by Maxey, Phil
She looked at him, then back out at the sky now covered in streaks of pink and orange. “Nope, still human.”
He placed his hand on her shoulder. She didn’t flinch.
“Well, maybe one day I can change that for you. You would make a great hybrid.”
“Leave her alone, Tyror. We need to discuss what comes next before the sun has fully risen. I’m tired. I do not care for the machines and the journey we made in them to get here…”
The words lingered in Eltir’s mouth. It was obvious to Iona he hated where he was.
Tyror enthusiastically sat on a desk, pushing some of the sheets off. They glided to the ground joining the others. “Yes. This other human camp south of here. We were told by our brother that the humans there are warriors?”
Iona turned to face the hybrid king. “Former military of the country you are currently within. Yes. And my spies tell me they have a lot of, umm… you would know them as war machines…”
“More of your human technology?”
“Yes.”
Tyror frowned. “Do we not have the same? I have seen a number of human flying machines here?”
“We have some helicopters, yes. But they are just troop-carrying, not equipped for air to ground attack. I have squads currently looking in the military bases within a hundred miles from here to bring back what they find, but that’s going to take at least a few days—”
“Rynon wants the camp taken sooner,” said Eltir. He looked more tired than the last time she had seen him. She wondered how that could be if he had just fed.
“We attack with human technology or we attack with Alkrons—”
Tyror stood. “No. Rynon says we do not use the Alkrons unless we have to. Humans and their technology will be used to take the human camp.”
“Then we have to wait…”
She noticed a flash of anger in Tyror’s blue eyes, which he quickly hid by walking away. Eltir joined him, leaving the room first.
Tyror looked back from the doorway. “Only four.” He smiled, then closed the door behind him.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Joel pushed through the long grass up the steep incline. He stopped and looked back to make sure the others weren’t far behind. Carla led Dalton, Amos, and the others up the trail from the creek. After leaving the parking lot an hour earlier they had found more than enough small boats in people’s yards near the river to take them in the direction they needed to go. Towards the small town of Hullstop. It had only been a few days since they were just five miles further to the south and west of their current location, and they presumed the corporation was still there. Back at the camp, a small hill, the highest point for miles was chosen as the perfect location to spy on the town below.
As Carla and the others drew close, Joel turned and continued up the slope, which had changed from being a field to being a large backyard of one of a few homes perched on the hill. A radio mast also stood proud against the early morning sky.
He approached the back deck of a large single-story home and ignored the sounds that were behind him, instead concentrating on the shadows within the wooden house.
No vamps, no humans.
He walked up on the planks and pulled the screen door back, and then tried the handle of the rear door which opened. Inside, the world had not ended. Pillows sat neatly on a patterned sofa. A coffee table contained vases with dead flowers, the petals having fallen onto a few large hardback books about exotic locations. A flat-screen TV sat mounted on a wall, and to his right kitchen counters filled out a smart looking country kitchen, with only dust to spoil the scene.
“I presume no one’s home,” said Carla, walking inside behind him.
Before he could reply, Dalton did. “Ain’t been anyone here for months.”
All the others started to pile inside.
Carla continued walking along the central hallway and then split off to a bedroom which was at the front of the home. This room was equally well kept with the bed looking like it had never been slept in. She ignored the comfort and walked to the window. It had a perfect view of the town three miles to the northwest. The main street with a series of mid-twentieth century buildings stood out in stark contrast due to the long shadows. From there a series of linear streets spread into a small group of suburbs, broken up by three or four larger multi-story buildings which she presumed were a school and maybe a medical center. The exterior camp fence was just visible running across nearer fields being lost when it continued into woods. She nodded to herself then walked back to the dining area.
“Listen up everyone,” she said. “Stay low near the windows, especially near the front of the house. Keller, Ford. You’re both on first watch. You got your notebooks. I want everything you see in those binoculars and scopes jotted down and then passed to me. Next shift starts in four hours.”
Everyone looked at their watches, then Keller and Ford disappeared into the bedroom.
Amos, Dalton, and Geri moved into the living room making use of the sofa, while Kizzy was raiding the kitchen cupboards.
The sun was now fully above the horizon and bathing the right side of the house in warmth. Joel could feel the presence of the sun’s rays and fatigue was starting to weigh on him. “When you sending the first recon team out?” he said to Carla.
“Soon. First, we see what we see for an hour. Try and get a sense if they have any patrols out.”
“They don’t,” said Amos, leaning back in an armchair.
“You can’t sense anyone nearby?” said Carla.
Kizzy squealed on finding a box of crackers.
“Nothing within a few hundred yards,” he replied.
“What about further? Can you sense the town from here?”
Kizzy brought the box with her and sat in front of the TV, her eyes fixed on the lifeless box. Amos laughed to himself on seeing her mind playing some of her favorite shows on the blank screen. He looked up at Carla. “From this distance, I can just sense a mass of people, that’s all. Like white noise. I’ll need to be a lot closer to get a read on individuals.” He leaned down trying to grab some of the dry food from Kizzy.
Carla nodded. “Everyone get some rest. We got a long day ahead of us.”
*****
Marina’s eyes were heavy but Jess had woken and she wanted some time with her daughter. The sun streamed through the blinds of the apartment she had been given. Marina kept her distance from the bright strips that were slowly making their way across the kitchen worktop. As Jess ate some breakfast cereal she sucked on the straw of a blood bag, some of the supply she had snatched from the warehouse.
“Are we going to go shopping today?” said Jess.
The question took her mother by surprise. “Shopping?”
Jess nodded while taking another spoonful of the sugary pieces.
“I… are there shops open in the town?”
Jess nodded again.
Jasper wondered out from one of the bedrooms, rubbing his eye. Marina could never tell when the boy had been sleeping or whether he had just laid there for hours fully awake. But as he walked and then jumped up on a stool in the kitchen he looked tired.
Jess pushed the cereal box, carton of long life milk, and a plastic bowl across to him, and without questioning the offer, he started to make his breakfast.
Marina secretly smiled. She still didn’t fully understand what the boy was, other than he had an uncanny knack to know where vamps were at all times.
Another bedroom door opened and a sleepy looking Mary stepped into the hallway. She started to talk but stopped when a knock came from the apartment’s front door.
Everyone looked at each other.
“I’ll get it,” said Marina, stepping off her own stool. “Who is it?” she said to the wooden door.
“It’s General Galloway. I was hoping to have a word with you.”
Marina opened the door. The smaller woman stood with her usual army cap hiding her graying blonde hair. Marina stepped back.
�
��I was hoping to talk in private.” It was said more as a statement than a question.
Marina looked back to make sure Mary was with the kids and then moved outside, pulling the door closed. She noticed the soldier standing guard at the end of the hallway near the entrance to the stairs.
The general smiled. “Let's go for a walk.”
A few moments later after descending two floors, they were walking along the sidewalk near the center of town. The morning sun beamed down, and she regretted not having sunglasses, although the heat didn’t seem to bother the general.
Galloway noticed Marina squinting. “Yes, the sun isn’t quite as pleasant for us as it is for most other folks. But I still enjoy my early morning walks regardless!”
They continued walking in silence. The soldier kept up with their pace, staying a few yards behind them. Marina waited for the general to tell her what the point of this was but hadn’t really had a chance to explore the area, so was glad to do so. She was surprised to see open stores and people going about their business.
Galloway briefly waved her hand in front of them. “I can tell you’re surprised.”
“I’ve not seen a camp yet that has managed to hold on to the old way of life. This place is the first.”
The general smiled. “I’ll take that as a compliment.” Then her demeanor grew darker. “But it hasn’t been without its sacrifices.”
They stopped in front of a small lawned area which was positioned in front of a church. The general walked forward and sat on a bench, Marina sat next to her.
“I wanted you to see what we’re fighting for. Life… all life, human, whatever the hell we are. All of it can still have nice things. The things we all used to have.” She shook her head. “As if we didn’t have enough on our plates already with the vamps, now we got our kind working against us as well.”
For a moment Marina wasn’t sure what she meant, then she realized she was referring to Copeland.
“And that’s what I want to talk to you about…”
Marina was still waiting for the point.
“I make it my business to know the abilities of all those that I allow to stay within these walls. And it has come to my attention that the boy who is in your care—”
Marina’s face grew tight. “What about him?”
Galloway briefly lifted her hand. “We’re just having a conversation. That’s all. But I have learned that he has the ability to track our kind over great distances. That he even tracked Joel across the country? And that’s how the corporation caught up with all of you?”
Marina hesitated in answering. “Yes…”
“So could your boy help us in tracking others?”
Marina couldn’t help the anger that was building inside of her, despite the logic in what the general was saying. “I… don’t know… maybe. Who do you want to locate?”
“The bastard that’s causing all this. Daniel Copeland!”
Marina looked at the general wondering if she knew Jasper was his son. “How would it work? Jasper helping exactly?”
“You’re the closest the boy has to a mother. So that would be up to you. But if we find Copeland, then perhaps we can get to him. End all of this before it gets worse.”
Marina nodded.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Amos ran across the single-lane country road and into the branches and leaves on the other side. Joel and Dalton were already waiting near the trunk of a large tree which mostly shielded them from the bright sun above them. Keller being the last of the four-person group joined them.
Without talking, Joel gestured with hand signals for them to move through the woods towards the town.
Walking fast but as quietly as they could, they moved through fall leaves and across the hard mud ground until a fence was visible up ahead.
Joel gestured for them to stop and he looked at Amos first and then Dalton. Both nodded so Joel started walking again, being mindful to use his own senses to seek any sign of life around them.
The ivy-covered fence stood about six feet, with a door at the left corner. Joel walked to it, immediately noticing the chains that bound the handle. Placing his hands on them, he pulled. They twisted then snapped.
He slowly pushed the small latch up and pushed the door inwards.
He was at the bottom of a large garden, with shrubs and trees at the edges and in the distance, a two-story wooden house, with a patio outside the back. He couldn’t see any movement beyond the windows. He crept inside, waving the others to follow.
Keeping their M4s pointed downwards and in silence, they walked onto a stone slabbed path and followed it to the back of the house. Joel walked up three steps to the deck and tried to avoid the creaking planks as he peered through the glass doors to a living room. His senses weren’t picking up anything. He looked back to Amos and Dalton again. They both shook their heads, confirming his instincts.
He hoped the door was unlocked and was rewarded when he pulled and it slid across. They all then quickly moved inside.
Silently they moved from room to room in the large property, but as with the home on the hill, it was completely empty.
They all met back up in the large hallway near the front door.
“Any of you sensing life nearby?” Joel said. He was relieved to use his voice.
Dalton sniffed the air while Amos lowered his head in concentration.
“There were people in this property, maybe a week ago,” said Dalton.
They both waited on a response from the young man.
“I’m picking up… thoughts… but not in any of the houses around us. These are maybe two-three miles to the…” He walked forward and looked through the small panes of glass that surrounded the front door. He pointed to his left. “Over there.”
Joel pulled out a paper map which had been printed back at the camp. “Right, so we must be…” he pointed at a street to the east of the town. “Somewhere here. So you’re saying the corporation is to the west, so that would make them be…”
“At the school,” said Keller, looking at the map.
“Yup.” Joel looked at Amos and Dalton. “You think we can get closer without being noticed?”
Dalton thought for a moment. “Yeah.”
Joel looked at Amos.
“We need to go slow so I can keep taking a read on our surroundings, but yeah I think we can get closer.”
Keller smirked. “We just gotta hope they don’t have another one of you,” he said to Amos.
It was a thought Amos had had before. What would happen if he met another like himself? Him probing their mind while they did the same to him? The feedback loop from hell. Would his brain explode?
It was a situation he would rather avoid.
Joel looked at his radio’s LCD display. “We’re making good time. It's only been forty-five minutes. We’ll take it road by road and cut through properties rather than use the sidewalks. If anyone sees or hears or, err… senses anything tell the rest of us, and then hide.”
They all nodded, then made their way to the back of the house and left the way they entered.
Walking down a narrow path along the side of the house revealed they were in one of the towns many neighborhoods.
A basketball hoop was attached to a garage door opposite them. Disturbingly, a basketball sat deflated below it.
Homes, most single story, constructed from red brick, plaster, and wood sat along both sides of the road. They ran across lawns and driveways avoiding the sidewalk where they could, moving ever westwards.
Joel kept checking with Amos to see if they were close enough, but the young man kept shaking his head. So they kept on going.
As Joel was going to suggest they just enter the next large home they run past, Amos stopped abruptly. He placed a hand to his temple as if a particularly bad headache was taking shape, then he looked at Joel.
“I can sense them.”
Joel pointed at the closest building, a two-story complex which appeared to contain apa
rtments.
They ran across the edge of the overgrown lawn onto the path and into the entrance lobby. Without stopping, Joel pulled the exterior door open and they all quickly moved inside.
“Let's try one of them on the floor above,” said Joel, moving into the stairwell.
Soon he was looking at a landing with four numbered doors. As the others clambered up the stairs he quickly mapped the orientation of the building in his head and moved towards 2B, ignoring a low rumbling coming from the direction Amos had indicated.
In one swift movement, he pressed his shoulder onto the redwood door and, with a short sharp push, the lock broke and he pushed the door open.
A baseball bat swung through the air which he narrowly managed to sway back from. It smashed into the masonry sending dust from the wall to the floor. Before the man could withdraw it, Joel grabbed it from him, his eyes beginning to turn black when he felt a hand on his shoulder.
“They’re human!” said Amos.
Joel looked back at the unshaved sweat covered individual. Then a baby started crying, a woman talking softly, trying to get it to be quiet.
“Shit,” said Joel. He walked inside the apartment’s hallway, pushing the baseball bat into the man's hand and waved the others behind inside.
In the small living room, a woman with jet-black hair sat on an equally modest sofa, holding a baby to her chest. The man pushed past Joel again and placed himself in front of the woman and her child.
“We’re no threat to you!” said the man.
Joel raised his hand. “We’re not with the others in the town. We’re from another camp. We can help you.”
The man’s face contorted to one of confusion. “You’re one of those human vamps aren’t you?”
Keller and Dalton had already walked past Joel and the family and were now standing at the double window, peering through the drapes, past the small balcony to the school in the distance. It was visible above the roofs of stores which lined the main street in front of them.
“Yeah, but I’m on your side,” said Joel.