by J. C. Diem
“I will remain behind as well,” Kokoro said. “Creeping stealthily through a jungle isn’t easy in my condition.” I doubted that being blind was really that much of a disability for her. She was just using it as an excuse but I was grateful she volunteered to remain behind, taking the sting out of my dismissal of Nicholas. Ishida pointed out ten of his men and women to stay with her and the rest of us entered the jungle.
Once upon a time, not that long ago, my journey through the undergrowth would have been far from stealthy. My usual style of travel had been to blunder through the trees, tripping over roots and falling headfirst into bushes. After my intense training with my Japanese instructor, I’d learned to become far less of a klutz. Now I could slip through the dense vegetation with barely a sound.
Luc was at my side and the others followed a short distance behind us. Ishida and his people melted away with the intention of circling the village. My jeans and sweater were dark enough to help me blend into the shadows as we neared the tiny village.
We stopped at the edge of the clearing and studied the soldiers that had gathered in a large group. Most were dark skinned but some were Caucasian. I saw the American flag on some of the camouflage uniforms and surmised that Colonel Sanderson had to be somewhere in the area. Thank God, I won’t have to waste time convincing a new army to help us. It would be far easier to convince the men that I was on their side if some of them had already seen me take down the First and his imp horde.
As if my thought had conjured him, a tall, thin blonde man strode into view. Standing in the middle of the village, Sanderson put his hands on his hips and glowered at the ashes of a campfire. Blood had pooled on the dirt but it was only a small amount. After starving for so long, blood was too precious for the disciples to waste by spilling it.
A pair of soldiers emerged from one of the twenty or so huts, carrying a tiny bundle in a black body bag. The sight of the deceased child made the Colonel scowl. “I knew we should have killed the vampire vermin as soon as we discovered what they were,” he muttered to himself. New lines had been etched on his forehead over the past few days. He looked bitter now, as if he blamed himself for this latest attack.
“Did he just call us vermin?” Geordie murmured. He’d insinuated himself in between Luc and I and had slipped a hand around my waist. I believed it was more for comfort rather than a sexual overture. His attitude towards me had changed since Luc had divulged that we were an exclusive item. I only wished Nicholas would take the hint as well and stop being such an idiot.
“Yeah, he did,” I replied unhappily. From the first moment I’d realized that our species was no longer a secret, I’d been worried that humans would try to eradicate us. Sanderson’s muttered sentiment increased my concern substantially.
Ishida materialized from the shadows, making me start. “We cannot let this insult go unpunished,” he said frostily. His young face showed a hint of outrage that a mere human dared to look upon us so unfavourably.
“Look at it from their point of view,” I said reasonably. “We feed from them and then either kill them or force them to forget that we’ve stolen their blood. How are they supposed to react now that they know we really do exist? Especially after seeing that.” I waved a hand at the small bodies that had been gathered together in a grim yet tidy row. Ishida turned thoughtful as he viewed the deceased.
Bright lights had been set up around the village, chasing most of the shadows away. It would be impossible to sneak in and speak to the Colonel without being spotted by his troops. Once seen, I could only imagine what their reactions would be but I suspected it wouldn’t be friendly.
Gregor had been studying my face and knew me well enough to voice a question. “What are you planning, Natalie?”
“I’ve dealt with Colonel Sanderson before,” I reminded him. “Despite what he just said, he can be reasonable.” After a few more moments to think about the wisdom of my plan, I reached a decision. “I’m going in.” Taking off my sheaths, I handed them to Luc. He took the proffered weapons with a frown. I knew my friends would worry about me but they would be in far more danger than me.
“Be careful, Natalie,” he warned me then leaned down to kiss my forehead.
“You plan to walk into that village alone?” Ishida said in astonishment. “Are you not worried that they will shoot you?”
“Oh, they’ll shoot me,” I replied dryly. “That’s pretty much a given. Hopefully, the Colonel will be willing to hear me out after they run out of bullets.” Geordie giggled then cringed away from Igor when he raised his hand threateningly. “I suggest the rest of you vacate the area in case any stray bullets come your way,” I told them. I waited for them to melt away before bracing myself and stepping out into the light.
It didn’t take long for me to be spotted. If I’d been in Russia, it would have only taken a few seconds to be recognized before being gunned down. Since I was in Africa, they probably hadn’t seen quite as much footage of me munching on a Russian soldier on TV. It took these men a bit longer to understand that I wasn’t human.
Noticing me almost immediately, a dark skinned soldier pointed his gun at me. “Put your hands up!” he barked in his native language. Drawn by his shout, more men came running as I dutifully lifted my hands into the air.
Sanderson turned to see what the ruckus was. Recognizing me instantly, his jaw went slack with surprise. He opened his mouth but didn’t get a chance to speak. The soldier pointing his gun at me beat him to it. He’d been examining my far too pale skin and unnatural beauty and his eyes widened when he cottoned on to what I was. Instant terror overwhelmed him. “Vampire!” he screamed shrilly. “Kill it!” He opened fire and his comrades jumped on board in an utter panic.
My body jerked and shuddered as I was propelled backwards by the barrage. I managed to stay on my feet, which frightened the men even more and proved that I was definitely not human.
During a short pause as they reloaded, Sanderson roared an order. “Hold your fire!”
His terror extreme, the first soldier to shoot ignored the Colonel and aimed at my head this time. His mouth was stretched wide in a grin of fright. I decided I didn’t want to waste time regrowing my head so darted forward. My speed was far too quick for a human to track let alone to counter. Snatching the weapon from the soldier’s hand, I bent it in half then handed it back to him. He stared at the ruined gun in utter incomprehension.
Another soldier raised his gun to shoot me and Sanderson put his pistol to the back of the African’s head. “Son, if you pull that trigger, I will paint the ground with your brains.”
American soldiers had come at the run when the first bullet had been loosed. Surrounding their leader, they protected him, and inadvertently me, from the African troops.
A short, stocky, dark skinned soldier with a collection of colourful medals on his chest strode forward. “You are siding with this…monster?” he demanded in passable English. His nostrils flared with rage that his men were being threatened by soldiers who were supposed to be their allies.
Sanderson took the machine gun from the terrified African soldier’s shaking hands then put his pistol away. “General Merwe, this is Natalie.” I was given the once over by eyes that were almost as dark as my own. “She is the vampire who helped my men to take down the army of unknown entities in Russia.”
Contempt and fear warred on the general’s face. “Why are you here?” he asked me bluntly. From the way his hand strayed towards the gun on his right hip, he was itching to put a few bullets in me.
“I was advised by a seer that ten ancient vampires have broken free from captivity. They rose a few nights ago and have begun to create a horde of our kind.” Dread swept through all who heard me. I hardly needed to spell out what this meant for the soldiers but I did anyway. “That will be bad for all of us. My friends and I want them dead as much as you do.” Eyes widened as they realized that I hadn’t come alone.
“You mean there are more of you here right now?” anoth
er terrified soldier asked. His voice cracked on the last word and he peered fearfully at the dark jungle beyond the circle of lights.
“Yes. They’re nearby, waiting to hunt down our kin.”
“We should talk privately,” Sanderson decided and lifted an eyebrow at the general to see if he was willing to join us.
Nodding reluctantly, the leader of the African troops pointed towards a small green command tent at the edge of the village. It wasn’t much of a headquarters but it was better than nothing and would give us some privacy to discuss our mutual dilemma.
A tiny metal table with four foldup seats hunkered in the centre of the tent. A bedroll sat to one side, neatly packed away and waiting for use. Several rolled up pieces of laminated paper beside the bedroll were most likely maps of the area. Hopefully, I’d be able to examine them but first I had to establish some trust. The general took a seat and indicated for us to do the same.
“You mentioned ten ancient vampires,” Sanderson said. “Should I assume they have something to do with the stick figures we saw in the Russian cavern?”
“You assume correctly. The First made ten disciples when he was created. They had a falling out and he banished them, ordering them to bury themselves. He assumed they’d eventually die from starvation but that didn’t happen. When I killed him, they were freed from their compulsion to remain buried.”
Wearing an expression of almost dazed disbelief, Sanderson struggled with the concept. “You weren’t aware that this would happen when you killed their leader?”
I shook my head in denial. “Nope. I had no idea they even existed. That’s the fun part about the visions our prophets are sent. They can only see so far into the future. Once one problem is solved, another seems to pop up to take its place.” I didn’t mention that I was also on the receiving end of these brief and shadowy glimpses of the future.
“How long have these ten vampires been banished?” queried the general. He was having an even harder time believing my story than Sanderson was.
“About forty thousand years or so,” I said as matter-of-factly as possible.
Sanderson’s eyes bulged at my answer. “Is that why they’ve gone on a rampage? Because they haven’t fed for so long?”
I nodded. “Being the second generation of vampires, their blood is stronger than a modern vampire’s. Every human they feed it to will become one of us.” While our blood had weakened over time, theirs was still chock full of alien nastiness.
“What can we expect to face over the next few days?” the general asked.
“Based on what I’ve seen and heard on the radio so far; carnage,” I replied and both men flinched. “Do you know the exact number of villages that have been attacked yet?”
Sanderson inclined his head. “We’ve heard of three more villages roughly of this size that have been cleared out. That brings the total of missing people to over a hundred.”
I shuddered at the thought that there would shortly be a hundred or so rabid vamps running around desperately hunting for food. The first villagers to be attacked would already have risen. Each night that passed would only add to their numbers. “Do you have a map of the area?”
The general leaned over to pick up one of the laminated pieces of paper and spread it out on the table. The villages that had been attacked were far apart and it would take several hours of travel by foot to reach them. It was disturbing to see just how many small villages were scattered around. If we were going to first contain then put down this threat then we had to try to anticipate where the next attack would take place.
“It appears that these creatures have been heading northward, attacking any villages they encounter,” Sanderson said and pointed to the tiny towns that had been circled. “We haven’t examined the other three villages that have been targeted yet but we expect to find more of what we found here.”
“Dead children who are missing their hearts and their parents nowhere to be found,” Merwe intoned. He was staring at me as if I were personally responsible for the attacks. In a way, I was. If I hadn’t killed the First, his disciples wouldn’t have been unleashed on the earth. Then again, if I hadn’t killed the First, his imps would have wiped out most of the population on the planet. It was a case of damned if you do and damned if you don’t. I doubted anything could convince the general that I wasn’t at fault. Expecting him to trust me would be asking for far too much.
Studying the map, I noted the next closest villages to the north. There were several roughly the same distance away from the last village to be targeted. We would have to split our forces up to cover them all. “It looks like these three communities are the most likely to be attacked next.” I pointed at them and received a nod from Sanderson and a grudging one from his associate.
“The General and I had come to the same conclusion,” the American soldier confirmed. “We have more troops on the way but I’ve had difficulties negotiating how many of my men are allowed into the country.” The general frowned but didn’t deny the veiled accusation that the leaders of his country were being difficult. “We should have our troops ready to move in a couple more days.”
“The disciples will already have moved on and increased their numbers by then,” I pointed out. “We have to move quickly if we want to stop them from spreading.” I’d hoped the soldiers would have been able to help but I had the sinking feeling that the humans would only get in our way. “You’d better leave this to me and my friends.”
“Wait a minute,” Sanderson said when I stood. “Don’t you need our help to take them down?”
I shook my head regretfully. “You humans won’t be able to match these vamps. They’ll be too fast for you to shoot. It’s going to be up to us to wipe them out.”
Standing, Sanderson rested his knuckles on the table. “I’m not going to let you and your people wander around Africa on a vigilante mission.”
General Merwe stood as well. “Some of our soldiers will accompany you or we will order our men to shoot you and your ‘friends’ on sight.”
I noted their mulish expressions and heaved an internal sigh. Men! They never listen. When their soldiers came back dead, maybe they’d understand just how dangerous their new foes were. “Fine. Pick ten men you want to sacrifice. Our best chance of success will be to sneak up on the vamps. Humans make too much noise to sneak effectively and more than ten will pretty much guarantee our failure.”
Sharing an affronted look at my estimation of their men’s lack of stealth, the pair left the tent, calling for their soldiers. Each chose five men from their ranks and ordered them to accompany me. “They’ll need transportation,” I advised Merwe, since he had more men and more equipment on hand. We barely had enough room for our people without adding to our numbers. The general signalled to one of his men and the soldier jogged over to a truck. It rumbled to life and the other nine soldiers climbed into the back. Canvas sides had been rolled up but could be rolled down to offer shade, if required. Yeah, that’ll offer the men effective protection against a hungry mob of fledgling vampires, my subconscious observed sourly.
“Our men will keep in touch with us and give us regular progress reports,” Sanderson told me.
“Don’t count on them keeping in touch for long, Colonel,” I replied grimly. “They’ll most likely be dead by this time tomorrow.”
Ignoring my warning, Sanderson offered his hand. “Good luck and Godspeed.”
I shook with him, being careful not to accidentally crush his hand. I was pretty sure God was keeping out of this one. If Gregor was right then we were an abnormality that needed to be corrected. Why would God care if we lived or died? We couldn’t even say his name out loud anymore. Surely that was a sign that he had abandoned us to our fate.
Climbing into the passenger seat of the truck, I directed the driver to head back down the heavily traversed track. Turning left, we angled towards our convoy. My friends had listened to the conversation I’d had with the two rulers of the armies and were already waiting f
or us with their engines running. Even on foot in a dense jungle, they’d been far faster than the lumbering army truck.
Igor was behind the wheel of the van and Luc had taken the passenger seat. I waved as we squeezed past them on the narrow track. Luc offered me a strained smile and Igor gave me a nod. They would have to follow us since I was the one in possession of the only map.
My dark skinned chauffeur drove with his shoulders up around his ears with tension. He cut frequent nervous sideways glances at me. He was probably expecting me to sprout fangs and turn on him. He gradually relaxed when I didn’t turn into a blood hungry monster. “Do you know the area very well?” I asked him.
Jumping at the unexpected question, the vehicle swerved. One of the American soldiers in the back cursed then thumped on the glass dividing us from the back. The driver grinned sheepishly and turned his attention back to the road. “I know area ok,” he replied in stilted English.
“You can speak in your native language if you want, I’ll be able to understand you.”
Turning an astonished look at me, the driver looked back at the road when I pointed at the windscreen to remind him he was supposed to be driving not gaping. “I have heard that vampires have many mysterious talents,” he said in his natural tongue. “I did not know that understanding foreign languages was one of them.”
“I’m the only one with that particular talent,” I replied as I studied the map. So far, at least. For all I knew, there were dozens of vampires even weirder than me scattered around the world. Don’t count on it, my subconscious sneered. We both know you are one of a kind. I had the distinct impression that its observation hadn’t been meant as a compliment. “Do you know the quickest way to get to these villages?” I held the map up and he switched on the interior light to squint at the laminated paper.