Revelations
Chapter Thirteen
On the outskirts of the city, beneath the ground, lay the base of operations that was now known as AVEA (Australian Vampire Extermination Agency). It was formed of what remained of ASIS, ASIO, the Defence Force, the military, and Airforce as well as other governmental agencies and organizations that survived the Takeover. There were bases located all around Australia, just outside major cities as well as in the countryside and deserted areas.
Jace returned with the others, weary and travel-stained. His friend Mickey had been silent for the entire trip, lost in his thoughts. Jace didn’t like to trouble himself with deep thinking too much. It got too crowded in his head, with all that emotion... Mickey was new to the field work. He was holed up in the Northern Territory for a year, away from everything. But when AVEA discovered him, he decided to join the fight against the bloodsuckers.
“Try not to take it too hard, man,” Jace said to Mickey. “Otherwise I’m thinking you won’t last all that long.”
“It’s just... difficult.”
Jace and Mickey were on the way to their quarters to change. Their clothes smelled strongly of kerosene, blood and smoke and they were due for a meeting in half an hour.
“Do you wish you were still hidin’ out in the desert?” Jace asked.
“Sometimes. Things were easier, and a heck of a lot safer. But I was turning away from reality. I don’t want to do that anymore. I want to help.”
“Well, we need every able-bodied man we can get. Even if they pray to gods that don’t exist.”
“How do you know god doesn’t exist?”
“Because if there was a god, do you think he would’ve let all this shit happen to us?”
Mickey sighed. “Everyone has different beliefs, Jace.”
“You’re wrong at that. I haven’t got any beliefs. Other than the obvious: send all bloodsuckers straight to hell.”
The two friends arrived at a reinforced steel door and Jace punched in the four-digit code to gain access. The living quarters were small, consisting of one main common room with a small kitchenette, four bedrooms with six bunk beds, and a communal bathroom. The women and men slept in separate living quarters, and there were a handful of them in the base. The higher ranked members of AVEA had their own quarters.
Mickey and Jace entered one of the bedrooms and Jace immediately slumped on his bed.
“I could use a drink,” he muttered.
“You shouldn’t have downed it all in one sitting,” retorted Mickey. He was changing out of his uniform and into a plain white t-shirt and a clean pair of trousers with his boots.
“They don’t give us enough,” argued Jace. “Not everyone’s all careful with it like you.”
“I don’t drink,” Mickey said with a shrug. He paused for a moment, and went over to the lockers in the corner of the room where their belongings were kept. He turned the dial around to unlock his, pulled the door open and procured a small glass bottle. He tossed it over to Jace. “You may as well have it.”
Jace grinned as he caught the bottle in his hands. “I don’t care if the stuff tastes like paint thinner. I’m just happy to have boos. It numbs everything, you know? Not that we’re given enough for us to remain in a drunken stupor for long.”
“They want able-bodied men, not alcoholics,” said Mickey.
Jace spun the cap off and took a swig of the clear liquid. Mickey didn’t know how his friend could stand that stuff. It was brewed on the base by the brewers who had nothing better to do than help out in the kitchens. The men were happy to have alcohol of any kind, despite the vile taste. Mickey was fine without it. Occasionally on supply runs they would find scotch and whisky, perhaps some wine, but those discoveries were few and far between. Mickey suspected there was plenty of alcohol in the city centre, but who was crazy enough to go in there?
“I’ll save the rest for special times, or at least until we get our next ration,” Jace said, screwing the lid back on and stuffing it into his locker. “Something to look forward to.”
“I’m looking forward to some food,” Mickey said, glancing up at the clock. “We should probably head to the mess hall if we want to get fed.”
“I doubt it’s anything spectacular. It’s probably the same tasteless porridge we had last for breakfast yesterday. I would kill for a good steak right now,” Jace said. “With gravy, peas, mashed potatoes... and beer.”
“I guess you never know which steak’s going to be your last,” Mickey said.
The two men left their sleeping quarters and headed down the hall. People were only just beginning to wake up and get into their daily routines. An early breakfast awaited them, in the form of bland porridge and instant coffee. Once he walked into the mess hall and smelled it, however, he was just happy to have food. They were finding more and more cases of starvation around Australia due to the scarcity of food. People were too afraid to go into populated areas and scavenge, and Mickey didn’t blame them.
The men from the team waited in line for their meal and Mickey realised that he hadn’t eaten a thing since since lunch the previous day. No wonder he was hungry.
“There’s another team going out tomorrow during daylight hours,” Philip said, standing just ahead of them in the line. “It’s a resource mission.”
“To the city?”
“Yeah. If we go while the sun’s up and we’re out before dusk, we should be fine. We’d probably come across a few straggler vampires, but I think it’s pretty low risk.”
“I’m in,” Jace said. “Beats sitting around here.”
“What time are they leaving?” Mickey wanted to know.
“The Director wants us ready to go at seven.”
“Sounds good,” Mickey replied.
He would probably sleep most of the day, anyway. The sun had risen not long ago. They had been cutting it close by going on that retrieval mission right on sunrise, but it was a secluded area so they figured nothing much would happen. They had received that signal from the small group and responded immediately. Any opportunity to find survivors, the Director said. These days, finding surviving humans was rare.
Jace returned with the others, weary and travel-stained. His friend Mickey had been silent for the entire trip, lost in his thoughts. Jace didn’t like to trouble himself with deep thinking too much. It got too crowded in his head, with all that emotion... Mickey was new to the field work. He was holed up in the Northern Territory for a year, away from everything. But when AVEA discovered him, he decided to join the fight against the bloodsuckers.
“Try not to take it too hard, man,” Jace said to Mickey. “Otherwise I’m thinking you won’t last all that long.”
“It’s just... difficult.”
Jace and Mickey were on the way to their quarters to change. Their clothes smelled strongly of kerosene, blood and smoke and they were due for a meeting in half an hour.
“Do you wish you were still hidin’ out in the desert?” Jace asked.
“Sometimes. Things were easier, and a heck of a lot safer. But I was turning away from reality. I don’t want to do that anymore. I want to help.”
“Well, we need every able-bodied man we can get. Even if they pray to gods that don’t exist.”
“How do you know god doesn’t exist?”
“Because if there was a god, do you think he would’ve let all this shit happen to us?”
Mickey sighed. “Everyone has different beliefs, Jace.”
“You’re wrong at that. I haven’t got any beliefs. Other than the obvious: send all bloodsuckers straight to hell.”
The two friends arrived at a reinforced steel door and Jace punched in the four-digit code to gain access. The living quarters were small, consisting of one main common room with a small kitchenette, four bedrooms with six bunk beds, and a communal bathroom. The women and men slept in separate living quarters, and there were a handful of them in the base. The higher ranked members of AVEA had their own quarters.
Mickey and Jace entered one of the bedrooms and Jace immediately slumped on his bed.
“I could use a drink,” he muttered.
“You shouldn’t have downed it all in one sitting,” retorted Mickey. He was changing out of his uniform and into a plain white t-shirt and a clean pair of trousers with his boots.
“They don’t give us enough,” argued Jace. “Not everyone’s all careful with it like you.”
“I don’t drink,” Mickey said with a shrug. He paused for a moment, and went over to the lockers in the corner of the room where their belongings were kept. He turned the dial around to unlock his, pulled the door open and procured a small glass bottle. He tossed it over to Jace. “You may as well have it.”
Jace grinned as he caught the bottle in his hands. “I don’t care if the stuff tastes like paint thinner. I’m just happy to have boos. It numbs everything, you know? Not that we’re given enough for us to remain in a drunken stupor for long.”
“They want able-bodied men, not alcoholics,” said Mickey.
Jace spun the cap off and took a swig of the clear liquid. Mickey didn’t know how his friend could stand that stuff. It was brewed on the base by the brewers who had nothing better to do than help out in the kitchens. The men were happy to have alcohol of any kind, despite the vile taste. Mickey was fine without it. Occasionally on supply runs they would find scotch and whisky, perhaps some wine, but those discoveries were few and far between. Mickey suspected there was plenty of alcohol in the city centre, but who was crazy enough to go in there?
“I’ll save the rest for special times, or at least until we get our next ration,” Jace said, screwing the lid back on and stuffing it into his locker. “Something to look forward to.”
“I’m looking forward to some food,” Mickey said, glancing up at the clock. “We should probably head to the mess hall if we want to get fed.”
“I doubt it’s anything spectacular. It’s probably the same tasteless porridge we had last for breakfast yesterday. I would kill for a good steak right now,” Jace said. “With gravy, peas, mashed potatoes... and beer.”
“I guess you never know which steak’s going to be your last,” Mickey said.
The two men left their sleeping quarters and headed down the hall. People were only just beginning to wake up and get into their daily routines. An early breakfast awaited them, in the form of bland porridge and instant coffee. Once he walked into the mess hall and smelled it, however, he was just happy to have food. They were finding more and more cases of starvation around Australia due to the scarcity of food. People were too afraid to go into populated areas and scavenge, and Mickey didn’t blame them.
The men from the team waited in line for their meal and Mickey realised that he hadn’t eaten a thing since since lunch the previous day. No wonder he was hungry.
“There’s another team going out tomorrow during daylight hours,” Philip said, standing just ahead of them in the line. “It’s a resource mission.”
“To the city?”
“Yeah. If we go while the sun’s up and we’re out before dusk, we should be fine. We’d probably come across a few straggler vampires, but I think it’s pretty low risk.”
“I’m in,” Jace said. “Beats sitting around here.”
“What time are they leaving?” Mickey wanted to know.
“The Director wants us ready to go at seven.”
“Sounds good,” Mickey replied.
He would probably sleep most of the day, anyway. The sun had risen not long ago. They had been cutting it close by going on that retrieval mission right on sunrise, but it was a secluded area so they figured nothing much would happen. They had received that signal from the small group and responded immediately. Any opportunity to find survivors, the Director said. These days, finding surviving humans was rare.