by Maxey, Phil
The explosion of gunfire filled the air.
Joel was sure he was dead, but then realized if he were he couldn’t be thinking he was. His eyes flicked open. Marina was bleeding from her arm and the gun was lying on the floor.
He detected heat coming from the barrel of the M4 that Anna was holding.
In a blur, Evan moved from the doorway and grabbed the handgun off the rug, but Marina was not moving for it anyway. Instead, she slowly collapsed to the floor sobbing.
“Get her out of here!” said Bill to Evan.
Joel quickly got to his feet and moved to the doorway. “No, I’ll go.” As he stood in the corridor, he looked down the hallway to Jess looking at him from another room.
She knows what I did to her father.
Before another thought could splinter his mind even further, he was down the stairs, moving the large furniture from the kitchen door, and then was gone into the night.
Anna flew after him, but by the time she arrived at the back door, his scent had mixed with the other odors drifting on the night breeze.
Abandoned homes merged with a landscape of trees and shadows as he ran. Daniel, Tarin, Russell came and went through his consciousness, each one a vision that hit harder than any claw or fang. He had no idea where he was going, he just had to move forward. Escape the past. He pushed his legs and arms waiting to be swallowed by the darkness.
Eventually, he stopped and bent over, out of breath.
He slowly rose and looked around.
“Where the fuck am I?” he whispered into the night.
He was in a field of flat stones half his height. He staggered forward, and knelt next to the closest, straining his improved vision to see the grooves in the slab.
‘Mavis Halcyon 1890-1906. May her heavenly voice sing for the angels till the end of time.’
More grave stones sat nearby, each one a member of the ‘Halcyon’ family. He fell to his knees, crying for a child that died over a hundred years ago, and his own.
He turned over on the dirt, sitting up against the slab. As exhaustion gave way to sleep, he allowed the void to take him.
*****
Anna opened the hotel bedroom door ajar and pushed her senses into the space beyond.
Three steady heartbeats.
She needed confirmation though and took a few steps forward. Marina, Jess, and Jasper were all asleep.
There was a small patch of red on the bandage on Marina’s arm, but that was to be expected. She made sure just to clip her, but the velocity of the bullet still tore a half-inch groove across the top of Marina’s forearm. Luckily, within an hour, her hybrid healing abilities were already growing new muscle and skin.
Anna retraced her steps and closed the door quietly, then made her way downstairs to the small eating area at the back of the house. Mary had made breakfast and everyone was eating and washing it down with coffee.
“She asleep still?” said Bill.
“Yeah.”
“So, what we going to do?” said Lee.
“We head north. There’s a large community just over the border in Canada. They seem to be managing to keep the vamps at bay,” said Hickman.
“Sounds good to me,” said Hardin, sipping his beverage.
Bill, Evan, and Anna exchanged silent glances which Hickman saw. “You’re still thinking about Joel? He’s gone. And from what I heard, that’s a good thing. He can’t be trusted.”
“He’s the only person we know that can operate the tablet. Without Joel, it really is just a slab of stone,” said Bill.
Rachel looked at him. “We managed to get the tablet operational with the use of his DNA, and—”
“And we are going to be able to do that again in a refugee camp? We need him.”
Anna went to reply, but then turned to face the doorway. Marina appeared, dark rings sat beneath her eyes which were lifeless. She walked silently across the hardwood floor and poured herself some coffee from the machine.
“How’s your arm?” said Anna.
“Fine.”
“Good…” Anna had already apologized without reply, and still felt bad for shooting her friend despite feeling she had no choice.
“I heard you talking about Joel…”
“Forget about him,” said Hickman.
“If you can find him, bring him back…”
A number of stifled gasps rippled around the room.
“Why would you want him back?” said Hardin.
“It’s not about him, it’s about the tablet, and what it can tell us. It’s been the only thing throughout all of this nightmare that has shed any light on things, given us any clues to a way out.” She turned around with the coffee in her hand. “Nothing’s bringing Russell back. Or the millions that have died. The only thing I’m concerned with now, is a future for Jess. If we need Joel to make that happen then that’s what we have to do.”
Hickman shook his head. “A man that killed your husband? No wait. He’s not a man, is he? He’s—” Hickman quickly realized the mistaken path he was on with his thoughts. “What I’m saying is, how can any of us trust him?” He looked around the others. “He’s been with you all of this time, and he lied about killing someone close to you.”
Marina looked into her mug. “It’s not about trust. It’s about survival.”
“Do we even know where he is? He could be fifty miles from here by now, and that’s just on foot,” said Evan.
“Maybe we—”
Anna stopped, noticing most in the small dining room looking past her to the doorway.
Jasper was standing, rubbing his eye. He pointed over their heads. “He’s with the dead people.”
CHAPTER TWO
Drowning in a sea of red, Joel kicked and flailed his arms around, trying to get purchase on the liquid he was submerged within.
Can I drown?
In the gloom, faces he knew came and went, mixed with those he didn’t. A wall of despair watching him with judging eyes.
He fought to swim upwards, but there was no light for him to move to, only more darkness.
“Joel?”
“What… what?”
He looked around at the pouring rain that was hitting everything and turning the light sandy ground into a quagmire of gray-brown muck.
“Joel? I’m taking you back,” said Anna.
He looked up at the doctor. Evan was standing behind her, holding a backpack over his head.
Sheepishly Joel rose, skidding somewhat on the mud, and held onto the gravestone behind him. “What are you doing here?” He looked around, trying to make out any more human shapes among the torrents beating down.
“Can we have this conversation inside somewhere?” shouted Evan.
Joel frowned but nodded.
He pointed to a sharp rectangular structure just visible through the sheets of rain, and they all ran to its entrance. He broke the chain that held the gate closed with a swipe, and pushed the large wooden door back.
They all moved quickly inside.
“It sure does rain out here,” said Evan, shaking his pack.
Anna looked at the marble walls with black and gold etched names that surrounded her then laughed.
“What’s funny,” said Joel, his voice gravely.
“I guess it was inevitable that as vampires we would end up in a mausoleum.”
Joel’s stony expression broke into a smile, and then a laugh. As the humor dissolved his old expression returned. “How is she? How’s her arm.”
“Almost completely healed.”
Anna nodded towards Evan. “We brought you some blood.”
He started to unzip the bag, but Joel briefly held up his hand. “Not right now… but how is she with what I said?”
“Honestly, I don’t know. She did say that we need you to get through all this…”
Joel’s eyes widened then narrowed. “I… don’t know.”
“No one says it’s going to be easy. I don’t know why you killed her husband, but I do understand the hunger, and I
know if it weren’t for you I might have taken a life as well.”
“Hickman said there’s a large camp just across the Canadian border,” said Evan.
The old daydream of Jess and Jasper running through a large field of fresh crops and Marina looking on smiling from a farmhouse came and quickly evaporated. “Sure, that sounds like a good plan.”
They waited for the storm to pass then made their way the five or so miles back to the hotel.
Marina was waiting at the bottom of the stairs when Joel came through the front door.
Before he could speak, she approached him.
“The scourge killed Russell. That wasn’t you. I get that. But not telling me? Allowing me to keep thinking that maybe one day, that Jess—” She trembled with anger. Anna and Evan watched closely. “—If you truly cared for me, for Jess. You would have told me.”
The weight of her conviction was too much for Joel, and his eyes fell to the floor. “I know. You’re right.”
“Stay away from Jess, and stay away from me!”
Joel nodded, but she didn’t see. She had already walked away.
*****
Amos Reed looked at the laser imprinted letter and number on the inside of his arm. ‘A-42-54’. It still itched.
He rubbed it while looking at the two others that sat next to him. The girl was kind of hot, but from her thoughts? Nuts. The big guy? He was a man with a troubled past. Primarily though, they were thinking what he was thinking, how the hell do they escape?
A release of pressure heralded the secure door opening to the small room with the plain metallic walls.
In walked Adrian, looking his usual anxious self, and behind him, a creature Amos had come to despise. Copeland bent down to move through the doorway then stood again. He was partially clothed in a kind of armor.
Behind Copeland were three humans, each one in tactical body armor. These three sat around the large circular table.
The girl burst out laughing, looking at Copeland. “So now you’re a super hero?”
Super villain, thought Amos.
Copeland’s expression remained the same which was he had none. The tall beast looked at Adrian.
“Yes, we should get started. I want to welcome you all here today—”
“They’re letting us go…” said Amos, grabbing Adrian’s thoughts before they had a chance to form into words from his mouth.
The girl looked shocked, but then quickly hid it. “Well, great. Let’s do this.” She pulled at the shackles that held his wrists to the table. Amos noticed she had a thin band on her left wrist, partially obscuring her own tattoo.
The big guy with the beard and short cropped hair of jet-black curls, sneered at Adrian and then Copeland.
“Err… yes, correct Mr. Reed we are letting you all go, but—”
“But you now work for me,” said Copeland, interrupting.
Amos knew what the plan was as soon as Adrian and Copeland entered.
The girl tutted. “Work for you, how? I ain’t nobody’s bitch.” Copeland slowly turned his head to look at her. She did her best to act tough under the gaze of his catlike eyes.
Adrian took advantage of the pause to continue. “Umm… As well as your freedom, as employees of the Copeland Corporation, you will receive remuneration… umm, you will get paid for your services.”
“Money don’t mean shit out there anymore,” said the big guy.
“Quite, well you will—”
“He means blood,” said Amos.
“Yes, you will receive daily blood or supplies when you travel, and you will be given your own room on our complex if you wish to live within the walls.”
The girls expression had softened. “And what do we have to do?”
Amos went to reply, but Adrian beat him to it, raising his hand. “If I may, Amos.”
The girl looked at Amos, confused. “You a mind reader or something?”
“Yup.”
The girl raised her eyebrows, the big guy remained passive.
“So yes, you will be given tasks to accomplish as per your contract.” Adrian walked forward and placed three pieces of paper in front of each of the prisoners, with a pen resting nearby. “Once you sign, you will be given the details of your first mission.”
The big guy leaned forward and scribbled a big ‘FU’ where it asked for a signature.
“Old fashioned, I know, but there is something about placing pen to paper which I feel is more of a commitment,” said Adrian.
The others finished signing and shunted their paper forward.
“What the hell is this band on my wrist for?” said the girl.
“It’s how they keep tabs on us,” said Amos before Adrian spoke.
“It’s a simple GPS module to allow us to know where you are. It’s for your benefit as well, in case you get into trouble.”
Amos snorted.
“Ms. Wells needs her module attached to her because of her special abilities,” said Adrian.
The girl frowned while sitting back in her chair. “Fine. When do I get to see my new digs? And when’s the blood going to flow? I’m hungry.”
One of the mercs stood. “My name is Ed Hawkins, and I’m going to be in charge of our little group.”
“Group?” said the girl.
“Yeah. You three, myself, Fields, and Shaw are now officially a squad for the Copeland Corporation.” Hawkins looked to the tall being to his left. “These squads were an idea from our boss. And a damn good one.”
There was no reaction from Copeland.
“Before I tell you what our first mission is. Speak your names.”
The girl rolled her eyes. “Kizzy.” She looked at the young man to her right. “But I guess you already knew that.”
“Nope, people don’t usually think their own names in their heads… Amos.”
“Dalton,” said the big guy.
Kizzy tugged at her shackles. “So, now we’re all work colleagues and shit, when are these coming off?”
Copeland walked forward and stood next to her. Instead of trying to stretch her head up to see the creature towering over her, she looked down at her hands.
She reminded Amos of a student in school waiting to be reprimanded.
“If any of you break the terms of your contract. The penalties are severe, do you all understand?” said Copeland.
“Yeah, we get it,” said Kizzy.
The other two nodded.
Copeland then turned and left the room. Amos could hear the relief in the minds of those that were left.
Hawkins looked at the closest merc who got to her feet and unlocked the shackles from each of the others.
They all flexed their wrists.
Amos looked at Dalton to his right.
Don’t do it…
Dalton caught his gaze then sat back.
Amos then looked to his left at Kizzy. Her mind was full of cartons of pink milkshakes. Milkshakes that contained blood. He shook his head then looked at Hawkins. “So, what’s this mysterious mission we are all going on?”
CHAPTER THREE
Shannon watched a faded roadside sign move away from the back of the truck. “We’re in Nebraska,” she said to the others behind her.
“My first wife was from the Cornhusker State,” said Max.
Rachel gave him a brief smile before returning to a book she had found on a shelf in the hotel.
Marina sat next to Jess and Jasper. Most around her were reading or sleeping, not that she wanted to talk to any of them anyway. They couldn’t be trusted. Despite being fooled by him, at least she got her abilities to keep her kid alive from Joel. As long as she got blood then she was confident she could carve out a life for herself and Jess.
From what she could learn from Hickman the camp in Westlands, just over the border in Canada, was like a much larger version of Haven. They even had electricity due to being within range of a nearby dam. That enabled them to electrify most of the fence which ringed the twenty square miles of town, and
it was that protection that, it seemed, had kept them alive. The population was just over three thousand, but was growing daily due to the survivors that kept coming. They would have to find somewhere to sleep for the night, but sometime tomorrow they would be at the camp, and that gave Marina something to hold on to.
She looked at Jess. The young girl had barely spoken five words since she overheard what Joel finally admitted, and Marina decided not to push things. They were both going to need time to process what they had just learned.
Evan leaned to his side and showed Bill something that was on his laptop’s screen. Bill raised his eyebrows then Evan took the display away.
“What was that?” said Josh.
“Nothing of your concern,” said Bill.
Josh sighed, and folded his arms.
Rachel shook her head and lowered her book. “This is stupid. We should be working together!”
“I thought things were ‘classified?’” said Bill with a smirk.
“Maybe we need to start thinking outside the box, not just in the actual science, but with how we work…” she looked at Josh. He gently nodded. She looked back at Max to her left.
“Well, you know me, I never thought science should be classified!” said the old man.
She finally looked at Hickman.
“Sure, go ahead,” said the sergeant.
“Okay, well—”
“Stop!” shouted Shannon, looking out of the back of the truck.
Max grabbed his chest. “Hell, young lady, you scared me half to death.”
Shannon, seeing the truck wasn’t slowing, walked between feet and knees and banged on the small glass window to the driver’s cabin.
The truck stopped.
The young girl then ran to the back, and climbed down the outside.
“Shannon, what is it?” said Marina.
“Fruit!” shouted Shannon over her shoulder, running towards a field smothered in small trees, each one full of bright red apples.
The others leaned forward to see the orchard.
“Oh yes, there’s quite a crop,” said Max.
Hickman got to his feet. “I’ll keep an eye on her.”
“I’ll go too. Flint could do with a runabout, and Jess and Jasper could do with stretching their legs,” said Marina.