The Next Move

We all stared at the young girl. My mind was racing as I contemplated her words. A gift like this was unheard of. It could easily be seen as an advantage; she seemed to have mastered the art of it intuitively.

As my mind turned somersaults, my attention was shifted to Jason’s muscular stance, as it shifted into a familiar (however uncommon pose). He leaned forward on the counter, his elbows supported him as his face curved into a boyish grin. His green eyes were focused on Natalie, who continued to stare back with obvious intent. Evan seemed to have noticed it too, who rolled his eyes to the ceiling and turned to leave the room. I followed close behind, motioning to Isabelle and Justin. Elyse and Dante didn’t need to signal. It was obvious that Jason’s sudden attraction to the young girl. We left them alone to converse.

As we moved into the living room, Evan spoke in a low whisper, “We’ll need to discuss our next move.” He turned on his heels at the rest of us that followed close behind him. His eyes were smoldering with passionate fear, “We can’t stay here any longer.”

Elyse was shaking her head already, “You heard them on the news. They’re planning on taking this fight internationally. Leaving now isn’t going to make us safer.”

Dante spoke up in his deep, booming voice, “What if we find a small settlement in the outskirts of Europe. They couldn’t possibly be able to search everywhere.”

I interjected before anyone could agree, “Such a large family is bound to be noticed- even in a small village.” I eyed Evan as he opened his mouth to reply. “And we can’t chance splitting up. The best plan is to stick together, and wait it out.”

I didn’t hear Jason enter, but I hadn’t expected it either. I did notice his arm so close to Natalie’s as they walked in together that they were almost touching. Almost. Natalie was the next to speak though, in her soft, timid voice. “We could seek out others.”

“Who?” Evan cut in, seeming to get angry from her innocent offer. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but our kind are becoming few and far between these days.”

Jason agreed darkly, “Not since everyone went missing…”

I hadn’t told Isabelle of the twins. She had known of them before, through James, and I’d neglected to mention that we lost contact with them almost fifteen years ago. As she turned her wide, confused eyes on me, I knew that I’d forgotten to mention that all of our contacts have failed to get a hold of us. We’d had no luck in finding anyone. Even Evan’s acute sense of smell was unable to pick up a scent of Dante’s family or Lauren and Sarah.

Now, when she stared at me with those violet eyes, I regretted keeping it from her, though I also understood why I’d failed to mention it. “Is this true, Mia?”

I didn’t move. Evan’s hand tightened on mine. I just nodded, whispering softly, “I’m afraid so. Aside from you, we’re completely on our own, as far as we know.”

“That’s not entirely true.”

I had to turn at Jason’s words. He was staring directly back at me with his wide, emerald eyes. When no one spoke, and Evan’s stiffened stance didn’t relax, he repeated himself as if we didn’t all hear him. “That’s not completely true, Mia.”

“We haven’t spoken to them since James died.” I knew who he meant, and so did everyone else. It was an alternative that’d come to mind before, but I hadn’t the heart to even utter the words. I had hoped that my words would stop him. He didn’t need to further explain. They were the last ones I would go to.

He didn’t seem convinced though. Jason pushed on. “We could go to them. We need to stick together through this.”

“I would never ask you to go back, nor would I expect them to accept us.” It was painful, but the truth. Dennis and Anya Abettor were the most high class vampires in existence. They would be one of the last clans to fall to this extermination, and seeking refuge with them would be ideal. However, Jason’s banishment would never be forgotten by Anya. James would have been able to talk us into their house, but I couldn’t. I hardly knew Dennis, and he might not be agreeable when he learned of James’ demise- if he hadn’t learned already.

“We have to try.” Jason’s voice was unnerving and unfamiliar. Was it fear that I heard behind his hysteric plea for survival.

I was taken slightly aback. My eyes fell to the floor as I considered his tone and words. It would be risky. Lander, the cretin I’d transformed earlier in the week, had descriptions of us that the government now possessed. No doubt our travel to Germany would not go unnoticed, and we’d be taking a great risk by running to a place we might not even be welcome to. Not to mention the risk we would be putting on the Abettors for housing so many extra visitors for an undetermined amount of time.

On the other hand, Jason seemed so keen on going. His confidence would not just be from his usual cocky attitude. He truly thought there was a chance if he was willing to make the move with all of us back to a clan he’d once been banished from. He knew Anya better than anyone in this family, so it would have to be his word that I trusted before anyone else’s in the matter.

My attention rose to see his eyes still fixated on me. The rest of the room was silent, their eyes on me as well, as I let the decision roll over in my throbbing, aching head. “What then?” I wanted to be absolutely sure this was going to be a smart move before I endangered, what could be, the last vampires in the United States. “If we get there, unharmed, and they take us in, what then? We wait until the government passes this new bill and they come for us?”

Evan’s hand flexed on mine, trying to subdue me into silence as he sensed my hysteria in my voice. I ignored it, staring into Jason’s eyes with yearning. If he had a plan, I was going to take it. There was no other option at this point.

Jason eyed Natalie, who nodded in encouragement. He took a deep breath, and took her hand in his before beginning. “Anya is able to hold a grudge, don’t get me wrong. She’ll throw a fit when she smells us coming, but Dennis is much more charismatic than that. He was friends with James, and, as far as we know, knows nothing of his death.

“They have got to know of this extermination by now. If we go to them with news of the new bill before it’s passed, they may be grateful for the forewarning. If the numbers haven’t changed much in their family, they kill three to four people a week to maintain their bloodlust. With those numbers, they will be one of the first clans to go if someone mildly intelligent is looking for them. The signs lead them right to them.

“If we offer aid, we could help protect them in case of an attack, as well as use their numbers to our advantage.” He paused, sighing before he continued, “They were at ten when I left. With our six, that’ll bring them to sixteen.”

Elyse cut in, “You’re making this sound like a war, Jason.”

“If we make an army, the government would only see it as a challenge, and it’ll give them an excuse to get more money to declare an all out war on our kind.” Dante’s voice was ominous, making my hair stand on it end.

Jason shook his head though before I could deny the idea of instigating a war against the human race. “Just defense. If we have enough, we could fend off the government until we can think of another plan.”

The idea struck me hard. My head seared with pain- probably thinking too hard in its fragile state. I gasped as it hit me with full force, making every pair of eyes in the room snap to me in alarm. Evan’s arms shot to my elbows, as if to stop me from falling to the ground. I just waved him off as I gathered my thoughts. My pale hand rested on my hair, the coolness of my skin easing the pain slightly as I began with my eyes tightly shut to block out the agony. “We need the army.”

As I opened my eyes, I glared at Evan’s expression- he was looking at me like I’d completely lost my mind. I had to turn away from him and meet Elyse’s worried gaze to keep from turning on him and tearing out his throat. I explained further. “The more we have, the more likely the government will not attack us. If we gathered all of the vampires left- there’s got to be more than just us left- we could create an army that would be impossible for the agency to handle.

“Vampires are hard enough to kill on their own. They’re able to take us down by picking us off one by one. But what if they couldn’t? What if they fuck with one vampire, they fuck with them all at once?”

Natalie’s face brightened, “They wouldn’t stand a chance.”

Elyse rubbed her chin, pondering carefully, “There is the problem of not being able to find them all though.”

“Not to mention the housing issue,” Justin added bleakly.

Jason shook his head, “Their mansion could hold hundreds, if not thousands.” The idea that we don’t sleep cleared extra living space.

Evan’s expression had changed, making me less angry to look at him as he grinned wickedly. “And I have an idea for the first issue.” He quickly pulled out his phone and began dialing slowly.

I grinned back at him, before turning to the rest of the family. They all seemed okay with the plan. Their expressions ranged from fear to anticipation. I was somewhere in between. I pulled out my cell phone, and searched through the contact listings as I spoke through a sigh, “Six one-way tickets to Germany it is.”