by Brandon Hale
“You think the Legion’s going to retaliate?” Gifford said. “Are you sure they even know it happened? We can go into the woods and fetch his body, then hide it.”
“They know, Billy,” Bev said. “And they will come. Tonight. More importantly, I have no idea what to do about it. I have some weapons in my car, but nothing significant. Nothing that can push back what we’re going to be facing in a few hours.” She looked at Lily. “I will take one thing back. After thinking about it, I don’t think you kids got lucky at all.”
Lily tried and failed to prevent tears from trickling down her face. “You’re saying we’ve killed this town.”
“I don’t know what you’ve done,” Bev said. “Because I’ve never seen something like this happen before.”
“What if we offer ourselves to them?” Leo asked.
Lily’s heart sank. She had gone to sleep a hero. Now, a few hours later, she was a possible sacrifice to the darkness. “We did this, not the other people in town. Do you think they’d take us and leave the rest alone?”
“I have no idea,” Bev admitted. “Maybe. It really depends on who comes.”
“You know,” Lily said, “they started this! They drew first blood.”
“The vampires started it,” Bev corrected. “As far as the werewolves are concerned, Phillip’s act was an act of kindness. He was here to rescue you from the pitiful state of being human.”
“Then we’re left with two choices,” Gifford said. “We hide or we fight.”
“Or both,” Lily said. “Billy, round up the town. Have most of the people go to the basement of any house that has one. But if anybody wants to stay and fight, I say we let em fight.”
“Want my badge?” Gifford asked. “Since apparently you’re the new sheriff.”
“You got anything better?” Leo said.
“I don’t,” Gifford admitted.
“How many deputies do you have in this town?” Bev asked.
“Six,” Gifford said. “Which, if I’m being honest, is five too many. Not a lot of crime in a town of nine hundred.”
“Get the town together,” Bev said. “I have ten pistols in my car, all loaded with silver. And I’ve got three small crossbows. I’ll give them to anybody you say can handle a weapon.”
“Do we have a chance here?” Leo asked.
Bev looked at him for a moment, then said, “Are you asking for a pep talk or the truth?”
“Pep talk.”
“We have a chance,” Bev said. “It’s possible that my soldiers will arrive early. We might be able to keep them busy until then.”
“Okay,” Lily said, “if that’s the pep talk, what’s the truth?”
“Everything I said is true,” Bev said. “We do have a chance. But the truth is, anybody that volunteers to fight back is probably going to die. The best we can hope for is that we hold them back long enough to save the people that hide. Is that worth dying for?”
“Yes,” Lily said.
“Without question,” Leo added.
“I told you,” Gifford said. “Tough as nails, these two.”
Chapter 4
Iveyton Dusk
When dusk came to Iveyton, the town looked deserted. Every house was dark. Every store was closed, even the gas station. The streets were almost empty.
Almost.
Four people stood in the center of the street in front of the police station. Lily and Leo faced the road stretching out from the woods where they’d killed Phillip. Gifford and Bev stood at their backs, facing the opposite direction. Lily and Gifford held crossbows. Bev and Leo held guns.
“I’ve made a decision,” Leo said.
“What’s that?” Lily asked.
“I’ve decided that being a hero sucks ass.”
“I’m withholding judgment,” Lily said, “until tomorrow.” She looked around the empty town. Over a hundred men and women had volunteered to fight, and were now hidden in several of the houses and buildings surrounding them. “Besides,” she said, “this time, we’re not the only heroes in town. I think we might just pull this off.”
“I must admit,” Bev said, “I’m impressed with your town.”
Lily looked at the darkening sky. “Billy,” she said, “you gave me your word on this. If they agree to take Leo and me, you let them.”
“I’m not the one you should be worried about,” Gifford said. “Your dad is in the furniture store right there. He’ll die before he lets them take you.”
“No,” Lily said, “he won’t. My dad was a soldier for twenty years. He understands sacrifice.”
“My grandma doesn’t,” Leo said. “She doesn’t deserve this. She already lost her kids to this war. Now she’s going to lose her only grandson. We moved here after New York fell. She chose this town because she thought the war would never make it this far.”
“You don’t have to do this, Leo,” Lily said. “There’s no way they can know you were involved, no matter how connected they are. None of them saw you.”
“She’s right, kid,” Gifford said. “For all they know, I was the one shooting that gun.”
“No,” Leo said. “I won’t let you do that for me.”
“I wouldn’t be doing it for you,” Gifford said. “I’d be doing it for your grandma. You’re right. She has suffered too much already.”
“Dammit,” Leo said, “I was just thinking out loud, okay? Last minute, random thoughts. I helped start this, and I’m going to help finish it.”
“Okay,” Gifford said. “But if you change your mind, at any time—”
“Would you two shut up,” Bev said. “They’ll know the truth. These guys aren’t bringing baby vampires like the three you met in the woods. They’ll have vampires that will know if you’re lying. When they get here, we have to tell them the truth. They’ll accept your offer or they won’t.”
“Do you think they’ll accept it?” Lily asked.
“I already told you,” Bev said, “I have no idea. Just remember, if they don’t accept it, signal the others immediately. A moment’s hesitation will kill us all.”
“If we survive this,” Lily said, “will it count as my preliminary exam for joining the Day Soldiers?”
Bev laughed. “No,” she said, “but if you survive this, the prelim will be a cakewalk. I promise.”
“Lily,” Leo said, “in case this is the end, there’s something I gotta tell you.”
Lily Groaned. “Leo, if you’re about to start some romantic crap, I’ll put an arrow in your head right now.”
“I wasn’t!” Leo said.
“We got a good thing going here,” Lily said. “If you go and screw it up with a bunch of bull—”
“I wasn’t!” Leo said. “God.”
“Okay,” Lily spoke in a voice that indicated she clearly didn’t believe him. “Then what were you going to say?”
“Forget it,” Leo said. “It was nothing.”
“Oh, God,” Lily groaned. “It was a bunch of romantic shit. I knew it!”
“It was not!”
“Then what were you going to say?”
“I don’t even remember now,” Leo said.
“Guys,” Gifford said, “cut it out. We got bigger concerns right now. Like that thick damn blanket of fog rolling this way.”
“It’s them,” Bev whispered. “Showtime.”
Lily watched everything but the closest buildings fade to white, swallowed by the thickening fog. Within a few seconds, she could see her three companions, the road beneath their feet, and pretty much nothing else.
“Don’t worry about the fog,” Bev said quietly. “We weren’t counting on clear visibility. Everything’s fine.”
Lily knew that Bev was referring to the tiny microphone under her shirt. When the time came to signal the others, it would be through audio.
“Everything,” a man’s voice said from the fog, “is far from fine.”
A vampire stepped from the mist. He looked exactly like the three from the night before. For rea
sons Lily couldn’t explain, she found this comforting.
Another vampire stepped from the fog.
And another.
They kept coming. Dozens of them. They formed a tight circle around the humans. No matter where Lily looked, she saw the monstrous face of a vampire looking back at her.
“Who’s in charge?” Bev asked.
“I am,” a powerful voice answered from the darkness.
Behind the vampires, a great shadow rose in the fog. Through the mist, Lily could only see a basic shape, but it was enough for her to guess what it was.
When two of the vampires stepped aside, allowing the shadow to step forward, Lily’s fears were confirmed.
The werewolf towered above the vampires. It was at least eight feet tall. It stood on two legs, allowing full use of its giant clawed hands. It was covered in thick, black fur. The head looked like some monstrous canine from hell. From the large ears sprouting above its head to the toothy snout currently sniffing the air in front of its face, there was nothing natural about this thing.
And nothing good.
The beast leaned forward and sniffed Lily’s face. Then it moved to Leo.
Lily could see the terror in Leo’s eyes as the thing smelled his neck. She found herself wishing she’d taken a gun instead of a crossbow. If she had the gun, she would have probably fired right then and there.
Okay, she thought, so maybe it’s good you don’t have the gun.
“Okay,” Bev said. “You made your big scary entrance. Can we talk now?”
In an instant, the werewolf was gone, replaced by a naked man. He had short black hair and a cleanly shaven face. For a brief moment, Lily wondered how they kept certain haircuts when they were human.
“Dennis,” Bev said. “I’m honored.”
The man looked at Bev. “You know me, Day Soldier, but I don’t know you. That’s not really fair.”
“Sorry,” Bev said. “I haven’t really established a reputation yet. But you certainly have. First Phillip, now you. What’s so special about this place?”
“Was Phillip’s death your doing, soldier?”
“I wish I could take credit for it,” Bev said. “But no. Phillip died because of bad luck and his own stupidity.”
“I see what you’re doing there, soldier,” Dennis said. “You know my name. So you must know that Phillip was my leader. You’re trying to upset me. Throw me off my game.”
“No,” Bev said. “He really did die from bad luck and stupidity. I promise.”
What happened next was so fast, Lily’s eyes only registered bits and pieces. For a split second, she thought she saw the wolf-thing again, but as quickly as it appeared, it was gone and Dennis was again standing in front of her. The only thing different was the blood smeared across his face.
He pointed over Lily’s shoulder. “Turn around and look. It’s pretty cool.”
Lily turned around just in time to see Bev drop to the pavement. Most of her throat was missing.
“Pretty neat, huh,” Dennis said.
The three remaining humans stood in stunned silence.
Dennis looked at Leo and said, “I’m assuming that gun has silver bullets?”
Leo looked down at the gun, then back at Dennis. He nodded.
“You’re welcome to try and shoot me,” Dennis said. Leo didn’t move. “No? Okay. That’s probably a good idea.” He looked at Gifford. “Officer, maybe you can explain to me what happened without being a smartass.”
“I think I can, sir,” Gifford said.
“Wait,” Dennis said. “Let me show off my incredible detective skills. We came here to find four people standing in the middle of the street. Two children, an officer of the law, and a Day Soldier. The soldier said she wasn’t behind Phillip’s death, and I believe her. That tells me you three are somehow involved. Now, I think I can reasonably assume, officer, that this was not your brain child. If you had planned this, you wouldn’t have recruited children to help you. And even if you had recruited children, you wouldn’t have them with you now. You’d feel responsible for this, so you’d try to get them to safety before we got here. How am I doing so far?”
“Good,” Gifford said, apparently taking Bev’s advice about being honest.
Dennis looked at Leo, then Lily. “So that leaves you two. Here’s what I think. Three baby vampires decided to eat up your town. You two decided to fight back. For some reason, one of the babies wanted to turn you. It’s really not surprising. Baby vampires get so juiced up on their new condition, they can sometimes be a little too eager about sharing it. So this baby vampire wanted to get permission. Long story short, Phillip showed up, you improvised, and got very lucky. Probably because he underestimated the danger. Am I close?”
“Very,” Lily said, still shaken by Bev’s instant death.
“And the officer there,” Dennis continued, “being a man who respects the law, called for a Day Soldier. Which brings us to the here and now. You’re offering yourselves to me, to spare your town.”
Lily took a deep breath. “We are, sir. We were just defending our town. We can only hope you understand that.”
“I understand it fine,” Dennis said. “You did what you had to do. And to tell the truth, I’m going to benefit from it. When I get back home, up north, I’m going to get one hell of a promotion.”
“Then you accept our offer?” Leo said.
“I like you two,” Dennis said. “You’re both clearly terrified, but you’re willing to sacrifice yourselves for the good of your people. But it’s not a fair trade. You killed three vampires and a very powerful werewolf.”
“Then take me, too,” Gifford said. “You killed the soldier. With me and the kids, that’s four. That would make it even.”
Dennis laughed. “You,” he said, pointing at Gifford, “are funny.”
“I don’t… I don’t understand,” Gifford stammered.
“Come on,” Dennis said. “Do you seriously think the life of a human is equal to the life of a werewolf?”
With that question, Lily knew things were about to get bad. She looked at Bev’s body, hoping the microphone was still picking up the conversation. Lily was sure she’d be calling for an attack very soon.
“I would estimate,” Dennis said, “that one vampire is worth a hundred humans. But a werewolf… a werewolf is worth at least a thousand. So by my math, you owe me a minimum of thirteen-hundred lives. What’s the population of this town?”
“I’m not sure,” Gifford whispered.
“Now, officer,” Dennis said, shaking his head. “Don’t cause unnecessary pain to yourself and your friends.”
“About nine hundred,” Gifford said.
“Damn,” Dennis said. “That does pose a problem. What to do, what to do.”
“That’s it!” Lily screamed. “If you take us, nobody else has to die. But if you come after our town, I promise you we’ll take some of you with us. My offer is more than fair, because we didn’t do a damn thing wrong.”
Lily didn’t even see Dennis move. Like before, he seemed to appear in front of her with his hand wrapped around her throat. His eyes glowed bright blue. It took Lily a second to realize that he was holding Leo’s gun in his other hand. With one foot, he had Leo pinned to the ground.
“I think I have a solution,” he said. He looked at one of the vampires and smiled. “Round em up.”
“What are you going to do?” Lily said.
“Well,” Dennis said, “the first thing I’m going to do is take care of Officer Sneaky back there, trying to get to the soldier’s gun.”
Lily looked behind him and saw Gifford standing over Bev’s body.
“Shit,” Gifford said.
Dennis released Lily and turned around, spinning his foot on Leo’s chest. “Seriously, officer,” he said, “how stupid are you? You’re surrounded by vampires.”
“I thought maybe they were focused on you,” Gifford said.
Dennis looked at another vampire. “Turn him.”
&
nbsp; The vampire smiled. “Thanks, Dennis,” it said. “You’re the best.” A second later, it had Gifford pinned to the pavement. Its face was buried in his throat.
“Billy,” Lily whispered, “I’m so sorry.”
“You should be!” Dennis screamed. “Both of you!” He reached down and lifted Leo back to his feet. “Do you children realize what you’ve done?”
“Yes,” Lily said, tears streaming down her cheeks.
“I’m not sure you do,” Dennis said. “You’ve condemned these poor people. Your families, your friends, your acquaintances… the people you love, the people you like, the people you hate… all of them are about to pay the price for your ridiculous levels of arrogance.”
“Please,” Leo whispered. “I’m begging you.”
“I do not want you to beg!” Dennis screamed. “I want you to suffer. You killed my father.”
Lily’s heart felt like it had fallen into her stomach. “We didn’t know.”
“Well,” Dennis said, “he wasn’t actually my father. He was more of a mentor. But saying, ‘You killed my mentor,’ just doesn’t have the same impact, you know?”
“Dennis,” one of the vampires said, “we have the town.”
“What?” Lily said, stunned.
Dennis laughed. “You faced a couple baby vampires and you got unimaginably lucky with a very powerful werewolf. And you came away thinking you knew something about us.” He turned to a vampire. “Lift the fog.”
The mist surrounding them began to evaporate.
When Lily saw what was beyond the fog, any hope she might have had was lost. In that moment, she understood everything. She understood that she and Leo were nothing.
And she understood that the human race’s days were numbered.
The streets were filled with people. Lily guessed it was the entire town. Most people were being held by vampires. A few were held by naked humans. Those, Lily knew, were the werewolves. More werewolves stood on the roofs of the buildings. Dozens of them. And they weren’t in human form. They were giant, fur covered monsters.
“I can see the shock in your eyes,” Dennis said. “I brought over two thousand with me. Phillip was that important.” He turned around and yelled, “Tina!”