by Brandon Hale
Wallace’s eyes went cold. “Most people will tell you that revenge is not a reason to go to war. They say you end up becoming the very thing you’re fighting against.”
“What do you say, Commander?” Lily asked.
Wallace smiled. “Here’s what I say. I’m not guaranteeing you a place in the Day Soldiers. I can only get you to the prelims. From there it’s up to you. But if you get through it… and if you survive your training…”
“We’ll get through it,” Lily said.
“Okay,” Wallace said, “when you get through it... and if he’s still alive… I’ll make damn sure you meet Dennis again.”
Lily looked at Leo. He gave her a very slight nod. She turned back to Wallace.
“When do we leave? “
Part Two:
Moving On
Chapter 6
Placement
In most ways, the room looked like any other waiting room. There was a couch on either side of the room, each adjacent to a small end table and lamp. Over one of the couches was a large sign that simply said “Protect the Day.” Over the other couch was a poster that said, “Knowledge is no longer a luxury. It’s a survival necessity.” Under the words was a picture of a cabinet stocked with bottles of garlic. Lily immediately understood the purpose of the picture. The world quickly learned that when it came to vampires there was a huge divide between myth and reality. Garlic, which had absolutely no effect on vampires, was the perfect example.
One thing, however, separated this room from any waiting room Lily had ever seen. While tables sat on the entrance sides of the couches, cages sat on the other sides. Inside each cage was a vampire. The creatures sat silently in each cage, intently watching Lily and Leo as they entered the room.
“This is interesting,” Leo said. “They use vampires as decorations in their waiting rooms. Kind of medieval if you ask me.”
“Shush,” Lily said. “Just because you don’t see a reason doesn’t mean the reason isn’t there.”
“Huh?”
“Just sit down.”
Leo sat on one couch, Lily on the other. The commander’s office door was to Lily’s left and Leo’s right. The door was directly between the caged vampires. Lily sat toward the center of her couch, while Leo sat on the end of his couch that was near the lamp, as far away from the vampire as he could get.
“Hello, child.”
The whisper came from the vampire by Lily’s couch. She ignored it.
The vampire chuckled. “Silent treatment, I see. That’s good, actually. It means you’ll hear me.”
Lily sat quietly, looking ahead. He was baiting her into conversing. She was sure of it, and equally sure she wasn’t going to allow it.
From Leo’s couch, Lily could hear the other vampire whispering to him. Leo seemed to have found a good technique for resistance. He sat with his hands over his ears, humming what Lily could only describe as the worst tune in the history of the universe.
The vampire beside her whispered again. His voice was strange, almost musical. “Look at me.”
To her own surprise, Lily looked at him. Externally, he looked exactly like the other vampires she had faced. Bald. White skin. Disgusting veins. Sharp teeth. The only difference was his eyes. There was intelligence in his eyes that had been missing from the others, even the ones in the woods. He had a confidence the others had certainly lacked.
This vampire was old. Lily was sure of it.
“Open the cage,” the vampire said in that same hypnotic whisper.
“No.” Lily again surprised herself. She was surprised that she answered him at all, but even more surprised by the lack of strength in her voice.
“Let me out, child.”
Lily was almost overwhelmed by her desire to open the vampire’s cage. She didn’t just want to let him out. She needed to. “This is incredible,” she whispered.
The vampire smiled.
“I feel like opening that cage would solve all the world’s problems,” Lily said.
“It would.”
“Why don’t you just break out?” she asked. “I’m sure you’re strong enough.”
“Under normal circumstances, yes,” the vampire said. “But these monsters keep me weak. They use various methods of torture to ensure my lack of strength.”
“How do you torture a vampire?”
“There are ways,” the creature said. “You’ll understand everything after you release me.”
“Amazing,” Lily said. “I’ve read about the vampire’s ability to influence the mind. I’ve even watched interviews from people who went through it. But until just now, I never really understood it. It’s very powerful.”
The vampire’s shoulder’s slumped, just barely. “You have no intention of opening this cage, do you?”
“Oh, hell no,” Lily said. “But I gotta admit, I’m amazed at how strong the urge is. I mean, I think I have a new respect for drug addicts. Even though I knew, intellectually, that letting you go would be a very bad idea… I still wanted to do it. I’ve never felt anything like it.”
“Look,” the vampire said, no longer whispering, “you resisted me. I can respect that. But stop rubbing it in, okay?”
Lily chuckled. “I wasn’t rubbing it in. It really was an interesting experience.”
The vampire leaned back against the bars of his cage, sulking.
“Stop pouting,” Lily said.
“I’m not pouting,” the vampire replied.
“Listen,” Lily said, “you’re in the waiting room to the office of a Day Soldier’s commander. If I were weak-willed enough to be controlled by you, I doubt I would be here.”
“That would be a good point,” the vampire said, pointing across the room, “if he weren’t here.”
Lily looked over just in time to see Leo pick up a key from the table beside his couch.
“Leo, no!”
Leo immediately dropped the key and looked at Lily with an expression that said, What the hell just happened?
“Dammit, Stu,” the vampire by Leo’s couch yelled. “He was going to do it! Just because you suck at controlling them doesn’t mean you have to screw me over. I would’ve taken you with me.”
“Liar,” Lily’s vampire said. “You’d have fed in front of me, then gloated about it before leaving me here alone.”
“Oh, crap,” Leo mumbled, realizing what he was about to do.
“Yeah,” Lily said. “I guess we know why they’re in here now. It’s a test.”
“Well, it wasn’t a fair test,” Leo argued. “Mine is better at mind control than yours.”
“Bullshit,” Lily and her vampire said together.
Before Leo or his vampire could retort the office door opened. “Baxter,” a voice said from inside the office.
Lily pointed at Leo. “Do not let either of them free while I’m in there!”
***
Commander Wallace sat behind his desk, looking at a monitor when Lily walked in. “Close the door behind you,” he said without looking up.
Lily pushed the door shut. “Is Leo in trouble?”
“Nah,” Wallace said with a chuckle. “Those vampires are more like placement tests than entrance exams. Based on his prelim, Leo’s on his way to becoming a sniper. He’ll rarely have close contact with vampires.”
“He really is amazing with a rifle,” Lily said. “And a crossbow.”
“I believe it,” Wallace said. “After we get him trained up a bit, I think he’ll be a real asset.” He turned from his monitor and looked at Lily. “It’s good to see you again, kid.”
“You, too, sir.”
“Was the prelim tough?”
Lily smiled. “Easiest test I’ve ever taken. You guys really need to get deeper with your questions. That test covered stuff most kids learn by the tenth grade.”
“You’d be amazed,” Wallace said, “just how many kids graduate high school wit
hout knowing the first damn thing about vampires or werewolves. But the scariest part, by far, isn’t what they don’t know. It’s what they think they know. Misinformation about your enemy can be a bigger enemy than your enemy.”
“That was the most confusing sentence I’ve ever heard,” Lily said.
Wallace laughed. “I’m a soldier, not a writer.”
“How’d I do on the test?” Lily asked.
“Perfect score,” Wallace said. “But before you get all cocky, a perfect score is relatively common for the prelim. Like you said, it’s very basic stuff. The real learning starts on the first day of basics.”
“So I’m in?”
“I think we both knew that a week ago in Iveyton,” Wallace said.
“And Leo?”
“Kid,” Wallace said, “I’m not permitted to tell one applicant whether or not another applicant was accepted.”
Lily rolled her eyes. “You already said he’ll make a fine sniper after some training. And he killed as many of those things as I did back in Iveyton.”
“If you’re so sure,” Wallace said, “why’d you ask?”
Lily shrugged. “Confirmation, I guess.”
Wallace leaned back in his chair. “There’s a lesson for you. Don’t ask others to confirm what you already know. It shows a lack of confidence.”
“Commander,” Lily said, “I have many shortcomings. Confidence is not one of them.”
“I’ll concede that one,” Wallace said. “Kid, I’m assigning you to Beta. Covert ops.”
This surprised Lily. “Beta, sir? I’m not exactly what you’d call a subtle person.”
“I wasn’t asking for your opinion or your permission, recruit.”
“Sorry, sir,” Lily said. “I was just surprised.”
“You’re not a subtle person,” Wallace said, “I agree. But Beta is more than just sneaking through the woods undetected. After training, you’ll understand why I’m putting you there. In the meantime, you just have to trust me.”
“I trust you, sir,” Lily said. “And I will make you proud.”
Wallace nodded. “I have no doubt of that, kid.”
Since they left Iveyton a week ago, Commander Wallace had taken a personal interest in Leo and Lily. He took them on a complete tour of the recruitment facility in Virginia Beach, he gave them complete access to the facility library (which was normally only allowed after a potential recruit passed the prelim), and he took them to dinner every night since their arrival.
“Sir,” she said, “can I ask you a question?”
“Of course,” Wallace said.
She considered her words carefully, not wanting to offend the man. “Would you consider yourself a fair representation of a Day Soldier?”
With a smile, Wallace said, “Not what you expected, am I.”
“No, sir,” Lily answered honestly. “You’re not. And neither is anybody else here. I expected everyone to be much more…” She paused, searching for the right word.
“Militaristic,” Wallace offered.
“Yes,” Lily said after some thought. “That’s it exactly.”
“Are you disappointed?”
“No,” Lily answered. “Just surprised.”
Wallace leaned forward. “Make no mistake, kid. Training is going to beat you down so many times, getting up will be as common as taking a piss. Your trainers will accept nothing less than your absolute best, at all times. They’ll force you to face your own limitations, and then they’ll teach you how to overcome them. Becoming a Day Soldier is a very rough road. And being a Day Soldier will make that training look like a relaxing day at the beach.”
“I understand,” Lily said. “Not really sure what that has to do with my question, though.”
“I’m getting there,” Wallace said. “There’s a reason training is so hard. It’s because we’re fighting monsters. We’re not fighting other people. We’re not fighting in the name of some religion and we’re not fighting to bring democracy to some third world country. We’re fighting to save humanity.”
“I’ve said the same thing to Leo,” Lily said, “when he’d comment on my obsession to become a Day Soldier.”
“And that,” Wallace went on, “is why it’s absolutely vital that we maintain our own humanity. We have to stay compassionate. We can’t let ourselves get so caught up in the act of war that we lose touch with the very thing we’re fighting to defend.”
“I think I understand,” Lily said.
Wallace leaned back in his chair. He looked thoughtful, more like a philosopher than a soldier. “In other wars, we hardened ourselves because that’s what it took to kill our enemies. It’s what was required to kill another human being.
“Now, we’re not fighting human beings. We’re fighting evil. These monsters have proven to us that evil exists. It’s more than a point of view. Sometimes, it’s as real as the ground under our feet. And to kill these evil things, we have to embrace everything that’s good in us. Everything that makes us human.”
“I understand.” Lily intentionally left out the “I think” this time.
“Never forget that, kid,” Wallace said. “There will be days where compassion is the only thing that separates you from them.”
“Where’s my training, sir?” Lily asked. “And when?”
“You start at oh-six-hundred tomorrow,” Wallace answered. “Covert Ops is at the facility in Norfolk, so you’re not going very far.”
“Leo?”
Wallace smiled. “I told you, kid. I can’t give information about another person’s –”
“Commander,” Lily interrupted. “Of all the rules you’ve broken for us, this is the one you stick to?”
“We’re done here, recruit,” Wallace said as he looked back at his monitor. “On your way out, send him in. You can ask him about it after I’ve met with…” Wallace stopped talking and just stared at his monitor.
“What is it, sir?”
Without another word Wallace jumped up and ran to the waiting room door, cursing the entire time. Lily followed.
They entered the waiting room to see Leo standing in the center of the room. In one of the cages was an old-looking skeleton. A pencil was sticking out of its ribcage. The other cage was empty except for a large pile of dust in the bottom. Another pencil sat in the dust.
“They wouldn’t shut up,” Leo said with a worried look on his face. “Am I in trouble?”
Wallace just shook his head, then turned and walked back to his office.
“It’s your turn,” Lily said. “I’ll be at the coffee shop when you’re done.”
“Thanks for sticking by me, buddy,” Leo mumbled as he followed Wallace into the office.
***
Lily sat at the table on the side walk in front of the facility’s coffee shop, sipping a cup of hot chocolate. She drank hot chocolate because coffee, in her not-so-humble opinion, was one of the most disgusting liquids on the planet.
She quietly watched the small busy street. The Day Soldiers facility was basically a mini-city, with everything from a coffee shop to a small movie theater. Most of the vehicles were military in nature, but the people walking along the sidewalk looked more like tourists than soldiers. Lily knew this was because she was in the section designated for rest and relaxation, but it still seemed odd to her.
This was the largest Day Soldiers base on the east coast. It was where anyone from Virginia to Florida went to take the prelim. Two major battles were fought very close to this base, and yet it looked like a standard stretch along the beach. She was sure the actual military portions of the base would better fit her expectations, but she’d likely never see it now that she’d been officially assigned to the Norfolk base.
To begin my training to become a Day Soldier.
Lily still found that thought hard to fathom. Her life had changed so fast it was dizzying. Two weeks
ago, the idea of being a Day Soldier was a silly teenage fantasy. Today, she was a recruit. Her dream had come true. The fantasy had become reality.
And the price for that dream was the deaths of almost a thousand people.
No, Lily thought. Stop it.
In the past week, she had decided there was no room in her heart for guilt. Revenge, sure, but not guilt. Guilt was both unjustified and unhelpful. She didn’t kill that town. And their deaths didn’t make her a Day Soldier. She would have made their ranks without the tragedy of Iveyton. Those people didn’t die for her or because of her.
They were murdered, plain and simple. And feeling guilty about a murder she didn’t commit would only make her weaker. It would make it harder for her to avenge their deaths. She believed Wallace’s promise that he would help her face Dennis again. When that day came, she knew that a moment’s hesitation would mean the difference between living or dying. She would not let guilt create that hesitation.
“You looked pissed,” Leo said.
Startled, Lily said, “How did I not see you coming?”
Leo shrugged. “You were thinking pretty hard about something.”
“Yeah,” Lily said. “I was.”
“Iveyton?”
Lily nodded.
“No guilt,” Leo chastised. “We promised.”
“I was just telling myself that,” Lily agreed. “So, how’d it go?”
Leo sat at the table and took a drink of Lily’s hot chocolate. He leaned back in his chair and smiled. “You’re looking at the newest sniper to join the Day Soldiers.”
“Leo, that’s fantastic,” Lily said, not mentioning that Wallace had already let that information slip. “Where’s your training?”
“Norfolk,” Leo said.
Lily’s heart soared. “We’re not getting split up.”
With a grin, Leo said, “When Wallace told me where I was going, he specifically said he didn’t want to break up our team. Of course, we won’t see much of each other during our specialized training. I’m assuming you’re not a sniper.”
“Of course not,” Lily said. “You’re the marksman.”
“So where were you placed?”
“Beta team,” Lily said. “Covert ops.”
Leo’s eyes widened. ”Whoah.”
“I know!” Lily said. “I can’t believe it. I thought for sure I’d end up in Alpha. I mean, I knew you had specialized skills, but I figured I was destined for infantry.”
