Vampire Apocalypse: A World Torn Asunder (Book 1) (33 page)

“I don’t think I would like it
to be quite the way it was, I mean look how quickly it all fell
apart. That had nothing to do with the vampires. That was us, plain
and simple.”

Steele pursed his lips as he
turned towards Harris. “Humanity isn’t all bad.”

“No, I’m not suggesting it is.
But we lost something along the way.” He slumped into silence and
the two men watched the last of the light disappear. Behind them
men and women shuffled impatiently as they checked their weapons,
settled gear or whispered nervously as they waited for the
darkness. “I mean,” Harris suddenly continued, “once the power was
gone the world went to hell. Do you remember the riots and the
panic that followed the announcement of fuel rationing? Whole
economies were wiped out overnight once the oil fields were nuked.
Millions were out of work and suddenly the balance of the world
shifted. Suddenly countries that had never achieved greatness
through technology became dominant. Countries that had never played
on the world stage were suddenly thrust into positions of influence
and they just weren’t ready for it.”

Harris sighed. “I mean how long
was it before slavery came back? A month was it? Jesus,
civilisation was just a veneer. It took less than a month before we
reverted back to barbarism.”

Steele nodded as thoughts of his
sister flooded through his mind. He was all too aware of man’s
propensity for evil. “But through all of that there were still
those who stood up for others. There always will be, you know,
Peter. People like you and those around you.”

Harris looked over at Steele. He
knew so little about this man, other than he had worked for the
vampires and had somehow remained unbitten and uncontrolled for the
last two years. No mean feat, Harris thought as he studied Steele.
I wonder what he had to do to earn that position. He had obviously
used his skills against humanity but, despite his association with
the vampires, Harris could sense no evil about him. Most of the
others in the community tended to shy away from him. Oh, they were
glad that he had helped against Nero and that he had managed to
save Sandra Harrington, but they did not trust him and, if the
truth be known, they were afraid of him.

Harris didn’t blame them either.
Steele had an air of about him that screamed confidence. He had sat
in on Harris’ss briefing for tonight's assault and had made only
three comments. Harris was intelligent enough to realise that those
three small changes would save many lives and would greatly improve
their chances of success. He would never had thought of them either
and he was reminded again about how unqualified he was to plan
military engagements. He prayed that Steele was all he appeared to
be. As a community they needed someone with his skills and
personally, Harris needed him to sanity check his own plans. But
was he what he appeared to be or was he a wolf in sheep’s
clothing.

He studied the man, trying
desperately to see the answer in his eyes but all he could see was
a sense of loss greater than anything he himself had ever
experienced. There was a story there that he must hear and
understand before he could fully trust this stranger, but, for now,
the man had proved himself more than capable and Harris could
detect no duplicity about him. And that would have to be good
enough for now. “But is it really worth it? I mean …” he lifted the
weapon in his hands, “is this our future? The thralls in that city
were human once and now they rape and abuse people who were their
neighbours not too long ago.”

“You will find some good even
among the thralls if you are prepared to look.” Steele smiled,
“though admittedly that would be the exception.”

Harris snorted in derision. “And
now we have to go in there and take their power away. These
bastards who actually keep the vampires safe during the day. I mean
what kind of person can do that? Most of the people behind us are
already wounded or have never even held a gun. How can I ask them
to …?”

“But they are here regardless,
Peter.” Steele interrupted as he glared at Harris. “They are here
for themselves, not for you. They chose to come with you for their
own reasons. If they die then that too is their decision, not
yours. They might follow your example but they are here for their
own reasons.”

Harris remained silent for some
time as he stared out over the city. Finally he stood and looked
down at Steele and offered his hand. “But what’s to stop it all
happening again?”

“People like us,” Steele grinned
as he gripped Harris’ss hand and pulled himself to his feet. All
around them men and women took their cue from the two men and
finished conversations and wiped damp palms on their clothes.

It was time.

“Now let’s get this show on the
road.” Steele smiled. “There are a lot of people in there that are
waiting for us.”

****

The thralls put up a token
resistance at first but they were already beaten. When the vampires
had not returned the night before, they knew. When their colleagues
and superior officers had not returned, they knew. And when they
saw the mass of people flooding towards them, they knew.

What the untrained rabble lacked
in experience they more than made up for in enthusiasm. They had
all suffered under the thralls for many years and, though the
serum’s effects did not allow them to remember all the details of
their captivity, each and every one of them had nightmares,
snatches of memories of abuse and violence that no-one should have
to endure.

They were angry as they flooded
into the city and their anger carried them through the hail of
bullets. The thralls still outnumbered the rebels but they were
already beaten and many of them threw down their weapons in the
hope that they would be spared the full brunt of the mob’s anger.
That was not to be the case though.

Fear and disgust and anger drove
them on and many thralls were killed or beaten senseless as people
let their fury take over. It didn’t take long. Harris had not
wanted to let the mob rule but Steele had advised him to stay out
of it. The people needed to exorcise their demons. They needed to
give their fear and anger a face. Something they could fight back
against. Something they could all feel that they had overcome.

By the time the dawn once again
began to spread out across the city it was over. Light splashed
over all of them as if cleansing them from their night of violence
and retribution. Even the city seemed to shine in the dawn as if a
great weight had been lifted. There were casualties, of course, but
mercifully few. Harris had ensured that some of the thralls had
survived also; they had so much they needed to know and these
pathetic, terrified creatures were only too willing to tell them
everything.

They had a long way to go. There
were thousands in the city still prisoners of the serum. Thousands
of people who would need care and attention long after the effects
finally wore off before they could join the resistance. They had
scored a major victory here but it was only one city in a state
full of cities and one state in a country full of states. They
would have to hide their victory from the other cities and the
other vampires or they would be swept away before they were ready.
They had to remain hidden as they prepared. They would have to be
cunning but most of all they would have to become a community. They
had begun a journey but where it would lead Harris didn’t know. He
was sure, though, that it was a journey worth taking

The End