One Love (Vampire Love Story #5)

by Night, H. T.

  I looked at Tommy and said, “Where the fuck were you?”

  “I was in my room sleeping with Yomaida. I never knew he was even here.”

  “We were inside, too, Josiah,” Hector said. “He knew better than to try to recruit Yari, Wyatt and I.”

  I looked at Hector and nodded. That guy hardly talked and when he did it usually carried a lot of weight. I looked at the rest of the guys in the hallway and said, “A third of my guys left? Are you fucking kidding me? Why?” I began to walk downstairs and then outside, with everyone following me. I continued talking as I walked to the bunkers. “So, guys I have been training for the last six months just left? Krull just came in here and simply plucked them up?” I stopped in my tracks and looked at my friends, completely sick to my stomach. “So, who was there?”

  “I was there,” Sion said.

  “How many men stayed?”

  “Close to 100,” Sion answered.

  “Are they still in the bunkers?”

  “Well, they don’t have anywhere else to go,” Sion said. “As of now, you are either with us or with Krull. There aren’t too many indie Mani left. People started choosing up sides two years ago.”

  “What did Krull do?” I continued to grill Sion. “Bang some pots and pans outside and everyone came out to see him?”

  “No, he sent one of his guys in to talk to Cyrus. When the guy asked for Cyrus, I knew something was up. Because they didn’t know he was dead,” Sion said.

  I stood right outside the bunkers in the field that separated them from the house.” “Okay, so then what happened after that?”

  “All the men came outside and Krull gave us a speech,” Sion said.

  “A speech? Are you kidding me? Who the hell does he think he is, Braveheart? What did he say?”

  Sion paused and was afraid to look me in the eye.

  “Look Sion,” I said. “I know you’re a good dude. You don’t need to be afraid of me. I killed Cyrus because I had no choice. His betrayal would have ended a lot of our lives. Please Sion, tell me everything that happened. I won’t shoot the messenger.”

  Sion exhaled and said, “He stood out here with about 500 of his men behind him.”

  My heart raced.

  “He came with 500 men and didn’t attack?”

  “Well, I am assuming he isn’t ready for battle either, hence the recruiting and not attacking. It was pretty intimidating that he just waltzed in here with 500 guys and asked for recruits. With such a show of power, it was almost an old-fashioned ship shanghai. And they might have slayed us all without you, Hector, Wyatt, Tommy and…Atticai, if I may include him as a possible ass-kicking resource. All of his army looked hungry and eager to kill.”

  “That’s probably because he starves them and they wish they were dead,” I said. “Go on.”

  Sion continued, “He asked the group if they wanted to live in harmony. He began mocking the concept, saying vampires were bred to rule, not pick berries. He asked us if we wanted to live apart from the world like what you’re offering, or if they wanted to rule the world. He promised each man that was to follow him that he would see it that they would be given their own part of the globe. He said they would be kings of their own land. Listen, Josiah, he was speaking to guys who share bunker rooms with three other people. Being a king of your own land sounded pretty good.”

  “Even to you?” I asked.

  Sion was quiet. “Yes... even to me. I was surprised more men didn’t follow him. He is divvying up the world like mafia turf and making each man who joins him a dictator of his own private sector. In the end, it was about greed more than it was about who was the better leader, you or Krull.”

  “It kind of makes you see how Hitler was able to manipulate so many people,” I said.

  “Josiah, it is truly a testament to your leadership and goodness that so many guys stayed. I know it’s not that comforting to hear, but it’s the truth. The men who stayed are loyal to you and you now know that under any circumstance, they are here for the cause. They would have died before they would have switched sides.”

  “All Krull did was weed out the weak links,” Tommy said.

  “Anyone noteworthy go with him?” I asked.

  “No, no one.”

  “Did any Carni leave?”

  “No Carni even went outside. They were afraid and stayed in the bunkers.”

  “Who could blame them? Krull brought an army with him. They probably thought they came for them to cut off their heads.”

  I had Sion go in and get all the remaining Mani and also, my loyal Carni. In a few minutes, all my men were outside and stood in formation in front of me. There were blank places in the ranks where men had left.

  “Fill in the gaps!” I yelled out. I began pacing back and forth in front of the men in front of me, gathering my thoughts and what words I would say to them. “The Bible is filled with stories where outnumbered armies defeated much larger ones. You men are the few and that have showed me more loyalty than I could have ever asked for. Sion has told me all that has happened and I want to thank you for your courageous loyalty when faced with an army of 500 led by Krull. That none of you defected shows me what you are made of.” I stopped in my tracks and just stared at my men in their eyes. “My promise to you men is the following!” I took a deep breath and yelled into the cold night sky. “You are now my brothers. Each of you is now my family. I will lay my life down for any one of you without a second thought. Those who have left will only make Krull’s army weaker. Krull has an army where his soldiers are running around scared. You never have to worry about that.”

  “What about Cyrus?” a young Mani teenage boy yelled from the back.

  “Who said that?” I asked, knowing exactly who it was. I wanted him to stand behind his words. The young man stepped forward. “Come to me,” I said. He slowly walked over to me with his head up and looked me in the eye, the entire walk. “Your name is Samuel, correct?”

  “Yes it is, sir.”

  “Samuel, what do you know about what happen to Cyrus?”

  “I know that you killed him because you believed he was going to betray us.”

  “That is exactly what happened. But what you need to know is that I did what I had to do, not because I thought it would happen, but because I knew 100 percent that it would. Cyrus was going to betray us in a way that would have led to all of our deaths. Do you understand, Samuel? I killed him for you?”

  “So you say,” Samuel answered.

  “Were you close to Cyrus?”

  “I thought he was a good and kind man.”

  “So did I!” I grabbed Samuel’s head and just like what I did with Yari, I allowed him to see Cyrus’s betrayal. I felt he deserved it. He heard Krull’s speech and stayed by my side. I showed him all what I saw a couple of weeks earlier. When I was done, I let go of Samuel’s head.

  “I’m so sorry, Josiah.” Samuel said. “It was awful, what Cyrus did.” Samuel turned to the other men and yelled. “Josiah did the right thing. Trust me when I tell you that!”

  “If any of you question what I had to do, I will show to you the same vision I just gave Samuel, so you can see, too, how Cyrus had already betrayed me and how he would have been our weak link that would have let Krull slay all of us. I need you to trust me 1,000 percent from this moment forward. So, if any of you need assurance, step forward!”

  No one came forward. I guess it was good enough for them to see Samuel do a 180-degree turn.

  I looked at the others. “If any of you question my leadership, then I beg you to leave now. If any of you think for one second that you will be the Judas in the group, then your fate will be like Cyrus’s. This isn’t a threat. This is a statement of fact. We’re dealing with war here! All of our lives are on the line. I will protect all of you, but from here on out, if you’re not with me... then you’re against me and my family. If that sounds harsh, then let it be exactly that. Let these words drive you daily. This isn’t tiddlywinks here. We’re trying to ch
ange all that we are. So, I will ask you now, from here on out: Are you with me?”

  All the men yelled out in confirmation. I looked at my crew, who were standing to the side. I stared at Yari, Wyatt, Sion, Tommy, Yomaida and Hector. “Are you with me?”

  They all yelled, “Yes,” in confirmation.

  I turned back to the men in formation and said, “I say this now. I have seen the future. Our time to fight for what we hold dear is near. Krull’s army operates in fear. That can be effective. But we are going to operate in something far greater. We will operate in trust and in hope. Mainly, we will operate in love. Every one of us is prepared to die. Not just for me, but for each other.”

  Then I yelled out our army cry: “ONE LOVE!”

  Then everyone, including my friends yelled back to me, “ONE LOVE!”

  Lastly, I said to everyone: “We are ‘one’ from here on out. This is each of our callings. This is each of our destinies!”

  Then I did something I have never done. I walked up to each man and embraced him individually. After we embrace, I place my hand over their heart and I assured them individually that I would lay my life for him at any given moment.

  We might have been small. But we were strong.

  Chapter Twenty-one

  I thought about removing my kids and Lena from the house. Especially, now that I knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that Krull knew where we lived. But I stayed put for the time being. He had avoided my family and I was confident it would stay that way.

  One thing was on my mind, however, that didn’t have to do with my sons. I hadn’t shared with anyone the secret about my ability to turn into a werewolf. I had asked all people who were there that night to keep that information to themselves. I had a lot of questions about it, but I had far too many responsibilities to be worrying about it. Especially just days after my sons were born. I had a fierce sense of parental protection.

  This thing was now inside me and I needed to control it. The full moon was going to be here in a couple of weeks and I needed to let Tommy in on the secret. That I was both a vampire and a werewolf.

  I slipped away to Tommy’s bedroom downstairs. Yomaida and he moved back in there since Donya went to go live with Atticai. They seemed to really be happy. They might have even been in love. Which was bizarre for me, considering the circumstances I met her in.

  “Hey Tom, Let’s go for a walk,” I said as I peeked my head into his room. Tommy and Yomaida were lying on his bed watching Chelsea Lately. Tommy loves that show. He has a thing where he doesn’t think women comedians are funny, but thinks Chelsea Handler is hilarious.

  It was 11:00 p.m. and it was a nice night to go on a moonlit walk with my bro, and Tommy never missed a beat nor a chance to make a joke. “Can we take a hayride when we’re done and spoon in the moonlight?”

  “Sure, dude,” I said. “I just need to talk to you about a couple of things.”

  “Just remember it takes a lot more than a moonlit walk and a hayride to get into my pants.”

  “No, it doesn’t,” I said.

  Yomaida laughed. She said, “All it takes is for you to be awake, and even then, you find a way to cop a feel, even if you’re sleeping.”

  “Trust me, Yomaida. He’s not sleeping. He’s doing the see if you’re awake by massaging your tender parts move. It’s vintage Tommy. Page five of his dating handbook.”

  “Wow, there’s a whole technique devoted to it and a book to go with it. Here, I was thinking he had wandering, sleeping hands.”

  “Don’t give away all my secrets, Josiah. You’re making it hard for pimp to do his pimping.” Tommy got up and put on a pair of sandals.

  “I’ll have him back before midnight,” I said to Yomaida. Tommy and I left the room and eventually made our way outside. There was a nice walking trail that is a good mile that wraps around the house. So, that’s what we did. We began hiking the trail.

  “So, what’s the word, turd?” Tommy asked.

  “What’s up?” I said. “It’s been awhile since we have talked.”

  “You have been a little busy.”

  “That I have.”

  “I know you didn’t call me out here to go over pleasantries. So, what’s up?”

  I exhaled and said, “Something happened that night when we saved Donya from the prison camp. It wasn’t exactly a smooth transaction.”

  “Oh, really? Did it get messy?”

  “We did what we had to do as far as terminating guards that were in our way, but something else happened out there. It was weird even for me.”

  “Okay, then what are we talking about here? Define weird?”

  I looked at Tommy and grinned. I decided to transition for only the second time, ever, into a werewolf and show him what I was talking about. I actually wasn’t used to it, so I closed my eyes and concentrated. Suddenly my eye level changed and I had quickly turned into the white wolf.

  “Holy fuck! Are you kidding me?” Tommy gasped.

  I transitioned back to my Mani form. “I got attacked by a werewolf and he bit me during Donya’s rescue.”

  “Where was there a fucking werewolf?”

  “He was one of the guards that refused to die.”

  “You have got to be kidding me? That’s all we need is for terrorists to be immortal.”

  “He wasn’t immortal for too long. I disposed of him rather quickly.”

  “Not that quickly. He bit you and turned you into a Carni.”

  “That’s what I’m not sure about. I had never been in the predicament I was in. I’m not sure if I always had the ability to turn into a werewolf and didn’t know it, or if the situation just called for it. I was in a tiny hallway and I could turn into an eagle. After a while, I had no choice because the werewolf was smothering me with his body in the cellblock hallway.”

  “And you just transitioned.”

  “Yep.”

  “Into a werewolf?”

  “Yep.”

  “You did say he bit you right before it happened?”

  “Yes, he did.”

  “That’s interesting. You’re obviously still a Mani because you’ve been flying around.”

  “I’m still as much Mani as I ever been. I guess, in reality, I am now Mani, human and now Carni.”

  “Just thinking about it makes my head spin.” Tommy stared at me with disbelief. “It’s like your DNA got thrown in a blender with a bunch of other weird creatures. I wonder if there are more?”

  “What?” I asked. I didn’t like him looking at me like I was a freak show.

  “I’m just blown away by what has happened to you over the past two years.”

  “You’re telling me. You know, I never asked for any of this.”

  “Maybe not. But the Triat sure as hell is giving you a message.”

  “What message is that?”

  “That your calling is near. They are making you as strong as you can be.”

  “I guess so.”

  Tommy stared at me with a puzzled look and said, “So you have known about this for a month and now you finally tell me?”

  “To be honest, I have been so busy with the kids and that whole thing with Donya, I almost forgot about it.”

  “So, what now?” Tommy asked.

  “Starting tomorrow, I want you to train me as a werewolf. I noticed there are times you’d rather fight as a man and then there are times you prefer to be the wolf. I want to have those same instincts and decision-making skills.”

  Tommy looked at me and said, “I wonder if we can communicate in reverse.”

  “Huh?”

  “I can communicate with you when I am the werewolf. I wonder if you can communicate with me when you are one.”

  “I guess there is only one way to find out.” I transitioned into the white wolf again. I looked at Tommy and thought, ‘You are such a tool.’

  Tommy looked at me and sent me a telepathic message: “A tool, huh? Well you drive a pickle wagon on the way to your job at the meat factory.”


  I transitioned back. “We are bonded for life, brother.”

  “That we are.”

  Chapter Twenty-two

  The next month was all about two things; fatherhood and friendship. Twins were rough. We no longer had the team of nurses looking after them, but we did have a nanny who should have her own reality T.V. show. She was the real Superdupernanny. Her name was Linda, and she knew babies like I knew fighting. Speaking of which, there was a brotherhood unlike anything I had ever experienced among my friends and army. Love and togetherness was in the air. My days were made up of feeding, changing diapers, and rocking my two boys to sleep. And…my nights were dedicated to training my troops. My job was to make every man as skilled a fighter as Tommy and I.

  Speaking of Tommy, he and I worked and worked on my werewolf abilities when no one was around. I was hesitant to tell too many people about my new gift. I hadn’t even shared it with Lena yet.

  It was nice knowing that my kids were in excellent hands. Lena was turning out to be a remarkable mother in her own right. She had incredible instincts when it came to the boys. I noticed something right off the bat. She treated Jason a little more gently than she did Joshua. It was hard not to treat the kid like a delicate figurine in a glass menagerie. I had to go out of my way not to look at him as this little mini demigod. I know that’s sacrilegious, but this kid healed both his parents less than an hour after he was born. Jason was always smiling and giggling, and seemed to be the perfect baby. Joshua, on the other hand, was a little pill. I love the kid, but he was grumpier than Tommy is with a hangover after a night of partying.

  I still had my engagement ring in my front pocket at all times. Each day I had secretly put it in my new set of clothes. I didn’t want Lena to find it, and the best way to do so was to keep it on me.

  Our love life had gotten back to normal. That was an exceptionally awesome added bonus to my life because I had a strong appetite for love, to put it most respectively. Our love, however, was about to take a turn. I had put together a sensational night to pop the question to Lena.