I made it halfway to the supermarket when I heard someone call out my name. I turned around. Immediately I saw Charlie. My heart stopped, and I felt blood drain from my head.
No, no, no! Not here, not now!
Charlie stood in an open Jeep with Moore. There was chaos all around. Moore’s car was being attacked by suckers. Fearing for Charlie’s life, I sprinted back as fast as I could and threw off two suckers from the car. Charlie was now on the floor of the vehicle, being protected by the soldiers and Moore who were fighting off masked suckers in close combat. Some of the face masks looked like skulls.
Where the hell did they get those from?
I grabbed two more suckers by the scruff of their necks and bashed their heads together. They fell unconscious to the ground. I grabbed Charlie’s hand and pulled him out of the fight. With Charlie safely behind me, I turned back and yanked the remaining suckers off the car, hitting them unconscious. One of the soldiers was being bitten. I jumped on the sucker, yanked his head back and knocked his teeth out. I threw a glance at Charlie, to check if he was still okay, before grabbing Moore by his jacket.
“Why did you bring him here?” I yelled, pointing at Charlie. It was hard to be heard over the screams, helicopters, and gunfire.
“I thought I could use him as leverage,” he said. He sighed, and I took it as an acknowledgment that he’d misunderstood me.
You’re an idiot. I wanted Charlie safe.
I had to control my anger and not insult Moore for being so stupid as I had no time for it. I glanced at the carnage happening all around us, then turned back to Moore.
“They don’t know how, Moore. They’re not daywalkers. They have no idea how to do it,” I yelled. I didn’t spend any more of my precious time explaining. My words were clear, and I hoped Moore would use the information to save as many lives as possible. I turned around to leave, but Moore grabbed me by my arm. I pulled myself loose.
“I’ve got to go save my sister, Moore. I’ll be back after that.”
I turned back to Charlie and grabbed his hand. Together we ran to the supermarket.
Saving Julie
Charlie and I ran into the supermarket, into what seemed like an oasis of calm compared to the village square. I motioned for Charlie to keep low as we positioned ourselves behind a checkout.
“Julie!” I shouted out.
“Kate!” she yelled back, and I heard Duncan smack her.
I am so going to hurt that bastard.
“Duncan, let her go. She’s of no use to you.”
“Oh yes, she is, Kate, and you know it. You give me the secret or I’ll blow her head off.”
My nostrils flared, and I clenched my fists. Charlie indicated he was moving to the next checkout. I didn’t want him to, but he was out of my reach before I could stop him. I had no choice but to keep Duncan focused on me.
“Okay, I’m coming out. Don’t shoot!” I yelled.
I emerged from behind the checkout. Walking into the middle one of the three aisles, I saw Charlie duck into the third aisle on the left.
Part of the shelves’ contents had been thrown on the floor by looters, and I had to take care where I put my feet. I took my time to walk the length of the aisle, hands held at shoulder height. I had heard Julie’s and Duncan’s voices come from the end of the first aisle. I tried to keep Duncan talking while I racked my brain to come up with a plan.
“Promise me you’ll let Julie go as soon as you have me.”
“We’ll cross that bridge when we get there, shall we?”
The bastard’s not going to playing fair.
Suddenly, I heard a snicker. My eyes squinted, and a wave of hatred washed over me.
Sasha.
Although I hadn’t seen Sasha enter the store, it appeared she had followed Duncan and Julie. I glanced toward the end of the aisle, where I had heard the sound come from, and thought I could see her black, fake-leather boot sticking out. She was right at the end of the first and second aisle.
My eyes spotted an item on the floor near her, and I smiled. After another two steps, I grabbed a lighter from one of the cardboard hanging from the shelf posts.
“Okay, I’m nearing the end of the aisle,” I said as I walked on slowly.
“Stop!” Duncan shouted. His voice wasn’t far from where I knew Sasha was.
My heart stopped, as if on command. I thought he’d seen through me, and that it was all going to end now.
“Throw your gun on the floor in front of you.”
Phew!
I was relieved when he didn’t mention the lighter. He most likely didn’t see me take it and hence didn’t know my plan. So, I did as he said, sliding the gun in front of me. It bounced off the skirting board at the deli counter and stopped in the middle of the back aisle.
“Now step forward with your hands up.”
“Okay. Don’t shoot, I’m unarmed.”
Just before I turned the corner, I grabbed the can of hairspray I had spotted earlier. I flicked the lid off with my thumb, brought the lighter in front of the can, and flicked on the lighter. As I turned the corner, I pressed the button of the spray can. A huge flame shot out, hitting Sasha full in the face. She screamed out in pain and anger, her fake hair alight within seconds. She fell backward, hitting her head hard on the tiled floor and was knocked out immediately.
While turning the corner, I had seen Charlie appear from the third isle throwing a bottle of camping gas in our general direction.
As if in slow motion, I saw Duncan, who was standing not far from me with Julie half in front of him, swing his arm that was holding the gun to Julie’s head toward me. I let go of the spray can and lighter, caught the gas bottle mid-flight, and used it as a club to knock the gun out of Duncan’s hand. Duncan had fired in the meantime, and the bullet nicked my ear. Ignoring the pain, I shoved the gas bottle with all my might into his face, only just missing Julie, who was already ducking away. Duncan fell back against shelves holding cans. The shelves collapsed by the force, and the cans fell around and on top of him. Unfortunately, he didn’t feel anything as he was already unconscious.
But someone’s going to have an extra big headache in the morning.
The moment she was freed, Julie flung herself into my arms. As I embraced her, I saw Sasha’s hair still smoldering. Scanning the floor, I found a can of soup that had burst open when it hit the floor. Letting go of Julie, I quickly picked up the can and poured the pumpkin soup over Sasha’s head. With a hiss the smoldering stopped, but it didn’t do anything for the stench of burning flesh. Having cleared my conscience a little, I now took Julie by the arm to get her away from Duncan and Sasha before they could come to. I wanted her out of here and quick. We were halfway down the aisle when I heard movement behind me. I turned around to see if Sasha or Duncan had miraculously had come to already. My body stiffened when I saw Charlie still at the end of the aisle, holding the gun, and aim it in Duncan’s direction.
“Charlie, no!” I screamed.
The gun went off twice. I was shocked, stunned. How could he have done this? I let go of Julie and slowly made my way back to Charlie, who stood there with the gun at his side. I went to stand next to him. He had shot both Duncan and Sasha, both in the knees. I was perplexed and stood there, blinking, not knowing what to say.
“I had to make sure they weren’t going anywhere soon. I can do what you can do,” Charlie said and smiled at me.
“You saw that?”
“Sure did, my love. You made me proud.” He put his hand on my butt and kissed me.
I looked at Duncan and Sasha again. They sure weren’t going anywhere soon.
“Feels good, doesn’t it?” I said with a wicked grin.
“It sure does,” Charlie chuckled.
When the three of us walked out of the supermarket, the battle between the suckers and the army was over, the army having the winning hand. The square still looked like a disaster zone. Fires were burning, lights were flashing, and sirens were wailing. Bodies
lay on the ground left, right, and center. Helicopters and ambulances were busy taking away the dead and the wounded.
As I saw them put Caleb’s body on a trolley, I felt all energy drain out of me. I thought of all these lives lost, of Caleb’s life lost.
When we passed one of the bodies, I saw a tranquilizer dart sticking out of the neck. I realized Moore had organized shooting the suckers with tranquilizers, not bullets. They were now being loaded into trucks. I assumed to be securely confined. The corner of my mouth curled up. I had underestimated Moore.
Julie, Charlie, and I walked up to the Major as he was giving instructions to his soldiers.
“Can we hitch a ride?” I asked.
He turned around to us and smiled behind his mustache.
“You sure can. Hop in.”
Aftermath
Back in Bullsbrook, Julie wanted to know everything that happened to me since we had parted. She was especially eager to hear about this rumor of me being a daywalker now. I told her everything of course, just in case they didn’t come up with a vaccine.
When Major Moore found out I had told Julie, he wasn’t happy. He quickly had a statement drafted for us, including Charlie, Rhona, and Harry, to sign. In it, we agreed we wouldn’t tell anybody else how to become a daywalker. I had no objection signing it as I didn’t want to have any more daywalkers on my hands.
All suckers, including Rhona, Julie and myself, were kept in close confinement for a few weeks. We didn’t mind. It was now the army’s problem to feed us. Charlie and Harry were allowed to see us as often as they liked which was often. Harry had persuaded his father after a few days to give Rhona and myself private rooms. Charlie and I were very grateful as we made ample use of that privacy.
Moore was able to inform me that Maxine and her husband were okay. The marines had been able to take a lot of unbitten citizens into safety on their ships. However, as I had dreaded, my parents were not among the survivors. They had stayed too long in Portland when the virus broke out there. Maxine arranged their funeral, and Julie and I were allowed to attend it under heavy military escort. While I was allowed out, I saw the world already rebuilding itself. Streets had been tidied up, repairs of houses and stores were underway, and life seemed to go on as normal. I was surprised and amazed by the resilience of the human race.
It’s almost like a weed.
There was a major investigation into the origin of the virus and, after the necessary forceful interrogations, it appeared that it was the US military that had created it. They had taken a man-made virus, created by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to stop a muscle wasting disease, and genetically modified it into a virus that made healthy bodies better, stronger.
Unfortunately, the genetic manipulation of the virus caused it to have the unwanted side-effects of blood craving and UV-sensitivity. There had been an incident in the laboratory, and infected SEAL soldiers escaped. Trained to survive, they eluded the search-and-recovery teams sent after them. The rest of the story is history. Ever since the incident, the army had been working around the clock to undo what they had done, fearing a global incident, but was having no success until they met me.
From my blood, they found out that the solution didn’t lie in the standard IgA, IgG and IgM antibodies, but in the more mysterious and often ignored IgD. Two weeks later, an effective vaccine was found and mass produced by a company in Iceland, the only country unaffected by the virus outbreak. Due to the fact that the virus was still active in the body weeks after infection, the treatment still worked.
The worldwide vaccination became the greatest medical feat ever. It took a fortnight to get everybody vaccinated, but the antidote was given to every single person; bitten and unbitten, willing and unwilling, young and old.
As to be expected, countries had to work together, to get enough manpower to accomplish it, but it was done. Hence it was also the greatest international civil-military co-operation ever. A special hunt force was created to hunt down those who tried to remain suckers. Many were caught, but the threat lingered as there was no way of telling how many were still out there, undercover.
Obviously, heads of military leaders who had been in charge of the virus experiment rolled, so to speak. It wasn’t over just like that though. People wanted to see those responsible hang for gruesome murders committed. At the International Court of Justice in The Hague in The Netherlands, mitigating circumstances concerning the majority of ex-suckers were accepted. They said that a physical need together with the idea that the physiological change was for the better of the human race, often enforced by peer pressure, made many behave the way they had.
However, some of the suckers had shown extreme violence and/or cruelty during their turn. They were put on trial and found guilty of crimes against humanity. Long-term sentences were unavoidable and some would never walk outside again. Many testified of Duncan and Sasha’s dictatorship whilst running their pack, and they, too, were convicted. Only because of Caleb’s more humane leadership did Sasha receive a shorter sentence than Duncan.
A lot of ex-suckers who were acquitted chose to live in closed communities. Most of them were ashamed of their actions and didn’t want to confront family and friends with their presence. Some lived there to avoid continued harassment from humans who couldn’t forgive or forget or both.
Julie set up a closed community farm with her girls not far from Bullsbrook. I don’t know if she lived there for her own good or to help the girls. Maybe it was a bit of both for her as well.
Harry and Rhona moved into an apartment in Portland, and Harry continued his medical studies. He refused to have his canines surgically reduced. The vaccine reversed all elements of the succedaneum infection, but not the fangs. The government offered the replacement of fangs as a free service, and it was taken up by everybody. Nobody wanted to be reminded of what they had started calling ‘Black October.’
As soon as I had my vaccination, my strength began to dwindle back to normal. I had my fangs surgically put back into their original position, and by the time I was released, I was able to put more variety into my diet. Life slowly began to be normal again.
A memorial monument was erected for those fallen during Black October. My parents’ names were on it, so were Sue’s and Caleb’s. When I missed them, I would steal a moment to be on my own with my thoughts and brought flowers to the memorial. I always made sure there was an added rose for Caleb.
Charlie and I decided to continue to teach in Bullsbrook. Charlie’s aunt also wasn’t among the survivors, and with inheritance money, we bought a nice, big place together as we soon discovered I was pregnant and due to give birth nine months after our ordeal.
At twenty weeks, we had a scan. We were over the moon to find out we were expecting a baby girl. She was very special to us, and we named her Sue. I bought the most colorful baby outfits I could find for her.
The End
Suckers Trilogy
Book 2
Raising a Vampire
First Feed
Sue arrived one month early. Charlie had quickly organized a visit from my sisters, Maxine and Julie, on the day I came home from giving birth to Sue in the hospital. They only had a day’s notice, but they both made it for lunch. I was very grateful for Charlie’s gesture even though I only gave birth less than 24 hours ago and was knackered. I didn’t see my sisters often and was overjoyed they were here to share our happiness.
Halfway through lunch, Sue began to cry. We all looked up, and I was already half out of my seat when Charlie told me to stay put.
“You relax and finish your lunch, love. I’ll give Sue her bottle.”
Maxine and Julie stared at me with perplexed looks.
“Where did you get him from?” Maxine asked me after she finished her mouthful. “Are there any more like him left over? I may swap one for John.”
“Unfortunately, ladies,” Charlie beamed at them, “there is only one Adonis, and I’m already head-over-heels with your sister.” He
threw me a hand-kiss while he was waiting for the milk to warm up. I pretended to catch the kiss and threw him one back. I had no problem with showing my love for Charlie anywhere, anytime.
Not anyhow, though. I have my limits on what can be shown in public.
Both Maxine and Julie pretended to throw up at the overt display of love between Charlie and myself.
“Don’t you worry, honey,” I said to Charlie, “it’s not your food. They’re just jealous they can’t have you.”
“That’s what you think. You don’t know what I’ve put in the quiche.” Charlie left us with that information as he went into the living room to give Sue her milk bottle. He had a huge grin on his face.
Maxine and Julie immediately scanned the food on their plates, and I giggled when I saw their worried expressions.
My sisters and I finished lunch and began doing the dishes. I excused myself for a moment to check up on Charlie and Sue. Charlie held Sue on his lap on the couch, and my heart warmed at the sight of my loved ones. When I sat down next to Charlie, I saw that the bottle was still as good as full.
“Honey, you must be doing something wrong. She’s not drinking,” I said irritated and tried to take Sue from Charlie. He didn’t let me take her from him though, and I frowned at him.
Surely a mother knows best.
“Kate, she is drinking,” he whispered. “Look.”
I studied Sue again and saw that she was sucking.
How odd.
I lowered the blanket Sue was wrapped in to have a better view. What I hadn’t seen before was that she didn’t have her mouth on the teat of the bottle but on Charlie’s thumb.
“I sliced my thumb cutting up the veggies for the quiche,” he continued to whisper. “She doesn’t want the milk. I kept trying to put the teat in her mouth, but she keeps going for my thumb.”
Living Like A Vampire Page 22