After The End

by Melissa Gibbo

  I sat back down and Daemon gave a thumbs-up that he’d received the message.

  “Good. I will start with a demonstration of proper control of the various powers. Firstly, I will manipulate this animal’s mind, forcing it to perform basic movements. Mastery of this secondary ability requires gaining proficiency of the glamour skill beforehand.”

  As he spoke, the Roman dropped the critter to the ground. It froze for a moment, and then began to do what looked like a tap dance of sorts. The animal switched to rolling and lastly dragged a foot in the dirt, making a smiley face on the ground. I clapped at the unusual show I was observing. The possum made a bow and scampered off towards the trees.

  After a few seconds, I realized that could have been dinner and stood to hunt it; a pale hand stopped me.

  “I need the creature for my next presentation.”

  I returned to my stiff seat in the dust and nodded Cal to press on.

  “Moving without making any sound and faster than the human eye can see proves very useful during a hunt or ambush. Once you focus on your senses, finding your target is simple. All that it depends upon is practice and being mindful of your surroundings.”

  He now stood inches from his student and held the possum an inch from Daemon’s face; the boy was so startled, he shot up about ten feet and hovered awkwardly in the air. The Undead mentor smirked.

  “And that brings us to our next lesson: flying.”

  ***

  After twenty minutes, Daemon was able to land without crashing, but only slowly and directly below where he was floating. Following his crash course in not crashing, Cal lifted the steel bar.

  “Now we move on to using vampiric brawn responsibly.”

  He bent the large rod into a perfect square and then back again as though it was just a pipe cleaner.

  “The trick is to know how much to reign your muscle in as you create the exact angle you intend. Take your time and focus on how little strength it now takes to destroy the things you touch,” he paused as his face was clouded as though by memory, “especially the living ones.”

  The mentor handed the bar to his pupil and beckoned him to repeat the task. Daemon’s face screwed up as he slowly shaped the metal, the tip of his tongue playing peek-a-boo as he concentrated intently on every atom in the steel.

  “This isn’t so bad” he mumbled as he finished the first bend and began the second. “Oops. Bloody bags of kitty capers!”

  The student grumbled as the rod snapped in two. Cal set a hand on his shoulder.

  “Actually, it’s quite good that you completed the initial bend. Most vampires your age break the bar within the first ten seconds. Well done; it requires practice.” The youth beamed at the praise and set the pieces down, ready for the next display to begin.

  “The candle will be used for the next two powers: pyrokinesis and telekinesis.” Cal spieled. “The basic movement of an object from a distance - referred to as telekinesis - is the easier of the two. It takes some practice and strong concentration, but its uses are well worth the effort.”

  The candle now wafted the ten feet to his outstretched palm. “Lighting the candle by mentally generating fire - called pyrokinesis - is extremely difficult, however. This is a rare ability amongst our kind ever; once nurtured, this power is a game-changer. Only a handful of Undead are able to create and master flames. Those who do are considered the most dangerous and skillful who live and are given status as such.”

  The wick glowed slightly and a meager trail of smoke drifted up from the candle as he spoke; once he stopped speaking, it grew into a tiny flame that went out after three seconds. I noticed Cal was sweating and out of breathe from the effort.

  As the other vamp rested, Daemon played with the candle; it reminded me of seeing my little brother trying to figure out how a toy worked on Christmas morning. I thought of him building roller coasters with his video game that day.

  I arrived at my parent’s house after I first saw a Dead rise; I needed to know everyone was all right. Dad was yelling at the police over the phone, Mom’s hand was wrapped in gauze, and my little brother was blissfully playing with his game. She was crying because the stranger’s bite mark was throbbing; I turned the TV to cable.

  Over Owen’s arguing for me to switch his game back on, the news reports informed my family for me. Tears flowed from our breaking hearts as the truth set in. There was only the sound of crying and my Mom praying the rest of us survive.

  The memory brought a pang of anguish to my heart before I pushed the past behind me and focused on the pair training nearby.

  Cal rose again.

  “I believe we have come now to glamour. All vampires learn this skill early in their training; it is needed as part of survival. Using glamour to control a human’s mind is an instinctive way to avoid too many questions causing trouble, gain easy feeding, and gain freedom during legal disputes or when traveling war-torn areas.

  Although it likely will not work on the wandering Dead, it may be useful in defending our community from human enemies that may arise. Glamour is essentially hypnotism. Squirrel, will you please be my volunteer? I promise no harm will come to you.”

  I faltered a minute - giving over your free will to someone is not a terribly comforting thought.

  “Yeah, I guess.”

  I shuffled over to Caelinus’s side. The next thing I remember is that standing on one foot with my arms in the air and singing Loch Lomond.

  “Did I miss the stage show or something?” I asked, feeling my face burning a bright red. Both of my companions grinned, assuring me that was all I’d done. I reclaimed my seat in the dust and shrugged the experience off; all I could do was trust them. The sentry in the gateway clapped.

  Cal rubbed his temples as he spoke.

  “And for the last demonstration, we will cover telepathy. Afterward, we will set the arrows up as markers for Daemon to practice moving stealthily as well as the other basic abilities we have covered. There will be no show of shape-shifting due to a complete lack of this talent on my part; it is exactly what it sounds like and is also exceptionally rare but advantageous.”

  It was nearly midnight and I was ready for sleep. Suddenly, I realized Cal was speaking to me and responded drowsily.

  “Sorry, where did you say you need me to stand?”

  They both looked at me like I’d asked what time the Martians would be landing. Cal chuckled while Daemon answered.

  “No one said anything. Cal just looked at you and you responded. It was trippy. Did you really just hear his voice in your head?”

  Taken aback, I nodded quietly.

  Cal proffered his hand to help me to my feet.

  “Squirrel, that will be all the help you need to provide. Have a good night’s rest. Thank you for your assistance.”

  With that I waved and marched back to the gate, allowing the vampires to continue training. I felt honored to have been one of the only mortals to ever witness such an education.

  CHAPTER 7 MAY 26TH YEAR 1

  Daemon’s first test of his abilities came a few weeks after he began training. It was our weekly meeting an hour after darkness fell; the vamps had fed and we humans were sharing a meal around the pit, basking in its incandescence but sweltering in the spring heat.

  There were almost twenty people in our camp, as more people trickled into our community by twos and threes; poor little Ellen remained the only child. Bubba left us again right after Daemon arrived. He said something about wanting to track down other survivors or provisions.

  The aroma of roasting wrens, pigeon and snail stew, and raccoon wafted around us; it engulfed the throng in wisps of steam and smoke. The smoke lingered in the thick humidity. I listened to the Roman Legionnaire regale the girl with ancient tales of Jupiter and Mercury and their kin. It struck me that it must be odd for Cal to tell this kid these things she would regard as fairy tales, when it had been the state religion when he was her age.

  As soon as dinner ended, Chase stood and c
alled the town council to order.

  “Okay everybody, let’s get this meeting done so we can get some rest before tomorrow.”

  The conversations stopped and all eyes were focused on the reddened man.

  “Squirrel has put the new donation schedule up in the main cabin. The second cabin is almost finished and a copy will be posted there in a day or two. Sunny is still working out the kinks in our guard rotation. Anyone having a problem with the calendars, ask around to trade and let Squirrel know who you are switching with and when. Questions?”

  Chase looked around; a sea of blank expressions and half-shrugs stared back. “Easy enough. Cal and Squirrel have an issue to address and we’ll go from there.”

  We both stood at our introduction. Chase reclaimed his spot next to Sunny as the Undead nudged me to go first.

  Coward.

  “We noticed that we are running low on certain supplies, mostly things we can’t get out here.” The weary group sat straighter and leaned forward. “It’s time we organize another raiding party to go into town.”

  With few exceptions, everyone shifted their feet or crossed their arms. My heart jumped to my throat as I saw Ellen hug her parents tightly. Sunny and Chase clasps hands and peered into one another’s eyes; they were having an entire conversation in that gaze. There was a short duration of murmuring, followed by modest nods from a half-dozen citizens.

  Drawing a slow breath, I pressed on.

  “We’re asking for volunteers; the list of supplies we are searching for will be finished by morning. As always, if you see other items you feel like carrying, grab them quickly.”

  A fellow who had wandered into one of our pits a few weeks earlier – I think his name was Jake or Jack — stood unevenly on his sprained ankle, a faded Epcot hat tilted on his sandy hair.

  “Are both vampires going on this expedition, or is one staying here at the fort? We want to be sure that everyone who stays behind will be protected, too.” He scanned the crowd. “I mean, now we have Daemon here.”

  With a sideways look to his pupil, Cal answered the man’s question – leaving me relieved to be off the hook for this one.

  “I will remain here to aid in our defense while Daemon will go scavenging with the other volunteers.”

  Several people made faces of concern; clearly not what they’d hoped to hear. Cal picked up on it immediately and his response was peppered with mild annoyance.

  “His powers are developing well and he has been practicing control quite successfully. I have every confidence that Daemon will be fine on the journey, without needing my guidance. We’ve already discussed the matter and agreed the young man is up to the task.”

  The fledgling vampire waved at the conglomeration of doubters and smiled awkwardly, one corner of his lips quivering. Jake – or Jack, maybe — took his seat; I’m still not sure if he was satisfied or just worried about bugging Caelinus too much. I took the minute of silence as an invitation to continue.

  “So, on to the fun part, who feels like going on this field trip?”

  Again with the blank stares, the place was a mannequin warehouse.

  “C’mon people, all the fleshies you can flee from…”

  Daemon, Sunny, and I looked to see who would be joining us; five hands were raised. We had decided beforehand that Chase should remain in camp. The couple was displeased with being apart, but his skills were best used preserving our little village and Sunny had proven to be an adept scrounger; she was swift and resourceful on these missions.

  “Eight people will be great. We’re going to leave tomorrow evening. Dane needs to trade someone for donating tomorrow, so get with him if you’re willing; if no one’s willing, we’ll draw lots out of a bag. Let’s finish our shopping list and rest up.”

  Dane talked to several people, brushing his red tufted black hair to the side, whilst the rest of the group stated the things they thought we should search for in the city. He stood a head above the others, but their postures and eyes betrayed how much the rest of our population disliked him. Within five minutes, Dane returned. He checked out Daemon while he talked to Cal and I.

  “Chase is covering my donation tomorrow, and I’m taking his turn at the end of the week. By the way, we need to pick up some more condoms, the only ones here are expired and you never know when a person may need some.”

  He shifted in his skinny jeans and winked at Daemon before walking away. The vampire spoke through the corner of his strained grin.

  “Someone please protect me from that guy.” Cal chuckled and patted his protégé’s shoulder. “Even if I was into dudes, that Dane guy weirds me out.”

  Cal sat at the table for the night’s errand, ignoring the plea. I took the fledgling’s arm and led him to a seat. We spent the next hour planning our foray through the suburban nightmare and further on to the urban unknown. Our shopping list grew from the usual items we always looked for – medicines, bandages, weapons, etcetera – to include a large variety of other things. Our raiding party was now also searching for: dental floss, spices, clothes, a cooler, Ziploc bags, canteens, blankets, pillows, seed packets, ink pens, condoms, nails, a skillet, birth control pills, and a storybook for Ellen.

  The sheer number of folks who requested birth control or condoms appalled me; I have no idea how they all found the time, energy, and privacy to use them. I was aware of how many couples and single adults were in our community, but it never occurred to me that they were actually managing to have sex.

  Maybe it’s become a way to entertain them or to find comfort despite the zombies and communal living.

  I joked that it was good everyone was at least being responsible, last thing we needed now was an epidemic of STDs. Daemon seemed unnerved by the whole situation.

  Once the list was finished, everybody went to sit watch or crash for the night, except for the two vamps and myself. Cal went out to patrol while Daemon helped me write out copies of the potentially fatal scavenger hunt.

  “Aren’t you at all concerned about this?”

  I looked at the vamp quizzically.

  “About what? Did we forget something?”

  He furrowed his brows to match his sulking expression.

  “Every adult in this town of ours is desperate for birth control. Doesn’t that bug you?” I set down my pen and pondered for a minute why this would upset the guy so much.

  “I don’t see why I should be worried about all the condoms and pills. It’s not like we can tell everyone not to screw. Why is it bothering you?”

  Daemon brushed his dark hair out of his waxen face.

  “I don’t care that everyone is having sex, that’s fine. Actually, I’m a little jealous. My fear is they all want to avoid pregnancies.” He stared at me like it should click in my head and I should be frantic with anxiety.

  I was a deer in the headlights.

  “So, you’re worried because there won’t be any babies in camp if everyone’s practicing safe sex?”

  He beamed and nodded.

  “That makes no sense to me. Babies are cute and all but…”

  “No, it’s not like that. I understand not wanting to raise a kid in this kind of world, and a screaming baby would probably draw fleshies to us in an instant; no arguments there. In the long term, though, some people are going to need to start having kids if the human race is going to survive. Without kids, this whole pact and fortification is just a stall.

  I worry because no one’s willing to just let things happen so life can go on. How is there a fresh start without new life? Besides, if all humans die out, us vampires go extinct as well.”

  He fiddled with his pen as he focused on the list he was copying.

  All I was able to do was roll mine back and forth next to the papers, taking in the surprisingly profound remarks.

  “I can’t speak for the others, but I do know that birth control isn’t always effective and I will probably be unable to find any tomorrow.” I caught my fellow scribe’s gaze. I got the impression Daemon
wouldn’t be finding any Trojans either.

  As we finished the list, Daemon hummed a song I recognized as Rockabye by Shawn Mullins, and in short time we were having a horribly off-key sing-a-long. Tomorrow would be an interesting adventure.

  CHAPTER 8 MAY 26TH-27TH YEAR 1

  The next morning, I woke early to gather some extra provisions for the camp to use while we’d be gone. It seemed half the community was driven by the same impulse; we sat together, sharing a quiet breakfast around the dying fire. It would be put out soon. The wood supply was safe again until lunch was being prepared.

  With the temperature already moving the mercury up into the mid 70’s, I doubt anyone looks forward to starting the fire.

  The sun warmed our skin as it crested over the gleaming barricade. One by one, we finished eating and dove into work. My mind raced through checklists of what was left to do tonight and who was going; the pressure of keeping them safe turned the muscles in my neck into pretzels. I walked through the camp rubbing it and found Sunny near the gateway. She must have been waiting for a partner to exit the barrier.

  “You feel like a little fishing, Squirrel?” She held a spear with a long thin point in her right hand – I assumed she wasn’t looking for bass this time.

  “Sure, I’m game.”

  We began to stride down the familiar path to the water’s edge. Sunny looked around at everything, only it wasn’t with a look of concern for danger, it seemed she was taking in all the details of the dawn. Her smile shone calm and natural; it was almost creepy. As we reached the water, she took the lead, turning towards the marshes downstream – yep, she intended to catch a gator this morning.

  “Felt like starting out rough and tumble today, did we?” I taunted as I saw the downed bait line.

  “Is there any other way?”

  Cautiously, I went around to the wood planking we set down for a foothold and grabbed the line. When I glanced up, Sunny had the spear lowered to just above the bubbles; her face was all business.