Death Returns

by J. C. Diem

  “I take it your mission was successful?” Gregor called out over the noise of battle. He and Kokoro had taken cover behind a low fence.

  “The Viltarans have all been crispy fried and their ship is toast,” I confirmed then simultaneously sliced the arms off two different droids with my twin swords.

  Crouched down out of sight behind a car, Sanderson suddenly stood and revealed himself. “Did I just hear you correctly? You have destroyed both the aliens and their ship?” He flinched when a blast of violet light came close to obliterating him. His distress momentarily overrode his sense of self-preservation.

  Gregor and I exchanged a brief, knowing look. Our suspicions that the humans had been planning on nabbing the alien ship had been confirmed. They’d probably been planning on studying it in the hopes of advancing their species.

  “The Viltarans flew it directly into the sun when they realized I was about to take control,” I lied blandly then speared a droid that lurched into view.

  Sanderson didn’t know whether to believe my story or not but he had more pressing matters to deal with right now. There were still over fourteen thousand robots to eradicate, as well as the thousands of imps that’d been created while I’d been otherwise occupied. “We’ll discuss this further once we’ve finished dealing with the remaining enemies,” he grated. Pointing his gun at the droids, he blew four of them away in rapid succession with his explosive rounds.

  Something told me he wished I’d been the one within his sights.

  ·~·

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Our battle seemed to be without an end as we hunted down our foes. Each droid we took down had already created hundreds of new clones. Word began to spread that the Viltaran ship had been destroyed, which gave the civilians new hope. More and more people left the safety of their hotel rooms to come to our aid. The war could have come to an end far sooner if they’d taken hold of their courage when the aliens had first attacked, but it was better late than never.

  When dawn neared, the robots milled in confusion as they waited in vain for the mother ship to descend and pick them up. Rescue wouldn’t be forthcoming but it took them a while to figure that out.

  Sanderson ordered his soldiers and raw recruits to move in and surround the killbots. Taking cover behind anything that wasn’t made of metal, we sent barrage after barrage of bullets, explosives and violet blasts from death rays towards them. Exposed and left with nowhere to hide, the droids finally realized they were on their own and abandoned their nanobot guns in exchange for their death rays. They were going to die but they would take as many of us down with them as they could.

  Moments before the sun made its appearance, I retrieved my motorcycle helmet from the lobby of the hotel where I’d left it. As long as I didn’t stay out in the direct sunlight for too long, I’d be able to continue to fight the metal men. The thousands of newly made imps fled beneath the ground and into the sewer system. They could wait for now, taking down the droids before nightfall was our main priority.

  Doing what they could to help from the shadows, my friends donned their sunglasses and fired their death rays into the crowd of droids. Gregor caught my attention and waved me over. “I have an idea that I’d like you to try,” he said when I jogged over and flipped my visor up. I’d taken his advice not to let the humans know that I could transport myself at will. They’d probably find out about it eventually but I would try to keep my new talent a secret for as long as I could.

  “It is a very good idea,” Ishida said with a smile at the vampire who looked nearly four times his mortal age but was seven thousand years younger than him. Ishida had lost a lot of his reserve since abdicating from his throne. He was becoming more comfortable with being a teenager instead of a revered ruler. Wearing trendy clothes and dark glasses, he could almost have passed for human. Only his ultra-pale skin and the hint of red light shining through his sunglasses gave his true nature away.

  “Only the droids in the outer ring can fire at the humans,” Gregor explained. “Those in the middle can do little but wait for someone to fall so they can take their place. I propose you start thinning their numbers by teleporting into their midst and setting off explosives.” He handed me a small bag of the bombs that could be activated by pressing a red button on the top. They had a short timer of only three seconds before they would explode.

  Geordie clapped his hands together in glee. “That sounds like fun! I wish I could go with you.”

  The danger of him being zapped by a death ray was far too high to grant his wish. The damage from the blast would almost certainly be too catastrophic for anyone but me to repair. “I’ll give it a try,” I said. Igor and Gregor stood shoulder to shoulder to shield me from view as I teleported away.

  When I reappeared, I was in the centre of the droid army. None of the robots even noticed me when I suddenly appeared amongst them. I was much shorter than any of them and they were focussed on the ring of attacking humans. Taking half a dozen of the small devices out, I depressed the red button on the first one and threw it far into the crowd. The other five followed suit then six explosions ripped through the automatons’ ranks.

  A robot looked down, saw me and shouted a warning but I disappeared before it could lift its death ray. Materializing in a small pocket that had been created by an explosive, I sent more bombs flying. In a short time, the bag was empty and several hundred droids had been destroyed.

  I appeared behind Geordie and he gave a shriek of fright when I tapped him on the shoulder. “You were right,” I told him as he clutched his unbeating heart, “that was fun.” I didn’t find it strange that his hand rested on the right side of his chest instead of the left. Geordie had been born with his heart on the wrong side of his body. It was just one of the many things about him that I found strangely endearing. Luc might have been my lover but Geordie was my probably best friend. I didn’t want to examine why I got along so well with a teenager. My mother had always despaired that I might never grow up. Sadly, it seemed that she’d been right. Some part of me would always be an adolescent.

  “Can you gather as many explosives as possible?” I asked Gregor. “There’s something else I want to try.”

  Everyone scattered to scrounge up more of the explosive devices from the soldiers. They came back with several small bags this time. Taking the bags with both hands, I ordered the rest of my body to become tiny particles. Only my eyes and hands remained intact. My weapons, helmet and empty clothes fell to the ground. My gloves would protect my hands from the late afternoon sun but my eyes were exposed and were already burning from the glare.

  “How are you doing that, Natalie?” Kokoro asked me as my hands and eyes floated in mid-air. The particles that formed the rest of my body were holding them up and were so tiny they were almost invisible even to our eyes. I didn’t have a mouth to answer her at the moment so I made a helpless gesture with one hand. Ishida politely gathered my belongings into a neat pile before any curious civilians could trip over them.

  Lighter than the air itself, my particles carried my eyes and hands as well as the explosives above the crowd of robots. I formed a dense, protective shield over my eyes so I could see where I was going. They acted like the sunglasses my friends had been given and the burning sensation faded. Holding all of the bags with one hand, the other delved inside and pulled out an explosive. Righty depressed the button then dropped the small bomb. It exploded dead in the centre of the group, sending shards of metal spraying in all directions. The droids couldn’t figure out who or what was attacking them. None thought to look upwards.

  Like a malevolent sprite spreading toxic fairy dust, I dropped bomb after bomb on the robot army until the bags were empty and great holes had been torn in their ranks. The soldiers and civilians moved in, forcing the droids into a smaller and tighter group. Thousands of humans had already died and more would suffer the same consequence before our war would end. The droids’ programming wouldn’t allow them to give up. Each human that fell
was replaced by more soldiers or civilians. All of them were eager to eradicate their adversaries once and for all.

  Now aware why they’d been asked to hand over their explosives, even if they had no idea who was actually dispensing them, the soldiers were happy to relinquish more of the devices. I teleported back to my friends, silently amazed that I could do so when I was still mostly in particle form. Without a word, since I still didn’t have a mouth, I held out my hands for more bags. Igor handed them over, gave me a salute and I teleported back over the vastly diminished robot army.

  Half an hour before nightfall, less than a thousand droids were left. The humans would have to finish them off now because I had another urgent task to take care of. Shifting back to my friends, I handed the not quite empty bags to Igor then poured my particles back into my clothes.

  “That is so cool,” Geordie said in awe as I became whole again, miraculously fully dressed.

  “I know,” I said with a small smirk. “I’m just going to pop down into the sewers and destroy the imps. I’ll be back in a minute.”

  Igor was shaking his head in disbelief at my strange abilities when I disappeared. I didn’t have to go far, just into the tunnels directly beneath where the battle was raging. Thousands of newly made imps were currently asleep but they would shortly wake up and immediately seek out food. My goal was to eradicate them before any more humans could become tasty treats.

  Kneeling, I placed my hands on two of the slumbering giants and let the power of the holy marks build until I was all but thrumming with it. My senses sought out every cloned monster that had taken refuge beneath the ground. Releasing the power, I teleported into an empty tunnel to avoid being covered in ooze and concentrated on maintaining the wave of deadly power until it had reached out to destroy every last imp in the city.

  I staggered when I appeared amongst my friends. Luc was closest and steadied me with a hand on my shoulder. I smiled my thanks but he released me and stepped away as if he was afraid of catching Mortis cooties.

  Geordie gave Luc a filthy look and put his arm around my waist. Highly attuned to emotions, he knew I was close to tears. “Are they all gone, Nat?”

  I nodded, unwilling to speak in case my voice betrayed my devastation at Luc’s continued rejection of me.

  It took another couple of hours to pick off the rest of the droids. When the last robot went down in a shower of flying metal shards, silence descended. Soldiers and civilians alike looked around wildly for their next target but none presented themselves.

  Higgins spied me standing between Geordie and Ishida and loped over. The bite marks in his neck had faded to mere dots but Geordie spotted them and gave me an accusing glare. “What?” I asked him crankily. “It’s not like I tore his pants off and had sex with him.” Both teens giggled and Higgins gave me an uncertain look. I waved him over and he closed the distance.

  “I heard a rumour that you destroyed the Viltaran ship,” he said. “Is that true?”

  “I had a hand in it,” I replied modestly. “They crashed it into the sun so I couldn’t steal it from them.” That was the lie I’d told Sanderson and I was sticking with it. He already loathed and feared us, it made sense not to give him another reason to want us dead. Knowing I’d purposefully destroyed the alien vessel wouldn’t exactly endear us to him.

  “The Viltarans are gone and the droids have all been destroyed,” the soldier summed up. “What about the clones? How many of them are running loose in the city?”

  “None. They’re all gone,” I assured him. “The threat of alien invasion is over. We won.”

  Higgins stared at me in incomprehension then my final two words sank in. “We won?” I nodded and he grinned in dazed amazement. “We won!” With a whoop of glee, he darted forward, picked me up and whirled me around in a circle. Geordie gave a squawk of protest but the corporal dropped me and ran off to spread the news before the teen could react. Within minutes, the survivors were dancing in the streets and cheering themselves hoarse.

  My friends and I stood in a small pool of aloneness and watched the creatures we had all once been as they celebrated their victory. Under Sanderson’s direction, soldiers were gathering up the alien weapons that had been dropped and were retrieving any the curious civilians had picked up. They’d never be able to find them all, some would be kept as souvenirs and would eventually be worth a lot of money on the black market.

  Remembering something I hadn’t yet had the chance to tell the others, I turned to break the news to them. “There’s something you should know.” Gregor lifted a brow in silent query. “We aren’t the only vampires left,” I told them and received the reactions I’d expected.

  Kokoro’s hand went to her mouth in shock. Ishida and Geordie immediately started babbling questions. Igor and Luc exchanged surprised looks and Gregor nodded as if I’d confirmed his suspicions. “How many are left?” he asked. The teens went quiet to listen in.

  “I sensed fifteen of them in Europe. I think they’re somewhere near Romania so they might be the Prophet and his guards.”

  Kokoro nodded in agreement. “The seer may have received a warning in time to have escaped from General Sanderson’s purge.”

  “There are others,” I went on. “About twenty of them scattered around the world.” A dozen had formed another group and were also somewhere in Europe.

  “So, we aren’t the remnant then?” Geordie asked. “The others are as well?”

  I hadn’t written the prophecy, I’d just acted it out so I shrugged. “I guess so.”

  Igor made a shushing motion with his hand and we ceased our conversation as Sanderson made an appearance. Filthy and exhausted, he was barely able to remain on his feet. He took us all in with a long look. “I would like to extend my thanks to you all for your assistance in eradicating this threat.”

  “Again,” Geordie said sourly. “That’s three times we’ve saved your butts now.”

  The general nodded gravely. “I am aware of that and so is our President. She would like to honour you all with a parade, once the gas has dissipated and it is safe for us to leave Las Vegas.”

  Gregor glanced at me to judge my reaction and I shook my head surreptitiously. He knew I would never be able to trust the general after what he had done to us all. He opened his mouth to decline the invitation but Kokoro beat him to it. “We would be delighted to attend the parade, General.”

  With a nod, Sanderson strode off to arrange medical attention for the surviving civilians and his soldiers.

  ·~·

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  From Kokoro’s surprised expression, she hadn’t meant to accept Sanderson’s invitation. “I do not know where that came from,” she stammered. “I did not intend to say anything at all!”

  I had a feeling I knew exactly where her words had come from and my heart tried to sink. It seemed that fate still wasn’t done with us. It would continue to twist and turn us to suit its ultimate purpose, whatever that may be.

  “I could use a shower and a change of clothes,” Luc said to break the silence. A picture of him naked and wet popped into my head.

  “You can pretty much take your pick of any hotel room,” Geordie said. “By the way,” he turned and gave me an approving grin. “I like your new outfit. I especially like the naughty angel on the back of your jacket.”

  The leather gear was surprisingly comfortable, despite it being skin tight. “It saved me from being boiled down to a skeleton,” I said with a half-hearted smile.

  My pitiful smile faded quickly. I didn’t know what form it would take, but I had the sudden and horrible sensation that time was running out again. I didn’t need a crystal ball or a vision to know that doom was coming for us. Kokoro had been used as a conduit to ensure that we would be in the right place at the right time for whatever horror was in store for us next.

  Before heading to a hotel, we split up to search for a change of clothes. There were plenty of stores with broken windows to browse through. I escorted
the teens to a store that caught Geordie’s eye. I nodded to Igor that I would take care of his protégé. He inclined his head to indicate he trusted me with his care.

  Several minutes later, the boys had picked jeans, t-shirts and a hooded sweater for Geordie and a jacket for Ishida. They’d chosen identical sneakers and compared them with grins before we headed to the hotel Kokoro had chosen. The power was still running and bright neon in all shades of the rainbow glittered down on us, turning night into day again. The lobby was marbled, luxurious and familiar. I realized it was the same foyer where I’d unexpectedly paid them a visit earlier.

  Igor disappeared behind the counter and came back with enough key cards for everyone. Unsurprisingly, he’d chosen plain black pants and a white long sleeved shirt to wear. Luc wore similar clothing but a black shirt instead of white. He’d upgraded to a real leather jacket that matched mine but lacked a picture on the back. Kokoro had donned a pair of tight jeans and a fitted black jacket. Gregor surprised me by sticking with casual clothes instead of choosing a suit. He seemed slightly uncomfortable in his jeans and dark green sweater but maybe he was trying to remain unobtrusive. He tended to stand out when he wore one of his beloved tweed suits.

  Igor chose rooms on the first floor and I had a flashback to being dumped by Luc again. I clamped down hard on my urge to start sobbing. You’re supposed to be Mortis, mistress of death, my inner voice said derisively, not a pathetic, lovesick human. My alter ego had been silent for a while now and I wished it had remained so.

  During my long, boiling hot shower, I pondered on the nature of mankind and the encounters I’d had with them since becoming one of the undead. I knew all the way through to my bones that they would never trust vampires. They had already tried to eradicate us and when that had failed, they’d booted us off the planet. There was no doubt in my mind that they would stab us in the back once more. The only question was how they would double cross us this time.