Chapter 247Lesser Lessons

The nine had burned completely, nothing but ashes remained. We knew we couldn't stay here much longer. The fire was sure to have been seen by someone by now and the emergency vehicles must be on their way. But...

I was the first one to speak. "We can't leave them here."

Kai nodded. "I know."

In a way they deserved a sort of burial, regardless of all they had done. To my surprise, Kai had actually thought of that. He opened his backpack and got out some useful items to bury them.

Although...

He pulled out a dustpan and a large urn-type thing. I wondered where he got that from. It was only a plastic urn, as far as I could tell, but it would do for now. It was almost stupid to see him sweep up the ashes of all of them and put them together in the pot. The nine would be together for all eternity, but no longer able to terrorize anyone else.

It didn't take Kai very long to get all of it and sweep it up nicely. It was surprising, to me at least, how dry it all was. I'd have expected the flaming liquid to leave some residue, but it appeared to be either gone or evaporated. Or maybe it had been carried away by the heat.

Khuna spoke softly. "Where should we bury them?"

I looked at her. "The tree."

She wanted to speak but didn't. In a way it was the best place for them, a place of forgiveness and peace. Kai and Valerie kept quiet as well, basically conforming to our choice. They didn't know anything better to do either.

Kai put the urn back in his backpack and swept up some of the broken glass that was still lying around here and there. After that we left the factory and put the glass in a corner somewhere. Even if they found it here, there was very little they could do with it. The fire had probably removed any fingerprints whatsoever and the heat had even melted most of the shards to weird blobs.

It'd be fun to use them for an art project.

A really creepy and completely ridiculous kind of fun. But... you know..

We walked away from the factory and fell in step with each other automatically. Khuna and I were walking in front, the ones who knew where to go, with Valerie and Kai walking behind us. The streets were very quiet around here. No cameras, no people. Could we get away with all of this unseen?

There were sirens far behind us when we were about half-way to the park. It was hard to tell if they were headed for the factory itself. But it mattered very little now, as we were far away of the scene of the crime.

Was it a crime though?

With a sigh I realized it was. Though it was perhaps a crime to prevent others, it wasn't proper to kill. And that is what we did. We killed. We snuffed out their existence from the universe, never to be returned again.

Even if a lesser evil was performed to prevent a greater evil. It was still a bad act. It was important to remember that. The intention didn't make it a good act, it just made it necessary. It was still murder.

But...

And this was the very important bit for a vampire. The big difference between them and us.

We didn't kill by drinking blood.

We didn't take their souls.