She was standing there, holding her neck, and swinging at all the zombies that rushed towards her. She looked horrible. There were bite marks all over her body. Chunks of flesh and muscle were missing from her arms and legs and that black syrupy blood was leaking freely from her many wounds. Most importantly of all, the wounds weren’t healing. Or at least they weren’t healing rapidly.
I started the Jeep. The crunching and the impact I had felt was the collision of my vehicle with that of an abandoned car. The Jeep was fine. I doubted that the front bumper even had a dent. Jeeps were made to be tough and the ones we were using were reinforced and armored to be tougher still.
She glared over at me when she heard the rumble of the engine and then took off in the opposite direction.
“Just like that it was over?”
Just like that. I hadn’t managed to kill her, but I succeeded in causing her enough damage that she gave up the chase. The knife attack had hit a major artery. She lost a lot of blood, way too much blood if you ask me. That stuff just kept pouring out of her. The other wounds I had given her barely bled at all before they closed up.
I knew she was going to be back. I had no misconceptions about that, but my guess was that a significant amount of blood loss would fuck up her healing. I didn’t know for how long. I didn’t know much of anything to be honest with you. I just knew that major blood loss could slow her down.
That was the good news. The bad news came to me as soon as I tried to reverse the Jeep. My bumper was stuck tight to the abandoned car. I couldn’t free myself in reverse, and I was afraid to make the situation worse by trying to plow forward.
The shamblers were, of course, all over the Jeep. They were banging on the windows and scratching at the doors. I kind of felt like a sardine in a can. If they managed to open the can, they were gonna have a nice dinner.
“You were safe in the Jeep though, right?”
Yeah, I mean, it’s not like we had a lot of time to test out the armor. I really didn’t know what kind of force could rip it open or shatter the windows. I was surprised when the evil bitch started denting it all up. Then again, from the looks of things, she probably hit like a freight train.
So, yeah, I was safe for the moment. It didn’t look like the zombies could pound through the armor. I was still worried about their numbers though. More and more of them were approaching and attacking the vehicle. I had no idea if they could break in if enough of them banged on it.
My other worry was that my stalker would come back. She healed herself pretty rapidly when I shot her. I was pretty sure she could tear through the armor easily enough.
Merrick was going insane beside me. The screaming and pounding were getting her all riled up. Hell, there were even a few zombies on the hood and roof.
Then they started rocking the vehicle.
“On purpose?”
No, it was simpler than that. Zombies don’t have enough brains to come up with any kind of plan. Sure, they can sometimes manage to turn a doorknob, but that’s about it. This was more like zombies on one side of the Jeep pushing and the other side zombies responding by pushing back. Regardless, the Jeep was rocking. It only lasted for a brief moment, but I heard a grinding noise shudder through the metal of the vehicle.
I tried to reverse once again. It didn’t work. I was still attached to the abandoned car. I tried to rock the Jeep from the inside in order to get them started once again, but it didn’t work. Merrick thought I was a lunatic though. She actually stopped her furious barking just long enough to give me that look that dogs often give people. The one that makes you feel like a complete idiot.
“I’ve seen it before. I adopted a pit bull after our first interview.”
Best dogs ever aren’t they?
“I agree, but tell me what happened next?”
Well, I was stuck. I think I was there for about a half an hour, maybe more. I wasn’t exactly looking at the time. I also didn’t bother to call for help. There were too many zombies to pull me out safely, and I was also a little embarrassed to be stuck in that situation.
Then, my evil bitch stalker made another appearance.
She was on the roof of a nearby school. I only saw her briefly; there were just too many zombies blocking the driver’s side window for me to get a good look. I didn’t think she could see me at all through the corpses, but if she could have, I would definitely have given her the finger again.
“Have you ever read a Spiderman comic?”
Yeah.
“Well, Spiderman constantly taunts his foes in an effort to make them frustrated because if they get all crazy mad at him, they will make mistakes he can capitalize on. I only bring it up because you seem to go out of your way to annoy your adversary. Were you doing this in an effort to frustrate her into making a mistake?”
No, I was doing it because I was pissed.
I laughed at this, actually we both did. It was amusing that someone like the General can be irritated enough to retaliate in such a way.
The funny thing was there were too many zombies surrounding the Jeep for her to get close. She couldn’t do anything but watch. A few times, she vanished and large sections of shamblers broke away from the Jeep and charged off down the road. I figured she was trying to lead them away so that she could get to me, but too many of them stayed behind. I guess most of them were just too close to a meal to give up and chase after her. Plus, they were really driving each other into a frantic sort of craziness with all the pounding, screaming and moaning.
It was a bad situation for everyone if you really look at it. The zombies couldn’t get to me because of the armored Jeep. My stalker couldn’t get to me because of all the zombies. I couldn’t get away from any of them because my Jeep was stuck to an abandoned car.
A group of them began to push against the front of the vehicle. I’m not sure why they did it. I guess they were just so excited that they were pushing against anything they could push against. I felt the shudder of grinding metal. I started honking the horn in an effort to encourage them. Maybe it worked and maybe it didn’t. All I know is some of them climbed onto the hood, and others kept on pushing against the front of the Jeep.
The sudden lurch from the right side of the vehicle meant that the zombies on the right side started to push as well. They must have been concentrating their efforts on the rear of the Jeep, because the Jeep began to rotate on the street. I guess they were just responding to movement like they did earlier with the rocking, or maybe they thought they could somehow crush the armor that was holding them back. I really have no clue.
The nasty screech of metal against metal could be heard over their screams. It was the sweetest sound that I had ever before heard.
I punched the gas.
The Jeep shook and shuddered, but I was still stuck. I slapped it into four wheel drive and tried it again. This time the shuddering was even more violent. I could smell the burning rubber over the scent of decay as the tires sought a purchase on the road.
Then I was free.
I violently slapped through a bunch of decaying bodies as I gunned the Jeep in reverse. When I had room, I slammed the stick into first gear and bull dozed right through any of them that got in my way.
It was a rough-ass ride for about fifty yards or so, but the Jeep made it through easily enough. If I ever harbored any doubts about what type of vehicle I’d prefer in a hostile situation, I sure as hell didn’t have them anymore.
All the windows were slimed over with zombie residue. I could barely see out of them. The front windshield wasn’t much of a problem. I just sprayed the water and hit the wipers, but the rest of the windows were beyond nasty. As soon as I was free and clear, I hit the lever and collapsed the armored top.
It was good to be able to breathe clean air again. The interior of the Jeep reeked of whatever that black blood gunk was that came out of my stalkers neck.
“Speaking of your stalker, what happened to her?”
That was another reason I wante
d the filthy windows out of the way. I wanted to see her coming. I scanned everywhere I could while also driving as fast as I could go. I didn’t see her anywhere, but I knew that she hadn’t given up.
The attack came hard on the right side of the Jeep.
I barely even caught a glimpse of her as she darted into the road and charged me. Fortunately, a glimpse is all I needed to prepare for the impact. I was still moving forward.
There were a few assaults after that. One time I even braked hard when I caught her sneaking up on the rear. She slammed into the Jeep. It knocked her on her ass, and I tried to back over her, but she rolled out of the way just in time.
The situation was so tense I didn’t even breathe a sigh of relief when I reached Georgie’s neighborhood. I lost sight of her once again when I turned onto his street.
I could barely make out the outlines of my team in the watchtowers as I rushed towards the fence, but I knew they were there. That was the important thing. I now had more than a pistol, a tomahawk, and a knife to defend myself with. I finally had some backup.
I hit the brakes and spun the wheel at the very last moment. The Jeep came to a sideways rest in the middle of the road right next to the gate. I jumped out of the Jeep with my newly loaded weapon drawn. There were some streetlights on the road, but I could still find no target.
I scanned the road. I scanned the yards. I was just beginning a scan on the right hand side rooftops when I heard a loud voice warning me not to shoot at some chick. I didn’t recognize the voice, but it did sound disappointingly familiar.
I immediately spun to my left and saw her jump from the roof of a nearby house. I started firing at her before she even left the rooftop. I was still firing on her when she landed on the road and raced towards me in a hectic manner. I was actually shooting at her right up until the point she slugged me off my feet and into the Jeep.
The punch was bad. The collision with the Jeep wasn’t as bad as the punch, but it still managed to crack some ribs. I needed to get on my feet and I needed to do it fast, but I had lost my gun.
I heard the muffled thumps of a machine gun at just about the same time that I saw a mass of bullets punch through her chest as she advanced towards me. The impact of the bullets nailed her pretty hard. She actually backed up.
The roar that came out of her sounded like a mix between a lion and a movie dinosaur. It was loud, and it was eerie as hell. I gave up looking for my gun and climbed to my feet with my tomahawk in my hand instead.
I have to give credit where credit was due. The woman was fast. She actually managed to block my swing. Instead of crunching down on her head, the blade of my tomahawk buried itself into her arm. Underneath the sound of breaking bone, I actually heard her whimper.
I was shocked that my weapon didn’t go right through her arm and still find her head. Her body was somehow denser than that of a normal human being. I yanked the tomahawk free in order to take another swing, but as soon as the blade was removed she took off.
There was a moment of quiet stillness.
I took stock of my injuries. Things weren’t too bad, nothing that wouldn’t heal right up. The most shocking part was that she somehow managed to rip off a sleeve of my bite proof shirt and tear through the same material around my chest and stomach. Without the suit, she probably would have eviscerated me.
Georgie was babbling about something in the high voice he gets when too excited. Then, I heard the new voice answer him in an angry tone. I didn’t pay much attention to them. I was more concerned with finding my pistol.
“Jaxon!” Dudley shouted. “Are you alright?”
“Barely,” I answered as I picked up my pistol. “What the hell took you dumbasses so long to shoot?”
“She looked like a normal woman,” Dudley answered.
“A dirty, nasty woman,” the unknown voice answered.
“Shut up numb nuts. You were the asshole screaming for Jaxon not to shoot her.”
“No I didn’t,” the voice answered.
Suddenly, I had a mental picture to go along with the person talking. I dismissed it immediately. There was no way that my luck was that bad. It had to be someone else. It had to be.
The screams began to echo around the neighborhood and for a brief moment, all of us froze.
“Open the gate,” I shouted as I dove back into the Jeep.
“Damn.”
I didn’t actually mean to say anything. The word just sort of popped out of my mouth. Jaxon just smiled and laughed at my reaction.
Yeah, those were pretty much my thoughts exactly. When it rains it pours, I guess.
Well, they got the gate open for me as rapidly as possible, and I drove my somewhat battered Jeep over to Georgie’s driveway and parked it just as they were closing the gate behind me.
We were all safely inside of Georgie’s house just as the dead began to run up the street. Thankfully, they didn’t see any of us. That meant that they weren’t likely to hang around very long. If they had seen us, they would have torn at the fence until we put them all down or they got in and ate us.
I went into Georgie’s kitchen and began to ransack the shelves immediately until I found some crackers. Merrick deserved a treat for being a good girl and staying in the vehicle like I had told her. I caught a glimpse of Nick just as we were all entering the house. I actually tried to pretend I didn’t see him in the vain hope that he would vanish if ignored.
“So you glad to see me or what fucker?” Nick asked.
“Or what,” I replied.
“Jax,” Dudley interrupted. “What was that thing? It looked like a girl, but that was no girl.”
“Ask Hardin,” I answered while stuffing my mouth full of crackers.
Dudley gave his earpiece a tap. I motioned for Kingsley to hand over his earpiece and stuck it on my ear just as Hardin answered.
“We think we know what you boys are up against. Miriam had her suspicions ever since she took a look at the bite mark on Michelle. The fight I just watched through everyone’s earpiece confirms things for us. It’s time to get you boys out of the area.”
“Why the hell would we leave the area?” I asked.
“Because, for whatever reason this thing is hunting you, Jaxon. In the past, whenever we came near a creature as dangerous as this one, we made an immediate retreat. There are some things out there that are just plain foolish to play around with, and this thing is one of them.”
“Well, you told me what you wanted to do, but you didn’t tell me what we are dealing with.”
“The fact is, we really don’t know very much about these things. They are just too deadly to study. There are stories of course. Way before my time, but most of the Guardians that went up against these things were killed. It became a sort of policy to just retreat if we thought one was in the area.”
“Hardin,” I grumbled. “What the hell is it?”
“You’re dealing with a vampire, Jax.”
Chapter 5
Georgie
My first meeting with Georgie was probably the funniest interview of my entire career. There was just something hilarious about the man. He wasn’t overtly funny, cracking jokes or making witty comments. That wasn’t it at all. I think it was the way he tried to be so serious and professional. I should just tell what happened when he entered the room. That should kick things off in the correct direction.
I was waiting for Georgie in the same room I had previously been conducting interviews for this piece. He was forty minutes late when the door finally opened. In walked a man clad from head to toe in black padded leather. He had a helmet over his head as well. The helmet had a black visor, so not even his face was visible.
He closed the door behind him as quickly as possible, but I could hear the unmistakable sounds of Jaxon’s cackle from the hallway. Slowly, he took off his gloves and then his helmet which he placed on the table. He then offered me his hand.
Hello, my name is Georgie.
“It’s nice to finally meet you
, Georgie. I’ve heard a lot about you.”
Yes, I’m sure you have. Where would you like to begin?
I was beginning to get a little worried. Georgie actually sounded more like a robot than one of the Regulators. Every other member of the team had a definite personality. Georgie on the other hand seemed as if he had lost his in one of the battles.
“Jaxon took me to the point in which you had just found out that you were dealing with a vampire. Could you continue where he left off?”
I’m not sure that you are authorized to receive that information.
I was trying to think of a response, or possibly just a way to remove myself from the room when Dudley burst through the door, took one look at Georgie and started laughing. I had no idea what he was laughing about, but Georgie looked more than a little upset about it. A moment later, Jaxon joined Dudley and they were both laughing at an angry looking Georgie.
It was when Jaxon and Dudley began to poke and pull on his leather pants that I realized they were making fun of the way he was dressed. I honestly tried not to laugh along with them, but, in the end, I lost it. It started with a smile, but in moments I was laughing hysterically along with them.
Apparently, anything more than a helmet and a leather jacket when riding a motorcycle is some sort of faux pas. In between chuckles, Dudley explained to me that Jaxon always laughed about the way Georgie dressed when riding his motorcycle, but Dudley had never actually seen it until that very moment.
Jaxon asked me if the interview was going well. I said that Georgie wasn’t being cooperative. Dudley then walked over to Georgie and pinched and twisted his nipple, all while demanding that he whistle if he wanted to be released. Georgie was unable to produce a whistle, but Dudley released him anyway after he promised to cooperate fully and answer all my questions.
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