On the outer edge of the forest, a squadron of Night Hunters worked to restore a perimeter and keep the vampires inside.  The process had been slower than optimal, as they had been forced to wait a few hours after the explosion before closing in, a standard safety procedure.  There were still quite a few gaps in the perimeter, which they were hoping to close as fast as possible.

            Agent Jackson oversaw this sector of the perimeter, directing hunters as they set up barricades.  As he stood near the armored vehicles, he really wished he could speed things up.  His thoughts were interrupted, however, when he turned to his left and caught            something in the corner of his eye.

            He turned to look, “What the…”

            It was a brilliant light shining just above the treetops.  Something was glowing over there, and judging by the distance, it was in a nearby residential neighborhood.  Had some sort of magic from the vampires’ mansion slipped through the gaps in the perimeter?

            Jackson pulled out his long range communicator, “This is Agent Jackson.  I’m seeing something strange here.  There’s an incredibly bright glow not far from my position.  Is anyone else seeing this?”

                        The agent he was contacting was at the Night Hunter facility, wearing a headset with a microphone and watching various feeds from throughout the city.

            “Just a moment,” replied the communications agent.  “We’re getting a few sightings from hunters in the city.  You’re not the only one seeing this light, but no one seems to know what it is.

            “Do you want us to send some men to investigate?” asked Jackson.  “We can probably spare…”

            He was cut off by the sound of gunfire.

            Looking towards the sound, he saw vampires rushing the barricades, slipping out of the shadows to cut down as many hunters as they can.  Hunters returned fire, shooting vampires dead, but at this point the fight could go either way.  Agent Jackson raised his gun and started shooting with the hunters nearby as he backed away towards an armored vehicle.  After shooting a few vampires down, he raised his communicator.

            “We’re under attack!” he cried. “Requesting reinforcements at…”

            He was interrupted by a sword swinging at his neck and removing his head.  He hadn’t even noticed the vampire get behind him.  Before the hunters next to him could even react, Harold Stone swung his swords, cutting them down in seconds.  Harold carried a roman gladius in either hand, two blood red rubies serving as large pommels.

            A moment later, the armored vehicle nearby opened its valves to unleash holy water mist and slots for guns to shoot out.  Harold immediately leapt into the air to fly away, narrowly missing the paths of the bullets he flew to cover behind trees before looking for more hunters to kill.  As he fought, he sent a few thoughts to Fara Duval.

            “Archibald and I have engaged the enemy,” he told her.  “These hunters won’t interfere any time soon but be sure to kill the crucivire quickly.  If our diversion doesn’t draw the enemy in, the crucivire’s light will.  I’d rather be gone by the time larger Night Hunter forces arrive.”

            “And you think I don’t?” Fara replied irritably.  “You do your job, and I’ll do mine.”

###

Alice had already experienced enhanced hearing during her brief stint as a vampire, and even now it was incredible how much she was aware of.  She could hear animals crawling around, the faint sound of snoring, and a handful of people moving around in their houses.

            She could also hear some figures fleeing from her location, and knew they had to be vampires.  A few of them dropped their swords in their haste to leave, and Alice could only guess that it was the light from her body that scared them off.  She was lucky she’d become a crucivire when she did.

            It was harder to judge her eyesight, considering that light.  If the sky above wasn’t filled with stars, she might have thought it was daytime with how bright she was.  For a moment, Alice wondered how long this light coming from her skin would last.  Arthur hadn’t glowed, so this had to wear off sometime.

            “It will last until morning,” she heard Arthur say in her mind.

            Right, she thought.  Arthur was still connected to her mentally.  That would take some getting used to.

            A moment later, Alice heard a door opening and saw someone peek his head out, a gun in his hand.  It was the bearded man from before and seeing him made Alice feel awkward and guilty.  This was the man she’d been hunting as Clara.

            “Uh…hi,” said Alice.

            “You’re glowing,” the man said, his eyes wide.

            “Yes,” said Alice, nodding.  “Yes I am.  I…”

            Alice heard Fara Duval drawing her sword.

            “Get inside!” she shouted.

            The man closed the door just as Fara attacked, her rapier pointed straight forward.  Alice sidestepped, but the sword was pointed at her again an instant later.  Fara Duval was incredibly fast, and could track Alice even when blindfolded.  It only took a second for Alice to realize she was completely and utterly outmatched.

            “Alice!  Run!” Arthur cried in her mind.      

             Alice stepped away from another thrust as she turned to flee, but Fara, hearing Alice’s footsteps in the grass, managed to stab her in the arm.  Alice cried out in pain as the sword slipped out and blood spilled onto the grass, but she ran towards the wooden swing set, a desperate plan in play.

            Alice slipped as close to the swing as she could and then slipped away just as the rapier struck, getting stuck in the wood.  It only took Fara a second to pull the sword out, but it gave Alice a few inches of breathing room.

            Alice ran for the back of the yard and leapt over the fence, shadows shifting around her as she soared through the air.  She landed awkwardly, no longer feeling as agile as a vampire.  She suspected that Lord Victor had been subtly influencing her, and without that she was clumsy with this newfound strength and agility.

            As Alice ran, Fara beat her wings and made an even bigger leap, landing right next to Alice.  Alice dodged again but was still cut across her side.  She cried out in pain, and looked back at Fara with wide eyes, her heart pounding in her chest.

            “Use the blood!” Arthur shouted in Alice’s mind.

            Alice gripped her side one moment, then flicked her hand at Fara the next.  Fara, just about to thrust again, felt the blood hit her face, and the scent of it hit her nostrils immediately.  Fara froze, her tongue instinctively reaching out to lap it up as Alice used the opportunity to put some distance between them.

            Alice made a beeline to where the vampires had dropped their swords.  After jumping over a couple more fences she scooped up a curved sword, a scimitar, she thought, and kept running.  She didn’t intend to fight head on if she could avoid it but knew the elder vampire may not give her a choice.

            Meanwhile, Fara reached up, her movements stiff and robotic, and wiped the poisonous blood from her face, flicking it into the grass.  With the blood gone, Fara’s body relaxed.  She took a moment to recover, and then snarled.  A crucivire’s blood was more potent than she’d heard, but she wouldn’t let it inhibit her a second time.  Spreading her wings, she knelt and then leapt into the air, flying to catch up to the crucivire.

            All around the neighborhood, some people noticed the light from Alice’s body as it glimmered near the windows.  While they did peek out curiously, many were too afraid to leave their homes lest a vampire catch them.  Those who saw a vampire flying in the sky quickly closed the blinds and grabbed their guns.

            As Alice ran, sword in hand and her body still glowing as she jumped over fences, she mentally asked Arthur, “Any advice on dealing with an elder vampire?”

            “I wish I had some,” said Arthur.  “I managed it twice, but both times I had the element of surprise.  The first was Kenneth Noble when I first became a crucivire.  The light from my body blinded him, and I was able to rip off a table leg and stab him before he could recover.  The second was Axel, and he was distracted by another vampire dying.”

            Cassandra, Alice thought.  She also knew how unlikely it was to get the element of surprise in this situation.  At the moment, Alice’s only advantage was the light coming off from her body, rendering Fara blind.  With a vampire’s other senses, however, it didn’t seem like much of an edge.

            Above her, Alice heard Fara give a few short, regular shrieks.  She was using echolocation to track her, Alice thought.  From her training, she knew that the vampire wouldn’t see many fine details but would have a general layout of the land and detect anything moving.  Once the elder got close, she’d hear her heartbeat, so hiding wasn’t an option. 

            One thing Alice thought of was using telepathy to call for backup, but the only thread she could sense right now was her brothers, a bright white thread in her mind.

            Well, there was one other thread she could sense, but she was hesitant to go to it.

            “Can you contact someone?” she asked Arthur.

            “I’m sorry,” he said, regret pouring through the link.  “I’m not close enough to anyone else to contact them at this distance.”

            Alice was running out of ideas.  Fighting an elder head on at her skill level would be suicide, and running away from something that could fly was problematic at best.  Taking refuge inside a house was another option, if someone would invite her in and not the vampire.  Even entering one uninvited could be an option.  Entering an abode without permission separated a supernatural being from its power, and in Alice’s case, it would just take away her newfound speed, strength, and enhanced senses while leaving her alive.  In the case of a vampire, they were walking corpses, their soul bound not by life, but by their curse.  Separating a vampire’s body from that curse would kill it.

            But that strategy had problems as well.  Alice couldn’t count on people inviting her in.  They were scared, and a glowing woman would be too much of an unknown.  Alice could hear people peeking through their windows, but knew they were unlikely to venture outside.  As for entering a house uninvited, an armed homeowner might just shoot her as a home invader.  Furthermore, Alice couldn’t take the risk on a house that seemed empty.  If she was wrong, she could get the same results.

            At this point, Alice knew she needed backup, and she knew of just one way to get it.  Reluctantly, she reached for that other thread, a red one.

            “Alice?” asked Arthur.  “What are you…”

           “I’m out of ideas,” Alice replied.

            A moment later, Alice heard another voice in her mind, and upon hearing it, she could feel Arthur’s rage surge.

            “Alice?” asked Jacqueline.  “Alice is that you?”

            As the link established, Alice could feel a rush of emotions coming from the imprisoned vampire.  Alice sensed surprise, relief, fear, and pain, like Jacqueline had just developed a headache.  Alice didn’t know what any of that meant, but she wasn’t going to waste time thinking about it.

            “Jacqueline!” Alice shouted in her mind.  “I’m under attack by an elder!  I’m in a neighborhood just outside the vampire’s forest!  Tell director Farrow to send backup!”

            “I…” Jacqueline stammered, “Yes, of course.  I’ll…”

            Suddenly, Fara swooped down on Alice, rapier gleaming in the moonlight.

            Alice raised her scimitar to defend herself, but Fara twisted in the air, knocking away the curved blade with one clawed foot, while slashing Alice across the chest with the other.  Alice cried out as she backed away, blood staining her shirt.

            As Fara landed, she immediately lunged with her rapier, and Alice blocked clumsily.  While Fara did shudder for a moment upon catching the scent of Alice’s blood, she controlled herself better this time and attacked relentlessly.  Every time Fara lunged and Alice defended, the new crucivire took a step back.  It wasn’t long before one of Fara’s thrusts hit home, striking Alice in the arm.

            As Alice kept blocking, barely defending, she heard Jacqueline’s voice in her head.

            “Alice,” said Jacqueline.  “You’re no match for her.  Let me control your body and I can defeat her.”

            “What?!” Alice heard Arthur scream.

            “Alice can’t win, and you know it!” Jacqueline shouted back.  “Alice, I know you have reasons not to trust me, but if you don’t let me save you, then Fara will kill you!”

            Alice could sense concern flowing through Jacqueline’s thread, though she knew that if anyone could fake something like that, it was an elder vampire.  From Arthur’s thread, she sensed anger, certainly, but she also sensed a creeping sense of doubt that was growing steadily.  Even Arthur knew they didn’t have any other option.

            Alice couldn’t get the thought out of her head, the knowledge that it was Jacqueline who kidnapped Arthur all those years ago.  And yet, as she desperately tried to protect herself from the attacking elder vampire, she kept getting stabbed.  First in the shoulder, then in the leg, and once across the cheek.  Despite her hesitation, her survival instinct kicked in.

            “Do it!” she shouted mentally.

            Fara began to grin.  This new crucivire seemed to have some sword knowledge but was getting worn down more and more.  Finally, the elder vampire aimed a thrust straight at her enemy’s heart.

            Alice blocked, and the elder grimaced.  Fara could have sworn that the human was wide open.  Fara pressed her attack, but Alice seemed to be defending easily now, her movements swift and elegant.

            A moment later, Alice attacked and scratched Fara across the arm.  Fara bared her fangs and jumped away, hatred filling her eyes as she landed.  While the glowing body was still that of Alice Hayes, that fighting style spoke of someone else.

            “Jacqueline,” Fara hissed.

            “Indeed,” said Jacqueline, smirking with Alice’s mouth.  “I wish I could say, ‘in the flesh,’ but if I must use someone else’s hands to slay you, I’ll be content with that.”

            Jacqueline moved Alice’s body forward and fought with Fara.  Sparks flew from their blades and shadows shifted around them as they fought.  Fara’s rapier granted her longer range, but the thicker scimitar deflected the thinner blade easily.  Jacqueline attacked aggressively, trying to get in close for a killing blow, but Fara was adept enough with her footwork that she kept Jacqueline at a distance.  Even when Jacqueline did close the gap, Fara just blocked with the hilt of her rapier and stepped around.

            “I wish you were here as well, traitor,” said Fara as they traded blows.  “I’ve often dreamt of what I’d do to you when I got my hands on you!  For now, I’ll settle for cutting this girl to ribbons while you watch through her eyes!”

            For Alice it was a true out of body experience feeling her limbs move on their own.  She felt like she was both watching the fight and participating.  She could feel every time the swords collided and could feel the soreness in her own limbs from the cuts she’d already taken, and yet her body moved without her involvement.

            Alice was amazed at first, and yet, as she examined the mindscape, she could see Jacqueline in front of her, and it was like the vampire’s mind was on fire.  Jacqueline was in pain, even as she fought, and it only took Alice a moment to figure out why.  Alice was a crucivire now, a vampire’s opposite.  Just linking to a crucivire had to be hard on her.

            “Don’t fear for me,” Jacqueline told Alice. “I have a vested interest in keeping you alive.  I’ll keep you safe, I promise.”

            “You better,” said Arthur, his voice filled with venom.

            Alice still had conflicting thoughts about Jacqueline, but in that moment, she couldn’t help but be in awe at Jacqueline’s prowess in combat and her sheer determination.  Despite her mind burning, she fought on, practically dancing as she swung the scimitar.

            “Keep her safe, will you?” said Fara mockingly, thrusting furiously.  “You were always irritating, but even I never dreamed you’d stoop to serving humans.  You should have accepted your punishment and died with what little dignity you had left!”

            “Dignity?” Jacqueline spat.  “Don’t make me laugh.  I see us for what we are, Fara.  Parasites…sucking human blood like leeches.  You call that dignified?”

            Fara snarled.

            The battle continued, their blades moving in a blur as sparks flew and shadows shifted around them like a kaleidoscope of light and darkness.  And then Jacqueline scratched Fara’s arm, and then her cheek, and then made a deep cut in her leg.  Slowly but surely, Jacqueline was wearing Fara down with Alice’s body.  Alice could sense that all Jacqueline had to do was cut Fara to pieces to prevent her from moving, and then force feed her Alice’s blood.  That would end the elder vampire once and for all.

            For a moment, it seemed like Jacqueline had this in the bag.

            “Alice Hayes!” Fara shouted as she desperately deflected the scimitar’s blows with the hilt of her rapier, “I just thought you should know it was I who turned Gary Frasier into a vampire.”

            Alice felt herself tense, anger washing over her.  Jacqueline suddenly found Alice’s body harder to control, and with her movement’s slowed, Fara began pressing an attack, forcing Jacqueline and Alice to back away, blocking.

            “I obtained him after your cousin’s escape,” Fara went on, attacking wildly.  “You should have seen how quickly I turned him from a defiant rebel to a worshipping servant.  I had slaving away for me with a smile on his face.  And oh…” she licked her lips.  “Was his blood ever delicious.”

            Tears fell down Alice’s eyes as her sudden spike in anger pushed Jacqueline out of her body.  Alice suddenly found herself in control.

            “Alice!” cried Jacqueline in her mind, but Alice couldn’t hear her.

            Alice was on the defensive at first, tears streaming down her face.  What set Alice over the edge was Fara, who began laughing at her.  Alice screamed, attacking Fara wildly.  Fara stepped around Alice’s swings easily, getting in and stabbing Alice several times.  Alice, tears dripping down her face, made a futile attempt to kill the elder vampire in front of her, while Fara merely smirked.  Jacqueline begged Alice in the back of her mind to calm down, to let her deal with this, but Alice could barely hear her.  Rage consumed her, and she didn’t even feel the pain as Fara stabbed her over and over again, laughing the whole time.  The more cuts Alice sustained, the slower her movements became.

            But through the rage and the pain, a voice called out to Alice that she heard loud and clear.

            “Alice,” said Arthur.  “You can’t win.  Don’t…don’t rush in blindly…like I did...”

            Time seemed to slow down as Alice aimed a sword strike and Fara deflected it effortlessly.  Alice could see a face in Arthur’s man, a young man with red hair, and that face filled Arthur with regret.

            Fara went for another kill shot, and Alice deflected expertly again.  Fara backed away, sensing that Jacqueline had returned.   Jacqueline stared at Fara hatefully, even as tears fell down the crucivire’s glowing face.  Fara sneered.

            “Fine,” said Alice.  “I’ll let you handle this, Jacqueline.  Do me a favor and kill this woman for me.”

            “With pleasure,” said Jacqueline.

            Jacqueline walked Alice’s body forward, and Fara strode forward to meet her.  The shadows of objects behind Alice elongated as she walked away from them, and as Fara got closer to the glowing woman, her shadow, cast on the house behind her, got bigger and bigger.  Alice’s body was more wounded than ever, with blood dripping from many places and holes in all her clothing, and yet Jacqueline’s look in her eyes made her an imposing figure, nonetheless.  Soon Jacqueline and Fara were crossing blades once more, shadows shifting and sparks flying.

            With all Alice’s injuries, it was more difficult for Jacqueline to fight, but she held her own, patiently deflecting and sidestepping Fara’s thrusts as she waited for the wounds to heal.  Fara attacked aggressively, pressing her advantage, and it wasn’t long before she added a new cut to Alice’s leg.

            Alice felt it, but Jacqueline didn’t even flinch as she kept fighting, repaying Fara with a cut of her own.  As they trade blows, each got in more and more cuts, blood spilling on the grass.  Alice felt every stab in her mind, and yet Jacqueline fought on.  Alice began to fear that this would tip things in Fara’s favor.  A vampire regenerated faster than a crucivire or a dhampir since they obtained their spiritual energy from living things.  The more the wounds piled up, the more Fara would have the advantage.

            “Running out of steam?” Fara taunted.  “Alice can’t stay standing for much longer, can she?”

            “I’d worry about my own problems if I were you,” said Jacqueline.  “All this crucivire blood must be flooding your senses.  Are you sure you don’t want a tase?  I hear it’s to die for!”

            Alice noticed Fara’s nostrils flaring, so she had to struggle to control her desire to feed.  Alice only hoped her body lasted that long enough for Fara to give in.  While Jacqueline maneuvered her flesh with skill and precision, Alice still felt like she could collapse at any moment.

            And the more tired Alice became, the slower Jacqueline moved, and the more scratches Alice suffered.  Jacqueline got a few hits in, but the fight was quickly swinging in Fara’s favor.  Jacqueline spent more and more time blocking, until finally she failed an attempt to block a thrust and the thin blade went through Alice’s torso.

            Alice gasped in her mind, and Arthur shouted, “No!”

            The blade hadn’t hit Alice’s heart, so it wasn’t a death blow, but Alice was losing even more blood now and was feeling dizzy.  For a moment, Fara smirked, but then Jacqueline used Alice’s hand to grab Fara’s sword, holding it in place as she swung the scimitar low, cutting Fara’s leg deep before she could grab it.

            Fara shrieked as she held the scimitar from slicing her leg off, her hand bleeding as it dug into her palm.  Jacqueline then pushed Alice’s entire body against Fara, pushing the elder vampire backwards until the pair of them hit a window behind the house.

            Fara’s eyes grew wide under the blindfold, but Jacqueline didn’t give her a chance to react as she raised Alice’s leg and kicked Fara in the chest, sending her crashing through the window, knocking away curtains into a lit room.

            As Fara’s body passed the threshold, a white mist hovered around the window, separated from the body as it landed on the floor.  As Fara’s body began to fall to dust, the mist took a humanoid shape and began scratching at the wall, Fara’s soul made manifest.  Alice, feeling control of her body return, watching in amazement as the spirit clawed and shrieked at an invisible barrier.

            Soon Fara’s body was nothing more than a pile of dust on the floor, and the disembodied soul dispersed, the shrieks fading into an eerie silence.  Alice stood there watching, feeling exhausted.

            “That one’s for you, Gary,” she muttered before taking a deep breath.

            Alice’s glowing body felt like it was on fire with all the cuts, but from what she knew of crucivires, she’d heal from it before too long. 

            In the back of her mind, she could sense Jacqueline, concerned, but before the elder vampire could send any direct thoughts to Alice, she sensed Arthur.

            “Alice?” he asked.  “Alice, are you okay?”

            Suddenly, Alice sensed fear from Jacqueline, and the vampire disappeared from her mind.  Alice still didn’t know how to feel about Jacqueline, but knew she had to get answers from that woman sooner or later.

            “I’m as fine as I can be…I think,” Alice told Arthur.  “I will heal from these wounds soon, right?”

            “You will,” said Arthur.  “So long as your heart isn’t injured, you’ll live.”

            Alice breathed a sigh of relief, then looked up at the house in front of her where the inhabitants of that dwelling had ventured into view.  A young, clean-shaven man aimed a pistol at the dust pile that used to be Fara’s body.  Further back inside the house, Alice could see a young woman, also armed, and behind her she could see a couple of children, two girls.  All four faces looked at the dust on the floor and the glowing woman outside with fear on their faces.

            “Sorry about the window,” said Alice, dropping the sword at her side.  “It was…kind of an emergency, but I’m sure I can get someone to repair it.”

            The young man lowered his gun, “That was a vampire, wasn’t it?”

            Alice nodded gravely.

            The man looked down and took a nervous breath, “You know, a part of me had been hoping it was all some elaborate hoax.”

            “I wish I could say it was.”

            The young man regarded Alice thoughtfully, “So…if that was a vampire, what does that make you?”

            Alice thought about it.

            “I suppose you’d call me an anti-vampire,” she said.  “The perfect vampire hunter.”

            From in the back of the house, Alice could hear one of the young girls say, with awe in her voice, “Coooooool.”

            That made Alice smile.

            The next moment, Alice’s stomach grumbled, which surprised her.  She hadn’t eaten since before the missile strike, and it was only now that Alice noticed how hungry she was.  The young man looked up at Alice and put his gun away.

            “I suppose if you’re fighting the vampires, you’re on our side,” he said.  “Would you like to come in for something to eat?”

            Alice sighed gratefully, “That would be wonderful.  But before that, do you have a phone I can borrow?”

###

Out in the forest, the Night Hunters working on the forest perimeter had been thinned out by the vampire forces.  The armored vehicles had long run out of holy water mist, and now vampires were working to get the vehicles open to get the hunters inside using sledgehammers.  Between Harold, Archibald, and their respective vampire servants, the hunters had been whittled down. 

            Archibald, in particular, was having the time of his life, giggling maniacally every time he swung his greatsword, cutting through flesh and bone easily.  His massive weapon was as tall as him, with a skull for a pommel and a hilt shaped like bones.

            He didn’t just rely on his sword alone, however.  As he darted through the forest, slipping in and out of the shadows, he saw an opportunity that he couldn’t ‘resist.  He landed between two hunters with a loud thump, and as they raised their weapons at him, he slipped away just as they fired, making them shoot each other.

            He giggled some more as he flew away, but it was at that moment he sensed Fara dying.

            He landed in a secluded spot, away from the fighting, and consulted with Harold.

            “So beautiful Fara has failed,” said Archibald in the mindscape.  “What a pity.  Shall we dispose of the crucivire ourselves?”

            “No,” said Harold.  “My scouts report that Night Hunter reinforcements are already in the area, and in large numbers.  I’m afraid it’s time to retreat.”

            “Oh, what a pity,” Archibald replied.

            Soon the two elders took flight to flee that place, and their vampires servants soon ran through the forest after them.  The surviving Night Hunters took refuge in their armored vehicles, thankful to be alive.

###

By the time Director Farrow and Captain Wagner reached that neighborhood, it was still late, the area covered in moonlight as night hunter vehicles patrolled the streets.  They were still disguised as military, but enough people had peeked out their windows to see a strange glow this night to know that the supernatural was real, and that these forces were likely something else entirely.

            Meanwhile, Alice sat at a kitchen table eating a sandwich, sitting with the lady of the house.  Since Alice’s body still glowed, they’d had to turn off the lights in the room, and the young lady cast a large shadow on the wall behind her.  The woman watched Alice curiously, and Alice, feeling awkward, tried to make conversation.

            “So,” she said, eyeing the pistol at the woman’s hip.  “How long have you been gun owners?”

            “A few weeks,” replied the other woman.  “Ever since people started dying.  I don’t know how well they’ll protect against vampires, but it’s better than nothing, I suppose.  I’m just glad we got ours when we did.”

            “What do you mean?”

            “Gun stores are empty,” said the woman.  “With the city quarantined, it’s harder to get products into the city, and everyone wants something to protect themselves with what’s going on.  Some people missed their chance.”

            So it’s gotten that bad, Alice thought.  Despite the victory tonight, they were still in a terrible situation.  They needed a way to defeat those vampires, and soon.

            A moment later, the man of the house led two familiar faces into the kitchen.  Alice saw Director Farrow and Captain Wagner enter.  Captain Wagner wore a bandage on his head, and the pair of them looked at Alice with astonishment.  She looked awkward with her clothing torn in places and dried blood still covering her, but they barely noticed those details.  Alice quickly finished her sandwich then stood, saluting. 

            “Director Farrow, Captain Wagner,” said Alice.  “Recruit Hayes, reporting for duty.”

            Farrow and Wagner smiled, pleased.

 “At ease, recruit,” said Farrow.  “You have no idea how happy I am to see you.”

            “And you, sir,” said Alice, grinning.  “Have no idea how happy I am to be alive…in every sense of the word.”

            Farrow and Wagner nodded.

            “You know,” said Wagner.  “I’ve lived along time, but even I never thought I’d see the day when two crucivires walked this earth.”

            “Well, captain,” said Alice.  “I’d like to make sure we still have two crucivires by the time this is over.”

            “I’m sure you do,” said Farrow.  “I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I must say, seeing you here has given me more hope than I’ve had in a while.”

            Alice nodded, “Glad to hear it.” After a pause, “So…about that window I mentioned…”

            “I’ve arranged for someone to repair these fine people’s window,” said Farrow.  “Don’t worry about.  You just get some well deserved rest, and then get ready.  The war’s not over yet.”

            Alice saluted again, “Yes, sir.”