Silence followed his words. Selah looked at Cloud. He watched the general, face grim. He looked purposeful, determined, handsome. She thought of Theo, his dark skin soaked by ocean water, his voice, his anguish. Stirred in her seat, uneasy.
“So. We lost because we could not protect our leaders. Could not prevent their being embraced. And yet. If we were able to create an antidote, or even a vaccine—if we were able to inoculate our leaders, hell, our citizenry from the vampires—well. We could then tear up the Treaty and destroy them, one by one, with impunity.”
Selah blinked. “You think we can do that? Use my blood to create a vaccine?”
The general grinned, revealing yellowed teeth, the expression devoid of humor. “It is worth a shot, wouldn’t you say?”
Everybody began to speak at once, but the general held her gaze. She had no trouble meeting it, not after the number of vampires whose gaze she had met recently. But there was real hope burning in his glacial blue eyes.
“Why,” she asked, and the others fell silent, “why are you here? In Miami?”
He leaned back. Interlaced his fingers and looked down at his hands. “I was willing to do as commanded, and give the vampires Miami and LA if that bought us peace. But I would be damned if I’d stay free after condemning millions to slavery.” He looked up, face grim. “Reckon I didn’t have much of a choice.”
“Oh,” said Selah, and saw that Mama B was nodding. “So what now?”
“We need to get a sample of your blood to the lab in the embassy. They’ll take you no matter what once they see how unique your blood is. Take your grandmother and friend as well if you insist, I don’t doubt.”
“So we just have to get to the embassy?” asked Maria Elena.
“Yes. I’ve already made a couple of exploratory phone calls. I tried to have them medevac you out of here, but they refused to so flagrantly break the Treaty on my word alone. They’ll take you, however, if you get to the embassy in person. Will keep you long enough to test your blood for its unique properties, and then—well. They’ll figure it out from there.”
“All right,” said Cloud. “Then we’ve got to get going. Selah, you can ride with me on my bike. The others can follow behind in the jeep.”
Everybody began to protest again, Mama B arguing in favor of waiting for dawn, which was only a couple of hours away, while Cloud wanted to move immediately before the vampires could intercept them in any manner. Selah stayed quiet, not knowing what was best, still struggling with the idea that her blood could somehow change the course of the War, could end the Treaty, could be the key to defeating the vampires.
“Go in the morning,” said General Adams, his voice cutting through the argument. “Trying to get in at the very end of the night would be suspicious. My home is safe. Wait three hours, and then drive out with the dawn. You can blend in with the morning traffic, and have a much higher chance of getting through unnoticed.”
Cloud subsided, visibly unhappy but unable to argue his position further. The general stood and pointed at Maria Elena and Joey. “You two. My kitchen is over there. You should find plenty of bread and peanut butter with which to make sandwiches for anybody who is hungry, as well as two gallons of fresh milk.” He pointed at Cholly and Cassie. “You two can go to that hall closet and dig out blankets and extra pillows. That couch is a futon. See if you can’t make enough beds for everybody to get some shut-eye. Cloud, you know where my security monitors are. Monitor them. Selah, Mrs. Brown, please come with me.”
He turned and walked out of the room, and for a second, everybody simply stared at each other, Cassie positively bristling, but then Joey laughed and stood. “I mean, come on. He was a five-star general. How else do you think he’s going to approach a sleepover?” Cloud snorted and broke the tension. Everybody began to move, to talk, and Selah and Mama B followed the general into the back of the house.
The back room was clearly a study. Bookcases covered the wall, books stacked in tottering piles everywhere. Selah wanted to ask why he didn’t just read everything electronically, but let the question lie. The general sat behind a large walnut desk, and pulled out something shaped like a flute case. He opened it, revealing two hypodermic needles along with test tubes and other medical paraphernalia.
“Just what do you think you’re doing?” asked Mama B.
The general looked up. “Taking a large blood sample from your granddaughter.”
“And why should she let you do that?”
“In case we don’t make it, Mama,” said Selah. She sat before the desk. “If my blood’s that important, it makes sense to get a backup copy. Just in case.”
“We are going to make it,” said Mama B flatly.
“Indeed you are.” The general assembled his equipment, sterilizing the needle. “Still, no sense in putting all our eggs in one basket. On the off chance, we can’t risk it.”
Mama B nodded uncertainly, and didn’t avert her eyes when the general calmly and with a steady hand drew two test tubes’ worth of Selah’s blood.
Chapter Nineteen
They awoke far too soon. Selah rolled onto her back with a groan and covered her eyes with her forearm as General Adams turned on the lights and walked amongst them, shaking each by the shoulder and commanding people to rise to their feet. Maria Elena rolled into Selah’s back and buried her face between her shoulder blades and began to curse in Spanish.
With a sigh, Selah dropped her arm and looked at the ceiling. Her eyes felt stale, her mouth was tacky, and she ached with a deep fatigue that yearned for another six hours’ sleep. Still. It was time. She took a deep breath, and focused on the fact that in a couple of hours she might be free. No longer tired, she sat up, and joined the general muddle of people trying to get into the only bathroom with running water—no questions about how the general had pulled that off—and then into the kitchen for coffee and sandwiches.
An hour later, they were ready. The general had given up on keeping people on schedule, especially after Maria Elena took half an hour to get ready in the locked bathroom. The coffee was bitter, the bread was stale, but nobody complained. There was an almost holiday atmosphere to the moment as they stood about the kitchen, laughing nervously at jokes and staring pensively out the windows.
“All right,” said the general. “This is how it’s going to go down. The best approach is the subtle one, so we’re not going to send everybody out in an armada of vehicles. Instead, Mrs. Brown and Selah will ride with Cholly and Maria Elena in the jeep. Cloud, you’ll ride up ahead, scouting for obstructions or roadblocks. Joey, Cassie, you two will bring up the rear. Don’t crowd them. Stay back at least two blocks, but don’t lose sight of them, either. Go the speed limit. Keep off the 95, and instead cut inland from here and work your way south toward the embassy.”
He pulled out a map and spread it on the kitchen counter, pushing aside the jar of peanut butter and several plates. He quickly outlined their route and made sure both Cloud and Cholly knew where to go.
“Now. We only get this one shot. I don’t believe we’ll have any difficulty getting in. It’s early, and people drive to the embassy all the time. Just keep calm, and you should have no trouble. If you are intercepted, well …” The general surveyed them all, his expression severe. “You need to get through. Get creative. Stick together, and when in doubt, accelerate. Awful advice, but without serious weaponry or real backup, you need to just go for your objective. Clear?”
Everybody nodded, holding mugs of coffee close, staring at the map. Cloud began to argue with the general about the route, and the others drifted back into the living room to collect their meager belongings, fold blankets, put away pillows. Maria Elena disappeared back into the bathroom, and Cholly began to carry the suitcases out to the jeep.
It came together quickly from that point. Soon everybody was on or in their rides, and the general was standing in his doorway, hands linked behind his back. Selah raised her hand to wave, and he gave her a curt nod in return. Cloud accelerated
away down the road, picking up a little distance, and then Cholly followed. Looking behind, Selah saw Cassie and Joey sitting on their bikes, Cassie yawning hugely one last time, and then they too took off.
This is it, said Selah. Our one shot at freedom.
The light was crystal gray, reducing perspective, making things seem indistinct and without depth. They cruised through block after block of overgrown homes, some collapsed, a rare few done up and well kept. Eventually, they crossed a major avenue, and then passed over the interstate. It felt like crossing a major barrier, and Selah allowed herself to feel a little more hope. Come on, she said, watching Cloud’s back. Come on.
Nobody spoke. Everybody was tense. Mama B gripped the oh-shit handle tightly, but otherwise seemed relaxed. Cholly was actually sweating, mopping at his brow with his forearm. Cloud was inscrutable up ahead, navigating smoothly, looking calm and cool and collected as he led them through the neighborhoods. A few more blocks and he raised his left arm to indicate a turn, and then swooped lazily across and out of sight.
Cholly followed. This was the last stretch, a straight shot south that would run into the old hospital complex from the north. Selah scanned the road ahead. Nothing. Just the usual abandoned vehicles, the occasional pedestrian ducking out of sight as they heard the sound of engines.
“What’s that?” asked Maria Elena. “You guys hear that?”
“What?” asked Selah, turning around to stare behind them. Cassie and Joey were just now making the turn.
“What’re you hearing, Maria?” asked Cholly, and then he heard it to. “Shit.”
“Doesn’t mean anything,” said Mama B. “Stay calm.”
A helicopter. The scudding sound of its blades as it approached. It grew louder.
“They might just be heading down to the embassy too,” said Mama B. Her voice was tight. Everybody scanned the skies, craning their heads out the windows. The sound grew louder.
“Get your heads inside,” said Mama B. “Don’t look so damn suspicious.”
Cholly began to accelerate, and then caught himself and eased back to their normal speed. Selah saw the helicopter first. It was a large black machine, not military but larger than a news helicopter. It came into view to their left, crossing Miami from the coast side, not too high up.
“No,” said Selah. “No, no, no! Cholly, hit it!” The helicopter had corrected its flight path at the sight of them, flowing away from its direct approach to now come in at an angle, following their road. She could see people standing in the open door pointing at them. “Go!”
Cholly slammed on the gas, and the jeep’s engine rose to a muffled roar as they took off. It took Cloud a moment to realize what was up, so fixated was he on the road, but when he saw them coming, he looked around frantically before catching sight of the helicopter.
There was no way they could outrace it, Selah knew. But perhaps they could go fast enough to prevent it from landing. Cholly hunched over the wheel, driving as fast as he dared with so many obstacles in the road. The rear-seat passengers sloshed from side to side. Cloud stared frantically up at the helicopter, no doubt running through a hundred scenarios, desperately searching for one that made sense, that could help.
“How did they find us?” asked Maria Elena. “That’s not fair!”
Selah almost opened her mouth to correct Maria Elena, tell her there was no such thing as fairness, and then decided to save her breath. Her heart thrummed, her palms slick with sweat. “How close are we?”
“Another five minutes,” said Cholly. “Almost there.”
“They won’t be content to just follow us,” said Mama B. “They’re going to try something. We should expect a roadblock outside the embassy.”
“It had better be a damn good one,” said Cholly. “I’m building up speed and I don’t intend to stop.”
Selah gazed past Cholly’s at Cloud as he came to a sudden stop, turning his bike sideways so abruptly that he slid a few yards to stare down the road at where a black SUV and three motorbikes had rounded a corner and were driving up toward them.
“They’re not waiting for the roadblock,” said Mama B. “Cholly, drive—”
But he wasn’t waiting for orders. He turned the wheel hard to the right and they screeched around the corner, leaving the avenue and other vehicles behind, the jeep actually almost rising onto its two far left wheels, Maria Elena screaming as they all held on. Cholly slammed down the accelerator again. They were off route, but he had studied the map.
Madness behind them. The black SUV barreled right after, and moments behind it Cassie and Joey zipped by, arms extended before them as they fired their guns, out of sight as quickly as they’d entered it. Where was Cloud? Cholly turned left, and Selah lost them.
“Watch out!” yelled Mama B, and Selah turned to see a motorbike coming toward them, the driver extending his gun right at them. The helicopter hummed right overhead now, its rotor blades causing palm trees to whip back and forth as if lashed into agony.
“Stop and get out of the vehicle,” came a voice over a loudspeaker. “Stop or we shall open fire.”
The biker didn’t seem intent on colliding with Cholly, who stayed right in the center of the road and went as fast as he could. Instead, he whipped the bike onto the left curb, and then strafed their tires with his machine-gun pistol as he drove past. The sound of gunfire was shattering, and immediately the jeep began to list onto its left side.
Selah looked behind, following the bike, and saw Cloud come roaring out from around the corner, nearly colliding with the guy who’d just past them. He had his own pistol out and took two shots at the enemy motorbike, missing but causing the guy to flinch away. Doing so at high speed was fatal—the bike responded to the driver’s ducking down, and as he was already on the sidewalk, he had little room for error. He drove into the wall, spilling head over heels as his bike tumbled out before him.
Maria Elena cheered, and then the SUV pulled out behind them, a man emerging through the sunroof with a rifle at his shoulder. He sighted down its barrel and Selah saw he was tracking Cloud surging away before him.
“Cloud, watch out!” screamed Selah, helpless. She heard the crack of the rifle, and then Cloud was down, off his bike, rolling over and over as his bike flipped and leaped into the air and came crashing down onto the road.
“No!” screamed Selah, clawing at her safety belt, not knowing what she was going to do, trying to stand. Maria Elena wrestled her down, and Mama B yelled. Only Cholly stayed silent and focused on the open road before them. Selah tried to keep her eyes on Cloud, but he fell behind the SUV and was lost from sight. “Cloud!”
“Stop the vehicle,” came the voice again from the helicopter. “You have nowhere to run.” It was flying just ahead of them, perhaps twenty feet up, skimming along over the rooftops. Maria Elena managed to pin Selah’s arms to her sides by hugging her tightly, holding her down, speaking urgently but Selah wasn’t listening.
“Hold on,” said Cholly, and they all looked forward. A second SUV had parked across the street a block down, and four men had climbed out, each holding a rifle. They stepped behind the SUV and leveled their guns.
“Cholly,” said Mama B, “Cholly, what are you doing?”
He just lowered his chin and began to breathe loudly, mouth open, going as fast as the jeep could go. They jostled and bounced over the cracked asphalt, and Selah saw that he was aiming for the nose of the SUV, planning to blast right through it and over the pavement.
“Last warning,” came the voice. Then, “Open fire.”
The windshield exploded inward as bullets tore through Cholly, punched through his seat and then through the back of the jeep. But for Maria Elena’s restraining hug that had pulled her over, Selah would have been killed as well. There was an explosion of noise, of glass shattering. People screaming. The jeep swerved to the left, clipped the wall. They were falling, rolling. Glass, impact, silence.
Selah coughed. Tried to turn her head. She was lying across Maria
Elena who hung from her seatbelt. The engine was still running, and the smell of blood and exhaust and gasoline was everywhere. Fumes from the exploded airbags laced the air, and Selah touched her hand to her temple. Blood. She tried to think. She had to do something. The world was spinning. Was she upside down? No. She was hanging over Maria Elena, shoulder against the broken window. The jeep was on it side.
Yells from outside. She had to move. “Mama?” Nobody answered. She forced herself to turn, half fell past Maria Elena and onto the ground beyond her. Sat up just as men tore open the door above and peered inside.
“Mama?” No response from the front. Terror knifed into her, fighting the confusion and pain. She reached out and touched her grandmother’s shoulder. She had been wearing her seatbelt. “Mama, are you OK? Mama B!” Her voice spiraled into panic. Men reached down into the jeep, trying to grab her. She kicked out, punched ineffectively at their masked faces. Hands seized her forearm, scooped her under the arm, began to haul her out. She fought them, but it was useless. Screamed when she saw Cholly, what they had done to him.
Vampire Miami Page 21
