Chapter 6

6: One night, Gene Crowley, the owner of the Hotel of Wonders, decided to help ease the highly anxious group of the Untaken by putting on a nice dinner and having the Collective vampires tell everyone a little bit about themselves.  There was much excitement about the people from another planet who had materialized from rocks.  This would be a wonderful way to bring everyone together as a community and not just a scared bunch of survivors.
  Bill had asked Gene where the Mortimer Marmot costume was and Gene showed him.  Ben Templewhite volunteered to don it so that he could entertain the children and take pictures with them to boost their morale.  The hotel gift shop had small selection of TV dinners that were in a display cooler.  Those were auctioned off to the highest bidder since there wasn't enough for everybody.  After the auction came the dinner.  Everyone gathered in the main ball room.  It was served buffet style.
  "Ooh, they have rice crispy treats!" marveled Alex.
  "Rice.  Crispy.  Treats," nodded Jeff.  "You had me at the rice."
  "Hey, Lowe.  How come you didn't bid on any of the TV dinners?" asked Carrie.
  Jeffrey interrupted, using a mocking tone.  "Let me guess.  You have not the financial fortitude for such frivolities."
  Carrie turned to Jeffrey and said, "He wouldn't take the time to alliterate his iterations."
  Lowe nodded his head at Jeffrey, then turned to Carrie.  "Thank you, Carrie.  The real reason I didn't want any of the TV dinners is that, microwaved food does not constitute a substitute for real food.  The subsequent consequence is large increments of excrement," he replied with a sage look on his face.
  Carrie ignored Jeffrey's huge grin, sighed dramatically and shook her head.  "I just HAD to ask."
  The dinner was a hit.  And while the people ate, the ten Collective vampires in turn took the stage and spoke a little about themselves.  First up was a man named Rymuthis.
  "Hello, my name is Rymuthis.  I am a clothing designer.  I know what you're probably thinking: if they're made of water, do they even wear clothes?  Well, no we don't wear clothes, but we have been coming to Earth for many millenia.  As your clothing styles changed from year to year, it was my job to observe trends and learn to imitate your outer wear so as to be able to blend in with you.  We've been studying human behavior and other things for a long time and we couldn't risk being found out by you."
  A hand went up in the audience.  "Hey, how come people from other planets always dress the same?  It's all silver leotards with V-neck tops wide shoulders?"
  Rymuthis chuckled at that.  "I think that misconception arises from your movies.  As you can see, we're each 'wearing' different looking clothes.  It's all a matter of personal taste, just like for you."
  After him, a man named Zemostra got up to speak.  "My name is Zemostra.  I am an engineer.  I designed and built the craft which brought us here, called the Riven.  It is a Zemostra 9300.  On Sypraxia we have different brands of spacecraft just like your automobiles.  Of course, right now, the Riven is at the bottom of a little lake.  I must say, that is rather embarrassing."  The crowd laughed a little.  "But anyway, the Riven is run by a computer called the Core Zone.  I also invented that.  It is an intelligent computer.  If not for the Core Zone, this planet would now be overrun by the Nocent.  As it is, this town is creeping with the Revenant, but those are a lot easier to deal with due to a lack of motor function and low mental capacity."
  A woman got up next.  "My name is Azaroth.  I am a scientist.  I have been coming here for years to study your cultures, religions, technology and societies.  I actually knew Rend very well before he betrayed us.  We used to come here together and share notes on our various discoveries and insights.  I've always admired the human spirit. Through many large-scale tragedies and calamities, you have persevered over the centuries.  As the resources on my planet dwindled due to the Nocent's over-industrialization, we turned more and more to humanity's unyielding faith, love and optimism as inspiration for our lives."  Many in the audience looked at each other wondering how the hell she came to that by observing humans.  "I am truly humbled to finally live among you as equals."
  A rather short vampire took the stage.  "Hi, my name's Lox Myth.  I am an artist and no I don't do paintings.  We're made of frickin' water.  Paint would never dry.  No, my friends, I mostly sew and cross-stitch.  I also do the occasional sculpture.  My sculptures may look boring on the outside, but on the inside are full of tunnels, crevices, enclosures and such.  There are different textures and bumps and holes to fell as you flow through them. Some of them are rather large and can only be compared to your roller coasters.  They're kind of like a combination of a maze, an obstacle course and a water slide.  They're fun as hell."
  An older looking man got up to speak.  "My name is Temeron.  I am an elder.  I have been around since the beginning of intelligence on Sypraxia.  There is much you do not yet know about our history.  We will share more with you as time goes on."
  A young woman with long, flowing hair came up next.  "My name is Marisol.  My job is one of the most sacred on Sypraxia.  It needs a little setting up, though.  First, you must know that on Sypraxia, there is a stone temple called Petralumis, made of living stone.  The stone was carved from a quarry on the banks of the Collective shore.  Our gods are the rocks.
  "One day, I was walking around when I felt a rock in my shoe.  When I took my shoe off to shake the rock out, a bunch of sand also came out.  Sometimes you don't notice the sand in your shoes until you feel a rock.  I took that as a life lesson.  As soon as the thought came to me, something like a voice spoke into my mind.  It was the rock in my hand communicating with me in the way that the gods speak to people of faith.  I listened.
  "The rock told me the story of how it broke off.  It had been a part of Petralumis.  When it first broke off, it's edges were sharp.  At first it hurt to be broken off, but the pain went away.  Now there was no more pain, but it hated the hot sun.  It didn't remember when it stopped enjoying the sunlight.  One day it just realized that it didn't like being hot any more.  It hoped that it could cool down.  Eventually, storms came and a river formed.  The rock was stuck at the bottom of the river with no light.  There was only the constant torrent of water which slowly chipped away at it.  Each chip hurt.  As the water slowly dried up, the stone realized that it had become smooth.  After years in darkness, the rock saw daylight once more.  It thought the sun was beautiful, not because it had never seen it before, but because it had."  Marisol lifted the pendant from her necklace for the audience to see.  It was a rock on a chain.
  "Many years before, Petralumis had been whole.  The Collective would leave the lake to worship at the temple.  When the Nocent and the Collective split, the temple crumbled.  The temple is old and falling apart, but even so, the gods are within.  Legend has it that a small boy had heard the voices of the gods.  He filled his pockets with rocks which had broken off from the temple and he brought them to the Collective lake just as they had asked him to do. When the elders saw what he was doing, they asked him why and he told them.  Thus began the tradition of Petralumis.  It is an annual ceremony, kind of like your Christmas.  Only those who have been appointed by the gods can transport these rocks to the lake.  That is my job and it is an honor to have been chosen for it.  You see, the story of the boy is more than just a legend to me.  That boy was my father."
  A woman with flowing white hair and a simple white gown got on the stage.  "My name is Dimojyn.  I am a healer.  If you remember, the Scathing is a Sypraxian virus.  For us, it kept our spirits from connecting with the water. It is a disease that separates spirit from matter.  I was able to spiritually reconnect the Collective with their physical selves.  My hope is that I will be able to do the same for those humans afflicted with it."
  A man in a tweed jacket and gray slacks stood up to speak.  "My name is Repotox.  I'm a story teller.  I know the entire history of the Collective and Sypraxia."
  A young looking woman stepped up wearing a purple gown.  "My name is Lume.  I am a musician."  In the audience, Jeffrey's ears perked up.  "I carry no instruments."  She slowly waved her fingers in the air.  Holes appeared in her fingertips.  Then the most pure and beautiful sounds started to play.  She was sucking air through the holes of various sizes and this created different tones which mingled freely and harmonized at random intervals.  The sound was similar to bells, but without the initial impact.  It was like a flute which could hold impossibly long chords and play intricate melodies.  Her eyes were closed and she moved her head to the music.  Many in the audience wept with the power of her emotion conveyed through the tune.
  A large man in dust-gray coveralls took the stage.  "My name is Mendoron.  I am a military specialist.  I have studied many of your fighting techniques, but there are many things that the Sypraxian body can do that the human body does not easily replicate.  I'd demonstrate, but it might be too dangerous indoors.  Anyway, I was in charge of keeping the Collective safe during our many trips here to Earth over the years.  I also designed and built an outpost on your moon.  It is an underground living space from which we could remotely view the Earth.  Unfortunately, we never used it because nobody wanted to stay there, separated from the Collective.  But enough about that.  I hope to be able to train some of you in hand-to-hand combat to fight against the Revenant and the Defectors.  I have the feeling we haven't seen the last of them."
  The night went on and the vampires mingled with the crowd.  Dozens of small group conversations broke out as everyone got to know each other a little better.

Chapter 5

5: Many people at the hotel were restless thinking of people they knew who were still out in the city.  The rescue teams periodically returned with survivors they had found.  Most were strangers, but there was the occasional tearful reunion.  Everyone knew someone who was possibly dead or even undead.  That was never very far from anyone's minds.  That is why the rescue missions were so important.  There was still hope with every successful return of the rescue parties.  There were potentially thousands of survivors out there hiding all around town.
  There was a large map of Marble Cliffs tacked to a wall.  The city was sectioned off into small clusters that the rescuers systematically searched.  A pin was stuck into the map wherever the teams had already looked.  Unfortunately, for every tearful reunion, there were ten tearful goodbyes.
  Yong Loh had already lost his parents to the Revenant.  His only ray of hope came in the form of his uncle, Singh Ho Ping and his girlfriend, Chien.  Every day, Yong prayed that the rescuers would find them.  Singh was his mother's brother and had been very close to Yong all his life.  He was the only family that Yong had left.  And then there was Chien.  He had met her at a show one night.  She knew all of Maine Eleven Company's songs.
  Carrie Annette Oneiro longed to see her parents again.  She kept pictures of them in her purse and looked at them often.  It had been over a week since she'd seen them.  She was beginning to fear the worst.  She tried not to believe that she would never see them again.  The rescue teams had not yet reached the part of town in which they lived so she had a glimmer of positivity to cling to.

Chapter 4

4: At Wolf Cub Elementary, the Defectors were all frazzled and wary of any intrusions by the Revenant.  They had had considerable trouble dealing with the five that had come in the day before.  Richard Finestra had shut and barred the front door of the school to prevent any more of the undead from entering and then one by one the Defectors had destroyed the zombies.  Nobody had died and that was a testament to Richard's speed and skill at fighting.   Richard had been a faithful disciple to Rend, the Nocent from Sypraxia who had led the Defectors.  He listened to all his stories about the Collective and their ignorant ways.  The Nocent seemed to have the right idea in Richard's mind.  They understood the importance of physical strength and mental sharpness.  Who needs all the touchy feely, lovey dovey spiritual shit that the Collective wanted to live by?  Might makes right.  If you're too weak to kill, you don't deserve to live.
  Rend had taught him that the Nocent spirits were trapped inside the bodies of the Revenant.  If only there was a way to extract those spirits and implant them into healthy bodies, then the Nocent could rise from the ashes and dominate this world full of weak, pathetic people.  And all the while, Richard would be by their side, in a position of power and honor.
  The only thing that stood in his way was the Scathing, which was a Sypraxian disease that humans were not immune to.  It killed them.  It was spread through the zombie's saliva and other excretions.  Another possible roadblock to his success was the Untaken.  But they were all powerless fools.  In order to take up the gauntlet of world domination, Richard had to organize the Defectors and have a plan to free the Nocent from their prisons of ravaged flesh.  He needed to find a way to defeat the Scathing.  The Untaken were of little concern.  The Revenant would destroy them all, given enough time.  He was sure of it.  Nothing to do now but kill some zombies.  Any of the undead with a bandage on their hand was spared.  No bandage meant they were fair game.

Chapter 3

3: Ten groups of five were sent out of the Hotel of Wonders to search for any survivors.  Each group consisted of one VAMP and four members of the Untaken.  Kenn, Barney and a Collective named Mendoron were in charge of organizing the search groups.  It was important that each group had someone of petite stature to climb through windows if the need arose.  There was also a Spanish speaker in each group, as well as someone of some strength.  Whenever possible, a group would have someone who was able to pick locks.
  Sauro Laurentis led a group which also included Ben Templewhite, Mickey Thrush, Randall Switter and Glen Daniels.  They all rode together in Ben's SUV until they reached a five-story apartment building that had some lights on.  It looked as if it might have some people in it so they tried to see if they could get in.  The front door was blocked on the inside by a chair, but Ben broke the glass with a rock and they got inside.  Randall, Sauro's brother-in-law, was an Army brat who preferred to be called Randy. He was glad he didn't have to climb into any windows here.  Sauro, Ben and Mickey stood guard outside just in case any Revenant showed up.  Ben kept his ears open in the event that Randy and Glen might need some help inside the building.
  The ground floor of the building had doors marked 1, 2 and 4 only.  Randy furrowed his brows and looked at each door in rapid succession.  He pointed to each in turn and asked, "What's this one?  What's this to?  What's this for?"  Glen wasn't amused.  He resented being sent out just because he spoke Spanish.
  "Hey, let's just search the damn building so we can get the hell out of here.  Besides, I have to pee."
  "Yeah, yeah, yeah.  Race you to the top.  Hope you ain't allergic to silver."  Randy was going to take off running, but Glen was quicker.  He thought if he could beat Randy to the top, it might shut him up for a little while at least.
  Randy hadn't actually expected Glen to take up the challenge so he was taken aback by his speed.  Truth be told, Randy wasn't a very fast runner and had absolutely no sustainable stamina.  He was slow and huffing for air by the time he reached the top.  He wasn't expecting what he saw when he got to the top.  Glen was talking to an old lady sitting in a chair in front of an open apartment door.  There was a medium sized, brown dog in the hallway lying on the tiles.  Randy stooped down to let it sniff his hand, then he pet its head.
  Meanwhile, the old lady said, "I'm Ruth Verdi and you are welcome to use our bathroom.  It's the first door to the left."  Glen gladly entered the apartment, went into the indicated door and shut it behind him.
  Ruth then turned her attention to Randy.  "And what might your name be?"
  Randy was beginning to get a little nervous.  Something didn't feel quite right about this whole situation.  He didn't want to be rude so he replied, "My name is Randall."
  "How nice, dear."  Ruth smiled and placed her hands in her lap.  She paused then said, "Oh, Randall?"
  "Um, yes miss?"
  "Ruth.  You can call me Ruth, dear.  Randall, would you like an extra liver?"
  Randy's eyebrows belly danced to the tune of his confusion.  He thought she might be inviting them to dinner, but somehow that didn't seem to be what she was asking.  "How can you have an extra liver?  Wouldn't you die without your liver?"
  The smile never left her face.  "Yes, indeed, you would die without your liver," she replied.  Then she just vanished before his eyes.  Randy blinked twice and froze.  The entire building began to grow darker.  Dust and cobwebs appeared on everything.  The paint visibly started to chip and peel.
  Randy took this all in but didn't understand.  He yelled out for Glen but got no answer.  Once he was finally able to move, he went into the apartment and opened the bathroom door.  It was just a closet full of junk and Glen was nowhere to be found.  There was something glistening on the floor of the closet, but it was too dark to see.  Randy pulled out a lighter and flicked it on.  His thumb immediately let go of the light because he had seen enough.  There, in a pool of crimson, laid a bloody human liver.  All the blood drained from Randy's face.
  A dark, hooded figure appeared in the living room and looked at Randy silently.  The figure raised it's left hand, pointing to him as if in accusation.  Randy stepped out of the apartment backwards into the hallway.  Without looking where he was going, he continued to back down the hall.  He stumbled on something.  Daring to rip his gaze from the hooded figure for one split second, he looked down and saw the bones of a long-dead dog.  The hooded figure stepped out of the apartment.  By that time, Randy had made it to the staircase where he saw Glen's body which had its liver ripped out.  That was the necessary nudge Randy needed to snap into decisive action.  He bolted down the stairs faster than he ever knew he could.
  At the bottom of the staircase at the second level, he could hear Ben and Mickey talking.  Freedom was in his sight.  Before he could open his mouth or start to move toward the final flight of stairs, a door squeaked ajar to his right.  A hand reached out and grabbed him, pulling him into the apartment.  The door slammed shut.

Chapter 2

2: At the Hotel of Wonders, some of the Collective had stayed behind to help organize search parties to comb the city of Marble Cliffs for any survivors.  These rescue groups would be led by newly christened members of the Volunteer Auxiliary Mortified Platoon.  Kenn had asked for a show of hands among the Untaken for who would have what it takes to accept this important responsibility.  A brave man named Sauro Laurentis was the first of the people to volunteer to become a vampire via the bite of one of the Collective.
  His wife, Joi, and her younger brother, Randall, were standing next to him and she tried to pull his hand down.  "Honey, don't you think we should discuss this?  I mean, this is a life changing transformation.  You can't just make a decision that quickly."
  "Sweetie, there are people out there who will die if they don't get help.  We can't just stay here in the safety of the hotel and let them fend for themselves.  I feel as if it's my duty to help them in any way that I can.  Your father was in the army.  He would understand."
  "Yes, my father was a brave man and he died defending our country, but this is different.  You will be dying even before you have a chance to help anyone.  That's what mortified means."
  "Well, I won't stay dead.  I'll be undead."
  "How is that any better?"
  "It will keep me safe from the Revenant.  I'm going to go out there to help the people.  And your brother will be with me.  At least with my increased strength and speed, you won't have to worry about us."
  Joi hung her head.  "I'm still going to worry about you."
  Sauro's expression softened.  He put his hand on her shoulder.  "I know.  And that's why I love you.  And that's why I know you love me."  She nodded and he kissed her on the forehead.  She squeezed her eyes shut and tears trailed down her face as their hands parted.  A female vampire named Azaroth took Sauro into a room to bite him while his wife and brother-in-law waited outside.
  In various rooms, the other vampires: Rymuthis, Zemostra, Lox Myth, Temeron, Marisol, Dimojyn, Repotox, Lume and Mendoron each helped other Untaken volunteers to make the transformation from human to vampire.