by Brandon Hale
“She’s right, kiddo,” Darren said. “No matter what happens, please know that we’re proud of you.”
“Both,” Beth added. “You did the right thing, you two. You fought back when nobody else would. Always know that.”
“Oh, come on!” Dennis said. “You know they didn’t! If they had just followed the laws about this sort of thing, none of this would have happened. A Day Soldier would have come to town, killed the baby vampires, and it would be over. But they didn’t do that. They didn’t respect the law. And the result of that disrespect is the horror you’re all about to face.”
“Day Soldiers are coming,” Lily said. “If you don’t leave soon, you could be responsible for the deaths of all of your people here.”
“Oh, my.” Dennis put his hands on the sides of his head in mock terror. “Then we’d better get on with it.”
“Damn,” Lily said.
“That kind of backfired, didn’t it,” Leo said.
Dennis turned to a vampire and said, “Is our officer of the law all fixed up?”
“Yes,” one of the vampires answered. Lily was surprised to see that this particular vampire was wearing Gifford’s uniform. Why had they taken Gifford’s clothes?
Then it hit her.
“Oh, Billy,” Lily said, her voice saturated in sadness.
“There will be no consequence,” Dennis said. “Whatever you decide to do to him, I won’t stop you and I won’t retaliate. Kill him. Let him join us. It’s up to you.”
The thing that used to be Gifford walked up to Lily. “It’s pretty awesome, actually,” he said. He turned to Dennis. “Can I turn her?”
“You’re not capable,” Dennis answered. “Not yet. She would have to be drained completely, then her blood needs to be replaced with half of yours. But you’d have to get more blood inside of you first. You’re too young. You wouldn’t survive the donation.”
“If I drain her,” Gifford said, “I would have enough blood.”
Dennis chuckled. “I love how eager baby vampires are. It doesn’t work that way, William. Her blood doesn’t just immediately go to your bloodstream. It feeds you. Your entire body. Your own blood builds over time.”
“Damn,” Gifford said. He looked at the other vampires. “Would one of you be willing to turn her? I think if we can just show her what it’s like, she’ll understand there’s nothing to—”
Gifford’s eyes bulged. He made a strangled gurgling sound as he looked down at the bloody arrowhead sticking out from his chest, then he fell to the road.
Lily stood behind him, crossbow in her hands. “I made my decision.”
Dennis actually applauded. “This is going to be fun.” He reached out and took the crossbow from Lily. “Don’t worry, I’ll give them back.”
“What are you going to do?” Leo asked.
“I think you can guess,” Dennis said. To Tina, he added, “Take them to one of the houses.”
Tina smiled. “Yes, sir.” She grabbed each of them by an arm.
“Wait,” Dennis said. He looked at Lily. “I’m not completely without compassion. Say goodbye to your parents if you want.” He looked at Leo. “And you can say goodbye to your grandmother.”
Lily looked at Beth. “Mom.”
“Don’t apologize,” Beth said. “I thought we made that clear. That monster is lying. No matter what he says, this was going to happen. You’re not the cause of this, honey. You’re the excuse.”
“Listen to your mother, girl,” Darren said.
“Daddy,” Lily said, “I don’t know what to do.”
“What you’re doing is just fine,” Darren said.
“You know what he’s planning,” Lily said.
Darren nodded. “I think I got it figured out. Lily, if he does what I think he’s going to do –”
“I’m going to have a vampire turn you,” Dennis said. “I just want to make sure we’re all on the same page here. I’m going to turn you into a vampire and make her kill you.”
“When he turns us,” Darren continued, “you have to do exactly what you did to Billy. You got that, girl?”
“I got it, Daddy.”
“And don’t back down, you hear me? I was going to let you sacrifice yourself to these sons of bitches. I expect no less from you.”
“If he turns you,” Lily said, “I’ll kill you. I promise.”
A loud crack caused everyone to look in Leo’s direction, just in time to see his grandmother’s lifeless body fall to the ground.
Leo was crying.
“She asked me to do it,” he said. “She was afraid for her soul. She wanted to die a human.”
“Holy shit, boy,” Dennis said. “You broke the old woman’s neck. That was amazing.” He turned to Tina. “Get them inside before they spoil all the fun.”
Lily screamed “I love you!” several times as Tina dragged them to a house. She kicked open a door, flicked on the light, and threw them onto the living room couch. “I’m sure I don’t need to explain the futility of running.”
“Whose house is this?” Lily whispered as she looked around the living room. “I’ve never been here.”
“It’s the Martin house,” Leo said.
“That would explain it,” Lily said. The Martins were a retired couple who mostly kept to themselves.
“Sure would,” Leo said in a hollow voice.
Lily looked at him and saw an emptiness in his eyes that matched his voice. “Leo, you have to keep it together.”
“I most certainly do not have to keep it together,” Leo said.
“Leo,” Lilly said, not bothering to whisper. “We can get out of this. It’s not over.”
Leo gave a single humorless chuckle.
“I’m serious,” Lily said.
“It’s over, Lily,” Leo said. “We killed everyone we ever knew. Accept it.”
“They’re not dead yet, Leonard,” Lily said. “And you’re upsetting me.”
“I’m sorry to be upsetting you,” Leo said. His voice was still without emotion. “I just killed my grandma. I’m not myself right now.”
“There’s still hope,” Lily said. “The Day Soldiers might come.”
“Tina,” Leo said, “is there hope?”
“Not really,” Tina said, looking out the window, “no.”
Lily looked at Leo and made a gun shape with her hand. Then she pointed around the house, hoping he understood that she was suggesting they look around the room for a gun. They didn’t know the Martins, so it was entirely possible they had weapons.
Leo just shook his head.
“I searched this house thoroughly,” Tina said. “There are no weapons here.” She turned around and smiled at Lily. “I saw you in the reflection.”
“Tina,” Lily said desperately, “give us a chance. Just a chance. Phillip had every opportunity to kill us. So did those three vamps.”
“I’m curious,” Tina said. “What do you consider a chance? Are you asking that I hand you a gun full of silver?”
Lily leaned back. “I don’t know,” she said. “But this isn’t right. It’s… evil.”
Tina laughed. “You want to know why humanity is going to lose this war?”
“No,” Lily said. “I don’t.”
“Well, I’ll tell you anyway. Humanity is going to lose the war because humanity is the only side that’s fighting a war. Matter of fact, war itself is a very human act. You people think you’re fighting some noble war against the darkness, but you’re not. Well, to put a finer point on it, we’re not.”
Lily sat helplessly. She was beginning to understand Leo’s despair.
“You’re like an angry little kid,” Tina continued, “trying desperately to punch us. But we’re the taller kid, with longer arms, holding you away by the top of your head while you swing wildly at us. And we’re laughing at you, Lily. That’s the important part. You’re fighting
a war, but we’re still playing. Sure, the game changed when you got lucky and dragged us in front of a camera, but it’s still a game. If we wanted you exterminated, it’d take a week. Maybe a month, if you got really lucky.”
“You need us,” Lily said. “Especially vampires. They can’t live without us.”
This seemed to strike Tina as very funny. “The fiction you created about vampires is hilarious. You act like they matter. Child, vampires are soulless little ghouls. They don’t feel emotions. They’re intelligent, to a degree, just because they’re using the same brain they had when they were alive, but they are far from self-aware. They know only thirst. They are only happy when drinking the blood of humans. They’re more like ghosts than the twinkly little pansies in your movies. No vampire, in the history of the world, has ever lamented his condition.”
“But they still need us,” Lily said. “And you need them.”
“We use them, sure,” Tina said, “but that’s for convenience. We most certainly do not need them. Saying we need vampires is like saying you need spiders because spiders eat other bugs. If you kill all the bugs a spider eats, you no longer need the spider. And that is eventually what’ll happen with humanity. When we get bored with the game.”
“I don’t believe that,” Lily said. “Or we’d have been killed a long damn time ago. You need us to keep you going. Not as food, but as new werewolves. You need us to keep your race going.”
“You and your silly myths,” Tina said. “We can turn you, but it’s not because we need to. That is an honor very few humans get. Typically, we reproduce the old fashioned way.”
“You underestimate us,” Lily said. “You always have. You can pretend this isn’t a war, but we both know you’re completely full of crap.”
Lily braced herself for an attack that never came.
Instead, Tina just said, “Honey, come here. Don’t worry; I’m not going to hurt you. I just want you to look out this window.”
Lily looked at Leo. “I hope our chat isn’t disturbing your breakdown.”
“No,” Leo said, his eyes blank. “It’s not.”
“Come on, now,” Tina said. “Before it’s too late.”
Lily got up and walked to the window.
“Now,” Tina said. “Look outside and tell me humanity is stronger than we think.”
Lily looked out the window.
Vampires stood all over the town. Hundreds of them. They were everywhere. Their faces looked to be smeared with motor oil, but Lily understood it wasn’t oil. It was blood, made black by the darkness of night.
At the feet of the vampires lay the citizens of Iveyton, Virginia. Some were twitching slightly. Most just looked dead. Lily scanned the lake of bodies, looking for two in particular.
“If you’re looking for mom and dad,” Tina said, “you won’t find them. They’re not out there.”
“Where are they?” Lily whispered.
“Now what kind of friend would I be to Dennis,” Tina said, “if I stole his thunder. Besides, I didn’t bring you here to torture you. That was just a bonus. I brought you over here to show you reality. Look outside. Every person in this town is dying. Every one. And don’t forget, when we got here, at least a hundred of them were armed and ready to kill us. You know how many of us were killed? Zero. You know how many of us were injured? Zero. Scratched? Zero.”
Lily watched the people in the town. Kids she went to school with. Parents. Teachers. Store owners. Ex-boyfriends. All of them were dying. Lily took a deep breath and reminded herself that there are fates worse than death.
“Your mom,” Tina said, “is a sweet woman. It was nice of her to try and remove your guilt for this. But you know it’s not true. We came here because Dennis was pissed off you killed Phillip. We don’t give a damn about occupying this town. That falls back to you people thinking we’re fighting a war when we’re really not. No, dear, you did this. You and your broken little friend back there. You were arrogant little piss ants who got the attention of the wrong werewolf.”
“I’m going to kill you,” Lily whispered. “And Dennis.”
“That’s cute,” Tina said. “Now get away from the window. We have more surprises and I don’t want to spoil them.”
***
They sat on the couch for what felt like several hours. Tina would say something every now and then, but Lily and Leo were both silent. After what she saw on the street, Lily had lost any desire to speak to Tina. She thought about her parents, planning for the inevitable moment when Dennis brought them inside. Lily decided she wouldn’t talk to either of her parents after they were turned. No apologies, no “I love you.” As soon as she had a weapon, she’d kill them. Quickly. There would be time afterward for apologies.
Lily fully believed what Dennis had said. He was going to turn her parents, then make her kill them. She was also pretty sure that her and Leo would be left alive because death would be a release from their pain and guilt.
When Dennis finally walked through the front door carrying two crossbows, Lily was prepared to do what had to be done.
“Okay,” Dennis said pleasantly. “We’re all set. My people are gone. The only ones left are the citizens of your pretty little town. Tina, you ready?”
“We’re not staying to watch?” Tina asked.
“Nah,” Dennis said. “I’m done. I already know the ending.” He placed the crossbows on the coffee table in front of the couch. To Lily and Leo, he said, “Mom and Dad are ready.”
“Where are they?” Lily asked.
“They’re out there,” Dennis said. “Somewhere. I’ll tell you this much. They’re locked in a room together, somewhere in town. Your dad’s a vampire. Your mom isn’t. Currently, both of them are tied to chairs, but I’m pretty sure it won’t take your dad long to break free. If you can get to them in time, you can save your mother.”
“I like it,” Tina said. “It has a real serial killer movie vibe to it.”
“Yeah,” Dennis said. “Really, it’s all about hope. Hope can be a good thing, but nothing is more crushing than a hope that doesn’t come to fruition.”
Lily picked up a crossbow and stood up. Leo didn’t move.
“I’m serious,” Dennis said. “I’m done. We’re even. At this point, your mom’s life is up to you. All you have to do is find her.” He looked at Leo. “Here’s the best part. My original plan was to turn her dad, and put her mom and your grandmother in danger. You would have had a chance to save her, but you prevented that, didn’t you.”
“He’s messing with your head,” Lily said as she walked toward the door.
“I know,” Leo said, still not moving from the couch.
Lily opened the door, but she didn’t go outside. “You lied.”
“I did not!” Dennis said.
“You said your people were gone.” Hundreds of vampires were still standing in the street, and all of them were looking at her.
“My people are gone,” Dennis said.
Lily looked at the roads. The people of Iveyton were no longer lying in the street. Because, she thought darkly, they’re standing up again. She wasn’t looking at the vampires who came with Dennis. She was looking at the people of Iveyton. The entire town was undead.
And they were waiting for her to step outside.
“Good luck finding the folks,” Dennis said. “By the way, I put all the extra crossbow bolts on the steps in front of the police station. You’ll probably want to get there first, since that crossbow only has a dozen bolts in the carrier on the side.” He turned to Tina. “A bolt is the arrow that a crossbow uses.”
“I know what a bolt is,” Tina said.
“Just making sure,” Dennis said. “A lot of people incorrectly call them arrows.”
“I’m not stupid,” Tina said.
“Okay, okay,” Dennis said. “Just making sure.” He looked at Lily. “You’ve got twelve shots to get
you to the steps. Twenty-four if you can cure the zombie on the couch. Good luck!” Turning again to Tina, he said, “You ready? We’ve got a bit of a trip ahead. I have an important promotion waiting for me in Jackson’s Folly.”
“You’re really going to leave and just assume she died?” Tina asked. “I mean, have you ever watched a spy movie?”
“I’m not assuming anything,” Dennis said. “I personally think she has a solid chance of surviving this. But it doesn’t matter either way. I’m a man of my word. I told her we’re even. If she gets through this, good for her.”
“We’re not even,” Lily said. “And I will find you again.”
“Oh, I hope so!” Dennis said. “I’m a huge fan of revenge stories. I would love it if you just showed up one day, several years from now, all badass and ready to fight. I think you should start planning on your big line right now. Don’t waste the moment with something lame, like, ‘Remember me!’ or ‘I keep my promises.’ Come up with something original. I want to be wowed.”
“Now, don’t be so judgmental,” Tina said. “Some lines are classic for a reason. I think ‘I keep my promises’ is just fine.”
“Alright,” Dennis said. “She might not even survive the night. And if she does, she has years to think about it. You ready?”
“I guess,” Tina said.
Dennis looked at Lily again. “Good luck, kid.” He turned to Leo. “The vampires finished off your grandmother, by the way. Drained her dry. I didn’t think she could look more like a prune than she already did, but I was wrong.” He looked back at Lily and winked. “Just trying to get him motivated again. You kids have fun fighting the vampires.”
And with a blur of motion, the werewolves were gone, leaving only Lily, her endangered mother, her mentally paralyzed best friend, and a town full of parched newborn vampires.
“They’re hesitating,” Leo said.
Lily looked around to see him standing beside her, crossbow in hand. “Welcome back.”
“I wasn’t broken,” he said. “I was without hope. But your mom is out there.”
“Somewhere,” Lily said.
The vampires continued to stand in the street, watching them. Other than their clothes, they were mostly unrecognizable. They were monsters, which comforted Lily. One of them waved.
“Why aren’t they coming in?” Leo said.
“I don’t think they realize they can,” Lily said. “Vampires won’t enter a house unless invited by the owners. I read some report that said the transformation does something to their brains that makes them extremely OCD. Some vampires have been stopped by a spilled pack of toothpicks. Their minds won’t let them do anything else until they’ve picked them all up.”
