The Landcruiser groaned under its own weight as Cormac guided it through the cracked streets of Colón. The steering wheel fought his brother at every corner like it didn’t want him to drive it. The suspension wheezed over every bump like it begged for death. It was a 1992 diesel guzzling relic with spiderweb cracks across the windshield. It had half a muffler and it stank of stale tobacco. They were probably the fifteenth owners. The guy Cormac bought it from was missing three fingers. He said it ran great and that he didn’t have a title.

  Cormac shifted into second. The gearstick grated.

  “It’s definitely stolen,” Ashley said, from the back seat.

  “We only have to use it once,” Sawyer replied.

  Ashley sat in the back with her arms crossed and her head against the window. Her eyes were hidden behind dark lenses. Sawyer rode shotgun. His jaw was set and his gaze was unfocused as the city peeled away behind them. His collar was dark with blood. He touched the phantom fang marks on his neck. His pupils were wide in the low light. He blinked slowly. He smelled Cormac’s blood. He didn’t like that he enjoyed the smell.

  They turned onto the street running in front of Sawyer’s apartment. The mood shifted. Cormac slowed and pulled to the side of the road. They spotted four black Escalades, two at the curb and two more parked along the sidewalk. They had tinted glass. A figure leaned on the balcony of Sawyer’s apartment. He wielded a suppressed UMP slung over one shoulder. His face was ghostly pale. Another sat on the rooftop and looked out toward the ocean.

  Ashley spoke first. “You left something in there?”

  Sawyer nodded. “Yeah. Everything we had.”

  “Not getting it now,” Cormac said.

  “Nope.”

  Cormac spun the wheel. The Landcruiser lurched down a side street. He floored it. The engine howled in protest but it moved even though the vibrations rattled their bones. Sawyer stared into the rearview mirror, expecting a chase.

  Would they follow? Did they see their car?

  They hit the highway. Three miles out, the pavement soon gave way to gravel. The trees closed in on either side of them. They passed a hand painted sign riddled with bullet holes. Zona Peligrosa - Prohibido el Paso.

  Cormac downshifted and steered along the jungle path.

  The road wasn’t even a road, more like a suggestion of one. Mud clawed at the tires. Branches slapped the windshield. Visibility would have dropped but already his vision changed and the low light settled. Although it was the middle of the night, he could see as if it were early morning.

  “This is the trail?” Sawyer asked.

  “I’ve only ever seen it drawn in pencil on an old map,” Cormac said.

  “No recon?”

  “No recon.”

  Ashley smirked. “Fantastic.”

  Cormac leaned forward. His eyes locked onto the muddy stretch ahead.

  The Landcruiser churned through a shallow stream. The water rose to the headlights. They emerged on the other side, slick and grinding, and crawled up the embankment at a painful angle.

  A silence built between them.

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  And then Cormac finally said it.

  “You’re a vampire, aren’t you? You both are.”

  Sawyer exhaled. “Yeah.”

  Ashley didn’t respond. Her lips pressed into a line.

  “You gonna tell me what that even means?” Cormac asked. “I saw how you took those bullets. I spotted your fangs.”

  “I’m alive because of Ashley,” Sawyer said. “That’s what matters.”

  “Is it, now?” Cormac barked. He hit a pothole that rattled the frame of their vehicle. “You both have fangs! What happens now? Do I get my turn? What if you get hungry one night and start looking at me like dinner? Am I supposed to be happy while you sink your fangs into my neck? From my own brother? Or his girlfriend?”

  “Ex-girlfriend,” she said.

  “Whatever!” Cormac replied.

  Sawyer turned in his seat. “I would never hurt you, Cormac.”

  “Are you sure about that?” He snapped back at Ashley. “I blame you for getting him into this mess. Panama started with you.”

  Ashley didn’t flinch. “You’re not wrong.”

  Sawyer blinked. “Seriously?”

  “I’ve thought about it,” she said. “Technically, I was the one who invited you back to my apartment that night at the bar. After I identified you, you were my new target. I wasn’t going to let you go. I thought about killing you…”

  “Is that supposed to make me feel better?”

  “Realx…turns out I kind of liked you.”

  Cormac laughed bitterly.

  Ashley leaned between the front seats. “He followed me. You’re acting like I put a spell on him.”

  Sawyer’s voice was low. “Did you?”

  “No!”

  “This is always how it ends,” Cormac said. “It’s like the stories dad’s friends used to tell about a girl, and some vampires. This ends with a deadly shootout and a lot of blood.”

  Sawyer’s voice rose. “I didn’t drag you here, Cormac! You agreed to come.”

  “Of course I agreed. I’m your brother.”

  The Landcruiser bumped violently over something and skidded in the mud. Cormac gripped the wheel and corrected. He exhaled through his nose.

  “No matter how bad this gets, I’ll be there,” Cormac said. “Don’t make me regret it.”

  They came to a rise where the trail cut sharply toward the highway. Through the trees, beams of headlights shone like searchlights.

  They found the field, the designated exfiltration point.

  Cormac parked the Landcruiser.

  Everyone got out and looked up to the sky.

  The Blackhawk loomed up high. Its blades thundered over the tree tops. It banked and circled once. Then it dipped low and a spotlight swept over the ground. For a second, Sawyer flinched expecting deep burns. Thankfully, he felt nothing.

  The helicopter adjusted in the air. Then it lowered and touched down in the field. The side door opened.

  Colonel May Bradford stood framed in the doorway, coat billowing. He cradled something wrapped in black oilskin and metal clasps.

  It was just as his father described.

  The Black Ledger.

  Colonel Bradford stepped out of the helicopter. His boots crunched against wet earth.

  “Didn’t trust a courier,” Bradford said. “I wanted to drop this off myself.”

  Then he stopped.

  Bradford’s gaze flicked between Ashley and Sawyer. His brow furrowed. His hand slid into his coat.

  “Wait!” Cormac said, who stepped in front of them and held his arms out.

  Bradford pulled out his silver dagger. “You’re vampires?” he hissed.

  Sawyer raised his hands, palms open. “We’re still us.”

  Bradford didn’t lower his blade. “You better prove it.”