Chapter 25

We drove for what was probably the longest twenty-five minutes of my life, making our way south. I tried keeping myself calm with the breathing exercises Nikolai taught me, but even so I couldn't help but catch myself silently willing the van faster. Not only were those soldiers in danger, but so were Degrada's targets for the drone strike. The actions of Degrada and his men could affect the entire world.

Yet why was a part of me hoping we never arrived?

I fought down that part of fear, doing what I could to clear my head, or at least think of something other than the inevitable conflict.

Huh. You know, I don't think my textbooks were ever sent back to Warrington.

We kept driving past fields illuminated by moonlight magnified by my goggles. Finally, off in the distance, "Look, on the right!" I exclaimed pointing at a small paved road branching off our path.

"I see it," David confirmed as we quickly closed the distance. "Buckle up!" he yelled through the small window towards Jessica and Erica. He hit the brakes, causing them to squeal in protest before pushing the vehicle to its limits as he made the turn. I thought I felt the tire lift off one side as the van banked and sped down the new path.

We continued through a broken gate, passing signs that read "NO TRESPASSING" and "GOVERNMENT PERSONELL ONLY". Up ahead was a checkpoint with a small booth, its outstretched arms lifted up and out of the way of our path.

David slowed down, and I absent mindedly adjusted the hood of my suit. When we drew closer, I noticed something else in the glass of the booth. "Bullet holes," I muttered.

David noted the clear holes and cracked glass and accelerated past them.

I raised my hand to my ear, "We've passed the checkpoint. No one was there," I told Garrison.

"We know Degrada and his men are still there," Garrison commented, "but if he doesn't have anyone posted there, he probably doesn't expect to be there much longer."

"With all due respect sir," I began, "Where are the reinforcements? I mean the government reinforcements. Don't they have the army or something to send?"

"We are the army Decter," Garrison responded sharply, "The reason we are here is for situations like this Decter. Normal soldiers don't have the information nor the abilities that we do." His voice became laced with frustration, "Now stop questioning and start following soldier! You need to trust in the decisions of your superiors and your team if this is to be a successful operation."

David stopped the van on what looked like a single solitary silo near a large, green field. At its base a section of the silo opened revealing a hidden hatch and stairs.

"Yes sir," I muttered.

"What was that?"

"Yes sir!" I repeated more emphatically.

"Good," Garrison sounded satisfied, "now go in there, watch over your team, and serve your country."

The last portion made me roll my eyes. Right.

Even so I ran through exercises again to prepare for the conflict. I sensed the others going through their own mental rituals as we all exited the vehicle.

Garrison's voice came through each of our earpieces, "Alright team remember, the airstrike has been ordered and the fighters are inbound. We need to disable the drones and open the reinforced hangar doors. Grab the keys if possible, then get out of there."

"Yes sir," David answered. "Was Ms. Parker able to provide schematics of the base?"

"Affirmative. Although limited, it should be enough for me to guide you to the control room. Numera will need time to configure the jamming device and repair the console before you can open the hangar doors."

Erica patted her backpack, "Once I'm able to get set up, I should be able to keep any launch signal from reaching the drones. I also grabbed enough parts to jury rig the console to open its doors and whatever else we need it to do."

I took another breath and we formed up with myself in the front, David behind my right shoulder, Jessica behind my left, and Erica bringing up the rear. As we moved towards the door Garrison's voice pipped in, "Remember, the US government won't be taking chances. These fighters will be dropping bunker busters which, once the hangar doors are open, will level everything in the facility. Nothing in the base will be safe. To make matters worse, the vampires have had time to prepare and set up defensive fortifications within the facility. Chances are they'll see you coming. Expect resistance. Be careful and watch each other's backs in there."

I stopped before entering the doorway and turned back to the rest of the group, their attention focused on me through the tinted lenses of their goggles. I nodded, and they did the same with each one readying their weapons. The crystal and runes of Jessica's staff glowed a faint purple through the faint wisps of condensation that surrounded it. David braced the stock of his shotgun on his shoulder and chambered a shell. The shotgun, he told me, was a KSG. The weapon had a long, rectangular shape with an iron sight. He kept it pointed down, but ready to swivel at a moment's notice. He also kept a dark, sleek assault rifle slung across his back. I didn't ask about that one, and he didn't tell me. Erica kept one hand on a strap of her backpack with the other holding a shiny new pistol, her senses alert.

I exhaled as I turned back and descended down the stairs and into the hatch. The stairs led to a metal walkway after roughly ten steps. Lights overhead flickered once as I passed. They fluttered precariously as Jessica passed.

Across the walkway stood a large open door made of reinforced steel with a hole in its center and several scorch marks. Flakes of metal covered our path into a hallway, its floor, walls, and ceiling made of a bland grey metal. Broken lights hung loosely from the ceiling and the distorted bodies of men and women in combat gear dispelled the uniformity. Must have been the first line of defense. Dried splashes and streaks of blood covered the walls.

I continued forward, my mind open and alert to the presences of any vampires. Nothing yet. I stepped over the bodies, trying not to take in much of the detail. I was successful, but I sensed Jessica's mind become focused on the gruesome scene around her while Erica's own doubt grow.

I gave an inner sigh. They couldn't be distracted like that. I held up a hand to stop and turned to face the rest of the group, "Look, I know most of us are new to this, and seeing these bodies is unsettling. Heck, I'm unsettled, but we need to move past it if we are going to do this." I took a short breath as the three of them kept looking at me, "I trust each of you to do your jobs, and I hope you will trust each other as well so that we can do this. Because we can do this if we set our minds to it and if we trust in each other and ourselves." There was a brief pause with no response, "Anyways, let's keep going," I muttered, feeling the tips of my ears heat up with embarrassment. I continued my advance, slightly comforted by the renewed confidence I sensed in Jessica and Erica. A few steps further I heard David mutter into my ear, "Not a bad speech."

I glanced back towards him but didn't respond other than to point out, "Four vampires are coming this way. They know we're here."

David stepped next to me, having switched to his rifle. I looked around for cover, but the only options were some shallow inlets with closed doors to the adjoining rooms. The doors themselves appeared less reinforced, similar in structure and material to what you may find in any office building. I nodded towards one such inlet on the right and David moved towards it, waving for Erica to follow behind him. I continued forward with Jessica into a similar inlet on the left. We both crouched down, Jessica just behind me. I peered around the corner and down the hall, "You ready?" I asked lightly.

"I looked back to see Jessica holding her staff, excitement evident in her voice, "Ready to save the world," she answered.

"Uh huh." I turned my head back and sensed the vampires lying in wait for us.

I made eye contact, or the closest equivalent when both people are wearing goggles that shield their eyes and made one last confirmation.

With it I began sending waves of psychic energy at the waiting vampires, hoping to flush them out.

I succeeded. The initial strike shocked them, and the continued pummeling angered them. They rushed out of hiding enraged with weapons drawn. The vampires appeared in their humanlike skins wearing business suits. The psychic barrage slowed them to less than their usual supernatural speed.

David poked out with his rifle and in four short bursts, all four vampires dropped to the ground. Each psychic presence winked out before their respective skulls cracked against the metallic floor. The silence lasted for a moment before I heard David start advancing, and I quickly moved to do the same as the four of us formed up and picked our way through the bodies of fallen soldiers and now freshly killed vampires.

I tried to avoid noticing their glazed eyes.

We approached the end of the hallway where it branched right and left. Above I noticed a camera aimed towards us. I used a small amount of energy to hex it and the metal box shorted and sparked.

I sensed David's agreement. If the vampires really took over the base, they'd have access to the security system and could use the cameras to track us. That's probably what alerted them of our presence in the first place.

I put my hand to my ear, "Alright Garrison, we made it down the first hallway, where should we go from here?"

"Take the first right," Garrison ordered. "I'll talk you through from there."

"Do you know where the cameras are?" Erica asked. "If you could tell us when we're coming up on one, that'd help us target them or avoid them altogether."

"I can do that," Garrison informed us. "Good call Numera."

We made good progress down the next hallway. As we approached a ninety degree left turn I sensed four more vampires in that vicinity. They weren't moving, and I sensed their anticipation and bloodlust as they lied in wait. A moment later I sensed a second group of vampires as they approached from far behind. Based on their movement I presumed they were running towards us and closing the distance fast.

I stopped, "There are four vampires ahead waiting for us to pass them," I informed the team and Garrison, "And there is a larger group approaching us from behind."

"They're probably hoping to push us into an ambush," David suggested grimly.

"Suggestions?"

He shrugged, "Garrison?"

"Move forward and spring the trap before the group behind arrives," Garrison commanded. "Neutralize them quickly and turn back to face those behind. Keep the fighting on one front."

I opened my mouth to argue, but remembered Garrison's words concerning trust, "Alright," I muttered, "then we should move quickly."

"Agreed."

We began jogging and made the turn. Staggered inlets set up similar to before with the right door closer to us and the left a few paces farther down. I let David move past me as he switched to his shotgun. I kept close behind and signaled Jessica to watch the furthest door. When David approached the first door he pointed out with is weapon a small crack signaling the door was already open.

David counted and then kicked the door in, landing in a kneeling position. The vampires behind hissed in surprise at the sudden move. David fired his first shot before the door finished slamming into the wall, catching the nearest vampire in the chest and causing it to explode in a spray of blood and flesh. He fired at the second, but it dodged and closed the distance. I had been waiting and stuck my arm over his shoulder before shouting, "Éle!"

The beam of spirit energy caught the vampire in the chest at point blank range. It flew across the room, and its body crunched against the wall before slumping down with an inch-deep hole in its stomach area. A fatal energy for a mortal, but I still sensed the vampire's mind as it went unconscious.

Behind us I heard the second door burst off its hinges, and the howling of the other two vampires. Jessica gave an angry cry in another language. I turned just in time to see Jessica use her staff to unleash a burst of water that encased the vampires and the left wall in ice upon contact. The ceiling, floor, and right wall being on the fringes of the spell became covered in frost, and the column of lights above exploded in a shower of sparks and glass.

There wasn't much time to comprehend everything that just happened. The secondary group of vampires behind us picked up their pace at the sound of the conflict, "The other welcoming party is almost here," I warned the others.

David looked around contemplating. Then he pulled out two grenades, "Let me know when they're closing," he ordered.

It took a moment for me to understand before I nodded and closed my eyes to concentrate, tracking their movements, "Get ready."

I heard the sound of David pulling the pins.

I opened my eyes, "Now!"

David threw both grenades, bouncing them off the side of the wall and down the hallway we came from. A flash was all I sensed from the vampires before the explosion. A fiery inferno caused them to howl in pain as they were consumed.

I flinched from their agony, forcing myself to disregard it. I had the others form up on me as we continued down the hall. "Where are we going Garrison?"

"Go down past the next two intersections and take a left," Garrison ordered.

I led the group as he said, using magic to hex cameras Garrison warned us about as we made our journey. We moved quickly through the base, pausing now and then when I sensed patrolling vampires to keep out of sight. We passed more mangled corpses in military uniforms as we continued.

"The door to the control room should be past one more intersection and then the branch on your right," Garrison informed us. "The hallway you're now passing will lead you to the other side of the hangar."

We approached the control room. The door lacked a circular section of metal cut and discarded from its center. I sensed two minds within the control room. One carried the foreignness I associated with vampire while the other felt human and emanated a strong sense of defiance. I stopped the group, and as David stepped around me I whispered, "There are two minds in there, but I think only one is a vampire."

"The other one with them?"

"Pretty sure they're not with them, but I can't be certain."

David nodded, readying his shotgun before stepping into the room. He shot the vampire in the head, killing it instantly before yelling "Freeze!"

I peeked into the room. Toppled chairs and tables laid scattered across the room. Several large windows made up most of one wall. They looked down into the hangar about thirty feet below. The main control board bordered this wall. It was made up of a series of switches, pads, and keyboards, as well as enough lights to make me wonder if some were just for show.

Unfortunately, I didn't see any flash drive shaped objects plugged in anywhere. My gaze turned to David and followed his weapon that pointed towards a pair of legs clothed in the pants of a similar uniform I'd seen on the fallen soldiers. They stuck out through an opening made by removing one of the panels underneath the console, the cover itself leaning against a wall.

"Get out of there!" David commanded the pair of legs, "Slowly."

The legs obeyed, and out came the rest of a female soldier. With her hat nowhere to be seen, a few strands of shoulder-length brown hair covered her face while others clung to it from sweat. She raised her hands and eyes and looked at us with annoyed brown eyes, "About time you showed up."

The others entered the room as David gestured towards the woman with his gun, "Sergeant Briggs I presume?"

"Obviously, although I guess you can't read the patch."

"We'll see," David muttered, he turned his head to me, "is she telling the truth?"

I focused my psychosenses on her, ignoring the emotions of the others and some vampires in the nearby hangar. I sensed her disappointment in herself and the heartache for her lost comrades, all masked by her anger towards this invading force. On top of it I sensed her fear having been held under threat of death to fix the control board only to be rescued and held at gunpoint by the next bunch of asses who walked through the door.

I sensed all of this, but no deception in who she was or her intentions towards us.

"She's good," I told David.

He lowered his shotgun before walking over and offering a hand, "I apologize, but we had to be sure."

Briggs swatted David's hand away, "Yeah, protocol, whatever." She jumped to her feet. "Listen, whatever those things are out there, they're insane!"

"Yeah we know," Erica muttered as she pushed her way past to the control board, "that's vampires for you." She stopped and blinked as she passed the window, "Huh," she said with impressed surprise before continuing forward to the console of various controls. Erica then pulled out a boxlike device from her backpack and attached it to one of the ports of the control board using a long dark cord.

"What?" David asked, curious. He looked out the window himself, "Oh," he breathed.

I moved forward to see for myself and thanked my mouth cover for keeping my jaw from hitting the floor. The hangar was huge. Hundreds, if not thousands of yards long and filled with drones. The sleek design made them appear like miniature fighter jets. Figures in suits worked diligently to fuel and load them. Large canisters of jet fuel stood tall alongside groups of aircraft. I peered closer and noted wires spilling from the drones into small laptops on tables beside them.

"Numera, will your jammer have enough strength to reach them all?"

Erica shrugged, "Should."

"That doesn't exactly fill me with confidence," David sighed.

Briggs scoffed incredulously behind us, "Everyone hold up a second! Are you all serious right now! I've been watching my soldiers have their throats ripped out and you have the balls to joke-" She stopped herself, "You actually think they're vampires, don't you?"

No one bothered responding.

Briggs looked over each of us, her eyes widening in surprise, "Umm, ok," she said slowly with uncertainty. I sensed her second guessing whether he position had gotten any better, "Well then… I think-"

"I don't care what you think," David interrupted, silencing her. He turned back to Jessica and me, "More vampires will come by soon unless their attention is brought elsewhere."

Both Jessica and I got the hint, "We're on it." Jessica nodded, she turned to me, "C'mon Decter, looks like we're up again."

"Uh, huh," I responded, doing my best to sound neutral, but truth be told my adrenaline kept me feeling buzzed and hyper alert. My heart pounded, my palms felt sweaty, and I felt the urge to keep moving. Probably for the best. I was going to need to move pretty quickly in the near future.

I followed Jessica out, and we jogged lightly down the hallway we identified before. Every so often a large window looking into the hangar broke the monotony of the metal wall. Fortunately the hallway was wide enough for us to keep to the side and under cover from those within the hangar. As we ran Garrison's voice spoke into our ears, "Decter, Chalser, status report."

"On our way to cause a distraction," Jessica answered. "We're looping around the hangar now." She then added, "The Overseer keys weren't in the control room."

"Which means it's on one of the vampires," Garrison commented grimly. "No matter. Proceed as planned, but keep your eyes peeled for those keys. Take the first service lifts you come across down. I don't need you too far separated from the rest of the team."

"Yes sir."

We kept moving down the long hallway. I couldn't help but wonder why it was so devoid of vampires.

Shut up Decter. Don't look a gift horse in the mouth.

We reached a branch in the hallway where one turn led to a console near a large lift. Below it I could make out a set of set of doors leading into the hangar. The style reminded me of those roll up doors made for garages, but, you know, supersized.

We walked onto the lift and paused beside the controls. Jessica and I each took a breath. I could sense her fear which did little to allay my own doubts. I pushed my feelings aside and pressed the button to lower us. The machine sprang to life by producing an obnoxiously loud grinding sound, and it slowly lowered us. I exhaled again, "You were right," I told her.

I sensed a jolt of surprise from her, "About what?"

"About us."

"What about us?"

I began slowly, "You said we could do something… something to make a difference…"

She kept looking forward as we descended.

"…well maybe this is our chance to do that."

Jessica finally turned her head towards me. She grabbed my hand and gave it a light squeeze, "I'm glad you're here Caleb."

My chest fluttered from something unrelated to the vampires. I squeezed back, "Yeah, you too."

I'm glad a mask covered my face so she couldn't see me biting my lip out of embarrassment. Real stud muffin there Caleb.

We held hands in silence as the lift brought us down. Finally the grinding stopped and with a rumbling growl the hangar doors began to open. We tensed for the inevitable fight. After a few long seconds, the doors rolled high enough for us to gaze across the humongous room only to be met with impartial vampires continuing their tasks, working on drones, lifting equipment, and otherwise completely ignoring us.

Far across from us where I couldn't see I knew the others worked in the control room. The patrols we passed earlier would eventually pass them unless something drew their attention. I looked around and noticed a tall stack of crates that could make for serviceable cover. Immediately ahead of us were two rows of three drones. Each with their own pair of workers. I sensed their minds and confirmed they were indeed vampires.

"Huh," Jessica said surprised, "Well that's unexpected. How do you suppose we should-"

I had already been gathering energy for my spell and the jewel in my palm clouded with darkness, "Hey uglies!" I yelled, "Pay attention to me!" With that I let out a roar, "Éle!"

The beam caught the nose of one of the drones, blowing it off and onto the computer next to it. Both hit the ground with a resounding crash and spray of sparks while the drone rotated a few feet, its wheels screeching harshly against the ground made of smooth concrete.

What followed was a few seconds of pure silence. I sensed the attention of every single vampire in the hangar focus on the two humans who just walked in and announced their presence. I tried to not take note of their growing hunger, or that over a dozen different perceptions flashed through my mind as they homed in on us.

Jessica began to speak, her sarcasm laced with uncertainty, "Well that's certainly one way to-"

A series of screeches and howls interrupted her, their voices magnified due to echoing within the large room. Those closest to us began drawing their weapons and moving towards us.

Huh. I think I'm starting to feel that gift horse's bite now.