by Robert Brown
A few seconds of silence are broken by a light sniffling sound. Julie Moore is wiping tears from her cheek. “Is it really over? Does this mean I can see my daughter?”
“Miss Moore, I doubt she’s telling us the truth. If she were here… If you were planning on freeing people, why wouldn’t you have come to me first? If you say my speeches are having such an effect out there, why wouldn’t you include the president in the planning of battles?”
“We had to fight our way here from Oregon. We have freed the entire western coast from the Rockies to the Pacific Ocean. Our advance was stopped by the winter. We had to choose between heading over The Rockies and continuing the fight, or spend the winter finding food to feed the people we had already freed.
“I made trips over the mountains throughout the winter to determine where we should strike first and Denver had the strongest psychic vampire presence I could detect. Once the spring arrived, we attacked the city with as many forces we could spare from along the coast. As with all previous battles, we freed the humans who weren’t killed during the fight. We have spent the last two weeks moving more forces across the mountains for our expansion east.
“I knew you were being held here and I wanted to speak with you, but the humans in your zone are better fed than many in the surrounding areas, so we moved through other towns and cities to help before arriving here.”
“How long have you been fighting this war?” His calm tone has a hint of continued skepticism.
“We had our first fight against other vampires about three weeks after The Shattering event. I didn’t know if we could win that first fight but we had to try. For the next few battles, I wasn’t sure how many of my kind wanted things to return to how they were before. Many of us believed there could be no going back because of the things we did to others when we changed.
“The fourth battle taught me more than anything that it doesn’t matter how close we can get to pre-change normal, we cannot let the country remain as it is right now. I will not allow humans to be used as cattle and have their intelligence and greatness bred out of them. None of the soldiers who follow me will allow humans to be harmed.
“This world cannot be populated by a might-makes-right mentality where we are in charge solely because of our strength. I was only twelve years old a few months ago, and while I can absorb peoples’ thoughts, those of us without wings largely have the insights of teenagers and pre-teens. We are an army of children and are ruling a world we have not earned the right to be in charge of. I need your help to take it back.”
“What can I do?”
“I will tell you what I know and what exactly I need from you in a moment, but we should go up to your speech platform on the roof. Your people outside need to hear what I have to say as well so they will calm down from their agitated state before they do something that will get them hurt.”
“We have limited electricity here as you know, we’ll have to take the stairs.”
“That is fine.”
“It’s dark in there, Miss…Miss Angel,” Julie stammers nervously.
“Just call me Cora.”
“It’s pitch black in there, Cora. Would you like a lantern?”
“I won’t need one, you will have yours, but even without them, I can see in the dark.”
Cora stands before Julie, preventing her from leaving the room. “I don’t know who your daughter is, Miss Moore. If you will allow me to touch you, I might be able to see if she is among our group.”
Julie places her hand into Cora’s and thinks of her daughter.
“I’m afraid I haven’t met her yet. Did she live in this area?”
“No, she was in Arkansas with her father and grandparents when the blue haze arrived. I haven’t heard anything since before that day.”
“Was her autism developmental?”
“I didn’t…”
“I can see her in your thoughts, Miss Moore. I will search for her so you might be reunited, but you should understand she did not become what you think of as a vampire during the change. Any base genetic variance from standard human cells created different mutations during The Shattering.”
Julie snatches her hand back from Cora and looks at her with squinted and piercing eyes. “You don’t sound like a child to me. You don’t know anything about my daughter. She was a normal little girl.”
“I am speaking about cellular changes only. There is a scientist we found in Denver that we have been speaking with in trying to understand the changes. She worked with President Thomas briefly after he was sworn in. I am passing on what I learned from her. I didn’t mean to upset you.”
Turning to leave the room, Julie grabs The Angel by the arm. “Please, I need to know, what would she have become?”
“She will be a giant based on our understanding of the change.”
“Not one of the behemoths?”
“No, not a behemoth. Those mutations were are caused by genetic trisomy disorders.”
The cold concrete stairwell echoes with footsteps as the group ascends to the roof. The view from the top is a concerning one for James Thomas. The people of his camp are gathered in the streets below, shouting back at the pale mutants that have encircled them. Thousands of humans are surrounded by nearly as many mutants on the ground.
The truly intimidating vision is the sky above them. As many as a hundred of the winged mutants are circling the air overhead.
“Why have you brought so many mutants with you?”
“I told you, Mr. President, we are at war. What you see down there is simply my personal guard. From north to south, I currently have over three million mutants on my side.”
The enormity of the situation is not lost on the president. He watched the D.C. Battlefield coverage before he was sworn in and has reviewed the footage countless times since. Four thousand trained U.S. soldiers were killed in minutes, and in that fight, they only faced twenty mutants. If she has that many vampires in her army, she might be telling the truth; there is no reason for a mutant army to be so large to fight the humans.
Stepping up to the microphone, the president waves to his people on the ground. “Please calm down everyone. People! Citizens!” he yells into his microphone. “Calm yourselves. I am not being harmed and the vampires’ presence here is nothing to be feared.”
The shoving has ceased and people are paying attention to what the president is saying.
“I am still being informed about the events going on, so please allow me a few minutes to hear everything the vampires have come here to say.”
Raising her hand and pointing, Cora directs the president’s attention to an approaching mutant in the distance. He is carrying someone in his arms, and he shoots past several birds at a speed that makes the smaller winged creatures appear to be struggling through the air by comparison.
The direct course to their position on the roof causes James to adjust his footing to leap away if necessary. It doesn’t seem possible the incoming vampire can stop in time with his velocity. His wings flap up in a breaking fashion, and he indeed floats softly to the gravel surface of the roof placing his passenger on the ground. A gaunt version of the woman he knew smiles at President Thomas.
“It’s good to see you, Mr. President.”
“Dr. Usachova, that was quite an entrance, it’s good to see you as well. I never expected I’d get to see you again.”
“Did Cora tell you what’s going on? Did she tell you what she has planned?”
Turning to Cora and looking at the masses of mutants above and below them, he understands. “You really are at war with other mutants, aren’t you?”
“Yes, Mr. President, we are at war with other mutants. With your help, we are going to take our country back and set our people free.”
“What do you need with us then?” His question is filled with anger. He knows the history of warfare and the use of pawns and disposable units on battlefields quite well. “I won’t help you convince my people to be cannon fodder for some
fight with mutants we can’t survive.”
“James!”
The voice from the president’s past admonishes his accusation. Turning around, James sees his sister has been brought to him and her husband is landing as well.
“You need to hear what she has been doing, James. Stop being so argumentative.”
Cora places her hand on the president’s shoulder. “I know you regret your first decision to surrender to the mutants, but it was the only decision you could make and still keep your people alive. We haven’t treated you properly, and in efforts to protect you, the vampires that brought you from Denver have kept you in internment zones. For all of these months, it is the only way they knew how to keep humanity alive, we nearly did the same thing on the west coast.”
In a softer tone, he repeats his previous question, “So what do you need us for?”
“If you will allow me to speak to your people, I can let everyone know.”
He nods and steps up to the microphone. “My fellow citizens, I have been informed by the vampire you heard of called The Angel that her forces are here to free us. They claim they are fighting a war on our behalf. Please continue to remain calm and give her a few moments to address all of us.”
Stepping back from the rooftop platform, he looks at Cora with sincere eyes. “I want to believe you, but we have been in this situation for some time. Are you honestly here to free us?”
“I am.” She steps to the platform and looks down to the crowd.
“This information will be difficult for many of you to believe, but what I am going to tell you is the truth. The vampires I have brought with me today are part of my army. We have been fighting with other vampires to remove from power those that chose to treat humans with brutality. We have freed humans living in the western states beyond The Rockies and are now here to continue the war to free the rest of the nation.
“Humans in the states we have liberated are able to travel freely, control their own governments and are working to restore society. We are encountering difficulties with the humans we free, however, and I came here to ask the president, to ask you all, for your help moving forward.
“I have an army of young teenagers and with my powers, while I am able to guide them through the difficulties of war to a certain degree, they need something more. We all need something greater to think about or aim toward. It is fine for them to rally around me as The Angel and our common goal of freeing humanity, but I need an ultimate goal to give them. I have to provide the incentive needed to have my soldiers continue this war and free the whole nation.
“They need to know that when we have succeeded and the humans are all freed, there will be some form of society in which we can all live together. The western states have been organized and run by Representative Cavanaugh of Oregon. What he has accomplished over the mountains should work out here as well, but I need you and your president’s authority to bring the humans out here and in the rest of the nation together.” Turning to the president but still speaking into the microphone, “I need you to unite the humans in some form of acceptance of us.”
“All of those mutants out there are children who need to learn how to grow up and be proper adults. They still need to be taught how to interact with others and how to be responsible citizens. We are freeing you from this camp and allowing free travel of all humans in the territories we control. I hope some of you will find it within yourselves to overcome the difficulties my kind has caused and choose to interact with the children that still desperately need your guidance.”
The crowd is stunned and silent until a voice shouts out a question. “You are really ending the camp system?”
“Not just the camp system, everything. You are all free to go anywhere you choose within the states and territories we control.”
A cheer erupts from the crowd and people begin leaving the assembly in different directions. Some begin running past vampires with no set destination in mind, just moving to show they can.
President Thomas walks after her as she leaves the platform.
“I still can’t believe you are ending the camp system.”
“We end it everywhere we have succeeded. This isn’t what any of us want.”
“If no one wants it, then why did you have to go to war?”
Cora gets briefly agitated, but in less than a second, her piercing stare and pursed lips soften. Her expression turns to a slight frown and her head nods slightly.
“That isn’t what I meant. Of course that is why we are at war. There are some that want things to remain as they are now. Some would have far more control over the normal human population than you have experienced. There have been thoughts and talk of creating holding facilities and breeding factories where they can force humans to reproduce. The children would be raised as mindless meat, taught to appreciate being used for food and slaughtered before they mutate. We are fighting to stop those that would do such things.”
Having considered all possibilities for humanity over the last few months, he takes the shocking information in stride.
“Before I agree to work on encouraging humans to work with the vampires that free them, I need some assurances from you. How do I know the vampires you have defeated will remain defeated? How are you holding the enemy you have captured, and what guarantee can you give that they won’t escape and enslave us or put us back into zones?”
“Mr. President, my people can read minds. There is no capture or surrender on our battlefields, no changing minds or perspectives. You are either for the enslavement of mankind or for freedom. The only living vampires that have been defeated are those that have escaped for the time being. Our fight is to the death.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Preparations
Undisclosed Location
In the weeks following President Thomas’ meeting with The Angel, humanity’s role in the world is shifting once more. Zones of control are being dismantled in the newly freed states and human beings are regaining the ability to freely travel.
With the U.S. and the world having been out of normal production mode over the winter, some infrastructure is damaged or destroyed, and the food stocks are extremely low in some areas and wiped out in others. Millions of people are dependent upon the supplies the mutants are able to scavenge for them. The uneasy alliance of children turned murderers, turned slave masters, turned providers of food, and drinkers of blood has worked well in the western states. The humans and vampires must see if the system they developed can continue to work as they move farther east. What little food there is must be stretched between more and more humans as territory is captured and people are freed.
A video message prepared by the president was sent by winged messenger to every city and territory. The audio portion is being broadcast over all frequencies in each state that The Angel’s forces control.
*
My fellow Americans, my fellow human beings. We are at a crossroads to the future existence of our species. The struggles and difficulties we have endured so far are not yet over. Most of you listening to me now have been freed by The Angel’s forces. My appreciation for the actions that set us free are great, but I must first address our previous conditions.
Some of you know better than most the cruelty and violence humanity’s children are capable of committing. You were held in territories by vampires that saw humans as nothing more than a nuisance race worthy of life only as a source of food. You understand what must be done and why we must do it, but there is a segment of the freed population that is unaware of the destruction and loss of life that occurred.
Myself and many others were more fortunate. We were not mistreated by the mutants but were kept in isolation in internment camps. Our loss of freedom made us believe we were being wronged. I must address first, specifically those people like me who did not know of the true atrocities being committed against humankind.
We were kept confined by the children we loved and cared for. We were kept captive by those to w
hich I provided an unconditional surrender to so many months ago. They claim they were acting for our benefit in the best way they knew how to keep us safe, fed, and warm through the long winter. Whatever form of discomfort, hardship, or pain you have experienced in this time, my choice to have you cease all aggressive actions against the vampires bears as much responsibility for your difficulties as do the decisions of the vampires and giants among us. It is up to each of you, my fellow Americans, in how you wish to spend the rest of your days.
Many have expressed to me, you would have preferred to fight and die in the early days of this change than to accept enslavement by the mutants in exchange for life. Now you have the freedom to fight them if you wish. You are not obligated by any agreement to remain cordial or work with the vampires in any form to secure your future. I ask before you choose your course, you watch and listen to what the mutants that have detained us for so long have sacrificed to secure your current release.
The sounds and brutal images of mutant battles are played on the screens in each zone. The president narrates his address over the video images of the fighting.
While we were sitting in our homes and buildings, feeling sorry for ourselves, our children were fighting a war on our behalf. While we were angry at the ease in which we gave up our freedom to these mutants we once called our sons or daughters, they were losing their lives on battlefields we knew nothing about so that they could free the rest of us from brutal and tortured slavery.
While many of us were brooding and complaining about the conditions the vampires kept us in and the paltry food they provided to keep us alive, boys and girls no older than age fourteen were losing their lives to prevent us from being controlled by an evil element of the mutant kind.
Images of starved and skeletal humans being freed from filthy camps are displayed.
There are vampires in this world that seek to keep humanity enslaved and rule over us with a brutal hand. Those that I despised recently have shown me how much I have to be thankful for, how much we all have to be thankful for.