Rise of the Mare (Fall of Man Book 2) (11 page)

It was glorious times when Nito was
exhausted.

As odd as it sounded, I felt a sense
of mourning over her. She had been my enemy and focus for as long
as I could remember and now she was no longer a threat. Even if she
returned from being banished, more than likely I would be too old
to worry about it or would have passed away.

Nito epitomized evil. In a sense, all
Ancients were evil. The gatekeepers were vicious; the Savages were
barbaric; the king was not.

If all Ancients were like him, and
like Iry, I don’t believe humans would have a problem saying,
“here, take a tube of my blood so you can survive.”

However, in order for that to happen,
they could no longer be in control. The Savages had to die, the Day
Stalkers had to be destroyed, and the Ancients had to know that as
humans, we had the blood, we had their lifeline, we had the say
so.

No longer could we be kept like
animals in pens.

Iry was someone I could be open and
honest with. I told him my feelings about how I felt we humans and
the Ancients could coexist.

To use one of Davis’ terms, we needed
to “flip the switch”.

“Was it all that bad?” Iry asked
me.

“Was what all that bad?” I asked.

“Your life. You used the phrase
‘penned up’, like the livestock the humans eat.”

“Aren’t we to you?”

“To some of us, yes. But most of us
believe we must treat you well so you can serve us.”

I laughed. “Serve.”

We were seated outside of the home on
a slab of clean concrete that faced the pool of water. Little
candles were placed about to add light to the night. It was warm,
very warm. A dry heat, that felt a bit much for night.

One of the maidens came out from the
glass doors and poured Iry his wine.

Wine was something the Ancients could
drink. They could eat fruits, weeds, and anything that grew
directly from the ground. Their bodies absorbed it. Human blood,
however, was a required protein. They could only go so long without
it.

The maiden offered me wine, and I
declined.

“Vala, you are of age, have some.”
Iry said. “Just a little.”

“I heard this is a tool of the devil
and it makes you do disgusting things.”

“If you drink too much it will. A
small mount will only be refreshing. Please.”

Reluctantly, I agreed. The maiden
smiled and poured me a small amount. It was red and looked like
blood. I lifted the glass and a small amount passed over my lips. I
found it harsh at first taste, bitter, however, it smoothed out and
the fruity nature came through by the time I took my third sip.

“Drink it slowly,” Iry
instructed.

“Are you poisoning me?” I asked.

“No.” He chuckled. He reached over
and took my glass and then took a sip.

“Uh!” I grunted. “You drank from my
glass. Will I turn?”

“It will take a little bit more than
that to turn you.” Iry winked. “You don’t catch the ability to be
Ancient like a sexually transmitted disease.”

“What is that?”

“Never mind, things of the past for
humans. So back to what we were saying. You hated your life...”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“It started with our passage into the
Straits. My mother purchased our rite of passage with my infant
brother’s life.”

“I’m sorry about that.”

“Then the only history we get taught
is that of the Sybaris.” Iry’s eyes lifted quickly to me over the
derogatory term. “No history of man, nothing. And even your history
is not much. There’s no real geography or placement, everything is
fiction mixed with fact. What would have been so difficult to teach
us man’s history? Why were we forbidden to know the life before the
world changed?”

“I wish I could answer that. Perhaps
they felt if man knew their history they knew they could rise to
the occasion. Then again, Vala, most of those in the Straits were
old enough to know the motivation of man.”

“Do you know man’s history?”

“Of course,” Iry stated. “You saw my
hidden library. When you were with the rebel forces, what did they
say of us?”

“Many called you vampires.”

Iry cringed. “That is worse than
calling us Sybaris. Vampires are undead; we are not. Vampires only
consume blood, we consume other nourishment. Vampires are actually
close to Day Stalkers, and only existed from a couple of hundred
human years ago. Did you learn of man’s history?”

“Yes. I learned of man’s history from
a time capsule I had unearthed. Then in Angeles City, they placed
me in a conditioning center where I watched television programs to
learn how man really is.”

“Which programs?” Iry asked.

“Excuse me?”

“What did you watch?”

“Would you know?”

“Yes. I would. Try me. What was your
favorite?”

“
ALF
. He is wise and funny.”

Iry clapped his hands and
laughed. “I love
ALF
. I have seasons one through five in my
hidden room. I feel a kinship with him.”

“Why is that? You are not furry or
sarcastic.”

Iry lifted his glass of wine and
finished it off. “That is a part of Ancient history you do not
know.” He cleared his throat. “We as educators are told to tell you
the history, the glory days of the Ancients. You see, this planet,
this world, belonged to man first. We arrived here, like Alf, after
our planet was destroyed. The first wave arrived, and then the
second. We were unsure if our planet was going through devastating
changes or if it would be completely destroyed. When we tried to
reach our world after the second set of colonists, we knew that it
was gone and we were stuck. We built our world, stayed away, and
then we needed man. You know that history.”

“Was Moses a Mare?”

“Moses...” Iry smiled gently. “I
never met him. I was still in my mother’s womb. But yes, he was
chosen and when he led his people away, he began the Great
Famine.”

I knew of the famine. I remember
being taught that the Sybaris were able to go without human blood
for some time, and tried to survive using only the food of the
Earth. After a couple of hundred years they had to retreat.

“You were born during the Great
Famine? Then you were originally human?”

“No. My mother was with child when we
arrived. We were able to conceive with each other on our own
planet. Here that changed. I grew up on this planet, I am one of
many first generation. On our world, we lived much like man. We
aged like—”

“The king,” I interrupted. “He aged,
unlike others. Why is that?”

“He was quite old when he arrived
here so he had already been seasoned.”

“How were you able to survive without
completely reverting to Savages? Because they are a product of the
Great Famine.”

“The Savages refused to follow the
rules. They didn’t take advantage of situations. We were able to
get blood many times in your history. Twice though, we almost rose
back to power. Once was during something called the Black Plague,
and the other was around the time of World War I. We actually lived
in the open right after the plague, but suffered another famine. We
stayed hidden until this last time. We were mankind’s only hope.
The Savages rose up before we did and began their attacks. They
would have taken every life on Earth until there was nothing left.
While we are blamed for the deaths, we saved many.”

I sat back, thinking about his words.
Another side of history I had just learned.

“You can ask me anything, Vala. I
will tell you whatever you need to know.”

“Why did you not just live side by
side with man? Why the need to pen us up, keep us brainwashed and
secluded?”

“I can only answer on
speculation.”

“And that is?”

“
That if we kept you under
control, not given you the freedom we had many years ago, then we
stood a good chance of not having another Moses rise up and lead
the people from bondage, starting another famine. Despite the best
efforts, another Moses
has
risen. Nito saw this, and instead of embracing the
new Moses, she wanted to destroy it.”

“And you?”

“I’m all for embracing.” He refreshed
his wine glass and lifted it.

“Who is this new Moses? I shall want
to meet him.”

Iry laughed. “My dear, Vala, are you
that naïve? The new Moses…” he sipped his wine, swallowed, then
answered, “is you.”

Unlike the Savages, the bodies of
the Day Stalkers didn’t disintegrate with the sunrise. We piled the
bodies high and set them aflame.

Snake was chewing tobacco, and seemed
enamored by the glow. He’d lift his handkerchief that covered his
nose and mouth, spit, and watch. “Four hundred and twenty-five.
Goddamn.”

“Where did they come from?” I asked.
“I mean, I was on the other side of them, so they didn’t come from
the sea, so where?”

“Probably just wandered here,” Snake
said. “Until they got on the road. Most of them are on their last
legs. Or were. Probably hadn’t had food in weeks. I don’t think
it’ll be long until they all perish.”

Snake had a point. The ones that
stayed close to population areas were stronger; the ones that
wandered weakened until they finally succumbed. The ones we fought,
or rather slaughtered, weren’t going to be much help in the fight
against the Savages.

We had the Creeper, and I planned on
using it. The Creeper was the name we gave the vehicle that we used
at night to move around. It was Savage proof, an old military
vehicle that was converted to use our fuel source.

I asked for permission to use it and
Davis just gave me the ‘eye’. But it wasn’t a no.

I was then instructed to clean up
first, get rest, and then follow the last one out.

They always flew off before the sun
rose, and I knew it was going to be a tough follow. They always
flew North East, away from the city first.

After helping Snake with the burning,
I grabbed two hours of sleep, packed a rations bag, got into
Creeper, and headed north of the city, just before No Man’s Land
and after Lyon’s Estates. It was a wild area, overgrown, and only a
thin road remained. Though I always believed them to live in the
hills of Angeles Forest, no one knew for sure. No one had ever
followed.

Sitting on the road formally known as
Interstate 5, I waited.

The Creeper had this cool thing
called night vision, which locked in on images.

The radio call from base told me they
were doing their regular watch and stalk at the ocean. A few showed
up in the city, and none yet had arrived at Lyons.

Lyons was the last stop. It always
was. That was another reason I believed they headed toward the
forest. They had to stay in the dark, they couldn’t be near
sunlight, so caverns and caves were the logical places. That’s what
I thought. I’d be chasing them into the forest.

Six of the Savages flew into Lyons
Estates trying to grab a bite of what was left. They attacked
houses, and flew about gawking and squealing. I watched through the
night vision unspotted.

I locked on to one. He was bold,
trying to lift a roof from a home but failing miserably.

None of the ones in Lyon’s Estates
were having much luck. Then a distant call from another grabbed
their attention, and a larger Savage appeared, carrying the body of
a woman.

My heart thumped, I knew her. Not
personally, but she was one of us and was still alive.

The larger Savage led the way with
his dinner in his grip and the others followed. That was my
cue.

Creeper already running and in
gear, using the scope as my guide, I followed. Hoping I didn’t run
into any roadway or area that was impassible, I stayed the course
on my mission, certain I would succeed. Something told me I
would
succeed.

The immorally clothed women were
at it again, bathing in the large pool of water, and it was still
morning. It wasn’t good for Sophie’s new condition to be out in the
sun for long periods of time. While she wouldn’t burn, it would
cause her more discomfort than a human.

It was discouraging that she didn’t
speak, and her eyes looked at me blankly. I got her to eat some
food, but not much. I placed her in a chair by the glass doors
while I sat outside. She was like a doll that didn’t engage. I
hoped that Iry was correct when he said she’d be back mentally.

I was enjoying the beverage of
coffee, something I learned pretty much all humans loved. I kept
peeking over my shoulder at Sophie, who stared out blankly.

There were four house maidens in the
water. Samantha was one of them, and she stepped out, grabbing a
towel and drying off. She looked quirkily at me.

“It has to be a hundred degrees,” she
said. “Aren’t you uncomfortably hot?”

“It is hot,” I answered. “I cannot
run around mostly naked. It is no wonder you shave your body
hair.”

Samantha laughed and before she sat
down, she asked for permission. “May I?”

“Yes.”

“I think I told you I was a little
younger than you when things happened to the world. I remember how
great things were. I also remember how horribly things went when
the world took a nose dive. Gone were computers, social networking,
country music…”

While I wasn’t completely familiar
with social networking, I recognized the term country music.
“Country music?”

“Oh, I loved Country Music. My father
played in a country band.”

“What is that?”

Samantha smiled. “Musical
instruments. When a bunch of people all play them, it makes a song.
I mean, we have country music, but nothing new. No one really
writes new songs anymore.”

“My friend does. When I was in
Angeles City, he plays country music on his…” I closed my eyes,
paused to remember what it was called. “…guitar. It was beautiful.
Music and singing are beautiful.”