"There is a wolf amongst us," Garystated, as he and I had already zeroed in on the target.
While Thaddeus technically hadno skin in the game, being that his sole purposed in life was to kill me anderadicate my kind from the planet, the presence of a being farworse than his sworn enemy was quite unsettling.
"We have to go there. We have togo to Germany," Thad said.
Garrison was about to respondbecause it had been some time since I had stepped up and acted likethe lead dog. But, then he felt a mountain of energy rising andsmiled, knowing that things were about to get back tonormal.
"We need to get to the beach," Ifirmly stated as Thaddeus backed up both mentally and physically.While water was a safe place for both Garrison and me, it was apoint of extinction for land mammal Thaddeus.
I turned back toward Thad andwalked toward him, putting my large hand on his shoulder, "Don'tworry brother, we got your back," and we made eye contact and Ikept walking.
Thad was shocked as he looked atGary for confirmation.
Gary put his hands up, palms tothe sky, and replied, "What he said," and that was good enough forGary. Besides, even if we double-crossed him and gave him a waternap, he would still wake up the next morning renewed, and as goodas new.
We took our time getting to thebeach over the next few days, following a trail of energy thataccurately reflected months of wartime planning. The Allied forceswere about to hit the beach at Normandy with great ferocity, but itappeared their strategy was a tad misguided.
"It's gonna be a blood bath," Garysaid as he and we stood down the beach where the siege wouldbegin.
Thaddeus looked toward thestronghold that the Germans and their allies had established facingthe entry point.
"It's almost as if they know allabout it before it happens. Sort of makes it unfair, don't youthink, Thomas?"
Thad and Gary turned theirattention to me as I thought about what our next move would be, ifany.
"I've given this some thought, inall of the few hours that I've regained consciousness, and I'vecome to the following decision. In the past I've always thoughtonly of myself, and you guys have let my actions usually dictatewhat happens between us. This wasn't the way it was in my previouslife, where everything I did was for the benefit of my family.First, we have to stop whatever is going here because I don't wantto be eating bratwurst, sauerkraut, and Bavarian beer for the restof my vampirical existence. Second, and definitely more importantin the world order, once we are done I want you two to leave hereand go back to the states to start a family. There will be a day inthe future when my family will return and I want you both toexperience the joy of having families of your own."
FAMILY I (Thad)
We pared back the Nazis to a moreworkable foe for the Allied troops, who were able to capture thebeach and then the war. Thaddeus and Garrison returned to thestates, while I stayed behind the clean up what was left of theThird Reich. While some criminals escaped to South America andScandinavia, others were not as fortunate. I bled them dry with nohope of continuing their torturous ways as vampires.
It was difficult at first forThaddeus to turn off his tracking and hunting instincts as itconcerned me. He landed in New York and then moved as quickly awayfrom the ocean as he could toward the middle of the country, wherehe sought refuge on a farm in Kansas. There was no people, water orlife around for miles and Thad enjoyed this lifestyle until herealized that he was alone and his directive was to shack up with amate and start a family.
So he ventured out to the buddingmetropolis, the gateway to the west, St. Louis, Missouri. Thad hadbeen to just about every corner of the world with me and Gary. Ourspecial powers enabled us to get to and from places much quickerthan even airplanes and trains could travel. He always found peoplein the Midwest and South to be impediments to his work, becausethey always seemed utterly clueless to everything going on aroundthem. If it wasn't about barbecue or guns, Thad thought that itwasn't of interest to them. Vampires could be flying around andsinking their teeth into people, but none of this seemed to fazethese war-happy constituents.
"The war is over," Thaddeusmumbled to himself as a group of drunk veterans were hooten' and ahollerin' about "Killin' some Jap's!"
He was surprised when anunfamiliar voice said, "Don't you love your country?"
Thad turned around and calmlyreplied, "Are you questioning my patriotism, miss?" being that hewas much older than her on a chronological basis, but still lookedlike he was in his mid-20s.
"Did you fight in the war?" sheasked.
Thad thought back to ourelimination of hundred of Germans and then seemed annoyed as hewalked away, "You ask a lot of questions for someone I don'tknow."
Mary O'Donnell was not going to godown that easy. She had spotted her diamond in the rough and wasabout to go mining to secure the asset.
"You're not from around here, areyou?" she asked as she trailed a surprisingly-fast walking Thad, orso she thought. She had seen many people who could walk fast on thefarm, but none with such a sense of purpose and drive as thisman.
Thad rolled his eyes and thenrealized why he was in St. Louis in the first place. There was anactual woman showing interest in him, albeit a probing, flirty kindof interest, and he had been playing pretty hard to get. He slowedhis roll and turned around, expecting the woman to be at least fivepaces behind him. But, what he found was a a woman that attached tohim like Velcro, in the days before the loud, adherent strips wereinvented.
Mary looked deep into Thad's eyesand they both knew what time it was. "You walk very fast," he said,as she had the intent of a lion tracking a water buffalo in hergaze.
"Stop talkin' and start kissin'"she countered, which was quite aggressive for the times, even for afarm girl.
Thad, although he didn't
