“Now what?” Natalie asked in a hushed voice.
“I don’t know,” I replied, “but we need to go to the right here.” I began feeling all along the back wall, then on the right hand side until I felt something at the bottom.
“Something is down here, but I can’t see it. It’s too dark.” It felt like a hand-hold, so I grabbed it and stuck my hand in about two inches and felt something solid. I pushed in hard, and the corner of the wall moved back slightly.
“Ah, look!” Pastor exclaimed and pushed on the corner. It gave way to the pressure, and we filed through the narrow opening into another corridor. The hall was dirt-lined, with nothing on the walls. It was much narrower than the other passageway and we had to walk in a line, one after the other. I led the way, with Natalie right behind me; I felt her hand on my shoulder, and I looked back.
“Just making sure you’re still there,” she said with a small smile. And then my vamprator started going off. It was vibrating like a telemarketer was calling, trying to sell me a timeshare. I stopped and started looking around, but I couldn’t see anything.
“What’s wrong, Sam?” Natalie asked.
“The vamprator—it’s going crazy.”
“Mine isn’t doing anything,” she replied.
“Neither is mine,” commented Pastor Paul in a distracted voice.
I gave the immediate area another look and then kept going. As we continued, I heard Natalie’s vamprator start to vibrate, and then Pastor Paul’s.
“We must be close to something.”
“I think you are right, Pastor.”
I slowed the pace as we approached a door that had a soft glow spilling out from beneath it. I turned, putting one finger to my lips in a sign of silence to
Natalie and Pastor Paul. It didn’t occur to me until I had done so that this was a futile gesture—if there were vampires on the other side of that door, they could hear us anyway with their acute sense of hearing.
When we reached the door, Natalie gently pushed me aside and crouched down to the floor. She reached inside her backpack and pulled out a small mirror on a handle, just like what you might see at the dentist’s office. She slid it under the door, moving it back and forth slowly until she was satisfied.
“Doesn’t seem to be anyone in there. Looks like a large open room with some lanterns burning on the walls.” We both nodded to show our understanding, and she tried the door handle. It turned easily, and she slowly pushed the door open into the room.
The room was large, perhaps half a football field in size. There were many wooden tables throughout the large cafeteria-looking room. Some of the tables had unlit candles on them while others were completely bare. The walls were hung with what appeared to be old oil lamps, which were lit and giving off a soft amber glow. The light was just enough to see, but not enough to be able to make out anything specific at any distance. There were exits to the left, right and center. None of them had doors, and they appeared to lead to other hallways. I looked from one to the other, trying to discern the right way to go.
Where was Sandy now? I needed some direction, now more than ever.
The vamprators were still buzzing violently, and I reached down and turned mine off. Natalie and Pastor Paul followed suit.
“So,” Natalie began, “which way to go?” She stood to my left with her hands on her hips, looking at the tables with some interest. She took her hands off her hips, walked over to one of the tables, and picked up a glass. She turned it over in her hands, noticing the traces of a rich red liquid that had pooled at the bottom of the glass.
“Any bets on whether this is wine?”
“I somehow doubt it,” Paul responded with a pained expression on his face.
“Which way?” The words slowly rolled out of my mouth; I had no idea.
“Gang, I think this might be where we split up. Nat, you head left, Pastor you go right, and I’ll split the difference in the middle.”
“Right,” said Natalie, “meet back here in 20 minutes?”
“Agreed,” Paul and I said at the same time.
“I think we should go one at a time, though,” Pastor offered. “That way we can make sure the others are okay, at least for two minutes or so.”
We agreed to this—first Natalie would go, then Paul, then I would go by myself. We all approached the hall to the left and entered slowly. We peered down the hall together and saw that the oil lamps continued to light the way. The passage continued to descend slightly, with steps about fifty feet down.
“Okay,” she sighed, “here I go.” And Natalie slowly began creeping down the hall. She looked back about ten feet away and gave us a thumbs-up. Paul and I returned the thumbs-up and walked back into the room towards the hall to the right. We slowly approached the hall, peered down and saw what appeared to be a mirror image of Natalie’s hall, complete with steps about fifty feet away.
The pastor began making his way slowly then looked back, nodding his head to indicate he was okay.
Now it was my turn.
Approaching the entrance to the hallway, I began to notice that this one looked very different from the others. It was darker, barely lit at all. Finally, I stood at a doorway that looked very different from the two Natalie and Pastor
Paul had gone down. This doorway didn’t lead to a hall—at least not directly— but stood at the stop of a tall stairway that appeared to be lit by very few oil lamps. I couldn’t see the bottom of the stairway, so I put my glasses back on to try and see further down before I began my journey into the depths of this hellhole. The glasses didn’t help very much—apparently they weren’t powerful enough to see that far.
I was a little troubled that Sandy had led me this far and then seemed to abandon me. Again. It made me wonder, who was Sandy trying to help? Was it really me? Or the kids? Or maybe Khayman? Natalie had said that when Emily was abducted, the Khaymans had really come for me. Maybe Sandy was leading me directly into a trap that would only end up with me becoming one of them. But Pastor Paul had said I was immune to that—or so he thought. Feeling like I had no other choice, I began my descent into the darkness that awaited me. I took the stairs one at a time, slowly and deliberately, with one hand on the wall to the right of me. About ten steps down, the glasses started to bring more of the stairway into focus. And all I saw were more steps. How far down did these steps go? I only had twenty minutes to search and meet back in the main room, and I didn’t see any end to these stairs in sight.
But as I kept going down, step-by-step, I began to hear noises. Strange scratching and shuffling noises were coming from below me. I was walking right into the disturbing sounds. The deeper I got, the louder they got, and the oil lamps were now either not lit or not nonexistent.
After fifty or so steps, I could see the bottom. I was about halfway down the steps now, and I had the feeling that I was not alone. I couldn’t see anyone or anything but steps and the floor, but there were definitely others here with me.
I broke out in a sweat in spite of the cold air that began to swirl around me the deeper I went into the vampire nest. I reached into my vest and pulled out the gun.
And then I was on the last step. I stopped for a moment, realizing I had no idea how long it had taken me to get here. I looked from one side to the other and still did not see anyone, but straight ahead, about three hundred feet at the other side of the room, was a faint glow of light. I stepped down off the step and before my foot hit the floor, I was blindsided by someone… or something? It hit me from the left, square in the shoulder, and knocked me from my feet. I dropped the gun and heard it skid across the concrete. I looked feverishly around, trying to find my assailant.
I didn’t move for a long moment, but my attacker didn’t come back. Maybe they went to tell others? No matter what, someone knew I was here. I had to hurry. I looked around for the gun but couldn’t see it anywhere; I was going to have to forget it and just head for the door. In an instant, I was on my feet and running across the large expan
se toward the light, afraid whatever it was that had knocked me down was going to continue after me. I had seen how fast these things were and knew that if I couldn’t see them, I had no chance against them. I got to the door and slammed up against it, running so fast that I was unable to stop. The collision made a loud thud against the door, and I heard frantic movement behind it. Dammit, why didn’t I just ring the doorbell, too? But, fearful of whoever—or whatever—knocked me down, I flung the door open with complete disregard for what was waiting for me on the other side. At least I would be able to see with the light from behind the door.
I flung the door open and froze. I stood with my mouth wide open, not believing my eyes. I removed my glasses and heard them hit the floor, having no idea where they landed. There, standing before me, was my dead wife, Sandy… except she didn’t look all that dead. She looked absolutely beautiful, the light of the oil lamps playing on her curly blonde hair. Her skin was porcelain, much lighter than it had been before, and her lips were a deep red, as if she had just had a glass of cabernet. So, aside from that, she didn’t look dead. It’s all in the details, apparently. Neither one of us moved; we just stared at each other.
“Finally, you’re here. I’ve been waiting,” she said without moving her lips.
“I knew you would come. There is much danger and very little time, so you must hurry.” Her voice was clear and had a strong sense of urgency behind it.
I was not sure how to answer her. But before I could figure it out, she looked over her shoulder and stepped back to reveal Tyler and Caitlyn lying in what looked like plush red sofa chairs. They appeared to be asleep. I began walking toward them and stopped when I reached Sandy.
“What…” I stammered.
“There will be more time for explanations some other time; for now you need to get them out of here and to a place where they will be safe and happy.
They have been in stasis since we disappeared. It’s the air here—there are pheromones in the air that keep them asleep. They have no knowledge or memory of this place, only the accident. Once you get them out, they will wake up within hours.” This time she was speaking through her mouth, so I could hear it and see her luscious lips moving. They were so big and red; they beckoned me to kiss them.
“I don’t….” I looked directly into her cold, dead black eyes, “I don’t understand; what is going on here? Why are you here? How did you get involved with Khayman?” Suddenly, the idea of romance wasn’t so appealing as I remembered where I was and what I was doing.
“Sam.” Her facial expression changed to reflect her pleading tone. “You must take them, now! There is no time for explanations or apologies. You have already been here too long; they know you are here and will come for you… and them.” She looked at the sleeping children.
“I can’t just take them and go; where is Emily? And I need to know what happened.”
“Emily?” She looked surprised. “You mean the F.B.I. agent who was in the cottage?”
“Yes, her.”
“I don’t know; she was there when I went to you. I didn’t know what to think, so I just left her there. She’s not here, Sam. If she were, I’d know about it.”
“But the blood on the door. It looked like she had been taken.”
“Yes, I put the blood on the door. The blood was to keep other vampires away—the mark signified that there was nothing to feed on inside so they would pass you by.”
“Then what happened to Emily?”
“I don’t know; this may sound stupid, but did you call her?”
So here I was in the depths of the ground in Pine Beach, talking with my undead wife about the girl I just had sex with, while the girl I was falling in love with was searching a different part of the lair. And strangely enough, this wasn’t awkward at all. It didn’t seem strange or weird. I guess that, in and of itself, should have told me something. I found the lack of emotion I felt for Sandy right now amazing. It was so apparent to me that she wasn’t Sandy anymore, not the woman I loved, not the woman I married. She was someone… no, something else.
“Sandy, I can’t carry them myself. I have to go back and get Natalie or Paul for help. And I need you to explain this to me; explain to me how you got here, why Khayman took you and the kids. I’ve wasted a lot of time blaming myself for what happened only to find out that you aren’t even dead.”
“But Sam, I am no longer alive. I am undead.” She took my hand in hers; it was as cold as the outside of a car in the middle of winter. There was no color to her skin and no warmth to her touch. She placed my hand on her left breast, and I could not feel a heart beating beneath.
“I have so much to tell you, so much to explain and apologize for.” Sandy spoke earnestly and from her heart, or whatever you would call it in her case.
“There will be time for that later, in another time and in another place. But you must go now; I will help you carry them. Please!” she pleaded and bent over to pick up Caitlyn. I grabbed Tyler and followed her out the door towards the stairs.
She stopped about ten feet in, and I could barely see her. I didn’t have the glasses anymore and was relying solely on the light from the room.
“Someone is here,” she told me in my head. Then she resumed moving towards the stairs.
“I told them to get out of here. They did leave, but they will be back with reinforcements in moments—we must hurry!”
“I am going as fast as I can!” I said irritably.
We reached the stairs, and she started to pick up speed. I had to run to try and keep up, but Tyler was heavy and I was getting tired. Sandy was still several steps ahead of me and stopped about ten steps from the top at the last plateau before the steps led into the room.
“Stop! Someone is in the common room; there are both humans and undead. This isn’t good.” I could hear the concern in her unearthly voice.
I finally caught up to her.
“Who?”
“It’s Natalie and Paul. And there are some vampires with them, but I can’t tell what is going on, only that Natalie and Paul are distressed in some way.”
I laid Tyler down gently on the ground and began going up the stairs.
“Stop!” she said loud enough for the neighbors to hear. “Are you crazy?”
“I can’t just stand here; I have to see what is going on. It sounds like they’re in trouble. If they are, then I have to help. It’s the only way.”
“Sam, if they are, it is already too late.”
“Sandy, I think you underestimate us all. Stay here, protect the kids. I’ll be back.” I could hear sounds of a struggle as I crept closer to the top of the stairs. I took out the silver crucifix from my vest, preparing to do battle, reached the top, and walked through the entrance.
“Okay, let’s get it on!” I exclaimed loudly to get everyone’s attention. All the motion in the room stopped. I saw Pastor Paul bound and gagged at one end of the room and Natalie bound and gagged at the other. They stopped struggling to get loose and looked my way. Paul looked as though he had been taken easily, with little damage. But Natalie had clearly put up a fight and looked worse for the wear. She had a cut above her eyebrow, and it was bleeding around the edges of her right eye. Her face was caked in a layer of dirt, and the top of her jumpsuit had several nasty-looking blood soaked tears. She looked at me pleadingly and then looked to the vampires at a table, who were going through what looked to be her backpack. There were five of them, and they were all looking directly at me. I began walking toward them purposefully. I heard Natalie scream under her gag and felt something approaching from behind; I quickly turned and plunged the crucifix deep into the vampire who was in mid-air, about to land squarely on my back. The force of him coming knocked me flat on my back and he landed squarely on me, pushing the blunt edge of the crucifix into my chest. Damn, that hurt like hell! That was definitely going to leave a mark, but I was okay. I shoved him off me and spun to my feet, crucifix in hand.
The five of them were now on their feet,
standing in a line, licking their bloody lips and staring at me with such intensity that I could feel their bloodlust.
But they weren’t going to be getting any of my blood, not tonight. They began to close on me all at once, and I wished I still had the gun. I heard footsteps behind me, and the approaching vampires froze. One of them stopped mid-stride and almost fell over. The smell of them reached me, and it was putrid.
“I don’t want to have to destroy you, but I will. You will leave him alone.”
Sandy’s voice was strong and commanding from behind me.
Then the middle one spoke. “You protect this human intruder?” he asked incredulously.
“You will let them go, all of them,” she said and came up behind me, depositing my gun in the back pocket of my pants as if she had read my mind.
Way to go, Sandy! Then out of the corner of my eye, I saw Sandy flash over to
Natalie and untie her. She didn’t linger, but I saw them exchange a quick glance with each other.
“You traitor!” the one on the left end spat out. “I will personally see to it the Khayman finds out about this!”
“You do what you have to do; I am serving my sentence. There is no reason for my children and these people to serve it with me.” And she began to flash to Pastor Paul but was intercepted by the middle vampire. He was, apparently, the one in charge of this little band of vamps. He grabbed her by her throat and held her up. She was clearly shocked by this, but it didn’t appear that she could do anything about it. Natalie began running to her but was jumped by two of the others. She spun and landed a kick into one of them, knocking him back. But before she could spin again, the other vampire was on her back. I ran to help Natalie but was broadsided by one of the remaining two vamps. He had me down on the floor and was about to sink his fangs into my throat when he stopped suddenly, a confused look on his face. He looked at me as if I were a piece of steak he wanted to eat only to realize at the last moment that the meat was rancid. I guess God was on my side, after all. I took the opportunity to deliver an elbow to his chin and he fell back, clutching his mouth, blood spilling from his lips. The other vampire was on me quickly, but I was able to spin the crucifix on him, and it landed in the side of his neck. He fell away and grabbed the crucifix, then quickly let it go as the flesh on his hands began to burn like the flesh surrounding the wound on his neck.
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