by Brandon Hale
“We’ve had similar results in our searches,” Abbie said. “I was about to give up when we found you.”
They reached the bottom of the stairs and stepped inside the facility.
“Wow,” Cooper said.
The first room was a very large auditorium. The room was easily the size of a football field. A stage sat in the center, surrounded by enough stadium seats to hold thousands. Currently, those seats were filled with men and women in Day Soldier uniforms.
“I never thought I’d see that many troops again,” Cooper said.
“Me either,” Abbie said. “It’s a good feeling to know I was wrong.”
A group of men and women in civilian clothes were on the stage, all looking at Abbie and her team. Abbie was pretty sure they were the senators. An overweight man with very thin hair walked toward them.
He immediately shook Cooper’s hand. “You have no idea how happy we are to see you and your team,” he said.
Cooper pointed toward Abbie. “She’s in charge.”
The man looked uncomfortable for a moment, then turned to Abbie. “Of course, of course.” He shook Abbie’s hand. “We were beginning to think there was nobody left.”
“There are plenty of humans left,” Abbie said. “They just live in prisons now.” She had an instant dislike of this man.
“I’m Senator Brown,” the man said. “You and your troops are welcome here. I look forward to hearing about how things are above ground.”
“I’ll tell you all about it, Senator,” Abbie said, “after we take back the capital.”
“I’m sorry?” Brown said.
“We’re taking back the capital,” Abbie said. “Hopefully, vampires will be arriving from all across the country. With the werewolves occupied elsewhere, it’s an opportunity we can’t afford to pass up. This could be a turning point in the war, at least in America.”
Brown shook his head. “Oh, no, that’s not going to happen.”
“It’s going to happen, Senator,” Abbie said.
“The procedure is clear on this,” Brown said. “When faced with apocalyptic defeat, we are to stay hidden for a minimum of two years.”
“We are far from defeated,” Abbie said. “As a matter of fact, we are closer to victory than we’ve ever been.”
“Nonsense,” Brown said. “If we attack up there, they’ll just call the werewolves back.”
“We’ve taken care of that,” Abbie said. “The werewolves are no longer a factor.” She hoped it was true.
“We have ten thousand troops,” Brown said. “They’ve got millions up there.”
“We have millions up there,” Abbie said. “All we have to do is unlock their cages and give them weapons.”
“I’m afraid that’s out of the question,” Brown said. “If we try and fail, we’d be revealing the location of this facility. There are too many lives at stake here.”
“Senator,” Abbie said, “there are millions of lives at stake on the surface. We’re doing this.”
Brown looked incredibly nervous. Behind him, the other senators remained silent, but Abbie suspected they agreed with him. “I’m sorry,” Brown said, “but I can’t authorize—”
“I don’t care if you authorize it or not,” Abbie said. “I’m the highest ranking officer here. You don’t like it, pass a bill. We don’t have time to debate the issue. One of my soldiers has risked everything to get more vampires in DC.”
“You mean the girl scheduled for execution?” Brown said. “I’m sorry she’s captured, but I’m afraid I will not allow—”
“Wait,” Cooper said. “How do you know about that?”
“We’re tapped into all their video transmissions,” Brown said. “Surveillance is part of the design here. We saw them bring the girl in two days ago.”
“When is she scheduled for execution?” Abbie asked.
“Two weeks from today,” Brown said. “At dusk. It’s tragic, but we were not consulted on this plan. You can’t hold me responsible for her death.”
“Oh, I’m not going to hold you responsible for it,” Abbie said, “because she’s not going to die.” She looked at Miranda. “Can you bring me the highest ranking Day Soldier in this facility?”
Miranda looked at the other senators, then back at Abbie. “Yes, sir.”
“I also need to know every exit,” Abbie went on. “I need to know the fastest way to get all of our troops to the surface.”
“Yes, sir.”
“I prefer ma’am,” Abbie said.
“Yes, ma’am.”
An Asian woman stepped from the group of senators. “I’m the highest ranking Day Soldier here,” she said. “Well, I was until you arrived. You’re Abigail Reid, aren’t you.”
“I am,” Abbie said. “You’re not a senator?”
“No,” the woman said. “I wear civilian clothes because I’m part of the Senate Guard.”
“Tell her, Suzanne,” Brown said. “Tell her we can’t go up there.”
Ignoring the senator, the woman looked at Abbie and said, “Do you really think we can win the capital?”
“I do,” Abbie said.
“Do you have confirmation that the werewolves are out of the picture?”
“No,” Abbie said. “But I have faith in the man who took the mission.”
“Do I know him?” Suzanne asked.
“Commander Geoff Wallace.”
As soon as Suzanne heard Wallace’s name, she turned to the senator and said, “If you don’t want to help, get to the living quarters and stay there. In two weeks, at dusk, we’re going to war.”
Red faced, Senator Brown spun around and stomped his way out of the auditorium.
Abbie looked at the other senators. “What about you?”
A gray haired man stepped forward and said, “We’re not trained soldiers, but if you’ll have us, we want to help.”
“We’ll give you the streamlined training program,” Abbie said. “Welcome to the Day Soldiers.”
“Admit it,” Carl said. “You’re lost.”
Ellie looked around and saw nothing but desert in all directions. “I never denied it. I’ve never been in New Mexico before.”
“So why did we leave the road?” Carl asked.
“Because Wallace left the road. We knew we wouldn’t find him by sticking to the road.”
“Oh, yeah,” Carl said. “You broke your promise to Lily and insisted we go searching for the others. I remember now.”
“Sarcasm doesn’t suit you,” Ellie said. “Besides, I didn’t lie to Lily.”
“You looked her in the eyes and promised you wouldn’t go looking for Grung,” Carl said. “We’re lost in the desert, looking for Grung. Please explain how that’s not a lie.”
“I’m not looking for Grung,” Ellie said. “I’m looking for Scott.”
“Weak,” Carl said.
“Besides,” Ellie added, “as long as we keep going north, we’re fine. We went north at the werewolves’ bodies. They said that resort was north. If we keep going, we’ll find it.”
“They are werewolves!” Carl said. “It could take us weeks to cover the same distance they can cover in a day. We’re gonna die out here.”
“We’re not going to die out here,” Ellie said.
“It’s at least a hundred degrees out here,” Carl said.
“It’s not a hundred degrees,” Ellie said. “Ninety, maybe. And the sun will be down in a few hours.”
“Like six hours,” Carl groaned.
Ellie stopped and looked at Carl. “Apologize for your whining.”
“I will not,” Carl said. “My complaints are totally justified. We have limited water, a few cans of food, and we’re lost in the desert, looking for a group of werewolves we’ll never find.”
Ellie grabbed his face and turned it to the left.
“Son of a bitch,” Carl mumbled. “Are you people ever wrong?”
Ellie grinned. “Nope.”
A giant group of werewolves were running t
oward them.
“I don’t see a gray werewolf,” Carl said. “Isn’t Wallace gray?”
“Maybe it’s just a group of scouts or something,” Ellie said.
“Or maybe going and looking for them was a bad idea,” Carl said.
“Okay,” Ellie said as the first werewolf stopped in front of her. It was a massive wolf, covered in black fur. “Maybe we’re not always right.”
Chapter 25
Execution Day
Lily sat on the floor inside the Washington Monument.
She felt completely alone, despite the fact that two vampires were in the room with her. Without her team, she felt vulnerable and weak. Until now, she hadn’t realized just how important they were to her, emotionally as much as physically.
They were gone now, scattered across the country. Some of them were probably dead. Maybe all of them. And here she was, minutes away from execution, hoping some vague comments from Abbie meant she’d be rescued. Feeling alone was bad, but she felt something worse than alone.
She felt helpless.
A female vampire was pacing around the room. She seemed nervous. Her name was Natasha. Since coming to DC, Lily had learned this woman was the vampire in charge. Apparently, Natasha was the ruler of America.
This gave Lily hope. If Abbie’s cryptic assurance proved true, they might be able to execute the leader of the vampire nation in front of millions of other vampires.
Travis was the other vampire in the room. He was his usual relaxed self. He sat on the floor beside Lily. For reasons Lily didn’t understand, Travis had stayed with her during the entire two weeks of her captivity in DC.
The room was empty, except for a small monitor on the wall. It showed the crowd gathering just outside the monument. Travis was watching the monitor. “You should be proud,” he said to Lily. “Vampires are coming from all over the country just to watch you die.”
“I’m overcome with the warm and fuzzies,” Lily said.
“Touchy,” Travis said. He looked up at Natasha, who was still pacing. “Why are you so nervous? You finally get to kill the face of the Day Soldiers.”
“I’m not the face of the Day Soldiers,” Lily said. “I’m not even a high ranking officer.”
“When you made that declaration video, you became the face of the Day Soldiers,” Natasha said. “My people need to see you die. You are the monster who hunts them while they sleep. You are the reason they’re hesitant to repopulate the small towns across this country. Killing you will show them that the Day Soldiers are truly defeated.”
“Bullshit,” Travis said. “Killing this kid won’t accomplish anything. Your vampires are cowards, and killing this girl will make them worse, not better.”
“I don’t see how,” Natasha said.
“You’re giving them a joy they don’t deserve,” Travis said. “Killing isn’t for spectators. It’s something you have to earn. You have to hunt the prey. You have to be the one to take their lives. Otherwise, the joy of watching them die is meaningless. If death is just handed to them, they will never appreciate it.”
“I don’t want them to appreciate death,” Natasha said. “We’re building a better world, Travis. I want them to appreciate life. I want them to know that the world is theirs. Humanity has brought death to this world for centuries. I want them to see the end of death.”
Travis just shook his head. “Then you have no idea what it means to be a vampire.”
“Perhaps I don’t,” Natasha said. “I think it’s time for us to evolve into something new. Something better. It’s time for us to become Topians.”
“I can’t tell,” Lily said, “If you’re a con artist or a zealot.”
“I believe in Topia,” Natasha said. “We can do this. The world will be better for humans too. I know you don’t believe that, but it’s true.”
“You’re right,” Lily said. “I don’t believe it. Living in giant cages isn’t what I consider the good life.”
“I wish it were different,” Natasha said. “Perhaps one day, humans will prove they’re mature enough to live in the world without destroying it. Until then, this arrangement will have to suffice.”
“You never answered my question,” Travis said. “Why are you so nervous?”
“Talbot,” Natasha said with a sigh. “Last week, we told him we had the girl. He promised to be here for the execution, just in case the other Day Soldiers tried something stupid. It would’ve been nice to have the extra security.”
Lily felt sick. They’d spoken to Talbot within the past week. The fact that he was still alive didn’t say good things about the success of Wallace’s mission.
“So that’s why you haven’t killed her yet?” Travis said with a laugh. “Because you’re scared?”
“I’m not scared,” Natasha said. “I’m just worried about Talbot. He has never broken a promise. I’m afraid something happened to him on the way here.”
Lily dared to hope. Maybe things weren’t so dire after all.
“You think the Day Soldiers are planning something?” Travis asked.
“Do you?” Natasha said.
“Yes,” Travis said. “I think they have a secret city under our feet and as soon as you bring out the kid, they’re going to rise like zombies and kill us all.”
“Point taken,” Natasha said. “I’m being paranoid.”
Travis looked at Lily and shrugged. “I wasn’t making a point.”
“I wish you hadn’t killed Greg,” Lily said.
“I didn’t kill him,” Travis said. “You did. Also, this is an odd time to be bringing that up.”
“If you hadn’t killed Greg,” Lily said, “you might have been the first vampire I ever liked.”
Travis winked. “I think we can get past this whole Greg thing and become best buddies.”
“No,” Lily said. “We can’t.”
“We can,” Travis said. “It’ll just take some time.”
“Alright,” Natasha said. “Let’s do this. Get up.”
Lily climbed to her feet.
“I’m staying in here,” Travis said.
“Why?” Natasha asked.
“I prefer to stay anonymous,” Travis said. “Better for my career.”
“Suit yourself,” Natasha said. She turned to Lily, “I am sorry this has to happen. You deserve better than this, but we really have no other options.”
“How much do you know about me?” Lily asked.
“You’d be surprised,” Natasha said. “I’ve been following your adventures since the day you killed all those vampires in Iveyton.”
“Good,” Lily said. “You know that I’m like Talbot in one very important way.”
“And what way is that?” Natasha asked.
“I never break my promises,” Lily said. “Ever.”
“That’s nice, honey,” Natasha said. “I think I see where you’re going with this, so let me just stop you right—”
“I promise I’m going to kill you,” Lily said.
Natasha sighed. “Yeah, that’s what I thought you were going to say.”
“Tonight,” Lily said. “I’m not going to escape and come back later, like I did with Dennis. I’m going to kill you tonight, in front of your people. I’m going to show them that the Day Soldiers will never be defeated. By killing you, I’m going to show them that I am the monster who hunts them while they sleep.”
“Idle threats?” Natasha said as she shoved Lily toward the exit. “You’re better than that.”
“As you die out there,” Lily said, “I want you to remember this moment. Remember that you had a chance to walk away and you ignored it.”
“Go,” Natasha said.
As they stepped outside, Travis said, “Good luck.”
At the same time, Lily and Natasha said, “Thanks.”
Travis laughed as the door closed behind them. He leaned against the wall and watched the monitor as Lily and Natasha appeared on the screen.
“This is gonna be fun,” he said.
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Lily was amazed at the amount of vampires gathered outside the Washington Monument. It was a sea of vampire faces, stretching back as far as Lily’s eyes could see. They were even crammed together in the waist-deep water of the reflecting pool directly in front of the monument.
Millions of vampires.
All there to watch her die.
Amazingly, Lily’s strength had returned the moment Natasha decided it was time to go outside. Something had snapped inside Lily. Maybe it was the fact that Talbot was missing. Maybe it was the calm that comes from inevitability.
Lily didn’t care why. All she knew was that when she promised to kill Natasha, she meant it. And Natasha knew it. Lily had seen the fear in Natasha’s eyes, and seeing that fear had been empowering to Lily.
A small stage was set up in front of the monument. Several cameras were pointed at the stage, ready to film the big event. Two male vampires were standing on the stage. Both were wearing gloves.
Natasha led Lily to the stage, then looked at one of the vampires and said, “Are monitors installed in all the human facilities?”
“Yes, Madam President,” the vampire said.
“Ah,” Lily said. “That settles it. You’re a con artist.”
“Nonsense,” Natasha said.
“There’s no reason to make the humans watch this,” Lily said. “It’s torture, pure and simple. At least Travis is honest.”
“They have to let go of the past,” Natasha said. “We can’t move forward until humanity lets go of the past. You represent that past.”
“So you want to strip them of hope,” Lily said. “Got it.”
Natasha rolled her eyes, then, to one of the vampires, said, “Cassius, whenever you’re ready.”
The two male vampires grabbed Lily, each taking one of her arms.
Lily turned to the vampire on her right. “Cassius,” she said. “I know you.”
“Nah,” Cassius replied. “I just have one of those faces.”
“I know your name,” Lily said. “You were in New York with Arcas. You told me how to find Dennis.”
“You’ve got me mixed up with someone else,” Cassius said. There was a smugness to his voice that told Lily he was taunting her.
