Jason sensed something else attached to Gestalt’s scent as well. He wasn’t positive, but it felt like there were more entities waiting for them in that field—more Rogues, perhaps. Jason knew he should have informed Saul of this but he kept his mouth shut. There was such a fierce tug-o-war taking place inside Jason’s head as he tried to decide to which side he should pledge his allegiance. Should he side with the people who had been keeping him relatively safe –and feeling like a prisoner –or with the vampire that was just like him and, therefore, understood what Jason needed to thrive in this wretched new life?
“Are we close?” Jill asked quietly.
“Yes,” Jason answered flatly.
As they made their way, Jason did his best to not spend too much time reveling in the awe of being able to see so clearly in the dark. The new sense of smell was just as amazing but since it currently had him in the center of a predicament, he found it hard to see it as a blessing.
Jason felt the others behind him, ready for a confrontation: Saul, Jill, and Nikki. Nikki, he thought. How the hell did you ever get mixed up in all of this?
But Jason knew. He knew that she’d been infatuated with Saul Benton since before Jason himself had been turned—before the night Leibald Greely had tapped on his window. And while whatever feelings he’d had for her during his mortal life were long gone, the sting of Nikki’s betrayal was still there. Jason knew he’d never had a chance with her before he’d been Turned, but there had always been that dream…the what if?
But now all of that was gone and Jason was left with a big decision to make. Should he stay with the Benton clan for the sake of remaining loyal to Nikki, or should he follow Gestalt to see what he had to offer? It really was like starting from scratch, and that was something Jason had always wanted to do – ever since the age of fifteen or so.
What would it be like to just get the hell out of Red Creek and start somewhere new? Now that Jason was a new entity entirely, that question loomed larger than ever in his mind.
Jason could see the trees begin to break apart a bit up ahead, allowing them to glimpse the dark open space that was the field. The smell of Gestalt—which was a peculiar blend of what smelled like pepper and sweat—was pungent now. There was no turning back.
When they stepped into the field, it instantly became apparent that Gestalt was well-prepared for them. Numerous figures stood in the field, looking in their direction as if they had been expecting them. Jason counted nine in all. And there, off in the back with a woman by his side, was Gestalt.
“Did you know there were this many waiting for us?” Jill asked. Her words were low and hushed; there was an accusatory tone in her voice that Jason didn’t much care for.
Jason stared out into the field and remained silent. Did he belong out there, with these other beings and Gestalt? He thought maybe he did. Just thinking of joining such a group—such a family—made his heart thunder in his chest.
“Jason,” Nikki said, sidling up beside him. “Did you know we were walking into this?”
Again, he said nothing. The accusatory tone was in her voice, too. Unlike Jill’s words, Nikki’s made him flinch a bit.
“He set us up,” Saul said, anger lacing his voice.
Maybe I did, Jason thought with a smile on his face.
But still, when the nine figures in the field came rushing towards them, Jason bared down, clenched his teeth, and prepared to fight.
The question, of course, was whom he was going to fight against.
2
Saul’s confusion over just what in hell Jason was up to nearly hindered his ability to fully understand what was happening. He had followed Jason with the expectation of facing Gestalt again; instead, here were nine other vampires—Rogues, Saul assumed, since he had not sensed them at all— all with an apparent intent to destroy anything in their Master’s path.
“Nikki,” Saul said, “I think you need to run. There are too many of them.”
“Fuck that,” Nikki growled. She was bouncing on her feet, waiting for the group of Rogues to reach them. She was also glancing at Jason with a sad-looking expression that fell somewhere between disappointment and anger.
Saul looked at Jill, also in her fighting stance and ready for what was to come. She looked back to him and he tried his best not to see the worry in her eyes.
And then there was Jason. He was standing in front of them, looking ahead. And much to Saul’s surprise, he was hunkering down as if he were ready to fight.
The nine Rogues advanced slowly at first, covering the ground between themselves and the Benton clan. But with each step they took, they sped up. Within seconds, they were running at full speed.
All nine Rogues reached them at roughly the same time. Saul easily fended off the first one that reached him. He did it without even looking, delivering a brutal blow with his right hand, as he was more worried about Nikki. Four on nine with one member of their side a potential wild card did not make for great odds. Saul tried to remind himself of how well they had all worked together when they had faced the Greelys, attempting to keep his calm.
With the first punch thrown and the fight officially underway, the air within the field seemed to fill with electricity. Saul saw that there were three Rogues heading for Nikki, their arms stretched out and ready to attack. Saul went running towards her but was assaulted by two others and knocked backwards. As he stumbled back, he saw that Nikki was not having too much of a problem defending herself.
Nikki took one of the Rogues out with a vicious kick to the knee while swinging in a downward arc at the one that was attempting to circle in on the right. The third one was able to wrap its arms around her. It dragged her to the ground where she quickly rolled backwards in a half-tumble and raked her fingernails across its face as it came barreling towards her.
Saul looked furiously around for Jill to see how she was holding up but couldn’t see her right away. There were two Rogues on him, one of which he dispatched easily with a simple head-butt. As the creature stumbled backwards, Saul reached out, grabbed it by the head and flipped it to the ground and, with a wrench of his upper arm, Saul snapped its neck. A broken neck wouldn’t kill it, but it would incapacitate it for quite some time.
We need stakes or blades, Saul thought. Without them, it was going to be hard as hell to pierce the Rogues’ hearts or behead them. Saul had not come out here with the intent of killing Gestalt and therefore had come unarmed. It was a decision he immediately regretted.
Saul came up with a temporary solution to that problem as another of the Rogues came rushing at him. It had some sort of iron pipe in its hand that was forked near the end, almost like a crowbar. Throwing a hard elbow into the face of the Rogue that had knocked him backwards, Saul went rushing for the armed Rogue.
He made it three strides before he was knocked to his feet by a fierce blow from his left. He stumbled, tried to catch his balance, and failed. He went tumbling to the ground and as he quickly got to his feet, he caught sight of his attacker.
It was Jason.
Jason looked down at Saul with both fear and pride in his eyes. Saul could see that Jason was clearly confused, but it did little to quell Saul’s own anger.
“Think about this,” Saul urged. “The decision you make tonight will stay with you for the rest of your life. And as a vampire, that could be an extremely long time.”
“I know that,” Jason said. “But this is what I feel like I need to do. This is what-”
A Rogue came in swinging blindly at Saul as he got to his feet. Saul tried to dodge it but had been too distracted by Jason. The blow was a weak one, and Saul wondered just how long ago these Rogues had Turned. If he had to guess, he’d say that there were a few of them that were no more than half a day into their new forms.
As Saul regained his balance, he saw the Rogue with the pole-like weapon coming from his right. The weapon held outward, indicating that he meant to run Saul through. Saul sidestepped the attack and grabbed the weapon. He jerked
it away from the Rogue so hard that its arm snapped, breaking at the wrist.
With the weapon in his hand, Saul realized that it was indeed a crowbar. He quickly turned back around in a whirlwind motion and planted it directly into the Rogue’s chest. It came out the other side in a splatter of gore that painted the weeds of Filth Camp with maroon streaks.
He wheeled around at Jason, ready to impale him if he had to, but caught sight of Jill. She was a few yards behind Jason and three Rogues were mauling her. There were only eight of them remaining—not including Gestalt and his woman, still standing at the top of Filth Camp and watching the scene unfold—but it seemed like they were moving with speed and skill.
“If you interfere with me during this fight again, I will kill you,” Saul told Jason as he dashed off to help his sister.
When he reached her, he tore one of the Rogues away from Jill easily. By the time the Rogue had any idea of what had happened, Saul had bent the creature backwards and shoved the crowbar through its back until it punctured its heart. It let out a cry of pain as Saul dropped its body to the ground.
They quickly took care of the remaining two Rogues. Jill swept the legs out from under the closest one, allowing Saul to impale it with the crowbar directly through the heart as it hit the ground. The other Rogue met a similar fate as Saul caught it under the chin with the crowbar and with a swift jerk, tore its head from its neck.
Seeing that Nikki was having trouble in a fistfight with one of the more aggressive Rouges, Saul yelled her name and tossed the weapon her way. She caught it with a deft flick of her wrist and caught the Rogue across the face. As he stumbled, she pushed the weapon hard into his ribs, angling it upwards towards its heart.
Saul turned to look back towards Gestalt and when he did, he saw two things at once. First, he saw Jason walking slowly towards Gestalt, paying no attention to the surviving Rogues or the battle at hand. Second, he saw a Rogue charging at him with a sharpened wooden stake in his hand.
Saul moved quickly, but not quick enough. The stake pierced his skin along his left side, tearing through his shirt and the flesh beneath. It went deep enough to hit his ribs and when it did, Saul fell to a knee and screamed.
The entire field fell silent. The only noise to be heard was the slight murmur of a train somewhere much further off. A moment later, a new cacophony of violence rose up as the remaining five Rogues came charging strong toward Saul while their leader watched with a smile..
3
Gestalt watched the battle with fascination. It seemed that the rumors were true; Saul Benton was an incredibly fierce warrior. And although she was new to the fold and rather small, so was the formerly mortal woman he had been spending so much time with. She moved like a cat and fought like someone with much experience.
But none of that mattered now. Once his Rogue had caught Saul in the ribs with the stake, Gestalt felt the tone of the battle shift dramatically. The mighty Saul Benton had been hurt, and that made all the difference.
“Wait here,” he told Paula, who still stood beside him and watched the battle with just as much delight as he had.
Gestalt walked into the field towards the fight. He watched Jill dodge the punches of one of his Rogues, finally delivering the deathblow by ramming the crowbar into its chest. When she pulled it out and the Rogue fell to the ground, Gestalt saw the look of a warrior in her eyes. His own Rogues could potentially have that same ferocity, but he was not giving them enough time to Turn before coming awake to their new forms. It was all part of his plan, really; numerous weaker Rogues could be more effective in a small town than one or two powerful ones.
Gestalt noticed that his group of Rogues had been reduced from nine to only three far too quickly. Maybe he had misjudged the two women that came into the field with Saul. Sure, Jill had Benton blood in her, but what about Saul’s lover? He had assumed she would be weak and unsteady, but she fought quite well. Too well for what Gestalt had in mind.
And then there was Jason, who was still walking towards him. When they met one another in the middle of the field, Gestalt rested a hand on Jason’s shoulder and smiled at him. Jason looked at odds, like a man facing a difficult decision that must be made but had dire consequences one way or the other.
“Will you remain with me?” Gestalt asked. “Will you sit at my side once I am ruling this wretched world?”
“Yes,” Jason said.
“Splendid. Please stand with Paula as I finish things up,” he said, gesturing to the woman he had taken as his own.
Jason did, never once looking back to Saul, Jill, or Nikki.
As Gestalt neared the battle scene, he saw that Larry was now fighting with both Jill and Nikki. The Rogues were nearly outnumbered.
“That’s quite enough,” Gestalt said. “No need for any further fighting.”
The remaining Rogues responded at once to Gestalt’s words. They backed away slowly until they were flanked behind Gestalt. Larry seemed to be the fiercest among them, ready to spring at a moment’s notice.
“I assume these are your monstrosities?” Saul asked.
“Monstrosities?” Gestalt asked. “That seems a bit harsh, don’t you think?”
“Did you create them with the hope you would defeat us?” Saul asked.
“Possibly. I do not trust you, Saul Benton. Anyone so closely linked to The Guard is, in my opinion, a threat to vampires everywhere.”
“And is that why you have foolishly come here?” Saul asked. “To try to kill me?”
“Well, you see, this is a two-birds-with-one-stone sort of scenario,” Gestalt said. “I have other intentions here but killing you would only make my day that much better.”
“And do you not care that I now have the ability to summon The Guard whenever I want? How do you think they might handle a Rogue if they happen to capture one?”
“Believe it or not,” Gestalt said, “the Guard does not bother me. Let them come. Besides…I believe I can offer you something that they won’t give you. Keep in mind, Mr. Benton—as a Rogue, I do a bit of traveling, as your precious Guard’s laws don’t really include me. Because I am not imprisoned by their laws and can move of my own accord, I hear things…I know things.”
“Like what?”
Gestalt shook his head and smiled. He then turned to his three remaining Rogues and said: “Go.”
In a flash, the Rogues darted towards the edge of the field to where the dirt track led to the back roads of Red Creek.
“Now,” Gestalt continued. “You can either hold palaver with me or stop them. If you elect to stop them, I will leave this place and take my information with me.”
“It doesn’t work that way,” Jill said, taking off after the Rogues.
“I’m going with her,” Nikki said to Saul.
“Okay,” Saul responded. “Be careful.”
Nikki started to run after Jill but was stopped by a devastating blow from Gestalt’s right hand. She hit the ground right away in a heap.
Saul was on Gestalt at once, wrestling him to the ground. The two vampires wrestled like schoolchildren, all fists and rage. They rolled through the grass in a flurry of flying limbs. Saul landed a blow that was followed by a punch from Gestalt. Gestalt realized quickly that if the two of them were to fight to the death, Saul would likely win. He was just too muscular and demanding.
So it was a good thing that he could easily outsmart the idiot.
“What will you accomplish?” Gestalt asked. “If you best me and destroy a Rogue, you have that blood on your hands. How will your Guard react to such a murder?”
“I have their permi—”
At that, a foot came out of nowhere and connected firmly with Saul’s face. With Saul off of him, Gestalt looked up and saw Jason standing there.
“Very good,” Gestalt beamed. He got to his feet in the same moment Saul recovered and they both looked to one another.
“Jason,” Nikki said from the ground. “Why...?”
Jason said nothing. He only kick
ed at Saul again, followed by a thundering blow to the side of the head by Gestalt. The blows, in addition to the wound along his side, kept Saul down for a few moments, allowing Gestalt to better gauge the situation.
“Well, I had best go make sure my understudies tear your town apart properly,” he said. “Dear son,” he said, looking to Jason, “can you please finish him off?”
And with that, he took off towards the dirt road and Red Creek beyond.
Saul reached out to stop him as he stumbled to his feet. But Jason was on him right away, throwing an elbow into his back. Saul went sprawling forward but did not fall. Jason advanced again but was cut off by Nikki. She threw a hard right hand that made him stop and take a step back.
“I can’t let you do this, Jason,” she said.
“Nikki…he only wants the best for me. And Saul…he’ll just keep trying to hide me.”
“He’s just trying to protect you.”
“From what?”
“It’s okay,” Saul said, getting into Jason’s face. “If he wants to fight me, let him.”
“No,” Nikki said, sliding herself between them. “You go get Gestalt. I’ll handle Jason.”
Then, with tears in her eye, Nikki shoved Jason hard enough to make him stumble. She then clenched her fists, took a fighter’s stance, and readied herself to battle the creature that had once been her best friend.
4
Saul hated to leave Nikki to defend herself against Jason, but he didn’t see any other choice. He followed Gestalt, trying to match his speed but having to take hitching breaths due to the pain in his side. It occurred to him a bit too late that this could have all been perfectly orchestrated by Gestalt to separate him from Jill and Nikki. Now that he was wounded, Gestalt could pose a much more difficult match than he had at the cabin.
Still, he had to stop him—or die trying.
Saul caught up to Gestalt just as the Rogue had reached the beginning of the dirt track. He leaped onto Gestalt’s back and both of them went tumbling into a nearby tree. Saul did everything he could to stay on top of Gestalt, knowing that if Gestalt managed to get leverage on him, he’d go straight to the wound at his side which was already beginning to leak out a substantial amount of blood.
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