The Savage War (The Vampire World Saga Book 5)

by P. T. Hylton

  “Chuck, what’s this place we’re going to called, again?” she asked into her headset mic.

  “One second, Captain, let me bring it up.” He sounded almost calm this morning. A few days into his stint as pilot of the away ship, he was already starting to fit into the role. “Babruysk, Belarus. Supposed to be the geographic center of Europe.”

  “Wonderful,” Alex said. The Council was hellbent on the GMT running missions to drop the virus on all major land masses as soon as possible. Africa was next in the lineup. Then Asia. South America. Australia. The only one in question was North America. The Council was still hotly debating that topic. The issue was Agartha. Sure, based on what Brian had told them, the virus would spread to North America soon, anyway. But not purposefully dropping it on North America could potentially buy the vampires of Agartha weeks before their area was infected.

  Ed leaned forward and glared at Felix. “Okay, maybe you know the members of the GMT. You memorized a list of names and proved me wrong. Congratulations. But the GMT’s about a hell of a lot more than names. You won’t really understand what we’re about until you’ve been through hell with us. Until you’ve bled and seen your friends die at your side.”

  Felix looked at Ed a moment, then nodded. “Look, I’m not trying to say I’m a member of the GMT. I’ve got a job to do, just like you. I’m not here to challenge your manhood or whatever. I just want you to know I respect the GMT, I respect the history, and I respect you.”

  An even deeper frown appeared on Ed’s face. “Yeah, well, the feeling’s not mutual.”

  Chuck’s voice came through their headsets. “We’re over Babruysk. I’m descending to five hundred feet.”

  “Good,” Alex said as she unstrapped her shoulder harness. “Ed, let’s get in position.”

  As Chuck lowered the away ship, Ed and Alex headed for the cargo hold, Felix close at their heels.

  “Really?” Ed asked. “You need to watch this?”

  “Like I said, just doing my job.”

  When they reached the hold, Alex lifted the lid off a crate near the cargo door. She carefully reached inside and lifted out the canister. According to Brian, the canister needed to be dropped from as close to five hundred feet in the air as possible. It was designed to release the virus two seconds after it was activated. Five hundred feet would allow for maximum distribution before it hit the ground, without the unpredictability of releasing it higher in the atmosphere.

  “We’re at altitude, Alex,” Chuck said through their headsets.

  Alex nodded to Ed. “Do it.”

  Ed slammed his fist against a button mounted on the bulkhead, and the cargo door slid open with a hiss. The cargo hold filled with the loud rush of wind.

  “Here we go,” Alex shouted. She hit the button on the canister and tossed it through the cargo door into the open space below.

  As soon as it was clear, Ed pressed the button again, and the door slid shut.

  Felix shook his head. “It’s strange.”

  “What is?” Alex asked.

  “That canister? If Brian is right, it’s going to kill more vampires than the GMT has in its entire history.”

  Ed patted the crate that had held the canister. “Here’s hoping. Some damn good people died to get this virus. Let’s hope it kills every one of those bastards.”

  CB stared down at the table, carefully considering how to proceed. His failure or success could depend on the next move. After nearly a minute of consideration, he laid down the jack of hearts.

  Jessica barely suppressed a smile. “You sure about that, Colonel? Because I’ll let you take it back, if you want to.”

  “Don’t try that reverse psychology crap with me, Director. That’s my move and I’m sticking to it.”

  Jessica shrugged. “Fair enough.” She rolled a pair of dice, then quickly laid down her card, a king of clubs.

  CB groaned. “Maybe you should be running the GMT.”

  Jessica laughed. “Nah, I’ll stick to kicking your butt. It’s quite satisfying.”

  They were playing a dice and card game called Trench War, a complex game that relied on tactical awareness, the ability to outthink your opponent, and flexible strategy. In other words, all the same things that made CB effective in the field. He’d learned the game as a young man in the badges, and he’d rarely lost. That is, until he’d taught Jessica to play. For some reason, she schooled him every time.

  “This is nice,” she said. “The two of us together. A quiet evening alone, for once.”

  “Easy for you to say. You’re winning.” He shot her a smile. “But you’re my favorite person to lose to.”

  “I’d say the same, if I ever lost.”

  Now, CB chuckled. He looked at his cards for a long moment, trying to figure a way out of the strategic mess into which he’d gotten himself. “You know, you never really told me what happened when I left.”

  Jessica shifted in her seat, clearly surprised by the sudden change in topic. “I told you. Some badges came for me. Took me to an interrogation room. General Craig showed up, and a few hours later, they sent me home and told me not to leave my quarters until further notice.”

  CB looked at her over his card. “Yeah, it’s those couple hours in the interrogation room I’m fuzzy on. And, to be honest, it’s not sitting well.”

  “You really want to know?” She set her cards face down on the table and took his hand.

  “I really do. I can handle it.”

  She nodded. “Okay. The first hour and a half was waiting. The room was cold. I was handcuffed. I was nervous about what would happen next. Not the most enjoyable ninety minutes of my life. Then General Craig came in.”

  CB’s brow furrowed in concern. “What happened?”

  “Craig took a long look at me. Then he turned to the guards and he said, ‘She’s not giving us anything. Let her go.’ And they did.”

  A slow smile crept across CB’s face. He understood where Craig was coming from. The determination in Jessica’s eyes often spoke for itself. “You’re incredible.”

  She picked up her cards. “I kinda am, aren’t I?”

  CB squeezed her hand. “I’m sorry. I won’t do that again. I won’t leave you. I promise.”

  Jessica looked down at the table. “You don’t know that. The next time the world needs saving… I’m not holding you back from doing what needs to be done.”

  CB let go of her hand and touched her chin. She looked up and their eyes met. “I do know that. I’ve done my time in the field. The next time I set foot on the ground, it will be by your side. And it will be for good. I’m not leaving this ship again without you.”

  Jessica looked at him for a long moment, as if trying to figure out if he was serious. Then she smiled. “Those are some pretty words, but they won’t distract me from the fact that I’m kicking your butt in his game. Your move, Colonel.”

  CB chuckled and selected his next card. He’d meant every word he’d said to Jessica, and now, with the virus, maybe the time for them to set foot on the surface wasn’t as far away as they’d thought. Maybe there was another life for them. If so, CB couldn’t wait to spend it with her.

  13

  The drawer to the old filing cabinet slammed shut. Somehow, that sound had gotten worse and worse over the last few days. Owl watched as Jaden opened the next drawer. He had done nothing but search through the old records. He still didn’t trust Owl enough to let her help, so she stood and watched. The next drawer was like all the others. Filled with old musty papers; most of them crumbled and fell apart when he picked them up. Some pages were covered in mold. Jaden would brush past all of that and find pieces of paper in the center that were still intact.

  Owl stood near the window, lit by a sliver of orange light from the sunset. “I can’t take this anymore. You’re never going to find anything in that crap. Let me help, so we can finish this waste of time, or let me leave.”

  “Is there somewhere else you need to be?” Jaden read what he could
on one page and flipped to the next.

  “Yes, I need to stop watching the most boring thing in the world. I have come to understand that the only thing worse than looking at old papers is watching someone look at old papers. Is this how you haze new vampires?” Owl crossed her arms and sat down on the floor.

  “You will not survive for long as a vampire, if you can’t take a little boredom. I once hid in a frozen cave in the far north for a week. Alone, with nothing to do. You need to learn patience.” The room they were in grew dark as the sun dipped below the horizon.

  “There is a difference between patience and wasting time,” she said. “This is a waste of time. Can’t you just sense this vampire woman you are trying to find?”

  “No, I’m afraid not. There are still too many Ferals for me to pick her out. If she’s here, she’ll find us. In the meantime, we will arm ourselves with any information that we can find.” Jaden put the handful of papers back in the drawer and shut it. Owl cringed at the sound.

  In the distance, a Feral howled. Owl jumped to her feet and grabbed her pistol. She shook her head and holstered her weapon. Jaden stood up and smiled at her.

  “Sorry, old habits die hard. That sound will probably always mean danger to me.” The sun was now under the horizon and the Ferals were awake.

  The smile faded from Jaden’s face. “Do you feel that?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Close your eyes and reach out with your mind. Sense the world around you and tap into the Ferals that surround us.”

  Owl did exactly as she was told. Once she focused, she could feel the Ferals. It had been there before; she just hadn’t been paying attention to the sensation. The feeling was awful. It was a combination of dread and pain. It was very different than the sensation of hunger and hunting that she had felt on her first night as a vampire. And sickness. She felt so much sickness. “What’s going on?”

  “I’m not sure, but be ready for anything.” Jaden drew his swords and went to the first floor of the building as Owl followed.

  Jaden slowly stalked down the interior hallway. He paused at each door for a moment and listened with both his mind and his ears. Halfway down the hall, he slowly opened one of the doors and crept inside, Owl following close behind.

  It was a large conference room. The room was dominated by a long table, but two Ferals hunched in the corners, sleeping. A third Feral stood behind the table. The creature was covered in blood. Some of it was fresh, but some was dried and fell off its skin in flakes when it moved. The Feral looked at Owl and Jaden, tilting its head in confusion.

  At first, Owl looked for a kill in the room. She assumed that the blood covering the creature came from something else. Then, she noticed the blood leaking out of its eyes and ears.

  The creature drew in a breath, and a strange gurgling noise eeked out of its throat. It threw back its head to howl, but only a soft sound escaped, along with what must have been a pint of dark, thick blood. The creature looked back at Owl, blood dripping down its chin. It took one step to the side and lost its balance. It teetered for a moment, as if it were going to fall, but then steadied itself and stared at them.

  Jaden walked around the table and stood in front of the Feral. Then he flicked his wrist, and the tip of his sword slipped into the creature’s heart and back out again. The Feral toppled over, hitting the wall, and then collapsed to the floor.

  Jaden checked the other two Ferals and found they were dead. They had simply never woken from the sleep of the previous day. Both had died in a pool of their own blood while they slept.

  “Oh my God, the virus worked. They are dying.” The realization started to set in, and Owl’s eyes widened. “We did it! We need to tell New Haven.”

  “Shut up.” When Jaden spoke the words, Owl’s mouth clenched shut. Jaden slowly walked out of the room and Owl followed. “We need to check some more buildings.”

  The streets were nearly empty. After walking a block, they came upon a group of three Ferals leaning against a wall, clearly struggling to stand, each of them bleeding. Jaden slowly approached the group. He stood a foot from the nearest Feral, but the creature didn’t even seem to be aware of his presence.

  “They’ve suffered enough,” Jaden said. He slashed out with his sword, removing the closest Feral’s head. “Kill these two with your firearm.”

  Owl did as she was told and fired a shot into each of their heads. The report echoed around the buildings. Owl scanned the rooftops, waiting for a group of Ferals to come rushing in, but none did.

  Jaden led them down the street until he came to a large building. It looked like it had been a retail store. They went inside and walked through the empty aisles. They found twenty Ferals in the store, every one of them dead.

  Owl’s excitement grew as she allowed herself to believe the first Ferals they’d found were not the exception, but the rule. She tapped Jaden’s arm and pointed to her mouth when he looked at her.

  “You may speak.” Jaden said as he turned and left the store.

  “This is amazing. Alex did it, Jaden. You must feel like a fool. You tried to stop her, but you failed. She wiped out the Ferals. The world will go back to the way it was.” Owl wished she could be with her teammates. She wanted nothing more than to celebrate this moment with them.

  “Amazing?” he said, his eyes flashing with anger. “Perhaps we should go find Firefly and your fellow citizens of New Haven. Would you like to watch as blood pours from their mouths and they stagger around, confused, until they fall dead? Shall we go to Agartha? We can watch as the vampires who have spent lifetimes protecting humans receive payment for their services. Would that be amazing?”

  Owl was quiet for a moment. She thought of Firefly, bleeding and dying. “No, I don’t want to see those things, and they aren't fair. But humans have a chance now. The Ferals will be gone, and the humans won’t have to fly around in a metal ship or live underground, like rats.”

  Jaden sat down on the hood of an old car. His voice was filled with sorrow. “We would have gotten there without this. We would have taken the planet back over time, and vampires would have been a part of that victory. The world needs our guidance and wisdom for long term survival. In a few generations, the humans will be back to destroying each other.”

  “Sorry that your plan to get rid of the Ferals over the next thousand years didn’t work out, but it may never have worked. There were a million things that could have killed all of us along the way.” She paused a moment. “Maybe all of your buddies in Agartha will transform, like we did. They will be ugly as sin, but they can hang out with us and help the poor humans. Just admit that getting rid of billions of Ferals is a good thing.”

  Jaden did not respond for a long time. He sat and stared up at the night sky. “Maybe I am a fool. The plans I had for this world failed. I wish that I could believe that the vampires I served with will survive this virus. I don’t think that will happen. Helen and the others who were exposed died. It can’t just be a coincidence that I was transformed by the virus Maryana created. The world has been changed by your actions. Those actions have killed a great species. You have killed my family.”

  Owl wanted to hate Jaden in that moment. If anyone ever had the right to hate a person, it was her. Still, she couldn’t help but empathize. He was losing his family. This time, Owl shut up on her own. She sat down next to Jaden and gazed up at the night sky.

  14

  Two days after their first trip to Babruysk, Belarus, the away ship once again touched down in the central European city. Based on Brian’s calculations, if the virus worked, it should have proven lethal to at least some of the Ferals the previous night. The GMT was there to see if they could locate any evidence of its effectiveness.

  The away ship’s cargo doors opened, and Chuck and Ed stepped out.

  “All I’m saying is that if Brian says it’s safe, it’s safe,” Chuck said.

  “I’m not saying it isn’t safe,” Ed countered. “But, doesn’t it make yo
u feel a little weird that you’re carrying this deadly vampire virus around inside you?”

  “Not really,” Chuck said.

  Felix stepped up beside them. “You’re probably carrying a whole mess of viruses you don’t even know about. This is just another one to add to the list.”

  Ed shot him a scowl. “Who asked you, desk jockey? Anyway, it just feels a little strange. This untested virus… I mean, Brian’s smart and all, but it’s not like he understands everything about the virus. If he did, we wouldn’t be down here checking if his guesses were right.”

  “They’re not guesses,” Alex said, as she stepped off the ship. “If it helps, just remind yourself that the virus you’re carrying kills vampires. You’re, like, forty percent more deadly to vamps now.”

  “I was plenty deadly already,” Ed muttered.

  Alex let that comment slide and took a look around. The city was quiet and seemed empty, but that was no surprise. It was daytime, after all. They wouldn’t have any real evidence until they headed inside to some shadier locations.

  Part of Alex wished that it were San Juan they were investigating, rather than Babruysk. She hadn’t been able to stop thinking about Firefly’s distress call and his warning not to land there. Of course, that had made her want to go there immediately. But the City Council was still mulling it over, and she worked for them. She’d go when they told her, and not before. And, honestly, she was glad not to have to make those big decisions. She just had to execute the missions they assigned her.

  Just ahead, she saw a long, squat building standing in front of rail tracks. It was a train station, Alex realized. A long line of windows stood along the front of the building, but they’d been boarded over. It looked like as good a place to start their search as any. She informed her team of the plan, and they headed for the building.

  They entered through the large, brown doors at the front. Chuck cleared the entrance. Alex and Ed charged in, each covering one side of the building. As Alex entered, she scanned the large, open room. It was filled with benches, rusted-out, old vending machines, and something else…