Trail of Tears

by Derek Gunn

  Kavanagh looked up at the roof and saw a large skylight above him. His stomach dropped as he realised the danger they were in. Once the sun climbed high enough to shine through that vast area of glass the light would sear into every nook and cranny in the warehouse leaving them with nowhere to hide. If the sunlight did not kill them the humans would. Already he could see some of the humans looking up at the roof and they too had realised the danger…or salvation as they saw it. All they had to do was keep the vampires at bay for a little while longer and they would be free. Already the pools of shadows around the warehouse interior were reducing as the sun climbed higher in the sky.

  There was only one solution, he decided. Kavanagh took a deep breath and strode form the shadows. He felt the warmth immediately. His skin prickling uncomfortably at first and then beginning to hurt. The flames had begun to lick at his exposed flesh by the time he reached the first human. The humans moved away from him but they could not retreat too far before they drew too close to the other vampires. He reached the first human, a man who stood as defiantly as he could against the burning visage.

  Kavanagh grimaced as the flames began to blacken his skin. The pain filled his senses and he barely had the strength to reach up and snap the neck of the human. He pulled the limp form towards him and tore into the human’s neck. The blood flooded down his throat, surging through his lethargic veins. Flesh healed only to burn again. He drank again, sucking greedily at the blood. Pain racked his body but the blood gave him strength. Too soon the warm flood reduced to a trickle and then he had to work too hard to suck the blood from the body. The flames were winning again. His clothes were already burned off him. The humans screamed and huddled in fear as Kavanagh reached out for a woman.

  He tore her head from her body and let the blood rush over him from the stump of her neck.

  “I can do this until you are all dead.” He forced his voice to remain calm and steady, though the pain was overpowering.

  One human came forward. “You won’t be able to do it for much longer,” he stated as he pointed up towards the skylight.

  “Long enough,” Kavanagh grunted and then tore the man in two with his talons, allowing the blood to pump into the ground. He was desperate to drink the blood and cool the pain but he dared not show weakness. “I can do this far longer than it will take the sun to come to your rescue. I offer you life or death. It is your choice. We need three of you to guard the others until nightfall. For your loyalty you will be offered power and health.”

  Kavanagh waited, the pain was incredible. His hair had burned off, his fingers were mere blacked nubs and his face was skeletal. His eyes had burst only to heal and burst again so his vision came and went. He decided he would reinforce his offer and took a thin man to his left and tore into his throat. “I will not wait long,” he stated as blood dripped down his chin. His eyes reformed and he would have smiled if he still had lips. One man and a woman came forward.

  “We will help you.”

  Screams of outrage and hate tore from the throats of the other humans and they tried to attack the man and the woman, but Kavanagh pulled them protectively towards him. He brought his flaming head forward and bit quickly into their necks, taking a little of their blood into his mouth. He allowed his spittle to mix with their blood and then he blew the mixture back into their veins. The wounds quickly healed and the two humans stood straighter, flexing their arms and smiling at their newfound strength.

  “Secure them,” he ordered and then he grabbed one final body as he walked back to the shadows. The sounds of his feeding were carried to the small group of defeated humans and their wails reached him as he drained the human of the last of his blood. It only took another few minutes for his lips to reform and he could smile at last. He had won an important victory. Not only were the humans terrified of him, but the other vampires would long remember his strength.

  He had healed from that night and they had found more accommodating quarters on the other side of the city. But the memory of the pain remained and he still fancied that he felt his skin prickle as dawn approached. But he had more pressing worries that phantom pains. Von Richelieu had been searching the city for the last week. It could be merely to recapture the escaped humans but he suspected that his main focus was in removing any threat Kavanagh might pose. His fifty surviving humans were already badly weakened after a week of feeding eleven vampires. Three were already too weak to feed on so that put an added pressure on the others. His own men searched the ruins for human survivors but they had come up empty so far.

  It was fast approaching the time when they would have to secure a larger food supply. To do that, however, he would need to either remove them secretly from Von Richelieu’s supply or attack the camp directly and remove them that way. Unfortunately, Von Richelieu had nearly a hundred vampires under his control so there was little chance of that strategy working. Of course, if he could find another source of supply then he could remain hidden a little longer, create more vampires, and then attack when Von Richelieu wasn’t expecting it.

  He had created two more thralls since that first night and he had sent one of them to spy on Von Richelieu’s camp. Earlier that morning the thrall had come back with news that the food transport for the prisoners had been attacked. Somewhere on this map a sizable band of humans remained free. Somewhere out there was his salvation.

  That was why he was studying the map so carefully. He was trying to determine where the escaped humans could be hiding. Somewhere that was secure, somewhere that hid them from the vampires’ incredible senses and still allowed them to attack the food convoys during the day. He would have to increase the number of thralls to spread a wider net. It would put an even greater burden on his remaining food supply. It was a huge risk but you had to roll the dice if you wanted to recoup the rewards.

  * * *

  Von Richelieu was annoyed. In fact, livid was probably closer to the truth but he forced himself to remain outwardly calm. The reports he was receiving were a long litany of failure, bad luck and betrayal. He had been so worried about of betrayal from within that he had gotten into a habit of changing his resting place every night. When it had really counted he had slept too far from his seat of power and he had been unable to react when all hell had broken out.

  The humans, it always came down to the damned humans, had managed to break out. His thralls and, to be honest, he himself had grown soft. They had grown used to the humans being easy to control and they had paid the price. Somehow they had managed to get loose and it had taken his thralls and vampires the best part of a week to recapture the majority of them. Of course, they were still missing over two hundred and, no matter how hard they looked, they had found no sign of the remaining humans.

  As if the loss of the humans was not enough, he had been forced to take the humans still controlled by the serum off the liquid to replenish his supplies in food and to replace the thralls killed during the escape. Now he had two large pens filled with angry and plotting humans and it was taking most of his thrall force just to keep them in line.

  Added to that was the fact that someone was hijacking his food convoys. He had placed his prison for the humans in the easiest place he could find to cater to the large numbers and still allow him to create secure walls around them. While this had worked perfectly when the humans were on serum it was a nightmare now that they were roaming free. All their food was grown and stored outside the city. Unfortunately, if the humans did not eat then they did not survive the bloodletting and he would start to lose his food supply. How had they gotten so organised so quickly? Humans had always been resilient but he had lost three shipments now in as many days. He had increased the number of guards but it had not mattered. As well as the food, he had lost more thralls that he could not afford.

  Already he could see his own cabal looking at him with questioning faces and frowns. Of course the betrayal by that bastard Kavanagh hadn’t helped his standing either. To have one of his own Lieutenants betray him
was a serious sign of weakness, especially when he had been plotting to remove Kavanagh as a threat. His trusted inner circle knew of his plans for Kavanagh and the fact that the fucker had beaten him to it had caused him to lose face.

  He knew that they would be talking among themselves, questioning if his long reign was finally coming to an end. He had to regain control and respect but, with each report, his standing was being eroded piece by piece.

  It was almost ironic that his plan to reduce the vampire population back to more manageable levels and to cull the human population accordingly was backfiring now and he would soon not have enough of either to survive unless he found Kavanagh.

  He felt his anger boil up. Even his pet project had grown quiet. He hadn’t heard from his spy in a few weeks now. Had they been caught? Turned. Were they dead? Too many questions and no answers. He needed a success. Just one success would ease the pressure, and he had spent the last few days furiously thinking. He had slowly come to an uneasy truth. He and his inner circle were of another time. Another era. They did not understand this new generation of human. Oh, he had lived for centuries and experienced all the changes throughout history, but that wasn’t the same as growing up in this century.

  He had decided that he needed to bring new blood into his inner circle. New bloods were more about instant gratification, war, and death. If he was to prepare for Kavanagh he must remind his cabal of his power and their place within his empire. No one knew of his latest gambit. He had chosen his modern vampire with great care, promising territory and status to his chosen spy. Tonight his vampire would seek out those malcontents who would leave him and seek out Kavanagh. Once ingrained in Kavanagh’s cabal he would report on their movements and their base. And then Von Richelieu would remind all who doubted just why he had lived for centuries.

  He was risking a lot on too many unknowns but the risk was worth it. In fact, it was less of a risk and more of a necessary gamble. He had watched this vampire spy for some time, recognising the man’s greed and low intelligence as the perfect foundation blocks for his cultivation. This vampire would never normally rise above the level of a thug in the cabal. With his limited intelligence and slight frame he was too easily overlooked. However, he was shrewd and had been quick to recognise that Von Richelieu needed him almost as much as he needed the master vampire. Mutually assured destruction was the term he had heard so long ago that fitted his position perfectly. Well, he had rolled the dice on the Kavanagh problem so he must leave that to the side for now.

  The darkness of the night surrounded him. Its usual comfort was different somehow. Instead of settling on him like a comfortable blanket it seemed to hang over him like a cloud, full of threat and danger. Coming to a decision he pulled himself from his chair. He moved in a fluid motion like a shadow, his clothes rustling softly as he strode towards the door to his chamber. Tonight he would have his success. He might not understand the modern in this world but he had survived for centuries using his intellect and he still had a few surprises left. Tonight he must deal with the human rebel problem. He had two plans forming in his mind and he would waste no more time on planning. It was time to act.

  Chapter 12

  Aidan Flemming pulled his coat tighter around his neck but the icy wind still managed to creep inside and chill him. Snow lashed against his face freezing one side but the other side had too much nerve damage and remained dead to the sensation. He forced himself on. Around him almost a hundred others struggled to make their way into the city and the train station. Each figure pulled make-shift sleighs with as much food and equipment as they could carry. The rest of the community would be slow enough carrying the old and the sick as well as the rest of their supplies so they had split the job. The initial plan was for a smaller party to prepare the train but the heavy equipment and food supplies would take time to load so they had increased the number in his group. It was his job to ensure they were ready to go as soon as the others arrived. It had been left unsaid at his briefing but it was obvious that they might not be alone when the rest of the community got here and they could not afford to lose the supplies.

  With every step Aidan fervently hoped that his confidence in the train’s suitability for their transporting the whole community was merited. Otherwise they could very well be caught unprotected in the open. This was a desperate gamble but there didn’t seem to be any other options. He had hidden the train inside the station months ago when they had returned from their mission but he had really not expected to need the steam train again. The carriages had been badly damaged, he remembered. Many of them would be too dangerous to use at all. He would have to repair those he could in the days he had before the others arrived. He hoped he would also be able to find enough fuel for the trip. Steam trains had been almost extinct before the oil had run out and those that that remained had been swiftly thrown back into service to ferry supplies to the army in their fight against the vampires.

  Many of the trains were on their last legs. He was pretty sure that finding more carriages would not be a problem but the more carriages they used the more fuel they would need. It was all about compromise.

  Flemming had thought that his time on missions was over. With his injuries he would have been excused most duties. As well as his face, his left hand was gnarled and next to useless from the last time he had tried to coax speed from the train. The flesh on his face and his hand was been seared so badly that the skin had melted and then hardened so that it looked like an ice cream left to melt and then refreeze. The nerves too had died.

  But he was the only one who knew enough to handle the train. He forced himself forward. His feet disappeared into the snow and the cold embraced him, numbing his legs and making him stumble. He kept his eyes locked downward so as not to expose himself unduly to the searing wind but he had to look up every hundred yards or so to make sure they were still heading in the right direction. The train station was seven miles as the crow flew from the community, but there had been so much destruction in the city that they had to constantly make their way around fallen buildings or abandoned vehicles. His colleagues looked like wraiths in the swirling wind and he found himself counting their outlines regularly to ensure he hadn’t lost anyone.

  He wasn’t used to being in charge of others, especially military men who he had nothing in common with. Antonio Cabreezi was the lead military presence in his group and he had two others with him. He envied the Lieutenant’s easy manner with his men. He had always preferred to remain in the background, not liking the responsibility or the heaviness he felt in his chest that it brought. But Harris had made it very clear that he had to be in charge. Nothing could delay the train being ready. Already he had noticed that the soldiers looked to Cabreezi before they obeyed his orders and he was not confident enough to do anything about it. Up to now it hadn’t been a problem and he hoped that Harris and the others arrived before it developed into one.

  For now, the men were following him as he was the only one who knew where the station was. Cabreezi had given up on the map he had brought after realising that it was no longer accurate. As well as the three soldiers he also had a varied mix of men and women chosen for their stamina and upper body strength. Each person pulled a huge weight through the storm but they had to get as much to the station as they could in the time they had.

  There would be a few more items with the main party of course but the majority of space would be taken up with the wounded who could not walk and many of those able to walk would be busy helping those who would have trouble in this weather. He hoped that the main party did not get involved in any trouble as most of their ammunition was in the sleigh that he pulled. The armed men and women he had left back in the community would have only what they were able to carry to defend nearly two thousand people.

  He didn’t envy them.

  * * *

  “We do not have room,” Lucy Irvine sighed, “and raising your voice does not change the fact, young man.” The boy looked about to argue further
but the people in the line behind him began to mutter and he thought better of it and moved away, clutching a small puppy in his arms.

  “I’m not leaving her behind,” he said defiantly and moved back through the long line.

  “You’re going to get some reputation.”

  Lucy turned to see Harris smiling at her but she couldn’t match his good humour.

  “I hate this, Peter. I truly do. All that poor boy wants is to bring his dog with him and I have to refuse him because the dog is not essential to our survival. Every inch of space is so important.”

  Harris knew there was nothing he could say so he merely laid his hand on her shoulder and squeezed gently. She brought her hand up to him and squeezed back as she wiped a tear with the other.

  “How’s Sandra?”

  Harris’ smile slipped a little. “She hasn’t woken up yet. The healing is slow. Amanda says her body is exhausted from the last few months and is enforcing a shutdown while she heals. But we haven’t got a lot of drips left, so if she doesn’t wake soon and start to eat she may never wake up.”

  He sighed and looked down the line at the people queuing to get their possessions included on the sleighs. These people didn’t have much but what little they had meant everything to them. Harris saw that many of the items were totally useless for survival. Photograph albums, favourite books, and collections of shoes spilled out of dented and torn boxes. Beautiful dresses and scarves were packed as tightly as possible along with tools and pots, pans and other essential paraphernalia. They were obviously hoping that their favourite items would be deemed acceptable if they accompanied essential items.