by Alex Dire
Norman remembered the last fight against regular vampires and the Beta enhanced Corps. V. He then thought about his encounter with Cornelius and its consequences. Quite a fight, indeed. “Any other familiar faces down here?”
At that moment, a voice barked out from the passage that led to the refrigeration room. “Is that a teacher I hear?”
Norman recognized the voice and was surprised to feel glad to hear it. He looked over toward the passage entrance. Rufus stood with a gruff expression on his face. When he saw that Norman had noticed him, he relaxed his lips into a smile.
Rufus strode to Norman and his group. “Good to see you, comrade. I see you’ve brought some of your…kids. They’ve changed.” Rufus looked the Nymphs up and down. “For the better.”
The students laughed at Rufus’ comment. He realized that something had transformed in their perception of the old warrior. He had been a frightful monster to them and inspired nothing but fear. However, Norman sensed a new comfort around him. They seemed glad. A vampire soldier is not as fearsome when you’re a vampire yourself. At least not when he’s on your side.
“It’s quite an organization going on down here,” said Rufus. “I’m not sure what good it will all do. We’ve only managed to rustle up one other PDRV regular. And she’s…” Rufus paused, looking for the correct word, “unconventional.”
Chip chimed in, “We make do with what we’ve got, friend. These are unconventional times.”
Norman couldn’t help but be surprised by the operation Chip was putting together down here. “I can see you’ve been working. I’m impressed, Counselor.”
Chips’s politician smile faded. “It’s chairman, actually.” He looked hard at Norman.
Norman had never seen Chip quite like this. The only time he’d seen him drop his politician’s facade was when he was scared to death. This was different. Now Chip seemed a bit scary himself.
“Acting chairman,” corrected Rufus.
The corners of Chip’s lips lifted back into a smile. “Oh, it’s all just temporary anyway.” He laughed it off. “Once we put the VU back together, we’ll have proper elections and everything will take its own course.”
“You’re putting the Vampire Union back together?” asked Norman. “Won’t that put us back at square one? Why go through such risk just to set us up for another war?”
It had been the partisan struggle within the Vampire Union that had led to the war three years ago. The VU put too much power in the hands of the parties. They fought, politically, at first. Speeches. Then Rallies. Then Armies. Then War.
“No, Norman,” said Chip. “We’re going to end war forever. We’ll put the safeguards in. We’ll have effective monitoring. We’ll give the VU some real teeth this time around.” Chip laughed as his unintentional play on words.
Norman did not like the sound of any of that. His misgivings would have to wait. A huge super-army of invincible vampires would probably kill them all before anything ever got to that point, anyway.
“We’ll never get that far, Chairman, unless we can find more soldiers somewhere,” complained Rufus.
“I’ve looked, and put the word out, Rufus. You know that,” replied Chip. “You and Bronte are it so far. Maybe forever.”
Rufus made a humph at that. “Then we’ve got nothing.”
At that moment the exchange was interrupted by a sound from the breach. “Password.”
They all looked to the dark ragged hole in the side of the chamber.
“Get behind me,” whispered Norman to his Nymphs.
The voice repeated, this time louder, “Password!”
The group stared in silence for two seconds. Rufus took a step forward toward the breach. Before he could take another, a death scream blasted from the darkness, and the sounds of hand to hand combat pierced the air.
Rufus crouched, ready to charge at the door. Norman backed up, moving his students with him.
Chip yelled, “Sound the alarm.”
Just as the workers in the room began to react, a stream of two dozen angry vampires poured into the room, carrying stakes and growling through their fangs.
In a motion too fast for mortal eyes to detect, Rufus flicked out his assassin’s blades and dispatched the first two vampires that reached him. They screamed as their momentum carried them into Rufus, knocking him down. Four more piled on top and stabbed at him with their stakes. Rufus struggled to keep from being pinned, staking and slashing right back at them.
“Get back,” yelled Norman to the Nymphs as he leapt to Rufus’ aid. He landed on the back of one of the vampires and peeled him off Rufus. Free the soldier. He's our only hope. He lifted the vampire over his head and threw him at the vampires still flowing into the chamber. The hurled vampire knocked down three more.
Norman looked over at his students. They pushed Elijah behind them and backed up as the vampires continued to stream in. Chip was at the back of the chamber near the passageway to the refrigeration room. He shouted down the corridor. “Get Bronte. Get Bronte!”
The others in the room now abandoned their work stations and attempted to evacuate the chamber, knocking Chip down as they fled through the passage. Three more vampires charged at Norman.
He heard another death scream from the floor behind him. Then Rufus rose with a wriggling vampire dangling by the neck in his hand. He threw him like a sack at the three advancing vampires and knocked them to the ground.
“There’s too many of them. We need to retreat through the passage and bottle neck them,” scowled Rufus. “What I wouldn’t give for two good soldiers right now.”
“All you’ve got is me. I’ll delay them. You get the Nymphs into the passage and fight from there,” said Norman. He stole a fraction of a second to take a look past Rufus at Felicia. He prayed he'd see her again, but believed he never would.
“That’s suicide,” shouted Rufus.
Before he could utter another word, though, Norman leapt at the horde of vampires that kept pouring through the breach. He flew over the vampires on the floor and careened into the next set, grabbing one by the throat as he went down. He squeezed hard and shook his victim violently. He could feel the spinal cord sever from the jarring motion.
Norman felt the points of stakes stabbing and tearing at his skin. It hurt like hell, but none came close to the mark. Norman realized these were not experienced vampires. It wouldn’t matter, though. They had enough numbers to make up for their lack of experience.
Norman grabbed at another throat, but before he could close his grip he felt an arm wrap around his neck and pull. His assailant pried him off the pile of vampires and gently set him down on his feet. Norman looked up to see Declan smiling down on him.
“We’ve got your back,” said Declan.
Then Norman noticed a high pitched electrical sound, like that of a flashbulb charging. He heard several of those sounds from around the room.
Declan then raised his arms into the air. Clasped between both fists was his club. A green LED glowed on the bottom of the handle. Declan brought it down with great force on the head of the nearest vampire. The vampire’s head exploded in a burst of light and brain and bone tissue. Declan's face crackled for an instant from the light that leaked out the edges. Norman flinched at the sting, too. The remnants of the vampire fell backward. Most of his head was gone and what remained sparked and flickered with flame.
Norman’s eye’s widened but before he could react further, an angry scream pierced the air followed quickly by Cindy flying into the crowd of vampires that had gathered in the room. Clutched in her right hand was her dull brown Samurai sword. She swung it twice before her feet hit the ground. Her feet delicately thumped to the granite cobble floor as two heads loudly thudded to the ground in front of her. Before their bodies could join them, Cindy stabbed a third through the heart, spun on her heels and sliced down savagely, nearly cutting a fourth in two from his right shoulder down to his left hip. The room fell silent as his body split open. Cindy casually skew
ered his exposed heart with the tip of her sword. Pop.
The invaders’ aggression transformed to fear. They tried to shuffle back to the breach. A black streak sailed through the room. It struck a vampire directly in the chest and drove clear through, puncturing another before coming to rest in a third. The spear was followed by Tyreese, armed with a second spear in his hand and two more strapped to his back.
Now the Corps. V attacked degraded into a chaotic flight. One vampire managed to step over the cobbles at the bottom of the breach. No sooner had he put a foot through than a shot was fired from across the room. A light filled hole appeared in his back. The vampire screamed as flames shot from his eyes and other orifices. He collapsed into a flaming mound, blocking the escape route.
“Whoever gets the most wins,” snickered Darius. The Nymphs then charged in and pounced on the horde of vampires whose numbers diminished by the second as they only seemed able to defend themselves with fear.
Some of the workers had begun dragging the bodies out into the sewage tunnel and piling them against the wall. Others had collected their stakes and placed them in a bin. Declan held his club in front of his eyes and made a disgusted face as he observed the bits of char and brain tissue that clung to it.
“I got four,” said Darius.
Tyreese looked at his friend. “Six.”
Cindy wiped blood from her blade with a rag. “Six, as well.”
“I lost count,” said Declan.
“We’ll just call that a forfeit,” replied Darius. “How many did you get?” Darius waved the nozzle of his rifle toward Felicia.
“Eight,” she said.
“Must help to have that silver knife thing,” said Darius, half dismissing her.
Felicia wiped some gore off of a regular wooden stake. “I didn’t use it.” She looked up at Darius. “Wanted to save my ammo.”
Norman watched his Nymphs engage in their post battle banter. He had doubted them, feared for them. But they were valiant. They were brave. They’d come a long way, indeed.
Rufus joined and watched the Nymphs. Norman wasn’t sure, but he thought he detected a hint of a smile as he looked on.
9
Mice & Men
A form whirred into the room at almost imperceptible speed from the passageway. It came in so fast that it almost seemed to appear out of nothing in the midst of the post battle clean-up.
A woman stood in the center of the chamber, a hand clenching a stake over her shoulder. The other hand tightened into a fist in front of her body. Her dark hair, pulled back in a ponytail, continued to sway for a brief instant as it expended what remained of its momentum. Her head darted back and forth, rapidly taking in the scene.
“You missed it,” huffed Rufus, half annoyed.
She brought her stake down and unclenched her fist, relaxing her combat pose. Her angry green eyes changed and revealed a hint of disappointment. “Damn.”
Just then, Chip shuffled back into the chamber from the passageway. “Ah. I see you’ve met Bronte.”
Bronte was tall and broad shouldered. Another soldier on his side could only help. Something about her, though, made her seem less rigid than Rufus. “No, I don’t believe I’ve had the honor.”
Chip had his glasses back on and held a clip board and a pencil. He stepped over bodies and debris from the melee. “Bronte, this is Norman Bernard.” As he spoke several more vampires followed him into the chamber.
Bronte looked at Chip raising an eyebrow. “The teacher?” She looked back at Norman. “I’ve heard a lot about you. Rufus regaled me with your combat prowess.”
Norman bowed. He wasn't sure if she was being sarcastic. Rufus was a true fighter and in their trials together, Norman felt like he was always in the way. Or perhaps there was more to Rufus than he let on.
Bronte approached him with an outstretched hand. He took it.
“I’m a fan of the bard as well,” Bronte added to the gesture.
Norman liked her already.
Rufus exhaled the faintest dismissive grunt. Was that jealousy?
Bronte must have detected it, too. Her eyes quickly moved to Rufus and back. She smiled and added, “I was an English major once upon a time. Perhaps we can talk shop one day.”
Bronte then looked over at Norman’s students. “Who brought the children?”
“They’re my students,” he replied. “And my Nymphs.”
Bronte looked over at Chip. “Really, Chairman, another set of mouths to feed? More civilians to defend? This is war, you know.”
Rufus betrayed a hint of a laugh. “Those ‘civilians’ just destroyed more than twenty Corps. V.”
She looked over at the young vampires. “I’m impressed.” She saw the weapons in their hands and dangling from their belts. “Now Elijah. That’s not fair. I’ve been begging you for some of your toys for years.”
Norman wondered how many years she meant. For a vampire, that could mean centuries. However, for Elijah…seventeen?
“And who’s your friend?” she asked indicating Matt Barnes.
“He’s a recruit,” replied Elijah. “He’ll probably replace me on this detail eventually.”
“Wait, what?” said Matt.
“Don’t worry,” inserted Bronte, “We’ll likely all be dead by then.”
“Um…Good?” said Matt.
“Norman, I’d like you to meet some others,” said Chip.
Before he could continue, Bronte turned to Cindy and slipped in a whisper, “I can show you a few pointers on how to use that thing if you want.” She tapped Cindy’s sheathed sword with her stake and winked.
“This is William MacManus,” said Chip.
A vampire approached him with his hand extended. “Just MacManus is fine,” he said in a heavy Irish brogue and then gripped Norman’s hand. “You’re the teacher?”
“Yes,” said Norman.
MacManus weaved his other hand through his light brown hair and cast his grey-blue eyes about the room. “What a mess.”
“War always is,” replied Norman. “What brings you here to Chip’s…hideout?”
MacManus dropped his hand back to his side and his eyes stared through Norman into memory. “I found myself in charge of a group of survivors outside Belfast. We’d managed to stay out of the fighting when it started happening in broad daylight. When our differences take us out into the sun, you know it’s time to head for cover.” MacManus looked around the room. “I guess not many of us did, though. My group numbered twenty-eight at the start.”
“At the start of what?” asked Norman.
“We tried to get by in the world as humans. Invisible. We had night jobs and this and that. We’d meet to plan for feeding and the like.” MacManus looked down. “But we weren’t the only survivors. Not long ago, we took on two new ones. They said they’d been hiding in some old wine caves, feeding on rats and insects. They were Corps V. Wasn’t long before they’d relayed everything about us to their friends. There’s three of us left now.”
“How many of them?” asked Norman.
MacManus’ face contorted with anger has he locked with Norman’s eyes. “None.”
Several seconds of silence passed between the two vampires. MacManus's eyes nearly bored a hole in Norman's head. What kind of allies was Chip recruiting?
Chip, ever the politician, broke the tension. “And this is Georgios.”
“Greetings,” said the vampire with a hint of an unfamiliar accent. His thick black curls bounced slightly with each of his steps.
“Georgios was born in Greece, but made in America,” added Chip.
“I’ve lived here for three hundred years,” said Georgios shaking Norman’s hand.
“Georgios led a cell of survivors in Oregon,” said Chip. “He had a similar encounter very recently with a small reconstituted group of Corps. V. It seems to be the pattern all over the world. Most of the little clumps of PDRV holdouts were taken by surprise and perished. I’ve gathered a few of the leaders here.”
&nbs
p; “I’m just a mushroom farmer, really,” said Georgios.
Looking at him, Norman would never have taken him for any kind of combat leader. His soft mannerism was more consistent with a forager of mushrooms.
“Mushrooms. Really?” said Norman.
“They bring in a good price and they don’t need light,” replied Georgios. “Neither do I.”
Norman chuckled at the joke.
“Don’t let him fool you, Norman. His cell beat back fifty Corps. V. Old ones, too. Not like this riff-raff.” Chip waved his arm at the bodies that still remained in the room.
“Enough with the pleasantries,” said Rufus. “We’ve got planning to do. Let’s get to it.”
Chip shrugged his shoulders. “As much as I like the pleasantries, I have to agree.” He turned and walked toward the passageway. “Let’s retreat to the war room.”
“This isn’t the war room?” said Norman looking again at all the computers and other office regalia situated about the room.
“Oh no,” said Chip. “This is reception.”
Chip led them into the passageway. Gone were the barely functional fluorescent lights powered by random cables sticking through rocks. New lamps lined the ceiling. Norman looked into the refrigeration room as they passed by. It now had floor to ceiling refrigeration units covering all the wall space. There was enough food in there to feed an army. Now all they needed was the army.
They walked deeper into the catacombs, passing several rooms with doors. Some showed light and activity through the windowed holes. Chip had brought in quite a few survivors. Norman knew he was recruiting for the inevitable confrontation with this new variant Corps. V, but he also wondered if his plans went beyond that.
Chip stopped. “Here we are.” He knocked on a door.
“Password,” came a voice from the other side.
“Et in terra, sanguinem,” replied Chip in a slow clear voice.