Death Returns

by J. C. Diem

  Gregor, ever the diplomat, came to the rescue. Going down on one knee, he offered his hand to M’narl. “It was our pleasure to assist you in the liberation of your people. You and your warriors were a great help and you should be proud of what you have accomplished.” M’narl gingerly allowed Gregor to shake his hand.

  “Say goodbye to the octosquids for us,” I said to the pint-sized Kveet leader as he stepped inside the elevator. His warriors jostled each other to give him some room.

  “I will,” he said gravely and was gone before the droid could translate his words. Ten black, hideous beyond description alien sea creatures had shared the caves with M’narl and his people. They’d also been snatched from their planet and were all that remained of their species. I felt kind of bad that they would be stuck on Viltar forever. They needed water to survive and this blasted rock had very little liquid left. Worry about saving your own people, my alter ego advised. You weren’t fated to save aliens. I hardly even thought of humans as my people now that I was no longer one of them. My sympathy for earthlings had waned considerably since they’d literally shot me in the back and had then gone on to kill and torture the rest of vampirekind.

  With M’narl and most of his warriors gone, there were just us seven vampires, four Kveet and one semi-traitorous robot left. Ishida used his monitor to change the elevator’s destination and we piled inside. I sensed the group of killbots quickly closing in on our position. They were only a few hallways away and they would soon be nipping at our heels. Much larger than us, they would only be able to fit ten at a time inside the elevators. Hopefully, that would slow them down long enough for us to be able to escape from this hellish planet.

  Zooming along at an unknown speed, I steadied myself with one hand on the wall just in case we came to a lurching halt. My other hand held the swords that were almost a match for the pair Ishida had gifted me with on his small island. The island, and all of its inhabitants, had been bombed by the same man who had sent us into space. Colonel Sanderson, the rat bastard, I thought and felt my upper lip curl in a combination of anger and betrayal.

  Sanderson hadn’t just turned on me, he’d betrayed my entire species. He’d killed as many of us as he could find but had kept a few alive to be tortured in the name of science. The only vampires that had escaped from his purge had been the Comtesse and some of her sycophants and servants. My old nemesis had made a deal to rat out her fellow vampires in order to save her own life. The deal might have saved her people from being culled but it hadn’t saved any of them from my wrath. Even if the prophecies hadn’t foreseen that I would take their lives, I would have ended their existence anyway. I’d made a vow to myself to murder anyone who stabbed me or my friends in the back. It was a policy I would be happy to enact on my enemies.

  Presuming we managed to return to our home planet, Colonel Sanderson was going to be in for one hell of a surprise. It would be my utmost pleasure to educate him on what happened to people who made the grave mistake of stabbing me in the back.

  ·~·

  Chapter Three

  Our ride came to a smooth stop and we stepped out into yet another silver hallway. The Viltarans had zero imagination or appreciation for art. Consequently, their underground facilities were almost entirely identical in size and appearance. We’d traversed through dozens of these dwellings and hadn’t seen even a shred of decoration. The ceiling, walls and floors were all made of the same dull silver metal as my samurai swords.

  Before the Viltarans had destroyed their cities, the buildings had been uniform in colour and general appearance. They’d cared more about conquering other worlds than in art, literature or bettering themselves as a species. Not surprisingly, their favourite form of entertainment had been blood sports. More specifically, death by combat. I couldn’t help but compare them to earthlings. Humans had once had the same kind of sports arenas where the combatants would have to fight for their lives. It didn’t bode well for my former species that they were so similar to the Viltarans in so many ways. How long will it be before another world war breaks out and the humans start firing nuclear bombs at each other? In order for that to happen, we first had to stop the invaders from taking over the planet. If we didn’t, nuclear war would be the least of the earthlings’ problems.

  We came to a halt just long enough for Ishida to orient himself and to attempt to pinpoint exactly where the ship was. “How far are we from the craft?” he asked the metal man.

  The droid was reluctant to respond and the Kveet who carried a monitor that was identical to Ishida’s gave him a direct order. “Answer the question.” The young alien had helped us out more than once during our hunt for the rulers of Viltar. He was more of a technician than a warrior and his skills would assist us once we reached our goal.

  “Go north for four facilities then east for two,” the droid said in a tone that carried the robotic equivalent of sullenness.

  With Ishida in the lead, we jogged at a pace that our much shorter allies could keep up with. I’d hoped to evade the pursuing automatons but I sensed the first group arrive only minutes behind us. Instead of waiting for more of their comrades to join them, they hastened in our wake. They were moving at a fast run and would be on us long before we’d be able to make it to the ship.

  “I’m going to hang back for a minute to kill a few droids,” I told the others. “I’ll catch up to you soon.”

  Normally, Luc would have protested at being separated from me. This time he barely glanced in my direction and kept on jogging.

  “We will see you shortly,” Gregor responded and urged the group to continue.

  Depressed by the continued cold shoulder I was receiving from my beloved, I turned around and backtracked for a few hallways. I didn’t have to wait long for the robots to appear. When the first pair rounded the corner, my swords went into action before my adversaries could react. All ten were armed with the same weapons that fired darts full of nanobots at their victims. I’d already been hit with around fifty of the projectiles and knew how much it hurt to have the microscopic robots squirming around in my system. Due to the weirdness of being Mortis, my body had assimilated the infusion of micro-robots and had turned them to my advantage. It still wasn’t clear exactly how I’d been altered but I’d no doubt discover the changes soon enough.

  Metal arms, legs and heads flew as I carved my way through the small unit of droids. When the last robot fell, I turned and sprinted back towards my friends and allies. Another wave of walking machines would be on their way shortly. They would be slightly more cautious now that they knew I might be lurking around the corner ready to pounce. They hadn’t been programmed to feel much emotion but caution seemed to be one of them.

  My friends and allies had reached our destination by the time I caught up to them. A larger than usual door swished open as Ishida approached it. A solitary spaceship resided inside the gigantic room.

  Our new ride was tiny compared to the craft that had rescued our spaceship and had conveyed us to Viltar. About the size of a small jet, it would be large enough to carry us all home. Dead black, it crouched on the floor almost menacingly and reminded me of a humongous bug. I flashed back to the giant roaches we’d encountered in the fallen city that we’d briefly used as a hiding spot. Around the size of a small dog, the insects had been the usual brown colour of a normal roach but had a cluster of large, creepy, purple eyes on the tops of their heads. I could imagine the screams of humans if they ever saw the insects. I’d come very close to screaming when I’d first seen them.

  “Have the repairs been completed?” Igor asked the droid.

  It paused before answering, presumably using its remote uplink to check the ship’s status. “They have,” the droid replied at last.

  “Has the craft been refuelled?”

  Pausing for another moment, the android gave the affirmative.

  “Is there enough fuel to carry us back to Earth?” Ishida asked.

  The robot automatically translated his words fo
r our allies once more. “Yes. Barely,” it responded with reluctance that was implied, if not actually conveyed in its tone.

  “Then program it to do so,” the Kveet technician ordered.

  “Use the same coordinates that the Viltarans used,” Gregor told the robot. That was a smart idea and I was once again grateful to have him amongst us. God only knew what route the droid would have programed otherwise. He might have taken us on a scenic trip that would have added a few extra days to our journey.

  My senses alerted me that a large number of mechanical enemies were almost on us. “We’ve got company,” I told the others.

  “How many?” Igor asked.

  “Several dozen are sneaking up on us and a few hundred more are on their way.” I could feel them inexorably closing in on our location from three different directions. Thankfully, there only seemed to be one entrance to the room. We would be hard pressed to defend even one door with just our small team against so many adversaries.

  “Try to hold them off while the droid programs our route,” Gregor commanded then followed the four Kveet inside the craft as they hauled the droid up the ramp.

  It didn’t bother me to take orders from Gregor. I was supposed to be in charge but my ego hadn’t overridden my common sense. Unlike most vampire leaders, I didn’t expect servile obedience from my people. Sycophants and butt kissers would be of no use to me. I needed people who were intelligent, talented and strong of mind on my side. What possible use could Geordie be to you then? I gave a mental gasp of outrage at my inner voice’s sly remark. Leave Geordie alone! I’d choose him over you any day! With a huff, my alter ego stalked off into the deeper recesses of my mind. I ignored my concern that normal people didn’t have conversations like this with themselves. For me, it was fairly standard. Sadly, I’d been like this long before I’d become a creature of the night. I couldn’t blame being Mortis on that particular mental abnormality.

  As ordered, the six of us raced back to the door and took up positions where we could shoot the oncoming unit of droids without leaving ourselves open to attack. We each carried death rays, weapons we’d appropriated from the corpses of automatons we’d dispatched to robot hell. They had two settings, one that could destroy flesh and another that could destroy metal. Ours were set to take down the droids. All we had to do was wait for them to step into our line of sight then open fire.

  Moments later, four killbots appeared at the far end of the hallway. We waited for them to be within range before leaning out and firing. Bright violet bursts of lights lanced down the hall, obliterating all four droids and leaving shallow gouges in the walls and floor. Thankfully, it also destroyed their nanobot guns. I sincerely hoped none of my friends would be hit with the darts. They might be immortal now but the pain of having the new infusion of micro-robots crawling through their veins was something I wouldn’t want any of them to suffer through.

  Despite the heavy losses we doled out over the next few minutes, the droids just kept on coming. They’d been ordered by their recently departed masters to kill us and they wouldn’t stop until either we, or they, were dead. Putting whatever rudimentary caution they possessed aside, they tried to overwhelm us with sheer numbers.

  Glancing back at the ship during a short lull in the battle, I saw one of the Kveet warriors waving madly. I gave him a quick nod then turned my attention back to the battle. It was strange to see my friend’s eyes glowing scarlet as the battle lust tried to take them over. They were all much older than me and even Geordie could master his urge to rend and tear with his bare hands. I’d had enough practice now at being a berserker to be able to contain the rage that fighting always roused within me.

  The instant there was a lull in the shooting, I grabbed Ishida and Geordie and hauled them towards the ship. Luc, Igor and Kokoro needed no urging and followed right behind us as we thundered up the ramp. Almost too quiet to hear it, the engine had powered up and the hull vibrated beneath our feet.

  Standing in the belly of the Seeker, we were surrounded by metal that was a uniform black rather than the dull silver I’d grown used to. Twenty seats ringed the room, all sized for the much larger Viltarans. There were five on each side and we all chose a seat and clambered onto it as the ramp closed and the craft lifted into the air. Too tiny to be able to climb up into a chair, the four Kveet huddled in the centre of the floor beside the droid.

  Picturing the tons of rock and dirt that was between us and the poisoned air high above, I waited for the ship to crash and explode into the ceiling and for our body parts to rain back to the ground. Instead, I heard the groan of vast doors sliding open an instant before we zoomed upwards.

  Once free from the subterranean facility, we travelled sideways for a short distance and landed. Dust from the nightly storms swirled inside as the ramp slid open. The four Kveet hustled down it quickly, dragging their droid servant behind them on his trolley. His red eyes shifted to keep me in sight until he disappeared, silently damning me for the annihilation of his former masters. His will might have been hijacked by the Kveet but whatever passed for his metallic heart would always belong to the Viltarans.

  Causing death and annihilation wasn’t exactly new to me. I’d killed two megalomaniacal vampires that had tried to take over our home world. The First had created an army of imps who’d been intent on enslaving and eating humankind. The Second, along with nine of his long banished brothers, had created an army of rabid and ravenous fledgling vampires. Their plan had also been to enslave and eat the humans. One thing all ancient and insane vampires seemed to have in common was their desire to enslave the human race. If I ever started having thoughts of absolute rule, I’d know I was nearing the edge of madness.

  Now the Viltarans were on their way to our world, presumably with the same plan in mind. I wasn’t sure if the aliens would actually have a hankering for human flesh or not but their imps surely would. Stopping the Earth from being taken over by vampires, imps and now aliens is getting really old, I complained mentally. Can’t fate dredge up a new kind of threat for a change? If it ever did, I wasn’t sure I would want to confront it. Be careful what you wish for, my subconscious told me darkly. You just might get it.

  Geordie leaned forward, teetering on the edge of his seat to wave at the Kveet as the ramp began to close. I caught a glimpse of their small hands lifting to wave in return then the ramp sealed shut. Seconds later, my stomach dropped all the way to my feet when the ship caromed into space.

  Unlike the craft that had sent us into space, this one kept a semblance of gravity. I felt much lighter than usual but didn’t quite float when I jumped to the floor. I wasn’t the only one who was curious and the others followed me to the door. It whooshed aside as I approached and revealed a cockpit that was far more advanced than anything I’d ever seen before.

  Examining the console, I quickly gave up trying to decipher what any of the strange looking dials, levers and buttons did. Gregor had remained in the cockpit during our abrupt take off. He sat on one of the two large chairs, looking child sized with his feet swinging in the air. His expression was grave as he turned and looked down at us. “I hope the Viltarans do not have too great a head start on us.”

  “Who knows how much havoc they will wreak before we catch up to them?” Igor wondered.

  “Do we know where they are heading?” Geordie asked.

  I had an answer to that question. “I’m pretty sure they’re going to target New York.”

  Ishida swivelled his head to study me. “Did your dreams show you this?”

  I nodded unhappily. “I’ve had two dreams about Earth since we landed on Viltar and both were of Manhattan.”

  “What happens in your dreams, chérie?” Geordie asked. Sensing my unease, he slipped his hand into mine. He had a well-developed ability to tell when others were upset. I wondered if his empathy was natural or if it had come to him after being turned into the undead.

  “In the first dream, everyone was dead and the sky had turned yellow and poisono
us,” I explained. “In the second dream, everyone was dead and the city was full of droids and human imp clones.”

  Gregor’s fist went beneath his chin in his usual thinking pose. “Neither dream sounds very promising. The humans put up no resistance to the Viltarans at all?”

  “Not in the first dream but in the second one a few army choppers turned up. The Viltarans shot them down with some kind of electromagnetic pulse ray before they could land.” I remembered them falling out of the sky and everyone on board dying in their collision with the ground.

  “We have no way of knowing which of the two fates Manhattan will suffer,” he mused.

  I couldn’t hide my expression of loathing at his choice of wording. Fate, if it really did exist, had once more sunken its claws into us. It had killed off most of our species then had kicked the rest of us off our home world. All but seven of the twenty-nine who’d been evicted from Earth were now dead. It now appeared that we were expected to return home and save the very beings who had attempted to eradicate us in the first place.

  “I can see what you are thinking, Natalie,” Gregor said. “We have already agreed that we cannot allow the Viltarans to destroy humanity.”

  “Even if they do deserve it,” Igor said darkly. I was mollified that at least one person shared my point of view.

  Experience had taught me that struggling against my duty was useless. “I know,” I replied and my shoulders slumped in defeat. “We have to kill the Viltarans. It’s our ‘destiny’.” My sarcasm was thick as I made the required quotation marks with my fingers.

  Kokoro’s next words effectively put an end to our discussion. “All of us must do what we feel is right. I have no love for humans but I cannot stand by and watch them being enslaved by our ancient ancestors.”

  I was somehow certain that I wasn’t the only one who felt the irony of our situation. Millions of years ago, the Viltarans had created their nanobot technology that had given them the ability to create armies of clones. They had then invaded and conquered every planet that contained intelligent beings that had been within the reach of their ships.