by Brandon Hale
“Stop that,” Lily said.
“Stop what?” Isaac asked.
“Surrendering,” Lily said. “It’s embarrassing.”
Isaac pointed at the vampires. “Lily, there are dozens of vampires out there. They all have guns. What do you suggest we do?”
Lily sighed. “There’s a procedure for this.”
“I’m listening,” Isaac said.
“Guys,” the vampire said, “it doesn’t matter. Our orders aren’t to take you prisoner. We’re supposed to kill—”
“One second,” Lily said to the vampire. She turned back to Isaac. “The normal procedure is simple. And unlike your little ‘I surrender’ game, it’s fun. We just say smartass things until someone comes to rescue us.”
“That’s stupid,” Isaac said. “What if nobody comes to the rescue?”
“Not possible,” Lily said. “That would mean my team let me down, and my team never lets me down.”
“Sometimes they can’t help it,” Isaac argued.
“I’ve been fighting with my people for almost two decades,” Lily said. “They’ve never let me down. If your team lets you down, you’re on the wrong team.”
“Seriously, guys,” the vampire said, “can you wrap this up so we can kill you? I’m trying to be respectful since it’s your final moments, but I’m supposed to meet some friends at the pub in an hour.”
“Could you shut up for two minutes?” Lily snapped. “Damn. I’m trying to teach my friend about surviving unwinnable situations.”
“Screw this,” the vampire said. He held up one arm. “Weapons ready, boys.”
“Boys?” Lily said. “I see several female soldiers in your group. What’s with the ‘boys’ crap?”
“Figure of speech,” the vampire said.
“That’s not a figure of speech,” Lily said. “That’s sexist, plain and simple. There are plenty of other words you could use. Troops. Soldiers. Team. But you chose to call them boys. Show some respect, man.”
“Enough!” the vampire said. “On my mark, shoot this bit—”
A black ball about the size of an orange flew over the crowd of vampires and landed directly in front of the leader. He bent over and picked up the ball. “What the hell is this?”
Lily glanced at Isaac and whispered, “Stand back.”
The ball exploded in the vampire’s hand.
Instead of spraying shrapnel, the small bomb sprayed several of the vampires with water. As soon as the water hit their skin, they began to scream.
“Get ready,” Lily said.
“For what?” Isaac asked.
Lily grinned. “Get ready for the B-Team.”
***
From somewhere behind the vampires, two werewolves leapt into the air and landed in the center of the crowd. A second later, they were throwing the vampires across the giant room.
Lily looked at Isaac and grinned. “See? Smartass comments until the rescue. That’s how it works.”
Isaac shook his head. “I’ll be damned.”
“Are you with us?” Lily asked.
“I think I proved that in the dungeon,” Isaac said.
“You were honoring a promise in the dungeon,” Lily said. “That debt is paid. Now you have to decide where you stand.”
Isaac looked at the chaos beyond the elevator door. The two werewolves were clawing their way through the horde of vampires. A young woman stood at the castle’s entrance, firing a gun at the distracted vampires. Isaac immediately recognized her.
Ellie.
Isaac turned to Lily. “Can a Topian join the Day Soldiers?”
Lily laughed. “We’ll put that one to a vote after we get out of here. Come on!”
***
Cassius crawled through the tight tunnel until he came to an opening. He knew this was the direction Oliver and Elizabeth had gone because the tiny crawlspace had no other paths. Cassius added the tunnel to be an emergency escape route. It was on the ceiling to guarantee it would be an escape route available only to vampires.
The downside, of course, was that Oliver and Elizabeth were now outside the castle wall. Cassius had given them an easy escape.
Cassius crawled out of the opening to see he was on the outside wall of the castle, the side facing the ocean. There was a small yard about two stories down. He clawed his way down the wall and hopped to the ground.
He looked around, but saw no sign of Oliver or Elizabeth.
Damn.
He looked at the ocean. They wouldn’t have headed out to sea, he thought. That left the castle grounds. They would have gone around the castle, but where would they have gone after that?
Cassius knew Oliver would want to get away and regroup.
But not Elizabeth.
Baxter had challenged her directly, and more importantly, Baxter had won. Elizabeth wouldn’t let that go. Cassius decided his best course of action was to get back inside the castle. He began to sprint around the wall.
After a few feet, he stopped and looked up toward the roof of the castle. Actually, he thought, there is one other direction they could’ve gone.
With inhuman speed, he began to climb the side of the castle wall.
***
Isaac was stunned by the efficiency of Lily’s team. The two werewolves, presumably Scott and Grung, stayed in the middle of the crowd. Lily worked her way to them, killing every vampire she touched along the way. On the other side of the giant room, Ellie had also made her way to her werewolf companions.
Now, they were a single unit. The humans stood between the werewolves. The reason was obvious. These vampires had come prepared to fight a human and a vampire. They weren’t armed for werewolves. This allowed Scott and Grung to absorb most of the shots fired, with Lily and Ellie safely between them.
And the team moved with such ferocity, most of the vampires were too busy dealing with the assault to switch weapons.
“Isaac!” Lily yelled. “Are you just gonna stand there or are you gonna help!”
To his own shame, Isaac realized he hadn’t moved. He was still in the elevator. Luckily, the vampires considered Lily’s team the bigger threat.
One of the werewolves tossed a vampire – a male – toward the elevator. The man slammed into the wall beside the elevator door.
Isaac drew his gun and pointed it at the vampire’s heart. The vampire looked at Isaac and said, “Isaac, stop this nonsense and help us!”
“Edward,” Isaac said quietly. At one time, the vampire had been Isaac’s commanding officer in Topia. He was transferred to a different assignment several months ago. As Isaac looked at his former friend, he realized that transfer had involved more than just moving to a new location.
Edward climbed to his feet. “Help us and I’ll recommend your release. You’re confused. These murderers have twisted your mind into thinking we’re the bad guys.”
Isaac pulled the trigger and sent a bullet into Edward’s heart. His former friend fell to the ground, instantly dead.
Isaac looked at Edward’s body. In that moment, he realized it was the first Topian he’d ever killed. Sure, technically Edward was no longer a Topian, but that knowledge didn’t really make Isaac feel any better.
Nothing would ever be the same again.
He’d officially chosen his side.
“Isaac!” Lily screamed again as she shot another vampire. “We’re leaving. If you’re coming, come on!”
Isaac broke into a full sprint, shooting vampires as he ran. He focused on chests, refusing to look at the vampires’ faces. With each kill, it became easier for Isaac. He wasn’t sure if that was good or bad.
He joined the others and they methodically took out the remaining vampires in the room. Within a few minutes, all the vamps were dead. Of the B-Team, only the werewolves had any wounds.
Lily looked at the brown-furred werewolf and said, “We gotta get out of here, Scott.” She looked at the bodies on the floor. “We just killed twenty-five of them. There’s over three hundred roaming these g
rounds.”
Scott and Grung both shifted back to their human forms. “How do you know?” Scott asked.
“They told me downstairs,” Lily said.
“Okay,” Ellie said, “I’m just gonna come out and say this. Seeing you guys naked so often is really messing with my head.”
“You should’ve been around for the war,” Grung said. “With all the battles we fought, werewolves pretty much stayed naked.”
“Guys,” Lily said, “bigger problems here.”
“Yeah,” Isaac said. “For example, we’re not getting attacked right now.”
“Doesn’t sound like much of a problem,” Ellie said.
“That’s because you haven’t thought it through,” Isaac said. “Like Lily said, there are hundreds of vampires on the castle grounds. Why haven’t they stormed this room? They’re planning something.”
“Or maybe we just got lucky,” Grung said.
“Like when you went up through the third level of Topia and weren’t being chased?” Isaac said. “You know, when I was waiting for you on the fourth level.”
“Stop bragging,” Lily said.
“Well,” Scott said, “no matter what they’ve got planned, we don’t have much of a choice. We gotta go. Front door or find another exit?”
“So you’re asking if we should bust out like pirates or sneak out like ninjas?” Ellie asked.
Scott, Grung, and Lily looked at each other.
“I think she’s channeling her namesake,” Grung said.
Lily laughed. “I say we take the front door. If this is a trap, they’re gonna spring it no matter where we go.”
“How did you find us?” Isaac asked Grung and Scott. “We’re pretty far from the capital city.”
“Travis showed us,” Scott said. “I don’t know how he found out and I don’t think I want to know.”
“Travis?” Lily said. “Where the hell is he?”
Scott shrugged. “No idea. Soon as we arrived, he vanished.”
“Figures,” Lily said. “The one time we want him around, he takes off.”
“I know I’m not part of your team or anything,” Isaac said, “so I’m not in a position to give orders… but I really want to get the hell out of here.”
“Right,” Scott said with a nod. “Let’s go spring their trap.”
***
Travis stepped onto the castle’s roof and walked toward Oliver and Elizabeth. They were looking down at the front yard.
“Who are you?” Travis said as he walked toward them. “I felt you as soon as I got here.”
Elizabeth turned around and smiled at Travis. “I’m a kindred spirit. You’re the reason I’m here, Evan.”
Oliver shot her a confused look.
“Nobody calls me Evan,” Travis said.
“It is your name,” Elizabeth said as she walked toward him.
“Never much liked it,” Travis said.
“Wait,” Oliver said as he followed Elizabeth toward Travis. “You’re here for him? I thought this was about turning Baxter.”
Elizabeth glanced back at Oliver. “I admit, turning Baxter would have been fun, but we took her because I knew she was the only person who could bring me Evan.” She looked back at Travis. “I knew you’d come for her.”
“Who are you?” Travis asked again.
“I’m the person you’ve been searching for,” Elizabeth said. “I’m like you, Evan. I wasn’t turned. I turned myself. And I don’t care about the silly politics of vampires or humans. I understand the truth.”
“What truth?” Travis said.
“That the only thing that matters is death,” Elizabeth said. “I’ve been studying your history. I know who you are. I know what you are. I know what you crave.”
Travis smiled. “So tell me. What do I crave?”
“Death,” Elizabeth said.
Travis’s smile became a laugh. “Lady, if you think I want to die, you don’t understand shit.”
“I didn’t say you crave your own death,” Elizabeth said. “You launched a nuclear attack on millions of innocent people. You’ve done nothing but killed since you came to Topia. Death feeds you, Evan. You are a true vampire.”
“I like death,” Oliver said.
Elizabeth placed a hand on Travis’s cheek. “Together, we can destroy it all. We’ll bring more death than any plague. We’ll bring more death than any war. We’ll be so powerful, we won’t need human blood.”
Travis pointed at Oliver. “He looks like he’s about to cry.”
“I know why you’re obsessed with Baxter,” Elizabeth said. “You see power in her. You think she could be a vampire like you. I saw the same potential in Arcas.”
“I don’t know who Arcas is,” Travis said.
“Doesn’t matter,” Elizabeth said. “He’s dead now.”
“Okay,” Oliver said, “I gotta say this. You saw potential in Arcas, but not me? And then you offered Baxter the job of commanding your army. And now you’re asking him to be your companion? I’m starting to feel a little unappreciated here.”
Elizabeth looked at Oliver and said, “Stop talking, Oliver.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Elizabeth turned back to Travis. “Turning Baxter was going to be my gift to you, but really, you don’t need her. Not anymore. I am what you want Baxter to be.”
“Elizabeth,” Oliver said.
“I told you to stop talking.”
“Yes,” Oliver said nervously, “but I thought you’d want to know. The show’s about to start on the front lawn.”
Elizabeth smiled.
From the other side of the roof, a voice said, “I’m willing to put our differences behind us.” They turned to see Cassius walking toward them. “If you’re willing to let me join this party.”
Oliver snarled.
“Calm down, Oliver,” Elizabeth said. She looked at Cassius. “You’re willing to tear down what you spent years building?”
“Your talent is destruction,” Cassius said. “Mine is survival. I survive. It’s what I do. I’ll gladly burn Topia to the ground if that’s what it takes to survive. I’ve done it before.”
Elizabeth laughed. “Yes, I remember. The sacking of Rome was quite spectacular.”
“It was time to move on,” Cassius said. “Just like it’s time to move on now.”
“Four of the most powerful vampires in the world,” Elizabeth said, “working together to bleed humanity dry.”
“Gotta admit,” Travis said, “it sounds fun.”
“We should contact Vlad,” Oliver said. “I think he’d want in on this.”
Cassius shook his head. “I talked to Vlad a few years ago when I was trying to figure out what the hell Travis is. Vlad’s not the same vampire he used to be. He just sits around whining about Stoker’s book. He’s a total downer.”
“We’ll discuss Vlad later,” Elizabeth said. “Right now, Lily Baxter and her friends are about to die. Let’s watch, shall we? It should be quite a show.”
In that moment, Travis decided to take a chance. He looked at Cassius and thought, I’m lying to her, Cas. I hope you are too.
Cassius glanced at Travis, then looked at Elizabeth. “Yeah,” he said. “This should be a good show.”
***
“I’m telling you,” Isaac said, “the voice said to get to the roof.”
The group stood at the front door of the castle. They were all convinced a horde of vampires waited on the other side.
“Whose voice was it?” Scott asked. “This is very important.”
“I don’t know,” Isaac said. “The words just sort of shot into my head. Get to the roof. I felt the voice, I didn’t hear it.”
“My money’s on Travis,” Grung said, “which makes me think we should avoid the roof. Travis isn’t exactly the most trustworthy ally we’ve ever had.”
“It might’ve been Cassius,” Lily said.
“Even better,” Grung said sarcastically.
“If Cassius wanted us de
ad,” Lily argued, “he would’ve let me die in that dungeon. He might be our enemy tomorrow, but he’s our ally today.”
“Whoever it is,” Ellie said, “I wish he’d have shot the voice into one of your heads. You could’ve recognized who it was. This guy barely knows them.”
“Vampires are far more receptive to telepathic communication,” Scott said. “There’s a good chance we wouldn’t have heard it. For all we know, he did send it to all of us.”
“Fact is,” Grung said, “going up the wall is our best shot. I was gonna suggest it anyway. If we can get to the roof, we can scope out the best way to go, then we’re home free.”
“Agreed,” Scott said. “The only problem is getting these three to the top. One of us will have to carry two of them.”
“I can do it,” Grung said. “Ellie can hold on from the front and Isaac can grab my back.”
“Eww,” Ellie said.
“Desperate times, kid,” Grung said.
“No,” Scott said. “Those vamps will be using silver bullets. They’ve had time to prepare for us. I think carrying two of them will slow you down too much. There has to be another way.”
“I’m sure there are windows upstairs,” Lily said. “If we can keep them distracted at the door, we can slip out one of the upper windows.”
“So we’re going ninja,” Ellie said with a smile.
“I guess so,” Lily said.
“So we have a plan,” Scott said. “Let’s find a window upstairs. Once we’re ready, I’ll crack the door and toss a grenade then high-tail it to the window.”
“You heard the naked commander, people,” Ellie said. “Let’s get moving!”
Isaac looked at Lily. “She’s really hung up on the naked thing, isn’t she?”
Lily laughed. “She’ll get used to it. Seeing your friends naked is as much a part of being a Day Soldier as killing vampires.”
***
Scott cracked open the front door, ready to throw the grenade. He slowly closed the door and activated his communicator. “Nobody’s there.”
Upstairs, Lily said, “What do you mean?” She was using Ellie’s communicator.
“I mean nobody’s there,” Scott said. “The yard’s empty.”
