After the Fall

by Martinez, A. J.

  Our meeting place at mile 5 was an old shack that had a fair bit of wear but was holding its own against time and the elements. The sun was already rising in the horizon. I hurried up and went inside. Just because the old man Sun couldn’t kill me didn’t mean we were best friends.

  The place inside was pitch dark and it took my eyes a moment to adjust. All the windows were boarded up tight to prevent even the smallest ray of sun from penetrating.

  “Back here,” said the voice. I walked across the creaky wood floor to go meet her.

  She was sitting on an old dusty bed, ready for the slumber that would take her soon. I sat down on the bed and ran my fingers through her curls. She looked at me with annoyance but did not brush my hand away. Either she was too tired or she was actually enjoying it.

  “So what’s with all the sneaking around? What’s the big secret?”

  “Oh, you don’t know, councilman?” Her voice was growing more sedate, but her sarcasm was as strong as ever.

  “If I knew, why do you think I would be here asking you?”

  “Maybe you just enjoy my company and good manners.”

  “Well, you’re right on one count.”

  “Are you saying I don’t have any manners?” she said, trying to sound indignant.

  “No, I’m here for your good manners. It’s your company I detest.”

  She shoved me and proceeded to kiss me. What else could I do but kiss her back?

  “I still haven’t told you,” she said.

  “At this rate, it will be sundown and you still won’t have told me.”

  “That’s true.” She smiled at me. “But who’s complaining?”

  “No one, I suppose. Certainly not I.”

  Her face grew serious. Her procrastination and avoidance made it obvious she did not want to tell me.

  “Mordecai, it’s about the Queen.”

  “What about her?”

  “Anna Thorn, our beloved Founder, Queen, Mother to our kind — she is not who she appears to be.”

  “You’re going to have to be more specific than that.”

  “She’s not…she’s an impostor. The woman in her place, that’s not Anna Thorn. The real Anna died ages ago. Lucretius replaced her with this fake, this mannequin.”

  “A cruel puppet.”

  She nodded.

  “How do you know this?” She looked down and away. “Rayna, tell me. How do you know this?”

  “It’s not like I have hard evidence or anything. Lucretius is too smart for that. This new queen, she’s cruel, much more than Anna would ever have been. She might have flogged a few people, but I tell you that she’d never do something like feed someone to a pit of zombies for sport. I’m still not sure why I wasn’t thrown in there with him.”

  “I don’t either. I’m not even sure why I’m on the council. I don’t have any real power. All they do is follow me around and send me over to the Queen when she asks for me.”

  “How often is that?”

  “More than I’d like.” She rewarded that answer with a kiss. “You still haven’t told me how you know the Queen is not who she says she is.”

  “I really can’t tell you—”

  “Or you don’t want to,” I interrupted.

  “I have my reasons.” She looked away with a huff. “I really shouldn’t have told you.”

  I put my arms around her and pulled her tight. “It’s fine that you did. I’m not mad at you. If you have your reasons, fine. So be it.”

  “Just keep your eyes open over there. Don’t let them drag you in. Many good Vampires went into that council only to realize that they sold out everything they believed in for a little power.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind.”

  “Good. Now hold me. We’ll talk some more after sundown.”

  I woke up still holding her. It wasn’t quite after sundown, so she was still asleep. I enjoyed a few minutes of her company until the sun went down.

  Those of our kind who still feared the sun seemed to be attuned to its cycles. No sooner did the sun dip below the horizon that her eyes opened and she was fully awake.

  “Good morning,” I said. It was an old Vampire joke to wish one another a good morning.

  “Morning,” she replied as she sat up to stretch and yawn.

  It occurred to me that I should check the exterior to make sure my guests weren’t waiting for us. I walked out the door of the shack and scanned the surrounding area all the way to the horizon. It was plain, featureless land, with a tree or a patch of grass every so often as if Mother Nature had taken pity on this place and given it a small blessing. As far as I could see, and I could see everything in the dark. There was no one out here but us. I felt a pang of worry in my gut. It was possible that they had no idea where I had gone, but they wouldn’t have stopped searching. Laughter erupted out of me.

  “Get over yourself, Mordecai. You’re not that important.”

  “Who are you talking to out here?” she said, brushing past me.

  “Just myself. Don’t worry, you’re not actually crazy until you start talking back.”

  “Okay, if you say so. I think you’re crazy anyway.”

  “I think all of us have been down that road. There isn’t one of us who hasn’t taken a vacation from reality.”

  “Well, look around! Who would want to live in this dump?”

  I walked up to her and wrapped my arms around her waist. “Maybe some things make it worth living.”

  “I guess,” she replied, breaking away. I admired the view of her walking away, all the while puzzling over the enigma that was Rayna. I didn’t see how anyone could change from hot to cold and back so quickly and with such ease.

  “I need you to take me to the woods,” she said.

  “Why?”

  “I stashed the car and some supplies there. Will you take me?”

  “Sure.”

  The drive there was quiet. I tried to start up conversation a few times only for her to shut it down every time. After a while, I just gave up. She seemed relieved.

  “Right here,” she said, pointing to the thicket to our left. I stopped and followed her into the foliage. It wasn’t dense, but it was good enough to hide her vehicle.

  “Planning on going somewhere?” I said as I looked into the windows.

  She rolled her eyes. “I may need to. What’s it to you?”

  “Calm down, I was just asking a question.”

  “I’ll calm down when you stop asking stupid questions.”

  I decided not to reply. It was no sense arguing with her. She just had to win every time.

  “Are you going to work your shift tonight?”

  “You don’t learn, do you?” she replied. Then, “Yeah, I’ll be roaming out there, looking for more of those things to take down.”

  She drove the car out of the thicket and down the dirt road, off to pick up the rest of her crew. I had seen a glimpse of them once before. They were a rough-looking trio, just her kind of guys, not a speck of Old World refinement in this bunch. They looked like they’d been dragged out of a coal mine in West Virginia, or what used to be that state.

  When I returned to town, my guardian devils came to let me know that the council was going to meet in an hour. I nodded and went to get ready.

  I arrived at least fifteen minutes early, but when I walked through the door, the whole council was already seated and appeared to be waiting for me. The Queen was seated at the head of the table, with Lucretius to her right. There was another seat to her left reserved for me.

  “Now that we’re all here, we may begin,” she said. I checked my watch. It was still ten minutes to the hour. “Do you have somewhere to go, Mordecai?”

  “No, my Queen.”

  She narrowed her eyes. “Then you might do well to stop checking your watch. We’ll be here for a while, so I hope you haven’t made any plans. You might have gotten the word sooner if you could be found.”

  My mind reached for something sarcastic to throw h
er way, but I stopped it before it could leave my mouth. If what they said about the Queen was true, she would be able to read my thought anyway.

  “Can’t say it won’t happen again. I was out helping with a situation at the outskirts.”

  “You’ve become quite taken with those border guards, haven’t you?” said the Queen.

  “They help keep us safe, for one thing. That, and they saved my life. That has to count for something.”

  “I suppose so,” Lucretius added. “Now let’s start going over our agenda. We have quite a few things to discuss. First and foremost, it is the insurgency problem.

  “We have been experiencing a number of revolts and unrest. Although we’ve captured the ringleader and dealt with him, a new one will arise and we start the process over again. This many-headed Hydra has become a bit of a problem for us, and I think the reason is because they have backing from someone in this room.”

  The council members began to murmur and look up and down the table. I did the same so I would not stand out. When it comes to people, the appearance of guilt is sometimes more damning than the guilt itself. Forget due process. That was one of the things we left behind with the Old World.

  Lucretius continued, “There is no reason for anyone to start an inquiry. I believe if there is a guilty party in this room, it will become clear soon enough. On the other hand, bear in mind that should you turn a blind eye on someone’s deeds, you will become an accessory and judged accordingly.”

  It was a nice way to tell them to keep tabs on one another. Those motivated by greed would start looking at their peers to get the chance to move up in standing. The rest would try to find a culprit out of fear and self-preservation. It all came to the same result: a divided council, looking for a culprit in its ranks. Lucretius allowed himself a placid smile while the council members talked amongst themselves in elevating tones.

  “Gentlemen…and lady. My fellow council members, we must remember to stay united. I have not asked you to deliver someone’s head on a platter. As I said before, the guilty party may not even be here. I just ask that you keep your eyes open. The truth will reveal itself in due time.”

  The meeting finally adjourned. I went back to her patrol zone after the meeting to check on her, but neither she nor her companions were out there. When I drove out to the boundary fence, I realized why.

  A group of zombies stood side by side at the fence. They stopped their thrashing long enough to get a look at me for a few seconds then resumed their attack on the fence. It may have seemed futile to try to tear down the fence by hand, but these were tireless workers that required very little in the way of food and no sleep. They cared nothing for their own safety or well-being. The only thing in their rotted, repurposed minds was the prey. For a moment, I could sympathize with them. We were not so different, after all. Our main difference was the choice of nourishment, but we both preferred the blood of the living or at the very least, the recently dead. I took a moment to sympathize with my distant brethren, my cousins in unlife.

  And then I drove a knife through their skulls.

  I walked up to the fence and drove my knife through the gap and into their heads. One by one they fell to the ground. Their companions looked confused, but they continued to pull at the fence. I continued down the line, stabbing as I passed. It must have looked comical, as if they were swooning from my presence. I was about to lay waste to the last one when a sound compelled me to freeze.

  It was part growl, part hiss. I didn’t doubt the undead could make this sound, but I had never heard it before. When I turned, I saw one of my victims rise up and throw himself at the fence with renewed fury. The links started to snap. This was no feeble zombie on the verge of starvation. It was an aberration, an anomaly. It had to be. And just then, it revealed its terrible secret. His lips drew back in a snarl and I could see two long, pearly stalactites hanging down from his mouth. It once was a Vampire. His name was Dan.

  Ghosts of the Past

  I almost fell over from the shock. My worst fear was realized. It was standing mere feet from me, separated by a fence that was growing weaker by the minute. He looked at me with his eyes, those two glazed orbs that once ruled the night and feared the day. He wasn’t dead but merely transmuted, reconfigured.

  Another link snapped. He forced his hand through the hole and expanded it. I tightened my grip on the knife. The choice was clear: kill him or let him get in. The only problem was, I didn’t want to kill him. It wasn’t that it was Dan, or rather used to be him. I simply didn’t want to kill this new perfect hybrid that was at our doorstep, fighting for his right to exist.

  I did want to find Rayna, and the sooner I did, the better. This was something she had to see. I ran away as fast as my Vampire legs could take me, which was no trifling speed. As I sped away, I heard another link snap. Time is of the essence, as they used to say.

  There was no sign of Rayna out here—or anyone else, for that matter. It seemed like the perfect opportunity for these creatures to breach the fence. Since the sentries were nowhere to be found, it would be up to me to eliminate the threat. I would start by syphoning a small amount of fuel out of the car and dousing them with it. The rest I would leave to the cleansing power of fire.

  Armed with adrenaline and firm purpose, I drove back to the fence. The sight of a large hole made my mouth drop in dismay. I can’t say I was completely surprised. After all, Dan possessed superhuman strength that stayed with him past his second death. Not a single body remained at the fence. My stomach tightened into a knot. There were now over a dozen reanimators loose inside the perimeter, and one of them used to be a Vampire.

  It’s not too late, I told myself. If I could only intercept them, I could take them down and set them on fire before they could reach the cattle or populated zones. They were on foot and I was driving. It would be a simple matter of driving around until I found them.

  I drove by every patch of grass and searched every thicket, but she seemed to have vanished. To call this bad news would be a gross understatement. I had to go back and let the Queen know.

  The mansion security detail seemed to have doubled in the last few days. It made me wonder why the Queen needed so much protection if the situation was “under control,” as she put it. My councilman credentials got me inside, but just barely. After I passed the outside guards, I had another barrier to overcome.

  “Sir, the Queen is not available to see anyone right now. She is not to be disturbed. If you could make an appointment, or try calling on her later.”

  “This is important, emergency-type stuff. Let me in.”

  “I’m sorry, sir. I have my instructions.”

  He had his instructions, but I wasn’t about to be turned away. I pushed the door open and ran past him.

  “Sir, you have no right barging in like this! You must leave now, on the authority of the Queen!”

  “It’s all right. Let him in,” said the Queen. She was leaning against the door frame and looked pleased to see me. If that’s what it took to get me in the door, I would play that card.

  “My Queen, I have to speak to you.”

  “I bet you do. You know, I was wanting to speak to you as well. Would you care to join me in my quarters downstairs?”

  “This is urgent.”

  “I already know.”

  “Already know what?”

  “About the breach. There’s units combing the place looking for them. They won’t get far. I’m sure we’ll hear from them within the hour.”

  “Oh. Then I suppose my visit was for naught.”

  “Not at all. You must be tired. Come.”

  She took us through the secret door, down the stairs to her underground home. The lights brightened until it felt like daytime in here.

  “Would you like a drink?”

  “No, I think I’m fine for the moment.” I saw her eyes and changed my mind. “Now that I think about it, a drink sounds good right now.”

  She smiled and poured the drink her
self. I wondered why there were no servants nearby, when she depended on them for her every whim.

  “Here, take some good sips. You look thirsty.”

  Maybe she was a mind reader, because I put the cup up to my lips and drained the contents in one draft.

  “Would you like more?”

  “I think I’m good for right now.” It wasn’t as strong as the last drink she had given me, but it still had some kick.

  “Come, have another. You must be parched.” Before I could reply, my cup was full. “Our forces have failed us. We will deal with them in due time. Meanwhile, there is something I would like to discuss with you. Come, sit.”

  I sat and she remained standing. That set off a silent alarm in my head.

  “Is everything all right, my Queen?”

  “Yes, everything is just fine. I wanted to talk to you about your old city, the last place you stayed before this.”

  “You mean Jericho?”

  “Yes, that’s it. Tell me more about your time there.”

  “I thought Lucretius might have filled you in on all the details.”

  “Yes, he did. I wanted to hear more detail about it. Tell me more about this woman.”

  “Rhiannon? There’s not much to tell. I loved her, but I could not save her from the grave. Her body lies at rest in Jericho.”

  “What if I told you she was no longer there?”

  An icy hand ran up my spine. “You mean her body was moved? How do you know this?”

  “Based on the information you gave us, I sent a group of men to investigate if there was indeed such a town. If there was, I wanted to know more of it. Settlements like this were rare to begin with, and they are disappearing with time. If it really had been overrun, then the people could use our help.”

  “And what did you find?” I asked, leaning forward with interest.

  She shook her head. “It’s a ghost town. Even the undead have moved on. All that is left are corpses that have been long dead.”

  “You said Rhiannon was moved. Did your men visit her grave?”

  “Yes, they found a grave inside the largest house in town, just like you described. However, someone had dug her body out.”