Trail of Tears

by Derek Gunn

  These attacks were too well planned to be the work of demented revenge-fuelled men and women. No, he was missing something. He swooped overhead and examined the scene carefully. He judged he had about ten minutes before the other vampires arrived so he had to work fast. Thralls lay still on either side of the road and the vehicles had been disabled or burnt out. There was a truck missing so they had obviously taken it and its contents. He called for his Lieutenant, Dee Snyder, and sent her and two others to follow the truck’s tracks. It was unlikely to lead to the human hideout, but it might give them an area to search.

  Dee had been one of the humans who had come forward to offer him aid while he stood down the humans a week ago. Though she was new to being a vampire Kavanagh saw ruthlessness in her that he liked. Of course, he could trust her only so long as her goals matched his, but he needed soldiers who were prepared to think outside the box and had the balls to follow through on their convictions. He watched her as she gathered up two vampires and couldn’t help but notice the sway of her hips. Just because the physical part of sex was denied him as a vampires didn’t mean he couldn’t enjoy looking and remembering when it had meant something to hold a woman in his arms.

  His other vampires had balked at first when he had promoted such a young vampire but even they had come to accept that she had the skills. It had been her idea to send a thrall spy into Von Richelieu’s camp and she had already stood toe to toe with anyone who stood against her. Vampires might heal quickly but the pain of broken bones was every bit as painful as it had been when they were human.

  He wondered at what point vampires had become so docile. It had suited him that these vampires had been malleable enough to convince them to join him against Von Richelieu but, now that they had joined him, he wished that they were more independent. What had happened to the ultimate predator? They were more like sheep sometimes. Having their food provided to them had made them soft.

  Kavanagh’s musing was interrupted as he came across the last truck. It had been torn apart from the inside out. There was no way the humans had done that. He saw a smoking pile of clothes off to the side and he whistled as he realised what had happened. He was impressed. Impressed with Von Richelieu for being sneaky enough to send a vampire with the patrol but doubly impressed with the humans for taking out the vampire.

  These humans were proving to be very interesting. While he certainly needed fresh blood, literally, for his own cable he might be able to use their abilities to weaken Von Richelieu further, if he handled this the right way. And then he could step in and take it all. If only he could figure out what they were doing. The number of thralls in this patrol was nearly double what had been sent in the last one and there had been a vampire with them. Why would the humans want to risk their lives with these patrols that were growing in strength? All they were doing was making their attacks more dangerous by pulling …

  He smiled. Of course. He had forgotten that he was dealing with humans. He had been a vampire for a few years now but already he realised he had fundamentally changed. It was impossible to feed on your own race and not go mad unless you shifted your attitude dramatically. He had long ago stopped thinking of himself as human. He saw humans as food. He was not sure if this was part of the change or not but the physical changes that came with being a vampire were obviously augmented by the psychological ones. He had seen some, very few but some nonetheless, that had not made the transition and they had been driven mad by the guilt and had been put down.

  Sometimes he found it hard to even remember what it had been like to be human. The evidence pointed at only one possible answer though. The humans were purposely trying to attract attention. They wanted Von Richelieu to pull more and more of his thralls onto these patrols. The more thralls out here guarding the food the fewer that would be left to guard the captives. They were going for the whole pot.

  “Jesus,” he whispered. “They’re going to attack Von Richelieu directly.” They would be slaughtered, of course. Wouldn’t they? They were certainly resourceful but Von Richelieu had over a hundred thralls. He pursed his lips as he continued his line of thought.

  He might not be able to find where the humans were hiding but, with a little patience, he knew just where they were going to be. And he would be there to help them. A two pronged attack might just tip the odds in their favour. At least until Von Richelieu was dead. And then he would kill the humans who survived. They were far too deadly to leave alive and there were enough in the pens for his purposes.

  “I’ve seen enough,” he announced and the other vampires looked relieved. If he had had any doubts as to promoting Snyder as his Lieutenant the looks of relief in his cabals’ faces were enough to banish them forever. “Pussies,” he muttered as he took to the air. “The fucking humans have more balls than some of these bastards.” Well they would have to step up to the plate soon or be left behind. There was change in the air and he was the one who would ride it for all it was worth.

  * * *

  “Soon,” Josh promised, “but we’re not ready yet.” He held Tanya’s gaze and could almost feel the frustration coming from her in waves. “Come on, Tanya,” he sighed. “You saw what it was like with just one vampire yesterday…”

  “If we attack during the day then the vampires aren’t an issue,” she spat back at him.

  “No,” he agreed. “You’re right. If we attack during the day all we have to worry about is the hundred or so thralls and the hundreds of yards of open ground between the pens and the nearest cover.” He watched her face and could see her jaw grinding her teeth as she thought through her options. “Tanya, I’m tired of these arguments. Everyone here is tired of them.” She was about to interrupt but he held up his hand and continued. “Most of the people here just want to bury themselves in this mountain and never leave again. They’re scared and they have every right to be. They are wrong though; we can’t just stay here and hope the vampires will leave us alone. But we can’t go throwing ourselves into certain death either. There are other mothers and fathers here who have just as much right as you do to keep their children safe.”

  He could see the tears well up in her eyes and hated the fact that he was being so hard but these arguments had become so commonplace that he was finding it difficult to get anyone to come on the raids, especially after they had come up against a vampire in the last patrol. People were starting to avoid Tanya and that wasn’t healthy for anyone.

  “Do you really want these people to become so sick of you that they will not come with us when the opportunity does come up?” He waited for her to respond but she remained silent, glaring at him. “What is the point, Tanya? What do you want here? How many of our lives is it worth to you for us to throw ourselves into a meat grinder and get chewed to pieces. How many?” He raised his voice in frustration and immediately felt guilty as he saw her recoil as if slapped. He wanted to apologise but at the same time he had to get his point across. Already there were factions growing in their small community that were gaining momentum every time they returned from a raid with less people than they went out with. They had enough food to last them a few weeks now so there was really no need to attack any more patrols for a while. No reason but Tanya’s continued insistence that they rescue her son.

  No one knew her or her son. In fact, no one really knew anyone. They had all been thrown together by circumstance. After the initial recovery from the serum and the shock of their imprisonment people were already jockeying for position within the community. Some wanted to leave the area, to find somewhere where there were no vampires. Did such a place even exist? Some wanted to stay where they were, buried under this mountain, and ignore what was going on around them. There were even a few who talked of giving themselves up. They argued that if the thralls found them now they would kill them all. If they surrendered then the thralls would forgive them and feed them. Yes, they might take their blood but that was a small price to pay to keep living. In fact the only faction that was not growing in popularity
was the one that wanted to continue to fight and to rescue the other prisoners.

  If he was honest, he himself would take the current campaign at a slower pace if he had a choice. He had escalated the raids to try and force a situation that would weaken the main camps defences. Unfortunately he was weakening his own support in this community far quicker than the pen’s defences. The death of Hammond and the fact that they had gone up against a vampire had sent ripples of fear through their community and he had noticed the looks that people were directing towards Tanya. She was becoming a focus of their fear and he had to do something about that or she would lose any hope of their support.

  “Tanya, you’re driving everyone away. You need to work with these people, talk to them, laugh with them or they will not support you when you need them most. Help me to help you. Can you do that?”

  She looked at him, the tears drying on her cheeks leaving twin glistening lines. “I don’t think I can, Josh.” She looked at him and took his hand in hers and squeezed once before dropping it again. “I can’t let him down. Whatever these people think or do. I am his mother and I have to get him back. He’s all alone in there, petrified and confused. He doesn’t even know I’m still alive. Every moment he is there and I am here is like a knife through my heart. I can’t bear it, Josh. I just can’t.”

  Josh felt he should say something but the words would not come. “I know you are doing everything you can,” she continued, “but it’s not enough.” The tears began to drip once again and she rubbed her hand across her face. “I have to go to him. I have to let him know someone still cares for him. I am going to leave my most precious possession with you. I have no right to ask but I need you to look after Jillian.”

  “You can’t be serious,” Josh shouted and looked around him to see if anyone was listening. “What makes you think they will keep you alive? They’ll torture you until they are certain you have nothing left to tell them and then they’ll bleed you dry. You’ll condemn everyone here.”

  “No, I won’t. I’ll give myself up over at the food gardens. They’ll think I have been wandering on my own since the escape. There’s no reason for them to suspect anything else.”

  “Are you willing to risk every ones’ life here on that theory?” Josh couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Did she think she could just walk back to the thralls and they would just put her back in the pen? Jesus, the strain is becoming too much for her. “Tanya, if the others figure out what you are planning they are likely to kill you, just in case you’re wrong. You can’t just abandon Jillian.”

  “I am not abandoning her,” she shot back at him, doing a better job of controlling her voice than he had. “She is safe here. I haven’t known you very long, but I am certain that you will protect her until I come back. You don’t know me and I have no right to ask but I am asking regardless. Besides, I already know you will not refuse me.” She lifted her hand to his cheek. “The eyes don’t lie, Josh. I have already explained my reasons to Jillian. She’s confused and upset, yes, but she will be brave for her brother. Mark is out there all alone. No matter what you accomplish here, it will be months before you’re ready to attack the stronghold. Without hope Mark will not last that long. I have to go to him and give him that hope. I know you’ll come for me when you can.”

  She leaned forward and kissed him on his cheek. “I’m sorry, Josh.” She rose to her feet. She went over to Jillian and hugged her and then slipped out into the darkness. Josh sat there stunned. His thoughts rushed around his head chaotically. He didn’t know how long he sat there watching the dark entrance to the cave. After a time Jillian came over to him and laid her head on his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around her. He really did not know if Tanya was the bravest woman he had ever met or whether she was just insane. Did it matter? Somehow in the last few days his world had changed. Somehow this diminutive woman and her daughter had become the centre of his world.

  There had been nothing physical but the air between them was always charged with something that he had never felt before. He had no idea how he was going to get her back. Once the rest of the community found out she was gone they would want to stop the raids. If they knew where she had gone they might even want to throw her daughter out in their blind anger. Josh wondered if they should move camp. If the thralls tortured Tanya, she might give up their location. No normal person could hope to hold out under torture. The question was whether the thralls would suspect her of being part of the raiding party or just accept that she had wandered free and it had not turned out to be all that she might have wanted. But what reason could he give for them moving camp without them finding out where she had gone? He would lose any chance of gaining their support if they knew. He would scout tomorrow and see if there was somewhere that would suit their needs better, maybe somewhere closer to fresh water. If there was a good enough reason they might move without questioning the motive. Jillian moved in his arms, shifting position as she settled. He wasn’t sure who gave who more comfort but soon they both slept.

  * * *

  Von Richelieu surveyed the remains of his armoured patrol and felt his anger boil over. This was too much. The humans had actually managed to kill one of his most loyal Lieutenants. Another failure. He needed to make a statement. To show these humans that there were repercussions to their actions.

  He watched the two vampires he had brought with him. Turook was a vampire he had fought with since Mesopotamia. The Turk was a true old vampire, respectful to his superior, vicious in his fighting, and pitiless in carrying out his orders. He would have no trouble with him. Shayna was a new vampire and he was still not entirely certain of her loyalties. He watched as she approached him now, her hips swung gently beneath her flowing gown but it was lost on him. She still had not come to terms with the fact that she could no longer use her sexuality to gain favour. This was a familiar misconception among the female vampires and accounted for the fact that few of them rose to any authority. They lived their lives as humans using their wiles and could not make the change when they became vampires. They still tried to use their bodies to distract.

  Shayna was still interesting though. She had a keen intellect and she was very much of the modern age. She understood the humans of this age better than his other advisers. However, it was hard to see beyond her sultry eyes so her loyalties were still unknown. He knew she would use him to gain position and he had no problem with that as long as she did not aspire to anything higher.

  “We will take fifty of the captives and execute them this evening. We will leave their bodies in front of the pens to rot and show these humans the consequence of their actions.” His voice was louder than he had intended and he forced himself to calm down as he turned to leave.

  “My Lord.” Shayna dropped her eyes as he whirled towards her and he had to admit that she played her role very well. He was, of course, not fooled for a second that she was so subservient. “If you will permit me to offer another course.”

  He glared at her but her eyes remained fixed on a point just below his chest. “Very well,” he agreed stiffly. He had, after all, raised her to this position for her advice. It would be foolish indeed not to even listen.

  “You say that the humans have attacked four patrols now.” He nodded and she continued. “We know that seventy humans are still missing from the escape.” He growled low in his chest, his baser instincts coming to the surface as she questioned him and she hurried on. “I only state this to be certain of my understanding, Lord. Even if we assume that all seventy of those still free are part of this band of humans and yesterday’s recapture of that human wandering on the outskirts of the pens would suggest otherwise, it still makes little sense that they would attack so many patrols.” He tilted his head in confusion. “If we assume that they are attacking for food…”

  “Of course they attack for the food, woman,” he spat at her and turned to leave but her next statement caused him to stop.

  “They already have enough food to feed them for many
weeks, Lord. Why continue to risk their lives? There is something else. Some other reason why they are doing this.” He turned back towards her as her words penetrated his anger. “If not the food then it is the patrol itself they are targeting. It would be foolish to think they can kill your forces one by one and these humans are not stupid. I assume that you increase the number of thralls each time the patrol is attacked.” She paused briefly and he nodded though his own train of thought had already caught hers.

  “They are tying up my resources, diverting my attention.” She smiled and though her mouth contained more teeth than her human mouth was designed for he still felt an ancient response, long thought dead. “It might be better to allow them to think they have succeeded, Lord. Rather than execute your food supply you should play to their vanity. Make a show of increasing the numbers on the next patrol, but force march most of them back here to remain hidden. When the humans make their move you will crush them once and for all.”

  Von Richelieu smiled as he studied his new Lieutenant. Her plan was excellent. He felt pleased that his decision to raise her in the ranks had borne such fruit. Though, he would have to watch her. She was far too clever for her own good.

  * * *

  Tomas Ventredi watched as Von Kruger approached them. Since they had destroyed the Flynn cabal, Von Kruger had been surprisingly quiet. Ventredi had expected him to urge his followers to follow through with the rout and continue the chase but he had called them back. There were only five vampires left including Von Kruger who had survived the nuclear fires and they had decisions to make.