by P. T. Hylton
“I want everyone to double check that your magazine is loaded and that the safety is on,” CB said. “Do not take that safety off unless we are under attack. If we are attacked, it will be a small force. We have the numbers. The enemy only has the transport ship, so she can’t have many with her. As long as you stay calm and follow orders, we’ll stop them. This is the time to stand up for your city and your people.”
The monitors in the room came on with a high-pitched tone. Everyone turned to watch. General Craig appeared on the screen. “Citizens of New Haven, I need to tell you about a crisis we’re facing. There may be an attack on our city. It’s unlikely that a ship will be able to get through our defenses, but we must be ready for the possibility. I need all citizens who are non-essential personnel to go to your quarters. Make sure that everyone in your family is accounted for. The badges will be guarding the city, and they will be armed. This is only a precaution. I assure you, there is no need for alarm. I will give you more information as we have it. Stay in your homes until we give the all clear.”
A moment after the screens went dark, CB’s radio chirped. “CB, how are we looking with the badges?” General Craig asked.
“Armed and ready. I’m sending half to guard the hanger area, and the other half to the Hub. I’m keeping the groups tight and the numbers large to give us the best chance, if we engage with any Twisted.”
“Copy that.” CB put the radio down and look around the armory. They were as prepared as they could be. All they could do now was wait.
39
The tension on New Haven’s bridge was so thick that the air felt heavy against Jessica’s skin. For the first time in the history of New Haven, the city was under attack. Or, at least, that’s what Alex had told them. If Alex said it, Jessica believed it would come to pass.
She looked through the large, domed window of the bridge. It gave her a clear view of the Agricultural sector, and—a bit farther on—the square in the Hub where some of the armed badges were already gathering. But, more importantly, it gave her a view of the sky.
“How we looking?” General Craig asked. Craig no longer held an active military position, but putting a general in a war room and asking him not to lead was like asking the GMT not to fight vampires—it wasn’t going to happen.
Besides, Jessica wasn’t supposed to be there either, technically. She’d managed to slip in under the excuse of wanting to keep Engineering updated.
The man at the radar, Matt, paused a moment before answering. “I… I think we have something, General.”
Captain Vern Pryce was the pilot of New Haven. As such, he was also in charge of aerial defense. He marched over to the radarman’s station and leaned down. “That’s an aircraft,” Pryce confirmed.
“It’s flying high,” Matt observed. “More than a mile above us.”
“I don’t care if she’s as high as the moon, she’s headed for our air space,” Pryce growled. “Shoot her down.”
“Aye, Captain.” A woman at another computer typed in a quick string of numbers. “Targeting systems activated. Weapons are unlocked. The computer will take it from here.”
The defensive systems aboard New Haven were automated, though they required a human to activate them. The room waited in silence. In the distance, they heard the city-ship’s weapons fire.
“Did we get it?” Craig asked.
Matt shook his head. “Not yet. They are executing some serious defensive maneuvers. Whoever’s flying that thing knows what they’re doing.” He paused. “They’ll be directly above us in a few seconds.”
The ship’s weapons fired again, and Matt let out a whoop of joy a moment later. “Got ‘em!”
“Yes!” General Craig pumped his fist in the air. “Take that, you vampire piece of trash!” He turned to Jessica. “We should radio CB. Tell him to have the badges stand down.”
Jessica didn’t answer. Her eyes were on the sky. Something was falling toward them. It was a small black speck, but it was growing larger by the moment.
Captain Flynn saw it too. “The hell is that? Debris from the ship?”
“Not debris,” Jessica muttered. She could make out the shape clearly now. It looked like a person.
Suddenly, the object turned. It was no longer falling, but flying at an angle. A telltale trail of smoke followed in its wake. Jessica’s mouth went dry. That thing had one of the GMT’s jet packs. Had there been any jet packs on the away ship when Maryana stole it? Jessica had no idea.
All eyes on the bridge were fixed on the figure arching through the sky, headed toward them.
“Weapons,” Craig said. “We need weapons.” He pulled the side arm he still insisted on carrying and clutched it tightly.
The figure was close enough to see more clearly now. It wasn’t human. It was Twisted, and it wore a wide, toothy grin as it soared toward the bridge. Maryana. It had to be Maryana.
For a moment, she seemed to be headed right at them, but then she turned hard to port and disappeared.
General Craig scanned the area visible through the glass, his eyes wild, but he found nothing.
“General,” one of the tech’s shouted. “Something’s breached the hull in sector twelve.”
“Damn it!” Craig shouted. “Tell CB she’s on board.” He turned to three of the armed men in the bridge. “Greg, take these two and guard the door.”
Greg nodded and headed outside, followed by two other armed men. The door slid shut behind him.
The radioman spoke into his microphone. “CB, this is the bridge. We didn’t stop the attack. She’s—”
Suddenly, a series of screams erupted just outside the door. General Craig went pale.
The door beeped and slid open and the Twisted woman stepped through, Greg’s keycard in her hand, a jet pack still strapped to her back. “Man, this city is wild! I heard rumors, but I never thought they’d actually be able to build a city that—”
Craig stepped forward and raised his pistol. “My name is Isaiah Craig, and I am the head of the City Council. Welcome to New Haven. We know a thing or two about killing vampires around here. Put your hands up, or I’ll add your name to our list of dead enemies.”
There was a blur of motion, and suddenly Maryana was in front of Craig, holding a ten-inch combat knife. She drove it up under his chin and into his brain.
Craig’s words cut off, replaced by a weak choking sound. She twisted the knife, and then he was silent. Maryana jerked her knife free, and Craig collapsed to the floor.
“I was talking,” she said. “In my day, we considered it rude to interrupt. With a leader like that, it’s no wonder you’re so susceptible to attack. Not to mention, he was talking when he should have been fighting. Pathetic.” She looked up at the others. “You all work for me now, by the way. I hope we haven’t gotten off on the wrong foot.”
No one spoke. Jessica took a small step backward. Craig’s gun had fallen a bit behind her. If she could get to it, she could at least take a shot at this creature.
Maryana turned toward the window. “First order of business is getting some muscle.” Her eyes settled on the badges gathered in the square past the Agriculture sector. “Well, isn’t that nice? They’re all lined up for me.”
Jessica knew that this was her moment. The only one she’d get. She crouched down, snatched the gun off the deck, and brought it up as fast as she could. But by the time she did, Maryana was already sprinting through the door. With a start, Jessica realized the vampire was running toward the badges. Toward CB.
CB stood tensely, waiting for the radio message to continue. There were only a few badges in the armory with him now. The rest them had gone out to join their teams. A fiery ball of worry formed in CB’s stomach. The only thing clear about that message was that something was very wrong.
His radio chirped to life, and Jessica’s voice came through. “Babe, are you there?”
“I’m here,” he quickly replied, his stomach twisting into knots. The sound of her voice, the way she’d
called him babe… Something was very wrong.
“Maryana is onboard. She killed Craig.”
CB blinked hard, not sure he understood what she was saying. “What? How did she—”
“It doesn’t matter. She’s headed for the badges in the Hub. She said she needs muscle.”
CB cursed softly. He had five hundred badges and he was about to go up against one Twisted. Why did he suddenly feel like he was the underdog? “Thanks, Jessica. I gotta go.”
He turned and grabbed the few badges still with him in the armory. “Come with me. And have those weapons ready. You see anything with pointy teeth, you shoot it.”
They made their way out of the armory, running toward the Hub. He needed to check on his soldiers there, to warn them. He suddenly wondered if it might have been a better idea to keep them all together. But even then—
He skidded to a halt, almost tripping over the five bodies lying on the ground in front of him. They groaned softly as their skin wriggled and their muscles shifted. Blood still flowed from the wounds on their necks.
CB had a terrible realization: Maryana was turning the badges. And it was a horrible thing to behold.
When a vampire turned someone, they drifted off and died before rising again in their vampire form. This was something different. Apparently, the virus changed not only a vampire’s physical form, but also the way they passed on their power. There was nothing peaceful about this process. The badges on the ground weren’t drifting off as the blood seeped out of them. They were all too aware of their biological transformation, as their insides shifted and they died an inch at a time.
“My God,” the badge standing behind CB whispered. “I’ve never seen anything like this.”
“I have,” CB said, thinking of Owl and Jaden wriggling on the ground in the morgue after the virus was released. He raised his pistol and fired five shots, one into each of the fallen badges’ hearts.
The badge behind him gasped. “Colonel, what did you—”
“They would have been her slaves. Trust me, they’re better off.”
They kept moving, running through the streets, heading toward the Hub, where the largest group of badges would be gathered. It wasn’t long before they came upon another fallen badge, squirming in pain as he transformed. What was even more disturbing was the three patches of blood on the ground near him. Three other badges had fallen beside him, but they were gone.
CB knew there was only one logical explanation for that. They’d finished the brutal transformation from human to Twisted, and they’d gone to follow their master’s orders.
CB and his small group of badges kept running toward the Hub. CB tried to focus, but his mind was reeling. Maryana couldn’t have been on the ship for more than ten minutes. How could she have done so much damage already? And here he was, the lone GMT member aboard New Haven. He just hoped Alex and the rest of the team made it to the ship before it was too late.
They reached the Hub and CB rounded the corner, catching his first glimpse of the square. What he saw made him stagger backward.
There were twenty-five badges laid out on the ground in front of him. They wriggled in pain, every one of them screaming. Their skin seemed to be moving, crawling, as their insides shifted and the very structure of their anatomy began to change.
CB took another pained breath and tried to push the horror away.
He raised his pistol, but he had no idea where to fire first. There were too many of them, and it was happening too fast. He’d never felt so helpless. He turned to the badges behind him. “Maryana’s trying to create an army. We have to get to the GMT hangar and—”
A hand wrapped around his neck, lifting him off the ground. He looked down and saw Maryana. Though her features were that of a Twisted, her eyes still shone with a human emotion: delight.
She grinned at CB. “Isn’t it embarrassing when you’re talking about someone, and they’re right behind you?”
CB looked at the badges who’d followed him from the armory. They stared at him, panic in their eyes, frozen with their weapons in their hands. If there was ever a group that needed a commander, it was this one. Maryana’s hand was wrapped around his throat, and he felt the sharp claws pressing against his flesh. But she wasn’t choking him, at least not yet. He could breathe. And if he could breathe, he could speak.
He drew and deep breath and shouted, “Light her up!”
“Idiot,” Maryana snarled. The badges responded to the command, raising their weapons and firing, but Maryana was faster. She flicked her arm, flinging CB through the air. He must have flown thirty feet before he collided with the nearest building. Something inside him cracked on impact, and he collapsed to the ground. By the time he raised his head, all four of his men were down and Maryana was stalking toward him.
“Now,” she said, “where were we?”
40
“New Haven, we are on approach, do you copy?” Alex could see her city from the cockpit of the ship. From her viewpoint, everything appeared normal. Perhaps Maryana hadn’t come to New Haven after all. Maybe she’d just flown off to some other continent to gather another army of Twisted.
“Alex, she’s here,” Jessica answered through the radio. Her voice was trembling. “She killed General Craig, and she attacked the badges. I think CB is dead.”
Alex’s heart pounded. She gripped the radio hard, fighting to stay calm. “We’re almost there. Can you open the hangar?”
“Yes, I’m opening it now.” She paused. “Alex, you have to be careful. I think the badges are under her control.”
“How many of them does she have?”
“All of them.”
A chill ran through Alex. “Jessica, listen to me. You’ve done your part. Now, I need you to find somewhere safe. Somewhere hidden. We are going to end this.” Alex put the radio down.
Jaden glanced at Alex, concern clear in his eyes. “How many badges are there?”
“Five hundred, give or take. Any ideas for fighting an army that size with just the five of us? Those are some long odds.”
Jaden grimaced. “The answer is simple. We need to kill Maryana. She controls everyone else. Once we take her out, the badges will no longer be a threat. Until that happens, we can’t hold back. Be ready to fire on whomever she has turned.” Jaden maneuvered the craft towards the hangar as he spoke.
“We know what’s at stake.” Ed checked the clip in his new Uzi. “You don’t have to tell us not to hold back.”
“Make sure you have grenades, too,” Alex said. “If we damage the ship, so be it. All that matters is taking out Maryana.” She grabbed the radio again and switched channels. “Brian, do you copy?”
“I’m here, Alex. We’re ready for you in the hangar.”
“Good, we’ll be there in a minute. In the meantime, I need you to access the city security cameras and get a visual on Maryana. I want to know exactly where she is.”
“I’ve already got that. She’s not exactly being subtle. She’s surrounded by the badges, and they’re on the move.”
Maryana looked around at her new army and smiled. The terror in their eyes was priceless. Many of the badges gawked at their deformed teammates in silence, while tears streamed down their cheeks. She walked over to one of them and put an arm around him. “Hey, buddy. Welcome to Team Maryana. Tell me, where can I find the leaders of this city?”
The badge’s eyes widened in surprise as he immediately replied. “The City Council.”
“Great, lead me there. Maybe they want to join the team, too.” Maryana raised her voice so that all of the badges could hear her. “If anyone gives us trouble, I want you to turn them. All you have to do is give them a little bite, and the rest takes care of itself.”
The badge she’d spoken to led the way through the empty streets of New Haven. The group marched in an eerie silence. They rounded a corner and came upon a group of ten men dressed in the gray coveralls mechanics wore on New Haven. They were armed with a collection of makeshift weapons, fr
om knives to steel pipes. One even carried a powered angle grinder.
They flinched when they saw the badges’ new Twisted faces, but they held their ground.
“This is our city,” one of them shouted. He glared at Maryana, a knife in each hand. “I’ll be damned if we give it up without a fight.”
“You’ll be damned, all right.” Maryana looked at her new soldiers, “Turn them.”
Without hesitation, the newborn Twisted surged toward the workers, racing to carry out their master’s orders. The workers tried to fight back, but the attack came too quickly and none of them even struck a blow. The first ten Twisted to reach them bit into the workers’ necks.
The men fell to the ground, some trying to cover their bleeding neck wounds with their hands. Then they started to scream. Their bodies seized, convulsing as blood erupted from their mouths and noses. A minute later all of them lay still.
Maryana walked over to the fallen workers and frowned. She stood at the edge of a pool of blood and looked at the men. She bent down and hauled one of the dead workers to a standing position, inspected him for a moment, then let his limp body fall to the ground.
“Huh, I hadn’t expected that. Looks like the virus had made you all infertile, vampirically speaking. Aren't you just a worthless bunch!” She kicked the pool of blood, splashing it at her Twisted soldiers. “I guess I have to do everything myself.”
The group continue to the City Council building and marching inside. As they made their way to the Council’s conference room, Maryana heard rustles and whimpers from the workers hiding under desks and in storage closets. She ignored them; there would be plenty of time to play with them later.
“In there,” a Twisted badge said, nodding to a set of double doors.
“Thanks, dear.” Maryana kicked the doors, and they flew open. “You kids wait out here and let the grown-ups talk.”
