by Brandon Hale
“Me too,” Scott agreed.
“Who the hell was that guy, Scott?” Lily said. “More specifically, what was he?”
“I think,” Scott said, “he’s proof that everything we thought we knew about vampires was wrong. We thought we’d done a good job of separating myth from reality. Obviously, we were wrong.”
“But even in myths, a stake kills a vampire,” Lily said.
“Actually, no,” Scott said. “In many of the old legends, a stake didn’t kill the vamp. It just pinned him to his coffin so he couldn’t hurt people. These legends varied wildly from region to region, and I think we now know why.”
“Maybe you know,” Lily said. “I sure don’t.”
“Think about it,” Scott said. “When we first saw Leo and the two vampires in New York, I started to suspect we had it all wrong. Now I’m pretty sure we did.”
“What do you mean?”
“We’ve assumed,” Scott said, “that all vampires were the same. Now, I think it’s a little more complicated. I think all vampires belong to the same family, but there are different… species. Saying ‘vampire’ is like saying ‘ape.’ It describes the family of creatures, but not the individual species. A gorilla is an ape. So is a chimp. And an orangutan. I think we’re dealing with something similar, which is why the myths and legends vary so wildly. They were dealing with completely different creatures.”
“That makes sense,” Lily said.
“Before,” Scott continued, “when we tested a legend on a vampire, if it didn’t work, we classified it as a myth. Now, I’m thinking it just meant the legend wasn’t true for that specific type of vampire.”
“So what do you suggest we do about this vampire?”
“Avoid him,” Scott said.
Lily groaned. “Wonderful.”
“At least,” Scott went on, “until we learn more about him. One good thing is we can safely assume his kind is rare. We’ve faced thousands of vampires, and this is the first one like this we’ve ever seen.”
“That’s what we thought about the pretty vampires too,” Lily said. “Now, they’ve taken over everything.”
“The pretty vamps were extremely rare,” Scott said. “They’re common now, but only because they killed all the uglies and decided their new world needed to be prettier.”
Lily looked at the lightening sky. “Sun will be up soon. We should get started.”
“Yeah,” Scott said. “One last thing. You might be right about sunlight. Like I said, there are legends where stakes imprisoned vampires instead of killing them.”
“Right.”
“Well,” Scott said, “if those legends are referring to our new friend, he might actually be fine in sunlight. None of those legends suggested sunlight kills vampires.”
“Life just keeps getting better,” Lily said.
“Yeah,” Scott said. “I really should have come on this mission alone. I don’t know what the hell Abbie and Wallace were thinking.”
“They were thinking,” Lily said, “that any city big enough to have an international airport will be too well guarded for a simple infiltration. I’ve been thinking about how to overcome that.”
“I’m listening,” Scott said.
“Later,” Lily said. “Let’s find our friends.”
Grung and Carl walked along the long, straight road. The road was surrounded by empty plains of dirt and brown grass. There were some mountains in the distance and a patch of woods that looked to be about a mile behind them, but other than that, they were surrounded by desert.
“Do you think we should avoid the road?” Carl said.
“Not sure why,” Grung said. “We could walk a half mile away and still be visible from the road.”
Carl looked behind them. “I think we should go toward those woods. The plane seemed to crash near there. If Lily and Scott saw it go down, that’s where they’ll go.”
Grung stopped walking and looked back. “Good point,” he said as he began to walk toward the trees in the distance.
“What time is it?” Carl asked.
“I dunno,” Grung said. “About nine or so.”
“It’s already hot,” Carl said.
“Yep.”
“We need to find water,” Carl said.
“Yep.”
“You think Lily’s okay?” Carl asked.
“I do,” Grung said.
“How did that vampire turn to fog?” Carl said. “I’ve never heard of such a thing.”
“No idea,” Grung said.
“I hope they killed him,” Carl said. “If Lily and Scott are dead, we’re screwed.”
Grung sighed.
“I wonder where Ellie and Greg are,” Carl said.
“Close, I’m sure,” Grung said.
“Really,” Carl said, “they could be anywhere. It was dark and that plane was moving fast. It’s a miracle we found each other.”
“Yeah,” Grung said. “A miracle.”
“You don’t like me very much, do you,” Carl said.
“I like you fine, kid,” Grung said.
“You seem to delight in insulting me.”
“That’s just what we do,” Grung said.
“I think you do it a little extra with me,” Carl said.
“No, we don’t.”
“I think you do,” Carl said. “Not that I mind. I’m the new guy. I get it. I just wanted to make sure it wasn’t something personal.”
“It’s not personal,” Grung said.
“Good,” Carl said. “I mean, I really admire you guys. I would hate to think you genuinely don’t like me.”
“You know,” Grung said, “constant talking can cause you to dehydrate faster.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Really.”
They walked silently for a few minutes, then Carl said, “Is that true, or are you just trying to get me to shut up?”
Grung groaned.
“Is it because of Ellie?” Carl asked.
Grung gave him a sideways glance. “Is what because of Ellie?”
“Your problem with me,” Carl said. “Is it because of my friendship with Ellie?”
“I don’t have a problem with you,” Grung said. “Carl, if you can’t take our jokes, maybe you’re not cut out for our team.”
“We’re just friends,” Carl said. “Ellie and me, I mean. We’re just friends.”
“I don’t care,” Grung said.
They walked quietly for a few more seconds, then Carl added, “Not that I’d say no if she wanted more.”
Grung peered forward. “There’s a building up ahead. Looks like it might be a gas station. Maybe it’ll have some water.”
“You gotta admit,” Carl went on, “she’s pretty hot. She has a tight little—”
Carl fell silent when Grung flipped out his sword-arm and pressed the blade against Carl’s neck. “My God, man,” Grung said. “Do you ever just shut the hell up?”
Carl grinned. “I knew it.”
Grung sighed and pulled the sword away. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I just really wouldn’t mind a few minutes of silence, kid.”
“Admit it,” Carl said. “You have a thing for her.”
“Ellie is my friend,” Grung said. “Probably the best friend I’ve ever had. We’ve faced certain death and survived. We’re soldiers. That goes way deeper than the shallow bullshit you’re talking about.”
“If you survived,” Carl said, “then you didn’t face certain death.”
“Shut up, Carl.”
“Just saying,” Carl said, “that, by definition, it could only be certain death if you died. You didn’t.”
“I think it is a gas station,” Grung said, looking ahead.
In the distance, a small building sat by the dusty road. It seemed to be near the patch of woods they were heading toward.
“Ellie has a thing for you,” Carl said.
“Carl,” Grung said, “could you please shut up. We have bigger things to worry abou
t right now.”
“Okay, okay,” Carl said. “I think you’re right. I see gas pumps in front of the building.”
“Hopefully, it’s deserted,” Grung said. “Maybe it’s still got some bottled water on the shelves.”
“I don’t see how we can sneak up on it,” Carl said. “I guess we could circle around and come up from the woods behind it.”
“We’d lose too many hours doing that,” Grung said. “We have to find the others before dark. Just have your gun ready. If it’s occupied, it’ll be werewolves.”
“Speaking of werewolves,” Carl said as he drew his gun and pointed it toward the building.
Grung drew his gun but quickly holstered it again. “It’s a dog, Carl. What the hell, man.”
“Maybe it’s a vampire dog,” Carl said.
Grung looked at him.
“I saw a vampire dog in a movie once,” Carl said.
“How can you be so smart and so stupid at the same time?”
“You think I’m smart?”
Grung dropped to one knee as the dog trotted up to him. It was obviously a mutt, but looked similar to a German Shepherd. “You’re a friendly fella,” Grung said as he scratched the dog behind the ears.
“That was dumb,” Carl said. “The dog could’ve attacked, you know.”
“I’ve gone toe to toe with werewolves,” Grung said. “I think I could’ve handled an angry dog. Besides, this guy gave no sign of aggression. You need to get out more.”
“I’ve slept in a bed for one week in the past year,” Carl said. “I think I’m out plenty.”
“Keep that gun out,” Grung said. “The place isn’t deserted.”
A man stood in front of the building, watching their approach. The dog happily trotted alongside Grung.
As they got closer, they saw that it was a gas station and a general store of some kind. The sign on the front said, “Joseph’s Lakeside Store.”
“I bet there’s a lake on the other side of those woods,” Carl said.
“Good guess, detective,” Grung said.
As they approached the store, the man gave them a friendly wave. He was a tall man with long black hair and dark skin.
“He’s an Indian,” Grung said.
“They go by Native American,” Carl said quietly.
“I go by human,” the man said with a smile. “Seems more appropriate these days.”
“You’re human?” Grung asked.
The man nodded.
“Are you Joseph?” Grung asked, pointing toward the sign.
“Yep,” the man said. “Not Joe. Joseph.”
“I’m a little surprised to see a human running a convenience store out here,” Grung said.
Joseph shrugged. “The werewolves come to the lake quite a bit and they like the way I fry a fish, so they let me stay here. You boys thirsty?”
“Yes,” Carl said.
“Well, come on inside,” Joseph said. He looked at the dog, “I see you met Molly. She’s a good dog, but hasn’t figured out that a guard dog’s supposed to bark at strangers, not make friends with em.”
As they made their way inside, Grung leaned toward Carl and said, “How do you know?”
“Know what?” Carl asked.
“That she has a thing for me.”
A smug grin crept onto Carl’s face. “Right now, we really should focus on survival.”
Joseph walked to the cooler standing against his store’s far wall. “Would you rather have a soda?”
“Water’s fine, sir,” Grung said.
“I’m amazed you still have soda,” Carl added.
Joseph pulled two bottles of water from the cooler and handed them to Grung and Carl. “Not had a lot of soda-drinking customers it the past year.” He pointed at the shelves in the middle of the store. “Help yourselves to any snacks you want. Most of em are out-of-date, but I figure they’re still okay to eat. The chips might be a little stale.”
“Thanks,” Grung said. “For now, I’m just thankful for the water.”
“I see you boys are Day Soldiers,” Joseph said, looking at their uniforms. “You might wanna consider getting rid of those clothes. The werewolves in these parts aren’t fans of the Day Soldiers.” He looked at Grung’s sword-arm. “You should also consider getting rid of that weapon.”
“The weapon’s attached, Joseph,” Grung said. “And we’ll keep the uniforms for now. We won’t be here long.”
“Are we putting you in danger by being here?” Carl asked.
“Nah,” Joseph said. “But they’ll kill you in a heartbeat if they see those uniforms.”
“We’re heading west,” Grung said. “We’ll be gone soon.”
“I’m guessing,” Joseph said, “that you boys had something to do with the plane that crashed in my lake.”
“It was our plane,” Grung said.
“Then you probably know the two people I saw roaming around the edge of the lake today,” Joseph said. “A man and a woman.”
Grung and Carl looked at each other, then turned back to Joseph. “We had to parachute out of the plane,” Carl said. “We got separated from the others. Where were they headed?”
“They were going toward the other side of the lake,” Joseph said.
“Damn,” Grung mumbled. “Could you see the woman’s hair? What color was it?”
“They were pretty far away,” Joseph said. “Her hair was dark, I think. Kinda reddish brown.”
“Lily and Scott,” Grung said to Carl.
“We could probably catch em with my truck,” Joseph said. “How many more are roaming around these parts?”
“Just two,” Carl said. “You’d really let us use your truck?”
“I won’t let you have it,” Joseph said, “but I’ll be happy to drive you out there.”
“Why are you being so helpful?” Grung asked.
Joseph pulled a soda from his cooler and opened it. “I live among the wolves, but I’m still a human, son. I don’t want to see the slaughter that will come if you’re still here when some wolves show up.”
“If they show up,” Grung said, “we can take care of ourselves pretty well.”
Joseph shook his head. “Not against these guys. There’s a bunch of them in these parts, and they’re mean. Very mean. The werewolves in this part of the country are the first ones who hooked up with the vampires to take down humanity.”
“Where’s your restroom?” Carl asked.
Joseph nodded toward the back of the store. “Through the door at the back, then down that short hallway. Men’s on the right, women’s on the left. Not that it matters.”
“We’ll be back shortly,” Grung said.
As Grung and Carl got to the back of the store, Grung whispered, “We’re gonna have to kill him.”
“What?” Carl said.
“Keep your damn voice down,” Grung said. “He’s a zealot.”
“You’re out of your mind,” Carl whispered.
“He wanted to know how many of us there are,” Grung said. “And he was asking about the plane.”
“Like any reasonable person would,” Carl said. “Grung, you’re being paranoid.”
They opened the door at the back of the store and walked inside.
“I’m telling you, man,” Grung said, “he’s a damn zealot. I can feel it in my bones—”
They both fell through the large hole in the floor and slammed into the dirt fifteen feet below.
“What the crap?” Carl yelled.
“What do you think?” Grung said as he held up the carpet that had been covering the hole. “You still think he’s an okay guy?”
“I think I broke my ankle,” Carl said.
“If this is a rescue,” a female voice said from behind, “you’re doing it wrong.”
Grung jerked around to see Ellie and Greg leaning against the dirt wall. “Great,” he said. “If you were down here, why didn’t you warn us?”
“Guys,” Carl said, “I seriously think my ankle is broke
n.”
“We didn’t warn you,” Ellie said, “because we didn’t know you were up there.”
“It’s hurting really badly,” Carl said.
“That makes sense,” Grung said. “We were whispering.”
“Guys, seriously, my ankle—”
“All I know,” Greg said, “is that I’m never flying you people on another mission. Ever.”
“We could say the same about you,” Grung said. “You’ve never successfully gotten us to a destination.”
“Which never happened,” Greg said, “on any other missions.”
“Guys!” Carl screamed. “My gall-darn ankle is broken!”
They all looked at Carl. “Gall-darn?” Grung said. “What does that even mean?”
“Let’s take a look,” Ellie said as she crawled over to Carl and began untying his boot.
Grung looked up. “Getting out of here shouldn’t be too hard. We can just make a human ladder.”
“Just wait,” Greg said.
“On what?”
Above them, a large piece of wood slid across the opening, darkening the hole.
“That,” Greg said. “He just removed it a little while ago. We thought he was about to throw us some food or something, but it must’ve been because he saw you coming.”
“Maybe we can push it open,” Grung said.
“We tried,” Greg said. “I helped Ellie climb to the top. I think it’s padlocked on both ends.”
“Well, damn,” Grung said.
Ellie examined Carl’s foot and ankle. “I don’t think it’s broken,” she said. “Scott’s really our medical guy, but it’s barely swollen. Can you move it?”
Carl slowly moved his foot to the left and right. “Yeah, if I’m slow about it. And the pain seems to be easing up.”
“You just twisted it,” Ellie said. “You’ll be fine in an hour, I’m sure.”
“So what do we do now?” Greg asked.
“We wait,” Grung said. “And we hope that dude tries to capture Scott and Lily.”
“You have a lot of faith in those two,” Greg said.
“I have a lot of faith in the fact that Scott’s a werewolf,” Grung said, “which means he’ll smell us as soon as he walks in the store.”
“So we wait,” Greg said.
“We wait,” Grung said.
“I’ve got cards,” Ellie said as she pulled a small deck of cards from a pouch on her belt. “I think there’s enough light slipping through the cracks to play.”