The Night Killers

by Senese, Rebecca M.

  “What’s that for?” she said.

  “Nothing.” He untied the pieces and stuffed the fabric into his pocket. “I just wanted to make sure we weren’t separated.”

  She nodded as if the explanation satisfied her. He helped her to her feet. His back cracked. His muscles felt sore from sitting. Light from the hall spilled into the vault. Around them, people were getting up, packing their things, moving out the door. Peter turned his head, rolled his shoulders, trying to work out all the kinks. Many of the others were doing the same. The only ones not bothering were the few children who bounced around the perimeter, eager to be out.

  Peter and Lucy followed a group of four adults and two children outside. The early morning sun splashed pale yellow light across the sky. A mid point, not quite night and not quite day, still dangerous.

  But not for him or Lucy. He still found the thought odd. He was used to being wary of vampires and the idea that they couldn’t infect him anymore continued to be a surprise. They could still rip his throat out though. He wouldn’t forget about that.

  People hurried in the early light. Peter wondered if they had other places to travel to; did several of them barter elsewhere for supplies? A few were setting up tables and others were strapping goods onto small wagons. A yelp from several children sounded and a boy and girl took off running down the street. Adults watched but didn’t scold; it probably did no good anyway. Better to let them expend their energy.

  Lucy knelt on the ground, packing their food into the saddle bags. Peter decided to retrieve the bike from the shed. He turned to head over. The door looked ajar, the chain hanging loose. Hadn’t Lucy wrapped the chain around the handle? He thought he remembered her doing that. He shook his head. His thoughts felt muddled this morning, probably from the unsettled sleep. Maybe the wind had rattled the door enough to loosen the chain or Lucy hadn’t tied it tightly. Peter’s footsteps slowed. The dust clouds at his feet stopped. The door was ajar.

  The children’s shouts sounded closer. He heard them running behind him. The door…

  The noise of the bike deafened him. The door flew open as the bike lunged through it. Peter threw himself to the left. Something flapped on the back of the bike, a blanket. The bike sped forward, catching up with the children. Peter watched as an arm reached out from under the blanket. It snatched at the girl, grabbing her upper arm and pulling. The girl soared off her feet, landing in front of the blanket across the bike. The bike banked in a large circle and headed away. As it accelerated, Peter heard the shouting voices of the people as they tried to give chase. Soon the bike disappeared into the distance of the rising sun. No one got within one hundred feet of it.

  One of the women Peter had followed up from the vault was screaming. The other woman was trying to comfort her. The man was still giving chase and finally stopped. Another figure took his arm and started to lead him back. After a moment, the first man broke away to chase again and struggled when the other tried to stop him. They started throwing punches until several others pulled them apart.

  Lucy stood with the saddle bags at her feet. As Peter returned to her, he noticed how pale she looked, her normal dark skin blanched. She stared in the direction where the bike had disappeared.

  “L…” she said.

  “What?” Peter said.

  She started, stared at him for a moment as if she didn’t recognize him, then glanced down at the saddle bags. “Nothing. Our ride is gone.”

  A forty-five minute ride on the bike at high speed. It would probably take them all day to walk back to the lab. Peter pulled the piece of fabric out of his pocket and started wrapping it around his head.

  “How much water have we got?” he said.

  She shook her head. “Not enough. Most of it was on the motorcycle.”

  “We’d better get moving before it gets any later.”

  “I’ll see if I can get us some transportation,” Lucy said. “Watch the bags.”

  “Do you think that’s a good idea?”

  She didn’t reply. She headed over to one of the men returning from the chase. Peter watched as the man shook his head at her words. Lucy jabbed a finger in his chest. Her head moved closer and the man bent over to listen. He looked over at Peter. Even from the distance, Peter could feel the man’s intensity. Around him, the swirling emotions heightened as people returned. The man talking to Lucy started nodding. Peter swallowed. His throat felt dry. He didn’t like the man nodding. Somehow it seemed worse than the head shaking.

  Lucy was returning, the man following along behind her. As they reached him, the man stepped out from behind her, cutting her off.

  “You’re a vampire hunter?” he said. “Used to be in one of them city squads?”

  Peter glanced at Lucy. “That’s right.”

  “You could track our girl?”

  Peter took a deep breath. So that’s what she’d said. Dammit. “I don’t know. I don’t have any equipment with me.”

  “We go get your equipment,” the man said. “You can track them?”

  The murmuring voices around them stopped. Even the woman who had been screaming was silent. Peter felt her anguish behind him, pressing against him like a wall. He needed to get away from these people. The emotions they scattered around him threatened to cause another attack.

  But now that he focused, he could sense something beneath the anxiety, a bare thread of animal hunger, like a spoor. He could almost feel it headed off in the direction the vampire on the bike had taken. He closed his eyes and quested out with his mind. Yes, there was the faintest trace. It glimmered in his mind and now that he’d seen it, he knew he could find it again.

  Peter opened his eyes. The man stood in a clench in front of him, all bodily muscles tightened.

  “I can track them,” Peter said.

  The man sagged. Tears shimmered in his eyes.

  “I need to get back to pick up my equipment first. We have to do it now.” Peter gestured in the direction where the bike had disappeared. “The trace won’t last long. I need to get back here within a few hours to follow it.”

  The man nodded. His movement caused an explosion of action around them. People hurried to pack up their belongings. The man pointed to an old truck. The end of the flatbed was missing. A sheet of fabric stretched across, tied at both ends. As the man pointed, people sprang to unload the back.

  “We can get your stuff now,” he said.

  Peter nodded and picked up the saddle bags.

  “You find our girl and you can get all you want always. No charge.”

  Peter almost told him it was unnecessary but stopped himself. He didn’t want to insult this man but he also didn’t want to make a promise he couldn’t keep.

  “I’ll do my best,” he said.

  “That’s all I ask,” the man said. “I’m Rucas. Melanie is my niece. I appreciate if you can bring her back.”

  Peter shook his hand.

  They loaded into the truck. Rucas drove, Lucy sat in the middle, directing and Peter sat by the window. As they headed out, the sun began to rise above the horizon. The dangerous twilight time was gone. Now it was a race.

  How far could that vampire get with the girl, Peter wondered. It must have had a nest to return to, some place to hole up during the daylight hours. Even that blanket wouldn’t protect it against full sunlight. That cheered Peter considerably. It limited the search area.

  He just hoped they weren’t searching for a corpse.

  The sun climbed higher in the sky as they drove. Peter tried to hold the memory of the trace in his mind but soon it was gone. It had lasted longer than he expected. The vampire strain within him had definitely heightened his awareness. As long as they returned to the beginning by mid day, he should be able to pick it up again.

  Lucy pointed. “Stop there.”

  Rucas pulled the truck into a stop. The wheels locked, sending up clouds of dust around them. Peter leaned back from the open window, hand covering his mouth and nose. He squinted against the dust
cloud. As it began to settle, Lucy poked him in the shoulder.

  “Out,” she said.

  Peter got out and she scrambled after him. Rucas followed. Peter waited for Lucy to stop him but she didn’t. She stuffed her hand in her pocket. Peter heard a distinct click. Lucy walked to a small shrub and brushed sand off the cover to the lab entrance. With a yank, she lifted the cover and climbed down.

  Rucas gaped at her.

  “Come on,” Peter said. He crossed to the hole in the floor of the desert and climbed down into the lab. A full minute followed before Rucas followed. He climbed one rung at a time, pausing as if not sure if the ladder was real or not. When he reached the bottom, he stared at the tunnels leading off to other parts of the lab.

  “What do you do here?” His voice was almost a hush but in the stillness of the hallway, it carried.

  “Fight vampires,” Peter said. “Follow me.”

  He led Rucas to a room he had appropriated for the equipment he’d salvaged from the spotter van. The Night Killers had tried to leave what they could afford to spare but it wasn’t much. A Kaminski shield with maybe an hour’s left of power. A semi-auto machine gun with two full magazines. Half a box of sharpened stakes. Two axes, one large and one small hand axe.

  Peter traced his fingers over the top of the trace enhancer. This machine had been the life blood of his spotter career. It helped him focus in on the slight psychic variation of the vampire. The head band with small needle protrusions picked up the signal and using the machine, amplified it for him to read. But he didn’t need this machine now.

  Probably not a good idea to advertise that fact just yet, he decided. He turned to Rucas.

  “I need this unit. Carry it up to the truck and strap it down. If you can’t, it will have to ride up front. It’s important and delicate.”

  Rucas nodded. He lifted the machine in both hands, cradling it against his chest. Peter followed him to the ladder and helped him carry it up to the top. He watched Rucas carry it to the truck. Satisfied the man wasn’t going to drop it, Peter ducked down to gather more supplies.

  Lucy returned from the direction of her lab. She carried her shotgun.

  “You’re not coming with us,” he said.

  Her eyebrows rose on her forehead. “Oh really?” She lifted the shotgun, aiming it in his general direction. “Are you going to stop me?”

  She wouldn’t shoot him, he thought but the look in her eye told him she just might. He would have to talk her out of it. “Lucy, it’s too dangerous. I can’t look after you and take down a vampire.”

  “Who said you have to look after me? Maybe I’m coming to look after you.” She stopped and her lips thinned. He could feel confusion emanating from her. Her fingers tightened on the shotgun.

  “Lucy,” he said.

  “I want to know why the vampires are taking children. This is new behavior. It’s important I see it for myself. It might have some ramifications on treatment. You know it’s different.”

  He did know and that was another reason he didn’t want her there. He didn’t know what to expect but the way she gripped the gun told him she wouldn’t let him talk her out of it. He sighed.

  “When we get there I want you to stay with the truck.”

  She opened her mouth to protest. He held up his hand.

  “This was my job and I know how to do it. You’ll get in the way.”

  She frowned but the gun lowered. “Fine.” She started past him. He held out the large axe to her.

  “Take this up to the truck,” he said.

  She glared but took the axe from him and climbed up the ladder.

  He filled a bag and hoisted it across his back. After consideration, he decided to leave the Kaminski shield. It was only necessary at night and he hoped they’d be well finished by then.

  Loading the truck took a short time. He checked the trace enhancer but didn’t like how it moved even just a little. He lifted it out and slid it onto the passenger’s seat.

  Lucy locked down the lab and, after smoothing dirt over the door, returned, carrying her rifle.

  Peter glanced at the sky. The position of the sun told him it had already been a couple of hours since the vampire had taken the girl. He had only a few hours more before the trace diminished past his ability to read it, even with his newer abilities and the trace enhancer.

  “We have to hurry,” he said.

  They piled into the truck and headed back. Peter held the trace enhancer on his lap. Rucas accelerated and kept the speed high. The truck rocked and bounced over the uneven desert floor. Peter heard the equipment rattling behind them in the cab and was glad he’d decided to hold on to the trace enhancer. With that treatment, it would have been useless.

  The trip back seemed to take less time but as they climbed out of the cab, Peter checked the sun again. It seemed to have jumped higher in the sky. His stomach tightened. Was it already too late? Would he be able to find enough of the trace to follow?

  Several people emerged from the old bank. They started toward the truck. Peter put up his hand to signal them to stop. Rucas saw his movement.

  “Don’t interrupt,” he called. “We need to do this alone.” He glanced at Peter who nodded. The people crowded around each other then retreated back inside the building. Rucas nodded to Peter.

  As Lucy and Rucas checked on the equipment in the back of the truck, Peter slipped the headband of the trace enhancer over his head. The band fit snugly across his forehead and rested on his temples. The needles pointed outward. He flicked the power on. The machine hummed. Levels shifted. He made a few minute adjustments and took a reading. Everything seemed clear. He took a deep breath and let it out. Nothing. He sensed the people in the building, nothing specific, just a sense of life. He felt Rucas and Lucy nearby but he used the trace enhancer to block them out as much as possible, the same way he used to do it with the squad. Now he just had to concentrate and find the trace again.

  Nothing. Had he miscalculated? Had it faded before he’d thought it would or was he not as sensitive as he’d thought? Maybe he’d made a mistake thinking he could find her. If they’d set off immediately after the vampire, he could have followed but what use would that have been? Without weapons, without resources, they would have been helpless, especially if the trail led them to a nest. He’d had to go back for his equipment; he hadn’t had any real choice.

  He wondered if Rucas would listen to that excuse.

  He took another deep breath. He had to stop the gnawing thoughts. They only distracted him. He needed to concentrate, remember what it had felt like earlier today, after the vampire had disappeared over the horizon with the girl, with his prey.

  She was prey. Smelling of sweet blood and ripe fear. He almost remembered that hunger. It had held him once, gripped him so hard it squeezed the thoughts from his head until all he felt was animal hunger. All he heard was the roaring of blood in his victim’s veins, singing an invitation to him. Come follow…

  He opened his eyes. The trail flowed before him like a river of hunger.

  “That way.” He pointed.

  “Rucas, in the truck,” Lucy said. “Come on, Peter.”

  Peter felt her hand on his arm. The smell of her almost overpowered him, almost overpowered the trail. He tugged his arm away from her.

  “Don’t touch me,” he hissed.

  “You need to get in the truck,” she said.

  “I’ll follow. Just don’t touch me now.”

  He sensed her worry but it was a shadow, far away. He focused on the trail, on the hunger. It sang to him. He climbed into the truck. They headed off. Peter clutched the trace enhancer on his lap and tried not to salivate as the hunger filled him.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Sunlight leaked around the edges of the curtain in his room when Rick awoke. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d slept so late. The squad would be waiting for him. He’d never hear the end of the ribbing from Raj or Josh.

  The thought brought him fully awake
. The squad wouldn’t be waiting. Raj was dead. He remembered the sobs of Raj’s wife, Celeen as she listened to the news. He recalled the hum of the cam unit as the soldiers recorded his resignation. Over. It was all over.

  And Sami…

  He hadn’t expected to find her here waiting for him, hadn’t been prepared to see her. All he’d wanted was to be alone to lick his wounds. He hadn’t intended to shut her out. He remembered her saying she would be back.

  She hadn’t returned.

  He didn’t blame her. It was probably better for her to distance herself from him, better for her career. The USC and the Council would be watching the squads to see how the remaining members reacted to the expulsions. It was important for her to keep her head down.

  He told himself it didn’t hurt. He’d gotten good at lying to himself.

  When he got himself out of his room, the sun was high in the sky. The squad would already be out on patrol. Who was leading now, he wondered. Josh was next in line but they probably wouldn’t hand command over to him. They’d bring in someone new, either with some new recruits or combine the squads. Either way, it wasn’t his team anymore.

  The bright sunlight made his eyes water and he realized for the first time he didn’t want to be out in it. Sunlight had always been safety and salvation. He didn’t want that. He wanted the shadows.

  He headed for the Vampire’s Tooth.

  Although it wasn’t normally open this early, he wasn’t surprised to find the door unlocked. As he slipped inside the gloom, he saw other people scattered around the bar, most standing alone. Even those standing in groups weren’t talking. Everyone stared into their glasses and drank in silence. They had all been forced to resign, like Rick. If they hadn’t been, they’d be out with their squads right now.

  He spotted Ted Whethers from the Scourge of Heaven in the far corner. For a moment, Rick thought about just heading for the bar then he changed direction. He reached Ted’s table. Ted looked up then nodded. Rick sat down.

  “You too,” Ted said.