Return from Exile

Chapter 12 Night Flyers

The flight wasn\'t really long, but he wasn\'t sure why Airomat had asked for both cargo planes, and the passenger plane. But it was good money. Money he could use to help his younger sons set up a Far Shore Airstrip. He liked that idea. He closed the door to the Airomat office, brushing his hat off. High Flyer II and Cloud Hopper were landing, or readying to land, and he wanted to get a head start on organizing the cargo, and the rest of the paper work. \"Good afternoon, Mr. Padlen,\" announced, an ire to him, familiar voice.

\"Oh God! Not you again!\"

\"Relax, Mr. Padlen, please. We\'ve much business to discuss.\"

\"NOT WITH MY PLANES!!\"

\"Please. Sit. Hear me out.\"

\"You nearly killed us!\"

\"You and your family were never in danger! Your fear was unjustified. If I\'d wanted you dead, I could think it...and you would be.\"

\"Galen, please,\" asked Justice Fleming. \"We need your help.\"

\"To do what!!?\"

\"Fly 759 prisoners to your home base, for further transport to Barbarois.\"

\"WHAT!!?\"

\"Dad, what\'s going on?!\"

\"Stay out Brice! Keep Elwin out too. That damn Vampire is here!\"

\"SHIT!!\" the boy tried to grab his father\'s sleeve, to pull him out as well, only to have the man pulled into shadows, toward Dracula, by some unseen hand.

\"Mr. Padlen...\"

\"Father, you asked me to help you keep your tempter. Let him go. If he won\'t fly the prisoners, we\'ll move them over land.\"

\"NO!\" screeched tan. an. \"No. I\'m...I\'m sure we can come to some kind of arrangement.\"

\"Yes, we will. Need I remind you, two of my carriage horses are stored at your base. I\'ve little desire to lose those fine pieces. White cyborg horses are so hard to come by.\"

\"Yes, yes, of course. Please. Please, put me down.\" Dracula nodded and Galen Padlen was set back on his feet. \"Now what\'s this about prisoners?\"

\"Purists, Galen,\" said Fleming, handing the pilot some papers. The text stated the extradition orders from the counsel, along with a list of all the purists\' names. \"They\'ve been sentenced to Exile on the vampire island. Wherever that is. Only vampires know how to get there, but the prisoners need to be moved quickly.\"

\"They\'ve all been given a strong sedative. They will be totally manageable for several days that you are assured of. I already have carriages on route to your base to take charge of the prisoners, the moment they are taken off your plane. What I need is a price.\"

Galen stood in thought. \"759 you say? With the big planes, we can move 100, Cloud Hopper can take 35, that\'s...five trips each plane. We can then use on large plane and Cloud Hopper to move the rest.\"

\"You better make it both large planes. My carriage and four horses will be moved with the last of the humans. Along with my self and Edward.\"

\"And who\'s he?\"

\"My son.\"

\"Oh yeah. Where\'s Junior?\"

\"Junior?\"

\"My oldest son is escorting his wife and my other son, to Barbarois. Also, I must be on the last flight. The last flight of humans will not be drugged, and I will need to keep an eye on them. Now do we have a deal?\"

\"Why not drug the last of them?\"

\"So they will be alert to assist us in Barbarois for the final journey. Not that it is really your concern. Deal?\"

\"$700 per trip, per plane.\"

\"$4,900 is more than adequate.\"

\"And my family?\"

\"You and your family will be completely safe.\"

od. od. Then it\'s a deal.\" The two shook hands to seal it.

She spread the sheets over the close line for the last time of the year. It was getting colder and colder during the day, and soon it wouldn\'t dry the clothes at all. She\'d have to unbuhe dhe dryer again, and hope it worked. The wind picked up and she had to scramble to keep the sheet from flying away, putting an extra pin over the end just in case. But as the sheet flapped in the breeze, an odd sight caught her eye. Wagons, dozens of horse drawn cargo wagons, with cages on them, and they were heading right for her home. \"Tyler!\" she called, running around the house. \"Tyler!\"

The young man stepped out of a little side building with a clipboard and pen. \"Yeah mom?\"
\"Tyler, where\'s your gun?!\"

The boy glanced to the right, to see the wagons just passing the fence around the gardens. \"It\'s ok mom. It\'s ok, calm down. I\'m expecting them.\"

\"What?\"

\"I just got off the line with dad. He\'s transporting a bunch of prisoners. These people are here to take charge of them once they arrive.\"

\"Well nice for your father to tell us so soon!\"

\"Well you know dad.\" The first of the wagons pulled to a stop, the driver, a large man with spikes out his left shoulder and bluish gray skin, looked down to him.

\"I\'m Haneck. Where do you want us?\" he asked in a heavily graveled voice.

\"Over by hanger 4 for now. They should be landing in about an hour.\"

\"Good enough.\" He flicked the reins and led the rest of the wagons to the large building across the field.

He sat beneath the willow tree, watching the last of the sun disappear behind the buildings across the park. After that it would sink below the hills in the distance, and not brighten the sky till it rose in the east the next day. \"I didn\'t expect you to be here.\"

He turned to see his father form from a mist, drifting in from the city. \"I needed a moment.\"

\"Don\'t tell me you\'re still upset about that bird?\"

\"I killed it father.\"

\"It was the equivalent to a pidgin. A nuisance.\"

\"It was a life!\"

\"That would have fallen to another predator.\"

\"I blew it up!!\"

\"Yes you did!\"

\"How can you be so callus? What if it were a person?\"

\"Then there would be something different discussed here. Do you know why you blew it up?\"

\"No...\"

\"Because you didn\'t follow the first rule,\" the man reached out and tapped his index finger to the middle of Edward\'s forehead. \"Stay within your own mind. I sensed what was happening...but before I could help...the bird popped.\"

\"Father...\"

\"Sorry son. Perhaps this would better explain it. You joined minds with the bird for a second. You probably don\'t even remember. You got caught up in the shifting passions of the beast, and you lost your way. You were torn between the bird\'s need for food to live, and its need to take flight to survive. The bird\'s own instincts became untangled, and when you couldn\'t put them right again, your mind exploded in all the directions the bird wanted to go...which in turn, blew up the bird. Now in time, with training, and practice, it won\'t happen again.\"

\"You\'re right, it won\'t happen again. Because I won\'t do it!\"

\"Edward...\"

\"I wont!\"

\"It is a part of you. If you don\'t learn it, practice it, control it, it could one day kill you, or get you killed.\"

\"I WONT KILL!\"

\"I\'m not asking you to!...But without training and guidance, you could become very dangerous. Trust me...I\'ve seen it...maybe not in Dhampires, but in Vampires.\"

\"And what happened to them?\"

\"They died. But not before several people were unintentionally killed. Edward, please. It will take time, and being a Dhampire, or Vampire, means you\'ve nothing but time.\"

\"No more exploding birds?\"

\"Not till you can tell me the texture of a single feather, just by looking at it.\"

\"Alright...I\'ll learn.\"

\"Good.\"

\"Master Dracula?\" the two turned to see a small mutant with green skin, and skinny limbs approach from the trees, in the distance Dracula noticed Justice Fleming\'s car parked near the curb at the edge of the park. Not that any human could see it, but he wasn\'t human.

\"Yes?\"

\"A message from Ben sire.\"

\"Ah thank you.\" Quickly he opened the paper. Once he\'d read some he seemed quite worried.

\"What is it?\" Edward asked.

\"D arrived in Barbarois today, around noon. Kale and Adrian were badly wounded. They are slowly recovering. D has gone into some kind of madness. Threatening any and all who come near him.\"

\"He\'s protecting Kale?\"

\"No...Ben says he\'s taken over one of the old gathering rooms, and he refuses to see anyone.\"

\"Why?\"

\"I\'m not sure. It certainly doesn\'t sound like D at all.\"

\"We better get back there.\"

\"Yes. Maybe I can get to the bottom of this. D and I have had this kind of confrontation before. I know how to handle him.\"

\"Keep that generator running!\" Elwin shouted, turning his attention back to the sky, then to the runway. \"I need someone to light the last 400 feet!\"

\"Give me the generator. I can get it to the break point faster with the wagon.\"

Elwin looked over the large mutant. The first time he\'d seen the spiky man, he wasn\'t sure what had happened to his family, but since that first landing, it got easier to look at him. \"Go!\" The mutant, in one move, took the prisoner cage off the wagon, put the generator on, and managed to somehow get up in the seat and send the horses running down the edge of the runway, all before Elwin could say \'wow\'. \"I hate night flying.\"

\"Flyer II to base. That\'s not long enough to land Elwin!\"

The boy grabbed the radio mike and held it up. \"Hang on Brice. Last 400 is coming on any...\" Just then, the lights at the end of the strip came on. \"...Now...\"

\"Thank you...coming about.\"

\"I see you. You\'re in the pipe.\"

\"Got it. Landing gear...down and locked.\"

\"Sorry I can\'t see to confirm. Can you do a fly by?\"

\"I\'m on fumes. One way or the other, we\'re coming in.\"

\"Copy that. Listen up! He\'s coming in, low on fuel. Prepare for a crash. He may not make it! Tyler!\"

\"I\'m on it. Everyone follow me! Nadine!\"

\"I\'m coming up the other side!\"

Louder and louder the engine sounds came, the lights along the plane\'s wings becoming larger, as the plane came in. \"We\'re ready!\" Tyler called over the radio.

\"All stations stand by. Here he comes. Brice, any time man.\"

\"Touch down in 5...4...3...2...1...\" Tires squealed, dust flew, and the engines roared as power to them backed off.

\"Brake, Brice! Brake!\"

\"I\'m trying! I\'m cutting power to the engines!\"

\"He\'s coming too fast!!\" shouted Nadine over the line.

\"Ok. Elwin, I\'m putting out the Bang.\"

\"Oh no!\"

\"Got no choice!\"

\"Everyone Stand clear!\" Suddenly a bang was heard from the tail of the plane, like an old style canon firing, and a distinguished whopping sound. \"Come on you, slow down!\" Elwin mumbled. As the craft neared the hangers, it slowed, finally, to a stop. A large parachute falling behind it. \"Way to Go Brice! Way to go!\"

\"Only one regret.\"

\"What\'s that?\"

\"Mom\'s gona make me fold it!\"

\"You got that right! Ok. I need some help moving that plane off the runway. Everybody grab some rope.\"

Slowly everyone pulled the plane clear of the landing strip, into one of the hangers, hauling the detached parachute behind them. Elwin remained next to the radio, scanning the sky for signs of his father\'s plane. \"Anything?\" Brice asked, entering the tiny room.

\"Nothing yet. Why\'d you run low on fuel?\"

\"Monster head wind about four miles from Airomat. Moving north fast. Dad may have stayed to wait it out.\"

\"Maybe. Any trouble with the prisoners?\"

\"No. They drugged these ones too. The last 35 they left conscious. They\'re coming in with Dad.\"

\"The carriage too?\"

\"Yup.\"

\"Better help Tyler get those other horses down and powered up. They\'ll want them when they land.\"

\"Right.\" Again Elwin turned his attention to the skies. \"Call him. Mom will be less worried.\"

\"Yeah. Guess you\'re right. Base to High Flyer one, come in.\"

\"This is one. Did Brice get down ok?\"

\"Yeah, dad. Where are you?\"

\"An hour behind your brother.\"

\"What\'s your fuel?\"

\"More than enough. I saw the storm moving in before take off. I topped up all the tanks. I was worried about Brice though.\"

\"He landed ok. But it took the Bang to stop.\"

\"Ouch.\"

\"Its in the hanger now. We\'ll check it over before it flies again.\"

\"Get it unloaded. Tell the mutants that Dracula is coming in.\"

\"Right. Base clear.\"

\"Lets get on it.\"

The two headed across the field to the hanger, where the wagons were lined, awaiting loading. Tyler had done a good job organizing the offloading. Brice had felt the first landing would be ciaos, but it all went smoothly. The wagons would line up to one side of the plane, be loaded with prisoners, and continue on around to the other side, and off on its journey. By the time the plane was unloaded, it had also been refueled, with the help of the unoccupied drivers, and was ready for take off, before the next plane even appeared overhead.

Mrs. Padlen also kept busy by preparing meals for everyone, and having them all eat between landings. Sending a lunch pack with her sons & husband as they flew out. Her laundry however suffered greatly. With the planes coming and going so frequently, the dust and dirt coated them once more and needed to be washed all over again.

Tyler had already lowered the carriage horses from the rafters, and had them powering up, as Brice and Elwin returned to the hanger. \"Gotta hand it to you little brother,\" Elwin began. \"You really did good today.\"

\"Thanks.\"

\"Hey Haneck!\" called Brice to the blue spiky mutant. \"Dracula\'s on the next plane. 35 more prisoners. You got enough wagons?\"

\"We will.\"

\"He\'s an hour away.\"

\"We will be ready.\"

\"Good.\" \'I can\'t wait to get rid of you either.\'

Edward again grasped the beam next to him, as the plane shook once more. It was solid, part of the main structural support for the plane. But the integrity of the plane wasn\'t what bothered him. He wasn\'t quite sure what was wrong. \"Won\'t be long now Edward,\" his father said, clapping his hand on his shoulder.

\"I don\'t feel right father.\"

\"I know. Being off the ground isn\'t fun for Vampires or Dhampires, but you\'ll adjust as you get older.\"

\"What\'s wrong? What\'s happening to me?\"

\"You\'ve a fear of flying, just as you do of water. No Dhampire that I know can swim in running water, that is why they are so fascinated by humans that do.\"

\"D can swim!\"

\"If...and only if...the water is exceptionally warm. Water sucks the heat right out of the body. That is why you fear crossing water so much. You know this. Not consciously perhaps, but you know it.\"

\"You and Adrian can fly, as bats or mist.\"

\"That\'s different. At will, we can change. You and D cannot. Again, you know this, and an uncontrolled or unassisted fall will kill you. That, my boy, is your fear. You don\'t want to die in a crash.\"

\"Father, I don\'t feel right.\"

\"If you must, the lav is over there, but I guarantee you will not be sick. Wretch maybe, but never sick.\"

\"Why not?\"

\"You have Vampire blood in you my boy. Vampires never vomit. It is not in our nature. So it cannot be so in yours, or any Dhampire.\"

\"Excuse me...I think I may be an exception to the rule...mmmfff!!!\"

Dracula shook his head slightly, a gentle sympathetic chuckle escaping his lips. He\'d been many centuries old when he\'d first crossed water. Worried he\'d feel the same, he\'d fill coffins and crates full of soil from his home, burying himself in them for the journey. The foolish things he\'d done back then, surprised him. He\'d even done the same thing, when he\'d taken his first plane trip. It took a few flights, but he\'d finally won over his fears, and traveled as normally as any human. He marveled at how far they\'d come, and how far, many had fallen.

He looked up to see one of the prisoners watching him, a young man with short brown hair, wearing a leather pant suite. \"You will not be ill now, will you?\" Dracula asked him. The boy shook his head. \"What is your name?\"

\"Presley Panteck. I lead these people.\"

\"Oh really? I was told a man named Fraser led them. Is he dead?\"

\"My father\'s failure to protect us has disgraced him. I\'m taking over. You WILL release us upon landing!!\"

\"Or what?!\" Dracula laughed.

\"What\'s going on back there?\"

\"Relax Mr. Padlen. We\'re having a lively discussion. I think a pup is going ot learn a valuable lesson tonight.\"

\"Well just make sure they stay secured.\"

\"Rest assured they will be.\"

\"I\'m not a dog!\"

\"You act like a child, boy. To me, people like you are like pups, in need of paper training. So please,\" he settled back into his seat. \"Enlighten me as to how you will free yourselves, if I do not.\"

\"We are trained in many things to stay free, mutant. I will regroup with my people, rescue our Queen, and be rid of you before the week is out!\"

\"Well. Quite the speech. Though you\'ve yet to do anything. Let me clarify a few points for you. I am not a mutant. I am a vampire. I rule my kind fair and justly. You...well, I\'ll get to that another time. Your Queen...is Kale Tepes. My daughter!! And you will never get your mitts on her again. And three, before dawn, you will be so tired you\'ll have no choice but to go where we send you. Have you not wondered why I didn\'t have you drugged like the others?\" Presley said nothing, only glared at the vampire with what he felt was his most hominess look. \"There are nearly 100 vampires where we are going, who have not fed well in weeks. Between you, and these 34 others, should provide them with an adequate snack, before your journey to the vampire island. Where you will never leave. You see, sedatives in the blood leaves a rather bad taste in our mouth. Not bad enough to harm us, but something like you\'re eating an onion. The after taste is most unpleasant.

\"And on a personal note. If I learn that you\'ve tried anything with my daughter, I will personally drain your life\'s blood to the last!\"

\"Kale is human! Totally! There are no disgusting mutations in her at all!! She\'s perfect!!\"

\"Yes, she is, isn\'t she!? Quite a feet for such a beautiful princess. But she\'s not for you. Never was.\"

\"She will be! I\'ll fuck her myself! And she\'ll bear many by me tha...ak!...\" no one saw anything, Dracula didn\'t even twitch, but around Presley\'s neck, his skin showed impressions of fingers, tightening.

\"You will never say that again!\" Abruptly the boy was tossed on the floor. \"Is that why you took her? Because she had no mutation in her jeans? You wanted to breed her to your people!? She can\'t have children! Did you even consider that!!\"

\"She\'s fertile. We harvested many of her eggs. Had the raid not destroyed the lab, there would have been many who would gladly seed those perfect cells. Myself included!\"

\"Then what would happen to her, when you found nothing happening?\"

\"If nothing happened?...well...she\'d be fucked royally then. Literally. By everyone, and I\'d enj...\"

\"Careful with your words whelp! You may cut your own throat with them.\"

\"Kill me if you like...but I\'ll die knowing I\'ve had her...\"

\"No you didn\'t! You fucked up shit!\" shouted someone behind him. \"You\'ve been found a Dud by your last test! You\'re sterile like the rest of them! I\'m sick of hearing you!\"

\"Shut up!!\"

\"ALL OF YOU!!! SILENCE!!\" Dracula called, waving them all to silence. \"You!\" he pointed to the man who\'d spoken up. \"Explain this term...Dud.\"

\"If a man or woman is found to have a greater chance of passing along mutated jeans, than they are sterilized. No chance of reproducing. Males are kept for working, and once the females have been passed around, and live through the ordeal, they are then implanted with the fertilized eggs harvested from the women who showed fewer mutinous jeans than ttherthers.\"

\"Even if the jeans are there, in fewer quantity,\" said Dracula, \"they are still passed on.\"

\"Depends on how strong they are. We\'ve been working for the last 9 generations to weed out the mutations, but there weren\'t enough women left in this line to carry on. That\'s why we started looking outside the purists group. We started with children, cause they could be taught the purists ways.\"

\"And the adult women?\"

\"Used, and then discarded once they reached menopause. But we\'d have a wide enough genetic base by then to continue. It was the kids we\'d had a problem with.\"

\"Oh?\"

\"We aren\'t sure why, but Airomat and surrounding area has the highest mutation level we\'ve ever seen. But it was closest to our preferred settlement area, and it had the highest birthrate. So whatever garbage brats we destroyed, the people would screw more into existence. Damn people breed like rats.\"

\"I think, sir, you will be the first to die. You...slaughtered innocent children...and you show no remorse at all...even I, a vampire, whom people claim have no heart, grieve for those tiny souls you killed...It seems only fitting that you die...Just as horribly! Mr. Padlen!!?\"

\"Yo!!\"

\"When do we land?! I feel an urge to be rid of these creatures as soon as possible!\"

\"Coming up on the strip now. Best strap in.\"

\"Good. Edward...It\'s time.\"

Soon Edward returned to his seat, his usual pale skin, rather damp with sweat, his eyes tearing, his breathing heavy. \"I don\'t want to fly again for easteast 500 years,\" he murmured, his hand over his stomach. His father was right. As much as his human half wanted to, he couldn\'t puke.

\"Your constitution should be stronger by then my boy. Relax. You\'ll feel much better once we\'re on the ground.\"

Edward glanced over the faces of the prisoners. They seemed different some how. Then he recognized the look. Lost and blank. His father had entranced them. Probably got tired of their jabbering. Oh well, it wasn\'t his place to question. He found he actually preferred it. For a little while anyway.