by Cat Thomson
Tom turned to Gareth and began to explain quietly what had happened at the government shelters. "The vamps killed a lot of people, but those they spared they took with them, and I can only guess they either transformed them or they made slaves of them. When you get back to the shelter, you'll get to meet Mick," said Tom.
"Dr Mick Patel," Jonathan added by way of explanation.
"He has his laboratory down on the shelter's lower level, in Inglefield sub-shelter," Tom continued. "He's working on an anti-vampire antidote and right now it's just about our only hope of surviving this vampire mess. It wasn't only the shelters here in London that were attacked last night. Vampires attacked in countries in the same time zone worldwide and in some countries, their human slaves participated in the slaughter. Right now, we're definitely the losing team. We've got to do something soon and I'd say that if something drastic isn't done by humans within the next few weeks even, then human civilisation as we currently know it will become obsolete."
They stopped walking and sat down on a bench. A squirrel darted across the path in front of them and up onto a gravestone, where it stood on its hind legs for a moment before disappearing into the overgrowth.
"Fuck, it's freezing," said Jonathan as he rubbed the palms of his hands together.
Tom pulled his tablet out from a jacket pocket and handed it and his earphones to Gareth.
"Sharon downloaded this from SceneUTwo; I've transferred it over to our secure system," he said.
Gareth watched the video playing on Tom's tablet. In it, Nikolas stood in front of the black sheen of ten Downing Street's front door, his long, loose hair now pink.
"Pink," observed Gareth.
"He has an oddly effeminate preoccupation with his hair for a man so obsessed with the machismo of world domination," said Jonathan."
"According to Charlotte, he was even more obsessed with his nails than his hair," said Tom.
"Charlotte?" said Gareth.
Nikolas began to speak in the video.
"I'll explain about Charlotte. But first just listen to what Nikolas has to say," said Tom. "And take a look at his eyes."
Nikolas's red-black irises were clearly visible as he looked directly at the camera. "What took place tonight in the government shelters is only the first of many blood-stained teardrops; soon rivers of such tears shall come to flow." The soft, gentle tone of Nikolas's voice belied his Mephistophelean nature. He continued, "Come, humans, gather round me, your beneficial leader. Give your life a true purpose and become privileged and esteemed knights of our war. Live in harmony with us, as masters over the rest of the human race."
"Jesus!" exclaimed Gareth as he handed Tom's tablet back to him when the video ended.
"He's not even trying to hide his true self now," said Tom. "He's using social media to entice impressionable humans into his web. And it's probably going to be easier to gather followers this way than by secretive methods or by force. We're going to have to add to our numbers, and drastically, not only here in London, but also worldwide, much like the vampires have evidently already done. I'd say that - and the antidote - is our only hope. We need to go out and start recruiting to our cause - just chat to people; get a feel for what they really think beneath all the expected rhetoric around vampires, and encourage them to move to the shelter. Ed's got a serious trust issue when it comes to adding to our numbers, but we really don't have a choice. I'm going to start looking on the Dark Web for others like us; organise an international network of resistance fighters."
***
Tom was correct in his speculation about the vampires. From the very outset they had formed a global network, communicating with each other on the Dark Web. As the earth rotated, day becoming night and night giving rise to day in the various regions of the world, they relayed their messages and strategies for war from one coven to another. At that very moment, the sires of several covens worldwide were convening, streamlining their tactics for yet another simultaneous worldwide attack.
***
Jay found great solace in pruning and shearing the plants in the cemetery where he worked. He never went to the government shelters at night. Instead, he had dug out and built his own shelter in his garden, where he and his family lay each night listening in silent awe to the disconcerting howls of vampires and the muffled sound of army vehicles patrolling the streets.
As Jay cut back the brambles alongside a pathway, he marvelled at the fact that he was a wanted man. It seemed the government found his graffiti offensive, and a generous reward was on offer to anyone with information that would assist them in finding and apprehending him. And yet he had always considered his graffiti to be innocuous, nothing more than self-expression.
Jay spontaneously dropped his work tool and gloves to the ground and walked to the mausoleum where he always left pennies. His latest idea for a message was long - too long and time consuming for spray paint just now. He would get round to spray painting it some other time, but he wanted to at least concretise it now, while it was still fresh in his mind. He took a black felt tip pen from a pocket and began to write in small letters on the mausoleum's granite wall.
As Jay took a step back to read his latest statement, he realised that three men were intentionally approaching him; the one at the forefront of them had wild blonde hair and a restless energy. If they knew of the government's bounty on his head, he was done for. They definitely would have seen him writing his message; he couldn't deny it had been his doing. He decided to just await his fate and the men soon reached him. They read what he had written on the wall:
P.C. THINKING ULTIMATELY GAVE RISE TO VAMPIRE DOMINION AND RENDERED US HUMANS DUMBED-DOWN LAMBS TO THEIR SLAUGHTER. J.
"You wrote this?" Tom asked, as he turned to look at Jay.
"No, no; I was just trying to clean it off the wall," Jay replied.
"You're holding a black pen in your hand," said Jonathan, and he and Gareth laughed.
Jay shrugged. "Why deny it? I've got nothing to hide; I'm not ashamed of what I do. Yes, I did write it."
"Society's always had its speech control," he continued. "Nowadays it's things like falling foul of P.C. thinking that put a man into the pillory and stock to be jeered at and humiliated, and the public square of the past has been replaced by the media.
"If you have the intellectual ability to critique something, then you're doomed to doublethink and suppression of your own opinions if you see things differently from the politically correct mindset. And God help you if your violation of P.C. dogma becomes public knowledge. That's when the bigots who vehemently advocate P.C. thinking become outraged and show their rigid intolerance of anyone who dares to veer away from their mainstream opinions.
"And take hate speech laws: there may be the noble intent of peace and coherence behind these laws, and the government may hope that they'll ultimately eliminate the hatred born of prejudice, and obviously there are times when speech is so bad that these laws seem necessary. But on the other hand, look at the situation we've got ourselves into now with vampires, and the government's still not allowing us to admit to the truth, and so long as we don't admit to it, we haven't a hope in hell of liberating ourselves.
"So where do you draw the line? All these subjective rules and regulations are just adding more and more layers of prohibition in society, and more and more speech - and even thought - is being rendered unacceptable. And tell me, if a man doesn't hate in this prejudice-motivated way, does that necessarily make him a better person? We all have our faults, whatever they may be."
Jay stopped talking and looked at each of the three men listening to him in turn. "Why am I even wasting my time trying to explain myself to you? You're probably going to report me to the government now for what I just wrote."
"Report you? No, actually, we're going to invite you to join us," said Jonathan.
"Join you?"
"We're part of the anti-vampire Resistance. I'm Jonathan."
"Tom," said Tom.
"Gareth," said
Gareth.
"Oh. I'd given up on ever encountering you people," said Jay. He then turned and strolled back towards where he had been cutting back the brambles, with Jonathan, Tom and Gareth following close behind him.
"At long last, I get to meet the notorious 'J'," said Tom. "That was some speech, by the way."
Jay laughed. "Glad you liked it."
***
Location: London
Friday, 12 February 2027
Sunrise: 07:21
Sunset: 17:10
Mark couldn't help noticing the effervescent energy of the nurse as she rushed about, enthusiastically assisting patients. So when he saw her again as he exited the hospital, standing vaping some way off, he approached her, even though he knew it was a risk to approach her and start chatting out of the blue - she might accuse him of harassing her.
"Before the advent of e-cigarettes, I could've approached a smoker and asked if she had a spare cigarette, because right now I'm absolutely craving a nicotine fix," he said when he reached her.
The nurse laughed. "You can always take a drag on my e-cig," she offered.
"No, thanks, as much as I'd love to," said Mark.
He suddenly found her e-cigarette thrust in front of his face and he inhaled furtively.
"By the way, my name's Mark."
"Amy. Been visiting a patient in the hospital?"
"Nah, I had an appointment. By the way, is it safe working here at night? I mean, it's not as if hospitals can stop operating after dark, which means they're vulnerable to attacks. And before, they were heavily guarded by soldiers, but not now."
"But these days, it's not as if you're all that safe in a government shelter," said Amy.
Amy sounded bitter and Mark observed her intently.
"Were you working on the night of the attacks?" he asked.
"Emergency services brought in a few of the people who'd survived by hiding beneath their bunks just before the vampires attacked," said Amy. "There were no injuries, but some of them were suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder."
"I noticed you referred to the attackers as vampires," said Mark.
"Of course, Mark. You'd have to be really stupid to believe all that stuff the government puts out about there being no such thing as vampires. Did you see that post on SceneUTwo, of that vampire standing outside Number Ten?"
Mark felt hesitant as he said, "Amy, have you ever heard of the Resistance?"
She nodded.
"If you could join, would you?"
She nodded again.
"Would you be willing to come with me now? Leave everything behind?"
Amy laughed. "I have to get back to work," she said.
"Seriously, Amy, would you join the Resistance without a moment's hesitation?"
The two of them had been standing side-by-side, watching the frenzied traffic on the road, but Amy moved so that she now stood in front of Mark.
"If it existed, Mark, then yes, I would."
***
Location: London
Saturday, 20 February 2027
Sunrise: 07:05
Sunset: 17:24
Sharon and Tom had stopped off at the Angel Tavern for a quick drink not long after midday, but it was now 15:30 and they would have to get going soon if they wanted to make it back to the shelter before nightfall. They were silent as they drank and watched the passersby through the pub's glass frontage. Sharon put down her glass and picked up her tablet. Suddenly she gripped Tom's hand tightly.
"What's up, babe?" he said.
Sharon didn't reply; she handed her tablet to Tom and took a swig of her lager, her hands visibly shaking.
Tom frowned as he took a look at the post on SceneUTwo.
"This is fucking bad, babe," he said quietly. "People are declaring their allegiance to Nikolas en masse, and it doesn't help that the Defence Secretary has revoked the state of emergency. Soon we'll have a situation where these human supporters are working in blatant collusion with the vampires, with vampires openly walking the streets after dark."
Sharon looked at him, tears on the verge of spilling from her eyes. "Sometimes I just feel like giving up," she said. "How many people have Dr Patel and Amy managed to administer the antidote to so far? And how long does it even last?" Sharon drank the remaining contents of her glass in one go and stood up to go to the bar. "What are you having?" she asked Tom.
"We need to get back," he replied.
"I'll just nip down to the toilets, then."
Tom watched Sharon disappear down the stairs leading to the toilets just as a group of around ten men entered the pub. They were mostly in their early twenties and there was something intimidating in the way that they glanced suspiciously at everyone in the pub. One of them eventually sauntered over to Tom and sat down at the unoccupied table next to him.
"Are you in?" he said.
"I'm sorry?" said Tom.
"Are you with Nikolas?"
Tom felt a dark despondency descend upon him on hearing these words, but in spite of his feelings he attempted to disguise his pessimism by smiling at the man.
"Well?"
"Oh, sure; of course, I'm all for Nikolas," said Tom.
At that moment, Sharon was making her way back from the toilets, and she glanced with curiosity at the stranger talking to Tom.
"We're holding a meeting an hour from now to discuss the part we'll play in the creation of the new world order. Join us," the man said as he handed Tom a flyer with the meeting's details.
Tom tried to look enthusiastic as he read it. "We'd really love to come," he said, "but we've already made arrangements for later this afternoon that really can't be cancelled at such short notice."
"Pity; hopefully next time then."
The man got up and walked away. Tom gave Sharon the leaflet.
"Oh my God, Tom; they're willingly aligning themselves with the vampire cause," she said.
"Put the flyer in your bag, Sharon. We'll take it back with us; show it to the others. Let's just try and forget it all for now. One good thing that came from this vampire mess is that circumstances led me to you. I wouldn't change that for anything in the world."
"Oh, that's so sweet of you, Tom. It makes up for your forgetting Valentine's Day last week."
"Valentine's? Why didn't you say something? I'm so sorry; I've been totally preoccupied with humanity's predicament."
Sharon put her arms around Tom's neck and kissed his cheek, just as the ominous figures of the group of men darkened the pub entrance as they made their way back out onto the street.
***
"Sharon!" said Amy when she saw her standing in the lab's doorway.
Dr Patel looked up. "Hi, Sharon. What brings you here? I hope you aren't experiencing side effects from the antidote."
"Oh no, Mick. I just wanted to talk to you about something," said Sharon.
"I'm listening," said Dr Patel.
Sharon looked at Amy, and Dr Patel understood from her expression that she was hoping to have a private conversation with him.
"Amy, I hope you don't mind leaving us alone for a minute," he said.
"No problem," said Amy.
As soon as Amy had closed the door of the lab behind her, Dr Patel said, "What is it, Sharon?"
Sharon got straight to the point. "The thing is, I'm pregnant."
"Oh, that's fantastic news. Congratulations! Well, on the face of it, it's wonderful news, but then we still don't know if the antidote may affect the baby so that's something to be concerned about, but not necessarily. We can only hope there are no adverse effects. You didn't mention this to me when you volunteered for the Brian antidote."
"I'm sorry, Mick. I've been in total denial from the start. Tom doesn't even know yet, although he does suspect it. I was expecting you would say it's too risky to carry the pregnancy to full term, having taken the antidote," said Sharon.
"We're most certainly going to have to keep an eye on the baby; find some way to get you regularly examined and s
canned. And we can do any blood tests here. We would have had to deal with the risks around the antidote and pregnancy at some stage in the future, Sharon, if not now."
Dr Patel felt guilty. He would never have spoken so flippantly about possible risks before he had moved to the shelter and begun his covert work on the antidote. And he certainly wouldn't have allowed the antidote to be administered before its safety and efficacy had been proven.
The lab door suddenly swung open and Amy ran in, breathless, holding the flyer Sharon and Tom had brought back from the pub in her raised hand.
"Take a look at this, Mick!" she said.
"What is it?"
Amy rushed towards him and Sharon, but suddenly stopped.
"I'm sorry, Sharon, I've just realised you were in the middle of a private conversation with Mick," she said.
"That's okay, Amy, we'd just finished discussing what I came to see him about."
As Sharon walked down the tunnel, away from Dr Patel's lab, she heard someone running behind her and turned to see that it was Dr Patel.
"The antidote is our only weapon against Nikolas right now and obviously we're going to end up administering it to pregnant women," he said when he reached her. "We may find in time that it's harmful to the unborn, but that's a risk we have to take. And we can only learn as we go. I know that sounds irresponsible, but we really don't have a choice. I wish I could reassure you in some way, Sharon. I wish I could tell you that everything's going to be alright."
***
Location: London
Sunday, 21 February 2027
Sunrise: 07:03
Sunset: 17:26
Because of Tom's encounter with a Nikolas supporter yesterday at the Angel Tavern, Ed had suggested that from now on, no one living in the shelter should go anywhere unless it was absolutely necessary. The risk of being captured by the enemy was too high. Sharon sighed as she thought about this latest decision of Ed's; it looked like her life was going to take on a previously unimagined dreariness.