cassandra4

THE STORYTELLER

CASSANDRA PART 4

By Ken Lehnig

The meeting with the Geek leader did not make Samson happy.

"Vampires…you little runts are vampires. Damn I work for Vampires?'

Samson stood and paced the floor. The Leader sat behind his desk with a forlorn look on his face.

" Samson we hold you in high honor. You are our protector. We are ashamed but it is not of our doing, if that is your thinking. We are turning or becoming. So far it is just these here in this Liar. We have been sent here in exile. The main body hopes it is only an anomaly but they fear it is a natural evolution. After all we live in caves and cannot bare the sunlight. We are naturally frail …we don't like to be called vampires. If you'll forgive me Samson, that’s derogatory… although the change…ummm…we were frail until..."

Samson turned and looked down on the Leader.

" Until what?"

" Last year one of ours turned from his screen and attacked his friend tearing out his throat and drinking his blood. We imprisoned him and realized he was stronger and had grown bigger and pinkish in appearance. Since then more insanity has shown up. We created a drug to help us with the urge, moved here…well, really, forced here and took to drinking pig blood."

Benning got the connection immediately." You little vamps are stealing the Keeps pigs…God no wonder they are pissed at you. There is nothing more those fanatics would love to have happen is to find some hell-spawned bloodsuckers to kill on a Gala Saturday night. And my son is connected to you."

" Yes unfortunately true. He left because he no longer felt safe sleeping with us around. Ridiculous of coarse."

" Of coarse!" Benning stood and backed away.

Samson just stared at the Leader and rubbed his chin.

"What do you do with the meat?"

" We eat it with relish, cooked of course and we even find vegetables tolerable." The Leader smiled.

"Don't smile…so it seems to me you are lacking in nutrients. Blood builds your immune system and then you normalize for awhile." Samson started to hum a song under his breath.

The leader smiled again." That’s the Monster Mash I love that song. We found discs with a whole collection of ancient music. A lot of it is something called Hard Rock. Sings about demons and the devil…even vampires…stuff like that. We downloaded a whole huge file on popular music recorded before the Change. Very interesting."

" Yeah …you're getting stronger and bigger." Samson mussed.

" Its what's been happening." The leader relaxed. Samson was no longer listening and no longer seemed a threat.

" I've got a plan."

Samson looked over at Benning.

" We don't have much time. I don’t think they want to kill your son. What they want is to attract, what they think are, Vampires. Killing the toothy Geeks gives their faith substance and legitimacy." Samson looked at the Leader.

" It would be my guess that Raul discovered more than you are telling…"

"I can assure you…"

"Shut up! You are lying like a rug. You have made an army of warrior vampires. And they are in this lair somewhere. You knew I was coming and you have hidden them from me and accordingly your superiors. And you plan to kill every one in the Keep and take all their pigs. That interferes with my plans and I won't have that. You are arrogant because you think that your little monsters can overpower me, if you do your superiors will rain down hell on you. So you hide them from me. I should kill you all for your stupidity and then test myself, for fun, against these demons you have made. Or… we work together toward our mutual benefit. What will it be?"

The Leader smiled broadly exposing his long pointed canine fangs.

" I was hoping it would go this way. The way you sssuspected…" Benning made a disgusted face at the now unconcealed sibilance." …was never even consssidered by usss. It isss said that pride isss a sin but we are prideful none the less. If we are to be what we have been made to be, then should we not make ourssselves an assset to our community. Our diversssity will be our strength…come let me show you our warrior pride."

The Leader stood and glided, an affectation that Samson did not miss, back to a recessed area in the back of the Leader's suites.

Samson spoke to the Leader's back." Is there a period of coma associated with this metamorphosis?"

The Leader stopped dead in his tracks and turned menacingly. He spoke but his voice was now lower, quieter and sinister.

"Yesss…it appearsss to be a virusss infection transmitted from a ssspore we found deep in the earth. The ssspore burstsss from a rippened fungi we had hoped to ussse as a food sssource. It originally wasss lethal but our scientistsss were able to alter it pathogenically. The drug did not, however, effect its transssformative qualitiesss. Whole blood isss a stabilizer, it actsss as a ressstoritive tonic.

"You are smarter, stronger, quicker and angry at your Community for banishing you, simply because you were sick, cursed because you did not die. When all it would take is a small supply of donated whole blood to be a treasure to your kind, but instead you are feared, shunned and sent here to this wilderness. It was hoped that you would be hunted to extinction by a herd of zealots. There are no warriors. You all are the warriors and in that backroom is Raul. I imagine he is well but sedated. I also imagine that you have bled him a little but often because human blood, in some way, is superior to pig blood. You were going to let me see him and depending on my reaction Benning and I would be allies or overwhelmed and put in the same position as Raul. How am I doing so far?"

Benning turned to Samson and whispered angrily " I thing we need to find a new employer. You know, ones that live in the daylight."

" Our hearing and other senses are alssso much improved, Mr. Benning. I won't take offense becaussse I know you think we killed your other ssson. We did not .He wasss one of the kindessst men I ever knew and he wasss like a son to me. He underssstood our blight and showed usss a great heart. It wasss he who found another way into the Keep, we can not tolerate the fetid odor of the sssewer sssystem. He found an old mineshaft and at its end wasss a sssteel door leading to the Keep. It isss not unlike the one that opensss to our Lair. The latch wasss on the mine side ssso those in the Keep gave it little notice. We were able to sssneak in and acquire a great many pigs. He wasss caught as wasss a few of our own. They were executed as witchesss and demonsss to the glory of their religion. Please forgive us our mistakesss. The business about the Sheriff's daughter wasss a ssspin to have you both come to usss. Asss to what is behind those doors…Come!"

He turned and opened the door. In the low light both Samson and Benning could see a row of beds with clean linen and blankets and in each sleeping people with what looked like IV lines running from their arms. Electric monitors peeped quietly and cast a green light on the faces of each 'patient'.

"Your son Mr. Benning came here to avenge the death of hisss brother. When we told him the truth he wasss of course angry at usss. But in time he became tolerant and it wasss he who suggested what you now sssee. We kidnapped thossse who would kill usss and we use their blood to keep usss hale and fit. After a bit we infect them ssso they become usss. Your son thought it a delightful irony. Againssst our advice he went into the Keep to kill the Judge and the Sheriff. Father Benning both your sssons are heroes to us, it wasss we who put the bounty on the Judge and the Sheriff. Your son wasss captured Mr. Benning and we have failed to free him. Many have died cruelly at their handsss for the trying. You too are our most honored hero, Sssamson Reed…" The Leader bowed deep to the waist."…I know you sssuspected the truth all along but played me until I revealed it. Forgive me. Your firmness and decisive action made me fear you. If you did not find usss worthy we knew you would kill usss. It is your way."

Samson looked long into the face of the Leader before he spoke.

" No more lies…If we do this right I can do away with the Judge and the Sheriff and keep the Keep in constant fear of ya-all. After I leave it will be up to you to keep the balance between you and them. It will always be an eye for an eye but it can be managed. Do you understand?" The Leader nodded. Now I need Raul for my own business and you… come up with a name for your new race, it will give you legitimacy… get rid of the vampire thing…your people are going to help me."

" It will be our honor Sssir!" The leader smiled and out in the great hall hoorays and cheers could be heard.

"Telepathy?" Benning asked.

"Empathy… Dear Father Benning. Hope and empathy."

* * *

The Bear had been following Cassandra for three days. The poor furry bastard couldn't figure if he wanted to mate with her or eat her. Cassandra needed the super-sized Grizzly as a deterrent to male humans in the area. He was a big one, better than two tons, in keeping with the new giantism. She could kill it if it was necessary but oddly he was a comfort to her since the spidey- bug killed Leo. The bears scent was a ready- male and it gave her ease in an odd way that there was someone keeping and eye on her. Ever since she felt Samson a feminine side began to manifest itself. She felt herself smiling stupidly and singing some ridiculous song that a lab-assistant sang, as a slur against her, while she was growing in the artificial womb.

She sang it anyway because she liked it…" They did the mash…they did the monster mash…"

She felt them before she saw them there were eight riders just north of her. The bear let out a howl letting her know that it was going to circle back behind the riders. Who ever they were they kept their distance so she figured they had been trailing her for some time. It was clear enough that their intentions were not honorable. She heard a scream to her left; her bear friend had found their scout. They knew whom they were tracking.

She had been riding the leeward side of the mountain range at just about treeline. The Rockies had been driven up further by the Change and the windward side was coastal, tropical, and it rained almost constantly making for almost impossible travel. The leeward side above the foothills was conifer forests and more temperate, allowing a better traveling climate. Her not- very- well planed out route was to skirt the tree line all the way to Big Butte in the Montana's- ferry down Billings Lake to Jasper-ride up on the Mackenzie Trail- head south on Brooks Range- take a dirigible toVerkhoyansk and have a soak in the hot springs -then on to New Moscow and Mars. How that was going to be done she hadn't a clue except to continue heading south. These monkeys on her tail were just what the doctor ordered, she was getting lonely and bored. She turned down-mountain and found an outcropping to hide her animals. She dismounted and climbed to the top of the rock. Disrobing she sat and let the sun beat down on her allowing her skin to emit its aromatic potency. They would be here soon enough. She laid back and closed her eyes.

" Sister what the hell are you doing? This ain't no place for a suntan. You got seven buttheads sniffing around, looking to take your pretty white ass and discarding it and you when they are done with it. Get down off that rock …and we have got to get you a bath you smell like a Moscow whore."

Cassandra sat up and looked down on a gang of women all armed to the teeth. The big black woman who was talking to her was taller than Cassandra and rippled with muscle. The other women backed up as Cassandra did a flip and landed right in front of their leader.

" Cute…step back out of my face bitch or we will be at it." She reached for a sheathed knife at her side. Cassandra grasped her wrist preventing the knife from being drawn. The women made a move and Cassandra threw her across the small clearing knocking the wind out of her. The other ten women charged Cassandra and each went flying in as many directions. Two other women hiding behind trees drew a bead down her and fired. Cassandra heard them and was behind them knocking them unconscious just as they fired. Cassandra went over to the wild-eyed black women and sniffed at her, trying to determine by smell what she should do. These were women like her and she wasn't keen on killing them. Maybe they could be friends. She needed tutoring on how to behave like a woman. She stripped the terrified women naked in seconds, fondling her breasts and examining her vagina. 'Much like mine' she thought…'Slight differences'.

"What the hell are you? And please stop that and put me down. " The women had caught her breath and was staring at Cassandra.

"Well…well what have we here? White meat and dark already dressed for lovin'. The voice was male and it emanated depravity coming from one of the men who she had invited with her scent.

" Don't let us stop you …we all like to watch. Don't we boys?" The other men grunted.

Cassandra looked up at the men all of them had guns drawn. She turned and noticed the other women had disappeared into the woods. Cassandra smiled at the women now sitting and whispered "I'm impressed… your girls are well trained. You have a hand signal …give it. No shooting. I'll take care of these nitwits."

Cassandra stood up slowly, put her hands on her hips and tilted her head seductively. She let the men have a long look as the women behind her flashed an almost invisible hand sign. Cassandra let down her hair and sauntered over to the man who spoke. She walked up to him and wiggled her hips. He was tall and stared down at her fiery red pubic hair with his mouth agape. He was mesmerized. Cassandra pursed her lips coyly and cupped her left hand demurely over her pubic mound. She then took his hands and put them on her breasts. The other men hooted in glee as he squeezed them roughly while looking back at his men. Cassandra reached up and gripped his head and jerked it hard. The neck broke with a loud pop. She killed the other six men by cutting their throats -with the first mans knife- taken from his sheath before his body hit the ground. She turned to the astonished women and winked- climbed up the rock- got dressed - climbed down and got her horses.

" Get dressed… get your girls… get them mounted. I'm heading south… you'll want to come… I'll make it lucrative…all explain every thing on the way."

The woman didn't even hesitate. The others came out of the woods all on horseback apparently her hand signals were very elaborate. After she dressed, the leader just looked at Cassandra.

" Mount up girl, I have huge a bear friend that doesn't know whether to mate with me or eat me. I want him as a friend. If he shows up I'll have to kill him and that would be a shame. He'll come in handy. My names Cassandra and I do certainly need a bath."

The woman saddled up and rode up next to Cassandra.

" Keely is my name…this is my crew. We meant you no harm… we thought we could save you. Imagine that?"

"Sorry about the examination…I haven't been around women much and well… I end up having to kill men. I was curious."

" It's okay. Another time, if you asked… I might have enjoyed it. The girls and me are a little sensitive to the idea of forced sex."

"Sex! That wasn't sex was it? I just wanted to look at you to see if I was …normal. I've only had one little weak man…killed him… and the rest I've done to myself …I know I do that right."

Her new partner just looked at her with a puzzled look. She turned to her girls they just shrugged. Cassandra laughed.

"I was born in an Elite test tube. And I'm a little different."

"No shit! We would all like to hear the whole story."

"And so you shall…"

A bear roared in the distance.

end part four

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