Only Human (15 page)

Oh his leg looks hideous! Two gaping round holes
, oozing green and red fluid and it is swollen to twice its size. The cretin that bit him must be carrying all kind of diseases for it to get infected like that. He’s absolutely freezing too, and it’s quite warm in here, what’s that all about? If I can just turn him around to free his airways; Oh No? Look at his face Amica, it is swollen too, and his wondrous eyes look dark, and without life. What did that, spawn of the devil, do to him? If only my Uncle were here, he would know what to do; he might even know what those god-forsaken critters are.

I think I
’m going to wake the others up; we need to go deeper, until we get to the other tunnels with room enough to move. I don’t think Garok will make it if we don’t go now, and the rest of them aren’t in the best of health either.

‘
Orianna, Anne, wake up and get the others up will you!’

Wow, my voice really echoes in here, I better take it down to a whisper,
‘Come on Sebastian, Lupe!’

I feel sorry for them; they have had little food, no rest
, and no peace of mind, since the moment they were freed from the Clone farm. Will we ever be able to stop running, and hiding from so many enemies? We have to believe that someday we will, or there is just no point to any of this.

‘
Garok, please try and move, even if it’s just a crawl, open your eyes, and come on!’

His eyes are still half closed
, but at least he is moving with the rest of us. I think he is delirious, he does not really comprehend what’s going on, and he’s muttering some gibberish as he is crawling. Oh let’s just get to the other end of this spaghetti of tunnels, and we can think straight enough to decide our next move.

These tunnels must have taken an age to complete. There are so many of them, each one branching out to another pair in either direction; then each tunnel in that pair doing the same. It
’s like a round, steel, underground maze, and it’s telling me that the Humans, (at least some of them), had an inkling of what the future might hold for them, even before The Great War with the Vampires. They were preparing to hide and survive, similar to those Humans who prepared underground bunkers, stockpiles of food and water and so on, in preparation for a nuclear war. It may have saved them for a while, but that was just prolonging the inevitable.
Disembodied voice,
didn’t actually tell me where this maze eventually leads to, and it must lead to somewhere, because Humans couldn’t possibly live in just the tunnels. They would have to go about their lives, on their knees, and in single file!

‘
We stop here?’

Orianna is ask
ing to rest here for a while and I agree. We have changed direction multiple times, and we should be far enough away from the well to feel safe.

‘
Is everyone agreed? I think we should rest, and get something to eat and drink.’

There are general murmurings of agreement from everyone
, along with something indecipherable from Garok. At least we can be grateful that we have water and some bread with us. We won’t starve for another few hours. We are literally living, minute to minute, with so much uncertainty in our futures.

Garok
’s eyes are still closed, even as he is drinking some water; he must be utterly exhausted, and in horrendous pain with that leg. It’s very dark in here I know, but he doesn’t even look like Garok, so swollen is his face. Maybe if he sleeps some more, his body might gain enough strength to be able to fight the poison.  I think we’ll all sleep for a while longer too, we’re all still exhausted.

Oh not again! Another noise has woken me up! If somebody
’s snoring, I’m going to stuff a rag up their nose, I need some sleep! No, it’s not that, I can hear someone moving, crawling, there are five bulky shadows lying still next to me, so we’re all accounted for! My God! Have those cretins managed to follow us? Where’s the torch? They don’t like light do they? Do I sneakily wake the others, or do I shout and maybe scare it off? I’m opting for what I feel like doing,

‘
UP, EVERYONE, WAKE UP, SHINE THE TORCH, THERE’S SOMETHING HERE!!’

Sebastian has grabbed the bow and arrows from the bag, thank goodness we brought them! Anne has the torch and she
’s switching it on, I can’t believe what I’m seeing, Dear lord, what is it. It is slithering towards us, staring with bulbous white-blue eyes, and it is as black as coal from head, to, whatever is attached to the other end of it. There’s an opening in its face, but there are no lips, and its head is smooth and hairless. God it’s hideous, what does it want?  The air is frozen as we all wait for its next move, but its stopped moving now, and is just staring at us, with eyes like the sky.

What the hell! Garok has just flung himself on top of it
, and they are rolling around fighting and hissing.

‘
GAROK, WHAT ARE YOU DOING!’

Everyone is shouting
, and trying to get Garok away from it, but it’s too late, the thing has opened its mouth and bit into Garok’s shoulder. I can’t see if it has fangs or teeth, but they are ripping into Garok, and his body is sticky with blood.

‘
Sebastian, fire the arrow anywhere on its body, hurry!’

Sebastian is frightened of ge
tting Garok instead of the creature, but he has to try, it is eating his shoulder! What is happening? Garok, his face is changing, there is white foam in his mouth, and he is opening it wider, his teeth, they are not teeth, they are fangs!!! He has just sunk them into the monster’s neck, and there is brown blood spurting all over Garok’s face. No, not Garok, not him, he’s human, he has to be! I can’t bear it if he’s a Vampire!

Everyone has shrunk further back from the horrific scene
, since they saw Garok’s fangs. They don’t want to help a Vampire, and I have to believe it, he is a Vampire now. My God, Anne has the weirdest look on her face, it is almost enjoyment, and I feel like I’m going to throw up. The stench of violence is all around me, and I must do something. I’m getting another arrow and I’ll ram it into the monster, but no, if Garok is has changed completely into Vampire, then he will attack us too, I don’t know what to do! There is a buzzing in my ears and my head is aching.

‘
Aecia, listen to me, carry on in the tunnel and take the next left, now, with the others.’

It is
disembodied voice
; I should have known when I felt the buzzing in my head.

‘
How are you doing this? How do you know what is happening in here?’

‘
I read your mind; it is a Sanguis you are facing. Get as far from it as possible, move!’

‘
But Garok!’

‘Go;
go now, before it is too late!’

‘
Anne, lead the others through the next tunnel on the left. I’m right behind you.’

I
’m grabbing whatever water bottles I can see left, and I have the last of the arrows friend. I feel like I’m in one of my own nightmares. Is this really happening to us? My legs are following the others, but they are on automatic pilot.

‘
Take the next left tunnel, again.’

‘
Listen, mind-reader person, if you are so clever, why can’t you beam down here, and actually, physically, help us?’

‘
This is the only way I can help you at the moment.’

‘
Well, at least tell me where we will end up?’

‘
You will end up in the last human refuge, before the War ended.’

‘
An underground village?’

‘
No, a habitation, it is not perfect, but it is the safest place for you for now. It is constructed from the same steel, as the tunnels that lead to it.’

‘
How do we get in?’

‘
The next tunnel you will take is to your right, and it is the last one. It will lead you up through the floor of the safe- house, and when you are in, you must block it immediately, with the steel lid. Turn it clockwise twice, then anti-clockwise once, and finally, clockwise four times, to lock it.’

I am panting now Amica, and my knees are sore from crawling so fast. I am shouting directions to Anne, who is forwarding them on to the other three
, and we are in the last tunnel. The buzzing has stopped and the voice has left my mind, he must have been interrupted. I am straining to hear if, whatever is left of Garok, is following us, or if the ‘Sanguis’ is too, but I can’t hear above the noise of my own exertions and those of my friends.

‘
Look.’

Sebastian has reached the end of the tunnel; it is as the voice said, it is leading
directly upwards, and the ceiling above us, should be the floor of the safe house. We will have to pull ourselves up through the hole. ‘Climb up everyone, quickly, we have to lock it as fast as we can.’

They may not be able to speak all of our language yet
, but my friends definitely understand it. I haven’t seen them move so fast before, except perhaps Lupe. There is stark fear on all of their faces, and I’m sure mine is a reflection of theirs. They are all up, and Sebastian has offered his hand to help me through the hole. I think I can hear movement behind me, as I expected I would; I must use the last of my strength to haul myself upwards. With Sebastian’s help, I’m in, and there is the lid.

‘
Help me close it over the hole, it is heavy, quickly!’

‘
Clockwise twice, ant-clockwise once, clockwise four times.’

It is rusty and stiff
, but there is a steel handle, and the others are following my lead as I twist the lid of the manhole. There is an unearthly shriek, and something, I don’t know if it’s Garok or the Sanguis, that’s battering the steel, as we twist it the final time. We are all shrinking back from the sound, gasping and panting, and my face is wet. I didn’t even realise that I was crying, but it’s just the thought of Garok with that thing, both making that awful sound, and both are now monsters.

Orianna and Lupe have both laid their heads on each of my shoulders
, and are sharing my grief. Sebastian is quiet, but near us, and Anne is still, frozen without a sound. Now that I know that Garok is lost to me, I can only see his remorse and his bravery. Why couldn’t I see it before? I wish I had told him that I had loved him once, because everything he did, since the rescue from the Clone farm, told me that I was loved by him. I was a bitch to him and now I am so sorry. I am a fool Amica, an unforgiving, ungrateful fool.

THE LAST HUMAN HAVEN

The shrieking and ramming sounds have stopped
, and none of us have spoken for five minutes or more. There is just the sound of us breathing; there are only five free Humans left breathing, and we are alone in this place that we know nothing about. Because the telepath, (I don’t even know if he’s human or Vampire), has chosen to invade my mind, I have become the leader by default! I know everyone is waiting for me to speak friend, and I am empty of words.  I am not a leader; I’m an unpopular, fake Vampire, schoolgirl, who is rubbish at maths! A month ago, my biggest problems were period pains, and Simone’s superiority complex. I’m the shadow in the furthest corner of the classroom, not the teacher who is giving the orders at the front!

‘
You are stronger than you think you are.’

Amica, you wretch! Why can
’t you say ‘yeah, let them get on with it and look after yourself,’ or, ‘you’ve done enough, it’s their turn to take the lead?’ Oh no, you have to give me compliments, to fool me into thinking I am up to this task. I’m not, but three of us are practically newborns, and Anne is still a question mark who I don’t trust, so I have to try.

‘
Who has the torch? Is it you Anne?’

‘
Yes, but the battery is running low, it’s getting dimmer. Where are we, and how did you know about this place?’

‘
Pure luck Anne, those tunnels had to lead somewhere. Switch the torch on and we’ll see if there is anything in here that we can use as light.’

I
’m absolutely positive that there must be torches or battery lamps somewhere in a refuge made by Humans. I’m hoping that there are a lot more useful appliances, besides that. They would have had to cook food, store water; maybe there are medical supplies, and weapons to fight Vampires. This could be an Aladdin’s cave of useful treasures! Aladdin is from a bedtime story Uncle told me when I was little, I’ll explain when the world is ruled by Humans again Amica, and I have more time.

The room is entirely made of steel
, and it is completely empty! Wait, that is a door directly ahead with a wheel instead of a doorknob. It is like being in a submarine. I bet it is the same combination as the man-hole; clockwise twice, anti-clockwise once and clockwise four times (2-1+4, I’ve committed that to memory Amica). Sebastian is growing stronger and is helping me, Yes! It’s opening, and, oh I don’t believe it! VAMPIRES!! There are six of them, holding massive cannons or something, and pointing them at us!