by Alex Dire
“Wait. How…?” said Norman.
Rufus put a hand out as if to block Norman. His icy stare silenced the teacher.
Rufus looked back to Richie. “Speak.”
“I was dead. Not human-dead. Not undead. I was vampire-dead. My heart had stopped beating forever. They cut off my head.”
Norman thought back to the bloody sack that Skeete held when she confronted him in his condo. “Then how are you still here?”
“For the same reason Skeete’s still here, despite the fact that you yourself drove a stake through her heart.”
Rufus let out a huff. “This is a waste of time. He’s lying to save his skin.”
“Let him speak,” replied Norman.
“What for? A vampire can withstand a lot, but if there’s one thing that will end you forever, it’s a piece of wood through your heart. Every word that drips from his mouth is Corps. V lies.” Rufus snapped his hand down to his belt and produced one of his small, wooden knives. He moved on Richie.
“Rufus, wait!” exclaimed Norman. He leapt to put himself between Rufus and Richie, but the soldier moved much quicker than him. In a flash, Rufus made two quick stabs into Richie’s chest.
Blood leaked from the slits in his yellow shirt. He grasped his chest and fell to his knees. Rufus stood with a triumphant and satisfied look on his face, still clasping the knife, blood dripping down its edge.
Norman knelt next to Richie, placing his hand on his back. A burn of anger sparked in his chest. He narrowed his eyes and looked up at Rufus, waiting for Richie to expire with that unholy scream.
Richie fell forward onto one hand, the other still clutching his chest. He coughed twice and then spat a mouthful of blood onto the cobblestone floor. Blood from his chest began to pool.
Norman had lost Richie twice before. However, those times Skeete had delivered the deathblow. This time, Richie had fallen at the hands of one of Norman’s supposed friends. He remembered why he hated choosing sides and regretted all over again joining the underground remnants of the VR.
Norman reached a hand behind his back and grasped a small stake from his belt. “Rufus, I don’t care how strong you are. I’m going to kill you and eat your damned Vampire Republic heart.”
Rufus raised an eyebrow at the teacher’s threat.
Norman slowly stood, his fingers wrapped around the stake in his belt behind his back. He knew Rufus was stronger, faster, and better trained. Rufus could get in a first stab pretty easily. However, Norman wagered he could get one in soon after, if he was willing to sacrifice himself. He was.
“Wait,” gasped Richie. He coughed again. “Norman, wait.” He wheezed heavily as air bubbled through the blood that seeped into his lungs and trachea. “He’s right.”
Norman put his suicide attack on hold.
“He’s right, Norman.” Richie stood back up.
Rufus took a step back, amazed. One stab to the heart was enough to end the toughest vampire. He’d punctured Richie’s heart twice.
Norman also found himself at a loss for words as he watched Richie stand up and recover from his wounds.
“A vampire heart can’t withstand wood,” said Richie, removing his hand from his chest. The blood had stopped flowing. “I do not have a vampire heart. My heart is human.”
38
Biology
“Traitor!” The Corps. V vampire pushed himself to his knees and pointed at Richie.
Rufus was on him in an instant. He punched the smaller vampire in the face and he slumped back to the floor.
“Mr. Taylor!” shouted Ivol. The teens rushed their student teacher. They took turns embracing him.
Norman hadn’t seen his students happy in a long time. Richie seemed happy as well. Their smiles infected Norman. His own lips curled up.
“He’s taken care of,” said Rufus kicking the subdued captive to the side of the chamber. “Let’s get some answers.”
Cindy looked past Norman and gasped. The rest simultaneously looked up toward the hall that led to the refrigeration room. Norman looked as well.
Cindy, Tyreese, and Darius ran over to meet Felicia and Declan, who emerged from the cobblestone corridor. Felicia smiled and Declan squinted from the torchlight. He would soon recalibrate his newly heightened senses.
The rest of the group scampered over. They approached with open arms, but stopped just before embracing their two classmates. An awkward moment passed.
“Are you…?” said Cindy.
Norman knew the end of the question and could read it on the faces of the others.
Matt answered it. “They’re vampires.”
The teens all inched back.
Norman approached his students.
“We have work to do here, teacher,” barked Rufus.
Rufus was right, but Norman had to take care of his kids. “It’ll have to wait.”
He looked at the students, who clearly did not know how to deal with their newly undead classmates. Norman would show them. He embraced Declan.
“Welcome back Declan. It’s good to see you again.” Norman then hugged Felicia.
“Thank you,” said Felicia.
These two were strong. They’d watched each other die and come back. They were different now. If they lived past this day, they’d never be able to go back to their lives the way they were.
“No,” said Norman. “Thank you.”
“What for?” replied Felicia.
Norman answered loudly, speaking to the whole group. “For saving my life up there.” He let the words sink in to his students'brains. “If you hadn’t arrived, we’d have all been dead. You’re quite a fighter.”
“We all are, Mr. Bernard. We’re Night School kids,” said Felicia, smiling.
Norman saw relief spread across the faces of his class. He hoped they’d now accept the two back in. He sensed they wanted to. They were separated by only a few feet, but there was a wider chasm that needed to be crossed.
Cindy was the first to span it. She ran to Felicia and wrapped her arms around her. “Hola, amiga. Te amo. Te amo,” she said, a few tears leaking from her eyes. Norman hadn’t realized Cindy had picked up some Spanish.
The rest of the class rushed in, crowding the two young vampires and offering acceptance. Norman recognized something else in the group he hadn’t expected to see down here under the earth. Amidst all the darkness, death, and filth, he saw love. It shone from the group like the sun, but unlike the light from the Earth’s star it didn’t burn his skin. For a moment, at least, it felt soothing and warm.
Then, the moment passed as Norman remembered the dire situation they now found themselves in. He needed to talk to Richie.
“They’re trying to make themselves invulnerable,” said Richie to the group that sat on the floor in a small circle with him.
Rufus and Skip had become regulars at planning sessions. Norman had also invited Rae in. He wasn’t sure why, but he trusted her.
“I don’t understand,” said Norman. “You said you had a human heart.”
“They’ve been experimenting to rid themselves of one of their weaknesses: a wooden stake through the heart,” replied Richie.
Rufus huffed. “Apparently, it’s worked.”
“How could you have a human heart? That doesn’t seem possible,” said Rae.
“I’m not sure where they got the technology from. It had to do with research into genetically altering human blood,” said Richie.
Skip’s eyes grew wide. Sweat broke out on his forehead and he turned red.
Norman noticed the suddenly flush politician. “You know something.”
“No, no, no.” Skip shook his head in disbelief.
Rufus grabbed Skip by his shirt and pulled him up until they were face to face. “Talk.”
This was the first time Norman had seen Rufus direct his anger at Skip. After all, Skip was a party councilor and Rufus a soldier. He knew the chain of command.
“Put him down,” said Norman.
“It’s OK,”
said Skip. “I know where this is coming from.”
Rufus lowered him back down.
Skip straightened out his shirt. “It’s our own tech. From before the war.”
The group sat silent as the information sank in.
“Wait,” said Rae, “The VR was trying to make invincible vampires?”
“Not exactly,” replied Skip. “We were experimenting with the DNA of human blood. We wanted to create a blood source that wouldn’t require the constant draining of humans. That way, we could reveal ourselves and not be a threat. We tried to make human-like blood with vampire traits for regeneration. The idea was to have a blood supply that could regenerate itself.”
For a moment silence filled the spaces between the members of this little circle.
“We hadn’t perfected it,” said Skip. “Then war broke out.”
“Apparently Corps. V has,” said Rufus.
“But that was just blood,” said Rae.
Skip wrinkled his forehead. “I guess they took the research further than we’d imagined.”
“But your…head?” said Norman.
Richie lifted his chin to reveal a massive scar all the way around his neck. “I don’t understand it either.” He lowered his head and placed his hand on his chest, over his heart. “That’s why I have to go back.”
“No. Stay,” said Norman.
“They inject me with this concoction every so often. They said it’s to feed my heart. They told me I’d die without it. Skeete does it, too, as well as a few others.”
“What concoction?” growled Rufus.
“My heart is made of human tissue,” said Richie. “From what Skip described, I suppose its altered genes and connection to my vampire body allow it to heal like any other vampire organ. However, it’s primarily human. It requires human nutrients. My digestive system doesn’t break down food like a human’s. Without the nutrient shots, this new heart will die right in my chest. It’ll starve.”
Norman’s eyes drifted off. “That’s why Skeete didn’t die that night three years ago.” The memory of the event played in the background of his brain. Norman wasn’t special at all. Skeete was. Norman was just a vampire. All these vampires had died because they thought Norman could lead them to victory. Norman’s head drooped. His body felt depleted. “And that's why I can't feel you any more. I was sure you were dead.”
“It looks like you’ve traded in one weakness for another,” said Rufus.
“I didn’t ask for any of this,” snapped Richie. “I’m stuck with a human heart, just the way I got stuck as a vampire. I didn’t ask for that, either.”
Norman returned to the present, placing a hand on Richie’s shoulder. His calm returned.
“There’s another weakness,” said Richie.
Rufus perked up.
“I’m part-human now. I’m not as fast as I was, not as strong.”
Rufus laughed. “That’s probably why Skeete stayed behind during the fight.”
A connection sparked across Norman’s brain. “That’s also why I was able to beat her three years ago. She used to be much more powerful than me.”
“So,” said Rae. “Skeete’s making a little band of invincible, but weaker vampires, who need regular shots to keep themselves going. That about sum it up?”
“Not quite. Not all of them have had the procedure, only a few. It’s still experimental, from what I gathered,” said Richie.
Norman struck a quiet tone. “Why did they bring you back?”
Richie removed his hand from his chest. “I’m a guinea pig. They’re still working on the technology. They want to eliminate the weaknesses in the process.” Richie stopped talking, but saw the group wanted more. “Once they revived me, I told them I could lead them to you. So they kept me around.”
“It seems you were making good on your promise before I stopped you and killed four of your new friends,” growled Rufus.
“Three,” said Richie.
“I never mistake a body count.”
Richie looked Rufus in the eye. “While you were wrestling with two, another was about to stake you from behind. I stabbed him in the back with my stake. A half-second later, you turned and flicked your knife into his chest. He was already on his way out.”
“Another lie!”
“A simple ‘thank you’ will do,” replied Richie.
Skip changed the subject. “Richie do you have any other information we could use? Where is their lab where they do this operation?”
Richie replied, “It’s underground. Under their lair. “
Rufus looked doubtful. “When did they build this lab? Why there?”
“They’ve had three years to work on it,” said Richie. “I guess not everyone’s been lurking underground, biding their time.”
Rufus pursed his lips.
Richie added, “They use the hospital as a source for human tissue. It’s kind of funny, that’s the hospital you use to get your blood supply.”
“Funny.” Rufus was not amused. “How many of them are there? If we know their numbers, we can plan our attack.”
“Too many. There’s not nearly enough of us…you. There are at least sixty of them. Perhaps ten have had the operation.”
Rufus’ shoulders sunk. “Sixty.”
“We need allies,” offered Skip.
“Look around you,” said Rufus, dejected. “There are six of us. The closest thing we’ve got to an ally is this one.” He waved an arm at Richie. “And that guy tied up over there. And they’re our enemies. We can’t exactly count our enemies as allies.”
A seed of an idea flicked on in Norman’s brain like the glow of an incandescent light. Its rays sparked other connections to life until the idea broadened into hope, then to the outline of a plan.
“Perhaps we can,” said Norman.
“Why would they help us?” dismissed Rufus.
“Not them,” explained Norman. “Vampires fear one enemy above all others. Perhaps we can make it our ally.”
39
Plan B
Matt interrupted Norman’s little planning group. “Mr. Bernard, can we talk to you?”
“Just a second” Norman replied. “Richie, do you think that guy knows more?” He pointed at the bound vampire.
“Maybe. I can try to find out,” said Richie.
Rufus stood quickly. “Allow me. It’s my specialty.” He strode over to the captive. “You,” he said gruffly, curving his mouth into a smile. “Let’s talk.”
He grabbed the prisoner by the back of his collar and dragged him through to the hall at the back.
“I saw Francis break right through ropes when you guys got back,” said Matt. “Why doesn’t that guy do the same?”
“Silver-lined ropes,” replied Skip. “You used the wrong ones on Francis.”
Norman walked with Matt to the huddled teens. “What’s up, Matt?”
All the students looked to him, fear in their eyes.
“When we got here,” said Ivol, “there were more of them…um…you, I mean. Now, there’s only seven.” He shrugged his shoulders. “Did they all take off?”
The dead bodies and pools of blood at the scrapyard flashed through Norman’s brain. “They’re dead. Things didn’t go so well. There were more enemies than we expected. We were ambushed.” He paused to read their faces. They wanted more. They wanted details. Norman would spare them, except for one. “The rest of us would have been killed as well. Felicia saved us.”
Norman looked over at Felicia and nodded.
“Naseem?” asked Matt.
Norman shook his head.
“Damn,” said Matt. “That guy knew a lot.”
“A lot for a human, yes,” replied Norman.
“Did you know they’d developed some serious special weapons?” asked Matt.
“I noticed.” Wait. Norman spoke slowly. “What do you mean by ‘they?’”
Matt grew silent for a moment. “You didn’t know?”
Norman raised his eyebrows, waiti
ng for more.
“He was part of some sort of group. He said they were called Nebulous. You really didn’t know?”
Norman had sensed that there was more to Naseem than met the eye. That weapon of his was like nothing he’d ever seen before. “What else did Naseem tell you?”
“Not much. He never got a chance.”
Norman instantly turned and walked away from the class.
Matt called after him. “Mr. Bernard?” He didn’t follow.
Norman strode quickly over to Skip. “What can you tell me about Nebulous?”
Skip took a moment, shifting his jaw. “You mean our friend, Naseem. Not much, rumors, really. One of them would pop up once in a great while, then disappear. Ian was the connection. He could’ve told you more. But he wouldn’t have.”
Norman wondered if Skip was withholding anything. “Hmm.”
“Norman,” said Skip. “We need to figure out what we’re going to do. If Rufus intercepted a few Corps. V coming down into the sewers, then the rest of them probably know we’re down here by now. They’ll come for us. Even if they don’t, we’ll all starve down here pretty soon.” He pointed to Norman’s class. “Them first.”
Norman wasn’t sure if Skip was saying that the vampires would last longer without food than the students or if he was implying that the students would become food. He grew anxious at the suggestion.
“What ‘ally’ were you thinking of?” asked Richie. “Who would possibly want to help us?”
“Not who,” replied Norman. “What.”
40
Intel
“There are ten ‘super-vampires’,” said Rufus. “Although he’s not one of them.”
In a chamber deeper in than the refrigeration room, Skip, Rae, Richie, and Norman huddled around the ravaged vampire captive. He lay on the ground with a large slab of granite over his chest, weighing him down. He struggled to breathe, the stone lifting ever so slightly with each inhalation.