Homecoming

by Heath Stallcup

  Spalding clicked the button. “Report.”

  “Fast moving crowd headed your way. Best guesstimate on strength at eighteen to twenty. Some are heavies.”

  “ETA?”

  “Five minutes, tops.”

  “Copy that, OPCOM.” Spalding’s eyes met his squad mates. “You heard the man. Options.”

  Lamb and Jacobs glanced at each other and shrugged. Lamb piped in first. “Ambush in the church sounds good to me. From the direction they’re coming, we’ll be downwind.”

  Jacobs nodded. “It will buy us a little time.”

  Donovan considered their options then agreed. “It is our best shot. I can set up outside the alcove again, just like before.”

  Spalding looked to Sullivan who gave a barely perceptible nod. “Very well then. Man your positions. Donnie, overwatch. Lamb, Jacobs, east side of the building, outside the wall. John and I are taking the roof.”

  Lamb jerked his head up. “You’re putting the biggest guy in the world on a crumbling roof? Let’s send the little Asian guy up there, boss.”

  “Up yours, Lamb.” Ing shot back as he pulled Lamb toward the door.

  Spanky turned to Little John. “You okay with this?”

  John smiled. “You want me to give you a boost?”

  Spalding chuckled. “Smart ass.” The two men worked their way to the rear of the church and used part of the crumbling porch roof to climb up onto the flat roof of the church. “Watch your footing. This thing really is soft,” Darren whispered as he approached the edge of the parapet.

  John stopped short of Darren’s position and slowly raised himself, peering off to the west. “I’m not seeing anything.”

  “Me neither, but they have to be close.” Spalding edged back down and John followed suit.

  “Closing on your position,” Jericho’s voice came through the ear piece again. “Definitely heavy.”

  “Copy that.” Spalding turned to John and motioned him to the rear of the building.

  Little John waddled low, keeping his head below the parapet and out of sight of the approaching vampires. He leaned against the low barrier at the rear of the church and within moments heard the rapid beat of feet pounding the desert floor. Muffled cries could be heard and he suddenly realized what ‘heavy’ meant. The vamps were carrying back humans to feed on here at the church. Most probably a requirement of their brethren, who were left behind to watch the homefront. He felt a sick feeling rise up in his gut and his mind shot back to his youth, his hand automatically raising and settling on the pocket where the photograph rested.

  “Predator shows them approaching now. The first one is closing on the building,” Jericho reported through the coms.

  Darren keyed his mic. “Donnie, key us when the last one is inside.”

  Two clicks of the radio came back as an affirmative.

  Darren watched Little John against the back wall of the church roof and noted the grim determination set in his features. He whispered to his comrade, “You ready for this?”

  John raised his face and the eyes that settled on Spalding set him back. “I was made for this.”

  Two clicks echoed through the earpieces of each squad member and Spalding keyed his mic once more, “Light ‘em up, boys.” He pulled his own UV grenade and lobbed it across the roof into a gaping hole, right in the center of the abandoned church. Another rolled in moments later from Little John’s hand.

  A series of concussive blasts and white-blue light erupted from within the church and Spalding yelled, “Now!”

  Little John stood and took two large steps before jumping high into the air and tucking his arms into his sides. When he landed, his feet went through the roof of the church and the large man simply slipped down and away, swallowed by the ancient building. Spalding jumped and fell into the same hole right behind him.

  John hit the floor of the church and rolled to the side, his rifle up and at the ready. His peripheral vision caught Spalding hitting the ground beside him, then dropping to one knee, at the ready. Screams could be heard throughout the building, and brightly glowing cinders of orange ash floated about on the wisps of breeze.

  John panned right then back to center. Spalding panned left then back to center, only to find John moving forward and kicking open doors once again. “Clear!”

  Spalding heard the muffled staccato of automatic rifle fire from outside as survivors of the UV attacks attempted to flee the church.

  Donovan called out the number of ashed vampires that attempted to leave through the front entrance and dropped by his rifle. One source stepped out that was actually warm blooded and he held his finger off the trigger. “We have a live one.”

  “Get em out of the line of fire,” Spanky ordered.

  “Copy that.” Donnie was already en route and grabbed the young woman by the arm, pulling her back to where he was previously hiding. Her screams and beating at him in her own confusion did little to deter him.

  “Two more over here,” Jacobs announced.

  “We’re securing the heavies,” Lamb stated as he jumped the short stone wall and scooped up the would-be midnight snacks. He handed one frail body over the wall to Jacobs and jumped the wall with the other before reporting both secure.

  Spalding watched as John went room to room, ashing everything in his wake. Screams could still be heard filtering through the old adobe building as Spalding fought to keep up with the man, taking mental notes of each ashed monster, how quickly he cleared each room, trying to ensure that Sullivan took no unnecessary risks.

  As Little John kicked open the door to the room where the muffled cries seemed to originate from, short squeals and surprised screams erupted. The large man nearly growled as he stepped into the room and saw what stood before him. Spalding stepped in behind him, covering their six, then turned and saw what had John growling like a feral dog.

  Two male vampires held a handful of co-eds in front of them as human shields. One of the vampires had a thin mustache and shoulder length, greasy hair. His dark eyes jumped back and forth between the two operators as they closed the distance between them. “Stay back! Stay back…or I swear to God, I’ll kill them!” he yelled.

  “You were going to kill them anyway.” Sullivan growled as he stepped closer. One of the girls yelled out in pain as the vampire jammed a thick nailed finger into her back, right at the kidneys.

  “I mean it, dammit!” He jabbed her again, causing her to scream again and her knees to go weak. He held her up with his other hand. “Turn around and leave and we’ll just forget this ever happened.”

  John dropped his rifle and let it hang from its sling. He stared at the greasy haired vampire and shook his head. “I don’t think so.”

  Before Spalding or the vampire realized what he was doing, John stepped forward and closed the gap between them. He reached out and grabbed the vampire by the throat and picked him up from the ground and threw him into the wall. He turned to the other vampire who was still hiding behind the other two co-eds and growled. The vampire turned to bolt from the room, and John pulled his knife and sunk it into the vampire’s back before he could make the door. The silver plated blade bit deeply into the creatures back. The resultant ash that fell to the ground puffed back up and was scattered by the winds.

  Spalding fired two shots and quickly dispatched the vampire that John had thrown into the wall. Its remains were little more than ash as the two men tried to quiet the co-eds and escort them out of the smoke filled building and into the cool desert night.

  Spalding keyed his coms and called in the cleanup crews, but kept a curious eye on John as he walked to the outer perimeter and simply stood, staring out into the distance. He watched the man, steady as a statue in the darkness and he knew he had his own demons to contend with.

  10

  “Sweet Jesus.” Matt rubbed at his temples and propped his elbows on the edge of his desk. “Are you positive?”

  Tufo squirmed in his seat then crossed his legs to try to keep from fi
dgeting. “Yup, I even took a team back out to the desert and we went through Evan’s lab. There’s no sign of his schematics anywhere.”

  “And he searched everything here?”

  Mark nodded an affirmative. “Left no stone unturned was his exact words.”

  Matt stood in a huff and turned to his window, his mind running through possible scenarios. He opened the blinds and observed Dr. Peters in his lab. “Any chance he just misplaced it?”

  Mark raised his eyes from the thumbnail he had been concentrating on. “This is Evan, Matt.”

  Matt let the blinds snap back into place and stared at the tiles in his ceiling. “How am I supposed to go to someone like Thorn and ask, ‘Did you steal a set of doomsday weapon plans from our resident evil genius?”

  “I wouldn’t exactly call Evan an ‘evil’ genius. Genius, no doubt, but not evil.”

  “You know what I’m saying, Mark. Rufus Thorn is not the kind of person you want to accuse unless you have him on videotape actually…” Matt turned and gave Mark a wild eyed stare. “I don’t suppose you checked any of the security footage?”

  “None of it goes back that far.” Mark flicked at a piece of detritus from his boot and sighed wearily. “We only archive three months’ worth.”

  “Great.” Matt leaned against the counter and ached for a bottle of scotch. Old habits die hard. Instead, he reached for the coffee pot and poured a large mug of the dark brew. Mark pushed the spare mug on his desk closer and Matt filled it as well. “Any ideas?”

  Mark picked up the mug and blew across the surface. “Actually, I do.” He sipped the black nectar and waited for Matt to retake his seat. “We have people going to assist Jack, right?”

  Matt nodded and waved him on.

  “So we get one or two that we are sure will keep their mouth shut and clue them in. Have them sniff around a little. Be coy, but thorough.”

  “And if they come up empty?”

  Mark swallowed another drink from the mug. “Then we call in the big guns.” He formed a half crooked smug smile. “We call Phoenix and have him do some sniffing.”

  “What makes you think that he’d rat out his new boss?”

  Mark shook his head. “For someone who worked with the man for so long, you don’t know him very well, do you? He’s more Boy Scout than good employee. The only reason he’s working for Thorn is because of the covenant with the pack. And his family is the pack.

  “Show him that his new boss is crooked? Prove that he’s a liar and a thief? Thompson will turn on him faster than you can spit. The man is all about truth and honor and those things aren’t just words to him. It’s all part of the code that he lives by.”

  Matt studied his XO as he tried to sell him the bill of goods. “I don’t know. You’re painting an awfully simplistic picture of a pretty complicated matter.”

  “It’s really not. Jack’s an idealist.” Mark set his mug down and leaned back in his chair. “Look, he was a SEAL, right? They operate under a code. That code is based on honor and integrity. Brotherhood is the cornerstone.”

  “I still don’t think he’d turn on Thorn. He’s got his hooks into him. Where would his family go if…”

  “The pack,” Mark interrupted. “His father in law is the Pack Master. Do you really think he’d let anything happen to his daughter? Over a vampire?”

  “That vampire was his boss as well. Remember, Viktor was Rufus’ Second for…how long?”

  “True. But blood is thicker than…well…” Mark searched for a good analogy, “employment history.”

  Matt swallowed the last of the steaming cup and rocked in his chair as he bounced the idea around. “I’m not saying that you’re right, but if the boys can’t find anything on their trip, we’ll try going straight to Jack. We’ll see what he can dig up. Or even if he’ll try.”

  “He will.” Mark stood and turned for the door. “I’d bet your life on it.”

  *****

  Rufus shut the library doors and went to the far corner where the oldest of books rested. He stood silently as his eyes scanned the number of spines pointed out at him until they fell upon the one he was searching for. Pulling the large tome from the shelf, he settled in under a reading lamp at the table and carefully opened the ancient book. Worms had eaten at part of the pages at one time and the leather cracked as the cover was opened. Carefully, he lay open page after page until he saw the passages he was looking for.

  In ancient Greek, one of the many origination stories of Lilith laid bare before him. He studied the lines and made mental notes as his eyes ingested each word. Carefully, he scanned each section, hoping to find a common denominator to the previous stories he had studied.

  Some origination stories proclaimed Lilith a vampire. Others proclaimed her a demon. Yet others described powers better suited to a Fallen One. Rufus went back to the shelves and pulled another book, this one an old Jewish origination story. The story of Lilith was far different in it. Yet…there were some similarities.

  As he continued to study the ancient texts, the one thing that stood out in his mind was, there was no mention of a way to actually kill her. Another, and much more disturbing thing that stood out, was the ‘mark’ that God had placed upon her as she was cast from the garden. If this was the mark of Cain, she was untouchable. Rufus sat back and considered how the ancient Romans had originally dealt with her. According to legend, she was beheaded, drained of blood, drawn and quartered and the pieces sent to every part of the known world at that time. There they were buried on hallowed ground. No details were found of where or how a marked person could be buried in hallowed soil, but she was laid to rest in blessed soil, never to rise again.

  Rufus gently shut the books he had been studying and placed them back on the shelves. Closing the glass doors, he retook his seat and pondered if the Doomsday weapon that Dr. Peters designed would actually work on the witch. Would she be considered cursed or damned? If cursed by God, is that not the same as being damned? He hated semantics.

  The possibilities were more than he could consider, and Rufus’ mind was exhausted. He stood and made his way to his bedchamber. His body may have been fully rested, but his mind needed the down time.

  *****

  Laura tossed the keys to the FJ Cruiser into the potted plant next to where Jennifer parked the car. Jen has already crossed the street and started the Explorer that she kept hidden in town for those rare occasions she wanted to be out and about and her father not know exactly where she went. She pulled a quick U-Turn in the dirt street and pulled alongside Laura. “Get in.”

  Laura opened the passenger door and had barely had her bottom meet the seat before Jen goosed the accelerator and shot them down the road. “Why such a hurry? We ditched the black box.”

  “Doesn’t mean Daddy didn’t have a backup installed somewhere on that thing.” She glanced to the rearview and finally slowed the car a bit. “I wouldn’t put it past him. He’s more than a bit paranoid.”

  “I’ve only seen houses like that in the movies.” Laura propped her head on her hand and let the breeze blow through her hair. “What does he do for a living?”

  “A little bit of everything.” Jen took a quick turn and shot the car down a side road, just to be safe. “He inherited a lot of money from my grandfather. He invested in a lot of different side businesses.”

  Laura glanced at her driver. “Drugs one of those businesses?”

  Jen’s mouth fell open. “Certainly not!” The hateful look she shot Laura would have left a bruise if it had been physical. “More like oil and coffee.”

  Laura nodded. “Sorry, I watched too much Miami Vice and that house looked like a drug dealer house.”

  “Well he’s not. He believes in keeping your body and mind pure.” The defensive tone of Jennifer’s voice put Laura on guard. She really didn’t need to be pissing off the one who saved her from her kidnappers.

  “I meant no offense. I don’t know the man.” Laura stared out the window and tried to find someth
ing nice to change the subject to. “How long have you been living in Belize?”

  “Since I can remember.” Jennifer turned down another narrow dirt road and the Explorer started working its way up into the mountains. “Daddy always said that it was perfect for our kind.”

  Laura nodded knowingly but really had no idea how any area could be perfect for a pack of werewolves. “Okay, I’ll bite. How so?”

  Jennifer slowed the SUV for a particularly rough patch and turned the knob on the dash to 4X4. She glanced at Laura then back at the road. “Where he had the house built is sparsely populated. Lots of land to run on when the moon pulls us. Few people to be in our way.” The car hit another particularly rough patch and she slowed a bit more.

  “I think you missed a bump back there. Want to go back and hit it again?” Laura mused.

  Jennifer gave her a dirty look. “I’m doing my best here.”

  “I’m just teasing.” Laura’s hand shot out and grabbed the handle by the passenger window to stabilize herself. “So you grew up down here?”

  “For the most part, yeah. I went to school at a private school, attended university in the States. Traveled a lot.” She hit the brakes as the road came to a ‘T’, and she strained to see if anybody was coming from either direction. She turned and sent them deeper up into the mountains and Laura was convinced they were hopelessly lost. “I was on vacation myself when…” her voice trailed off and Laura could only assume she was referring to the attack on Matt’s family.

  “I take it you’d never had anything like that happen before?”

  “Not that I knew of.” Her eyes stared straight ahead, her mind elsewhere. “I didn’t even know about that until you told me. What if there were others?”

  “Matt didn’t say anything about other human kills. Only livestock. That was how he tracked you.”

  Jennifer shook her head in denial. “If my Halfling killed humans once, it would crave human blood again.” Her voice was barely a whisper, but the terror was evident.