What Happens in the Darkness (32 page)

“What do you
think
they want?” the vampire minion snapped and then bowed his head. “I’m sorry! Please forgive my—”

Patrick grunted, shoved the soldier aside. Moving quickly, he approached the window and looked out. Torchlight, spotlights, and flashlight beams filled the darkness. Hordes of people stood on the shore, every one of them sporting a gun of some sort. Patrick assumed the bullets were now wood, lethal toward vampires. How quickly they had caught on.

“We can’t get off this ship,” the soldier said. “They’ve taken our boats.”

Patrick glanced over his shoulder. He was tempted to take his fear and anger out on the young vampire. But he knew that would be a waste of time. And even stupid vampire soldiers were better than nothing.

The rest of Patrick’s small army filed around the room, glancing out windows at the scene outside. Ashy gray moonlight filtered through the clouds, spotlighting the people flanking the floating prison on vessels of all sizes.

“Where the fuck did they all come from?” Patrick muttered. “And where the fuck are our boats?” How stupid he’d been. He hadn’t planned for this, had underestimated how many humans were still alive—and how many would be willing to fight the vampires.

“I think I see the boats,” Kem said. “But they’re too far. We have no way off, unless we swim.” Kem rubbed his hand across his chin. “What do you think they want?”

“Want?” He rubbed his eyes like a sleepy child. “Us, of course. What else?”

So this is how it ends
, he thought bitterly, long fingers wrapped around metal window bars. He cursed his stupidity, his cockiness. So sure no one knew where they were, certain no one would dare oppose him. Yet there they waited, eager for a taste of his blood—so to speak.

His mind scrambled, tried to formulate a plan, but nothing would come. There was no way off this floating prison, and no place to hide here. They could use the prisoners as leverage, but even that would be short-lived. The ones outside could wait out the vampires, wait until sunrise, and then that would mean the end of any standoff.

Hundreds out there, bearing torches and flashlights, arrows and wooden shafts honed to pointed, deadly ends, guns filled with specially made wooden bullets. If unarmed, he would be able to defeat them as he had time and time again; his speed and prowess would ordinarily be no match for them. But they had come prepared.

“Um, Patrick?”

He turned at the mention of his name. In the doorway, a man—a human—leaned against the frame, crossbow slung over his shoulder.

“I’m Rudy,” he said, approaching Patrick, clearly not afraid of the roomful of the undead. “Can you spare a few minutes of your time?”

Patrick forced a smile, an attempt to hide the sneer, and nodded. He was taken aback by the man’s assertiveness. And he wondered how in the hell the man had managed to not only make his way onto the ship but to find Patrick and approach unimpeded.

“How can I help you, Rudy?”

The prisoners in the cells approached the bars. The dead woman was still on the floor, the pooled blood congealing around her body, the viscera of her throat spread around her head like a cloak. The prisoners looked desperate, panicked, but chose to remain quiet.

The vampires remained where they were, positioned around the room, also unmoving, waiting for Patrick’s command.

Rudy grabbed a folding chair from against the wall and sat, his chest against its back, long legs splayed on either side. He shoved his long black trench coat aside and leaned on his forearms.

“Mind if I sit?” Rudy smirked. “Anyway, as you can probably see—well, we’ve got you surrounded.”

Patrick folded his arms across his chest. “I see. So, are we acting out some bad western, or what?”

“Uh, no. Sorry. Just wanted to state the obvious.”

“I hope you’re not waiting for us to surrender.”

Rudy shrugged. “No. Nothing like that.”

“We won’t go down without a fight. We’ll take as many of you with us as we can.
Starting with you
.”

Rudy laughed, shook his head. “Patrick, Patrick. This
is
starting to sound like a bad western.”

Patrick snarled, his eyes flaming, and he knocked Rudy onto his back before Rudy could even detect the movement. His legs were up in the air, dangling over the chair, and Patrick had him by the throat.

“What the
fuck
kind of game are you playing, asshole?” Patrick’s face was inches from Rudy’s.

Rudy struggled against Patrick’s hands, trying to dislodge the vampire’s fingers from his throat. “Wait,” he sputtered, trying to breathe. “Listen—”

Patrick lightened his grip but didn’t release him. “Speak, pig.”

“Let me up …” he gasped.

“Speak or die!”

Rudy’s ponytail had come undone and his dark hair fanned around his head. “I have a proposition.
Please
. Let me up.”

Patrick let go, let the man crawl off the chair and struggle to his knees.

Rudy slowly stood up, righted the chair, and sat. “We need your help,” he said, rubbing his neck.

“With what?” Patrick dragged a chair beside Rudy and sat, waiting patiently for the man to continue. Now that boundaries had been established, Patrick felt surprisingly good about the situation. He might still end up losing this battle, but he felt sure of himself again. That momentary loss of confidence was gone. At least there was that.

“We don’t like the way this is turning out,” Rudy said. “It’s chaos. It’s like Sodom and Gomorrah out there. We feel we need to stop it.”

“We who?”

“There are several hundred of us. We started this battle fighting vampires. Wanting to, anyway—but we could never find any. We were always one step behind, it seemed. Always left cleaning up the aftermath of your attacks. Until now, of course.”

“Don’t be smart,” Patrick snapped.

“I don’t mean nothin’ by it. We got lucky. One a my guys saw one a yours one night and followed him here. It happens. Sometimes we get lucky, right?”

Patrick shook his head, wondered which one of his army had gotten so fucking sloppy.

Rudy continued. He rubbed one wrist until Patrick thought the man was going to flay the skin off his own body. “We all know where this is headed. It’s insanity out there. People running through the streets like wild animals. There are no rules anymore. No society. No control.”

“So take control. Create a police force.”

“No, it’s no good. We’re outnumbered a thousand to one, not to mention outgunned. It’s not just New York, it’s everywhere. I don’t know what’s happening out there, but people are loving it. The worst of it is, they’re armed to the teeth. We’d just be fighting another war.”

“That’s impossible,” Patrick said. “It can’t be that bad. People crave order. They crave society.”

“Some. But not enough. It’s just not enough.”

Patrick looked around the room, studied the faces of his followers but received no help. They were sheep, waiting for him to guide them, to make the decisions. Their blank stares were no use to him.

“We’ve created a task force,” Rudy said. “Will you and your … people … help? We need to start imprisoning people. Create order. End the chaos!”

Patrick shook his head, wisps of hair falling into his eyes. If only he’d gotten a haircut before becoming a vampire … cutting it now would be useless—it always grew back almost immediately. He would forever be young and in need of a trim.

“We’ve already done that, Rudy.” He gestured toward the cells.

“This would be different. You could be more … selective.”

“Imprison the people
you
want.”

“Well.” Rudy blinked, looked around the room, settled in staring at the prisoners. “Like I said, we’re trying to rebuild a civilization. The way things are now, it’ll never get back to normal. We’re dooming ourselves. And don’t think for a minute the enemy won’t strike again.”

“Most of the enemy are vampires! The rest are dead. Casualties of another war.”

“Yes, enemy soldiers.” Rudy leaned forward, more animated, the hands in his lap twisting like a pit of vipers. “Did you know they’re regrouping on foreign soil? What—you think they sent every soldier to the states? Think again. They’re plotting plan B. And even worse—”

“The bomb.” Patrick smiled. “I’ve heard about it. Iraq’s chemical bomb. My army’s primarily comprised of foreign soldiers—some were key players in the Global Dominion intelligence. I know fully well what they’re planning.”

“Oh. And that doesn’t bother you?” Rudy’s mouth clamped shut. He rubbed his palm down his face and cupped his chin.

“No. Should it?”

Rudy looked incredulous. “You’re asking if a
bomb
should concern you?”

Patrick nodded. “Wouldn’t be the first bomb to go off on this soil. Won’t be the last. Odds are with us—my
people
—that it won’t make a bit of difference to us. Why should it concern me?”

Rudy slowly nodded. “Makes sense. I guess. Then what do you suggest?”

“As far as what?”

“Winning, of course.”

Patrick stood up and walked back to the window. He stared at the hundreds of faces below. The crowd was quiet. Waiting. “Other than leaving US soil? That’s a stupid question. There’s no way to win. Not for any of us. Man against man, man against vampire, vampire against vampire. It’s useless, Rudy. It’s a waste of time.”

“We have to try something! We can’t continue like this.”

“So while you’re wondering whether a bomb is going to annihilate your population, we should in the meantime lock everyone up? Makes sense to me …”

The air felt suddenly warm, thick with sweat and worry, filled with a primal fear and desperation. The smell surrounded him, wafted below him. And he wondered for a fleeting moment if it wasn’t coming from himself as well.

What would he be protecting if he said no? What would be left to fight for if everything was gone?

He looked back at Rudy. Anxious, desperate Rudy with the long black hair and long black coat.

“All right,” Patrick said. “Why not? I’m in.”

Rudy exhaled, visibly relieved. “That’s great, that—”

“One condition.”

Rudy paused. “What is it?”

Patrick approached, laying his hands on Rudy’s shoulders. “I want you to join me.”

Fear distorted Rudy’s features as it became clear he knew exactly what Patrick meant. “I can’t,” he whispered, face paling. “I-I just can’t.”

“You have no choice.”

“But why? You already have an army.” He wiped the corner of his eye. “You don’t need me.”

“Then you condemn the human race. You destroy every man, woman, and child in this country. Sacrifice yourself. Prove your loyalty.”

Rudy sobbed once, a sound like a bark, and lowered his head. When he looked up almost a full minute later, his tears had dried. Patrick could smell the adrenaline, syrupy sweet, on the man’s skin.

Rudy shut his eyes, nodded. “Go ahead. Do it!”

Patrick leaned forward, his teeth razing Rudy’s neck, but then pulled back. “I’ve changed my mind. You’ve proven your loyalty.”

Chapter 28 

They were gone.

Just like that. Like a bad dream, diminished upon awakening. Like the end of happiness when summer’s over and school begins.

Janelle woke Thomas, shook the sleep out of him. He rubbed his eyes, sat up, probably as disoriented as Janelle by the darkness entering the room from outside rather than the morning sun.

“What?” he asked. “What is it?”

“They’re gone.”

“Who?”

“Them.”

“So?”

She leaned back against the sofa cushions. “So where’d they go?”

He shrugged. “Dunno. Home? What do you care?”

“I guess I …” She scratched her head. “I thought they’d say good-bye or something. And I didn’t think Rebecca was okay enough to travel.”

“She was healing pretty fast. I guess she was okay. Doesn’t matter. Them being here was creeping me out.”

“Yeah, I know. Me too, I guess.” She pulled her legs up and leaned into them. “Now what?”

“Now what
what
?”

“What do we do now?”

He stuck out his tongue and shoved her arm. “You’re so weird sometimes.”

“Am not! I just don’t know what we should do. We can’t even go outside. People out there are even worse than vampires. It’s like we’re stuck in jail or something.”

“We could watch a DVD.”

“Which one?”

He shrugged. “Dunno. A comedy though. Nothing scary. And no vampires!”

She laughed. “Fine, pick something. But Thomas, we really need to make a plan. We can’t stay here forever.”

“But we can’t go outside.”

“We have to leave New York City.”

He looked through the DVDs on the shelf across the room. “I knew you were gonna say that. And I’ll just bet you got a place in your head.”

She smiled sheepishly. “Maybe.”

“Spit it out.”

“I want to go see my mom.”

*** 

They’d slipped out at the first sign of dusk. Rebecca had recovered enough to travel, to Martin’s relief.

Now back at the army base, they rejoined the others who had returned the night before.

Martin told them what had happened.

Jeff’s hatred for Patrick had an even deeper root now, understandably, after he’d been told what Patrick had done to Dagan and Rebecca. He was ready for action, even if that meant acting impulsively, irrationally.

“Settle down,” Martin said, resting his hand on Jeff’s shoulder. “You think Patrick’s sitting there waiting for you to impart justice? Of course not. It’ll be difficult enough finding him, never mind stopping him. We know he’s well protected and has a family of his own. Probably an army.”

“We have to do
something
,” Jeff snapped. “Your passivity isn’t always appropriate, Martin.”

“I’m not
passive
, I’m careful. We need to think this through. Impulsive behavior will mean our deaths.”

Lana spoke up. “We’re not safe here anymore. Patrick knows about this location, of course. And knowing Patrick, he’ll strike.”