Paranormal Encounters

by Carl East

  Michael passed the message on and James began to creep out slowly until he had left the safety of the bolt hole. He remained crouched on the street seeing Johnny with his back against the crumbling brick wall of the old building on the other side of the alley. Slowly and silently, he made his way across being careful to avoid the broken glass that littered the area. Once he made it safely to the shadows next to Johnny, he smiled feeling quite proud of himself for not making a hint of noise. He could see the guard and not once had his attention waivered from what was happening in the distance.

  Johnny sent Michael the mental thought, ‘send Jenny out and tell her to be careful of the glass.’

  Michael kissed the back of Jenny’s neck and whispered Johnny’s instructions to her. She turned her head back as far as it would go and their lips met briefly. She let lose a soft sigh and began to head out. Her head was the first to breach the opening and she could feel the cobwebs that were left behind by the men before her. She was doing quite well until she felt a soft movement on the end of her nose. Moving forward through the opening of the secret bolt hole, the faintest bit of light revealed what had been occupying the web. The hairy-legged intruder was looking her right in the eyes when the first scream escaped her lips.

  She moved with a vampire’s speed doing moves that Johnny and James had never seen before. Her arms were flapping back and forth so fast in front of her face and down her hair and clothes that they didn’t know if she was trying to signal them or if she was on fire. They didn’t see any fire, but they didn’t know what else it could be. Her shrill screams continued to fill the air and suddenly Michael in full berserker mode exploded from the entrance and was next to her, out of control, searching for the assailant.

  The guard, shocked to hear a woman screaming, at first didn’t know what to make of what was happening. He must have been a newly turned vampire because he reacted in his former human instinct and ran forward to offer aid until he saw that there were others with her. Shocked when he realized that these must be the vampires that they had all been searching for, he returned to vampire mode and tried to signal for assistance.

  He managed to get the first salvo out of his gun before the berserker grabbed him and tore off both his arms. Michael then ripped off his head and watched as the limp body began to fall and then disappear in a cloud of ash. Johnny was mentally sending thoughts to him, but he wasn’t listening. Jenny turned and ran to him and caught him by the arms saying we have to go. She tugged him after her but it was too late, she could hear the thunder of running feet heading in their direction.

  Johnny and James watched the pair coming to them, as if in slow motion, as a swelling tide of vampires moved their way. They took off down the street following Johnny’s lead through the alleys and piles of brick rubble and garbage that lined their path. Never stopping he leaped to the tops of trees and then onto the nearby roofs trying to lose their followers in the darkness. They seemed to be pulling away when he suddenly turned and headed to the bridge crossing the city’s main river.

  The four leaped to the rails of the bridge and climbing like monkeys, they made their way to the main support beam that held the bridge together. They had the higher ground, they may be able to stave off the main attack and get away if they killed enough of them. Jenny and James were in the middle with Michael and Johnny on the ends when the first wave of attackers hit them.

  The attacking vampires followed them up each side of the bridge and as they came closer, the ones in front got the first look at the monsters they had all heard about but never seen. They truly looked like monsters, there were spines coming out of their backs and the hands were scaly claws with nails that looked like blades on the tip of each finger. They appeared larger than their former size and the bones in their faces stood out in sharp relief as their fangs hung below their lower lip.

  The first to scrabble across the beam was up against Johnny who simply twisted his head off his body when he got close enough. The others that followed moved swiftly forward as each took a turn trying to kill the berserker and their counterparts. They came at the berserkers with swords, knives, and all types of clubs each trying to outdo the other. James and Jenny stood at the ready to help Johnny and Michael but they seemed to be holding their own. Arms were being torn off, heads leaving bodies, the air was filled with the dust of decaying vampires and still they came.

  Johnny was starting to get tired and he silently communicated to Michael this thought. Michael was still going strong and while he heard Johnny, he kept plowing through the rubble that seemed never ending. Suddenly he heard the thought, ‘a freighter,’ coming from Johnny and he turned to have a look at the river when the sword entered his body and glanced off his ribs. Jenny was suddenly next to him trying to get hold of the vampire that was closing in when he slipped and started to fall. He grabbed the beam with one hand while he screamed out his rage. The vampire moved closer but Jenny was already standing over him sending highflying kicks to the bottom of the vampire’s chin. She was successful in stunning him and pushing him against the line of vampires waiting to take his place. Several fell past Michael as he hung by his claws and raged against them as they flew past him.

  Jenny managed to fight the next one back while Michael seemed to gather his strength and swing himself back up on the beam in front of her using his feet to kick the attacking vampire to the water far below. He placed his back toward her guarding her with his life. He heard Johnny’s silent scream and knew that he had been hurt. James was bracing Johnny up with his own body while he continued to fight off the attackers.

  “There’s a freighter going to pass beneath the bridge,” screamed Jenny into his ear to be heard over the chaos. He silently sent the message to Michael and the reply came back that yes that was what he had been trying to say earlier. They should get ready to leap for their lives. They’d never be able to fight them all off here. If they could make it to the boat, they might stand a chance.”

  Chapter 19

  Johnny and James closed the gap moving toward Michael and Jenny on the far side of the beam. They fought as one to keep the momentum going when Michael screamed in Johnny’s head, ‘it’s time.’ He gathered his strength in his powerful legs and Jenny followed his lead. They seemed to eject themselves from the beam and were hurling up and over the astounded vampires gathered at the edges who assumed they were trying to escape into the river.

  No sooner than they had become airborne than Johnny and James moved forward and launched themselves as well. It seemed all very surrealistic as the attacking hoards looked above and turned their faces to follow them down over the edge of the bridge.

  The sensation of flight was awesome; she felt weightless and wondered at the stillness that followed them down. Looking up she could see the bottom of the bridge and Johnny and James following them. Turning her head down she saw that they were still falling on course to the freighter; it looked like they were going to make it.

  Michael was slowly reverting to his vampire form, his eyes never leaving the attackers on the bridge. Seeing the dazed expression on their faces, he wondered what they were thinking and gripped Jenny’s hand tighter as he spotted Johnny and James falling towards them.

  James was very worried watching the freighter; their trajectory looked as if they were heading to one of the smoking stacks that were toward the rear of the boat. He was watching Michael and Jenny closely and figured they would hit in front of the stack and land on the cargo stored in heavy wooden boxes. They would survive the fall. He felt Johnny grabbing his arm tighter and turned to look at him and then followed his gaze. It looked like some of the vampires were disappearing from the rails and wondered if they would have enough forethought to try to do the same jump to come after them.

  Johnny gripped James tightly hoping he’d follow his gaze to see where he was looking. Mentally he was sending Michael the message, ‘we’re not out of the woods yet.’ It looks like they are going to the other side of the bridge in an attempt to follow us
down onto this freighter.’

  Michael swiftly turned his gaze and sure enough, it looked like a few had already taken the plunge. He glanced down to see the deck rapidly approaching and gathered Jenny to him to take the force of the landing. Michael knew with his latent berserker strength that he would recover quicker than Jenny.

  The first crushing blow to his back into the wooden crates knocked the sense out of him, but as he rolled, he managed to keep Jenny in his arms to cushion her fall. Moments later, he heard a loud clanging, banging type of sound and looked up. He saw that Johnny was hanging onto the smoke stack but he couldn’t see James. Oh my god, James, he thought.

  James meanwhile was trying to grab the top of the hot burning stack to lift his leg over the side. Luckily he had an old handkerchief in his back pocket, being old school was coming in handy today he thought, as he managed to climb over the top while marveling at Johnny’s ability to keep a strong hold on him, when they hit. He crawled over the top and looking down at Johnny who was wincing from the hot metal or his weight, he didn’t know which. Suddenly, his momentum over the top began to pull them both down and luckily it was on the outside where they crashed almost on top of Michael and Jenny. Sprawled bodies were covering the cargo boxes when the small crew came out of the wheelhouse to see what was going on.

  Johnny managed to pull his body up and quickly approached the group. He used his vampire skills to convince the group that they were members of the crew. Informing the humans that they were going to be bordered by pirates jumping off the bridge, he watched as they quickly looked up and followed the orders of the Captain. The mates ran to the grappling hooks that they used to pull the ship closer to the docks when they pulled into the unloading areas of the port. One by one, they ran forward with the vampires following to help them.

  When the first vampire tried to reach out to grab the hook he found himself propelled off to the side into the fast moving water. The second and third met the same fate while the fourth managed to land further back on deck. The newcomer watched as the vampires approached and figured that living to fight another day wasn’t such a bad idea, he then dove over the side of the rail just managing to dodge Johnny’s outreached hand.

  The freighter pushed on past the reach of the still falling vampires and the crew and vampires started to slap each other of the backs as they watched them hit the water one by one. Looking up to the bridge they saw the rest of the hoard yelling in rage and shaking fists and once they had searched the topside of the boat they knew they were finally in the clear. They could relax for the time being. The crew went back to their normal routine, some going down for their evening meals while others to their rest, as they had to take the day watch and duties.

  Johnny, James, Michael and Jenny stood silently in the rear of the boat watching as the bridge faded slowly but surely into the distance. They knew they were safe for the time being but they would have to secure a safe sleeping space as the night was quickly passing and they would need to take their day rest.

  The Captain came back and advised them that they should get on with their duties, and Johnny began to use his vampire’s influence to reinforce his wishes that they were crewmembers, and they would be taking a rest to be ready for their night shift duties. He walked away satisfied that the crewmembers would head to their assigned sleeping areas and went back to his work of checking the charts. They were headed up the coast and he needed to make sure the ship was on course to their next docking.

  Johnny and James watched Michael and Jenny disappear down the hatch to the safety of the cargo hold. They knew they would find a safe spot not to be disturbed. Johnny’s face began to twitch and his eyes closed. He sent the mental thought to Michael, ‘for the love of God keep your thoughts to yourself.’

  James looked at Johnny and knew by the look on his face that Michael and Jenny must be going at it again, and sighed. Ah young love, he wasn’t going to be experiencing that any time soon, or maybe he would, who knows?

  Michael smiled at Jenny as they entered a hidden cubbyhole and he shifted one of the heavy crates to hide their day sleep spot. He was going to have to learn to close his mind to Johnny he thought as he laid her down on his jacket and began to disrobe her willing body.

  Johnny looked out into the night knowing that while they were safe for now, who knew if the lairs would send seekers out to find them. He wasn’t sure, but the night sky was starting to show signs of the first moments of dawn and as he turned to go below James followed. It looks like they would be sharing the same bunk for now. They started to discuss the day’s events and headed to their own hiding spot.

  * * * *

  The vampires watched as the boat sailed away. Looking closer they saw one of their comrades pulling herself up to sit on the anchor with one hand grasping the chain. She looked back at them and knew what she had to do.

  Chapter 20

  The Coven

  The cargo freighter chugged forward smoothly cutting through the waves where the river met the bay. The vampire clung to the anchor chain as she moved her wet bottom to a better position on the ship’s anchor. She was klutzy when she was human why did she think that being turned a vampire would cure it. Pondering her fall off the bridge and subsequent belly flop into the river, she turned to look back at the vampires that had a front row seat on the bridge. They were silent reminders of the failed attempt of the lairs to kill the rogue vampires that escaped to the freighter.

  Draped against the side of the ship in her wet clothes with daylight approaching she knew she had to get moving. The good thing, if there was one, about being a vampire is that you really don’t feel the heat or cold. The bad thing is that you still feel the effects of water. The wind and spray from the bow of the boat kept her long hair plastered to her back. The funneling water from her hair found the gap at her waistband and was now running down the crack of her ass. It was driving her crazy. Wondering how she got into this mess, she shook her bangs out of her eyes and made her move.

  Shifting her weight to stand and peer over the rail of the freighter, she kept a close eye on the light that was beginning to fill the sky. Scrambling over she knew that she had to get below deck before dawn and find a place to hide. She wasn’t worried about being spotted by the crewmembers but she kept a wary eye open for the rogue vampires. Stealthily creeping between the stacks of wooden crates, she peered through a dead end tunnel and saw the steps leading below deck. Climbing up and over the crates, she glided silently along and then moving with vampire speed went below. Peeking through the doors leading off the main corridor she managed to find a utility room filled with cleaning supplies and bottled and canned goods.

  This isn’t too bad she thought. No windows, no vampires, no crewmembers, it seemed like a good spot to hide. Poking around she decided to move a few of the stacked boxes to hide behind near the back and in the process found a smaller hatch on the back wall. Forcing the rusted hinges of the cover open, she peered in to find an access space that should be just big enough to hold her. It had obviously been used for maintenance purposes in the past.

  The opening was small and low, so small she felt like a contortionist as she wiggled and pushed to get her breasts and hips through. Wondering just how a maintenance man ever got through there left her wishing once again that the asshole that turned her into a vampire had waited until after she’d finished the diet, and not before. Now it was too late. Once you were turned that was it. That didn’t stop her from wishing for the figure that most men seemed to adore tall and skinny. Banging her head and cursing as she crawled into the hole, she wished she had been born a hundred years ago when men liked a woman to have hips and breasts.

  The place was just big enough to get out of her wet boots and clothes and spotting an old rag up against the wall, she used it to squeeze the moisture out of her hair. She was able to stand up and her arms touched all sides. This must be the crawl space near the smokestack because the walls felt warm. She placed her feet against the hatch to secure her hi
ding place, closed her eyes and slept.

  Chapter 21

  The vampires watched as the boat sailed away. Looking closer they saw one of their comrades pulling herself up to sit on the anchor with one hand grasping the chain. She looked back at them and when Damien, leader of one of the nine remaining lairs, saw her face, he began to curse. Morgana had been nothing but trouble since her making. How she managed to get on the boat was anyone’s guess.

  The eight leaders of the remaining lairs approached and they watched as the vampires that fell into the river made their way back to shore. Dawn was approaching and they had to leave but a meeting was set to regroup at nightfall to determine their next move. Damien looked away and cursed the day he met and turned her.

  Chapter 22

  Morgana opened her eyes feeling the fall of night and began to feel around for her clothes. Not bad, they were still damp but at least her hair was dry. Climbing back into her clammy clothes she pondered what to do. She felt the ship moving beneath her so they must still be traveling. She had to seize one of the crewmembers and do the eye compulsion thing to get information if she was going to get out of this alive, or was it dead. With a shake of her head she had to admit, she loved having these extra spider senses of super hearing, eyesight, smell, strength and speed to name a few.

  Sure, she could just jump off the ship and walk back to land but she wasn’t only a vampire she was also a witch. At least she was learning to be one before that bastard had found her in the woods that night and turned her. The spells that she had mastered were few and she still had a strong aversion to water, even after being turned, so it was a do or die only option at this point. Just the thought of walking on the slimy seabed in the dark was enough to give her a panic attack. Rolling up her sleeves, she bent to open the hatch and crawl out.