by Jeff Seats
The last body was that of Evers, the bitten team member she had to shoot. “Eugene Evers. You don’t have to tell me.” Liz squatted down and touched his cheek, fighting back her tears. “I’m sorry my friend.” And then she stood and joined the rest of the team.
There was a moment of silence and a final salute farewell. Craig turned to Liz, and they walked back towards the Osprey.
“How come they’re staying?” Liz asked of the team.
“They have work to finish with their friends,” Craig replied.
“What do they have to do? I should help.” And Liz turned back to watch as each of the dead bodies had a wooden stake was driven into their hearts. Liz stopped breathing as she watched the violent acts they were performing to the fallen warrior’s bodies.
In shocked silence she saw St. Jean raise an ax over Timmons' neck but turned away as he brought it down severing head from body with a dull thunk.
“Procedure,” Craig said. “We have to know that they will not return as vamps. But to make sure...”
Liz forced herself to turn back to watch as the ax blade fell on Evers’ neck. She grit her teeth at the sight but did not close her eyes or turn away. She would never turn away again.
Ortega opened a plastic jug and poured a clear liquid over the bodies. Ellingson struck a flare and dropped it into a puddle of the liquid which ignited. The team stepped back and silently watched the bodies of their brothers and sister being consumed by fire.
“We only bring back the ashes of our dead,” Craig said softly.
—— UNCERTAIN FUTURE ——
“HELLO CALLER, THIS is Dr. Gwen. You’re on the air. How can I help?”
“Hi. My name is Ren.”
“Hi, Ren.”
“I think I’m seeing things...”
“Yes?”
“For the past three nights, there have been these lights hovering over the field behind the house. And they change color and stuff. My dog just goes bananas when they’re outside like he can hear them...”
“Mike, I’m sorry, but I think you are looking to call a different program. I help people with personal problems.”
“And aliens in my backyard is not a prob...”
A loud banging startled Craig just as his eyes shut for the third time. He heard the banging again, he closed his mouth and snapped his head upright. He was caught in the act of sleeping at the station, again. Craig reached to the mouse and clicked off the late night radio show streaming on the computer.
Another knock and his sleep clouded brain recognized it coming from behind him. Wiping away any bit of moisture that may have slipped out of the corner of his mouth, he swiveled his chair around to see who had interrupted his quiet time. The banging happened again. He saw Liz standing behind the glass window at the back of the control room. She held up a cup of coffee and arched her eyebrows in a manner that said, “Open the door if you want this.” Craig nodded an enthusiastic “Yes” and turned back to the desktop and pushed the button that buzzed the door open allowing Liz to enter.
He heard the door open and close and Liz’s footsteps as she approached but he didn’t turn back to her. Something was obviously wrong. Scanning the desktop Craig's brow furrowed. He lifted some paperwork in the in/out basket. He looked behind the monitor. He opened one drawer and then another. When he slammed the third drawer, Liz had arrived and set his coffee down but had to pull it away quickly when Craig almost knocked it over as he turned one way then another looking under and around the desk.
“Just what are you doing?”
He got up and looked behind the desk.
“Craig?”
“Is nothing sacred around here?” Craig asked in an accusatory tone.
“What are you talking about?”
“That asshole moved my duck! First, he trampled it with his blue bronco. Now he's taken it.” Craig grabbed the toy horse and hurled it across the empty control room. It bounced off a couple of workstations before it landed at the front of the Control Center under the large monitor.
“Oh, I see. So why do you think it's a guy doing it?” Liz shoved the cup to Craig.
He took the lid off and inhaled the steaming aroma. “What?”
“You said he trampled your duck. How do you know it's a he?”
“Well, I just assumed. There’s a pimple faced kid who runs this station during the day. I know it’s him, dicking with me. And who said it was my duck?”
“You just did.”
“Yeah? I guess I did.”
“Anyway, I happen to know that Commander Cole is a huge Boise State fan.”
Craig took in a large mouthful of coffee and let it trickle down his throat. “Thanks for the caffeine. I owe you. So how do you know? She say anything?”
“Well, if you cared to ask...” Liz gave a mischievous smile. “She wondered if I would like to go to a game or two next season. You know, Boise is just a hop away from here.”
“Yeah, I know,” Craig said while walking down to retrieve the toy horse. Bending down to pick it up he found it with a broken leg. “Shit.” At the first desk, he came across with a tape dispenser he stopped and appropriated some, then did a half-assed fix. He returned to the workstation and tossed the blue horse on it. “There. All good. Don't go tattling to your new friend. Okay?”
“Your secret is safe with me. Besides, I'm more of a Banana Slug fan myself.” Liz confessed.
“Oh God.”
“So, how about making a visit to our new ‘volunteers’ when they're done training later.”
Craig looked at his watch. “I'll be asleep at five. Sorry.”
“Well, Commander Cole wants a report on them and since you were the one...”
“Jeez! Alright. Give me a call an hour before so that I won't sleep through it.”
“Not a problem. Besides aren't you a bit curious? I mean, Ellie has been back from her basic training at Fort Benning for over a week now and should be catching up with Paul on the CSC way of doing things.”
“I suppose you're right. Don't know why I'm being such an ass; it’s probably that I’ve had to pull night...”
“We.”
“Yeah, we’ve had to pull a week of working the night shift that is throwing me out of sorts.”
“That and your missing ducky.”
“Watch it. That's serious.”
“Listen, I hear you got lucky. A couple of weeks of graveyard is nothing. In my after-action interview, I got the sense that they were seriously thinking about sending you into exile. And me along with you. Apparently, you were right in how the higher-ups would take Vlad getting away.”
“Well, the big brass seemed to finally come to the conclusion that I had nothing to do with the bus breaking down and the passengers stumbling through a chain linked fence into a secured area. That and they could only blame themselves too in the budget cuts which ended the live guards’ on-site program and that there is no budget left to replace a highly trained asset such as myself.” Craig took in some of the coffee. “Sometimes it’s good to be me. Still I’m sorry that you had to be taken down with me on this.”
“Hey, I’m your partner. And I didn’t have much to say in the matter anyway.” Liz offered.
They both sat a bit drinking their coffee and checking the read-outs from the reservations. All indicators showed green. A quiet night.
Liz broke the silence. “It’s not like I didn’t deserve a bit of punishment of my own. Thanks for not saying anything by the way.”
Craig gives Liz a blank stare. “What are you talking about?”
“Come on. I pulled my weapon twice and not at any real threatening vampire. First on an eight-year-old girl...”
“Who had just been turned...”
Now Liz became a little bit sheepish as she continued. “And then on you and the team, well not on you guys directly but I had it drawn.”
“To protect Paul and Ellie from the evil ‘Man.' I get it. You weren’t entirely up to speed with the program. Twenty-four hour
s before you got thrown into a battle with vampires you had no idea that they even existed. Having to shoot Evers didn’t help either.."
"And being thrown against a brick wall..."
"Yes," Paul nodded agreement. "Why would I report that?”
“Well, thank you.” Liz stood and went over to a file cabinet and pulled open the middle drawer. She reached way in the back and gently pulled out the rubber duck.
“Hey!” Craig was now excited.
“I saw pimple face stash it in there.”
“So it wasn’t Cole.”
“No, but I couldn’t resist.” She tossed Craig, the duck and he caught it with a squeak.
««« ‡ »»»
IN A YARD, tucked behind the armory the Action Team was going through some hand to hand combat drills. The sun was low in the sky indicating that the day’s workout was drawing to a close.
The old hands were sparring with one another, taking turns being a vampire or werewolf or possibly a mutant while the other had to fight them off without getting bitten or otherwise infected. Of course, this infection was only simulated. But if a sparring partner playing a monster could get close enough and wipe the fingers of their gloved hands across exposed skin then one could find him, or herself with a pesky, itching rash from the ointment applied to the fingertips; nothing serious but something that wouldn't go away for several days. A relatively painless reminder to keep your head down or be turned into a howling-at-the-moon animal.
The team was paired off in twos practicing on top of mats scattered around the yard. Paul and Ellie were working on the center mat, Paul playing the vampire. Paul made a lunge and took a swipe at Ellie's neck. She ducked, spun around and circled behind him. Recovering, Paul turned a one-eighty to the right and approached her again. He took a leap and went for her neck again but when he did she somersaulted under him, between his legs, just as he lifted off the ground in his charge. Ellie recovered and bounced back onto her feet ready for another assault. The other team members broke away from their fights and watched the two newbies as they circled one another.
Side wagers were made with Paul being the odds-on favorite, based on his longer military service and active duty in a combat zone. But there were some wishing that they had bet on Ellie instead as they watched her effectively countering Paul's attacks. He lunged again. This time, Ellie grabbed him by the collar and tossed him over her head. Paul landed on his back looking up into the sky, dazed, not expecting the move. He shook his head and started to stand when Ellie drew out a metallic device and brought it down to Paul's heart. The device buzzed. Score for Ellie.
“You’re now a pile of steaming goo you bloodsucking piece of shit.” Ellie declared.
The team applauded her win while Paul stood a bit slowly. “I have to say that you learned more than I thought you would during basic. Ouch!” He rubbed the small of his back.
“Did I hurt you or your pride?”
“Actually, a bit of both, ” he said rubbing the knee that had been injured.
“Oh! So now you're going to say that I reinjured your knee.”
“Now you two play nice.” Ellingson said walking over to Paul. She put a hand on his shoulder and made a play out of brushing the dust off his back, and when her hand got lower, she grabbed his butt and gave it a goose. The others laughed, and Paul jumped away rubbing the seat of his pants from Ellingson's sneak attack.
Ellingson rested her arms akimbo on her waist. That makes two times you let your guard down newbie. The first time was when you let Ellie throw you, guessing that you had the strength and experience to best her no matter what. The second time was when I got a handful of that tight ass of yours. We aren't fighting the Taliban here Army."
"Oh? And where did you serve before this?" Paul asked with a tad bit of resentment in his voice.
"Coast Guard. Long story."
The other members laughed knowing her whole story and, yes, the Coasties were not the typical path to becoming a monster keeper.
St. Jean interjected, “Taliban, Nazis, bank robbers they're all human, so we think like them. Monsters! Now monsters think differently than we do because they are no longer people. They’re not like us. They’ve been altered. When we fight them, we fight to stay alive, to remain human. You know? When they fight us we are seen, more than likely, as a fresh warm meal."
Ortega checked his watch. “Okay, kids. Hit the showers and grab chow. More of this tomorrow.”
“Shit Mateo, who made you the boss?” Ellingson asked.
“One of them.” He pointed to Craig and Liz who had been standing against the armory wall. “Well, actually that one.” He said pointing directly at Craig.
“Oh, yeah, I think I remember something like that,” Ellingson replied with a grin.
The unit made for the door that Liz and Craig were standing near. The team members said their hellos as they passed the two agents who responded in kind.
“Paul, why don't you and Ellie hold up just a sec?” Craig asked as he stopped the newbies.
The sun was setting causing the buildings to cast long shadows on the ground.
“You two are handling the CSC side of training very well,” Craig said. “Of course, Paul, you should have had little trouble with the physical stuff since you've been through it before. I’m sure you must've been surprised to discover that not all your prior training could apply directly to fighting monsters."
Paul used the back of his hand to wipe some sweat off his face. “Well, training to fight Taliban is not quite the same as learning to fight Big Foot that’s for sure.”
Craig laughed. “Big Foot, that's a good one.” Then his face went deadly serious. “Who told you about Sasquatch?”
Now Paul got a bit concerned. “Ah, no one sir. Just made it up.”
“Sorry, just fuckin' with you. Everyone knows there's no such thing as Big Foot.”
“Um, okay,” Paul responded hesitantly not sure what to believe anymore.
Liz spoke to Ellie. “And your test scores show a natural aptitude towards the psychology of the whole thing.”
Paul rubbed his back. “Oh, I think she has the physical stuff worked out pretty well too.”
Ellie reached for Craig's arm. “Let me show you...”
“Maybe next time,” Craig said pulling away.
“Actually, sir,” Ellie started, “I’m glad I was, um, 'drafted' into this outfit. I enjoy the work, and it's good to know that I will be able to defend myself from all of the monsters that are out there.”
Paul gave Ellie a silent look 'indicating that he knew who she meant.
Suddenly black fingers of mist materialized in the middle of the group. The wisps threaded together and formed into the shape of a body then solidified revealing Alexei. He stood in front the four. A slight amount of steam was rising from his back as the setting sun tried unsuccessfully to destroy him, its scorching power having abated for the day.
Craig was a bit shocked to see the mayor. “Alex! What the Hell!? I mean shit! What are you doing here?” Craig looked around to see if anyone had spotted him.
“I have been thinking about what has transpired. What my family has brought to this world and my promise I made to Theodore. Being the mayor of Vamp Town is no longer enough.”
Craig was still looking around. If anyone had seen a vampire appear inside the CSC compound, all holy hell would break loose and with good reason. “Um, wow, Alex, we can’t talk here. Now. Do you know how much trouble we can get into with you here? Do you know how much trouble you could get into? Like stake-in-the-heart trouble? And then to show up in front of trainees!”
“No, my friend. Now is precisely the time to talk and in front of these two. They know far more than you did when you signed up to work with me. Do I need to remind you about your bladder issues the first time I materialized in front of you?”
Liz, Ellie, and Paul tried to conceal their smiles.
“Stop! You convinced me. And for the record, you startled me, and I spilled my co
ffee.”
“As you say...”
Craig still looked around for prying eyes. “Okay. What’s on your mind. Is it about Cindra?”
“No. Cindra is fine,” Alexei reassured them. “She is having difficulties with the idea of immortality, the loss of her parents, the whole tragedy of the situation. There have been a few issues which I believe we can work through.”
Alexei took a long moment gathering his thoughts. “I want to join the CSC. I want to work as an agent.”
The surprise of the statement took everyone back.
Craig almost had to lift his jaw from off the ground. “Not that I don't live in the heart of a crazy F-ed up world already, but that has to be the most insane idea I have ever heard. Sorry man, not going to happen.”
“Stop. Let me finish.” Alexei urged. “I believe that I am uniquely qualified to help in the search for my brother. And I believe that some of my, as you might say, 'skill-set' can easily translate over into the management of the other 'exotic creatures' that walk the earth which the CSC also is concerned about.” Alexei searched in the eyes of Craig and Liz. "Now I can understand what my brother has felt after all of these of years being maintained and caged not unlike animals in a zoo."
"Now wait a sec..." Craig started to protest.
Pressing his point Alexei continued, "What do you call yourselves? Monster Keepers? Sounds like a play on zookeeper, doesn't it?”
“I um...”
“After so many years of being kept, locked up, managed...”
“I prefer to call it protective custody,” Craig interjected.
“However you choose to call it. Having no sense of purpose where even one's natural tendencies are suppressed, is it any wonder that Vladimir got bored? In many ways, I share his boredom.”
“But you can't leave. You're mayor of Vamp Town.”
“Come on my friend; that too is one of your silly human jokes. I am no more mayor of a fake town populated by vampires as you are president of the United States. Yes, I have been the strongest which is how our kind rule, but Vladimir showed me that my strength has been waning. I need a new challenge. I want to honor my promise to Theodore and at this time joining your organization will be the best way I can accomplish that.”