by Brandon Hale
Somewhere in the jungle, something howled.
Lily was right, he thought. This was a stupid idea. He’s probably not here. And even if he is, he probably doesn’t even have any answers.
Another howl.
“Shit,” he whispered.
What were werewolves doing in Vietnam? None of the information he’d read suggested the Vietnamese jungles housed werewolves. His original plan was to simply yell until he was heard. Now, that plan was impossible. This is a development Cooper did not like.
He drew his pistol, double-checked to make sure it was loaded with silver, then held the gun in his hand as he watched the dark jungle before him.
Another howl.
“Please don’t come this way,” he whispered to the distant creatures. “I don’t want this to get bloody. I’m just here to visit a friend.”
Ahead of him, the trees moved and something stepped onto the beach. Cooper jumped to his feet and aimed his weapon.
A vampire stepped from the forest. He had wavy brown hair and a thick beard. He wore nothing but a pair of green pants, cut off at the knee.
“I know you,” the vampire said as he walked toward the fire. “You’re a Day Soldier.”
Cooper lowered his gun and gave a huge sigh of relief. “Hello, Jesse.”
“Your name is Cooter, right?” Jesse Merrickson asked.
“Cooper.”
Jesse snapped. “Cooper! That’s right. What the hell are you doing here? Do you have any idea how dangerous it is for a human in this part of the world? This isn’t London. The laws here are much less… strict.”
“I’m looking for you,” Cooper said.
“That brings up another question,” Jesse said. “How did you find me?”
“Wasn’t hard to figure out,” Cooper explained. “You told us you crawled out of a cave in Vietnam, so I assumed you were a soldier in the Vietnam War. I searched our database and found your name. Our records say you died in a helicopter crash just outside of Da Nang in sixty-seven.”
“That was a bad day,” Jesse said.
“I guessed that was the day you stopped being human,” Cooper said. “I figured a vamp found you out here and turned you. Since you told us you’d been living in Vietnam, it was a safe bet your home wasn’t far from where that helicopter went down.”
“Not bad,” Jesse said.
“I met a human in Da Nang who told me there were stories of a crazy American Topian who lived in these jungles,” Cooper went on. “That’s when I knew I’d come to the right place.”
“You were in Da Nang?”
Cooper nodded.
“Damn,” Jesse said. “I’m amazed you’re still alive.”
“I dropped by parachute and landed just outside the city,” Cooper said. “Then I waited until noon. The Topians were asleep. Or dead. Or whatever the hell they do during the day. A few humans were out and about, and I was lucky enough to find someone who spoke English.”
“Okay,” Jesse said. “I know how you found me. Now I’d like to know why you found me. After the battle at that lake, I told you people I was done with humanity. I made that very clear, so if you came here hoping to recruit me for something—”
“I came here for answers,” Cooper said.
“What are the questions?” Jesse asked.
Cooper stared at the fire for a few seconds, then said, “Why aren’t you evil?”
Jesse laughed. “You traveled this far to ask me that? You really wasted your time.”
“I’ve killed a lot of vampires, Jesse,” Cooper said. “I’ve been brutal. No matter what they did… no matter what they said… I killed them. I was merciless.”
“Good,” Jesse said.
“Maybe,” Cooper said. “Maybe not. Until recently, I thought you were a freak. I thought you were some kind of mutant or something. I thought you were the exception to the rule. Now, I’m not so sure.”
“Trust me,” Jesse said, “there’s nothing wrong with killing vampires.”
“That depends,” Cooper said.
“On what?”
“On whether or not you had to train yourself to be like you are,” Cooper said. “If this is something you have naturally, I can accept that you’re just an anomaly. But if you were taught to be the way you are, it means everything I believed was wrong. It means I’ve been killing creatures that have the capacity for good.”
“Did you meet another vampire like me?” Jesse asked.
Cooper nodded. “Sort of. Maybe. I don’t know.”
In the distance, a wolf howled again.
“Okay,” Jesse said. “We can talk. Not here, though. It’s too dangerous.”
“I’m surprised there are werewolves here,” Cooper said. “Our information said Vietnam was populated by vampires, not werewolves.”
“It’s just a single pack,” Jesse said. “They arrived a few months ago. So far, they’ve left me alone, but I doubt they’ll do the same for you. If you want to talk about this, we’ll go to Da Nang.”
“You said Da Nang was dangerous for me,” Cooper said.
“Just if you’re alone,” Jesse explained. “If you’re with me, they’ll probably assume I’m grooming you to be turned. It’s fairly common here.”
“I thought that was illegal in the new world,” Cooper said.
“Topian law doesn’t have much meaning out here,” Jesse said. He looked at Cooper’s uniform. “Speaking of danger, put your little utility belt in your backpack. And your jacket. That Day Soldiers emblem on your sleeve won’t do us any favors in Da Nang.”
“Yeah,” Cooper said. “I don’t even know why I’m still wearing it. I technically resigned.”
“Sometimes it’s hard to let go,” Jesse said quietly.
Another howl.
“Okay, shut up and follow me,” Jesse said. “We’re getting the hell out of here. I’m strong, but I can’t protect you from an entire pack.”
***
“This place looks like it hasn’t changed in decades,” Cooper said as he looked at the crumbling buildings in Da Nang. “Earlier today, I wondered if the place was deserted.”
“It’s actually changed a lot,” Jesse said. “In the sixties, it looked much better.”
They made their way to a small bar in a back alley and found a table. There were three other patrons in the establishment. All three were male Vietnamese vampires, sitting at different tables. A small TV hung above the bar. There was an image of a Topian newscaster, but Cooper couldn’t hear any sound. He wasn’t sure if it was because there was no sound or if it was just that vampires didn’t need much volume to hear it.
“Long time since you’ve been to civilization,” a small female vampire said as she walked up to their table.
Cooper was impressed by how well she spoke English. She looked to be in her twenties and was a very attractive Vietnamese woman. Of course, Cooper thought, she could be two hundred years old for all I know.
“Not much blood in the forests these days,” Jesse told the woman. “Those wolves are scaring everything away.”
“If you drank human blood like you’re supposed to,” the woman said, “you wouldn’t have that problem. Speaking of blood, you gonna order or just take up space in my restaurant.”
Jesse looked around. “Looks like you have space to spare.”
“You want a drink or not?”
“Sure,” Jesse said. “I’ll take a glass.”
“You got money?” she asked.
Jesse smiled. “Did you stop my tab?”
The woman just shook her head. “One day, I’ll forget about our past and stop giving you free blood you never drink anyway.”
“Is today that day?” Jesse asked.
“I suppose not,” the woman said. She turned and walked away.
“Sounds like you two have a history,” Cooper said.
“Nothing juicy,” Jesse said. “She had a problem with some bad customers a few years ago. I helped her take care of the problem. She’s a good vampire.”
&nbs
p; The woman came back with a glass full of blood. She placed it on the table and said, “You can’t stay here too long. Having a human in here will cause trouble.”
“We won’t be long, Linh,” Jesse said with a smile. “We have a few things to discuss, then I’m escorting my friend out of here.”
She shook her head. “Still the helper, I see,” she said. “Even for humans.”
As the woman walked away, Cooper said, “Are you serious? About her being a good vampire, I mean.”
“Yes,” Jesse said. “Well, no. She’s a good vampire, but she’s not a good person. Not by your standards anyway.”
“What do you mean?”
Jesse held up his glass. “This came from humans she keeps in the basement.”
Cooper looked at the door behind the bar. His heart ached for the people beyond that door.
“But,” Jesse said, “she treats them well. She doesn’t torture them. She doesn’t feed on them directly. Her basement is large and she keeps it clean. She also feeds them well.”
“But they’re prisoners kept in a basement,” Cooper said.
Jesse nodded. “Yeah. Da Nang’s not a friendly place, but when you compare Linh to the other vamps in the area, she’s a saint. Most of the humans try to get sold to her. She’s kind of an oasis to them.”
Cooper shook his head. “This isn’t the world the Topians promised.”
“It will be,” Jesse said. “The world’s a big place. They started with the cities. They’re building a foundation. Eventually, they’ll make it this far. I really believe that.”
“You stood with us to defend humanity,” Cooper said. “How can you come to places like this? How can you help these people? Even her.”
“Trust me,” Jesse said. “I don’t come here often. And when I do, this is the only place I visit. I live in that jungle.”
“Why do you come at all?” Cooper asked.
“You never know when you might need a friend,” Jesse said. “Especially here.”
Cooper looked at the other vampires. They were all watching the TV. “It’s just all so… overwhelming.”
“Still feel guilty about killing vampires?” Jesse asked.
Cooper’s head spun back to Jesse. “Why don’t you just announce it to the world? We’re not alone in here, you know.”
“I had you pack up your things to get you through the streets,” Jesse said. “You’re safe here. The only people who come here are sympathetic to humans.” He thought for a moment, then added, “More or less.”
“Yeah,” Cooper said. “I worry about the ‘less’ part.”
“You didn’t come here to talk about Vietnamese vampires,” Jesse said. “Why are you here, Cooper?”
Cooper took a deep breath then said, “The Topians sent out an invitation to the people of New America.”
Jesse chuckled. “I saw that. Total bullshit, of course.”
“Probably,” Cooper said, “but we think it’s significant. We think it’s the beginning of the end of New America. People will see how perfect your world is and they’ll start to wonder why we’re living separately.”
“Bring them here,” Jesse said with a smirk.
“I’m just guessing,” Cooper said, “but I doubt they’ll be showing our people this part of the world. Hell, I risked my own life and the life of a pilot to get here.”
“So about this whole invitation thing,” Jesse said, “you’re worried Topia is about to spread to America.”
“Yeah,” Cooper said.
“And that’s why you came looking for me,” Jesse said. “You’re trying to decide if this fight is even worth it.”
“Pretty much,” Cooper said. “We’ve recently learned that Topians retain a spark of humanity, but we’ve never faced a fully turned vampire who retained any humanity… except one.”
“Me,” Jesse said.
Cooper nodded. “You.”
“So that’s your game,” Jesse said. “You want me to teach vampires how to regain their humanity.”
“At the very least, explain to me how it was done,” Cooper said.
“I can’t believe Lily approved this nonsense,” Jesse said.
“She didn’t,” Cooper said. “This is all me. Lily thinks it’s an absurd idea. She’s convinced the vampires wouldn’t care. She’s convinced they don’t want to be more human.”
“She’s right,” Jesse said.
“I’m sure she is,” Cooper conceded, “but maybe that new president is like you. If you could teach me how you did it, maybe I can find a way to… I dunno… test him.”
“He’s not like me,” Jesse said. “He’s a monster.”
“Do you know him?” Cooper asked. “Jesse, the hope that he’s good is all I have. If he’s like you, I might be able to trust them. I might be able to accept the peace they’re offering.”
“I don’t know him,” Jesse said. “I’ve only seen him on TV.”
“Then you don’t know,” Cooper said.
“I know,” Jesse said. “Every vampire knows. He can fool the humans and Topians, but not vampires. We can see it in his eyes. We can hear it in his voice. The president is a predator. He feeds often, and he kills often. If you’re pinning your hopes on that guy, you might as well get ready for war… because there’s nothing good about him.”
Frustrated, Cooper said, “Just tell me how you did it. Even if the president is evil, there are other vampires out there. They might be willing to—”
“It’s not a magic trick,” Jesse said. “It’s not like a switch you can turn on. It’s an evolution. It takes a very long time, Cooper.” He leaned back in his chair. “And it’s not about good or evil. It’s about perspective. And time.”
“Time?” Cooper asked.
“More specifically,” Jesse said, “it’s about eternity.”
“You lost me,” Cooper said.
Jesse leaned forward. “It’s like this. Let’s say you’re stranded in the desert. You haven’t had water in almost two days. You know if you don’t get water soon, you’ll die before you can make it to civilization.”
“Is this gonna be an allegory about thirst for blood?” Cooper asked.
“No,” Jesse said. “You’re lost in the desert and you’re thirsting to death when you come across a dying man. A boulder has fallen on him and crushed his body. You figure he’s got five minutes to live, tops. A bottle of water is on the ground, just outside the man’s reach. He’s trying to get to the water, but he can’t.”
“Okay.”
“So what do you do?” Jesse asked. “Do you take the water so you can get to civilization and live a long life, or do you give the water to the man, even though he’ll be dead in five minutes either way?”
“I’d like to say I would give it to the man,” Cooper said, “but I don’t think I would.”
“Of course you wouldn’t,” Jesse said. “The guy is gonna be dead in a few minutes. The water wouldn’t save his life, but it would save yours. If you took the water, you could live. You could make a difference in the world.”
“Right,” Cooper said. “I think I see where you’re going with this.”
“That’s how vampires see humans,” Jesse said. “You might live eighty years, but we’re eternal. To us, you’re that dying man. To us, a lifetime of human suffering is a blink.” He snapped. “It’s nothing. So why would we spend our time helping you? You’re not here long enough to matter. Not really.”
“I don’t buy it,” Cooper said. “Even young vampires are evil. They haven’t lived long enough to have that kind of perspective.”
“Wrong,” Jesse said. “Vampires understand eternity the second they kill their first human. The world changes. That’s when they realize nothing matters because everything they see will be dead soon. Everything.”
“I find that hard to accept,” Cooper said.
“It’s all about perspective,” Jesse said. “If someone dies the day after you meet them, it won’t hurt as much as the death of someone you�
�ve known for twenty years.”
“Obviously,” Cooper said.
“So what’s so hard to accept?” Jesse said. “What if you woke up one day and realized that every person you’re ever going to meet is destined to die the day after you meet them? What would that do to your mind?”
“That’s impossible to answer,” Cooper said.
“It’s impossible for you,” Jesse said. “It’s a reality every vampire faces. That’s why I said vampires aren’t evil. It’s not about good and evil. It’s about perspective. It’s about time. To vampires, humans aren’t here long enough to matter.”
“Why do they matter to you?” Cooper asked.
Jesse’s voice was quiet. Contemplative. “The vampire who made me taught me the truth.”
“What’s the truth?” Cooper asked. He was no longer on a mission. He simply wanted to know.
“That’s it’s the opposite,” Jesse said. “I’m not more important because I’m immortal. You’re more important because you’re not. For me, time is a luxury. It’s meaningless. For me, there’s no difference between a year and a decade. But for you, time matters. For you, every moment is precious.”
“So you think the dying man in the desert should get the water,” Cooper said.
Jesse nodded. “Of course he should. You keep talking about evil. Depriving that man of water is evil. You have time. You have a chance to find more water and get more time. He doesn’t. He has minutes. That’s it. And you would choose to make him spend those few precious minutes suffering? That, my friend, is evil.”
“And you learned this from a vampire?” Cooper asked.
“I did,” Jesse said, “but it was a lesson I refused to learn at first.”
“You were like them,” Cooper guessed.
“No,” Jesse said. “I was like Travis.”
“I can’t believe that,” Cooper said. “Travis was an evil shit before he became a vampire.”
“I was a monster, Cooper,” Jesse said. “During my travels in those first few years, I killed a shitload of people.”
“What changed?” Cooper asked.
“Life was empty,” Jesse said. “Meaningless. After I killed my…” He paused. “After some bad things happened, I came back to Vietnam. I came here to kill the vampire who turned me. I wanted to punish him for what he did to me.”
