After The End (11 page)

All eyes were on me as the elder Undead
finished speaking. He looked at me for a decision, while the South
Americans shifted their gaze between us; I think they were aware
that the course of their existence was being debated and chosen for
them.

Everything Cal said made perfect logical
sense, but it felt as though I was being asked to abandon a box of
puppies on the side of the road just because they weren’t
housebroken. I thought for several moments.

“Cal please translate for me; I need to ask
some questions before this goes any further.”

The vampire nodded, his expression blank.

“First, what’s her name? Where are the others
they came with, specifically their guides? I thought they stayed
with them to handle the language barrier.”

He faced the shovel-bearer as he spoke. I had
no way of being sure of what he was actually saying; I simply had
to trust the man. She answered him but never took her eyes off
me.

“Her name is Maria. She says they all were
eaten by the Dead or fell sick during the trip. A zombie bit her
guide while they were at the hotel. She and her friends ran away
when the men with guns started shooting everybody with bites.

She says Fernando knows some Spanish and a
few words of English, so he can translate. She wants to know if we
will leave them alone now. She doesn’t want to fight; she just
wants to find a place to sleep before they try to find a way to get
back home to Sao Paulo.”

I’ve never had a real decision to make until
that moment. Even deciding who to trust has been simple: go off
body language – signs of deception, don’t trust; no deception,
trust until given a reason not to. If someone breaks my trust, that
bond can’t be rebuilt.

Choices have actually become easier since the
outbreak of rising Dead. Anyone infected or hostile gets killed,
and everyone else is considered an ally until shown to be
otherwise. Leaving these kids unprotected and without aid is
tantamount to death sentence.

“Cal, gimme a second over here please.”

The two of us stepped aside into the darkness
to converse. An owl hooted its warning in the distance, drawing
Daemon’s attention from our mini-conference; he was the only person
not intently zoomed in on the meeting. The Roman vampire motioned
for me to speak.

“We can’t just deny them a chance to join us
in the fort because they don’t speak English; it feels, well,
wrong. If they keep wandering out here alone, they’ll be killed. I
don’t think I can handle being responsible for their deaths.”

“Squirrel, I will talk plainly with you.
Everyone in Nova Nocte sees you as our leader, myself included. You
are the final say, not myself or Chase or Sunny, you are. Although
my experience and advice are freely given to you, this judgment
must be your own.”

“Look, the communication thing is important;
we have to be able to understand each other to make our society
work. It adds a lot of risk to bring the Brazilians in, but keeping
them out feels inhumane.”

I was begging Cal to give me a better reason
to abandon these adolescents; or for him to make the ruling without
me. His demeanor softened and I saw the sadness trapped in his
gaze. He answered my plea the only way he could.

“Making painful choices, even with others’
lives, is the reason the mantle of leadership weighs so heavily
upon the bearer. I’ve carried that burden as well and do sympathize
with you right now; but you must do what will be in the best
interest for our people. Are these six lives worth risking all the
others?”

He gently patted my upper arm as he skulked
back into the amber glow.

I stood in a swirl of lonely shadows, the
murmur of my thoughts buzzing through my head. I felt the bright
eyes fixated on me from the recesses of night. With a deep breath,
I announced my decision.

“I agree with Caelinus; these half a dozen
turistas pose a greater risk as our neighbors than as passing
strangers. They’re trying to get home so let’s help them on their
way.

They won’t be entering camp; we’ll bring the
supplies to them and give them tips on survival while guiding them
away from our community. The potential hazard to our group
outweighs the desire to provide more assistance.”

I threw my head back slightly, signaling the
Roman to translate the message. Stepping closer, I watched the
petite girl who’d been forced into leading her friends; Maria
exhaled lightly and put on a false smile as my words came to her
through the vampire. She maintained eye contact with me until he
finished each word. She seemed to grasp why I made this ruling, but
I doubted she was aware of what an opposite judgment could have
meant.

I pushed away the sound of my parent’s voices
in the back of my mind; they would’ve wanted me to help these
kids.

But they aren’t here anymore.

The popping upwards of Daemon’s hand
fractured the seriousness; he nearly quivered himself off the
ground in excitement. I heard snickering from several spots at
once. I was almost embarrassed to be friends with someone dorkier
than myself. I jokingly played teacher.

“Yes, the hyperactive child in the first
row.”

His usual ramble of thoughts poured out as
smoothly as uncorked wine.

“I can fly up now, get the bag and canteens
ready, and tell everyone else to relax. Then I’ll be back in a few
minutes and Cal can tell them camping tips and stuff while I’m
gone. And then I can show them how to leave through the orange
grove; I’ve always wanted to be a tour guide, I just didn’t really
know until now. So can I? Please?”

He was so energetic at the prospect of having
a new task to do I thought the guy might wet his jeans.

He grinned widely as laughter erupted from
one of the tour kids; at their urging, Cal had translated.

“Sure, go ahead. Have fun.”

I barely restrained my amusement. It actually
hurt my abs trying not to laugh during such somber conditions.

Daemon shot up and flew towards the guarded
hamlet. He really was gaining control over his flying. The warbling
of frenzied Portuguese erupted from the other teens as Daemon
crossed the dim heavens. I could make out his silhouette as he
stopped mid-flight and pulled a shaky U-turn. Cal tried to calm the
agitated tourists, his efforts thwarted as his protégé landed.

“What happened? Is everyone all right?”
Daemon asked, his face awash in puzzlement.

Maria shouted and thrust her shovel edge at
the bridge of his nose in response. In the same instant, the
fledgling moved to his right and Cal was at his side; it seemed
like he’d materialized from the air itself.

The Roman snatched the weapon from the girl
and bared his fangs with a hiss reminiscent of a cat being bathed.
The shovel was embedded deeply into the ground as Daemon recovered
from his astonishment and took a fighting posture. Their eyes
burned a furious green as they snarled at the assault.

Everyone around the dying fire was poised
with arms drawn. Maria stepped back and flicked out a small
pocketknife as she muttered viscous foreign words at our
detail.

“Cal, what the hell just happened and what is
that bitch saying?” I asked through clenched teeth.

Although my vision was tinged with crimson
and my heart thundered in my ears, I tried to restrain myself from
gutting the girl who I’d argued to protect a moment prior.

“Apparently, these brats were unaware of our
kind. They are now under the distinct impression,” he paused as he
threw their leader a disgusted look, “that the entire society we
have here is composed of demons. She also claims this meeting was a
trap to devour her and her companions. They reacted by denouncing
our survival and attempting to remedy the situation.”

The posse of teenagers began chattering
amongst themselves. The lone male baby-stepped to his left and
leaned down, hefting a bag onto his shoulders. The other Brazilians
followed suit and gradually loaded their belongings before edging
backwards from our crew. No weapons wavered.

The diminutive Maria spoke at Cal; disdain
and hatred dripped clearly from each word thrown at him. The elder
vampire retracted his fangs as he sneered his response. He
translated as the wandering pack of teens retreated haltingly into
the trees, disappearing into the inky obscurity.

“The head urchin said they don’t want help
from abominations like us. They’re leaving and refuse to consort
with damned beasts or worthless traitors to the human race. Maria
added her intent to cleanse the entire community from existence at
the first opportunity. She also tossed around some other threats
and insults I will not deem to impart.”

Chase and Randolph moved towards the tourists
at the threat on our loved ones.

“Personally, I would like very much to rip
her self-righteous tongue out of its cacophonous hole, and rend her
apart until her blood ceases to gush and there is nothing left for
the mindless Dead to ingest. However, it is your decision.”

The fury seethed off of Caelinus in droves,
each wave tactile as it rolled through the vicinity. The miniscule
hairs on my neck stood at attention, an army prepared for war. I
still struggled to maintain composure and think clearly after the
initial assault.

She nearly killed Daemon.

I felt myself moving towards the tour group’s
exit route but halted the advance after only three steps. We needed
a plan. I wanted to hunt them down and destroy them, but that
wasn’t the best course to take.

“No. We’re going back to the fort. We’ll put
out this fire, go tell the others what just happened, and add some
precautions to our routine. Daemon and Cal, you’ll both need to
sleep either within the wall or just outside where we can protect
you during the day. We haven’t been holding up our part of the pact
and I’m sorry.

You’ve been left unguarded when you are most
exposed. We can add a cabin if it makes things more comfortable,
but I won’t let anyone slaughter you while you sleep.”

The team withdrew a bit and the Roman eased
his stance.

“If these punks are foolish enough to cross
our paths again, do whatever the fuck you want to them. They’re
getting one chance to leave in one piece, if not peacefully. If
they’re too stupid to take this opportunity, we’ll call it natural
selection. Let’s go.”

I kicked some dirt into the coals and plodded
angrily back through the bushes to the entrance of our fort. My
mind raced with thoughts of beating the girl into unconsciousness
for her attempt on Daemon’s life. He was my friend and that dumb
brat nearly ended his existence. For her sake, Maria should have
stayed away.

Upon entering the fort, I realized both vamps
had positioned themselves at either end of our line; Cal watched
our tail and Daemon walked directly behind me. I was stunned
neither of the vampires had argued about changing their daytime
address. If I hadn’t been fuming over how the evening had gone, I
probably would’ve laughed at the silliness of two such powerful
beings following the commands of my five foot two, meek self.

Immediately calling the town to a meeting,
the six of us relayed the events. Looking around, I noted several
flinches and wide eyes as I announced the new precautions.
Thankfully, a handful of smiles and agreeable nods were
interspersed among the nervous residents. The mosquitos politely
stayed out of it and went on with their buffet.

If Cal noticed, he didn’t show any response;
he wore a soldierly posture of indifference and a noble’s bearing.
Daemon was busy playing rock, paper, scissors with the three
children. He only acknowledged the announcement by shooting me a
thumbs-up. Turning back he adopted a befuddled frown and furrowed
his brow; the kids were winning every round.

It only took six days to complete a small
cabin for Daemon and Cal to live in. Until the construction was
done, they stayed in the main cabin with most of the early members
of our group. It was agreed that the second cabin with the kids
added too much potential for issues.

Chase and Sunny switched their beds to the
entrance of the room so that the Undead tenants could slumber in
back. Even without windows, opening the door at the wrong time
could pour too much sunlight into the bunkhouse – another reason
not to stay with the children, as they constantly ran inside and
outside.

This sleeping arrangement revealed something
I hadn’t thought of; vampires don’t just pass out when the sun
rises, they merely have no resistance to sunlight. The first day
the vamps stayed inside the camp’s barriers, I came in from my
guard shift to find Daemon lying on his back and tossing a baseball
in the air next to his snoring mentor. The fledgling signaled me
over, sat up, and brushed his dark hair from his pale face. As soon
as I sat on the cot next to him, he giggled.

“You look really funny when you make that
face.” Daemon whispered.

Taken aback, I looked at my watch and then
Cal before responding.

“How come you’re awake? I thought vampires
slept during the day?”

He sprouted an ear-to-ear grin.

“During the day and all day are two very
different things. We can’t go outside, but we don’t fall under some
magic sleep spell at dawn; you heard Cal, we’re natural creatures,
not mystical demonic fiends. No matter what the turistas think.

Cal likes to crash early and be up by three
or four, but I like staying up and sleeping in. Neither of us
really needs much sleep, but it kills time.”

I nodded along letting the logic of Daemon’s
words roll over me.

“That makes sense.”

I plopped onto my bunk.

Reclined on my left side, the two of us
talked about nothing and everything until my watch alarm buzzed
loudly. I pressed the snooze and yawned, “Oops, no nap for me
today. Got to get back to work. You should probably catch some Z’s
while you’ve got a chance.”