C.O.T.V.H. (Book 2): Judgment

by Palmer, Dustin J.

  “The second that basement door closed I started working on the ropes binding my wrists. There was no way in hell I was going to let that creep do whatever it was he had in mind to do. I thought all his talk of immortality was just that, talk. I had no clue what he really was. So I worked and strained until my wrists were sticky and slick with my own blood. By morning I'd gotten completely out of the ropes, my wrists looked like hamburger, but I was free. I made it to the top of the stairs when I heard him moving around upstairs. I stood there with my ear pressed against the door, my heart pounding, and sweat dripping down my face like rain.” Billy paused and began rubbing his wrists, almost as if he was reliving the fear.

  Jake was about to say something when Billy suddenly cleared his throat and continued. "He got all the way to the door and was actually turning the knob when the first shot rang out. Then another, and another; I heard him screaming and crying, begging for his life. Then I heard a loud thud and the screams stopped. The door opened and two men were pointing guns at me. One of those men was a very young Cort Bishop. The other was your Great Grandfather Roland Bishop. Cort was screaming at me like a mad man!" Billy laughed. "I remember thinking to myself, great, out of the frying pan into the fire!

  “So these two crazy white fellas, armed to the teeth with enough firepower and ammunition to rob every bank in the state of Oklahoma, drag me outside past the headless body of Mr. Burrows and right into the morning sunlight. Only then did they seem to relax.

  “Long story short, they told me all about vampires and explained what almost happened to me. I didn’t believe them at first. Then they drug his body out into the sunshine . . . there wasn’t much doubting them after that.”

  Jake nodded, remembering the charred skull of Marty White staring back at him from that dirt road not far outside of Lubbock.

  “Roland, God bless him,” Billy continued, “over the next few years, helped me get back on my feet. Taught me how to hunt, a few years later I joined Cort’s crew along with Big Mike Casino, Tommy Turner, and a few other boys that came and went. Forty some odd years later here I am."

  "That's amazing, Billy," Jake said in complete awe. "Absolutely amazing."

  "I don't know about amazing. Damn near insane sounds more fitting to me. What kind of a man goes through all of that then hunts the damn things for a living?"

  "A man who wants to make sure that what happened to you never happens to anyone ever again," Jake said, sitting up straight in his chair. This was an area he could definitely relate to.

  "I thought that once," Billy said, with a sad smile. "Until Terry died. Then it dawned on me that the personal cost was more than I could bear. I’d been protecting complete strangers at the cost of my own family and friends.

  “My first wife left me less than two years after we were married. Took my daughter Pam, and just left one day. Called me a crazy, selfish bastard that would only bring pain and death to my family. I guess she was right . . . to this day Pam hates my stinking guts. I guess she still blames me for Terry’s death. Can’t say that I blame her. If it weren’t for me, he never would have gotten into hunting. Then again if I didn’t do what I did Ben would be dead and I wouldn’t have him as my son.”

  “I didn’t know Ben was your son,” Jake said.

  Billy nodded thoughtfully then broke the toothpick in half, dropping it to his plate. “Poor kid, I found him hiding in a closet in a house full of grunts. His parents, brother, and sisters had all been killed on or turned.” He sighed heavily at the memory. “We cleansed the house and torched it but Ben didn’t have anywhere to go. No surviving family, no family friends that we were able to find. So I adopted him. Seemed like the right thing to do.”

  “How old was he?” Jake asked. “Does he remember it?”

  “Well . . .” Billy started. “He was only four years old so luckily most of the memories have faded. Unfortunately he still remembers his mother being turned. He told me once that nearly every night he dreams about her face with those crimson, hungry eyes staring after him.”

  Jake had had almost the exact same dream since his mother’s disappearance. He liked to think that she had passed on, but there was always the chance she had been turned into one of them. “Does it ever get any easier?” Jake asked suddenly seeing his mother’s smiling green eyes before his face. “I mean, sometimes I can go almost an entire day without thinking about her, then like a punch to the gut she pops into my head and I feel guilty for not thinking about her. The nightmares . . . the nightmares are the worst . . . I don’t know, it just sucks. Dad has stopped searching, but I think in his heart she’s still alive somewhere. Suffering, hurting.”

  “It gets easier. It just takes time. John will be okay. He has you and he has Cort, as crazy as the old coot is, and though for a while I think he forgot, he has all of us.”

  “I hope so,” Jake said sadly. “He doesn’t talk about her at all.”

  “After Terry died I didn’t think I could go on anymore. I always knew it was more than a possibility that one day it would happen. You don’t live our kind of life and not experience loss.” He crunched on some ice from his glass and stared out the large bay window behind Jake. “The boy was just so damn good! I had never seen a hunter with skills like his. He was strong, swift as a fox, and agile; he did things with that big battle-axe of his that would boggle the mind. I swear the man could toss it around like it was a damn broomstick! I didn’t think anything could hurt him.”

  “Dad always said he was good,” Jake agreed.

  “Turns out he wasn’t good enough though,” Billy looked down at the glass in his hand. “I see so much of him in those kids. Donnie, it blows my mind how much he’s like Terry. Almost the spitting image of him, strong, fast, a natural leader, even has his laugh. How is that possible? And Amber, that girl may not look it but she is tough as nails. She can put Donnie on his ass if he makes the mistake of messing with her!” He laughed.

  “He’s not a bad pool hustler either.” Jake smiled. And Amber is smoking hot! He thought, smiling even bigger.

  Billy laughed even harder. “I should have warned you to watch out for that. The kid is pretty good on the table. He’s even been known to beat me a time or two, and Chris! That kid could play professionally. Just like Benny!”

  More than ever Jake was sure that he liked Billy Williams. The man had so much dark, angry history but he somehow managed to keep his sense of humor and more importantly his humanity. He could see why his dad loved the man so much. There was an aura about him that just drew you in.

  "You know Jake, I honestly don’t know what I would do if something happened to those kids." Billy frowned. "I just hate it that any of you have to go through this.” He leaned forward in his chair his hands balling into fists. “Johnny tried to get you and your mom out. Tried harder than any man I know. Maybe if Terry had gotten out . . ." he trailed off, “but they found him. They always do.” His eyes glimmered with tears, then instantly turned to rage. He slammed both fists down on the table with enough force to shake every dish on the table. “Someone has got to put a stop to this,” he said between clenched teeth. “Someone has got to draw a line in the sand and say ENOUGH! For my Terry, for your mom, for Tommy and all the other hunters that died before their time, for Ben’s family.” He started breathing heavily. "That's why I do what I do. If we can’t get out then by God neither can they. There will be no truce, no live and let live. It’s us or them."

  Jake was speechless. For a second he'd seen a fire in the gentle man's eyes he wouldn't have dreamed possible. After a minute, Billy composed himself. "Sorry about that. Sometimes I just get a little fired up is all."

  "That's alright Billy.” Jake nodded. “I understand completely. They took my mom. They nearly took me."

  Billy leaned back in his chair relaxing a bit. “Johnny told me about what happened in Georgia. Lucky thing you had some new friends watching your back.”

  I knew this would come up sooner or later. Jake sighed inwardly.


  “I talked on the phone to Nathan Bishop about a month after John got back. I tried to get him to tell me a little about their organization, but he wouldn't talk about it at all. A couple of months ago I called and told him about the training program we had set up for you kids and offered his people the same thing. He very politely turned me down, said goodbye and hung up. I haven’t talked to him since.” Billy scrunched his brows. “To tell you the truth Jake, I’m not quite sure what to make of any of it. Is there anything else you can tell me? About him or his people?”

  “I don’t know what it would be,” Jake said, scrunching his brow. “Everything I knew I told Grandpa and Dad.”

  Billy rubbed at the stubble on his face. “Did you meet any of them other than Nathan?”

  “No, he was the only one. But I mean, someone had to kill all of those Makers. Before I escaped, I heard a couple of them talking. One of them seemed downright terrified of whoever was out in those woods.

  “But you never saw them? Never talked to anyone but Nathan?”

  “No Billy, I mean . . . why, what’s this about?”

  “It’s probably nothing.” Billy shrugged. “I just find it strange that I have talked to just about every hunter I have ever met and not a single, solitary one has ever met or heard of a group of hunters stationed in Georgia. Far as we know, there has never been any vampire activity east of the Mississippi. At least not in the past two hundred years.”

  “That is weird.” Jake agreed. “Maybe these guys just run in different circles.”

  “Hunters are a pretty tight knit group. Sure there are some outsiders like Wes and his Slaye,” Billy said, motioning behind him with his head as if Wes Turner was standing directly behind him. “For the most part everyone shares information and back each other’s plays. Even more so since we started the Coalition. For no one to have heard of these guys is beyond strange.”

  “I wish I could tell you more, Billy,” Jake said seriously. “All I know is that if Nathan and his guys hadn’t showed up, I wouldn’t be here now.”

  Billy sat there quietly drumming his fingers on the table as he thought. “If only there was a way to set up a meet and greet between us and them. Now he won’t even return my phone calls.”

  “Can I ask you something, Billy?” Jake said, changing the subject.

  “Anything kid, what’s up?”

  “If Mr. Turner is an outsider why is he here?” Jake said, leaning forward on his elbows.

  “Tommy Turner was one of the bravest Hunters I have ever known and one of my closest friends; Wesley was his only son. When Tommy was killed, it was left to us to take care of Wes. Cort and I did what we could, even going so far as to raise him alongside our own sons, but something is just dark in Wes,” he said quietly.

  “Yeah, Grandpa doesn’t like him much.” Jake nodded. “He claims he’s no good at all.”

  “Cort always was a hard case. He doesn’t cut people much slack. Probably what caused problems between him and John for all those years.” Billy let out a sigh. “I guess I’ve just got a bit of a soft spot for Wes. I wouldn’t go as far as to trust him with my life like I would Cort, or Talon or Ben, or John. But I wouldn’t cut him off entirely either. Especially now that he’s got his own son. That poor kid needs all the guidance he can get.”

  “Yeah, well. I met him and wasn’t too impressed. Seems like a real jerk to me.”

  Billy laughed. “Yeah, he’s definitely a smart ass. But I’ve got a feeling that deep down inside that hard exterior there’s a great kid, and possibly a great Hunter. It takes a certain kind of person to do this job. Not everyone can do it.”

  “What about me?” Jake asked, staring down at the napkin in his lap. “Do you think I have what it takes to be a Hunter?”

  “I don’t know. What do you think? Do you have what it takes to walk into a dark and musty building and cut a man’s head off? To pull his lifeless, but still twitching body into the sunlight and watch him burn down to cinders? Can you live with the nightmares? The fear that one day they will find you?”

  Jake held his breath for a few seconds then blew it out. “I . . . I don’t know. Maybe. I mean, I live with most of that now. Every time I doze off, I dream of Marty White’s red eyes. I know I’ll never be safe; I’ve come to accept that. It doesn’t matter where I hide. They always manage to find me. You said they won’t cross the Mississippi, well they did for me.”

  Billy frowned. “I guess we’ll see, Jake. I guess we’ll see. Just remember something. If you don’t have what it takes, you need to get out now before the hunts start. Don’t do this for anyone but you. You can’t be half in half out with this. If you are, you’re going to get yourself or those around you killed. Considering my three grandchildren are going to be on your team, I’d very much like for that not to happen. I like you son. You seem like a bright kid. But if you don’t cut it in training, I won’t hesitate to let you go. You will always be family and you will always have a place at my table, and a safe bed to sleep in, but that doesn’t cut you any breaks with me.”

  “I understand.” Jake nodded solemnly. “I hope I don’t let you down. That I don’t let Dad, or Grandpa, or Mom, or even myself down.”

  Billy suddenly rose from the table and pulled his belt back together. For the first time Jake noticed the very large gold buckle he was wearing.

  “You see that?” Billy said, putting his hands on both sides of the large buckle.

  “Yes sir.” Jake answered.

  “It says ABRC. That stands for Amateur Bull Riding Championship. You know how I got that?”

  “How?”

  “Some fool I was hunting with bet me two hundred dollars I couldn’t last eight seconds on the back of a bull. So I signed up for the tournament and lasted a hell of a lot longer than eight seconds,” he said, with a large grin. “I won the whole damn thing.” Jake started to say something but Billy held up his hand. “The point is I didn’t like someone telling me I couldn’t do it. I didn’t like myself thinking I couldn’t do it. So I went out there and proved to myself, and to that hunter, that I could do it!”

  Jake nodded that he understood. “Who was the hunter that bet you?”

  “Cort Bishop.” Billy laughed. Jake joined in his laughter.

  Billy sat back down in his chair. "You know kid. After all these years, the thing I feel the most toward that lonely, perverted Maker isn't hate. Not really. The thing I feel the most for him is pity."

  "Pity?" Jake asked completely shocked. “But he locked you up. He was going to turn you into one of them! Pity is the last thing I’d feel for him.”

  "Yeah but he wasn’t doing it out of some evil desire to torture me. He was a slave to his nature.”

  “That doesn’t change what he was, what he tried to do.”

  “Jake my boy, I've lived a good life. Sure, there has been some terrible, terrible pain and I’ve seen some really horrific things. But I have a loving wife, friends, children, even grandchildren. That poor bastard had none of that. He was just lonely. Lonelier than any human could ever know.”

  Jake’s mind thought back to Tiberius sitting alone in his dungeon for centuries on end, just wanting someone to talk too. When he put it like that, Jake could definitely see where he was coming from.

  “What is it like, living hundreds of years without ever knowing love, or being able to grow close to someone unless you want to condemn them to a life of hell?” Billy added. “Like I said, I feel a great deal of pity for a creature like that."

  Sandra came in lightening the mood with her very presence. She wrapped her arms around Billy's neck and kissed him on the cheek. "Everything okay, cheri?" she asked, looking over at Jake.

  "Sure thing hon, just having a good talk with an up and coming vampire hunter is all."

  "Okay. Well, you are neglecting the rest of your guests," Sandra said, rubbing his shoulders. "Come on Jake. I think Amber was looking for you."

  Jake's eyes lit up. He could barely contain his excitement. "Really?"

>   Billy gave him a hard stare. "That's my grandbaby, Jacob. Don't you forget that."

  "Yes sir." Jake swallowed.

  "Oh be nice you big mean grizzly bear." Sandra said, kissing her husband on the top of his head. "They're just kids being kids."

  "I know perfectly well what kids being kids can get up to. That's why I'm warning him up front."

  "Okay. Well . . ." Jake said, standing up and pushing his chair in.

  "Oh go on sweetie. Leave your plate, I'll clean up."

  "Thank you Mrs. Williams!" Jake said, all but running to the door.

  "Call me Sandra!" she yelled after him.

  Jake rushed out of the room looking for Amber. Instead, he bumped into Diana. "Hi!" she said, stepping in front of him. Her long brown hair hung braided down her back. Jake caught a whiff of strawberry scented perfume.

  "Uh hi," he said, back.

  "I've been meaning to talk to you," she said, bouncing from one foot to the other.

  "Really? Well I was just on my way . . ."

  "Did you know that Whisper, Amber, and I are going to train with you guys?"

  "Really? I didn't know girls could hunt vampires," Jake said, absentmindedly trying to look past her.

  "Why wouldn't we be able to?" she said, the tone of her voice going from friendly to hostile.

  Awe hell. Jake thought to himself focusing on the now angry deep black eyes looking back at him. Big mistake.

  "I can hunt a vampire just as well as you can!"

  "That's not what I meant; I've just never heard of . . .” He didn't get to finish as she rushed away. God I hate teenage girls!

  Jake continued down the hall into the game room where Buck and Donnie were playing a game of pool, their differences apparently put aside. Chris was throwing darts at a dartboard in the corner and Amber and Whisper were lying on the couches watching the end of Titanic. I’ll never let go? Jake thought to himself remembering the first time he’d seen the movie. There was plenty of room on that damn door, or table, or whatever the hell it was she was floating on. All she had to do was move over and poor Leo would have been just fine.