United Service (22 page)

Continuing to stalk slowly along the perimeter, Sterling checked the readiness of the fence with some small stones he picked off the ground. The stones sizzled as they touched the metal of the fence and fell to the ground.

Sterling walked well past what he and Ben had guessed were administrative buildings, the hospital and the generator when he discovered a part of the fence without electricity. An entire ten–foot panel was the weakened link in the fence’s chain – big enough for him to go through, but more importantly, big enough for the team to carry a group of children back through as well. The metal fence tore easily and Sterling crawled along the ground and made his way into the camp.

In the background, he heard the soft whine of dogs. Sterling guessed they were being drugged by a pair of Colony team members, but doubted any humans could hear the high pitch of the canines. Sterling glanced towards the main gate. The team was moving faster than he would have expected, but then again, his father would be pushing the team in their rescue efforts. No doubt his father saw him as one of the kids needing to be rescued. Sterling took a deep breath. Damn his human side.

Sterling turned suddenly, smelling fresh blood in the air. Human, it was definitely human. He glanced down at his phone and saw the red dot pointing out Kate’s position. She still remained east of his location. The human blood wafted from the rows of small buildings he had guessed were the cabins for the children. He considered for a moment that the team could have killed their first human captor of the night, but wasn’t sure they would have made it in this far – at least not yet. The blood could be from one of the children.

He glanced eastward one more time before he headed towards the scent of the blood.

It didn’t take him long to find a body hidden behind a bush. The remains were a fresh kill of a human male. Not a child, but an adult. The man’s eyes were wide open in fright as he had died, and one wrist was shredded. Sterling knelt down to inspect the body, which was already pale white and cold to the touch. He sniffed the dead human and sensed it had been completely drained. This was the work of a vampire – one that was either incredibly hungry or thoroughly pissed since the feeding looked brutal. Thinking back to the young transitioning boy that was being held here at the camp, Sterling thought it could also be the work of a novice vampire inexperienced with feeding. Sterling hoped it was the latter.

Sterling glanced up from the body. Another blood source lingered in the wind. The blood type differed from the first. He sniffed the air and knew it came from the next row of cabins. He walked over slowly taking refuge behind some bushes. From a distance, he watched as a young male vampire ate greedily at the wrist from another human adult. It was the female guard from earlier that night lying dead in the boy’s arms. The woman had not screamed. She didn’t look like she had put up much of a fight either. Sterling studied the boy as he finished his meal. The boy appeared young, and Sterling knew he was about nineteen. He was a purebred vampire – and a natural killer; his prey never saw him coming.

The boy must have noticed Sterling, because he dropped his meal and scanned around in Sterling’s direction. He then jumped into the bushes, leaving the body on the cold, hard ground.

Sterling thought back to his Jahrling Year and how different everything had seemed to his senses. This boy was on a massive feeding frenzy and hopped up on blood for the first time. He wasn’t sure how the boy would react to him, but there were children in these cabins. If this vampire saw them as a food source Sterling would have no choice but to try to kill him. Hoping that wouldn’t be the case, he stood up with hands open as he approached the hiding spot of the young vampire. He wanted to call out his name, but wasn’t sure how to pronounce it. He called out “key–ko”, which is how his father had pronounced the name during their meeting.

Like a flash of lightning, Kekoa ran towards Sterling and knocked him down. Kekoa let out a growl as his hands pushed down Sterling’s shoulders, and his knees pounded Sterling’s legs to the ground. Although stronger of the two, Kekoa lacked any real battle skills. Sterling flipped the thin boy over and pinned him almost effortlessly to the ground.

Kekoa growled at Sterling as he held the younger vamp down. Sterling stared down at the blackened eyes of his opponent, and his razor sharp teeth, and did his best to keep the fangs a safe distance away. The growling from Kekoa grew, and Sterling feared it would announce their presence to more guards. He said his name again, “Key–ko” to get the boy’s attention. “I’m looking for Stephen and Tiffany. They were both taken a few days ago,” Sterling said tightening his grip on the purebred vampire.

Kekoa struggled under him. “How the hell are you stronger than I am?” he asked as he managed to free one of his arms.

Sterling readjusted his hold on the boy. The lighting was dark, but Sterling noticed recognition in the boy’s eyes as he realized he was being pinned down by another vampire. The boy struggled even more. If he had not been so undernourished, Kekoa would have been the victor.

“Your eyes are black,” Kekoa managed to get out. “Fuck!”

The boys might tested Sterling’s strength. Sterling now used his whole body to keep the boy on the ground. “I’m not working with the humans. I’m looking for Stephen and Tiffany.”

As if those were the magic words, Kekoa stopped growling and submitted to the bigger vampire. He eyed Sterling up and down. “You know Stephen and Tiffany?”

“The Cavalry is here to save you.” Sterling removed himself from on top of the boy and helped him up. They crouched down low to the ground as they talked. “You’re the oldest boy. Your name is key–ko?”

“My name is pronounced ke–ko–ah, and yes. I’m the oldest in the camp,” he said as he studied Sterling.

“You the only vampire?” Sterling asked.

Kekoa’s eyes slowly shifted back to their natural brown color. “Yes. There are sixteen other children, all pretransitional. Plus, over two dozen human guards.”

Sterling looked at the red blood dripping from the boy’s mouth and pointed to the dead body nearby. “Was that, and the other guard, your first feeding?”

Kekoa used his sleeve as he wiped away the blood from his chin. “I transitioned.”

Sterling touched the boy’s clothes and mentally saw visions of him being a prisoner and taking care of the kids. He also recognized the boy from the vision he had when he touched the poster at the home. This was the boy who wrote the names and dates. Kekoa still stared at him, so he asked, “What?”

Kekoa glanced away. “I’ve never seen a half–breed before. I didn’t expect one to be so strong.”

Sterling rolled his eyes. “Don’t beat yourself up about it.” He glanced back in the direction he knew Kate was. “One of the girls was separated.”

“Yes. The new one. I haven’t met her.” Kekoa scanned his surroundings to get his bearings. “Henry’s cabin is on the far side of the camp. The guards all sleep in eight cabins on the other side of the camp.” Kekoa pointed towards the cabins and Sterling noticed the burn on his wrist and the bracelet.

Sterling grabbed the boy’s hand. “You’re wearing silver?”

Kekoa nodded. “Silver is everywhere. On the doors, faucets, silverware … everything is silver plated.” He held up his wrist, “Can you remove my bracelet?”

“No. But the girl we’re about to rescue probably can. Let’s go.”

As Sterling and Kekoa walked towards Henry’s cabin, they both noticed the slight hum of the generator abruptly stop. The lights around the camp dimmed and slowly faded out. “We’re not alone,” Sterling said to Kekoa. “There are several others. They’ve already taken care of the dogs and now the generator.”

Kekoa looked around with widened eyes. When the smell of blood hit the air once more, his mouth watered.

Sterling watched as Kekoa licked his lips. “First feedings can be seductive. Don’t obsess. The strong pull you’re feeling right now will subside over time.” Sterling glanced back towards the cafeteria where the smell originated from. “The team is already liberating the camp.”

Kekoa’s face lit up at those words. The two continued moving towards the cabins where the adults slept. As they moved from building to building, Sterling saw the small cabin he had identified on the map as the chapel. Sure enough, it had a cross on the top of it. A soft candlelit glow escaped from the windows which caused Kekoa’s to stop midstep.

“What is it?” Sterling asked looking carefully around.

“Deacon Victoria.” Kekoa moved to a window and peeked inside. “She’s here.”

Moving over to the second window, Sterling took a look inside. “She’s praying by candlelight. She doesn’t know the energy has been cut.”

“She’s also alone.” Kekoa’s eyes widened; his body stiffened in resolve.

Sterling saw Kekoa’s eyes blacken and his fangs extend. “No. We save the girl first,” he said as he grabbed Kekoa by the arm to get his attention.

Kekoa shrugged from Sterling’s grasp. “We won’t have time to do both. Taking out the generator was like sending up a red flag.”

In a threatening voice, Sterling commanded, “We save the girl first. Let my team deal with this Victoria woman.”

Unphased by the tone, Kekoa asked, “Can you kill the guard holding the girl alone?”

Sterling grimaced. Of course he could, but he didn’t want to leave this boy alone. Looking into Kekoa’s eyes, Sterling could sense the need for revenge, and he could understand it. “Of course I can,” he replied.

Looking Sterling in the eyes, Kekoa asked. “How are you going to kill him?”

“Does it matter?”

“No,” Kekoa said. “Just make sure he suffers. Victoria is mine.”

*******

Sterling continued alone until he found Henry’s cabin. It stood like all the others, being made of wood with four tiny windows– two on the front and two on the back sides of the building. The solid door had an old style key lock. It was the last cabin in the long row of buildings and Sterling paused outside the door to listen for any sounds from within. There was only silence.

Sterling tested the door’s rusted lever and found it locked. Still not hearing a sound from inside the cabin, he fiercely kicked in the door, placing his boot just to the right of the lock. The noise alone from the splintering door was an alarm in and of itself, but he didn’t worry about the noise. There were now screams from the humans from elsewhere in the camp. The humans knew they were being attacked.

He rushed in to surprise Henry, but the human wasn’t there. The room was dark and had a musty smell to it, like a locker room stank. His eyes adjusted and he scanned the tiny room. There wasn’t much for furniture, just a small desk, a dresser and a table. What caught Sterling’s eye was the bed in the corner. The bed wasn’t empty.

It was Kate.

He rushed to her, calling out her name. But, no reply came. Kneeling beside the bed he noticed her eyes were a glossy gunmetal gray and they remained fixed on the front door. She showed no reaction to his breaking in. She didn’t even appear to be aware that he stood beside her right now. Her face had been badly beaten, with fresh bruises and cuts on the side of her head and jaw line.

“Kate?” He brushed through her long brunette hair and looking into her dead eyes. She had not turned to dust, but was she alive? His heart raced as his mind avoided what surely was the answer. He was too late to save her. He swallowed the lump in his throat. He was too late. Her shield must have kept her body intact, not allowing her to have a vampire’s death in the end.

She was tied by rope to the bed and dressed in an all white robe. She had been severely beaten, which caused her to look in her mid to late twenties. He grasped at her arms, which were covered in the white silk, and shook her on the bed. She lay still. He called out to her repeatedly, but to no use. Taking a deep breath, his jaw clenched in utter defeat. His hands balled and he beat his fists into the mattress screaming the word “no” repeatedly.

He could still hear the cries of the humans as they died outside the cabin. The smell of their blood ripened in the air. “
Good
,” he thought.
“They all deserved to die. Hopefully their souls will rot in Hell for all of eternity.”

Glancing back down at Kate he could not bear to see her eyes so lifeless, so he gently touched her lids with his fingertips and closed them. His fingers ran down her pert little nose and glided across her bruised cheek so that he tenderly caressed her face with the palm of his hand.

He had let her down. She trusted in him to save her. A tear threatened to escape his eyes when he realized that his hand, the one touching her cheek, enjoyed a sense of peace. The itchiness had waned. His skin of his palm felt normal.

There was hope.

Both of his hands now lay on her face, rubbing and caressing each of her delicate features. He held his breath as he frantically brushed down her arms and pulled the silky sleeves up to reveal more of her skin. He grimaced at the sight of fresh bruises and continued stroking her skin.

Placing his ear to her chest he heard her heart beat. It was weak. That’s when it occurred to him what was going on. She was unpinned.

He took his knife from his boot and made a cut in each of her palms. Her purplish blood dripped down and soiled the sheets, but her hands still appeared lifeless. The barrier was always the strongest at her limbs. If she were awake and unpinned, perhaps it would take a while for her to feel those areas. He tore at the ropes and freed her feet and hands.