Judge of the Damned (Vampire Storm, Book 1)

by Nick S. Thomas

  A number of the Vampires drew weapons along the wall to try to defend themselves, but it was too late. The two guns kept firing until both were empty and seven Vampires lay incapacitated or unconscious on the floor. Bill dropped his shotgun, letting it hang by his side, he spun around to the bar, drawing his Mateba as he did so.

  As the bar came into view he could see the barman lifting a gun towards him, he fired a single bullet into the man’s head, brain matter splattering across the bottles hung behind him. It was obvious that the man had been human, but his actions had made him as guilty as the rest.

  The last of the people in the bar were clearing out, through the changing rooms at the back or the main entrance. The majority of the people in the bar did not want a fight, they were there out of fashion or profit more than anything else.

  “Stay here, and keep an eye on those bastards!”

  Bill ran on through to the changing rooms, as he entered his pistol was smashed from his hands by a baseball bat. He ducked as a second strike was aimed at his head. He immediately responded with an uppercut to his attacker’s stomach, causing him to reel in pain. Fangs shot out from the man’s mouth. Bill quickly drew his silver dagger and thrust it up into the creature’s jaw before it could gain its composure. Marshall followed through by forcing his sharply pointed wooden stake through the beast’s heart, killing it instantly.

  Marshall then drew out the bloody stake and looked down the changing room as the last dancer was running for the door, in fear for her life. It was unfortunate that innocents had to witness what had to be done, but it was in part their fault for associating with monsters. He got back to his feet and walked on through to the dance floor. Harriet was stood watching the Vampires who they had so recently fought, she was a little shaky, unsure of herself.

  “Harriet! Are you alright?”

  “Yeah, Bill, what now?”

  He drew the machete from his belt and walked up to the first Vampire, the one he had shot in the head at the beginning. He grabbed the creature’s curly hair and dragged it onto one of the tables. Lifting his machete, he hacked down onto the back of the neck, decapitating the head in one strike. The bloodied head rolled off the table and blood spurted out across the floor.

  The other Vampires who were partly conscious and dazed or incapacitated winced at the sight of the creature’s death. Vampires had gotten used to being at the top of the food chain, to being almost invincible. The sight of one of their own people’s death sent shockwaves through the ones watching. Harriet watched, initially shocked and feeling a little sick, but quickly appreciating the sight and wanting to follow in Bill’s footsteps she drew her machete and got stuck in.

  * * *

  The two partners staggered out of the bar triumphantly, though mentally exhausted. Both had bloodstains on their clothes and hands, but a feeling of satisfaction about them. Neither of them were violent people by nature, they would never have harmed a human without good cause, but this was not about violence, it was about payback. Both Bill and Harriet had long come to accept that Vampires were not human, they were foul beasts that had to be put down.

  Sirens began to howl in the distance as the first calls of gunfire had been reported, they knew they wouldn’t have long to before they could caught by the police. Bill looked at Harriet, trying to understand if she was okay with the situation, but there was no doubt on her face.

  “Do we burn the place down?”

  “No, let the bloody mess be a message to them.”

  Chapter 11

  “What? Who did this?”

  Karl Rainer paced up and down the room of his luxury apartment, surrounded by five of the Vampires in his Coven. They had just reported the news to him of the multiple attacks on Vampires that day.

  “Boss, we have no idea,” said Alman.

  Two of the Vampires who stood in front of him had been with him on the night of the church burning, Alman and Meyers.

  “You think it was Marshall?”

  “Wasn’t Esesino taking care of him?” asked Meyers.

  Rainer looked at Meyers, anger brewing in his eyes.

  “Get Esesino on the phone, right now!” he shouted.

  “Alman, get that idiot Bradley on the line, I want to see what the bumbling idiot knows and what the hell he is doing about this!”

  Rainer paced around the room, he was starting to get seriously concerned with the state of affairs. Just a week before he had strolled about as the most powerful man in the city, untouchable by any authority and despite all of his firepower and, someone was coming after him.

  “Sir, no answer from Esesino,” said Meyers.

  “What? Find him!”

  “Alman! Have you got Bradley yet?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Pass him to me!”

  Alman held out the phone for his boss, it was hard to tell whether he feared most, the path of destruction which was being carved through the Vampire world, or his own boss. Rainer ripped the handset from his hands.

  “Bradley?”

  “Yes, Mr. Rainer.”

  “Are you aware of the shit which is going down?”

  “We are aware of a number of murders and are in the process of investigating.”

  “In the process? Someone is coming after me and my Coven, I hear it is Bill Marshall, can you tell me otherwise?”

  “All evidence so far points to Mr Marshall, sir.”

  “Then what are you doing about it?”

  “Our people are hunting for Bill Marshall as we speak, as are the police.”

  Rainer put the phone down, he was fuming with anger. He looked around the room at his Coven and associates, they all looked to him for answers. For the first time ever he did not know what to tell his own people.

  * * *

  Marshall’s truck rolled into the garage. He stepped out with Harriet mentally fatigued by the evening’s work, their clothes still soaked in blood. It was a half hour before they had cleaned up and sitting in chairs beside the Chevy.

  “Rainer will surely come after us now,” said Harriet.

  “It was inevitable, we just struck first. His Coven will be getting scared right now, starting to prize apart at the seams. Kingston is also a weak mess, with constant concern for the development of violence between humans and Vampires. They are without their best team, for they would not assign my men to the case. Both sides are weak, we must exploit it.”

  “How?”

  “We need to sew enough doubt into the minds of both sides and then arrange a meeting between the two.”

  “You want to pitch them against each other?” she asked.

  “Why not?”

  “How will you manage it?”

  “The two sides are naturally at odds, only joined by a flimsy truce, with enough pushing it will fold.”

  “I have no beef with the Brotherhood, you sure you want to mess with them?”

  “They shot you with a tranquiliser gun.”

  “Yes, but that was only because I was protecting you.”

  “Listen, Bishop Williams sat by and watched as Rainer killed my whole family, he may have even given the green light for the hit. I don’t fully understand Kingston’s part in all this yet, but I know they are far from innocent. On top of that, they will continue to hunt us for killing Vampires, we have broken the pact between the Lords and the Church so they are obliged to hunt us.”

  “They should be fighting against Vampires. They are humans!”

  “Yes they are, which is why I don’t want to strike against them directly. We will let them shoot themselves in the foot. Harriet, I need to know you’re with me on this?”

  “Of course, but what would I be if I did not question an attack on the Church?”

  Bill nodded, the idea did indeed sound crazy, a few weeks before he would have hunted someone such as himself to the bitter end. The Brotherhood had been a simple organisation to live in, hunting evil, protecting the innocent.

  “Come with me.”

  “
Where are we heading?”

  “To find a good location for what we need.”

  They climbed into the truck, Harriet was full of energy and well rested, but Bill was starting to feel the effects of fatigue. Having to work both day and night was taking its toll on the priest. The truck pulled out of the garage and rolled on down the street at a casual pace.

  “What have you got in mind?” asked Harriet.

  “Something in these industrial areas, I want this done on our own turf.”

  “Alright, what am I looking for?”

  “Something like that!”

  Marshall stopped the truck, he looked down the lonely and deserted alley between two tall buildings. A wire fence gate blocked the way with a sign out front that was so heavily aged and rusted that neither could make out what it said. He edged the truck up slowly against the fence and used torque to force the chain apart, swinging the gates open.

  “We need a place with only one vehicle entrance, this looks like it’ll work.”

  They rolled on down the narrow track between the buildings, not much wider than their truck. They came to an opening where it widened out into a yard. The facility was clearly from the early twentieth century and long abandoned. The buildings either side of them were three storeys high with many windows running the length of all floors, though almost all of the glass missing. Bill stopped the vehicle in the centre of the yard and got out.

  “This looks pretty good,” said Harriet.

  Marshall turned continuously, carefully studying all elements of the yard and buildings. At the far right he could see another road which looked as if it might be another entrance, he ran over to look, but was greeted by the wreck of an old box truck blocking the way. Harriet was close behind him, following his every step. Bill nodded, liking what he saw.

  “So will this do us?” asked Harriet.

  “Looks that way.”

  He looked around one last time, making certain he was happy with the plan.

  “Okay, let’s get out of here.”

  “When are we doing this?” asked Harriet.

  “Tomorrow night.”

  “Why not tonight?”

  “No, we don’t rush into this, I want the fear and uncertainty to build from today. Rainer will be furious about our attacks and that anger will likely spill over into Kingston when he cannot find us.”

  “This sounds like a dangerous game.”

  “But what isn’t? We are criminals in the eyes of the law, murderers in the eyes of Vampires, and a pain in the ass for the Church.”

  “When I got into this with you, I had no idea that it would be all as complicated as this. I thought we’d just go and kill Rainer.”

  “Yeah well things never are that simple when you are talking about such a powerful man. Anyway, even if we were able to kill him at the start, what would you do now?”

  “Once Rainer is dead, I have no reason to live.”

  “So you would leave others to the same fate?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You have been given a unique opportunity, the strengths of a Vampire but with the conscience of a human, you have the chance to do a lot of good and stop this happening to countless others.”

  She looked down in shame. Harriet was so caught up in wanting revenge, she had completely forgotten about anyone else’s wellbeing, focussing only on killing one Vampire.

  “After that, what can I do? You already said every authority that exists wants us.”

  “So what, you’ll give up? Vampires are a curse on these lands, and I will fight until my last breath to diminish their power and save as many people as I can from their ways!”

  Harriet turned and paced around the yard, she had become so single-minded that she was losing a sense of reality. She walked back up to Bill.

  “You are right.”

  “Okay, get in.”

  The two climbed into the truck and headed out back towards the lockup, though Bill drove straight past.

  “Where we heading?”

  “Gun shop.”

  “At this time?”

  “It’s no ordinary gun shop.”

  Marshall drove on for twenty minutes before pulling away into a small scrap yard. Circling around a few of the wrecked vehicles, they pulled up alongside a trailer that looked as if it had been someone’s home for a few decades. The walls were dusty and windows covered in dirt, beer cans littered a patch outside the door.

  Before they could even switch the engine off, the door to the trailer was ripped open, the silhouette of a man in his robe and holding a shotgun appeared before them.

  “Keep your hands where I can see them! Step out slowly!”

  Bill popped open the door and stepping out very carefully took several steps towards the man.

  “Bill Marshall! Holy shit!”

  He lowered the shotgun and walked straight up to Bill, wrapping his arms around him in a hug. The man was in his sixties but was clearly fit and strong, surprising considering the place he lived. Harriet got out and walked around to them.

  “You brought company, what a fine piece of tail!”

  Harriet grinned at his sentiment, knowing he was in part speaking what came to mind, but also trying to rile her up.

  “Walker, this is Harriet, she’s a friend of mine. Walker is an old army friend.”

  “You served?”

  “Yeah, way back in the day, in the Gulf in the early nineties.”

  “I had no idea. You surprise me every day, Bill.”

  “Alright, well come on in!” shouted Walker.

  Harriet could still make no sense of why they were in such a place. The area was full of rusting old cars and trucks, the trailer barely big enough for Walker to live in. They walked in through the front door and it was indeed very cosy, and much cleaner than one would have expected from the outside.

  “Bill, I saw on the news what happened to your family, assumed you’d bitten the dust with them.”

  “If only.”

  “How’d you survive?”

  “Rainer and his Coven made me watch and then left me for dead. I suppose it was a miracle I did survive.”

  “Well, it’s good to hear you did, what can I do for you?”

  “You must know that I cannot let this go unpunished?” asked Bill.

  “Yeah, I figured so, but you know it’s crazy going after him, no one ever has for a very good reason.”

  “Yeah, well others had something to lose.”

  “I’m not going to be able to change your mind on this am I?”

  “Afraid so, they are coming after me whether I act or not, I’m taking the fight to them.”

  “Well, then let’s make sure you have the tools for the job.”

  “Harriet, honey, step off the rug please,” said Walker.

  She looked at him with an odd expression, not knowing whether he was crazy or rude. She looked at Bill dumbfounded but he just nodded. She stepped back and Walker rolled the rug up, revealing a trap door. He lifted the hatch, a full staircase running down into the ground. Walker flicked a switch at the opening and the whole stairway lit up.

  “After you, my dear.”

  She went down the stairs following it down into a room that was bigger than the trailer itself, weapons and ammunition covering the walls and tables.

  “Damn, where’d you get all this stuff?” she asked.

  “Here and there, it’s my job.”

  “Who do you sell this stuff to?”

  “People like him.”

  Walker pointed to Bill. Harriet looked around the room, there were more weapons than she’d seen in her life, making Bill’s armoury look rather reserved. Belt-fed machine guns littered the floor, rifles and shotguns hung from the walls and huge crates of ammunition were stacked up on one of the walls.

  “So what can I get you?” he asked.

  “I need a couple of silenced rifles.”

  “That won’t be a problem.”

  Walker stepped over two M60s to a t
able. He reached underneath and pulled out two boxes, not much larger than a briefcase, slamming them down on the worktop. He flipped open one of the boxes.

  “Remington m700 takedown, both come with silencers.”

  “We’ll take them. Also, got any silver ammo about?”

  “Come on, Bill, who do you think you’re talking to? What calibre you after?”

  “.44 to go in my Mateba.”

  “You using that baby now then? How you getting on with it?”

  “It does the job.”

  Walker smiled, he was always keen to hear that his merchandise was being put to good use. He handed Bill a box of .44s and .308 for the rifles.

  “What’s the damage?” asked Bill.

  “No, not this time, you’ve been a good customer to me, Bill, think of these as a thank you for years of purchases.”

  “This is some expensive kit.”

  “Bill, I want to see those bastards pay, way I see it, it’s about time this city had someone who had the balls to do the job.”

  “Thank you, it’s much appreciated.”

  “You want to stay for a beer?”

  “Sorry, would love to, but we have a schedule to keep.”

  “No problem, you come back here any time, you hear?”

  “Good to know, you’re a true gentleman.”

  “Ha! Get out of here!”

  Marshall and Harriet left the junk yard as Walker watched from his porch. The Chevy rolled back into the garage of Bill’s lockup, a good day’s work done.

  “I got to get some sleep or I’ll drop where I stand. Leave the rifles in the trunk, we’ll be needing them soon enough.”

  “Sure, I’ll wake you just before first light.”

  “Thanks, and Harriet, thank you, for everything.”

  “I needed you as much you did me, Bill, we’re in this till the end now.”

  Bill wandered upstairs, he stopped and looked at the shabby bedroom which he now called home. He thought back to the well kept home that he had with Helen, it was a far cry from the spartan lifestyle he now followed.