“Anthony, what first?” the woman asked, looking at the blue-eyed man.

Anthony cast another look at us.

“Bring our families.”

“Already?”

“Yes. They’ll want to be here to watch every moment of this.”

The woman nodded, her face stony and resolute, and hurried back toward a small helicopter parked fifty feet away from the black helicopter we’d arrived in. She climbed aboard with three other men and launched into the sky.

I turned my attention back to Anthony.

“You asked what we’re going to do with you. You won’t have to wait long now to find out. Don’t worry.”

If these hunters were as powerful as the hunters who used to roam the human realm decades ago, our chances of survival were practically non-existent. As I looked around at my comrades’ ashen faces, I was sure that they knew this too.

Man to man, they stood no chance against us. But the technology they possessed was enough to overpower us. One shot of one of their bullets into our flesh and we’d burn alive from the inside.

“Declan, Crispian,” Anthony called. “We may as well start preparing for the show.”

Two men ran up the ramp into the helicopter and returned minutes later, each carrying metal chests.

“Since the police are useless, I’m sure you can understand why we had to take this matter into our own hands. I’m so sorry,” Anthony said, looking at me with mock sympathy. “You’re the leader of this lot?”

I didn’t respond, though he didn’t seem to require my answer. He’d already seen me leading the way to the submarines when we were still on the sand.

I glanced at the horizon. The sun was close to rising. I looked up at the ceiling of the cage we were trapped in. It was solid, no holes. But the sun would shine right through the bars that lined the sides of the cage. There would be no escaping it. Perhaps this was their plan.

The men unlocked the chests and started withdrawing an array of weapons, many of which I’d never seen before in my life and couldn’t put a name to. But all were clearly torture devices. Sharp hooks, butchers’ knives, chains and handcuffs. Wooden stakes. And guns. Lots of guns. Their intentions were clear from one brief glance at the display they were laying out on the grass before us. Torture equipment and then guns to finish off the job.

“You see,” Anthony said as they unpacked the chests, “we couldn’t risk turning you into the police. They’d likely lose you. We had to take matters into our own hands. I’m sure you can understand.”

Anthony stooped down and picked up a stake in one hand, a dagger in the other. He crouched down on the floor, the wood leaning against his knee as he began to sharpen it.

Still I refused to discourse with him. I kept my face expressionless. If this was going to be my last hour, I wasn’t going to give them any more satisfaction than they already derived from seeing us caged here like animals.

I turned my back on the sight of him sharpening the stake and faced my companions. I looked at each of their dejected faces. Despite the many years I’d known them, I’d never gotten close to any of them. Our relationship was merely functional. I doubted that they had relationships amongst each other either. Everyone on our island just did what they had to do to get by and avoid trouble. I might as well be dying in the company of strangers.

I walked over to the other side of the cage and stared out again at the brightening sky. A cold breeze caught my hair, bringing along with it the scent of freshly blooming flowers.

I tried to calm my mind, stop thinking about what these hunters were about to put us through.

Soon enough, the sound of the small chopper returning roared over the mountaintop. A crowd of humans bundled out of the helicopter. More than a dozen of them. Men and women, young and old. They approached the men sharpening their tools and stared into the cage at us. Hatred burned in their eyes.

Anthony stepped forward with a young woman and an elderly man. “Meet Stacy, my wife, and Raymond, my father-in-law. Do you remember kidnapping Tobias? My brother-in-law? No, I didn’t think so.”

Another hunter stepped forward, his lip trembling as he held the hand of a teenage boy. “What about Justin, my son? Why don’t you explain to Sean where his brother is?”

More hunters stepped forward, one by one, introducing themselves. I looked down at the floor of the cage, no longer willing to look into their eyes.

“You see, vampires.” Anthony broke through the crowd again. “There are many more like us. What you see here is just a small sample of lives you’ve affected.”

Now that the Hawks were no longer on earth to manipulate the hunters’ cause, the agenda of these humans was simple. Vengeance. And none of us vampires could blame them. Hell, I’d join their cause if I weren’t a bloodsucker myself.

“Our organization is small now. But we are rebuilding fast. Gathering funds. Investing in weapons, surveillance systems, aircraft, training new recruits. Many are still afraid. That’s why occasions like this are important. Occasions where we demonstrate that, behind bars, you’re nothing more than animals. Animals that can be tamed… perhaps. We shall see how much desperation can tame you.”

He paused, his cold eyes surveying the cage. They stopped on Frieda, who lay curled up in a corner, still nursing her bloody stumps.

“We’ll start with the weakest first, shall we? Put her out of her misery.”

There were murmurs of approval from the crowds behind them.