by Thomas Bach
“Eddie, get behind the truck and keep your head down.” James, Spencer, keep him covered.”
The figure moved closer as his face came into view. A full matted beard, the rest covered in dirt. His clothes were just rages, filthy and worn. He squinted to see us, then stopped 30 yards out. He wavered slightly as he waited to see our reaction.
“Stay right there, don't move!” I yelled. “What do you want?”
“Oh thank God, I haven't seen another human in weeks.” His voice was raspy, he moved his arms out to his side, “ I have no weapons, I wouldn't hurt you. Please, do you have any food or water?”
“Just stay right there and don't move. Spencer, go search him, James put your cross hairs on his head, blow it off if he moves.”
Spencer moved forward, he searched the stranger finding nothing, absolutely nothing on him. I looked over at Ivy, I could see she was as confused as I was over this odd stranger. She shrugged her shoulders and we moved forward, still at high alert. This stranger seemed so odd, so filthy and without a single item in his pockets. This area seemed like it contained a lot of items a person could scavenge, why hadn't he found new clothes or food or anything. He seemed more like an animal then a human. He was timid and scared but not of us. His eyes constantly darted around, ready to run at the first sign of trouble.
“Who are you? Where did you come from?” I asked.
He glanced at me for only a second then continued scanning.” I’m David Scott and I come from a settlement that was just outside of Chicago.”
So many questions were popping up in my brain but I wanted to keep it simple and take it slow. “Why are you here, are others with you?”
He stopped scanning and looked directly at me, I could see the tears starting to form in his bloodshot eyes. “I'm alone, their all gone now.” Tears began to roll down his cheeks, leaving clean streaks.
“Who's gone, where did they go?”
“My family, my friends.” He paused, a distant look filled his eyes, “everyone is gone.” His chin sank into his chest as he began to weep. He was a beat and broken man. At that moment I decided he was no threat to us, we were going to help this poor man.
“Come on over here and sit on the truck, we have food and water. Eat something and get yourself together, I want to hear more about what happened to you.”
The stranger made his way to the tail gate and sat down, still crying. Ivy retrieved a bag of food and a container of water from the cab of the truck and handed it to him. He engulfed the sandwich, it was obvious he hadn't eaten in some time. A few sips of water and he regained some composer. We all gathered around him, we were too curious about his story to worry about the stuff in the store right now.
“So what's your story David?” Ivy's soft voice asked.
David looked at us, but not really seeing any of us, as he contemplated where to begin.
“They attacked us almost a month ago now, so many, so fast, they overwhelmed us.”
James interrupted him and asked, “How many of you were there and how many of them?”
“We had a settlement just outside Chicago, we were doing well for ourselves. The attacks had slowed down and we all thought the end of those vampire creatures was near. We had food, water, security, at least we thought. We were building new roads, schools, houses. We were reclaiming some of the city, some of the past.” His voice began to quiver and the tears returned. “Then they started attacking our outer defense wall. Only a small group at first. I thought it might be one last desperate attack but then they just kept coming. The attack started at dusk, we held them off until almost midnight. That's when our defensive wall fell and they swept through the settlement killing everyone they found. We had an escape plan but once they breached the wall they moved so fast, they were worked up into a feeding frenzy, they killed so many.”
“How many of them were there, and how many of you?” I asked. I had to know, I had to know what we might be in for.
A short pause and David continued. “There were over 3,000 of us. Just over 200 got out.”
Ivy gasped and covered her mouth. James and Spencer were as shocked as I was.
“And how many of them attacked you?” I continued.
“It's hard to tell, at first it was just the slugs.”
“Slugs, what's that?” I asked.
“Slugs are the worker vampires, they are the ones in rags and stink. You know, the low life vampires, we call them the slugs.”
“Until a few days ago that's the only kind we knew of. In their last attack we killed a few that were in regular clothes.”
“So all this time up until now you have only seen the slugs?”
“Well yes,” I said. “How many kinds are there?”
“There are just two kinds, the slugs and the royals. The royals are almost like we are except they live by sucking blood.”
“What do you mean like us?” Ivy asked.
“They dress and bath, they live in groups away from the slugs but they control the slugs. We call them the royals because they like to dress a bit flamboyant, like old Kings and Queens. They have a social order with one vampire in charge of the others, we thought.”
“How do you know so much about them?” I asked.
“Year's ago we fought a large group of them. That time we overwhelmed them. We took a few as prisoners. They don't speak very well but we were able to get a lot of information out of them. We found where their leader was and killed him. After that the attacks slowed until we thought we were safe.”
“How many vampires attacked you? Where are they now.” I asked.
He took a few more sips; it was obvious this was painful for him. “It's hard to say, there were so many. Slugs and Royals all mixed together, killing, feeding. If I had to guess, I would say there were over 5,000 of those God forsaken things but I can't be certain.”
“Where are they now?” I repeated.
“Moving north I guess, coming this way.”
“Why do you say that, when did you see them last?”
“I was in one of the last vehicles to get out of the settlement. We went north for 3 straight days never stopping. They followed but we managed to stay ahead of them. Once we slowed they attacked again. All I could do is run, and that's what I have been doing ever since. They killed my wife, my children! Those damn bastards!”
I didn't want to keep asking but I needed to know. “When is the last time you saw one of them?”
“The night of the last attack, that must be several weeks ago, I don't know for sure. The far off gaze returned, he had been in survival mode for so long time blurred together.
“I do remember one thing from that night. Something that haunts me every time I close my eyes. The last group to attacked us was mostly Slugs, there were a few Royals, they were ordering the Slugs around. Then I remember seeing several Slugs move, almost in slow motion, to the side and fall to their knees. One large vampire emerged from the darkness. The other Royals turned to face him and bowed their heads as he passed. He was like their king or something. Dressed in a black flowing cape. His eyes, they penetrated me, I was looking at pure evil. And then, then.”
David broke down weeping, the events of the last few weeks were almost too much to take.
Ivy put her hand on his shoulder to provide a little comfort. “What Happened next?”
David continued through the tears, “It was as if he sensed I was watching, there were no words exchanged, no movement at all. I was as if the Slugs knew what he wanted and they just did it. Two of them just dragged her in front of him.”
“Who David, who did they drag in front of him?” Ivy asked. Her sweet, soft voice seem to provided no comfort.
Tears were rolling down uncontrollably now, “My Wife! That bastard killed my wife in front of me! There was nothing I could do, I watched that bastard extinguish her life, He sank his fangs into her neck and drained her. I went crazy and ran.”
Ivy gasped, she was crying now. The scene David painted in my mind
was unbearable. This poor man had been through so much. But now I wondered what we were in for, were they headed our way now? And if so, what could we do about it. I had to know, I had to find out to protect Station Hope. This scavenging trip just turned into a scouting mission.
6
We picked the store clean while David sat in the Dodge. Generators to light bulbs, anything we thought we could use. Half the cargo truck was full by the time we were finished. This was a good find especially for our first stop. David stared out the window, exhausted and in shock. He still had information that I needed but interrogating him further would have to wait. The day was half gone so we ate a quick lunch and headed further into the city. I was hoping to fill the cargo truck today and then the armored and 4x4's tomorrow. I'll have to rethink that based on the new information. We sat around the trucks, mostly in silence, and ate. David came out of the Dodge and joined us. He didn't say anything just ate and looked at us. After finishing we loaded up and drove down the street. This was a commercial area so I hoped finding another store would not be difficult.
We headed down what was once a nice boulevard, some of the trees that lined the middle had fallen onto the roadway. Either they had been hit by lightning or just died. The boulevard was wide enough that we could easily maneuver around them. As we rounded a corner a large strip mall came into view. A large department store at one end, a series of small businesses, and then a grocery store at the other. The grocery store would most likely be a waist of time. If there was any food it would be spoiled now, even the canned stuff was usually no good. Once in a while we find some dry goods that are usable but by now wild animals would have gotten to it. Depending on what we find in the other stores I might have James and Spencer check it out last.
We pulled into the old parking lot, now covered in grass and random trees. A few old cars were parked sporadically, covered in a thick layer of dust. A few light posts were knocked down, nothing out of the ordinary. The CB clicked and James voice came through loud and clear.
“Billy, Eddie here says one of those stores looks like an electronics store, he wants to check it out.”
“He wants to check it out?” I replied back with a sarcastic voice.
“Well, he wants us to check it out.”
“OK, which one is it?”
“Third down from the grocery store, the one with half the front window missing.”
“I see it, lets start there and make our way down to the department store. Swing around back and take a look then meet me in front of the electronics store.”
“You got it Boss, we will be right back.”
I watched the cargo truck travel across the parking lot and disappear around the department store. It still struck me funny when James called me boss, just not use to it yet. We met up in front of the electronics store and gathered in front of the Dodge.
“James, you and I will clear this store.” It was too small for all four of us to go into. “Spencer, you and Ivy stay out here and keep an eye on Eddie and David. It should only take a few minutes to clear it, then Eddie can go in and have a field day.”
We entered though the front window that was missing half the glass. The store was small with tight compact isles. Cell phones, car radios, remote control toy cars, and all sorts of electronic parts filled the selves. A few minutes later Eddie was picking through the selves with a big grin on his face.
“Is this the shit you were looking for?” I asked.
“Yes, yes this will do nicely. There is more here then I hoped for. We will need to take most of this stuff.”
“No problem, I'll send James and Ivy in to help load the stuff up. Try to hurry, it's getting late and I want to be back at the hospital way before night fall.”
“You'll get no argument from me on that.” Eddie said in his squeaky, annoying voice.
I walked outside and noticed Spencer was walking towards the department store, looking in all the store fronts. David decided not to leave the back seat of the Dodge, I think he felt safe there. James and Ivy were standing near the back of the trucks surveying the parking lot.
“Everything alright back here?” I asked, slapping James on the shoulder. He turned and looked at me not with his usual annoyed grin but a look of concern.
“He's freaking out, or just going nuts.” Ivy said.
“What does that mean.”
“He thinks someone or thing is watching us.”
My voice grew concerned as I scanned the parking lot, seeing no one I asked James, “did you see someone or something?”
James hesitated before answering, he looked away and lowered his head. “No it's just a feeling I have.”
“Alright then, stay here and keep a look out. Ivy and I will help Eddie load up the truck.”
From off to my left I heard Spencer yelling for us to come see what he had found. It must be pretty important for that big goof ball to be yelling so every creature around could hear him. I turned and raised my arm acknowledging we heard him. Ivy and I ran over to see what was so important.
“What is it that would make you yell like that?” He could see from my expression that I was a bit perturbed.
“Well look at this store.” He was as excited as a child on Christmas
It looked like all the rest, the sign over the door was covered in dirt and illegible. The windows were too dirty to see through, except for the little round spot Spencer had cleaned with his sleeve.
“I give up, what is it?” I asked getting a little perturbed. Maybe it was the stress of the day or the stories David told us, either way I was running low on patients.
Spencer stood there with a silly ass grin on his face. If he wasn't as big as a house, I'd kick his ass right about now.
“It's a gun store! and from what I can see it hasn't been touched.” That silly ass grin returned as he waited for our reaction. Ivy and I turned and looked at each other, simultaneously grinning. My first thought was back to my father and the people of Station Hope. How proud he will be, how happy they will be when we return with our treasure. We both ran up to the small clean spot and peered into the store. The entire side wall was nothing but rifles and shotguns. The glass case in front of it ran the entire length of the store and I could make out handguns, hundreds of them. In the middle of the store were a few chest high shelves hopefully containing ammo and other shooting supplies. This was the mother load, we had never come across a find like this.
“Would you look at that.” I said to no one in particular. “That's a shit load of guns.”
I took a deep breath, controlling my excitement. It was getting late and time was running out. “Spencer, you and I will clear this store. Ivy, go back and tell James what we found. Then help Eddie load the electronic shit.”
She gave me a quick kiss on the cheek and ran off towards James.
“Can you believe this, first the building supply store, then the electronic store, and now this.” Spencer's voice was filled with excitement.
“There's no doubt it's been a good day for scavenging. Let's stay focused and clear this gun store, I want to get out of here soon.”
It didn't take us long to clear the building, I don't think anyone has been around this area for a very long time. If there were creatures living close by there was no sign of them. Spencer brought the cargo truck and parked it in front of the gun store. Eddie and Ivy had half the bed of the Dodge full already. We would be out of room soon and out of day light. The department store would have to wait for another time. Spencer and I grabbed everything we could. Assault rifles, hunting rifles, shotguns, and handguns it was a smorgasbord of fire power. There was ammo of ever kind and lots of it. We took it all including the cleaning supplies. Ivy finished with Eddie and joined us. I watched as she walked to the back wall and looked into a finely made gun cabinet. She made an old army jacket and dirty blue jeans look so good. With one quick jab she broke the glass and reached in. She pulled out a classic Thompson machine gun with a straight mag. It was beautiful, rich wood
stock, sleek lines, unlike any other gun ever made. She turned and looked at me.
“This one is mine.”
I knew that tone, there was no point in arguing, she had made up her mind and that was it.
“I just put a bunch of .45 ammo in the truck, go load that bad boy up.”
She walked by with that little smile and strut that I loved. She was something and I was just happy to be part of her life.
7
The creature come out of no where, it had Ivy on the ground before any of us realized what was happening. Tripping as I spun out the front of the gun store I caught myself just in time to see Ivy struggling to keep the creature from ripping her throat out. The Smith & Wesson Uncle Phil had given me cleared it's holster, I placed the muzzle on the creatures temple and pulled the trigger. Blood and brain matter splattered out the opposite side of its head. Its lifeless body collapsed onto Ivy. Miraculously no blood reached Ivy's face, just a few drops on her shirt.
“Get this piece of shit off me!” Ivy yelled scrambling to her feet.
More footsteps behind me, I turned to see several more vampires coming out of the Department store and sprinting towards us. Their faces full of rage, each one of them bearing their fangs like a pack of wolfs about to kill their pry. The rat-tat-tat was deafening as Ivy's newly found Thompson sent .45 cal. Slugs flying past me. The creature nearest to me collapsed at my feet, half its head blown away. I raised my pistol and shot the second in the face at point blank range. The smell made me want to puck. Gunfire erupted around us as Spencer and James came to our aid. Thank God for it, the creatures were coming faster then Ivy and I could have handled. I emptied my pistol and transitioned to my rifle. James was switching out mags as Spencer continued to fire. There was no expression of fear in either of their faces. Instead there was a confidence, a determination, reiterating once again that I could always count on them when the shit hits the fan.