Parasite ; Sleeper Cells ; Kingdoms of the Dead

by Ian Woodhead

“The shadow passing across your face was a bit of a giveaway, Cade. I mean what I say though, there’s nothing that you could have done.”

  He sighed heavily, “I guess so.”

  “No guessing so!” she snapped. “You need to stop this right now. Look, those things are not going to stop, just like we aren’t going to stop trying to destroy them, more people will die, Cade, no matter how hard we try. If you don’t nip this angst in the bud right now, it’ll consume you.”

  “Don’t you think that I know this?”

  She nodded, “Of course you do, I never thought otherwise, it still doesn’t stop you from thinking that you could have saved your mum, you know, like if you hadn’t listened to me, for example? Cade, I haven’t stopped thinking about it either.”

  He pulled the girl back into his arms. “Oh fuck, I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t be; just listen to me for a minute. Even if you had ran home before that vampire had got there, then what? I mean, do you honestly think that she would have listened to you? And don’t give me that crap about she might have known something, because you didn’t. I reckon that this strain, this curse has been passed through your family for generations, Cade. It only activated in you because you went near those buildings.”

  He shrugged. “I still might have been able to get her out of the house.”

  “Okay, so maybe she had believed a crazy tale about vampires being real, Cade. How do you think he found her in the first place? It’s not like a thousand year old vampire would have looked her up on Facebook, is it?”

  “So, you’re saying there’s nothing I could have done?”

  Katy nodded. “If you had been with her, Cade, you would be dead as well, it’s that simple.” She swept her hand across the empty kitchen. “And, if you had died, then who would have saved all these people in here?”

  Cade released her, hurried over to the shop front window and pressed his face against the cold glass. He gazed out into the dark street and allowed her words to sink in. He hadn’t thought of it in that way, Cade had been too busy allowing the guilt eat into his conscience like strong acid.

  “It will never go away, Cade,” she said, embracing his back, “that’s normal, believe me, I know these things.”

  “You do?”

  “Yes, and if we survive this night, maybe I might work up the courage to tell you about it.” Katy gently tapped on the glass. “Right now though, we do have a job to finish? Those policemen are still out there, along with those fuckers who followed us back into town.” She shuddered. “I don’t want to think how many more of the townsfolk could be changed.”

  “Yeah, you’re right. Okay, let’s get this done,” he replied grabbing the door handle. “It’s weird, I can’t seen any of them out there. Do you think they could have gone after the others?”

  “No, that much I do know.”

  Cade glanced back at her. “What makes you so sure?”

  “It’s silent out there, that’s what. Have you heard anyone screaming? Both Tessa and Carol have a good set of lungs in their bodies. Believe me, Cade. If any of those vampire coppers were on their tails, half the town would have heard their bellows by now.”

  Cade started to nod then stopped when he saw he face change to utter horror. The girl staggered away from the window. Cade spun around, just in time to see the three vampires running at full speed towards the shop. He turned and threw his himself over Katy’s body, managing to pull the cleaver out of his belt before the glass exploded inwards, filling the floor with shards of glass.

  He rolled off the girl and pushed her towards the kitchen, hoping she’d be able to get to the other door before they caught her. One of them jumped over his prone body. Before he had time to shout out a warning, one of them stamped down on his wrist. Cade screamed out in agony, catching sight of one of them kicking the weapon to the opposite end of the shop.

  The two vampires dropped to the floor and placed their knees on Cade’s limbs, pinning him to the floor. He glared into the eyes of the closest one, seeing specks of red liquid tainting both of his eyes. It took him just moments to realise that he knew this copper. Cade had seen him a few times in the centre of town, usually asking the local crowd of skateboarders to stop play around the pedestrian zone, outside the shopping mall.

  The youths thought that his requests were hilarious, ignoring the man’s calm demeanour. The only obeyed the original request when the copper’s partner reluctantly left the comforting warmth of the patrol car to provide back up.

  “So, you fancy yourself as a hero, do you?”

  His partner smacked him the other vampire hard in the shoulder. “What are you doing, Frank? Stop it with the conversations and bite the bastard. Can’t you sense it?”

  Cade watched the other vampire shake his head.

  “He belongs to the other clan.”

  Cade struggled, trying to toss the two vampires off his body. He caught his breath at the sudden sound of Katy’s scream blasting out from the kitchen. He’d lost her. That other one must have killed the girl. “Fuck you!” snarled Cade. He spat into Frank’s eyes then leaned forward and head-butted the vampire in the forehead.

  Frank jerked back, his flailing arms catching his partner. Cade bucked his body. The movement gave him just enough leeway to shuffle out from under the pair. He jumped to his feet, his heart soaring at the sight of Katy still alive. Her condition would not stay like that for long; the remaining vampire’s face was just inches from her neck.

  He launched his body at the vampire, crashing into his back. The momentum carried the pair off them over to the ingredient table. Cade saw his chance and thrust the vampire’s head into the tub of garlic powder.

  The force threw Cade into Katy. He looked in astonishment at the incredible sight of the now headless vampire falling to the floor. His head had just detonated, spreading a thin layer of blood, brains, and tiny pieces of splintered skull over the back wall.

  He heard the crunch of glass and looked up to see the other two vampires racing out of the shop. The dull ache in his wrist brought him back to earth. Cade coughed then stood up, helping Katy to her feet. “Are you okay, sweetheart? He didn’t bite you did he?”

  She slowly shook her head. “No, I managed to keep him off me, at least for a few minutes.” Katy strode up to the body, bent over and patted him down. “Shit,” she muttered. “I kinda hoped that he’d be carrying a gun.”

  The congealing scarlet mess dropped from the ceiling, covering everything in gore. Cade waited until most of the stuff had peeled off before he tentatively leaned across and grabbed the container. There wasn’t much of the stuff left. “We still need to get the other two.” He said. “Somehow, I don’t think they’ll be quite as arrogant after seeing what happened to their buddy.”

  “Did you see their eyes?” she asked.

  Cade nodded, trying to rub some life into his wrist, it didn’t hurt as much now. Luckily, his body recuperated quicker than anyone else he knew. He looked at his birthmark; finally understanding the reason for this apparent mystery.

  “You know what? I think it’s a gradual process for them. Like growing up or something. Their eyes weren’t fully crimson and they certainly weren’t as strong as the others we encountered.” She ran over and picked up his cleaver. “I think you might be able to use this after all.”

  He took the weapon from the girl and stared at the body.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Clue me up on what can kill a vampire, Katy. You said you’ve seen most of the movies, just go through the basics for me.”

  “What’s to tell? I thought everyone knew what kills them. You know, stake through the heart, sunlight, cutting off their head.”

  “And garlic?”

  She shrugged. “That depends on the movie, I suppose.”

  “But we do know that it does work, just look around you, sweetheart.”

  “Cade, until today, I thought that it was just vampires were all made up, like the fucking tooth fairy and Santa Cl
aus. Watching my dad’s movies doesn’t make me an expert on the subject. I’m sorry.”

  He chuckled, “You’ve done pretty well so far.” Cade held the cleaver up to the light, watching the rays reflect off the metal. “Did a cleaver put down any vampire in these movies, Katy?”

  She looked at the floor and shook her head. “Not one that size, Cade. It’s great for tomatoes but I’m not sure it’ll be effective against them.”

  “Yeah, that’s what I thought. Size isn’t everything, you know.” Cade leaned over the body and wiped one side of the blade over the ragged hole.

  “That’s just gross.”

  Cade flipped the cleaver and repeated the procedure to the other side. He then picked up the container and emptied the last of the powder over both sides of the weapon. “There, now we’re ready. Let’s just see how brave these bastards really are.”

  Katy grabbed the door handle and glanced back at him before pushing open the door. As he stepped outside , the distant sound of screaming reached his ears. Katy moaned quietly and looked back at him. He could clearly see her terror. Cade felt it as well. The realization of their dire situation was just beginning to sink in. Cade looked down at his bloodied cleaver, coated in the garlic powder and felt like the world’s biggest idiot.

  What the hell possessed him to believe that he actually might stand a chance against these monsters?

  Katy tapped him on the shoulders and he turned to see the taxi driver staggering towards them. He looked drunk and certainly didn’t seem to be that much of a threat. That thought died when the man caught their scent. The taxi driver shivered before he tensed up. Cade watched in horror as the man shot forward, coming towards them like a bullet fired from a gun. His gums just burst open and huge teeth, shaped like ivory tusks grew from the wounds.

  He pushed the girl behind him and raised the cleaver, hoping to God that the stuff on the blade would have the same effect on him as well. He then blinked rapidly as a large blurred object collided into the demonic taxi driver, knocking him to the ground. He roared and jumped to his feet, striking out with his impossibly long arms.

  Cade then saw a darker shadow materialise behind the taxi driver. The vampire shuddered before falling to the floor. He groaned just once before his body started to deflate while dark, foul smelling fluid pooled from the collapsing corpse.

  “Hello there, Cade.

  He took his eyes off the abomination and saw the dazzling image of a gorgeous woman standing above the mess, holding a long, silver, pointed pole in her slender arms. “Elsie? Is that really you?”

  “Listen to me, both of you. This is your one warning. The First Father is most displeased and I suspect that if he even suspected that I was here, he would likely kill me as well.”

  She suddenly shifted and Cade gasped when he found that there were just a few inches separating them. The girl lifted the cleaver out of his hands, chuckled then ran her long tongue over the surface.

  “Such trinkets will bring down the degenerate Swarmers but your toys are useless against us, Cade. The First Father had laid title to this town. You need to go, get out of here while you still can.” She brushed her cold hand down Cade’s cheek. “There will be no quarter given to them. The Deathgazer clan will wipe filthy Swarmers from the land.

  Cade blinked again and found himself standing in the middle of the road. Katy wrapped her arms around his waist. He could see no sign of his best mate’s sister.

  “What are we going to do?”

  Cade had no answer for her.

  Chapter Nine

  It upset Jalim to witness so much meat go to waste. He picked up his blade, held the severed head between his knees and scored a circle above the ears. These tools were so fine, it amazed him that these knives were so readily available. This world was so rich in everything. “Except for vampires,” he said, giggling. He licked the blood from the knife then set it back down before pushing three fingers under the cut skin then tugged it off, revealing a bloodstained shiny skull.

  “What are you doing?”

  Jalim wiped the blood from the top of the skull and rapped his knuckles against the bone. He then looked up at his companion, a little annoyed that he had been so engrossed in his task that he had failed to hear Dylar enter the room. “You were told to keep our new friends company.”

  The other vampire shrugged while pushing the flap of skin around with his foot. “They have not woken,” he frowned. “Forgive me, Jalim, but I am not confidant that they will wake. All this seems so wrong.”

  He swatted his foot away. “Do not allow those thoughts to enter your head.” In truth, Jalim did have his doubts as well. He had infected many of the beast back before the sleep. All Swarmers were required not to leave the beasts pure. Denying the Deathgazers their food was an effective method of killing them. Though beasts bitten by anyone other than the First Father just turned into undead ghouls, fit for nothing other than battle fodder.

  Jalim clearly heard his companion’s thought. The other vampire did not think that Jalim’s idea would work. He could not chastise Dylar. Anymore than he could persuade him that the sun would never rise again. The only way that Jalim could turn his companion into a believer was by proof.

  He placed the head on the floor, held it by one ear and picked up a small hammer. “This is how I used to activate my Flesh Dragons. I injected my own unique powders, dissolved into an alcohol solution directly into the head muscle of a captured human.” He smashed the hammer down on the skull, grinning at the sight of the large crack running across the exposed bone. “It takes a certain skill and many years of practice to do that, Dylar.” He carefully picked away the splinters and used the tips of his fingers to pull the skull apart.

  “It is not supposed to make a single difference as to how you extract the beast’s head muscle. Although, I do believe that it will lost some of its potency if you do not handle the delicate organ with care.

  “Did you keep any of your powders?”

  “Yes, Dylar, because that is the one thing that I just had to drop into my pocket before we had to sleep for a thousand years.”

  Jalim stood up and held out the one-half of the bone, which held the muscle and carefully walked over to the brick arch that led into the next underground chamber. Their five recruits lay exactly where he had left them, on his hastily built beds of salvaged wooden doors lying on piles of bricks. He could have just left them where he and Dylar had dropped them after finding the beasts huddled around a burning metal drum. Just like his fastidious routine with the skull, Jalim had to give this procedure ceremony.

  “Will this work?”

  He glared at the huge idiot peering over his shoulder. “It would not work if I was feeding your head muscle to the recruits, Dylar. Still your annoying, flapping lips before I hurt you.”

  It pleased Jalim to see Dylar shrink away. It also pleased him to see the eyes of two of his recruits flicker under their lids. It might have been impetuous to believe that they had smelled the arrival of the muscle. More likely, the ghouls were just waking from the effects of the bites.

  “They will not be ghouls,” he muttered, nearing the closest man. Jalim placed the opened skull beside the man’s head, intently watching for any signs of movement. He leaned closer and grinned as his first recruit opened his eyes. His expectation sank when he saw just a few crimson flecks floating in his pupils, the usual indication that they had created the lowest of the low, just another worthless ghoul.

  “What can you see, Jalim? Has it worked, did we do it?”

  He ground his teeth together and tuned out Dylar’s irritating noise. He had not yet given up hope. Jalim forced the ghoul’s jaw open then, with his other hand, he picked up the half skull and tipped it, watching the grey and crimson sludge drip into his open mouth. Almost as soon as he stopped pouring, Jalim saw the recruit’s pupils darken, it was as if he had poured the fluid directly into its eyes.

  “I can’t remember the lines!” he snapped. Jalim ran over to the other
vampire, frantically searching through his memories to when his First Father ordained him the First Son. “Hold this and do not tip it.” Jalim stared into Dylar’s deep crimson eyes, chuckling at the ease that he found the words that Desmonus had first said over Dylar’s prone body. “Thank you,” he said running back to the moaning recruit.

  “Listen to my words,” he said. “I make you the First Son of the Dragonshine Clan. The other vampires sleeping with you are your children. You must protect them, and ensure that they obey me at all times. Their misdemeanours are your misdemeanours. Keep them under control and you will taste flesh daily. Displease me and your children will sharpen their teeth on your bones.”

  He watched his new First Son run his tongue over the slight bulges of his growing canines, feeling a sense of nostalgic pride, remembering his first time, all those thousands of years ago. Jalim rushed across the Dylar and took the skull out of the other vampire’s hands then ran over to the next recruit.

  Jalim performed the same procedure with the other recruit before handing the skull back to Dylar was had shadowed him. “Have you been watching my motions?”

  His companion nodded, “Are you going to let me do the others?” The vampire caught his breath. “Oh, I’ll never forget this honour.”

  Jalim just backed away shaking his head, wandering how long it would take the young vampire to cease behaving like a stupid puppy. He looked over at his new First Son and felt a genuine sense on kinship with his new vampire and a genuine sense of astonishment that his idea had actually worked.

  The vampire raised his chest off the board; he blinked a few times before staring directly at Jalim. “I should hate for what you have turned me into. Yet, I only feel love and the desire to please.”

  He watched his First Son climb off the board.

  “Tend to your children, “he said, nodding in approval as the vampire obeyed without hesitation. “Focus on your duties, my First Son. Remember your previous life but do not desire it.”

  The new vampire stopped, he spun around and burst out laughing. “Are you having a fucking laugh, son?” He stretched out his arms, spread his fingers and swivelled the arm around in a tight circle. “Well, bugger me. There’s no pain, none at all. “Until you sank my teeth into my throat, I had no future.” He sniffed, well, maybe I had, a future where I’d probably die this winter, alone and hungry with the rats chewing on my old bones like an ice lolly.”