by J A Campbell
One of the things I hated most about sleeping in a motel was being trapped in one small room until sunset.
Finally, the sun sank low enough in the sky for me to leave the small room. It was warm outside, and a little humid, but nothing compared to South Carolina. The air was filled with the smells of agriculture—fertilizer, diesel, and the smell of earth.
I suspected that the rogue vampire was staying in the next town over, judging from the pattern of the kills. They seemed to be radiating from that area, and all three of the girls had gone to school at the same middle school, though I still wasn’t sure how he was choosing his victims, since they were never at school after dark.
I slid into my car and turned the key. The engine roared to life and settled into a grumble, as if annoyed at the idle and wanting to run. I intended to oblige. There was a large stretch of open highway between this town and the next. Tonight, I was going to investigate the school. While I raced down the highway in the supercharged Trans Am, I pondered what I would look for.
This town was a little larger than the one where the girls lived. It boasted a movie theater and the schools for the area. I pulled my black car into the parking lot of the movie theater, confident that, except for the obviously conspicuous classic car, it wouldn’t be as noticeable late at night.
The evening was almost chilly by the time I walked the two blocks to the school. I took my time, senses stretched out, not wanting anyone to sneak up on me.
The school, a quaint brick building near the center of town, was old enough and the town small enough that the security consisted of locked doors and some strategically placed lights. I tested the door. It was locked, but the first window was not, though it shrieked horribly when I started to open it. I winced and glanced around reflexively—I knew no one was around. Sighing, I expended a small amount of energy and deadened the sound around me. It was a handy trick I had learned from my brother Judas. I opened the window the rest of the way and climbed into the room, shutting the window behind me. I stopped expending the energy to deaden sound and threaded my way through the school desks in the dark room.
I started my search in the office, grateful that the school still had paper records. I could use a computer, but not well enough to hack into one. The girls were all the same age and in the same homeroom, which was not terribly odd since there were only two homerooms in that grade. Before returning the files, I found the location of their classroom. A quick glance around the office showed nothing else useful, so I left. The halls were eerily quiet as I ghosted through the empty school.
Their homeroom was also a math room and was decorated accordingly. I ignored the strange symbols and tried to find something to tie the killings together. I didn’t find much, though from the teacher’s notes it seemed that the victims were friends and marginally disruptive. Other than that—nothing. I wasn’t surprised that they were friends. Beyond what the papers had said, there weren’t that many people in town. There weren’t any other girls mentioned in the teacher’s notes. No matter. It would have been easier if I could identify the next potential target, but I didn’t need one. I’d find the vampire with or without that information.
I was just heading out when my senses tingled, alerting me that someone else was present. I stiffened, willing to bet it was two someones and that they were the Hunters I encountered last night. I paused, sinking into the shadows and considering my options. I could watch from the distance, leave, or introduce myself.
Finally, I decided to watch and see what I could learn about the Hunters. I hid in the shadows, by a locker bank, and waited while their footsteps approached my hiding spot. They didn’t speak while they walked just looked around alertly. I flinched when their eyes landed on my hiding spot, but relaxed when their gaze continued past my shadowed corner.
They were both dressed in a similar fashion to the night before, functional with lots of places to hide weapons. I was surprised at their age. They were old for Hunters: most didn’t make it past their first year or two on the job. They looked almost thirty.
Charity frowned and let her gaze drift back in my direction. I tensed, preparing to do something in case I was discovered. I wasn’t sure what though.
She looked directly at me, and for a moment I thought she had actually seen me, unlikely as that seemed. It was an uncomfortable thirty seconds before she looked away again. Alex gave her a concerned look, but she just shrugged and gestured down the hallway. They walked away from my location toward the classroom I had just vacated. I considered following, but Charity seemed unusually perceptive, and I didn’t want to risk getting caught. As soon as I was sure that they were out of sight, I slipped out of my hiding place and hurried toward the window. I used the sound-deadening trick to get out and hurried away from the school.
Charity’s perceptiveness had me a little unnerved. I was able to hide what I was from Hunters, normally, and I didn’t like that she was apparently able to sense me, even if she didn’t seem to know what she was sensing.
My Trans Am waited for me where I had left it. I got inside and leaned back in the driver’s seat, wondering where to head next. I had hoped that I would get some sort of inspiration from the school. Unfortunately, I hadn’t.
Finally, I decided to drive around and see if I could sense anything. I had a police scanner and I turned it on, figuring that if something happened, I would at least hear about it. The night was quiet as I drove. Even the scanner had little in the way of chatter. As far as I was concerned, that was a mixed blessing. Quiet was good for the prey, but not so good for the Hunters.
I drove around for a couple of hours, not having a whole lot of luck, before I finally decided to stop at a diner. It was not terribly late at night and there was still a crowd. I parked outside and walked into the crowded restaurant. It seemed that the diner and the movie theater were the only establishments open this late at night, and all the young people for miles around had gathered. I assumed that this was normal, since young people needed something to do.
It was also the only place I could think of where a vampire might be choosing prey, beyond the school. Maybe if I stuck around for a while, the vampire would show up.
I found an empty booth in the back and subtly suggested that I didn’t need help anytime someone looked like they were going to come toward me. There were a lot of kids that went in and out, but no vampire. I was about to leave when the two Hunters walked into the diner.
They looked around and Charity’s gaze fell directly on me. I fought the urge to run, settling for shifting into a slightly more comfortable position, and watched while she made her way back toward me, Alex right behind her.
This was so not good.
“Hello,” she said, standing next to my table.
“Hi.”
“You seem familiar, have we met?”
“I don’t believe so.” I glanced around the crowded diner. There weren’t many seats left. “You can join me if you want to.” Why did I always do this to myself?
Charity glanced at Alex and he shrugged. They slid into the booth across from me.
“I’m Charity, and this is my husband, Alex.”
“Nice to meet you. I’m Kat.” I was excessively relieved when they didn’t offer to shake hands.
“Slow service?” Alex asked.
It took me a second to figure out what they were talking about.
“Uh, no. I already ate. Feel free to order though.”
If that seemed odd to either one of them they didn’t mention it.
A waiter finally came over and took their order.
“Are you sure we’ve never met?” Charity asked again when he was gone.
“Yes. I’m not even from the area.”
“Oh, we aren’t either. Just visiting.”
I didn’t ask the logical question because I didn’t want them to ask me where I was from. Lying to Hunters was almost as hard as lying to vampires. They could usually tell.
We lapsed into an awkward silence, broken
when the waiter brought their food.
“Would you like some fries?” Charity asked me.
I shook my head absently, something a girl at one of the tables said catching my attention.
“…party at the old barn…”
Maybe…
“Kat?”
I jerked my attention back to the Hunters.
“Is something wrong?” Alex asked
Charity frowned at me in a way that made me want to leave, fast.
“No, I just overheard one of the girls mention a party. I…” I trailed off, remembering that, while I knew why Charity and Alex were in town, they had no idea why I was here, or that I knew what they were. Damn.
“Yes?” Charity said.
“Sorry. I’m looking for someone. He likes parties, and I thought maybe he might show up there.”
“I see. We are also looking for someone. Perhaps it is the same someone?”
“Maybe. I only know this individual by reputation, so I couldn’t say.”
“Where is the party?” Charity asked.
“Umm,” I focused my attention on the table where the girl was sitting. “It’s out past the old mill?” I shrugged. I had no idea where the ‘old mill’ was.
Charity and Alex traded a glance. I fought the urge to squirm.
“The old mill is out of town to the south just a ways. There is a barn out there. We visited it during the day. It may be that we’re hunting for the same individual.”
“Maybe.” I’m sure Charity’s words were chosen on purpose. Now I had to decide how much I wanted to say. I decided to take another risk. It would be better for all of us if we knew the other was going to be around, anyway.
“Yes. There is an individual who has gotten a bit out of hand, and needs to be,” I hesitated, “handled.”
“Shall we go together?”
“The party starts in about an hour,” I said by way of an answer.
“Then we have a little time to finish our food,” Alex said.
I nodded but noticed that while he finished his food, Charity only picked at hers. I could sense their nervousness and excitement, all tinged with a hint of fear. It was a heady combination. I had to focus to keep my attention away from them.
They followed me out into the parking lot once they were done eating.
“I guess I’ll follow you there,” I said.
“Okay. What are you driving?”
I suppressed a smile and pointed to the vehicle that Alex was already staring at.
“No shit?”
“Yeah. It’s mine. Conspicuous, but fast.”
“How long have you had it?”
“A while. Original owner was a friend of mine. It’s been taken care of.” I was the original owner, but could hardly say so. It wouldn’t make any sense to anyone who didn’t know what I was.
“Wow.”
I smiled and almost offered him a ride, but I didn’t want to be stuck in a car with him.
Charity seemed less impressed, but she was still looking.
“Alright, you can ogle her car later, Alex. Let’s get going.”
I nodded and watched while they got into their rental before turning on the Firebird and letting the purr of the engine take away some of my tension.
The first few raindrops splattered across my windshield as I pulled out of the parking lot behind the Hunters. I sighed. Rain would make this so much more enjoyable—or something.
By the time we reached our destination, a short hike away from the barn, the rain was pouring from the heavens like it was trying for the next biblical flood.
“Great,” I muttered, pulling up next to the Hunters and turning off my car.
I could see them discussing something inside, Charity shaking her head, adamantly. I wondered if she didn’t want to get out in the rain.
Both Alex and Charity had rain jackets. I, of course, had forgotten to bring one. Were I alone, that wouldn’t be as much of an issue since I could have used my vampire speed to get to the barn. I was going to get soaked.
They got out of their car and went around to the trunk.
I sighed and got out, too, meeting them. I almost stepped back when Charity pulled a rifle out of the trunk. It was a pretty nice looking one too, apparently modified for sniper work.
She didn’t point it at me, though, so I relaxed.
“Come on,” Charity yelled above the rain and occasional thunder.
I nodded and followed after them.
I was soaked by the time we reached the barn.
Charity stood close to me so she could bend over and talk in my ear. Yeah, I was short, and she wasn’t. Most people didn’t notice I was short until they got close. Of course, in the century I was born, I had been considered tall.
“We were going to try and get in the loft. We can observe from there.”
I nodded and led the way inside, slowly opening a side door to slink in. Charity and Alex were close behind. I crouched down in a shadow, working to get my bearings. There was light, laughter, and music coming from what seemed like an open area toward the front of the barn. The area we were in was dusty and damp. The water dripping from us and hitting the wooden floor was loud to me, even with the thunder and the painfully loud rain pounding down on the roof of the barn.
Once I had my bearings I glanced at Charity and Alex to make sure they were ready. They nodded and I crept forward, looking for the stairs.
We were in luck. There was a ladder in the back as well as in the front. It looked solid enough, so I started up, testing each rung before I put any weight on it. A few creaked, but compared to the rain and the party the noise was negligible.
Charity started up the ladder once I was halfway, and Alex started when I was at the top. I crawled out onto loft floor, gun in hand, and was instantly covered in dust. The dust turned to mud upon contact with my wet clothing. Great, now I’m covered in mud, too. This night just keeps getting better and better.
They followed, and we crawled to the edge of the loft. Below us, teens danced to the loud rock and drank. I scanned the crowd, and there she was. Our target. I was surprised that she was female, though not overly so. She was young, not any older than the teens themselves, at least in appearance. I suspected her actual age matched her apparent age. It seemed to me that she wasn’t the original cause of the problem. Someone turned her, and now she was either trying to turn her friends or getting revenge for past slights. It didn’t matter; she was going to die.
I was about to share my thoughts with Alex and Charity when I felt the cold steel of a semiautomatic pressed against my temple. I froze. Shit.
“Charity?” Alex said.
“She’s a fucking vampire, Alex.”
“Uh, if I am, then holding a gun to my head is probably not in your best interest,” I felt I had to interject.
I turned to look at her, the gun now pointed at the middle of my forehead. It was a tad uncomfortable.
“Wh—”
“Because, I’ll do this,” I grabbed the gun, pointed the barrel at the ceiling, pulled Charity to me, and shielded my body from Alex with hers, all faster than they could follow.
“Charity,” Alex whispered. I could see the panic in his eyes.
“Next time, Charity, don’t hesitate. Just pull the trigger,” I whispered into her ear. We still didn’t want to attract attention.
“I…I wasn’t sure.” She was panicking, too, and they were both damn lucky I had good control and wasn’t interested in killing either one of them. Yet. She had, after all, hesitated.
“If I were anyone else, you’d be dead because of that hesitation. Don’t ever forget it.”
Charity nodded. Alex sat up, his pistol pointed in our general direction, though not directly at us.
“Now, we have to…”
Shouts from down below caught my attention. I risked a look. The vampire girl pointed at Alex, and one of her friends—I was beginning to think thralls—put a rifle to his shoulder.
I could see him sque
eze the trigger.
“Shit!” I dropped Charity’s pistol and shoved her away, before throwing myself at Alex and tackling him out of the way. Had it just been me, I would have dodged the bullet; as it was, it hit me in the ribcage, just under my arm, ripping through my chest and exiting the other side. I was lucky it missed my heart. I gasped and fell to the ground, the world swimming around me.
I groaned, trying to gather enough energy to function for just a little bit longer.
“Kat!”
“I’m fine, really. Just stay down.” The mud and my dark, wet shirt would hide the blood for a little while. I clutched my side and inched my way back to the edge, ignoring Alex and Charity for a moment. I figured that saving Alex’s life would buy me a couple of minutes.
The vampire had the rifle now and was coming toward us. I was guessing that she intended to shoot through the floor. It made sense to me anyway.
I didn’t know where my gun landed, but the vampire was going to be underneath us shortly. I forced myself to my feet, crouching at the edge next to Charity and Alex. I flinched when Charity touched my arm.
“Here.” She handed me her gun.
I took it, nodding thanks, and jumped to the ground. It was a long drop and I almost collapsed when I landed. My ribcage was floating in my body cavity and bits were stabbing me in uncomfortable places. Fortunately, I knew I could heal myself later, or the pain would make me unable to function.
The vampire spun around and growled at me. Her minions ran toward me. I raised the gun and pulled the trigger, two to the head, one to the chest, which was backward of conventional. But then, she was a vampire.
She screamed. I was surprised she still could. The sound was blood-curdling as flames licked around her feet.
I scrambled backward, swearing. I hadn’t expected flames. She continued to scream as the flames enveloped her, and I continued to back away as the ancient dry floor started to catch fire.
“Shit.” The room swam again, my ability to focus fading. I struggled to my feet but fell, the world wavering, darkness fading from the edge of my vision. I couldn’t pass out now, or I would die. I had no illusion that the Hunters would come back for me. The barn filled with smoke, and I hoped I was crawling in the right direction. Finally, rain splattered down on me, and I could feel water and mud underneath me. I crawled as far as I could, and then collapsed, trying to remain conscious.