by Brandon Hale
“I’m sure I don’t,” Tina said.
“Iveyton,” Gus explained. “I was part of the group that turned that town.”
Tina’s eyes widened ever-so-slightly. “Gus, is there a point to this trip down memory lane?”
“Oh, there’s a point, alright,” Gus said as his grin widened.
The other werewolf dragged Leo into the room and threw him onto the floor.
“We were going to give them to the vampires last week,” Gus explained, “but when I remembered who this little guy is, I figured Dennis might enjoy meeting him again. Apparently, he survived his little hometown adventure and went on to join the Day Soldiers. He says his girlfriend died there, but I’m pretty sure he’s lying.”
Leo was on his knees, staring at the floor.
Tina reached down and pulled him to his feet. She couldn’t suppress a smile as she looked into his eyes. “I can’t begin to express,” she said, “how wonderful it is to meet you again.”
“So tell me,” Gus said. “Was this worth the trip?”
“Yeah, Gus,” Tina said. “It was worth it. In more ways than I could possibly explain.”
***
“Commander Wallace is gone,” Abbie said from behind Wallace’s desk. “He’s on his way to Arlington. Is there something I can do for you?”
“Yes,” Lily said. “Transfer me to Celina, Ohio.”
“No,” Abbie replied. “Is there anything else?”
“Yeah,” Lily said. “There’s something else. You can explain why the hell you didn’t tell me it was Leo who sent that transmission!”
“I think,” Abbie said, “your actions right now are answering that question for you.”
“I quit,” Lily said. She turned around and walked toward the office door.
“And what,” Abbie asked, “are your plans? Are you going to steal a car and drive to Ohio?”
Lily turned around and looked at Abbie. In that moment, she hated her. And Wallace. And the Day Soldiers. “If I have to.”
“I’m sorry, Lily.” Abbie’s voice was quiet and sincere. “I know you loved him very much. But Leo—”
“No,” Lily said.
“Leo is a vampire,” Abbie finished.
“No!” Lily kicked a chair beside the door, knocking it onto its side.
A speaker on Abbie’s desk buzzed. She pressed a button and said, “We’re fine in here, Jason. Ignore the noise.”
“Yes, ma’am,” a voice said from the speaker. “Do you want me to ask your visitors to come back later?”
“Visitors?”
“Three of them, ma’am. It’s your newest team of sneakers.”
Abbie sighed. “Send them in.”
“I showed her the transmission,” Scott said as he walked into the room, followed by Grung and Ellie.
“I figured,” Abbie said, then turned to Lily. “I appreciate your pain, Lily. I really do. But the human race is facing a threat worse than extinction. I wish I could give this more time, but I can’t. I’m not sending you into enemy territory on a rescue mission for someone we both know is a vampire by now.”
The tears Lily had been fighting to keep inside slipped down her cheeks. “Please, Abbie. I have to know.”
“And what will you do,” Abbie said, “if you find him and discover that he is, in fact, a vampire?”
“I’ll kill him,” Lily said. “Just like I killed my father and every other person I grew up with. But I have to know. I’ll go alone if I have to. You know me well enough to know that.”
“No,” Grung said. “You won’t be going alone.”
“I have a car,” Ellie said. “I can drive us.”
Lily looked at Scott.
“I told them,” he said. “And we decided if there’s even a chance that Leo’s alive, we have to try.” He looked at Abbie. “I’m sorry, but we can do this. He’s probably a vampire, but if he’s not, we can save him. I know we can save him.”
“How?” Abbie asked. “How could you possibly know this?”
“Faith,” Scott said.
“You asked me,” Lily said, “why humanity deserves to win this war. Well, this is why. Their willingness to do this on the small chance that Leo’s alive is exactly why humanity deserves to win this. This moment is what separates us from them.”
Abbie leaned back in her chair and took a deep breath. “There’s a plane leaving for New Hope, Ohio in four hours. From there, you should be able to drive into Indiana as far as Jacksonburg. The battle there last year left that city a wasteland. As far as we know, the Legion has deserted it entirely. Jacksonburg is just eighteen miles from New Castle. You’ll have to walk that stretch. If your mission goes well, you could be back in Norfolk in three days.”
“You’re going to allow this?” Scott said.
“On one condition,” Abbie said. Her answer was to Scott’s question, but she was looking directly at Lily. “If you get there and find that Leo has been turned into a vampire, don’t take any risks to kill him. If you can’t get to him, turn around and come home.”
Lily was silent. She hadn’t considered a third option. In her mind, it was rescue Leo… or kill him.
“Promise me, Lily,” Abbie said. “I can accept this plan as a potential rescue. Leo is the only connection you have to your past life. But I cannot accept you risking your life and the lives of your teammates to destroy a body that Leo no longer occupies.”
“I promise,” Lily said. “If he’s a vampire, we’ll take no risks to kill him.”
“This isn’t an order,” Abbie said, “because I know you have no respect for orders. I’m asking you, as a friend who cares about you, to keep this promise.”
“I will keep it.”
“New Castle,” Abbie explained, “is werewolf territory. It’s a dangerous area, full of creatures that can’t be pushed back by power objects. You can’t go in like cowboys on this one.”
“Pirates,” Ellie said.
Abbie rolled her eyes. “Whatever. You have to do this right or you’ll die. And we’ve reached a point in this war where we really need you to not be dead.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Lily said. Her mind was already on getting Leo home safely.
Abbie looked at the clock on the office wall. “Go gather your things. Your flight will leave without you if you’re late.”
Part Five:
The Fate of Humanity
Chapter 17
Hubris
Tina and Cassius stood on top of the New Castle Post Office, looking at the empty streets below them. Leo sat on the roof behind them, his hands tied behind his back.
“So I guess this is a job for the henchmen,” Tina said.
“Nonsense,” Cassius said with a look of mild disgust. “I don’t know what kind of relationship you have with Dennis, but I most certainly am not a henchman to Arcas.”
“Don’t be so sure,” Tina said. “You weren’t on the council until the takeover.”
Cassius laughed. “That’s just adorable. Honey, that council was put together by werewolves who lived under the delusion that their people deserve a voice in how things are run. Vampires have no such delusion. Your werewolf council – before and after your little takeover – is something your kind needs, not mine. We don’t need representatives. If Arcas commands something, they do it. If I command something, they do it.”
“What makes you and Arcas special?”
“Arcas is special because he is the father of what humans call evil,” Cassius said. “Every Satan myth, every demon myth, every fiction about some great evil… they all started with Arcas.”
“What about you?”
Cassius smiled. “This kid we’re waiting on…”
“The channeler,” Tina said.
Cassius gave a single nod. “Yeah. I’m what she will become.”
“That’s why we’re doing this?” Tina said. “Th
at’s a little annoying. We’re going through all this effort just to give you and Arcas a new friend?”
“It’s much more than that, wolf,” Cassius said.
“It’s bullshit,” Tina said. “We shouldn’t be standing in an empty town. We should be out with the others!”
“There’s a tactical reason,” Cassius said, “so calm down. The human leaders will go into hiding. If Dennis really can bring her over, she will be a vital part of rooting them out. Having a turned Day Soldier channeler is a hell of an opportunity.”
Behind them, Leo laughed. “That’s what this is about? Are you kidding?”
“Speak again,” Tina said, “and you lose an arm. You have a part to play in this, but you don’t need both arms to do it.”
“No,” Cassius said. “Let him talk.” He looked at Leo. “You don’t think we can turn her?”
“It’s actually funny to me that you think it’s possible.”
“What if you were a vampire?” Cassius asked. “What if you were the one trying to convince her it’s just the grooviest thing to be a vampire? Because that’s kind of the plan at this point.”
Leo looked at him with hate-filled eyes. “I watched her father try to convince her that being a vampire was a good thing. Then I watched her kill him, which is exactly what she’ll do to me as soon as she sees that I’m one of those things.”
“Well, that’s why I’m here,” Cassius said. “You won’t be one of those things. If I’m the one who turns you, you’ll be one of these things.” He pointed at himself and smiled. “I think the visuals will make all the difference.”
“It won’t matter,” Leo said. “You’re wasting your time.”
Cassius gave him a gentle smile. “You’re actually right about one thing. In the greater scheme of things, it won’t matter. Just a few minutes ago, we flipped the first domino. This war will be over very soon.”
“That’s an outdated analogy,” Tina said. “Someone his age probably doesn’t even know what a domino is.”
“Don’t be silly,” Cassius said. “Dominos are timeless.” He turned back to Leo. “You know what a domino is, right?”
“Yes,” Leo said.
Cassius looked at Tina. “See? You underestimate young people.” He turned back to Leo. “Anyway, like I said, you’re right. It really doesn’t matter. Turning the kid is more of a bonus objective we’re trying to complete. Your job is really just to shake her up a bit until Dennis gets here. Make her feel despair and all that good stuff. I don’t care if she joins you or kills you. Either way, you’ll have done your part.”
“They’ve written me off as dead,” Leo said. “Lily’s not coming for me. Nobody is.”
“That’s kind of why we’re on this roof,” Cassius said as he pulled a small camera from his pocket. “We want to get a clear shot of the city, so they’ll know exactly where you are.”
“You’re actually very lucky,” Tina said. “You get to be the person who announces the coming of the apocalypse.”
Leo sprang to his feet and sprinted toward the edge of the building. Without hesitating, he dove over the edge, head first to guarantee he’d break his neck in the fall.
A moment before he hit the pavement below, he stopped. Cassius now stood on the street, holding him by his ankle. “I’m impressed with your willingness to die here,” Cassius said. “I am. Sadly, I can’t let it happen.”
“Well,” Tina said as she landed on the road beside them, “not yet.”
***
“This is your captain speaking. We’ll be setting down at the New Hope air strip in approximately thirty minutes. In approximately fifteen minutes, we at Day Soldiers Air will be asking you to strap yourselves in and prepare for the landing.”
“Greg,” Lily said from her seat directly behind the pilot, “the intercom thing was funny when we took off. It was mildly amusing for about half the flight. Now, it’s just annoying.”
“I still think it’s funny,” Ellie said.
Lily gave her a mock-angry look. “You’re not helping.”
“And you,” Scott said, “are remarkably perky, considering what we’re doing here.”
“What we’re doing here,” Lily countered, “is finding the best friend I’ve ever had and bringing him home. I think that’s a pretty damn good reason to feel good.”
“You’re sure we’re going to succeed here,” Grung said, “aren’t you.”
“Of course we’re going to succeed,” Lily said with a grin. “We win, Grung. It’s what we do. Abbie allowed this mission because she knows it, too. We win. We always win.”
Scott chuckled. “The ancient Greeks would say you’re challenging the gods right now, which is not a good thing.”
“Well, I guess it’s a good thing,” Lily said, “that we’re not ancient Greeks.”
“Guys,” Greg said from the pilot’s seat, “we, ah, might have a problem here.”
***
Abbie sat at her computer, staring at the frozen image on her screen. This was the second video sent to humanity from the Legion. The first was when they announced they were starting the war. And now, this one had announced the end.
She knew the young man on the video well. As a matter of fact, she had just authorized the mission to rescue him. But something was different about him. He looked pale. He looked…well, different.
He wasn’t a vampire. At least, he wasn’t like any vampire Abbie had seen. He still looked like himself. And yet, he had an unnatural look about him.
Abbie started the video again, from the beginning. In the first play-through, she had determined where he was. New Castle. Perhaps the second viewing would help her determine what he was.
She hit “play” and watched as Leo began to speak.
“My name is Leo Rosenberg. I’m a sniper for the Day Soldiers. Recently, I was captured by the Legion, but they did not kill me. They’ve actually treated me with great respect and kindness.
“The Legion understands that most humans are not fighting this war. They understand that you just want a peaceful life. They understand that you want to coexist with them. They want the same thing.
“But they also understand that the war-mongers who dominate your society will never let that happen. Your governments do not want peace. They want to do exactly what they’ve been doing since human civilization began. They want to destroy.
“During my stay here, I’ve come to the sad realization that humanity is no longer the dominant species on this planet. Humanity’s time has passed, and I’ve come to realize this is a good thing.
“The Legion is not interested in your destruction. They offer you the chance to live a happy life, free of war. You can do this as a human or as a vampire. The Legion is fine with either, because this war is about to end and when it does, vampires, werewolves, and humans will live together peacefully.
“By now, many of your cities are experiencing the end of the war. Across the globe, the final battle has begun. It’s a battle humanity cannot win. If you want to live beyond this battle, all you have to do is surrender. Step into the streets and surrender. If you do this, the Legion has promised you’ll live to see the new age of peace.
“I believe them. I urge you, do as they say. If humanity has proven anything, it’s that our greatest talent is destruction. We don’t deserve extinction, but we shouldn’t be the ones running the show. I see that now.
“There’s no reason to be afraid. The war is ending as we speak. When it’s over, we can all celebrate.
“Together.”
Abbie stopped the video again and looked at Leo’s face. There was something powerfully wrong with him, but she couldn’t figure out what it was.
Her computer beeped and a window popped onto her screen informing her she had an incoming call. She pressed the “answer” button.
An image of Commander Wallace filled her screen. “This is bad, Abbi
e.”
“Yes,” Abbie agreed. “It’s bad, Geoff.”
“We’re going to lose all of Ohio,” Wallace said, “probably by dawn. A tidal wave of vampires and werewolves is headed there.”
“I saw,” Abbie said. “It’s happening everywhere. The fighting has already begun in Sydney and Tokyo. Their numbers are staggering, Geoff. I don’t think we can win this.”
Wallace sighed. “Are you suggesting what I think you’re suggesting?”
“I’m only saying we need to consider the option,” Abbie said. “We can’t win this. It might be time to hide.”
“Abbie,” Wallace said, “you’re talking about leaving the majority of humans to die. The Day Soldiers are sworn to defend them from exactly this.”
“We can’t defend them if we’re all dead,” Abbie said. “If we take as many soldiers and supplies as possible and go to the underground facilities, we can regroup and reorganize. With us gone, the Legion will most likely take the humans prisoner. They need them for food, since they used up their food supplies building this invasion force.”
“We’ve come to the same conclusion here,” Wallace said. “Leaders across the globe agree. A full evac is ordered. I just wanted your thoughts on it. The idea of leaving millions of civilians…”
“I know,” Abbie said softly. “But this isn’t happening tomorrow. It’s happening right now. We can’t organize any kind of retreat. All we can hope to do is come back later to rescue the survivors. What about the channelers?”
“They’ll be the first we get to safety,” Wallace said. “We’ll need them when we strike back.”
“We fought the good fight, Geoff,” Abbie said.
“And we still will,” Wallace said. “We won’t be one side of a civil war anymore. We’ll be a rebellion. And we’ll adjust accordingly.”
“As soon as we finish this call,” Abbie said, “I’ll start the evacuation of the base.”
Wallace was quiet for a moment, then said, “We do have another fairly significant problem.”
“Baxter,” Abbie said.
Wallace nodded. “Using Leo for that video wasn’t a coincidence. Somehow, they know she’s a channeler. Maybe one of them did survive Gettysburg.”
