Fledgling (The Vampire Manifesto, Book Two)

by Rashaad Bell

  “You.” Connor was pointing at Staci. “I don’t want you at my back. Take point. I want to keep my eyes on you.”

  She gave me an apprehensive glance and then did as she was told. The 20twelve Lounge should have been in state of hysteria and panic, but it wasn’t. The fact that three dead bodies were being lugged off to some back room while the janitorial service began to mop up blood didn’t seem to disturb the patrons in the least. As far as they were concerned, it was business as usual.

  “So what’s the plan?” Connor prompted.

  “Wait, you’re asking me?” I wasn’t prepared. “Why are you asking me?”

  “Because, I came up with a plan, which you then promptly disregarded.” He enlightened. “And since capture, torture, murder is officially off the table, what are you replacing it with?”

  Once we filed out of the entrance to the 20twelve Lounge all that became moot.

  The anterior of the club was completely besieged by men and women decorated in some type of white and yellow Kevlar body armor. The way their uniforms looked, you could tell that they were unquestionably government issued, yet their armor was nothing that was in circulation today, maybe in another ten years or so. They each held some modified version of an M-16 and there were numerous lime green colored infrared lights being trained in our direction.

  “Thank God.” Girard exclaimed in relief as she took off, sprinting well behind their fortification line. “You said that you were going to raid the Lounge if I was in trouble.”

  A grizzled man marched forward. His façade was rigid and battle worn. “Your objective was to escort them outside of the 20twelve Lounge. I’m impressed. You succeeded and you’re still alive.” He turned towards Connor. “Seems like you’re not as much of a bad ass as the Colonel alleged you were.”

  “We’ll see.” Connor replied.

  “You assumed he was going to kill me?” Girard demanded. “You said I was going to be perfectly safe. I didn’t volunteer for…”

  “Secure that woman and process her for Yellow Brick Road transport.” He ordered.

  “YBR transport?” Staci Girard was struggling with two captains as they were twisting her hands behind her back and securing them in flexi handcuffs. “But that’s only used for summary executions!”

  “Get her out of here now.” He barked before turning back to us. “My name is Staff Sergeant Maritol with the United States Defense Initiative. By edict of the President of the United States of America, Connor Prometheus has been herby classified as an enemy combatant with terrorist affiliation and shall be placed under immediate arrest.”

  I glanced directly above us and saw numerous Defense Agents on the rooftop of the 20twelve Lounge as well, leveling their weapons at our position. We were completely surrounded. The streets had been gridlocked off in both directions and there was also a helicopter just above us as well, shining a search light that lit up the evening sky as if it was day.

  “Terrorist?” Connor found that moderately humorous. “I’ve been called many things, but never a terrorist.”

  “You are wanted for denoting an incendiary device within a residential district as well as the denotation of an eighteen wheeler on a freeway in Oakland.” Maritol explained.

  “This is about California?” Asked Connor. He paused then turned to me, sighing. “This is about California.”

  “This arrest warrant is issued for Mr. Prometheus only.” Maritol continued. “We have been authorized to release any and all individuals with him during the serving of his arrest. Do you understand what I am telling you?”

  It seemed like I did, but I wasn’t certain.

  “It means that if you vacate the area now, you are free to go.” The Staff Sergeant gestured to me. “It has been explained that any individuals with Mr. Prometheus may have been subjected to extreme distress and are not to be prosecuted if they claim that they are a victim of coercion. Are you a victim of coercion ma’am?”

  And there it was.

  My out. My means to get as far from Connor as conceivably possible if I so choose. Whoever this Steven Hawking is, he recognized that Connor was a Vampire, that he was capable of enthralling humans to do his bidding, which is the only reason why something like this coercion, get out of jail free card, would exist. Yet it was also clear to me that the Colonel had failed to apprise Staff Sargent Maritol and the rest of the Defense Initiative Agents of that fact, because if they knew he was a Vampire, they would have attacked by now.

  “It’s okay.” Connor said to me sympathetically. “Just click your heels three times and you’ll be home. This is my problem. I reap what I sow.”

  “I ask once again ma’am…” Maritol repeated. “Are you a victim of coercion?”

  As much as I detested him for creating me, I still needed him. He was the only thing that was standing in between my family, the Marauders and me.

  “I go high, you go low?” I asked.

  Connor glanced up. “Think you can get that far up?”

  I took another look. “Umm…no, not really, but fuck it.”

  “Did you hold back the first time we fought the Marauders?” Connor asked.

  “Well, yeah, maybe a little.” I said.

  “And you remember what happened right? What they did to you?”

  How could I ever forget? “Yeah, I remember.”

  “Well if you hold back tonight then this will be a million times worse.” He added. “Because what they do to you now will be legal.”

  “No more talk Prometheus.” Maritol took a step forward. “Either we do this the hard way or the harder way. Your choice.”

  “Do you like to dance with the devil in the pale of the moonlight?” Whispered Connor as he held out his arms. “I always ask that from all my prey.”

  From his backbone slithered two serpents composed completely of flame, moving up and around his neck, winding about his shoulders, coiling about his forearms. The fire constructs were intricately designed, each scale visible in all its fiery exquisiteness and when they had curled around his wrists, a scorching serpent head in each of his palms, they shot forward suddenly, dashing through the air, each finding their separate mark, the snakes burrowing into a Defense Initiative Agents ribcage, burning a hole in through their body.

  I looked up and then jumped, rising higher and higher, three stories straight up in the air until I was above the rooftop of the 20twelve Lounge. I could hear gunfire and explosions behind me as Connor tore into the men there, but I couldn’t focus on that, I had my own job to accomplish.

  There were two Agents with guns leaning over the edge of the 20twelve Lounge roof. They watched as I hurtled above their heads, dumbstruck. There was another Agent towards the middle of the roof, with one more towards the rear. I landed almost at the center, hitting the ground in a tuck and roll, crashing into the legs of the Agent there, knocking him off his feet. I continued the roll, coming to my feet, swinging my right arm in an uppercut, catching the Agent towards the rear of the roof in the face, the strength of my blow sending him rocketing up into the air and over the side of the building. The Agent I had crashed into was getting to feet, diving on my back. I grabbed him by his head and arm, twisting his body over my shoulder, placing him in a chokehold, squeezing as tightly as I could until something in his throat crushed and his body went limp.

  Another explosion went off from below and debris started falling from the sky, pieces of burning cars and pavement crashing down onto the 20twelve Lounge roof. I did three back flips just as the rooftop beneath my feet exploded from a mass of twisted burning car wreckage, bodies raining down from the sky like human rain drops as Connor just began tossing Agents into the air. I spun around and kicked, catching one of the Agents in the side of the head, holding my foot in the air momentarily as his body overturned off the side of the roof, before placing it down.

  The final Agent discharged his shotgun once, but I circumvented the blast. He fired once more and I sidestepped that one as well, then closed the expanse between
us, knocking the weapon from his hand. From his side he pulled out an all-black bayonet and swung. He was practiced with the blade and the tip of it carved into the side of my face profoundly, blood splashing everywhere. The Agent took a step back and got into a low crouch as we began to circle each other. He swung again and I caught he bayonet blade in my hand, bringing it to a stop, halting all forward momentum. Blood began to trickle down my wrist, but before I could rip the weapon free from his hand, tiny blue lights appeared on the side of the bayonet, followed by another and another in rapid succession.

  Once the third light lit up, a horrific shockwave of electricity exploded into my body knocking me backwards on the rooftop, causing me to convulse, making it problematic for me to move. I struggled to one knee as the Agent walked towards me, yet behind him, rising higher and higher into the air was Connor; his entire body incased in flame like armor, the fire taking the form of a burning eagle, his arms encompassed by its wings while his legs were the eagles burning claws. Connor landed on the Agents back, the searing talons of the eagle burning the man to ash.

  As he stood, the form of the eagle about him burned bright in the night sky.

  I looked upon him in amazement. “I’ve never seen you do anything like that before.”

  Connor just shrugged. “There are a lot of things you’ve never seen me do before.”

  “We need to get Staci back.” I looked out at the city, doing a cursory scan, my vision locking onto a street light two blocks away, then a gas station two blocks further out, to a black SUV four blocks beyond that. “I see her.”

  From the skies above, the helicopter swung into view, shining its search light on us.

  “We’re not going after Girard.” Connor stated.

  “What?” I spun around. “They’re going to kill her.”

  Connor gave a little smirk. “Good.”

  “Good?” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.

  “She set us up.” He expounded. “Voluntarily. She deserves whatever she gets.”

  Someone from the helicopter started firing a semi-automatic, the bullets striking the rooftop in between where Connor and I stood, kicking up dust and ruble as they struck. The flaming eagle that enveloped Connor rose up, leaving him completely, rising up higher into the air, letting out a soul-shearing screech. The blazing bird flew out towards the helicopter and engulfed it in flames. There was a torturous sound as metal shrieked in defiance before the helicopter exploded altogether. From the eruption, the burning eagle arose, flapping its wings, watching as the twisted, sweltering wreckage of the helicopter crashed into the ground.

  “I gave her my word that we wouldn’t kill her.” I pleaded.

  “I didn’t.” He replied.

  “I said I would protect her, Connor.”

  The flaming eagle screeched again then flew off, heading straight towards the SUV.

  Connor motioned to the city. “Then protect her.”

  “Fuck.” I muttered before taking off as fast as I could, jumping once I hit the edge of the roof. My body launched into the air as I bounded over the intersection, landing on the café roof across the street in a tuck and roll. I was on my feet again in one fluid motion, taking just a few more steps before reaching the edge and jumping to the next rooftop.

  I looked up and could see the flaming bird above, its wings flapping faster as it picked up velocity. I increased my speed then jumped again, clearing the next building entirely, landing on the rooftop of the structure beside it. I continued on, the black SUV not far ahead. I landed on another rooftop, then another, still neck and neck with the eagle.

  I jumped again, up and over another intersection, crashing into the patio window of a condominium high-rise complex. I landed in the living room, tumbling somewhat, trying not to break my stride, attempting to keep my momentum, when a sharp pain flooded my mind. I refused to submit however and bashed through the front door, crossed the hallway and hurtled through the front door of the condominium opposite of the one I left.

  The pain flared up again, stronger this time, but I kept going, through the living room, crashing out the sliding patio glass doors, then leaping up once I hit the balcony. I was in the air, just seconds before the eagle began to dive bomb in the direction of the government SUV that detained Staci Girard. My body slammed into the side of the all-terrain vehicle, the strength of impact kicking the vehicle up on two wheels then flipping it over altogether just as the flaming eagle smashed into the ground where it had previously been only a second before.

  The SUV slid across the street, skidding over the sidewalk then down a slight hill that led to the beach. I hit the blacktop, tumbling across the pavement, my body slamming into the embankment, flipping me haphazard like over the SUV. I came crashing down into the sand just a few feet away in a low crouch, my fingers and feet dug deep into the sand to stop all momentum.

  “Holy shit.” I whispered to myself. I remained motionless for a moment, breathing heavily.

  The SUV was turned on its side and there was a racket from its interior, someone was trying to kick the door open, but the metal was twisted in a way that it wouldn’t budge. From my crouch, I leaped forward, landing on the side of the vehicle, one leg on each side of the passenger side door. I reached down and pulled the door free from its hinges, flinging it over my head without a second thought, the dented metal landing somewhere far off in the ocean. I leaned forward and reached inside again, grabbing Girard by her collar, hoisting her up and out of the SUV.

  “There you are.” I smiled.

  “They…they were going to kill me.” She stammered. “I did everything they asked and they were still going to kill me, but you…you saved my life even though I betrayed you.”

  I tossed her to the ground just a little bit harder then I should have, but nowhere near as hard as she deserved, then jumped down, landing just in front of her. “I gave you my word...” I could hear rumblings behind me and as I turned, Defense Initiative Agents were scrambling down from the street onto the beach. I counted at least twenty. “…unfortunately.”

  “Please Madison, don’t let them take me.” Cried Girard. “Please help me.”

  “Don’t worry.” I sounded more confident then I felt. “I got this.”

  “You there!” Someone called out.

  I turned towards them, positioning myself in between the Defense Initiative Agents and Staci.

  I saw him approaching, wearing the same type of ebony and yellow body armor as the others. I recognized him as soon as I caught sight of him. Asian, around twenty-nine, white hair, with a vicious looking scar going down the side of his face.

  “You must be the man in charge.” I acknowledged. “Colonel Hawking I take it?”

  “My reputation precedes me.” The Colonel declared. “As well it should.”

  I held up my hand. “Stop!” I yelled. “Don’t come any closer.”

  Colonel Hawking continued coming towards me. “And if I don’t?”

  I exhaled. “Then you’re going to have a monumental problem on your hands.”

  The Colonel paused then held up a closed fist. When he did, his men ceased advancing towards me, yet I could tell they were more than welcome to take me up on my challenge.

  “Look, I don’t know who you are and I don’t care.” The Colonel said. “All I want is the woman there and Connor. That’s it.”

  “You attempted to acquire Connor and failed.” I was beginning to get my nerve, stalling for time. “As for the woman, she comes with me.”

  “Right now, whoever you are, you’re in the clear. You can still walk away from this, still have a normal life.” Colonel Hawking shook his head. “Do not add yourself to my mission statement. Just walk away. Walk away now and I’ll overlook the fact that you assisted a known terrorist and mass murderer in evading incarceration.”

  “Connor is not a terrorist.” All I could do was hold my ground. He was testing me, seeing if I was going to crack under the pressure. He wanted to see if I was going to cave in an
d give him what he wants without a fight, but I’ve had to fight for everything in my life so why would I give up now?

  “If the President of the United States declares you a terrorist, then you’re a terrorist.” The Colonel looked back at his men and gave a slight nod, then turned back to me. “Go home. I’m not going to ask you again.”

  “I can’t do that.” I shot a hurried glance towards Girard. “Whatever happens, just stay behind me.”

  “Okay.” She hastily agreed.

  “Well what are you waiting for?” I looked at the Colonel dead on. “I don’t have all fucking night.”

  Hawking just laughed. “Alright then.”

  He began to walk towards me.

  “Here we go.” I dashed forward. I came at him as fast as I could, yet Colonel Hawking effortlessly evaded, spinning behind me, grabbing the back of my ankle, jerking it upwards. I fell forward, my face slamming into the ground, yet he still had me gripped by the ankle, hoisting me up in the air, punching me in my back. I heard something crack and I couldn’t move.

  I was paralyzed.

  He let go of my ankle and I collapsed to the ground in a crumbled heap. I tried to move, but I couldn’t, nothing in my body was functioning. Colonel Hawking kicked me once in the stomach and my body popped up in the air, landing about fifteen feet away. I rolled a couple of times before coming to a stop, the tide of the ocean splashing against my face. Girard was running towards me now, attempting to pull me to my feet, but I was all broken inside. No matter how hard I tried, nothing responded.

  I could perceive the Colonel advancing, but I couldn’t see him, all I could witness was how lovely the stars were. I recalled the night of the accident, the night Terry died, remembering how beautiful the stars looked that night as well. Except this time there was a bright, burning star getting closer and closer. I smiled inwardly.

  About damn time.

  Connor dropped from the sky in-between Colonel Hawking and myself with the strength of a meteorite impact. His body was burning so hot that the clumps of sand that had been kicked up from his landing immediately solidified into glass. It was as if Connor were some burning hot drop of water and the sand was a lake and the splash that he generate when he struck ground, burned in place, a glass cut statue of a water splash with Connor at the center.