Head Full of Ghosts

Chapter 24 - Headstone of My Heart

Eli resisted a little, and the vampires responded, predictably, by pushing him forward. Eli let himself stumble awkwardly and fall to his knees.

As he landed, he cast a glance out the nearest fence, into the dark forest beyond. He wondered briefly if this would be the last time he saw the outside world, as well.

"Get him up," growled the vampire that had taken Eli's weapon away. The other two wordlessly complied, grabbing Eli under his arms and lifting him forcibly back to his feet.

"What's wrong with these two?" Eli asked, motioning with his head at the two nearest vampires. "They can't speak?"

The vampire ignored him and they pressed onwards.

They brought Eli to a section of the camp that he had never been before, and a large building that looked, he couldn't help but notice, to be considerably nicer and more comfortable than anything else in the camp.

They entered the building with barely a pause, and led Eli down some hallways to a large, ornate door that seemed to be made of metal. Not even the doors were wooden, he noted. The lead vampire opened the door and stepped inside, motioning for the others to follow before disappearing into an inky blackness.

As one, the vampires holding Eli's arms threw him forward, and once again he stumbled and dropped to his knees on the floor of the dark room. Behind him the door closed, cutting off what little light was given by the hallway outside. Eli looked back and saw that his escorts were still inside, and had taken up position on either side of the door like a royal guard.

"This is the one?"

Eli turned forward again, toward the sound of the voice. The room was dim, even compared to the night outside, but there was enough light for him to see the figure standing only a few feet away, staring down at him with her hands on her hips.

"Yes, that's him. He was using this," replied the vampire that had taken Eli's weapon away. He handed the piece of metal to the woman, who took it and turned it over in her hands, looking it over inquisitively, as though expecting to find a secret message emblazoned on it somewhere.

"A bed spring?" she asked, echoing the question her companion had voiced only moments earlier.

"A crude but effective weapon," the male vampire replied. "No one would notice it missing, it's easy to hide in the folds of your clothing. Not solid enough to do serious damage, but enough to hurt or at least stun. It certainly surprised Vallen."

The woman, Eli assumed she was their leader, turned and took a couple steps away so she could set the bed spring down on a table. She turned back to the male vampire, and then to Eli, a thoughtful expression on her face.

"I suppose you think yourself some kind of hero?" she asked. Eli didn't respond, but she didn't wait for him to speak. "We offered you survival. Life. A place to live. Food to eat. Shelter. Yet you clearly came in here with plans for violence. And after we'd done nothing to hurt you."

"You call putting all of humanity in a concentration camp 'nothing?'" Eli scoffed.

"Concentration camp?" the vampire leader asked, looking genuinely confused.

"The war," the other vampire explained. "I think they call it the Second World War. I believe he's referring to the extermination camps."

"Ah, yes, more human history," the vampire leader replied, nodding thoughtfully. "Isn't that just the point, though? You think we're the bad guys. What is it your kind calls us? Demons? But while we slept in our caves, your kind fought massive wars to kill each other. You created camps to efficiently kill masses. Yet you call us evil?"