Parasite ; Sleeper Cells ; Kingdoms of the Dead

by Ian Woodhead

  Katy burst into tears, she ran across the road and wrapped her arms around his body. “Oh god, Cade. Please, let’s just forget about all of this, I want you to take me away from this nightmare. I can’t stand it any longer!”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Jalim dropped to the floor, held his breath and scurried across the beige tiles, desperate to get away. He slid under a desk, and flattened himself against the far wall. After making sure they hadn’t observed his movements, Jalim pushed his thin body through a hole in the wall, beside a metal filing cabinet. He slowly manoeuvred his body in the confined space so he could stand up and he finally breathed out.

  Warm, musty air filled his lungs as he took in a much needed breath. He didn’t care about the faint smell of old damp wood. The rot was infinitely more desirable than the overpowering sickly sweet stench rolling off that woman. It had taken Jalim a few moments to realise that she had optioned to hose down her ample body in that foul chemical, at first he honestly believed that the humans had spotted him and were emitting some sort of defence mechanism.

  When Dylar returned, he decided keep that piece of knowledge to himself. He felt enough of a fool already without his companion believing that Jalim had the brains of a senile horse.

  He watched her for a couple of seconds, even from in here, Jalim could sense the extreme stress coming from the other occupant. When he originally found this hole, Jalim already knew that there were two humans close by. At first he assumed that they would be on the opposite side of the wall and made provisions to depose of them as soon as he broke through the thin plaster. As he pushed his body through his hole, Jalim realised his miscalculation when he saw the large window on the wall opposite to where he had come through. He saw a large female and a teenage boy engaged in an intense discussion. Jalim subtly adjusted his original plans. It looked as though he would be able to set out his intentions after all.

  Jalim didn’t think that the woman’s noxious smell was the main reason for the boy’s obvious distress, although he guess that the fact that smelled as though she had bathed in the noxious chemicals did have a part to play in his discomfort. It appeared to Jalim that this woman was the boy’s leader.

  The woman could be his mother for all he cared and Jalim cared not one bit. He had no interest in trying to unravel the mysteries of the humans’ intricate social structures. All he needed right now was for the aching pain at the front of his head to clear. Jalim turned around, leaned against the lattice of thin wooden strips and damp plaster, and attempted to tune out their irritating bleating.

  He could not afford to allow this unexpected bounty to slip through his fingers because he could not operate properly. When the time came to move, Jalim would just have to hold his nose. Jalim grinned at the image of him forging into battle whilst holding his nose.

  Jalim then saw a faint spray of plaster dust drift down in front of his eyes. He turned his head to watch his large companion squeeze his body through the narrow crevice between the old brick wall and the newer partition.

  Dylar cocked his head then wrinkled his nose in disgust. He inched his way closer. “Do I smell roses, Jalim?” he whispered. Dylar pushed his hand under his nose. “That is revolting. What is this place, are the humans brewing vats of scented oil?”

  Jalim ignored his question. The young vampire would discover the source presently. “Report, how many humans are left within these below ground rooms?”

  Dylar took his eyes away from the hole in the wall and grinned at Jalim. “I sensed two females and one male. I do not know why they are in here. Their volatile emotions confused me. They were all terrified but did not know why they felt so disturbed.” He pulled his leather tunic up to cover his nose. “Perhaps they too are disgusted by that vile smell.”

  Jalim pulled him away from the hole. “Learn to read the signs, my friend. The smell that is currently singing our nostrils emanates from a female, who is in a room beyond that hole.

  “It is a scented oil then? I do not understand why it is so strong. Before I was changed, a few of the young pretty girls adorned their firm bodies with extracts made from crushed flower petals.”

  “The woman is neither firm nor is she very pretty,” he replied, grinning. “Do not concern yourself with this matter, Dylar. Tell me, did you find the exits?”

  He nodded. “Yes, I discovered two doors that, judging from the breeze, led up to the surface. I…” Dylar sighed. “One of the humans saw me. I had to kill him to stop him from giving away our presence.”

  Jalim shrugged. “It was a risk and one that I expected. Do not let it concern you,”

  Dylar sighed again. “I fear that it does though, Jalim. It could be the reason why they are acting so scared. You gave instructions not to upset their minds, that the chemicals released would taint your experiment.” He stopped. “Jalim, will you tell me what you have planned?” he licked his lips. “You are not going to attempt to change them again, are you?”

  “Calm your fears, my friend. That is not my intention. Also, your action with the human who saw you is not why they act like a flock of sheep sensing a pack of wolves close by.”

  “Then why, Jalim.”

  He smiled. “I have just told you, Dylar. It has been a long time since our kind has stalked these lands, time has a tendency to scrape away the past, burying it beneath layers of half forgotten memories. But, the human is a versatile animal, Dylar, built with a very good sense of self preservation. Unlike the sheep, their mind will preserve a racial instinct, if that instinct is essential for the survival of their species.”

  “They remember us?” asked Dylar. “How is that even possible?”

  “You, like myself, were once human. Look at how the vampire essence has shaped us. No other animal is adaptable enough to survive a transfusion with the stuff that makes us what we are, Dylar. You will never see vampire wolves or, for that matter, vampire sheep.”

  Dylar chuckled to himself.” I have never even considered such thoughts of vampire animals, Jalim. You truly are blessed with a diverse imagination.”

  Jalim blinked, trying to work out whether the young vampire had just insulted him. Judging from the admiration spread across Dylar’s thin face, Jalim decided to take his words as a compliment. “It is just a matter of being aware of your surroundings and being observant, Dylar. The facts are there for all to see, it is just a case of knowing how to read them.” He reached out, wrapped his fingers around the vampire’s arm and gently pulled him down to the hole in the wall. “Observation is such a powerful gift. The two humans do not appear to be in the grip of terror. They are not wondering about, getting ready to flee. Why is that?”

  Dylar shrugged. “Judging from the way they argue I guess that their hate takes precedence?”

  “Exactly! The urge to escape is a thought that does not originate from their waking mind. If those two humans had not occupied their mental energy with the strong desire to kill each other, then they would be acting like the ones you witnessed earlier. You see, it is our re-emergence that has caused the humans to act like hunted deer.”

  Dylar frowned.” I have to apologise for my next words, my new First Father. That does not make sense to me. Before I was changed, I lived close to the one of the Deathgazer’s outer fortifications. Our settlement prospered under the Deathgazers. We were settled and happy. The Clan war changed all that but, our settlement never acted like frightened animals.”

  “You and your immediate family were fortunate to be born into one of the rare times when peace did dominate the lands.” Jalim turned back and gazed through the hole. Noting that, finally, the humans were no longer at each other’s throats. They now sat at opposite sides of the room, with their backs turned to each other. Although, they both were now quiet, the waves of hate coming from both of them were almost tangible. Jalim smiled to himself. If the female could provoke such a violent reaction as a human, just what extreme effect would the woman achieve once Jalim had finished playing with her? “Dylar, you have been tol
d that I was a Deathgazer before I became part of the Swarmer Clan.”

  His companion nodded.

  “Yes, you were part of the group that broke away with our ex-First Father. My First Son never grew tired of regaling the newly changed with your tales of struggle and eventual dominance over the Deathgazers.”

  This time, there was no mistaking the awe in Dylar’s words. Jalim had heard a few of the First Sons’ impressing the newly changed with their exaggerated stories. It did feel a little strange to find himself becoming part of a spoken legend. Jalim grinned, eager to see how his companion would react to his next few words. “Before I was a Deathgazer, I was the First Son in the Bonegrinder Clan and before that, I helped to form the BloodSpray Clan.”

  “Just how old are you?”

  “That is irrelevant,” replied Jalim, waving the question away. “You are correct that under the Deathgazers, the humans did enjoy a few hundred years of peace. They were given time to play and to breed. Before that though, there were many clans, all fighting each other and plundering the human populations for meat and for more recruits. It was fortunate, at least for the humans, that the Deathgazers came out triumphant.”

  “And so the cycle begins again, then, Jalim?”

  He nodded. His thoughts turned to the immediate future. The two clans would now be following their own agendas, He knew Desmonus better than Jalim knew himself. The First Father had already seen the changes that the human had wrought across the land and altered his plans accordingly, opting to wait. He was unsure on how Amulius would react though. The Deathgazer First Father would make it a priority to recruit, that much was obvious. Jalim saw that plan fraught with many complications. These modern humans would be difficult to control, especially for such a large amount at one time. To all the vampires just woken, the ancient past seemed just days ago. It will take them all time to adapt to this new world. Jalim applauded The Swarmer First Father for not acting like a ravenous fox in a hencoop; even so, the First Father will come up against the same problem when he did spread his wings.

  “This cycle, Dylar, will end in wars that would make the Swarmer, Deathgazer conflict look like a fight between two drunken fishwives. That is my prediction, although, I am unsure of when this will happen. It could take weeks or it could take years”

  The young vampire gazed at him with a mixture of horror and glee. “I am confused, Jalim.”

  “Do you not believe that my words ring true?”

  Dylar shook his head. “I do not doubt that. My confusion stems from your age. It is common knowledge that any vampire living beyond a certain age is able to change humans without creating foul ghouls. You must be the old vampire in the land. Why does this talent elude you?”

  It took a great deal of restraint not to burst out laughing. “Oh, my young friend, and you tell me that you have never considered thought beyond the straight path? First, allow me to ask you one question. If our ex-First Father believed that I did have the gift, would he have allowed me to leave?”

  Dylar shook his head. “No, of course not. Desmonus would have killed you and fed your parts to the rest of the clan.” He shuddered. “I would have shared your fate as well. I do not think that he would have allowed me to leave alone.”

  “He believed that my power to create his undead war machines stemmed from the rare spices and powders that I had collected over the centuries, aided with the hundreds of scrolls stored within the vaults under the Swarmer settlement. All lost when we had to sleep.”

  “That is what I believed as well.”

  My power, the main source comes from me, Dylar. The scrolls and the powders were there as a diversion. You are the only one who, in over ten thousand years knows of my secret.” He nodded to himself then pushed his body through the hole in the wall. Jalim helped the Dylar through. “Listen to these next words, my friend,” he whispered. The Dragonshine Clan will rule this land. It is our destiny. Unlike the other Clans, our soldiers will just one desire and that is to serve the Clan. Now, are you ready?”

  Dylar grinned. “I am ready and eager, My First Father.”

  Jalim ran over to the door that separated the two rooms, he suppressed the urge to rush through and opted to politely knock twice. “We need to go!” he shouted, injecting enough apprehension into the tone to make himself sound convincing. “The others have left, we need to leave!”

  He heard the frantic scraping of a chair and stared and Dylar, pointing to the other door. “The boy will leave first. No bites just hold him,” he hissed. Jalim stood back when the door flew open. As he predicted, the teenage boy ran out and straight into the waiting arms of the young vampire.

  “What, who are you people?” he cried.

  Jalim peered through the window, satisfied that the woman had not moved then walked up to the struggling human. He sighed in pleasure at the sight of the human voiding himself. It was so good to feel that heart-spotting terror from a human once more. This one, unlike the others he had encountered tonight had the full use of all his senses and he had already noticed Jalim’s extended canines. “I think you have just answered your own question there, my pretty little boy.” He wrapped his long arms around the boy’s wrist and pulled him close to him. Jalim then dragged him over to the door, pulled it open and threw him back inside.

  “Should you not lock it?” asked Dylar.

  “Do you think they will come out?” He watched the woman’s hard face melt at the sight of the horror-struck boy pointing at the window with his shaking arm. Jalim felt like waving. “Dylar, do you think you are able to bring three of the other humans to this location without harming them?”

  His companion nodded. “If they have not escaped, then the task will be simple. What about the remaining human, do we leave him be?”

  “I have accounted for the remaining human, my friend. Now go, I have to prepare and although I have trusted you more than I have trusted any other vampire, there are some procedure that must remain known only to me.”

  Dylar nodded, he turned and rushed through the door leaving Jalim alone with the two snivelling humans. I knew that they were both watching his every movement from the room. He stayed motionless, listening to them moving heavy objects around. He didn’t need to turn to know that they were trying to block the entrance, trying to stop him from entering. He counted very slowly to ten then walked over to the outer door and opened it, trying to see if he could hear his companion. He had been largely correct about that he was the main source of his power. He had still needed the powders and the scrolls to fine-tune his experiments. It had been so many generations since he had performed this procedure without his aids.

  Jalim smiled, the recollection brought back an ancient memory from when he was still a young vampire, not long turned. Even then, Jalim knew that he was not like the rest of his clan.

  The huge crevice in the ice sheet stretched for miles in both directions. Jalim watched the First Father of the Skullcracker Clan glare at the two enemy Clans on the other side of the crevice. The two rival clans returned the huge vampire’s glower, each expression from the twenty-one vampires twisted into the look of pure poison. Even though Jalim was at the back of the group he still could not stop his body from shivering.

  If his Skullcracker Clan had not discovered these weapons forged from a time when the land was green then each one of his companions would now be on the clan’s travois, ready to be taken to their camps in readiness for skinning and eating. Jalim ran his fingers down the fine metal of his own weapon, his touch caressing the fine impressions made in this strange material. Although the temperature was now cold enough to freeze a human’s blood, Jalim still had no problem with operating this magnificent device.

  He noticed that the two cooperating clans were ready to leave. He could not help but to breathe a sigh of relief. Even though they had managed to decimate their clan and claim the bodies of most of the fallen, Jalim was still glad to see them leave. He just hoped that his First Father would retreat from this territory and lead
what remained of their clan to somewhere safer to a land where rival clans had not claimed.

  From where he stood, Jalim could see his human mother and father, their naked frozen bodies lying below the corpse of three Skullcrackers. He glanced over at his First Father, wondering what was going through his mind. Did he believe now that it had been a mistake to venture into the unknown land? Thanks to his decision, their clan had lost every one of their human tribe. Their chances of surviving were now very slim. How many humans would agree to live under the protection of a clan that could not offer them it? His sombre thoughts stayed locked in his head. Jalim was not long turned. To openly display, such disagreement would not bode well.

  “We might as well have joined the corpses. What chance do we have now?”

  Jalim could not believe that those words had come from their First Son. He looked around the surviving Clan members, shocked at the others nodding their heads in agreement.

  “Do your inner thoughts agree with your neutral expression, Jalim?”

  He jerked his head towards the First Father, feeling his mouth go dry, not believing that he was addressing Jalim. He wiped the frost from his lips and looked at the others first. They all now stared at him, each vampire keeping their thoughts locked shut. Even the First Son stood like the copse of a long tusk, frozen in the tundra.

  “You are my First Father,” he muttered. “I am just a lowly vampire. It is not my place to question your decisions.”

  The huge vampire pulled down his fur-lined hood and walked between the remaining clan members until he reached Jalim. It took considerable self-control not to cringe when he placed his bear-like hand on Jalim’s shoulder.

  “Thanks to my actions, it is possible that I have destroyed our clan, Jalim. We number just six and we only have left what we carry. Our food had gone and we can not even use our client tribe.”