“We got em,” Tony told my brother as we walked up. He was a surprisingly swarthy vampire with dark hair and eyebrows that were still thick.
“Three dead. See any others?” Tony shook his head.
“How many did you see when you came through?” My brother asked.
“I told you, five, but there could easily have been more.”
My brother stroked his chin his eyes narrowed and focused as if he were trying to look into the time when I passed through the outpost. “Doubtful, they would have all come out to see you and the General’s vamp. They would have all been so freaking bored. Probably sent here for punishment as well, they would have wanted to know who was being punished worse than they were, or they would have hoped for a reprieve.” He looked around the room at the group of vamps. “Three down. You three,” he pointed at Tony and two others “get up there and check that boat. Sink it if it’s still there. The rest of you search every building and don’t forget the signal. Meet up here in two hours.”
The vampires filled out leaving only my brother’s group. My brother paced the building muttering to himself. I sat down in a corner shivering. The room was very cold and cave like. As the air cleared somewhat a wet musty scent covered everything. The hunger swept over me in a wave as my body relaxed. My mind screamed at me; my eyes were constantly hovering over the twins focusing on their necks even though they were tightly bundled in scarves. My stomach twisted over as if it were wringing itself out.
Tony and the other pair of vamps returned and reported that they’d sunk the boat with a grin. Another group of humans and vampires filtered in and reported that they’d killed the other two of the General’s vamps as they’d ran south along the road. I wondered if all the General’s vamps would be so stupid as to attempt to escape along the easiest and most obvious route or to trap themselves on a roof. My brother questioned this group intensely on their actions. They’d come up on the town from the south after crossing the river as they’d been instructed. Then they’d set up on one of the many hills that surrounded the riverfront on both sides. After an appropriate amount of time they’d fired their mortar, missed the building, readjusted, and then fired again. “And then,” my brother asked.
“We couldn’t see anything. The smoke was so thick, we didn’t know what we’d hit so we waited.”
“You couldn’t approximate?” My brother asked sharply.
“We didn’t want to hit any of our own. After a time, we seemed to be able to see the building still standing so we fired again.”
“Did you hear any other mortars firing at that time?” my brother asked very coldly and very firmly as if through gritted teeth.
“Not that I can think of?” said the vampire, “But I didn’t see anyone moving down there either.”
My brother slapped him so quickly that I only saw a flash as his hand travelled through the air and then the slap resounded through the air like a crackle of electricity.
“Of course, you didn’t you fool,” Eli hissed. “You said yourself that you couldn’t see anything because of the smoke. “You’ve killed Jackson with your stupidity. You’ve left us weaker all because you were too afraid to follow orders.”
The vampire’s mouth was open, aghast, and the red outline of my brother’s hand was rising in a welt on one of his cheeks. “I wasn’t too afraid. I didn’t know that the initial bombardment of the city had been completed.”
My brother turned away from him and paced with his hands locked behind his back. “Oh bullshit. Clearly the time for the initial bombardment was over. We didn’t know which building they were in. We’d have had to blast the entire town to bits to kill them. The mortars smoke them out. Then we come in and kill them. I’m sure you left a gaping hole to the south too and you were just lucky they made for the river. There could be more headed south this instance. Think about this the next time you’re out there. If you screw up again I’ll feed you bit by bit to whatever kinds of fishes and creatures that live in this river and you’ll be alive up to the point in which I toss your empty head.” My brother stalked out of the room leaving everyone in a hush.
I heard all of this through the haze of a catatonic state in the corner shivering. My stomach clenched and my blood burnt as my nostrils flared and inhaled the sweet scent of the men of our party, but I couldn’t move in anyway. I couldn’t alleviate the pain. All I could do was sit and endure the pain as room pulsed. My eye began to twitch, and I feel to one side convulsing. The room laughed. A wave of darkness and then a wave of red swept over me.
When I came to my senses, I heard the frantic heartbeat of the woman before I heard her cries. Her young son was lying at her feet stained in his own blood and the vampires were taking their turns
