Successors (8 page)

As they moved further down the corridor, they went through a glass-windowed door. On the other side, the air was noticeably warmer, and moister. As they passed by a new set of cells, Ethan saw the flying creature they had hid from on their first night.

“You keep vampires down here?” Ethan hollered over the new racket this section had to offer.

“Yes, but vampires isn’t a specific term for us. There are many types of vampires. They come in different forms, some humanoid, others animal-based. All ‘vampire’ means to us is that the creature sustains itself by drinking mammalian blood. Not all vampiric creatures are photosensitive, and not all photosensitive creatures are vampiric. The vampires that you’re familiar with are actually seducers. They aren’t photophobes and they aren’t vampiric.”

“So, not all of these things kill people.”

Danato stopped and turned around. His face was grave. “With very few exceptions, all of the inmates in this prison have killed humans; that’s why they are here. Killing humans to receive sustenance has been deemed illegal. Vampires will drink the blood of humans, others will eat their bones, and some just eat everything. There is no room for the romantic fantasies of Dracula in this place. These creatures are contained for a reason. They have become human predators.”

Ethan felt his anxiety-furnished stomachache shift into his throat. Danato took no notice and moved further down the hall. As he continued after him, he witnessed every variation of humanoid and animal and the mixes between.

At the end of the corridor, they stopped to make the transition to the next section. Ethan noticed something glinting on the floor near his foot. He bent down and picked up the bobble that looked like a diamond. He rolled it around on his palm, trying to determine if it was real. He noticed a hair hanging off it. He clasped the stone and tried to rip the thread away, but it was as strong as fishing line.  

“Ethan no!” Danato yelled at him.

Before he understood the man's intensity, the thread snapped forward, pulling the diamond and consequently his hand with it. He lost balance and fell forward into faceless claws that were grappling through the bars of a nearby cell.

His face stung with pain as sharp boney hooks dug into his cheeks. A mouth of fangs appeared next to him, futilely pressing against the bars. Something wet tickled his face—a tongue.

He heard a crunch. He feared for his own bones, but it was the creature that wailed in anguish. The grip on him released and he scurried back to the center line on his hands and knees.      

Ethan looked back and saw Danato's hand clamped onto the creatures wrists. The monster within the cage moaned until it was released. It shuffled away with as much haste as Ethan just had.

Danato's gaze scoured him with unspoken rebukes. Ethan opened his mouth to apologize for his stupidity, but laughter trickled out of the darkened cell behind him. He jumped up to protect himself from another attack, but the creature didn't even come to the bars. 

“You should have bought a smarter boy, Danato.” A haunting male voice spoke from the shadows.

“He'll learn,” Danato answered, still reprimanding Ethan with his firm gaze.

“Who is that?” Ethan asked.

“An exception,” Danato grumbled. “Let's go.”

11

Several hours after going back to bed, Cori’s eyelids forced themselves open. Somewhere in her dream she had heard a loud bang, but now that she was awake she wasn’t sure it was a dream. Another bang and a crash jerked her from her warm mattress.

She paused, cautiously listening for Danato’s thunderous voice. Somewhere downstairs a glass shattered. She jumped from the bed. The flip clock read 11:32. It was too early for Danato to be back. She stepped out of her room. Edging along the wall, she moved to the loft overlook.

Downstairs, broken dishes and dented pots littered the floor in and around the kitchen. The fridge door and the cupboards were open, their contents a disheveled mess. She couldn’t see the invader, but she could hear scraping sounds coming from behind the island beyond her view.

She grabbed a set of decorative antlers off the hallway wall and tiptoed down the stairs to the kitchen. The ruckus continued out of sight behind the island. Armed with her hunting paraphernalia, she jumped into the kitchen with an “ah-hah” approach.

Unfortunately, the half dozen small green gremlin-like creatures that hissed back at her through food-filled mouths seemed unthreatened by her presence.

Her first response was to let out a solemn yelp, followed shortly after by an irritated groan. She abandoned her attack, holstered her antlers, and headed to the study to find the house’s only legitimate technology.

This time the phone rang only once. A cheerful man answered on the other end, introducing himself as Belus. “How can I be of service, Miss?”

“I need to speak to Danato,” she said.

“I’m afraid he is away from his desk for the rest of the day, can I help you with anything?” Belus spoke in a breezy secretarial tone, but it didn’t hide his hoarse baritone.

“Yes, you can tell him that there are gremlins in this house.”

“I think you mean goblins; there are only a few physical differences. Also, if they were in fact gremlins, they would be tearing out your eyeballs as we speak. They aren’t, are they?” he added as an afterthought with a touch more concern.

“No, just tearing apart the kitchen.”

“Yes, they are fond of processed foods,” Belus said.

After a short pause to wait for advice, she continued. “What should I do?”

“Well, until the food is entirely gone, they won’t leave. They are attracted to food and warmth, but mostly food.”

“Don’t you keep them contained?” she scolded.

Belus laughed hysterically on the other end for nearly a minute before he composed himself enough to speak again. “No, the goblins are uncontainable, but it doesn’t matter because, like I said, they are attracted to food and warmth. We just keep an area warm with foods they like, and they tend to stay out of our way.”

“Clearly not, since they have invaded this house,” she sneered. She started to get the impression that this guy was dicking around and had no intention of doing anything but provide her with a sounding board for her problems.

“The house is usually reasonably secure. You didn’t set any baked goods out on your windowsill, did you? They have an excellent olfactory sense.”

“You mean they just smell the food in the house and come running?”

“No, they mind themselves when people are in the house. They hate people, really. It’s just when the house is quiet and leftover food has not been properly disposed of in the garbage disposal. If the dishes are left unattended for too long, they would be attracted to that.”

“Son of a bitch!”

“I beg your pardon?” Belus said, affronted.

“He knew this would happen. That bastard knew they would come in here. He should have told me.”

“Danato didn’t tell you to do the dishes? That seems unlike him.” Belus’s tone indicated sarcasm, but he was playing it off innocently enough.

“No, but he didn’t tell me why.”

“He didn’t tell you why to clean the dishes? For the same reason you do in any other household chores, my dear: cleanliness. The only difference is, here there are consequences much bigger than roaches.”

She rolled her eyes and lowered her voice to a growl. “He should have explained.”

Belus lost his secretarial voice, revealing the depth of his gravelly vocals. “Danato is the warden of the most dangerous prison on the earth, filled with the most dangerous entities on earth. He can hardly be expected to explain everything he asks you to do. Someday it may be a matter of life or death. You should learn to trust him. He is a good man, despite his burly ogre appearance.”

She didn’t know who this Belus was, but she could already tell she and he were not going to get along. “Fine,” she drawled, “he’s wonderful. I shall endeavor to be a better slave in the future. Just tell me how to get rid of the goblins.”

“Well, you could try to catch them.” Belus started another bout of laughter.

“Stop that!”

Belus coughed to regain control of his comical outburst. “Or you could remove the food from the house, sometimes they follow, depending on how cold it is outside.”

“The door is locked,” Cori said.

“Are you sure?” The tone of conspiracy in his voice annoyed her. “I have a feeling not today.”

Cori realized she never even checked it. “What if they don’t go out?” she asked.

“Then you will have to wait until they decide to leave on their own. Just remember though, they don’t like humans, at all.”

“Will they attack me?”

“Not viciously, but they will throw a lot of stuff at you. Whatever they can get hold of; they aren’t especially strong, but they are quick… very quick.”

Cori hung up the phone and prepared for her mentally and physically challenging day. She returned to the kitchen with her antlers cocked and her neck freshly cracked. She looked onto the six Little Debbie addicts with the fortitude of Dirty Harry. “Okay, you little green twerps, it’s time to—” Her clever pre-attack speech was interrupted by something wet slapping up against her cheek. Cacophonic chittering spread contagiously throughout the room as she wiped away the greenish-brown glob.

Concerned by its appearance she sniffed it to be sure. She was positive. It was, in fact, goblin poop. “Oh, you have got to be kidding me!”

12

After they finished viewing the basement, he and Danato moved up to the animal level via a lift on the east end of the building. Ethan noticed the elevator didn’t offer a main floor button like the west side, but he didn’t ask why.

They arrived on the second floor and Ethan was relieved to see that there were other human beings inside the prison. A couple men, dressed in militant black, passed them as they exited the carriage. They each offered Danato a respectful nod, just short of a salute.

He was also relieved to see and feel the warm sunlight streaming through the high windows of the level. 

“Let's check out the infirmary, you can get your cheek looked at while we're there.” Danato said and guided them toward a glass enclosed section just off to the right, labeled
Infirmary.

According to Danato, the infirmary held a central position on the floor, with entrances on both the east and west ends. The animal cages were located parallel to it, skirting the outside walls in environmentally controlled sections.

Ethan followed Danato through a small entryway, followed by another hall of windows. On either side, were rooms with hospital beds. Some were just basic cots, divided by curtains and others were fully loaded
gonna-be-there-for-a-while
beds.

At the end of the hall was a c-shaped reception desk. Two women leaned against the counter talking. They were both well into their forties and neither had an exceptional figure, but he was thankful to see someone of the opposite sex that wasn't on the verge of a dissociative disorder.

The woman saw Danato and jumped to attention. “Yes, sir, how can we help you?” The older of the two said, before she caught sight of Ethan's cheeks. Her eyes widened and she waved at her partner. “Ah, Marcy, get the ointment.”

The nurse bypassed Danato and grabbed his hand. “You poor dear. Is this your first day on?” She drug him forward into an exam room just off the hub. “It's a rough ride the first go around, I tell you what.” She continued to babble as  she gathered supplies. “Don't you worry, next time it will be easier.”

“Next time?” Ethan asked.

“Ethan is going to be full time,” Danato answered his question from the doorway.

The nurse froze and looked over at him. She gave him a small smile that looked like pity. “Just you wait.” She returned to her chipper mood. “You are going to see things that will make you renew your faith in God.”

“And hate him,” Danato mumbled at the door.

“I didn't hear that,” the nurse said in a sing song voice.

“Excuse me, warden,” a tiny voice spoke from the hall, and Danato shifted to let the nurse Marcy into the room.

“Ah, here we go,” the lead nurse said as she plucked the  ointment from Marcy's fingers. “Those grimy little buggers are ripe with infection causing bacteria. You be sure to come see us anytime you get a scrape down in the
darks
. Okay?”

“Okay.” Ethan smirked and leaned forward for his treatment. He hadn't had this much doting in a long time. He was almost glad for his stupid mistake now.

13

Cori ducked on the other side of the island, dodging Twinkie and Ding Dong grenades. Her attempts to infiltrate the kitchen had so far been denied, but she still had hope that she could penetrate the northern defenses and make off with the remnants of the chip inventory.

She stayed low, crawling between the island and dining room table. She peered around the corner, by the fridge. It was all clear, but she could already see the shrapnel of downed potato chips. It may have been too late for the salty snacks cupboard.