by P. T. Hylton
Shirley led her through the hangar and into the biohazard containment room. As they were leaving the hangar, Alex saw a team of five people in identical suits to Shirley’s board the ship. They’d scrub it bow to stern, then scrub the hangar. Even after all these years, doctors still didn’t understand how much vampire blood it took to turn someone, or really much about the process at all. They weren’t taking any chances that a stray drop might infect someone and set loose a vampire on New Haven.
When they reached the biohazard containment room, medical techs took Alex’s weapons from her. These would be cleaned and decontaminated before Alex saw them again. The techs took special care handling her sword, which was still smeared with the sticky residue of vampire blood.
Alex stripped, handing each piece of clothing to a tech as she removed it. Some of these, like the silvermail suit, would be cleaned and returned to her. All the exterior clothing would be burned as a cautionary measure.
She felt Shirley’s eyes on her as she undressed. Not in a lustful way; it was more like envy. Alex’s body was firm and strong; her lean muscles glistened as she stepped into the shower and began to scrub down. She wasn’t prideful about her looks—to her, being in top physical condition was about performing at the highest level down on the surface. Looking great naked was just a nice side effect.
“Any breaks in the skin you’re aware of?” Shirley asked.
“Nope, I’m fully intact.”
After she’d toweled off, Shirley took out a flashlight and inspected every inch of her skin, looking for any cuts. When she was cleared, Alex was given a fresh set of clothes and dismissed.
“Always a pleasure, Shirley,” Alex said as she left. “Maybe next time we’ll mix it up, and you’ll get naked for me.”
“So long, dear,” Shirley said.
Alex shook her head. Some people just didn’t know how to bust balls.
As she was leaving the hangar, someone stopped her. It took Alex a moment to place the woman, but she finally did. She’d never seen this woman outside the R&D lab.
“Hey, Sarah.”
Sarah smiled warmly. “Welcome home! I heard it was quite the mission.”
“I won’t argue with you there.”
“Do you have anything going on right now?”
Alex glanced at the clock. “I’ve got a debrief in two hours. Why?”
“There’s someone who wants to meet you.”
***
Alex had been to the Hub plenty of times, and she’d even been to the City Council building once. It may have been on a field trip when she was in third grade, but it counted. However, she’d never been in a City Councilman’s office before. She had to admit this was far more intimidating than a few sleepy vampires.
They were in Councilman Fleming’s office, sitting on couches near a window that looked down on the city. Sarah and Alex sat on one couch, and Fleming sat on the other. The Councilman was leaning forward, seemingly transfixed by Alex’s story.
She was giving him the blow-by-blow rundown of everything that had happened that morning. She told the tale coldly, matter-of-factly, careful not to make herself the hero of the story.
Fleming shook his head in disbelief as she finished. “Incredible.”
Sarah had told Alex on the way over that Fleming was extremely interested in the GMT and that he felt they were being underutilized. He wanted to get the GMT more funding, get more aggressive with how often they were sent down to the surface.
Even as she started telling Fleming the story, Alex knew she was once again breaking protocol. This kind of thing should be passed up through the chain of command, not delivered straight from grunt to politician. Hell, they hadn’t even debriefed yet, and here she was telling the raw story, warts and all.
On the other hand, wasn’t the City Council ultimately her employer? If her boss’s boss’s boss wanted details on the mission, who was she to deny him? And if her telling the story somehow resulted in more funding for the GMT, all the better.
“Incredible,” Fleming repeated. “So there were only six of you? And one was injured?”
“Drew cut his hand, sir. I don’t know if I’d call that an injury. But, sure.”
Fleming stared out the window for a long moment, apparently lost in thought. Then he said, “What’re your feelings on Resettlement, Lieutenant?”
The question surprised her. “As in resettling Earth?”
He turned and once again settled his intense gaze on her. “Yes.”
Alex considered carefully before answering. She knew some members of Fleming’s party were in favor of Resettlement, and that the movement was growing. But she didn’t pay a whole lot of attention to politics, and she didn’t know Fleming’s stance on the issue.
“That’s above my pay grade, sir. I go where General Craig points, and I fight who he tells me to fight.”
Fleming waved the answer away with a flick of his hand. “I’m not asking General Craig. Nor am I asking Captain Brickman. Nor am I asking for the Ground Mission Team’s official stance on the issue. I’m asking you, Alexandria Goddard, citizen on New Haven, for your opinion. There is no wrong answer here.”
Alex nodded slowly. She was in dangerous waters here, no matter what the man said, and she was going to proceed with caution. “I expect Resettlement is inevitable. We can’t stay up here forever. Question is whether now is the right time. I haven’t seen anything to convince me it is.”
Fleming grinned at Sarah. “I believe she just told me Resettlement is both foolish and necessary. Is she always this smart?”
“Not at all,” Sarah said with a laugh.
Fleming turned back to Alex. “This period of living in the skies, this is a blip in our timeline. It’s an odd, tragic moment in our history, but it’s only a moment. The Earth is ours, not theirs. You know how I know that?”
“How?” Alex said.
“Because sunlight is deadly to them. Killing fire falls from the sky every day. Nature itself is designed to burn them from existence. They are an occupying force in hostile territory. They hide from the sun, in the shadows, under the dirt, whatever, but the sunlight still falls, waiting to kill them. The time is coming very soon when we’ll fall on them like fire from the heavens, and the dirt won’t save them from us.”
Alex shifted in her seat, not used to the plush upholstery of this couch. “Forgive me, Councilman, but that seems a tad bit optimistic.”
“Perhaps. But I believe it. Six of you were surprised by fourteen vampires, and you took care of them. You didn’t lose a single man. Now imagine if you had six hundred soldiers.” He held up a hand before Alex could object. “I’m not talking about wiping every vampire off the face of the Earth, not right away. I’m talking about setting up a stronghold, a real city. Something we could defend. And over time, we’d begin to spread out, like humanity always has.”
“And if a vampire manages to get into this city of yours?” Alex asked.
“I’m not saying I have all the answers. There will be challenges we need to overcome, but it’s doable.”
Alex couldn’t help but get caught up in the man’s excitement, his vision. Maybe he was naive, but his idea was certainly alluring.
“I’m sure you’ve heard that the Resettlement movement is gaining support?”
“I have,” Alex said.
“The Council won’t vote for Resettlement. They’re too set in their ways. But the idea has enough support to force a popular vote.”
Alex raised an eyebrow. She knew the idea was gaining popularity, but enough for a vote? Maybe this was less of a pipe dream than she’d assumed.
“When people hear about your mission this morning, that you took on fourteen vampires without a single loss, it will inspire them. Your actions on the GMT are making a real difference for the future of humanity, Alex. The time is coming, and it’s coming soon. If the vote goes the way I hope it will, can I count on your support?”
“Like I said, I go where the general points me. If t
he vote passes, I’ll fight until my last breath to make Resettlement happen.”
Fleming smiled. “That’s what I wanted to hear. This is real, Alex. We’re going to take back the Earth.”
***
“So what’s your final assessment?” General Craig asked.
Captain Brickman had just finished giving him the rundown of the day’s events. Craig always asked this question after every mission. He was the type of leader who preferred to make those under his command uncover their strengths and weaknesses rather than pointing them out for them. It was a solid approach, but CB still hated the question.
“Well, sir, we accomplished our objectives, brought both motors home, and didn’t lose any soldiers. And as much as I tried to avoid it, the vampire encounter was probably a net positive for the team. A minute and a half of real combat experience is worth more than a hundred hours of drills.”
The general nodded, acknowledging the point. “How about negatives?”
CB shifted in his seat. He knew Craig well enough to know he wouldn’t accept nothing as the answer to his question. “I’m nervous that the fight with the vampires went a little too well. I don’t need them any cockier than they already are.”
“And what are we going to do about Goddard?”
CB had been mulling that question over ever since they’d boarded the away ship to return to New Haven. “She’s good, sir. She proved that this morning. Drew would be dead if not for her. The problem is she’s cocky. She acts independently of the team.”
“Agreed. You of all people know how bad it can get down there. In those situations, we need team players, not heroes.” The general sighed. “She’s earned her place on the team, but it’s time for her to grow up.”
“I think I know how to make that happen, sir. With your permission, I’d like to introduce her to Frank.”
Chapter 9
Alex fell back into Simmons’s arms.
“Well, that was certainly energetic,” he said.
Alex laughed. “That’s one way to describe it.”
After leaving Fleming’s office, she’d found herself wandering here again. It was becoming a habit. Before the mission. After the mysterious talk with Fleming. She’d have to watch herself before she became attached.
“So CB chewed you out pretty good?”
“How could you tell?” she asked.
“Well, you were certainly angry about something.”
She rested her head on his chest. “Am I really easy to read?”
“It took a little practice, but I’m a dedicated student of the material,” he said.
She laid her head back on the pillow. “Seems like you only read in bed.”
“I’d be open to reading other places, too. Anywhere, really.”
She turned and gazed at him, wondering if he was kidding. He wore an easy but sincere smile.
It was all she could do not to laugh. “What, you want to be my boyfriend now? I’m sure that would go over great with CB and the general. We could hold hands on away missions.”
“Come on, Alex. Don’t be like that.”
“Look, I’m not saying it wouldn’t be nice. It’s just there’s a lot of risk. Would CB even let us both stay on the team? What we have going right now is pretty nice. Let’s not screw it up.”
He smiled again. Clearly, he’d expected nothing less than this response. “I agree.”
It wasn’t that she didn’t want a relationship with Simmons. Or, at least she didn’t not want it. But things were so complicated right now. Especially since her meeting with Fleming.
“Hey, let me ask you something,” she said. “I’ve been seeing all these Resettlement flyers around.”
“Yeah, no kidding. Those idiots are everywhere.”
“So you think Resettlement’s a dumb idea?”
“Not dumb exactly. More like naive.” He thought for a minute before continuing. “I mean, think about it. All those people who died one hundred and fifty years ago? It must have been, what, ninety nine point nine nine nine percent of the people?”
“Add a few nines at the end there.”
“Exactly! The people who got on this ship, the people who thought to launch this ship, they were the smart ones. Of all the people on Earth, they survived.”
“What’s that have to do with Resettlement?” she asked.
“It means the people running this place are pretty damn smart even if it doesn’t always seem that way. Will we return to the surface someday? Yeah, probably. But when it’s time, they’ll know. Until then, I ain’t rocking the boat.”
Alex’s radio chirped. “Damn it.”
“Probably just one of your other boyfriends hoping for a booty call.”
“Whatever.” She grabbed the radio and said, “Goddard.”
“Alex.” It was CB, and he sounded serious. She exchanged a glance with Simmons.
“What’s up, Captain?”
“I need you to meet me in the hangar. Be there in five minutes.”
“Roger that, CB. See you there.”
She stood up and started to gather her clothes, which Simmons has distributed rather wildly around the room.
“Wonder what that’s about,” Simmons said.
“I don’t know,” Alex said, picking up her shirt. “But I can’t imagine it’s good.”
***
CB was waiting in the hangar when Alex arrived. The look on his face was pure business.
She greeted him with a sharp salute. “Captain.”
He returned it. “Lieutenant.”
They stood in silence for a moment, until Alex wasn’t able to take it anymore. “Care to tell me what I’m doing here in the middle of the night, sir?”
CB rubbed his chin. It was a nervous habit, something he did when he was deciding how to proceed. She’d seen him do it dozens of times, but it had never bothered her as much as it did now. She wanted to scream at him to just say it, to rip off the bandage, to reveal her fate.
“General Craig and I had a long discussion about how best to address your recent lapses in judgment. We’ve come to a conclusion.”
Alex waited, counting the seconds, willing herself not to speak.
“I’m going to show you something, Alex. Something no one else on the team has seen. But I need you to keep it in the strictest confidence. The security of New Haven depends on this remaining confidential.”
She struggled to keep her surprise off her face. “Of course, sir. You know I can keep a secret.”
CB nodded. “Indeed. Whatever your other failings, you’ve never had a problem there. Come with me.”
He led her to an unmarked door on the north side of the hangar. Alex had never seen anyone enter or exit through that door. In fact, she’d never given it more than a passing glance. CB used his key card to open it, and they entered a long hallway. One entire wall was made of glass, and Alex could look straight past the left edge of the walkway and down at the clouds far below. Even for someone used to living aboard New Haven, it was a dizzying view.
“There are things you weren’t told about the Remnants,” CB said as they walked.
That gave Alex pause. She’d learned about the Remnants in school, of course, just like everybody else. They’d been the survivors of the three waves of vampire infestation—each more deadly than the last—who had come together to build and launch New Haven. She thought back to what Simmons had said earlier about how they’d been the only humans smart enough to know when the battle was lost and to take flight.
“The Remnants knew a fair amount about what caused the vampire outbreak by that point,” CB said, “but they didn’t understand vampires themselves. Not really. So, being scientists, they decided to study the problem.”
“How’d they manage that, sir?”
“You’ve got to remember that their experiences were quite different than ours. They remembered a time before the vampires, when life on the surface was easy. A time when people slept peacefully at night. When they didn’t dread sun
set. It’s difficult for us to imagine such a thing, but that’s how humans lived for most of our history.”
Alex let her fingers graze the glass wall as they walked. What was CB leading up to here? He’d said he had something to show her. Surely this would be more than a history lesson.
“Then the outbreak happened, and they lost their friends and families. We’ve got to imagine that every one of the Remnants lost almost everyone they knew. The vampire threat was urgent, and they were willing to go to extreme lengths to fight it.”
“Clearly,” Alex said, tapping a finger on the glass.
“There was a guy named Frank among the Remnants. He wasn’t an engineer or a farmer or a soldier. He didn’t have any skills that were especially suited for life in New Haven. His family had all died in the third wave. So when the scientists put out the call for a volunteer, he stepped forward.”
“A volunteer for what?”
CB paused before answering. It was clear this was a story he wasn’t comfortable telling. “The scientists knew vampires thrived on human blood, but they didn’t understand what would happen to the creatures if they didn’t have it. Would they die? Would it affect them at all? They didn’t know.”
They came to another door. This one had a keypad as well as a card reader. CB stopped in front of it. “They needed to find out, so they infected Frank.”
Alex’s eyes widened. She suddenly forgot to be worried about what punishment she’d soon be facing. “Wait, they turned him into a vampire?”
CB nodded. He held his key card up to the reader.
“There was a vampire aboard New Haven?”
CB typed a long series of numbers into the keypad and the door beeped. He pushed it open. “Not was. Is.”
Alex followed him into a large room with glass walls and a fifteen-by-fifteen metal box in the corner. “No way.”
She wandered toward the monitor on the other side of the room. The screen clearly showed a vampire. It was a bit scrawnier than the ones she’d seen in Buenos Aires, but it was no less animalistic.
“Meet Frank,” CB said. He sauntered over and rapped on the box with his knuckles, causing a metallic clang. The vampire on the monitor looked up sharply like an animal that had caught an interesting scent.