“This is going to be hard for me to tell you and even harder for you all to hear. Since the state of emergency was declared we have all stood witness to some dreadful events and seen things that none of us would have believed possible barely a month ago. More recently there has been something else for us to consider and personally I've tried to block my mind out to the possibility, but I think that we can no longer avoid the truth.”
There were confused expressions amongst the silent listeners as he danced around the subject. He tried to speak as calmly as possible whilst conveying the necessary information authoritatively. How to say what he had to say, though? How to phrase it so as not to sound totally ludicrous when it all still seemed absurd? He had no answers and all he could do was to relay what he knew.
“As you are all aware, a few days ago the six soldiers that went out looking for petrol encountered some strange individuals who rescued them. One of them may then have put Corporal Bannister into some kind of hypnotic trance and bit his neck. At the time this just seemed too fantastical to be true. I mean we all know the myth of vampires, but that’s all it is right? A myth or a fable, but certainly not reality.” He felt a wave of giddiness sweep over him as he spoke. It all just seemed so unreal, so entirely farfetched. It was as though he was watching someone else talking, and personally he could not believe a word this person was saying. He leant on a chair to steady himself, took a breath and continued.
“Well, Corporal Charlotte Collins was visited by one of these individuals whilst she was on guard. He introduced himself to her as Sebastian and they spoke at some length. He claims that he is indeed a vampire.” There were more gasps but this time he did not need to request silence as the chatter stopped immediately.
“He apparently said that he comes from a clan of vampires, and he told her quite a bit about his life. Tonight he returned. Group Captain Denny also had an encounter with him and would corroborate that he did indeed seem to be what one would think of as a vampire. Shortly after this Millington was attacked by someone and killed, right here in the dining room. A few of us caught a glimpse of one of the attackers. I don’t really know what a vampire is supposed to look like other than what we all know from films, but he did not seem to be a regular human…” He trailed off as he fought for the words to explain himself. “Then moments later both Hanson and Howes were also attacked and killed in the medical centre. All three had their throats torn out. These at least are the facts, as I know them. Whilst this is far from conclusive evidence, whatever it was that has caused these deaths is clearly something out of the ordinary.
“I am so sorry to be the bearer of such sad tidings.” He felt as though he should try to offer some words of comfort and consolation but none were forthcoming and he tried to put on a stony face. “At the moment it’s just not safe to have anyone staying anywhere else on base other than right here. So I’m afraid you’re all going to have to spend the rest of the night here.”
He paused for a moment and rubbed his arms. He felt a chill and shivered. There was a sob from the audience and he noticed Pethard with his arm still around Masters.
“I’m afraid that’s not all,” Lewis continued, swallowing hard. “I have one last piece of truly dreadful news. After the attacks on Hanson and Howes it seems that the intruders, whoever they were, whatever they were, have abducted Vida. I can only hope and pray that she is still alive.”
The most pitiful voice now piped up. It was Senior Aircraftman Masters; he looked directly at Lewis, boring into him with his red-rimmed eyes in desperation.
“Please, she’s still alive, I know it. You’ve got to find her, please…”
Lewis felt totally powerless, but knew that an assurance was needed from him. However, when he could not even guarantee to keep them all alive from one day to the next with any degree of certainty, what good were his promises? When these ‘vampires’ could effortlessly steal into the base and cause such carnage, how could he possibly think that they could exact any measure of revenge? And how could he even begin to hope that they could rescue Vida? With the diseased, at least they stood a chance of surviving, as long as they followed strict operating procedures and had a large amount of luck on their side. With these vampires however, they were totally out of their depth. Nevertheless, he knew that he had to make that promise anyway. None of them could go on much longer without at least the slenderest fragment of hope. That was all they had to cling to. Without it they could all so easily go under at any moment.
“Of course we will,” he said, trying to sound confident, controlling his voice in case it wavered and revealed his lie. “We’ll do everything we can to find her and get her back. As soon as it’s light we’ll venture out. We’ll track them down and we’ll bring your Vida home. I can promise you that, although…” he trailed off into silence, unwilling to give volume to his doubts.
Denny butted in abruptly and finished off for him. “Where is she? Where have they taken her?”
There was silence for a moment which promised to suffocate Lewis as he stood in front of them all, laid bare. He was out of answers and could offer nothing, acting as their leader but he felt like a charlatan. He was certain that they could all see through his mask of confidence; see that, like them, he was at the end of his tether, a nervous wreck, fraught and entirely exhausted. His pretence of strength and guidance could surely not last much longer. He felt that at any moment his descent might accelerate and he might just follow Denny, over the edge.
“They should never have got onto the base in the first place,” Denny said angrily, and it seemed to Lewis as though there was a note of accusation aimed directly at him. “We'll never find her. We don’t know where they are, nor the faintest clue where to start looking for them.”
Collins sat alone at the back feeling wretched. She felt a certain amount of blame for her part in the tragedy, as though her connection with Sebastian had made her complicit to the killings. The confusing tumult of emotions going on inside her distanced her from Wood and made her feel duplicitous. It was obvious to her, as to everyone, that they barely stood a chance of finding or rescuing Vida, just as they were hardly holding it together as a cohesive unit. They had all struggled and tried their damnedest to keep things going, but they were all running out of energy. The effort of living was just too hard, yet still they had to try and prevail. For the remote chance of creating a cure, they had to survive. Death was just not an option.
She knew that she had to speak up but was reluctant to draw any more attention to herself. She did not want the spotlight of guilt to once again illuminate her and highlight the blood on her own hands. However, having watched Captain Lewis speak so calmly and bravely on such a devastating topic, offering them all a rock of leadership to lean against, unwavering support and strength in times of such adversity, how could she now baulk at her duty and not share her knowledge?
“Yes we do.”
The still night air was torn by the anguished wails of Masters, and Collin’s voice went unnoticed at first. Hesitantly and reluctantly she repeated herself.
“We do know where they are.”
“What?” Lewis asked in surprise.
All eyes were on her and she shrank back into the comforting shadows, almost ruing having spoken.
“Where? How do you know?”
“Sebastian mentioned something when he was talking with me,” she stammered, apologetically. “He didn’t exactly say where they lived but he did mention that they had taken temporary refuge in a Roman Catholic church, somewhere in Bishop’s Stortford. I can’t imagine there will be too many of them so all we’d need to do is check each one out and I guess we’ll find her.”
She caught a look on Bannister’s face. He nodded briefly, and for a moment there was no surprise in his eyes at this revelation, almost as though he already knew.
At last, the slightest glimmer of good news. A ripple went through the group, a communal sigh of hope. The news of three deaths on base was yet another unimaginable trage
dy. Finding Vida would never assuage that, but at least they now had a goal, something to distract them from their despair. The fact that they might just know where to begin gave them a seedling of hope and something to unite them in a common cause. It seemed that sometimes, when everything around them was utterly forsaken, hope was all they had to drag them through another day. It seemed to Lewis to be what they needed right now - something to stop them just breaking down and giving up. In reality however, it was anything but what they really needed. They should have been running and hiding. They should have been praying for salvation. They should have been fleeing from the danger and protecting what was left of this diminishing pool of survivors, not planning a foolhardy mission of liberation and vengeance. But what else could they do? And how were they possibly to know?
The pitiable voice of Masters sounded once more above the buzz, a single, wretched word, binding them all, engaging them in their shared purpose and spurring them on to their potential doom.
“Please…”
END OF BOOK TWO
-------------------------------------------------------------
Due for publication in time for Halloween 2016
“Twice Bitten, Twice Die”
Book three from ‘The Blood of the Infected’ series.
When there’s no one left to hear you scream…
“Twice Bitten, Twice Die”
Deaths amongst the survivors are occurring at an unsustainable rate. Numbers are rapidly dwindling and morale is plummeting. Soon they will be beyond salvation, yet their real task has only just begun. But will anyone remain alive to complete it? Nothing could have prepared the soldiers for what lies ahead. If they thought things were brutal already, they had absolutely no idea…
The vampires are in disarray. Their relationships are becoming blurred, confused and violent. A titanic clash between soldiers and vampires is imminent but no one’s survival is certain.
In a world where life is unpredictable, the threat from the infected suddenly becomes even more unexpected and menacing in a way nobody, human or vampire, could ever have predicted. Hostilities are inevitable, only one thing is certain - there will be blood!
For info on all three books: http://oncebittentwice.com/
----------------------------------------
Connect with the Author
I can’t thank you enough for taking the time to read “Once Bitten, Twice Live”. I hope you enjoyed it. The book is also available in paperback.
The names of characters in this book were inspired by friends and family. If you would like to win a competition to have a character named after you in book 3, "Twice Bitten, Twice Die", then please email me a photo of you reading this book #2, by 01 Oct '16 (the photo may possibly be used for marketing). One winner will have a vampire or survivor named after them in book #3, due for publication in time for Halloween 2016, forever to be immortalized in these pages, along with my friends and family. Email address below.
As before, if you enjoyed this book please do consider telling your friends, and if you’d be kind enough to post a short review on your book retailer’s website I’d be eternally grateful. Word-of-mouth referrals are, after all, an author’s best friend and hugely appreciated. Many thanks. Also, please do feel free to contact me with comments or feedback:
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://oncebittentwice.com/
Or Twitter: ajsobtd1
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ajsobtd
Instagram: OnceBittenTwiceDie
Goodreads
Smashwords
Wattpad
Many thanks.
-------------------------------------------
Acknowledgements
Again, my thanks go to Ric Mayoh of www.PlaneTalking.com for excellent web design and marketing expertise and to all those who have been supportive. Hugely appreciated.
---------------------------------------------
The Blood of the Infected (Book 2): Once Bitten, Twice Live Page 25
