by Joe Fowler
Rosalyn returned a little later telling much the same story. She had found one group of twelve vampires but never more than two at a time since. She was making sure to kill all of them she saw as well.
The attacks on the warehouses slowed to a stop as Rosalyn and Josh continued their trips. My night was spent being watchful but getting more and more relaxed as the night went on. I was about to tell Hector and the others to relax when I took a closer look at their faces as they stood guard. I could see how standing there preparing to face the vampires made them feel in charge of their own lives again. They weren’t trapped in a feeding house or hiding in their home afraid. I decided to let them stay on guard. I didn’t want to take that feeling away from them.
After her last trip of the night, Rosalyn joined me for the rest of my watch. Her buses would take a break until dawn when they could leave without her protection. We didn’t speak much at first. The humans had been taking up so much of our time and energy lately that we just wanted to sit quietly for a while. Luckily there weren’t any more vampire attacks to interrupt us. Josh returned from one of his trips a little before dawn.
“You two look comfortable. Got room for a third?” Josh asked as he approached. We were sitting on a waist high concrete wall. Josh came over and sat with us.
“Of course. How long before we can expect a ship?” Rosalyn asked.
“Don’t know for sure. It could be today or three days. I guess it depends on how soon they can find an available ship. Plus I know some of those ships don’t travel at high speeds. We need a couple of days to keep gathering survivors anyway.” Josh replied.
“Are the humans going out during the day again? It should be safe for them. Plus, I can see how doing something to help is making them feel better. I’m thinking they feel less like victims when they are helping.” I mentioned.
“Yep. I could see the difference in their attitudes yesterday after Seth and I woke up. They had kept working all day and even improvised with the speakers helping to find others. I believe that is why Seth felt like it was time to go to Sao Paolo.” Josh had impressed me early on with how well he judged people’s moods and facial expressions. I was glad to see I interpreted things the same way.
“Josh, you planning a long vacation with Alicia when we get home?” Rosalyn asked with a smile.
“You know it. I think it will be a homebound vacation though. I’ve traveled enough for a while. What about you two, any plans?” He asked.
“We haven’t planned anything, but I’m with you on the staying in one place theory. I have been travelling out of necessity for centuries. Now I would like to find a quiet place and rest for a while.” Rosalyn’s words sounded like music to my ears. I never travelled if I didn’t have to during my human life. Being a vampire wasn’t making me want to change my old ways on that point.
“You guys are welcome to stay with us. We have the basement for you to sleep in and Alicia and the girls can donate some blood when needed.” Josh offered. I was almost too shocked to process it.
“We might take you up on that. I haven’t met many people in my long life that I truly like. You, Seth, and your packs are at the top of that list. You guys were treating us like family when we were there before. It brought back some memories of my own family when I was still human.” Rosalyn seemed moved by Josh’s offer.
We continued talking of home and what we would do first. Well, a long hot shower was first on all of our lists. We talked of cold beer and watching movies. It was the first time we talked of home and all the things we missed. Since we finally could see the end of this long ordeal, it felt ok to let ourselves think of those things without feeling too frustrated.
Rosalyn and I went to our sunless room as Josh headed for a cot. Rosalyn took her normal position next to me. I began thinking of what it would be like to stay with Josh for a while when we weren’t involved with this war. Alicia, Sarah, and Crystal were all sweet and fun to be around. I had a big smile as the sun put me to sleep.
The next night was very much like the previous one. I stood guard with Rosalyn and Josh going with the buses. There were only a few attacks with no vampire coming close to a human. Rosalyn and Josh saw only the rare stray now and then on their bus trips.
The growing number of people was both exciting and scary. Less than two weeks ago we were wondering if there were any survivors at all. Now there were close to twenty thousand and that number was growing around the clock. Several flatbed work trucks were going out daily now to find food and supplies for everyone. The people worked together very well to make sure each person had what was necessary.
There were some problems as well. The stench of death hanging over Rio was being overpowered by the smell of thousands of unwashed bodies. Some were washing up using the occasional bit of rain to rinse off. We couldn’t spare the drinkable water for such luxuries though.
There would be an occasional disagreement. Hector and a few others were becoming the policemen/councilmen/therapists of the people. His group went around trying to keep order as well as trying to keep spirits up. Overall, they did a remarkable job.
The night flew by to my surprise. Normally things tend to take forever when you are anticipating something good. It’s like how the last few days before Christmas seem to take forever to children. I was pleasantly shocked when I felt the sun approaching. The humans were accustomed to us now. They wished us good rest as we headed to our room. Rosalyn’s smile filled my mind as I drifted to sleep.
Chapter 27
Rosalyn and I woke to a much different scene. The ships had arrived. Three large cargo ships were docked. People were boarding by the dozens. The lines were moving well since nobody wanted to stay in Rio any longer than necessary. Although I would learn later that some, including Hector, would not be making the trip to Sao Paolo.
Seth, now clean with new clothes, found us staring in awe. He made his way to where Rosalyn and I stood on the dock. He had a smile from ear to ear as he neared. That was when it first dawned on me, we were leaving Rio that night.
“You guys ready to get out of here?” Seth asked.
“We weren’t sure how long it would take you. This is wonderful!” Rosalyn was so excited her words were running together.
“I will fill you guys in later. The helicopter is waiting for us now. Josh is already there.” Seth said as he led the way.
“We won’t be going on the ships? Great. That might have gotten cramped.” I said in relief. I wasn’t looking forward to being on one of the ships.
“We will be in Sao Paolo in a couple of hours. You two can take a bath and get some more clothes.” Seth announced to our delight.
“And a cold beer.” I added.
Seth laughed as we neared the helicopter. Josh was standing beside it, obviously wishing we would walk faster. We didn’t waste any time. We were airborne less than ten minutes after Rosalyn and I woke up. It was very loud so we saved the talking until we arrived in Sao Paolo.
We landed at the airport. An SUV was waiting for us with a police escort. They took us to a nearby hotel so Rosalyn, Josh, and I could get cleaned up. Seth told us he would have cold beer waiting for us when we were ready. We were each given a room to save time. After thirty minutes, I left my room feeling like a new man. Seth and Josh were sitting in the lobby waiting on me and Rosalyn. I sat with them for a few minutes until she joined us.
“We have a few minutes while they are getting our plane ready. There is a bar over there where we can get a drink.” Seth told us as he was leading the way. We sat at a table and the waitress was right there to take our order. We ordered a pitcher of beer with orders to have a second pitcher standing by.
“This is nice. Comfortable chairs, waitresses bringing cold beer, and air conditioning.” Josh sighed blissfully.
“I guess now is a good time to fill you guys in on what is happening in Rio. Josh you saw some of it but not all. They sent four thousand people with the ships to Rio. There are some soldiers with a few werewolves
mixed in to help handle any vampires or ghouls left in the city. They sent a lot of engineers and workers to get the power and water going again. They asked the survivors if some of them would stay behind and help. There is so much for them to do and having more people would help tremendously. Hector and his little group all decided to stay. They will be doing some of the tedious work, like going to each house and turning off appliances and stuff like that. Of course the worst job will be body removal. They are hoping to have the city habitable again in a few months.” Seth stopped talking as the waitress set down our pitcher with four glasses.
“It will be a lot of hard work for them. I will never forget the sight of body lined streets. No one should have to see that kind of thing. All those survivors were having to live like that knowing they could be next. Most of them will be scarred for life.” Josh drained his beer in one pull.
“Don’t underestimate them. It is amazing what the human mind can overcome.” I stated, more to comfort myself than Josh.
“The leaders here wanted to throw a parade for us but I refused. It would have meant staying another day. I want my Anna, and I know Josh feels the same about Alicia.” Seth drained his glass. “There is a phone on the plane you can use to call her. They will be coming here any minute to tell us the plane is ready. I say we drink up and continue drinking on the plane. If we get drunk enough maybe they won’t try to send us somewhere else.”
We all laughed at Seth and did as he said. We finished three pitchers before they took us to the plane. We drank and relaxed during the flight. Josh spent two hours on the phone with Alicia. I couldn’t blame him a bit for that. The one problem we ran into is the plane would be landing shortly after sunrise. Rosalyn and I would need to stay on the plane until the sun went down. I didn’t mind too much since it would give Seth and Josh time alone with their loved ones. I would be in bed next to mine.
The President called Seth during our flight and we all held our breath thinking he would ask us to go somewhere else. He only wanted to congratulate us and tell us he would try not to bother us for at least a week or two. Now that we were back in civilization we found out what had been happening around the world.
Berlin was still a mess but strides were being made. London was mostly clear now as were Rome and Madrid. The worst places now were in Asia. India and China were fighting back but it could go either way. Other countries were starting to send help once their own nations were safe. The four of us knew we might be sent if things didn’t improve soon. Egypt had developed a problem during our time in Rio. The vampires there had worked smarter instead of an open attack. They slowly built their numbers during the first couple of weeks and then attacked in full force with numbers in the thousands. The authorities there weren’t prepared thinking they were safe since the first weeks had seemed peaceful.
We turned the news off after a while. After what we suffered through in Rio, we needed a break. Our conversation went to more pleasant subjects. As we talked, I looked around at our little group and was in awe of what we accomplished. Four of us had killed countless thousands of vampires and ghouls. We were the reason over twenty thousand people would live on instead of being food for monsters. I must have been thinking too hard because Rosalyn elbowed me in the ribs to regain my attention. How this beautiful woman ever escaped my attention, was a mystery in the first place.
We were having fun and drinking so much that the sun rising caught us off guard. Rosalyn and I stumbled to our darkened room to sleep at the last minute. We got into bed and kissed for a minute before the sun put us down for the day.
My dreams were of a meadow full of flowers with Rosalyn and me sitting on a blanket. The sun was bright overhead. It was one of those perfect moments that all people in love dream about. My dream was so perfect until Rosalyn’s head was torn from her body. I cried out in stunned horror as Cyranos stood over me holding her head high.
“Did you really think I would let her be with you?” Cyranos laughed. I attacked him uselessly. He knocked me around before telling me, “I am not going to kill you, boy. I want you to live knowing I took your love away and there isn’t a damn thing you can do about it.”
I woke up screaming.
“Austin! What’s wrong? You were screaming and wouldn’t wake up.” Rosalyn was staring at me scared of what could be wrong. I couldn’t speak. I grabbed her face and kissed her repeatedly. The images of the dream slowly faded, but they didn’t disappear.
“It was just a horrible dream. I know it’s stupid but I guess even a vampire can have a nightmare.” I tried to laugh it off. She still looked worried but she let it go. We changed clothes and left our room.
As we entered the main area of the plane, my stomach growled loudly. The stewardess heard and offered me her arm. She had been the same one who fed me on an earlier flight. She didn’t seem to mind. After thanking her, she led us to the door. There was a familiar black Dodge Challenger waiting for us. Josh and Alicia got out as we drew near.
“Hey you two. Glad to see you again.” Alicia threw her arms around Rosalyn and then me. “Let’s get you home.”
I got the passenger seat while Rosalyn and Alicia got in back. We rode at a surprisingly leisurely pace. We rolled the windows down and enjoyed the fresh air. I knew fresh air would always mean a lot more to me now. Josh was usually speeding but he seemed to want this to last. I know I did.
The packs greeted Rosalyn and me very warmly. Handshakes and hugs were the greetings of choice. They pointed us to some new comfortable chairs set up on the porch. Crystal brought us a couple of Sam Adams, my beer of choice. More than ever, this felt like home.
“We’ve heard some of the stories from Seth and Josh. You two need to tell us the rest.” Jimmy didn’t waste time.
“How do we know what you’ve heard and what you haven’t?” I teased him.
“Hey, y’all got to go have all the fun, you can at least let us hear about it.” Jimmy pleaded with us.
I winced inwardly when he said that we had fun. I began telling him of when I was separated from Rosalyn and Josh in Paris. I wasn’t about to talk about how miserable we all were in Rio. I felt sure Josh and Seth would like to protect Anna and Alicia from knowing the severity of what we saw. The Paris story seemed good for them. It had action and a bit of humor when the brick fell from the sky to hit the old vampire. They also laughed at the part when I nearly got fried because I stayed out too late trying to get the cell phone.
I begged off telling any more for the time being. I convinced the wolves by telling them they would be bored tomorrow or something and would need another story then. Seth began telling them about Berlin to help get them to leave me alone for a while. Normally I would enjoy the stories but the nightmare was not going away. I kept seeing Rosalyn’s head being ripped off by Cyranos. It was taking a lot of my concentration to not show how much I was suffering. I drank my beer and tried to enjoy the company.
We spent almost the whole night on the porch. The packs were relieved to have their alphas back. They didn’t seem to be willing to let Josh or Seth out of their sight again. I sincerely hoped they would get their wish for at least a couple of weeks. The four of us needed time, or at least I did, to get the body lined streets of Rio out of our minds for a while.
Rosalyn and I went to the basement early. She was practically dragging me. I figured she was feeling frisky and wanted to have a good time before we slept. Wrong. She saw through my efforts and knew something was wrong. She took me to the basement to pry it out of me.
“What is bothering you? You were uncomfortable all night.” Rosalyn asked.
“It’s nothing. The dream I woke up from has me off center a bit. That’s all it is.” I told the truth hoping she wouldn’t want details.
“This is not like you though. You usually recover from everything quickly. I have trouble believing a dream could shake you up so badly.” She sounded worried and determined to find out why.
“Hey, it’s already fading, don’t worry about it.”
I started kissing her hoping to distract her. It was working until she figured out what I was doing.
“Stop that. At least for now. You need to tell me what was so bad that you were worried all night.” She persisted.
“Okay, I’ll tell you.” I paused a little until she gave me the look. “I was having one of those perfect human dreams of you and me having a picnic in a meadow. It was daytime with the sun shining and we were happy.”
“I’m not seeing the problem.” She had grown impatient when I paused again.
“We were sitting on our blanket happy like I said. Then Cyranos ripped your head off and was holding it over me before I could even move. I tried to fight him but he only laughed and toyed with me.” She could see the pain in my eyes at remembering the sight of her dying. She put her arms around me but didn’t say anything.
We stayed like that for a while. She couldn’t lie and say nothing like that could happen since we both knew Cyranos was more than either of us could handle. He wouldn’t have trouble killing us both at the same time. Instead of trying to talk to me she started the kissing this time. We made great use of the time we had before sunrise.
I happily awoke from a dreamless sleep when the sun set. Rosalyn cuddled up to me, not making any move to get out of bed. I was fine with staying right where we were until the sun came up again. The wolves’ laughter finally drew us from our bed. We took turns taking a shower. That was one convenience we would not be taking for granted anytime soon. It felt good to be clean.
“You guys got up just in time. The President is about to make an announcement. Seth knows all about it but he isn’t talking.” Cynthia informed us.
We grabbed a beer and headed for the living room where everyone was gathered. We found an empty spot on the floor and turned our attention to the television. The news anchors were debating how long it would be before Berlin and the rest of Europe was free from the worst of the danger. It wasn’t long before they broke for the President’s speech.
