by Ian Woodhead
Cade growled in fury, not willing to take this crap anymore. He lifted the sword and ran towards them, gaining little satisfaction in watching the three of them retreat into the darkness. He saw their lantern-like eyes glowing from the far side of the room.
“Yeah, that’s right hide away in a dark room where the big hard Cade can’t get you,” he shouted. He remembered the tanning shop and decided there and then to go back there to see if he could grab a UV torch. The vampires wouldn’t be able to hide from him then. “I’ll be back,” he suppressed a chuckle, wondering he should have asked them if they had seen Sarah Connor. “Hey Colin, guess what? I’m going to steal your beloved car and scrape it along the side of a building then piss on the seats before setting it on fire.”
The resulting roar of anger, made Cade feel so much better. As he turned, tying to banish the sickening image of his mate, ripping into that girl like some ravenous jackal, he caught a tiny glimpse of something glowing just by his feet. Cade jumped back, realising exactly what it was. He cried out and thrust the blade forward, just as the concealed vampire jumped up. The tip of the sword pushed through the monsters flesh by a couple of inches.
The weapon felt so good in Cade’s hands. The carefully wound leather of the handle easy to grip, despite the copious amount of sweat pouring from his palms. He pushed the sword forward, expecting the hear him cry out but he’d been too slow, the vampire had already moved out of his range. “Come out and fight, you bastard!” he screamed into the darkness.
“Drop my sword, you twat, and we’ll consider it.”
He backed away, heading towards the doorway, swinging the katana slowly from side to side, still waiting to feel one of them jump on him from behind.
“Just look at the sexy Cade, boys. With his long dark hair, big muscle and swinging my Katana like a fucking golf club.” Colin chuckled. “I tell you what I’ll do, my friend. If you stop acting like Conan the Barbarian and put my bastard katana gently on the floor, I’ll see if I can convince my pals not to dine upon your pretty face.”
He couldn’t see anything and judging from the vampire’s mocking voice, Colin was moving around the room. Cade found the back wall and pressed himself up against it. At least now, they wouldn’t be able to circle him. “I didn’t come here to fight with any of you. Colin, I was only looking for my girlfriend.”
“Don’t you dare try to bullshit me, Cade. So you’ve suddenly found yourself a girlfriend over night? When the fuck did this happen? I thought you were still lusting after the barmaid at the Rose and Crown.”
Colin was now to his left, probably close to the doors that led to the swimming pool. It seemed so weird, listening to him now, he almost sounded like the guy who he used to train with every weekend. “I did meet her last night,” he replied. “As cute as a button. I don’t think you know her.”
“As cute as a button?” laughed Colin. “Listen to yourself, You’ve gone fucking soft, you’ll be spouting poetry next. Come on, spill it, what’s her name?”
For the first time since entering this dark room, Cade could now make out a moving shape at the far side of the room, he guessed that was where Colin was. He tried not to grin. He didn’t want these things discovering that his eyes were beginning to adjust to the darkness. “She’s called Katy Barnes.”
“Oh, you have got to be shitting me! You’ve been screwing that tasty piece? Hell, if her ex finds out, he’ll try to stick my Katana right up your fucking arse.”
“Slimy looking bloke with short blond close cropped hair?”
“Yeah, Alvin Black, he’s a right little hooligan. He lives near the park in one of the big houses. His parents are fucking loaded…”
Cade didn’t bother to listen to any more, he knew exactly where he needed to go now. He edged along the wall, smiling while trying to find the other two vampire shapes. Apart from Colin, who he noticed was now closing in, he saw no other shape. “One more step, Col, and I swear, I’ll gut you.”
Colin just giggled but he did stop moving. Cade reached the doorway and ran back into the foyer. He cried out at the sight of the other two vampires leaping over the desk, and running towards him. Cade caught the blurred shape of Colin lunging for him from out of the darkness. He dropped to the floor and roiled to the left, bringing the Katana up, swinging it around. He heard the quiet gasp of one of them as he felt the metal slice into flesh.
He jumped to his feet and spun around, one of them leaped towards him. Cade brought the sword up then chopped it across. The vampire’s head just dropped onto the carpet as the razor sharp edge sliced through the flesh like a hot knife through a block of butter. Colin yelled an incoherent curse and slipped back into the darkness but the other one charged Cade.
The vampire then stopped dead and jumped back, chuckling when Cade blindly swung the Katana.
“You missed me, you little shit,” he snarled. The vampire then jerked his head over to the dark room before looking back at Cade. “Oh, you’re in for it now, buddy. Can you hear that? The First Father is coming. How fast can you run?”
Cade found that he couldn’t even move his feet. He looked over and saw Colin emerge from the dark room accompanied by another figure. Cade’s body refuse to obey his frantic commands to get the hell out of here. He watched the huge vampire stop beside the desk. He picked up the head that had rolled against the base of the potted plant.
“So, you are back, my son. I see that your mate is not with you? That is a shame. I so would enjoy meeting that one again.” He pushed his fingers deep into the bloodied stump. Your bothersome action has reduced my number by one.” He tilted his head to one side, then wrapped his fingers through Colin’s hair and pulled him back. “You are my First Son. Your irresponsible act had resulted in the death of a precious commodity.”
“Please!” gasped Colin. “What else could I do? He had a sword and believe me, that guy knows how to use it.”
Cade tore his eyes away from the struggling ex-friend and concentrated all his energy into trying to move his feet. From the corner of his eyes, he saw the First Father pushing Colin onto the floor.
“You have one more chance” growled the huge vampire. “Give me the correct answer and I shall not throw you to what remains of my clan.” He released Colin and pointed to Cade. “What do we do with him?”
He felt the aching muscles down the inside of his leg feel like they were about to snap like taught elastic, he persevered, feeding on the pain, allow it to flow through him, using it to fuel his anger. His efforts rewarded him by seeing his left foot move back by a single inch. Despite the agony his was suffering and feeling as though he had just completed a marathon, Cade tried to move it further back, ignoring the beads of hot sweat dripping down the side of his head. From the corner of his eye, he noticed the two remaining vampires, inch forward and swung the katana in a wide arc.
“You change him, First Father, we need to replace the vampire that he beheaded and he would be an excellent soldier.”
He slipped his foot back a couple more inches. The triumph for completing such a Herculean task, drained away when he saw the huge vampire look away from Colin and glare at Cade. The expression on the vampire’s face darkened when he saw that he had managed to move his leg back. He redoubled his efforts as both Colin and the First Father advanced.
“It makes me almost proud to watch you attempt to flee, my son,” growled the First Father. The fact that you have moved at all, just proves to me that you indeed have some Deathgazer blood flowing through your veins.” He suddenly bent down, picked up one of the crouching vampires and threw the body at Cade.
He fall back, his paralysis broke as the shrieking vampire crashed into his chest. By sheer will alone, Cade managed to keep the Katana in his hand, instinct telling him that if the sword had fallen, he would have no chance of surviving. The remaining vampires rushed him. Cade screamed when Colin dropped to his knees, landing on Cade’s ankles.
“Hush, you big baby,” laughed Colin. “What happened to no pain
, no gain?”
Colin yelped as the other vampire fell onto his sword arm, pinning it to the carpet. The First Father slowly stood above him, smiling down at Cade’s groaning face.
“It is only after the bite when my Clan vampires realise their good fortune. It will be the same for you, my son. I feel your hatred and deep fear and although I find your curse unpleasant, I am willing to forgive your transgressions, it is just the way of things.”
Cade refused to concede to his fate. He took his eyes off the huge vampire and swung his other arm around his trapped body. He formed his fingers into a point and jabbed them into the eye of the vampire crushing his other arm. The monster wasn’t prepared for the attack. He shrieked and fell back. He tried not to throw up and the sight of the wet, grey jelly covering his fingernails and swung the katana down. Colin jumped back to avoid the deadly blade.
He ran between the First Father’s legs, heading for the safety of the sun. He screamed out when he felt one of them grab his foot. Cade saw only one way out of this. He threw the sword towards the door, sighing in relief when the handle punched through an unbroken pain of frosted glass, letting a new stream of sunlight penetrate the gloomy foyer. Cade left them release his leg has they all cried out in fear and retreated into the darkness. He got back to his feet and hobbled over to the door, not bothering to look back.
“Fuck you,” he shouted, feeling the tears of pain and stupidity flow down his cheeks. He reached the door, and groaned in relief as the bright sunlight warmed the top of his head. “I’ll be coming back for all of you.” Cade turned his head, glaring at the red lantern eyes, visible in the gloom. “You diseased abominations are living on borrowed time!”
Cade picked up his katana and hobbled over to Colin’s pride and joy. He drew the tip along the side of the car, grinning savagely at the thick line of shining silver left behind from the katana’s blade. He sat on the bonnet, admiring his handiwork. It was a childish act but it gave him a little satisfaction. He rolled up his trousers and grimaced at the ugly thick blue bruise wrapped around his ankle. No bones were broken but he knew that his walking would be severely impaired until the bruising faded. Even with his phenomenal metabolism, it would still take a while to feel halfway decent again. Those bastards really had worked him over.
He took out his phone and sighed at the time, a full hour had gone, it only felt like a few minutes since he decided to enter the sports centre. Still, at least now he did have some idea where to look for Katy.
Cade rolled down his trouser leg then slowly placed both feet back on the ground while keeping his weight on the side of the car. Between the sports centre and the edge of the park while he thought where that bastard lived, was about a couple of mile’s worth of urban urea to traverse. If he used the shortcuts, Cade reckoned it was less than a mile. There would be no chance of him using that route with a damaged leg though.
He took a deep breath and let go of the side of the car, sighing with relief when he didn’t crash onto the floor. Cade took a couple of experimental steps away from Colin’s pride and joy, nodding to himself. His body was already hard at work, repairing the damage; the pain wasn’t so bad now.
As he limped across the tarmac, heading for the road, Cade tried to ignore the dull ache that had wrapped around his anklebone. “Just take it easy, my son. You’ll soon be as right as rain,” he muttered to himself as he crossed the road. “Take the weight off your feet, drink plenty of fluids and rest up for a couple of days.” Cade silently told his overprotective imaginary nurse to fuck off
He walked passed a row of shops, all still closed and ducked into a passageway that led to the town’s main high street. His imaginary nurse must have taken the subtle hint as he could no longer hear the voice whispering to him. “You do know who that voice belonged to buddy,” he said. The sudden onrush of built up emotion just flooded through his body. He slid down the damp wall and pressed the palms of his hands hard against his eyes. Of course, he knew who that voice belonged to.
“I murdered my own mother!” he yelled, feeling the tears seep past his hands. Cade pressed his head against the wall, feeling the stone cut into the back of his head. He kept the pressure on, wallowing in the pain, feeling his hot blood dribble down his neck as the stone broke his skin.
“Fuck you all,” he growled. “I don’t want to do this anymore. I want to go home.” He suddenly caught his breath at the sound of a distant scream. Cade snapped open his eyes and stood up, looking back where he came from. From where he stood, Cade saw a couple of young men run past the entrance to the passageway. They were both carrying rucksacks. The mass exodus was still going on. Nobody would stop to see who had just screamed out, They all had their own agenda to fulfil. “Nobody cares about my pain either. Who’s going to help me?”
Cade took a deep breath and wanted to slap himself stupid when the image of Katy floated to the front of his mind. “Oh hell,” he said, wiping his eyes. What was he playing at? She had helped him, if it wasn’t for her, he wouldn’t have stood a chance last night. He hurried down the rest of the passageway, squinting in the bight sunlight when he emerged out on the pavement. Cade crossed over the road, heading towards another passageway that would take him to the far side of the park.
Katy needed him, as long as he kept that thought prominent, he knew that he’d be able to keep his grief from overwhelming him again. He’d mourn for his loss once all these evil bastards were dead. He looked up, surprised to see a Young dark-haired man gazing at him. As soon as Cade matched his gaze, the stranger turned his head and carried on walking the other way. There weren’t many people left in the high street. None were shopping, they all looked like they were in a hurry to get away. Cade looked up into the sky,
Deep down, they all must know just how little time was left for them. He had no idea how they knew or why he felt nothing. Cade walked past a discount store, moving to the side when a young suddenly stopped dead in his path. She glanced up, muttered an apology before walking around him. Cade stopped and turned to watch her progress. Should he have found it strange that the woman hadn’t said anything about his clothing? Cade reached behind him and ran his fingers down the katana’s scabbard, wondering when it became perfectly acceptable for some longhaired, muscle-bound young man to run around town with a huge sword on his back.
He ducked into the next passageway, glad to be away from those people. There might have been only a dozen or so and despite the fact that apart from that woman, he still felt incredibly claustrophobic. Cade ran through the open bin bags, suddenly realising that he and Katy had used this very passageway to get away from the vampires last night. He skirted past the body of a young man, not daring to stop and picked up a little speed, suddenly feeling like a several pairs of eyes were watching him as he ran past the old entrance to the market.
Cade ran out of there and darted over the empty street and leaped over the low stone wall and scrambled up the steep grass slope. It felt so good to be back in the park. His smile faded when he heard another cry, this one was from the other side of the park and Cade was sure that he knew who it belonged to. Heart racing he raced along the narrow path, listening as that familiar voice cried out again.
“Get off her,” he yelled when he saw the two men dragging the screaming and yelling Katy across the road, next to the park. They both stopped and stared when Cade reached the main gates. He watched them both pull out guns. He knew he wasn’t invincible but at that moment, Cade just didn’t care, he pulled out the Katana and charged them, roaring like some enraged animal. He watched them both falter, their postures changed again when Katy swung out with her free arm, hitting one of them in the back of the neck. They took one last look at Cade before releasing the girl and running back towards the house.
Cade almost fell back into the park wall when Katy flew into his arms, hugging and kissing his face.
“I can’t believe it’s you!” she cried, “You came back for me. Oh Cade, you have no idea how happy I am to see you.”
/> He gently pulled the girl off him and pushed her against the wall when he saw the same two figures coming out of the house with another person, Cade pressed his figure to his lips and ran back over the road keeping low. The two men had placed a thick grey blanket over the other person’s head and were leading him over to their car. Cade had no intention of allowing any of them to leave.
The men had reached the car just seconds before he had. Cade jumped onto the bonnet and swung the katana in a low sweeping arc, slicing into one of the men’s top arm. He jumped down and violently pushing the screaming man back. The other man took one look at the bloodied sword and released his grip on the other man, under the blanket. Cade pointed the blade at the shaking man. “Go on, I dare you, pull that gun out on me again.”
He shook his head, turned and ran in the opposite direction.
“What the fuck is happening here!” asked a muffled voice. Andy, Steven, where’ve you gone?”
Cade took one step closer to the man and gently grabbed the edge of the blanket. “You’re all alone now, fuckface,” growled Cade. He pulled the blanket off the man and jumped back as the flesh covering the ghoul’s head blistered then burst into flame. He turned around and walked back towards Katy, trying to ignore the stench of burning meat.
He wiped the blood off the blade it pushed the katana back into the scabbard. The injured man looked down at the small fire before backing away, once he had reached the back of the car, he turned away and ran down the street, still holding his arm.
Cade looked into Katy’s horrified eyes. “Now we know what sunlight does to them. I reckon you were right about UV lights doing the same to them. I think we had better go shopping.” Cade glanced at his phone. “We only have a few hours left, sweetheart. Do you feel up to it?”