by Jamie Ott
Chapter 3
The Scamalls lived three hundred miles outside of town. Since not all of them could levitate, Sari hotwired an abandoned SUV and drove north east into the mountains.
After ten minutes of silence, Michelle lent forward and turned on the radio. Nothing but air came from the speakers. “Guess no one’s around to work the radio stations.”
“Keep trying others. Maybe there’s an automatic broadcast,” James said.
Snow sounds went in and out of the speakers as she rotated the dial. Finally, on the far end of an a.m. station, a man with an extremely deep voice delivered news dryly, and in such a manner that gave Starr the creeps.
“The government,” the man said deep and slow. His vibrato overwhelmed the speakers, making them deliver fuzzy sounds with every word. “The government has issued a warning: do not stay in your homes because it’s not safe. The metropolitan bus station has agreed to help remove citizens from the town, and will be running along Main Street every hour, on the hour. You’re allowed to pack ooone… smaaaall… baaaag.” He dragged his words. “We’ll get you and bring you to safety. You can trust us. We don’t want to hurt you. We just want your blood. We will get your blood, hahahaha.”
“Obviously, the virus made him insane,” said Saul.
“We will rip and tear at your flesh; slit the veins and drink from your necks. You will die, my darling pets. You will die.”
“Was that vampire haiku?” asked Starr.
“I think so. I kind of liked it,” said Emil.
“Well, I’d say that’s enough news for me.” Michelle turned off the radio.
“What is the government really saying about this, Starr?”
“As far as I know, nothing. We don’t have cable-satellite at the clinic, so we’ve had to rely on the radio. People come on and don’t mention anything about what’s going on in the cities. Some of them talked about a string of murders and angry mobs, but that’s all.”
“Aren’t you girls worried?”
“Yeah, of course, but what can we do? We have to wait it out.”
They didn’t reach the grounds until sunset. When they turned onto a particular road, Saul slowed down the vehicle and looked for a sign.
A moment later, he identified a tree with a branch that had all of its leaves bent in half. They turned and went off road, driving straight ahead over bumpy ground until they came upon the hidden road.
The road brought them to a gate the size of a hill with a lion crest on it. When it didn’t open, automatically, they decided not to press the intercom button because they didn’t want to risk being refused entry. So, instead, they left the SUV behind and jumped over the gate.
Ten more miles, they walked along the gravel road, and through hillsides, green and lush.
When the first stars in the sky began to gleam, they reached a house the size of Buckingham Palace. Instinctively, she scanned the inside, and saw a jumble of images; from people relaxing, eating or cooking, to cleaning reading and getting dressed.
“In the back, they’re having some sort of party,” Starr said. “They’re dressed in tuxedoes and gowns. There are shamrocks and moss everywhere; it’s frighteningly green.”
“It’s Saint Patrick’s day,” said Emil.
The front double doors were large enough to pass a house through. Just when Chanler asked if he should press the ringer or just walk in, the doors opened automatically.
No one was there to greet them so they continued into the large bright entrance hall. Squares of marble floors each had a single shamrock died green into them; together, they formed a trail that they followed to the back where the party was in full swing.
A short way across the large back patio, a small orchestra played Irish classics, soulfully. On a platform laid out on the lawn, a hundred people or so danced hand in hand. Over their heads hung hundreds of strung up lights; to their left, dozens of tables sat guests who dined on human food as well as blood soaked dishes and raw organs.
A waiter approached them. Sari asked, “Where’s Keagan?”
The waiter led them to a grotto covered in green velvet, from ceiling to floor. Six people dined on a green silk cloth. Waiters and waitress brought and removed dishes. Starr’s eyes were instantly glued to the plate in the center, which was stacked high with whole goat brains.
The people were dressed lavishly. They were barely surprised when Starr, led by the Fleet members, walked up to their table.
Before she could stop herself, she said, “How can you be sitting here, like this, when the world outside your gates is gone to hell?”
They went quiet and looked at her.
A man with wine colored eyes looked her up and down and said, “Starr, is it? The answer is because we don’t care.”
“Just be lucky we don’t kill you, now that the Council has fallen,” said a woman with flaming orange hair. “How dare you show up here.”
A man with large black eyes, who sat next to the woman, said, “We have no information for you. When you took away our rites, you took away our cooperation.”
“Fine, then,” said Michelle. “When those deranged beasts crawl over your walls, don’t call us for help. You give nothing, and you’ll receive nothing.”
“Come on, let’s go,” said Alin.
Suddenly, a man who must have died around forty, for he had grey hair and laugh lines etched into the sides of his mouth, said, “Actually, I have information for you.”
“Keagan,” said a blond in a bright green jacket.
“No, this is something we should all unite on. Besides, I can’t stand the stench. These so called vampires are a threat to us and humanity.” Then he looked at Alin and said, “One of my men noticed strange activities down on Harrison Street, near the SoWa Market. Credenza was spotted there a few weeks ago. I have a feeling that if you comb the area, you might find more answers. I really can’t tell you anymore, lest my own people should turn me out for cooperating. I will tell you, however, that this mess is the result of someone on your side – someone you trust, so you should be tasked to clean it up. You’ll receive no assistance from the Scamalls.”
Keagan sat back down, picked up a gold colored goblet and drank.
“Now, leave,” said the woman with the orange hair.
They turned and walked out.
Disappointed that they gave up so fast, she said, “What a wasted trip! We’re just gonna go?”
“How could you say our trip was wasted, Starr?” asked Chanler. “We’ve got a lead to follow.”
“Yeah, but what if he’s lying?”
“He’s not,” said Alin. “Trust me, I know Keagan from a long time ago. He doesn’t like these new species any more than we do.”
“We’re not in the position to press matters with them. The Scamalls would kill us as soon as look at us,” Michelle said sharply.
They made it back into Boston sometime after midnight. As they approached Harrison Street, Starr heard voices coming from beneath the asphalt.
“Do you guys hear that?” Starr stepped out of the car and turned around, looking for the direction they came from.
“Yeah,” Alin answered. “Do you see anything?”
Starr tried to follow the voices remotely with her mind, but was only seeing blackness. It was like she was bumping up against a psychic wall.
“Whoever they are, they’re cloaking their thoughts.”
Then Starr got a familiar tickling vibration in her ear, followed by a buzzing noise. This usually happened when she received visions against her will.
“Wait,” said Starr weakly, trying to concentrate on the vision she was receiving. “Someone is trying to communicating with me, telepathically.”
“What are they saying?” asked James.
“He’s not saying anything, but he’s showing me. He’s down that way.” She pointed to the street to their right. “He’s telling me we should go that way. I think he’s been waiting for us.”
“What does he look like
?”
“He’s tall and skinny, and wearing a black leather hat with feathers hanging down the back. A truckload of American Indian jewelry hangs around his neck and from his ears.”
“Marty!” said Saul.
“Who?”
“He used to work for the Council.”
They walked down the street for several blocks. When they didn’t see the man, Starr thought he tricked her.
“I don’t know where he is. I thought he was down this way.”
“He’s retired; like you, he says he wants to be left alone,” Alin replied.
“The nasty scent of pheromone is getting stronger,” Emil said.
“Stop!” Sari said, looking down at a manhole. They gathered around him. Then he bent over and ripped the lid out of the ground. “It’s coming from down here.”
“Come on,” James said. He jumped into the sewer, landing with a light splash.
One by one, they went in after him.
Below, Starr started to gag. It was bad enough to smell sewage when alive, but to her preternatural sense of smell, it was worse than the smell of death.
The pheromone was strongest, coming from the north. So they splashed ahead for a few miles in that direction.
The walls were leaky and slimy. In some parts, it was even too dark for their vampire eyes. Several times, Starr stepped on rats and felt their bones break under her foot. Other times, she stepped on their tails, and they recoiled and bit her toes, right through her shoe.
Finally, a light flickered from the ceiling up ahead. They entered a dank and smelly chamber in which there were a number of breakers and even larger pipes in the walls.
“Through that door,” said James, pointing to their right.
Once they opened the door, they were over whelmed by the pheromone. In the middle of the room was a large lab table with a leaky sink. On the far wall was a locked cabinet. Other than these things, the room was empty and uninteresting.
“This is where someone created the virus, but where’s Credenza? No one’s here. Where do we go from here?” asked Emil.
Sari and Alin broke the lock on the cabinet. Inside, they found a number of note books and unused petri dishes, vials and plastic needles.
Sari picked up a black book and flipped through it. “Just a bunch of formulae and hypothesis,” he said.
They all grabbed a notebook and read through them.
“I’ve found something,” said Emil. “In the beginning, it’s suspected that the virus responsible for vampirism was a different strain; one that could not be overcome by human consciousness or antibodies, or at least, not by everyone. These early species of vampire were completely animal. Many were put down almost immediately after being turned. Those who could control the monster would pass on the subdued virus with antibody intact. By, in a sense, programming the virus to go after chromosome 7, we can prevent the impermeable health of the vampire, making them sub-vampire. In this way, they inherit the strengths of the vampire, even the blood thirst, yet they will age and die the way a human does, for their heart will still beat and they’ll still need to breathe.”
“Whoever is responsible made them just strong enough to take on the world, but not strong enough to overthrow vampires, like us?” asked Michelle.
“Yes, but that doesn’t help us. What do we do, now?” asked Emil.
“Well, we try to pick up another scent or another clue,” said Sari.
“What about this?” Starr asked, picking up a sapphire pin that looked like the very one Fernand gave to her when they were in Romania.
“Let me see that,” said Alin.
“How many people were members of the Order of Negru?” asked Starr.
“Too many, really; the order’s about a century old.”
“Maybe we should ask Lucenzo? He despises them.”
“Yeah but they had a falling out long ago. If the one responsible is a part of the order, I doubt he’d know about it.”
After they thoroughly thumbed through the journals, and searched every nook of the chamber, they climbed out of the sewers.
To their surprise, it was past dawn. They agreed to find a hotel and rest a bit before continuing on.
In Starr’s room, she turned on the television and surfed the channels. There were mostly family sitcoms, but then on channel 4, there was nothing but a desk and the backdrop of a studio. No one sat in the chair. There was no sound; just a low humming from air passing over the microphone.
She went to the bathroom, started the hot water running and peeled off her clothes. Then a voice came on, startling her. She walked back out and looked at the screen, but still, no one sat at the desk.
“Hello, viewers,” a female voice sounded out. Judging by the volume of her voice, which was just a bit too loud, she stood right by the camera that was filming the desktop.
“Today, I’ll be giving a brief newscast during which I must remain anonymous. Normally, this would be shot from the city of Akron, but I’m filming from the smaller studio office, in Cuyahoga Falls, because Akron has been shut down. That’s right, it’s been shut down. How does one shut down a city?
Well, let me begin by telling you that I went to work, as usual, this morning. My commute is from a town right outside Barberton. When I got to the Akron ramp, it was to find a bottle neck effect of cars. Not long after waiting, I realized many cars were being turned around, but I continued to wait so I could see what was going on.
When I finally got to the head of the ramp, army personnel were kind enough to tell me that no one was allowed into the city; then they forced me, like old luggage, into a medical van with a few dozen other people. They padded me up and down, and then took blood samples.
An hour later, they released me. Now the good thing is I’m not infected with whatever crazy virus is going around, but I can tell you this, people: get out of the city. While people weren’t allowed into the city, there were people being kept from leaving, which can only mean one of a few possibilities. You’ve seen all the disaster movies, so use your imagination,” she said, sounding scared. “I doubt anyone will be back to report on this channel, not for a while, folks. Be smart, stay safe.”
There was a knock at her door.
“Just a sec,” she said. Quickly, she got back into her clothes. Out in the hall, the others were already there.
“Some of us heard the newscast that played in your room. I think we should get out of here,” said Michelle.
“We can’t; not until we’ve figured out who’s behind this,” said Emil.
“Well, I can’t stay,” said Starr. “I need to get back to the clinic. If there’s any possibility of what that lady was suggesting, then who knows how long before our city is a target.”
“Just call them,” said Alin. “We can’t release you. We are all we have.”
But she didn’t have to call because her cell phone rang.
She whipped it out and pressed the green icon.
“Starr?”
“Yeah, Marla?”
“Lily’s been bitten.”
Stunned, Starr said nothing for a moment. She looked around at the Fleet members, wondering if they’d heard.
“Alright, I’m coming back. In the meantime, I need you to do as I tell you without question: Tell everyone to pack their things. We need to leave the clinic, immediately. There’s not a second to waste.”
“Where are we to go?”
“It doesn’t matter, as long as you leave the city. If you get done packing before I get there, just leave. I’ll catch up with you later.”
Chaos