by M. O. McLeod
Inis grabbed the man by the shoulder and smashed his fist into his head, knocking the mask clean off. He wasn’t a Phantom. Inis kicked him in the gut and went for the temple but was stopped when the man countered and knocked Inis on his back. The man punched Inis in his face and tried to choke him. Inis broke the grip around his neck and pummeled the man’s rib cage with right and left hooks. He could feel the bandit weakening as he tried to deflect the hits. The man got out of the bear grip that Inis had on him and tried to send kicks at Inis as he was down. A gun went off and the unmasked man froze. Inis looked upside down as he lay in the sand and saw his mother, his fragile mother with a gun in her hand; it was still smoking as Inis heard a soft thud hit the sand. He flipped over on his stomach and caught his mother aiming the gun at the second man running back down the sand dune to the convoy with the children dangling and screaming in his arms. She let off the gun as she walked closer and closer. One bullet hit the man, causing him to stumble, drop the baby girl and recover. Inis could hear the sound of the empty clip as his mother tried to get closer, shooting nothing as she went. Inis pulled himself out of the sands and gripped his mother from the back before she went back into the chaos down on the lone road leading out of Alexandria.
“Let me go, Inis,” Fae screamed. She had to get her niece and nephew back. That is what her sister would have wanted. “They are out there with those criminals, thieves that want to come and harm innocent people–we’re only trying to leave in peace,” Fae cried out. “I want to kill all of them!”
Inis carried his mother down the sand hill crying. He dragged her body to the last of the cars that lined the road. Masked men still ran around but Inis was careful to sneak into a lone pickup truck. He didn’t know if the truck had enough gas, he didn’t know if his plan would work, he didn’t know if someone would see him driving off, but he was going to get his mother out of all of this…period.
The pickup truck had the keys still in the engine. Inis felt around for the stick shift and the lights. He would keep the lights off for the time being. He started the engine up and it purred silently. He eased off the clutch and rammed the car into first, eased the clutch and rammed the gear into second; he could feel the truck gaining speed and eased off the clutch again and kicked it into third and the truck roared to life. Bullets hit the truck as Inis ducked down in the cabin, zooming down the road and swerving deadly around the trailer truck blocking the exit out of Alexandria.
Chapter 19:
Mourning
Fae cried for hours. Her sister was dead and her little niece and nephew were out there somewhere with murderers. She should have never listened to her son and left the safety of her own home. In the city there were Phantoms, out of the city there were masked bandits. She was damned if she did and damned if she didn’t and it all came at the expense of her own flesh and blood. “Why didn’t you take Prissy’s body?”
“I didn’t have enough time. I had to get you out of there,” Inis said as he drove with his eyes glued to the front.
“Forget me, you should have gotten my dead sister out of that!” she screamed at her son. “Now her body is just going to be laying there in the sand for vultures to eat and rot,” Fae was devastated. “Is that how you are going to do me, leave me out to die?”
“Mami, I would never leave you.”
“She was your family and you left her.”
“To save you. You raised me, fed me, clothed me, and I will always choose you over anyone else.”
Fae didn’t want to hear it. She wiped her wet eyes on her dirty T-shirt and blew her nose out the window. She was a mess and couldn’t care less. “Those poor babies,” she whispered.
“Enough alright!” Inis screamed and gripped the ribbed steering wheel tighter. “Can we just drive in silence for a while?”
“Well I can’t stop thinking about it!” Fae yelled. “That was my damn sister who I grew up with, and I saw her murdered for trying to save her children. You can’t just sit quietly around while that shit eats you up.”
“Don’t you think I feel bad?”
“Well, do you?” Fae asked loudly.
“Of course I do, but I didn’t kill her. I tried to save her and it didn’t happen. I don’t have blood on my hands and at this moment we are miles away from those people who killed Aunty Prissy and even further away from the Phantoms.” Inis relaxed his shoulders a bit. “I saw a sign back there that read that the Bluff is twenty miles from here.”
“We are almost there,” Fae said as she looked out and saw the sun rising over the horizon. “I hate this godforsaken desert.”
“L’bluff, Manor is right over there,” said Inis as he pointed straight ahead. “A new beginning, Mami.”
“And if the Phantoms reach the Bluff?” Fae didn’t want to be the bearer of bad news but she had to be realistic. “Where do we go after that?”
“I’m too tired ma’ to think of that right now,” Inis replied.
Nonetheless, Fae thought about it and figured that there weren’t going to be that many places left if the Phantoms overran the city of Alexandria.
Chapter 20:
Phantom Plague
The snow became thicker and fell hard as the winter progressed through the weeks. Darius adjusted well enough to being a Phantom. He grew stronger and more powerful. His senses magnified and his appetite doubled. He was a full blown Phantom and didn’t have to worry about being hunted, he was now the hunter.
He kept moving through the city but never to the north. He had to learn fast and adjust quickly. He knew he didn’t like being solo, it was too hard to hunt and way too easy to get lost in the bunch. Things in Alexandria were changing quickly. Phantoms were starting gangs, trying to claim territory, arguing over who had it first. It wasn’t smart to be by yourself, but it didn’t pay to be a part of a gang where the leader got fat off the spoils of his workers. Darius wanted to start up his own thing, be head of the pack with his own guys. He couldn’t be a worker; no, he had to run things. His son Santino was right in getting his own location up and running. Darius admired that about Santino, but also envied him. Still, Santino was getting too comfortable, he was living to good. Darius knew that Santino had a prize location but no man power behind keeping that up. What if the RAID finally came knocking or what if the police showed up? Who would man the fort? Darius wasn’t trying to be like that. The first thing he did was to welcome more Phantoms to his side. It wasn’t hard; a lot of young guys on the run trying to eat and survive in a city that was out to eliminate you would make anyone want to team up and take arms. That was exactly what Darius wanted his Phantoms to do.
Darius had Phantoms, more than Santino, way more. But as the winter grew deeper more people stayed inside. The more people stayed inside the more the Phantoms had to go inside to find them. It was hard work trying to see which house was empty, where were the people hiding and on top of that, hoping that the humans didn’t have weapons that could hurt them. Darius had to be even smarter because most sections of the city had become territories. Little pop up Phantom gangs were claiming that the humans on a certain block were their hunting turf. Darius didn’t want to make enemies, he was smarter than that. What he wanted more than anything was to get into north Alexandria. A part of the city that was just ripe for the picking. No one had done it yet and there were millions of people just living their day to day lives, waiting for Darius and his crew. He had promised the Phantoms that followed him a new beginning and he would deliver.
***
The Amphitheater was nestled quietly in the greater section of west Alexandria. The Joaquin Arc Amphitheater was an open space that Darius had chosen to bring in his newly initiated Phantoms. He had an audience; two thousand Phantoms were out in the stone seats, watching him and his generals welcome in the new members of the Phantom Plague. The Phantom Plague was Darius idea, a way to unite his Phantoms and bring about a change. The same way that the police wanted to exterminate the Phantoms was the same way that Darius wante
d to ensure his Phantoms longevity. All they had to do was pledge their loyalty to the Phantom Plague and they would be a part of history. The humans were going to be extinct. It was only a matter of time. No one had found a cure, the Phantoms numbers were rapidly rising, and the city was only but so small. Darius could do the math and seeing the turnout, the many Phantom faces, he knew that sacking the north would be the human’s last stand against them.
“Phantoms of the city,” Darius voice boomed out into the cold night. “We have gathered here in the open. The night is ours, true. Let it be clear that we do not have to hide during the day in fear. Yet, we do and we do it because there is a force against us that knows we own the night and they want to battle us during the day. Those who try and hunt us down, those that oppose us and call us the enemy know what we are truly capable of,” he continued. “We rule the night, but once we rule the day then we will be unstoppable!” The theater erupted into a shout. “We must first crush the forces that want to stop us!”
Men’s voices were magnified as the sounds bounced off the arc theater walls. Fires were lit and the dark didn’t seem so dark after all. Darius spoke again and the men out in the seats quieted down.
“Tonight, we welcome in new, strong men willing to risk their lives for us in order to better us as a whole,” Darius said. “We will overrun the north and we will do it with these Phantoms that stand before you here tonight,” he pointed to the men on the dimly lit stage.
Fifty men stood in a long line across the platform. They were all hooded and tall figures dressed in ragged, blood-soaked clothes. They stood shoulder to shoulder and silent. Ten Phantoms stood behind them. Older Phantoms that Darius had chosen who only lived for tomorrow, they were all Darius’s generals.
“Each Phantom will give their blood and swear an oath, a blood oath, and they will be held in the highest regard,” Darius yelled out into the night. All was silent, even the wind, even the night rodents with their reflective eyes, even the drips from the icicles were silent. Darius pointed out into the crowd with a huge shiny knife. “You Phantoms out there are soldiers, no doubt about that, but these Phantoms up here on the stage are lieutenants and generals. When it is time to take the north from the humans so that we may go about freely in this city, day or night, it will be these Phantoms here that will orchestrate every move.” Darius picked up a huge clay vessel. “This will overflow with my brother’s blood and with my blood and we will drink our fill and seal our bond.”
A general from behind pushed the first hooded Phantom forward. He shoved the Phantom’s right arm out roughly, palm up and waited for Darius.
Darius walked to the Phantom and spoke to him, “My brother, do you swear to protect your kind, the Phantom Plagues, your brothers in arm until your dying night?”
The Phantom nodded his head through his hood. The fire crackled off in the distant. All eyes were on Darius who held the knife. He could feel the eyes of thousands, the power was sickening. He had to steady his hands; they shook so violently from the rush of it. He took the knife and slit the Phantoms palm open and out poured silver blood that Darius caught with the vessel. The generals snatched the hoods off each newly initiated Phantom as Darius went down the line and filled the clay bowl to the brim with steaming silver liquid. Darius returned to the beginning of the line and turned to the audience. He slit his own palm deep and watched the blood swirl and mix with the other Phantoms. He raised the vessel high above his hands and showed his many rows of teeth as he smiled for the crowd.
“We are one my brothers!” he shouted and brought the bowl to his lips and drank. The crowd shouted and hollered and the Phantoms voices were boisterous as Darius passed the bowl down the line.
“Phantom Plague, Phantom Plague!” a chant began. “Phantom Plague, Phantom Plague!” It grew louder and louder. Darius wiped his mouth of the shiny gore that ran down his chin. He listened as his Phantoms shouted louder and louder. He wished their voices carried over into east Alexandria where Santino was.
Chapter 21:
Televised
The headquarters of the north was the nucleus of the city; except, it didn’t rest in the center but more northern in the financial district. The city council men and women, the legislator, the house seats, everyone who dabbled in making the city run smoothly, had walked the marble halls of the HQ.
Kurma was walking them now, with her fancy pinstriped gray suit and her sling back heels. She smoothed a dark-blue, gloved hand down her skirt as she walked with the mayor. She wanted to look perfect on camera. First impressions were very important to her. This time she had to impress the people in the north, the ones who still had electricity, especially.
“Mayor, you must remember to say that I have immunity, me and the Raptors,” she explained to Mayor Wilks.
“Don’t you think that will confuse the people of the city who don’t know what a Raptor is?” he asked.
“They will soon find out once they see how it is that I go about handling the Phantoms.”
They briskly walked down the beige hallway that was lined with pictures of senates, past and old, dead mayors, and philanthropist. Behind Kurma and the mayor was the city’s official administration, department heads, police cadets, the interns, and, of course, the Raptors.
“You must not forget to say what my position will be. I don’t want any one questioning me,” Kurma continued.
The mayor nodded his head. He was always calm and collected before a news meeting. They would never see him sweat. He had an image to uphold and the higher ups on the other side of the Manor were going to be watching this, seeing if he could handle adversary. Mayor Wilks was beginning to wonder if they were the ones behind the Phantoms. The Phantoms just didn’t pop up from the earth’s core…or did they?
“I think we have gone over all the last minutes pointers,” said Kurma as she stopped at a door. “Good luck mayor. I think we will make a great team.” She opened the door, gave a slight nod, and let the mayor walk pass her.
The meeting was held in the Trio room. It was a triangular room with six large windows which let faint light through. At the far end of the room was a massive cherry oak wood desk with little on top but a mug with pens, a green lamp, and two manila folders. The mayor sat down on the dark burgundy armchair and waited for the news reporters and cameramen to be situated. Five folded chairs were placed in front of the mayor’s desk and five journalists took a seat. Cameramen were between each news reporters who stood behind the chairs waiting to hear the mayor's speech. The city’s chief of police, the captain of the RAID, Kurma, and the head of the Office of Defense were standing behind the mayor as well, waiting to hear his plan of action.
A service man stepped forward and handed the mayor a glass of water. The mayor drank the entire glass, and then began his speech.
“Over several weeks this city has plundered into a deep darkness that refuses to relinquish its grip. My citizens of Alexandria, we must remain strong and determined as we fight back to increase and maintain our numbers.” Clicks and noises came from the camera and the reporters jotted down words feverishly on their notepads. “There have been millions of deaths. The numbers have reached a perilous level and I want it to stop. I need it to stop! I must tell you that now. I know there are still many out in the city that are looking for their beloved. Keep your faith and remain strong.”
The mayor paused and turned around in his seat. “Behind me are the men who have been unremittingly fighting on your behalf. They have risked their lives time and time again so that we as humans are not overrun by the Phantoms. People of Alexandria, make no mistake, those things out there are not human. They are not like us and they are not to be trusted, they are not to be protected, they are not to be given aide, and they are not welcomed in our beautiful city!”
The mayor yelled to the cameras as he tried to smooth his goatee down. He didn’t want to lose his cool. He had to remember that he was in control and that the Phantoms were about to be a thing of the past. �
�This young lady came here today to help,” the mayor signaled to Kurma who nodded for the reporters in the office. “I have a special announcement and I want all of Alexandria to hear it, even the parts of the city that are blacked out. I want this news to reach you all as well. Let it be known from this day forth that Karmenia Rosales, a Raptor and leader of the BlueK’s, will be my new advisor. Let it be known that she will have the first seat in the commanding office. If the city is under attack, which it is, or facing a dire emergency then she will head the campaign against it to ensure our cities safety.”
Kurma stepped forward in front of the cameras and thanked the mayor for his recommendation. The mayor continued, “She and her team, the BlueK’s, will have full immunity. Ms. Rosales will have my complete blessing to rid the city of the Phantoms and Phantasm, which is rapidly killing off the innocent citizens and taking over the city. I’m sure that the people of Alexandria will be ever grateful to Karmenia and her Raptors, the BlueK’s.”
The mayor pushed his chair back and stood before the small crowd. “Let’s all rise for our Song of Nations.” He began to sing to the camera as those around him joined in.
Dear city, the great city by the sea-
Your waters quench our needs so that we may charge the lead-
Oh, great city, the city of lights-
Your rays shine through during our perilous nights-
Yes, the greatest city of the Manor, the powers that be we use as our hammer-
To our city, city of Alexandria, dripped in silver, dipped in gold, it is ours and ours alone to behold-
Dear city, the great city by the sea, we sing out to thee-
The meeting was over and Mayor Wilks and his councilmen left out the back of the HQ in private cars. The mayor had given Kurma what she wanted—power, immunity, freedom to go about her life without the scrutiny of the city, without fear that she and the BlueK’s would be harmed or harassed. Whatever she was, they could not touch her now. No police, not the RAID, no news claiming that Raptors were dangerous and violent. The mayor had shown and proved this far and now it was her turn to give a little.