Savior

by Lane Mason

  “It was a hobby farm. The previous owner had horses, so there’s a barn and a small stable.”

  “Is there any farm equipment?”

  Dexter shook his head. “No, the equipment was sold separately.”

  Erica thought it over. A couple hundred acres was more than enough for what she envisioned. The farmhouse and barn would be perfect as well. It was time to tell Dexter what she wanted to do. “If this property is going to become a shifter safe haven, then it’s going to be a community. It isn’t just going to be a safe house where victims hide from the bad guys. It’s also going to be self-sustaining. I want a large greenhouse, an even larger garden, and the equipment necessary to maintain it. If the vampire problem becomes worse, as you seem to be hinting at lately, then we’ll build more housing. Housing that is suitable for the needs of each breed of shifter. I’ve been talking to Jeffery and Terra and getting a better idea of how wolf shifters and bear shifters live. How much the animal side of their nature affects their lifestyle.

  “The needs of a pack of werewolves are greatly different than those of an individual bear. I have also spoken with Dante about security. There are technologies available that we can use to make the entire property more secure, not just the mansion. I’ll need funds to implement the changes necessary, to turn this place into a self-sustaining and defensible community.”

  Dexter was impressed. He had assumed Erica had more selfish demands to be met before agreeing to stay and have shifters come stay as well. So far, she had said nothing that didn’t make sense, or that he wouldn’t consider prudent and intelligent planning. Dexter pulled an envelope out of his pocket. He handed it to her. “Inside is a corporate credit card with your name on it. Jack’s interest in the Shifting Humanity Corporation is now yours. The corporation has access to a very large supply of capital. You’ll have no problem getting any of the equipment or building supplies that you have mentioned so far. When you’re ready to design additional buildings, we have a shifter who is a designer and a contractor. He’ll help you develop the property.”

  Erica took the envelope. “I have more on the list.”

  “I’m sure you do. I’m not worried about your list.” Dexter paused and took a breath before continuing, “I think everything you have planned is excellent. I want to talk to you about vampires. You were right. The vampire problem is getting worse. In the last few weeks there have been a very large number of attacks against any humans that are involved at all with shifters. I didn’t know the extent of the problem until recently. After the attack on you here, I started calling around to people who do the same things we do. They’re all gone. The deaths all seem isolated, occurring all over the world, but the one common thread to all of the deaths is shifters. Anyone involved with shifters is being killed off. It is like someone is trying to put the curtain back up, or to drive a wedge between humans and shifters. It isn’t logical far too many people know the truth, but it does seem to be what is happening.

  “I’m afraid that the vampires are making a statement, and will come after you. They’re not just killing humans now. In the last few days, the homes of shifters who support the idea of humans as equals, have been attacked. Carrie lost her husband. Moira’s entire family was slaughtered. Moira is only alive because she was at a friend’s house for a birthday party when her home was attacked. The need for a shifter safe haven has never been greater. The whole situation is troublesome but one thing is for certain... Someone, somewhere, has a plan and killing you is high on their agenda.”

  Erica was not surprised. The logic behind hunting her down seemed strange. But, as part of a bigger plot, killing her made more sense. Jack had been a big part of integrating shifters and humans. If the vampires didn’t want that, and were planning to actively campaign against anyone who worked towards harmony between shifters, vampires, and humans, then any peacekeepers would be a target. Killing her was symbolic. Go against the vampires and you and your entire family would perish. It was a powerful threat. One the vampires seemed intent on seeing it through. Erica felt bad for Carrie and Moira. She knew the devastation of losing loved ones. For Moira, a small child to lose her whole family, the idea was heartbreaking. “I’m glad you brought Carrie and Moira here. They can be the first to join our small project. Are Carrie and Moira shifters?”

  “Carrie is a lynx shifter and Moira is a true mixed blood. Her father was a half-vampire and her mother a half-werewolf. The vampires who don’t want integration will see Moira as an abomination. She’ll be hunted, even more than you. She is a symbol of the possibility of harmony between shifters and humans, between vampires and humans. They’ll stop at nothing to kill her, once they find out she is still alive. The same could be said for humans who fear vampires, they will look at her as a freak and abomination. This house, with Dante as your protector is likely her only shot at survival.” Dexter paused, as Dante walked into the room.

  “Am I interrupting?” asked Dante.

  “No,” Erica said. “Your timing is perfect, come join us.” Erica turned to Dexter, “I would like you to meet Dante De Bello. Dante, this is Dexter Duvane.”

  “I know who he is,” said Dante coolly.

  Dexter ignored Dante’s icy demeanor. He knew exactly why he was so cold towards him. It would take more than a few gestures to get on the gargoyles good side. “Dante, it is a true pleasure and honor to meet you. I hope you don’t mind that we moved your home. We felt a great need.”

  “It’s nothing. This new land is interesting. This time in history is fascinating. I’m glad to have been awakened,” Dante said. He truly did find his new surroundings interesting. After hundreds of years of seeing familiar territory, this move and all the new technology had given Dante an abundant source of material to explore. Dante was invigorated and enjoying his time in human form, more than he could ever remember.

  “I’m relieved to hear that. Your involvement is critical. The idea of turning this property into a shifter safe haven only works if you’re here. The vampire threat against Erica is becoming increasingly, concerning,” Dexter said.

  Dante shook his head. “If the vampire threat is only just becoming increasingly concerning then it means you have only begun to pay attention. Vampire attitudes towards humans have not changed in hundreds of years. The only thing that has changed is that humans now have technology and are developing it at a rapid pace. You, above all, Dexter, should have seen this coming.”

  Erica watched the two men talk. Something about Dexter irked Dante, but what? Did Dante think of Dexter as a rival, or was there some information here she was missing?

  She interjected quickly to diffuse the friction. “Whatever the reason, we need to worry about the now. We shouldn’t bicker about what caused the problem.” It wasn’t what Dante said that alerted her to an underlying tension. It was the tone in Dante's voice and the set of his mouth.

  “No,” Dexter said, “Dante’s correct. I should’ve known better. There are vampires out there that will never accept the work that we do. They will never want a world where vampires are not the top of the food chain. When I first started working with Jack and other humans, I thought they would attack right away. But the attacks never came. We let our guard down and now are paying for that mistake. Dante is correct. I, above all, should have known vampires are patient and were only waiting for a time of their choosing to strike. I’ve been preoccupied with other issues that I’ve ignored the threat caused by vampires.”

  “So what do we do now?” Erica asked.

  “We keep doing what we started,” Dexter said. “You build this into a safe haven. I keep working with the MBI to better deal with paranormal threats, and together we’ll make it work. I wish I could spend all my time here helping you, but there are other threats out there equal to the danger these vampires pose. Having people like you who can stand up to those who’d harm innocents, human and shifter alike, is the key to humanities survival.

  The only reason I came here today was to make sure you understo
od the severity of the problem, and to make sure that you were safe here with Dante. I have leave. I will be taking Terra and her pack. We are going to search for survivors.”

  “I didn’t realize the situation had become so dire,” Erica said.

  “Ever since the governments of the world announced the existence of Unreha and the fact that paranormals live among us there has been trouble. It isn’t anything new. Although I’ve never had to deal with a powerful vampire clan such as we are dealing with now. I’ll go through my records and check on all of the paranormals that Jack and I ever worked with. I’ll get people in the MBI to start making sure they’re Ok. Hopefully this isn’t as widespread as I fear.”

  “How bad could it be?”

  “Beyond imagine, but there no point making any assumptions or creating conspiracies that don’t exist. I’ll work with my contacts in the Council of Unreha to see if they’ve heard anything. This could be an issue with only human vampires or a bigger plot. My gut says it’s only a vampire problem, but that doesn’t lessen the significance of the issue. Many of the European vampire families have hundreds if not thousands of vampires and as Dante can contest, vampires can be assholes of the first order.

  “Yes. Yes, they can,” said Dante with a smirk.

  Erica watched the dynamic between Dante and Dexter with interest. What was it between them? It seemed that they were both willing to put the issue aside to help her, but she still wanted to know, but since neither seemed willing to explain it she’d wait. Eventually it would come out. “Thank you for coming Dexter, and thank you for everything you’ve done so far. We’ll do our part and make this a safe place. Vampires be damned.”

  24

  After Dexter left, Dante turned to Erica. “Did he agree to everything that you asked?”

  “Yes,” she said. “He gave me total control over the project, and said there was funding for everything that I want to accomplish.”

  “You don’t sound as enthusiastic as I expected,” said Dante.

  “Well, it wasn’t what I expected. He didn’t question anything. He didn’t want any input. It was too easy.”

  Dante could almost see the wheels turning as Erica worked the issue over in her mind. Dante had his own ideas about what was going on, but he wanted to see Erica come to her own conclusions, to see if her thoughts echoed his.

  Erica continued, “Helping shifters relocate and adjust to human society has been one of Dexter’s main mission and purpose for years. Yet, he asks nothing about my plans. His only concern seems to be that you are alive and protecting us.” Erica paused, letting the questions that had been forming in the back of her mind for days now come to the forefront. “I think maybe the vampire problem is bigger than he’s letting on. I think as bad as things are, they might get worse.”

  As Erica processed her own thoughts, Dante watched her. She was a smart and a perceptive woman. During the times when she talked to him as Garg, he had gotten to know her mind, her thoughts on her deceased husband, and her own future. But now that he was here as a human, he was able to watch her in action, to see how she dealt with adversity and interacted with others. She was handling herself well. The nerves and insecurities that he saw before were gone. Having a cause, and people to care for, had brought out something akin to maternal instincts in Erica. She was a protectress. It was a trait Dante found very attractive. Erica was much more than a pretty face and a beautiful body.

  “If I am right and things are that bad...” Erica paused, the ideas were still formulating in her mind, “then it is important that we start working right away. I don’t have a great grasp of the number of shifters that are in danger, but Dexter and Jack did this for a long time and I would assume every client they ever had is now in danger, so our safe haven could turn into a refugee camp,”

  Dante shook his head, “No, I know how vampires work. If you and Dexter are correct and the vampires behind these attacks are targeting all shifters who’ve worked with your late husband and Dexter then most are already dead. There will be some survivors, but I believe you’re right. The attacks on humans such as your husband followed up by this new wave of attacks might be part of a bigger plan. I’m not sure what their goal might be, but this idea you have for a safe haven is likely more important than ever.”

  Erica agreed. It scared her that Dante, one who had lived so long and protected so many, agreed with her. It was bad enough that the vampires were targeting her, but to kill thousands, just because they believed humans to be equals and not just a food source to be harvested, was tragic. Erica knew that the callous disregard for life was nothing new. Man had been showing those same flaws since the beginning of time. But vampires, with their supernatural powers, wanting to declare themselves at the top of the food chain were a particularly scary thought.

  Erica focused on Dante. “I need to go find Jeffery. I have to start getting organized, but we’ve two new guests to see to as well.”

  “I will go find our new guests and you go find Jeffery,” said Dante.

  25

  Leaving Dante, Erica went outside to the gardens. As she had suspected, Jeffery was there.

  “Jeffery, I need your help.”

  Jeffery set his basket of tomatoes down. “Okay, what do you need?”

  Erica thought about it for a second. It would be best to explain what her goal was and then get into specifics. “We’re going to turn this estate into a safe haven for shifters, a sanctuary. I’m not going to live here by myself, being protected from the vampires, while others are being hunted down and killed. We need to start organizing and getting ready. I don’t know how many shifters will be coming, but I want to be ready for as many as possible. I also want a long-term plan in place. I want our safe haven to be self-sufficient. No relying on anyone but ourselves for food, water, power.”

  Jeffery looked carefully at Erica. It was interesting watching her change from scared victim to becoming a strong leader. He nodded in agreement. He could see the value of helping others. He took pride in helping Erica, as Jack had done so much for him, but helping more people and shifters was a noble cause. One he would gladly support. “That sounds good, Erica. What do you need from me?”

  “You’re my main man in the gardens. I need you to start thinking about how to greatly increase the size of your gardens. What equipment you will need, storage facilities. Make a list of everything you need.”

  “I’m happy to do the food supplies, but I don’t know everything about farming. I can give you some basics right now.”

  “That’s okay, I figured it would be too late in the season to worry about having a big crop this year, but the sooner we get going, the easier it will be next spring. What can you think of right now?”

  “A tractor, or two, with the right farm equipment. A plow and disks for field prep would be a good start,” Jeffery said. “If you want to be self-sufficient, we would need to have a good diversity of vegetables and plant some fruit. An orchard and a couple of fields for grains such as oats would go a long ways.”

  “I will start researching those tonight. An orchard sounds like a great idea. Do we need anything special for them?”

  Jeffery shook his head. “No, fruit is pretty easy. It takes a while to grow a fruit tree to maturity, but you can buy older trees. They cost a little more, but you don’t have to wait two or three years to start getting good yields. Harvesting fruit is a simple labor job and if you’re going to have a large number of people living here, then labor won’t be an issue. I can start planting trees at any time so that’s one project that won’t have to wait until spring.”

  “Perfect. I want to have a basic plan in place this week. How about after dinner tonight we meet in the library? We can get into more details about what we can and should do right away and what needs to be done later in the fall and over the winter. Our plans should be scale-able. I don’t know how many shifters we’re going to have, but I want to be ready. Oh, and I almost forgot, plan on having a large greenhouse as well. No point no
t growing food during the winter months as well.”

  “I can use the solarium right now until we build a proper greenhouse.” Jeffery smiled, “I am going to be spending a lot of time gardening, aren’t I?”

  “Yes, is that okay with you?” Erica asked.

  Okay? It was perfect, thought Jeffery. He enjoyed cooking, but he loved working in the gardens. Having a much larger garden and a greenhouse was like giving a kid candy. “I think I can manage,” he said with a straight face.

  Erica laughed, “You are so full of shit, Jeffery. We both know you’re practically having an orgasm right now thinking about spending all your time in the gardens.”

  Jeffery joined Erica laughing. “Fine, I’ll admit it. I love the idea of having bigger gardens.”

  “Good. You’ll have help, but I’ve seen how well your garden grows, so you’ll be in charge. I’ll just make sure you have everything you need to make it work. We’ll talk more after supper. I’m going to go research tractors, see what I can find.”

  Leaving Jeffery to tend to his crops, Eric headed back inside. Jeffery had given her much to think about. Fruit crops and grain fields were ideas she hadn’t thought of. She would need to keep expanding the plan. As she headed inside, Erica noticed Dante was outside with their new guests, Moira and Carrie. Dante was up in a tree attaching a rope to one of the large oak trees lower branches. She realized he was making a rope swing for Moira. Moira was shyly standing behind Carrie watching Dante, but from the look in Moira’s eyes, Erica could tell the young girl was eagerly awaiting an opportunity to test Dante’s swing. Erica made a mental note to check back later and see how the swing turned out.

  Firing up the laptop, Erica started looking up farm equipment. Erica was a city girl, but she had been around enough farms as a child to have a good idea of what the various types of equipment did and what would be needed. In theory almost no equipment was needed for gardening, much could be done by hand. However, her vision of a large self-sustaining sanctuary would require a large food supply. Having the right equipment would make that task much easier. A tractor was the workhorse of the modern farm and would be her first big purchase. That and the various accessories and attachments that increased the number of functions the tractor could perform. After she got Jeffery set up with equipment for food production, she would focus more of her efforts on the other tasks like housing and water.