by Brandon Hale
He looked around and saw three vampires attacking a werewolf. “Hey!” he screamed as he loaded his crossbow. “Three on one! That’s not fair!” He shot one of the vampires, reloaded, then shot another. The remaining vampire and the werewolf both stopped fighting and looked at him.
“It’s even now,” he said. “Carry on.”
He then leapt onto the side of the monument, sinking his claws into the wall. He quickly climbed up several yards and looked at the battle below.
He could see Baxter’s team fighting in the center of the pool of water. Vampires and werewolves were ripping into each other in all directions. Travis scanned the warzone, trying to decide who had the advantage.
So far, the battle seemed more or less even, which was troubling to Travis. With an even battle, he didn’t know who to help. He looked back at Baxter’s team. They seemed to have drawn the most attention. The vampires were swarming them, but the humans appeared to have the upper hand.
“Time to keep some promises,” Travis said as he leaped from the side of the monument.
“They’re coming in too fast!” Carl screamed.
Lily looked at Scott. “He’s right. We can’t keep this up much longer. Can you big, strong werewolves get us the hell out of here?”
“I think we can oblige,” Scott said.
“Well, do it now,” Ellie said as she stabbed another vampire in the heart. “I’m not too proud to admit my arms are getting pretty tired here—”
A vampire managed to grab her from behind and pull her toward him. Just as it brought its fangs toward her neck, something too fast to see zipped behind it. The vampire staggered back, a stake sticking out of its chest.
“Dammit, Travis,” Lily said. “I thought we had an agreement.”
Travis appeared in front of her. “We did not. You gave a bunch of orders and left. I didn’t agree to anything. But I did promise to protect your friends.” He looked at Carl. “I also have another promise to keep.”
A second later, he was gone. A vampire that was standing behind him quickly pointed a gun at Lily. Before the vampire could fire, Grung grabbed its arm and threw the creature toward Lily, who stabbed it in the heart.
“Scott, we need to get out of here,” Lily said. The battle in the pool seemed to be slowing down. The water was red with blood. The bodies of vampires and werewolves floated everywhere. Fewer fighters meant the vampires had more room to aim their guns.
Carl suddenly screamed. The team looked over to see him killing a vampire with the stake in his right hand. His left hand was currently down the back of his pants.
“Travis pulled my underwear into my crack!” he yelled. “What the hell!”
“That’s a wedgie, you idiot,” Ellie said. “How do you not know what a damn wedgie is?”
“Grung,” Scott said, “let’s get them out of here.”
“Wait!” Lily screamed.
Across the pool, she got a glimpse of a vampire ducking behind the statue of Abraham Lincoln.
Lily couldn’t be sure, but it looked like Natasha.
“Follow me!” she yelled as she started to run toward the end of the pool. Bullets began piercing the water around them.
“We’ll never make it!” Ellie yelled.
Until now, the vampires had been hesitant to use the guns on Lily and her team. Obviously, they were trying to save the silver bullets for the werewolves. As soon as Lily and her team started running toward Lincoln’s statue, however, the vampires changed tactics and began to fire directly at them.
This convinced Lily that the vampire who had ducked behind the statue was indeed Natasha.
Another bullet whizzed by Lily’s head.
“Lily, we’re going to get shot here!” Scott yelled. “Grung, it’s time to disobey orders. Let’s get em out of here!”
Before Lily could argue, a thick fog blew in from behind them. It moved too fast to be anything natural. Within a second, Lily could only see her team. Everything beyond them was obscured by the white mist.
They could still hear fighting beyond the white wall, but the bullets eventually stopped. Most likely, Lily thought, the vampires and werewolves were consumed by the same mist. Without speaking, Lily pointed in the direction of the statue. They ran through the fog silently.
After a few seconds, Travis appeared, jogging alongside Lily.
“Why are you helping us?” Lily said. “This doesn’t make up for killing Greg.”
“I don’t give two shits about the pilot,” Travis said. “I just happen to think you and your team of super heroes are the most interesting people I’ve ever known.”
A vampire leapt from the fog and attacked. Ellie quickly grabbed her crossbow and fired a bolt into the creature’s heart.
“Killing vampires is harder than it used to be,” Ellie said as she loaded another bolt. “They look too human.”
“They might look human,” Lily said, “but they’re not.” She pointed at Travis, “Here’s your proof.”
“I’ll take that as a comp—” A stake shot from the fog and embedded itself into Travis’s chest. “Ah, poop,” he said just before falling into the pool.
“A stake might not kill him,” Carl said, “but it sure seems to slow him down.”
“Run,” Lily said as the fog began to disappear.
They were relieved to find that they’d made it to the end of the pool. “Who the hell shot him?” Grung asked.
“Them,” Scott said.
As the last bit of the fog vanished, they saw that the Day Soldiers had joined the battle. Hundreds of them.
Finally, the battle was shifting. It was becoming a slaughter, at least in this area. The Day Soldiers tore into the vampires with a viciousness Lily had never seen. These people weren’t fighting to survive. They weren’t fighting for a town or even a state.
They were fighting for humanity.
When Lily saw Abbie, she knew the battle in front of the monument was over.
Abbie ran to the pool in front of the monument, said something to the soldier beside her, then stepped into the water. To Lily, it looked like she was chanting. As soon as Abbie’s hands touched the bloody water, a very large bat burst from the pool and fluttered away, smoke trailing from its wings.
Carl said, “Was that Travis?”
“It was,” Lily said. “But don’t worry. I think he’s rare. Probably the last of his kind. In the last two weeks, I learned that the other vampires hate him.”
“What’s she doing to the water?” Grung asked, indicating Abbie.
“I have no idea,” Lily said.
Scott laughed. “I know exactly what she’s doing, and it’s brilliant.”
“She’s making holy water,” Ellie said.
Scott looked at Ellie. “Very good.”
“Is that possible?” Carl asked.
“I’ve never heard of such a thing,” Scott said, “but judging from Travis’s reaction, I’d say it’s working.”
“What did she say to that soldier?” Ellie asked.
“She told him to drive the vampires to the water,” Grung said.
“There’s not many left,” Carl said. “If the battles across DC are similar, I’d say we’ve won the capital.”
“Okay,” Lily said. “Let’s find Natasha. I have a promise to keep.”
A barely audible squeak came from Ellie. They all turned to see her staring back at them with a shocked look on her face. Blood trickled from the corner of her mouth.
“Ellie?” Grung said. “What’s wrong?”
Ellie fell forward, landing hard on the ground before her. The handle of a dagger was in her back, just between the shoulder blades.
“ELLIE!” Grung and Carl screamed.
Scott was immediately above her. He pulled the dagger from her back and tossed it on the ground. He placed his hand on the wound, trying to stop the bleeding.
Lily looked at the dagger on the ground and instantly recognized it as the dagger Natasha had planned to use to execute her. She looked up the steps i
n front of the Lincoln Memorial just in time to see Natasha disappear over the roof.
“She’s on the roof!” Lily yelled. “Grung, get me up there, now!”
Before anyone could react, Natasha flew back from the roof and crashed onto the steps in front of the monument. A werewolf sat on her chest.
The wolf who’d tackled her shifted back to its almost-human form.
“Did you lose a vampire?” Talbot asked. He had one hand wrapped around her throat. His other hand held a stake just above her heart.
A deep guttural growl came from Grung as he stared at the vampire.
“Not yet,” Lily said. She turned to Scott.
Scott looked at the others, his eyes rimmed with tears. He shook his head.
He didn’t have to speak. They all understood. Ellie was dead.
Carl fell to his knees and began to sob.
Grung literally howled. The howl was neither angry nor frightening. His howl was pain. Pure, unadulterated pain.
Talbot looked down at Natasha and raised the stake in his hand.
“No!” Lily screamed.
Talbot stopped mid-swing and looked at Grung. “Shall I rid the world of this filth?”
Grung looked at Lily. “I don’t know what you’re planning, but just so you know, we’re not letting her live.”
“Of course we’re not letting her live,” Lily said.
“What are you planning?” Scott asked.
Lily looked back toward the pool. “Pick her up,” she said.
Grung and Talbot each grabbed one of Natasha’s arms and lifted her to her feet.
Natasha closed her eyes and remained silent.
“She’s calling for help,” Talbot said.
“Good,” Lily said. “They’ll get here just in time to watch her die painfully.”
Natasha opened her eyes, which were now full of fear.
At a nearby human containment facility, two vampire guards looked at each other.
“Natasha needs help,” one of the guards said.
“We were told to stay put,” the other guard said.
“Natasha is the one who told us to stay put,” the first guard argued. “Now she’s saying she needs help.”
“We’re gonna have to go out there, aren’t we.”
“I think so, yeah.”
“Dammit.”
The vampires gathered the other guards – thirty in all – and went to the facility’s front gate. They pressed a few buttons on a keypad and the gate slid open. They cautiously stepped onto the empty street.
“Okay,” the lead vampire said. “All clear.”
A crossbow bolt shot from a nearby alley and pierced his heart.
“Get back inside!” another vampire screamed, just before dying from a second bolt.
Before the vampire’s body hit the ground, a hundred soldiers sprinted from alleys on both sides of the street, stopped at the edge of the road, and opened fire.
Within a minute, all the vampires were dead.
“Good show, boys,” Cooper said as he stepped onto the street. “Now, let’s go make our army bigger.”
The soldiers ran into the facility.
The battle raged across DC. Teams of humans were joined by werewolves. Individually, the battle might have gone either way, but together, the humans and werewolves owned the fight.
As dawn approached, many of the vampires tried to find shelter. This just made them easier targets. Ultimately, DC belonged to the Day Soldiers.
For most of the night, vampires around the world watched a video image of an empty stage. At first, they thought they would be seeing the execution of the leader of the American Day Soldiers, but that had quickly changed. For the next several hours, they only saw an empty stage, while listening to the sounds of a battle raging behind the cameras.
Just before dawn, the image finally changed. The camera was picked up and spun around to show the large pool in front of the monument. The pool was red with blood and full of bodies. Mostly vampire bodies.
Natasha stood in front of the pool, held in place by two very large werewolves.
From behind the camera, a female voice said, “This is your leader.”
Natasha looked defeated and terrified.
“And this,” the voice continued, “is what happens when your leaders try to stomp out the Day Soldiers.”
The werewolves threw Natasha into the pool. At first, she screamed, but the screams quickly subsided as the flesh melted from her bones. Within seconds, she was nothing but a smoldering skeleton, slowly sinking into the murky red water.
“We have DC,” the voice said from behind the camera. “If you want it back, come and get it. We’ll be waiting.”
With those final words, the transmission ended and the screen went black.
Chapter 27
A New Day
The Day Soldiers won DC, but even with the help of the werewolves, their losses were heavy. They all knew the only reason the victory was swift was because daylight came and the vampires had nowhere to hide. By noon, the battle was over and vampire bodies were being dragged to bonfires across DC.
Lily and her team spent the afternoon burying Ellie in a nearby cemetery. In the cemetery’s storage building, they had found a stone cross and placed it on Ellie’s grave.
At five, the cleanup stopped. Humans and werewolves gathered at various locations all across DC. Lily, Scott, Grung, and Carl were among those gathered in front of the White House.
“I’m sorry about your friend.”
Lily turned around to see Cooper standing beside her.
“I know you guys are tight,” he said. “I’m sure her loss hit you hard.”
“Thanks,” Scott said. “I’m sure we’re not the only ones who lost friends today.”
“I lost seven,” Cooper said. “They were good people. Price you pay for being in the infantry, I guess.”
“That’s a hell of a price,” Grung said.
“They died fighting for something greater than themselves,” Cooper said. “I don’t know if I believe in heaven, but if it’s there, they’re in it.”
Carl stood to Lily’s right. She put a hand on his shoulder and said, “You alright, little man? You’ve said maybe three words all day. I never thought I’d say this, but I don’t like seeing you so quiet.”
“I already miss her,” Carl said. “She’s not been gone for a whole day yet, and I miss her.”
Grung looked at him and said, “Me too, brother. Me too.”
The White House door opened and Abbie stepped out. She stood silently for several seconds, then said, “I’m not one for speeches. That was Wallace’s job.” Thanks to the mic attached to her ear and the speakers attached to the White House, her voice echoed across the yard. Her voice was also being transmitted to the other gatherings across DC.
“But Wallace isn’t here,” she went on. “He gave his life while trying to save humanity.”
Lily heard a deep growl come from Grung. She knew that Wallace had been killed while facing Talbot. How that death resulted in Grung leading the werewolves, she didn’t know. None of the werewolves had spoken of it. Lily assumed Grung had defeated Talbot, then spared his life. Beyond that, whatever happened in New Mexico remained a mystery.
“Last night,” Abbie said, “we experienced victory for the first time in over a year. But we also experienced great loss. We’re all grieving for someone today.
“I ask that you hold on to that grief. Never let it go. Your grief is why you’re fighting this war. It’s proof of our capacity to love, which is the one thing that separates us from the vampires. Let your grief drive you to stop them, once and for all.”
She looked at the crowd for a few more seconds, then said, “We will of course build a monument for the heroes who died last night. And for the first time ever, that monument will list werewolves and humans. This is a new day. In America, we are no longer at war with the Legion. We’re at war with vampires. Only vampires.”
She sighed. “
And that’s a war we’ll win.”
As she turned and walked back toward the White House, the crowd was silent.
“This is the greatest victory we’ve had in over a year,” Cooper said. “Why does it feel like we just lost the war?”
“People died, man,” Scott said.
“People die in every battle,” Cooper countered. “The difference this time is that a legend died.”
“That’s a big difference,” Lily said.
“It’s bullshit is what it is,” Cooper said. He ran toward the front of the building and yelled, “Abbie!”
Abbie stopped at the door and turned around.
“Can I bum that?” Cooper said, pointing to her earpiece.
Abbie tossed it to him. “Have at it. I said I’m not a speech-maker.” She looked into the crowd and pointed at Lily. “Bring your team,” she said, then turned around and stepped inside.
“What did she say?” Carl asked. “I couldn’t hear her.”
“She told Lily to follow her inside,” Scott said. “And she said for us to come along.”
In front of the White House, Cooper looked at the crowd and said, “I’m sorry people died. We’re all sorry people died. But let me ask you a question… did they die for nothing?”
Several people in the crowd yelled, “No!”
“Come on!” Cooper screamed. “Like four people answered me! Everyone… did Wallace die for nothing?”
“NO!”
“Did our friends die for nothing?”
“NO!”
“Would they see today as a day of mourning or would they see it as a day to celebrate?”
“CELEBRATE!”
“Last night, we ended the darkness in DC! Last night marked the beginning of the end for those undead bastards! Isn’t that worth celebrating?”
The crowd roared.
“I’m hearing cheers,” Cooper yelled, “but I’m not hearing howls! I know you furry bastards know how to party! Give me a howl!”
The werewolves in the crowd began to howl.
Cooper looked back toward the house. “Someone in there… gimme a beat!”
Nothing happened.
Several people in the crowd laughed.
“Okay,” Cooper said with a shrug. “I didn’t know I’d be leading this pep rally, so I didn’t have any music ready to go.”
