by Derek Gunn
The words just seemed to pop out without conscious thought, but he was far too nervous to look back at the commander to see his reaction.
Jesus, Carter thought as the thrall before him casually scanned the incline. He’s letting me know that he has a line of thralls along that ridge. He had to respond carefully. He had hoped to converse with this thrall, explain to him on a personal level why he was here, but the other commander wasn’t playing ball. In fact, he wouldn’t even look at him. It was as if he had already decided to slaughter him and his forces and had only come out at all out of curiosity.
“We are here looking for a band of humans who might be crossing our border from your state.” He had hoped that his statement would carry enough confidence that he could get the other commander to actually look at him. But, as he heard the words he spoke, they seemed pathetic - more pleading than confident. And then the thrall before him spluttered.
Jesus, he’s laughing at me.
Regan couldn’t help it. As soon as the other thrall laid down his theory he knew they were sunk. They had theorised that the thralls might be here for this reason, but he had avoided giving any credence to this. He had hoped that this force was merely an envoy to the thralls in this state for trade or something. To hear that this thrall commander had worked out where the community lived was a blow and he was unable to stop his exclamation of surprise. Shit, I’ve really blown it now.
“Of course,” Carter stuttered quickly as the other commander raised a hand to his mouth, “I am not suggesting that the humans are coming from here, exactly. But there have been a number of attacks just over our border and I wondered if you had had similar problems. I did send an envoy, but they never returned.”
The other commander stopped spluttering and lowered his hand as he turned back toward him.
God, Regan felt relief flood through him, they don’t know where we are. They’re fishing. He felt a new confidence flush through him and he finally felt bold enough to meet the other commander’s eyes. He forced himself to stare into the thrall’s eyes and felt so giddy that he actually managed a grin, a small one admittedly, but a grin nonetheless.
“Are you seriously telling me that you are having so much trouble with some pathetic humans,” he spat the last word for effect, really getting into his role, “that you have come here to beg for help.” He was growing in confidence now and he drew himself to his full height as he continued. “Do you know how ridiculous that sounds?”
Carter felt as if he had been slapped. The thrall commander actually grinned as he spoke down to him. What made it worse was that Carter realised that he would not have been so understanding if their roles had been reversed. He would have slaughtered the small force well before this. What had he been thinking? How could he have been so sure? He desperately searched for the words that would allow him to regain some respect. He considered arguing that the humans were not so easily dealt with, but he could never hope to convince someone who had never seen them in action.
He had to concentrate on getting out of here alive now. This thrall could still signal the annihilation of his entire force if he wanted to, He knew that, if the positions were reversed, that he would wipe them out without a second thought. He did not have enough men to start something now, but he would return. This bastard had laughed at him and he would see him pay for that. He didn’t care if he left his other borders vulnerable. He would gather every thrall he had and come back here and wipe this bastard’s smirk from his face.
The thrall commander seemed about to speak again. He was openly grinning now and Carter forced himself to remain calm as he glared at the other leader.
Regan was enjoying himself now and allowed his relief full reign as a smile broke out on his face. He would enjoy telling the others of this great victory. He would tell how he had cowed this thrall with his confidence and how he had chased him away with his tail between his legs.
He opened his mouth to speak but a loud squawk came from a nearby radio and he was distracted for a moment. He heard a low muttering as one of the thralls talked quietly into the radio. He remained unsure what to do for a moment longer, and by then his planned insult had disappeared from his mind so he just stood there and grinned instead.
Carter felt like throwing caution to the wind and smashing his fist into the thrall commander’s face. Even though it would surely see them all die, he was still very tempted. He closed his hands into fists and was just about to move forward when the radio broke the silence and he felt his adrenaline drain away. No, he would remain in control. That way he could come back and make this bastard pay.
Besides, the radio worried him. Who would be sending a signal to him this far out? They never used the long range radio except in emergencies. He had replaced many of the cells throughout the states as he had taken control, realising that he could not rule without the ability to communicate. He had left specific instructions though that it be used sparingly. There were just too many ways to intercept the signal and he did not want the humans knowing his plans. Besides, the cells were a limited resource and, once they were used up, there would be no more.
“Sir,” the word was difficult for Carter to use but he knew that he was not in a position of strength here and he had to bargain for all of their lives. “It seems I was mistaken. If you will allow us, we will…”
“Sir,” his aide had come up behind him and stood impatiently behind him.
“If you will excuse me for a moment.” Carter forced a smile onto his face as he turned to his aide with a glowering look.
It only took a moment for the aide to relay his message but it seemed as though his whole world had just collapsed. There had been an attack on the nuclear waste convoy and the entire area was at risk. Fuck the area, he thought. If that plant is in the middle of a toxic area he would have no power and without power he would be overrun by those straining at his borders. They had to contain the spill immediately or risk losing the reactor. He would tear whoever had done this limb from limb when he caught them. Right after that he would come back here and tear this thrall a new asshole. His mind seethed with hatred and embarrassment but he forced himself to smile benignly as he turned back to the still-grinning thrall commander.
“I must apologise.” He bit on the words as they rolled from his mouth. “It seems I am needed elsewhere. With your permission, I will take my men and trouble you no more.”
I’ve done it, Regan thought with a surge of pride. I’ve turned back an entire force of thralls with only my intelligence. Harris could never have achieved that. This is why I am the leader. He swelled with pride and confidence and raised his hand in what he thought was a dismissive wave.
“Of course,” he answered with a shrug. “You run along now. Got to keep those unruly humans in line.
Regan was so pleased with his quip that he was already turning away and walking back to his community and the glory he was sure to receive. He was far too happy to notice the look of pure poison that the thrall commander shot at him or to hear the muttered oath that the commander made before he gathered up his forces and retreated.
Chapter 20
A helicopter. Jesus, I haven’t seen one of those in years, Harris thought as he watched the machine race across the sky above them. Helicopters, while they provided huge advantages in mobility, used far too much fuel. In a world where fuel was a scarce and ever-dwindling resource it made no sense to use them anymore. Except in an emergency, of course. They had heard the noise of the craft from some distance away and had left the vehicle abandoned along with the many others they had passed on this route and then had hidden while the helicopter carried on overhead.
“Looks like the charges went off, then,” Warkowski muttered as he watched the craft disappear from sight.
“You don’t agree with this mission, do you?” Harris asked as he lowered his gaze to look the big man in the eyes.
Warkowski hesitated for a moment and then seemed to make up his mind about something.
“No, I don’t,”
he said simply. “We are playing with forces we don’t understand and can’t hope to control. There are just too many things that can go wrong.”
Harris looked at the big sniper for a moment and then sighed. “You’re right, but what choice do we have? The thralls definitely suspect something, their forays into Nero’s territory are becoming bolder, and it’s only a matter of time before they find out Nero isn’t in charge anymore.”
“I know that, Peter,” Warkowski agreed, “but it is the misuse of nuclear power which has led us to this whole mess. If the oil supply had not been ruined by nuclear bombs then the vampires would never have been able to take over in the first place. Don’t you see? We can’t control that much power.”
Harris looked at Warkowski as he searched for some answer to what the man had said, but he couldn’t find one. Warkowski was right. Nuclear energy was just too unpredictable and dangerous to mess with, especially in a world where the resources and expertise to handle any problems were severely limited. Maybe he had acted too quickly. Causing a nuclear spill merely to act as a diversion was extreme to say the least.
He thought about all the people back in the community, and what would happen if the thralls or the vampires found them. Surely their survival was worth any risk? They could be the last humans left alive on the planet in less than a year if what Pat Smyth feared came true. Wasn’t the future of humanity worth that? He thought so. But still, he felt a terrible sinking feeling when he thought of what they had done.
If the winds blew the wrong way the fallout might very well reach the town and kill every human prisoner kept there. He knew there were only fifty people there in total, a small number when compared to the thousands in the community, but still. Were they any less important than the people in the community? Had he become so callous that their deaths didn’t bother him? Is that what it took now to survive?
Warkowski’s views were valid but naïve. While he agreed that they were playing with forces they didn’t understand and could not control, they were also fighting for survival against forces that were far more powerful than they were. Anything they could use to even those odds was fair game. They weren’t merely in a fight between good and evil, they were fighting for the survival of an entire race. He looked into Warkowski’s eyes and was about to speak when Sandra came up behind them.
“Peter, we might have a problem.”
“Just the one?” He shrugged as he tried to smile at Sandra.
“This one’s big enough, I’m afraid,” she sighed and sat on a rock beside the two men. “One of the men we rescued is already coming out of the serum’s effects. Seems he was only just put under.” She held up her hand to stop Harris from interrupting as she saw him lean forward. “He’s still too groggy and I don’t know the full story, so don’t ask. He is insistent, though, that we have to go back to the plant. Keeps repeating it over and over.”
“The serum might have been too much for him,” Warkowski ventured. “We have had a few who couldn’t handle the reality they woke to find themselves in.”
“Yes, I know,” Sandra replied a little testily. She had nursed many of those unfortunates herself and was well aware how the shock of what had happened was too much for some people. “But this is different. He’s not mad, just insistent. You can see that he wants to say more but the serum hasn’t fully worked its way out so he keeps lapsing into repetition.
“Don’t you have any tranquilisers?” Warkowski asked. “Maybe he just needs a little more time to come to terms.”
“Yes, I have, but I really don’t want to use it. What if it really is important?”
“His family is probably still back at the plant. I know that would have me up the walls.”
“You might be right,” Sandra replied, “but I just get the feeling that it’s something else. I can’t explain it. He looks terrified.”
Harris pursed his lips as he thought through the situation. “Is there any way we can help him overcome the serum any quicker?”
“It’s hard to say,” Sandra began and then seemed to trail off as she considered the question. “I could give him a shot of adrenaline, but there’s no way of knowing if it will help. There’s always a risk with adrenaline. If he has a weak heart or some other condition we don’t know about.”
“Well, we have to make a decision now.” Harris looked at his watch. “We have to move out within the hour and if we travel any further there’s no way we can go back. It’s just too risky. We’ll have to take the chance with the adrenaline. If there is something back there that we have to know about, then we have to know now.”
Sandra bit at her lower lip as she considered the argument, and then nodded once and quietly went back toward the others. Harris looked over at Warkowski again but the man was looking out over the plain in front of them. Warkowski wasn’t comfortable with making decisions that carried with them a moral ambiguity. Harris didn’t like them either, but someone had to do it if they were to survive, and it didn’t look like anyone else was going to volunteer anytime soon.
William Carter fumed as the helicopter cut through the clear sky. He hated using so much fuel but he had little choice in such an emergency. The power plant was the root of his power. Without it his tenuous hold on the thralls would be severely weakened if not severed completely. He had to show them that he was in control or they would shift their allegiance elsewhere. It was also essential to light up his borders and show those vampires and thralls amassed there that all was well and that any incursions into his territory would be severely and competently dealt with. If the lights went out it wouldn’t be long before those forces would take it as a sign of his weakness and cross in a flood he could not hope to hold back.
An attack on the nuclear waste convoy, the local commander had said. Von Kruger. The name leapt into his thoughts and he felt his anger grow. The bastard had carried through on his threat. He had struck directly at the heart of his control. It was a move borne from an intelligence that he hadn’t credited the vampire with. He had expected an attack from the vampire, of course, but one which involved throwing his forces at the outer and less well-defended camps throughout the state. He had expected him to be a nuisance, a threat even, but this showed a cunning that he had not expected. And that worried him. Had he so misjudged the vampire?
He looked out over the horizon at the deserted and desolate land below him. There were still many sun-bleached husks of abandoned vehicles strewn around the landscape. Many of the smaller roads were still choked with deserted vehicles; desiccated bodies still lay in or close to their vehicles where people had died in the violence that had preceded the vampires’ reign. Eventually he would clear away these reminders of the past, but for now, he had concentrated only on the main routes, allowing his forces to move quickly between borders.
As he looked below him he could see how the rebel humans could survive for so long. They could be right below him at this moment and he would not be able to see them in the mass of abandoned vehicles. All they would have to do would be to blend in and hide inside a truck and he would pass overhead oblivious of their presence. He wondered briefly if any eyes watched him now. And then he smiled as he realised that he was being ridiculous. He had more pressing worries to consider.
So far, Von Kruger had only attacked a convoy carrying nuclear waste. While this was serious enough he might still be able to nullify the threat if he acted in time. But if Von Kruger was using this to divert his attention while he took out the plant, then waiting might see everything he had worked for go up in flames. He wondered briefly why the vampire had not attacked the plant itself. There could be many reasons, of course. He might not have had enough vampires gathered for such an attack at the time and had seen the patrol and decided to attack that while he waited for the rest of his forces. He wondered where the master vampire was hiding during the day. If he could find him now, before nightfall, he would be able to destroy the vampire forever.
It was a huge state, though. He glanced around the big
helicopter and took some comfort from the sea of hard-bitten faces of his elite guard. He had crammed in as many as the craft could take and still take off. It wouldn’t do him any good if they were attacked in the air but the quicker he got there the quicker he could add their strength and competence to the plant’s defence. Once he had reached the plant he would send the helicopter up again to see if they could see anything that might be used as a lair. Maybe he would get lucky. Either way, there was going to be a reckoning before the sun rose tomorrow.
Had Von Kruger always planned this? Was their meeting just a ruse to ensure he was miles away when he attacked the plant? The vampire had obviously forgotten that he had access to a helicopter. His other forces would not reach him by the time darkness fell tonight so would only be good for cleaning up after the battle was already decided. The vampire might not have factored in the extra men he had in this helicopter though and Carter hoped that they would be enough to swing the coming battle in his favour.
He turned his mind to the attack. The report had been sketchy at best, their radio technology was nothing like it had been two years ago. They had received a brief transmission saying they were being attacked and then nothing. Too many masts had either been destroyed or sat idle without power. The report had come from the plant supervisor who was in the process of organising a patrol to go out and see what damage had been done. Their lead technician was also with them to determine the extent of the leakage. He had tried numerous times for an update but all he received was static. He forced himself not to activate his internal radio and urge the pilot to hurry. It wouldn’t do any good and would only reveal his nervousness to his men. It was imperative that he command their respect in this crisis. His mind raced in sympathy with the screeching engines. He had no idea how to control a nuclear spill. He had to hope that this technician was capable of limiting the effects of the spill or working the plant would become very dangerous, if not impossible.