Zone Zero: Vengeance (Book 3 of 3)

Chapter 31

Alex's POV

Standing by the glass doors of the large empty ballroom I survey the outside courtyard carefully.

The trees are overgrown and the once beautiful shrubs and flowers have been taken over by weeds and vines. The courtyard to this palace has been neglected by both human and vampire touch for nearing two decades.

The Winter Palace in Saint Petersberg was once the home to the monarchs of Russia who spared no expense when it came to both building and maintaining such a place. It always stood as a thing of beauty against a bleak backdrop but the years have not been kind to this once famous palace turned museum.

I gaze around the ballroom when I hear footsteps making their way toward me. Gable is crossing the ballroom at a slow pace as he himself takes in his surroundings.

"This is someplace. I remember hearing about the Winter Palace years ago but I never thought it would still be intact after the fall of the zones."

His eyes dart from the intricate gold detailed cornices to the paintings on the wall and back again. He is truly amazed by this place, as am I.

"You never managed to see this place before vampires revealed themselves?" I ask still inspecting the courtyard outside once more.

"No. I'm pretty young compared to the likes of you. Only been a vampire since the great depression." Gable let's out and I realise I don't know anything about his human life. I guess it's not really a topic that gets bought up amongst vampires.

"How old were you?" I find myself asking.

"Just turned 20. I was young and dumb and fell hook, line and sinker for a vampire trap. Guess the one who tried to kill me must have felt bad since they turned me before leaving me a note and fleeing."

"What did the note say?" I ask hesitantly.

"No idea. I couldn't read back then and lost in over the years. I figured out pretty quickly I wasn't human anymore when I killed most of my family and drank their blood."

My eyes widen involuntarily and it doesn't slip past Gable. He shrugs his shoulders and begins to clarify.

"It wasn't my finest moment but in the end, it was kind of for the best. My family lost their house and we were squatting in a barn. My father shot himself three weeks earlier and my mother and two of my siblings were gravely ill and we couldn't afford the medicine. All three of them were in constant pain and were going to die anyway. I ended that pain for them. All's well that ends well I guess."

Gable doesn't seem phased in the slightest about divulging his dark past on becoming a vampire and I find myself mentally applauding him.

"I guess." I agree and try to think of somewhere to steer this conversation.

"When did you meet Luther?" I ask finally, directing the conversation to his close friend instead. The pair have always been side by side for as long as I have known them. Closer than brothers really.

"In the 70s actually. Just by chance. Met at some backroom poker game and have been friends ever since. If you want a sad story then his is the one to hear." Gable states and I find myself searching my memory for Luther's backstory.

"He was a slave, wasn't he?" I ask.

"Yep. Born and raised on a plantation in South Carolina. His mother was a slave and his father was the master of the house that raped her. That's why he is so fair skinned. If you ever saw the scars on his back you would understand why he is as quiet as he is. He was literally beaten until he would shut up. I'm glad the bastard of a man who fathered him is long since dead."