Created (Book 1 of the Created)

by Shaw, Shannon

  Before me I detected movement, and the smell grew stronger as a shadow before me slithered behind trees and brush as I waited. There was more movement. This time it was more direct and at least a hundred yards away. Any eye shine would be diminished on the cloudy night. A branch snapped the quiet. I listened. Something was strange as footfalls sounded in the forest. The sound was of two wolves approaching and the scent denoted one.

  Daring not to move forward I watched, smelled and listened. The wolf crept a little more. A per chance misstep by the wolf gave away the fact that there were two who attempting to deceive me to gain an advantage.

  As they drew nearer, I detected the nature of the wolves. They were part of the hunting pack that had chased Veronica; they were Haley and Tristan.

  If they are here, then where the hell is she, I whispered to myself?

  A wolf screamed like a woman then laughed less like John the hyena and more like a sinister human. The scream was a way of luring someone in to save the damsel only to find that he was indeed the one needing to be saved. I had fallen for the bit, and now I was close to becoming the one that needed saving.

  To taunt me, he replayed the soundtrack of the afraid female. He hastened my need to determine if Veronica was safe.

  Neither was as large as John, though both possessed speed and strength when I was drained of both. In a straight fight, I thought I could survive against one, but certainly not two, and since there were no fresh zombies around, then I would have to find another way to improve my odds.

  He screamed and laughed. The wolf was Tristan. The cocky wolf stated, "Her death was easy, but yours won't be. It will be fun to rip you apart vampire and feast on your undead bones."

  Haley joined with a crazy laugh.

  The two separated and moved closer.

  I needed to think. "Neither of you could have killed her. You should have heard the screams of that bitch John as I beat him to death. He begged for mercy and he got none. What do you think I will do to you to pathetic excuses for wolves?"

  Haley spoke as he crawled over a deep tree that had fallen. "You couldn't have killed him. You are unworthy to say you did."

  They two bared their huge fangs in disapproval.

  I laughed then smirked as I remarked, "The answer you need stands before you dogs. I stand here to bear witness to the fact that his crumpled body lies dead in his own piss back on the road."

  Neither of the two wolves knew how to handle the fact that their leader had been killed. Tristan and Haley turned their attention to each other for guidance. There was a power void that had to be filled before the pair could move forward. Haley gnashed his teeth at Tristan to get him to bow to his leadership while the other stood his ground without regard to the snapping teeth.

  Tristan drew nearer to Haley, nudging him hard with his head. This enraged Haley who in turn rammed his friend and pack mate. The need for power was driving them both. The two snapped their jaws and swatted at each other with their giant paws.

  My plan had been to create more time for my body to try to heal and think about a way to defeat both of the wolves at once. In my admission of guilt, I had triggered a fight for control which did not involve me.

  Tristan and Haley were preoccupied with each other which allowed me to slip away undetected. Soon the sounds of the two wolves fighting violently filled the sounds of the night.

  Veronica was nowhere to be found.

  Making my way through the woods and back onto the roadway, I walked until I reached the other Town on the Farm. The Town was devoid of light, life or the slightest sound. The shining lights overhead offered little comfort. The entire time I walked between the temporarily deserted buildings was unnerving. I would have thought there would have been a comfort in the light, a certain security, but the Town made me nervous. Crossing past the set of row houses that were very similar to our own, I settled into the possible fact that Veronica could be dead and suddenly the darkness of night was my friend.

  Trudging the final distance to my town, I felt the tears begin to flow until there was a torrent pouring from my eyes. Veronica had been my friend and protector. I had not lived up to my end on either account.

  There was a cracking of a tree limb and the rustle of leaves to my right. No smell was in the air. Truthfully, any of my fellow monsters could have been hunting me and I would not have cared because I had failed her. If the beast mirroring my approach wanted to fight, then I would give whatever it was one hell of a fight. I was going to go into the darkness to defend myself. Taking the offensive approach to battle took heart and mine was gone with her death.

  She was dead wasn't she? If not, then where the hell was Veronica?

  Another sound. Crack

  "If you want to fight then come on!" I yelled while facing the tree line.

  A form stepped from the protection of the shadows of the trees with its hands on its shapely hips.

  "Haven't you had enough of that tonight?" The form asked.

  The voice was one I already knew well.

  I was happier than I needed to let her know.

  Wiping at my eyes casually I said, "You know it, but in case you want one too, I am ready."

  Veronica was flirty, "What kind of fight are you wanting."

  The comment was tempting. It deserved a flirtatious response which I was capable of returning and wanted to say, though I over thought the situation.

  Instead the question scurried out. "Where have you been?"

  "Worried?" She laughed.

  Moving closer to the ditch, I extended a hand to help her across. "Last time I had saw you, the idiot twins were chasing you into the woods. When I finished with John I entered to help you, but all I found were Tristan and Haley saying you were dead. There was a little concern to be totally honest."

  Veronica swiped at the dirt covering her boots. I think she was embarrassed.

  Knocking the last of the red clay from the dark boots, she solemnly asked, "So John is dead then I guess?"

  "Yeah, he died back on the road where we encountered the GVZs," I answered as I reached across the ditch.

  She took my hand, and with a light skip Veronica bounded onto the pavement. Using her surprisingly feminine hand, I helped to pull her across. She landed gracefully as I pulled her into my arms. It was time I showed her how much I missed her.

  Earnestly, she lowered her head onto my chest as I squeezed her to me. The question of her feelings for me was no longer in doubt, and I believed she knew exactly how I felt.

  She looked up into my eyes mournfully as I held her. "What about Tristan and Haley? Did you kill them too?"

  I wanted to feel her lips against mine and should have waited to answer. "They decided that control of the pack was more important than killing me. I slipped away as the two began to fight. Where were you? I couldn't smell a trace of you."

  The sounds and aroma of something unknown to me was heard in the not so far distance, stomping through the brush. Large limbs could be heard cracking and being knocked to the ground.

  I was too caught up in staring into her gorgeous eyes to care. Thank the Lord one of us had the sense to get back to focusing on our task.

  Veronica unexpectedly broke our embrace, though she did take my hand. "We need to get moving and finish what we started. I will tell you as we walk."

  Another loud crash about a hundred yards away in the pines sent us both bumping the final few miles in a trot. Holding hands disappeared when we had heard the last thud of a large tree limb smacking the ground.

  "What the hell is that?" I asked, as I looked back over my shoulder.

  "I think it is a new toy the government is dying to see how it works. Keep moving and hope it adheres to the rules of engagement," Veronica said.

  Tree tops swayed as the newest U.S. government and Chadron project struggled to keep pace.

  Clutching her hand tighter, I stated, "Rules of engagement went out the window when the wolves and zombies were used to see if we could survive. Let’s tak
e nothing for granted. Run faster."

  As we ran, the monster in the trees paralleled our pace. The beast seemed huge and gave off an odorous stench of freshly rotting meat and human waste. We never saw the horrible smelling creature. Somehow the large creation stayed out of sight, but we could hear and see the results. We didn't talk; we ran.

  With a single touch, a fifty foot tall loblolly pine tree rocked back and forth. Every so often, a low lying limb or smaller tree would get in the way of its progress. The obstacle would be splintered and discarded easily.

  I imagined the darkness protected the truth that raged behind. The terror was another thing that went bump in the night. It was not another nightmare such as the zombies, wolves or vampires. It was much worse.

  As the lights of the Town drew nearer the beast began to slow. The last twisted and broken limb was far behind denoted by a singular moan that shook the green leaves from the trees.

  A crowd had gathered, formed by a menagerie of the creations that inhabited the Farm. There were wolves in human form, wolves in their unnatural phase state, misshaped and deformed wolves with limbs that were bent and malformed. There were some caught between phase consisting of fur and skin, half faces of wolf and man. There were zombies of human form that would have been easy to mistaken for the real thing had it not been for the masks and yellow eyes. There were other walking dead monstrosities that were quickly rotting away. More were bastardized versions of part human, part dead with metal protrusions and teeth. The dispositions ranged the gambit from docile servant to berserker who had to be chained and guarded with heavily armed soldiers. There were vampires, glorious vampires. The remaining generations were all represented. All of the friends I had met over my short time and the acquaintances were there. Emotionless were the vampires except for our group: Liam, Logan, Darby, especially Darby, and Chloe, well maybe not Chloe, were ecstatic. They all watched as we crossed the threshold of the city limits.

  Walter stepped to the center of the street from the entranceway of a building. He clapped as we began to walk down the street that was lined with others of our kind. At his behest, the masses joined. A few were actually sincere while others clapped with disregard.

  Stopping at Walter's position, we waited for the pronouncement of our success. He eased forward as he was delivered a microphone. Checking to see if the microphone was on, Walter tapped the end. The sound startled a few of the antsy members of the wolves who howled in response.

  Walter spoke with a steady, booming voice, "Congrats to the survivors of The Running."

  There was a loud cheer that went up from the crowd as he lifted our joined hands.

  Veronica and I embraced in a hug as we were crushed by the loving arms of our family.

  Chapter 30

  The night raged on for a few hours, dragging its self into the morning hours. Tales of the fantastic flowed from our mouths until any false parts became fact. We all parted company. The last two nights and the battles of the mind and of the body had long since taken their toll on me.

  Soon Darby, Veronica and I were left alone and all I wanted to do was get a couple bags of blood before going into my sleep state. I wasn't the only one.

  Veronica looked beat. "Darby, I think it is time we all adjourn to our houses and get a little rest. Monday and school will be here before we know it."

  Looping her arm around Darby's, Veronica dragged her chatty friend toward their respective houses with me in tow.

  Delivering Darby to her home, Veronica ushered her inside then turned to me. "You did a great job tonight Ethan. Thank you for being so concerned, and thank for being a great friend. There are very few of our kind that I would trust with my life. I knew there was something special about you when I found you."

  I leaned to kiss her on the cheek. As my lips touched her skin, I heard the clattering of window blinds being hurriedly closed. The kiss ended as soon as it had begun as we both noticed the lights go out in Darby's living room then the blinds were carefully opened again.

  Veronica shook her head in knowing disbelief, "Darby will not go to bed until we do. Goodnight, I will see you later today."

  She brushed her hand against mine in a manner that bespoke of a less than veiled attempt to make an on purpose touch look accidental.

  Standing in Darby's yard until Veronica disappeared into the darkness of her unlit porch, I waited until I heard the door open and shut.

  The blinds shuffled again.

  I said, "Goodnight Darby."

  From inside Darby's voice echoed the sentiment, "Goodnight Ethan."

  Chapter 31

  Sunday was foggy. I awoke at eleven am then promptly went back to sleep until around three pm because of hunger. After tasting the real thing Friday night from Sunnie, I wasn't sure the rewarmed stuff would suffice. Sure it had worked when I was beyond hunger, beyond tire the previous extreme early morning, but now?

  The cold plastic bag seemed slimy and fake. Warming the blood a smidgen filled the house with the scent of blood. My hunger no longer cared where the blood came from as the aroma wafted about my kitchen. Taking the blood directly from the bag through the nozzle, I could feel myself growing stronger and alert. If one bag could do this then another two couldn't hurt, I reasoned. Soon three bags of blood lay in the trash. The power spread through my body, and I began to become myself again. Two more bags were poured into me before I felt aware of everything around me. This had to the ultimate state of begin that a vampire could achieve. This was incredible. I vowed to myself that I would never again be the weak and struggling man as I was last night. The human side was fragile and easily broken. That side of me had to be destroyed if I was to be the vampire.

  A quick shower and the thoughts of the last night went away down the drain with the dried blood and dead skin. It was refreshing, but the bed seemed to call my name before I was through. Drying off, I checked the clock on my cellphone. I had spent over two hours in the shower yet it had been just a blink of the eye. This was only one of several times I lost chunks of time. There had to be a reason. It seemed that all I did was ask questions these days.

  Dressing for bed in only a pair of boxer briefs, I slid under the covers with the sun fading over the horizon. The rays, though scattered by the blinds of the sliding glass door, warmed the room enough to help me fall into my rest state with much effort. I was almost completely involved in the process when Sunnie popped into my mind. She was on the metal table, half naked and beautiful. The image was sweet. It would have been the only thing on my mind had it not been for a soft moan and chain rattling of Chuck as he patrolled outside my door.

  Chapter 32

  I didn't dread school. I dreaded the awkwardness of seeing Sunnie and Veronica.

  I hadn't seen Veronica since we had parted Sunday morning and there had been fairly intimate moments shared by the two of us during our struggles. The moments were real enough. What if it had been the stress of the situation driving us together? The shared heightened emotions had forged a bond. My questions would be answered in moments. The crew stood around without talking.

  Darby waved. Chloe nodded. Both were listening to music.

  Liam and Logan both issued ghost fist bumps in my direction then resumed talking to one another.

  Veronica's side walk was empty.

  I didn't have time to dwell as the bus pulled down the street toward us.

  The door opened and from her seat Veronica motioned for the group to get on.

  Veronica greeted everyone as they passed, but never made eye contact with anybody. "Liam, Logan, Chloe, Darby, Ethan."

  The bus started moving before I was seated.

  Settling into my seat, I joined the others in what had become our morning routines. It was becoming predictable. Our repertoire was limited to reading, riding, listening to music and sleeping. Then my favorite was staring outside, though sleeping was a close second. Honestly, my second favorite was watching the others take part in their daily activities.

  The school
was abuzz with school spirit week activities. Club presidents placed signs all over the school advertising their benefits, while coaches roamed the halls sizing up students for recruiting. The day was uneventful until after second block when we were allowed to tour the booths of the various organizations and clubs in the high school. While walking around, I caught the scent of the wolves Tristan and Haley. Then there were a couple more that I had never smelt before, but it dissipated as Veronica, Logan and I silently gazed upon things we could never do.

  We were separated at a booth about the various athletics on campus. Logan went in one direction and Veronica another while I turned the pages of a photo album of the previous school year's sports teams. Momentarily, I got a glimpse of Sunnie through the glass wall of the auditorium sitting outside reading a book sitting on a bench. I lost her as a group of students decided to congregate in front of the bank of windows.

  "So much for admiring from afar," I uttered to myself as I pushed my way through the students until I reached the door.

  The August Alabama heat was already brutal for this time of morning. The brisk, warm breeze blowing through the courtyard did little to help. Sunnie sat lazily reading her book while sitting under the cover of the awning. She was oblivious to my presence.

  Her eclectic style was evident as ever in her mix of purple sundress and cowboy boots with a hint of a double strand of hair freshly colored to match. Sunnie's perfume mixed with the honeysuckle scent of her blood drew me in further. There was no resisting her.

  "Hey Sunnie." Speaking to her caused her to jump and drop her book.

  She covered her face with both hands at first from embarrassment then broke into infectious laughter.

  I nervously joined her in laughter then apologized as I picked her book up from the concrete. "I hope I didn't scare you. I just wanted to say hi and see if you were wearing any food today."

  That was so lame, I thought.

  Her expression showed that my joke had been recognized, and she was polite enough to issue a minor smile.