Return from Exile

Chapter 11 The Vote

The hour was late, but still the building was crowded beyond belief. One would say that everyone in the city was there this night, all wanting the same thing. Justice. People pushed and jostled for a better position to see the one\'s responsible for the slaying of their young. But couldn\'t get close enough to harm them, as the security force held them back.

Many officers had their weapons drawn, but pointed them to the ceiling, a seemingly sufficient deterrent to the people. Again the man at the raised desk, at the front of the room, slammed his gavel onto the stone block before him. \"QUIET!\" he called over the people\'s angry words. \"QUIET!! I will have quiet in this room, or it will be cleared!!\"

\"If you do that, Council leader,\" boomed a calm sarcastic voice, \"You may have a riot on your hands.\"

\"Who said that?! Show yourself!\"

\"I said it,\" the voice called again.

The counsel turned to the center isle of the room, where people seemed to gladly make way for the two pale men who calmly strode in, and passed the guards. \"Who are you?!\" demanded the counsel leader.

\"Sir, if I may?\" asked the older man Dracula had spoken with earlier that day. \"This is Dracula Tepes. The...ur...Vampire representative I\'d mentioned earlier.\"

\"Oh dear god,\" gasped many on the counsel.

\"You brought him here!!\"

The man stepped out from behind his table. \"Sirs, Madams, please. Mr. Tepes is here for the same reason all these people are here for. To hear your decision.\"

The counsel members turned to one another, whispering, as the shouts from the town\'s people began to increase in volume once more. \"QUIET!\" shouted the leader, but no one listened.

Dracula shook his head, turned to the counsel, and with a look and a gesture, asked permission to silence the crowd. Believing he wouldn\'t have much luck either, the counsel leader nodded. Dracula turned to the crowd, holding his arms straight out from his sides, and waving his hands as though he were directing a large symphony, \"SILENCE!\" his voice thundered across the room, though he\'d barely raised it at all. The crowd at once stood quietly, no one dared to speak, no one even moved. Dracula turned back to the counsel and bowed slightly. \"Thank you.\"

The counsel leader tossed his gavel down in surrender, and took his seat. \"All right...let me make sure we all understand what is going on here, Justice Fleming. There were 214 children abducted over the last weeks, both in and around Airomat.\" The man in the black robe nodded, stepping out from his table, as Dracula and Edward took seats behind him. \"The courts have found these people guilty of kidnapping and 132 murders.\" Again the man nodded, surprised as everyone else on the counsel that no one started shouting over that statement. \"And you would have us consider handing them over to Vampires, rather than deal with them as set forth in the city laws. Why?\"

\"Counsel members please,\" the man began. \"The crime rate in this city has always been small. A few robberies, fights, drunk drivers, and we\'ve built our prisons accordingly. Currently we only have 50 cells, and that\'s if the facility were empty. In all honesty, if we did have adequate facilities, how long would it remain standing with that mob out there? Those are parents, and families of all the children who were kidnapped, and murdered. Not to mention the families of the 36 adult women who were held prisoner there.\"

\"Correction, 37,\" Dracula interrupted.

\"Excuse us?\"

\"Forgive me,\" Dracula stated, standing next to Justice Fleming resting his hand over a stack of papers on the table, once quickly reading the list of victims rescued from the raid on the bluff, but finding Kale\'s name not among them. \"But my Daughter-in-law was also among those with the Purists.\"

\"And what is her name?\" asked the counsel leader, sifting through the papers, ignoring the shocked whispers of the other members.

\"Kale Tepes, sir.\"

The man scrolled down a page, and looked at Dracula over the rim of his glasses. \"Her name isn\'t here.\" Dracula nodded and was about to speak, when an officer bolted from the guard line around the room.

\"Your honor.\"

\"Yes?\"

\"Devine Carter, Airomat Security. I hate to be the one to inform...um...her next of kin this way...but I believe you\'ll find Mrs. Tepes\' name, on the list of the dead.\"

\"Dead?\"

\"D! Oh no.\" Edward placed a steadying hand on his father\'s shoulder. If Kale had perished, D would kill himself, that much was a given. But since Dracula had not sensed the loss of his oldest son, something else was going on.

\"Yes, here it is. Miss Kale...Codenamed the Queen?...presumed dead after plunging into the river from mid span of one of the bridges, with an unidentified blond man, who appeared to come to her aid.\"

\"Adrian,\" Dracula grasped the table in front of hem. He\'d been so preoccupied with Turngold, he never sensed his sons in danger, and now...Dracula pulled the table apart in his hands, papers and splintered wood flying across the room, everyone diving for cover behind anything solid. Above all the shocked and fearful cries, a deep mournful call echoed in the hall. One that couldn\'t come from a human, one so deep in sorrow and pain, it was as though it would never find joy again. Light fixtures around the room, grew brighter, then exploded, plunging the room into darkness. Then...and then...there was silence. Ire, cold and fearful silence.

\"Someone light a match!\" From around the room, small flames appeared, and then flashlights raced into the room carried by guards, all looking for the one who they truly needed to fear. Franticly they searched the prisoners, a handful really of the total number of Purists taken from the bluff. All were accounted for, and safe.

The guards shone their lights to where Justice Fleming still stood, his robe covered in wood splinters. To his right, crouched on the floor, tears of blood streaming his cheeks, was Dracula. \"Father, compose yourself, please. We\'ll find them later. I swear.\"

Dracula seemed to age a thousand years in that short moment, taking the kerchief offered by Fleming, he dried his eyes and got to his feet. \"I ask you to forgive my outburst,\" he addressed the room, standing once more. \"I\'ll replace the table.\"

\"This blond man, he\'s...?\"

\"My middle son...Adrian Tepes. He and my oldest son, D, had gone to rescue Kale. D is her husband.\"

\"Was there any sign of D, at or around the site?\" asked Edward. \"Tall man, Dark brown hair, nearly six foot long sword, dark clothes?\"

\"There\'s no mention of him by description in the reports, but there is something...um...oh thank you...\" the counsel leader shone the flashlight handed him over the papers. \"An unknown assailant, attacking the Purists\' guards, who later fled the scene with three horses, down over the near by cliff. No body or wreckage found.\"

\"Then he could still be alive. Father, D\'s gone looking for Kale and Adrian. They could all still be alive.\"

\"D would rather die than go one more day without her.\"

\"Father...!\"

\"For Adrian to fall into water at this time of year is deadly, for Kale it would be no different. If by the nights grace they did survive, the freezing weather in the desert would finish them both.\"

\"Then I\'ll look for them!\"

\"Edward. Please, be still. I\'ll...I\'ll do something later.\"

\"Yes father.\"

\"My condolences Mr. Tepes. But for what reason are you here?\"

Dracula composed himself further, putting his mind back to the reason he\'d come, mustering all his diplomacy to conduct himself as the leader of his people, and not a grieving father. \"Counsel Members, I am the representative of a secluded group of vampires. Over the last seven thousand years, these vampires have lived in harmony and peace with humans on a distant island. But recently, events beyond their control have decimated the human population, nearly wiping them out completely. The vampires are starving, and to stand off an all out slaughter of humans here, I have come to ask for your help.

\"The humans that lived with the vampires had done so willingly, and provided their own blood to the vampires, whenever it was needed. I originally was going to seek volunteers to resettle with the vampires, but because of your tragedy, I believe I can assist you in a way you never considered. Solving both our problems.

\"For their punishment, exile the purists to the vampire island. Once there, they will never leave, never set foot on this soil again. Those of this generation who are guilty of the crimes you\'ve convicted them of, will be punished, for the rest of their days. The following generation will be offered the choice of returning here, when they come of age, or remaining. Your immediate worry of where to put them, will be solved, the desire of the families here to want them to suffer horribly, will be met. The vampires on the island will remain, never to trouble you...and my own form of justice will be served, for the deaths of my children, should they never be found.

\"I ask you counsel members. What punishment could be worse, than to fall victim to a vampire? Humans view us as monsters...I admit, some of us are not what you would take home to your mother, but not all are the same. I am a prime example, as are the seclusionists I represent. If we were the monsters, we\'d simply TAKE what we needed, and not give a thought about you.\"

Through out Dracula\'s speech, more and more candles, lanterns, and flashlights were lit. Only to show truetrue extent of the room\'s damage. The wall coverings were all cracked and falling away from the framework, as though the room had been crammed full passed its capacity, cracking at the sides to make room, then falling away when suddenly emptied.
The counsel leader shook his head, slightly, in amazement. \'If he has that kind of power...what will he do if we don\'t grant his request? Then again, why not? These scum would be out of our lives forever, and what vampires are on the island would stay there, happy with their new food supply.\' The man glanced down to his desk, and his gaze fell upon a picture of three children. His son, and two nieces, all dead at the hands of the purists. \"Monsters...yes...but Mr. Tepes, who here is to say that you and your kind are the monsters? To my knowledge, never has a child been harmed by a vampire...I cannot say myself to take them, though I dearly wish I could. We shall put this to a vote. By tomorrow night, every citizen of Airomat shall drop one of their voting chips into the box at the center square. A black chip for immediate execution; a red one for exile to your vampire island. Does the counsel agree to this?\" He looked around and saw a show of all six hands of the other members. \"So be it. The box will be placed there tonight. Mr. Tepes, I wish you luck.\" The sound of the gavel echoed through the room earning the sound of falling chips from the walls.

Dracula suddenly felt so alone. He\'d done all he could, the rest was up to the population. He only hoped no one learned of what the vampires had already done before he\'d gotten to Barbarois. If they did, all would be for nothing. \'My sons, my daughter...\'

\"Father?\"

\"Get me out of here, Edward. I must see the stars.\" The people eagerly parted the way for the dark pair. Even after hearing what he\'d said, they still feared him.

He didn\'t want to believe it. He wouldn\'t. Not till he saw their bodies. He\'d only just found his family after so long being alone. He refused to accept the notion that three of them were gone.

\'D,\' he heard his father\'s mind call out. He tried not to interfere, but being so young; as his father said, he couldn\'t block him, nor ignore him, as well as his older brothers. When they followed the call of the vampires to Barbarois, his father had entranced him for each night, otherwise he\'d fight his way to the mutant city, hurting or killing who knows how many that tried to stand in his path. This call however was not directed at him, so it was easy to keep his wits about him. \'D...Adrian...please...one of you answer...\' Dracula had climbed to the top of the highest point in the city, to escape the streetlights and crowds. Saying it would be easier to call from there. Though he didn\'t really give a reason, Edward believed he just wanted to be alone for a while, that if neither man answered, he\'d grieve without notice by humans. \'D!!!\'

\'LEAVE ME ALONE!!\' Edward\'s eyes snapped around to the horizon, where in the darkened land met the sky, and beyond that, his brother\'s reply had come.

\'D! You\'re alive! Thank the night winds. Where\'s your brother, and Kale?\'

\'Find us in Barbarois! NOW LEAVE ME ALONE!!!\'

\"Goodness he\'s testy tonight,\" Dracula commented, as he leaped from the top of the building he stood on.

\"Perhaps we interrupted him.\"

\"No...he\'s furious about something. Oh well, he\'s alive and well, and headed for Barbarois. That\'s the main thing.\"

\"What of Adrian and Kale?\"

\"He said \'us\', so they are with him. Arian is probably off hunting. He\'d ignore a call for D anyway, and once D answered, he\'d see no reason to answer himself. Kale needs great effort and concentration to respond.\"

\"Humans can call as you do?\"

\"Special ones yes. Kale\'s ability is very, very, weak. D pays close attention to it. She can reach him better than us.\"

\"I hope she\'s alright. It\'ll crush D if they\'ve hurt her.\"

\"Easy son. Those two have been through hell and come out stronger than ever. He can handle what ever they throw at them. Come now. The final tally on the vote should be in.\"

\"What do you think it will be?\"

\"If I know humans, and I\'ve had centuries to study them, their desire for vengeance will win out. They will want the purists to suffer. Come.\"

Dracula sat behind a new redwood table, one he\'d had Edward purchase that day and deliver to the counsel chambers. One by one, huge boxes were wheeled in, each with heavy locks on them, and a three inch long, quarter inch wide slot in the top. The way Justice Fleming had described the voting procedure to him sounded quite easy. Eactizetizen when they reached the age of 16, were given two chips in which to vote with, on a yes or no ballot. A black one, which always meant NO, and a red one, which was always YES. Once the voter cast their ballot, a red paint mark was painted along their cheek. When the vote was over, the paint was removith ith a solvent only available to the ones who handled the voting boxes. Proxy bidding was strictly forbidden. Elderly persons and handicap people were visited by representatives of the vote collectors, with a special box, just like the one at the city square. This way, everyone had a say.

During an election, different colors were used, depending on the main color chosen by each candidate. In the last election, the winning colors were Blue, Green, Orange, White, Purple, Pink, and Brown. These chips were also made in total voter numbers by the former counsel, to ensure that the candidates didn\'t try to cheat. The chips were then sent out to the voters, and the candidates would campaign for 30 days only. Then the vote would be cast, the chips sorted and counted, and the new counsel would be announced. The new counsel members were then given the colored chips of each of the new representatives, and they themselves, within a week, would vote on a leader for the counsel. The new council would govern for five years, and then the process was started all over again. No member of the last counsel was aloud to hold a seat on the next counsel, directly after their last term in office. But former counsel members were aloud to run again, in the election after the new counsel was to come to an end.

Dracula was impressed. The system was simple, no complicated ballots, no traveling clear across the country, as in the past, no dispute over the legality of a ballot. And it was easy to see who outvoted whom, by simply stacking the chips in a pile, side by side. Since the chips were all the same size and thickness, the height of the stack, and the number of stacks, were really what determined the outcome of the vote. And given 30 days only to campaign, gave the candidates less chance to get into trouble. And being in a small area, people didn\'t have to worry about what skeletons were hidden hosehose closet, not that it was their business anyway, because everyone knew each other anyway.

For this vote, in total there were 12 boxes, and all sounded heavy. \"Are the results tallied?\" asked the counsel leader.

\"Yes sir,\" announced one of the men, sifting through the papers. Then he just dropped them at his side, as though it was really no use to look at the number. \"In total, 5,732 eligible voters. 5,732 voters turned out. 5,732 red disks. Zero black.\" Dracula nodded pleasantly. As much as the world had changed, human nature still prevailed. Creatures of vengeance.

\"Are you sure?\" asked a lady counsel member.

\"Yes miss. We searched through them twice. Which is why we\'re so late. Every chip in those boxes, are red.\"

\"Did any counsel member drop a black chip?\" asked the leader, glancing questioningly to the woman who\'d spoken. Each member shook their heads. \"Very well. Mr. Tepes,\" Dracula stood. \"The prisoners are yours.\"

\"NO!!!\" shouted one of the purists.

\"You have no say in the matter!\" the leader shouted, his fury rising for the first time, and despite his efforts, a tear rolled down his cheek \"You will take your punishment as it is given! Mr. Tepes, the authorities shall keep custody of the prisoners until you can secure transport for them. Once they leave this immediate area, they will no longer be our responsibility.\"

\"Thank you.\"

\"This case is closed. Mr. Tepes. Should this occur again, heaven forbid, I hope we can again call on your kind for a more than JUST punishment.\"

\"I shall prevail it upon the vampires that still reside here on the mainland. We shall work something out.\"

\"Thank you. Everyone pe ree return to your homes. Go about your business. From what I understand, a memorial service is to be held in three days. Please be well. Be supportive to each other. Good night.\"

Slowly the room began to clear, the counsel members retreating to their offices for a moment, then home, the boxes of chips were removed, the disks to be returned to the voters later. Dracula and Edward remained with Justice Fleming, to wait for the room\'s exits to be less crowded. \"Mr. Tepes,\" began Fleming. \"I wanted to say, I\'m sorry for the loss of your children. As a grandfather, I share it. Three of my seven grandchildren were among the dead.\"

\"I thank you Justice Fleming, for your concern. It is very kind of you. But unnecessary. I recently got word that my daughter and sons are alive. A bit battered I\'d expect. But alive.\"

\"Well that\'s a bit of good news. I\'ll inform the authorities. How did you find out?\"

\"I\'m a Vampire, Justice Fleming.\"

\"Of course.\"

\"A Vampire I\'m here to kill!!\" shouted a gruff man\'s voice from the crowd.

Dracula turned to the man who\'d drawn a wooden arrow across his bow. A pulse gun hanging in a holster at his right. \"Now see here!\"
StayStay out of this old man! This is between me and the blood sucker!\"

\"I can take him father!\"

\"No Edward.\"

\"I\'ll get you next Dunpeal. Say your last prayers ass hole!\"

\"Try it...but realize this...you kill us, you\'ll have to find a place for the purists.\"

\"They aren\'t my concern!\"

\"Oh but they will be.\"

\"SHUT UP!\"

\"You seemed to confident Mr. Tepes, that this wouldn\'t happen,\" Fleming offered, stepping closer to vampvampire hoping to protect him, if only to finish the business with the purists. \"I hope you can make him see reason.\"

\"Stand aside!\"

\"You both best do as he says,\" Dracula offered, nodding to Fleming as he glanced over hisuldeulder. No sooner had the two stepped away, than the hunter released his arrow. What few people still remained in the room, gasped all at once, but rather than the arrow striking the vampire, it slowed in mid air, and stopped, just a food from his chest. \"Very nice,\' he commented. \"Hand crafted, silver tip, and...\" carefully he smelled the air. \"...Laced with garlic...you must have taken lessons from my daughter. Though she coats the whole arrow with silver, not just the tip.
T
The hunter stood there, shocked. \"You want this back?\" The arrow floated back to the man, and hung in the air. \"I have been given sanctuary in this place hunter. Provided no human is harmed. I have been thoroughly observed, I\'m sure, by the authorities, and they can vouch for my whereabouts these last day and nights. You would have warranted killing, but I will let this go this one time. I\'ve more important business to attend to. You\'re more than welcome to come along, for the security of the population if you wish...but...\" the arrow snapped in two, and dropped to the floor. \"...Try anything again, and you die.\" The man growled slightly but stood aside, and the three men left, following the last of the crowd. \"One more thing,\" Dracula said turning back to the hunter. \"A little education for you, and please share it among the other vampire hunters in this area. The term for a half human half vampire is Dhampire, NOT Dunpeal. Be sure to get it right next time.\"

The streets were slowly becoming less crowded by the time Dracula returned outside. But before he could decent the stairs to The Hall of Justice building, another man stepped in front of him, a woman at his side. \"Mr. Tepes. I\'ll probably be frowned upon of this later, but...I want to thank you for what you\'re doing. Those bastards shouldn\'t live, but knowing what will happen to them, gives my wife and I some comfort, to know that justice will come.\"

\"Thank you...I must say...I\'m not use to this, but it is good to be welcome, if for only a short time, among humans. I promise, their existence will not be a pleasant one.\"

\"I brought you this,\" he handed Dracula a wine bottle, dark in color and contents. \"I thought by now, you\'d need...well...I run the city slaughter house. This is fresh, only gathered an hour ago. Bovine. I hope it will do.\"

\"Thank you. You are most gracious,\" he handed the womas ows own kerchief, as she could no longer hold her tears abbey. \"There, there, good woman,\" he soothed, holding her. \"It will be alright in time.\"

\"She was only a baby!\" she cried.

\"Our daughter, age 10. They found her a little over a week ago. One of the first victims.\"

\"I\'m very sorry. Perhaps there\'s something I can do. Do you have a picture of your daughter?\"

\"Yes.\"

\"Good, get it, then go to all the families of the murdered children, and get a picture of them, have the child\'s name and age written on the back, then bring them to me. With close to eight hundred purists, I\'m going to be here a while.\"

\"What are you going to do?\"

\"I\'m somewhat of an armature artisan sir. I\'m going to try my hand at a memorial. Two in fact. One for here, the other to honor the children and this city, to be placed on the island. That way, this horrid event will never be forgotten, and the justice given here will be rememd.\"d.\"

\"That would be wonderfThanThank you. I\'ll get on it right away.\" Dracula gave the man\'s wife a le sle squeeze, and a tender kiss on her forehead. Then turned to his son once they\'d left.

\"Perhaps we should have gone out the back.\"

\"You think?\"