“Ander Diaz is a Basque name.”
“Yes, but fear not. I am a proud Basque but also a sympathizer. I have promised, on my life, to see you across safely.”
Robert Norton’s keen blue eyes looked into the night. “Life. An interesting concept.”
“We must wait for your escort.
“Why risk yourself me?”
“My grandmother was like you. She was very beautiful. I even met her once., before they hunted her down and…”
“I understand.”
“Sir, realize I do not sympathize with the Nazis, just you.”
“But only they will welcome me, protect me. I see my contact on the other side.” An ice cold hand patted Ander’s shoulder. “Thank you, my friend. I’d never have survived in England.”
“The underground will always be here. Good luck.”
“Thank you.” The vampire rose from their hiding place and crossed over into Nazi occupied France. There would be good hunting here.
I wrote this for the What Pegman Saw challenge. The idea is to use a Google Maps image and/or location as the prompt for crafting a piece of flash fiction no more than 150 words long. My word count is 149.
Today, the Pegman takes us to Basque Region, Spain. I had a tough time finding a hook for this, but then, it had been a long time since I’d written a vampire story.
One way for people to get out of Nazi occupied France during World War Two was into neutral Spain, but what if the only way for a vampire to survive was to join the Nazis?
Read other stories based on the prompt at InLinkz.com (The grandchildren came over early, so I have to make this fast).
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An intriguing vampire story, James. I particularly liked your line “Life. An interesting concept.”
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Indeed. From a vampire’s point of view, it is. Thanks.
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Good stuff, James. The Basque are an interesting race of people. ETA has been on many political sides over the years, even recently.
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Believe it or not, we have a large Basque population in and around Boise.
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I believe it. Shepherds came Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho in the eary 20th century and stayed on. They’re an interesting bunch.
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Oh, vampires. What an interesting take on the prompt,
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An underground railway for vampires. Wonder what happened to them when the Nazis were defeated? Thanks.
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I guess if any group of people would welcome vampires…
You had me going. At first i thought the blue eyed person was Spanish, then Nazi German, but your last line ( and the cold hand) explained why he really had to flee. Imagine anyone sympathizing with vampires. Or Nazis for that matter. It curdles the blood to think about either.
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I don’t think either of my characters sympathized with the Nazis. For the Basque man, he was protecting vampires because he didn’t believed they asked for their fate. The vampire, of course, was going to the only sanctuary for his kind.
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Was Robert Norton a Nazi? Why was underground helping him?
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Norton wasn’t a Nazi, but only the Nazi’s promised safe haven to vampires, probably because they intended to put them to some evil use. As far as the Basque gentleman, his experience with his own grandmother probably led him to conclude that vampires don’t ask to become what they are and only do what they do out of necessity (at least some of them), not malevolence. It’s tough to present vampires as sympathetic characters, but I try.
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There is a lot of layer. For uninitiated difficult to understand. Thank you for explaining.
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You’re welcome. Actually, this is why I enjoy stories written by people from different countries, so I can get some exposure to other cultures and thought processes.
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A vampire has no political interests. As long as he can keep on being undead, he’ll go where he is safest.
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It would be interesting to find a vampire with a political interest, but I suspect, as with many of us, it would be based on self interest.
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A gripping storyline – full of atmosphere and the way it reveals gradually. Vampire involvement is quite a twist. Well done.
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Thank you.
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So will they hunt Nazis–even if it’s they’re only refuge? I hope so. I know you say vampires aren’t political, but I hope they have a taste for Nazis.
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Vampires hunting the Nazis who are giving them sanctuary would be a bit like biting the hand (or neck) that feeds you. Best guess is that the Nazis would have vampires putting down the resistance movement in occupied France.
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