by Brandon Hale
“About Leo.”
Lily quietly chuckled. “You don’t pull punches, do you.”
“Not usually.”
“Yeah,” Lily said. “About Leo. Your dad raises some disturbing questions.”
“You didn’t do anything wrong,” Ellie said. “Even if he wasn’t technically evil, you did the right thing.”
“I think so too,” Lily said. “There was no way to know what he was. The only vamps we’d dealt with were the bald monsters.”
“That’s not what I mean,” Ellie said. “I’m saying, even if Leo wasn’t evil, you did the right thing by killing him.”
“Not sure I’m following you,” Lily said.
“I think it’s worse that they’re still in there,” Ellie explained. “If my dad is dead and some monster has taken over his body, I can just kill the monster and move on. But the thought that my dad is now trapped in a body where he has to feed on human blood to live is something I’m struggling with. I know if he’d have seen this coming when he was still human, he would’ve asked us to kill him.”
“I see your point,” Lily said.
“If I’m being totally honest,” Ellie said, “I kinda wish you’d have killed him when he first showed up at my house. At least then, he’d have peace. Now, I don’t think he’ll ever have peace again.”
“That’s depressing,” Lily said.
“Tell me about it,” Ellie said with a nod.
“We have guests,” a serpentine voice said from somewhere above them.
Ellie looked up just in time to see a faint white figure scurry across the ceiling and disappear into the shadows. “Shit,” she whispered.
“Why don’t you come on out and say hi,” Lily said.
“Oh, we definitely shall,” the voice said.
“I don’t get the ‘shall’ stuff,” Lily said. “Nobody says ‘shall’ anymore. What is it about being a vampire that compels you to use old words like that?”
Ellie was startled by the sudden shift in Lily’s voice. The instant the vampire had made itself known, Lily became stronger. More confident. She became the Lily Baxter that people talked about when they told stories of the war.
“This really is your element, isn’t it,” Ellie said.
“It really is,” Lily said with a smile.
A vampire dropped to the ground in front of them. It smiled a hideous smile. “Who’s first?”
“Me!” Lily said.
She lightly smacked the vampire in the face.
The creature fell to the floor, dead.
“Hey!” Ellie said. “I thought this was supposed to be a training opportunity for me.”
“That’s the secondary goal,” Lily said. “The primary goal was to test my abilities.”
Ellie looked at the body of the dead creature. “Looks like that test is done. Can I kill something now?”
“You can have the next one,” Lily said. “I promise.”
Movement on the cave’s ceiling caught Ellie’s eye. “What about the next twenty?”
Lily looked up and smiled. “This is gonna be fun.”
At least a dozen vampires were now clinging to the ceiling, looking down at them.
“Why don’t you come on down?” Lily said. “Join the fun.”
“What are you?” one of the vampires asked.
“I don’t know how old you are,” Lily said, “but do you remember the world before the war, back when you still lurked in the shadows? You were the monsters we feared when we were home alone in the middle of the night. Well, I am to your world what you used to be to ours.”
“Did you just come up with that off the top of your head?” Ellie asked.
“Nah,” Lily said. “I came up with it a few months ago and memorized it. You like it?”
“Totally,” Ellie said. “Very cool.”
A vampire dropped from the ceiling, landing directly on top of Ellie. As they both hit the floor of the cave, Ellie’s stake flew from her hand.
The vampire immediately sank its teeth into Ellie’s neck.
Ellie fought desperately, but couldn’t get the creature off. The pain from the needles in her neck was nearly unbearable.
“I could use some help here!” she screamed.
“You have other stakes,” Lily said.
Ellie’s hand fumbled along her leg until she found the stake attached to her right boot. She quickly drew the stake and stabbed toward the vampire’s chest.
The creature screamed and jumped back several feet. It had a wound just below its ribcage.
“You missed the heart,” Lily said calmly.
“Only once,” Ellie said as she sprang toward the vampire. The second attack was a direct hit. The vampire fell against the wall, then slid to the ground.
Ellie touched the wound on her neck, then looked at the blood on her fingers. She quickly pulled a piece of cloth from one of her belt’s pouches and tied it around her neck. She looked at Lily. “What the hell!”
“Hey,” Lily said with a shrug, “you said you wanted to train.”
“That’s not training,” Ellie snapped. “That was just mean.”
“It’s about to get a lot meaner,” Lily said, pointing toward the ceiling. “I think they smell your blood.”
Two more vampires dropped from the ceiling, each grabbing one of Ellie’s arms. Ellie managed to pull her right arm free and sunk her stake into the vampire’s chest. The other vampire let go and sprang back to the ceiling.
“Why aren’t they all coming?” Ellie asked through gasping breaths.
“They’re trying to get you to the ceiling,” Lily said. “They want to get you away from me.”
“Can I use my gun now?” Ellie said.
Lily smiled. “I’m thinking no. Let’s stick with the stakes.”
“Why?” Ellie argued. “They’re telepathic. All of them know we’re here by now.”
“Yeah,” Lily said. “Still, let’s stick with the stakes.”
“You’re not brave,” Ellie said. “You’re insane.”
Three vampires dropped from the ceiling. Two grabbed Ellie’s arms again while the third snatched the stake from her hand.
Lily stepped forward and threw three quick punches. The vampires fell to the floor, immediately dead. “Shame on you for needing my help that time. You totally could’ve handled them.”
“Without my guns,” Ellie said as she picked up her stake, “I’d love to know how I could’ve handled them!”
“Good question,” was all Lily said.
Ellie looked at the ceiling. The vampires were gone. “Where’d they go?”
“Most likely,” Lily said, “they’re coming up with a new plan. My guess is they’ll be coming from a side tunnel any second now.”
“Really,” Ellie said, “I appreciate that you’re trying to teach me some lesson right now, but I sincerely think we need to use our guns. I mean, this is exactly the kind of situation Grung had in mind when he designed them.”
“If you want to go against my advice, that’s your choice,” Lily said. “Better decide now, though, because there’s a vamp coming out of the tunnel behind you.”
Ellie spun around just in time to see five vampires rushing toward her. Two of them grabbed her legs and yanked them toward the darkness. She slammed the ground hard as they dragged her toward a large crevice in the wall.
Lily leapt over Ellie and quickly killed all five vampires.
“Really,” Lily said, “I’m disappointed in you, Ellie. You’re not acting like a soldier at all. You’re acting like a damsel in distress.”
“Screw you,” Ellie grumbled as she climbed to her feet. “This is all because of your stupid ‘no gun’ rule.”
Lily took Ellie’s hand and helped her to her feet. “I hope they don’t succeed in separating us. If they do, you’re screwed.”
A vampire stepped from a crevice to Lily’s right. He carried a rock about the size of a bowling ball. “You’re smart,” he said.
The vampire thr
ew the rock at Lily’s feet.
Ellie watched as Lily easily avoided the rock by jumping straight up. The rock crashed through the floor, leaving a large hole in its place.
In that split second, Ellie understood the vampires’ plan. Her heart sank as she realized the vampires were just a little bit smarter than she’d assumed.
They were standing over another cave.
Ellie watched in horror as Lily came back down and was sucked into the darkness below. As soon as Lily was gone, the vampires poured from the shadows.
Ellie drew her gun.
***
Lily fell about ten feet then slammed into the dirt floor of the lower cave. Ignoring the pain from the fall, she sprang to her feet and pulled the second flashlight from her belt. Above her, she heard gunshots.
She looked at the hole in the ceiling and quickly determined it was out of reach. She tapped her communicator and hoped Ellie’s was still attached to her ear. “Ellie, talk to me. At least let me know you’re there.”
“Get your ass back up here!” Ellie yelled between shots.
“Working on it,” Lily said as she scanned the cave around her. She eventually spotted a small opening on the opposite side of the cave. It was small, but Lily felt sure she could squeeze through.
With her flashlight in her mouth, Lily worked her way into the opening. Once past the entrance, the crevice didn’t widen at all. Lily’s progress was slow. Several times, she had to backtrack until she found a corner wide enough to allow her to turn around and try another direction.
It was all guesswork. She knew she wasn’t far from the cave entrance because they hadn’t traveled far to begin with, but she also knew she was now below the entrance. This made things a bit more complicated.
After several eternal minutes of wandering, Lily turned off her flashlight. She was immediately bathed in complete darkness. With blind eyes, she looked in all directions.
Then she saw it.
I tiny sliver of light up ahead.
In the darkness, Lily inched toward the light. When she got to it, she saw that it was actually coming from above. She looked up and saw what looked to be moonlight filtering into the cave.
She turned on the flashlight and examined the roof. There was a small hole in the ceiling. It wouldn’t be easy, but Lily felt confident she could climb it.
With her back against one wall and her feet pressed against the other, she began to climb. After several minutes, she reached the light. The hole was only a couple inches in diameter, but it was definitely moonlight shining through.
She was at the surface.
“Ellie,” she said into her mic, “you still kicking?”
“Get the hell up here!” Ellie screamed.
“Working on it,” Lily said. “Stay alive.”
She turned off the mic and looked at the tiny hole. “Okay,” she said to herself, “how do I make that hole bigger?”
Her question quickly became moot as a large, hairy hand burst through the ceiling, grabbed her arm, and jerked her up through the hole. She burst into the moonlight and was dragged to the ground just beside the hole. When the hand finally released its grip, she climbed to her feet and looked around.
“Shit.”
She was surrounded by werewolves, but they were nothing like the werewolves she’d fought alongside during the war. These things were animals. They were giant wolves. Lily saw almost no trace of humanity in the creatures standing before her.
They walked on all fours, but even in that position, most of them stood taller than a human. The only hint of humanity Lily could see was that their front paws still had a basic human shape. Other than that, these things were simply monstrous over-sized wolves.
Lily quickly counted nine wolves, but she was fairly sure more hid in the woods around her. A large black wolf approached her.
“Look,” Lily said as the wolf began to circle her, “I know I’m not supposed to be here, but we’re just here to help you clear out some vampires.”
The wolf stopped in front of her, its snout inches from her face. Lily knew there was no way she could draw her tranq-gun in time to defend herself.
“Seriously, guys,” Lily went on, “my friend is in danger. Let me help her then we’ll leave. We’ll never come back, I promise.”
The wolf snarled as saliva dripped from its lower jaw.
“Shit,” Lily said again.
***
Ellie was amazed she was still alive. She’d already killed at least ten vampires, but they just kept coming. For the past several minutes, she had frantically fought her way toward the cave’s exit. Cut, bitten, and bruised, she could finally see the moonlight filtering in from somewhere ahead.
Flashlight firmly between her teeth, she shot two more vamps dead and jumped over their bodies, sprinting toward the exit.
As she made it to the final room, she tapped her communicator. “Let me just say, none of this would have happened if you had let me use the damn gun from the start!”
No answer.
With the entrance directly ahead, Ellie looked back and saw several vampires behind her. For some reason, they had stopped their pursuit.
And in that moment, something changed inside Ellie. Something just… clicked. As Ellie looked at the hesitating vampires, she understood what it meant to be a Day Soldier. She understood that a Day Soldier was more than just a protector. A Day Soldier was more than a guardian. In that instant, Ellie understood that at the end of the day, a Day Soldier had one job.
Kill vampires.
Ellie smiled.
Odds be damned.
“What’s wrong, boys?” she asked. “Afraid to face me in the open?”
“No,” one of the vampires said. “We certainly don’t fear you.”
“Then come and get me,” Ellie taunted. “What’s stopping you?”
The vampire pointed toward the mouth of the cave. “Them.”
Ellie turned around just in time to see a giant wolf sprinting toward her.
“Ellie, drop!” Lily’s voice screamed from Ellie’s earpiece.
Ellie dropped to the ground as several wolves leapt over her. From the ground, she looked toward the vampires and watched with dark satisfaction as the werewolves ripped them apart.
“Get up.”
Ellie looked up to see Lily standing above her.
“You found reinforcements,” Ellie said as she climbed to her feet.
“Yeah,” Lily said, “but not for long. Grab a stake. The wolves can only do so much.”
As they walked toward the carnage, Lily said, “You made it to the exit. Why’d you stop and turn around?”
“We came here to kill vampires,” Ellie said. “I was just finishing what we started.”
Lily laughed. “You’re learning, kid.”
***
Two hours later, Ellie and Lily stepped from the woods to the road that led to the Day Soldiers outpost. A wolf stood behind them.
Lily looked at the giant beast and said, “Thank you.”
The wolf stood on two legs and transformed into something that was only slightly more human. The thing before them obviously hadn’t taken a human form in a very long time. Maybe years.
“You were here to kill vampires,” it growled through pointed teeth. “We’ve been hunting them for years, but they always manage to scramble into places we cannot reach.”
“I’m glad we were able to draw them out for you,” Lily said. “There may be a few stragglers, but I think your forest is more or less clean.”
“Know this, Day Soldier,” the wolf said. “The only reason you’re alive is because you helped us.”
“I understand,” Lily said.
“I’m not sure you do,” the wolf said. “By entering our territory, you betrayed our pact. We had the right to kill you. We should have killed you.”
Lily nodded. “Thank you for sparing us. You’ll never see us again. I promise.”
“Keep that promise, soldier,” the wolf snarled. “If yo
u enter these woods again, we will feast on your flesh.”
“We understand,” Lily said.
A moment later, the werewolf was gone.
“That guy was intense,” Ellie said.
“We’re lucky to be alive,” Lily said.
They began their walk to the outpost.
After a few minutes of silence, Ellie said, “Okay, I gotta ask. Why didn’t you want me to use my gun? I almost died back there, Lily.”
Lily shook her head. “I’m disappointed.”
“Disappointed in me?” Ellie asked.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because you still don’t get it,” Lily said. “I wanted you to use the gun.”
“You’re right,” Ellie said. “I don’t get it.”
Lily stopped walking and pointed toward the surrounding woods. “There are vampires in those woods. And werewolves.”
“Okay,” Ellie said.
“When you’re out there,” Lily continued, “you’re in charge. You. Nobody else. You’re the one facing death.”
“You’re saying I should’ve disobeyed your orders,” Ellie said.
“Absolutely,” Lily said. “Did my orders make any sense?”
“No,” Ellie said.
“Then why the hell did you follow them?”
“I’m not sure,” Ellie said. “I guess I just assumed you knew something I didn’t.”
“So tell me,” Lily said. “What could I have possibly known that would have made those orders make sense?”
Ellie shrugged. “I dunno. Nothing I guess.”
Lily started walking again. Ellie followed.
“Orders are important,” Lily said. “They really are. But your instincts are more important. If you’re in the field and your instincts are screaming for you to disobey orders…”
“I should disobey orders,” Ellie finished.
“Yes,” Lily said. “Every damn time.”
Ellie thought for a few seconds, then said, “But what if I’m wrong?”
“Don’t be wrong,” Lily said. “Problem solved.”
After a few more minutes of walking, Ellie said, “So did you find whatever it was you came for?”
“Not really,” Lily said. “Truth is, I don’t even know why I came. I guess it was just to clear my mind.”
