Around The Fire

Drew watched Carl go back into the building. People were opening windows since the air conditioners were out. It was warm. Gavin was thankful for that. For once it wasn’t raining. Gavin was thankful for that too. “Well, I guess I’d better go talk to Kathy.” Drew began “By the way, why did you guys move all of your stuff out?” Rena looked quizzically at her husband. She was wondering the same thing. “Several reasons,” Gavin explained “First, if there is a fire there isn’t going to be any help. It’s going to burn out of control. The water plant runs on electricity. Since it’s out of commission like everything else water presure will drop as people use water from the lines. If they are using their garden hoses to fight fires in town it won’t be long before the water stops.” He looked at Rena “We need to fill up every container we can find with water, and fill the bathtub up too. As quickly as possible.” Then he turned back to Drew “All of the water that comes into the sytem has to go out too. The waste water plant runs on electricity. With it out of service the waste water going down the drains, plus water form rains will back up in the sewer system. It’s going to start coming out of drains and flooding basements. All of the first floor apartments here are half underground. They are all going to flood with sewage. Anything we don’t out will be in a raw sewage flood. We aren’t very far from the plant, so it will probably happen today or tomorrow. Day after tomorrow at the latest. Then the smell is going to effect you guys upstairs, even if the water itself never gets to you.”

Drew nodded. He headed back in to talk to his wife. Gavin sent Rena in to start filling containers with water. He didn’t go with her. He did admonish her not to push hersef too hard in her condition. Gavin himself had something else to do. Gavin always wore his siderarm except when he went to bed. He had put it back on last night when he knew he wasn’t going back to bed. He gathered up all of the stuff he normally carried in his pockets and on his belt. Then he discarded his non functional cell phone and flahlight.

Then Gavin dug his backpack out of the car. He went through the pockets discarding non functional flashlights. Finding the emergency radio, he turned it on. Nothing. He discarded the radio. He also removed all of his work related stuff. He wouldn’t be needing any of that today. From the open windows he could hear people talking. Commenting on things, discvering new things that didn’t work, fighting. A box that used to be next to their bed was in the back of the truck. It held loaded handgun magazines. Gavin stuffed 4 in his pockets. There were already 5 in his backpack and 1 on his belt. The rest he put in the backpack. Once Gavin had gotten his backpack cleared of useless items and stocked with loaded handgun magazines he shouldered it.

Gavin looked at the rifle case that held his AK. He thought about it for a second, and then decided not to take it. Things had not gone that far yet. Walking around with an AK at this point would draw unwanted attention, and alarm people. He knew the time would come, but people still hadn’t grasped that their world had ended. But a second gun was a good idea. He got out his P-64, and the 4 spare magazines and put them all on his belt.

He headed out into a town now unfamiliar and covered in the orange glow of fire.

When Gavin woke up the sky was dark. It looked like a bad storm was coming. One of the neighbors was walking over. Drew. He and his wife Kathy lived in the apartment above Gavin and Rena. “Hey Gavin,” Drew began “What’s going on?” Gavin tried to think quick “I thought the building was on fire.” Drew laughed at that. “Come on man, you guys took all of your stuff out in the middle of the night. We all know the power is out. But it’s more. The cars don’t work. The cell phone’s don’t work. Flashlights don’t work. We haven’t heard a siren all night, but it looks like a lot of the city is burning.” Levant Pennsylvania had a population around 50,000 people. It wasn’t a big city, like Philly, but it wasn’t just a tiny town either. Drew continued “You always kept up on the news, and you were always into disasters and conspiracy stuff. What’s going on man?”

Gavin took a deep breath, looked at his wife who had woken up when Drew was talking, then looked back at Drew. “What IS going on, honey?” Rena asked. “You’re going to think I’m crazy,” Gavin began “but there is only one thing i know of that would knock out all power, all electronic devices not even connected to the grid. EMP.” Rena looked confused. Drew looked grim, and nodded. Carl, who lived across the hall, had wandered over while Gavin was talking. “What’s EMP?” Carl asked. “Electro magnetic pulse,” Gavin explained. A sudden and unusual burst of magnetic waves and sub atomic particles has blown all of the electrons away.” Drew looked sort of green. Carl looked confused. “What would cause that, and how long do you think it will take them to fix?” he asked.

Gavin rubbed his forehead “The usual causes people think about are nuclear detonation and solar activity. Nukes or sun spots. I suppose some other things could do it but I don’t know what.” Gavin looked at carl and as matter of factly as he could he continued “I don’t thank they can fix it. EMP doesn’t just destroy the electricity that’s around at the time. It destroys the wires and circuits and little things that hold and transmit electricity. The flashlights and watches and cell phones that stopped working will never work again. Not only that but all of the transformers and all of the big power equipment at the sub stations and power plants. It’s all toast. To do it and have us live through it the source would have to be high up. Very high up. The higher it is the larger the area affected.”

Carl’s face lit up “Great! So we just have to wait for FEMA to get here from outside the affected area.” and he headed back into the building. Gavin shook his head. Drew chuckled “He doesn’t get it.” Gavin nodded “Most of them won’t for a while.”

Gavin Travis awoke from a deep sleep. It was the silence and the darkness that had awakened him. The air conditioner wasn’t running, the TV was off, he couldn’t hear any cars outside, the dull orange light shining in through the widnow did not look like streetlights. He rolled over and looked at the clock. No red numbers were staring back at him. Power failure. He listened in the darkness. He did not hear any rain. Then he heard the screaming. A woman screaming, a man shouting. he smelled something. Smoke!

Gavin jumped out of bed, and grabbed the headlight he always had hanging on his nightstand. He puhsed the button. Nothing. Damn. He went quickly through the apartment in the dark. No fires, but the smoke smell was stronger now. He opened the front door. The emergency lights in the common hall were not on, and the fire alarm was not going off. He looked back into the apartment, down the hall toward the bedroom. The lights on the hard wired smoke detectors were nto blinking. Damn! Turning back to the common hall outside the apartment he sniffed the air. Smoke.

Back inside, Gavin quickly woke his preganant wife and told her what he new. They grabbed their emergency bags, rounded up both cats and put them in a large pet carrier, and headed out the door. They headed for their SUV. When Gavin hit the button to unlock the doors nothing happened. “Son of a bitch!” he cursed outloud. Gavin unlocked the doors with the key, the old fashioned way, and put their bags and the cats inside. His wife had her cell phone out. She looked at him inf rustration. “It isn’t working.” Gavin grimaced.

There were fires burning in the neighborhood across the street. The orange glow he had seen coming in the window was from the flames. Some of the houses were burning, a couple of the telephone poles that had held trnasformers were blackended around the tops. The fields and lawns were smoldering, and smoking, but too wet from all the rain to catch. Gavin turned, looking in every direction. In every direction he saw either fire or the orange glow of fire. “We have to get as much out as possible.”

They went back into the apartment and began hauling stuff out. Soemtimes when they passed through the hallway they heard the swoosh of fire extinguishers. Every apartment here had one. Gavin and his wife spent the night hauling stuff out. He had a box trailer in the parking lot. They had bought it because they were planning to move in the next few years. And they used it like a storage locker. Now they used it when they had filled their SUV. They tried to keep things relatively organised. They took the food, the camping, and fishing supplies, the preps, the guns and ammo and reloading stuff. They left the furniture and knick knacks and decorations. They managed to get all of the books, and printouts. They left the electronics.

They had a lot of those plastic boxes that Wal Mart and K Mart and Target sale. For storage. They had used them in their last move. They put a lot of stuff in those and tried to label it. The sun was coming up by the time they finished. Throughout the night neighbors had come out, and looked and begun doing the same. Gavin doubted if they knew why they were doing it. They smelled smoke, and saw him getting his stuff out. Monkey see, monkey do. As the sun rose Gavin and his wife settled in to their SUV for a nap. They fed the cats and gave them water.

In the SUV they had put the guns, the emergency bags, the ammo and reloading gear, as much of the preps as possible. He had put the turtle shell cargo carrier on top and filled it with prepes and their most precious possessions. The black breifcase, originally a laryngoscope case, in which he stored his seeds went in the back seat. The cats were in the back seat.

They slept poorly and fitfully, and finally woke up before noon.

Prometheus and his companions ran through the halls of the metal facility killing any who stood in their way. They bypassed electronic locks, improvised explosives and torches to destroy large sealed doors, and collected weapons and clothes from their enemies as they went. Those who stood aside and didn’t hinder them were left alone. All the while they searched out the cell blocks where their like were housed, and the labs which held their fellows strapped to tables. They freed all. And all the while Prometheus searched.

Finally they entered a cellblock dedicated to females and he found her there in the 3rd cell. He threw open the door and stood in the light as she blinked at him, her eyes unacustomed to the bright glare. Then she recognized him and they rushed together, into each others arms. Embrace, kiss, the heat of bare flesh on bare flesh. Time for that later. We are leaving. He handed her a weapon, and she hefted familiarly.

Back to the race through the halls. Prometheus knew their time was limited. The alarm had gone out. Even now opposing forces were forming to stop them. They reached the top level, the ground level. The large garage was emptied of vehicles and this did not bode well to Prometheus. “Stay behind me.” he told his woman, and she nodded her understanding. He took her hand. They rushed through the garage hundreds strong and unopposed, but Prometheus knew that it wasn’t right.

Finally they broke out into the light of day. And faced a perimeter of heavily armed black clad men. The savages charged the barricades hastily thrown up to contain the them, and were cut down by the dozens. But they were hundreds, and they fought back with their captured firearms, and makeshift weapons. Prometheus and his woman lead from the front, straight ahead, as their comrades fell around them. They made it to the barricades, and up, and over. They fought hand to hand with the black clad men.

But Prometheus would not let his close cadre be distracted by the fight. He went on, and called on them to do the same. The woman followed, pulled by Prometheus who had her hand. Others followed as well. Behind them the battle raged, and those engaged were too preoccupied to follow them. Several such groups broke through the line that day. Those that had heeded Prometheus’ admonition from the start to keep moving, and not be distracted. They got a head start until their comrades were dealt with, the black clad men regrouped and their reinforcements arrived.

By nightfall Prometheus and his fellows were being hunted. Aircraft buzzed and whupped and whoosed overhead. Men in armored vehicles drove slowly through neighborhoods and the city, shining search lights down alleys, and into yards. Men on foot walked patrol, searching abandoned buildings, pointing their guns into dumpsters, and pushing their way into any homes that might shelter the escapees. Some were caught, and some got away.

Prometheus and those who stayed close to him had dropped into the sewer and storm drain systems. They made their quickly and underground to the edge of the urban area. From there they moved quickly overland into the countryside, avoiding roads, vehicles, and buildings. Prometheus knew they needed to be out of the search radius as soon as possible. Their enemies would know approximately how far they could get on foot, and by vehicle, and would make the circle in which they searched that size. Maybe a little larger. Prometheus knew they couldn’t rest until they were well outside that circle. And he drove his people hard. He knew any vehicle they appropriated would be missed, and that would expand the search area. So they ran.

He drove them hard but they made it. 20 or more miles in an evening and a night of hard travel and they collapsed on the banks of a clear mountain stream. They all drank their fill and then lay on the soft grass and flowers and looked up at the stars. Prometheus watched the sky too. But he looked not in awe and amazement, but for specific things. The sky told him where he was, and which direction he was facing. And he watched for drones, and helicopters. And while he watched she watched with him, by his side, her hand in his.

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP

The alarm startled Prometheus from his slumber, ripping him from the dream. He fumbled for a minute before getting himself together. Then he dragged himself from the chair and went about his morning routine preparing for another day of shepherding budding archeaologists. As he stood in front of the mirror he saw her face in his minds eye. Then in the mirror. He missed her and he wept for her loss.

Stephanie wasn’t sure how long the cycle went on. A day? Two? She awoke to find the man sitting there watching her. “Feel better?” he inquired. She was about to make a cutting retort when she paused and thought about it. “Yes, I do feel better.” She was suprised. “In fact i don’t think i’ve felt this good in a long time.” The man smiled. “Nothing beats a good meal and good nights sleep. Humans are mostly diurnal, they operate best during the day. To be precise they operate best in the morning and evening with a break in the afternoon. They also operate best if properly fed. Humans were never designed to operate on what you have been using for nourishment.”

Stephanie looked confused. That was happening way too often. “But I’m not human. At least not anymore.” The man laughed again. He seemed to be very amused by her. “You, Salvadore, Alejandro, and all of the others are human. Despite what you think you know, what you think you’ve seen, what you have lived, your human.” She looked even more confused. “But Salvadore turned me.” she began. He cut her off with a wave of his hand. “Salvadore and the others are playing a game. They are playing at being something they aren’t.”

The man rose and went to a large window covered by a big, thick curtain. Stephanie felt fear rise in her. The man reached for the curtain, and Stephanie screamed “No!” but it was too late. He whipped it open and sunlight flooded the room. Stephanie screamed a guttaral primal scream and dove under the covers. She managed to slip off the edge of the bed with the covers still over her, and crawled toward the bathroom on her hands and knees. The door was locked. “Dammit!”

The man ripped the covers off of her and she felt the warm sunlight wash over her. She curled into a ball and accepted her fate. it would be painful, but it would be quick. Stephanie whimpered, and thought of how she would never see her beloved Master again. The man was laughing. Anger rose in Stephanie. “What is so damned funny?” she yelled at him, and he laughed even harder. Stephanie stood up and faced him. She was just about to hit him when he stopped laughing.

“Welcome to the light, my dear.” he nodded to the window. Stephanie looked. It hurt her eyes, but she didn’t burn. “But how……..?” she began but stopped. “But I………?” she failed to finish the question again. then she pulled herself together “I’ve seen those exceuted by light. I’ve seen them burst into flames and burn to a cinder. How is it possible that after all of the years since i was turned I am now stnaidn in light and not burning?”

The man stepped close, and took her hands in his. He looked into her eyes like someone who is about to deliver bad news. “You were never turned. There was never anything to turn you to.” He said solemnly. “The coven’s produce artificial blood, just like medical facilities. That was the bulk of your diet. You may have sampled the real thing, from the source, but those were mere snacks.” He gave her a moment to take that in before continuing “The covens add vitamins and nutrients to the artificial blood. It won’t sustain a human being without them. They also add other things. Drugs designed to bond you to your Master, drugs that alter your skin pigmentation so that sunburns are one hundred times worse, drugs that ive you extra strength and prevent you from getting sick. And of course the drug that makes you immortal.”

Stephanie took it all in, looking down, listenning, trying to fit it all into what she thought she knew. Until the last part. Her head shot up. “Wait, so I’m not really vampire? And I’m not really immortal?” The man smiled “I’m afraid not. I’m afraid Salvadore and the others lied to you, and everyone else in their covens. And you will never be a vampire. It’s a lifestyle choice, not a sub species. But, I can make you immortal, just like I did for Salvadore and the others way back in the depths of time.”

Stephanie fainted.

He had been right. Stephanie awoke the next morning to a frightening sensation of impending doom that she had not felt in a long time. It took a moment for her to identify it, because it had been so long, and by then it was too late. Her innards contracted in a different way this time and she soiled herself and the bed thoroughly. She managed somehow to get to the batyhroom, and tried to begin cleaning herself, but the spasms in he guts continued and she kept having to stop to use the toilet. The toilet was a mess now too. And then the smell made her nauseaus and she vomitted again. But nothing came out. She sat there on the toilet heaving, crapping, and crying until she thought it was all over.

Then the domestics came in. They wordlessly cleaned the bed, and the toilet, and helped her into the shower, an actual water shower. She wanted to apologize profusely. She wanted to cry. But Stephanie was too numb to do anything but follow the servants directions, and let them wash her. When she and her room, bed, and bathroom were all clean and shiney she began to feel a little bit human again. And then they brought in breakfast.

Stephanie brust into tears. The domestics were well trained. They served her as if nothing had happened, as if they hadn’t just cleaned up a bed full shit and helped a grown woman wash her ass. They informed her that eating was on the mans orders. So she ate and vomitted, and ate and vomitted, and the domestics cleaned up the mess. Finally she kept down breakfast, but Stephanie was so mentally and physicall exhausted that all she could do was crawl back into bed and hope she didn’t soil it again.

She didn’t know how long she lay there in pain. Her abdomen felt like it was going t explode, like some alien creature was roaming around inside her trying to get out. She slept off and on. Later she knew the feeling when it came on again and was able to get to the bathroom in time. And then they brought more food. The whole proccess repeated itself. She wondered at the cruelty of the man.

The man woke up moments before the hovercab arrived at their destination. The driver guided the hovercab to the top of an old building. Once they rose above the edge of the building Stephanie could see an opening in the buildings roof. She could also see that beyond the opening there was a pool that started outside and continued under the clear wall of the penthouse. The driver guided the cab into the opening.

They were in a garage filled with vehicles. A hover limo, several hover cars, a couple more hovercabs, and a plethora of older vehicles. The hovercab driver got out with them, and the man addressed him. “That will be all for the day.” The driver responded “Thank you, sir.” and bowed slightly, then turned and bowed to Stephanie, and left. Stephanie looked confused, which was becoming all to common today. “I don’t understand. If he was your driver, and you have a limo, then why the hovercab ruse?”

The man smiled that parental smile at her once again. “Because, my dear, sometimes it is better to keep some things to yourself.” He started walking and gestured for her to follow him. She got her bags and hurried to catch up. Across the garage they entered a lift tube. He activated the indicator for the penthouse. “Please refrain from wandering off while you’re here. Of course you have free run of the penthouse, and the top floor below it, and the garage. Beyond that I cannot be responsible for your safety.”

Stephanie wondered what he might have around that he thought could hurt her, but she refrained from asking. She simply nodded. They arrived at the penthouse and he had a domestic show her to her room. She was stunned. A man she had at first thought was a common, and insolant tradesman had an entire building, a collection of vehicles, and domestics at his disposal. And the way he had treated Salvadore………..Obviously he went to great effort to conceal his wealth and power.

Stephanie unpacked and settled in. A domestic came to take her to dinner. Stephanie smiled. They didn’t know. She accompanied the servant to keep up appearances. The man was seated at a large table with the list in front of him. A stack of books surrounded him, some open and some not. He glanced at her when she came in and then went back to comparing notes, books, and the list. Stephanie took a seat near the man, but not too close.

Domestics came in with trays and began laying out food and serving Stephanie and the man. She thanked them for each serving. The man ignored them, and absent mindedly nibbled at the food while continuing with his research. When the servants had gone she cleared her throat. He looked up. “You know I can’t eat any of this.” she said. He smiled like a cat playing with a mouse “Sure you can. It will make you sick, but you can.” She grimaced. “I need…….other sustenance. You have to know that. You know what Salvadore is.” The man laughed. “Salvadore isn’t what he would have you believe, and niether are you.” She looked puzzled again. “Look,” he continued “Your going to have to eat real food soon, so you might as well get used to it.”

Stephanie looked down at her plate. The appearance and smell were distasteful to her. She remembered some of the dishes, but some were unfamiliar. She tried them, hesitantly. The taste was foul in her mouth, alien, strange. But she forced herself to. Salvadore had made it clear that she was to do the mans bidding. She had just about finsihed her plate when she vomitted. Great wracking heaves emptied her stomach of all it’s contents. It came on so suddenly, and was so foreign to her that she didn’t even turn aside. She vomitted right on her plate. Stephanie continued to heave and gag for several minutes after her stomach was emptied.

The man was laughing so hard that he almost fell off his chair. “It’s not funny!” she croaked at him, which only made him laugh harder. When they both had recovered a little he called for the domestics. They cleaned up the mess, and Stephanie apologized profusley, and made excuses about a bug going around. Then the man asked them to bring her more food, which shocked Stephanie. They argued, but he insited that she eat, and again she vomitted. They went through this routine 6 times before she was able to keep it down. Even then her stomach was doing flip flops, and making all sorts of strange noises.

The man laughed throughout the torturous affair. Stephanie was nearly in tears. How could he be so cruel. Finally she kept her food down and he excused her to go to bed with the parting shot “Wait until tomorrow. When it comes out it will be just as bad.” Stephanie lay in the large comfortable bed and cried herself to sleep.

The man slept almost the entire fifteen minutes it took to get to his place. Stephanie didn’t know it, but he dreamed. She was too caught up in her own troubles to pay attention, and his hat was down over his eyes.

The man was standing by a window in a large building. Stephanie would have though it was ancient, but at the time it seemed very modern. He was dressed in dark blue scrubs and white lab coat. A stethoscope hung around his neck. If Stephanie had ever seen a stethoscope it would have been in a museum. But she had not, as none had been dug up by archaeologists. Her society eschewed the past. They had a better method, and would look only forward. How many civilizations had thought that?

The man was surrounded by others dressed in a similar manner. They were all looking out a large window. Outside the window the sky was a bright swath of colors. Yellow, and red and every hue in between. a large object could be seen moving in the sky. The man turned away from the window and hurried down a hallway. His co workers barely noticed his departure. Someone immediately moved forward to fill his spot at the window.

Down the hall from the gawkers the man pushed a number combination into a lock on a door on the left side of the hall. He entered the outer room, a dirty utility. He passed the sink, the equipment dryers, and the container sof medical cleaning fluids. He went through the other door way. It was open. Now he was in the equipment room. Large shelves held bins full of equipment. There was an open doorway on the opposite side and he continued through that. Now he was in the breakroom/office. A couple of computers, a table and chairs, a couch, a TV, a refrigerator. Lockers.

The man grabbed his backpack and headed out the backdoor and down this hall to where it intersected the one he had come down before. He looked down the hall. His co workers were still standing at the window transfixed. they did not notice him cross the hall with his backpack and continue to the stairs. It would not be long now.

Standard disaster protocol in any medical facility is that all employees currently working will remain at the facility and assist. The man knew it wouldn’t matter. The others didn’t think there would be a disaster, but he knew better. He had studied disaster. Down the stairs and out the back door by the loading dock. Across the parking lot to his vehicle. The clock was ticking. He put his stuff in, got in, and hesitated. If he was wrong he would be fired. if he was right it wouldn’t matter.

He started his car, and pulled out of the parking lot. Driving up to the next intersect he signaled for a right turn, and made sure he came ot a full stop. There was a cop car in the church parking lot across the street. Both cops were out fo the car and staring up at the sky. The man turned and headed down the street careful to obey the speed limit.

Suddenly there was a bright flash. the man pulled over immediately and cursed under his breath. He should have left sooner. Immediatly after the flash there were several loud booms, the concussions shook the buildings on either side of the street. Wood, metal, and glass rained down on the street. The ground shook. Flaming debris fell from the sky. The man pulled back out on the waving street and drove as best he could. Power lines whipped and snapped, and sparks rained down from above. The pavement buckled and bucked. He could see some of the buildings ahead catching fire and leaning over, and losing pieces.

The man was at an intersection. Across, the way he usually went, was an alley. He wasn’t going down there today. He turned right, and was going the wrong way on a one way street. No cars were coming. He punched the accelerator and drove up to a cross street, making a hard right.

At the end of the cross stret he made another left. Up around a corner, up a hil and down the other side as armageddon went on around him. He turned by the pizza place, and raced down the street. He could see the apartment buildings. Broken glass, roof shigles on the lawn, balconies dangling as the surrounding building was wrenched away. No fire. That was good. Parking on the wrong side of the street he rushed in as best he could on swaying waveing pavement.

The woman was in the bathtub with the cats, and her emergency bag. She looked up as he burst through the door. The face that looked up at him was Stephanies.

Stephanie had not been outside of Salvadore’s coven for years, except to go to various clubs and parties. She had servants to go all of the mundane places and do all of the mundane things for her. The hovercab moved forward and lifted off the ground. Salvadore’s place was in the middle of a long block of clubs, and high end shops catering to those with some degree of wealth.

They gained altitude, speeding above the wet street. Niether Stephanie or the man spoke. In her mind she was going through everything she thought she knew, everything she believed. Was it all lies? The tears came despite her efforts to hold them back. The man gave her space. She had never thought anyone could be as strong or powerful as Salvadore, except maybe another master. She never thought anyone could be older. She never thought Salvadore himself had a Master. He was one of the old ones.

It was basic coven history. Civilizations had risen and fallen for longer than anyone could imagine. Wars, plagues, bad political or economic decisions, and natural disasters had all served to end them at various times. Mankind had been in and out of dark ages that lasted for centuries, maybe millenia. During the last dark age much history had again been lost. There had been a civilization before. No one knew much about it.

During the last dark age there had been covens, and they had rivals. Blood cults. Where the covens took in and fed only from the willing, the blood cults treated normal humans like cattle or animals. The covens and the blood cults warred, and normal humans hunted them both. The entire sub species almost went extinct. In the end the blood cults were all destroyed, and peace was made with mankind. Only one coven remained. Only 30 individuals survived. They each became an Old One, and head of a new coven. But they were young then. All of those who remembered the past had been killed.

Mostly each coven kept to itself. Each coven had a territory, and members of other covens did not enter without reason. Even then they followed a strict protocol. Now and then someone went rogue, or mad and had to be dealt with. But by and large the covens maintained a peaceful rivalry. The council, composed of the leader of each coven, met only when the need was dire. They had not been called together in at least a century. Each coven was headed by a Master, an old one from the single coven to survive the dark age. There was no one older. The Masters had no master.

The covens maintained a peace with the normal humans. The authorities knew of them, if not their exact nature. Normal people didn’t. People left the covens alone and the covens left people alone. The two only intermixed in nightlife. Clubs, raves, parties, dances, concerts. This was when those would be seduced were seduced. The authorities viewed it as weeding out those who would be trouble makers. Steering them into an alternative channel, where they would not be trouble.

But the Masters had no master. Except now, maybe they did. Salvadore had said “like a master”, not ‘he is my master’. That left room for other interpretations. But what? She looked at the man. “Are you Salvadore’s master?” she squeeked. He smiled the smile of man trying to give a simple explanation of a complex concept to a child too young to understand. “Not like he is your Master.” he said. “Please understand that everything that passes between us must be kept in the utmost confidence. Not even Salvadore can be told everything you will learn.”

Stephanie nodded. The man continued “I am older than Salvadore and the others. Much older. You could even say I am their father, after a fashion. But I am not what they are, not what you are. I am something else entirely.” he looked at her “You don’t even have to be what you are.” This confused her, and she asked “But how can you be older if you aren’t one of us?” He smiled “All in due time, my dear. All in due time.”

She changed the subject slightly “Who would want to kill the Masters, and destroy the covens?” she asked him. “Who would even be old and powerful enough to do it? Who would know that script and language that the list was written in?” Again he smiled like a doting parent “Well, if I am the father of all the masters, and all the covens, and you, then I can only think of one person. Your mother.” And with that he leaned against the side of the hovercab, pulled his hat down over his eyes, and seemed to go to sleep. Stephanie stared at him, stunned, amazed, perplexed, confused. Her mind swam with all that she had learned tonight. She felt light headed and dizzy. Her entire world was turning upside down. She leaned back against the leather like seat of the hovercab and stared out the window at the rain.

One was walking point, about 100 feet ahead of the main group on the right side of the road. Behind him about 20 feet came the second one, on the left side of the road. Both carried rifles. 80 feet behind the second man the box truck rolled along at a snails pace. Ordinarily they would all be in the truck, driving at normal speed, but the pointmen were tracking.

In the cab there were two men. One driving, and another riding shotgun. They did not have rifles. In the back of the truck were another 4 men. Two of them had rifles. All of the men had knives or hatchets on their belts, along with other usefule gear. Up in front of the box, right behind the cab, and as far from the opening at the rear as possible were several large dog cages. In these were two women and man. The rest of the box was filled with boxes and bags of supplies and gear, sleeping bags, and a litter of general stuff.

The men in box sat on their sleeping bags, or stood at the open rear of the box as the truck slowly jostled and jiggled along. The people in the cages were dirty, with torn clothes and sat or laid on old rags in their cages. All three of them had the numb look of people who have been abused and know there is no escape.

They had gotten the gear and supplies from places they had looted and people they had robbed. Thye were not ambitious, or given to the kind of work involved in rebuilding civilization, but they were clever and incredibly mean. They found it easier to prey on the carcass of the world, and their fellow man.

The men on point were tracking a 3 seat ford explorer with about 8 people crammed in it, along with supplies. The badguys didn’t need the supplies. But by now they were in the routine of robbery. They would take the stuff, and any attractive women. They might take a man or two for labor. The rest they would kill. The explorer was about 2 hours ahead of them by the estimate of their point man, and they presumed it would stop for the night.

The badguys leader, riding shotgun, had presumed something else as well. The people in the explorer were looking for something. They had gone to slow, and stopped too often. They paused at strange places. They didn’t move or look like people just passing through. They had before, in Michigan, and in western Pennsylvania. But after they crossed the Susqehanna the refugees had changed their M.O. They were looking for friends or family or something.

That could mean a lot more supplies and women, and men to enslave. It could also mean a bigger fight, and more weapons pointed at the badguys. The badguys leader didn’t like that. So he planned to catch the refugees before they found whatever they were looking for. Then he could torture the information out of them and plan his conquest of whatever little mini shangri la the refugees thought they were headed for.

The badguys leader had kept them going through the night last night. that was dangerous. But he was determined to catch this little crew. He would catch up to them tonight, and plan his attack. Then he and his men would get into position, and spring their ambush at dawn. it would all be over in minutes, just like the dozens of times they had done it before.

But some things were bothering him. They hadn’t seen an eater in a while. They hadn’t seen a refugee or survivor in a while. Some of the towns they had passed through looked like someone was burning them in an organized fashion. His men were too dumb to see it, and the leader presumed that the refugees were as well. But he saw it. Someone was going block by block burning buildings. They hadn’t completed any one town, but they were making progress.

That meant that there were people in the area who were alive. And they were organized, and had a plan. And if they were avoiding being seen by his little group, well, that meant that they knew his little group was there. But they hadn’t taken any action. But he kept expecting them to.

If he was alone he would have gotten out of dodge. The feeling of being watched by the living creeped him out mre than the eaters being around. But his men would run through the food soon, and the woman was about played out. And the man was getting too worn down to work. He would die soon. So the badguys leader needed to resupply. To keep the booty coming. Before one of his men decided they could do a better job. Without doctors or hospital any wound could be fatal. even if none of his men could take him, the leader didn’t want to risk being shot or stabbed. So they pressed on after thei quarry.