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  Mike looked him over. “Naw, man, I can tell the cold is getting to your leg, get whoever has the shift after mine up. I think it’s Mad Jack. Tell him what’s going on and make sure the crazy bastard doesn’t shoot us when we come back. In fact, give him his Airsoft gun I’d feel much better for it.”

  “Why’d she leave, Mike?” BT asked before he walked back into the house.

  “I don’t know, man, but I hope to be able to ask her.” Mike secured his gloves. “See you in a bit.”

  “Don’t get into any messes without me. Good luck.” BT said. And with those words, Mike left, getting swallowed up in the darkness.

  Mike kept the flashlight off. Azile had left on her own accord, which meant she didn’t want to be found, and if he had the light on she would move away from it.

  “What are you doing, Azile?” Mike had asked so softly and intimately, she thought he had been talking to her.

  It was almost over before it had begun. She had been a heartbeat away from responding, thinking he had spotted her. When he moved to her left, she realized he had been talking to himself. She waited until he was far enough away before she moved. This time she would remember just how fast he was. She had barely been able to duck and cover before he was upon her.

  “This is for the best,” she told his retreating back softly.

  Mike went back to the house at first light empty-handed and empty-hearted.

  “Nothing?” Tracy asked with concern.

  “Not a trace,” Mike told her.

  “What now?” BT asked.

  “Well, I’d like to take a couple of people to go out and look for her.”

  For over a week, Mike, Justin, Travis – all of them at various points – walked out looking for something. Ever further westward with no luck. It was an impossibility he would ever chance upon her, Azile had headed east towards the ocean. She had walked south down the coast almost to New York before she found what she was looking for; a ship heading away from the devastation. It was rumored that England had come through the zombie apocalypse relatively unscathed due to its isolation.

  Nothing could have been further form the truth. London had burned to the ground. The lack of firearms in the country had proved their downfall. Years later, militias would come with the express purpose of flushing out the zombie stasis hiding spots, burning what little remained. Of the forty people on the ship, only Azile and a man named Grant Perry had disembarked in a town near Liverpool. He had family in Manchester and had been trying desperately to get back home since the beginning.

  “Wiltshire?” he asked again when they set foot on dry land. “That’s clear across the country. Come with me to Manchester.”

  She politely declined; and not for the first time. Azile was convinced Grant had wanted her company more to bolster his courage than for her protection. She had no real reason why she felt a pull to a place she’d never been, but the name had screamed into her head as she lay in bed at Ron’s house.

  “You know this isn’t really the best time for tourists,” he told her, referring to her telling him she needed to go to Stonehenge.

  “Good luck, Grant.” She shook his hand.

  She had never seen him again. She had checked on the address he had given her, but that was more than fifteen years later, and if he had ever found his way back there, he had not left a forwarding address. The decomposed bodies in the foyer did not, however, leave much doubt he had not found what he was looking for.

  It was four nights later when Azile had found herself in the middle of the famed structure. She felt like she had finally found what she was searching for.

  “I’m here,” she said with no small measure of excitement.

  Three people dressed in long, flowing brown robes appeared almost as if summoned. “We’ve been waiting for you,” the

  tallest of the trio told her.

  He pulled back the oversized hood he had been wearing. He had a scar that started from below his right eye, curved down the side of his neck, and was then lost in the collar of his garment. He was severe looking, but his words and countenance were anything but.

  “My name is Triplos, this is Cerin (the woman nodded), and my silent friend over there is Lanner. We are the order of Druids.”

  “Home,” Azile said.

  “Come,” he said, taking her hand.

  Her tutelage was difficult and painful, but she had unlocked many secrets during her time with them. When she felt she surpassed her teachers is when she finally struck out for home. She had foreseen the winds of war and the ultimate outcome if something was not done. Xavier’s lust was without bounds; he knew of the lands beyond the ocean, and when he was done on one shore he would keep moving, striving to create the largest and most ruthless reign the world had ever seen.

  CHAPTER 21 - Mike Journal Entry Fourteen

  “Stonehenge? I’d always wanted to see that,” I told her.

  “Perhaps you will someday,” she said sadly.

  “You really believe that?” I asked.

  The dip of her head let me know the truth behind her words.

  “Well, like you said, you’re not all-knowing, otherwise you’d have that tiara.” I tried to alleviate the mood.

  She smiled. “This is true. I’m not sure we’ll make it through this next moon.”

  “Think I have enough time to get to Talboton and back?” I asked. “For the beer.”

  “We make it through the next few days; I’ll show you how to brew the nasty stuff.”

  “Nasty? And wait...you’ve been holding out on me? At least I have an incentive.”

  “Holding on to your head not enough?” she asked wryly.

  “Unfortunately, no.” I told her, being honest. “I wish I had left Oggie in Talboton…or even with Lana. I don’t know how I’m going to keep him out of the mix.”

  “I’m sure the price Lana would have charged to watch him might be too steep,” she laughed.

  “You’re probably right. I wonder how my girlfriend is faring?”

  “Girlfriend?” Bailey asked approaching.

  “Yeah…you and me,” I told her.

  “I like my men...bigger.” She eyed me up and down.

  “Ouch, my ego is going to pretend I didn’t hear that.”

  “The preparations are made,” she said, changing the subject. She was much too serious, although BT had been at the beginning as well. If we were to luck out and have more time together, then I’d eventually wear her down. “Now we wait.”

  I knew that waiting was always the worst, giving men and women the time to let their imaginations run wild was the worst possible idea. They’d break before it started.

  “Come morning.” I told her, “I want you to double the amount of drills with the populace. You can blame it on me. They’ll hate me for the next few days but thank me for it after.”

  “If there is an after,” she echoed my thoughts.

  True to my word – and then some – Bailey had the locals out and sweating before the birds of morning could even clear their throats. I got more than one glare as I walked past that day. The smell of smelting silver dominated the village. Townsfolk would periodically line up to give a silver lining to their weapons. Maybe we were all going to die but we were going to do it in style. All manner of weapon received a coating, from the lowly rake to the mighty sword. I even made sure that the bowmen dipped their arrow tips. Besides putting a shine to my sword and axe there was another plus I gained from the whole damn thing and that was from Tommy. I hadn’t known his skill with a sword until he approached me.

  “Hey, Mr. T, can we talk?” he asked.

  “Sure,” I told him as I ‘swooshed’ my sword through the air. I think I even made a swooshing sound-effect…well, just for effect, I suppose.

  “It’s about your sword.”

  I stopped moving around. “Pretty sweet, huh? You want me to teach you some moves, I’m damn near a ninja.”

  “I’ve seen ninjas, Mr. T.” He paused.

  I
stopped to look at him. I got it. “I’m no ninja is what you’re saying?”

  He nodded solemnly. “I can teach you some things, though.”

  I swallowed my bruised pride and we worked all that day and deep into the night. Far past lunch, then dinner, past the call of the crows as they rested for the night. Even the crickets had begun to tire by the time we called a break. I’m sure the clang of our metal kept more than one citizen awake, but if I could keep learning, chances were, I’d keep those same people alive or at least have a better chance of it.

  There was a chance I was slightly faster than the boy, though he could have been sandbagging on me; but as for strength, I think he could hammer me into the ground. By the end, we were at full speed. He caught me a couple of times with the flat of his sword, and where he did, my skin sprang up in ugly welts and blotted blood. Although I took small victories in putting a couple of slices in the tunic he was wearing. He would show surprise when I did so, and then try to smash my weapon in two with his parries. I don’t think I’d ever seen the boy truly angry before; funny how I can bring that out in folks.

  I was breathing heavy, hunched over and leaning on my sword, as sweat sloshed off of me in fat droplets.

  “Not quite a ninja…but impressive nonetheless,” Azile said.

  “Thanks to Tommy…and has everyone seen friggin’ ninjas except for me?” I asked. It didn’t come out quite that smoothly. I was too busy trying to breathe in between words. I’m not going to lie, I was happy Tommy seemed to be in the same state as myself, although he was actually laying on the ground in your standard ‘snow angel’ pose. He was looking up at the heavens, his chest heaving.

  “Gimme...sword,” he finally managed.

  I didn’t move. Not because I didn’t want to, but rather, I was unsure if my legs would betray me before I got there. My hard-fought stalemate would look bad if I fell over now.

  “Sharpen,” he said as he rolled over and got to his knees.

  The ground looked pretty pleasing, but unless I wanted to sleep under the stars, I knew I couldn’t go down to embrace it.

  “Azile, we should talk,” I told her.

  “About?” she asked suspiciously.

  “Just get over here.” Thankfully she did as I asked. “Okay, I’m going to shuffle over to Tommy. When I give my sword to him, I will have basically lost the only thing keeping me up.”

  “Oh? I am to become your cane then?”

  “Shh, don’t let him hear you,” I begged.

  “Men and their little boy pride,” Azile said. She gave me a hard time, but was smiling as she did so.

  Tommy had finally pushed the upper half of his body from the ground and was now on his knees. He grabbed my sword, thankful that he now had two props.

  “Sharpen them my ass,” I told him as I leaned heavily against Azile. “I see what you’re doing.”

  “As I see you,” he replied. “We will resume on the morrow.”

  On the morrow, I thought. I like the sound of it, it reminded me of knights. Knights…ninjasighplied.…either were pretty cool in my book.

  “On the morrow it is. Lead on,” I told Azile. I was dragging my feet like I was drunk and had forgotten the necessary motor skill commands to make them work properly. With some difficulty, we found the way to my living quarters. It had housed three other men, but they very much disliked the idea of sleeping with a half-vamp. How 18th century of them. Vampire-ists.

  Azile laid me down in my bed – which was basically a raised platform with a layer of feather covered with a heavy quilt.

  “Would you like me to stay?” Azile asked.

  I had not a clue what she was talking about, but she must have taken my silence for acquiescence. She grabbed the front of her robe and swept it over her shoulders.

  “Oh, I get it now,” I said softly. Oggie grunted when I gently pushed him off the side. A body I thought incapable of anything beyond sustaining life at the moment began to respond as I looked upon her. I was thankful for the enhanced vision.

  I had not lain with anyone since Tracy, and to be honest, I wasn’t entirely sure what to do as she got into the bed with me.

  “Be gentle,” I told her, as she first placed her finger over my lips and then replaced that with her lips.

  When I awoke the next morning (okay afternoon) Azile had already awoken and left – if she had ever even slept. I wasn’t entirely convinced that the whole thing hadn’t been some elaborate dream…or even a spell. No matter which of the three options it ended up being, it was still something special. Even if nothing much past a PG-13 rating happened. Okay, maybe an R rating was necessitated, I think a breast was involved but it was dark. Then, in the blink of an eye or the beat of a heart, the warmth of the remembrance became wracked with a guilt so deep I didn’t think I could speak. My beloved Tracy, what would she think? Would she hold this transgression against me if I could ever find my way back to her? It would all be for naught if I somehow won my soul back and she turned her back on me when I approached. I wouldn’t be able to take that. It was with that morose feeling I finally got out of bed.

  My body ached both physically and spiritually. Extra healing powers or not, I had pushed myself to the brink of exhaustion. I felt slightly better when I saw Tommy; he didn’t seem to be faring much better than me as he was shuffling past Bailey doing some basic fighting with the locals. When he did catch me staring, he made sure to put a little extra pep in his step. I found that humorous, I didn’t even have the energy to pretend I had the energy.

  Bailey looked up at the sun, over at me, then shook her head. I gave her the finger, and I’m being honest when I say that was an exertion. Azile was nowhere to be seen. I think that was for the best. I had a lot of feelings to wade through, and that had never been my strong suit. Feelings weren’t for the weak…they were for the strong that could examine them. It is much, much easier to be a creature of action not reflection. I cared for Azile. The question was how much.

  I was leaning against a wall actually looking for the next place to park my ass when Tommy approached. I could only hope to God he didn’t want to go onto round two. I think I’d just let him stick me through the gut and be done with it.

  “We need to feed,” he said d,d two.with no precursor.

  I was about to tell him I could go for a bacon cheeseburger when the realization of what he was saying settled in. “Fuck no,” was my initial response, even though I knew we had to. “Should we walk down the center of the town shouting, ‘Bring out your near dead! Bring out your near dead!’? I’m sure someone will toss out a grandfather or two.”

  “We cannot fight in this state, and even if we weren’t this tired, we would need to be at peak performance for what comes next.”

  “That’s why you did it,” I accused.

  He feigned ignorance.

  “You wore the living shit out of me for fifteen hours so that I would be just like this.”

  “We need to feed, Mike. If we are to have any chance tomorrow night, we need to be as strong as possible.”

  “Is Azile in on this with you?” I asked angrily, spinning on him.

  This time it was clear to see he had no clue what I was talking about.

  “It is who we are Michael…like it or not.”

  “Not, would be my response.” The thing of it was…I knew the validity of his words. Odds were already fairly slim of us surviving, and me feeling like I couldn’t punch my way out of a rice-paper house right now only magnified that feeling.

  “So now what?” I asked, letting my head sag both because it was hard to hold it up and also because I was coming around to what he had to say.

  “We hunt tonight. We cannot feed among these people. They already fear us.”

  “With good reason.”

  Tommy shrugged and walked away. Okay, more like limp-shuffled away. I had decided where I was leaning was as good a place to sit as any. I sat with my ass on the dirt and my back against an ancient rock wall. Then I laughed, hard enough
that those nearest me stopped what they were doing to look. I was thinking the only way we were going to be able to feed was if we stumbled across a Walmart and some Spandex-wearing old woman was sitting in her little motorized cart and it had finally run out of juice; other than that, I was unsure as to how we were going to catch anything. Anything that moved at least, and it was the insanity of what I had to do that had hysterical tears running out of my eyes.

  I didn’t move much that day as I let the sounds of children playing and adults working at playing war wash over me. Oggie sniffed around me a few times, but for the most part, he was enjoying the kids. The sun felt great, I wished I had been a plant and able to gain all the sustenance I could out of its rays. The rest did me some good, and I was actually able to stand without assistance as I felt the shadow of Tommy blot out the setting sun.

  “You ready?” he asked.

  “I never even liked to hunt when I owned rifles,” I told him.

  “You did, though. After the zombies.”

  “I had to, we had to eat.”

  He raised his eyebrows, in a ‘See what I’m talking about’ gesture. “We have to eat now.”to es.

  “Clever, I’ve yet to stumble upon a deer that begged me not to, though.”

  “It would if it could.”

  “That’s really not helping.”

  “I’m just trying to show you the similarity.”

  “You should be going the other way. Make the human more animal-like, not the animal more human-like.”

  “My bad.”

  “Not something you expect to hear from a five hundred-year-old vampire.”

  “I’m pretty hip.”

  “What if we come across small kids?” I asked as we headed into the woods.

  “The likelihood we’ll run into kids is remote.”

  “Like Hansel and Gretel maybe. I don’t want to be a monster immortalized in a children’s fairy tale for all ages.”

  “I think we’ll be alright. Any kids we stumble across out here will be more than a match for us.”

  “You’re kidding right?” I asked.