Dominant Species (18 page)

‘I’m sorry,
Max,’ whispered Jake softly.

Max move
d forward and Jake pulled the trigger. There was an explosion of sound and flame and the solid shot-shell hit Max, square in the chest. Max seemed to hang in the air before his knees crumpled and he slid quietly to the floor.

For
a full minute Jake just stood, silently staring at his brother. Then he felt Megan touch his cheek, bringing his head round to hers. Her eyes closed as the tears fell unhindered, leaving long streaks through the dust that covered her face.

‘
Let’s go,’ she managed.

She help
ed Jake across the room, where together they helped up a still dazed Father Matthew.

Outside t
he three of them stepped into the icy-cold air and into a heavy silence. They walked back towards the main street in a world that seemed to have abandoned them. All around dead bodies littered the ground. They felt a movement and Jake’s gun pivoted towards its origin. He lowered the weapon as a figure limped towards them out of the smoke. It was Trent.

‘Jake. Megan.’ He said. His voice even and calm as if he was just acknowledging an old friend in the street.
He nodded to Father Matthew.

‘Hey Trent
, what happened?’ asked Jake.

‘
Well who would have thought it son, the bastards have retreated…’ he paused and a rare smile broke out over his craggy face, ‘… looks like we won.’

Jake smile
d back, despite the horror of the past ten minutes, despite the pain he felt inside.

‘F
or the moment at least, but how long before they return, this time with more vampires, this isn’t the end and you know it’ He looked at the others. ‘I once believed that we could live in some kind of…’ he hesitated, looked down hardly seeing the dead resistance fighter whose dead eyes seemed to be starring back. ‘…if not harmony, then some form of acceptance. In the end they need us and we can’t beat them… But I was wrong. They want us dead and they won’t stop until they have killed each and every one of us. It’s what they do. It’s what they are.’

‘Except for maybe one
,’ cut in Father Matthew.

Jake
stopped as the Priest took him by the arm. ‘Jake. I may be able to help. I came here on the request of a very different vampire who goes by the name of Drameer. He is truly different. He understands the need for us to live together, work together, in order for us all to survive. He might be able to stop the killing. He has the ear of the Overlord himself and he’s someone that Karick trusts implicitly.’

In their apartment in New York City,
Kathryn watched in silence as Drameer paced back and forth.

‘
Why do you grow so restless my love?’

Drameer looked over, tried to smile.
‘Because there is great unrest Kathryn, such unrest that I fear it will end Karick’s reign… and if that happened there will sure to be a vampire war.’

‘What
will that mean?’

Drameer stop
ped and paused. He looked into Kathryn’s face, a face he had loved from the moment he had first seen it. Then he knelt before her, holding both her hands between his. His words, when they came, sent a cold chill down Kathryn’s back, like a knife of ice slicing through her very skin.

‘
The beginning of the end; if a vampire war starts it will lead to a feeding frenzy. There will be unrivalled loss, a loss that will inevitably lead to the depletion of our food stock, in effect our lifeblood.’

‘
But why? It makes no sense.’

‘It’s just the way we are.’

Working in pairs, the survivors carefully picked their way through the fallen enemy, making sure they were all dead. As they did, more of the resistance appeared from out of the mist and smoke. An eerie silence hung in the air as they were automatically drawn to Jake, crowding around him, forming a large circle.

In the centre of this circle,
Jake was in deep conversation with Trent, Father Matthew, Lano and Megan. He nodded to them and then turned toward the crowd that had formed. The others moved away allowing him some space. Jake waited for the last few survivors to join them before he finally spoke.

‘
Today we have fought a monumental battle. We have faced our enemy. Man to beast. And even though they were stronger than us, even though they outnumbered us, we have prevailed. He watched them carefully, gauging their reaction. ‘Today we have felt the sharp pain of loss. Many of our friends, our family, have given their lives. Winning today doesn’t feel like something to celebrate.

There was a
murmured muttering of agreement.

‘
And what’s worse,’ continued Jake, ‘is that today is not the end, but just the beginning.’ Jake’s jaw tightened as he tried to control his own sense of loss. ‘Now we must take the fight to them. We must do all we can to save our way of life, so that those that have died didn’t do so in vain.’

Behind
him, Trent watched in admiration, a flicker of a smile on his face. He turned to Megan who was standing next to him and noted that she too had the same look of admiration in her eyes.

‘
You know what Megan? It looks like Jake has finally become the man I always knew he was.’

She smile
d back at Trent whilst the sound of Jake’s voice, powerful and certain, continued in the background, but there was a part of her that wondered at the cost.

Jake spoke softly
, people hanging on every word. ‘But we might have a chance to change the way we live. Father Matthew has risked his life to bring us a message, he knows of someone who may be able to help, may even be able to bring this madness to an end once and for all. Because of this, Trent and I have decided to lead two teams into the vampire city. One will free our captive brothers, giving us some additional leverage, whilst the other will meet with Father Matthew’s contact with a view to try and broker a truce.’

A voice call
ed out from the assembled crowd. ‘What, with the demons?’

Jake locked eyes with him
, but didn’t hesitate. ‘Yes, with the demons. There are some of them that realize that we need to work together to survive, man and beast. In the end I believe that it’s our only hope for any real future.’

‘What about the rest of us
?’

Jake tried to smile.
‘We’ll return in forty eight hours. In the meantime you’re to move to the shelters. We’ll arrange defensive teams to stand guard, ensure that everyone remains safe.’

‘H
ow do you know this will work?’ asked a young woman in the front row.

Jake hesitated and the seconds pas
sed, finally he said ‘In truth, I don’t. All we can do now is trust in God.’

In the United Nations building,
Karick stood with his back to Drameer, unable to face his old friend.

‘It is too late my friend.’

‘You’re giving in?’ Drameer’s voice was flat but the tone of accusation was clear to hear.

Karick didn’t rise to the bait. ‘
What other choice do I have? The Queen has already asked Rodan to intervene. I have no choice.’ He shook his head.

‘
Karick, you must realise that unless you stand firm, it shall be the end of us all.’

K
arick finally turned to face Drameer. ‘Perhaps that is what we deserve then. Perhaps it is our time too.’

‘
Is there nothing that I can say to…’

‘…
The Queen is too powerful, and now that Rodan has her counsel...’

Drameer consider
ed this for a moment, before taking a step closer to Karick, his eyes fixed on the floor.

‘
You disappoint me old friend.’ He paused, as if to underline the importance of what he was about to say. ‘You know the one thing I have always found remarkable about the human race is the fact that even when there appears to be absolutely no hope whatsoever...’ He raised his head, looked straight at Karick, his eyes blazing with life. ‘They still don’t give up… ever.’ Drameer turned and walked away, speaking without looking round. ‘Perhaps there are some things we could learn from them?’

Karick watche
d as Drameer closed the door softly behind him. Yet the click of the lock sounded like the thunder of a door being slammed for the last time. He scanned the empty room and for the first time in his long, long life felt helpless.

Outside the room,
Drameer closed his eyes as Karick’s roar vibrated throughout the hallway. It was the roar of defeat.

The dust
and smoke of the battle had finally settled and now the remaining resistance stood in silence, their heads bowed uneasily, as Father Matthew finished the pray.

A
n embarrassed and whispered Amen filled the air. Jake nodded and the crowd dissipated as Megan walked through the throng to join Jake. She hugged him, resting her head on his shoulder.’

‘You were amazing.’

Jake breathed in the smell of her skin and felt the warmth of her body against his as he watched the last of the men disappear; each determined to do their best.

‘I
t all seems a bit late.’

She looked up at him and gave him a sad smile.
‘You know, I heard a wise man once said that if the time was right, how could it ever be too late?’

Jake smiled.

They were alone now; the last of the resistance had disappeared to prepare for the next stage. Jake half turned, but Megan’s hand on his arm stopped him. She moved closer, their eyes locked. Slowly she reached up, and gently pulled his face towards hers, their lips touched. The kiss was both gentle and mesmerizingly beautiful. Jake looked deep into Megan’s dark brown eyes as they kissed and suddenly years of pent up passion spilled over as he pulled her tight to him.

Kathryn stare
d out of her apartment window over the ruined City of New York, the scene almost unrecognisable from the vibrant pictures she’d been shown by her Mother and Father as a child. Behind her she heard the click of the lock and turned quickly as the door opened. She had faith in Drameer and had been convinced that he would be able to make Karick see the light, but as the door swung open the feeling of hope that had risen in her chest faded immediately as Drameer entered his face tired and drawn.

‘I think...’ began Drameer.
He looked down, hiding the deep misery and failure that he felt as well as the tear that appeared in the corner of his eye. ‘I think it would be safer if you were to leave. I can help you get past the…’

He hadn’t sensed her move from the window but her hand wa
s suddenly on his face, lifting his chin. A single tear marked its way down from the corner of his eye to the edge of his jaw.

When she spoke her voice was soft, but sure. ‘
I was brought up to believe that we had nothing in common, you and us. That all vampires were evil killers with no feelings.’ She gently wiped the tear from his face. ‘But I was wrong. You’ve taught me that. I don’t believe that you’re unique, the only one who understands. There must be others, there must be a chance.’

‘
Don’t you understand?’ Drameer almost shouted, desperation getting the better of him making him regret the harshness of his tone immediately.

His next words were spoken softly,
‘Tomorrow will mark the beginning of the end,’ he said, forcing a calmness he didn’t feel into his tone, ‘…a new hierarchy of vampires, led by Rodan will take over this city. Without the control of Karick they will run amuck. As their power grows so will their thirst. It will quickly become a thirst that cannot be quenched. Even with the programme, there simply won’t be enough food.’

‘You know
I don’t like it when you call us that.’

Drameer grab
bed her by both arms. ‘You don’t understand. They have no conscience, they will kill every last human, regardless of the consequences. Then the food will run dry. There will be no food for us, we can’t feed on the half-lings; they are as poison to us.’ He held her by the shoulders. ‘But…we can feed on each other, and we will; when the hunger overtakes us, there will be a war. Do you not see? Tonight is the last night, our last night, before it all falls apart. Tomorrow is the dawn of Hell.’

Kathryn took his hands in hers and looked directly into his eyes.
‘If tonight is to be our last, then let it be a night to remember.  Drameer, I love you, my place is with you.’ She reached up and kissed him on his lips.

Karick was sat, slumped in his chair, on the stage in the United Nations building when the mains doors crashed violently open. He hardly moved, just glanced up, a resigned look on his face. Two female Queen’s Guards, both in glistening body armour marched towards him. Their demeanour was purposeful and efficient. The tallest guard spoke, her voice whispered through the air like silk.

‘
Overlord Karick, you are under arrest. The queen wishes to see you, NOW!’