The Savage Truth (The Vampire World Saga Book 4) Page 2

  Firefly didn’t argue. Not wanting to risk a shot toward Alex and the rest of the GMT, he went to work with his sword. The way the Ferals were focused on Alex, it was barely even a challenge.

  Somehow, by the time he’d killed his three, she’s already taken care of hers, as well.

  “Thanks for dropping by,” he said.

  “We were in the neighborhood.” She turned, standing shoulder to shoulder with him. “Can we kill the rest of these damn Ferals now?”

  The two teams, human and vampire, made short work of the rest of the creatures.

  Alex kept a watchful eye on her team as she worked. It wasn’t so much that they needed her instructions; they’d drilled this scenario plenty of times. Every member of the GMT knew their role in the attack plan and was carrying it out. She watched to see if any of them got into trouble. Plans could fall apart quickly, and she wanted to be ready to support anyone who needed it.

  She only had to step in once. Ed strayed a bit far out of the range of the daylight and a Feral snuck around behind him. Alex took care of the creature before it could attack Ed.

  Within a few minutes, they were finished. The humans panted and wiped sweat from their brows. The vampires were oddly still. Chuck turned off the daylight mounted on the rover, allowing the vampires to mingle with the humans near the shadowed mouth of the cave.

  They chatted for a few minutes, exchanging pleasantries and discussing what had transpired since the last time the GMT had visited the island two weeks ago. Though the vampires were friendly, Alex could hear the mild edge daysickness was putting into their voices. More than a few asked about the fresh blood supply that the GMT had brought them.

  A large transport vehicle pulled up, it’s tailgate flush with the mouth of the cave, and Owl hopped out of the driver’s seat. While the rest of the GMT had been fighting, she’d been picking up the transport at the vampires’ current base of operations, a hotel near the center of the closest ancient city.

  “I hear some undead creatures need a ride,” she called. The vampires piled in, staggering slightly as the effects of daysickness started to set in more strongly.

  Just as Firefly was about to climb inside the truck, Alex grabbed his arm, pulling him aside.

  She gave him a hard look. It was odd, seeing someone she’d known so well as a human, now living as a vampire. He was still the same old Firefly, in a lot of ways. His personality was largely unchanged and his silly grin remained the same. But his eyes… There was something unworldly in his gaze, something difficult to define, but unmistakably present. As much as he looked like her old teammate, Firefly had changed. He’d be walking the Earth long after Alex’s bones had turned to dust. If he avoided being overrun by a cave full of Ferals.

  He needed to step up his leadership game, especially considering the vital work that his team was doing.

  He smiled, clearly happy to see his old friend. “You pulled our asses out of the fire. I appreciate it.”

  Her gaze contained less happiness. “That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. What you did back there? Not okay.”

  Firefly blinked hard, confused.

  “You left your team,” she continued. “You broke formation to save me.”

  “They were fine. The Ferals were focused on you.”

  “You don’t know that. Ferals are unpredictable.” She paused a moment. “Listen, you’re a leader. That means you have one priority. Keep your team safe. Me and the GMT can look after ourselves. We’re outside your area of responsibility. I know what it’s like to lose team members. After Hope died, I made myself a promise. I’m not going through that shit again. I’m not losing another team member.”

  She saw a twinge of annoyance in his eyes. Maybe it was the daysickness, or maybe it was the fact that she was trying to tell him, a man who’d lost every one of his Resettlers, what it was like to have someone for whom you were responsible die.

  “Point taken.” He stopped for a moment. “But after everything you’ve done for me, there’s one point that’s non-negotiable: I’m always going to have your back.”

  Alex cracked a smile for the first time since she’d arrived in the cave. “I appreciate it. It’s good to see you, Firefly.”

  “Back attcha. Now, let’s go home.”

  With that, Firefly walked to the entrance of the cave and climbed into the back of the transport vehicle protruding into the protective shade.

  The vampire soldiers and the GMT rode together back to the base, Chuck following close behind in the rover.

  Alex noted that, unlike after most battles, the warriors were quiet. For the vampires, it was probably the combined effects of daysickness and the anticipation of the fresh blood packets waiting for them back at the old hotel where Firefly and his troops were currently staying. For the humans, it was probably the strange feeling of being on the surface and feeling relatively safe.

  It had been nearly two years since the battle in Denver. Since Fleming had been defeated. Jaden’s plan for Resettlement had been underway for over a year now, and Firefly and his team were at the heart of it.

  The site they’d selected for humanity’s new home was the island formerly known as Puerto Rico. It was a biodiverse, mountainous island with a tropical climate, and it had been the location of humanity’s last stand against the vampires. A surprising amount of infrastructure was still in place. Jaden had convinced the New Haven City Council that it would be the perfect location for humanity, once it was made safe.

  But that safety would take time. Decades.

  At over eight thousand square kilometers and a pre-vampire population of over three million, there were a lot of Ferals on the island. and plenty of places for them to hide. That was where Firefly’s team came in.

  Firefly and his army of one hundred eighty-four former Resettlers lived on the island full time now, slowly and methodically hunting down the Ferals in squads of twenty. They were accompanied by five of Jaden’s vampires from Agartha. Four of these were scouts, assigned to roam the island and hunt out Feral nests like the cave Firefly’s team had just raided. The fifth was a woman named Helen. She sat next to Firefly now, her arms crossed and a sour look on her face.

  In Alex’s experience, Helen seemed to consider it her job to tolerate lesser lifeforms like young vampires and the GMT. Though Firefly was in charge of the vampire army, Helen seemed to think she was in charge of Firefly. The way that she placed a casual hand on his arm suggested a deeper relationship between the two.

  Patrick stifled a yawn. Alex couldn’t blame him for being tired. The GMT was pulling double duty these days. Not only were they running supply missions to various parts of the world whenever they were needed, but they were also tasked with delivering Firefly and his team the items they needed to survive, namely, packets of blood and boxes of ammunition.

  Still, despite how busy they were, Alex wasn’t going to complain. She found the job invigorating. They were working toward a tangible goal, and the possibilities the future held were beyond exciting.

  Alex and her team sat at the back of the transport, closest to the tailgate, where a bit of sunlight came through. She watched the countryside roll by and thought about what it would one day be like when humans made this their permanent home. She just hoped that she would live long enough to see that day.

  2

  Colonel Brickman hurried through the streets of New Haven, headed for the Hub, his head down, careful not to make eye contact with any passersby.

  If there was one thing CB would never get used to, it was being famous. These days, it seemed like he couldn’t walk from his quarters to the canteen without some random stranger stopping him to ask about the time he’d taken on Fleming’s faceless GMT in the underbelly of the ship, or to give him some great idea for how to speed up Resettlement.

  It wasn’t all bad. Spirits on New Haven were higher than he’d ever seen them. Part of that was the exchange program they’d set up with Agartha. A dozen citizens were selected each month and transp
orted to Agartha, and an equal number of Agartha people were brought to New Haven. The program was one of General Craig’s better ideas. The selections were made based on job and skill set, but even those who didn’t have a realistic chance of being selected seemed to be cheered by the mere possibility.

  And then there was Resettlement. Fleming’s hurried plan had been shrouded in secrecy. The City Council was handling this one quite differently. They were nearly transparent with the citizens, providing weekly updates on the progress. More importantly, they set realistic expectations. Every person on New Haven knew Puerto Rico wouldn’t be ready for human habitation for decades. Ironically, this actually seemed to get the people more excited about it. This wasn’t just another batch of politicians making unrealistic promises. This was a methodical plan that would be carefully executed. It gave people hope of a better life, if not for themselves then at least for their kids.

  And of course, it helped that it was Jaden’s plan.

  If CB was famous on New Haven, Jaden was a superstar. An ancient vampire who was actually on their side. He’d saved the GMT and fought to protect the humans. Jaden’s legend had only grown when the exchange program started. People came back from Agartha with tales of Jaden’s leadership and the way he and his true vampires ran things in the city below the mountains. In Agartha, there was no need for a GMT who risked their lives to obtain supplies. Everything the humans needed was provided by their vampire protectors.

  CB found the whole thing exhausting.

  He was nearly at the Hub when he heard a voice calling to him.

  “Yo, CB!”

  He glanced at the door twenty yards ahead and sighed. If it had been a bit closer, he might have been able to pretend he didn’t hear the voice long enough to step inside. He stopped and turned, expecting to see another random citizen wanting a moment with their hero, CB.

  Instead, he saw Brian McElroy.

  Brian trotted toward him, a bright smile on his face. “CB! Glad I found you. How’ve you been?”

  CB was momentarily confused by the question. He was Brian’s boss and saw him nearly every day. Then he realized that it hadn’t been every day, recently. Between overseeing the GMT, the badges, and various special projects, he supposed he’d let a few things slip. Now that he thought about it, it had been weeks since he’d exchanged more than a quick hello with Brian.

  Still, that didn’t mean he couldn’t razz the man a little.

  “I’m good. I’m surprised to see you. I didn’t think you were able to fit any work into your busy social calendar these days.”

  Brian’s face reddened.

  Of all of them, Brian seemed to be making the most of his hero status. Between the key role he’d played in overthrowing Fleming and the fact that he’d gone on a few dates with Alex, he’d become one of the most eligible bachelors on New Haven.

  Though the two years of female attention had given him a certain measure of confidence, the fact that he was blushing at the mere mention of his dating life proved that he was still the same old Brian.

  “Listen, CB, I wanted to be the first to let you know. We did it. I got word twenty minutes ago. The final piece of the irrigation backup unit is up and running.”

  “That’s…great.” CB stared back at Brian, trying to understand why the man was beaming and why he was delivering this news at all. There were plenty of things under CB’s area of responsibility, but the backup irrigation system wasn’t one of them. “Anything else? The Council meeting is about to start.”

  Brian’s smile faded. “You don’t remember? The backup irrigation system is the last item on the list. We’re done. We finally did it.”

  It took CB a moment, but then he understood.

  “Holy hell. That’s… Brian, that’s great news.”

  During the last days of Fleming’s rein, the man had focused all his efforts on Resettlement. To make even his hasty, ill-fated attempt, he’d drained New Haven of resources and stripped the ship of all but its most essential systems.

  Sadly, what had taken Fleming only a few months to tear down had taken almost two years to rebuild. The GMT had spent much of that time searching the surface for the pieces of equipment needed to restore the ship.

  And now, if CB was understanding correctly, Brian was telling him the work was finally done. The ship was back to its pre-Fleming form.

  Brian’s smile returned as he saw the light of understanding dawn in CB’s eyes. “Pretty cool, huh?”

  “Sure is.” It would be nice to be able to share that news in the City Council meeting. Maybe General Craig would even give the GMT a few days off to celebrate, though CB doubted it. He wished he could do more for Alex and her team. They sure as hell deserved it.

  CB realized he’d been staring off into space, lost in thought.

  “You okay?” Brian asked, concern clear in his eyes. “You look tired.”

  CB almost laughed at that. Thinking back, he couldn’t remember a time in the past two years that he hadn’t been tired. But the last six months had been even worse. There were so many things constantly demanding his attention. Resettlement. Resupply missions. The badges. And Jaden and the vampires of Agartha.

  He clapped a hand on Brian’s back. “I’m fine. I appreciate the concern, though.”

  Brian wanted to say more, but instead, he just nodded.

  “Hey,” CB said, “now that the rebuild is done, you can focus on other things. What about that piece of tech you were working on last year? The little… What did you call it? The Silver Spray?”

  Brian’s face darkened. “It was a dead end. Too difficult to produce. All I have is the prototype.”

  CB nodded. “They can’t all be winners.”

  “I do have a couple other ideas, though. There’s this botanist named Gretta in the agricultural district. You know her?”

  CB shook his head. “But if she’s young and attractive, I’ll bet you do.”

  Brian’s face reddened again, confirming CB’s suspicions. “We went on a couple dates. Point is, hearing her talk about her work got me thinking. Plants store and use the sun’s energy, right? I’m thinking of ways we can synthesize the process and use it as a weapon. It’s still in the preliminary stages, and it’s going to take a lot of research.”

  CB grinned. “And maybe a few more late nights with Gretta?” The radio on CB’s belt chirped. He held it to his ear, already knowing who it would be. “What is it, Linda?”

  His assistant’s voice came through the tiny speaker. “The General’s asking for you, sir. You’re late.”

  CB glanced at his watch. “Shit. Brian, I gotta go. We’ll talk later.”

  He jogged the rest of the way to the Hub, going as quickly as the crowded corridors allowed.

  By the time he made it to the conference room, General Craig, the rest of the Council, and the department heads were seated and waiting for him, as was Hayden McCready, the ambassador from Agartha. The Council had brought him aboard as an act of goodwill and so that Agartha would have a voice in the Resettlement-related decisions that were made on New Haven.

  Jessica rolled her eyes, then shot CB a mischievous smile.

  The look General Craig gave him was not nearly as pleasant. “Nice of you to join us. Now we can get started. Jessica, I want you to go over the communication shutdown that will occur next week when we bring the backup system online. CB, we will need to be sure there’s extra security on hand when it does.”

  CB pulled his tablet out of his bag and added this task to his already overwhelming list of duties.

  “The cave was here?” Jaden asked, pointing to a spot on the large map spread across the table.

  Alex shook her head. “A little north. More like here.” She indicated another spot a bit deeper in the mountains. “When we got there, Ferals were rushing into the cave from a series of side tunnels.”

  Jaden thought a moment. “Hmm. I gotta wonder if our presence is driving them deeper underground.”

  “My thoughts, exactly,”
Alex confirmed. She took another look at the map. The area where they were sure they’d driven out the Ferals was so small in relation to the whole of the island. The task seemed daunting.

  Jaden maintained a calm attitude about the project. Any time that she brought up the scope of the challenge, he reminded her that they’d known the difficulties going in, and that the project was on track.

  They were sitting in a conference room in Agartha, reviewing the progress of the Resettlement project. Besides bringing blood and ammunition to Firefly’s team, the GMT was also tasked with providing Jaden with regular updates. There was no way to directly communicate between Agartha and Puerto Rico, so the GMT brought the updates the old-fashioned way.

  Today, Alex had brought Ed and Owl with her. The rest of the team was back in New Haven.

  “When’s your next mission?” Jaden asked.

  “Four days.”

  “Yeah,” Ed interjected. “And we’ve got nothing scheduled between then and now. It’s almost like we’re on vacation.”

  Jaden looked at the map for another moment. “Good. Anything else?”

  Alex thought a moment. “Doesn’t it bug you sometimes?”

  “What?”

  “The Resettlement project. You spent, what, a hundred and some odd years planning it? And now it’s happening without you. I couldn’t stand being cooped up in this mountain while all the action was happening thousands of miles away.”

  Jaden looked at her for a long moment before answering. “Yes, actually.”

  Alex tilted her head in surprise. Jaden always seemed so content. She hadn’t expected that answer.

  “Of course, I’d much rather be in the thick of it, fighting Ferals, carving out a place for humanity. But I’m needed here.”

  “So that’s it? You’re needed, so you miss out on the fight of a lifetime.”

  Jaden cracked a tiny smile. “The people here need me, Alex. I’ve helped guide the city for a century and a half.”

  “Yeah, well, while you’re leading from under the mountain, somebody has to deliver your vampire friends blood and bullets. And save their asses from being torn to shreds in a cave.”