“Why do you want my brother to attack so badly?”
He looked at me as if I were some kind of alien, or worse a vamp. “It’s not about what I want.” He said. “I’m heading back now so wait a bit before you follow or else it may not matter if you cooperate or not. Just think on what I told you.” He turned then and went lumbering back up the pathway towards the village.
I descended the riverbank passing between the trunks of the short trees that grew there and knelt by the smooth black surface of the water. The starlight turned the ripples gold in the center of the river and the air was much colder. An owl hooted and a fish splashed in the middle of the river. I felt extremely tired, even more tired than my lack of sleep merited. Did the preacher believe that my brother would die in his assault on the General? Was that why he wanted me to lead my brother down that path? It seemed obvious that he wanted my brother out of the way. I felt dense and bewildered by the plots and desires of the people moving around me. The preacher wanted my brother gone, my brother wanted more vampires and he wanted to attack, and Mary? Did she want something? She had found my brother handsome but obviously he hadn’t shown her any attention else why would she show interest in me. Unless it was another plot I couldn’t see. I sat down even though the soil was cold and dense and leaned my head against my knees and listened to the peaceful murmuring of the river as it flowed by slowly. My thoughts nagged at me though, picking apart the peaceful atmosphere woven by the grove. The preacher didn’t come to me himself; he sent his son in the dead of night and even then, we had to leave the camp before we could talk. Did my brother know of the preacher’s intentions? There was a tension between the two of them but what kept the preacher alive? I decided I had to attend services, hear the preacher speak and see what I could learn there. Perhaps Mary attended the gatherings and I could see her, sit with her, and talk if I could not talk with the preacher. Thoughts of Mary filled me with warmth and a brightness that took some of the edge off my paranoia, fatigue, and the chill of the night. Still I felt as if a net was closing around me. My mind was urging me to run. To get into the forest and never turn back, but even though no one was around, and it was early in the morning I had no doubt that one of my brother’s vamps would find me and return me. If not, as I was trying to leave then shortly afterwards.
When the sun rose behind me and light brought the red and gold tree leaves alive, I got up and began walking slowly back towards the village. Another day in the corn awaited me. Men were up and moving cattle to new pasture on the valley’s walls behind the village. I trudged along until a bit of orange on the side of the wagon rut caught my eye. It was a flower opening to the warmth of the sun. A trickle of dew ran down one of its petals like a tear. I crouched down and admired its delicate beauty before I plucked it smiling and thinking of Mary.
The flower drew some snickers as I held it close to my chest and walked into the dining hall of the farmhouse. Everyone was finishing up their grits and Mary wasn’t in sight so ignoring my snarling stomach and the roomful of stares I pushed my way into the kitchen. Mary was pouring all the remaining grits into a single pot and stacking the empty ones by the doorway. The ladies’ heads snapped around as the door creaked open and Liza opened her mouth to scream at me but forgot to as I stepped across the room and presented the flower to Mary. She took it with a trembling hand, crusty with grits and red, and her mouth agape, held it close to her chest, sniffed it and smiled at me. It was the most beautiful smile in the world her eyes lighting up like beacons and her cheeks transitioning to a bright red blush as she saw the rest of the ladies in the room staring at her. I grinned back and then said, “Thank you ladies,” before backing out of the room.
Paul grinned at me as I left the kitchen smiling and the sound of talking was broken with some good-natured chuckling and even a couple of whistles. I blushed but not from embarrassment but from the unusual attention. As I walked towards Paul’s table the popping sound of gunfire not too far off in the distance drove away the conversation and left only murmuring in its wake. Everyone got to their feet and I followed them out onto the porch with a bowl of grits in my hand eating as quickly as the molten food would allow. We stood lining the porch edge in silence shading our eyes against the rising sun. I was shoulder to shoulder with Paul and Ryan the bowl of grits forgotten in my hand. In the pasture a truck-like contraption was rolling through the pasture. It was powered by a team of six thralls who chased after a man standing on a platform in front of them. He steered the vehicle from there as if he were on the deck of a ship. Two vampires knelt at the back of the truck bed with rifles at their shoulders while another operated a large mounted gun firing wildly in the direction of straw targets
