As Marcus stood on look out, I held the strange amulet in my right hand, grasping it and concentrating on Jamie, as he had told me to do. I had to feel him here, feel his presence in the room. Seeing his gregarious smile in my mind, happiness swelled throughout me. My mouth curved up instinctively. He was a good friend. For a split second, I saw him before me and opened my eyes, but then he was gone. Hollowness replaced warmth and happiness. I knew then I could not reach him, at least not yet. I refused to believe that time stood in our way since time is a human concept and Jamie now travelled beyond human conceptions.
Marcus turned around from the doorway, “I felt warmth for a moment.”
“I’ll try again, but not right now. We need to get to that time loop anyway.” Putting it back in my pocket, we went down to the basement to join the others who were sleeping amongst the dust.
Always Remember
Anthony
My eyes were starting to close as drowsiness hit me and I realised I was really hungry. My body ached badly from being thrown around by that creature, that giant of a demon in the fight, and the subsequent battle.
“We thought you were dead,” I said.
“Well, nothing happened that I’m aware of. As I said, everything went black and cold and then nothing until I woke up with Emidius and Jamie standing over me. You want to know what they told me, right?”
“Of course!”
“As she said, after the Elite were shattered, there was, or is no authority in the vampire world. Well, at least not here. Their authority covered most of the UK.”
“And I’m truly grateful that she saved you, but why you? I mean, I would’ve thought she’d want a vampire to run vampires? It makes no sense. Will other vampires follow a nephilim?”
“Well, it makes perfect sense. I am seen at least as having more control over my emotions, over decisions than most vampires, and I as well as others will ensure some sort of order is maintained in the supernatural world. It was timing as well. A counsel of supernatural beings, this should be interesting. And judging by the fallout of what happened, with the children, I’d say just in time. Who knows, maybe in the future one of those children may sit on the counsel.”
“A counsel of supernatural beings. That is pretty cool. I don’t have to join, I hope. I’ve never been one for rules.” I laughed
“No, Anthony, you don’t.”
We kept our hunting brief that night, too tired for much exertion, on my part anyway. Marcus stayed at my flat, not wanting to go back to his. We had to divert there to grab some of his clothes. I could hardly lend him mine, with our size difference, and he waited outside whilst I went to get his clothes and various personal belongings he wanted.
Walking back through the city towards my flat, dawn neared and I could hear the first rustle of birds waking. A few people went about their business or were returning after a night’s drinking and it was surreal and refreshing to see and to feel the normality of it all. No wraiths screaming from humans, no demons. Just humans and animals and crisp morning air.
My flat was peaceful, no odd feelings of being watched and I felt revived enough after the blood to have a quick shower.
“Can I have a shower first? I know you were fighting the good fight and all, but I was dead! I smell of death, that isn’t good,” Marcus joked.
“That is going to be your excuse for everything now, isn’t it?” I laughed. “Sure, I’ve to hand it to you, it is a good excuse!”
I threw clean sheets on my bed whilst he washed. I couldn’t wait to sleep, and took comfort in having a friend there after all I’d been through.
After my wash, we sat on the bed for a while in our joggers and T-shirts and mused over the last few months.
“I have lived so much since I met you, Anthony. Time loops, shadow people, lycans, blood. And now this future, this council of supernaturals,” Marcus added excitedly. He sat cross-legged on the bed, and I did the same.
Reflecting back, I answered, “Well, you did want to find Emidius for so long. She’s an interesting being. She’s not human. I think the term demi-god is to pacify our interest. I’m not sure she’s human at all.”
He nodded in agreement before continuing, “She was human...a long time ago. But that being said, yeah, it’s funny how life turns out. I wanted her to help me for so long, I gave up hope, and then boom! I met you, though you have to admit you thought at first my motives were, well, not just.”
I interrupted him, “You can’t blame me; that was your fault! When we first met, the way you stared at Rachel...and to look at you! You’re like a movie star!” I laughed. “But you were trusting, and honest,” I added.
He smiled. “I was out of my depth. I do remember how she looked to me, but you did also. Two vampires walking hand in hand. I sensed something different from you both. Maybe it was just because you were holding hands walking. I had never seen vampires do that before. And I thought, I want that! I want that closeness with another. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have brought that up.” He looked down as he spoke and groaned.
It didn’t matter now, that was over, doomed. I said, “But apparently, you weren’t damned for drinking blood. That makes you wonder.”
He nodded. Even though he was nephilim, and even though a blinding divine light—apparently the Seraphim—had succeeded in wiping out the demons and wraiths, I still didn’t prescribe to his Old Testament beliefs.
He continued, laughing, “And don’t think I fancy you because I’m sharing your bed. I just can’t go back to my flat again.”
“No worries, of course you can’t. That would be macabre. It’s like the old times when you first stayed with me.”
“C’mon, let’s sleep. I’m bushed.”
Sleep came fast and deep for both of us. We slept for two days solid.
When we woke, we went to see Acacius to find out what was happening with these kids. I also wanted to catch up with Nathaniel, and I guessed he had returned quickly to his hedonistic lifestyle. He may be good and bad, very bad really, but he remained a part of me and I wanted, craved companionship of immortals like myself.
Walking through the city, obviously I had no fear of humans, but you could feel alienated when everyone around you is so weak and so mortal. So fragile...
After we had walked about a mile, Marcus spoke first. “The children, they killed their mothers, drank their blood to survive.” He shivered at the thought.
“I thought the purebred nephilim killed the parents!” I shrieked.
Marcus replied, “I guess instinct drove them to it. I hope. God knows. What a situation.”
“You read their minds when Damien brought them the other night?”
He nodded.
“Do they know you did that?”
He frowned then answered, “I don’t think so, but I’m not sure.”
I really wanted to ask him about Damien, but I knew I shouldn’t, not now at least. Rachel and I had split up due to my irrational emotions and stupid inconsistent behaviour, but I never stopped loving her. Marcus kne
w about him with his nephilim ability to read minds. And to prove it he spoke in a matter of fact tone, “Give it time, Anthony. Don’t worry about that now. I’m not going to speak of Damien, but he isn’t all he appears. Don’t worry, he’s not dangerous. He’s just not quite what he seems.”
“Thanks, now I’m more interested and worried!”
“Don’t be. Rachel fought and killed a demon, and Lucius was powerful. She’s stronger now and probably hasn’t found herself yet. When you, as you know, go through an immense change, you need time to adjust. And usually when you’ve done that you go back to the ones you know, like us. Our friendship is a comfort.”
“I see. Good to know.”
My phone buzzed in my coat. My instincts told me it was Nicolas and heaviness fell on m, I knew before I answered it trouble had arrived.
His voice sounded frantic. “Orion has escaped us! He snuck out of his room and we have no idea where he is. One of us has to stay here, that’ll be me, to watch over the others. Can you help?”
“You know I will. Where did he live? He may have gone back home.”
“In the centre somewhere. Hang on.” I could hear Nicolas talking to Damien.
“It’s Nicolas. Orion has gone. They want me to find him,” I told Marcus, though he no doubt knew being telepathic.
“Anthony, we think it was around Abbey Green. You’ll help?”
“Of course. I’ll keep you posted. Where are the others? Out searching?”
“They’ve just left now!”
“Nicolas,” I spoke quickly.
“Yes?”
“Don’t lose any more...” I hung up.
“He’s probably gone to his home just off the centre of the city.”
“Abbey Green? I heard. Come on, let’s find him. He’s probably scared.”
“To be honest it’s not him I’m worried about!” So, turning on our heels, we headed back into the city.