Only Human (18 page)

‘
What have you got there?’ Anne, she must have tiptoed over here because I certainly didn’t hear her. ‘I said what have you got there? Is that your Uncle’s briefcase?’

‘
Don’t speak to me like you have any authority over me Anne! You’re not my Uncle, my mother or my father!’

‘
Why you cheeky little bitch, I’ll show you who has authority over who! Give me that.’

See, I told you she was horrible, it
’s all coming out now Amica and I’ll be damned if she’s getting a look at Uncle’s plans. That’s what she’s after, I know it is, and I don’t trust her with that knowledge. I’m giving the briefcase to Sebastian and the others, to mind until Uncle gets up. They don’t have a lot do with Anne anymore, so I know they will back me up. ‘Give me that briefcase Sebastian, Aecia has stolen it from her uncle and is in serious trouble.’

‘
No.’

‘
You don’t understand, it has private, important papers inside that only Doctor Rauul is allowed to see. Give it to me, and I will protect it until he wakes up.’

‘
No.’

‘
Orianna, Lupe, get that briefcase from Sebastian and give it to me this instant!’

‘
No.’

‘
No.’ I think I’ll round Orianna’s and Lupe’s responses off with a nice firm ‘Bite me!!’ All right Amica, that was childish but what do you want from me? I’m only 14 years old!

‘
When it suits you.’

‘
Shut up!’

It is about five o’
clock now Amica and Uncle is stirring in his pit. I am determined to get to him first, before Anne fills his head with nonsense and he ends up not trusting me. I’ve been working with the others most of the day and Sebastian has been sitting on that briefcase until he can give it to Uncle. Anne has been glowering all over the place, watching us like a hawk and not doing much else. I can see that I’ll have to be hiding this journal every time I finish writing or she’ll be nosing into this if she gets the chance. It’s strange, but I’d rather have this open animosity with her, than the feigned politeness and smarmy, false friendship. This is honest, and we both know where we stand; I can work with that. Uncle’s up, I’ll be back shortly. X

‘
Uncle, I have something to tell you.’

‘
Aecia I have barely opened my eyes, can it wait?’

‘
Rauul, I must speak with you, right now.’

‘
Now you Anne, what on earth is the matter with everyone?’ Anne’s not going to let up, I’m just going to have to come out with it friend, ‘Uncle, I looked inside your briefcase, but it was only because I want to be part of the Rebellion and help you with your plan. Uncle, the others can help too, we need to be part of this.’

‘
Anne, leave us.’

‘
WHAT!’

‘
Would you mind leaving us for now so that I can talk to my niece? I promise I will speak to you shortly.’

‘
What are you smiling at missy? There is nothing for you to be happy about. You have behaved shamefully and dishonestly, and I am appalled!’

‘
But, but Uncle I…’

‘
How dare you look at that information without my permission! The first responsibility of anyone within our ranks is absolute honesty and the utmost discretion. I am saddened and disappointed in you Aecia, now leave me to get ready.’

I could cry this minute; my
uncle has never spoken to me like that before Amica. I know I probably shouldn’t have looked, but I wanted to convince him I could help, that we could all help. I feel ashamed and disgraced, he will never let us help now, and I have ruined it for all of us. Father is still being distant, Anne despises me, and now Uncle is angry with me. Anne can take a running jump, but I care what father and Uncle think. Even you look disappointed in me Amica. Right, I’m going to have to pull my socks up and stop doing things without thinking. I have to learn to think carefully about the effects of what I want to do, before I actually do it, a new concept for me. I want Uncle, in particular, to view me as mature enough to be a member of The Rebellion. I do believe in what it stands for so I need to act accordingly, by being upfront and honest with everyone.

A week ago
, I was positive that the only answer was for the Vampires to be destroyed and the world being taken over by Humans again. That would just result in never-ending civil war, realistically speaking, because Humans are inferior when it comes to physical strength and longevity (we age friend). It would mean Vampires ruling, with pockets of Humans everywhere just trying to survive. That’s pretty much where we are at the moment, except that we are just one pocket and that’s all. There has to be a complete overhaul of the Vampire education system from an early age, kids need to view Humans as sentient beings (yes, I know that word friend, I’ve watched re-runs of Star Trek). In other words, they have to know that we are conscious of ourselves and others. I think and therefore I am, and all that psychological jargon. When enough Vampires realise this, a Coalition stands a chance.

‘
May I see that?’

‘
Uncle, I didn’t see you coming over.’

‘
You wouldn’t dear; you have your back to us.’

‘
Oh, sorry, just taking a minute to write.’

‘I know
you are a committed writer Aecia. You have always enjoyed the feel of a pen in your hand. I wondered if I might see your last chapter about the Coalition, I just happened to glance at the word on your page as I came over. It is up to you, but I would be interested to read your interpretation of it.’

He
’s my Uncle again; he must have forgiven me for snooping. I have to let him read this little bit. He can start after the sentence where I mention Anne taking a running jump.

‘
Eh, ok, but start from there.’

‘
Of course.’

I feel like I
’m waiting for the results of my final exams Amica, I’m sweating here! He’s finished, and he’s looking at me with that warm expression again, that’s the way he normally looks at me. We’re fine, everything’s back to normal between us, panic over, now do you think I should ask him about training us straight away? You’re shaking your head, so I guess that’s a no, but I’ll have to ask him soon because the raid is in a couple of days. I’m hungry, better grab something to eat and see the family before I go to bed. I’ll talk to you tomorrow Amica X

31.01.3012

I have been so busy today Amica, and focused entirely on everything Uncle has told me about the raid. We are going!! There was nobody more surprised than me when he came to us this morning and told us all, including Mother, Father and Anne, that this was the first united group of Vampires and Humans, and we should do this rescue together. He has been over the route at least 15 times already today, and we will be studying it until the moment we leave. Uncle has also taught us some basic military defence tactics and how to disarm enemies of their weapons. Lupe is outstanding at these moves, as I expected she would be. She’s lightning fast and accurate as an eagle spotting its prey.

We have learned how to use the UVA guns on the Vume
s, more to frighten them than burn them too badly. It’s not a terrorist attack, it’s a rescue mission, and if nobody gets hurt on either side, then we have succeeded. A Vume is a Vampire-human; they are grown as Clones, and then injected with a small amount of D.N.A from a Vampire, so they do have tiny fangs. They are brainwashed and controlled until they are basically robots who will carry out their owners every wish. The collar I saw is insurance that they keep doing just that, and it emits an electric charge if they disobey. They are sensitive to sunlight, but not nearly as much as a Vampire, and so they are used as slaves for daytime work. Uncle hopes that one day we are able to free them too, and secretly I would like to rip off the collars of the ones we encounter tomorrow and see if they will come with us. I know that’s ridiculous, they are programmed to kill us, but one day they will be part of our cause, I know it.

I am discovering so much about my
uncle and his abilities, as each day passes. He is a remarkable man and an incredible scientist. I thought he was just a G.P, a family doctor that treated, well to be honest, I wasn’t sure who he treated, or what kind of illnesses were around that he could treat. Vampires don’t get ill in the same way as Humans, they don’t get colds or ancient chickenpox (I would have loved to see those pox in action) tonsillitis or appendix issues. I doubt very much that Vampires would get indigestion or heartburn from drinking their flagons of blood! He treated me of course, but that was just painkilling medication for headaches and sore gums, brought on by the constant use of thick contact lenses and grotesque fake fangs.

I
’ve wandered off my own trail again, haven’t I? I was saying friend, that Uncle isn’t just a G.P, he is a Scientific Researcher. He messes about with all kinds of chemicals, and stuff to help with rehabilitation of the Clones, and he has perfected a tablet he calls the Shadow, which will protect the Vampire rebels from the sunlight. It only works for a few hours and then wears off, and it can’t be taken consecutively i.e. one after the other, or it has the opposite effect, it lights up the Vampire from the inside and he is burned to a crisp! This is not an aspirin Amica! I hope to God, he has tested this thoroughly before we attempt this raid, or the whole thing will amount to a huge bonfire before we have one single Clone in the truck! The tablet also restricts the length of time of the operation; if we are not back inside at a certain time, our Vampire friends will have no protection from the daylight, and they will be ashes. That includes my mother and father, and a lot of rare, decent Vampires that we can’t afford to lose.

I
’m scaring myself to death, here! There are just so many things that could go wrong, but if they don’t, then we will have succeeded in stopping the agony of so many people, and helping them start a new life. I don’t think we can imagine how great it will feel to be a part of it. There, I feel better now; to be honest, this waiting around has us all climbing the walls. We want to do it yesterday; do you know what I mean friend?

The last part of the plan
of course, is having somewhere to hide all the free Clones, which never occurred to me until last night; how dumb am I? Uncle hasn’t even told us that yet, given his (need to know) shenanigans, but I sincerely hope the drivers know! We leave here at 9 a.m. on 2.02.3012, and get to the nearest road called Maccao Lane, where the trucks will already be waiting for us.  This road leads to Belcroft Highway and that in turn, leads to the A4570 dual carriage way, and takes us towards The Capital.  The farm is not far from there, but I don’t know the exact location. I’ve just realised Amica that Uncle doesn’t want the details of the route written down until after the rescue, oops! He is a bit paranoid though, because everyone here is part of the raid, and we have to trust each other. He must have his reasons and I do trust him, so I’ll shut up now, lock up this journal, and spend today and tomorrow becoming a master tacticionist and ninja extraordinaire! Some hope! XXX 

1.02.3012

It’s 7 p.m. friend, and the time is drawing near for me to panic. What seemed like a daring and courageous adventure, now feels like an absurd and foolhardy expedition that can only result in all of our deaths. I am scared, I thought I was a brave person, but I’m not, I’m a snivelling wimp! Courageous people don’t get scared do they? They just throw themselves into pools of fire, or jump off buildings and land on helicopters. They all have rippling muscles and firm bosoms’, with weapons hidden in their multitude of invisible pockets. I have a ‘sunlight’ gun, and a multitude of pens! I’m doing it though, we all are, because we have to, we need each other and we need those poor abused and imprisoned Clones. They are us and we are them, we’re family, and family looks after family. Don’t for one minute think that you are getting out of this Amica! You wouldn’t let me give up on myself when I was imprisoned, so you better suck it up Mrs! You are along for the ride.

I was hoping that I would hear from
disembodied voice
over these last few days, but he seems to have forgotten about us. Maybe he is on vacation or something, I don’t know, but that seems a bit harsh. I don’t think I could eat ice-creams and paddle by the sea, if my friends were living in a steel box surrounded by Sanguis and critters. He could also be in serious trouble somewhere, and can’t contact me. I think I’d prefer the ice-cream and paddling scenario for him, even if it meant he had forgotten about us.

Sebastian, Orianna and Lupe are coming over to me and they all look incredibly serious. I hope they are not backing out, I would understand, but I really hope they
’re not.

‘
Aecia, we want to say, eh, things will go well.’

Sebastian is speaking
, and now Lupe, ‘Yes and we always stay together.’

And
now Orianna, ‘And we love you Aecia.’

Oh my God, now I
’m going to have to cry, and I want to be tough and ready for the raid. It would have been better if they came over and cut off my hair or punched me in the face, something which would get me angry, and fire me up for tomorrow. I love them too though, I really do. Are you blubbering Amica? Get some dark pants on and a bulletproof vest; you’re one second ahead of me in this mission, at all times! Goodnight for now, and the next time I write, and there will be a next time, will be on 3.02.3012. XXX