Chapter 12

• *Whispering Port*
• Cain had been notified that the shuttle that was heading to Erolzwald had been docked at the shuttle station.
• Greeting Caid at the shuttle station, Isabella was wrinkling her nose. She was one who lived in comfort and luxury. With her assessment of the old shuttle, she deemed it unworthy. Caid chuckled, saying that he would have a look, knowing that his taste and fashion were more modest than hers.
• The shuttle cabins were not as fancy as the ones that are used currently. The cabins were outdated by a decade or more, but for what they needed to use this for, the shuttle would do. Unlike the newer version, the old cabins did not have much roaming space. The mattresses were not as fluffy and fancy, but it was better than sleeping on the floor. The sheets were stained and well-used, but they would do. Inspecting the windows it was very clear that this old shuttle had been in storage for quite some time. But they did not have time to waste on maintenance and give it a fresh polish. The only concern that Caid had was that the shuttle would get from Whispering Port to the capital. When it arrives at Erolzwald, getting from there to the safe houses.
• The captain being his son, “I can not find any fault with the shuttle or the cambins.” Aba told his father.
• They both check the wires, the gears, and the sliding doors that allow the passengers to go from one cabin to the next. They checked the control cabins where the captain would stay. They found no fault or anything that would indicate that the shuttle would stop operating. With both of them in agreement, preservatives were boarded on the shuttle. The passengers would have to bring the essentials only, what else is required they would find in the hidden city.
• “How are things looking?” Therzana strolled into the shuttle station.
• Caid informed the mayor of the progress and estimated time of departure. With a nod of her head, “leave when everything is ready, the sooner we get aid to the citizens of Erolzwald the better.” Therzana was about to leave. “The people do have a ticket to board the shuttles, correct?”
• Aba smiled, “everything has been taken care of. All the passengers have to do is bord and I will take them to their destination.” He reassured the mayor.
• With a quick nod, Therzana left without saying another word.
• Isabella came out of the shadows as the mayor was no longer in sight, “I am going to assume that she does not know the exact destination?” She gave the men a toothy grin.
• “If she did, do you think she would allow this to happen?” Aba said as he glanced back at the shuttle one last time. “Mum wants us to have a family dinner tonight before I leave. Once the meal is completed and everyone has retired for the night. I will leave for the capital.”
• “I will make sure the stewardess knows so they can get themselves ready for the departure. All of our supplies are at the safe house, so this should not take us that much time.” Isabella strolled between the two men, “I will see you later on tonight then!”
• Both the males nodded their heads in agreement. With that Isabella sped off not saying a word.
• Caid glared at his son, “Go to your mum, I know she is going to want to spend as much time with you as possible. And don’t forget to place the white cloth out the window when you get close to Erolzwald.”
• “You worry too much, old man, you need to relax. When I have finished getting the passengers to the safe house, I will travel in the tunnels back this way.” Aba said as he hugged his father.
• Warning his son, “Don’t! We will travel to you, the less activity the better, it will keep everyone safe!” Patting his son on the shoulders, “I am going to make sure all the food and reserves are placed on the shuttle, I will see you later tonight!”
• *Erolzwald*
• “Did you hear? There is a shuttle coming here!” Maids and servers chatted with each other between tasks.
• “Wear neutral colours! I heard that vampires are not attracted to bright-coloured clothing!” The maids and servers would tell each other. Spreading the information to the family and friends that did not work in the castle.
• It did not take long for the rumours to go around Erolzwald that there was a shuttle coming. Ire was able to convince some of the humans to leave Erolzwald due to the increase of feral vampire activity, and that they were the target.
• Warriors knocked on the doors of residence telling them that it was advisable to not leave their homes unless they had to leave for employment. When a citizen challenged what the warriors had said, “this is not an order but advice! There have been more attacks and we are only trying to keep you out of harm's way.” The warriors would reply.
• Many citizens were frustrated and angry and what they believed to be adequate action. Yelling and screaming at the warriors that would come to their doors, demanding them to do more.
• Davder pounds on the door of the last house that he would have to deal with. When the homeowner opened the door, Davder explained what he had done several times already. Explaining the recommendation. As a few individuals had done, the male who stood in front of him questioned what they were going to do about the issue.
• Calmly Davder explained again what was going on. This was not enough for the homeowner, yelling at them that they were useless.
• Davder pinched the bridge of his nose as his headache grew, “Look here sir!” Davder was close to losing his patients, “this is an advisement, you can listen or not, the choice is yours!”
• Snorling, “Alpha King Coldfurgus was twice the man then Alpha Zevar and that weak pathetic beta of his!” The male curled his lips with anger.
• Davder cleared his throat, “okay sir, picture this in your mind. A complete lock down! Everyone is under house arrest and if you step out of your house even to take a leak, you will be thrown into the dungeons until the issue with the unregistered vampires are dealt with. Is that a sufficient amount of action for you?” He shouted at the man.
• The homeowner glanced at the group of three, stepping back into the house he slammed the door on them.
• “I think you pissed him off!” Firxis chuckled as the group left the property. Closing the clipboard, “we are done!”
• Erolzwald once had been hustling and bustling with citizens wandering the streets. Now they wandered the streets looking over their shoulders. Those who could stay at home would. Not wanting to be the next victim.
• Warriors patrolled the streets in units of five or more per group. Making sure that workers would still be able to do their tasks.
• Workers would gather together at a meeting point. Several times the workers would report that a coworker had not shown up to the designated meeting spot to the first patrol officer they would cross paths with.
• “What is the address and name of your friend?” The patrol officer would ask. Once the information was given, the patrol group would head in the direction of the address and complete a wellness check.
• The citizens were genuinely frightened and feared for their lives. Many workers chose not to continue with their job not wanting to take any chances of being killed. Other times the patrol officers would find the house vacant with personal positions remaining. The place appeared as if the occupants had rushed around the place, only taking with them important items and leaving during the night.
• Spray painting on the doors, a large red X, to let other warriors know that the house was empty and the family had left.
• Even with the increase in security, dead bodies were still found in the woods. There was a large debate on whether or not they should restrict the movement of the people.
• ***
• “We need to give the people time to find shelter, move into the city limits and away from the farms.” Beta Morris told the council.
• “We can’t protect anyone that decides to leave in the middle of the night.” Lord Ascelius stated.
• Everyone in the conference room agreed. If they were to better protect the people, they needed to move towards the city limit where the protection was available.
• “With tensions building, the people need to see the severity of their actions. If they want to remain safe they need to comply with authority!” Council member Zingwyn Ali of the Maiden Marker, from the south location, told the group. “Each day someone leaves during the night, it puts them and our warriors at risk. We need to place the mandate of military act into motion.”
• “If we call the military act, this will not bring the people and kingdom together. What we need to do is give a heavy warning that if a family wishes to leave, do so but know that their chances of survival are at risk. Those that live outside the walls have no protection. To farce an act would be telling the people that they are not capable of making decisions for themselves.” Virric Stoneshard of Ravenshill ward on the east side of Erolzwald stated.
• “I agree!” Beta Morris said, “I know this may seem like we are doing nothing, but we are actually doing a lot. This gives the people time to decide what is best for them. All we can do is tell them what we are doing. I will not declare the military act, so far I have been transparent and forthcoming with information, and I will continue with this!”
• With the chatter, it was clear that half of the council agreed with the beta while the other wanted the military act to be involved.
• Lord Ascelius waited until the room was cleared of the council, “there are going to be more deaths!” He stated his opinions.
• “It doesn’t matter what I do, there are going to be deaths. All we can do is make sure we do our job. Tomorrow we are going to start doing drills making sure that the people know how to respond when the attacks begin!”
• “That I can agree with! I will send the Ancillae’s out to make sure that the citizens are prepared and are not fully caught off guard.” Lord Ascelius picked up his belongings from the table. “This will also get the warriors ready to respond promptly.”
• ***
• Lord Ascelius was leaving the last farmhouse located on the east side of Erolzwald when he heard in the far distance, the sound of a shuttle horn. “They are early!”
• Beta Morris glanced at Lord Ascelius, “I don’t think it really matters if they are early or not! We can start getting everyone that has a ticket out of here.”
• Rushing to the shuttle station, Lord Ascelius and Beta Morris were not the only ones to be waiting for the shuttle to stop moving.
• Resos Goldflower stepped out of the shuttle cabin onto the deck of Erolzwald, glancing to her left and right, Rosos saw two males strolling her way.
• Lord Ascelius gauged the female up and down, “Are you the conductor of the shuttle?”
• Smiling and holding out her hand, “yes my name is Resos Goldflower.”
• Taking Resos’ hand, “Beta Morris!”
• Shaking her hand, “Lord Ascelius!”
• “There was a last minute change in who would be taking control over this shuttle. It appeared that Aba, Caid’s son … his mate had gone into labour early. So I will be taking the first group to their destination.” Clapping her hands together, “I was instructed to take the humans first. There are two more shuttles getting fixed as we speak and if there is any luck more to come.” Resos told the two males. “From what I was told, the shuttles will be leaving Whispering Port two days apart.”
• Lord Ascelius wrinkled his nose, “you could only get these old things, you could not get something better?”
• Resos started to chuckle, “Isabella said the same thing, sadly our newer shuttles are somewhere. They never returned to port after they left early in the summer season. So …” Resos pointed to the outdated shuttle, “this is what we have. When the shuttles get back from Dorasea and the other northern kingdoms we will be able to move more people out,” Resos frowned, “as I told Isabella, beggars can't be choosers. This is what we have and this is what they get.”
• Clearing his throat, “To move things faster, when can you leave?” Beta Morris wanted to rush things further.
• “Once the humans are on board we can go. There are 25 cabins, each one can carry 24 people easily.” Resos replied with a smile.
• “We ran into an issue with just boarding humans!” Lord Ascelius, “the families are blended with shifters, the only way they would get on is if the whole family goes.”
• Beta Morris rubbed his face with his hand, “very few were willing to leave loved ones behind.”
• Resos nodded her head up and down, understanding, “Caid was prepared for this, is the family primarily humans?”
• “Yes!” Lord Ascelius motioned to the shuttle, “there are going to be more children on this shuttle than adults.”
• “Okay!” Resos took a deep breath in, “as long as there are more humans than shifters, this will have to do!” She began to move her feet to the end of the shuttle, “I have to also speak with Straightarrow and the Applefinger brothers. This should give the passengers enough time to get on board. The stewardess will take their names and direct them to where they are to stay.”
• Close behind Resos, “I will take you to Straightarrow and the brothers! They are in training and should be ending their shift soon.”
• “While you are doing that I am going to get the families and children ready, I am expecting there to be a lot of tears for this round." Beta Morris was behind.
• “It will be no different than my family, there were a lot of tears when we departed.” Resos sighed as she understood how the families were feeling. “Before I forget, this shuttle is carrying a registered vampire, her name is Isabella.” She directed her comment toward the lord vampire, “I don’t want any issues, she is dear to our family.”
• Snorting, “there is no Isabella on my list of wanted criminals, I am going to assume she is nomad?”
• Smirking, “your assumptions would be correct, Lord Ascelius.”
• “Follow me!” Lord Ascelius said as he took Resos in the direction of the training field, while Beta Morris went to the Alpha’s office to get the list of passengers.”
• ***
• To make things move faster, Beta Morris asked a unit of warriors to inform those that have a ticket that they were to get themselves ready and that the shuttle would be leaving after the last meal of the day. Knowing that many passengers were academy-aged children, he did not want to disrupt their classes.
• Beta Morris knocked on the Magda family home. Answering the door was an elderly woman, “Beta Morris, come in!” She said as she opened the door wider for him to come in. “We have been expecting you.”
• Around the family table were the Magda family members, the male of the family told the children to go to the back of the house and gather their belongings.
• Beta Morris nodded his head once at Mr. Magda, “as you already know the shuttle is here to get your family out of Erolzwald, from here you will be given sanctuary until the threat is over.”
• Mr. Magda wrinkled his nose, “all I care about is that my family is going to be safe.” Signing, “that is why we have been talking,” He glanced at his wife, she nodded his head urging him to continue, “I am giving my ticket to a young mother, her husband died in the battle of the alpha’s. She may not be family but she is a good friend to this family. And as you had wished, she is human.”
• “You said she is a young mother, how old is the child?” Beta Morris question.
• With a great deal of sadness, “the babe was only a couple days old when her father died!” A female spoke up with a quivering lip.
• Beta Morris glared at Mr. Magda, “Is this final?”
• Nodding his head, “I gave her my ticket yesterday.”
• With his pen, Beta Morris crossed out Mr. Jo Magda's name, “For the records, I need your name of the woman and her daughter. There will be no extra charges for the baby, it is just for the records.”
• Swallowing, “Zelda Muriel and my daughter is Skye Muriel, sir!”
• Recognizing the last name, Beta Morris glanced up at Zelda, “your husband was a great man, I did not know he had a wife.”
• Zelda started to shake her head, while tears rolled down her face. “He was a private man, kept everything on a need to know basis.”
• With a quick nod, “the shuttle is leaving shortly after the last meal of the day. Make sure you are packed and ready to go then.”
• Before Beta Morris could leave, Mrs. Magda spoke up. “Zelda’s brother is taking my ticket. He is also a human, his name is Thudur Vuuuzdiift.”
• He stroked out Mrs. Ganja Magda's name and wrote down the man's name. “Is he here now?”
• “No sir, he is at the academy!” Zelda answered.
• Looking up from the pages, “how old is he?”
• Swallowing and clearing her throat, “he is 12 years old. He doesn’t know that our parents are not coming. I am sure he is going to be angry.”
• Beta Morris smiled, “tell your brother that there are two more shuttles coming this way. If we are lucky even more, we are working on getting the most vulnerable out first. If fate is on our side, everyone else will be out of here before the winter season sets in.”
• Mr. and Mrs. Magda smiled at each other and grasped each other's hand. “This is good news.” Mrs. Magda said, “there is a chance we will all see each other again. We just have to let the good beta do his job.” Tears were rolling down the elderly woman's face.
• Inhaling loudly with a smile on his face, “we have nothing to worry about!” Mr. Magda said as he kissed his wife's hand.
• Beta Morris forced a smile, “we are doing our best with everything we have. It is just a matter of timing.” He glanced at the sheet, “Are there any changes?”
• “There are no other changes sir!” Mr. Magda answered the question.
• Beta Morris spoke the names that were written down, and with each name that was spoken, Mr. Magda bobbed his head. “Make sure everyone is ready to go. Only bring with you one bag of items you will need and only that.” He reminded the Magda’s.
• Beta Morris was led to the main door as Mrs. Magda politely showed him out of the house.