The city was eerily quiet. It was strange approaching it in late evening after so long. Harris had almost forgotten how beautiful it was to see the sun sink below the horizon without fearing that the darkness hid something malevolent and terrifying. It was strange not to associate the oncoming darkness with fear and death. He watched now as the sun's fading light drew back on itself as the shadows chased the last, pale fingers of light across the city and he sighed heavily.
The city stank of death and decay. The buildings, once tall sentinels of majesty, now seemed to slump as the shroud of darkness seemed to weigh heavily on them. Streets, once vibrant arteries to the city's heart now lay empty of life but clogged with rubble and abandoned husks. This city had died long ago, he thought. Even before the vampires it had been dying. He could see the stains of pollution on the walls of every building, like a cancer corrupting and spreading, un-noticed in the bustle of life before the oil had run out and before the vampires had come. We did this, he thought sadly. We've been on a steady decline for a long time.
"Penny for them."
He started as the voice shattered the silence and the moment was gone. He drew his gaze away from the cityscape and forced a smile.
"I was just thinking that maybe we do deserve all this, he waved his hand expansively.
"You don't really believe that," Steele replied as he settled himself beside Harris and looked out over the darkening cityscape. "If you did you wouldn't fight so hard to get it all back."
"I don't think I would like it to be quite the way it was, I mean look how quickly it all fell apart. That had nothing to do with the vampires. That was us, plain and simple."
Steele pursed his lips as he turned towards Harris. "Humanity isn't all bad."
"No, I'm not suggesting it is. But we lost something along the way." He slumped into silence and the two men watched the last of the light disappear. Behind them men and women shuffled impatiently as they checked their weapons, settled gear or whispered nervously as they waited for the darkness. "I mean," Harris suddenly continued, "once the power was gone the world went to hell. Do you remember the riots and the panic that followed the announcement of fuel rationing? Whole economies were wiped out overnight once the oil fields were nuked. Millions were out of work and suddenly the balance of the world shifted. Suddenly countries that had never achieved greatness through technology became dominant. Countries that had never played on the world stage were suddenly thrust into positions of influence and they just weren't ready for it."
Harris sighed. "I mean how long was it before slavery came back? A month was it? Jesus, civilisation was just a veneer. It took less than a month before we reverted back to barbarism."
Steele nodded as thoughts of his sister flooded through his mind. He was all too aware of man's propensity for evil. "But through all of that there were still those who stood up for others. There always will be, you know, Peter. People like you and those around you."
Harris looked over at Steele. He knew so little about this man, other than he had worked for the vampires and had somehow remained unbitten and uncontrolled for the last two years. No mean feat, Harris thought as he studied Steele. I wonder what he had to do to earn that position. He had obviously used his skills against humanity but, despite his association with the vampires, Harris could sense no evil about him. Most of the others in the community tended to shy away from him. Oh, they were glad that he had helped against Nero and that he had managed to save Sandra Harrington, but they did not trust him and, if the truth be known, they were afraid of him.
Harris didn't blame them either. Steele had an air of about him that screamed confidence. He had sat in on Harris'ss briefing for tonight's assault and had made only three comments. Harris was intelligent enough to realise that those three small changes would save many lives and would greatly improve their chances of success. He would never had thought of them either and he was reminded again about how unqualified he was to plan military engagements. He prayed that Steele was all he appeared to be. As a community they needed someone with his skills and personally, Harris needed him to sanity check his own plans. But was he what he appeared to be or was he a wolf in sheep's clothing.
He studied the man, trying desperately to see the answer in his eyes but all he could see was a sense of loss greater than anything he himself had ever experienced. There was a story there that he must hear and understand before he could fully trust this stranger, but, for now, the man had proved himself more than capable and Harris could detect no duplicity about him. And that would have to be good enough for now. "But is it really worth it? I mean ..." he lifted the weapon in his hands, "is this our future? The thralls in that city were human once and now they rape and abuse people who were their neighbours not too long ago."
"You will find some good even among the thralls if you are prepared to look." Steele smiled, "though admittedly that would be the exception."
Harris snorted in derision. "And now we have to go in there and take their power away. These bastards who actually keep the vampires safe during the day. I mean what kind of person can do that? Most of the people behind us are already wounded or have never even held a gun. How can I ask them to ...?"
"But they are here regardless, Peter." Steele interrupted as he glared at Harris. "They are here for themselves, not for you. They chose to come with you for their own reasons. If they die then that too is their decision, not yours. They might follow your example but they are here for their own reasons."
Harris remained silent for some time as he stared out over the city. Finally he stood and looked down at Steele and offered his hand. "But what's to stop it all happening again?"
"People like us," Steele grinned as he gripped Harris'ss hand and pulled himself to his feet. All around them men and women took their cue from the two men and finished conversations and wiped damp palms on their clothes.
It was time.
"Now let's get this show on the road." Steele smiled. "There are a lot of people in there that are waiting for us."
The thralls put up a token resistance at first but they were already beaten. When the vampires had not returned the night before, they knew. When their colleagues and superior officers had not returned, they knew. And when they saw the mass of people flooding towards them, they knew.
What the untrained rabble lacked in experience they more than made up for in enthusiasm. They had all suffered under the thralls for many years and, though the serum's effects did not allow them to remember all the details of their captivity, each and every one of them had nightmares, snatches of memories of abuse and violence that no-one should have to endure.
They were angry as they flooded into the city and their anger carried them through the hail of bullets. The thralls still outnumbered the rebels but they were already beaten and many of them threw down their weapons in the hope that they would be spared the full brunt of the mob's anger. That was not to be the case though.
Fear and disgust and anger drove them on and many thralls were killed or beaten senseless as people let their fury take over. It didn't take long. Harris had not wanted to let the mob rule but Steele had advised him to stay out of it. The people needed to exorcise their demons. They needed to give their fear and anger a face. Something they could fight back against. Something they could all feel that they had overcome.
By the time the dawn once again began to spread out across the city it was over. Light splashed over all of them as if cleansing them from their night of violence and retribution. Even the city seemed to shine in the dawn as if a great weight had been lifted. There were casualties, of course, but mercifully few. Harris had ensured that some of the thralls had survived also; they had so much they needed to know and these pathetic, terrified creatures were only too willing to tell them everything.
They had a long way to go. There were thousands in the city still prisoners of the serum. Thousands of people who would need care and attention long after the effects finally wore off before they could join the resistance. They had scored a major victory here but it was only one city in a state full of cities and one state in a country full of states. They would have to hide their victory from the other cities and the other vampires or they would be swept away before they were ready. They had to remain hidden as they prepared. They would have to be cunning but most of all they would have to become a community. They had begun a journey but where it would lead Harris didn't know. He was sure, though, that it was a journey worth taking
The End
