by Alex Dire
“Turns out your…friend, here, was telling the truth.” Rufus flicked his chin toward Richie.
Norman could see Richie’s attempt to hide his reaction of vindication and relief. It’s not easy knowing the biggest guy in the room wants to kill you.
“Sorry,” said Rufus.
Richie nodded.
“They’re all variations of the process. They’re trying to perfect it. To keep themselves invulnerable, without diluting their strength. Skeete was the prototype. She’s the weakest.”
“She didn’t seem so weak to me back at school and in your condo,” said Richie.
“Weak is relative,” said Rufus staring directly at Richie and holding his gaze a little too long. “A human would still never be a match for her. Neither would a new vampire.”
“Skeete is very old, very powerful,” said Rufus. “She’s retained a good deal of that. But as our teacher friend discovered, she’s not what she was. She can be physically overcome.”
“The price of immortality,” said Skip.
Rufus narrowed his eyes at Norman. “Ian brought you here because you’d killed Skeete. He thought there was something special about you. He seems to have been mistaken. You’re just a teacher. Weak. Just not as weak as Skeete.”
“I’m still here,” replied Norman. That was an accomplishment for a vampire these days.
“For now,” said Rufus.
Norman could understand Rufus’ ambivalent feelings toward him. Clearly, he’d never wanted to bring Norman down into the catacombs. He accepted Norman grudgingly because Ian believed that Norman had something that could save them. However, since Norman had arrived, most of the group had been killed, including Ian. Now it turned out the whole reason for bringing him here was a mistake. Norman decided to tread lightly around the soldier.
“What else did he say?” said Skip.
Rufus held his gaze on Norman for a moment then turned to Skip. “He said we were dead. That we didn’t stand a chance. There are about sixty of them left, plus the ten modified vampires. Their experiments have gone much further. There was more. I could tell. I tried to get it out of him, but he passed out.”
“More about Skeete’s vampires?” said Skip.
“No. More than Skeete’s vampires.”
The group looked down at the bleeding, unconscious vampire. His body’s wounds slowly sewed themselves back together.
“Perhaps my interrogation was too aggressive.” Rufus looked back up at Norman. “So what’s your plan, teacher?”
“Not here,” said Norman, indicating the captive.
Rufus moved toward the exit of the dark, empty room.
“What about him?” asked Skip, pointing to the vampire on the floor. “Shouldn’t we tie him up or something?
“I don’t think he’ll be getting out from under that rock,” said Rufus, almost snickering.
They walked back toward the large chamber. Rufus led them into the refrigeration room. When they regrouped, Rufus crossed his arms and looked to Norman.
“I don’t see how we win a fight against seventy Corps. V, ten of whom can’t be staked,” said Rufus.
“I have to say, I’m not seeing it either,” Skip said. “I think it’s time you shared this idea of yours.”
Norman nodded. He had the full attention of the small assembly of vampires. He contemplated his next move, wondering which of this little coterie he could trust. Rae had proven rational and seemed to have warmed up to Norman. Skip was a politician. Although most of Norman’s friends were VR prior to the war, he always had a healthy distrust of their party leaders. Norman figured he should play it safe with Skip. Despite saving his life, Skip would consider Norman an ally only as long as he had something Skip needed. Right now, Skip needed Norman’s plan…and his still-breathing body. Norman and Rufus had an up and down relationship. Rufus had visibly changed since returning from above-ground. His band had been all but decimated. He seemed like a soldier on the verge of defeat. Norman wondered if he’d seek a warrior’s death, one last suicide charge. Norman hoped he’d still be interested in winning. That’s the tack he’d take.
For the first time, Norman questioned Richie’s loyalty. His physical alterations had made him dependent on Corps. V technology. If they wiped them out, then Richie would be lost. Norman decided to roll the dice with him. After all, Richie was his spawn.
In the end, the calculation of the group’s trustworthiness was unimportant. He had little choice. There were seven vampires left in the world who had the ability to save it from an unconstrained Corps. V. Norman would have to reveal his plan. However, this time he had an ace up his sleeve. There were others he knew he could count on.
His class of adolescents and young adults had spent each day of his working life struggling to be rid of him. Ironically, they now followed him without question. He could certainly trust them. This time, when they tangled with the Corps. V contingent, he’d bring them along. This time, they’d be more than a liability.
Norman spoke. “We will need to face Skeete’s Corps. V again.”
The group remained silent. Norman wondered if they had been struck mute by the stupidity of the idea, or were awaiting the follow-up.
“There are other ways to kill a vampire besides a stake through the heart.”
“Yes,” said Rufus. “But it’s the only one we can control.”
Skip shook his head. “You’re not suggesting sunlight, are you?”
“That’s exactly what I’m suggesting,” replied Norman.
“You’re talking about vampire execution,” said Rae. Are you saying we can tie them up outside somehow and wait for the sun to rise? How can we possibly accomplish that? They have ten times our numbers?”
“No way,” interrupted Skip. “We’ll be slaughtered before the sun comes up.”
“That’s not the plan at all,” said Norman. “We’ll confront them during the day. If all goes well, we might burn up along with them, but at least they’ll be gone.”
“No,” said Rufus, silencing the group. All eyes turned to him. “‘Your only enemy is the light. You can’t kill it. You can’t seduce it. It only offers fire. It only offers death.’”
Norman recognized these words. Every VR soldier memorized them during their training. It was sort of their motto. They learned to fight every type of enemy with every type of weapon. But, they learned to stay out of the light at all costs. Millennia of armed conflict taught vampires that toying with sunlight ends only one way. Now, Norman needed to convince them that was the one hope they had left.
Rufus’ face turned brittle. “No. We fight them at night. That’s our turf.”
“That’s a fight we lose. They have all the advantages,” said Norman.
“Not true. They don’t know where we are.”
“Actually,” said Richie, “they know about these catacombs. They just didn’t know anyone was down here. They said all the entrances had been sealed. Now they know you’re here. Skeete sent us down after you, when you thought you’d escaped. They’ll come in force…if not tonight, then tomorrow night.”
Rufus folded his arms. “Hmph.”
“They definitely have the advantage,” said Rae.
Norman raised a finger. “Not in the sunlight.”
“I see,” said Skip. “The sunlight evens it out. Seventy vampires caught in the sunlight or seven, it makes no difference. They’re all dead in a few seconds.”
Rufus wrinkled his forehead. “So you intend to even the odds by launching a suicide mission?”
“No,” said Norman. “We’re not evening the odds. We’re seizing the advantage.”
Rufus did not seem satisfied.
Skip grew more and more curious as a flicker of hope infused his words. “How so?”
“Two reasons,” explained Norman. “First, they won’t expect it. They know we’ll avoid the sunlight at just about any cost, so they won’t see a daytime attack coming.”
Rufus raised an eyebrow. “And the second reason?”
“We have my students,” said Norman.
Skip deflated, his tiny spark of hope snuffed out.
Rufus scoffed at the idea. “We’d have a better chance with the suicide mission.”
“Let him finish, Rufus.” She turned back to Norman, attentive.
“They may be far weaker and slower than us, but in the daylight, we’re practically useless and they can maneuver at will. If we plan it right, and we can lure most or all of Skeete’s Corps. V out into the daylight, my class can take care of the rest.” A long silence wrapped his idea in uncertainty. “Rufus, I’ll take you at my back any time in a fight. But during the day, any one of my students could take you out.
Rufus’ pride curled the corners of his mouth down.
“It’s not an insult to you. It’s just who we are.” Norman felt a tiny amount of relief when he saw Rufus’ face relax. “We can’t beat them in the dark. There are just too many, and some of them can’t even be staked. But we can let the sun do the job…with a little help from our teenage friends.”
“Do you trust them?” asked Rufus.
“With my life,” replied Norman. “At this point, they’d follow me to Hell if I took them there.”
41
Weakest Link
Matt shook his head and stepped back from the other students. “I saw what they can do. They killed Felicia and Declan like they were flies. I’m not sure I see how we can help with this.”
This was not the reaction Norman had expected from Matt. Until now, it seemed as if this whole episode had fit nicely into his world of comic books and Dungeons and Dragons. He had almost seemed to enjoy it at times, as if the whole experience allowed him to live out a big, ‘I told you so.’
“Matt, you know better than anyone that all their abilities mean nothing in the sunlight. Once the sun comes up, we just need to let the light do its job.”
“Mr. Bernard,” said Keon. “What will happen to you and Mr. Taylor? Won’t you…” his words trailed off and his glance fell to the cobblestone floor.
Richie put a hand on Keon’s shoulder. “That’s why we need you. Once the sun comes up, we can’t fight, either. We’ll need to hide in shadows. Skeete and her company will try to do the same. You can use the sunlight as a weapon.”
Matt stood silently, however Norman could see his eyes staring beyond the walls as thoughts churned through his brain. His pupils shrank back to normal size. “This isn’t turning out like I thought. I used to wish the world was different. Then Felicia and Declan… I’m not sure what the world is anymore. Who’s supposed to win, Mr. Bernard?” He refocused on Norman’s eyes.
“I’m sorry, Matt. It’s not a story. Things just happen. Friends die. You know this.”
Norman referred to the friends and family that each of his students had lost during their childhood. No one at Night School was spared the grief of losing a friend or cousin or sibling to the streets. However, they all had their ways of walling it off so they didn’t implode inside.
Penetrating that wall was one of the hardest parts about teaching at Night School. Reaching a young person through their defenses proved impossible for most teachers. Norman had a secret weapon, though. He had glamored his way to success for the last three years. He didn’t dare try that now. He needed real commitment from his students. He needed them to take down their walls willingly and believe in him enough to risk their own lives, to risk losing each other.
“Mr. Taylor,” said Keon, through rough vocal chords. He coughed to clear them. “Mr. Taylor, if we win, what happens to you?” The question hung there for a moment. “You said you needed to go back. Why? What happens if you can’t go back?”
Norman hoped that Richie wouldn’t have to address this question with the students. Richie looked at Norman for guidance. Norman looked back without emotion, paralyzed by the impossibility of providing good advice. It seemed like it had been a long time since there were any good answers. He nodded back at Richie.
“Keon, Matt, you thought I was dead. You thought they’d cut off my head.” He looked them both in the eye one at a time. “You were correct.”
“But…” said Keon.
Richie interrupted. “These vampires are different. They’ve found a way to cheat death. They experimented on me. They brought me back. But I need them in order to stay alive.”
Matt’s eyelids widened. “So if we win, you…”
Richie broke his eye contact and looked to the ground.
“No,” said Keon, his rough voice losing volume. He’d just got back his mentor. This seemed to be one dip on an emotional roller coaster too many. “Then we can’t do this. We can’t fight them.”
“One way or another,” said Richie, “I’m not going to make it.” He looked back up into Keon’s eyes. “The only question is what happens to everyone else?”
“He’s right,” said Matt. “We have no choice. We’re dead if we sit here. We might as well give ourselves a fighting chance.”
Keon turned to Norman. Anger etched its wrinkles in Keon’s brow. “Mr. Bernard.” He paused, as the words bubbled past his growing rage. “Do you remember the deal we made?”
Norman had thought he’d heard the last of this deal when Richie returned. Keon’s loyalty ran deeper than Norman had imagined. “Yes.”
Keon stood to his full height. They’d been crouching in tunnels so long that Norman had forgotten how tall this young man really was.
“If it’s still on, then I’ll fight,” said Keon.
Richie pulled Keon in for a hug.
“I’ll get her for you, Mr. Taylor.”
After a short embrace, they heard Rufus call out from the passage. “Time to go. Sun’s up in ninety minutes.”
A chill ran through Norman’s spine at the mention of the sun. As his plan began to phase into action, his previous encounters with sunlight ran through his brain. They were not pleasant thoughts. He looked around the room and noticed a dark change in mood in most of the vampires. Norman had tried to give hope to this tiny remnant of civilized vampiredom. He now saw that hope transform to fear. They began to see just how unlikely their survival was, out in the daylight.
Felicia and Declan did not share that fear. They hadn’t experienced daylight since their rebirth. He’d have to brief them on the way. If they waited any longer, it would be too late. The sun would be up in a couple of hours. If they didn’t leave soon, they’d have to hide in the catacombs for another day. When night fell, seventy vampires would descend on them. They all knew that even a desperate fight in the sunlight held more promise than that.
“But we haven’t told the rest of the class,” said Matt.
“Explain on the way.”
42
The Calm
Norman led his little squad of humans and vampires through the tunnels toward their last encounter with the remnants of Corps. V. He found it ironic that he now led the final charge into battle in a war he never wanted any part of. He almost let out a chuckle when he realized he had become the de facto leader, yet still didn’t believe in the whole system. However, he didn’t see any choice now but to take sides and fight like hell. It was a matter of survival. He promised himself this would be the last time he ever got involved in organized power again. One way or another, he knew he’d keep the promise. If he failed, he’d be dead. If he succeeded, he’d say goodbye to the VR and never look back.
Norman only hoped he could keep the remainder of his students safe. He highly doubted his ability to do so. Once the sun came up, options greatly diminished. A vampire in daylight is a sad, cowering thing. Far more wretched than a human in the night. At that point, his class would have to fend for themselves.
Rufus walked beside him through the tunnel, carrying the city map of the sewer system. Every few hundred yards, they stopped to reorient themselves or to choose a fork in the tunnel. Richie proved very helpful here. His considerable time spent groveling in the sewers had given him first-hand knowledge of its twists and bends. Norman could
see him growing weaker, though.
“How long do you have?” Norman asked.
Richie tried to answer, but a furious cough cut off his words. Sweat beaded on his forehead from the effort. He wiped his mouth. “Less than a day, I think. I haven’t felt this bad since…I was a human.”
Norman couldn’t see a way out of this for Richie. He depended on the Corps. V tech to keep his human heart alive. If all went as planned, in a few hours there wouldn’t be any more Corps. V. They could raid their lab, but even if he eventually figured out the technology, it would be too late.
“Richie, I…” Norman’s throat closed, choked with grief. He was looking at the first casualty of the last battle.
Norman refused to feel, coughing once to clear his throat. “Take the lead with Rufus.” He dropped back to talk with his students. “Does everyone understand what you’ll be doing?”
His class answered him with silence.
Just like Night School. The parallel made a tiny tickle in his heart. “So, what are you going to do while you’re waiting for us?”
Ivol raised his hand. The tickle almost erupted into laughter. Adding to the comedy was the fact that Ivol had not once raised his hand during actual class.
“We stay out of sight until the sun comes up,” said Ivol.
“It shouldn’t be too hard,” Norman said. “They won’t be looking for you. However, their senses are very good. If you make a sound or any type of motion within their view, they’ll notice.” Norman scanned the group. “For example, Cindy, I can hear your teeth chattering.”
Darius chuckled. “Even I can hear that.”
“Darius, I can also hear that your heart is beating fifteen beats per minute faster than normal. You’re scared, too.”
Darius’s smile faded. “I make jokes when I’m scared.”
Tyreese tapped Darius on the shoulder. “It’s OK. We’ve got your back.”
The whole class nodded in solidarity.
“OK then,” said Norman. “Are you ready?”