by P. T. Hylton
But there were more pressing concerns. They needed a place to sleep for the day. Up ahead, he saw a building with tall rolling doors and few windows. As he reached the entrance, he saw a sign half-covered in vines. The rusted steel letters read ‘Titan Engineering: Building a Better Future.’ Firefly didn’t believe in fate, but the promise of a better future, or any future at all, sounded good right now.
The murmurs of the troops echoed in the abandoned warehouse as they entered. Firefly and Hector stood in front of the gathered vampires. It was clear they needed to have a discussion before sunrise. The problem was, Firefly had no idea what to say. He could sense the panic and dread in his troops, and he was sure that they were able to sense the same feelings in him.
“Do we all have it?” A voice shouted at Firefly. “Are we all going to die?”
Firefly climbed up on an old crate. “We don’t know what’s happening, but there are a lot of reasons for hope. We know Jaden and Owl lived through this. It may not be fatal. We don’t even know if all of us have the virus. We have blood coming tomorrow, and that may slow or stop the sickness.”
“You don’t know that.” Another voice echoed from the crowd.
“You’re right. I’m figuring things out, just like you. Brian may already be working on a cure. If he isn’t, he will start as soon as he hears some of us are sick. The guy figured out how to make the thing, and we all know he’s our best shot at a cure.”
This calmed the crowd down a bit. Firefly could tell that he was getting past their panic and logic was taking over.
“I don’t know much about the virus, but I do know that panicking will not help us beat it. The virus was released about two days ago and the Ferals at ground zero are still alive. I’m willing to bet we have at least that much time, but we could have a lot more. I want anyone who has shown any signs to come up and talk to me and Hector. We may split the sick and the healthy into two groups.”
Firefly stepped down from the box. He whispered to Hector, “If you have any other ideas, I’d love to hear them.”
“You did great, I think that everyone will be able to keep it together. At least until we start acting like the Ferals out there.”
The thought of all his soldiers stumbling around with blood dripping from their ears and eyes made Firefly shudder. He promised himself that he would stay strong until the end. His troops needed to see that he believed there was hope. If they saw him panic, he knew that things would quickly go south.
The vampires who had not shown any signs of sickness quickly went to the back of the room. About twenty of them had experienced minor bleeding from their ears, eyes, or nose. At this point all of them, including Firefly, still felt fine.
Hector made sure that the building was secure. They didn’t want any of the infected Ferals getting in. Firefly stayed with the other sick vampires. Once Hector was finished, he came back to Firefly.
“Listen, you’re in charge here for the day,” Firefly said. “I’m going to take a small team out. We have just enough time to get back to Jaden’s ship before sunrise.”
“Are you kidding?” Horace asked. “That place is a death trap. There are Ferals everywhere.”
“I know, but it’s our best chance for finding Jaden. We need to know how he survived the virus. Besides, if we don’t start shooting, I don’t think the Ferals will bother us. I need you to keep things under control here. Keep your radio on, and I’ll have the GMT bring blood for everyone in the morning.” He paused, taking in the look of concern on Hector’s face. “We need to keep focused and find a solution. We’ll be laughing about tonight five hundred years from now.”
Firefly and his team geared up and opened the steel door to the building. As soon as they stepped outside, they saw something that stopped them in their tracks. A man and a woman—or at least something like a man and a woman—stood before them. With their deformed faces and curved backs, they looked like a cross between a human and a Feral. Both were naked.
The vampires raised their weapons, pointing them at the two creatures.
The woman lifted her hands in the air, her eyes wide with fear. “Please don’t shoot. We need help.”
Firefly stared in disbelief for a moment. Where had these two come from? How could there possibly be other non-Ferals on the island? Could it be that they were starving vampires beginning to transform into a feral state? He turned to his team. “Lower your weapons.”
Firefly ushered the two creatures inside, and Hector found clothes for them, taking spare items from a few vampires’ packs and piecing together two outfits. They fit oddly on the creature’s misshapen bodies, but at least they were covered.
Once they were dressed, Firefly took them to a room near the back of the warehouse so they could talk privately. “Who are you and where did you come from?”
The female glanced nervously at her male companion, then spoke. “My name is Maryana. This is Stephen. I’m not one-hundred percent sure where we are, or even when we are. The last I remember, war had just ended. I was on Puerto Rico. I didn’t have anything to eat. I got so hungry… And then everything sort of went fuzzy.”
It was hard for Firefly not to stare at the deformed combination of human and Feral. He could tell that she was the leader among the two of them. Stephen had yet to speak. “I hate to tell you this, but it has been more than one hundred fifty years since you went Feral.”
“You’re kidding me!” There was a fire in Maryana’s eyes when she heard the news. She was shocked, but there was something else in her eyes, too. Pride? Disbelief? Firefly couldn’t tell for sure. She looked up at him. “How is it that you didn’t go hungry and lose your minds like we did?”
“It’s a long story.” He paused, not sure how much to say. “I’ve only been a vampire for a few years. We still have a source of blood.” He decided to leave it at that, for now. “Did you feed on a human? Is that how you turned back?”
Maryana shook her head, then paused. “So, there are still humans in the world. I was afraid that they had all died out.”
Perhaps these two had only gotten a few drops of blood. Maybe that could explain their partial transformation. Firefly had never heard of such a thing, but there was plenty that he still didn’t understand about vampires. All the same, there was something off about this woman. She seemed very calm for someone who had just come out of one hundred fifty years of starvation and into a strange new world. “You didn’t answer my question. Did you feed on a human?”
“I wouldn’t be so concerned about blood, if we had. We just woke up a few hours ago. Stephen looks hideous. I haven’t seen a mirror yet, but based on what I can see of my hands and body…” She left that hanging in the air.
Firefly hesitated for a moment, but there was no reason to sugarcoat it. “You look similar to Stephen.”
Hector jumped in. “You two knew each other prior to the end of the war?”
Maryana ignored the question. “How did the humans survive? I thought they’d all died or been transformed. Can you help us find them?”
Firefly and Hector exchanged a worried glance. Then Firefly answered. “I want to be clear about one thing: humans and vampires are no longer at war. We’re working together now, against the Ferals, the vampires who’ve lost their minds with hunger.”
The female smiled. “I’m glad to hear that. I assume they must be hiding somewhere where the Ferals can’t get them.”
“They’re safe,” Firefly said carefully. “They’re protected by the sun at all times.”
Maryana’s eyes sparkled with delight. “Oh, that sounds mysterious. We checked the poles, so I know they didn’t hide there. Where else does the sun never set? What do you think?” She nudged Stephen, but he gave no response.
Firefly took a step closer to this mysterious woman. Something about the way she was questioning him didn’t feel right. “I’m not going to answer any more questions about the humans. Let’s focus on you and how you got the way you are.”
Stephen stood up
in a flash and got between Firefly and Maryana. “Watch your tongue. You will speak to her with respect.”
Hector drew his pistol and pointed it at Stephen. Firefly took a step back and drew his as well. Stephen stayed in place between Maryana and the weapons.
Maryana let out a deep laugh. “It seems we’ve gotten off on the wrong foot. I’m not here to hurt you. I’d like your help. I promise you’ll be well taken care of. There’s no need to fight the inevitable.”
Firefly felt daysickness hitting him. He pushed it aside and focused his weapon on Stephen’s head. “Listen, we can talk and maybe I can help you, but I don’t trust you yet. I’m going to lock the two of you up for the day. We can continue this conversation after sundown, when we are all in our right minds.”
Maryana stood up next to Stephen and stretched. “Yes, doing anything while the sun is up would be foolish. Let’s all turn in for the day, and we can deal with this tonight. Besides, you look like you may be coming down with a cold.” She tapped the side of her misshapen nose.
Firefly touched his upper lip, and his fingers came away wet with blood. He had just a moment to contemplate the horror of the virus before Maryana sprang into motion.
She cleared the distance between them in a flash. Before he could fire, she grabbed his gun hand with both of hers. She shoved the barrel to the left and pulled on Firefly’s finger, causing the gun to discharge. The bullet sunk into Hector’s forehead, and he collapsed to the floor.
“Hector!” Firefly screamed.
Maryana twisted the gun out of Firefly’s hand. He tried to grab her, but she continued forward, pushing him off balance. She spun behind him, and wrapped one arm around his neck, putting the barrel of the gun against his temple.
“I like your spunk, but I don’t think this relationship is going to work out, long-term. You and your team will be puddles of dead flesh in the next day or two, anyway. Stephen, grab the weapons off our pal, Hector, and let’s have a chat with the rest of the team.”
Maryana stepped into the main area of the warehouse, Firefly held in front of her, the pistol to his head. Stephen followed close behind, Hector’s rifle clutched in his claw-like hands. Though the vampires were starting to become groggy with daysickness, they all looked up when the two strangers entered, a disarmed Firefly shielding them.
Firefly’s eyes darted around the room. He couldn’t believe how fast Maryana had overpowered him. His vampires looked unsure of what to do, but many of them had their weapons drawn. Firefly noticed sunlight leaking in under the door to his left. Morning had come, and that meant the GMT would be here soon.
Maryana addressed the room. “Hi, all. My name is Maryana, and I’m shocked and disappointed to find that name doesn’t carry any weight with you. It sounds like you have been fed some lies about the past, and that my old buddy Jaden has taken advantage of you. That’s all about to change.” She paused a moment, surveying the confused vampires before her. “I know you’re sick, and I can help with that. But I need a little help from you, too. Please lower your weapons and let’s have a chat.”
The radio on Firefly’s hip chirped to life. “I hope you’re not sleeping yet. We’ve got a lock on your signal and will be there in ten. Keep those droopy eyes open.”
Maryana smiled at this unexpected voice. “Oh, I can’t wait to meet your friends. That one sounds fun.” She turned back to the vampires. “I have the cure for the virus. There’s no need for anyone here to die. Now please, lower your weapons.”
The vampire soldiers looked at each other, considering what to do. After a moment, about half of them lowered their weapons.
Firefly glanced at the doorway five feet to his left. He knew this was his chance to take Maryana out, and he wasn’t going to waste it. His vampires had been stunned into obedience, and there was no way he was letting Maryana ambush the GMT. He braced his foot on the machine in front of him.
“Good,” Maryana said. “I’m glad to see common sense hasn’t gone away just because human civilization—"
Firefly pushed off the machine as hard as he could and slammed his head backward into Maryana’s face. He and Maryana went flying at the door. Maryana fired the pistol, but apparently she’d pulled the trigger a moment too late, and the bullet missed Firefly. As they slammed into the rotten wood of the door, Firefly wondered if the bullet may have been the better way to go.
The door splintered and Maryana and Firefly broke through and rolled into the parking lot. By the time they came to a stop, they were twenty feet from the entrance. Searing pain shot through Firefly’s face, his neck, his hands, every bit of exposed skin. He grabbed the radio from his belt and saw smoke coming from his hands. He jumped to his feet, ignoring the pain raging in every cell of his body, and pushed the button on the radio as he charged toward the door. He only made it three steps before his hand burst into flames.
“Alex, don’t land,” he shouted into the radio. He screamed as his face and hair caught fire. He pushed all of the pain out of his mind and tried to concentrate on the words he needed to say. “She’s here. I think I got her, but there may be more.”
Firefly thought that he heard gunfire, but through the haze of pain, he couldn’t tell what was real anymore. The smell of his own burning flesh filled his nose. He could barely see as he dove through the doorway and into the shade of the warehouse. He pulled his shirt over his head and smashed at it wildly, trying to put out the flames. Outside, Maryana was screaming, and he felt a small twinge of pleasure at the sound. He knew he was going to die, but at least he’d taken her with him. Then he realized that the screams were not of pain.
“It worked!” Maryana shouted. “It worked! It worked! Stephen, get out here. You’re going to love it!”
Alex’s voice came through the radio “Firefly, what’s going on?!”
Firefly lowered his shirt and, through a blur of pain, saw Stephen rush past him. The creature looked like he had been shot a few times. He needed to warn Alex again, to make sure she understood. If he could do right by her this one time…
He raised the radio to his lips. “Don’t come here, she—”
His words were cut off by the sound of gunfire. Smoke curled from the barrel of Maryana’s pistol.
Firefly collapsed to his knees, distantly aware that he’d just been shot in the face. The bullet must have missed his brain, though, because he could still see.
Smoke trailed up from the barrel of the pistol in Maryana’s hand. She and Stephen both stood in the sunlight, contented smiles on their faces.
“This is beautiful,” Maryana said. “I guess Jaden was right about one thing. Hard work and patience do pay off. Shame that we couldn’t have shared this moment with some better company. Will you be okay?”
Stephen looked at the pool of blood forming at his feet. He had gunshot wounds in his abdomen and one leg, apparently the work of some of the vampire soldiers. “I’m fine, nothing fatal.”
Firefly tried to get to his feet but found he could only raise himself an inch off the ground. He suddenly understood that after everything, it was going to end here, on the floor of this ancient warehouse, surrounded by his fellow Resettlers. At least he’d gone down fighting. And he’d given Alex the only thing he could: a warning.
“Huh, check out those big doors.” Maryana gestured to the rolling cargo doors on the side of the warehouse. “What do you say we open them up and let our new friends see the light?”
10
“Don’t come here! She—” Firefly’s voice cut off with the sound of gunfire. Then there was only static.
Alex and Ed stared at each other for a long moment. Then Alex touched her radio again.
“Firefly. You copy?” She waited ten seconds, but there was no response. “Firefly, acknowledge.”
Again, there was no answer.
Ed’s hand went to his mouth. “What the hell?”
Alex blinked hard as she stared out across the passenger hold of the away ship, her mind racing.
“What
do we do?” Ed asked.
Felix’s brow furrowed. “I think it’s pretty clear. Captain Firefly advised us to stay away. He’s the one on the scene. We need to follow his instructions. We head back to New Haven and inform the Council.”
Ed shot him a look. “I wasn’t asking you, dumbass.” He turned to Alex.
Alex was still working through the problem. “What did he say? She’s here? Something like that?”
Chuck’s voice came through their headsets. “Could he be talking about Owl? Saying she like that implies he was talking about someone we know.”
“Maybe,” Alex said. On the other hand, Firefly had sounded like he was under quite a bit of duress. Could it be he was in the heat of battle and wasn’t able to articulate clearly? But battle with whom? It had to be Jaden and Owl. They were the only other vampires on the island. “What do you think, Chuck?”
“I hate to say it, but I’m with Felix. Firefly told us not to land. I trust him enough to listen, even if we don’t have all the details.”
Felix nodded, a pleased smile on his face. “There we have it. Two votes to one.”
Ed glared at him. “I know you aren’t exactly a military man, but we don’t decide things by show of hands around here. I don’t care who your uncle is, Alex still makes the call.”
Alex ran a hand over her head. There was another possibility that could explain Firefly’s lack of articulation. It could be the virus. Was it possible he could be so far gone so quickly? She’d just seen him the previous day. And if he was infected, could she risk setting the ship down among an army of infected vampires? Who knew how the sickness would affect their mental states?
Ed pointed to his tablet. “Alex, we’ve got his location right here. It sure sounded to me like he was in trouble. We’re in a position to help him.”
But were they really? Three GMT members and a green Council watchdog who’d only set foot on the surface for the first time yesterday? What could they do that an army of vampire soldiers one-hundred-and-seventy strong couldn’t? That wasn’t the deciding factor, though. The deciding factor was that Firefly had very clearly and specifically told her not to land.
