United Service (14 page)

Ben glanced around. “We know a lot more now though. We’re looking for a whole bunch of kids at a camp near a lake.” He held up the note. “We may also have a new target, which we might be able to confirm once I get this laptop juiced up.”

“We need to get this list of children’s names to my father. The team can hunt down the names and dates and confirm if they are all vampire children.” Sterling took his phone and dialed his father to send him a picture of the list. With any luck, a pattern would emerge.

Kekoa and Stephen walked away from the small cabin which served as a chapel. They had just endured two solid hours of Deacon Victoria, the owner of the camp, ranting about how all the kids there were the spawns of the devil. She had spent most of the sermon explaining how their vampire parents were demonic – the scourge of the Earth, which must be destroyed. The kids chanted and prayed for salvation so they would not turn into such beasts.

Deacon Victoria had also given eulogies for both Tyrone and his brother, Jemal. Listening to her carry on about how they could not be saved sickened Kekoa. He and the boy Brian knew the truth.

Kekoa and Stephen, each with a bible in their hands, continued to walk back to their cabin. Stephen’s walk seemed more even ever since his initial drugs had worn off. Of course, another dose would be given during the evening meal, but that amount was never as much as when the kids were originally taken. The amount given in the evening meal was enough to keep the kids functional, but definitely manageable.

Stephen’s whitened face, his wide eyes, and quickened heart rate told Kekoa that the boy was unaware of what he and his family were, and why he was chosen to be kidnapped. Stephen didn’t say a word after the long service. He followed Kekoa back towards their cabin in silence, which made Kekoa feel uneasy. This boy was now afraid of him, and of what he may one day be.

The fact that Kekoa could hear the boy’s heart racing, terrified Kekoa.

“I won’t hurt you,” he said softly as they walked. Stephen only glanced his way, keeping a safe distance between them. “Being a vampire isn’t a curse, Stephen. We have every right to survive and live out our lives without being hunted. Vampires don’t need to be saved.”

Stephen’s only response was to look down at the silver bracelet he wore, now understanding the significance.

Kekoa touched the bracelet on his wrist. The silver felt warm to his touch. “I’m still the same, Stephen. I haven’t turned, not yet anyway. Deacon Victoria preaches that we are demons, but we’re not. We have families and friends that we love.” Kekoa took a deep breath and stopped along the walkway. “Your mother, would you say she’s evil and needs to be killed?”

The button was hit. “No. My mother is … she’s wonderful,” Stephen cried. “If my mother is a vampire, then … did they …,” his voice trailed off as he peeked at Kekoa with tear–filled eyes.

“She may still be alive and looking for you. You need to hold on to this hope. Just do what the …” he now chose his word carefully, “… what the
humans
want you to do. We’ll get out of here somehow.”

As Stephen began to ask more questions, Kekoa stopped him. He had heard a noise from one of the cabins. They stood in the middle of the circular path which led to all the kids’ cabins, but he could hear people talking … and he recognized one of them as Deacon Victoria’s voice. Taking a look around, Kekoa noticed that none of the humans who guarded the boys was following him, which was not normal – especially lately. The two boys ducked as Kekoa followed the sounds and led Stephen to some bushes that covered a window of the cabin that had once served as the camp’s hospital. It was now Deacon Victoria’s office.

Kekoa’s tall height allowed him to peer into the cabin. He could only see the back of Deacon Victoria’s head, but he could hear the heartbeats of more than one person inside. He listened with his now superhuman hearing at what transpired inside.

“I can’t hear anything,” Stephen said.

“Shh,” Kekoa whispered. “I can.” He looked back through the window.

Victoria slammed her fist against the table; her face snarled in disgust. “For three days we sat waiting to hear from Mark Bailey. And now I find out that he’s sitting in a prison cell being interrogated?”

Kekoa’s heart skipped a beat at that announcement. He now noticed the other two in the room. They were Henry and Rosalie, the two head guards of the children. Victoria shook her fists violently at them, her heavy cross around her neck swinging from side to side. Kekoa grimaced. The woman was a self–ordained minister and saw herself above the others, especially when it came to morality.

“This shall be our downfall,” the deacon yelled.

“Mark is as faithful as anyone, and devoted to our divine mission. He will not betray our good work with these kids,” Rosalie murmured slightly above a whisper, but Kekoa heard every word.

A pause lingered between the three in the cabin, so Henry quoted a passage from the bible, “In the strength of Divine grace their souls shall ascend above the world.”

Victoria took a deep breath and crossed the room; her hands clasped in prayer. “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” She looked up towards the ceiling as if waiting for a sign.

After a moment, Victoria glared at Henry. “You were with him when you liberated the new girl. What happened?”

Kekoa thought back to their most recent trip. He had been forced to go with Mark and Henry to pick up Stephen. Tiffany was, well, an extra bonus on the trip. He didn’t want to help with the captures, but with their threat of killing the children that remained at the camp, Kekoa was quite the dutiful servant on these outings. Kekoa had not even questioned Mark’s disappearance at the time. But now his absence made sense. Mark had been captured by the police. Kekoa felt a small surge of hope spring forth in his heart. Maybe the police could rescue them now.

Henry swallowed hard and squirmed as he answered Deacon Victoria’s question. “Once we learned of the girl’s existence, the plan was to take her while the family slept. But, we had an opportunity to get the girl while she played at a nearby park. We thought her mother was there, but it was only a babysitter. I took the child, and Mark went back that night to kill the parents. The police were all over the house, so I don’t know what he had planned to do.”

“Idiot!” Victoria spat. “It isn’t enough to save the child. God has told me to eradicate the scourge of these beings from the planet. It is what God has dictated, and what we shall do. You went against God’s wishes and this is the penance we must pay.” After a long silence, she finally announced, “We will have faith in our brother Mark. The Lord will give him strength. For now, we will halt operations. Relocate the children. The Lord’s will shall be done.”

Kekoa’s jaw hit the ground. The phrase ‘relocate the children’ repeated in his head. It was an opportunity, and his big break. He could save them all.

Henry glanced over to Rosalie while Victoria paced the room. “Is there a sign of where we should go? What should we do?”

Victoria looked up to the ceiling, holding out her hands.

“We can move them to another abandoned summer camp. I know of one. The place is smaller, but the kids all stay in two cabins anyway. We can drug them and move them out in the middle of the night,” Rosalie offered.

“We can bring our supplies over. The move would take a day or two,” Henry chimed in.

Victoria continued looking at the ceiling and quoted Jude 1:10. “Yet these men speak abusively against whatever they do not understand, and what things they do understand by instinct, like unreasoning animals—these are the very things that destroy them.” She shook her head. “A new location is needed.”

“Yes, Deacon Victoria,” Rosalie said.

“We have two new souls to save, so we will focus on their healing. We will move to a new location when the Lord gives me a sign, but we must be prepared for when that day comes.” She took a deep breath. “Keep watch over the boy Kekoa. He’s approaching the age where the Devil may take him,” Victoria glared over at Henry, a finger up in warning. “Tell me at once if you catch anything out of the ordinary.”

It wasn’t exactly a newsflash to Kekoa. Henry had become almost a second skin to him already. Henry nodded, nearly bowing. “Of course, Deacon Victoria. He is still a bit young. Others before did not succumb to the evils until their early to mid–twenties. Nonetheless, I’ve been personally seeing to him these last few weeks, not that I expect any change yet.”

There was no warning, only the smack of Victoria’s hand across Henry’s face. “Don’t you dare question me,” she growled. “Kekoa is old enough to feel the temptations. Evil of heart, if not by deed, is still evil. Tyrone and his brother were much younger.” Even before Henry could return to his feet, Victoria ordered, “Now leave. I need to pray for a sign of when to leave.”

Grabbing Stephen by his shirtsleeve, Kekoa quickly led him back to their cabin before Henry could get there.

The vision was of a river. A river of tears. Sterling felt each wet tear in his head, each cry for a parent, and each prayer to God to be saved. They were young children, scared, and for the first time knowing the limits of mortality.

With his ungloved hands, he rubbed his temple. Sterling needed to shake the voices out of his mind before a migraine formed. He was relieved when the three of them checked into the Motel 6.

Kate made a hasty exit to her room to shower, so Sterling followed Ben into his room to charge up the laptop found earlier and to do research about surrounding campsite areas. Obviously, many people from Tennessee enjoyed camping since there were many campgrounds. Ben searched the map for any site within five miles of a body of water, and that didn’t narrow the search down by much.

Sterling’s phone rang. After a short debriefing he put his phone away and said to Ben, “Looks like all the names on the list are vampire children. The list goes back five years. Some of these parents have given up hope.”

“Five years is a long time to hope for a miracle,” Ben said, not even looking up from his computer.

Sterling walked over to the window and peered out. The heavily overcast sky proved to be a good sign. His head hurt, his skin itched … he just needed some relief and the upcoming storm looked inviting. He took a glass from the bathroom and unlocked the room safe to get a bag of blood. “Want some?”

Ben glanced up. “Nah, not right now.” He paused and glanced towards the opened window. “Is it raining yet?”

“Soon,” Sterling said. He took tiny sips from the glass in an effort to heal his body and not expose himself to blood lust. His fangs clinked on the glass as they made contact. When a knock sounded on the door, he crossed the room and opened it.

“Can I come in?” Kate asked. “How is the search going?”

The strong scent of peaches hit Sterling’s nose as Kate walked passed him. Her wet hair was parted down the center in a 1970s style. She now wore a different camisole top, a dark blue one. Again, her outfit brought out the color of her eyes. She crossed the room, her long legs taking awkward strides in her oversized borrowed shoes.

“The search isn’t going that great,” Ben confessed. “Plenty of public campgrounds exist near water. Hard to narrow down the search since the camp, ‘First Foundations’, was never registered online anywhere.” He pointed towards the computer. “The laptop we got from the house is charging, but I figure the computer has probably been wiped clean. I’ll have to recover deleted files off the memory boards tonight.”

“What about summer camps for kids and teens? Maybe even religious ones?” Kate suggested.

Ben looked at her with a new determination in his eyes. “Yes. That’s a great idea. With so many kids you’d need a place for all of them to eat; you’d need bathrooms and such.” Ben busied himself on the computer looking for any older summer camp that may no longer be in use.

Kate sniffed the air and Sterling knew she caught the scent of blood in his glass. “Where did the blood come from?”

Sterling looked over at the young vampire. She had spent the day with him and obviously must have become hungry by now. “We brought blood with us.” Handing the glass to Kate he said, “Here. You can have this glass. We have plenty.”

She eyed the delicious liquid hungrily. “Thanks.” She downed the tumbler of blood as if the container was only a shot. Sterling glared over at Ben with a raised eyebrow.

“How do you do that?” Sterling asked.

“What?” she asked, licking her lips.

Sterling studied her face. “Even when not feeding from a vein, fangs usually extend when vampires eat. Our eyes turn black as well.”

She stammered a little, but finally got out, “I’m gifted. I can control it.” She walked around Sterling and made her way to the bathroom to rinse the glass.

Ben stared at Sterling. “Her eyes didn’t blacken?”

“No.”

“And we’re sure she’s a purebred?”

Sterling scratched his head as he turned towards the bathroom. “If she isn’t, I’m not sure what she is. She’s more of a hybrid vamp/human than I am.”

Ben whispered in a high vampire pitch. “She’s still a woman and can help rid you of pain. But let’s see, you’ve criticized her on her style of clothes, her taste in music, and her habit of chewing gum. Hey, I know, you haven’t commented yet on her hairstyle. That would seal the deal of her never wanting to help you out.”