Life After Humanity

by Gillian St. Kevern

  Ben swallowed. In his chest, he could feel the vampire rising and fought the urge to hiss at Wisner. Not now! I have to hold him back—

  Hold back?

  Wisner, seemingly satisfied that his subordinates were going to behave themselves, turned his attention back to Nate. He feinted one way and then leaped, obviously intending to bring him crashing down again. This time, Nate was ready for him. He met Wisner full on, grunting as he threw the wolf back.

  “That’s the ticket!” Gunn called from the steps.

  One of Wisner’s sons barked and instantly the air was full with the sound of the wolves, their determined volley of barks drowning out any other sound.

  Wisner rolled to his feet in one fluid motion, circling Nate. Nate kept his eyes on him, braced for his next move.

  Ben lay still on the concrete. His mind was racing. No one can see me, feel me—the vampire’s not a threat to anyone! And I might help Nate—

  Nate had the strength, but he lacked the fighter’s instinct that would tell him when to go for the kill. Wisner had no such problem.

  Ben stared at the werewolf’s parted jaw and swallowed. The vampire’s not a threat to anyone. For the first time, I don’t have to worry about what happens if I lose control. He shut his eyes.

  It was not hard to find the vampire. Surrounded by the snarling wolves, there was an undercurrent of predatory instinct that Ben reached for. He sat up, swiping his tongue across his bruised lip, and felt a note of hunger. That’s it! Ben focused on the hunger, let it become a need.

  These wolves have strayed far from their home. The vampire’s thoughts came readily. Ben swiped his tongue over his teeth and discovered the fangs. Do they know how lost they are? The vampire stalked over to a wolf, staring him right in his golden eyes.

  The wolf did not seem to see him, but he knew something was there. His hackles raised and he backed away into the wolf behind him, setting off a chain reaction of startled wolves. The vampire bared his fangs. They know to fear me still! And he did not need to hide. He could show his fangs openly and did not need to disguise his hunger or his strength—

  Wisner’s warning bark brought the vampire’s attention back to the combatants. They stood, locked in a stare down in the center of the road. Both of them were breathing heavily, Nate bleeding from a new wound on his other arm, Wisner tangled in ivy and holding one leg stiffly. They glared at each other, the battle now a contest of wills.

  An uneven battle. Now that the vampire was attuned to it, he could feel the presence of the surrounding wolves pressing down on them like a weight. Wisner’s natural strength as an alpha wolf was bolstered by the presence of his followers, the sheer number of them making his natural command almost irresistible. Nate had great natural reserves of strength, but this—

  This might be more than he can handle.

  Ben’s alarm mingled with the vampire’s proprietary instinct. He snarled, stalking across the ring. Wisner crouched, his eyes locked on Nate.

  The vampire thrust his face right up to the wolf’s and snarled. He let all the venom he’d been holding back, all the frustration and fear come to the surface, using it with the deliberate knowledge of an apex predator. He brought all the hunger of the vampire into his threat, pitching it at animal level, predator to predator. You can’t see me, can you, wolf? But you know I’m here. You know I’m close. The vampire crowed in triumph. You know you can’t stop me—

  Wisner whimpered. He took a step back before he caught himself, his gaze jerking up in alarm.

  It was a moment’s weakness—but the moment was all Nate needed. He lunged forward. Wisner’s paws scraped across the surface of the road as he scrabbled for purchase and found none. He turned on Nate, snapping his mighty jaws, but he was too late. Nate heaved him up bodily and slammed him into the concrete. As Wisner struggled to rise, Nate grabbed him by his rear leg, sending him flying across the street. Wolves scattered to get out of the way as Wisner slid to a halt. Nate strode over to him, but the wolf made no attempt to get to his feet.

  “The deal was first to fail to get up.” Gunn’s voice made the vampire start. He’d almost forgotten the presence of the lemur, and he bared his teeth in a perfunctory growl. “Well, Wisner?”

  It didn’t seem as if the wolf even heard him. Its eyes were tightly clenched. As Nate stood over it, he whined again, rolling onto his back. His forepaws raised, Wisner lay on his back in surrender.

  Showing throat? The vampire crowed in delighted understanding. The wolf admits he has lost!

  It took a moment for the surrounding wolves to understand what had happened. They stared at Nate, staring down at Wisner, absently wiping his bleeding arm. “I win, right?”

  That was the cue for chaos. Wisner’s sons leapt forward, making for Nate. They probably had some idea of avenging their father by destroying Nate. But the damage was done. With Wisner’s defeat went Wisner’s control over the vast body of gathered wolves.

  Shaking himself, a massive gray wolf jumped toward Wisner. Killing him would ensure the wolf’s place at the top of New Camden’s lupine hierarchy. But the gray wolf wasn’t alone in his ambitions. A brown wolf, with a speckled coat, jumped in front of him, teeth bared and hackles raised. Behind the brown wolf, his pack members assembled themselves for a fight. The gray wolf raised his voice, calling his pack to his side.

  The vampire dodged under a leaping wolf. He made his way through the mass of furry bodies, heading toward where he’d last seen Nate—

  “Not on my watch.” The words were spoken, but the vampire felt as much as heard them. They were the screech of nails on a blackboard, the inescapable certainty of a nightmare. “Badge or no badge, this is my city—and you’re about to learn why.”

  The wolves froze, hackles raised, as they turned to make sense of this new threat. Ben looked up to the steps.

  Something Gunn-shaped stood there. There was something not right about it, a movement that didn’t fit the body, a sense of something too big for the form that contained it. “But if we’re done playing nice, then I’m going to let loose. This is your only warning.” The Gunn-shaped thing took a jerky, uneven step down toward the road.

  The smart wolves darted for the shadows. The foolish ones held their ground, snarling as they watched the thing approach.

  The vampire hissed. The wolves gave him a wide berth, but he was too preoccupied to notice. All his attention was fixed on this newest threat—a threat he was only beginning to guess at. So this is a lemur?

  “In a way, I got you to thank for this, Wisner. You got it wrong. Department Seven didn’t make me what I am. Department Seven was meant to control me. Without it”—the thing bared teeth, but it wasn’t the jagged, broken edges that alarmed, it was the cavernous space behind them, gaping, empty, hungry—“I get to come out and play. Isn’t that nice?”

  Wisner, flanked by his sons, got to his feet with an effort. He bared his teeth, but it was reflexive. His sons held their ground, but their eyes rolled wildly.

  Afraid. The vampire was suddenly worried. That’s like blood to a lemur—

  Without any warning, the thing that had Gunn’s shape let itself fall. As the person part of it slid to the ground, only the lemur remained. A rapidly expanding shadow that rushed toward them—

  With a whimper, the first line of wolves turned and fled. Their fear communicated and soon the street was a mass of fleeing wolves, fighting and climbing over each other in their effort to escape. The vampire made a dive for the alleyway, but he was clipped by a leaping wolf, and a second wolf knocked him to the ground. As he struggled to rise, the third wolf collided with him, and he went down hard. There was a sudden sharp pain in his head, and his vision blurred.

  Ben tried to rise and couldn’t. He lay in the alley, hearing the howls of the terrified wolves and the awful screech of their pursuer, a thousand nightmares let loose at once. The lemur left fear in its wake, and Ben swallowed back the sudden knowledge that he would die in the alley with no one to know or care or eve
n find him. I’m lost—

  The distant shrill of sirens was the last thing he heard.

  THE SUNLIGHT WAS persistent. Ben lay still, knowing instinctively that to move was to hurt, but eventually the light grew too much. He opened his eyes.

  It was much, much too bright. Ben winced, shutting his eyes. But the strangeness of what he’d seen registered. Throwing a hand up between himself and the sun, Ben ignored the twinge of pain in his arm, and looked up at the buildings above him. He recognized them at once, but it took him a moment to realize what was so odd about his apartment building and the neighboring building. He was lying on his back in the alley, looking up at them.

  Cautiously and very slowly, Ben levered himself into a sitting position. In addition to the numerous aches, his body felt stiff and bruised from lying on stone. Have I been here all night? Ben looked out at the street.

  There were a few police cars parked by the side of the road. Their presence was something of a surprise, and Ben stared at them, until he realized why. Police! That means the wolves—but why so few cars? Using the wall to help him, he stood.

  The road was reopened to traffic. Ben gave it a troubled glance as he climbed the steps to the entranceway. Was that a good sign or bad? It was good that the city was returned to normal, but if Wisner had succeeded in brushing last night’s events under the carpet…

  We could be in even bigger trouble. Ben frowned as he stood in front of the automatic doors.

  His reflection frowned back at him. He looked thoroughly disreputable, his clothes torn and a cut he didn’t even remember across his cheek. There were large shadows around his eyes, and a generous amount of dust.

  Ben smiled tiredly at himself. A shower—no, a bath, he promised himself. And then bed. Actual bed, not some alley. The automatic door was taking a really long time to work so he waved his hand in front of the sensor. And then something to eat. For the first time since returning to life, he actually recognized hunger unprompted.

  The doors still refused to open. Ben stepped back and repositioned himself in front of the sensor. “Come on.”

  He glared up at the camera—and felt a chill come over him.

  Bennet Hawick, you exist only to yourself.

  Ben sagged against the door. How could I forget? This was his life now—not living—existing.

  A car pulled up in the street. Ben heard it without any interest. The enormity of his future seemed to occur to him for the first time, and he swallowed, fighting back a sense of panic. What do I do?

  “Come on, Nate. You can daydream later.”

  Ben’s head whipped up. Nate?

  Aki was already halfway up the stairs, hands on his hips as he waited for his companions to leave the taxi they’d arrived in. Charlotte slid out of the back seat, while Vazul paid the driver. And Nate—

  Nate stood beside the taxi, watching Vazul pay, with a slight frown.

  “Earth to Nate! Hello?” Aki jumped back down to the base of the stairs. “What are you even thinking about?”

  Nate turned to Aki. He had a Band-Aid on his chin, and one arm was resting in a loose sling. He looked tired, but there was a quiet satisfaction to him. “I was just thinking I seem to have taken an awful lot of taxis lately.”

  Ben caught his breath.

  Even knowing it was hopeless, he couldn’t look away from Nate. He watched him climb the stairs, one hand resting on Aki’s shoulder. In a minute he would look up.

  I should move. It would be too painful—the moment when Nate looked through him and didn’t see him—but Ben couldn’t force his limbs to obey him. Please, Nate—see me!

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Aki said. “We can’t afford taxis, remember? We’re broke.”

  They were almost on top of him. The automatic door parted behind him. They were close enough now that Ben could reach out and touch him—and he did.

  “Nate.” He clutched at Nate’s arm, but it was like there was an invisible barrier between them. Ben felt himself cut off from Nate’s warmth. He didn’t even see a flicker of awareness in Nate’s eyes. “Nate.” His voice sounded hoarse, cracked and broken. “I’m right here—see me! You’ve got to—”

  Nate walked past without even glancing in his direction. Ben was bumped to one side. He stepped back numbly as Charlotte and Vazul followed Nate and Aki into the building. Nate hadn’t seen him. Nate couldn’t see him.

  Nate’s premonition. Ben fought back a shaky sob. You weren’t there, and I was never going to see you again. “I’m still here!”

  No one reacted to his words. Ben turned to see Vazul join the others in the elevator. If he was fast, he might still be able to join him. But as Ben stepped forward, the automatic door slid shut.

  Ben placed his hand on the cool surface of the glass. This—this is my life now.

  GRANT WAS THE center of an excited crowd of greetings. He beamed widely, accepting the congratulations of his friends. Charlotte had thrown her arms around him in a hug, while the rest of them all tried to give him their news at once.

  Vazul managed to drown out everyone else through pure volume. “The charges against you were dismissed. The council passed a no-confidence vote in your stepfather and they’ll be laying charges of fear-mongering and abuse of power once he’s well enough to leave the hospital.”

  “Hospital?” George wandered out of the kitchen, holding a pot of coffee. “I didn’t hear that. You really went to town on him, Nate?”

  “It wasn’t me,” Nate protested.

  Vazul nodded. “Some kind of nervous break. Members of his pack are coming forward saying Wisner had been obsessed with you and with gaining power for some time. Whatever happened last night was just the icing on the cake. He couldn’t face the fact he’d been defeated and just…collapsed.”

  Nate cast a worried look at the street outside and said nothing.

  Ben, watching the conversation from the fire escape, smiled faintly. He didn’t blame Nate for being nervous. The memory of the lemur was still fresh. Ben shuddered. The vampire’s predator instincts should have shielded him from the lemur’s attack, but instead, he’d been caught up in it like any of the wolves. Not a good sign. How long had Gunn been sitting on that particular power? Had he used it before? There was a riot—just before Department Seven was formed. Ben frowned. He’d have to look it up the next time he was at the university library—

  He caught himself too late. No libraries. No looking things up. What was the use when you were unable to turn pages yourself?

  He was just grateful no one had shut the door of the master bedroom. If they had, he wouldn’t be able to see anything of the group gathered in the living room at all. Although I’m not sure seeing is really a good thing. This was as close as he could get to his friends, but it was still unbearably distant, a bittersweet reminder of what he couldn’t have. He watched George slap Nate on the arm and laugh and felt an ache.

  “I talked to Kenzies about you.” Charlotte was excited to share her news, and her voice carried as far as the fire escape. “She said that without Wisner’s opposition, there was no reason to suppose your application for independence wouldn’t be granted. You’ve just got to pass an interview demonstrating you’re still of sound mind and produce a permanent address.”

  “I know. She and Gunn dropped by earlier to check on me.” Grant turned to Aki and Nate, an uncharacteristically shy smile on his face. “Aki, Nate. I was wondering if I could stay with you—and do it properly this time.”

  Nate looked up but whatever he was about to say was cut off by Aki. “We have a two-room apartment. And both rooms are taken.”

  “The sofa—”

  Aki folded his arms across his chest. “I have plans for the sofa.”

  “You can share my RV,” George offered. “I’ve got an air mattress. Play your cards right, I might even let you have a blanket.”

  Vazul snorted. “You do know there is no longer a bounty on him, hunter?”

  As George turned to defend her mot
ives, Ben looked away. Nate was safe. Grant had survived and was now almost assured of his freedom. I have plenty of things to be grateful for. I knew the risks… The thought trailed off. Knowing the risks did not make reality any easier to bear.

  A noise behind him made him turn. Nate raised the window, looking out over the fire escape. His gaze flickered over Ben without making even the slightest difference to his frown.

  I should go. Ben wrapped his arms around himself. He’d quickly realized nothing hurt as much as Nate’s obliviousness to his presence—but at the same time, he couldn’t bear to give up what slight contact he had.

  Did I really choose to avoid him? Ben winced, thinking back on his choices. For all my reasons, it came down to one thing. I didn’t trust him.

  He swallowed. “I should have said this earlier.” His voice had lost some of its hoarseness, but it still sounded far too weak for Ben’s liking. “Now you can’t even hear me. But I have to say it—whether you hear it or not—it’s the truth.” He looked up. “I didn’t take your premonition seriously. I didn’t take a lot of your concerns seriously. I should have trusted your instinct, and I didn’t. It took me a long time to realize that your way of doing things wasn’t my way, but I could trust you to be there for me—and I do.” His voice wavered, and Ben made it fierce. “I’m trusting you to look after yourself. You’ve got to be all right, Nate. You’ve got to—” He swallowed. “I love you, Nate. I wasn’t brave enough to say it when you could hear me, and now you’ll never know, but—I love you.”

  The fire escape didn’t creak as Ben stood. He carefully avoided looking back at Nate, knowing it would be too painful. Instead, he would find somewhere quiet to think, come up with a plan—

  “What are you doing in here?” Aki’s voice drifted down the fire escape after him. “Seriously, Nate. We should be celebrating.”