"Commander, they're back," one of my troops informs me as I look over the inventory list. As soon as I look up he racks his shotgun and follow me out to stand on the compound wall with the rest of the men.

It's an "all hands on deck" situation. Everyone is on the wall that can hold a gun. My people aim down at the half-dozen vampire warriors swiftly killing off the few zombies that had stumbled in since yesterday's meeting. I pray my people keep calm and professional. I know how tempting it would be to pop one of these vamps right now.

With the zombies dead a group of cloaked people approached. I recognize from her height that it is the vampire mistress and her handmaidens. She had promised me something tonight that would guarantee trust between the two communities, but I still doubt she can provide.

Too many people think the vampires started the zombie outbreak. People think it was a vampire attempt at bioengineering the ability to walk around in the daylight. Most clans just enslaved humans anyways. This had to be a trick.

But negotiations with The Mistress has been going on for 2 months. Intel says she had 7 vamps to her colony including herself with 3 human familars. She had more humans, but a rival vampire gang took everyone and destroyed her compound.

As she get closer I take the rope elevator down to met her just outside the wall. She steps up to me and i look up at her expectantly. It's hard for me to feel sorry for a vampire, especially in a world that has produced so much misery for the innocent.

She looks down at me and reaches in her robe for something, and you hear the men on the wall shout a warning. I hold up my hand to stop them from firing on her!

"Regardless of your choice Commander," She says, "Whether you let us in or keep us out." She produces a sleeping infant child. "Take the girl. Keep her safe."

"What?" I find myself saying.

"She was one of my Handmaidens, before the Andria Clan took her," the tall vampire says to me. She looks down, almost shy. " The child is Emily. I-I can't have her around. I can't feed on her. Its too tempting and dangerous. She needs to be safe, and with people."

She hands me the child, Emily, and the kid starts to cry. I stand there dumbfounded as the loud kid screams it's lungs out. A couple zombies come walking along towards to noise to get shot by a guard or sliced by a vampire sword. I can hear laughter from both sides.

"So you want to keep her safe?" I ask.

"Yes, Commander. I want to keep everyone safe." She replies.

"Welcome to Fort Brom, Mistress. " I said as I shook her hand. Both sides let out a round of cheers.