The Vampires of Senegal

The City of Dakar, Senegal, built a massive wall around itself during the early days of the Zombie Apocalypse. The Wall of Dakar was completed in the summer of 2022. Mayor Ahmed Camara, Leader of the City, was roundly mocked by fellow African leaders as well as others around the world for his seemingly paranoid and crazed response to what was considered mere rumors at this point. Six months later, when the recent dead began to rise and consume the flesh of the living, world leaders, armies and police forces began to mobilize but by then it was too late...

As it turns out, the world's mightiest military powers such as America, Russia, China and Australia, simply couldn't handle the Zombies. Soldiers are men and women trained to fight other men and women. Zombies are ravenous things that look like people but disobey every law of nature. Zombies do not sleep. Zombies do not feel pain. Zombies do not feel fear. Zombies keep going, hunting down the living, until the Zombies themselves are stopped or all the living are consumed. Zombies are more indomitable than any enemy the human species has ever faced.

A decade after the Zombie Apocalypse began, most of the world's nations have fallen. The techies working at the Tower, Metro Dakar's massive communications center, are still in contact with the Governments of Haiti, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Trinidad and a few others. While the United States of America, Canada, Europe, Australia, China, India, Afghanistan and Pakistan have fallen, most of Senegal remains standing. The City of Dakar remains the world's most populated surviving metropolis with a population of almost two million souls. They have survived, but at what cost?

Mayor Camara has recently been re-elected, defeating his rivals, a group of Progressives led by the beautiful and ambitious Theresa Soh, had come dangerously close to unseating him. The Mayor has friends in high places as well as low ones. With the Sanitation Brigade patrolling the Wall of Dakar night and day, protecting the citizens from the Zombies, there was a semblance of order. The Mayor gave the people of Metro Dakar protection and in return, they gave him obedience. Such is the way of every government...

"Mayor Camara, it is late, I am going home," said Sophie Etienne, and the tall, curvy young Haitian woman looked at her Boss and flashed him a wan smile. In the dimly lit office, the old man allowed himself a sigh. Mayor Camara nodded at Sophie and wished her good night. The young woman exited the office, and then promptly left City Hall. Sophie had been born on the Island of Haiti, about as far from Senegal as one could get, yet she'd adjusted to life in the West African nation and even learned to make herself useful.

"Bonne soiree mademoiselle," Mayor Camara repeated to Sophie Etienne's retreating figure. The young woman headed straight to her car, and drove to the Azimuth Prefecture, where she lives with her husband Guillaume Guerrier and their daughter Maxime. Mayor Camara was fond of Sophie, whom he treated more like a daughter than an employee. He made a mental note to visit Sophie and her family the following weekend. Life is too short not to spend time with one's favorite people.

There are thousands of Haitians living in the City of Dakar, remnants from a International Francophone Delegation that had been in town during the early days of the Zombie Apocalypse. A lot of Senegalese citizens had been weary of these newcomers, but Mayor Camara enforced upon his people that during the war against the Zombies, anyone who isn't trying to eat you is an ally. With larger West African nations such as Nigeria and Ghana having gone dark, Senegal remained the last bastion of human civilization during the Zombie Apocalypse.

Mayor Camara stood at the window, looking at the night sky. A little over a decade ago, on a night just like this, as the world was about to fall, he made a deal with the Devil. The Mayor's conscience sometimes plagued him, but he told himself he'd done what was necessary to protect his people. In times of war, the man who is most ruthless is often the winner. There is a price to pay for victory. Nothing comes without cost in this world or other worlds. For Mayor Camara, the price of victory and salvation had been his soul...

"We must stop meeting like this," came a feminine voice which Mayor Camara recognized all too well. Out of the darkness stepped Salima Senghor, a six-foot-tall, alluring African woman in her forties. Salima wore a simple T-shirt and jeans, and looked rather ravishing. Mayor Camara blinked, and Salima smiled, flashing her pearly white fangs. Even after knowing Salima for over a decade, Mayor Camara couldn't get used to the fact that she was a Vampire. In these dire times, beggars cannot be choosers when it comes to allies...

"Good evening, Salima," Mayor Camara said with a curt bow. Salima drew closer, and laid her hand on his arm. The simple gesture, which might be mistaken for friendship, was enough to make the Mayor shudder for Salima's flesh was cold as ice. Like the Zombies, Vampires do not breathe, lack a pulse, and usually register at room temperature. When a Vampire drinks blood, his or her flesh will be warm for hours afterwards. The rest of the time, Vampires are cold as the grave...

"Master Aziz sends his regards," Salima said, and Mayor Camara sighed and nodded. He and Salima went back to the office, to discuss matters of state. As eerie as Salima could be, she was nothing compared to her maker, the Vampire Master known as Aziz. Salima was once human, and once upon a time, she was Mayor Camara's friend and lover. Master Aziz took Salima from the Mayor, turned her into a Vampire and made her his errand lady, as it were...

"Can't say I miss Master Aziz," Mayor Camara grumbled, and Salima's eyes flashed bright red. The Vampire grabbed the Mayor and pressed him against the wall. Salima bared her fangs and drew closer, until her face was mere inches from that of Mayor Camara. The Mayor, a short and slender, dark-skinned man with silver hair, nevertheless stood his ground and did not flinch as the Vampire stared him down. Mortal or otherwise, the Mayor doesn't let his enemies see him sweat...

"Mayor Camara, our Master Aziz has given you the means of protecting what's left of the human race from the Zombies, and kept you alive and in power, do not disrespect him," Salima hissed, and the Mayor nodded slowly. The Vampire released her grip on the older man's throat. Mayor Camara massaged his throat and shot Salima a reproachful look. In mortal life, Salima had been a passionate, loving and faithful woman. Was there anything of Salima's human self within the Vampire she'd become?

"I meant no disrespect, of course," Mayor Camara said gently, and Salima relented. Yeah, there was nothing of the old Salima left. The Mayor remembered his first meeting with Master Aziz, more than a decade ago. Back then, Ahmed Camara had been a Captain in the Metro Dakar Police Department. Ahmed Camara had ambition to spare, but since he wasn't wealthy or well-known, he would never rise to the top in Dakar's political scene. All that changed the day he met Master Aziz...

"We must talk, sir," said Master Aziz as he approached Ahmed Camara one evening in Josephine's Restaurant, a popular eatery which the Captain frequented. Ahmed Camara looked at Master Aziz, who appeared to be a tall, strongly built black man of about thirty. The fellow looked like a professional bodybuilder, but he wore a nice suit and tie. Thinking that Master Aziz had money and influence, Ahmed Camara paused his supper, and addressed the man.

"I am a busy man, stranger, so make it quick," Ahmed Camara said, and Master Aziz grinned, and then joined him at his table without being prompted. Incensed by the seemingly wealthy young man's arrogance, Ahmed Camara was about to rebuke him when Master Aziz's eyes turned bright red. Ahmed Camara froze, for he suddenly realized that the person seated at his table was not human. In West Africa, stories of magical beings such as the Bultungin or Were-Hyenas, the Djinn and others are quite common, as it were...

"I am Master Aziz, and you, Captain Camara, are going to help me save a portion of Africa from the coming end of the world," said the red-eyed being, and Ahmed Camara nodded. Master Aziz let Ahmed Camara finish his supper and then led the Captain away from Josephine's Restaurant. As the two of them walked through the streets of Metro Dakar that evening, Master Aziz explained himself. The fellow was an ancient Vampire, and he wanted to save Dakar, and Senegal itself, from the coming Zombie Apocalypse.

"Help me get power and I will be your loyal agent," Captain Ahmed Camara said, as he and Master Aziz sat at a park together. Master Aziz looked at the Captain and grinned, and then Ahmed Camara blinked, for forbidden images flashed into his consciousness. For a brief moment, the Captain saw Master Aziz for what he was. What appeared to be a tall, well-built young black man was in reality a seven-foot-tall, gray-skinned, fanged and clawed, horned monster with huge, bat-like wings. This was the true visage of the Vampire.

"Pledge yourself to me, Captain, and I will make you a King at the end of the world," Master Aziz said, and Ahmed Camara shook his hand. Thus, the deal was made, and Ahmed Camara's fate was sealed. The Captain went home and made love to his mistress, a lovely African woman named Salima Senghor. Ahmed Camara has made a deal with the Devil, and would soon reap his reward. The next day, Mayor Omar Sylla, leader of Dakar City, summoned the Captain to his office and offered him a post on his cabinet.

Six months after resigning from the Metro Dakar Police Department and taking a position on City Hall, Ahmed Camara found himself thrust into the spotlight after Mayor Omar Sylla suffered a fatal heart attack. Ahmed Camara was named the interim Mayor of Dakar following the death of his benefactor Mayor Omar Sylla. Mere months into his new job, Mayor Ahmed Camara found himself staring down the Zombie Apocalypse. As it turns out, everything Master Aziz said was true. The dead began to rise, and any human being they bit reanimated as a ravenous corpse...

"I will always honor my end of the bargain," Mayor Camara said to Salima, blinking away the last vestiges of his little trip down memory lane. Salima smiled at the Mayor and then, impulsively, she kissed him. Stunned by this gesture, Mayor Camara kissed Salima back. Taking the Mayor by the end, Salima led him to his own desk. After sitting him down, she unzipped his pants and grabbed his cock. Salima flashed the Mayor a fanged grin while stroking his cock.

"We are allies at the end of the world, Ahmed, we must take care of each other," Salima said, and just like that, she began sucking the Mayor's cock. Mayor Camara sighed happily as Salima took his dick into her mouth. Salima's mouth felt cold around the Mayor's cock but he did not mind. After sucking his cock until he came, she drank his seed. Salima smiled at the Mayor then wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. The Vampire winked at the Mayor, and then leapt out the window, taking off into the night sky like a bird.

"Deals with the Devil are bad," Mayor Camara reminded himself, looking into the nighttime sky, where Salima the Vampire had gone. The old Senegalese man looked at the City of Dakar, the world's most populated city. Let the world end, and with it, the evils of colonialism, pollution and overpopulation. Outside the Wall of Dakar, millions of Zombies paced back and forth, useless automatons forever reaching for human prey that was outside their grasp. The deal Mayor Camara struck with Master Aziz and the Vampires worked fine for both parties. Without the humans, the Vampires would starve and die. Without the Vampires, the humans would fall prey to the Zombies. Predator and prey cannot exist without each other. Such is the way of the world...