Darlings of Decay

by Chrissy Peebles

  “Look at her neck,” I said. “Do you see it? I have the same mark, by birth, Dad. How would she have that unless she was born with the virus too? I had to save her. At the least, I had to try. I think I got all the poison out. Can you tell? I’m mean…” I paused because I could tell he had suddenly become very alert, very calculating, yet unsure of the situation. He was paying attention to my every word.

  I heard the girl growl and then whimper.

  I wanted to go to her, but I held my ground, hoping to appear stoic, regal like my dad was. “No other werewolf has a mark like that. It has to mean something. “I can’t be the only one of my kind,” I said.

  I heard the girl whimper again.

  Throwing up his hands, he glanced over at the girl and then back at me. “This is not me. This is you. Will you please? She won’t quiet down for me.”

  I didn’t understand what he meant until I saw her face and her liquid blue eyes. She was upset.

  Dad kicked his heels a time or two, making his way slowly to the cage where I stood. “That’s why you saved her?”

  “Yes,” I snapped.

  He frowned at me, rubbing the stubble on his chin.

  The girl growled several times at him, so my dad moved to the other side of the cage away from her and me.

  “Why is she caged up?” I asked, tracing my hands along the steel rod, hoping she’d come closer to one of the sides, preferably my side. Finally I stopped near the steel door, opposite her at the other end. The cage covered much of one side of the large room. I motioned for her to come to me, sticking my hand through the bars.

  “I didn’t want her to get away. What were you doing?” Dad asked as he finally placed his hands on his hips in frustration.

  “I didn’t have a chance to finish my experiment.”

  “Zachary, this isn’t something you need to get involved in. Just let it go. I’ll call Containment. We’ll act like it didn’t happen. We don’t need this kind of trouble.”

  Instantly I reacted. My body went rigid. She wasn’t going to be put down. I owed it to my werewolf heritage to try to save her. I had heard my mom’s version of my mom and dad’s romance. Dad had never gone into details, but I knew what he had done to save my mom because she had told me. I wasn’t anybody’s fool. I decided to use some of my mom’s logic on my dad.

  “Did you leave Mom in Hell to rot when she was turned into a vampire? Did you? A daughter of Satan? When she drank Satan’s blood, you were there. She told me. You were there to see her change into a vampire. That was not by accident. You knew then who she really was, and how important she was. She wasn’t evil like everyone thought, and you knew that. You never doubted her even when she did. Her exact words. Over the years, you’ve done everything you can to save her. Every time she has needed saving. Mom told me!”

  “Your mother is a writer. She exaggerates,” he replied, rolling his eyes toward the ceiling. “Who is this girl to you anyways, Zach? You don’t even know her?”

  “I get that. I’m not an idiot.” I tried to control my rage. “I’m not sure, Dad. But I felt it when I saw her in the coffee shop. I don’t want to regret later that I could have done something, you know? I don’t want to live alone, being the only freak of nature, a werewolf zombie even if it means I can walk among them undetected. I don’t want that! If I don’t try to save her, I won’t know. Now will I? What if she too was born with the new virus? What if that makes her unique like me?”

  “That would explain the mark. Maybe she was born with the virus. Who is her father or mother? Your aunt? This may be beyond your abilities, son. I’m sorry. We don’t save zombies. We destroy them. We have to stay on top of this situation before it gets worse among the vampires and werewolves.”

  “It’s gotten worse, Dad. It’s jumped species. I know it.”

  “Do you have proof,” he challenged.

  I pointed to the girl in the cage. “She’s a werewolf, Dad. She told me so.”

  Not believing me, he grunted.

  Using his same logic, I rebelled. He had to understand what he was saying. Rules were meant to be bent sometimes, even broken.

  “Before there were zombies,” I began. “Werewolves used to kill vampires. And yet, you didn’t kill Mom. You were there to protect her.” As best I could, I faced Dad head on. I made a point to thrust my chin up and glare up at him like I had seen my mom doing on more than one occasion. With his height, he had no problem looking down on me, but he had to know I wasn’t backing down. I hadn’t backed down against Rex and the others, and I wasn’t backing down now. As insane as it seemed, I wasn’t wrong about this.

  Dad searched my face for many minutes. The silence in the room thickened. I could hear only the girl’s ragged breathing as she fought the poison.

  Trying to remain calm, I refused to look away from my dad, glaring up at him. I was ready to take on the world. My god, I thought. What has happened to me? I turned my attention back to the girl. She had slowly approached my side of the cage and stood near me, also glaring over my shoulder at my dad. Her blonde hair was tousled amid her face, but I could see the distrust behind her eyes. Even in her chaotic state, she looked adorable.

  In typical parent fashion, my dad reached out his hand and rubbed his fingers through my black hair, somewhat shaking my entire body. He was unbelievably strong. He did that dismissal move on me when he wanted me to know that, for now, he was tabling the situation. I knew it wasn’t over.

  “We’ll have to address this if your experiment doesn’t work. Okay?” he asked.

  “Yes, sir,” I replied.

  Finally he patted me on the shoulder. “I forget how stubborn, like your mother, you are.” He chuckled and walked to the door.

  Realizing I had gotten my way and he was leaving me to my task, I watched as he lingered at the door. “You know,” he said. “You are the son of a vampire with healing blood. Maybe that can help.”

  Our eyes locked for a moment as my mind raced with new possibilities. He had deliberately given me an idea.

  “Are you fine with me sharing your mother the details on this sit…”

  I heard him pause, not finishing his sentence or word.

  “If I don’t show up for dinner, yeah tell her... Uh…” I didn’t want to predict the outcome.

  “Do you need my help?”

  “No. I’ve got this.”

  Again he watched me for several minutes, not saying anything. “Well if you reconsider, call me.” He tapped his fingers to the side of his face along the temple area. “I won’t be far away.”

  I nodded.

  Dad was a man of few words sometimes, but I knew he had my back. He was my ‘Go to’ man if things got really crazy, and I didn’t take that lightly at all. He returned a nod and closed the door.

  ***

  Once the girl shifted a second time between werewolf and zombie, I knew I had to get into the cage with her before the zombie version stuck. It wouldn’t do for me to simply watch her from outside the steel bars of her cage as her werewolf self merged permanently with the zombie monster. And the version of zombie I was looking at was the same demonic creatures we had seen at the coffee shop. With her werewolf ancestry, she looked like a demonic werewolf, crazed and uncontrollable. It reminded me of myself when I was in full ‘zombie wolf’ mood.

  Now as I watched the girl shift back and forth, I realized I hadn’t gotten all of the poisonous blood out of her system, so it was time for Plan B.

  Unfortunately, performing Plan B meant I had to get up and close to her, essentially taking my life in my own hands. Knowing you’re immune to the zombie virus is one thing; getting mauled by a crazed werewolf zombie in a cage is quite another. My past fights with human zombies in their raging sickness amounted to a few cuts and scratches. My claws did my work. If I got blood on me, I simply washed it away. Having the zombie virus in my blood just meant I could smell them out faster than everyone else. That was one of my many secret with zombie killing. Any injuries of mine healed, a
nd they healed quickly. Trying to reattach my arm before dinner was going to be hard to explain to my mom and dad.

  When the word ‘heal’ crossed my mind, I recalled what my dad had said about my mother’s vampiric blood. Supposedly, she was unlike other vampires. Those turned by her could heal anyone’s injuries. She had saved others on many occasions, a few times with my dad. Even though I was skeptical, it was just the thing I needed right about now.

  Suddenly I heard a loud buzzing sound in my ears like a warning going off in the back of my skull. The implant in my head radiated a piercing signal of hesitation as I stared at the lock on the cage door. My arms and legs became frozen in place.

  Dad had told my mom the situation, and they were both at their battle stations, controlling my implant. These are the situations that arise when having two supernatural and overprotected parents can be more than a person bargains for, I thought to myself.

  I wanted to will my legs to work. I wanted to walk away from the girl who I wanted to save as she struggled with the poison now raging in her body because I knew what the end result would be, for both of us. I felt the implant sizzling in my head, directing me to keep the door shut and wait it out. Dad had definitely told Mom because, above everyone, Mom knew what I was about to do and she didn’t want to lose her only son. I cursed the fact I had the implant in my head and was allowing myself to be directed by my overzealous parents. I had to do the unthinkable and unleash the beast.

  Z, I whispered mentally to zombie wolf inside me. Make haste.

  As I told you before, the wolf is always ready. It didn’t take long for my long claws to sever the frozen mental connection I was under and shoot forth from my fingers tips. I yelled out in pain and slumped to the floor on one knee. The implant burned in my temple, and I knew I had to get it out. I reached up with my index finger and sliced into my head. I heard the girl scream.

  With one of my claws, I managed to flick it out from under my skin. Knocks pounded on the door to my room. Mom and Dad did not want to let me finish this on my own. I rushed to the door and shoved the broken recliner against it. That would give me a few minutes at most.

  Quickly I yanked the door of the steel cage open and stepped inside with the girl.

  Being in a human form briefly, the girl fell in my arms. I’m sure I was a sight because I wasn’t able to stop my full zombie wolf transformation from happening. The demon teeth. The claws. My werewolf features pushing forth. My pale sunken face with black skull eyes and my extremely angular canine features. My muscles large and protruding. Standing on two legs I probably looked ghastly.

  “You can’t look at me,” I told the girl. “Okay?”

  She clung to me, crying. “I don’t care. I don’t care. I know you want to help me. Please tell me what to do.”

  “I won’t leave you,” I said, hoping I made sense with a mouth full of teeth.

  “I know,” she replied.

  “Your name?” I asked, barely audible at this point. I realized the only thing I wanted to know at that moment was her name.

  “Sasha. My name is Sasha.”

  “Zach,” I replied. Pulling her into my arms, I embraced her in the middle of another werewolf zombie shift she was having. I heard the door burst open and my mother scream when I sunk my teeth into Sasha’s neck. I forced my will upon the girl, commanding Sasha to return the bite and bury her fangs in my neck. With any luck, the vampiric healing blood of my mother racing in my veins would heal Sasha and extinguish the virus or my blood virus would transfer itself to her and she’d be very much like me. Another zombie wolf. Only time would tell.

  ###

  This story continues in Zombie Wolf (The Next Generation #1) by Ally Thomas (Coming Soon)!

  About The Author-

  Amazon bestselling author Ally Thomas loves writing paranormal books that showcase vampires, werewolves, zombies, witches, and any furry monsters who go bump in the night. Her Vampire from Hell series has been on the Top 100 list in Fantasy at Amazon since 2011.

  Ally is currently working on the next installment of her popular paranormal fantasy series, the Vampire from Hell as well as exploring her passion for vampire romance. Learn more at http://allythomas.wordpress.com/about/contact-me/

  Books by Ally Thomas

  All books are provided in ebook and paperback. Go to Ally’s Amazon Author page at http://amazon.com/author/allythomas for more information.

  The Vampire from Hell (Part 1) - The Beginning

  According to Rayea, the oldest daughter of Satan, the origin of vampires started in Hell, and it started with her. Rayea isn't daddy's little girl, even if he is the most powerful fallen angel around. He wants her to take an active role in the family business. But she's not interested in his schemes for world domination. Instead she wants to spend her time shopping on the Internet, rescuing humans from a horrific eternity, and practicing martial arts with her seven foot hellhound. Then one day everything changes. . (Both the ebook and paperback versions have excerpts from Parts 2 and 3, so the reader can experience the Vampire from Hell series in this sampler offering.)

  The Vampire from Hell (Part 2) - A Vampire among Angels

  Living a life with an overbearing father can be a challenge. For Rayea whose father is the fallen angel, Lucifer, it's been torture. In the second installment of the Vampire from Hell series, Rayea finds peace when she visits the House of G. There she hopes for a new beginning among Blick's angelic friends, only to discover a vampire from Hell may not be welcome.

  The Vampire from Hell (Part 3) – A Vampire on Vacation

  In the third part of the Vampire from Hell series, Rayea travels to Earth hoping to meet her online friends, leave her disturbing past with her father behind her, and embark on a new future without her meddling family.

  The Vampire from Hell Returns (The Vampire from Hell - Part 4) – Late Summer

  Blood of the gods has brought a new dimension to Rayea’s life as the vampire from Hell. In the fourth installment of the Vampire from Hell series, Rayea juggles her new responsibilities and starting a relationship with her best friend, Blick. Additionally, Rayea realizes her sordid past with her family is catching up with her, and she’s going to have to deal with it once and for all. When two of her friends go missing, she knows she must begin a search to find them. And the first place she has to look? Hell.

  Fanged Love - The Prequel

  In one night Grace realizes her lover is destined to ultimately be her greatest enemy. Following Nathan into a world of bloodletting and vampirism was a bad idea and she wants out. Grace plans to escape the clutches of her controlling boyfriend as she learns he is selling her to the top buyer, a woman he met on the internet called the new Medusa. Grace’s plan quickly changes when the Angel of Death shows up, telling her she has sent for him. Will Grace seek salvation in the arms of this stunningly, handsome man known as Demetri? A few characters you have met in the Vampire from Hell series appear in this new series.

  C.A. Verstraete

  While there is a certain satisfaction that comes with reading or writing a longer story or book-length fiction, flash fiction offers its own surprise in a compact form. So, I offer these small tidbits for your reading pleasure...

  Beauty really is only skin deep?

  Beauty in the Eyes of the Beholder

  By Christine Verstraete

  She was the most beautiful girl in the world, well, in my world.

  For days, weeks, all I'd seen was ugliness, horror and decay until I saw her.

  I tried not to stare at hair like glistening gold; long legs; a shapely body under that black dress.

  I longed to reach out and caress the small cross tattooed on her neck.

  I called out, anxious for her response. "Hello, Miss?"

  No answer.

  I slowed my approach, not wanting to startle her.

  "Hey, are you okay?"

  As she turned my heart sped up a bit... and then I swore it stopped.

  She stared at me with eyes the
loveliest shade of blue - if you ignored the whitish film slowly creeping across each iris.

  She gave no other indication anything was wrong, but her dead stare told another story.

  With a huge sigh of regret, I raised the gun and took aim.

  * Inspired by this beautiful photo of a woman's back at:

  http://www.flickr.com/photos/robof07/8716205653/in/explore-2013-05-07

  ***

  Who can live without music?

  The Day the Music Died

  By Christine Verstraete

  "We're musicians, not gypsies," he yelled, slamming the guitar case to the ground.

  They all held their breath at the outburst, worried someone would hear, worried they would come...

  The group huddled in the middle of the wooded grove, wondering what to do next.

  It was foolish, they knew, to hang on to their instruments, to struggle with the heavy cases as they ran from place to place, fleeing for their lives.

  But it was hard to let go. Music had been their lives for years.

  Music was life.

  Low moans floated in on the breeze.

  Music could now mean their deaths.

  *Inspired by an eerie photo of these musicians at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/alexzaitsev/8697805663/in/explore-2013-05-01

  ***

  Here's a small "taste" of my upcoming book, GIRL Z: My Life as a Teenage Zombie, which releases August 1. You can read more at my website, www.cverstraete.com. Pre-order at Amazon.com.

  Synopsis for GIRL Z: My Life as a Teenage Zombie by C.A. Verstraete

  Life can suck when you're sixteen. It can suck even worse when you're not-quite-dead.

  Sixteen-year-old Rebecca Herrera Hayes faces every teenager's biggest nightmares: bad skin, bad hair, and worse ... turning into one of the living dead.

  Becca's life changes forever when her cousin Spence comes back to their small Wisconsin town carrying a deadly secret—he's becoming a zombie, a fate he shares with her through an accidental scratch.