Page 19 of Before We Burn

Her words pierce me like a bullet to the heart. I want to tell her she’s wrong, to find a way to try to justify my actions. But there is nothing to say.

“You’re both good boys. Respectable boys. But you are so very naive to think you aren’t manipulated every day from the propaganda you are fed.”

We’ve been on the road for six hours. No bathroom breaks. No conversation. Just a bunch of sweaty guys in the back of a truck with no windows. I don’t know why we still travel like this. Vampires don’t need to see us to know we’re there. They hear our hearts beat, our bones creak, and the breaths leaving our fucking lungs. This is all a false sense of security.

I groan in shame for feeling that way. I want nothing more than to get justice for my family, do the whole vigilante thing. But at what cost?

The truck comes to a stop, and everyone loads their weapons before stepping out of the truck in uniform fashion. I stop for a moment, breathing in the sharp cold air and taking in the hills of snow and the castle settled perfectly between them. I’m in awe for a moment. It’s been so long since I’ve seen a place that looks like it could actually be a home.

Too bad we’re about to blow it up.

There is intel pointing to a hoard of vampires living there, and a town about ten miles away has reported an increase of missing persons. There’s a military station over there, too, that has gone radio silent. I figure vampires would kill them first, but Benny thought otherwise.

Our military isn’t exactly known for our bravery—a lot of the time soldiers will run when they come face to face with vampires. If not, they'll try to barter and offer up intel. I’ve seen it way too many times to be surprised that they vanished after hearing the rumors amongst the small town.

“Everett, come on, you’re holding us all up,” Benny shouts from closer to the group, and I peel my eyes away from the castle to do as I’m told.

We set up at the access point, all of us in a tight pack. We stay silent, communicating in various gestures to signal what we’re doing, because one of us has to get close to the castle to line up the explosives at the base. Benny volunteers himself, always trying to show people he isn’t afraid, but I can see it in the way he’s walking.

His shoulders slump, and his body looks unnatural as he crouches down and begins to lay the fuses. We all watch breathlessly until finally he jogs back, the snow kicking up behind him slowing him down. We all sigh in relief once he’s back with the group, a few of the guys slapping Benny on his helmet as a way to say good job.

I brace myself for what’s about to come next. I knew the mission before I got here, but something in my gut tells me this isn’t the right move. But my orders come first, as they’ve always done, and Hendrix gives the all-clear. A loud boom sounds, the earth shaking as the warm air from the blast blows our way. Thankfully, our entire faces, besides our eyes, are covered to protect us from the freezing wind.

We move into what should be a national landmark of a castle, now turned to rubble and piles of memories. I don’t see anyone at first, my finger hovering over the trigger of my gun, waiting for the vampires to start their attack. But none of them come outside like I expect them to. Instead, we are able to fully move into the castle without a problem.

I instantly start shooting my dart gun filled with UV poison to sedate. I quickly load and unload it, hitting as many vampires as I can. It’s easy money. Each dart hits true, and each vampire goes down. I’m smug for a moment, satisfied with my accuracy. Gratification gives me a rush, and I move faster with the click of each reload. I look around the room, surprised there aren’t more of them.

I push deeper into the castle, noting it doesn’t look anything like I expected. The stone runs throughout the entire building, each individual piece placed there by someone who was building a home. Art now litters the floor from the blast, and I notice the vampires have begun to run. None of them are fighting. Instead, there is a woman standing there in all her glory, ushering other vampires to safety. She’s covered in dust and rubble, and she has a slash on her left shoulder that’s wide open and a few darts stuck in her leg.

I watch as she helps one of the youngest vampires I’ve seen stand then shields them from another dart. She has to be old; these darts are instant Bloodling droppers. Older vampires, not so much. Our eyes connect for a moment. Her face hasn’t transitioned yet, but her eyes bore into my soul. She looks so worried, helpless. And after what Hera said—fuck!

I charge through my men, shouting for Major Hendrix. We have to stop the assault. They’re running and not an immediate threat to us. It would be counter productive to keep hurting people who don’t even want to fight back.

Once I finally find Hendrix, I grab him by the shoulders and shout over the snarls and screams, “We gotta take what we got and go. They’re not fighting back.”

Hendrix turns to me and hits me in the ribs with his gun. “Fuck off, Everett. Did you forget they killed your family? Killed your friends? Bag ‘em and tag ‘em. If you see another one, fucking shoot.”

I push Hendrix hard in his chest. The sting from the gun on my ribs makes my anger flare. I push my forehead into his, a snarl on my lips. “This is fucking wrong,” I say, pushing away from him again.

I find Benny at the spot where I was watching the woman with the green eyes. There are bodies everywhere—vampires lying at my feet, silent as mice. “Who’s prey and who’s predator now?” Benny forces out, and you can tell he doesn’t mean it. I know he doesn’t—he doesn’t have the arrogant look on his face he gets when he’s proud of himself.

I walk away from him in frustration, pacing up and down the halls of the castle, taking a minute to breathe away from the chaos deeper in the castle. It doesn’t matter how far I go, though. There are bodies everywhere. All of them with a glowing ray of light somewhere on their bodies.

I stop at a room which has oak panelling all the way to the ceiling. There are books—real books—scattered all over the floor. I stand in complete disbelief.

Books are nearly non-existent, and the stories I do know say the witches burned them all. A way to disconnect us from our history. Over time, the stories were forgotten and books became nothing but a myth. Seeing them feels so surreal I almost miss the small girl sitting in the corner. Her head is down, her hands covering her ears, and she doesn’t move. Next to her is the woman I saw helping the others before. This time her face has transitioned, her fangs long, confirming she is older.

Our gazes lock in in a silent match, and she looks from my weapon to me, trying to see what move I’ll make. The floor creaks to my left, and our eyes both shift to it. One of my soldiers stands there, his gun aimed with his finger on the trigger.

The pop sounds loudly, and I don’t know why, but I step in front of it. The sting of the poison pours into my veins; the UV won’t do anything to me, but the sedation is enough to knock me out for two days. I look up, taking in my hazy surroundings as the sound of gunshots popping fills the air. All I remember seeing before everything went silent were those big, beautiful green eyes.

9

UNEXPECTED GUEST

MARZANA

Imagine my shock when a human soldier stepped in front of a UV dart in some chivalrous act. It wasn’t chivalrous at all, though. It was stupid and dumb. I wish he never did it.