by Ono,Garth
"We have to warn them!" Kate cried, taking off across the street and straight for the house. "Trap! Trap!"
Chapter 27
Bullets ripped through the south entrance door, and the walls to either side. The two slayers charging into his trap were good. Alex had zombie minions standing to either side of the door. Both were shot, and one even fell down. If he'd had minions there, they would be dead. Thankfully Mongrel understood that and had insisted only the undead be in the house.
The last thing Alex needed was living minions being killed, and suddenly becoming vampires with free will and bad attitudes toward him in the middle of a major fight. So the only living minions inside the house were Mongrel and the three cops. And Alex didn't trust them either if killed and resurrected.
Alex carried a sword the Frasiers' had owned. It was part of a medieval Japanese samurai suit of armor they had on display. Mongrel swore it was a real samurai sword, not a cheap imitation. If any of his minions was killed, Alex was going to remove their heads before they resurrected.
More gunfire hit the front door and shattered the front windows. Bullets were whizzing through the house from two directions. He could hear the running footsteps for all four slayers as they closed on the house.
In his mind, Alex could see his minions leading more zombies in behind the slayers. Their escape was already cut off. Those four young women were between a rock and a hard place, and didn't even know it. They were as good as his.
The vampire smiled. Once again, his plan worked to perfection, while his idiot minions failed at every turn. It proved his natural superiority. He deserved to rule as Master of the City. Now all he had to do was figure out how to create vampires who remained absolutely loyal and obedient to him.
Mongrel growled, and charged the front door. The cops closed ranks to fill the gap his departure created. Alex scowled at him as he burst through the front doors to confront his former friends. The drac wasn't too worried about them killing him. The sheriff said they would be doing everything possible to avoid killing any minions.
The fools.
"Get them!" Alex commanded. "Seize them all and hold them for me!"
Chapter 28
The front doors burst open and Mongrel charged out onto the porch. Kate cried out a warning, but hesitated shooting at her friend. Haley also stopped firing. Mongrel's only weapon was a baseball bat. Who brought a bat to a gunfight? The two women pulled their machetes.
"Mongrel. It's Haley and Kate," Haley called. "Your friends and lovers."
Kate tensed. It didn't seem to bother Haley and the other two that Mongrel had slept with every one of them at one time or another. It bothered Kate, but her sister's words didn't have any noticeable effect on the big minion.
"I know. Alex promised to give me Kate," he said, turning a cruel smile on her.
Kate's blood ran cold. That wasn't the first time Mongrel claimed Alex was going to give her to him. Like a piece of property? Worse, Mongrel looked more than eager to get his hands on her. Was that his true personality, or the effects of being a minion?
"That's the vampire's evil speaking," Haley continued. "You were a head hunter. You know how a vamp can mess up your head. Fight him. Don't let Alex control you. Fight him!"
"Aw, poor, doomed Haley Brokenbitch," Mongrel sneered. "I'm not your friend anymore. I'm your worst nightmare!"
Mongrel charged Haley. The young brunette swung her machete two-handed, which was promptly smashed aside by Mongrel's viciously swung bat. Kate cried out. For a second she thought his attack too powerful to survive, but her sister managed to just barely do it. Haley ducked and spun away from him.
Kate rushed him, swinging her machete at his face. Mongrel jumped back, bringing his bat up to strike her hand and send the machete flying. She had to fall to the ground and roll away to avoid his return swing. Haley charged back in to distract him, allowing her to scramble away.
For the briefest second, Kate thought about shooting him. Haley kicked him in the knee, taking the big minion down to one knee. Kate thought they could take him down without killing him, so charged back into the fray.
Mongrel pounded a fist into Haley's belly, sending her stumbling back. Kate kicked at his face, which he blocked. He surged to his feet, attacking Kate with fists and feet. It took everything she had to keep him at bay, but he was forcing her back, back, back…
Kate heard Shea and Victoria cry out in triumph when they smashed the side door open. She realized they were about to enter the trap.
"Haley, stop them from going inside!"
Her sister was already committed to attacking Mongrel. Haley crashed into him from behind. That was just enough of a distraction to allow Kate to break off, but Mongrel turned his full attention on her sister.
"Ugh! Ugh!" Haley cried out as two powerful punches connected.
Kate watched in horror as an uppercut knocked her sister out cold. As she charged back in, Mongrel picked up his bat and threw it at her. She had to dive to her belly to avoid it. Mongrel barked a laugh, picked Haley's limp body up, and tossed her over his shoulder. Then he ran back into the house.
"No!" Kate cried, running over to grab her machete. Then she ran straight into the front door. "Haley!"
The door opened into a grand foyer, complete with sweeping stairs and crystal chandelier. Mongrel carried her sister through it, turning right into a large living room. The drac was near the back wall. Sheriff Coleman and both deputies stood before the vampire, pistols drawn.
Zombies attacked from both sides as she entered. Kate was forced to confront them. Hacking off the arm of one, she turned and gutted the other. Then the first one grabbed her braid with his remaining hand, yanking her back. She dropped to one knee to keep her balance, spun on that knee, and dropped the machete to grab Lupara.
"Die!" Kate cried as she surged up and pressed the barrel to his throat.
Boom!
The zombie dropped limply to the floor, finally all of the way dead. She turned to the gutted zombie, struggling with his own slick intestines and blood on the floor, wrapped around his feet. Still, he only had rage filled eyes for her.
"Anal retentive bastard," she growled, pressed the barrel to his throat and blew him away.
Turning, she looked into the living room just as Mongrel dumped Haley at Alexander Cray's feet. The vampire dropped to one knee, yanked her sister's head back to expose her throat, and leaned over to sink his fangs in.
"No!" Kate screamed.
She pulled her pistol and started shooting him. Alex was knocked back against the wall as one round after another slammed into his head and chest. Kate knew bullets wouldn't kill him, but she continued firing until the magazine was empty. By that time she was halfway to her sister, deep inside that luxuriously appointed room.
Sheriff Coleman and the deputies opened fire. She juked left, and dove to the right behind a sofa. Pulling another magazine out of her pocket, Kate shoved it in and chambered a round. Mongrel came flying over to land atop the coffee table, which shattered under the impact. Before she realized what was happening, the ex-biker picked her up and threw Kate against the wall. Actually, she hit the brick fireplace, pistol flying from her grasp.
"Ugggh!" she cried, the pain exquisite.
She hit the floor with another grunt, rolled to one knee, and snatched up the brass poker. Kate rose to her feet to fight Mongrel, smashing the poker into the side of his head. The minion gasped and fell to the side. Someone started shooting at her again, so she dropped flat against the floor.
A hissing sound came to her. Kate glanced at the fireplace. The gas line inside the firebox was hit and mangled, with natural gas was filling the air. Then Mongrel was on her again. She rolled away, and then scrambled to her feet as she looked for her lost pistol. That's when she noticed Alex was crawling back to Haley, who was just beginning to stir, moan, and groan.
"Stay away from her, you filthy – "
Mongrel slammed into her. Kate was knocked across the room to slam
into the wall. She managed to keep her feet, but lost the poker. So she grabbed a delicate looking antique chair and smashed it over Mongrel's head as he charged in. That gave her just enough hesitation in him to slip under his hands and head for her sister again.
"I will cut off your head!"
The three cops charged her. She ducked under the sheriff's right cross, shoved Rumpstead aside, and tackled Randy Doge. He tried to wrap her up, but Kate kicked, punched, and twisted her way free. And she was on top of Alex in a flash.
Kate kicked him in the chest, sending the vampire back against the wall. Before she could do anything more, Mongrel was all over her. They traded punches, leaving her just a little woozy. Panic and desperation began to take hold.
Suddenly, the sheriff loomed over her from the right. He punched a fist into her belly. Mongrel then slammed into her, forcing up back against the wall so hard she lost half her breath.
"Gotcha, bitch," Mongrel growled, his hands wrapping around her throat and his face inches from hers. She was sandwiched between him and the wall. Then his knee came up between her legs, slamming in hard. Pain lanced up into her body. Weariness filled her, surpassed only by all of the aches and pains. He pressed his thumbs brutally into her neck, right over her carotid and jugular. "You're mine."
Kate stared up into his vicious face. He was cutting the blood off from her brain. Within seconds she'd lose conscious. If he continued just a little longer, she'd be dead.
There was a big crash, followed by gunfire, in the next room. That was just enough to distract Mongrel and save her. Kate forced her thumbs under his pinkie fingers, and snapped them straight back. As bones broke and tendons ripped, Mongrel's grip on her throat weakened. She threw her right arm over his arms, twisting in the same direction, and smashed his hands away.
Kate continued that spin, using the momentum to smash an elbow across Mongrel's face. Then she returned the favor with a knee to the groin. And she turned back to the drac, only to find all three cops right there with pistols aimed at her.
"Don't even think about it, Kate," Sheriff Coleman said when her hand dropped to her empty holster.
Victoria charged into the room, followed closely by Shea. That distracted the cops, who all looked over their shoulders. Kate ducked and ran between the sheriff and Deputy Rumpstead. She snatched up her dropped pistol, before turning on the drac who was once again holding Haley's head back.
"Hell no!" Haley shouted.
The biker chick twisted and kicked, breaking free of his grasp.
"You're dead, vampire!" Kate cried as she moved on him.
"Halt!" Sheriff Coleman shouted.
Kate hesitated. The sheriff was aiming his pistol at her heart. A quick look around the room found Shea and Victoria pressed against the wall, hands up, and deputies pressing pistols to their throats. She shared a bleak look with Haley, before Mongrel grabbed her sister and twisted Haley's arm behind her back.
"It's all over for you, Miss Brokenshire," Alexander Cray said, stepping up close and pulling the pistol from her hand. He stroked her cheek with the back of his fingers. "I win. You lose. And now you belong to me."
Chapter 29
"You won't get away with this!" Kate snarled at the vampire.
She gave the sheriff a wary look. It was beyond freaky for someone she'd known and trusted all of her life to be threatening her like that. Worse, she knew he would kill her without hesitation if his vampire master commanded it.
Sheriff Coleman pressed the barrel of his weapon to her chest, right over her heart. He patted her down with his free hand, touching her in places only one man ever had before. That in itself left her gasping and head reeling. Then he grabbed the back of her neck and forced her to the middle of the room. Shea and Haley were already kneeling there. Kate knelt beside her sister, and then Deputy Doge made Victoria kneel beside her.
Alexander stepped before them. He looked so smug. So full of himself. Kate seethed. All she wanted to do was twist his head off, very slowly. She never wanted to kill anyone as much as she wanted to slaughter him in the bloodiest manner imaginable.
"They told me you were all pretty," the vampire said. He stepped before Shea, lifting her chin before she jerked away. "What an understatement." He looked back and forth between Haley and Kate a second. "Are you twins?"
"No," Mongrel said. "Half-sisters. Same father. I thought I told you that."
Alexander shrugged. Kate glowered at him, while trying to think of a way out of that predicament. Then she heard the clatter of high heels on hardwood. Daphne entered, looking gorgeous as a Goth girl. Kate did a double-take.
"Hello, Kate. Welcome to the fold," she purred. Daphne walked up to the vampire, and kissed him quite deeply. Open mouth. Lots of passion on her part. The vampire appeared more amused than aroused. "Maybe you and I can have a ménage à trois with our master."
Kate's jaw dropped. That was the last thing she'd ever expect to hear from her oldest, dearest friend. Daphne taught Sunday School. What had the vampire done to her? Did anyone really know what being turned into a minion did to a person's psyche?
More people entered. Men and women. The vampire's minions, one and all. Kate saw Mayor Gilbert, and her three daughters. They were also dressed and made up as Goths. None of the men were forced to dress that way. Kate figured that was about to change.
"Are you mad, vampire?" Shea asked. "Do you realize that by attacking and capturing a town on this side of the river that you just became the FBI's most wanted?"
"Which one are you?"
"Shea Trahan," she said. "Of the Kansas City, Missouri Trahans."
That made the vampire cock his head, and Kate wonder if she was from "money." It was the way she said it. She didn't look rich. Shea looked more like a rich man's side piece.
"You overestimate how much the politicians care," he said. "Their first priority will be to cover it up. They'll leave me alone as long as I stay in Tennyson."
"You're insane," Haley said. "That might work in the Zombie Territory, but not in Illinois."
While everyone was distracted, Kate covertly looked around the room. Their weapons were scattered. Someone had brought in her machete and tossed it on the floor by the fireplace along with other dropped weapons. The vampire still held Kate's pistol, but not in a way that said he knew how to use it. Unfortunately, Sheriff Coleman was still pointing his weapon at her. Both deputies had holstered their weapons.
Everyone but Kate thought the fight was over.
"Get it out of your heads, girls," Sheriff Coleman said in the most condescending tone imaginable. Kate cut him a sharp look. He holstered his pistol, pulled out a pack of cigarettes, and put one between his lips. "Between me and the mayor, we'll paint a pretty picture and convince the boys in Washington and Springfield that the rumors of a vampire takeover are false."
"They'll leave us alone," Mayor Gilbert said. "Tennyson will continue on as before, but with a new lord and master ruling over us."
"A shadow government?" Haley sneered. "Talk about deepest, darkest shadows."
Kate's eyes widened when the sheriff snorted a laugh, and then pulled a cigarette lighter out of his pocket. She glanced at the fireplace. How much natural gas was released? She was just starting to smell it. So far no one else seemed to have noticed. Did the gas rise to the ceiling, or stay close to the floor? Didn't matter, because Kate was confident the room, if not the entire house, would explode when he flicked that Bic.
"Don't," Kate said, hating herself for being too afraid to die. "Don't you smell the gas? A bullet broke the gas line. This house could blow up at any second."
Everyone froze. That was the first hint of true fear she saw in the vampire's face. Sheriff Coleman's cigarette fell from his lips as he looked and round and sniffed.
"She's right. I smell gas," Deputy Doge said. "We have to get out of here fast. Be careful and don't hit anything metal that could cause a spark."
Kate's eyes locked on the sheriff's hand, just within reach, with the c
igarette lighter. Her heart raced. It became harder to breathe.
I have to, Kate thought, eyes starting to burn. If they call my bluff…
She couldn't think about it. Kate reached out and snatched the lighter out of the sheriff's hand. Every eye in that room snapped toward her. She held up the lighter, thumb poised.
"Die!" Kate screamed.
Almost as one the vampire, his minions, and the zombies turned and took off running for the closest door. Kate threw out an arm to keep her friends from following them out.
"Damn, girl, you made me piss my panties," Victoria said. "I'm impressed."
"Grab your weapons," Kate said, already on her feet. "They won't stay gone long."
Most of the minions and zombies followed their master out the front door. About a quarter of them headed for the back door. The vampire took her pistol with him, so Kate grabbed her machete while the others claimed their weapons. Then Kate reloaded Lupara as they headed for the side door. Alex was standing across the street and watching the house, surrounded by his minions.
"Sucker!" Kate cried. "I just turned the gas off. Ha!"
The slayers took off running. Minions and zombies followed. She paused between two homes, within sight of City Park. Alexander was alone, and he was walking back to the house.
Perfect.
"Vampires don't breath, right?" Kate asked as they ran.
"Only to speak," Shea said. "Why?"
Someone started shooting at them. It sounded like the Glocks the cops were all carrying. Kate tried to remember if Mongrel or any of the other minions were armed.
"Follow me," Kate whispered, and turned right on the second street over from the old Victorian. She quickly led them into a backyard protected by a six-foot privacy fence. "Shhh."
A jangling sound grew closer and closer. Kate hazarded a peek. It was Deputy Rumpstead, all red-faced and sweaty. The middle-aged, overweight officer was pushing himself pretty hard for the vampire. He had pistol in hand, moving cautiously down the street. Some zombies were spread out behind him, banging on doors and windows. Kate waved the others back away from the gate as footsteps approached.