by P. T. Hylton
Jaden slowly got to his feet. He placed a hand on the bulkhead, steadying himself. “Think we could talk alone for a minute, Alex?”
Ed crossed his arms. “You got something to say you don’t want us to hear?”
“Yes, actually. Also, I haven’t eaten in two weeks, and Chuck’s bleeding quite a lot.”
Ed grabbed Chuck’s arm. “Maybe we should go. You too, rookie.”
Alex watched as the three of them left the cargo hold and headed toward the passenger area. When they were gone, she turned to Jaden. “Look, if you’re expecting me to say I’m sorry, or that I was wrong to release the virus, you’re going to be sorely disappointed. The virus works. Ferals are dying.”
“Yes, I realize that,” Jaden said. “I’m not looking for an apology. I don’t like the decision you made, but I know that you did it for people.” He paused. “I know you saw that video of me in the Project White Horse headquarters. You saw what Robert and I did.”
“I also saw you murder my best friend and turn her into your vampire slave.” She gave him a long look. “But at least you’re ugly now.”
Jaden looked down at his misshapen hands, and Alex was surprised to see real sorrow on his face. Maybe after centuries of eternal youth, mutating into a deformed freak was a tough pill to swallow. “I couldn’t risk releasing the virus. Like you, I was trying to protect my people. I was—”
“Honestly, Jaden, I’d rather not. I get your motivations. We don’t have to be buddies, but maybe we could agree not to kill each other. At least, for now.”
Jaden smiled weakly, exposing his elongated teeth. “That works for me.”
Alex leaned back against a crate and crossed her arms. “It sounded like you and the torture queen have a history.”
“Yes. I turned her. I was her mentor.”
Alex put her hand to her throbbing shoulder. “Why am I not surprised? So what are we dealing with, here? What’s she want?”
Jaden’s face darkened. “Death.”
Alex raised an eyebrow. “Okay… I don’t want to cast aspersions, but it seems like you might be scared of her.”
“Fear is the logical response to certain situations. This is one of them.” He paused. “I’m not being dramatic. If death could get up and walk around on two feet, you’d have Maryana.”
A realization dawned on Alex. “You said the person who caused the infestation also polluted the virus. It’s Maryana, isn’t it? She’s the vampire who destroyed civilization.”
“Oh, yes,” Jaden said. “Alex, the essential quality of vampires for centuries has been restraint. We limited our numbers to one hundred. We drank as much as we needed to in order to survive, but never for pleasure. We kept our existence a secret.”
“I’m guessing Maryana didn’t play by your rules.”
“She did not. She used vampirism like a plague. And she made it look easy. All she needed to do was turn a couple of humans and order them to turn as many people as possible. And she ordered them to pass along the same instructions. It was like a self-replicating line of code, but instead of crashing a system, it brought down the world.”
A chill ran through Alex. Considering how fast such a plan could have spread, it was impressive that humanity had lasted as long as it did. “What’s the point of doing that? You wipe out every human on Earth, and then what? I mean, it’s not like she could count on some random person in a future generation stumbling across the virus and releasing it. What was in it for her?”
“I told you. Death. She revels in causing pain. I think she set off the apocalyptic chain reaction just to see if she could.”
Alex shook her head. She couldn’t believe anyone could be that crazy. And yet, Maryana hadn’t eaten in a century and a half, and when she’d captured the GMT she hadn’t seemed the least bit interested in feeding. Her first instinct had been to cause more pain. “So what happens now?”
There was a long silence before Jaden answered. “She knows I’m alive, and she knows humans still exist. I think what happens next is she tries her damnedest to unleash hell on all who remain.”
Alex’s lips curled up in a smile. “Jaden, I get that she’s tough, but she’s one vampire. I don’t think she and her lone flunky can take down all of us.”
He met her eyes. “She has followers. Vampires who believe her chaotic philosophy makes her a worthy ruler. If she survived the virus, some of them may have, as well. We can’t underestimate her. She brought the world to its knees once. She may be able to do it again.”
Alex frowned. “Well, I guess you and I are sort of on the hook for this one. You made her into a vampire, and I made her into whatever the hell she is now. It’s up to us to stop her.”
“Agreed.”
“Good. Let’s tell the others.”
A few minutes later, they gathered in the passenger hold. The GMT gave Jaden a wary glance as he limped in to join them.
Alex spoke into her headset. “Owl, can you hear me?”
“Affirmative, Captain.”
“Good. You need to hear what I’m about to say, too. And sorry you had to go right back to flying.”
“Are you kidding me? This is the first time I’ve been able to relax in days.”
“You’re welcome to the pilot’s chair,” Chuck added. “Flying the away ship stresses me out. Thank God I don’t have to pilot this monster.”
Alex’s face grew more serious as she addressed her team. “You may have noticed that we’re dealing with something new down there. Jaden gave me a bit of Maryana’s history, and I’m convinced we need to take her out. Now. Before she gets any stronger.” She glanced at Jaden. “Things have been complicated recently between Jaden and us.”
“You think it’s complicated for you?” Owl asked. “The guy killed me.”
“We need to put all that aside for now.” She thought a moment. “Except you, Owl. You have my permission to be mad at him. But for the rest of you, we don’t have time for infighting.”
“So what’s our first step?” Chuck asked.
Alex gestured toward Jaden’s misshapen form. “It seems the vampires who survive the virus are changed by it. We know they’ve lost their vulnerability to sunlight, but we don’t know much else. What are their strengths? Their weaknesses? What makes them survive while others don’t? We need to study them. And it just so happens we have two willing test subjects aboard this ship.”
Ed frowned. “Alex, you’re not saying--”
“I am. Owl, set a course for New Haven. We’re going home.”
19
Stephen held his dismembered left hand in his right. He pressed it to the stump, as if hoping it might reattach itself. His sleeve was wet with blood, but the wound was already beginning to heal. A thin layer of skin had formed over bone that had been exposed only a few minutes before.
“Stephen could you give me a hand?” Maryana laughed, as she sat down beside him.
Stephen ignored the joke. “I’m sorry. We had him out numbered. If I hadn’t let him get the best of me, we could have killed him.”
Maryana slapped him on the back. “You did fine. As much as I hate that old stick in the mud, I have to admit, the guy can fight. Besides, he’s earned more than a quick death. I plan to teach him a thing or two about pain before he dies.” She frowned at the way Stephen held his dismembered hand to his stump. “I don’t think you’re going to snap that thing back on like a Lego, buddy. Hopefully, these freakish bodies heal as well as our old ones. Maybe this will help.” She held up two blood sacks and tossed one to Stephen.
Stephen dropped his hand and caught the blood pack. They each drank greedily until every drop was gone.
“Is there more?” Stephen asked.
“That military girl was nice enough to leave us a ship, fully stocked with enough blood to feed all of the piles of ash in this building. This should buy us some time to find some more friends.”
“As long as the plan ends with us finishing off that prick, I’m on board.” Stephen stood up.<
br />
“Oh, it does. First, I think we’ll find everything that he cares about in this world and destroy it. Then, best case scenario, we can kill him very slowly, over decades.” She closed her eyes and smiled at the thought.
“Sounds good to me. Where do we start?”
“We need to be able to fly that girl’s ship. If the virus works like I think it does, there should be more of us on this island. There may be a pilot in the group. Then we’ll take the ship and work on putting the band back together.” She picked up Stephen’s hand and held it in the air. “High five?”
Stephen shook his head. “I’m actually pretty pissed about the hand thing.”
“Have it your way.” She threw the hand as hard as she could into the jungle. “Let’s see who else is on the island.”
When Alex finished speaking into the radio, there was a long pause. Finally, CB responded. “You’re asking permission to bring Jaden onto New Haven?”
Alex handed the radio to Jaden.
“I’m asking permission for myself and Owl to come aboard,” he said. “We will agree to any conditions you may have.”
General Craig spoke next. “The Council needs to meet to discuss this before I we can grant this request.”
“I respect that. Do hurry, though. We can fly for a few hours, but we will need to land, eventually.”
CB came back on the radio. “Alex, do you trust him?”
Alex looked at Jaden. He had a way of moving past things more quickly than others might, and while he might still be angry over the virus, she didn’t think he’d seek revenge while Maryana was on the loose. “I wouldn’t go that far, but I think he will help us with this new problem.”
Three hours later, after the Council had approved their arrival and the conditions had been set, the transport ship landed in the GMT hanger. For the second time in a week, the GMT arrived home to find a heavily armed welcome. When the ship’s cargo door opened, they found the hangar filled with badges and snipers positioned throughout the room.
“We are coming out slowly and unarmed,” Alex called. She turned to address everyone on board. “Let’s go out nice and slow with our hands up. No sudden movements. These badges are not used to this kind of action.”
Owl looked at Alex, her eyes filled with tears. “I don’t know if I can do that. I don’t want anyone to see me like this.”
Alex took Owl’s hand. “You’re a member of the GMT, the toughest group to ever put a boot on the dirt. You can do anything. Let’s get you home.”
The group stepped off the ship and proceeded slowly into the hangar. They stood in a line, their hands in the air, the humans on the left and the vampires on the right. As soon as the badges saw Jaden and Owl, they let out a gasp. Alex wondered if some rookie would freak out and shoot Jaden, but luckily everyone held it together.
“All of you, lie face down on the deck!” a badge shouted.
They did as asked. A group of badges rushed over and checked Alex, Ed, Chuck, and Felix. Once they’d confirmed that they still had pulses, they moved on to the vampires.
They secured Jaden and Owl with three sets of handcuffs each, then allowed them to stand.
CB approached the vampires, his face grim and a rifle in his hands. “Okay, Jaden I need to hear you say it.”
Jaden turned face Owl. “I need you to look at me for this to work.” Owl turned her head toward him, and they looked directly into each other’s eyes. “I relinquish my control over you. Your will is your own and my command has no power over you.”
CB looked back and forth between them. “That’s it? Did it work, Owl?”
“I don’t know. I don’t feel any different.”
Jaden sighed. “Owl, smash your face on the floor.”
Owl didn’t move. “It worked. I’m free.”
A thin smiled crossed CB’s face. “It’s good to have you back, Owl. I’m going to need both of you to come with me.”
“Where are you taking them?” Alex asked.
“Frank’s old room,” CB said.
“Is that really necessary?”
CB shrugged. “Council’s orders. It’s the only place on the ship built to contain vampires.”
“Jaden, I get,” Alex said. “But Owl?”
CB frowned. “Sorry, but yes. It might freak out the citizens to see a vampire walking around. No offense, Owl.”
“It’s okay,” Owl said. “I’m not ready to be seen.”
Alex watched in silence as CB led Jaden and Owl through the door at the end of the hangar and to their steel cage.
Eight hours later, Alex walked into Brian’s office and found CB sitting across from his desk. She pulled up a chair and collapsed into it.
CB gave her an appraising look. The tape and gauze over the wound in her shoulder was clearly visible under her tank top. “How are you holding up?”
“The team is resting. Chuck and Felix are still under observation for possible concussions. They kept Ed, too. I think he was happy just to rest.”
“That’s good, but how are you doing?”
Alex slouched in her chair, her head down. “Firefly’s dead, along with all his soldiers, Owl is kind of alive, and I’m working with the guy who tried to kill me a few days ago. Oh, and there is an insane, mass-murdering vampire lady on the loose. Just another Tuesday with the GMT.”
“You really should get some rest, and that’s coming from a guy who sleeps at his desk most nights,” Brian said.
“I know. I’m beyond wiped out. I just wanted to check in and see if you found out anything before I crash.” One of the first things they’d done after securing Jaden and Owl in Frank’s old quarters was to draw samples of their blood for Brian to study. Both vampires had complied willingly.
Brian's eyes lit up. “Yes, the samples are fascinating. The virus reacts in a totally different way to a very specific DNA set. It was like the virus was tailored to enhance that one set, but kill everything else.”
“That doesn’t make any sense,” Alex said. “Owl and Jaden both survived, and they are totally different.”
“Their original human DNA is totally different, but human DNA is not affected by the virus. A vampire’s DNA mutates, and their vampire mutations are almost identical. Think of it as a parent-child relationship.”
“You’re telling me that this virus was specifically designed to enhance Jaden?” Alex looked totally confused.
“That’s what I thought at first. When I looked at Owl’s samples I could see that it was more closely designed to match hers. I think it just happened to work on Jaden, but it was designed to work on Owl.”
Alex shook her head. “Okay, I’m hoping it’s the painkillers they have me on, but that sounds crazy. Why would the virus target Owl?”
CB leaned forward. “It’s not Owl specifically. It targets the DNA of anyone Jaden has turned. Do you know anyone who would have wanted that?”
Alex felt a wave of nausea pass through her. “That’s what she did with the virus. It was made to enhance her and kill everyone else. Why didn’t you see this when you were working on the virus?”
“Even if I’d known to look for it, I’m sure I never would have figured it out without a sample of that specific tissue. I’m sure that no one working on the virus knew about it, either.”
CB stood up and opened the door for Alex. “Okay, now you know what we know. Get some rest. We’ll keep working on it and let you know if we figure out anything else tomorrow.”
Alex went back to her quarters, wondering what she’d unleashed on the world.
20
“I think it’s pretty clear that we have a major problem,” Ambassador McCready said to the Council. A thick vein stood out on his red forehead as he spoke. “The world has changed overnight. We have a new set of problems and challenges ahead of us. The solution to those problems is aboard this ship. We have someone with more experience dealing with crises than this whole Council put together. He also happens to be the greatest warrior in the world. And you’re
keeping him in a prison cell.”
“Not a prison,” CB muttered.
McCready spun toward him. “Excuse me?”
“I said it’s not a prison. A prison is a building where people held as punishment for a crime. This is more of an isolation cell.”
“You’re not helping, CB,” General Craig growled.
“My point,” the ambassador continued, “is that you’re failing to understand the significance of what’s happened. A vampire in your city is not something to be feared. At least, not if it’s the right vampire. He may be the secret to your survival.”
Craig held up a hand. “Thanks, Ambassador. We take your point. Let’s allow others to have their say.”
Alex tried her best to listen to what they were saying, but her mind kept wandering. It wasn’t that she was disinterested in the topic they were debating; it was that she’d already had the same debate in her mind a hundred times. In some ways, Jaden had been almost as responsible for the fall of civilization as Maryana was. He’d stopped the virus that could have halted the spread. On the other hand, Maryana would have lived through the virus, and she would have been immune to sunlight. Maybe she would have brought about a whole different kind of apocalypse.
But there was something more visceral to Alex’s feelings about Jaden. A few days ago, they’d been trying to kill each other. The deepest, most animalist part of her brain wasn’t ready to forget that. But wasn’t that what true leadership was all about? Doing the right thing for your people, even when it was hard?
Councilman Horace scratched his chin. “The way I see it, we have three choices. Keep Jaden locked up, let him go back to Agartha, or kill him. We can’t let him hang around New Haven.”
“Kill him?” Ambassador McCready shouted. “That’s insane! And you can’t send him back to Agartha. He’s been exposed to the virus.”
“Bottom line,” Councilman Callahan said, “our number one responsibility is keeping this city safe. We stay on the move, and we stay hidden. It’s worked so far. I don’t care if this vampire lady can walk in sunlight. She’ll have to jump pretty high to catch New Haven.”