"What?" Esther moaned. She looked to the young man and asked "Why me?"
"Because I know," the young man answered, "that by your power my passage will be swift, that the Darkness will devour me quickly and this journey will end."
Esther looked at the pleading faces all about her. "All right," she finally managed. "I don't know how, but I'm sure I'll be instructed." She looked very irritatedly towards The Ancient One. The queen laughed.
"I'm sorry," she finally managed, "I know this is not humorous. But to see him so frustrating one of his own, making her use her powers amuses us! Do forgive me."
"Certainly!" Esther answered. "But I know you! You go out in the sun all the time. I thought that was impossible!"
"Some of us aren't as effected by the sun as others," the queen answered. "And nowadays they have marvelous things called sunblocks which I use extensively. But still, as much as possible I stay indoors during the day and go out mainly at night. Now, there is another matter." She clapped her hands and two of the brawny men brought out two girls who were only clad in their underpants. "We picked up these by mistake," the queen remarked, "when we acquired the men that were with them. Unfortunately the drugs the men had given them clouded their scent and we didn't realize they were carriers of the anti body 'til they were brought here. We would appreciate it if you would return them to some place where they could be picked up, make sure that they come to no harm."
The Ancient One went over and examined the two young women. "They're still under the effects of the drug!" he remarked. "They probably will be for some time. No problem! Where are their clothes?"
"The men that had them had already virtually destroyed them!" the queen answered. "We were afraid that if we gave them anything it might be traced back to some of us."
The Ancient One took the girls' hands and led one over to David, who he took charge of. The one The Ancient One was leading opened her eyes, looked at him and smiled. "Oh! I know who you are!" she moaned. The Ancient One put his finger on her lips. She closed her eyes again and lowered her head.
"We will bid you leave," The Ancient One announced. "Come!" he told his companions.
They quickly departed, the boy following them. Outside the entrance to the barn he remarked "There's a very nice place on the hilltop up there. I would appreciate you doing it there. I would like to see the stars as I enter eternal night."
"Lead the way!" The Ancient One instructed.
When they reached the hilltop the boy picked a spot and said "I'm ready!"
"Just one thing," The Ancient One requested, "before you depart. Would you tell the lady how old you are?"
"Oh!" the young man answered, "Of course! I believe I'm 750, somewhere in there. Things get confused with the passage of time but I know that's close. May we continue?"
The Ancient One looked to Esther. "What do I do?" she asked.
"Summon The Light within you," The Ancient One instructed. "When you have gathered all the intensity you can gather just release it. You don't have to aim it or anything. His proximity will be enough."
For a few moments Esther concentrated, then suddenly intense light shone around her. For a few moments it seemed brighter than the sun. When it faded Esther looked at the boy who seemed unchanged, he just had a pleasant smile on his face, then he literally began to blow away! He turned to dust, crumbled, and the breeze blew the dust away until there was nothing left.
"His soul didn't leave his body!" Esther moaned. "What became of it?"
"When it's said they're the living dead," The Ancient One answered, "it's absolutely true. His soul decayed, evaporated hundreds of years ago. All that was left was physical existence."
"Oh!" Esther moaned. "I suppose this is something you wanted me to see, as well."
"No," The Ancient One answered, "I had nothing to do with this, whatsoever. Come on! Help David carry this girl. I can easily take the other one. There's a park to the west of here. The police patrol should be coming through any moment. We'll leave them there. They'll find them."
They dropped the girls off and headed home. "I have a troubling question," David began, as they looked for targets of opportunity. "You won't support homosexuals, you won't let them live their way, yet you support those things, you permit them. Why?"
"Because when they're cooperating," The Ancient One answered, "when they're helping us and not hindering us it's easier than fighting them. When they're wandering about on their own and feeding at random, they do an horrendous amount of damage. When we provide them blood that hadn't been used from blood banks and they feed on those who are doing harm to society and not helping it it's good for everybody. They take very few fresh victims. It isn't necessary. The blood we supply them with and animal blood sustains them. It's just best for everybody! And what makes you think we don't support homosexuals? As long as they're cooperating with Us, as long as they're not destroying Our children and only harming themselves we let them have their little groups, but when they go public, when they start screaming "I'm gay, I'm proud, accept me!" and start destroying Our children