by Brandon Hale
Leo shrugged. “You were thinking pretty hard about something.”
“Yeah,” Lily said. “I was.”
“Iveyton?”
Lily just 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.”
“No way,” Leo said. “Those guys just rush in, guns blazing. Beta makes a lot more sense. They need people that can survive tough situations, like getting thrown into a town of vampires with nothing but a cheap crossbow.”
“Yeah,” Lily said quietly.
“Damn,” Leo said, realizing he’d just referred to his entire hometown as a town full of vampires. “That sounded cold, but it’s true, Lily.”
Lily forced a smile. “Yeah. I guess it is.”
“You know,” Leo said after a moment of thought, “Wallace runs the Norfolk facility. I think he wants to personally oversee our training. I think we left an impression on him back in Iveyton.”
“I’m glad,” Lily said. “I think we can learn a lot from him.”
“No argument from me,” Leo said as he took another drink of hot chocolate.
“You’re buying me another drink,” Lily said.
“Coffee?” Leo offered with a smile.
“If you want to wear it.”
They both chuckled, then fell silent for a few seconds, soaking in the moment.
Leo broke the moment. “What do you think’s gonna happen to us, Lil?”
Lily shrugged. “I know what I hope is going to happen. I hope we become kick-ass Day Soldiers and eventually put a silver bullet between the eyes of a werewolf named Dennis.”
“And Tina,” Leo added.
“And Tina,” Lily agreed.
“Then what?” Leo asked. “Let’s say we succeed in avenging Iveyton. Where do we go from there?”
“That’s easy,” Lily said. “After we resolve the Dennis situation, I know exactly what we do next.”
Leo laughed. “So tell me, oh great one. What do we do next?”
Lily grinned. “We win the war, of course.”
Chapter 7
The Names on the Wall
The Norfolk Facility was huge, taking up a third of the city. Entire city blocks were converted to training grounds for various divisions. Lily sat in the transport with the other recruits as they rode through the city. Other than her and Leo, there were six other recruits in the vehicle. They sat on small benches running the length of the transport, four on each side.
Leo sat beside Lily, looking out the window behind them as they rode past the different divisions. “There’s my new home,” he said.
Lily turned around and looked at the buildings passing by. “How do you know?”
“The street sign we just drove past,” Leo explained. “It said Dotter Street.”
“And that’s the sniper area?”
“Uh, yeah,” Leo said indignantly. “It makes sense that the dotters would stay on Dotter Street.”
“Oh,” Lily said. “So a sniper’s a dotter?” Of course, she already knew the answer but decided to let Leo be the know-it-all for a change.
“Yeah,” “Leo said. With his index finger, he touched Lily’s forehead, directly between her eyes. “We put a dot right there and make you fall down.”
Lily swatted his finger away. “Look at you being all educated now.”
“I might not know the exact minute the twentieth vampire was killed by the third Day Soldier division,” Leo said, “but I know the things that matter.”
“You didn’t know whether or not a vampire can enter a house uninvited,” Lily countered, “but you made sure to know the important stuff… like what nickname the snipers go by.”
“Okay, smartass,” Leo said, “what do Day Soldiers call the Covert Ops?”
“I’m a sneaker, baby,” Lily said with a smile.
“How’d you know that, but not dotter?” Leo asked.
“Because,” Lily said with a wry smile, “I learn the important stuff.”
Leo tried to act offended but couldn’t suppress a smile. “I’m not sure Phillip the dead werewolf would agree with you.”
“Touché,” Lily said as the vehicle came to a stop.
She looked out the window again and saw that they had pulled into a large parking lot full of other vehicles, each one identical to theirs.
The back door of the vehicle opened. A man wearing a Day Soldier’s uniform stood behind the transport. “Come on out, kiddies.”
They climbed out of the vehicle to see many other recruits standing around nervously. A giant fence surrounded three sides of the parking lot. The forth side was blocked by a building so large that it dwarfed the fences.
All of the other recruits gathered around the front door of the building. “How many other recruits would you say?” Lily asked Leo.
“I’d say at least a couple hundred,” Leo said. “More importantly, how many names are on that wall?”
Lily looked at the front wall of the building. It was absolutely covered in names. They were small, etched into the concrete, and ran up the side of the building at least twenty feet. “Who are they?”
Leo shrugged. “I don’t know. It looks like a memorial of some kind.”
There were thousands of them. Name after name after name, running up the side of that wall. Lily looked around and saw that the other recruits were looking at the names too. Some of them seemed to know what the names meant, but most just looked confused.
Lily was about to ask someone when the front door of the building opened and Commander Wallace stepped out.
He waited patiently until the chatter from the crowd died down, then said, “Welcome to the Day Soldiers.” The mic attached to his shirt magnified his voice across the large parking lot. “Most of you know me already, but for the few that don’t, I’m Commander Wallace. I’m in charge of this facility.”
He pointed toward the top of the building. “My office is up there. My door is never closed, physically or metaphorically. If you need to talk to me – for any reason – come see me. And if you think I’m being insincere, ask anyone that has worked with me before. I mean it, folks. You need me, I’m here.”
There were some rumblings of general agreement in the crowd. Wallace waited patiently until the murmur died down, then continued. “I saw that many of you were discussing the names on this wall. Who out there knows who these people are?”
Several of the recruits raised their hands, making Lily instantly feel bad that she didn’t know.
Wallace pointed to a younger man in the front. “You. What’s your name, son?”
“Franklin, sir.”
“That your first name or last name?” Wallace asked, causing several people in the crowd to laugh.
“Last, sir.”
“Fair enough,” Wallace continued. “Tell us, Franklin. Who are the people on this wall?”
“Victims, sir,” Franklin
answered. “They’re the people who died in the battle of Norfolk.”
Of course, Lily thought. It’s a memorial.
Wallace turned and looked at the wall. He pointed toward one of the names. “Shauna Carter,” he said. “She worked at a book store about half a block from here. She wasn’t married, but she lived with her boyfriend of six years. They had one little girl together, named Teri. Shauna’s mom constantly pushed her and Mick – her boyfriend – to get married, but they just didn’t see the need. Shauna often explained to her mother that she didn’t need a piece of paper to know she had a family.
“Shauna loved Christmas, and usually started shopping very early. In early November, two years ago, she decided to do some Christmas shopping. Mick was at work, so she packed up Teri and hit the stores. A few hours later, the car was packed with soon-to-be wrapped presents. She was on her way home when it happened.”
Lily knew exactly what Wallace was talking about. The battle of Norfolk happened in early November, two years earlier. The battle was considered the first major human victory in the war against the dark.
“They poured into the streets from all directions,” Wallace continued. “It was a tidal wave of the undead. Within seconds, they had completely surrounded her car. They smashed in her window and dragged her and her little girl onto the street. They turned Shauna into one of them, but they knew a seven year old girl would be of little use, so they simply drained Teri dry and left her dead body on the street as they moved on to the next block.”
The recruits were silent. Wallace just looked out over the crowd for a few seconds, then said, “We don’t have any information about what happened to Mick. Maybe he escaped. Maybe Shauna went home and turned him. Maybe he died. It’s unlikely that we’ll ever know.”
He turned around and again looked at the giant memorial of names. “There are over seventy-five thousand names on this wall. Norfolk lost over one-third of its population in the attack.”
He turned back to face the recruits. “And yet,” he said, “the city survived. The people of Norfolk decided they wouldn’t let their city fall to the dead. They fought back. Most citizens had weaponry appropriate for fighting vampires and werewolves, and they didn’t hesitate to use these weapons. At that time, there was a small Day Soldiers base in the city, and the troops quickly joined the fight.
“Their casualties were great, but the people of Norfolk managed to hold their ground until more Day Soldiers arrived. Two days later, the battle was over… and the Legion had been driven back. I think history will show this battle as a turning point in the war. It was the first major victory for humanity, and it was this battle that showed the world that we can defeat these things.”
He again pointed to the wall. “These people didn’t just die to protect Norfolk. They died showing the world that the human spirit is more powerful than the dark abilities of the Legion. They showed the world that we can – and will – win this war. And you folks are going to help us do it.”
An explosion of applause and cheers erupted from the crowd of recruits. Wallace simply smiled, let the applause end naturally, then continued.
“Your first assignment as Day Soldiers,” he said, “is an easy one. You report to your specialized training facilities in two days. I want each of you to pick a name on this wall. Any name. Once you have a name, you will spend the next two days learning everything you can about the person you’ve chosen. You’ll have full access to our computers on the base and you’re free to do any personal legwork you can do.
“After you’ve started your training, your commanding officer may or may not ask you about the person you’ve chosen. If, while giving your answer, it becomes obvious that you did not take this assignment seriously, you will go home.”
Leo leaned over to Lily. “I really don’t think this is necessary for us. We’ve seen the personal side of this war up close.”
“I’m sure,” Wallace continued, “that some of you think you don’t need this assignment. You think you’ve already learned whatever lessons this assignment is designed to teach.”
Leo gave Lily a surprised look. Lily just smiled and shrugged. Obviously, Wallace knew many of the recruits would have Leo’s reaction.
“Let me assure you,” Wallace said to the crowd, “that you are wrong. This assignment isn’t less important to you. It’s more important. Many of you are fighting this war for your own personal reasons. Vengeance, justice, whatever. You have to learn, from the very beginning, that your pain isn’t the exception here. It’s the norm. And you have to learn that you are fighting for things that go far beyond your own little revenge mission.”
“Smacked you right down,” Lily said to Leo.
“Shut it,” Leo said.
From the front of the building, Wallace said, “That’s about it for now. Welcome to the Day Soldiers. Enjoy the next two days. And good luck.” As the crowd again applauded, he turned and re-entered the building.
Michael Meade.
If the search engine results were accurate, he was seventy-two years old when he died. He had lived in a local rest home for the last two years of his life. His wife had died in a car crash fifteen years earlier. Michael’s only surviving relative was his son, Michael Meade, Jr.
Lily stared at the computer screen, trying to imagine the last day of Michael’s life. According to the reports, the retirement home was invaded by an estimated four to six werewolves. All the bodies had been mutilated beyond recognition, so Michael’s death had been assumed. Lily’s heart ached at the thought of those people’s deaths. They’d worked their entire lives, surviving all the hardships life threw at them. But for what? To die by the claws and teeth of mythological monsters. The thought was horrifying to Lily.
“Done.” Leo sat at the computer beside her, a look of complete satisfaction on his face. “I heard some of the recruits talking about meeting at the bar down the street. We should go.”
“You’re not done,” Lily said.
Leo looked at his monitor. “I can tell you anything you want to know about Francis. Her job, her family, her death.”
Lily just shook her head. “You go on to the bar, then. Have fun.”
Leo looked at her with judging eyes. “Lily, everything doesn’t have to be the most important event in human history. They wanted us to understand that we’re fighting for a world bigger than Iveyton. I get that. Job done.”
“Okay,” Lily said. “Go meet some of the other recruits. We’re not going to be seeing much of each other for the next six weeks. Go make some new friends.”
Leo sighed. “I’ll stay here.”
“No, Leo,” Lily said. “I’m serious. Go.”
“Breakfast tomorrow?” Leo offered. “At the cafeteria downstairs.”
“Sure,” Lily said. “I’ll be there at nine.”
“How about ten?”
Lily laughed. “Planning on a wild night, huh.”
Leo smiled. “You never know.”
“Ten, then,” Lily said. “Go. Have fun getting to know your future brothers-in-arms.”
Leo gave her a friendly punch on the shoulder and was gone.
Lily turned back to her monitor and keyed in the words “Michael Meade, Junior.” She of course got several hits. It wasn’t exactly an uncommon name. After about a half-hour of searching, she found the correct Michael.
“Holy crap,” she whispered, instinctively leaning closer to the monitor. “You’re a Day Soldier.”
Captain Michael Meade sat on his favorite bench, watching the evening joggers run through the park. He was a small man, probably in his mid-forties, Lily guessed. Like most officers, his hair was cropped short and his face clean shaven. The first thing Lily had noticed about him, though, was his eyes. There was a gentleness in his eyes that – for some reason – surprised Lily.
“Thank you for seeing me, sir,” Lily said as she sat beside the captain.
“Pleasure’s mine,” Captain Meade said with a smile. “You’re actually the first recruit
to pick my father’s name from the wall. Or maybe you’re just the first one to give enough of a damn about the assignment to ask me about him.”
Lily smiled, thinking of Leo. “I trust Commander Wallace. If he says this is worth taking seriously, I’m going to take it seriously.”
Captain Meade nodded. “Wallace is a good man. It took me a while to accept that, considering his heritage, but now there’s nobody on this base I trust more.”
“His heritage?” Lily asked.
“Did you come to ask me about Wallace or my father?”
“Right,” Lily said. “Your father. I really don’t have any planned questions. The information from the database told me the boring stuff. I know he was an Army cook. I know his wife died before the war ever started.”
“Yeah,” Captain Meade said. “I guess she just got lucky.”
“I’m sorry,” Lily said, realizing she’d just referred to the death of this man’s mother as boring stuff. “I just meant there wasn’t any information that told me who he was. I mean, inside.”
The captain smiled. “I knew what you meant. No apology necessary. So... who was my father?” He leaned back. “That’s a tough one. He provided for his family and he asked for nothing in return. He worked a lot, but rarely complained. He was a simple man who just took care of his family.”
“How did he wind up in a rest home?”
“Damn,” Captain Meade said. “You don’t pull any punches.”
“I wasn’t judging you,” Lily explained. “I just thought it might help me understand him.”
“Actually,” Mead said, “you’re right. My father was in the rest home because he demanded it. I was in the Navy. I had a good job at the naval base here in Norfolk and my father lived with me. When the Day Soldiers set up a small base here, I was offered a job within the organization.”
“So you took the job?”
“Not at first,” Mead answered. “I knew working for the Day Soldiers would require me to be gone for very long periods of time. Being a Day Soldier requires a level of commitment that’s far beyond what was asked of me in the Navy. So I told them no.”
“What changed your mind?” Lily asked.
