Vampire Redemption

by Phil Tucker

  Somewhere along the last few weeks, her sense of initiative had died. She had spent the past few months fighting for every inch, exerting herself to shape events, but now, for the first time, she felt relaxed. Events were beyond her. She was just a pawn on the board, being moved by people larger and wiser than her. She didn't have to think. It was best if she didn't. She couldn't hurt anybody this way. She would let them take her blood, use her to end the war, and in doing so, find an anesthetized comfort in redressing some of the wrongs she had done.

  The screen flickered back to life and Wigner choked, coughing as he stood to salute. A man with iron-gray hair cut close to his scalp stared out at them, face like a hatchet, barracuda gray eyes fierce and uncompromising.

  "Mr. Secretary. I--"

  "Lieutenant Colonel." The man's voice was both a greeting and an assertion of his own authority. Wigner closed his mouth and sat down.

  Selah tried to catch Dominique's eye. Secretary?

  "My staff has caught me up to speed with your project. I want to commend you and your people for your excellent work. Each of you will be receiving special recognition for your dedication and service. However, the decision has been made to pull the plug. We want you to remain focused on the Hybrid Project. That is clearly where the greatest gains are to be had. You are to close down this line of research effective immediately. Is that clear?"

  Wigner blanched and opened his mouth. "Sir?"

  "Further, with the project finished, there's no longer any need to extend Ms. Brown special consideration. It's my understanding that she was convicted for the murder of Colonel Caldwell, along with numerous other crimes. She should be punished. The details are being sent over by my staff, and you'll have them within the hour. She's to be sent to the SuperMax prison in Florence. Am I absolutely clear?"

  "Sir?" Wigner looked as if he were seated in the center of his own private storm. "Close down the project? But-- Sir, let me review the results with you. This is incredibly promising--"

  "Lieutenant Colonel, you have received your orders. Will you have any difficulty with complying?"

  Wigner wilted under the Secretary's stare. Selah looked from one man to the other, disbelief paralyzing her. Serve her sentence? Project cancelled? She bolted to her feet. "Who are you?" She stared at the screen. The man turned his stare upon her, but her anger was rising now, as fierce and coruscating as it had ever been, and she wasn't cowed. "Do you work for them? The vampires?"

  "Selah!" Dominique rose to her feet, but the man didn't seem offended.

  "Work for the vampires? No." His smile was slight, a subtle thing. "I work for the President of the United States. Very well. This meeting is over. Thank you, all." The screen went blank.

  "What just happened?" Selah stepped away from the table. "What the hell was that?"

  Wigner stared at the table, raking his hands through his hair over and over again. Dominique stared at Wigner in shock. Dr. De Freitas blinked and looked around as if invisible flies were buzzing around his head.

  Selah slammed her palm down on the table top. "What's going on? Why are they killing the vaccine? It doesn't make any sense!"

  "I don't know," said Wigner. "I don't-- It doesn't make sense." Selah saw something adjust deep within his soul, saw him fight to come to terms with his order right there before her. "But that was the Secretary of Defense. He must have access to intelligence we don't. The big picture. He must know what's best. Have his reasons. For shutting down. For cancelling."

  Dominique shook her head. "Alex. No. None of this makes sense. Why would they give us permission to begin this research if they only planned to cancel it?" Outrage finally began to creep into her voice, her shock receding before it. "This vaccine could change the war. Would change the war. You know that. You can't let them. You can't let politics get involved. We need to finish this project."

  Wigner rose to her feet. "We can't. That was a direct order. The project is finished."

  Selah felt outrage bubble up within her. "Then ... then tell somebody! Tell the press! Tell them what's going on!"

  Wigner laughed. "What? Tell the press? About a classified project? In direct defiance of the Secretary of Defense himself?" His laugh was mocking, almost cruel. "Enough. This meeting is over."

  Dominique moved around the table to stand before him. She was shaking, her voice thick with emotion. "Alex, please. We need this. We can't let it go."

  "This is out of our control," said Dr. De Freitas, rising to his feet. He gathered his Omni and coffee mug and looked soberly at them all. "This is clearly not about the science. We're dealing with politicians. There's nothing we can do."

  Wigner was finally pulling himself together. "Dominique, meet me in my office in fifteen. Let's review closure procedures. Jim, secure Selah in her room. I'm going to make some phone calls." He hesitated, then nodded. "Very well. Good work, team." He marched out of the room.

  "Come on, Selah. Time to go." Jim had stepped up behind her. She felt an overwhelming surge of fury, of negation. This couldn't be happening. She wanted to wrest Jim's gun from him, force them to listen, to react like normal human beings. Never had she wanted Sawiskera's unholy might as badly. Her body felt feeble, weak, useless. All she could do was back into the corner.

  Dominique gave Selah a helpless look of raw confusion and anger, and with agonizing reluctance left the conference room. Jim was the only one left. His face was closed, but she saw a measure of sympathy for the first time in his dark eyes.

  Selah looked around wildly and then lowered her fists.

  There was nowhere to go, nowhere to run.

  Chapter 10

  The ponderous bolts of the Hybrid security door locked behind her with resonating finality. Selah stood shivering just within the small hallway, still feeling Jim's gentle push on her shoulder that had ushered her inside. Her mind spun. This wasn't how it was supposed to work out. They were supposed to run with the vaccine, not cancel it. What sense did that make? Why would they close it down? She didn't understand. There was a war raging outside. One they had nearly lost last time. Why would they turn away from a solution?

  She entered the small living room. Lee, as always, was stretched out on one of the couches, Goggles on, hands laced behind his head. Gordon was seated on the other couch, staring at the screen of his Omni in flat boredom, stubby fingers tapping away. He looked up idly at Selah and his gaze immediately sharpened.

  "You okay?"

  She didn't know how to answer, so instead, she simply shook her head and slid onto the couch next to him, gripping the arm. She hadn't once sat out here. She stared at the wall and shook her head again. "They're cancelling my project."

  "No shit." Gordon set his Omni down. "Didn't work out?"

  "No. I guess you could say it didn't." She blinked. Frowned. Tried to summon her anger once more. Reach for that kernel of fire. She'd been in a daze ever since she'd left the conference room.

  "Well." Gordon leaned back with a sigh. "On the upside, you get to leave this shithole. Sunlight. Fast food. Freedom. Not such a bad deal."

  "No." She shook her head again. It felt like it was floating a couple of inches above her neck. "They're going to send me to a SuperMax."

  "What? You're shitting me." Gordon sat right back up. "Why the hell they doing that?" Tom had stepped into the living room entrance, drawn by the sound of their voices.

  "I murdered Colonel Caldwell back in Los Angeles." She didn't care. It was true. "I thought he was a drug dealer. Didn't know he was supplying USAMRIID with the Dust."

  Tom stopped brushing his teeth. Gordon just stared at her. "You... That was you? We were told it was a vampire."

  "It was me. I was turning into a vampire at the time. I was infected. It's a long story. But I'm clean now. The infection is gone. But I don't think that's why they're sentencing me." Selah felt like these facts were separate from her. Distinct from who she was as a person. As if they were blocks of wood she were simply holding out to show the others. "I think they're se
ntencing me because the project worked out. They're burying me and the vaccine."

  Tom took the toothbrush out of his mouth. "The vaccine worked? Then why are they cancelling it?"

  Selah laughed. "I don't know! That's the best part. It's like they don't want it to work out or something. One moment ,Wigner and everybody else was celebrating, the next moment, the Secretary of Defense is onscreen telling everybody to shut it down and sending me to a SuperMax." She shook her head and felt tears prick her eyes. "I mean, what the fuck?"

  Tom and Gordon shared a look. Gordon shifted his weight on the couch, sitting right on the edge now. "Hold on. Let me get this straight. This is all coming way too fast. You killed Colonel Caldwell. And your vaccine worked."

  "Yes. Dominique thinks she can make a vampire vaccine out of my blood."

  "And they're cancelling it anyways." Selah nodded. Gordon scowled. "Well, that don't make any goddamn sense."

  "It would if you had any brains," said Lee, his voice a lazy drawl. He was still staring at the ceiling, Goggles catching the light.

  Gordon turned to the other man. Nothing more seemed to be forthcoming. "Lee, I'm gonna take off my shoe and throw it at you if you don't speak up. What the hell makes sense about it?"

  Lee shrugged, a smug smile on his face. "Want me to walk you through it?"

  "Come on, Lee," said Tom with long suffering patience.

  "A vampire vaccine could be made from Selah's blood, right? Which, if made, would end the war. Not immediately, but over time. You still with me?" Gordon leaned back in annoyance, determined to not respond. Lee smiled, still staring up at the ceiling with his Goggles on. "Now, the Secretary of Defense has ordered the project shut down and Selah locked away in a SuperMax. Which means they don't want the vaccine."

  "Why wouldn't the Secretary want the vaccine?" asked Tom.

  "Not the Secretary. The President. Ask yourself: Why would Lynnfield not want a vaccine?"

  "You're saying Lynnfield doesn't want to end the war?" Gordon's anger was rising.

  "I haven't said anything yet. But yes." Lee pulled the Goggles off and rested them on his forehead. He swung his feet down off the couch's arm and sat up in one long easy motion. His black eyes were cool and amused and disdainful.

  "But why?" Selah stared at him. "Why would the President not want..." She trailed off. Lee raised an eyebrow. Waited. William's words came back to her. "He's extended martial law again, hasn't he? Which... That would prevent Congress from finally assembling again."

  "You're shitting me," said Gordon.

  Tom shook his head. "Lynnfield's already exceeded his term limit due to the first war. He's been President, what? Ten years now? You know Congress would demand an election the moment martial law ended."

  They all stared at each other, and Lee nodded. "I knew you'd figure it out eventually. Well done, boys and girls." He pulled the Goggles back over his eyes and lay down once more, crossing his ankles again and wriggling into a comfortable position. "It's a big and nasty world out there. The vampires aren't necessarily the worst of it."

  Gordon bolted to his feet. He looked like he wanted to break something. "You're fucking kidding me," he said, staring at Selah then Tom then back down at Lee.

  Tom shook his head and looked down at the ground. Selah watched Gordon. He was practically vibrating, a study in contrasts to Lee's casual ease. He stepped over the corner of the coffee table and strode past Tom, out into the hall way. They listened to him barge into the gym, and then voices. Jenette, maybe, or Eric Van Holt.

  "Fuck me," said Tom. He was staring morosely at Selah. "That can't be right."

  Selah reached up and ran her hands over her face, pressed her fingers into her eyes, and then over the fuzz on her scalp. Clasped the back of her neck and looked at the floor. She didn't know what else to say. What else to do.

  "Wait," she said. She looked up. Tom was watching her, Lee back in his virtual world. "Tom, can you get the others? I think this is important."

  Tom nodded, pushed off the side of the door with his shoulder, and turned out of sight. Maybe. Maybe. There might be a way. To avoid the SuperMax. To change everything. Selah felt an uptick of excitement, and squashed it down. She heard more voices down the hall. Reviewed her train of thought. This was going to be key. The next few minutes would determine the course of her life. The course of the war, even.

  Tom walked back in, with Gordon trailing behind along with Jenette. She had a towel draped around her shoulders and looked as pissed as McKnight did, her eyes narrow, her mouth pursed into a thin line. Eric came in behind them a moment later, his clothing rumpled but his expression alert. "What's going on?"

  Selah stood up. Everybody was present. Jenette smacked Lee's boots aside and sat down, causing him to swivel upright with a scowl as he pulled the Goggles off. He leveled a venomous stare at her, which she ignored. Gordon sat down heavily next to Selah, while Tom and Eric remained standing in the doorway.

  "My project's been cancelled. Wigner and Dominique both think that my blood holds the promise for a vaccine. That it can be synthesized--or whatever--and turned into a cure against vampirism. That would change the war. That would change everything." She paused, held her breath. They were watching her warily. She needed to go slower.

  "My blood is special. I found that out when I was deported to Miami. When the first vampire drank from me, we switched. I got his powers, he got my ... humanity, I guess. My ability to feel, to have emotions. They liked that a lot, and I came to the attention of Sawiskera."

  "He's dead," said Gordon. "Died a month ago."

  "I know," said Selah. "I killed him."

  They all stared at her. "Yeah right," said Eric. "You?"

  "Oh, yes." Selah smiled at him. "He wanted what my blood could offer. Wanted to become human. Was sick after so many thousands years of being a vampire. You know what he did all night, the most powerful vampire in the world? He watched TV. Watched recordings of the sun rising, over and over again. He wanted to become human, so he did this crazy ritual on me that was supposed to steal my humanity permanently. And make me a vampire."

  Tom's brow was furrowed. "He'd become human and you'd get his powers?"

  "Right. And he had a lot of power. Halfway through the ritual, his right hand man, a vampire by the name of Theo, interrupted it and saved me." Selah ruthlessly killed the upsurge of emotion in her heart. "We killed him together while he was weak. Then I ran away."

  "Theo? Shit." Gordon shook his head at Selah. "You trying to tell us that The Dragon helped you out?"

  Selah shrugged. "He said I looked like his mortal wife from centuries ago. So, yeah, I am. Because he did. But he didn't do it in time. I remained infected. Sawiskera's curse was still growing in me. I was still becoming a vampire. So I left Miami for LA with a ... with a friend. We went to find somebody who might know of a cure. We found one. I found one. I cured myself, but in the process, I saw what the vampires were up to in LA. How they were breeding vampires, using the Blood Dust to keep the army distracted, keep everybody distracted. It was one big trick. While everybody was looking at the product, nobody was thinking of the source. So then, when I arrived and killed Arachne--"

  "You killed Arachne?" Jenette's voice was flat with disbelief.

  "Yes. I did."

  "Arachne. One of the principal vampires in the war. One of the toughest bitches out there?"

  "Yes," said Selah again. "I did." A memory flashed before her eyes. Arachne, her features identical to Selah's, a promise of what she might become. Held aloft by the neck as she squirmed and screamed and fought. "Theo and I killed her and then escaped the Core as the vampires let go of their Blood Thralls. That was the first night of the war."

  "Where in all this did you find time to murder the Colonel?" Eric's voice was deceptively soft.

  "Halfway through." Selah raised her chin. "It was the price I had to pay to learn of the cure. They told me he was corrupt. That he was the biggest Blood Dust dealer out there and was shipping tons of th
at shit into the rest of the country. I went to an exchange, and there he was. He was expecting Arachne. I saw him pay I-don't-know-how-many millions for suitcases of the stuff."

  "Who told you? The vampires? You believed them?"

  Selah turned to meet Gordon's eyes. She was losing them. "Yes. I did believe them. I was mostly a vampire by that point anyway. Sawiskera's curse had nearly won. I believed them and what I saw with my own eyes. Caldwell buying Dust. So I tore out his throat with my own hands and left him there to die. And I've not forgiven myself since."

  "Oh, poor you," said Jenette. "You're actually trying to get professional soldiers to pity you for murdering a colonel?"

  "No," said Lee. "She's trying to tell you something. So why don't you shut up and let her talk?"

  Jenette's whole body stiffened and she turned slowly to stare at Lee. He ignored her and returned his attention to Selah.

  "Listen to me, all of you." Selah took a deep breath. The mood was ugly, volatile, but she sensed a wavering. Lee had given it to her--a moment, an opportunity. "I saw what the Blood Thralls can do. I was there when the LA Base was overrun. They came by the thousands. Not stealth assassins like the first war, taking out our top leaders, but by the thousands, swarming like ants. This is new. They're mindless, going for blood like it's all that matters. I don't know what the LA vampires did to them, but they're different. In just two nights, I think they doubled their numbers. That's not an infection, that's a fucking plague. And I know we haven't heard anything about what's going on outside, but if they get into any of the major cities in the East--Chicago, New York, DC--then it's all over. It could already be over for what we know."

  She paused and checked their expressions. Gordon was a closed face. Tom was thoughtful. Eric was expressionless. Jenette's eyes were unfocused as she considered the words. Lee had leaned his head back and closed his eyes as if about to take a nap.