Risorgimento: Rebirth

by Maya Daniels

  The mutt runs on the opposite side of the pharmacy with me on his heels, my feet thumping on the ground too loud for my liking. Turning the corner of the building a little too fast, I stumble and fall, rolling for a second before I scramble on my hands and knees in the shadows. Leaning on the wall, rivulets of sweat running down the side of my face, I hold my breath. No sound can be heard. No footsteps chasing after me. The sound of my heart jackhammering my ribcage pounds in my ears, so I don't trust my hearing. The only thing stopping me from having a heart attack is the mutt that is sitting calmly next to me.

  The groaning of metal and glass shattering almost stops my heart. When the noise settles, silence falls around me like a blanket. It scares me to the point that acceptance washes over me, and the fear disappears. Like the conclusion I came to not long ago, it's useless. Scared or not, if they find me, I will die. My heartbeat slows down, and my breathing stops, sounding like a freight train. Sagging against the wall, I welcome the reprieve of the terror, calmly watching the side of the building for whoever it is to come and finally end my miserable existence. Sadness that I will not keep my promise to Sara and Eddie tries to push through, but I don't let it. Maybe this is the reason my parents didn't return. I never found forgiveness for them leaving me, but I hope my friends will find it for me.

  Long moments pass while I'm staring at nothing, unblinking, waiting for fate to come and end my life. When no sound comes, and no one rounds the corner with fangs bared and eyes glowing, I frown. Is my scared brain making up things? Glancing at the mutt, I realize he is sitting next to me, as calm as if we are having a picnic at a park. There is no sign of disturbance exuding from him at all.

  Hands and legs trembling, I crawl on all fours to the corner. Peeking around it with one eye, I freeze. There is glass all over the ground, and the door of the pharmacy is hanging sideways, holding onto only the bottom hinges. So, I didn't imagine it. For a moment, I thought I must've gone insane after years of being alone and hiding. Pulling back, I sit with my knees to my chest, leaning the back of my head on the wall. There is nothing I can do but stay here. When a long time passes, and still no one comes to find me, I decide to go look for them. If I stay here until morning, someone will see me for sure.

  Determined to meet my fate standing, I lift up and, stealing my spine, head straight for the open door. The mutt trots next to me on my right. Stepping over the more significant pieces of glass, I enter the pharmacy, and still no one notices my presence. Bewildered, I walk around, grabbing things that look like they can be useful. Finding a bag, I start filling it up. My hands still have tremors, and my legs feel like they'll give out at any moment, but like in a dreamlike state, I collect things methodically. Finding bandages and pads is a blessing I never expected or have ever thought of, so I stuff as many as I can in the puffed-up bag.

  "I think this is what shopping felt like, Mutt," Snorting, I whisper to my loyal friend that hasn't left my side. "Next thing you know, we'll be getting manicures together."

  Still shocked that I'm not dead, I finish grabbing everything I can and walk out of the door. The burning between my shoulder blades never stops. I feel the eyes follow me almost to the alley where my dumpster is. Not a soul crosses our path. Without warning, the feeling disappears, and I almost feel the weight of it lift like a physical presence. With one last look around, I slink back inside the dark alley and hurry to find my friends.

  Sebastian

  The quiet I instill tonight in the big city feels like a balm. A light breeze tickles my skin, moving strands of my hair like a lover’s fingers. Gazing over the balcony, my mind travels to memories best forgotten. Some might say I have lost my mind after so many centuries. I cannot say they are wrong. If what I am trying to awaken turns out to be what the Council says, nothing will save our pathetic, endless lives. Alongside the humans, we will perish or grovel, begging for death to claim us. But! If my research is correct, contrary to popular belief, I will end the monstrous way of the Council's rule.

  My left fist clenches on the hand rest of my chair, the only show of emotion I'm willing to express. The rest of my body is relaxed, my right hand moving gently, swirling the ice cubes in the glass of whiskey I'm holding. Lifting it under my nose, I sniff, inhaling the smoky scent. I will not drink it; it tastes like nothing to me. It doesn't mean I don't enjoy its smell. The last few centuries, my life has been all about the little pleasures. Those are the ones making the endless days bearable.

  "Sire, I have news."

  Anyone else would've been surprised by the voice behind them, not hearing the soundless feet approach. But I heard Marcus from the moment he entered the hotel. Felt his boots on the stairway he used since he was too impatient to wait for the elevator. The stairs got him here faster, all eleven floors of them, which told me he had either good news or we were going to war. One side of my mouth lifts slightly at that thought. War might help cure the boredom of immortality, that is a fact. Enjoying the view of the city, I don't acknowledge his presence. The shuffling of his feet, as slight as it is, freezes my hand with the glass halfway towards my face.

  "Sarà meglio che tu abbia grandiose notizie, amico. Stai disturbando il mio drink, e questo potrebbe costarti la vita."

  "I apologize for disturbing your drink, Sire. As you said, I did so with the knowledge that it could cost me my life. The news is, indeed, is monumental." Ever the loyalist to formalities, Marcus doesn't let the excitement that can be heard in his voice betray his etiquette. He also remembers to speak the language of the Americans. That in itself sends a jolt through me. It's such a foreign sensation that it takes me a moment to see it for what it is.

  Excitement.

  "Go on, then." Murmuring quietly in English, I bring the glass the rest of the way up. The Council was very clear that we are to use that language while on their soil. Moving the whiskey gently under my nose, I hope it'll stop any further emotions perking up when they have been gone for so long. "Let us hear this grandiose notizie."

  "You were correct, Sire. We have indeed found the girl."

  "A bold statement." Placing the whiskey gently on top of the table, I stand up, facing him. "Hope should never cloud your judgment, Marcus. It has lured many great men into eternal sleep. She is a seductive siren, but a cruel mistress if you allow her too much freedom."

  "It is as you suspected, Sire. When close enough, it's impossible not to feel the call of her blood if you know what you are looking for." The twitch of his fingers betrays his nervousness. When I make no further comment, he shifts slightly, realizing that I have noticed it. "She has an animal with her. It saved her life tonight, and there was no need for me to interfere when she was almost seen by two of our kind. I think it's a dog, but they are both so dirty. I don't think anyone can tell what they are." A little smile plays on Marcus's lips. "The stench will hide her. She is a smart little thing."

  "We cannot leave anything to chance." Making sure he understands the preponderance of the situation, I watch him until he finally meets my gaze. "If anyone even breathes the same air within her vicinity, they will be removed immediately. I will need you to stay close to her until we are certain." Turning away from him, I look over the city. Somewhere between all that concrete and filth, our only salvation lives. Alone, frightened, maybe even hurt, not realizing how powerful she is. My fist clenches again, and the slight disturbance of air tells me Marcus has seen the slip-up. "Do we have a human to watch over her during the daylight hours?"

  "I found one…" His words trail off, making me glance over my shoulder at him. "He is too eager to please. My guess is he is hoping to be turned if he gets your notice."

  "Ah, yes." Scanning the horizon again, my thoughts try to pull me back into a past best left untouched. Pushing the melancholy trying to grab me in its clutches, I focus on Marcus. "The promise of immortality makes humans do horrible things, does it not? It turns a saint into a sinner and a sinner into a saint. We can work with that. Are we done with the formalities now?"

 
"It was all I had to inform you, Sire." Humor creeps up in his voice a moment before Marcus stops shoulder to shoulder with me.

  "It's clear." Andrei walks out through the glass sliding doors of the balcony. "There were seven bugs around the room. Little paranoid if you ask me."

  "Can you blame them?" Marcus snickers, walking away and throwing himself on one of the lounge chairs.

  "I still don't think it's smart poking them." Andrei does the same, snatching the whiskey bottle in the process. "I understand your reasoning. If we make the girl desperate enough to accept our help, she will come willingly. But this is the Council we are talking about. We better have her within our sight both day and night. If anyone else gets to her before we do, she'll be dead before we blink."

  "The old fools think they are gods. When I mentioned the prophecy, they almost laughed in my face. The Council thinks they are invincible. Their arrogance, and cruelty, has helped greatly in our cause, has it not?" Joining them, I loosen up my tie, unbuttoning a few buttons of my shirt. "Let us just remember to keep up the charade. They'll bite. I feel it in my bones. At the moment, I'm assuming they think we are bluffing. They are confident that all O negatives have been killed. They were quite thorough in the extermination. She is almost like a unicorn."

  "I still think we gave them too much tonight." Ever the protector, Andrei watches me with worry. "If they work together, it'll all be for nothing. We might end up dead before someone else can take up the reigns."

  "Non significa niente per me, in un modo o nell’altro. It doesn’t matter to me either way.” Correcting myself to get used to speaking English, I wave my hand to indicate the insignificance of his concerns. “That is a worry for another day." Reaching up, I snatch the bottle from his hand. "I miss the taste." Filling up two more glasses, I hand one to each of them. Picking up mine, we clink them together, and I finally take a sip. It still tastes like nothing. "Maybe I won't miss it for much longer if the girl is who we think she is."

  "If she is not, we will figure out another way to put them back where they came from. It'll take more time, but we have an abundance of that." Marcus, always the pessimist, looks more confident than I've ever seen him before. We may have indeed found the girl if she affects him like that while still being human.

  "That we do." Turning from one to the other, I see the determination written all over their faces. "Rest up during the day. Tomorrow night we have a human to keep safe." Andrei snorts at my words. "Yeah, I'm surprised at my own words as well, amico."

  April

  “Oh my God, April.” Sara gapes at me. “I can’t believe you brought all this stuff.” Staring wide-eyed at everything she spilled on the ground, she holds the now empty bag limply in her fingers. “It’s amazing!”

  “Yeah, amazing,” mumbling under my breath, I smile tightly at her. “I hope there is something we can use for Eddie in there.”

  “There is.” Frowning, she crouches, rummaging through the things. “I have no idea what most of these are, but they have instructions.” Looking up, she grins at me a moment before her face turns serious. “To be honest with you, I thought we’d never see you again. I didn’t think you’d come back.”

  “Yeah, you and me both.” When her eyes widen at my quiet admission, I hurry to assure her. “Not because I want to get rid of you guys. You misunderstood me. I didn’t think I’d stay alive long enough to come back.”

  “How did you manage to get all this stuff, anyway? We can barely find food without being seen.”

  “Just lucky, I guess.” Shrugging my shoulder, I turn away from her, ruffling the mutt’s ears so she doesn’t see the turbulent emotions brewing inside me.

  There is no reason to tell her how weird tonight has been. My mind keeps going over the entire ordeal, scrutinizing every detail, sound, and scent. Even now, safely hidden in our sewer, goosebumps cover my entire body. The more I think about it, the more certain I am that someone was watching me. And who broke into the pharmacy for me? Good Samaritans don’t exist nowadays. Unless you have something to trade, you get nothing free. Yet, here I am with a bag full of medicine and not a hair missing from my head. Sara’s excited squeal sends a jab into my heart.

  “Look!” Barely containing her happiness, she waves a box of pads at me. “We just lifted in society. We are considered mid-class now.”

  When her words register in my numbed brain, I burst out laughing. “You scared the shit out of me, woman,” I tell her after my laughter subsides. “Don’t squeal like that. I thought the Council found us.”

  “God forbid.” Making a cross with her hand, the smile slips from her face. “I’d probably be screaming from the top of my lungs if that was the case, not squealing.”

  “Good point. I’m just still little jumpy from my trip.” Waving off the concern scrunching up her face, I turn to the mutt that’s soaking up all the scratches. “Don’t mind me. Sorry I killed your excitement.”

  “Did anything happen?” Sara walks up to where Eddie is sleeping to check on his fever with the back of her hand before coming to sit next to me. “I didn’t want to say anything when you got back, but…” After glancing at me sideways, she starts poking at a scab that has formed on her arm. “You looked like you’ve seen a ghost. I’ve never seen anyone that pale, apart from a corpse.”

  Keeping my focus on the mutt, my mind tries very hard to decide if it’s smart to tell her the truth. We are all scared, but tonight got me paranoid. On one hand, she should be aware if someone is really keeping an eye on me. It puts her and Eddie in danger. On the other hand, if I freak her out, she might react out of fear and get us all either seen or killed. Would I like to know if the roles were reversed? The answer is yes. Yes, I would. I’d probably be pissed if I found out later that they’d been hiding something. Sighing, I steel myself for whatever reaction she is about to have.

  “I think I was being followed the entire way there and back.”

  Still not looking at her, I keep rubbing the floppy ears of the mutt. Sara stops digging her chipped nails in the scab, and her entire body stiffens. Bracing myself for her outburst, I hold my breath.

  “Are you sure?” The fear in her voice is like sharp claws raking over my heart.

  “I didn’t see anyone, if that’s what you’re asking. But I felt it.” Lifting my head up at last, I let her see that I’m as worried about this as she is. “Plus, things happened that confirmed someone was there, anticipating my every move, and the reason I was walking around town in the middle of the night.”

  “Tell me exactly what happened.” Twisting around to face me, expectation is clear in her body language.

  So, I tell her everything, including my idiotic reaction when seeing my own reflection. The longer I talk, the lighter I feel. I haven’t been able to unload my worries on anyone since my parents disappeared. Is this how it feels to not be alone? For so many years I’ve kept everything to myself. It makes me unsure how to be human. My actions and reactions are all based on instinct for self-preservation. Like a wild animal. Sara and Eddie needed me, especially with the boy being sick. The more I talk, however, I’m not sure who needed whom more. When I’m done relaying everything, up to the moment I descended the ladder of our sewer with the bag over my shoulder and the mutt tucked under my arm, my body is sagging in relief.

  “That’s why I think someone was following me,” finishing lamely, I shrug one shoulder.

  “Maybe someone else needed medication, too? I mean, we are surely not the only ones left hiding.” Her words sound strong, but when I lift my eyes to her face, I can tell Sara doesn’t believe her own reasoning either.

  “Maybe…” Leaning back on the wall, I close my eyes. I’m so tired I can barely keep them open any longer. “Whatever it was, we should stay low for a few days I think. Just in case.”

  “Should we try to find another spot in the tunnels where we’ll be safer?”

  “This is the safest place to be if we want to live, Sara. Trust me.”

  The words pas
s my lips more like an intangible murmur than anything else. I’m not even sure I said them out loud. Something in me flutters, a whispered worry that I’m crazy thinking anywhere is safe. Why in the world would I tell her this? Optimistic ideas like that have killed many, yet I can’t find enough strength to open my eyes and correct the bullshit that spilled from my lips.

  “As crazy as it sounds, April”—I feel Sara’s fingers pushing hair away from my forehead, just like I’ve seen her do to Eddie—“I believe you from the bottom of my soul.”

  My stomach clenches when I hear her whispered words, but sleep overtakes all rational thought and everything around me turns dark.

  Looking over my shoulder, making sure Sara and Eddie are still sleeping, I lift the manhole just enough to peek through it. It's very convenient for us, our so-called home being at the back of a residential building that is facing a monstrosity of a bank. The first few floors of that bank are gray concrete, with no windows or anything else. No one wanders around here apart from the few people still living in the apartments. With the vampires taking over, the days became nights and the other way around. Everyone slept while the sun was high in the sky, minus patrols passing by made out of humans. A random person might pop up here and there, no doubt running chores for their masters, but apart from that, it was quiet.