Dominion of the Damned Read online

  “Like Kobe beef,” said Hannah.

  Paula surprised her by laughing. “I guess that’s one way you could look at it. But it’s more than that. He’s trying to show them that we can all get along together and take care of each other. Kind of like… what do you call it? When two living things need each other to survive?”

  “Symbiosis?”

  “Yeah, that’s it. They leave us be to take care of ourselves, but they keep those zombies at bay for us, so we make sure they’re taken care of, too. That’s how it works here. Hopefully someday it’ll work like that everywhere.”

  “Most of the vampires I’ve met couldn’t care less about getting along or making us happy,” said Hannah.

  “Well, you haven’t met all of ours yet.”

  They kept walking, and ended up at what Paula called the store. It was a two-story Craftsman stuffed full of furniture, clothing and other household items. Chris greeted them from behind a counter as they entered. “What is all this stuff?” Hannah asked as she looked around.

  “Stuff that nobody else was using, mostly,” said Chris. “And stuff they brought back from Walmart and the local shops.”

  “The rest of it’s stuff other people donated or traded,” Paula added. “If you have anything back at the house you don’t need, you can bring it here and swap it out for something that you do need. Or you can buy stuff with credit.”

  Hannah gave them a rueful smile. “I’m afraid I left my credit card back at my other house.”

  “Not that kind of credit,” said Chris. “Money’s no good anymore, so when we work, we earn credit vouchers. Then we spend our credits on food rations, and whatever we need from here.”

  “There’s clothes over there,” Paula pointed, “and baby stuff in one of the upstairs rooms, and canned goods back in the pantry. Baking stuff, too. ‘Course, that’s all priced kind of high, ‘cause once we run out there’s no replacing any of it.”

  “At least not until we can get a wheat crop going,” said Chris.

  “Oh, shoot,” said Paula. “I forgot to pick up the clothes you weren’t gonna wear. Were there enough things in your size to tide you over for a while? If not, you can go ahead and pick some clothes out while you’re here.”

  “Thanks, but I’m good,” said Hannah. Noah started to fuss. “What’s the matter, Boo? Are you hungry?”

  “He looks like he’s ready for a nap, too,” said Paula. “We’d better get him back home.”

  Chris came out from behind the counter. “I can walk her back.”

  “Oh, can you, son? Thank you. My bunions are starting to act up. That’s a little more walking than these old feet are used to.”

  “No problem,” he said. “I’ll pick up the clothes while I’m at it.” He helped Hannah maneuver the stroller outside and down the steps, with Noah crying the entire time.

  “Sorry about all the noise,” said Hannah as they walked back.

  He smiled, and shrugged. “It’s okay. It’s actually kind of nice to hear. We were starting to wonder if there’d ever be any more babies here on the base. I mean, there aren’t that many couples left here who are still young enough to have them, and besides, nobody’s in much of a hurry to bring kids into this world, you know?”

  “From what I’ve seen today, it doesn’t seem like such a bad place to have them.”

  “Yeah, but it’s still risky.” He looked off into the distance. “If those things ever got in here again…” His voice trailed off, and he shook his head. “But that probably won’t happen. Not with the vamps patrolling the fence.”

  “Your mom told me about what happened here, how you were all holed up in the old fort.”

  “Yeah, that was a nightmare. What about you? How’d you survive?”

  “Bomb shelter.”

  Chris gave a slight laugh. “That would’ve been nice to have. How long were you in there?”

  “From the day of the outbreak until, I guess, four or five days ago?”

  “Just you and the baby?”

  “Yep.”

  “Wow. I would’ve gone seriously stir crazy.”

  “It wasn’t so bad,” said Hannah. “It was well stocked, and we were safe in there.”

  “So why’d you leave?”

  She told him about her dad’s ham radio, and about everything that happened when she got to the house. “Wow. Albert and Marie sound like a couple of bastards.”

  “I thought you were all warm and fuzzy toward the vampires,” said Hannah.

  He shrugged. “The ones here are pretty good guys. But I’ve heard enough horror stories from other people the doc’s gotten out of those prison camps to know that most of ’em aren’t like that.”

  “He’s gotten other people out?”

  Chris nodded. “Orphaned kids, mostly, but when they have families he tries to get them all.”

  “Why?”

  “Why not? I think he’d get everybody out of there if they’d let him, and put an end to those camps once and for all. But they only let him have the kids, and sometimes their parents. I’m not really sure why.”

  Because he doesn’t split up families, she thought, remembering what he’d said when she’d asked him that very question. “Do you know what Dr. Konstantin’s working on?”

  “A vaccine,” he said. “At least, that’s what Zach says. But he doesn’t really talk about it much, and the doc doesn’t talk much, period. He kind of keeps to himself for the most part. Well, here we are.”

  Hannah looked up to see that they had reached her house. Inside, Hannah helped Chris gather up the clothes she didn’t need. “Maybe sometime soon I could give you the rest of the tour,” he said on the way to the door. “I could show you the old fort and stuff. It’s pretty cool.”

  Hannah smiled. “That sounds nice.”

  He smiled that cute smile of his, and nodded. “I’ll see you soon.”

  She found she was still smiling after he left.

  TWENTY

  Hannah couldn’t sleep. She felt tired, but her mind, apparently, did not. It wouldn’t stop thinking long enough to let her drift off. She thought about Phyllis and the other refugees back at Esme’s camp, and wondered how they were doing. Would she ever see Phyllis again? Was there any chance the doctor could bring her here, too? She thought about Chris, and his cute smile, and his promise to show her the rest of the camp sometime. Would that be like a date? Or was he just being nice to the new girl? Did she want it to be a date?

  She worked hard not to think about her parents, and the state of the world. She distracted herself by trying to name all of the Muppets. And then all of the Sesame Street Muppets. And then Fraggle Rock. She tried to remember all of the words to their theme songs.

  She wondered if any of the Muppeteers were still alive.

  She also wondered about the doctor. She hadn’t seen Doctor Konstantin since they’d arrived at the camp. Was he still recovering from his burns? It still made no sense to her, what he’d done. She simply couldn’t wrap her mind around the idea of an altruistic vampire with nothing but humanity’s best interests at heart, like everyone here claimed. And yet, he hadn’t done anything to show that he wasn’t exactly what he appeared: a good guy who just happened to be a vampire.

  Under normal circumstances—if you could call any circumstances involving a vampire normal—she’d try to keep an open mind. But these days, being too open minded could get you killed.

  Still, she hoped he was okay, and that saving Abby hadn’t permanently damaged him.

  At almost five o’clock in the morning, Noah woke up and began to fuss. He still wasn’t sleeping through the night, a feat that Hannah was definitely looking forward to seeing him accomplish. But tonight it didn’t make much difference. She got up to feed him, and then stayed up after putting him back in his crib. She was in the kitchen, heating up water for the instant coffee Paula had given her, when there was a knock on the door.

  She froze for a second, eying the door warily. She looked around the kitchen and
grabbed a pot off the stove and weighed it in her hand. Cheap steel with a hard plastic handle screwed onto the side—not nearly as sturdy as an iron skillet, but it would have to do. Cautiously, she approached the door and peered through a crack in the curtain.

  Doctor Konstantin stood on her front porch, looking none the worse for wear.

  Hannah chewed her lip as she decided what to do. She remembered something about vampires not being able to enter uninvited. Was that true? If so, it couldn’t hurt to open the door and find out what he wanted.

  Tightening her grip on the pot’s handle, she unlocked the door and opened it, just a crack. “Doctor?”

  “Hello. I’m sorry to bother you.” He seemed a little surprised that she’d opened the door. “I was just out for a walk—actually, I was bringing you this.” He held up a small package, colorfully wrapped like a present. “I was just going to leave it on your porch, but I saw your light on and thought I’d check on things. Is everything okay?”

  Hannah stared at the package, and then at him. He looked different. His burns appeared to have completely healed, but it wasn’t just that. After a second it dawned on her that it was because he was dressed like a normal guy, in jeans and a dark green tee-shirt. It was the first time she’d seen him in something other than the vampires’ pseudo-military fatigues or his white lab coat.

  “Hannah?” he asked, and she realized she was still staring.

  She blinked and said, “Yeah, we’re fine. I couldn’t sleep.”

  He smiled, a little ruefully. “That happens to me a lot. Would you like some company?” When she hesitated, his smile turned sad. “Never mind. Forget I asked. Anyway, this is for you.” He held out the package, and Hannah found herself staring at it again. “It’s just a little housewarming present, to help you feel more at home. There’s a note, too. There was something I wanted to talk to you about, but I didn’t expect you to be aw—”

  “I’m not inviting you in.”

  It was his turn to stare. “Um, no. I’m just—”

  She stood back and opened the door wider. “I’m testing a theory,” she said.

  He stared a moment longer, still holding his present out to her, before he seemed to get it. “Ah.” His smile returned, amused this time. “That is just a myth, you know.”

  “Prove it.”

  He eyed the pot in her hand. “Are you sure you want me to?”

  She shrugged. “Just don’t give me a reason to use this.”

  “Don’t worry. I’ve seen your prowess at turning household objects into deadly weapons.” He stepped over the threshold and into her living room, and then bowed with a slight flourish, as if to say, “Voila.”

  Hannah ignored his theatricality as she stepped past him into the kitchen. “Congratulations,” she said, leaving him to close the door. She glanced toward the hall that led to the nursery, and made a mental note of everything she could bludgeon him with if he started in that direction. Stifling a yawn along with any visible hints at her nervousness, she asked, “Do vampires drink coffee?”

  “I won’t presume to speak for all vampires,” he said as he followed her to the kitchen, “but I do. But I won’t drink yours. I know it’s a rare commodity these days.”

  “It’s instant, anyway. You’re not missing much.”

  He smiled and seated himself across from her at the breakfast bar. Only then did she notice that he still held the present he’d brought her. He laid it on the counter without comment as she retrieved her mug of water from the microwave. Once she had her coffee just the way she liked it, she carried it over to the bar and leaned on her elbows. “What did you want to talk to me about?”

  “Your brother, for one thing.”

  She straightened up, her body tensing. “What about him?”

  “I’d like to sample his blood.” Before she could open her mouth to tell him to go to hell, he held up his hands and cut her off. “Not like that. I’d like your permission to have Zach draw some samples for our research.”

  “Why?”

  “He’s been shut away, and he hasn’t been exposed to many germs. His immune system is still pure. That kind of sample could be of significant benefit to our work.”

  Hannah sipped her coffee, buying a moment to gather her thoughts. “Is that why you brought us here? So you could use his blood?”

  “That’s the pretext I used to convince Esme to let you go. But I still would have gotten you out of there. A prison is no place for a baby.”

  “And yet, you are actually planning to use his blood.”

  “Only with your blessing.” Konstantin folded his arms on the counter and leaned in closer. “What have you heard about my work?”

  “That you’re trying to synthesize blood, and you’re experimenting on children to do it.” She put down the mug. “That’s what they say back at the prison, anyway. Here, they say you’d never do that, and that you’re working on a vaccine.”

  “Which do you believe?”

  “I don’t know what to believe.”

  He held her gaze steady. “I don’t experiment on children. I merely use samples of their blood in my tests, for the same reason I just told you.”

  “What tests?” Before he could answer, she noticed his reflection in the stainless steel toaster at the end of the counter. She reached over and opened one of the glass cabinet doors, and angled it until she could see his reflection in that, too.

  He watched her with an amused look on his face. “Vampirism is a virus, Miss Jordan. An illness.” The look of amusement gave way to one of sadness, and he looked down at his hands. “I’m not some magical, supernatural creature that can defy the laws of physics. I’m just a man whose DNA has been altered.”

  “So, you’re not undead?”

  He looked at her, and she was struck by the pain and frustration etched in his face. “Not… not like the shamblers. It’s a kind of walking death, but not like them. The virus doesn’t kill you, the process does. The virus brings you back, but, altered. Your metabolism slows to the point where you don’t show signs of aging, you can’t digest normal food, you can’t procreate, and, well, you’ve seen what the sun does to us. Yet at the same time you heal at incredible speed, all of your senses are heightened and you’re stronger and faster than you ever believed possible. In a lot of ways, you’re more alive.” He shook his head. “It’s hard to explain. But I do think that the vampiric virus is similar to the one that is currently plaguing humanity. Perhaps even related. That’s what my research is about. I am working on a vaccine.”

  “For vampirism?”

  “For the resurrection virus.”

  “Why?”

  “To release humanity from the ‘protection’ of my kind.”

  “But, why?” He didn’t seem to understand the question, so Hannah clarified. “I don’t get it. You’re one of them, and they’re in charge. And yet, here you are, rescuing us from that hell hole, risking your life for a little girl you barely even know, and now you’re actively trying to save humanity? Why? Why would you want to free us? Why do you even care?”

  He stared at her, long and hard, before saying, “Because, vampire or not, I am not a bad man, Hannah Jordan. I care because it’s the right thing to do. And because I haven’t given—” He stopped himself and looked away.

  “Given what?” she prodded.

  He sighed. “For the last sixty years, I’ve been trying to find a cure for this… sickness that plagues me. I’m no closer now than when I started, but I haven’t given up.”

  Hannah set her mug down as she realized what he was saying. “You want to be human again.” He looked almost embarrassed as she said the words. “What about everything you just said, about feeling more alive and practically being a superhero?”

  He shrugged. “In exchange for outliving everyone you grow to care about? Never getting to have a family of your own, never getting to feel the sun on your face… at least not if you want to keep your face?” He shook his head, slowly, sadly. “It’s not a
fair trade.”

  He sat there a moment in silence, lost in thought, or maybe memory. Then he said, “Anyway, lest you think too much of me for my altruistic love of humanity, I’m not doing it just for them. There are good people among the vampire race, although they are few, and they don’t hold much power. Those who do hold it are becoming so addicted to it that they’re going to destroy us all if they continue unchecked. You saw how it is with Esme, and she’s hardly unique. They’ve got other teams of scientists researching an alternative to human blood and trying to create a synthetic food source, but that sort of thing could take years to accomplish, if it’s even possible. Right now they’re content to survive on rationed blood, but sooner or later their hunger and greed will get the better of them. We’ve got to come up with this vaccine and restore the balance before that happens.”

  “Is that what they think you’re doing? Working on synthetic blood?”

  “Yes. And they need to keep on thinking that, or else they’ll shut us down.”

  Hannah studied him as she took in everything he said. He came across as so earnest, so passionate about his goals, that it was easy to be drawn in. But she shook her head. “How do I know you’re telling me the truth?”

  He furrowed his brow and tilted his head. “Why would I lie to you about this?”

  She thought for a moment, then admitted, “I don’t know. I can’t really think of a good reason.”

  “Well, you don’t have to take my word for it. You can see for yourself. Join my research team.”

  Sipping her coffee, she narrowly avoided doing a spit take. “Excuse me?”

  “That’s the other thing I wanted to speak to you about. I’ve come to offer you a job.”

  “In the lab?”

  “You met my assistant, Zachary, when you arrived. He’s been grumbling for months about needing an assistant of his own. You’re qualified, and this will allow you to supervise how we take Noah’s blood. And how we use it.”