“There's Johnnie.” Sonafi said. James Ray's drug using son. To outward appearances he seemed normal. He was well dressed, poised and confident appearing. To my discerning eye however, I saw him for the arrogant, spoiled fop that he was. He wasn’t doing much of the work. He seemed to think he was supervising.
“A father's love has blinded him, I'm afraid.” I said, seeing all of Johnnie’s failings at a glance.
“I don't think that is it, exactly.” Sonafi disagreed. Just then the wind blew in a gust and Sonafi had to shake her hair out of her face before she went on. “I don't think James Ray knew what to do with him. The two personality traits within the same bloodline, but in the end, so different and he simply didn't know how to deal with Johnnie’s energy and seeming oddity. He wasn't built to be able to cope with it.”
“I suppose.” I said, watching the recalcitrant Johnnie avoid all the work. I watched as James Ray turned to Johnnie to say something, but then thought better of it. He’d probably gotten tired of saying things long years ago and now mostly accepted the situation for what it was. It wasn’t a new story and emphasized a certain similarity to our and humanities present circumstances. We had turned a blind eye for too long and now it might be too late. It was certainly too late in Jonnies case.
“Recessive genes.” Sonafi said. I had heard of that term but didn't really know what it meant. A throwback, I guess, like the Neanderthal or Cro Magnan features I could sometimes recognize clearly in what were otherwise very modern Humans. Or like the Native Americans. Mixed into the general population but far from gone. They would always be there, just not as they once were. The De La Font line carried two dominant traits like that. How something like that occurred I could not say. At some point a woman had carried the male traits of her line into the De La Font line, I supposed. It didn't matter. It was what it was. That was all that mattered. It was what it was.
The night was a dark one. The sky was cloudy, the stars and moon hidden from view. The features of the workers were nearly indistinguishable except when they moved in and out of the light above the door. One of those new LED lights that were so bright and efficient and that I did not particularly like, but you couldn't even get the old style anymore these days. Too inefficient, they said. They were all concerned with saving their world, but for who was the question.
“The Others probably implanted the idea.” I said, and felt as Sonafi looked into my mind to see what I was babbling about.
“Maybe if we destroyed the planet they would go away.” Sonafi suggested. Other than her thermal image, all I could see were her white teeth, formed into a malicious smile.
“If only it could be that simple.” I said.
“The Others are going to be furious if Brid’s plan works.” Sonafi said, changing the subject. It was something I had been thinking about myself. We had never done more than run, hide and cower in our holes. This was a thing entirely new, and a thing the Others may not be able to take. There was just no guessing what we might be precipitating. The only thing we could be sure of was that it wouldn't be good.
“They may decide to destroy the entire planet,” I said, “if they can't have it for themselves.”
“Then why fight at all.” She asked rhetorically.
“We must. We have no choice.” I said. “They made the rules. I don't see options here.”
“Better to destroy the planet than give it to them.” Sonafi said bitterly. I could see that she was serious. The sharp edge I knew she could bare when necessary showing itself.
“I've tried not to think so fatalistically, but nor would I be willing to just give them this world.” I said. “This is our world. I would not give it to them without a fight. Do you think our future is as gloomy as all that, that we must consider such extreme countermeasures?”
“I don't know. I don't know what to think anymore.” Sonafi said. “It seems we are backed into the corner and must consider all options.”
“But to destroy the planet?” I asked.
“It's not just a matter of ourselves that I think of. If we allow them to succeed here, we'll be the stepping stone they use to do this to someone else. It's a hard thing to think, to contemplate, but it's even harder not to. I have really been thinking about it recently, because only recently has it really become possible.”
She meant anti-matter, of course. I knew enough of current events to know that much, at least. A limited nuclear exchange might damage the planet, but had very little chance of destroying it completely. The anti-matter they were making in the several particle colliders now in operation around the globe, and using to power the space craft they were colonizing the moon, Mars and various other chunks of rock in our system with, would be more than sufficient to do the job, with only a small quantity of the volatile material.
“Let's hope that it does not come to anything as final as that.” I said, though thinking that if it did come to that, we would probably have no difficulty in pulling it off, nor would many of the Community be likely to dissent. Vampires could be vengeful, ruthless beings. I would know.
“It looks as if they are about finished.” Sonafi commented. Just as she spoke a small insect-eating bat swooped near us and I reached out and plucked it from the air. It set up a terrific squeaking then tried to bite me, but its jaws were inadequate to the task and it could not break my skin. I let it go before by some fluke it should succeed, and it flew off into the night.
“It might not be wise to create real Vampire bats.” I said.
“Possibly not.” Sonafi agreed. “This world is faced with enough problems as it is.” The Burns had heard the bat’s frantic squeaking and paused to look up into the darkness for the cause of the disturbance, but unable to determine what had caused it and the bat no longer squeaking, quickly returned their attentions to what they were doing.
My cell phone vibrated in my pocket and I scuttled over the peak before answering it. It was Brid.
“I've arranged your transportation.” Brid said without preamble. “By private jet tomorrow night.”
“Airplane?” I asked immediately unhappy with the prospect.
“Yes. You'll be shipped as freight.”
“Freight?” I demanded.
“Would you prefer First Class?”
“I don't like risk.” I said. “In fact, I do not think I would like to fly at all.”
“I could charter a small boat.” Brid offered.
“I do not like small boats.” I said.
“It could be a fast small…“
“No.” I interrupted him, suddenly regretting my decision to go at all. Maybe I would, after all, simply pick up the phone and call them. Or weren't there enough, already, to grab one single Other?
“You would be aboard a ship for a week or more.” Brid warned. “You know the dangers of that as well as any.” He meant having to feed on the passengers and crew within a closed environment, where everything that happened was that much more obvious.
“I am aware. I do not like any of the options. I would like to skip it altogether, to be honest.”
“Then don't do it.” Brid said.
“I must.” I admitted. “The telephone is simply inadequate.”
“The private jet is already chartered. My people will crate you and load you then others will be waiting in Europe to deliver you. Everything is already prepared. All you have to do is give me the go ahead.”
“Your people?” I asked.
“My network. Yes.”
“Network?” I was beginning to see that there was more to my son than I had ever imagined. He was eager to explain.
“It’s a Network of us younger, computer literate Vampires.” Brid said. “There are hundreds of us, representing every branch of scientific endeavor known to Humans or Vampires. Working together, there is almost nothing we can’t accomplish.”
“Impressive.” I said, meaning it, but having no idea how such unity could exist amongst us. There had never been anything of its sort in all of our history,
and I marveled that it had been Brid who had put it together. “I would never have imagined Vampires would ever be able to come together like this.”
“Thank you, Father, but it was the computer that made it possible, and not so much anything I did. We learned unity while on the net. If it had not been for that net unity, we might never have learned it at all. It is not easy for any of us but we are working through it.” Brid explained at length. Then; “I am confident there will be no problems with the arrangements I have made for you. Do you wish to finalize them?”
“I'll have to call you back. I have to ask the boss.”
“Sure.” I heard him say as I lowered the phone and was reaching for the red end button. I put the phone away and returned over the peak to the front deck. Sonafi was watching the Burns drive away as I rejoined her, the big rental truck lumbering away down the street and taking a left hand turn at the first corner.
“Brid wants to ship us air freight.” I said.
“You told him he was out of his mind.” Sonafi said.
“Well, not exactly Commercial Air Freight, but he does want to fly us as freight.” I said, not exactly answering her question, but not exactly not answering, either. “He wants to put us in a box and fly us by private jet. I told him I had to speak to you first.”
“Fly us freight? We have made the journey in less dignified circumstances, I guess.” She said only, not as dead set against it as I had thought she would be. In truth, making the journey by ship, and trapped inside another freight crate the entire journey, which clearly would take much longer than a jet plane, now left me with the first thought I’d had when hearing the jet plane idea. I was suddenly thinking that the least amount of time spent in any crate would be the best.
“He has it arranged for tomorrow evening. If we approve.” I said.
“It sounds efficient.” Sonafi said. “I've come to expect that from Brid and his co-conspirators. I doubt there will be any problems.”
“Co-conspirators? They call themselves the Network.”
“Yes I know.”
“You do?”
“Well, I'm a little bit of a member myself.”
“I should have guessed.” I said. “You've grown quite attached to your computer in recent years while I plod away with pencil and paper. Maybe it's time that I’m put out to pasture.”
“I'd like to see the Vampire capable of that.” She said to make me feel better, but the truth was, I was behind the times.
“Tomorrow evening?” She asked.
“Tomorrow evening.” I agreed.
“Then we had best make some use of our new home before we have to abandon it.” Sonafi said, standing up and at ease on the steep slope. She smiled at me seductively and then walked down to the edge of the roof. Before disappearing completely over the edge, with only her head still above the roof line, she added; “Are you coming?”
CHAPTER 9
The car pulled up in front of our house even as we climbed out of a window just down the street. We would not normally have used such a close neighbor, but we were moving and we were in a hurry to make the flight schedule which had been arranged for us. It would not be able to be explained to the airport flight controllers that their Vampire freight had not been able to come out until after dark and that they had then had to feed before they could make it.
After gaining the ground we slipped on our shoes and quickly made our way to the car which was awaiting us. A Vampire I had never seen before was at the wheel. He began exuding fear stink as soon as we got in the back seat. I rolled down the window on my side.
“Sorry.” He said, realizing why I had rolled down the window. He could smell his own pheromone fear stink as well as we though not to the extent as we. “I never realized just how terrifying you would be.” It was no disrespect to tell another Vampire that he or she scared you. Every Elder but myself had once been a Juvenile who had experienced the fear of another Vampire.
“There's nothing to apologize for.” Sonafi said as the Vampire pulled the car away from the curb and the suction of the open window drew out most of the stink. I did not find it pleasant or intoxicating as some did but then I had long outgrown that Juvenile desire for dominance. I did not actively participate in the hierarchical game of dominance and submission. I believe I fully cleansed myself of such impulses in my early years and my terrorizing of humanity for so very long. To me it was no more than an ugly stench. The smell of inequality, and that, in the final say, always reminded me of the Others. Of the ultimate inequality they felt gave them the right to steal an entire species very existence.
The ride was a short one and ended at a darkened factory. Shut down for the night, though not entirely empty. There were a group of Vampires, and several Humans, waiting on a loading dock at which was parked a delivery van. They were in the process of loading a large crate into the back of the van when we pulled up.
“That's for us, I guess.” I said.
“Doesn't look First Class to me.” Sonafi observed.
“First Class Freight.” The driver said with a smile I noted in the rear-view mirror. The smile flickered away and his eyes turned forward when neither of us smiled in return. We weren't trying to be rude but neither were we too amused. I know that I for one was not particularly looking forward to climbing into that box to be flown across the ocean. The car pulled up next to the van and we got out. Brid was waiting for us.
“What kind of hare-brained scheme have I let myself be duped into?” I asked as we gained the loading platform and I got a better look at the crate now resting in the back of the van. It looked even smaller up close and I had to admit to second thoughts. It would be cramped and tight.
“I don't think it's hare-brained at all.” Brid said boldly, challengingly holding my eyes. I held my temper as the other Juveniles around Brid involuntarily stepped away from him, expecting an explosion. He realized belatedly how challenging he had been and toned himself down. “If I were making the trip, I would not want to go any other way.”
“It'll be fine.” Sonafi said. “Your father only balks because he knows he will not be able to escape my nagging once the lid has been closed.”
“I have not been able to escape your nagging for thousands of years.” I said with a smile. “I don't know why this should be any different.”
“Do not worry,” Sonafi said, stepping close and running a finger along my jawline suggestively, “I will endeavor to try to find a way to keep you amused.”
“That's disgusting.” Brid said.
“That is how we came to be blessed with you.” I said sarcastically. “So in a sense, you are absolutely correct.”
I saw the slight narrowing of Sonafi's eyes before she moved. She took two quick steps and no more than a flitting shadow to the Juveniles around us, materialized in front of Brid. Before he could react she reached up and pinched his cheek between her thumb and forefinger. “Disgusting? You ingrate.”
“Sorry Mother.” Brid said.
“You should be.” She said, letting him go.
“Yes Mother.” He said.
“Shall we?” Sonafi asked, leading the way. We climbed into our crate and attempted to make ourselves comfortable. The bottom was layered in thick foam. We sank in as we settled into our places. Mounted on the interior walls of the box were four oxygen canisters with two oxygen masks trailing from two thin, clear lines. A Vampire could slow his metabolism to a point very near what might be confused as death and maintain that status for an extended period of time, but the added precautions were reassuring. It showed me that thought and preparation had gone into the planning of this expedition. That this wasn't a slap dash operation. My confidence was suddenly high.
It was a tight squeeze and there would be very little room to move around once the lid was put in place, but we were not, as Vampires, unaccustomed to tight, dark places. Brid came into the van and slid in between the side of the box and the interior wall of the van. He had a screw gun in one hand and a handful of screws
in the other. Two of the other Juveniles joined him around our crate, similarly equipped, and looking nervous at being so close to us, in such cramped quarters and nowhere to go if we suddenly went rogue. I admired their courage. Other Vampires slid the lid up onto the crate but held it back from completely covering us.
“Are you ready? No last requests?” Brid asked.
“Funny.” I said.
“No light?” Sonafi demanded.
“For what?” Brid asked. Vampires could see in the thermal, of course, but we would not be able to read in thermal. Sonafi had produced a book from somewhere upon her person and waved it meaningfully under Brid's nose. The way she could hide things away in plain sight often astounded me. I had no idea where she had kept it. “Oh.” Brid finished lamely.
“I guess I'll just have to find other ways to amuse myself.” Sonafi decided, throwing the book aside.
“Ugh.” Brid said. Then he motioned for the lid to be drawn into place and the screw guns went to work sealing us in.
“Uh, would you like to do something with all those weapons!” I said as she moved towards me. I would rather embrace a porcupine with her so encumbered. She could only laugh.
The crated journey itself might have been unremarkable, but not so the events which transpired within it. If nothing else had kept our union strong after all of these eons, our physical attraction for one another had not dimmed in the slightest. We still burned for one another as hotly as the day we had met, those thousands of years gone.
The different legs of the journey we took were easy enough to distinguish one from another. The van ride to the airport. The offload from the van and the reloading into the jet. The taxi down the runway and the unmistakable leap into the air. Hours of flight and then refueling on the East Coast, but no one bothered with us. Then airborne again, flying, we knew, into the rising sun.
The flight over the ocean took a lot longer than the first hop, from St. Louis to New York, but ended, as all things must, soon enough. Vampires do not sweat very much. It takes a great deal of effort to rouse a Vampire to exertions requiring the cooling effects of sweat, but I had to admit that by the time the jet's wheels touched the ground again, it had begun to become a trifle stuffy in the cramped, enclosed crate. It was not without some relief that I felt those wheels touch the ground again. Sonafi, languishing in my arms, hardly noticed.
The Vampire-Alien Chronicles Page 8
