The Vampire's Vision

by Shawn Wiseman

  "And just how are we going to stop the attack before it happens?" Olivia asked while resting a hand on her hip.

  "We find James and stop him before he can do anything."

  "That's easy enough to say, but how do you expect to find him?"

  Kara looked at Raymond and his eyes shot open. "I… I suppose I could ask around. Someone might know something."

  "We can also check his place. He's probably not going to be there, but we might be able to find a clue about where he went."

  "Well, I suppose that's a start," Olivia conceded. "Raymond, why don't you go back to my place and do your thing while Kara and I go to James' place to see what we can dig up?" Olivia took out her keys and gave one of them to Raymond.

  Raymond accepted the key. "Right," he said with a nod of his head. "I'll see what I can find out."

  Raymond went to his car and drove off, and Olivia and Kara went to James Moore's apartment. They went up to the third floor, and when they reached the top step Olivia put her hair in a ponytail in a mirror of the day before. They went over to James' apartment and tested the door. It was locked.

  Olivia twisted the knob past the breaking point with ease, and the door opened. "I'll search his room, you search here," Olivia suggested.

  "Alright," Kara replied.

  Kara glanced around the room, seeing where to start in her search. There was a severe lack of personal effects, aside from electronics. Well, his computer might be the best bet for now.

  Kara went over to the computer desk in the corner of the living room, and turned on the monitor. The computer was already running, and the fan in the back creating a small hum in an otherwise quiet room. After the light of the monitor brought images to the screen, she began looking through the files and folders. She searched for anything that might give her an idea of the places he frequented. She settled on checking his internet history, which included a multitude of lewd websites, gaming forums, and craigslist ads which seemed to be looking for weed. She also could see that he was an overly active social media user.

  Kara clicked on one of the image sharing sites he frequented, and to her surprise it logged her in automatically as James. From there, she was able to see all the pictures he’d posted as well as his information available on the website, but it only listed the address she and Olivia were currently at.

  Kara started looking at the photos he was posting, and then she burst out laughing in hysterics. "What an idiot!" she couldn't help but yell.

  Olivia ran into the room with Kara still doubled over laughing. "What? Did you find something?"

  "Look, look!" she replied, pointing at the screen.

  Olivia went over to the computer and peered at the screen, her eyes squinted. Kara was staring at her, anticipating her reaction.

  "Oh my God," she said while shaking her head.

  "I know right? All this wondering about where he is, and all we had to do was look at his pictures. He should know better than to post a photo with GPS on."

  Olivia grinned while still shaking her head. "Look at the caption as well: 'Getting ready to bust some heads with the boys tonight,'" she paraphrased. "It looks like if we want to stop this attack we need to act fast."

  "Right, I'll look up the address right now. Can you call Raymond and see if he found out anything, or if he can tell us about the building we're headed to? It might help if we know what we're up against."

  Olivia got on her phone and did as she was asked. Meanwhile, Kara looked up the address and found that it was an old abandoned warehouse. Looking at it from the map service’s street view, it looked fairly large and open.

  Kara listened to the one-sided conversation for a few minutes, then Olivia said her goodbyes and hung up. "So…?"

  "So, he said that James is gathering several psychics for a job, but wouldn't say what the job was. He's taking anyone until eight p.m. and then the job begins. James was being secretive about the meetup, and is only giving it out to people he knows, but we found that out easily enough."

  Kara chuckled. "Yeah."

  "Raymond looked up the address and said that for that type of warehouse there's a fire escape on both sides that leads to a second-floor catwalk, just like in all those action movies."

  Kara lit up. "Oh, I know the ones he's talking about!" she shouted with a wide grin.

  Olivia smiled. "He did caution that James and his company could be up there, though. He's going to meet us at the address in thirty minutes. That will give us a few hours before their planned time of attack."

  "Let's get going then," Kara said.

  Kara and Olivia headed to the warehouse, staying a few blocks away just in case they could be spotted. They texted Raymond to tell him where they were and he met them in his car a few minutes after they arrived.

  "So, what's it like over there?" Raymond asked, pushing his glasses up.

  "We're not sure. We didn't want to get close in case they had a lookout. Kara, can you sense anything?"

  Kara peered down the street at the warehouse and squinted her eyes as she focussed. "I'm not sure. I sense a lot of psychic energy, but I'm not good enough to know how many people he has in there. I might be able to tell their locations as we get closer."

  Olivia nodded. "Alright, let's get a closer look, but stay alert."

  The others nodded, and then the three of them made their way towards the warehouse. As they approached, they couldn't see anyone guarding the main entrances, nor the visible fire escape for the second floor. They used their fleet feet to move in silence to the bottom of the fire escape, and then put their backs against the wall.

  Kara closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths. "I can't sense anyone on the second floor," she whispered.

  "Good, we'll be able to spy on them from there."

  "It's like you guys have done this before," Raymond commented as the three made their way up the steel steps of the fire escape.

  "It's been a while since the three of us have been together," Kara replied. "A lot has happened since then."

  "Evidently."

  Kara smiled, and they continued up the steps to a rusted old door. Olivia gripped the handle and turned the knob gently. It made no sound as she pulled the door open a crack to peer inside. After her inspection, she opened the door fully and nodded to Kara and Raymond. They entered the building and stepped onto a metal catwalk going around the perimeter of the warehouse. Olivia entered and closed the door behind her.

  The three of them went to the edge of the catwalk, knelt down, and looked over the side to see twelve people lounging around on torn and weathered couches, or walking around and talking with each other. Lying on one of the couches and smoking something was James Moore. From where Kara and the others were they weren't able to hear anything, but knowing how many people there were was almost as much as they needed to know.

  If this is everyone that's going to attack, then right now we're outnumbered by nine, and even with the others we're still outnumbered by four, Kara thought. "This is bad," she whispered. "We should leave and tell the guys. We can't take them on our own."

  "We still need to find out their plan of attack. If we know that we can at least come up with a plan of our own," Olivia replied.

  Kara furrowed her brow and deliberated over the issue in her head. The closer they got, the more they risked being seen, but Olivia was right. They needed more information, otherwise they would be dead in an instant.

  Kara moved away from the catwalk edge, and then stood up and silently moved to the middle of the warehouse. Olivia and Raymond followed behind, creeping along so as to not make a sound.

  The closer they got, the better they could hear the conversations that were going on. They could hear James complaining about the lack of people showing up.

  "Has anyone gotten any messages?" James asked. He received a variety of negative answers. "Ugh, what a joke. I thought we could get at least twenty people."

  "What did you expect, man? No one wants to hunt vampires anymore. It ain't coo
l," one of the men said.

  "Look, this is an easy job. All we need to do is combine our powers and crush the house. No one will know what happened, and the detective said he'll make sure it's labelled as a structural issue."

  "And then we get paid?"

  James paused for a moment. "Yeah, after that you get paid."

  The man looked James up and down. "Yeah, just like last time. This is why no one wants to show up no more, cause they know you ain't good for it."

  "Yeah, no one wants ta help yer sorry ass anyways, getting beat by a buncha girls," another person said, which elicited laughter from some of those gathered.

  "What did you say?" James shouted as he got up from the couch.

  James walked over to the man who’d insulted him, and they went nose to nose. Each man looked like he was about to fight.

  Maybe they'll take care of each other for us.

  "Yeah, Moore, you wanna start something?" the man taunted as those around them gathered in expectation of a fight.

  James was quiet, and the tension in the air was palpable, but it didn't seem to be escalating. Kara thought this would be a perfect opportunity, if only one of them would throw the first punch, or…

  Kara used her powers to hit the aggressor in the stomach. He reeled back from the force, and James looked confused.

  "You bastard," the man seethed.

  James was backing away and holding his hands up. "No, no, no it wasn't me," he tried to shout, but the other man didn't seem to care.

  They fought in a similar way to how Kara had fought with the detective—a fistfight, but while augmenting their strength with their psychic powers. Kara could feel that each of them were also trying to break through barriers the other person had up, but it was almost an even match in that regard. James was by far the weaker of the two physically, and would have been overpowered if not for his psychic abilities. He kept saying that it wasn't him and trying to back away from the other guy’s attacks, but his 'friend' kept going.

  When the two locked arms, Kara took another opportunity to push them into one of the spectators, and then moved the spectator’s arm to hit another person. Soon enough those two were also fighting.

  Kara kept taking opportunities to include more participants in the fight, and soon all but two of the people gathered were fighting with each other. She turned to look at Olivia and Raymond, who both had wide grins.

  "Everyone, stop!" one of the people not fighting shouted. After a moment of non-compliance, Kara noticed him close his eyes and lift his hands to chest level.

  As the young man lifted his hands, the fighters floated off the ground. They couldn't fight in the air, and their powers also seemed to be suppressed by that one man. After a moment he let them down.

  "I thought this was a gathering of like-minded individuals, but I can see now that that is not the case. You are all a disgrace to psychics. I take my leave," he said in a distinct British accent.

  He and another young man began walking away towards the opening of the warehouse.

  "Wait, no, Simon, don't leave. We need you," James pleaded.

  "Perhaps you should have thought of that before you started in-fighting. I think I've tired of America. Cheers," he said with a wave as he turned the corner of the warehouse. After a moment they could hear a car starting and speeding off.

  "Damn it!" James shouted. "He was stronger than all of us combined. Without him this job will be a lot harder."

  "This wouldn't have happened if you didn't start the fight," the man James fought said.

  "I was trying to tell you that I didn't hit you, but you wouldn't listen."

  "Then who hit me, James? Explain that."

  James looked around to the others in the group. "Well, anyone want to fess up now? Who used their powers to hit him?" No matter who James looked at, they denied doing it.

  Kara looked at Olivia and Raymond, and motioned for them to leave. As they were sneaking to the exit, they could still hear James and the others debating what had happened.

  "Then, if no one here did it…"

  Kara glanced over her shoulder, and she could see James concentrating. After a moment, he locked eyes with her.

  "There!" he said, pointing at her.

  "Run!" Kara shouted.

  The three of them fled the warehouse. Kara could feel psychic blasts flying towards her as she reached the door. She jumped outside just as the force broke the door off its hinges with a loud snap.

  Raymond and Olivia jumped off the stairs to the ground below, and turned around to make sure Kara was safe. Kara jumped over the railing and joined them on the ground, and they all ran towards Raymond's car.

  Halfway to the car, the psychics ran out of the warehouse. Kara turned around just enough to send a wave towards them. Two of them stopped the wave, but it slowed them down just enough for Kara and the others to reach the car.

  They jumped into Raymond's car and he threw the keys into the ignition. He turned the key and the car came to a start. He pumped on the gas, and the car went speeding away.

  "Are they following us?" he asked.

  "No, they've stopped," Kara replied from the back seat. "No, wait." Kara could see the ten of them standing side by side. She thought they had their eyes closed, and she could feel them gathering energy. "Oh, shit. You have to go down another street, now!"

  "I can't, this is a straightaway for another kilometer," Raymond shouted back.

  "Then go between the buildings," Olivia suggested, seeing what Kara saw, save the gathering energy.

  Raymond was flustered. He glanced to his left and right. "I… I can't. They're too close together."

  "Something's coming," Kara announced.

  Olivia grabbed Kara's arm. "Make us go faster," she yelled.

  Kara looked at her like a deer in headlights. "What?"

  "Use your powers to make us go faster!"

  Kara turned around to look at the back of the vehicle. She didn't even know where to begin to make the car speed up. "Step on the gas, Raymond."

  "I am," he replied, frustrated.

  "Floor it, damn it!" Olivia swore while she pressed on his leg.

  The car picked up more speed as gas pumped into the engine faster. Kara closed her eyes and focussed on the back of the car. She remembered the psychic blasts the other psychics had sent her. She spread a force along the back of the car, and imagined that she was pushing against it. She could feel the car moving faster with her thoughts. It increased her confidence, and she pushed harder.

  Kara opened her eyes and she could feel the psychic energy blast from the ten rushing towards them. The force was busting lampposts and churning up the street as it flew at them. If it caught the car, they would be sent flying, or worse. She glanced over her shoulder to see that they were close to the turn for the next street. We might just make it.

  Raymond pulled on the wheel hard, and the car turned the corner. Kara tried to stabilize the car, but it was too unwieldy. She had to stop pushing the car forward, otherwise they would flip or head into one of the houses nearby.

  Just as they crossed the threshold of the next street, the psychic wave hit the rear of the car. The car tumbled sideways. Kara's world turned upside down, flipped, and twisted again as the car fell into someone's lawn. It finally landed upside down after two full rotations.

  Kara's head had been knocked around several times, and she felt nauseated, but otherwise she was alright. "Olivia, Raymond, are you guys alright?" she asked.

  Raymond groaned. "I think I'm okay, but my glasses shattered and cut my forehead," he said, touching his forehead and pulling his fingers away to show blood on his fingertips. "It's shallow. It'll heal quickly."

  "I'm good," Olivia replied.

  Kara reached for her belt and depressed it, letting her fall to the roof with a thud. She stumbled around and opened the door of the car, then crawled out. She went to Olivia's door and opened it, then helped her out. Afterwards, Olivia went and helped Raymond out of the driver's side.
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  Kara walked away from the car in the direction of where the blast hit.

  "Help me flip the car back over, Raymond," Olivia said.

  While the two tried to flip the car, Kara was stumbling forward as her mind took in what she was seeing.

  The psychic blast of the ten people had hit between two of the houses on the street they were on. The two houses were completely split in half, all the way through. She could see the remnants of the other halves strewn about on the upturned lawns. Wood, busted appliances, crushed furniture, everything a normal house would have was now lying in bits in the dirt.

  This is their power? Kara fell to her knees. How can we win against this?

  She began to understand just why the vampires of old had been afraid of psychics, and the fear they must have had. She understood it so deeply because she now felt that same fear.

  She looked at her own hands, and recalled the power she’d felt in the police station. It seemed pitiful in comparison. How can I even help in this fight?

  "Kara, get up!" Olivia yelled.

  Kara couldn't move. Her legs wouldn't work. Olivia ran over to her and picked her up off the ground. Then Olivia noticed what happened to the houses as well. She missed a step, but regained it quickly.

  "Now you can see why I bring you along all the time," Olivia commented.

  Olivia opened the back door of the car and placed Kara inside, then went into the front seat. Raymond hammered the gas, and they sped off just as they heard the noise of sirens approaching.

  "We're doomed."

  8. PSYCHICS VS. VAMPIRES