Second Genesis

by Eric Williams

  She pressed the same button, ending the holocall. “We need to get this taken care of quickly.”

  Alex wasn’t as calm. “That many ghouls, if they were to enter Bastion City…”

  Lillian looked at him. “We won’t let that happen. Doing so would just further human hatred of all Immortium. I will go to the bridge. As for you, it's clear those bats have made some vampires in those ruins, otherwise we wouldn't have that many ghouls. Obviously these scavenger humans are helping them generate a ghoul infestation unlike the modern age has seen.”

  “What is your will?” He asked.

  “I will attend the bridge and help as I can. Also, I want you to get a pack of thropes together. Go into New York City so we can begin fighting the threat on both sides. If the humans see us helping, it will help us in the political backlash. But I also want you to see if you can sniff out our young vampire friend Xairin over there. I have a feeling he’s there, and if he is, we might be able to use him to track the vampire responsible for those red eyed ghouls.”

  “What makes you think that?” He asked curiously.

  Lillian smirked. “When I was a young vampire, I saw what the bat that bit me did… I would have done the same back then.”

  She looked at him. “Find Xairin. See if he can sense other vampires related to him over there. They should share a common link of sorts. Find the vampire responsible… You know what must be done after that.”

  Lillian walked out of the apartment building as Alex went his own way to procure a hovercopter as well as a team of wolves to help fight the threat. She expressed she would walk while coming out of the building. She did, keeping a brisk pace while looking at her holowatch a second time. This time, she contacted Ethan.

  _____

  Ganymede Space Station: Project Genesis.

  Ethan was back on Jupiter’s largest moon, Ganymede. He was walking the sterile hallways of the lunar space station there, shaped like all the other stations, like a giant black snowflake made up of several biodomes and adjacent facilities. He was making his inspections. He had already visited the other three giant moons Jupiter offered, Io, Europa and Calisto, Ganymede was last to visit.

  Project Genesis, was something that had been going on for quite some time. The idea was to terraform the moons since their sizes could support near earth sized populations. The only thing holding them back was time to perform the deed.

  Ethan was looking out of the translucent tube he took a right turn in. IT was a massive tube, connecting to the center dome. It was one of several star tunnels, allowing an outside view of the stars and the works they were performing. Ganymede already had ice, and a few subterranean oceans, just as Calisto did. He watched as the green laser from the center structure was aimed at Jupiter, pulling gasses that could be converted into useful elements from the fusion process, while other gasses were simply put to immediate use, bolstering the atmosphere. He let out a smile, when he noticed condensation on the hull of the translucent walkway he was strolling down.

  The signal on his white watch began to buzz. He pressed the holocall button and saw Lillian again. He was both pleased, and frightened at the same time. Seeing her contact always was either an honor, or a problem.

  “Miss Rutherford… How can I be of assistance?”

  She noticed his gray kevlar uniform and quickly shook her head. “I see you’re still in space?”

  Ethan nodded. He had been working on this project for almost a decade now. He was afraid he was going to have to either resign or fake his death, and somehow get reinstated 20 years later, posing as his own son so that humans didn’t figure it out that he was an immortal. So many immortals played the same game to both maintain their wealth, increase it, and keep their immortal natures secret. Coming out of the cave so to speak, was a breath of fresh air for many immortals tired of forcing their regenerations to change their looks, and fake their deaths just to blend back in. As for the project, Trevor Graves had approached Ethan almost thirty years ago. He begged Ethan to join Galactic-corps when the branch of the world government arose. Despite the mellitus-32 virus setting back the human populace to just now achieving 2 billion worldwide, everyone knew someday earth would become overcrowded again. Project Genesis, was underway. The project included terraforming the four largest moons in Jupiter’s orbit, and mars. They knew leaving the solar system was eventually a requirement, but when the means to terraform right at home became a possibility thanks to the new fusion technology developed by Ethan and several others, it made more sense to stay local so to speak.

  “I am still off world. Is everything ok?”

  She didn’t waste time. Her tone was annoyed. “A ghoul infestation has arose in New York City. Before you ask, no, none of your new nest mates are responsible. However your vampire Delta Xairin, his eyes are red, just like the ghouls we are seeing in the New York City infestation. He has expressed experiencing a link to the bat that had bitten him, the albino. To cut to the chase in the matter, he may be missing, and I need his help in hopefully sensing the vampire responsible. It has to be one of the scavengers living on the island. He told my head of personal protections, that he had seen children held up near where the bat is roosting. I feel he, may have tried to help them.”

  “Oh dear.. Is the infestation that bad?”

  She nodded. “Three hundred ghouls and counting. Also after reviewing data, there is an estimated 2 thousand scavs possibly living in the ruins of New York City. I need to find Xairin. Can you help me Mr. Holiday?”

  At best it would take him a few hours to leave Ganymede and arrive in Earth’s orbit through the slipstream. The look on his face seemed grim. “I have at least an hour before I can leave Ganymede station, and you know it would take an hour to travel the slip. I will leave as soon as I can.”

  She huffed. “No, just stay on Ganymede. I will find another way to locate your nestmate. In the meantime, please inform your Betas that the society needs aid. I want all Immortium assisting in thwarting this infestation before it damages human relations.”

  He nodded. “I understand. I will inform my strongest Betas, Megan, Ty and Velma of the situation. They will report as soon as possible.”

  She cocked her head in his holofeed. “Tell them to report to the Society of Night Embassy in Bastion City at once. I will send orders to our lieutenants on what to do next.”

  _____

  The rooftop.

  Xairin sat there weeping over the dead body he had created. Words couldn’t quite describe how he felt at the moment. Taking a human life was something that never once crossed his mind, and even if his blood was doing all the controlling, he still felt horrible over the matter.

  He had been sitting there for almost half an hour, studying the woman’s face. He felt full after drinking two bodies to completion, but his soul ached now.

  As he sat there. His blood began to speak to him. Absorbing the two scavengers blood in such amounts gave his body a few memories trapped in their DNA. Yodi and Barb were not the nicest of the scavs living in New York. They had both recently killed other scavengers for supplies, and on more than one occasion, had swam across the river to steal from Civs, even murdered a woman for her laser pistol. Xairin began to learn this which gave an odd comfort in what he had did.

  He stood up slowly. He was still a little shaken, but was regaining his focus.

  Now that he was feeling strong, he closed his eyes and tried to sense for the Albino’s roost. He was lucky. He could see through her eyes. She was close. She wasn’t in the roost, but in flight hunting for human blood.

  Xairin could see through her eyes and biosonar. She was becoming frustrated from the lack of the one blood source she craved most. To Xairin it was a sign of relief. The scavs must have went into hiding. On the other side, he could see through her infrared vision at several blue auras outlining the ghouls running about. “SHIT, there must be a few hundred of those things.”

  The albino’s thoughts dwelt on the humans held up in the roost. If sh
e came up empty handed, she was already planning on breaking through the metal debris making up their makeshift barricade. One way or another, she was feeding before dawn.

  Xairin had to find that roost now. He spread his wings and leaped off the building and entered a steady glide. He flapped his wings a few times to get him higher. From this angle he could see better. His own heat vision detailed other ghouls. They were running in packs. Most of them were a dozen or less, some more than that. They seemed to be heading in the same direction.

  The direction they were flocking in was clear to Xairin. He knew where the border bridge was. “Oh my god, those things will destroy the city. I have to warn someone!”

  Xairin looked at his watch and was about to call Alex when he realized something, the screen to the watch was busted. No matter what he clicked, it wouldn’t bring up the screen he needed. To make matters worse, he noticed he had six missed holocalls.

  The screen he needed to get an outgoing signal wouldn’t work, but the screen that detailed the missed calls worked.. They were each from Alex.

  Xairin was faced with a dilemma. Fly back so he can warn Alex, or save the people he felt drawn to come and help. Despite Yodi and Barb being a pair of thieving murders, he felt a duty to make amends now more than ever. At least he could help the people held up where ever the roost was.

  Landing to give clear thought as to what he should do was important. He landed on a rooftop by gliding downward and arriving gracefully. His wings hid themselves right as he looked over the edge.

  “What should I be doing? What would my parents do?” He said softly.

  Xairin closed his eyes tightly. He hoped his blood would have that answer. “What would my mother do?”

  He never saw or felt what that answer would be. He hoped that he could relive a memory of her, at least he had that ability since K2 was gone. In a way his mother would always be with him, now was a time that he wished his blood had something to give him but it wasn't offering anything.

  Listening to his blood yielded nothing which only frustrated him. He growled and punched his fist down into the stone etching of the roof, causing the stone to crumble where his fist landed.

  The blood on his knuckles receded while the wound from punching the stone siding healed. Xairin huffed.

  Screams in the distant rang out like a church bell, loud and clear, it was a woman’s voice, human…

  “ARE YOU SERIOUS? NOW?” Xairin yelled.

  He seemed annoyed that someone was screaming, diverting him from his thought processes. Still, he decided to investigate.

  He leaped from the roof and landed like a cat at the bottom, effortlessly.

  His eyes turned red while focusing in, looking for body heat. He saw the heart beating two hundred yards away. The thing that caught him off guard was another aura, one that had black in it. A vampire was stalking a human.

  The vampire had to be a midget Xairin figured. It was small, short. The vampire in the distance was clinging to a wall, chasing a woman down an alley.

  _____

  Anna Chlumsky.

  Anna Chlumsky had been a scav for a decade now. She opted to leave the citizenship of her own accord after being converted by a fanatical dogmatic man that had set up a back alley mission. Anna was part of the camp that had been hit the night Xairin linked with the white bat. Being one of few survivors of the encounter, she fled deeper into the city. She had seen ghouls arise from her campmates, along with newly emerged vampires. To Anna, she concluded, like so many others of her camp, that the global alliance was to blame. That they had released some doomsday virus upon the inhabitants of the ruins. It was common knowledge that the GA wanted to refurbish New York City after all.

  Anna was pushing 50 now, though given the sanitary conditions she had elected to live in, she looked almost 60. She was running down the street wearing garments reflecting her lifestyle choices. She had a hoodie, which the hood fell back, revealing her stringy brown and peppered hair. Her brisk pace was a clear hint she was evading something following her.

  She turned around, and looked up while stopping in the street. A shadowy figure was clinging to the side of a building. She could see in the darkness, a silhouette of a small human. It's red eyes, flickered with a light, giving away its location. Anna screamed.

  She kept looking back while she tried to pull a revolver from her pocket. She fired at the shadowy figure. It leaped into the air, clinging like a frog to another wall. She fired again, missing it. This time the silhouette landed on top of a rusted car, again it's red eyes glowed in the darkness. This time it growled like a lion.

  Anna ran, taking a turn down an alley that she hoped would lead to her to a safe place..

  Xairin heard the gunshot and sniffed the air. He could tell something was different about this vamp. His blood taught him that the scent was that of a Beta, chasing its prey. He wondered how Lillian knew the difference. He remembered her saying that each caste had a scent, now he knew.

  He took off into a sprint. He hoped that this good intention of helping, didn’t pan out like the earlier part of the night did. Xairin knew he could take on a Delta and an Alpha gorgon if they were young enough, but this could be different. He had never fought one of his own kind before.

  The woman that was running kept looking up at the walls. She kept turning her head quickly, trying to see whatever it was that was chasing her. She had the old revolver she had taken from one of the gun stores in the ruins ready to shoot again. All she had to do was pull the trigger.

  Xairin could see that in her frightened face as he perched himself atop a fire escape, trying his best to see the vampire after her. He thought he could reason with it.

  The end of the alley ended up in nothing more than ruins and a brick wall. Even the dumpster down the alley was aged to the point the bottom and the sides had rusted out. There was nowhere to hide.

  The woman turned around. She heard a giggling. It wasn’t a midget like Xairin thought it was. The giggling that was taunting the women sounded like a child. The young boy’s voice echoed out to where Xairin could hear it.. “Anna.. Where are you?”

  “THERE YOU ARE ANNA!” The boys voice called out.

  Anna looked up. She saw the red glow of the eyes looking at her. She saw the eyes moving upward, the vampire was in motion, climbing the wall as it clung to it like a spider.

  Hearing the voice again, Xairin realized this was no little person. “It's kid!” Xairin blurted.

  Anna, looked around with her gun pointed everywhere right as the eyes vanished. She had blood on her face, cuts and scratches. Xairin could make it out, they were claw marks along her left cheek. Tears streamed down the woman’s face. The smell of fear, adrenaline coursing through her veins was like a beacon for him. Even Xairin had to resist the urge not to lick his lips.

  Anna’ felt her hand holding the gun, twist behind her A boy, no greater than six years of age, had appeared out of the shadows, grasping the gun, and tossing it to the side when her wrist made a crunching noise. “I’m hungry Anna.” The boy taunted.

  He had dirty blonde hair, long and unkempt. He also had the same red eyes that Xairin had. The boy was dressed in a hobos robes. He was dirty. That wasn’t what caught Xairin’s eyes however, nor was the boys mouth being filled with razor sharp teeth, even the red eyes didn’t cause Xairin to gasp. It was the kids face. The boy he had seen through the albino’s eyes that night he first linked, was the same kid standing there causing the woman to hunker down from the force of his grasp. The kid had resurged…

  “Tommy please.. Please, don’t do this!’ Anna begged. Clearly she knew the boy. Xairin realized she had to have been traveling with the same camp of scavs since she recognized him so.

  “I’m hungry Anna. I’m starving. I can’t help it.” The kid said.

  Anna pushed him off. He fell to the ground only to get up quickly and stand. The kid let out a low growl as his red eyes flickered. “I said I’m hungry!”

  Xairin dropped from the
fire escape with a flawless landing while letting out a roar loud enough to catch both Anna and Tommy’s attention. The roar wasn’t intended to scare Anna as badly as it did, only to get the kid’s attention.

  Anna fell onto her back and began crying. She saw Xairin walking towards her slowly. His fangs and red eyes were fixated, but not on her, just the boy. “Leave the woman alone kid.” Xairin said.

  The boy instantly noticed Xairin’s red eyes. Within a few feet of one another, they both felt an affinity. The kid had little understanding of it, but as for Xairin, not only did the red eyes give it away, he too felt a connection. “Don’t hurt her.”

  Tommy looked at Anna and growled. “I’m hungry!”

  The kid arched his back like one might envision a velociraptor from a movie might do. He charged at her. Xairin intersected. He didn’t throw the kid or hurt him, he just grabbed him around the waist. “No, don’t do this. There are other ways to feed.”