“Damn straight! I’m gonna kick some ass and get my family back!”
“We don’t think they know that you know what’s going on,” began Natalie.
“It looks like they expect you to wander around looking for Emily, and they might have a trap waiting. Except now, you have us with you. And they won’t expect you to be looking for Tyler and Caitlyn, either.”
“Not for nothing and no offense, Nat, but I wouldn’t think you’d be much of a fighter, and this is probably pretty dangerous.”
They all laughed out loud, and Curtis fielded that one.
“Sam,” he slapped my back, “Natalie could take all three of us very easily.
She is a black belt and world-class gymnast, among other things. I handle explosives and firepower, and Pastor Paul—well, he can hold his own, and he is the holy man, after all.”
“Okay, so let me sum this up for everyone. What we have here is a band of super vampires who can be out in the sunlight, and they’re not only very strong, but they also control industry? What kind of industry?”
“Boardwalks, casinos, restaurants, strip clubs—it’s mostly organized crime type stuff,” Curtis said matter-of-factly.
It hit me like a brick. “Khayman!”
“Exactly,” said the pastor, “we can’t prove any of this to anyone, but we know the Khayman clan, with Max at the head, has been at this for over one hundred years and is getting stronger. They are showing their strength, first by taking Sandy and now, Emily. They seem to come and go as they please.”
“So you say I have this mark on me. What do I bring to the party?”
With that, Natalie looked at Pastor Paul and Curtis glanced at him, too.
Pastor Paul smiled.
“Sam, my superiors and I think you are the chosen one: The vampire hunter we have been waiting for who, as it has been foretold, will come and cleanse the world of the Caelitus Nocturnus curse forever.”
It took everything in me to keep from laughing out loud.
“Are you serious? Me? A vampire hunter? I don’t think that would be a really great idea.”
“No, no, you misunderstand me, Sam. You have been chosen by God.
It’s not a matter of being a good idea or you liking it. It is your destiny. It is who you are, it is your calling. It is why you went to Pine Beach in the first place. You knew they were there; you just didn’t know how you knew. I am telling you now how you know all of this. It is within you. And you aren’t simply a vampire hunter; you are Pius Sacratus.”
I was dumbfounded—it was all so much to take in, and I wasn’t sure how much I believed, anyway. Yet as I looked from face to face, from Curtis to Paul to Natalie, I found myself believing it more and more. These were the three people in the world I trusted the most. And they all believed my children were still alive.
“You really think Tyler and Caitlyn are there? Alive?”
They all nodded to me.
“Then what in blazes are we doing standing here talking—let’s go get them. Let’s go get all of them!”
With that, the gang all came together and hugged.
“Sam,” Pastor Paul began, “I need you to understand, with what you have
told us about Sandy, she cannot be saved. She is one of them.”
Deep down, I already knew that, but it still hurt when he reminded me. All
I could do was nod my head.
“Okay,” Paul began, “first we pray. Dear Lord, please give us the strength and wisdom to carry out Your will first and foremost. We pray that You would protect and keep safe Tyler, Caitlyn and Emily and that You would be there with us on our quest to free them from their evil captors. Amen.” We all repeated the end of the prayer.
“Let’s all meet at the sanctuary in an hour. We will form our plan and go over the gear with Sam. We are going to get them, and we are going tonight!”
Everyone agreed and began to exit through my office door. Natalie stopped for a moment and looked back at me.
“You know all those vacations I took? The two days here and three days there?”
“Yeah,” I answered.
“This is what I was doing.”
She walked out. And I enjoyed watching her small frame walk out the door and through the lobby. I wonder if she dressed up for these sorts of things?
That would be interesting.
I was seriously conflicted about this whole situation. If all of this was true, how could I have enough faith in God to see me through this, after everything God put me through? How much does one man have to lose? I think my biggest fear isn’t that they are right and I am this über-vampire hunter. Because I am going to get my children back and if they are right I’m going to kick their asses. But what if they are wrong, and I’m not? We go to the school tonight and nothing’s there? It would just prove to me that my pessimism toward religion has a strong foundation. That everything done in God’s name is a joke. At this point I think that would kill me. I don’t think I can believe in this and be let down. I just can’t be let down again. I went over to my desk to fire up iTunes again. Decided a little Katie Melua was what I needed to mellow me out, and help me gather my thoughts before the big meeting this afternoon. Nothing was ever going to be the same.
But that’s a good thing, isn’t it? Things aren’t so rosy now.
Funny thing—while I sat behind my desk listening to Katie belt out I wonder if love will pass me by/ Now that I found you, I’ll call off the search, I realized I wasn’t hungry anymore.
March 16th, 3:00PM
After I killed the rumbling engine of the Chevelle, I sat in the church parking lot for a good five minutes. Curtis’ pickup truck was there, as was Natalie’s sea-foam green Cavalier convertible. The only thing that saved the car was the white ragtop—that sea-foam shade was truly horrible. But there I was, sitting and stalling, kvetching about the color of a car. Part of me was so pumped up to get there and do this, and another part of me was too afraid of what could happen here.
I walked into Pastor Paul’s office and found my three friends standing over a table, going over what looked like a building layout. But holy crap—pardon my
French—Natalie had on a skintight two-piece lycra bodysuit that left very little-to- nothing to the imagination. It was black and hugged her hips like water rolling down her silky skin. Her hair was pulled back, and she looked stunning. Curtis had on what looked to be old military fatigues and a flack jacket loaded up with various explosives. Pastor Paul was dressed a little more sensibly, but still in all black.
With his long black overcoat, he looked ready for action. I suddenly felt very underdressed in jeans and a tee shirt.
Natalie was the first to notice me come in. She shot me a soft smile and mouthed a quick “Hi,” and I waved back. Curtis lifted his head and shook it quickly.
“Sam, Sam, Sam… what are we going to do with you? Look at this! You look like you’re going clubbing. Did you actually do your hair for this?” He laughed out loud. “Here, put this on.” And he threw me what appeared to be a black Special Forces vest.
“We really don’t care what you wear, but you need to be prepared. Natalie likes the whole Mission Impossible look, and for her, a good look it is,” he added with a wink. “But that vest is all you really need.”
It was very heavy, Kevlar-lined, and snapped on comfortably. I felt around the pockets and found a Glock 26, just like the one Emily had, in one pocket.
Several magazines, with what looked like silver bullets, were in another, and in the inner pocket (and seriously adding to the weight) were a half-dozen 6-inch silver stakes. I felt the other inner pocket and pulled out an 8-inch silver crucifix with a sharpened point at the end. Wherever I was going, whatever I was going to face, I was well prepared!
“Sam, my boy,” the pastor began, “I think it’s time we filled you in a little… debunk some vampire myths and tell you the real story about how all this works.”
“Pastor,” I began, “I want to know everything I
need to get my children back.”
“Then let’s start here, with some of the common myths. Holy water?
Out—it only makes everyone all wet. Crucifix? Does nothing but irritate them.”
“But what about this?” I interrupted, pulling out what I mentally called the Christ- stake.
“Oh, that—well, see, it’s in the form of the crucifix more for function then anything else. Take a hold of it, go ahead.”
As I grasped the one side of the crucifix, the long top sat nicely on my forearm, allowing me to control the sharp end quite easily.
“So, it’s like a heavy dagger?”
“Well, yes and no. There are only three ways to kill a Caelitus. The first is loads and loads of sunlight. Yes, they can get around in the daytime, but let’s say one fell asleep at the beach. He would whither up in a couple of hours. Not a practical way to kill them, really.”
“Unless you want to torture the hell out of them!” chimed in Curtis with maybe a little too much enthusiasm.
“Nice,” offered Natalie, “we’ve done it once or twice, Sam, but not as punishment. It just worked out that way when we were on a mission in Egypt.”
“Egypt?” I gasped a little.
“Yeah, we go all over,” Natalie said while she checked her pack one last time. I didn’t see what was in it, but she seemed pleased with it.
“It’s all part of the job,” Pastor Paul continued. “The second—and very popular with Curtis—method is beheading. A nice clean cut, and the Caelitus in question is surely a goner. Now, they don’t die right away. The head can survive without the body, so be careful. If you want to ensure a kill, you have to shove a silver stake or dagger in the evildoer. The silver is what poisons them, and even a small amount, if ingested, will eventually kill them. But nothing is quite as effective as ramming the silver crucifix through one of them. They die within seconds.”
I put the Christ-stake back in its holder and took out the Glock.
“What about this?”
“Oh, that,” Paul answered, “That has silver bullets in it. I know, I know, sounds cliché, but it works. If you run out of silver bullets, you can use normal sounds. However, they won’t kill the beasts, only stun or wound them. They heal rather quickly, as you will find the first time you ram a shovel in the belly of one, only to watch him remove it himself.”
“Nice,” I said quietly, “this sounds like it is going to be loads of fun.” I looked down at my hands. Was I ready for this?
“Well, Sam, I have to tell you,” began Curtis, as if he were reading my mind, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone who is as ready for something like this as you are. And our goal here is to avoid the Caelitus tonight. We don’t want conflict—we want to find Tyler, Caitlyn and Emily and get them out.” Curtis stopped and looked around the room. Natalie stepped up and spoke next.
“That’s right, gentlemen,” she said with a deep sense of urgency. “Those children have been in hell far too long. This is a rescue mission.”
And so it was. We continued to go over the weapons we had and how we could best use them if we had to. Then we went back over to the table to go over the plans for our invasion of the vampire nest.
“There are many entrances to the building,” I said. “How are we going to choose the right one, and how are we going to cover the others?”
“It’s not about covering them, necessarily,” began Curtis, “but we want to make sure they can’t grab the kids and get out without us knowing it. That’s why we are going to enter here”—he pointed at the map—“the old entrance to the tailor shop. Remember it, Sam?”
“Of course—the hallway goes down about ten feet to a door. It used to be an old wooden door, but I don’t know what they’ve done with it now.”
“My sources tell me it still looks like the same wooden door, but it is reinforced with steel for strength.”
“Sources?” I looked at Curtis questioningly.
“Don’t worry about it, Sammy.” He smiled. “The rest of the doors will be loaded up with C4 explosives and remotely detonated to seal them off. My count has fifteen possible exits total, including all of the floors. That’s not including the exit to the roof. I’m not sure how I could secure that other than blowing out the fire stairs, which we are doing.”
“Excellent,” continued Paul, “and our timing couldn’t be better. Most of the minions won’t be at Farragut Hall because it will be nighttime and they will be out feeding. But Max Khayman is known for staying in on Sundays since his strip clubs are closed. And the only thing he really enjoys is the evil lure of the naked woman. He does not need to leave the clan to feed—the innocents are brought to him. As Curtis said, we’re not looking for a fight, but at the same time, we want to shut this den of inequity down once and for all, if we can, by blowing it to kingdom come!”
“Once inside,” Natalie continued, “we will follow the main corridor down to the lower levels of the building. We will split into two teams there. Unfortunately, we don’t have any maps of the sub-basement areas of the building. The building itself was constructed in the late 1800s, and who knows what they put underneath it back when it was a brothel and hotel. Remember, the goal is to locate the children and, if possible, Emily, and get them out. We are closing all known exits off only after we locate the children. We don’t want to alarm anyone who might be down there before we have to. And there is a good chance that we won’t be able to communicate with each other, so both teams will carry a detonator for the explosives. When you find the kids, blow the place sky high. If you hear the bombs going off, head back to the tailor’s door immediately. Who knows how long the old place will hold up under all that shaking? And, with any luck, we will trap Max Khayman and his clan in a fiery death.”
“Including Sandy,” I added with sadness rich in my tone.
“Sam,” Natalie began to walk over to me, “we can’t save her. She is already one of them. She told you herself.”
“I know, I know,” I repeated almost to myself. “I just feel… I don’t know what I feel. I’ve let go of her. I did a while back. But I never let go of the emptiness, and now it’s not empty. I have this”—I pointed to the map—“I have you guys and, maybe, if it’s God’s will, I will have my children back.” Natalie wrapped her arms around me in a big hug that was quickly followed by Curtis and Pastor Paul. Still stuck in a group embrace, Pastor Paul said, “It’s time to go. Let’s all bow our heads in a word of prayer.”
“Right on!” chimed in Curtis. And we all grasped one another’s hands in a circle. Together, as a team, we formed an unbreakable circle of strength, a circle of support, a circle of faith. Together, we were one. Then Pastor Paul began praying.
“All-merciful and knowing God, we beseech You to be with us on this, our first mission together. A mission of mercy to free Tyler, Caitlyn and Emily from the evil that binds them. Lord, give us the strength and wisdom to see and do the right things tonight. To not bring harm where harm is not due and to bring mercy and relief where it is needed. This we pray to You, oh God, in Your name. Amen.”
“Amen,” we all repeated in unison.
In the parking lot, we all gathered around a black van with no windows on the side or back. Pastor Paul opened the side doors, and we all filed in, one by one. The interior of the van contained four captain’s chairs in the middle and what appeared to be a digital command center in the back. Without a word, we all took our seats and the van was off, on its way south down the coastline.
Once we were on the road and had been on Route 35 for about five minutes,
Curtis turned to me, smiled and said, “This is pretty freakin’ cool, isn’t it?”
I looked around and nodded my head. “I guess so, but I don’t even know what it all is.”
“The back of the van is fully outfitted with a GPS system, radar, a computer with satellite uplink to the Internet, and the controls for the Hellfire system.”
My eyebrows went up. “Hellfire?”
“O
h, yes,” and Curtis’ smile broadened even wider. “The Hellfire system is capable of projecting fire three hundred feet in any direction without harming anything between here and there and only affecting a ten foot radius.” His smile was now so big I thought his face was going to crack.
“Have you ever used it?”
“No, but I got a good feeling about tonight.” His face looked like a little kid about to get an ice cream cone.
“You love this stuff, don’t you?” I asked with a wry smile.
“You know it, my friend.” He looked at me and punched my fist in a sign of solidarity and to signify we were on the same page. I looked over at Natalie and found that she had her eyes closed, her head bowed, and was deep in prayer.
Her glossed pink lips were moving, but I couldn’t hear what she was saying.
Then we returned to riding in silence as we crossed through Seaside Heights and onto Route 37. The sun was still in the sky, but it was getting low.
We were running out of daylight, and we needed to get there just at the right time between when the sun setting and night was coming into bloom. With things all quiet in the van again, my mind was racing from Sandy to Tyler to Caitlyn. I was having a problem reconciling all of this information. There were so many different things going through my head. I was so anxious to get there and save them. But the idea of not even trying to get Sandy was wearing on me. I didn’t know if I could do it. If all three of them were huddled together, how could I not take Sandy? What had she done to deserve this fate? I still had love for her, but I had finally begun to accept her being gone. Conversely, I had not accepted the kids being gone and now the very real possibility that they were alive existed. I had seen Sandy, so I knew she was there. But the kids—I was going purely on faith with that, but it was a strong faith.
At that moment, I felt a touch on my shoulder. I looked over and it saw Natalie’s deeply concerned face looking back at me.
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