After The End (23 page)

I felt a whirlwind of panic coated with acid
rising in my stomach.

“Do you think anyone would try to kill Daemon
or Cal?”

“No.” “Not a chance.” They chorused. Seth
elaborated for me.

“They may leave or eventually bring around
the possibility with you one afternoon away from the cabins, but no
one would do anything in camp without approval. I’m fairly certain
they all believe you’d take such a thing personal and things would
end badly.”

The spearman shrank into his dinner as his
words trailed off. My community feared my reaction so much that
they were trying to get a consensus together before even
recommending any course of action. I’d somehow been forced into the
role of leader and had now been cast as a dictator.

Can’t we ever just have a
mellow day anymore?

For two weeks, I’d made a point of speaking
one on one with every person in camp; I needed to assess what he or
she thought about Cal and Daemon. As soon as Troy and Seth filled
me in on the whispers and concerns within the community, I had them
go to the coffin cabin with me. Under the pretense of surveying the
housing situation in the fort, the five of us discussed the
information.

“Well it sucks to be us.” Daemon commented as
he sat up on his bunk.

I noticed he kept looking beside me at Troy.
I was almost certain I saw him flex his muscles as he crossed his
arms in front of his bare chest. Cal darted his eyes over the pair
of them and shook his head before settling his gaze on me.

“Eloquently put. So, Squirrel, how should we
proceed?”

“Well for now, I think we need to gauge where
everyone stands on the issues: the Pact, moving back into the city,
and handling the cannibal raiders. We should rearrange the sleeping
quarters; it’s getting crowded in the main cabin anyways, so it
ought to be easy to convince everyone.”

I checked each man’s eyes for signs of
agreement or dissension. Satisfied that we wore the same uniform, I
elaborated on the rest of my improvised concept.

“We need to move the bunks and belongings to
even out the residents between all three cabins. I want to put
Chase and Sunny in the second cabin; it’s mostly couples and
families anyhow. Forrest and Vincent stay in the main cabin but I’d
like to get the Nurse, myself, Troy, Seth, and a couple of others
that are against the Pact moved in here.”

“Seriously? You want to put guys in here who
want to stake us on purpose?”

Cal set his palm on his protégé’s shoulder to
prevent him jumping up in his excitement.

“It is the wisest move; if they stay with us,
we may be able to sway their views over time - by erecting bonds of
camaraderie and friendship. If not, we’ll have our enemies where
they can be monitored and their attempts at causing unrest negated
swiftly.”

“Exactly. However, I don’t want either of you
to use glamour to change their minds, they have the right to leave
and think whatever they want. The line is at trying to harm any of
our people and – despite what some of them think — you are both our
people, too. I’m hoping these changes will remind them.”

I made a quick mental prayer while trying to
think of how to phrase the rest of the discussion. The words were
practically a whisper when I managed to force them out of my
tightening throat.

“We need to decide a course of action… in
case, well in case the group is divided on the Pact too
severely.”

I didn’t look up. The sensation of eyes
burrowing through my head said they’d heard me. When I finally
raised my eyes from the worn out New Balances on the floor where
I’d been staring, I noticed the only surprised face belonged to
Daemon. Troy and Seth just looked at me with an indifferent but
determined expressions. Cal had zoned out facing the doorway.

“I feared this would happen eventually. This
is why we kept our kind a myth for so many centuries; kept living
in the shadows, anonymous and forgotten.”

The elder vampire drew a deep breath and let
it out slowly, his jaw resolute.

“As it stands, Sunny is no longer an
acceptable donor and Ezra is dead. We are already close to the
limit of a healthy donation schedule. If we lose more than four or
five adults, the continued vigor of either the two of us or the
rest of you will be significantly lessened.

We must to impress upon the community that
continuation of the Pact is a matter of our mutual best interest;
it is essential for both our species to survive and maintain a
semblance of civilization.”

He turned to face us; Seth began pacing
between the beds. I rubbed my temples and tried to find the right
words.

“I know. As far as clearing the city of
fleshies and moving back in, I think it’s a ton of risk with no
real perks, but I can agree if we have a game plan and do it
gradually. The cannibals are a different kind of issue.”

Daemon leapt to his feet, causing Seth to
stumble in surprise and flip over someone’s trunk. Troy flinched,
bringing his hand to his knife for an instant. Troy pulled his
startled friend back to his feet and we stared at the fledgling
vampire.

“What if me and Cal took out the
people-munchers?”

I smiled.

“That could help. Besides, maybe the folks
who stay in their camp are unaware of the things those guys do on
their raids. Some of those people could be allies. Even if not,
getting rid of the threat that big guy and his team of brutes pose
is important: they keep destroying other settlements full of other
survivors who could join our camp. We should consider getting a
crew together to deal with it.”

“No. You wouldn’t go, just us vamps.”

Troy smirked at the comment.

“No humans on the hunt, huh? Yeah that won’t
raise any eyebrows or distrust. Don’t be stupid, we’re going with
you if this goes down.”

“But alone, we vamps can fly out, waste the
bad guys – supplying us with sustenance for the trip – sort out the
rest of Seth’s old subdivision, and pop back here easier than a
drunk stripper on Valentine’s Day. With a bunch of you folks in
tow, the journey takes longer and the shuffling corpses become an
issue; also the food and bathroom stuff.”

The two men stood less than an arm-length
apart, Daemon’s eyes gleamed bright emerald while Troy’s pearly
teeth shone through his half-smile.

“If we’re supposed to make everyone here
trust you guys, we need to be able to believe it’s not just you two
hunting up extra cattle for the winter. One of you has to stay and
the other one goes as part of a team.”

I watched the argument like a tennis
match.

“Gentlemen, it’s a matter for discussion with
the community as a whole, not just us. Calm yourselves and sit
down.”

They stood inches from each other; eyes
locked and noses flaring.

“Okay guys, time to focus.” I stepped closer
and set my hand on Daemon’s forearm, leading him unblinking to his
cot. “Let the macho out of the room and we’ll figure up what
options we should present to the group and when.”

Troy still stood between the beds watching me
with a confused look. After a good thirty seconds of tense silence,
he sat down next to Seth. Caelinus rubbed his eyes and stood in the
center of the cabin.

“Squirrel, perhaps we should just agree to
adjust the lodging within the fort. After that we can touch base
with our known allies about the pact and decipher who is a danger.
Once we know who stands where, you can arrange a town council to
address our external foes and pose the question of resettlement
within the city limits. The majority will have to resolve these
matters, not this small contingent.”

“Sounds good to me.”

I rose to leave and fill in Sunny, Chase, and
the others on the plan. Daemon rose also, stood at attention, and
saluted the Roman. Jokingly he heralded,

“So orders the great Caelinus Gaius, Under
Commander of the First File of the Roman Empire.”

With a light chuckle, he waved the three of
us goodbye and returned to his bed.

“Sorry, been waiting to do that for months;
just needed an excuse.”

The Roman waved us out of the room and
approached his protégé.

“It’s going to be a long eternity…”

That evening the entire camp agreed to the
reassignment of quarters; although some of those assigned to live
with the vampires were visibly displeased. One guy mumbled about
sleeping in a scarf and turtleneck. Although the relocation only
took an hour, the council meeting barely dealt with the possibility
of retaking the city and didn’t address the cannibal situation at
all.

Chase had pointed out the need to ease
everyone into each topic week by week. It felt like the best option
only because it gave our small group the chance to work out all the
alternatives we faced. We were playing chess, trying to see five
moves ahead and get into the minds of our adversaries. Our small
group of planners spoke at length while we worked on our chores,
practicing retorts for each potential dissension.

The division in our tiny group kept waylaying
our meetings over the cannibals: everyone agreed a search and
destroy mission was needed, but the personnel and plan remained the
point of contention. Troy and Daemon usually ended up squaring off
verbally while the rest of us sat on the other side of the room
trying to sort out how beneficial it would be to remain in our
encampment versus moving our community into the urban areas.

“Look, Fang Boy, when we chase down those
cannibals, it won’t be just you and Grandpa Dracula; I’m going
too.”

Cal shrugged at this latest nickname in their
debate.

“Children, is this really helping? The rest
of us have already decided to present both choices for the journey
to the assembly at the next council. Can’t you two please sit down
and be useful?”

Neither moved or said anything. I shook my
head.

“Fine. Troy, please check on the sentries.”
With a frown, he strode out of the cabin, the door slamming behind
him. I turned to his beaming opponent, “Daemon, I think it’s time
to patrol the perimeter.” The wide smile slid off his face as he
followed the bowman’s path outside.

“Better?” I asked the others.

All nods and agreements, we pressed on with
the discussion and drew up two more backup plans for emergencies
before joining the camp at supper.

Our day was busy. I heard the yells from the
spike pits; Nancy had gone with Ellen’s Father to gather oranges
and guava at dawn. It was a good distance from the safety of the
wall, and at midday, only humans would be able to help. My partner
Troy and I ran towards the orchard. I clutched my spear as we
sprinted down the worn path. I knew others were with us by the
pounding of feet echoing behind me.

As we made it to the fields, the frantic
shouts trailed off. I looked around me for a sign of where they
might be and watched Troy, Jake, and the Nurse doing the same. The
Nurse’s dog found the answer and led us to the western edge of the
grove. We arrived out of breath. Droplets of sweat burned my eyes,
while my denim jacket clung to my skin like a leotard on fire.

Ellen’s Father lay at an odd angle and his
skin was pale. There was no sign of Nancy or the cause of her
yells. The Nurse examined the unresponsive man; the rest of us
searched nearby for signs of our missing resident.

“He’s not breathing.”

The Nurse began CPR.

“Were they attacked? Does it look like
fleshies or humans did this to him?” I asked while checking for
signs of a struggle or blood on the ground.

“Looks like he was bitten by a snake.”

I hopped back about a mile and clenched my
weapon tightly.

“SNAKE! Where?”

The others watched me lose my cool with
bemused expressions and tilted heads. I forced a confident posture
and regrouped my wits.

“I mean, uh, okay. Everyone watch for
snakes.”

“Don’t worry, sweetness, I’ll keep the bad
serpent away from you.” Troy laughed as he brought himself to my
side and threw me a wink. “Unless you really want one.”

“Nancy probably had the same reaction as you
and ran.” Jake offered while I ignored the advance and inspected
the ground for a scaly nightmare.

We began calling her name while the Nurse
continued his attempts to save Ellen’s Father. Troy and I glanced
back at the man’s dedication; we had no way of fighting snakebites.
Finally, we heard a response back toward the path.

“Over here! Hurry!”

Troy and I followed the voice. Jake stayed to
keep the Nurse and Sindbad company. We found her at the edge of the
woods sitting in a pine tree. I thought out loud as we
approached.

“Why would she climb a tree after running
from a snake?”

“Kill it!” Nancy yelled as we reached the
trunk.

“Honey, I don’t think she’s trying to escape
a snake. That stinky fellow looks like the culprit.”

I saw it moving through the grass. The top
half of a zombie was pulling itself by bony fingertips; the nails
had been ripped off sometime prior. I assumed it had once been a
woman from the exposed breast implant hanging from the torso.

Gray skin clung to the silicon and patches of
blond hair with brown roots persisted on its scalp. The eyes were
clouded except for the sky blue contact lenses. The left one was
crooked on the eyeball revealing the milky pupil like an eclipsed
moon. The creature inched closer to the scared woman. I grew calm,
realizing I wouldn’t be facing a snake.

In a blink, my spear tip protruded at an odd
angle through the woman’s forehead. Its snail-like progression
towards Nancy halted abruptly and it found a final end. While she
climbed down, I reclaimed my weapon and took note of the tribal
butterfly tattoo on her assailant’s lower back.