Queen's Gambit

by M. Lorrox

  “Sure, I don’t see why not. Eddy?”

  “Yeah, no prob.”

  Sadie smiles at Skip. “No prob. Have fun.” She sits to slip on a pair of high-heeled Louboutin black leather boots with their iconic, red leather soles.

  Eddy laughs. “Uh-oh, she’s puttin’ the boots on.”

  She doesn’t look up. “You know it.” She struggles a little and laughs. “These beasts are such a pain to put on, but man do they do the job.”

  Skip nods.

  June hoped for more of a follow up. “The job?”

  Sadie chuckles. “A statement. They say, ‘watch out, here I come, and don’t mess with me,’ all while being attractive.”

  Oookay... Oh! June nudges Eddy. When he looks at her, she motions toward their parents in the kitchen.

  Eddy nods. “Guys, uh, do you have to run now, or do you have a couple minutes?”

  Skip checks the time. “I should get changed then head out.”

  Sadie glances up. “I’ve got a car waiting for me downstairs; I need to hurry. What’s up?”

  “Well, when will you be back?”

  Sadie finishes putting on the other boot. “Probably around eight or nine. Can this wait?”

  Eddy glances at June. Can it?

  She stands and walks over to her dad. “Are you coming home tonight? I’d like to talk to you later.”

  He puts his arm around her. “I will definitely be back later to talk.” He smiles at her, then jolts back as he remembers something. “You two need food, umm—”

  “Mom, we could take Minnie to the hotel restaurant. I bet she’d enjoy that.”

  Sadie stands up, unfurling her long, lean body. She towers over Skip now that she’s in her boots. She shifts so that she can see her daughter in the living room. “Minnie, does that sound fun?”

  “Yes! But only if Valentine can come! She’ll be hungry too.”

  Sadie smiles. “Sure, sounds like a plan. Eddy, just bill it to the room, but don’t go crazy.”

  He pouts. “Fine.” He turns to Minnie. “Sorry sis, no caviar for Valentine.”

  “WHAT? That’s her favorite!”

  Everyone laughs.

  Minnie tugs on Eddy’s sleeve, then whispers to him, “What’s caviar?”

  “Don’t worry about it, it’s really gross stuff. Valentine doesn’t want it anyway.”

  “Oh.” Minnie scrunches her face up and slaps Eddy on the arm. “Don’t be such a jerk.” She scoots over to snuggle Valentine.

  A few miles away at the military base, Charlie, Tiger, Schermer, Tatsu, and the two other vampires are escorted to a room filled with about twenty focused-looking men and women in fatigues. The knights serving on the Council Guard are directed to a table with chairs, and they sit. The other vampires are directed to a second table where two other people are already seated. A few silent, long minutes later, a portly man in uniform enters and introduces himself as General William Campbell. He first addresses the soldiers that were seated when the vampires entered.

  “You have been nominated by your senior officers as the best of the best soldiers in the Special Forces program. You earned that badge on your shoulder through your hard work and unwavering dedication, and tomorrow those skills will be put to a new test.” General Campbell walks with a slight limp to the front of a table and leans against it. “I should say, if you choose to take part in this mission, you must accept a top-secret clearance level—for which you all qualify. Now will be your sole opportunity—Green Berets—to opt out of this mission.”

  An arm is raised by one of the soldiers. After being addressed, the soldier stands. “Thank you, sir. Who are they, sir?” He gestures over to the guards with all his fingers pressed together.

  General Campbell smiles at the guardsmen then looks back at the soldier. “Sit down. Knowing who they are is part of the increased clearance. Anybody that wants to stay in the dark and not take part in this mission must leave now.” He looks around the room. Nobody moves. “Excellent. To answer your question, they’re vampires with superhuman strength.”

  Charlie stands up in a flash. “Excuse me sir, I don’t feel that’s appropriate.”

  The general laughs and motions with his hand for him to sit back down. “Sorry, let me start over.” He clears his throat and looks at the shocked faces of the military men and women. “There exists in this world a sort of condition that grants individuals like the fine soldiers you see sitting at that table—and yes they are soldiers, most of whom outrank you all, I’ll add—they’re granted amazing strength and endurance, but at a cost that they must frequently consume nutrients that their bodies cannot make, nutrients carried in the red blood cells of mammals. So, we call them vampires, but I can assure you, they are not a threat unless you make them one.”

  He walks over to the back of the table he was leaning on. “Now, after this briefing, you will have an opportunity to ask questions and speak to them directly, but be advised that you all are now in a chosen minority that is aware of this group’s existence, and if you speak of them openly, you will be tried for treason for exposing state secrets.” He stands up straight and almost shouts, “Is that understood?”

  “Yes, sir!” The soldiers in attendance shout back in unison.

  “Good, very good. Captain Davidson, start the show.”

  The lights dim, and a projection is shown. General Campbell talks about the operation, and one slide shows that he had previously divided the soldiers, by name, into two squads.

  One soldier leans over to the man beside him and whispers, “I guess he already knew we would stay.”

  The other soldier whispers back, “Of course we’d stay, but check out that fat, uh, vampire—he looks really pissed off.”

  Charlie turns his head to look at the soldier that called him fat and winks at him.

  General Campbell presents the finer details of the operation. Some of the information is new to Charlie, and he writes it all down to tell Sadie. Then, General Campbell introduces Charlie as Colonel Costanza and asks him to introduce his team of vampires.

  Charlie stands and lists the names, ranks, and positions of himself and of the other guardsmen. “Myself and First Lieutenant Tiger will be accompanying the squad to target Alpha. Major Schermer and First Lieutenant Tatsu will accompany the squad to target Bravo.”

  “Thank you, Colonel.” General Campbell turns and motions to the table nearby, where two humans sit next to the two vampires that rode in with Charlie and the other Guard officers. The vampire that waved to Charlie stands and steps in front of the table.

  “Good evening everyone, I am Dr. Aharon Fugleberg. I am a vampire, and I’m also one of the scientists from the U.S. Army Research Laboratory that developed the assets we’re going to recover.”

  Aharon motions to the people who he was sitting with. “Myself and these people here are the scientists—or specialists—that your teams will be delivering, and I hope, protecting.” He goes on to introduce Dr. Penelope Peeters as another vampire scientist, then their non-vampire scientist counterparts. He closes by thanking the soldiers for their participation in the mission and emphasizing that the mission is vitally important for national security. As he sits down, General Campbell asks if anyone has questions.

  Many hands are raised.

  General Campbell sighs. “How about any mission-critical questions to start off with?”

  Most hands are slowly lowered, but one remains high. Charlie recognizes the soldier currently attached to the arm as the one who called him fat.

  “Lieutenant Walker, go ahead.”

  The man stands, and Charlie sizes him up at 6’3” and 220. “General, to lead this mission, I feel it necessary to understand the abilities and weaknesses of the soldiers calling themselves vampire knights, sir.”

  The general motions to Charlie. “If you please, respond to Alpha Squad’s
leader’s question.”

  Charlie smiles as he stands. GLADLY.

  Eddy and June play a game with Minnie where they’re her loyal subjects, and Minnie is a benevolent and wise queen. Valentine is her most trusted advisor...and royal steed. Eddy and June finally return from defeating the “Giant Turtle Sniffers” that live in the north, and Minnie knights them both for their courage and bravery. When she’s done, she claps her hands and commands them to return to the hotel because the queen is hungry.

  Eddy laughs, then hears his phone buzz. He gets up and checks it. He has a text, and when he sees that it’s from Tomo, he calls June over in a hurry. He opens the message:

  People are leaving town. Haven’t seen Jess since Sunday. Turn on the news. Talk to you soon.

  He holds the phone for June, and she shrugs. He turns on the TV, and flips through the main news stations until he sees “Nashville” written across the bottom of the screen. He and June sit down beside each other on the couch, and they watch the video of smoke rising above the skyline.

  June shakes her head. “What happened?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “As the military was evacuating families from Nashville, a yet unexplained explosion destroyed a section of the city’s defenses. Zombies numbering in the hundreds-to-thousands poured in, and soon, The Line’s defenses were in a state of chaos.”

  The image changes to a helicopter’s view of what must have been the site of the explosion. Concrete barricades and military vehicles are cast in all directions, and a great crater is filled with writhing bodies. Zombies.

  June reaches out and takes Eddy’s hand.

  Minnie points to the screen. “What’s that on TV?”

  Eddy pulls his hand from June’s grasp, picks up Minnie, and pulls her onto his lap. “Just a silly movie, don’t watch for a minute, okay?”

  “Ugh! Fine...”

  “The military responded with reinforcements to the site of the breach, but resources in the area are thin due to construction of the new Southern States Defense Line beyond Nashville.”

  The video cuts to an in-progress press briefing at the Pentagon. The bottom of the screen reads: General James Roland Riley, Commander of the Joint Zombie Defenses. “I repeat, the new defenses of the revised line HAVE NOT been breached, and IT WILL be ready. What happened tonight in Nashville is a tragedy, but it is precisely why we were drawing back from that site. The new Southern States Defense Line WILL HOLD.”

  The video cuts away from the press conference to people fleeing while volunteers assist. Eddy points to the screen. “No way, I think that’s Craig.” And is that Roger with him? I think it is!

  “Volunteers of all walks of life have come to help evacuate civilians from the city, and more are still arriving. Local school busses are carrying those injured to medical centers, and local tour bus companies have offered to ferry Nashville refugees to relocation camps set up in cities inside the new Southern States Defense Line.

  “This event is a tragedy, but it also reminds us of how important helping one another can be. In times like these, we must take care of those in need.”

  Eddy looks at June. “I guess Craig and Roger drove out to help.”

  The image cuts back to the helicopter’s view.

  “Initial casualties from the explosion alone were estimated to be close to one hundred soldiers and security volunteers, and casualties after the zombie breach are expected to be in the thousands.”

  The coverage switches back to an anchor in a newsroom.

  “America’s heart bleeds tonight over this tragedy. When we come back, we’ll have interviews with strategists and specialists.”

  Eddy picks up the remote and turns off the TV.

  Minnie turns around, pouting. “I know that wasn’t a movie. Are people going to be okay?”

  Eddy hugs her and nods. “Don’t worry, Minnie. It’ll be okay.”

  Dinner proved to be an excellent distraction for Eddy, June, and Minnie. After their meal, they explore and discover that the hotel has some board games available for guests to check out. They select one called “Stranglehold” because it has both a castle and a spaceship on the top of the box.

  When they return to their room with the game, Rusty wanders out of the bedroom and stretches.

  Eddy laughs and points him out to Minnie and June. “Rusty must have had a long night.”

  June chuckles. “It’s no fair he can sleep all day, and I can’t.”

  Rusty walks over to her and paws at her leg.

  “Oh, I’m not mad at you, you fluffy beast.”

  He flops onto his back exposing his stomach, and she pets it. Eddy grabs the game and starts setting it up.

  Sadie arrives back from dinner just as they’ve got the board set up and are about to play, and she joins in. Charlie arrives later, when the game is ending with Eddy emerging as the victor, and he challenges them all to another round, even though it’s approaching Minnie’s bedtime.

  Skip returns when the second game is almost over, when a joint June-Minnie strategic alliance has Charlie on the run. Skip watches as the girls mop the board clear of all of Charlie’s pieces, then jump up and dance together when they are the only ones left in the game. Skip congratulates them, then gives his condolences to Charlie.

  He looks at Skip with pain in his eyes. “It was a bloodbath. They absolutely slaughtered me.”

  The others laugh, and then Eddy remembers what happened in Nashville. “Hey guys, have any of you seen the news?”

  They all shake their heads. June takes Minnie’s hand and leads her into the Costanzas’ bedroom while Eddy tells them what happened.

  Later, Charlie walks into the bedroom to relieve June, who sits with Minnie and Valentine in the chair by the window.

  June notices him walking toward them. “Time for Minnie to go to bed?”

  “Past time, but I’m here because Eddy said that you wanted to talk to Sadie and Skip.” He puts his hand on her shoulder. “Whatever it is, we love ya.”

  She sighs and shrinks as she looks toward the door.

  He pats her shoulder, then grabs Minnie and tosses her onto the bed. “Time for bed, you little squirrel.”

  “I am NOT a squirrel!”

  June walks into the living room, closes the door on the laughter and ruckus behind her, and sits next to Eddy. Then, she starts shaking.

  “June, dear, calm down.” Skip reaches over and holds onto her knee.

  “I can’t, I don’t know why I’m so emotional, I feel crazy.”

  “You’re not crazy.” Sadie gets up. “I’ll make us some tea. Why don’t you just start talking, like you’re telling us a story, and we’ll take it from there?”

  June nods, then she tells them what’s happened so far. She finishes with the conversation she had earlier with Candace, then she closes her eyes. “I just don’t know what to do.”

  Skip rubs both hands against his face. Then, he cups his fingers around his nose and mouth with his thumbs under his chin.

  Everyone is silent for a minute, until Sadie stands. “I think we need more tea.”

  A half hour later, Sadie empties her second cup of tea and swallows. “Well, we can wish all day what had been done differently, but that won’t change anything. As it stands, it seems the little blood they salvaged from the slide has made a big impact, and I suppose that we should be thankful.”

  Skip sets his cup down with a bit of a bang. “Thankful? They want June’s blood. Not mine or anyone else’s, but hers. What if they...you know—” He mouths: THE SUNLIGHT THING. “You and Charlie said it before—what if they’re not too friendly? I mean, why should we trust these people? And with the zombies, people are desperate for a solution.” He groans then looks at his daughter. “I just don’t want to think about people coming after you.”

  She nods, feeding the beads of the necklace h
er grandfather gave her through her fingers, one by one. “Candace wanted me to donate more blood. What should I do?”

  Skip looks at Sadie.

  She meets his gaze, but his stare is a bit too aggressive for her, too accusatory. She looks away. Is he angry we turned her? That can’t be. He’s just nervous, I think. She meets his stare and forces a slight smile. “The choices are actually simple; it’s choosing one over the other that is the hard part.” She faces June. “You could give more blood, and that may allow them to improve the vaccine. But it might not. And another thing it could do is put you in danger. It’s a risk.

  “On the other hand, if you don’t donate more blood, there is a chance someone will try and do something crazy, and—”

  Skip jolts forward and jumps down her throat. “It won’t seem crazy to them Sadie. To them, the ends will justify the means.”

  She holds up her hand. “Someone could try and use violence, but I really don’t think they would when it’s so uncertain that the blood would even make a difference. From what I understand, they’re already synthesizing a lot of this temporary vaccine, and it’s a huge step forward. They might not really need any more blood... They might just want it.”

  Skip sighs. “But what if you’re wrong?”

  “I’m just presenting what I believe to be the two most likely situations. They both have risks, and...” She pats June on the knee. “I hate to say this, but it’s relevant. Whether you donate the blood willingly, or they take some by force, in both scenarios, they could learn more about that other thing.” She looks at Skip with intensity. “And if that happened, it would be much, much worse. You can trust me on that.”

  Skip rubs his face. “So, let’s let the cards fall.”

  Sadie nods. “I think so, yes.”

  June looks at Eddy. He shrugs. She turns to her dad. “Meaning...?”

  He swallows. “Meaning you don’t give them another sample, and you hope they don’t try and take one.” He shakes his head. “God I hope, we all hope, I’m sure.”