by P. T. Hylton
Maryana stopped and listened for a moment; the room was silent except for the sounds of their breathing and the beating of their hearts.
“Anyone who wants to volunteer, please raise your hand. There are only twenty open spots, so don’t hesitate.” She reached down to Mike who stood at the edge of the desk and pulled him up. “Mikey, here, can tell you how great it is to be part of the team.”
Mike’s eyes widened as the words began to pour out of his mouth. “The transformation that Maryana blessed me with is the greatest gift I have ever received. I am better in every way than I was as a human. Serving her gives me purpose and fulfillment. Before she blessed me, my life had no meaning. Now, I help her bring order to the world.”
Maryana clapped a hand on Mike’s back “Well said. Now, I need twenty volunteers. Raise your hands and receive the gift of a lifetime.”
Every eye was on the floor. No one moved. After a few moments, a woman toward the back of the crowd began to cry softly.
Maryana smiled and hopped down off the desk. The crowd pressed tighter against each other to avoid any contact with Maryana. She reached the crying woman, but the woman refused to meet Maryana’s eyes. Maryana put a hand under the soft chin and raised her face.
“Aren’t you a pretty little thing?” Maryana said. The woman was in her early twenties and had long blond hair and radiated a youthful beauty. “I know you’re scared, but you’ll feel much better soon.” She nodded to one of the Twisted and they grabbed the woman under the arms.
When the Twisted’s hands touched her, the woman came to life. She screamed and grabbed at the other people in the room, but it was no use. The Twisted dragged her toward the holding area in the back of the building.
The crowd pressed back even further as Maryana began strolling through the crowd again. Over the next five minutes, she chose nineteen more, seemingly at random. Some accepted their fate, but others tried to fight against the Twisted. The results were the same for all of them.
Maryana beamed at the remaining humans. “Thanks for coming in, everyone. Sorry I wasn’t able to help you all, but we will do this again.” She waved to the Twisted by the exit, and he opened the doors. The people filed out as quickly as possible.
After she’d watched them leave, Maryana strolled back to the holding cells. The selected humans were locked together in a large cell. The first woman she’d taken was crouched on the floor of the cell, screaming hysterically. Maryana skipped down the hall, stopping in front of the door. One of the Twisted opened it. Maryana walked toward the screaming girl, and everyone else cowered, pressing their bodies against the bars and the walls.
“Please let me go!” the woman screamed. “I shouldn’t be here! I’ll do whatever you want. Just don’t make me a monster!”
“A monster?” Maryana clucked her tongue in disapproval. “Are you calling me a monster? I’ll tell you what, missy. I was quite the looker back in my day. But a pretty face is a small price to pay for power and immortality. What’s your name?”
The woman raised her tear-streaked face. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that you’re a monster. Please, just let me go.”
Maryana grabbed the girl by the neck and hauled her into the air, lifting her high enough that her feet dangled a few inches off the floor. The woman struggled for breath, her arms pinwheeling in the air. “Not to get all Miss Manners on you, but I did ask you a question. It’s rude to ignore people. What’s your name?”
The girl answer in a barely audible whisper. “Ashley.”
Maryana let go and Ashely collapsed to her knees. “Nice to meet you, Ashley. I hope that you took a good long look in the mirror this morning because this is the last time you will have that beautiful face. Shall we get started?”
For everyone but Maryana, the next three hours were the stuff of nightmares. The mental games that she played with her victims were as bad as the physical torture. She broke each person down to the point where they begged to be turned. Once her work was done, twenty new Twisted stood before her, and the walls and floor were covered in blood.
She clapped her hands together. “This has been so much fun. I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did. Now, there are some buckets and mops in the storage room. I want you to make this cell shine. If we leave it like this, people might think something bad happened here. Once you are finished, Mikey will give you some new uniforms. If anyone asks you about becoming a Twisted, tell them that it was the greatest experience of your life and you would do it again in a heartbeat.” She walked up and down the row of Twisted and stopped in front of Ashley. “I need you to help me out with something. Get changed and meet me in the communications room.”
Thirty minutes later Maryana and Ashley stood in the City Council chambers, a camera in front of them. Ashley’s hair was brushed and pulled back in a ponytail, and she wore a freshly-pressed uniform. Her features were still recognizable beneath the twisted form of her new face. The camera operator counted down from three, a red light turned on, and the city-wide broadcast began.
“People of New Haven, I hope you are all having a wonderful day,” Maryana began. “I know some of you still don’t trust me, but I think you will all come to realize that I am the leader you all deserve. I will help you reclaim and repopulate the world. But first, there’s something we have to do. We need to kill Jaden. If you thought he was one of the good guys, you were very wrong. He tricks people into doing his bidding. Putting an end to him is priority number one!”
She paused, and her monstrous face softened.
“I wanted to make this announcement so I could share my plans with you, but I also wanted to let you know that I’m going to need your help to make the world a better place. Just today, Ashley, here, volunteered to join the forces of New Haven. She might look a little different, but she’s still the same dedicated individual. Only better.” Maryana turned to Ashley. “Tell the people what you think of your new transformation.”
Ashley’s eyes flashed with the briefest moment of terror, but then she smiled. “The transformation that Maryana blessed me with is the greatest gift I have ever received. I am better in every way than I was as a human. Serving her gives me purpose and fulfillment. Before she blessed me, my life had no meaning. Now, I help her bring order to the world.”
“Thanks, Ashley. I can’t offer you all this gift, but I’m sure some of you will get a chance. Be good. We’ll talk soon.” Maryana winked at the camera and the red light turned off. She smiled, wondering once again if this place might be heaven.
Mike ran into the room, disturbing her bliss. “A ship just took off from Agartha. What do you want us to do?”
8
Brian watched on the monitor as the experimental ship headed north. It was nearly sunset, and the light glinted off the aircraft as it disappeared into the distance. Brian hoped it would be up to the difficult challenge they were about to give it. George wasn’t one hundred percent confident in the ship’s reliability. It seemed to be performing well so far, but its only flights had been a quick trip to New Haven and an equally quick trip back to Agartha. Today’s flight would require a bit more from the aircraft.
“So, what happens now?” Stephanie asked. She leaned forward, her chin in her hand as she stared intently at the screen. All of the senior lab personnel had been reassigned to the control center for this mission, and space was tight. Brian and Stephanie had been forced to share a desk.
“We wait,” Brian said. Now that the experimental ship was out of sight, he’d turned his attention to the radar display that showed New Haven far overhead.
“Did New Haven see it?” Stephanie asked.
Brian hesitated before answering. That was the real question. Technically, of course the small ship would show up on their radar, but it was a question of whether or not the person manning the radar was paying close enough attention to catch it going by. He and Alex had discussed the matter, and they’d decided they couldn’t risk going slow. It wouldn’t look as real. “I’m betting they
did. But I guess we’ll find out very shortly.”
“If not, I guess we’ll just wait down here for more Twisted to attack.” She sighed and rested her chin on her hand again.
“I’m sorry that you got roped into this,” Brian said. “I’m sure when you signed up to be a lab tech, you weren’t expecting to be tracking enemy vampires who could attack the city at any moment. This is probably a little more than you’d bargained for.”
She gave him a look that make him feel like the dumbest man on Earth. “Are you kidding me? This is awesome!”
He blinked hard, staring at her in surprise. “Really?”
“Of course.” She paused. “I mean, not the vampire deaths. That sucks. Some of those guys were weirdos, but Toby was a real sweetheart. And they did right by everyone in Agartha, keeping us safe and fed for all these years. But the other parts? Helping Jaden and a ragtag group of humans from some city in the sky battle the evil vampire queen who caused all of this? As much as I enjoyed studying water samples to verify the purity, this is just a tad bit cooler.”
Brian grinned. He’d been working closely with Stephanie for the past few days, and she’d managed to impress him. That was no easy task. She was efficient in the lab, innovative in her ideas, and whip-smart. He had to admit that she was pretty good looking, too. Granted he’d dated more than his share of nice-looking women on New Haven over the past couple of years, but most of those relationships had been fleeting. Something about Stephanie spoke to him. Her mind. Her body. Her personality. He didn’t know her well, but he was beginning to think she might be the total package. “I’m glad you feel that way. I was worried this whole thing might be freaking you out.”
She shrugged. “Honestly, I work better under pressure. It’s just that I never got much of a chance at it down here.” She paused, thinking. “There was one time when I got to shine. There was a problem with the water purification system, and the parts needed to fix it proved tough to find. It actually got pretty dire for a couple days. People were forced to ration water. Jaden and Robert finally brought back the parts, and George got them installed. All that was needed was our say so. My boss tested the water and gave it the thumbs up. Thing is, he missed something. I double checked his work and caught some bacteria. Turns out, the parts Jaden brought back were defective. I caught it and the vampires had to go back out scavenging. My boss was pissed about the whole thing, seeing as it made him look like an idiot, but Jaden thanked me. That was the only time I’ve ever spoken to him. Not counting when he was yelling at us in the lab a couple of days ago.”
“Wow, that’s pretty badass. You saved the city.”
Stephanie smirked at him. “Don’t be dramatic. I saved them from a bad case of diarrhea, maybe. Still, it seemed like a big deal at the time. Before all of this.” She paused again, giving him a look he couldn’t quite read. “People around here think I’m too intense. They say I take the work too seriously. Even the other lab techs. But what we do is important. We’re dealing with life and death stuff. It’s nice to work with someone else who understands that.”
Brian smiled back at her. “I can relate to being called too intense. I’d rather work with someone who took the job too seriously, rather than not seriously enough.”
“You mean that?”
“Of course,” he said.
“Good. Because I have some thoughts on the GMT’s weapons. You’re missing some key areas where you could improve the designs. Now that they’re facing the Twisted, you’re going to have to move beyond silver mail and daylights.”
He tilted his head, surprised that this lab tech would be so bold as to tell him his business. But he had to admit, he liked it. “I look forward to hearing your thoughts.”
“Heads up!” someone at another desk shouted. “We’ve got movement.”
Brian’s gaze shifted back to the radar display. Sure enough, New Haven was in motion, and it was heading west, following the experimental ship. Just as they’d planned. He grabbed the radio off the desk and held it to his mouth. “Alex, you read me?”
The reply came almost immediately. “I hear you, Brian.”
“New Haven is in motion. Maryana took the bait.”
“You’re going to laugh if I tell you,” Ed muttered, as they walked down the corridor to the transport vehicle.
“Why would I laugh?” Chuck said. “I told you mine. The thing I miss most about New Haven is the slop from Tankards. What could be more embarrassing than that?”
“Trust me,” Ed replied. “I have you beat.” He glanced toward Felix. “Why don’t you go, new guy?”
Felix didn’t hesitate before answering. “Oh, that’s easy. The 2004 baseball season.”
“Oh,” Ed said. Then he stopped walking. “Wait, what?”
“Baseball. We’ve got an archive of every major league game since 1950. I was working my way through the seasons. I just finished the two-thousand-four season and my team lost a heartbreaker. If I never get to see them win the Series because of Maryana, I’m going to be pissed.”
Frank sidled up beside him. “No kidding? I was a bit of a baseball fan myself back in the day. Who’s your team?”
“The Chicago Cubs.”
Frank let out a chuckle. “You’re kidding. I was a Cardinals fan.” He paused. “Wait, 2003 was the year they made the playoffs, right?”
Felix’s shoulders slumped. “I had high hopes. But that foul ball…”
Alex walked up beside them. “You realize you don’t have to watch all the games to know what happened, right? You can look up the scores, find out how they did each year.”
Felix looked at her in horror. “You can also flip to the last page in a book to see how things turn out, but I don’t recommend it.”
“I’m with my man, Felix,” Frank said. “Even if he does have terrible taste in teams. Baseball is drama. The beauty is in watching it play out.” He glanced at Jaden. “How about you, Jaden? Were you a baseball guy?”
“No,” Jaden replied, his voice distant. “Sports were never my thing. Though, I did get into watching boxing for a few years.”
“The sweet science. Why am I not surprised?”
“Is anyone else who wasn’t alive in the twenty-first century thoroughly bored by this conversation?” Chuck asked.
Alex chuckled. “Agreed. Let’s focus up, people.”
The team remained silent until they reached the transport vehicle, a large truck designed to hold far more than their six bodies. Alex climbed into the passenger seat while Jaden slid behind the wheel.
“You sure you want to drive?” Alex asked. “If you’re not ready…”
He tossed her an annoyed glare. “I told you, my body is one hundred percent, even if my mind isn’t. I’m fully prepared to carry out the mission.”
She gave him a long look. Jaden wasn’t the type to admit weakness. If he was posturing now, the whole team might die. But she saw resolve in his eyes. She trusted his warrior instincts to pick up any slack created by his unstable emotions. “Good enough for me. And you remember how to get there?”
Jaden scowled, his eyes on the blast door between them and the road beyond. “This is one place I’ll never forget.”
Alex touched the radio on her chest. “Brian, how we looking?”
There was a moment of silence before he answered. “New Haven’s just over a hundred miles out, headed in a direct line toward our aircraft. You should be clear.”
“Roger that.” She turned to Jaden. “It’s time.”
Jaden stuck a hand out the window, signaling to a man near the blast door who pressed a button. The door smoothly opened.
Alex took a look around the tunnel as Jaden eased the transport vehicle forward. A few days ago, this tunnel had been a battlefield. Now, it was a launchpad for a mission that just might take Maryana down once and for all. She’d taken the bait. Now, the hard part of the mission began.
“Here we go,” Jaden said, and he stepped on the gas.
9
The t
ransport thumped over a dislodged chunk of pavement, and the seatbelt bit into Alex’s shoulder.
“What the hell!” Ed shouted from the back of the transport. “Watch where you’re going.”
“I am watching,” Jaden said evenly. “The road isn’t exactly smooth after more than a century’s exposure to the elements. I thought the fierce GMT would be able to handle some bumps.”
“We can handle bumps, but I would like to get there in one piece.”
“I assure you that we will not crash on the journey. Living through the rest of the mission is less certain.” Jaden kept the vehicle at an even fifty miles per hour, staying in the middle of the road, except when he needed to drift to avoid the husk of an old car. They were traveling north along an old highway the faded signs marked as I-25.
Ed grimaced. “Great pep talk. You’re making Frank nervous.”
Jaden turned to Alex. “Pay attention to the route. We’re taking I-25 to I-80. If anything happens to me, you’ll need to know how to get back to Agartha.”
Alex watched the road and the landscape go by. “I’m paying attention. You make sure to hold your shit together so we can make it back.”
Jaden was silent for a moment, then he spoke again. “I used to tell my vampires that nothing is certain. I now realize that I didn’t believe what I was saying. Even in the worst times I truly thought that we would always be part of the world. I didn’t think it was possible for us to lose. Now, I wonder if my arrogance is the reason they’re all dead.” He kept his eyes on the road ahead and his voice was distant, as if the words weren’t meant for anyone but himself.
“You had a thousand years of experience backing up your assumption. That’s a pretty good run.”
“Yes, but the run is over now. The world will move on. I need to accept my place, or the lack of one.”