by Brandon Hale
“They drink blood,” Scott said.
Isaac nodded.
“Travis led us here,” Lily said. “He wanted us to see this.”
“Why?” Scott asked. “This is good news. Topians are more like us than we thought. That kind of works against Travis’s plan.”
“Are you kidding?” Lily shot back. “Scott, this changes everything.”
“I agree,” Scott said. “It changes things for the better.”
“Oh my God, man,” Lily said. “Do you seriously not understand what this means?”
“I know I don’t understand,” Isaac interjected. “I really thought you’d see this as a good thing.”
Lily shook her head, then turned to one of Isaac’s men. “The note Travis left me at the end of the hall. What did it say?”
The Topian looked at Isaac.
“It’s okay,” Isaac said. “You can tell her.”
“It said, ‘Go home,’” the Topian answered.
Ellie placed a hand on Lily’s shoulder. “What’s wrong?”
Lily stood quietly for several long seconds. Finally, she said, “I’m leaving. I shouldn’t have come.”
“Hold on,” Grung said. “You can’t just leave us here without a ride home.”
“We planned to stay here for a week anyway,” Lily said. “The plane will be back by the time you’re ready to go.”
“No way,” Scott said.
“Scott, I’m leaving,” Lily said. “You guys can do what you want, but I’m not staying here.”
“This meeting is very important,” Scott said. “We can’t just bail.”
“Then don’t,” Lily said. “I’m out.” She started toward the door.
“Please,” Isaac said, “go to the meeting tonight, then go home. I wasn’t given permission to show you these things. I showed you because I felt I had no choice, but if you leave because of it, I’ll be demoted.”
“Tell them I left because of Travis,” Lily said.
“I will not lie to my commanders,” Isaac said.
“Well, good for you,” Lily said. “Look, I think you’re a good guy. I’m sorry about this, but I cannot stay here. I’ll make things worse for everybody. Trust me on this.”
“At least let my men escort you to your plane,” Isaac said.
“I know the way,” Lily said. “I’d really prefer to be alone.”
“I’m sorry, Miss Baxter,” Isaac said. “I cannot let you wander into the city without an escort.”
“Whatever,” Lily said. She looked at Scott. “Be careful, Scott. These people are dangerous, whether they know it or not.”
With that, she left the apartment.
Scott looked at Isaac. “Can you keep your men back for a few minutes? I’d like to talk to her alone.”
Isaac nodded. “Of course. Just stay where we can see you.”
***
“Lily, wait!”
Lily stopped in the hallway and turned around. “You’re not talking me out of this, Scott.”
“I’m not trying to talk you out of anything,” Scott said as he jogged up to her. “I just wanna know why you’re acting like the world’s about to end.”
“Because it is,” Lily said.
“Stop being vague,” Scott snapped. “This isn’t the time. If you saw something in there, tell me.”
“What the hell is wrong with you?” Lily asked. “Do you seriously not understand what that baby means?”
“What does it mean?”
“It’s the end of humanity,” Lily said. “We’re over, Scott. We lost. That baby marks the beginning of the end of our time on this planet.”
“You’re not making sense.”
“They don’t need us to reproduce,” Lily said. “Humanity is now a food source and nothing more. We’re vessels that carry their blood for them. Other than that, they don’t need us at all.”
“That’s a pretty big reason to keep humans around,” Scott said.
“For how long?” Lily asked. “Look at this city. They built this in less than two decades. How long do you think it’ll be before they create artificial blood? And when that happens, what do you think will happen to us?”
“They’ll leave us alone,” Scott said.
Lily laughed. “If history has taught us anything, it’s that this world isn’t big enough for two dominant species. When the Topians no longer need humanity, they’ll eventually need the land under humanity’s feet.”
“I think you’re being pessimistic here,” Scott said.
“The people in charge know,” Lily said. “That’s why they invited us. They wanted to show us it’s over. They wanted to show us we lost.”
“Lily…”
“Stop it, Scott,” Lily said. “You’re not going to change my mind. And frankly, I’m horrified that you don’t agree. Just look at the design of this city. Humans are separated from Topians. Why do you think that is?”
“I didn’t give it much thought,” Scott admitted.
“It’s so the Topians don’t develop emotional bonds with humans,” Lily said. “It’s so they don’t give names to the cows in the pasture. And now that they don’t need us to make more Topians, that’s all we are. We’re livestock.”
Scott was silent.
“Finish your meeting, Scott,” Lily said. “Play politics. You’re good at that. But I’m in danger here. Travis was right.”
“I don’t think they’d risk hurting you,” Scott said.
“Bullshit,” Lily said. “You said it yourself. I’m a living legend. And if that Isaac guy was being honest, I have fans in Topia.”
“Aren’t you being a little full of yourself here?”
“Shut it, Howler,” Lily said. “I’m talking about the myth, not the reality. And as long as I’m alive, I’m in the way. They can’t sever all emotional ties with humanity if one of the humans is a hero to Topians.”
Scott shook his head. “Damn. Travis was right.”
“And I’m just a human, Scott,” Lily said. “There are plenty of ways a human could die in an accident in this place. Or maybe I’ll be murdered by some extremist faction. Who knows how they’ll do it, but as long as I’m here, they could kill me with very little blame falling on them.”
“Okay,” Scott said. “I’m sold. I need to go to this meeting, but I’ll have Grung escort you.”
“Okay,” Lily said. “Be careful. We’re all in danger. Coming here was stupid.”
“It wasn’t stupid,” Scott said. “It was hopeful. We wanted to believe them. Hell, I do think most of these people are good people. The leaders, though… I have reservations.”
“That’s another thing that scares me,” Lily said.
“The leaders?”
“No,” Lily said. “The good people. How many genocides has this world seen because ‘good’ people did what they thought was right?”
“I think I liked you better when you were young and naïve,” Scott said.
“Yeah, yeah,” Lily said. “Now go. Send Grung. I’ll stay in the plane tonight, just in case you decide to leave early. Contact me as soon as you decide how long this visit is going to take. If it’s soon, I’ll wait.”
“Okay,” Scott said. “Be careful.”
“You too,” Lily said.
Chapter 15
The Fugitive
Lily and Grung walked along the busy Topian street. Three Topian escorts walked a few feet behind them. Around them, Topian locals walked in all directions. Some Topians gave them a curious glance as they walked by, but most just went about their business.
“Just so you know,” Grung said, “I agree with everything you said to Scott in that hallway.”
“You know,” Lily said, “that was a private conversation. Werewolf hearing is very annoying sometimes.”
“You have no idea,” Grung said. “I can’t even eat in a public place anymore. The sounds people make when eating are just disgusting.”
Lily chuckled. “Privacy invasions aside, I do appreciate
the support. That baby changes everything. I don’t think we’ll overcome this, Grung. I really don’t.”
“Nonsense,” Grung said. “Of course we will.”
“How?”
“Do you remember the final battle at the lake?” Grung asked.
“Of course I do,” Lily said.
“The day before that battle,” Grung went on, “we knew there was no way to win. We knew it. Winning that battle wasn’t even our goal. Do you remember what our mission goal was?”
“I came up with the mission goal,” Lily said. “Of course I remember. I’m assuming you’re getting to a point here.”
“Our goal,” Grung went on, “was to inspire future generations by showing them the power of the human spirit.”
“I said I remember,” Lily said.
“I was just making sure,” Grung said, “because you act like you’ve completely forgotten. And you act like you’ve forgotten how that battle turned out. We won, Lily. We won the battle and we saved an entire continent from being overrun with vampires.”
“Okay,” Lily said, “I get your point. Impossible odds and all that.”
“It’s what we do, boss,” Grung said. “Overcoming impossible odds is our specialty. I don’t know why you think things are different this time.”
“Because,” Lily said, “we can’t fight our way out of this one. That’s the big diff—”
“Shhh!”
Lily wasn’t offended by Grung’s sudden shushing. She immediately stopped talking. Grung had heard something.
Something important.
She chanced a glance behind her. One of their escorts, a large dark-haired Topian, was whispering into his headset.
“Something’s about to happen,” Grung said. His voice was so low, Lily had to strain to hear it. “Someone just said, ‘We’re in position.’”
“One of the guys behind us?” she asked quietly.
Grung shook his head. “It came from his earpiece.”
“Shit.” Lily looked around. They were surrounding by Topians and skyscrapers. The buildings stretched into the sky above them and into the depths beneath the walkway. “They could be anywhere.”
“They’re in the surrounding buildings,” the Topian with dark hair said.
Lily and Grung turned around to face him. “What’s going on?” Lily asked.
“Come with us,” the Topian said. “We’re not going to the plane. Please make this easy.”
“You’re kidding, right?” Lily said. “You just told me you’re going to kidnap me. Why would I make that easy?”
“Look around,” the Topian said. “Do you see all those windows? We have people behind most of them. They currently have weapons pointed at you and your friend.”
“Well,” Grung said, “unless their guns are loaded with—”
“They’re all loaded with silver bullets,” the Topian said.
“Oh,” Grung said. “Damn.”
“I’m sorry about this,” the Topian said. “I really am, but I have my orders.”
“Whose orders?” Lily asked. “Isaac? Let me talk to him.”
“No, ma’am,” the Topian answered. “These orders come from much higher.”
“I’m not going with you.”
The Topian sighed. “You have nowhere to go unless you can fly. Please, come with us.”
“You can’t kill us in the street,” Grung said.
“I have orders to take Miss Baxter unharmed,” the Topian said. “I have no such order for you, sir.” He looked at Lily. “We will shoot the werewolf if you resist. This isn’t a bluff, ma’am.”
Lily looked at Grung. “I’m open to suggestions here. What do you think?”
“Typically,” Grung said, “I don’t think. I act.”
A split second later, Grung was a very large black-furred werewolf. With inhuman speed, he grabbed Lily and leapt from the side of the street.
They fell toward the abyss below.
***
“Damn!” the lead Topian yelled as he helplessly watched Lily and Grung fly over the edge. He tapped his communicator. “Get to the lower levels. We had them!”
“Trust me,” a man said as he stepped from between two buildings, “you never had them. You were doomed the second you got the order to kidnap them.” He was tall with jet-black hair. He wore a white T-shirt, jeans, and cowboy boots.
“Who the hell are you?” the leader asked. This man wasn’t human, but he wasn’t a Topian either. For one thing, his skin wasn’t pale… it was white.
The stranger smiled, revealing long, sharp incisors. “I’m Travis. Perhaps you’ve heard of me.”
Thirty seconds later, Travis was gone and the three Topian Protectors were dead, all three staked. It was over so fast, most of the local pedestrians didn’t realize what had happened until a woman saw the bodies and began to scream.
***
“The president’s office is just around the corner,” Isaac said. Scott and Ellie walked beside him. The rest of the Topian Protectors walked a few feet behind them.
They had gone up two levels since leaving the apartment building. Scott thought of Lily, two levels below him. I hope you’re okay, chief, he thought.
He shook off the thought and looked at Ellie. “I gotta admit, this is neat. It’s like I’m a real president or something, having a summit with another president.”
“You are a real president,” Ellie said. “I don’t understand.”
“If you had lived in the world before the war,” Scott said, “you’d understand.”
Ellie shrugged. “Okay.”
“Sometimes you make me feel very old,” Scott said.
Isaac stopped walking and touched his ear.
“Someone’s calling him,” Scott explained to Ellie.
“I figured,” Ellie said. “Sometimes common sense works as well as super hearing.”
Scott looked at Isaac. “Everything okay?”
“Not really,” Isaac said. “There’s been another killing. This time, three Topian Protectors were killed.”
“Damn,” Scott said. “I guess the meeting is delayed again?”
“No,” Isaac said. “I’ve been ordered to get you to the president’s office immediately.”
“That’s a little unnerving,” Scott said.
“Yeah,” Isaac agreed. “I’m a bit worried. I think I told you too much about our city. I suspect I’m about to get transferred to a desk somewhere.”
When they rounded the corner, Scott was surprised to see the edge of the city. “Wow,” he said. “No fence, no railing, nothing. Just a really big drop.”
“Topians are very aware of the environment,” Isaac said. “Besides, a fall would hurt like hell, but it wouldn’t do any permanent damage. I suspect if cars were allowed on the upper levels, there would be more precautions. As it is, I don’t think I’ve ever heard of a falling accident up here.”
A lone building was positioned on a large platform outside the city’s edge. The building was squat and very wide. It had a small front lawn, but nothing else. A single walkway led to the building’s front door.
“The presidential office?” Scott guessed.
“Yeah,” Isaac answered. “It’s not particularly fancy, but that’s the point. The last president had it built. He wanted to be near the city and he wanted to avoid any appearance that he was lording over the people.”
Scott looked at the large forest just a few miles away. “I’m assuming he also liked the view.”
Isaac nodded. “It is beautiful. Of course, nobody goes to Epping Forest now. It’s a werewolf haven.”
“What happened to the last president?” Ellie asked. “Did he just lose an election?”
“No,” Isaac said. “He just quit. Didn’t give a reason. Just held a press conference, said he quit, then disappeared. Nobody knows where he went.”
“I bet Cassius knows,” Scott mumbled.
“Who’s Cassius?” Isaac asked.
“Never mind,” Scott said. �
�Your president awaits.”
“Right,” Isaac said.
He led them across the walkway and opened the front door. After passing through a very large front room, they went down a short hallway and stopped in front of a door at the end.
He knocked on the door.
“Come,” a voice said from the other side. Scott immediately recognized the voice.
It was the Topian president.
Scott and Ellie followed Isaac into the office.
A desk sat below a large window overlooking the forest beyond the city. Other than a few chairs, the office was completely empty.
Oliver Morrison – the president of Topia – stood in the center of the room. He hadn’t changed since the video. Red hair. Neatly trimmed beard. Scott’s senses immediately told him this man wasn’t a Topian.
He was a vampire.
And he did not look happy.
“Would someone please explain to me what the hell is going on out there?” He spoke with a slight Irish accent that reminded Scott of Abbie.
“I’m sorry, sir,” Isaac said. “I take full responsibility. I thought we were prepared for this visit. Travis quickly proved we weren’t.”
“I’m not talking about Travis, son,” Oliver said. He looked at Scott. “I’m talking about Lily Baxter. We trusted you. We thought you were here to build peace.”
“Mr. President,” Scott said, “we are here to build peace.”
“Don’t lie to me, wolf,” Oliver said.
“First and foremost,” Scott said, “I am the president of New America and I expect you address me as such. Or do you want me to start calling you vampire?”
“My apologies,” Oliver said. He was clearly not sorry for anything. “Sometimes, my emotions get the better of me.”
“Secondly,” Scott went on, “we came to your city unarmed. We didn’t even bring guards. We did this to show you that we’re willing to give you our trust. It was an act of faith. To date, Mr. President, you have risked nothing. So please, do not lecture me about building peace. I risked my life and the lives of my best people. You made a video.”
“I’m glad you mentioned videos,” Oliver shot back. “I have a new one to show you. Perhaps you and your best people didn’t realize we have recording equipment all over this city.”
