by J. Thiele
Casey stood on the opposite side of the table; the words had barely escaped her mouth when Damon was suddenly standing behind her.
“Detective, by now I would have thought that was clear.”
Casey spun around, but he’d disappeared and reappeared back on the landing.
“What the fuck are you doing?” she raised her voice “and what the hell are you?”
Damon reappeared in front of her face with his canines flashing. “I am known as many things, Detective, the undead, vampire, bloodsucker I personally prefer Damon. We are not all monsters.” He assured her.
“We? There are more of you?”
“There are many of us all over the world detective. Most of us did not choose our existence and prefer to live a solitary life. We feed on the living drawing their blood to keep our own bodies functional. We try to leave the donor unharmed and most of them unaware that they have even been of service to us.”
“That woman you killed, the one that was giving me an arse kickin’ was she a friend of yours?” Casey enquired.
“I did not know her detective.”
“But she was...”
“Detective, excuse my pertinence, but do you know every lesbian in the city?”
“Ah, point taken,” she told him. Casey hated the assumption people had about every lesbian knowing each other; she was pissed at herself for making a similar presumption. “Okay, so what’s your story? Why all the cloak and dagger shit? And why are you making it your God given duty to protect me?” she needed to know.
“What do you know of your family history?” he inquired.
“Not a lot, I knew my Nana, My dad’s an asshole, my mother died a few years ago. What more do I need to know? Oh yeah, and that little shit Wes, is some sort of distant cousin of mine.” She added.
“That is correct, detective. But what about your ancestors?” he enquired “Do you know of your Great Great Grandmother?” He asked.
“You seem to know an awful lot, why don’t you fill me in.”
“She was beautiful, her name was Elizabeth Moresby. Beth she was called. I loved her, but she was betrothed to another man…a human.”
“Oh stop! I’m not buying this shit, how old do think you are?”
“I am three hundred and seventy nine years old.”
Casey wasn’t sure whether to laugh or cry. If she believed what he was saying it gave credence to the fact that vampires existed. If she didn’t, she had a madman in her house and she was entertaining his story telling.
“It is hard for you to believe detective, but I am young by most standards.” He continued, “My maker, the vampire responsible for my existence, insisted I take her from her husband and family, but I could not. I despised my own existence and could not bear to put that life on my beautiful Beth. She would come to me some nights, so I could feed.” His face changed, softening a little. “It angered my maker that I had never turned a human, it was my destiny he would say. But I couldn’t. People began to talk of our involvement. It was said that her husband discovered our love and murdered her. Her body was never found. He of course denied the charges and argued that she had fled with her lover. But I assure you, I did not take her. My maker has never shown himself to me since.”
“Okay, so ya had a little fling with Grandma way back when, but what has that got to do with me in the here and now?”
“I was in the warehouse, reminiscing if you will, about the days when it was a saw mill, the days when Beth and I would meet after hours there. I’d been there a few weeks, watching that gang of thugs they were of no significance to me, nor I them, so our paths never crossed. I mused at the way they taunted and teased the young Moresby boy. Until one day his blood was spilled by his companions and I could smell it from up high in my hiding. The scent was intoxicating. I recognised the familiar scent immediately. It was the scent of my beloved Beth. I had decided that night I would dispose of his tormentors, as a promise I made to my absent lover, that I will let no harm come to her bloodline. But then you arrived. When you were shot, and your blood ran, the same intoxicating smell overwhelmed me. I saw the grey boy standing over you. I could not come into the light, but I would certainly draw him into the dark.”
“You killed them?”
“Yes, I killed them, I would have killed him too if your colleagues had not arrived when they did. I retreated back into the darkness. And your life was spared.”
“What about Wes? What did you do to him?”
“The boy was in shock, he was never going to recover. He would never be a respected citizen, a productive member of your communities. I did something I swore I would never do. I turned a human. My maker rejected me all those years ago for refusing to carry out such a deed, now it is done, he would be proud.”
‘But you’ve created a monster. He’s killing people, innocent people.”
“You have no evidence it is him.”
“Oh come on. You know as well as I do it’s him. He would have attacked Ray and I in the warehouse that day, I’m guessing it was only by your intervention that we escaped.”
“He has yet to harness his new existence, it is my fault. I bare the blame. He witnessed my attack on the thugs, then turned him whilst he was still in shock and the memory was still fresh, he is learning to control himself.”
“Well that’s just fucking great. How many people have to die before he learns to play nice? In the meantime my Jen is dead because of him.”
“Detective, you’re saddened by your loss, as a human being only, but if you truly loved Jen, your scars would be far deeper. Am I mistaken?”
“I carry this with me everywhere.” She said pulling the chain from her pocket, and throwing it at him once more. It hit his hand before bouncing off and hitting the floor. A puff of smoke and the foul smell of burning flesh filled the air. “Christ! What the fuck is that about?”
“It is no matter, Detective, we are sensitive to silver, fortunately we heal remarkably quick.”
He showed Casey his hand and she watched the scorched skin heal itself in a matter of seconds. “Sweet Jesus, that’s amazing. Hang on, I didn’t break bones the other night, the doctor said by all accounts I should be dead, but here I am, did you fucking turn me you bastard?”
Damon laughed, “Detective, you have been out in the sunlight since then, perhaps a little too much. Though it is true, I did feed you my blood. Not enough to turn you, but just enough to heal your broken bones and keep you alive until your comrades came to assist.”
“Okay, so what about Wes, he needs to be stopped.”
“He is my child now. When we turn a human, it becomes our responsibility to become there charge. It is only I that can track him, compel him and teach him.”
“Yeah well that’s great Daddio, but how do we kill him.”
Damon’s eyes flared, and his sneer exposed his fangs. Casey flinched and he retracted them quickly aware that his outburst had startled her.
“There is no need to kill him detective; I will bring him to justice. But since you asked the how to question, we are not so indestructible. You might want to pay attention, as I have said, we are not the only vampires in the city, and some like Wes have turned rogue. A change is coming. They will expose themselves soon. You will need to know how to defend yourself.”
He was about to tell Casey how to dispose of the undead, when her phone rang.
“Case, are you up for this? There’s been another massacre.” Pearce’s voice billowed through the receiver. “Right outside the movie theatre, three victims in plain view of other movie goers, fucking freak show down here. Someone recognised the perp from his school days, it was that fucking Moresby.”
“I’m on my way.” Casey said, as she took her spare piece out of her bag.
“Case, one of the Vic's is a twelve year old boy.”
Casey felt her heart stop. She glared at Damon as she hung up the phone. “Still think you can control him?” She started to relay what the captain had told her when he interrup
ted her.
“Speed and hearing are two of our major advantages Detective. I heard what your commander said.” He told her with sadness in his voice.
She turned to get her keys, and before she could say another word, Damon was gone. “FUCK!” she yelled knowing he was on his way to the scene as well.
Chapter Twenty
By the time Casey arrived on site, the paramedics and squad cars had all but blocked the surrounding streets. People were standing around everywhere, crying, with dazed looks on their faces. Some walked aimlessly as if in a trance, clearly in shock of what they'd witnessed. There didn’t seem to be enough paramedics to go around.
Suddenly she saw a face she knew. “Detective, this way!” Kara shouted from the crowd waving her over. Casey ran to her, “Brace yourself; this is not for the faint hearted.” Kara told her as she ushered her toward the scene and her comrades.
“I’m a big girl Kara, not a lot that can shock….” Casey stopped dead in her tracks as they entered a clearing circled by police tape. She swayed at the repulsion of what was strewn before her. Kara grabbed her elbow to steady her. There was blood everywhere, over the windshield of parked cars, shop windows, and even some of the people that were too close to the massacre at the time it happened. Body parts were hung like decorations from street lights. A man’s head lay in the middle of the road as if it had rolled there like a bowling ball.
“It happened so fast,” a man was telling an officer.
Casey felt a set of eyes on her; she looked up, toward the rooftop of a building overlooking the carnage. One moment Damon stood near the edge and in a blink, he was gone.
“CASE!” she heard Pearce from the other side of the blood bath. She met him half way. Rick and Ray weren’t far behind him.
“This bastards' out of control. I want him found tonight! He couldn’t have gone too far. Spread out and do a sweep. I want every building, alley and car searched. A fucking kid for Christ’s sake! Gather every available man; we’ll work in teams of four. This shit ends now!”
Teams were formed quickly, Pearce, Ray, Rick and Casey went in one direction and all others went down opposing side streets.
They’d only gone a short distance, when they were stopped by the sound of sobbing.
It was coming from a long dark alley.
“Shh!” Pearce hushed them, and they gathered to listen more attentively. “Could be anyone, nobody shoot unless the target is clear. Could be a traumatised witness or a vagrant. I don’t wanna waste a bullet unnecessarily.” They all pulled their weapons and headed down the alley. The sobbing got louder, and it sounded like it was coming from more than one source.
Simultaneously they flashed their torches in the direction of the dead end. Huddled on the ground in the corner were two bodies. One cradled in the arms of the other. They were Wes and Damon. Damon looked like a broken man, as he held Wes in his arms both crying tears of what appeared to be blood.
“What the fuck?” Ray spoke out loud.
“Forgive me, this destruction falls on my shoulders. He is my child now. I must be the one to end his torment.” He kissed Wes on the forehead, leaving splotches of blood stamped from the tears that had escaped his eyes and rested on his cheeks. “Forgive me my son, I have forsaken you.” Wes huddled in closer, sobbing like a child that had been chastised by a strict parent. Damon’s arm rose above him, before anyone realised he held a wooden shard in his hand, he bought it down hard into Wes’s ribs, piercing his heart.
“NO!” Casey’s voice rang out, but it was too late. Before their eyes, Wes let out a piercing screech, turned a deathly shade of grey, and then as if by magic, crumbled into a pile of dust.
Shots were being fired from three men’s weapons, but all were fired in vein, Damon was gone as well.
The team exchanged glances. “I’m getting too fuckin old for this shit!” Pearce decided. “Who’s gonna believe this when it gets out? The people are gonna want a body, not to mention the mayor.”
A set of lights pulled up at the entrance of the Alley, and the figure of a woman strode toward them. Kara came into view after jumping from the driver’s seat. I heard the shots on my way back to the general. My bus is empty, who bit the bullet and needs a ride?”
“Nobody.” Ray told her.
“But I heard gunshots, and lots of them, don’t tell me you were wasting ammunition on stray cats.”
“You wouldn’t believe us if we told you.” Casey added.
“I don’t know, I’ve been known to believe all kinds of fairy tales in my time. Try me.”
“Not now. We need a body, before we have another public outcry.” Pearce gruffed.
“A body?” Kara asked “Maybe that’s where I can help, remember I’m a medical student and a paramedic. I have full access to the body farm at the uni. Maybe we can strike a deal. You fill me in, and I might scratch your back in return.”
“Are you bribing me!?” Pearce raised his voice.
“Merely offering my services, Captain.” she responded.
“No chance, now get out of here before I have you charged.”
“Your call.” Kara turned and headed back to the ambulance.
All three looked at him as if asking what else did he have in mind?
He had no other options, “Wait!” Kara stopped, she smiled before turning around. She had a hunch he’d call her back.
“Case, you ride in the back of the bus. We’ll follow in the cars.” We need to do this fast. We also need to get an examiner to doctor up an autopsy.”
Ray interjected. “I can help with that. I have someone, or I know someone.” What he meant was he had a booty call that happened to work as a coroner in the city's mortuary.
* * * * *
Victor’s eyes flashed open, he howled in pain. Someone from his bloodline was just exterminated. Someone that was new to his line, but an offspring none the less... At that moment Beth awoke, howling with the same grief. One of the human branches from her family tree had been snapped off.
The only word that escaped both of their lips as they glared into each other’s eyes was “REVENGE!”
Chapter Twenty-One
Pearce was giving his statement to the press; a body was lying in the city morgue with a toe tag attached saying it was Wesley Moresby. It was waiting to be put to rest in an unmarked grave paid for by the city.
Ray, Rick, Casey and now Kara waited in the conference room for the Captain to make an appearance.
Casey had already filled them in on the unfinished conversation she’d had with Damon the night before, just prior to the chaos that had taken place outside of the theatre.
“What’s your story Kara? Why are you so interested in this case?” They were all curious, but Rick was the first to ask the question.
“Being a paramedic, you see things, unexplainable things. I don’t just want to patch these people up; I want to know what brought them to me in the first place. This case in particular has me intrigued; I’ve picked bodies up with bite marks all over them, completely drained of blood—Bodies like the ones you saw last night, ripped apart like paper dolls. I’ve taken patients to the psych ward, screaming hysterically that a shadow killed their loved ones. You see, I’ve actually been on this case longer than any of you. You guys just have the ability to access more resources than I do.”
Just as she finished her sentence Pearce barrelled through the door, “Right, where are we?”
He asked, as he scanned the room assessing his growing team of vampire hunters.
“Sir, when I spoke to Cartwright last night, he said there were more, lots more. I don’t believe he’s dead, I think he’s in hiding. We need to pull back the surveillance at the warehouse to give him a chance….”
“A chance to what Marks? If he’s a vamp, he needs to fry like the rest of them.”
“Not this one sir, I believe he can be of assistance. As humans appear to be pretty defenceless against these creatures, last night just before you called about the massacre at
the theatre, he was about to tell me how to defend myself against them. We need that information, especially if he was true to his word about the trouble heading our way.”
* * * * *
Pearce pulled the security detail from the warehouse. He still didn’t trust Cartwright, but with nothing to charge him on, he couldn’t afford to keep his troops parked at the premises any longer than he already had. Fuck, he couldn’t even charge him with the murder of the Moresby boy without a body, and he and the department had already claimed the bragging rights to the stand in one at the morgue.
It was time to regroup. If the city was about to be infiltrated by more of the undead, they needed to know how to protect it and themselves.
“Okay Marks, you win. Get out there and find that bloodsucker and squeeze the son of a bitch for everything you can get.” Casey wasn’t sure where to even start looking, but she flicked her head at Ray to encourage him to tag along. She’d grown attached to having the little Casanova cop at her back, and she was still not sure if he had fully recovered from the she vamps feeding frenzy on him. So she wanted him close to keep an eye on him.
“Mind if I tag along?” Kara was already on her feet, and they all turned to look at her. “Um, just in case you run into trouble and need patching up.”
Casey rolled her eyes, but agreed to have her along for the ride. She quite liked Kara, she was prettier than Ray after all.
Just before they all exited the room, Pearce was heard asking Rick “I suppose you’ll be heading back to your own precinct now that the immediate problem is solved.” They all froze to hear his response.
“Well, actually sir, I was kind of hoping you could recommend me for a transfer. I think I could be of assistance here, as a valuable member of the team.” They all spun around waiting to see what Pearce was going to say. “What I’m saying sir, is, I’d like to stay on, if you’d have me that is?”