by M. Lorrox
“In the metro. I was slick though, and I pretended to be on the wrong train, then I jumped out when the doors were closing.”
She sniffs. “Wow. But you’re not sure?”
“No, but I lost him in any case. Crazy, huh?”
“Yeah, that’s... Actually, that’s concerning. Do you think it had anything to do with your meeting, and the umm, item?”
Eddy glances up to see if the other person on the roof is eavesdropping. The man seems well occupied by the vaporizer in his one hand and the phone in his other. Eddy shrugs. “I think it’s the only explanation that makes sense. Why else would someone want to follow me?”
“What about the guy you met with? Did you show it to him?”
“Oh, I didn’t bring it with me; Jambavan said to be careful. Remember? I just asked a lot of questions about the legend and got background info about the jewelry. He seemed to think that the original items may not even exist anymore. He did mention some specific details that match with, uh, the item, but I played dumb. It all makes me think that it’s real though.”
June shakes her head. “That’s so crazy.”
“I know.” Eddy watches June. She fidgets with her hands and stares off into the nearby rhododendron’s dark leaves. He reaches over and puts his hand on hers. “You wanted to chat? What’s up?”
She sighs then looks at him with wet eyes. “I think I messed up.”
He puts his arm around her. “It’s okay, you can tell me.”
She wipes her eyes. “I tried to get sleeping medicine because I can never seem to sleep, and I gave the doctor here a blood sample.”
Eddy tenses his neck and sucks air in through his teeth, making an airy hissing sound. That’s not good.
“It was just a drop, but it survived being sterilized, somehow, and then in the lab, they noticed the umm, other virus. They were able to use it to make some medicine to help prevent infection.”
Eddy relaxes his neck and weighs the information. “That seems kinda like a good thing.”
June shrugs. “Candace—the doctor—is so nice, but they want more blood to experiment with. They made the temporary vaccine from the sample I gave, but it’s all used up and she says they need more blood to make a permanent vaccine.”
Eddy leans over and whispers as quietly as he can into her ear, “What about light?” Then he straightens back up to receive her response.
She shakes her head.
He exhales. “Whew, that’s a good thing.”
“What do I do?”
Neither moves for a moment; they just stare at each other.
June sighs. “What if I’m the key to a permanent cure? Err, vaccine—you can’t cure being a zombie, only prevent it.”
“But what if they found out?”
“I know, and…I don’t know. I don’t know what to do.”
Eddy leans back. He takes her hand again. “Me neither.” He clears his throat. “You know what, June? I think you should talk to my mom.”
She lets out all but a dozen molecules of air from her lungs and uses those last few to add, “And Dad.”
Eddy nods and squeezes her shoulder. No way he’ll be happy about this.
She leans her head on his shoulder. He’s going to be angry at me.
Eddy looks down at her hair and finds himself smiling. I really like this. He leans his head onto hers.
At five-thirty, Charlie leaves the suite. The mission briefing will be taking place at the nearby Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall, and a shuttle is picking up the volunteer knights. In the lobby, they all meet up, and they are soon picked up by a nondescript white bus.
On the ride over, Tiger gets his attention. “Sir?”
“Yes, Tiger?”
“Just so I’m clear, Sky will report to guardsman Korina while I’m deployed?”
“Yes. I imagine that in all our absences, she’ll have Jambavan and Sky taking care of some important tasks. I hope they’ll be up for it.”
Tiger winks. “Can’t speak for her lad, Jamby, but Sky is, yessir.”
Charlie nods, then he looks out the window and thinks about Eddy. He’d make a great squire, but somehow, I don’t think that being a knight would be enough for him.
The bus pulls off the highway, but they’re not at the base yet. It makes a turn onto a street and stops in front of a café with outdoor seating.
Tiger scratches his head as he watches out the window.
Two vampires that were seated under an umbrella outside the café, walk to the bus and get on—a man and a woman. They are both dressed in business suits, the man with short, curly black hair, and the woman with long brown hair. The woman takes a window seat toward the front of the bus, and as the man sits down beside her, he locks eyes with Charlie and waves.
Schermer glances at Charlie and raises an eyebrow. “A friend?”
He shrugs and clears his throat. “Excuse me, are you on the right bus? Do we know each other?”
The man doesn’t turn around. “We’re on the correct bus. But sir, you don’t know me, not yet.”
At five minutes to six, Sadie is finally released from her meetings. Raúl walks up to her and slings his bag over his shoulder. “Sadie, do you have any dinner plans tonight?”
She smiles and shakes her head. “I’d enjoy dining with you, but first I need to drop some things off upstairs. Where should we go?”
He smiles. “I’ll have a car. Meet me out front.”
“See you soon.”
Upstairs, Eddy and June are playing with Minnie and joking. The books June bought are piled on the coffee table.
Skip picks one up and reads the inside jacket. “This one looks pretty good. June, have you read anything else by this author?”
“No, but I heard somebody talking about it somewhere. They seemed to really love it, so I thought I’d give it a shot.”
He sets it down when he hears the door’s electronic latch unlock. He stands and walks over, eager to be relieved for the evening. When Sadie walks in, he greets her and is frustrated when she mentions she’s going out for dinner with a colleague. He glances over to Eddy and June, then back to Sadie. “Charlie seemed to think that someone else could watch Minnie tonight, so I could go to dinner as well. Maybe Eddy and June could watch her?”
“Sure, I don’t see why not. Eddy?”
“Yeah, no prob.”
Sadie smiles at Skip. “No prob. Have fun.” She sits to slip on a pair of high-heeled Louboutin black leather boots with their iconic, red leather soles.
Eddy laughs. “Uh-oh, she’s puttin’ the boots on.”
She doesn’t look up. “You know it.” She struggles a little and laughs. “These beasts are such a pain to put on, but man do they do the job.”
Skip nods.
June hoped for more of a follow up. “The job?”
Sadie chuckles. “A statement. They say, ‘watch out, here I come, and don’t mess with me,’ all while being attractive.”
Oookay... Oh! June nudges Eddy. When he looks at her, she motions toward their parents in the kitchen.
Eddy nods. “Guys, uh, do you have to run now, or do you have a couple minutes?”
Skip checks the time. “I should get changed then head out.”
Sadie glances up. “I’ve got a car waiting for me downstairs; I need to hurry. What’s up?”
“Well, when will you be back?”
Sadie finishes putting on the other boot. “Probably around eight or nine. Can this wait?”
Eddy glances at June. Can it?
She stands and walks over to her dad. “Are you coming home tonight? I’d like to talk to you later.”
He puts his arm around her. “I will definitely be back later to talk.” He smiles at her, then jolts back as he remembers something. “You two need food, umm—”
“Mom, we could take Minnie to the hotel restaurant. I bet she’d enjoy that.”
Sadie stands up, unfurling her long, lean body. She towers over Skip now that she’s in her boots. She shifts so that she can
see her daughter in the living room. “Minnie, does that sound fun?”
“Yes! But only if Valentine can come! She’ll be hungry too.”
Sadie smiles. “Sure, sounds like a plan. Eddy, just bill it to the room, but don’t go crazy.”
He pouts. “Fine.” He turns to Minnie. “Sorry sis, no caviar for Valentine.”
“WHAT? That’s her favorite!”
Everyone laughs.
Minnie tugs on Eddy’s sleeve, then whispers to him, “What’s caviar?”
“Don’t worry about it, it’s really gross stuff. Valentine doesn’t want it anyway.”
“Oh.” Minnie scrunches her face up and slaps Eddy on the arm. “Don’t be such a jerk.” She scoots over to snuggle Valentine.
A few miles away at the military base, Charlie, Tiger, Schermer, Tatsu, and the two other vampires are escorted to a room filled with about twenty focused-looking men and women in fatigues. The knights serving on the Council Guard are directed to a table with chairs, and they sit. The other vampires are directed to a second table where two other people are already seated. A few silent, long minutes later, a portly man in uniform enters and introduces himself as General William Campbell. He first addresses the soldiers that were seated when the vampires entered.
“You have been nominated by your senior officers as the best of the best soldiers in the Special Forces program. You earned that badge on your shoulder through your hard work and unwavering dedication, and tomorrow those skills will be put to a new test.” General Campbell walks with a slight limp to the front of a table and leans against it. “I should say, if you choose to take part in this mission, you must accept a top-secret clearance level—for which you all qualify. Now will be your sole opportunity—Green Berets—to opt out of this mission.”
An arm is raised by one of the soldiers. After being addressed, the soldier stands. “Thank you, sir. Who are they, sir?” He gestures over to the guards with all his fingers pressed together.
General Campbell smiles at the guardsmen then looks back at the soldier. “Sit down. Knowing who they are is part of the increased clearance. Anybody that wants to stay in the dark and not take part in this mission must leave now.” He looks around the room. Nobody moves. “Excellent. To answer your question, they’re vampires with superhuman strength.”
Charlie stands up in a flash. “Excuse me sir, I don’t feel that’s appropriate.”
The general laughs and motions with his hand for him to sit back down. “Sorry, let me start over.” He clears his throat and looks at the shocked faces of the military men and women. “There exists in this world a sort of condition that grants individuals like the fine soldiers you see sitting at that table—and yes they are soldiers, most of whom outrank you all, I’ll add—they’re granted amazing strength and endurance, but at a cost that they must frequently consume nutrients that their bodies cannot make, nutrients carried in the red blood cells of mammals. So, we call them vampires, but I can assure you, they are not a threat unless you make them one.”
He walks over to the back of the table he was leaning on. “Now, after this briefing, you will have an opportunity to ask questions and speak to them directly, but be advised that you all are now in a chosen minority that is aware of this group’s existence, and if you speak of them openly, you will be tried for treason for exposing state secrets.” He stands up straight and almost shouts, “Is that understood?”
“Yes, sir!” The soldiers in attendance shout back in unison.
“Good, very good. Captain Davidson, start the show.”
The lights dim, and a projection is shown. General Campbell talks about the operation, and one slide shows that he had previously divided the soldiers, by name, into two squads.
One soldier leans over to the man beside him and whispers, “I guess he already knew we would stay.”
The other soldier whispers back, “Of course we’d stay, but check out that fat, uh, vampire—he looks really pissed off.”
Charlie turns his head to look at the soldier that called him fat and winks at him.
General Campbell presents the finer details of the operation. Some of the information is new to Charlie, and he writes it all down to tell Sadie. Then, General Campbell introduces Charlie as Colonel Costanza and asks him to introduce his team of vampires.
Charlie stands and lists the names, ranks, and positions of himself and of the other guardsmen. “Myself and First Lieutenant Tiger will be accompanying the squad to target Alpha. Major Schermer and First Lieutenant Tatsu will accompany the squad to target Bravo.”
“Thank you, Colonel.” General Campbell turns and motions to the table nearby, where two humans sit next to the two vampires that rode in with Charlie and the other Guard officers. The vampire that waved to Charlie stands and steps in front of the table.
“Good evening everyone, I am Dr. Aharon Fugleberg. I am a vampire, and I’m also one of the scientists from the U.S. Army Research Laboratory that developed the assets we’re going to recover.”
Aharon motions to the people who he was sitting with. “Myself and these people here are the scientists—or specialists—that your teams will be delivering, and I hope, protecting.” He goes on to introduce Dr. Penelope Peeters as another vampire scientist, then their non-vampire scientist counterparts. He closes by thanking the soldiers for their participation in the mission and emphasizing that the mission is vitally important for national security. As he sits down, General Campbell asks if anyone has questions.
Many hands are raised.
General Campbell sighs. “How about any mission-critical questions to start off with?”
Most hands are slowly lowered, but one remains high. Charlie recognizes the soldier currently attached to the arm as the one who called him fat.
“Lieutenant Walker, go ahead.”
The man stands, and Charlie sizes him up at 6’3” and 220. “General, to lead this mission, I feel it necessary to understand the abilities and weaknesses of the soldiers calling themselves vampire knights, sir.”
The general motions to Charlie. “If you please, respond to Alpha Squad’s leader’s question.”
Charlie smiles as he stands. GLADLY.
Eddy and June play a game with Minnie where they’re her loyal subjects, and Minnie is a benevolent and wise queen. Valentine is her most trusted advisor...and royal steed. Eddy and June finally return from defeating the “Giant Turtle Sniffers” that live in the north, and Minnie knights them both for their courage and bravery. When she’s done, she claps her hands and commands them to return to the hotel because the queen is hungry.
Eddy laughs, then hears his phone buzz. He gets up and checks it. He has a text, and when he sees that it’s from Tomo, he calls June over in a hurry. He opens the message:
People are leaving town. Haven’t seen Jess since Sunday. Turn on the news. Talk to you soon.
He holds the phone for June, and she shrugs. He turns on the TV, and flips through the main news stations until he sees “Nashville” written across the bottom of the screen. He and June sit down beside each other on the couch, and they watch the video of smoke rising above the skyline.
June shakes her head. “What happened?”
“I don’t know.”
“As the military was evacuating families from Nashville, a yet unexplained explosion destroyed a section of the city’s defenses. Zombies numbering in the hundreds-to-thousands poured in, and soon, The Line’s defenses were in a state of chaos.”
The image changes to a helicopter’s view of what must have been the site of the explosion. Concrete barricades and military vehicles are cast in all directions, and a great crater is filled with writhing bodies. Zombies.
June reaches out and takes Eddy’s hand.
Minnie points to the screen. “What’s that on TV?”
Eddy pulls his hand from June’s grasp, picks up Minnie, and pulls her onto his lap. “Just a silly movie, don’t watch for a minute, okay?”
“Ugh! Fine...”
“The military responded with reinforcements to the site of the breach, but resources in the area are thin due to construction of the new Southern States Defense Line beyond Nashville.”
The video cuts to an in-progress press briefing at the Pentagon. The bottom of the screen reads: General James Roland Riley, Commander of the Joint Zombie Defenses. “I repeat, the new defenses of the revised line HAVE NOT been breached, and IT WILL be ready. What happened tonight in Nashville is a tragedy, but it is precisely why we were drawing back from that site. The new Southern States Defense Line WILL HOLD.”
The video cuts away from the press conference to people fleeing while volunteers assist. Eddy points to the screen. “No way, I think that’s Craig.” And is that Roger with him? I think it is!
“Volunteers of all walks of life have come to help evacuate civilians from the city, and more are still arriving. Local school busses are carrying those injured to medical centers, and local tour bus companies have offered to ferry Nashville refugees to relocation camps set up in cities inside the new Southern States Defense Line.
“This event is a tragedy, but it also reminds us of how important helping one another can be. In times like these, we must take care of those in need.”
Eddy looks at June. “I guess Craig and Roger drove out to help.”
The image cuts back to the helicopter’s view.
“Initial casualties from the explosion alone were estimated to be close to one hundred soldiers and security volunteers, and casualties after the zombie breach are expected to be in the thousands.”
The coverage switches back to an anchor in a newsroom.
“America’s heart bleeds tonight over this tragedy. When we come back, we’ll have interviews with strategists and specialists.”
Eddy picks up the remote and turns off the TV.
Minnie turns around, pouting. “I know that wasn’t a movie. Are people going to be okay?”
Eddy hugs her and nods. “Don’t worry, Minnie. It’ll be okay.”
Dinner proved to be an excellent distraction for Eddy, June, and Minnie. After their meal, they explore and discover that the hotel has some board games available for guests to check out. They select one called “Stranglehold” because it has both a castle and a spaceship on the top of the box.