The Vengeance of Shadows

by Phil Maxey

  Her initial reaction was to wonder why he was telling her, but then she understood and nodded, putting her face back into the book she was reading.

  He left the gym, walked along a small hallway, and then into the restroom, with showers along one wall. He closed the door behind him, then walked to one of the showers and rotated the handle, causing a weak stream of water to pour from the nozzle. He then walked to the slim window. Its latch was padlocked, but those that secured the window hadn’t figured on a hybrid’s strength, and after a few heaves he was able to pull the latch from the frame, with the lock still attached to it.

  He pushed open the window a few inches and listened into the night outside. There was only silence. He couldn’t even hear any heartbeats locally around the school building.

  No need for anyone to stay up if there’s no vamps around.

  Pushing against the metal frame, he opened the window all the way, then jumped up, pushing his backpack first through the gap, and then himself. He landed catlike on the dirt outside, and looked out into the darkness. The sports ground was on the opposite side of the building, and in front of him was just the grayness of a parking lot.

  Where the hell’s the medical center?

  He tried to remember the layout of the town from when they flew over it, but nothing from his memory looked like a hospital.

  He scanned the landscape around him, but only strange shapes stood out against the sky and stars. There was also the occasional light hanging from buildings or poles, but most of the town was in darkness. He ran forward across the concrete, past waste disposal containers, and grabbed hold of a chain-link fence and hopped over to the sidewalk on the other side. Despite how dark it was, he could still see most of the buildings, and promptly stopped on seeing how strange the first one appeared. It was covered in crucifixes. Large ones, small ones, and some he was sure were just painted onto the walls. Even the windows had small cross shapes painted on them. Topping them all off was a wooden crucifix, maybe ten feet high, nailed to the front of the roof.

  He ran across the road and examined the building more closely. A small wooden placard stuck in the dirt near a path which led to the entrance said, ‘Meeting house.’

  He looked to the right, at the property on the next lot. This building was larger, and part of a row of stores, but the external wall was covered in the same cacophony of religious symbols as the one he was next to.

  He shook his head. He had already encountered many such crucifixes over the past few months, and never had they had any affect on him. He wondered why the inhabitants of the town thought otherwise.

  He jogged to the side alley of the stores and ran down it. As he emerged, the smell of blood drifting on the cool night air, hit him like a happy memory. For a moment he stood frozen, his senses scrambled. Shaking his head, he looked at the scene in front of him. He was at a junction. A church sat on one corner with a modern flat building sat alongside it. The latter was where the metallic sweet smell was coming from, he was sure of it.

  Could I be that lucky?

  He ran across the street, being careful not to move out of the shadows and onto the lawn which sat in front of the building. A clean plaque on the wall announced ‘Haven Medical Center.’

  The double glass doors were well lit. A bit too well lit, so he ignored them, and instead moved around the side of the building, running across flower beds until he found a ground-floor window. He gripped the bottom of it, and pulled upwards until the latch broke, then climbed inside. The smell of blood was even stronger inside the building.

  Must be a blood bank somewhere in here.

  There was no light in the room around him, but he could make out enough to know it was a small office. He moved swiftly to the door, pressing his hand against it and went to pull the handle down, when he heard them. A confusing mix of heartbeats and voices. Lots of both. He quietened his mind until only one voice could be heard in the corridor outside.

  “You think they’ll come?” said a male voice.

  “Don’t know. But if they are, I wish they do it soon. I need my sleep,” said an older male voice.

  Joel slowly stepped back from the door.

  Trap.

  He climbed out of the window, bringing it down as quiet as he could, and raced away into the dark.

  *****

  Marina’s eyelids were heavy, but she lifted them anyway. Jess was sleeping soundly on the bed next to her, with Flint lying on the floor in between. Sunlight streamed in from the top windows bathing the glossy hardwood floor in intense yellow light. In the translucent beam, she watched the tiny dust particles dance to a silent tune.

  She was tired. More so after Joel returned from his ‘shower’ and told her and the others of what he was almost lured into. She had to admire the townspeople though. It was a clever ploy to weed out who among them might have a craving for blood. She wondered what would have happened if Joel had fallen for it. Would they have tried to kill him? She was sure he would have been the first of their type to come here. Maybe they would have given him a chance. Maybe they would give them all a chance.

  Yeah, right.

  She knew she wasn’t safe for as long as she stayed in the town, and that meant Jess wasn’t safe, and that wasn’t acceptable.

  Contact the authorities. Pass off the tablet and vials. Leave.

  It was a simple enough plan, she just needed to stay out of trouble long enough for it to occur.

  She swung her legs around and onto the floor, when her senses picked up that the outer door of the building had just been opened. She sat, tracking the footsteps of three men, two much heavier than the third, and when the door to the gym was unlocked and opened, she did her best to act surprised.

  Joel opened his eyes to the two guards that escorted them to the gym the previous evening, and a third person. A sandy-haired woman, with rosy cheeks, and a jumper that looked too big for her.

  “Please everyone, can you wake. I have good news for all of you.”

  Mary and Bill sat up immediately, whereas Hardin pulled the sheet over his head. Anna came out of the restroom drying her hair with a towel.

  “What’s going on?” said Joel.

  “You are to be taken to visit Brother Lucian!”

  “Who the hell is he?” said Hardin from beneath his sheet.

  “He is our leader. The one that has been chosen to carry us through the nightmare that has descended upon Earth.”

  Marina looked at Joel, while Evan looked at his grandfather.

  Joel got to his feet. “We’re happy to meet your, err… leader, but we need to get a message to any remaining governmental authorities. If you have communications to the outside world?”

  “Umm… perhaps after you have talked to Brother Lucian.”

  “Okay, lead the way,” said Joel, walking forward.

  Soon they were all outside. The fresh air felt good for everyone. Even the hybrids took in a few lungsful of breaths, despite feeling hotter than the others under the early morning sun.

  As they walked across the parking lot, the other buildings around them came into greater clarity, each one covered in painted crosses. But that wasn’t all. Joel hadn’t realized while he was exploring in the dark, but the sidewalk and roads were also anointed in similar fashion.

  Brief looks were exchanged amongst the group, that were being led along the sidewalk. They soon realized they were heading for the ‘meeting house.’

  Marina leaned into Joel as he got close. “This whole place is nuts.”

  He subtly shook his head as the woman with the big jumper walked through the doorway, into the cool air of the open space within. A large room contained five rows of seating, and, at the front, a middle-aged man with hair and a beard of small dark curls interceded with white. He sat on a chair larger than the others. He was also immaculately dressed, wearing a bright white suit, shirt, and red tie. The whole place was empty apart from the man, that had his hands clasped together.

  They all walked to within t
en feet of him.

  The woman’s face was one of nervous tension. “These are the visitors, Brother Lucian.”

  Lucian smiled. “Thank you, Sister Abigail. That will be all.” He talked with a tinge of a southern accent.

  The woman smiled, lowering her head slightly as she turned and walked away.

  Joel just caught sight of the two guards taking up standing positions outside as she closed the door.

  Marina walked forward. “Lucian, is it?”

  He nodded with a smile.

  “I really don’t care what kind of gig you got going on here. But we’re not here to sign up. We want to use any communications you have to the outside world. I presume you have one, right?”

  Joel sensed Lucian’s heart rate was faster than it should be. He could also smell blood in the air. An idea started forming in his mind.

  “I presume your humans are not infected?” He pointed to Bill, Mary, and Hardin. “If they are, then we have a problem.”

  Hardin scrunched his face up in disapproval, then looked at those around him. “Humans?”

  The itch at the back of Joel’s mind became a fully formed concept. He walked forward. “They’re not infected. What about the people in this town. Do they know what you are?”

  The realization that Lucian was like them, dawned on Evan, Anna, and Marina simultaneously.

  Lucian stood. “They know what they need to.” He walked to a small cupboard at the back of the room, produced a key from his pants’ pocket and opened it.

  A wave of delight swept across the faces of the hybrids as the smell of blood which resided in the large glass decanter washed past them.

  Lucian turned, with a glass full of blood in his hand, and took a sip. “You’re the first I’ve found that are… like me. Usually, it’s just the infected we get wandering the hills and end up here…” He looked down at his glass. “Although they do come in useful.”

  Marina swallowed, fighting the urge to rush across the room and swipe the decanter from the cupboard, while Anna licked her lips. Evan was seated, looking down at the floor, murmuring to himself.

  “You feed on the people here?” said Marina, trying not to look at the blood.

  He raised his glass, seeing her muscles straining. “Oh, you want some too?” Just when Marina couldn’t hold back anymore, he pulled the glass in to himself, turned, and closed the cupboard. “If you’re thinking of taking the blood for yourselves, just keep in mind that each and every citizen of Haven worship me. They would gladly kill all of you if something were to happen to me.”

  Joel put his hand on Marina’s, steadying her shaking. “We got nothing against you. You can do what you want in this town. But we do need to use your town radio if you have one… some blood would be helpful as well.”

  Lucian nodded, then smiled, and sat back in his throne-like chair. “There’s no need for us to be enemies. A power greater than either of us has brought us together.”

  Anna shook her head and sat on the seating behind her, next to Evan. “I’m not helping some two-bit con man take advantage of these people.”

  Lucian’s face grew angry. “You know nothing about me, young woman! When I got infected, I thought I was going to become like all the others. A monster.” His expression softened. “Instead, I became something else… and with it came certain advantages.” He leaned forward. “But how comes there’s so many of you? If there’s one thing I know, it’s that our kind are rare. But here I am, sitting in front of four of you.”

  There was only silence amongst the group.

  “What do you want from us?” said Joel.

  Lucian sat back, taking another sip from the crimson liquid. “I want you to stay. Help me build this place.”

  “Help you murder, you mean?” said Marina.

  Lucian nodded. “It’s true, I do end the lives of those that are infected, but we haven’t had an instance of the scourge in Haven for over a month. And everyone knows if you become infected, you can’t stay here. They are banished… no one in the town knows what happens to them after that… apart from myself and those close to me.”

  Marina and Anna both sighed, and Jess hugged her mother’s waist tighter.

  “If we agree to stay for some time, you’ll let us use your radio?” said Joel.

  “Why do you want to contact the outside so much? The last I heard the federal government folded over a month ago. The whole country reverted to being state run, and even that fell apart shortly after.”

  “We know people that worked in the government. We want to try and contact them…” Joel knew it was a vague answer, but it was the best he had.

  Lucian looked down into his glass, swishing the liquid around. “You’ll be monitored, and if you even hint at this location, you will be stopped. But as long as you agree to that, and you agree to stay, then okay. We have a deal.” He spit in his hand, and held it out.

  Joel walked forward and went to grab the older man’s hand.

  “You have to spit in your hand, son.”

  Joel did and shook Lucian’s hand.

  CHAPTER TEN

  Joel looked at the buildings and roads, all of which looked like they had been attacked by an army of religious graffiti artists. “You know the crucifixes don’t work, right?” he said to Lucian, standing next to him.

  Lucian frowned, then quickly smiled and waved at a woman across the street, who was painting one on the side of a building. She waved back to him. He leaned into Joel. “They don’t know that. It helps with morale and gives them something to do. Lets not talk about that here.”

  Joel nodded.

  Lucian, together with an armed guard, led them forward walking along Main St. which ran through the center of the small town. People smiled and nodded as they walked past them.

  After walking for a while they left the small group of buildings behind.

  Anna looked at the large man that was escorting them with Lucian, then back to him. “So, some people know who you really are?”

  Lucian nodded. “Vince and some others. We came across each other on the journey out here. We’ve been through a lot.”

  “How did this place get started?” said Evan.

  Lucian paused. He looked to make sure they were alone. For a moment, his gaze was lost in the distance. “An abandoned building on twelfth street in Salt Lake was what you would call my home for the past five years. I had seen some of the others that slept there at night get sick and turn, but no one cared of course. Regular folks went about their daily business, ignoring the likes of us. Until it spilled into their neighborhoods, but by then it was too late.”

  “A nation's greatness is measured by how it treats its weakest members,” said Bill, quoting Gandhi.

  “Yeah, well I saw what it was doing, what was really going on, and I knew I had to get the hell out. Myself and some others packed up our shit and headed east. We didn’t even know this place was out there. When I arrived, it was just a small community of vacation homes owned by the rich. But those that were here were desperate to keep the scourge out, and myself, Vince, and the others were happy to help.”

  “What’s with all the ‘brother’, ‘sister’ stuff?” said Evan.

  “We are all brothers and sisters in the eyes of the Lord!” Lucian patted Evan on his shoulder. Evan smiled awkwardly.

  “When did you change?” said Joel.

  “I was already infected when I left the city. Didn’t know it, of course. I was ill with a hundred other things and probably would have died by any one of them, if it weren’t for the change. One day, I woke up and my shoe was missing, and my foot was bloody, I just presumed it was a stray dog that had been chewing on me.” He looked into the eyes of the group around him. “For most, the scourge was a plague, but for some, for myself and some of you, it was a miracle sent from above.” He could see most did not share his faith. “Anyway, it took a week to get out here. I changed on the way. In the middle of nowhere.”

  “What did you first feed on?” said Ma
rina.

  He started walking again. The others followed.

  “Anything and everything I could catch. Which was a lot.”

  “So no humans?” said Joel.

  “That came later. But once you feed on another human, it’s hard to go back.”

  Joel did his best to hide his guilt.

  They approached a forecourt, ringed by a high metal fence. Two armed guards stood at the entrance. Beyond, was a two-story blocklike building with hardly any windows, and on its roof a radio mast.

  “This is our local radio station. It’s how we spread the word to the good people of the town. There’s also a transceiver here, but we have not heard anything back from anyone for over a month.”

  He nodded at the two guards, who unlocked the gate and dragged it open. “Vince will escort you from here on.” He leaned in closer to the muscular looking individual, and whispered into his ear, to which he nodded in reply. He then looked across to the group. “After you get done, Abigail has some accommodation lined up for you.” He took a radio from Vince. “Unless some of you want to go there now?”

  “Myself and Bill will stay here,” said Joel.

  The others agreed, and were led away, while Joel and Bill walked across the clean but dry-looking forecourt and into the building. Vince followed closely.

  Once inside, he led them past an unmanned desk, up a set of stairs, and into a recording studio. A young woman and an older man, the latter of which had headphones on, looked at them with surprise.

  “Brother Lucian says let them use the ham radio,” said Vince.

  “Okay…” said the man with the headset. He looked at the young woman.

  She looked at the two newcomers. “This way.” She led them through another door and into a smaller space with walls of gray metal cabinets full of blinking lights and dials and switches. Almost lost amongst them, against the wall, was a small desk, which a large ham radio set sat on top of. She flicked a switch on the molded box and a humming burst from the nearby speaker. She then pointed at the free-standing mike. “There’s the mike. There’s the frequency dial. Good luck.” She then walked back into the other room.