Melodies of Blood I

by Alonso, Maialen; J. Garza, Annie;

  “I’ll go, but leave these people alone,” Meryl suddenly pleaded to her brother. He nodded in agreement and motioned to his men. They were preparing to leave.

  Edel grabbed Meryl quickly without giving the group time to react, and all the vampires jumped into the shelter of the forest leaving the rebels completely dumbfounded. Caleb fell to his knees and hit the ground in anger. He could even feel a strange crackling coming out of his angry eyes.

  “Caleb, take it easy. We’ll do something to fix this,” whispered Alexander, distressed by the events as he rested a hand on the shoulder of his best friend.

  “True, this is not over. In fact, it has just started,” Legrant added.

  The people who were there whispered. They did not want to leave things like that. It was like suffering a direct defeat, a slap in the face, and there was also the fact that Meryl was a beloved symbol for all of them. Proof that a wonderful past really existed. That past on which they had been lied about, and now she was the energy that moved the mechanism of freedom. Without stopping to rest and full of renewed energy, Legrant set out to organize the rebels who were still alive.

  “First, we must move from our position, and split up into several groups. Our number is too large and will call too much attention if we’re together,” he began to tell his closest men.

  “Don’t rush,” added Caleb regaining his composure. “Don’t separate that could be fatal.”

  “Then what should we do?”

  “Place all of your people in and around my city.”

  “But that’s dangerous. It could be taken as an offense.”

  “That’s exactly what it is. My city is mine; no one has power there but me. I know you think it is under the command of Amadeus, but it is not. His condition has been serious for a few months. Now I am in command.”

  The eyes looking at him were full of confusion. Something had happened that everyone didn’t know, and if the status of one of the four leaders was serious. Something big was going to happen soon.

  They had just arrived at the old mansion when Caleb realized that the peace had been completely eliminated, but then he realized it had disappeared much earlier, from the moment Meryl set foot inside the house.

  Legrant, along with Frank and the young Nathan already had a room available. The thousands of people who were part of the revolution were accommodated throughout the city and its surroundings. There were not enough homes for such a large number of people. Caleb decreed the vacant houses would be occupied by any human who could not fight due to any kind of disability, including women, children and the elderly.

  In just a few hours, with the help of Pein, they began to organize an intensive training program because he had noticed that the vast majority of people had no basis for self-defense.

  “This is really good,” Legrant murmured while reading the papers held in his hands. “You are a great strategist.”

  “Though many do not know it Amadeus won nearly all his battles thanks to Caleb,” Alexander added while placing on the old table in the study, cups filled with a thick red liquid.

  “Interesting, it’s certainly something we need to work on. You saw that my guys are very green.”

  “Too green to fight against vampires. We have only one option if we want to have a chance to win,” Caleb said.

  “We need more vampires on our side,” Pein interrupted before Caleb could finish.

  “What vampire in his right mind would help a group of humans?”

  “More than you think, Frank. Especially those who lived in the time before the fall of humanity, and many who feel sympathy for what they once were.”

  Caleb knew, because he had known many vampires during his travels, vampires who had lived during the reign of humanity and now noticed the current shortcomings. They did not like how things were done. They firmly believed that the most affected were they themselves.

  “We will organize several groups. I know exactly where to go. I will give a specific letter to each messenger to take to some acquaintances that support our cause. The most important thing is to keep everything a secret. The longer Epsilon doesn’t know what we are doing the better.”

  “Will you go talk to Amadeus?” Alexander asked quietly.

  “Yes, I need to know what is going on. Come on, Alexander,” Caleb said.

  They left the office and walked down the corridor to the library.

  “We have another problem,” Caleb closed the door.

  “I know. Axel must also be part of all of this.”

  “It makes our suspicions more than just intuition.” He leaned wearily against the wall. “We should have guarded him better. If he was in the lab it was for something.”

  “The problem is finding out what role he plays.”

  “I think it’s time to go to the lab and get all of the information from the computers. It won’t be difficult. I was stupid for not having gone when Meryl found him.”

  “There is no turning back. Even so, beware.”

  The laboratories enjoyed a huge database. It wouldn’t be difficult to find what they wanted. Caleb suspected that the files of classified information would be protected. Yes, he was handy with computers. He had lived through their creation and he could not deny that he liked technology passionately.

  Jeoff was waiting with the car running, because after so many decades with Caleb. He knew him well. As they drove through the streets looking for the exit. They noticed a different environment, something had changed, not only with the arrival of the rebels but also in Caleb. Caleb had always wanted to change that disastrous world but had not had the opportunity until now. Of course, he hated humans. He didn’t like them at all, but he understood that they were not all guilty, and it was inevitable that he see the hungry children and remember his childhood.

  “We’re almost there,” remarked Jeoff interrupting his thoughts. “You need help with the computers?”

  Although Jeoff was a young vampire, as a boy he had shown exceptional abilities. Early on Amadeus had recruited him and taught him things that many people could only dream of, and he had done it with the thought of one day making him a faithful guardian for Caleb.

  “Yes, I want you to find information. Something must have been left behind.”

  “Very well.”

  The building looked older and dilapidated, Jeoff suspected it had sunk further than it already had, and knew it would not last many more weeks without collapsing. Time was urgent. They separated. Caleb followed the directions of his companion in search of the laboratory while Jeoff headed to the offices of the senior officials.

  No one had been there apart from those sleeping and himself. The driver could not help thinking that it was very lucky, because if some outlaw had stayed there surely they would have used all the papers to feed a night fire to warm themselves.

  Before touching anything, Caleb watched the huge room full of dust from the passing decades. The floor no longer shined under their feet.

  Caleb was amazed. The technology was impressive and that computer in front of him had an immense screen, like a cinema screen, it must be unique in the world.

  “It was a base of the alliance,” he murmured. “They were better informed than we thought. How is this possible?”

  Something wasn’t right.

  The energy was too low. Thankfully, they were cautious to bring a generator that Caleb jealously guarded in the mansion.

  The search was slow, boring and without immediate results. He was not sure how many hours had passed since he got down to work, but he began to get tired. Jeoff arrived at the great room and asked Caleb to accompany him. He thought he had found something interesting in a small office.

  Caleb sat in a dirty chair that was leaning to one side. He stared at the screen where the video had stopped. There he saw a young girl of no more than twenty-two years, with blond and ve
ry short hair. He pressed the button to let the video continue.

  “Today we have kidnapped the brother of the girl who we tricked into doing the experiment. I’m new here, but I don’t agree with the position taken by my colleagues. I’ve been asking innocent questions since yesterday and I realized that something is not as it should be, and it’s because all the information we have is firsthand, too accurate. There’s a vampire involved giving us all the information that I myself have processed. I thought I saw in one of the protected files, that it was the same vampire that told us what family had the gene we were looking for. They are the descendants of Agatha; the woman used in the alchemist’s experiments. My suspicions lead me to think that he is using our technology for something. I think he’s an extremely intelligent being, but his resources are limited and he needs us to do his work.”

  Caleb began to fear, he, like the woman, began to make inferences with that information. He closed the video and looked for the next one. She seemed more tired than in the previous video.

  “All my suspicions and deductions have ended up being real. Today I saw the reports and they say there is a vampire, who is on our side. I tried to tell my colleagues that they were making a big mistake, but they laughed at me.”

  The video was interrupted for a few seconds, and during that time, she seemed to hear a noise. They saw how she nervously turned her head toward the door that was behind her.

  “Zero was the first man and apparently the only one who lived through the experiments of the alchemists. We believe that the blood of Agatha was used to create a new race. She was sentenced to death for witchcraft after being accused of having supernatural powers, because she possessed superhuman regeneration. However, when our experiment began to take effect on the boy called George, something happened. His complexion and appearance changed. His skin was almost transparent and you could see every vein in his body. I think the mixture of DNA has caused the opposite effect than the one they sought. He has become a vampire, and they predict that he will be very strong.”

  Again, the video ended and they looked for the next part. It was in a hidden file and protected so it took Caleb more than half an hour to open.

  “It’s been a day since the child was injected. Today, despite having been subjected to an induced coma he has awakened for a few seconds. He looked like a beast. I thought he was going to kill us all, but it was a short awakening because after a moment he fell asleep. I hope he never again opens his eyes.” The screen turned off for a second and then came back on. “We are investigating against the clock, patient one, the sister of the monster. This morning they have begun to attack the entire planet, but if we discover something it will be too late. We are doomed, and that damn vampire has deceived us. He cajoled the government into launching the warheads with the first prototype of the virus, it has been awful. This is the last file in which I leave everything I know. I hope it is someday useful. God have mercy on our souls and forgive our mistakes.”

  There were no more videos. Only documents saved with the results of different experiments. Caleb thought for a few minutes. Everything had been planned by a vampire. That was new information for him. Something he had never suspected, but he knew how to find out more. He should go see Amadeus immediately.

  Melody no.12

  New Leader

  Geoff had the car waiting. Caleb had asked him for a few minutes to go do some checking in the great room. He wanted to make sure of something.

  He searched the files with different names. It took him ten minutes until he found what he wanted.

  “They spent years watching her.” Caleb was infuriated. “So young…”

  Photos of a high school girl filled the screens. It was Meryl as a teenager. Her gaze and expressions were innocent. She had short hair and was dressed very simply. He knew at once that she had been an ordinary girl. He felt like he was getting to know her more by the photos that were taken of her. It was obvious she had been studious and responsible without having any kind of typical teenage experience.

  There were also photos of her brother and some of both of them with their mother. When he was about to leave, he saw an image that both softened and stopped his heart. In front of him appeared a little girl of three years, with round flushed cheeks, big eyes and matted hair. It was a snapshot taken by her mother or father. Caleb felt such disgust thinking of the people who had violated the intimacy that he so jealously guarded for her. That he would have killed them if they were still alive.

  “Let’s go to the mansion,” Caleb ordered upon entering the car. “Then we will go see Amadeus.”

  He had so many things on his mind that for a moment he thought he was going crazy. Someone had acted from the shadows, Amadeus knew it and yet, Caleb had never been told anything. Caleb felt deceived by the man who had been the closest thing to family that he’d had. It was time to ask questions. Amadeus was dying slowly and time was running out.

  One day, while Meryl remained in a deep coma after having been marked. A messenger arrived with an urgent note in which it was explained that Amadeus had fallen ill suddenly and nobody knew why. His condition worsened day by day and all those who knew the situation feared that he would soon die.

  When they reached the entrance of the mansion Jeoff interrupted his thoughts. He warned him that someone had arrived. They could see two luxury cars parked perfectly opposite the main door.

  “Alexander?” Alexander came up to them with a pale face. He seemed to have a cold-sweat. “What?”

  “Your mother is here,” Alexander began, seeing the repulsion on the face of his friend. “She’s not alone. She has brought Amadeus. Caleb, he looks awful. He won’t live beyond today.”

  Caleb squinted slightly and headed towards the house. He went to the main room. His mother sat there with a worried face, accompanied by five other vampires who only looked at Caleb with a sympathetic face.

  For a second Caleb was worried, but then put aside his worries. To get there they tended not to go through the city, because of this they would be safe for now. He knew that had they seen what was really happening they would have said something. They were probably even too worried about Amadeus to realize that in the house there were more people than usual.

  “What happened?” He asked the woman who had birthed him. “Why are you all here?”

  “Caleb, Amadeus won’t live beyond today. He insisted on seeing you. He is in the first room, opposite the stairs.”

  Caleb had no intention of trying to comfort his mother. He turned toward the stairs fearing something unknown, but knowing that if Amadeus had traveled in that state to warn him, it was important. He opened the door and saw him on the bed. Amadeus was a man of great proportions, and physically he was large like a bull. He’d been made a vampire when he was already old and was one of the few vampires who had a beard. Usually, vampires were beardless, himself included.

  He went to the bed without haste. He resented the man who had taught him everything he knew, and yet was unknown until that day and nerves went through his body.

  “Caleb?” Amadeus whispered with the little strength he had. “Come, my son.”

  “I think you have many things to say, but first, how were you poisoned?”

  “I have not told anyone,” Amadeus winced but hid it with a smile, knowing that Caleb would realize it. “I’m almost sure it was Epsilon. I don’t know what he’s plotting, but he’s furious at you.”

  Caleb was not surprised at those words. He had suspected it from the beginning. He sat on the edge of the bed and began to tell Amadeus all about Meryl. Amadeus listened carefully to every word and tried to forget the horrible pain in every millimeter of his body.

  “Everything is connected in one way or another,” Amadeus began. “The vampire you found ...”

  “Axel?”

  “Yes. He works for the first vampire. It is he who organized everything Caleb, but lis
ten, listen to me,” he pleaded.

  “I’m listening.”

  “That man is stronger than anyone. He has always hidden. Trying not to attract attention. He is the man who left your mother pregnant.” Amadeus coughed.

  Caleb opened his mouth, but no words came out of it. He had never felt like this. It was all too strange and confusing, and everything that he had always believed was beginning to crumble.

  “You were born human. You were a very strong boy. Otherwise, you would have died. When I met you,” he continued, with great effort, “I did not know you were his son. Your unusual eyes made me love you instantly like my own son. When he learned this he didn’t react. It is impossible to know whether my actions pleased him or not. Your mother was furious. However, she didn’t try to kill you when she saw that you had been transformed into a vampire, and at that time with you newly turned and weak she could have.”

  “I’m not interested,” Caleb replied trying to separate his emotions after learning that information. “I want to know why you lied to me about the conquest of the humans.”

  “They didn’t leave me any other option. Listen, when we found the lab, that child, your humans’ brother, he wanted him. The boy was strong, almost as much as him, but after the experiment. The dark side of the vampire completely engulfed his humanity and part of his memories. He was a perfect killing machine. You told me he did not kill his sister. I have no answers to this behavior, but I know who may have them. Look for her Caleb. Look for Amanda Weiss.”

  “I will.”

  “Caleb, tell me ...”

  “What?”

  “Did you ever love me like a father?”

  “Always.”

  Caleb’s eyes could not suppress his surprise at the huge smile on the face of Amadeus due to his words. He had made him happy, and Caleb knew Amadeus had been nothing more than another puppet in the games of the man who supposedly was his biological father.