It was too much of a coincidence otherwise in a campus jurisdiction where I could count the number of violent crimes that had happened in the past decade on one hand.
At least the number of reported violent crimes. If there were as many vampires hanging around as it seemed then there was a good chance there was a lot more going on around here than what I saw on official reports.
And my family was about to be one of those unofficial casualties.
I buried the pedal against the floor. Faster. Faster than department policy allowed considering the danger of kids jumping out in front of me because they were either drunk or not paying attention to where they were going. The latest trend with college students was walking around with their faces buried in their phones constantly, after all.
I didn't give a fuck. I needed to get back to my house. I needed to get to my wife and kid. I needed to make sure they were okay. I needed to…
I was about to turn onto my street when something flashed in front of my car. I reacted without thinking. My body went into autopilot as I swerved the wheel and hit the brakes. I could feel the car fishtailing even though there wasn't a drop of moisture on the ground. That's how fast I was going.
I thought I almost might recover, but then the recovery took my car straight into a telephone pole.
Maybe it was the adrenaline pumping through my system. Maybe it was some primal urge to protect my wife and daughter.
Whatever it was, that crash against the telephone pole, even going at a decent speed, wasn't enough to take me out of the fight. I figured any other day of the week that would’ve caused some damage, but I didn't feel it.
I blinked a couple of times in the dust kicked up from the airbag. Shook my head to try and clear away the ringing, and fumbled to open my door.
I stumbled and lurched forward as I got out of the car. Apparently my balance wasn't so hot after that crash. I worried I’d lose it when the adrenaline wore off.
I'd seen it happen to other guys plenty of times. Not even noticing a bullet wound until they dropped dead, or until everything was over and the pain suddenly hit them.
I looked around for any sign of whatever the hell had jumped in front of my car, but didn't see anything. There should’ve been a kid freaking out about how they'd nearly been run over, but nothing.
That was deeply unsettling. That made me think this had all been planned.
That someone was waiting for me. Wanted me to get in that wreck. Well if someone wanted to take me out I wasn't going to go quietly. Not a chance.
I shook myself off. I was still pumped with adrenaline. Still high on fear, but I was used to that. That meant I was still alive, and if I was alive I could still do some damage.
It killed me to do it, but I paused to take a look around the neighborhood.
Reconnaissance. That was how you kept yourself from getting killed. That was how you kept other people from getting killed, and the last thing I wanted was to get the people in my house killed. My soul would die the day that happened.
Over and over I thought of things I should have done. Things I should have told Rachel to prepare her.
That was all in the past now though. There was nothing I could do about it. All I could do now was my best to save them. And I would save them, damn it. I wasn't going to let the bad guys win this fight. Not when I was in a fight for my wife and daughter.
I took a couple of wobbly steps down the street, and it was getting easier with each step. It was eerily quiet. This part of campus was mostly professional types who worked at the University. Not quite rich enough for tenured professors and not quite poor enough for adjunct professors, but it was a nice neighborhood.
At least it had been a nice neighborhood before my house was infested with fucking vampires because I hadn't told my wife about the danger. I wasn’t sure what Rachel could've done to stop them, but I knew in my heart she could have done something if I'd just been honest with her. If I hadn't worried about her thinking I was crazy.
I almost expected to see somebody waiting for me in the front yard, but the house was completely dark. Completely quiet.
That was unusual. I made a habit of driving by the house a couple of times a night and I always saw at least one light on. That one light Rachel left on for me always told me everything was okay.
There was no light now. The house was dark. The house was as quiet as the grave, and I really wished I hadn't thought of that particular comparison.
I didn't bother to put my hand on my gun. I knew it wouldn't do me a damn bit of good. Instead I walked up to the front door, turned the unlocked handle which wasn’t a good sign, and stepped inside.
17
Punishment
I could tell something was wrong as soon as I stepped through the front door. The whole place was eerily silent. There was no life.
A chill ran down my spine. I desperately hoped that didn't mean there was no life at all.
If that was the case I was going to track down the motherfuckers who emptied the house of all life and I was going to kill them. If they were undead I was going to make sure they suffered for as long as I lived.
"Hello?" I shouted. “Zoey? Rachel?"
No response. The house mocked me with silence. A board creaked underfoot. The same board that always creaked when I walked in. It had always been an annoyance, but now it added to the creepy ambience.
I suddenly didn't want to be here. I suddenly couldn't get over the feeling something terrible had happened here, and I was about to discover it. That I was about to discover my punishment for daring to fight a vampire and win.
"Rachel?" I called out again.
My hand went to the gun at my side. I pulled it out. After all, I was going up against something supernatural. That guy I’d gone against yesterday had been a wimp, but who was to say what I might find here tonight? What if I found a real challenge?
The gun might not be able to do much, but a couple of slugs slamming into something’s center of mass was guaranteed to knock it off balance even if they didn't hurt the thing or kill it.
So I held my gun out in front of me and flipped a light on.
It was weird. Everything looked so normal. Everything looked as though Rachel had tidied up before going to bed like she always did.
Heck, she probably had tidied up before going to bed. My fish tank bubbled in the downstairs office, the normally bright lights for my coral dimmed as the built in timer brought night to my artificial reef.
If I was casing the place, if I wanted to cause trouble, then I’d make sure to go in after everyone was asleep. While they were groggy and unable to defend themselves.
The thought of my wife being unable to defend herself against an intruder filled me with a white-hot rage.
I didn't bother to clear the downstairs. There was no one down here. It was as silent as a grave, and once more I wished I’d stop making that fucking comparison.
I was going to find my wife. I was going to find my daughter. They were both going to be okay. Everything was going to be okay.
All I had to do was find them. All I had to do was stay calm.
I tried to do the same mental exercises I did overseas to get things under control when the shit hit the fan, but it was impossible. My calm was shattered. I couldn't keep it under control when it was my wife and daughter in danger. I was a man, not a machine.
I reached the top of the stairs and took a look around. I started towards the munchkin’s room, but then a noise pulled my attention back to my bedroom.
I dreaded what I might find in my daughter’s room. I wasn't prepared to handle that.
So instead I took the coward's way out and followed that noise. I walked to my room instead. And as soon as I stepped through I saw the house wasn't empty. That my family wasn't dead.
At least Rachel wasn't dead. Not yet.
What I saw there chilled me to the bone though. Rachel was in someone's arms. Someone pale with a clawed hand grasping her neck. Another clawed h
and was down at her stomach, and the vampire's index finger was at her jugular like a knife.
I knew it would do just as much damage as a knife if the vampire decided to draw it across her neck.
She stared at me in wide-eyed terror. My heart went out to her. I wanted to help her. Wanted to save her. But I didn't dare do anything. Not with that vampire threatening her.
If this was your average run-of-the-mill home invasion I might shoot the guy. I was a good enough shot, though the shot going off in close quarters would be hell on our hearing and Rachel would never let me hear the end of it if we ever got our hearing back.
I didn't dare shoot with a vampire. The thing was undead. It could take a bullet. What if it hurt her even after I shot it?
Not that I had a chance to do much of anything. No, my moment of hesitation was enough to doom my wife.
Rachel’s eyes bugged out and she struggled against the thing’s grip, but it simply smiled at me and held her like her struggles were nothing. Which, to a vampire with super strength, they probably were. Her eyes darted to my side and I realized my mistake.
Something hit my back. Hard. Hard enough that stars danced in front of my vision. My gun went clattering to the floor and I felt two sets of hands wrap around my wrist and my shoulder.
They pushed down with a surprising strength, though of course if they were vampires behind me then I shouldn't be surprised that they were so strong.
I looked to either side, my eyes going wide as I struggled, and I realized that maybe they weren't all that strong after all. They had the same pasty white build as the vampire I'd dusted the night before, and while they were much stronger than those wiry frames should allow, it wasn't exactly super strength.
With the two of them holding me down there wasn't a chance I was going to get free without some trickery. No matter how hard I struggled trying to get to Rachel they held me firmly in place.
"So glad you could join us Mr. Byron," the vampire holding my wife said when I was subdued.
"I swear to God if you fucking hurt her," I spat out.
"So angry Mr. Byron," the vampire said. "I'm surprised you’re acting so surprised we’re here. Especially after everything that happened last night."
"What’s he talking about Blake?" Rachel asked.
I looked at the guys holding me down. Their fangs had descended. The guy behind her had done the same. None of them looked pleasant, and I knew this wasn't going to end well unless I did something fast.
"Um, so I maybe killed a vampire last night baby,” I said.
Rachel barked out a laugh that was almost a sob. "So this is real?"
My heart sank. She knew I wouldn't bullshit her. Not with something like this. Not with men holding us captive.
No, if I told her vampires were real and I’d killed one the night before then it was real. And I realized I was telling her this far too late.
If I'd only told her everything this morning when I got home then maybe this whole thing could've been avoided. Maybe she could have skipped town or something. Maybe she would've known to be on guard.
Maybe it wouldn't have done a damn thing one way or another. Maybe I was going up against undead horrors that had lived a lot longer than I had and were a lot cleverer.
"Yes," the vampire holding her said. "Mr. Byron here killed one of our own. He made our leader suffer through that death, so we've been sent on a mission to repay the debt owed.”
"Do whatever you want to me," I said.
The vampire’s voice took on a singsong quality as he interrupted me. "But please don't hurt the girl!"
He ended with a cruel laugh.
There was a loud noise from somewhere behind and then crying. I struggled against the vampires holding me as I realized Zoey was still back there. That there might be someone back there with her. That maybe if I'd gone to her room first I could've done something to save her.
"Please don't hurt them!" the vampire said in the same mocking voice. "I'll do anything! Anything!"
The vampire had a cruel grin on his face. "I've heard it all before, and it's never swayed me in all the hundreds of years I've been doing this, so what makes you think you'll be special?"
"Because I am special," I said.
I thought back to what those agents told me. If any other person had gone up against a vampire they’d be dead, but I’d survived. Not only had I survived, but I'd managed to kill one.
That meant I was dangerous. They had to know I was dangerous if I’d dusted one of their buddies.
"How are you different?" the vampire asked.
I looked to the two vamps beside me. I tensed my muscles waiting for the right moment. They held me in their grip, but it's not like they were all that strong. They were just stronger than your average person. Way stronger than they should’ve been as thin and wiry as they were.
I could work with that. I’d gone up against stronger. It was just a matter of getting the right sort of leverage. The right sort of distraction.
I looked back to the vampire running this show. Figured if I couldn't bargain then maybe I could intimidate.
"I already killed one of you so I know it can be done," I said. "I promise if you do anything to my family, if you harm either of them, I'm going to hunt you down. I'm going to kill every last one of you. I won't rest until you're all piles of dust rotting on some floor somewhere."
The vampire threw his head back and laughed. "Really? Threatening is the best you can do? I'm afraid that just won't do."
Only there’d been a moment’s hesitation. A moment where the vampire seemed almost worried. Maybe I was suffering from a case of wishful thinking, but it seemed like the vampire was almost intimidated no matter what he said.
That was something I could use. Maybe.
"This is your last chance," I said.
Rachel locked eyes with me. She wasn't afraid. I hated that she wasn't afraid. Hated that she was still confident I could save her even though I wasn’t sure I could. Hated that she had to go through this. Hated that I’d brought this on my family.
But I was going to make it better. I was going to make it right. I was going to do everything I could to chase these fuckers away and make sure they never hurt my family again.
Even if it killed me.
"I'm sorry Mr. Byron," the vampire said. "But I was told to make you suffer, and so…"
His finger moved slightly and Rachel cried out in pain. I leapt into action. I yanked in one direction, only rather than struggling against both vampires at the same time I pushed myself into one. It wasn't prepared for that. It'd been expecting me to try and surge forward and save my wife.
That was enough distraction to cause us all to tumble to the side. We fell to the ground and I was on top of the vampire with one arm free. I pulled my fist back and slammed it into the vampire a couple of times before turning on the other one, sweeping its feet out from under it.
They were just like the one I'd faced the night before. They relied on their strength. They relied on intimidation, and that was nothing when they were up against somebody who knew how to fight. I almost laughed with the exhilaration of taking out two of them at the same time.
Then I heard the scream. I turned and stared in horror. The vampire who still held my wife hadn't moved. This one was older. Wilier. This one had more self-control.
Enough self-control that it didn't throw my wife to the side like I’d hoped. It didn't try to join in the fight. It didn't allow itself to be drawn away long enough for my wife to maybe escape and grab our daughter.
No, instead it laughed. It was a cruel laugh as the monster drew that clawed index finger across her neck. A wailing noise filled the room and I realized I was screaming as blood poured down her neck. She made a choking noise as the vampire let go and she fell to her knees, then forward.
"This is only the beginning of your suffering Mr. Byron," the vampire said, and then with surprising speed it dodged around me and out of the room.
I was torn betw
een going for my wife and going for the vampire and that second moment's hesitation was enough for the bloodsucker to get away.
The other two were still in a tangled heap on the ground hissing and clawing at each other, distracted for the moment, and so I ran to my wife. Rolled her over, but by the time I got there she was already gone.
Her eyes stared up lifelessly, and I knew it was over. My wife was dead.
I’d done this to her.
18
Home Invaders
An all-consuming rage filled me. I stood. I turned and looked at the door the vampire had just disappeared through.
I needed to get out there. I needed to find my daughter. I needed to stop anything bad from happening to her.
The only problem was there were two vampires standing between me and the door. They'd used the brief moment when I was checking on Rachel to get up and block my path.
"You guys are standing in the wrong fucking place," I growled.
"Try us human," the one on the right hissed.
The cocky vamp looked like your average college kid. He wouldn't look out of the ordinary walking to parties off-campus. Of course that was only natural. If there were vampires on campus then they’d need to blend in with their surroundings.
I wondered if the vampires in New York looked like street bums or high-powered Wall Street executive types. Probably high-powered Wall Street executive types.
I imagined vampires probably had an ego problem. They didn’t seem like the type to allow themselves to be seen as common street bums.
Sadly these two didn’t give me much time to consider all the ins and outs of vampire society. The one on the left rushed me while the one on the right had me distracted. Or at least the one on the right thought it had me distracted.
The only problem was that couldn't be farther from the truth. I had way more situational awareness than they gave me credit for.
Blake Byron: Paranormal Investigator Page 10