The Divergence

───

The flashing lights painted the quiet street in alternating washes of blue and red.

Lavinia stood across the road with the other vampires, their attention fixed on the modest house.

Police tape had already gone up.

More officers continued arriving.

SWAT vehicles rolled to a stop one after another.

The vampires had been asked to stay back, and none of them particularly cared to interfere.

Valerie crossed her arms.

"...Watch."

She didn't take her eyes off the scene.

"I bet people blame us for this too."

Rosaline looked over.

"They'll probably say we got the officer killed."

Valerie nodded once.

"Exactly."

Rosaline rolled her eyes.

"We followed the law."

"We got attacked."

"We called the police."

"How exactly is that our fault?"

No one answered.

Because none of them really had one.

Gwendolyn quietly watched heavily armored officers moving toward the house.

"...If we'd just killed them..."

She sighed.

"...It would've already been over."

"But we had to follow the rules."

Lavinia didn't disagree.

Neither did anyone else.

The SWAT team stacked beside the doorway.

Commands were shouted.

Then...

More gunfire erupted.

The sounds echoed through the neighborhood.

Even from across the street, the vampires could distinguish every shot.

Pop.

Pop.

Pop.

Automatic fire answered.

Glass shattered.

Someone yelled.

Another burst of gunfire followed.

Lavinia listened carefully.

Distinguishing individual people inside the building was much harder now.

There were simply too many overlapping heartbeats.

Too many voices.

Too much movement.

"...They're still fighting."

Evelyn nodded quietly.

"They're moving upstairs."

Nearly four minutes passed.

Then...

Silence.

The gunfire stopped.

Only shouted commands remained.

Cordelia tilted her head.

"...It's over."

A few moments later officers began carrying people from the house.

One member of the SWAT team emerged supporting another.

Blood soaked one sleeve.

Another officer was carried out on a stretcher.

Completely motionless.

Lavinia lowered her gaze.

"...Another one."

Nearby, police escorted one wounded man from the house in handcuffs.

His shoulder and leg were heavily bandaged.

The other two shooters...

Never came back outside alive.

Valerie exhaled slowly.

"So."

"One survived."

Rosaline nodded.

"Two died."

Cordelia looked between the house...

And the vampires standing together.

Then she spoke with complete sincerity.

"...If we'd simply killed them..."

She looked genuinely puzzled.

"...Wouldn't all of this have been much simpler?"

Silence settled over the group.

Eventually...

Lavinia answered.

"...Probably."

Nobody argued.

Not because they regretted calling the police.

But because the outcome had become painfully obvious.

One officer had already died before SWAT arrived.

Another had died clearing the house.

Several more were injured.

If the vampires themselves had entered...

The three shooters almost certainly would've been dead within seconds.

No officers would've entered the house at all.

But...

That wasn't how society worked.

Nor was it how it should work.

They had chosen to follow the law.

The consequences had simply turned out differently than anyone hoped.

Not long afterward...

Detectives arrived.

The vampires were questioned one by one.

Where had they been?

What happened?

Why had they come to the address?

How had they found it?

Lavinia answered every question honestly.

"So you tracked the vehicle by scent?"

"Yes."

"You chose not to enter the residence?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"We called the police."

"Were you intending to kill the suspects?"

"No."

"Did any of you threaten them?"

"No."

The questioning continued.

Again.

And again.

Eventually...

Lavinia rubbed her forehead.

"...I'm tired of being questioned."

The sentence slipped out before she really thought about it.

Valerie burst out laughing.

"So are we."

Rosaline nodded dramatically.

"I've answered the same question four times."

Adelaide smiled.

"They're probably making sure our answers match."

Cordelia folded her hands politely.

"I suppose that's rather reasonable."

Lavinia sighed.

"...It's still tiring."

Even one of the detectives smiled faintly.

"I can't really argue with that."

Nearly an hour passed before the interviews finally concluded.

The wounded shooter had already been loaded into an ambulance.

Police continued photographing the scene.

Evidence markers covered the front yard.

One detective approached.

"You're free to go."

Lavinia nodded politely.

"Thank you."

Without another word...

The eight vampires turned and quietly walked away from the flashing lights.

...

The city had grown quieter again.

Midnight arrived.

Valerie glanced down at her phone.

"...Called it."

Everyone looked over.

News articles had already begun appearing.

Videos.

Comments.

Livestreams.

People arguing.

Rosaline leaned closer.

Her eyes scanned the screen.

Then she groaned.

"They're blaming us now."

Lavinia looked over Valerie's shoulder.

One comment read:

The vampires should've stopped them before police got there.

Another:

They stood around while officers died.

Another:

If they're really that fast, why didn't they save everyone?

Valerie snorted.

"Funny."

"We're monsters if we take matters into our own hands..."

She scrolled.

"...And we're monsters if we don't."

Rosaline folded her arms.

"So apparently we're supposed to magically know the perfect answer every time."

Cordelia giggled softly.

"Humans will be humans."

The others looked toward her.

She smiled innocently.

"What?"

"I've only been a vampire for a few days..."

"But humans argued about everything before the Divergence too."

"...They're simply continuing."

That actually drew several laughs.

Cordelia brightened.

"Oh!"

She clasped her hands together.

"Do any of you happen to have somewhere to stay tonight?"

Silence.

One by one...

Everyone looked around at each other.

Then...

Heads slowly shook.

"No."

"Not anymore."

"Doesn't seem like it."

Cordelia's shoulders drooped dramatically.

"...It appears I'll be sleeping in the ground again."

Valerie looked horrified.

"I refuse."

Cordelia blinked.

"...Refuse what?"

"I'm not sleeping underground."

Adelaide rolled her eyes.

"I wasn't talking about a hole."

She pointed vaguely toward the city.

"Subway tunnels exist."

Valerie looked considerably less offended.

"...That's different."

Lavinia let out an exaggerated mournful sigh.

"...I don't want to become a mole woman."

For a heartbeat...

Nobody spoke.

Then—

Laughter erupted.

Even Evelyn couldn't hold it in.

Rosaline nearly doubled over.

Valerie pointed dramatically at Lavinia.

"You'd be a very beautiful mole."

Gwendolyn nodded enthusiastically.

"The prettiest mole."

Celestine smiled into her hand.

"I don't believe moles wear dresses."

"They do now," Valerie declared.

Lavinia covered her face.

"I've fallen so far."

Cordelia laughed quietly with the rest of them.

After several days alone...

Hearing laughter again felt...

Comforting.

She smiled warmly.

"...I'm happy."

Everyone looked toward her.

"I'm happy I found all of you."

The simple sentence softened everyone's expressions.

They resumed walking through the quiet streets together.

Their footsteps echoed gently beneath the night sky.

After several minutes...

Gwendolyn looked downward.

"...Tonight probably made people hate us even more."

Lavinia tapped thoughtfully against her chin.

"...Maybe."

She shrugged.

"But I can't help that."

The others listened.

"We did what ordinary citizens are supposed to do."

She counted on her fingers.

"We were attacked."

"We found the suspects."

"We called the police."

"We answered every question honestly."

She smiled faintly.

"If people still hate us after that..."

She spread her hands.

"...Then there isn't really anything more we could've done."

No one argued.

Whether people believed them or not...

Whether opinions worsened or improved...

The vampires had made their decision.

Tonight...

They had chosen to trust human law.

Even if the outcome had been painful...

None of them regretted trying.

───

Chief Daniel Mercer stared at the report spread across his desk.

Another one.

His coffee had long since gone cold, sitting untouched beside several neatly stacked folders.

He sighed and rubbed his eyes before reading the report again.

Two officers dead.

Several more injured.

Three civilians involved.

Two deceased.

One hospitalized under police guard.

He leaned back slowly.

"...Damn it."

The words escaped into the empty office.

Every incident since the Divergence seemed to end the same way.

Someone died.

Another report.

Another family.

Another funeral.

His fingers tapped lightly against the desk.

He hated admitting it, even to himself...

But some stubborn corner of his mind wished the vampires had ignored the law.

If they'd entered that house themselves...

Those three shooters would've been dead within seconds.

No officers would've gone inside.

No officers would've been shot.

No officers would've died.

He closed his eyes.

"...I can't think like that."

He was Chief of Police.

He couldn't wish civilians executed people because it would've been easier.

Even if...

The practical outcome was difficult to ignore.

He looked toward another folder.

Officer Benjamin Carter.

Suspended pending investigation.

The officer who had leaked the blood clinic evidence.

Daniel pinched the bridge of his nose.

"We can't even fire him."

Not yet.

Public opinion had moved too quickly.

To a large portion of Oakridge...

Benjamin Carter wasn't a reckless officer who had ignored orders.

He was a whistleblower.

A hero.

Any attempt to dismiss him immediately would only inflame public anger further.

Another problem.

Another fire.

Daniel rubbed his temples until the dull ache behind his eyes eased slightly.

Then he reached for the phone.

Amanda answered after only two rings.

"Daniel."

"Madam Mayor."

"You've got another report."

"I do."

His voice sounded heavier than he intended.

He summarized everything as efficiently as possible.

The shooting.

The vampires tracking the suspects.

Calling the police.

The responding officers.

SWAT.

The casualties.

The lone surviving gunman.

When he finished...

Silence answered him.

Several long seconds passed.

Then Amanda Holloway finally spoke.

Daniel immediately noticed it.

She sounded exhausted.

"...This..."

She paused.

"...This is exactly what I was trying to prevent."

Daniel stared quietly out his office window.

"So was I."

Neither of them spoke for another moment.

Eventually Daniel sighed.

"Regardless..."

"We lost two officers tonight."

"Several others were wounded."

He leaned forward.

"How do you intend to proceed?"

Amanda gave a tired laugh.

"Pressure?"

She sounded almost amused.

"If I apply pressure now..."

"It'll produce exactly the opposite effect."

"They'll think we're hiding even more."

"They'll become even more convinced they're right."

Daniel couldn't disagree.

The city was balancing on a knife's edge.

Every statement...

Every arrest...

Every leaked photograph...

Everything pushed people one direction or another.

Someone knocked softly.

Daniel looked toward the door.

"...Come in."

A young officer hurried inside.

His breathing was uneven.

"Chief."

"What is it?"

"There's been another incident."

Daniel immediately straightened.

"Where?"

"The Southern Oakridge Blood Clinic."

"What happened?"

"It... exploded."

Daniel's stomach dropped.

"...Casualties?"

The officer quickly shook his head.

"None so far."

"It appears everyone had already evacuated."

Daniel released a slow breath.

"I understand."

"We'll coordinate shortly."

"Yes, Chief."

The officer closed the door behind him.

Silence returned.

Amanda hadn't said anything.

Then...

She laughed.

Not because she found it funny.

It was the tired, almost disbelieving laugh of someone watching problems multiply faster than they could solve them.

Daniel sighed.

"...At least nobody died."

Amanda was quiet.

Then...

"You think that's the important part?"

Daniel frowned.

"What do you mean?"

Amanda answered immediately.

"Where do you think Northern Oakridge's blood supply was transferred?"

Daniel blinked.

His thoughts immediately caught up.

"...Southern."

"Exactly."

The realization settled over him like lead.

Amanda continued.

"After the attack on the northern clinic..."

"The stored blood was redistributed."

"The Southern Blood Clinic received most of it."

Daniel slowly lowered his head.

"...No."

Amanda's voice remained calm.

"Yes."

"That building is gone."

"The city's emergency vampire blood reserve..."

"...Went with it."

Daniel leaned forward until his elbows rested on the desk.

His head settled into both hands.

Hospitals still had blood.

Of course they did.

But hospitals weren't blood clinics.

They weren't equipped.

Nor were they authorized to hand out blood simply because vampires needed to eat.

Not while surgeries...

Emergencies...

Trauma patients...

And ordinary human medicine depended on those same supplies.

Amanda quietly finished the thought for him.

"Any vampire who hadn't already fed..."

"...No longer has a reliable source."

Daniel stared at the desktop.

His voice had become strangely flat.

"...Humans."

Amanda didn't answer immediately.

She didn't need to.

The word hung between them.

Humans.

Not because vampires suddenly wanted to hunt.

Not because they'd become monsters overnight.

Simply because...

Their legal source had disappeared.

Destroyed.

Daniel felt another headache beginning.

One blood clinic attacked.

The city's response shifted blood elsewhere.

That clinic exploded.

Now there was nowhere left.

A perfect chain reaction.

One bad decision feeding directly into another.

He slowly exhaled.

"I'll call you in the morning."

Amanda sounded just as drained.

"Get some rest if you can."

"I'll try."

The call ended.

Daniel remained seated.

The office suddenly felt unnaturally quiet.

He lowered the phone onto his desk.

The silence afterward was almost deafening.

Outside his window...

Oakridge continued sleeping.

Most people had no idea.

They would wake tomorrow arguing over headlines.

Over politics.

Over blame.

Very few would realize that somewhere beneath all of that...

The city's fragile attempt at coexistence had just suffered another devastating blow.

Daniel looked once more at the stack of reports waiting on his desk.

The blood clinic.

The shooting.

The suspended officer.

Public unrest.

Now...

No blood.

He leaned back heavily in his chair.

For the first time since becoming Chief...

Daniel Mercer genuinely wondered whether events had already passed the point where anyone could stop them.

Outside...

The city remained quiet.