Something of the Night

by Paul Cave

  This would be Nick’s final flight.

  Hers too, if they didn’t land this thing. “Okay,” she said, resolutely.

  “Good girl,” Nick rasped.

  Together, they managed to steady the wayward craft, eventually bringing it under their control. Working in synchrony, they steered the Huey towards the centre of the battlefield, passing over vampires and humans alike. Only occasionally did they hear the twang of bullets as they sang off the aircraft’s hull. For now, with the loss of the ultraviolet light, the helicopter had become nothing more than a dark patch against the black sky. The Huey plummeted towards the earth.

  ***

  From inside the rear cabin, Ben cried, “Pull up! Pull up!” squeezing his eyes tightly shut. At his side were Ella and Squirrel, huddled together, offering quick, silent prayers.

  Miraculously, both Ben’s plea and Squirrel and Ella’s prayers were answered. The Huey levelled out just in time. The left skid barely clipped the earth, trimming the coarse grass that grew there, before racing down the hillside, mere feet separating metal from compact soil.

  “Shee-yit!” Ben yelled as the ground passed before his eyes at an alarming speed.

  The helicopter continued to race down the hillside, somehow threading its way between the sparse lines of trees, scattering dead undergrowth in its wake. Tree branches whipped past like skeletal arms, reaching out, threatening to pluck out either Squirrel or Ben or Ella and drag them to a grisly death. Somehow Black Bird broke through the trees – unscathed – and with a mighty whoosh, came to a halt, abruptly, a foot or two above the ground.

  Instantly the cockpit door at Tate’s side flew open. She piled out, quickly followed by Ben and Ella. In a twisted heap they became pinned to the ground by the powerful downwash, gasping for breath as the whirlwind above drew air from their lungs.

  Inside the cabin, Squirrel felt himself jostled about. He clung to the side of the generator, his face a mask of concentration. The mains cable had to be replaced. A violent jolt pushed him onto his behind. The cabin tilted dangerously steep, which threatened to throw him clear. Understanding that his last chance had come, he reached out, straining to the point where the sinews of his arm screamed with agony. He pushed the plug home, having to use the very tips of his fingers, and instantly the generator roared with approval. A thick plume of black smoke billowed from its vents.

  In the next second, Squirrel was tumbling through the air.

  The front of the cockpit exploded in a flash of fire. For a brief moment, Squirrel was bathed in a bright and beautiful incandescence. And, just beyond the blue brilliance, Squirrel caught a flash of white teeth. He had a brief moment to believe he had seen Nick smiling down at him. Then, the aircraft took to the skies. And there it grew brighter than a shooting star.

  The Huey fixed itself to the summit of the hill. The damaged tail-rotor held her there, the cockpit spinning gracefully in a continuous circle. The Ray of Hope cast a bright canopy of ultraviolet light, dousing those below in its virtuous glow.

  The horde of vampires looked heavenwards. Both Ezekiel’s and Raphael’s men turned their bleached faces upwards, the burst of starlight drawing their attention away from the dark horrors about them. Some gasped in rapture, The Ray of Hope burning back the darkness of their souls to deliver them into the light. Past lives, from a distance that even memory struggled to bridge, surfaced from their fevered minds, and eyes that had held nothing but hatred and hunger softened. It was then when they realised they had once been something other than this hateful embodiment of evil. They turned to each other and for the first time saw what had once been their brothers and sisters. The hot, caustic weapons in their hands fell from dirty fingers, their rage spent, to land in the blood-soaked mud at their feet. Figures, thousands of them, followed as they dropped to their knees.

  The bodies of some of the kneeling soldiers burst apart, to leave behind a sphere of white light. Each pulsed with the rhythm of an innocent heartbeat. These magical balls of light stayed grounded for a second, before being called aloft, as if God himself had summoned them home. Like a hundred screaming skyrockets, they tore upwards, cutting through the dust cloud and far beyond. Small holes appeared in the dark blanket, revealing glimpses of a beauty that rivalled The Ray of Hope.

  Blue sky.

  The spheres of light arced upwards in a continuous curtain of fire, peppering the cloud above. At first the dust quickly knitted the holes shut, yet, as more and more of them burnt through, a few small tears remained. Sunlight pierced through dust cloud and long golden fingers of light began to caress the scarred land below. Now, with the combination of artificial and natural sunlight, the vampires below ignited in a chain-reaction.

  Nick’s hand slipped from the flight-stick. His glazed eyes began to slowly close. From nowhere, something bright and beautiful passed directly before him and his eyes abruptly cleared. He looked down and watched as the spectacle below him unfolded. Innumerable spheres tore past the cockpit. And, as Nick slumped in the flight-seat, he had the understanding that it was these lights that now held him aloft. Another ball of light flashed by and he forced his head up, following the glowing path into the sky. “Ahhhh… ” he gasped in delight, feeling the sun’s rays wash over his face. Without his knowing, his face slipped from agony to rapture. He coughed and a bubble of blood burst from his lips. The taste was sweet, however, and the agony that wracked his body dissipated, leaving him blissful and warm.

  More flashes of light hurtled by, so many now that they merged and joined, and became a single shaft of continuous light. Nick traced the glowing wall to its crest. At its summit the shimmering wall now cut through the dust cloud, allowing sunlight to fill the gap, so that it had now become a gigantic golden halo. Yet the dark cloud of dust trapped at its centre reduced the magnitude of the sun.

  Nick nodded – he knew what had to be done. His hand found the flight-stick, and tilting it towards him he pushed Black Bird’s nose upwards. She began to climb, continually spinning, continually reaping lost souls. Black Bird climbed higher and higher until the black miasma eventually consumed her.

  Nick took one last deep breath and then jammed the flight-stick to the left. Instantly, the Huey increased in speed. The controls twisted the damaged tail-rotor into full turn, which in effect sent the Huey spinning in a blur of motion. Faster and faster Black Bird spun, until the forces of gravity and motion ripped her apart, piece-by-piece. The helicopter’s fuel tanks erupted with a mighty flash. Gallons of aircraft-fuel ignited and exploded in a cloud of fire, burning the dust and darkness into oblivion.

  Suddenly, the cloud parted and in its place brilliant sunlight shone. Light filled the sky - a colossal flare of anticipation, which dazzled the men and women caught on the hillside. Those vampires that had escaped The Ray of Hope quickly vanished, reclaimed by a power more potent than the shadows, or night, or even darkness itself.

  And now, like the birth of a new star, the world turned instantly bright.

  Chapter Fifty-Eight

  Hot, fiery breath caressed the side of Hannah’s throat. She grimaced, expecting heat to be replaced by agony. It never came. Instead the warmth she felt crept around her neck, then spread out in a large wave, which covered her head and back in equal measure. She opened her eyes to find something dark stood out before her.

  A shadow.

  She stood straight and the shadow stretched out before her. It was then that she realised the dark silhouette belonged to her.

  Her shadow.

  The heat at her back continued to grow, until the sensation became too much. She twisted away from it in an attempt to escape the hot embrace. As she turned towards the centre of the platform, she found those who stood by staring at her open-mouthed.

  “What is it?” she asked.

  Major Patterson took a step closer. A hand, unsteady, reached out towards her. Hannah straightened, confused by the strange act. Her father’s hand disappeared into a red inferno: Her hair. A blaze of fire flickered and
danced as the light above caught wisps of her auburn hair, setting them alight in a dazzle of fierce reds and spun gold.

  “It’s beautiful,” Patterson managed to say.

  Now almost at its zenith the platform pushed the heads of those it carried over the lip of the cavern. Most threw hands in front of their faces, the sudden blinding light too bright to witness. Only Patterson and his daughter stayed focused - their eyes locked together.

  “What happened?” Hannah asked.

  The Major’s face split into a look of rapture. “Salvation,” he said, his eyes twinkling with joy.

  Hannah’s brow furrowed. She turned her head first one way, then the other, and for the first time noticed the vampires had gone. Each and every one of them had disappeared, as if she’d been awakened from a terrible dream.

  “Where did they go?” she asked, dazed.

  Patterson’s fingers slipped from the inferno of her hair and instead they fixed themselves gently underneath his daughter’s chin. “Up there,” he said, tilting her head upwards slightly. Her face lit up as sunlight played across her face, and her eyes sparkled like two green emeralds.

  “Oh… my… ” she gasped. “It’s so beautiful.”

  ***

  Jacob Cain fell backwards, stunned. He hadn’t been hit or shot, but the enormity of the scene that had unfolded before him threatened to drop him to his knees. All around him the darkness had been replaced by light. Light that he had seen only in his dreams – golden and natural and full of hope.

  “Dear God,” Alice Hammond whispered.

  Jacob turned to her and saw that her face was torn between happiness and confusion. Joy for what lay above her, confusion for what rested at her feet.

  All about them were the remnants of the vampiric horde. Torn clothing lay scattered randomly like shed skin, weapons large and small collected in the mud, those that had wielded them lost, gone forever, taking hatred and bloodlust with them. Raphael’s army was now just empty shells; vehicles ticking idly, their occupants vanished as if they had never existed. Two or three trucks rolled down the hill, lazily, uncontrolled, their original destinations abruptly erased.

  An eerie quietness had fallen over the battlefield, broken only by the cries of the injured. A few human survivors began to gather around Jacob and Alice; their attention riveted either on the orange glow above them or on the amazing figure, crouched over with its hands thrust deeply into the mud. More and more survivors appeared. Scores of them, greater in number than any could have hoped for, or even dared to dream. In one large, bedraggled group they assembled around the three central figures.

  “Kill it!” someone hissed.

  “Why is it still here?” another demanded.

  “What trickery is this?” a toothless old hag spat with the venom of a snake.

  Jacob turned to find a sea of faces, all expectant, all seething with the want for revenge.

  “Here, I’ll do the deed,” a large man said, bloodstained and hollow-eyed. He stepped forwards, breaking through the tight crowd. A hand caked in blood reached out with a glint of gunmetal.

  “NO!” Jacob boomed, gripping the other’s wrist. “There’s been enough bloodshed.”

  “But it must die. Why does it remain, but to taunt us?” the gun-bearer said.

  Jacob opened his mouth, ready to offer an explanation. Yet as perplexed as the rest, he simply shrugged. “I don’t know why he remains. But he must be a miracle, not an abomination.”

  The man at his side growled disapprovingly. “Have it your way, fool. Me, I’m ready for a bit of payback.” He jabbed the pistol towards the sky. More weapons were drawn aloft to meet the gesture. The woman with no teeth joined him, followed by the ones who’d called for bloodshed. Most, however, appeared to have had their bellyful of violence. They looked at the large man and the few that flocked to his banner with loathing. The small angry mob pushed their way through the crowd, quickly disappearing across the torn landscape.

  An old man stepped forwards. His face was lined and his eyes were deep pools of wisdom. “I know who you are, Jacob Cain, and I believe you to be a man of principle.” He turned towards the wall of pale faces. “We should allow him this one privilege. We must help our brothers and sisters. There is a lot to do. I suggest we start now, while the sunlight remains.”

  Two women cleared the main body of people. One of them said, “We can sew. Help us to find needle and thread, and we can begin to stitch the wounds of those who are injured.”

  “I have both, but they’re inside the underground,” responded a teenager, a redhead with a hint of freckles on her nose. “Plus, we can use bed sheets to wrap wounds.”

  “They,” a man said, pointing to the figure at Alice’s feet. “They may still be inside, waiting.”

  A soldier spoke up. “Then we’d better go as a group.”

  A second soldier appeared. “It won’t be easy, but if we stick together then we’ll make it.”

  “Yes, we’ll need to salvage what food we have,” the wise old man commented.

  Someone from the midst of the crowd said, “I’ve some tin cans stored in my locker. Don’t know what’s inside - the labels are paler than my butt - but I’m willing to share whatever I find.”

  A short bout of nervous laughter sounded.

  More voices spoke and, before long, hidden food piles, provisions and help of all kinds were being offered. Eventually the crowd began to disperse, as the last of the human race embraced the need to cooperate and reorganise. They left in small groups, ready to meet this new world head-on. Only two remained, both dressed in muddy cloaks, their bare chests poking through in hard slabs of ebony. Two dark cowls hid their features.

  Once the gathering had scattered, the figure beside Alice climbed to his feet. During the encounter, he hadn’t been scared of what would come, for he felt as if he had already arrived at the place of reckoning. And, for whatever reason, he’d be spared. Why else had he survived when all others fell? And he’d knelt not in submission, but in rapture.

  Jacob and the figure locked eyes.

  Ezekiel smiled. “A miracle or an abomination?” he asked, referring to Jacob’s comment.

  “I’m not sure,” Jacob replied, disbelievingly. “What are you?”

  Ezekiel’s arms spread wide. He felt the heat of the sun, but none of its pain. “Brother Jacob, I believe you have me stumped.”

  Movement caught Jacob’s eye. The two cloaked figures stepped forwards. They stopped, facing Ezekiel, and then dark hands rose as their cowls fell back. “Master Ezekiel,” one said, dropping to his knee. The other followed, although the gesture seemed awkward, unpractised.

  “I am Brother Ebon. This… ” – his hand directed Ezekiel’s gaze to the second figure – “This is Tobias, one of Raphael’s highest lieutenants.”

  The figure looked up at the vampire leader. “I throw myself at your mercy.”

  Ezekiel was speechless. How could they be?

  Then it hit him like a sledgehammer.

  Their skin!

  His skin.

  Their birth as a race had evolved from a distance and past that even he could not fully comprehend. Unlike the fair-skinned couple standing nearby, these two and Ezekiel himself had evolved from far-away shores, and even the curse of the bloodsucking plague could not unravel the genetics hidden deep within their genome. Life, no matter how delicate, had the strength to overcome; and Ezekiel understood then that death was the weaker fate, only suffered by those who had already outlived their intended purpose.

  Ezekiel placed his hand on Tobias’s shoulder. “Stand, Brother Tobias,” Ezekiel said, gently. The young vampire climbed to his feet.

  “Master,” Tobias said, his head bowed slightly.

  “No,” Ezekiel responded. “From this day on, you will call me Brother, as I will call you. There will be no more subjects or slaves. Our new Master shall be peace, and only peace. Freedom for our kind. Deliverance for theirs. Peace for all humankind. Do you swear to this, Brother?”


  “Yes,” Tobias said. “Yes, Brother, I do.”

  “And you, Ebon. Do you swear an alliance with those I call friends?”

  “Yes, Brother,” Ebon said, bowing his head slightly.

  Ezekiel’s hand reached out, gently holding the other’s chin. “Stand tall and be proud. A new destiny awaits those who dare to take the first steps into the unknown.”

  “I’m ready,” Ebon proclaimed with conviction.

  “As am I,” Tobias said, absolute.

  Ezekiel’s attention turned to flint-grey eyes. “And you, Brother Jacob, I thank you the most.”

  “For what?” Jacob asked.

  Ezekiel’s face broke into a great smile. “For helping me lead my people out of the darkness. My people.”

  Jacob stood for a second, feeling uneasy about the vampire’s gratitude. His own feelings of hatred and hostility were still lurking at the surface of his soul. And not ready to embrace Ezekiel’s allegiance fully, he simply said, “It isn’t me you should be thanking, but those who have perished. They are the ones who have sacrificed everything for your freedom.”

  “Our freedom,” Ezekiel corrected. “Jacob, what would you have me do? To prove my worthiness.”

  A sudden, dreadful thought crept into Jacob’s mind. Was his son one of the many who’d been sacrificed?

  Ezekiel understood immediately what troubled the battle-weary man before him. “Come, Brother, let us find your boy – together.” They locked eyes and both felt the other’s need to do exactly that. Together, they began to traverse the hillside, two sets of eyes darting from one pile of wreckage to the next. Behind them, Alice and Brothers Tobias and Ebon followed. The group followed the dirt track until they reached its end.

  “Which way now?” Alice asked, the trees still offered many dark places to hide. Even with their bare branches, the woods were oppressive and threatening.

  “We should make our way back to the command centre, see if we can pick up a trail,” Jacob reasoned.