Melabeth the Vampire

by Hood, E. B.

  I could see the other four wizards now standing in front of David. They started to cast some spells. The ground began to shake.

  What now?

  I aimed my rifle at the wizards; I was about to fire.

  Then something grabbed my leg. I looked down, and there was a hand coming out of the ground. A half fleshed skeleton hand was wrapped around my ankle.

  I jumped up and pulled my leg free; the only thing was the rotted hand was still wrapped around my ankle. I reached down and ripped it off…how gross!

  I looked up and couldn’t believe my eyes. There were corpses coming out of the ground; they were crawling out, and getting to their feet. I may be a dead vampire who lives on blood, but this is gross.

  Half rotted bodies with bugs coming out of them; some of them were part, or whole skeletons. Their faces were twisted pictures of horror, and some of them were even moaning... moaning… really is that necessary?

  I am totally freaked out. A vampire that’s afraid of dead people; someone should write a book.

  Then one of them grabbed me from behind… I screamed like a girl. With all my strength, I ripped his arms away, and then I turned around and faced the undead man.

  Without even thinking about it, I used the butt of my rifle and slammed him in the face. I was so freaked out that I used all my strength. The head exploded on impact, and the body fell to the ground.

  I stood there with this undead corpse juice all over me, rotted brain matter; I could even see some bugs coming out of the corpse slime that was on my arm.

  Yuk… nasty… disgusting… gross.

  The corpses were starting to circle me. This time I used the business end of my rifle, and I shot three of them down by blowing their heads off. Then I flashed through the hole I made. A lot of good it did me; I flashed right into another pile of dead.

  They were everywhere.

  It only took me a second to come to the realization, that, if I shot or hit them anywhere other than the head, it didn’t hurt them. No time to think about David; plus I think he is the one who did this. I need to work my way toward the edge of the graveyard. There will be less undead there.

  It only took a few seconds; after I started fighting the corpse, I heard the sound of gunfire mixed with screaming. Yep, David did this.

  It only took me a few minutes to empty every bullet from my rifle. I wish these things knew that I was on David's side. They came at me in all directions, but I was strong enough to fight them off. I pulled out my handguns and continued to work my way to the edge of the graveyard.

  I shot, kicked, and used my guns as hammers. It wasn’t hard to kill them, but there were too many to kill. I ducked under their arms, and jumped over their shoulders; it was hard to move through the crowd of corpses.

  I came across the body of two dead soldiers. One of them had a hatchet; he also had a string of grenades strapped around his chest. I had run out of pistol ammo, so I punched and kicked my way over to the dead soldiers’ bodies. There were too many dead to flash, but I was still too quick for them to get a hold of me.

  I grabbed a grenade and the hatchet; the guns weren't that effective anyway. You had to shoot the head right off their shoulders to get them to stop. The hatchet was much easier; I hacked my way through the sea of bodies.

  I came up to a tree, where I climbed my way up. I needed to get my bearings. I stood upon a branch about twenty five feet up. What I saw was… scary… I don’t know how to even think about it.

  There were corpses of men and woman, bags of bones, and their clothes and flesh were in different stages of decay. I could see the edge of the cemetery. It was less than a hundred yards away; hardly any dead were there. They were all heading slowly toward David.

  Quick supply check…still had two hunting knifes in my belt. One knife was tucked in front of my skirt and the other behind me. I hadn’t dressed well for this. In my right hand I had a hatchet. I had tied the grenade into the bottom of my shirt; now my belly showed. After a closer look…it wasn’t a grenade. It was a smoke bomb.

  Time to go; the dead were starting to circle around the tree. They were looking up at me moaning and reaching. I needed to keep moving or else they might overwhelm me. I leaped away from the tree.

  I landed on two different heads, and then jumped again before they could grab me. I landed away from the crowd of dead and headed for the edge of the graveyard.

  I reached the edge of the graveyard only to run into a wall, not a wall I could see but a magic wall. I knew this spell; it keeps spirits from passing through. It is the same spell they put over houses to keep the dead out. I would need the living to invite me out.

  Some of the dead were now heading toward me. I will have to figure this out on the move. I started by heading down the side of the graveyard. I knew I was moving in a large circle, but I am not sure what else I can do.

  Five minutes later I was now coming around the hill and toward the front of the graveyard. I could now make out a couple of sedans and a van. I knew the van right away, it was Devon’s van... there he was.

  As I looked to my right, I could see Devon walking towards his van. His men were covering his retreat, but it was costing them their lives. One gunman after another fell into the wave of undead. I saw two guys with rifles take up position and start laying down cover fire. They were close to me, and they were going to make a path for Devon.

  I flashed up to them, and, with my hatchet, I cut their rifles in half. Then I smiled at them and said. "Now you boys have a good time."

  I flashed back to the edge of the graveyard. When I looked back, I could see the undead grabbing the two men; they pulled them back into a crowd of corpses.

  All I heard after that were their screams.

  Devon had broken free from the mass of dead. If one of them even got close to Devon, he would reach his hand up, and then squeeze his fist, and their head would explode. When he got a little bit closer, I could make out what he was doing.

  Out of both hands were two shadows; it was night time so it was hard to see even with vampire eyes. The shadows coming out of his hands were in the shape of his hands, only they were as big as his body. When he reached out to grab one of the corpses, the shadow stretched out, and the hand became smaller the further out it went.

  So he has a range with this spell, and he had not noticed me. He was too busy taking care of the dead that were trying to block his path. The last of the soldiers fell to their deaths behind Devon; he didn’t even give them a backwards glance.

  I would need to move fast; before he had a chance to use those shadow hands on me. I wish I still had a rifle. He moved clear of the undead and now was walking quickly toward the van. Before he spotted me or got past the wall and to his van, I flashed.

  When I flashed, the world flew by; it always felt like teleporting to me. I looked at where I wanted to go. The next thing was a blur of colors, and then I was standing at the spot I was concentrating on. If something happened during my flash that caused me to stop, it made me feel disoriented.

  That is what was happening now.

  Devon was standing in front of me. His hand was straight out, and he was holding his hand closed. It looked as if he was holding an invisible cup because his hand was squeezing but it would not close all the way. I could make out the shadow hand; it had wrapped around my chest; that’s when I realized that he was squeezing me.

  It hurt as the shadow crushed down upon me. I tried to grab hold of the black fingers to pry them loose, but I couldn’t get hold of the shadows. If I grabbed a finger, it would turn into nothing and then reform somewhere else.

  Devon lifted his hand up, and, when he did this, I too was lifted into the air.

  Devon looked up at me with a triumphant smile. “I thought I was going to have to hunt you down later, but look at this, you’ve come to me. I would have loved to know how or who revived you. No time, best just to destroy you.” Devon pointed to his back. He had on David’s backpack. “I got what I came for. After I dest
roy you, The Order will take care of David. He has proven to be a handful, too bad I didn’t get to him before you... Oh well.”

  A happy thought, David’s alive and well. Only if I could kill Devon before he kills me. I had to figure out how to get out of this hand. I have no leverage being held up in the air. My arms and legs dangled useless. All the strength in the world wouldn’t help me if I didn’t have something to push against.

  Devon reached with his other hand. The shadow grabbed my head. Then he started to pull his hands apart, just like that giant I fought in the alley; he was trying to rip my head off.

  I fought him with all my will and strength. It was working, and he was struggling and could not pull hard enough. He stopped and let go with the hand that was holding onto my head.

  “How could you have become so strong in such a short time? I wish I had time to study you; Oh well I guess we will do this the old fashioned way.”

  He walked toward his van. I floated along in tow. That’s when I noticed that we passed through where the wall should have been. Whatever magic user had made it must have died, I was no longer trapped in the cemetery. Then again, I was still trapped.

  When we got to Devon’s van, Devon used his free hand and opened the sliding door. Then his shadow traveled into the van. It came out with a can of gas.

  I struggled harder.

  A cruel smiled formed on Devon’s face, one that I knew much too well.

  We both noticed it at the same time. A small group of undead were heading right for him. The undead hands stretched out in front of them moaning.

  Devon looked back up at me, and then said. “Just hold on for one second sweetheart.”

  I would have loved to say something smart ass back, but he was still holding on to me so tight, I couldn’t breathe. Of course I wouldn’t suffocate, but it sure did shut me up. Devon set down the gas can, and then he turned his attention to the approaching undead.

  If I could do something, this was my moment. Not being able to breathe gave me an idea. Of course my plan hinged around me learning how to fly.

  Devon’s head was turned toward the undead that were approaching him. He was now using his free shadow hand to attack the first of them. The group of undead were not very many, so I didn’t have much time.

  I sucked in all the air I could; it hurt for it made his grip tighter. After a few seconds, I felt just a little less force. He was using his other hand to crush the corpse’s heads. I could tell from the way he was sweating, that using all this power was weakening him.

  I had been struggling the entire time, and he wasn’t paying any attention to my movements. I was able to pull out the smoke grenade. I pulled the pin and let it drop. A cloud of white smoke poured out of the can. It rose through the air, and a few seconds later, I was engulfed by smoke.

  I couldn’t see Devon now, and I didn’t have time to worry about what he was doing. I started the next part of my plan.

  I concentrated… I relaxed… I did what Charlotte told me. I let go of my body, and I pushed upwards. I felt my body becoming lighter. I now knew how to fly, or float; I will celebrate later. I let all my air out, and, at the exact same time, I wiggled my whole body.

  I slid free from the shadowy grip, and my dress came off as I used my foot to push on one of the shadows. I floated up into the night sky. I did manage to get a hold of both of my knives before my dress was pulled off. Now I was in my undergarments holding two military styles knifes. Not having time to take in the sights, I looked back down at where Devon was.

  He had finished the last of the approaching dead; from up here, I could spot another group on their way, but we had a few minutes before they would arrive.

  Devon was cursing as he spun in a circle looking for me. All he had in his hand was what was left of my dress. The smoke grenade had blinded him when I had wiggled out of his grip. He thought I fell to the ground, and he hadn’t thought to look up.

  He tossed the remains of my dress on the ground as his black shadowy hands flew through the smoke, searching frantically for me.

  I had floated slowly over the top of Devon. I let myself fall, and I fell right in front of Devon; we were close enough to dance.

  I moved fast… then I took three steps back so I could look him in the face.

  Devon looked at me with surprise, then hatred. “Enough games, girl… now you die.”

  He put his hands out in front of him, and that is when he noticed what I had done.

  There were no hands, just bloody stubs.

  The blood was dripping off the knives, and the shadows had disappeared. I was sure that the magic was attached to his hands.

  Devon’s face went from hatred back to surprise. Then he fell on his ass; he was in shock and losing blood. The pain of what I had just done to him was starting to register.

  The group of undead where almost upon us, and I had a new idea.

  I flashed over to his van; it only took me a second to find what I was looking for. I ran back to where Devon was. I used my new trick; I pushed up into the air, not too high, just high enough that the undead couldn’t reach me.

  Then I put the camera on my shoulder, the one I had taken out of Devon’s van.

  Then as I floated above Devon, I said. “Devon, look at me.” His eyes met mine, and I could see the fear in them, and it made me glad; I pointed the camera at him and said. “Final scene... action!”

  The undead moved in a horseshoe shape around him, and then they ripped him apart.

  He screamed; I smiled.

  When they finished, there wasn’t a lot left of him. I said into the camera, "here lies Devon Wright; in the end no one will miss him."

  I turned off the camera; I felt I should be happy. I felt as if his death should bring some closure to the pain in my chest. It didn’t make me happy, and his death wasn’t worth Lizzie's life.

  The undead stopped moaning, and then they stopped moving. All of the undead fell to the ground.

  David! I dropped to the ground. I flashed across the graveyard, until I came to the spot I last saw David. I ran up to the circle of gravestones; David wasn’t there. I looked around, and that’s when I saw him.

  He was sitting on the ground, and, in his lap, was the body of Lizzie. He was holding one hand on his necklace that I gave him. His other hand was on his dead sister's face. He was chanting in some language that I didn’t understand. What was he doing?

  He stopped chanting and then looked up at me. Tears filled his eyes, and then tears filled my eyes. I flashed over to him and took him into my arms. There we held each other.

  "I am so sorry… this is all my fault. I should have never dragged you into this." I said this into his shoulder as I cried.

  A dark chuckle came from David. "Don’t do that. You cannot… blame yourself for another's evil. I wanted to help; I wanted to help because that was the right thing to do. My family lay dead… they’re all dead, because no one believes in us. I am a Necromancer, and you are a vampire. We are bad; no one would back us to fight the true evil. Everyone, except my sister Lizzie, and she believed the lie, the lie of The Order."

  I touched Lizzie's face, and then said. "We will take down this Order, a group of people who bring death to others… without evidence or trial. We can bring them death; we can bring them the same death they showed my dear Lizzie." I said this with blood filled tears, falling from my face to hers.

  David gently slid the body of his sister onto the ground; he looked around, and then said. "Time to go; we will mourn later."

  He was right; we had to get out of here. It would be hard to have to explain why all the dead are out of their graves to the local police. "We have to get the film first. Your bag is next to Devon’s corpse, and I have to grab the film out of Devon's camera. I made a movie; you won’t want to miss it."

  David said. "Sounds good; can't wait to see your first film. While you do that, I will collect Lizzie’s body; I wish to bring it with us."

  When I got back, David and I gathered a
round Lizzie's body. He grabbed my hand, and together we left.

  Chapter 18

  Las Vegas

  I was looking out the window of our hotel room.

  The sun was almost below the horizon; soon it would be night. Please, I quietly prayed to God. I hoped that when the night came, so would Carrie. She never reappeared the night of the graveyard fight, but I was hopeful she might come back tonight.

  Soon as the sun fell behind the mountains, Carrie reappeared. She was confused, looking right to left, before she realized where she was.

  She looked at me and said. "I hate that… it's so confusing. Oh, my gosh, where's David? How did we get here? Did any of David's family live?"

  I put my finger to my lips. "Shh… David's resting."I pointed to a bed in the room. David was under the covers, he had just fallen asleep. "Come, sit next to me, and I will catch you up."

  "Ok, I was worried David was hurt, or dead." Carrie looked out the window as she sat next to me. "Is this Vegas? How did we get here? Are the Whites with us?"

  I grabbed her lips and held them together. Once she got the idea, I let go. "I'll start from the beginning. After the battle, David had enough power to teleport one more time. We went to his house, and there we collected as much as we could shove in his mom's car. Then we drove to the Whites. Once I explained what happened, they packed us all up in different cars. We drove the rest of the night, until we got to Las Vegas."

  Carrie asked. "Were they mad? And why Las Vegas?"

  "Alice said this was the city of the dead. I don’t know any more than that. I haven't really had time or felt like playing twenty questions; I will ask Ezra tonight, and, to answer your other question, yes and no. Alice, Ezra and Charlotte were not mad. In fact I couldn't tell them enough about the fight. They wanted to know all the details. Michael and Lea are a different story."

  "Lizzie had the hots for him. Did you know that? I liked hanging with Lizzie at night… boy am I going to miss that girl. Is Michael mad because of what happened to her?"

  I said, "Pretty much, he blames me for getting them involved. Lea’s just as pissed because Charlotte told her how I felt about her birthday gift. I don’t even care about her right now. Michael being mad at me kind of bothers me, but I don’t know what to do about it."