by Brandon Hale
The werewolf mauled the leader relentlessly, shredding his protective clothing. As soon as the sunlight touched his skin, the leader began to scream.
The other vampires opened fire on the werewolf but it didn’t seem to care. It leapt from the screaming leader to the next victim and proceeded to quickly shred his clothing as well.
“Well,” Carl said as he watched the werewolf attack a third masked figure, “that’s settled. They were just vampires.”
Lily quickly realized the werewolf wasn’t killing the vampires. He was simply disarming them and exposing them to direct sunlight.
“Fire!” Lily yelled as she pointed her crossbow at the writhing leader and pulled the trigger.
“Screw that.” Grung dropped his crossbow and sprinted toward the nearest vampire with his stake-arm ready. With a quick stab, the first vampire fell dead. Peripherally, he saw another vampire aim a pistol in his direction. He dropped to one knee as the bullet whizzed past his head, then he pulled a throwing stake from his boot and flung it in the vampire’s direction.
“Two down!” he yelled as he jumped to his feet, ready to take on a third. “Let’s finish this!”
“Grung,” Lily said, “It’s finished.”
“Huh?”
“There were just twenty of them,” Carl said. “I took down four myself.”
Grung looked around at the dead bodies. “Oh.”
“Not sure why you had to run in there like that,” Carl said. “It just made it harder for us to take them down from here.”
“Shut up, Carl,” Grung said.
Lily looked at the werewolf. Like every werewolf she’d ever dealt with, it stood upright and was at least seven feet tall. Entirely covered in light brown fur, its body was vaguely human but its head was all wolf. This particular werewolf was different from all the others Lily had seen in one way: It was wearing a small backpack.
“Thanks, Scott,” Lily said.
“How do you know it’s Scott?” Carl asked.
“Educated guess,” Lily said.
“It’s funny,” Grung said, “even as a werewolf, he looks like a pretty-boy.”
The wolf gave him a quick snarl, then ran into the woods.
“Good job,” Carl said. “You hurt his feelings.”
Lily chuckled. “Okay, that was pretty funny.”
“I’m curious,” Grung said as he walked toward one of the bodies, “what kind of vamps these were.”
“I think that’s obvious,” Carl said. “We’ve not seen an ugly one for months. I think they really did purge them all.”
Grung pulled the goggles and mask off one of the female bodies. Her face immediately started smoking in the morning sunlight. Like Carl had predicted, it was one of the “pretty” vampires. “She looks so… human.”
“Yeah,” Lily said. “Leo still haunts my dreams for that exact reason.”
“What disturbs me,” Carl said, “is that they completely massacred their own kind. And as far as we know, they did it because they’re ugly. That’s just harsh.”
“I’m sure they have reasons beyond that,” Scott said as he stepped from the woods, fully dressed in his Day Soldiers uniform.
Lily looked at him and smiled. “It’s cute that you wore a backpack so we wouldn’t see you naked.”
“I had other equipment in the pack, smartass,” Scott said. “My radio, for example.”
“I’m just honored you finally showed us your snarly side,” Grung said. “It’s nice to know you’ll wolf-out and sprint across a mountain to save Lily, but you let a werewolf bite off my hand and you didn’t even raise a claw.”
Scott pointed at Grung. “That guy attacked me first. By the time I un-rattled my brain, your hand was already gone. Besides, I saved your life that day. You’d have bled out if it weren’t for me. And so you know, I was one second away from transforming when Leo killed him.”
“Okay, okay,” Grung said. “Don’t get your fur all frizzed. I think the fact that you just saved us all makes up for it.”
“He’s right,” Lily said. “If you hadn’t shown up when you did, they would be dead and I’d be a prisoner. We owe you one, buddy.”
“Nobody owes me anything,” Scott said. “We’re all part of the team.”
“Except Carl,” Grung added.
“Well, yeah,” Scott said. “I just figured that was understood.”
“You guys really are jerks,” Carl said.
“Okay,” Lily said. “We can abuse Carl later. We don’t know how many more vamps are around and we don’t know if more are on the way.”
“Right,” Scott said. “Let’s get those prisoners and get out of here. The good news is the river facility was occupied.”
“Oh, wow,” Grung said. “There were soldiers there?”
“Researchers,” Scott explained. “But Day Soldiers, yes. More importantly, we have a safe place to stay for a while. There’s plenty of room there, and apparently it wasn’t on the President’s map.”
Lily looked at the wooded mountains above Iveyton. “So there was a research facility above my hometown… crazy.”
“Makes sense,” Scott said. “A mountain is perfect for an underground facility. Besides, I’m sure there are a ton of unknown facilities across this country. As soon as the war started, building underground hideaways became a priority.” He turned and looked back at the woods behind them. “But we really should get to those prisoners. It’s a very long walk back for you non-furry types.”
“You guys go on.” Lily was looking at her house, which had completely succumbed to the flames. “I’m going to do what I came here to do.”
Scott sighed and looked at the other soldiers. “You guys up for burning down an entire town before we go?”
“Sounds fun,” Carl said.
“Nobody asked you,” Grung said.
Carl pointed at Scott. “He just asked like two seconds ago!”
“Oh yeah,” Grung said. “I guess that’s true.”
“Why are you still playing that game anyway?” Carl asked. “The tactic worked. The vampires are dead.”
Grung shrugged. “I’m not sure. It’s just really fun.”
“Okay people,” Lily said. “Let’s finish what we started.”
“Alright, vampire burners,” Grung said, “let’s burn some vampires. Take two.”
When the reinforcements arrived two hours later, Iveyton, Virginia was in flames and every vampire that had lived there was dead. The team stood at the edge of town, along with all the prisoners from the containment area. Fortunately, the rest of Lily’s team was found alive with the other human prisoners. Lily was relieved the leader of the vampires hadn’t lied.
As they began the trek back to the river facility, Lily looked at Scott and said, “Thanks again for coming after us, Scott. I was a little worried for a minute there.”
Scott playfully bumped his shoulder into hers. “You’re not getting sentimental on me, are you, Baxter?”
“Nah,” Lily said. “It just felt good to win again. It’s been a rough year for us. I guess I really thought we’d find more Day Soldiers alive.”
“Yeah,” Scott said. “It’s a little disturbing to see how fast this became a vampire’s world.”
Lily cocked an eyebrow. “A little disturbing?”
“Okay,” Scott said. “A lot disturbing. But just wait until you see this facility, Lily. It’s not just a research facility. It’s a searcher facility. A full on HQ for the Searcher Division. And they promised to give me full access to everything.”
Lily laughed. “You’re giddy.”
“Yeah,” Scott conceded. “What can I say? Information’s my thing. It’s not just that, though. We have a safe place. We can finally focus on doing something proactive.”
“That is good news,” Lily said.
“I’m telling you, chief,” Scott said, “things are looking up. The Day Soldiers are about to make a comeback. I can feel it.”
“Good,” Lily said as she looked
back at her burning hometown. “I think I’m ready for a comeback.”
Chapter 4
Topia
Natasha leaned back in her chair and propped her feet on the desk in front of her. She was a tall, slender vampire with straight blond hair cut a few inches above her shoulders and blue eyes so light they were almost white. She smiled as she looked around the office.
The Oval Office.
Her office.
“Life is good,” she said.
“Ma’am,” the male vampire standing on the other side of her desk said, “perhaps you didn’t hear me. The entire Iveyton team is dead, along with every vampire who lived there.”
“I heard you, Steve,” she said. “It was a long shot anyway. Don’t worry about the Day Soldiers. They’re over. It’s just a public relations issue at this point.”
“Respectfully,” Steve said, “it’s a little more than that. Strike teams keep popping up all over the world. They’ll eventually find each other. If we underestimate them, they’ll grow strong again.”
“Steve,” Natasha said, “we wiped out every standing army on the planet. I don’t think we have to worry too much about the fractured remnants of humanity.”
“We wiped them out,” Steve argued, “because they underestimated us.”
Natasha groaned as she pulled her feet from the desk and leaned forward. “Okay,” she said. “What do you recommend we do?”
“Give me an army,” Steve said.
Natasha laughed. “That’s a tall order.”
“Two hundred,” Steve explained. “I’m certain they’re heading west now. They kept going south specifically for Iveyton. Now that it’s destroyed, they’ll go west. With two hundred vampires, we can cut them off. I’m sure of it.”
“What about werewolves?” Natasha asked. “If they see you in their woods, they’ll attack. That was the agreement, and they’ve honored their side.”
“We’ll risk it, ma’am,” Steve said. “I don’t think the Day Soldiers are traveling far from the roads. The wolves would kill them. Our main group will stick to the roads, which is allowed. We’ll send scouts at night to track them. If we come across any wolves, we’ll ask them for help. They’re not our enemies.”
“Don’t be so sure,” Natasha said.
“We think they left Iveyton this morning,” Steve went on. “There aren’t many roads that will take them west. I’m sure we can find them, but we have to move fast. All due respect, ma’am, but your Iveyton plan failed miserably. Let me do this and I’ll find them.”
“Okay,” Natasha said. “I never claimed to be a strategist. Two hundred.”
Steve stood a little straighter, a look of excitement in his eyes. “Thank you ma’am. We’ll get them. I promise.”
“For the record,” Natasha added, “my plan didn’t fail. She did go to Iveyton. The strike team failed. There’s a difference.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Steve said.
“Go catch me some humans,” Natasha said.
“Yes, ma’am.”
As soon as Steve left the room, Natasha looked at the handsome brown-haired vampire sitting in a chair across the office. “He’s right, of course,” the vampire said.
“I know,” Natasha said.
“They’re gaining numbers,” the vampire continued. “That’s what they’ve been doing.”
“Cassius, I said I know,” Natasha said.
“We have no way of knowing how many they’ve gained by now,” Cassius continued. “We should’ve devoted more time to hunting them down a year ago.”
“I agree they’re a threat,” Natasha said, “but don’t overstate the problem. The world is ours and there’s nothing they can do to take it back.”
“Totally,” Cassius conceded. “I’m not worried about the world at all.”
Natasha gave him a confused look. “Then what are you worried about?”
“Us,” Cassius said. “You and me, specifically. You sent that team to Iveyton because you knew capturing that girl would be a huge morale boost for our people. I suspect they have similar ideas. And if they don’t yet, they will.”
Natasha stood up and held out her arms. “We’re in the Oval Office. I’m the president of the world. They’re not going to get to me and they don’t even know you exist.”
“First of all,” Cassius said, “you’re not the president of the world. And I highly recommend you avoid saying that in front of the others. They won’t respond well.”
“Okay,” Natasha said, “I’m the president of Topia.”
“That’s another thing,” Cassius said. “Can we be a little more discreet with the name changes? Jackson’s Folly made sense. It was a fun little insult to humanity. But changing America to Topia is a bit of an insult to our friends in other parts of the world.”
“Why?”
Cassius chuckled. “It’s not a very subtle name, Nat.”
“Eventually,” Natasha said, “I want that to be the name of the entire world.”
“And you don’t see how the others might find that a bit… presumptuous?”
Natasha sighed. “What was the second thing?”
“The second thing?” Cassius asked.
“I’m assuming you have a second point,” Natasha said. “When you say something like, ‘first of all,’ it usually means something else is coming.”
“Oh, yeah,” Cassius said. “They do know I exist. I met the girl, remember? I sent her to Dennis.”
“You could have been anybody,” Natasha countered. “You worry too much.”
Cassius smiled. “Don’t mistake preparation for worry. I just want you to be prepared for the probability that we’ll see them again. There’s no way Steve’s army will find them. He’s an idiot.”
“On that,” Natasha said, “we agree. I just got tired of dealing with him. His army will be slaughtered by wolves in a week.”
Cassius laughed. “I’m glad I made you.”
“Me too,” Natasha said. “So what do you think we should do about our little Day Soldier problem?”
“I have no idea,” Cassius said with a shrug. “I’m sure a solution will present itself sooner or later. We just have to keep our eyes open.” He glanced at Natasha’s desk. “You have a call, Madam President.”
“A world leader’s work is never done,” Natasha said as she pressed a button on the desk. “What is it, Val?”
“There’s a problem at one of the containment facilities,” a female voice answered.
“Your job,” Natasha said, “is to take care of problems at the containment facilities.”
“Yes,” the voice said nervously. “I just thought you might want to deal with this one personally. He’s asked for you specifically.”
“Who?” Natasha asked. “Who asked for me?”
“I think it would be better if you saw for yourself.”
Natasha looked at Cassius.
“Go,” he said. “If you need me, I’ll be carving fangs onto the Lincoln Memorial.”
In human years, Val looked like a teenager, but in actual years, she was one of the oldest vampires in DC. Arcas had turned her almost a century ago. The death of Arcas had devastated Val, which worked to Natasha’s advantage. When Natasha vowed to avenge Arcas, Val pledged her full devotion.
“You have me curious, Val,” Natasha said as she walked across the White House back lawn.
“Trust me,” Val said as they walked toward the containment facility, “I wouldn’t have asked you to come without a good reason. You have to meet this guy.”
“It’s not another abuse case, is it?” Natasha asked. “I swear, the next guard I catch abusing the humans will be staked in front of them.”
Val laughed. “It’s kind of an abuse case, if you want to get really technical about it. But it wasn’t a guard.”
Natasha cocked an eyebrow. “A human hurt another human? They know the punishment for that is death.”
“Just wait,” Val said. “I don’t want to ruin the moment.”
/> The White House containment facility was the largest in DC, housing over five hundred humans. Like all facilities, it was completely self-sustained. This particular facility, however, was widely considered one of the best. It had water, gardens, housing, several playgrounds for the children, and even a basketball court and a football field.
“We’ll be heading to the basketball court,” Val explained as she unlocked the front gate and walked inside.
“Where are the guards?” Natasha asked.
“Basketball court.”
“All of them? Shouldn’t they be guarding the other sections of the facility?”
Val laughed. “No need.”
“Okay,” Natasha said. “Now I’m very curious.”
“Fair warning,” Val said as they approached the building that housed the basketball court, “this will piss you off at first. A lot.”
Val opened the door and they stepped inside. The facility guards were all inside, leaning against the walls of the building. All in all, it was a normal basketball court with bleachers on the sides and goals on the ends. On one end was a large chalkboard for keeping score.
On a normal day, Natasha would have looked at the court and felt proud of the humane treatment these humans were receiving. As soon as she looked at the center of the court, however, she realized that this day was anything but normal.
“Is this…”
“Yes,” Val said. “It’s every human that lived in this facility.”
Hundreds of human bodies were stacked in the center of the court. The entire floor was covered in blood. A single figure sat on top of the giant stack of bodies. His long black hair was pulled into a tight ponytail. His face was covered with a few days’ worth of hair growth. He wore cowboy boots, blue jeans, and a plain white T-shirt.
He was grinning.
Natasha turned to Val. “Why did you bring the bodies here?”
“We didn’t,” Val answered.
Natasha stared in awe at the bodies. “There were over five hundred people here.”
“Five hundred,” the man said as he climbed down the pile of bodies and walked toward them, “and twenty-six, not including myself.” He spoke with a southern drawl that Natasha recognized as a Georgia accent.
