“Are you sure the salt is going to keep them out?” I asked Virgil. I can't imagine that he knew what the hell he was talking about. He never did before. I curled my fingers around the steering wheel tightly as I twisted the wheel to the right again.
Grip the ball with these three fingers to get a good knuckleball, son. You can do it!
Yeah, right. What a crock! Virgil Wallace was the worst baseball coach on the planet and an even worse father. Why on earth was I relying on his word now?
Oh yeah, because I don’t have a choice and I’m desperate to find Lisa!
Another one of the creatures sailed past the side of the van; very close this time. So close that it made the antenna wobble. It had white wings with no ears and a strange, flat face. As it landed it immediately crept out of the fading sunlight and hid, but it didn't hide completely. Its narrow eyes glowed slightly. They were glowing with hatred and hunger.
Oh, very hungry. Yes, we are...very hungry.
Jackie started screaming like a girl while Naomi got quiet. Virgil was fumbling with the lock on the door. As I slammed on the brakes in front of the mine I twisted in the seat and said, “Naomi, stick with me! No matter what! You stick with me! Jackson, shut up!”
His screams only served to make this ordeal that much worse. If I was going to die--if we were going to die-- we would go down fighting. Or at least I would. Not screaming and begging for my life. Maybe Jackson would but I sure as hell wasn’t going to do that. How in the world Mom--I mean, Naomi--got involved with this married twerp, I would never understand.
Then the radio flicked on again and it was the end of the song that had been dedicated to me. I always hated Jefferson whatever their name was. This was that Alice song, the one about the rabbit. This tune was quite a few years old, but it had been popular in its day. The music faded and I heard Hillbilly John's voice as clear as day. It was as if he were right here in the van with us.
“It doesn't have to be like this, Levi Wallace. It doesn't have to be like this at all.”
But it wasn’t coming from the radio. It was one of the creatures, the last one to land. As he stepped out of the scrubby, dark green bushes I could see very plainly the bird creature transforming. He went from dead gray to pale white with a few patches of pink on its skin, presumably in an effort to make itself look more human. The creature’s large eyes became oversized glasses and long, stringy blonde hair grew right before my eyes. This thing was Hillbilly John! What the hell was this thing? What am I looking at? His mouth didn’t move but his voice continued to seep through the speakers.
“You can’t fight the Frenzied, Levi. Time isn’t on your side. Rex needs you. Remember your promise? You promised him Lisa and so much more. You were to be his right-hand man. He needs you, Levi. The King of Rock and Roll needs you.”
His words made me dizzy. There was no other way to describe this strange ass sensation. Dizzy, like I was about to fall down a dark well after teetering along the edge for a sustained amount of time. I almost wanted to take that tumble.
Make that fall. Hit those rocks. End it all.
“No, Levi. You are much too valuable to us. We need you. We need you all. We won’t hurt any of you...come with me and we will let everyone go. Yes, that’s it…”
The keys that were in my hand were now on the floor.
“Lisa,” I said in a broken voice. Next thing I knew Virgil had leaped out of the passenger door with the crowbar in hand and was beginning to work at the boards that were keeping us from a potential shelter. There were only two boards on the old door, but it was not proving to be an easy job. Suddenly Hillbilly John became the white leathery bird thing again. He dropped to his knees and then his stomach. I watched in horror as he belly crawled toward us. John wasn't making a sound. No more smooth radio voice. Nothing at all. It was as if he wanted to sneak up on my father, but I suddenly felt myself pounding on the van horn.
Virgil let out a shout as he saw the creature that had been Hillbilly John coming closer. I kept honking the horn as Jackson joined my father to work on the door. Finally, after a few seconds, the boards gave way and the four of us ran screaming into the dark, presumably deserted, mine shaft.
I had no idea what lay before us.
Chapter Four--Levi
The thing with the wings was standing upright. It had begun to run frantically toward the van while we exited out the passenger side. I didn’t have eyes on the other two creatures and had no way of knowing where they might be. Naomi was at my back and now we were running deep into the gaping black hole in front of us. Virgil was waving his hand signaling for us to follow, but Jackson was nowhere to be found.
His candy ass was probably deep into the mine by now.
The ground shook and I heard heavy stomping behind me. Yes, I can hear stomping! Yes, all three of the Frenzied birds were getting closer. They were going to attack us. That much was for sure. It was so dark in the cave I could barely see my hand in front of my face or anything at all really, at just ten feet in. Eventually, it got so dark we had to move along using our hands and feet, each one of us took turns tripping, falling and dragging one another forward until we came to a large open cavern. I knew it was large because of the echo. Jackson was crying somewhere in this room. He was talking to himself, talking to God, and crying. I hoped he could get a message through because we needed all the help we could get.
I remembered coming here a few times when I was young, just on a lark with some friends. Jackson had not been one of them. It was scary back then but was even scarier now that we had no lighter or anything to use as a flashlight. We held one another's hands and waited for whatever was going to happen, to happen.
I heard rocks being tossed into the cave--not small rocks either. And then there were scratches and odd purring sounds, like the kind of purring a cat makes when it’s about to kill something and it’s very happy to do it. Those things made God-awful noises. Similar to the noises we’d heard on the phone when Jimmy Burrell melted into a puddle of blood with his Rocket Pop in his hand.
What kind of a nightmare had I gotten myself into? All because I wanted to go see the Black Knights? I made up in my mind that this was all the effects of the hallucinogens. Maybe some of the acid we’d done or some of the pot Jackie had laced.
But there's no way that could be true. No way Virgil would be seeing what I'm seeing if that was the case. The Old Man and never so much as smoked a doobie, much less tried any hallucinogens. But then again he was wearing a lab coat and driving a military van so he might have a few secrets. I hunkered down on the ground sitting on the dry, salty dirt. I felt around with my hands.
"They don't like salt?" I asked Virgil as he squatted down beside me. I could see a little bit now that my eyes adjusted to the darkness. I wanted to distract my father as I watched Naomi go to comfort Jackson. They were together and I could hear them whispering, but I couldn't really see them now. “We should probably all stick together,” I said to them, but Naomi and Jackson weren't listening. They were both kind of freaking out but also taking comfort from one another.
At least there was that.
"Yes. If you want to really get rid of one immerse it in a saline solution, or run saline into his veins. That’s harder than you could imagine." Virgil sat on his butt and avoided looking in Naomi’s direction. He breathed deeply as if he’d just ran a marathon. Although I couldn't see very well I knew he was looking at me now. Observing me. Studying me. We had a lot of things to talk about, but right now the sounds of those rocks popping into the entrance of the cave and the growling screams had my full attention.
Jackson whined as Naomi held his hand. What was she his mother or his girlfriend? "What are they going to do? Just wait till we come out? We're sitting ducks, man. Sitting ducks. What are we supposed to do?"
"I don’t have an answer for you. I just came to help my family. The agency wouldn't get involved so here I am.”
“What agency?” Jackson whispered as he rocked back and forth.
My Dad shook his head. “Not one you would have ever heard of.”
I twisted my leather bracelet, a gift from Lisa, and I waited to hear more.
“Debbie is really gone?” he asked me point-blank.
It was Naomi that answered. “Yes. She's dead. Not once, but twice. They got her and I don't know how. I don't know what happened. I had no idea any of this was going on, Virgil! You should've told me."
He had nothing to say to that. It was his turn to sob. Was nobody else paying attention to the rocks popping at the front of the cave? Virgil was a broken man and now he was weeping. And to my surprise, Naomi left Jackson and sat beside Virgil. Unlike Jackson, she didn't put her arm around him, or whisper in his ear, she just sat beside him listening and waiting. We were all waiting, but for what? I wasn't sure.
Waiting to die? Waiting to live? I don't know. The sounds of my father's crying didn't melt my heart. Not like it probably should have. All I could think about was Lisa and that horrible Hillbilly John creature. If I could get to him I would choke the life out of him. I had to get some facts. I had to wrap my mind around all of this.
"We're all sad about Debbie. We're all broken, Virgil, but we need answers. I don't know how long they're going to stay out of this cave. Time ain’t on our side. Why did they kill Debbie? She was just a kid? Why do they appear to want to kill us all? Why do they have Lisa? What the hell is a Sustainer?"
"Sustainer?" Virgil wiped his nose on his white coat sleeve. “It's what you are, I assume. What I am to some degree--and your mother. They must've thought Debbie was the same; it’s our blood, but it's not necessarily hereditary."
"Like a weird blood type?" I asked not sure what he was talking about, but at least we were talking about it.
"No, it's more elegant than that. These creatures can drink our blood and it won't kill us unless they drain us completely. And then, in that case, you die. Their blood contains a little bit of poison. Yes, I’d say that’s accurate. It has some poisonous qualities. Some people report experiencing a kind of pleasant hallucination. They don't even understand that they’re dying. Other people hate every minute of it, but some of us have the kind of blood that they prefer. They can drink from us repeatedly and it doesn't kill us. It helps them because they don’t have to kill so frequently. And it makes them strong. Our blood makes them strong."
"They killed Debbie," I said flatly. It wasn't a question, rather a statement.
“Yes, they did. I'm sure in their quest to find my offspring they just assumed… but it doesn't matter now. You say she died twice? You mean she came back?"
"Yes, she did. She came back and she wasn't the same,” Naomi answered in a wooden voice. I could feel her trembling beside me.
Jackson crept closer to us, but not too close. The room was so dark and so far from the entrance of the cave that there wasn't a chance that we’d see anything that came in here. At least not before it pounced on us.
“We're certainly not the only ones in the world, but they need every Sustainer they can get. New vampires are hungry and this Rex Teaser, he's as hungry as they come. They have a leader, they call her a queen. Alice, Queen Alice. She chose Rex as a kind of co-ruler which means he has to be strong too. But he is tied to you. These new leaders always choose a Sustainer. But you have to agree to that arrangement. I guess you know that. You must know it. He chose you. You know this, don’t you?"
I fell silent. I finally admitted it. “Yes, it happened, but I don't remember all the details. Not right away. Lisa and I were together. I did meet Rex Teaser.”
"And?” Naomi asked me in an unsettled voice. The noise at the front of the cave had grown quieter, but that didn't mean anything. There could've been hundreds of them out there and if not for the salt all around us we would have been devoured.
“I shook his hand. He liked my music. I was supposed to work with him. We had a drink, I think. Maybe we smoked together. I couldn’t say. I can’t remember much.”
"You have to remember, son. They remember. And they will hold you to your promises."
I glared at him in the dark. “How do you know about this? What did you promise them? Or am I supposed to believe you’re innocent? You knew this shit was going down and you didn't say a word. Who does that? Who would do such a thing?"
Naomi put her hand on my arm, "Hey, cut it out you two. This isn't the time for that. Just be quiet for a minute. I hear something. Yeah, I hear something." And she wasn't wrong I heard it too.
Crying. Pitiful crying from the cave entrance. And I knew that voice just like I knew my own. Just like I would know my own sister’s voice, but that wasn't my sister crying out there begging for my help.
"Levi? Levi? How could you do this to me? Help me? Come save me, Levi."
Lisa's words stung my heart and I was on my feet before my brain understood what I was doing. Virgil and Naomi both reached out and pulled me back. Virgil said in a stern voice, "It is a trick, son. That's no more Lisa than it is me standing out there. That's what they do. That's what they're good at. Tricks. They can make you think it's me; they can make you think it's you. Please. Don't go out there."
Jackson was in front of me with his hands up. "For God’s sake, listen to him. That’s not Lisa. What would she be doing out here in the middle of the woods in Denton? That's not Lisa, Levi."
And then the voice changed and it was Jackie’s turn to cry.
Chapter Five —Lisa Dance
I was left in a cage as the band began to party with the groupies. I would be the Golden Doll forever, however long that would be. I felt true sympathy--and disgust for the fans who would willingly put themselves on the altar of their favorite rock star. They did not know, as I had not known, what that truly meant. I would never forgive myself for pinning Rex’s pictures to my bedroom walls or taping them up in my school locker. His beautiful face was only a mask, a mask for the darkest evil. Rex had a broad nose, almond-shaped eyes that penetrated your soul, even from a poster. He had full lips which were always beet red. He was tall, wiry and every teen’s dream. He was the bad boy of rock and that had made him so appealing to me. Rex wasn’t as handsome as Levi, but Rex had been an ideal.
A fantasy which was now a nightmare.
Not only was Rex Teaser and his band here tonight, but I’d seen many familiar rock stars strutting around backstage like peacocks.
Furious Peacocks! What an atrocious name for a band and it had been my suggestion. I hoped and prayed that Levi put his guitar away forever. Things would never be the way they were.
Would they?
Another sparkly-eyed visitor passed by my prison. The stagehands had led me into this room, along with the rest of the stage props and then quickly put me back in the cage. I was handed a soggy bag of fast food, a cheeseburger and fries, but there was nothing to drink. I curled the bag up and left it in the corner. I couldn’t eat. I was sweating from my furious dancing and I was so thirsty. The passing visitor smiled at me. Yes, I knew her. That was Mickey Occidental, the lead singer for Spark. Not her too! Was everything I knew about rock and roll a farce? She licked her lips as she walked by me. Not once, but twice. She did not dare take a step in the room, but she wanted to.
Something stopped her. It was my silent keeper. I wasn’t alone. The creature I named the Keeper hovered in the corner. It didn’t want me to know it was there, it was only Mickey’s presence that had awakened it. The whites of the creature’s eyes flashed open and it stared at me and then the doorway, its eyes were a strange blue color. Not quite as shimmery as the others, more focused. More hateful. And then it stepped back into the wall and vanished.
Yes, it was gone. Completely gone. But for how long?
It was not unusual to be forgotten in the cage. When I wasn't being led from one vehicle to the next, sometimes with a cloth draped over my head, I was mocked and ridiculed. Once in a while, like tonight, they remembered to feed me, but strangely enough, I had not been harmed in any significant way other than being forced to dance
during Rex’s performances. How long had it been now? How long have I been held against my will? Two week? Three weeks?
I figured out early on in my captivity to keep my humming and singing to myself. Music attracted these things like nothing else, except blood. How they loved their music! Any music. All music. Except for my sessions on the stage, I saw no living people. In fact, I saw only a handful of vampires briefly on nights before the performance and they were always fascinated with me. Too interested. Like lions stalking a prairie dog. I did not let my guard down. I made no eye contact; I kept my eyes on the ground. I challenged no one. That would be a foolish thing to do. I even managed to train my thoughts, to keep them still.
No singing, Lisa. No crying.
I believe that their intention for me was nothing good. There would be no happy ending for Lisa Dance unless I remained disciplined. I knew discipline. Yes, it’s true that Daddy spoiled me, but he didn’t buy my spot on the squad. I earned that. How? By practicing for hours every day. People often wrote off cheerleaders and girls with pretty faces, but that would be a mistake because I was not going to go down without a fight. I would keep my shit together. I had to and not just for me.
My hand fluttered over my stomach, but then I remembered myself. No, don’t go there. Focus on something else. Anything else. I felt them listening. The Keeper studied me. I felt her attempted intrusion, but I shoved her out with my most boring thoughts.
Mrs. Watkins’ math final was a real pain in the ass. High school math was the worst. Algebra had too many letters in it. I wonder if Kirby would make the track team this year. He wasn’t the fastest runner, but my little cousin would work hard to make it.
Oh, why did I think about Kirby?
I would be going to college soon. Freshman year. Nursing would be my course of study. That or fashion design or dancing. I couldn’t make up my mind. There would be more money in nursing, but I wasn’t sure I wanted to take care of sick people day in and day out. All that loss and sickness and blood.
Elegant Death Page 3