by J. Axbridge
I couldn’t argue with that logic, she was right. Switching my knife to my left hand, I gently grabbed the golden door handle with my right turning ever so slowly until it unlocked with a soft click. Butterflies swarmed my stomach suddenly and I felt nauseous as I pushed the heavy door inwards. Except for another click of the lock as it slid passed the steel door strike, the door opened smoothly without any more sound.
Sliding into the room one by one we realized we were standing on a large balcony that had black spiraling staircases on either end heading down into the main room. Looking around in awe, we were in the grandest room I’d ever seen in real life. The place was surrounded by windows on all sides which were unfortunately covered with long black drapes letting in only the faintest of rays from the first sun. Yet the rays that did shine through the cracks shot across the room like laser beams illuminating an abundance of dust particles dancing softly in the air.
Staring down into the main floor area, I found it odd that there were so many couches cluttering the space and lots of single beds lined up around the outer edge of the room along the walls. My first thought was that this beautiful room must have been used for storage, but on closer inspection followed by Ethan’s tugging on my arm and then Caelyn’s terrified deep breath; it’s what was in those beds that made all of us suddenly fear for our lives. All at once our bodies stiffened as boards with the realization that we had stumbled across a large nest of vampires taking their nap during the first sun. We were in their lair. This hotel was their home.
“Holy crap,” I muttered under my breath clicking off my flashlight as panic set in, motioning for my siblings to do the same. “Those are freaking vampires down there; it must have been one of them walking last night in the mall?” We need to back out of here as quiet as possible . . . , like now, move it,” I whispered in a shaky voice pushing my siblings to scoot backwards towards the door.
“See, curiosity DID kill the dumb cat,” Caelyn whispered back opening the door painfully slow and stepping out into the hallway first, followed by Ethan then myself. Being last I pulled the door slowly towards me trying not to make a sound, turning the handle back into position only after the door was securely shut. We each let out a sigh of relief only after I’d let go of the golden handle and stepped away.
“Who are you?” A voice rang out down the dimly lit hallway without warning, from where we had first entered this floor. The three of us jumped back in fright almost crashing into the door we’d just exited. With our hearts pounding with fear we tried to make out whom or what the shadow was that just spoke to us.
“Who are you?” The man’s voice repeated urgently now. “Wh . . . wh . . . why are you here? You mus . . . must leave at once!” He stuttered.
“We’re sorry, we didn’t know anyone was living here, we’ll leave if you’d just let us by?” Asked Caelyn, keeping her composure as best she could, especially after just discovering we were trapped in a skyscraper full of vampires. I myself was about to freak out and lose my mind.
The man paused a long moment before speaking again which caused my skin to grow clammy with goose bumps.
“You do kn . . . know that if these va.. vampires find out you’re in their nest, they will k . . . kill you. The head of this particular nest is beyond evil. And he’d ma . . . ma . . . make sure you’d have an excruciating, slow death, sucking you dr . . . dry of all your blood while the others he calls his children would watch before he’d let the newly changed s . . . s . . . suck whatever was le . . . left of you. He’d go one by one. I’ve seen it happen more than once t . . . t . . . to kids and adults of all ages.”
“So you’re going to let us go then?” Ethan asked, his scared voice cracking.
“Young man, it’s not that simple,” The man replied. “But I will hel . . . help you escape.”
“Why would you help us? You don’t even know us and . . . aren’t you a vampire too?” Caelyn glared skeptically at the man in the shadows.
He laughed, began coughing and then continued laughing. “I’m not a vam . . . vampire; I’m a prisoner of these abominations. I’m just a d . . . doctor that the vamps keep alive for when hu . . . humans of interest or infected are brought out here. I guess technically I work for them, but it’s either that or my death.”
The three of us just stood stock still, not moving or saying a word.
“I un . . . understand, you kids are confused. Let me ex . . . ex . . . explain. Vampires bite humans instinctively and ask qu . . . qu . . . questions later so they can’t get many answers from humans before they turn them or k . . . kill them. I am still one hundred percent hu . . . human and a doctor and I ca . . . can get answers from humans without the urge to suck their blood. The infected ones th . . . though, the vamps make me do experiments on them, trying to figure out wh . . . wh . . . what makes them tick. Many vamps have been k . . . killed by the infected because they are immune to vampire bites, they never cha . . . change.” The doctor said his voice almost giddy with approval of the vampire deaths.
Ethan slowly raised his hand, “Umm . . . , when you say ‘infected ones’ are you talking about the ‘Red Eyes’?” He asked, like we were sitting in class.
“Is that what you ca . . . call the in . . . infected people? Re . . . Re . . . Red Eyes?” The doctor raised an eyebrow smiling. “Well . . . , that makes a h . . . . hell of a lot of sense, they do have red eyes after all. It’s a catchy na . . . name too. If you don’t mind young man, I’m going to use your de-scription and go with ‘Re . . . Red Eyes’ from now on instead of infected.” The doctor continued smiling from the shadows; he seemed to be on our side yet was still blocking our way past him to the stairwell. He continued peppering us with questions and we answered the best we could but I was getting antsier by the second and I could tell Ethan and Caelyn were too with their fidgeting and knuckle cracking. It was definitely time to leave.
“I’m sorry, I’ve forgotten my ma . . . manners, let me in . . . in . . . introduce m . . . myself properly. I’m Doctor Xavier originally from M . . . Mi . . . Michigan. You can call me Docky if you’d like, most of my friends used to call me that.” The doctor stood straight and tall before walking into the light and reaching out his hand to shake ours as he approached. “And what might be your na . . . names?” He inquired, shaking our hands one by one, all the while curiously spying us.
The doctor was not very tall, maybe around 5’7” but he was stocky with broad shoulders and had a look of strength about him. Now that we could see him closer up, he was surprisingly cleaned up like he’d just stepped out of his office. His hands though were scratchy and rough and felt like vice grips as he gripped mine to shake.
“I’m Victoria Allister,” I said, shaking his solid hand tentatively. “And this is my sister Caelyn and our little brother Ethan.” Who shook the doctor’s hand half heartedly with a limp wrist.
“I need to ask you once more; you’re sure there isn’t m . . . more of you here? Do you have any other friends or relatives that are a . . . a . . . alive? W . . . Why are you here? W . . . Where are you going?” The doctor asked the same questions he’d asked earlier. He had many strange questions for us but I wasn’t about to argue, it sort of felt like when my parents would quiz us if we’d stay out past our curfew.
“Well . . . we have an older brother and sister but we got separated from them while fighting with those, ‘Red Eyes’ and we need to get back to land to find them,” Caelyn said, an urgent tone ringing in her voice.
“Our brother and sister don’t even know where we are!” Ethan shouted out.
“Shut up Ethan!” Caelyn and I yelled at the same time not wanting to give the doctor more information than was necessary. Obviously Ethan had never been interrogated by our parents and didn’t know when to shut up or how to give as little information as possible so as not to get in trouble.
The doctor stared for a moment as if deciding what he should do with the three of us.
“OK, let’s go. Fol. . . Follow me please.”
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Chapter 26 - Rule Earth
Lawrence Karayan
I’ve waited ages for my time to rise, for our time to rise, when vampires would once again rule the earth as we did thousands of years before. It’s only a matter of time before I am the supreme ruler of this decrepit land, yet the key to my reign is the capture of the SymJin – I must find the ones the Fairy Prophecy talks of, the ones who possess the special markings.
The SymJin I believe will lead me to the “Book of Symbols”, the most powerful book on earth, and it will undoubtedly ensure my world conquest.
Yes, it is true I came close to capturing them once, tracking them to the Morgan’s home only to have my children lose them on the lake. But this time, this time they are coming to me, but how? Are they coming after me, do they know my plans? Are they powerful? Strange, but the familiar scent I’ve been searching for, the scent of the SymJin floats on top of the breeze drifting into my nest, stirring my powerful ancient senses.
Flashing to the window and peering out, looking over The Great Lake in the direction from where the scent emanated, I searched. To my surprise and sheer delight a small fishing boat was approaching and within it were three SymJin. Oh yes, I can detect their distinct scents, yet two are missing and I believe I need all five for my plan to succeed.
“DOCTOR XAVIER, I HAVE A JOB FOR YOU!” I bellowed down the hall and in mere seconds I heard the doctor hastily scamper towards my room.
“Doctor, as fortune has it there are three young . . . humans approaching my nest in a small boat. I need you to find them and speak to them, find out why they’re here and where their other two siblings are? Take notice if they are carrying a book with them and most importantly, look at their fingers, see if they have any strange markings on their fingers, ” I commanded Doctor Xavier, who bowed obediently.
“How do you know they have other sibling’s Master or who they even are and what type of book and their fingers . . . ?” Doctor Xavier asked, apparently still asleep having forgot his place. He is not to question me. Insolence I must deal with at a later time.
“Never question me or my orders doctor. Your job is to do as I say or die like the others before you. Now go find the human children and befriend them,” I yelled. “And do not tell them vampires take up residence here or they will distrust you no matter what you say.”
The doctor hastily returned to his room for a change of clothing and set about finding the three SymJin children as I’d ordered. He knew his duty, but I felt he was conflicted? He knows he must obey me, the leader of the vampires and soon to be leader of the world or he will be killed; yet the look in his eyes makes me surmise he may try to escape. I will watch him closely and kill him if necessary. It’s good he still does not know I can read his dreadful human thoughts.
I wonder if they’re coming to kill Lawrence Karayan. The doctor thought. Is he afraid of three kids? Can simple kids destroy that evil man? And what about that book, I wonder what that’s about? No matter, I must do my job or my life will be over.
“Yes doctor, your life will be over, it seems you may be able to read my thoughts as well.”
Chapter 27 - Where Is Everyone
Adelaide
Jax and I headed south along the cool water’s edge trying to put the sky scraper directly east and in front of us. We were losing a lot of time and ground back tracking but I was adamant about finding the twins and Ethan before moving on. Leaving without them was never an option in my mind. I’d rather die trying to find them than leave them alone in this nightmarish hellhole to fend for themselves.
Walking hastily what we estimated was a mile or so down the shore line littered with decaying remnants of a pervious life, we finally found a safe, elevated place to camp for first darkness. We settled on top of a train car half submerged in the water where we were able to view the lone sky scraper on one side and keep a lookout for Red Eyes on all the others. Looking up into the dust and brown tinged sky above that continued to keep the warming sun rays out most of the day and where bright stars, planets and the moon once shown at night, we discussed how we were going to get to the building in the water.
“We can search for a boat or find materials to make our own, anything that floats could do as long as there’s not a strong breeze heading in a different direction. We could definitely paddle out there; it’s not that far,” Jax peered out at the darkening building.
“You think so . . . , maybe . . . I don’t know? How did we get into this mess?” I looked out at the building longing to find my brothers and sisters. “DAMMIT . . . I still can’t believe I decided to break us into groups. I pray to God they’re safe out there,” I punched the top of the train car causing an echoing thud to reverberate throughout.
“Addie, remember if they made it to the building then they obviously have a boat themselves and what’s to stop them from taking it back here tomorrow. One of us needs to keep an eye out there while the other searches for a boat or materials to make a raft as soon as it’s light enough.”
I lost it as soon as Jax said the unspoken word, “if.” All my reasoning shut down and my emotions took over. “What do you mean ‘IF’ they made it there? Of course they made it there and we’re going to help them get back as soon as the first sun comes up. I’ll keep watch and you find us a boat - GOT THAT JAX!”
With my sudden emotional outburst the conversation all but ended for the night. I reluctantly contemplated that the chances of them being there were slim to none but I appreciated the fact that Jax didn’t push his viewpoint any longer only to upset me even more. He knew the only way I’d calm down was to inspect the sky scraper myself and I was grateful that he was dedicated to making sure I got out there. Definitely my soul mate! I took a deep breath smiling then closed my eyes trying to regain my composure and rest before our trip out to the building next light, but my mind wandered continuously and I found that sleep had severely disagreed with my plans of a much needed rest.
Chapter 28 - Leather Bag
Arthur
Mayumi and I spent the entire night cuddling close together keeping each other warm and I was in heaven. What teenage boy wouldn’t ask for this? Not the death and destruction of course but a real Manga Princess by his side both day and night. It was as good a night as it could get under the circumstances. There were no disturbances from the Red Eyes or vampires and having battled long the day before, our bodies shut down during the night giving us the well deserved deep rest we needed for a faster recovery both mentally and physically. I slept so well my nightmares did not even rouse me to wake.
As a new day broke, the first sun rose brightly for the first time in a long time and we felt rejuvenated as we awoke still hand in hand. Though, as soon as Mayumi realized this she pulled her tender, warm hand away, startling me out of my dreamy state.
I hope she didn’t think what happened the night before with her and I was because we had survived a life and death experience and nothing more, because she means the world to me. I thought. Maybe she believes that for me its puppy love. I am a year younger after all, but we’ve been through so much. She can’t believe that . . . I won’t let her believe that.
I must have looked confused after Mayumi pulled her hand away abruptly, because she grinned awkwardly without at word. Then instead of talking about it, we simply packed up the little we had unpacked the night before and prepared for another day of survival and to find our lost family and friends. It was good while it lasted though. I thought slightly disheartened.
“Arthur, what is in the leather bag?” Breaking the awkward silence Mayumi asked after noticing me take a small leather pouch out of my pack while organizing my food and journals before shoving it back in without a thought.
“This?” Reaching inside my pack I pulled out the small brown leather pouch once more. “This is a survival kit Ethan made each of us. He keeps a journal of how to survive on your own in the elements too, both from before the showers and now even after the showers. It’s really quite good actually,
for eleven Ethan really knows his stuff.” I said, holding the bag up for her to see. “Anyway he made a survival kit for each of us with items from home along with stuff he’d picked up during our travels, including the stop at Jax’s house.”
“Well come on . . . , what is in the bag?” Mayumi asked curiously. I knew having spent so much time with her lately that as a Huntra she continually taught herself survival skills and was curious as to what an eleven year old would put in a survival kit. For her, the teacher’s age was not important when it came to learning new things especially when gaining new knowledge that could save you in a life or death situation. She was both a teacher and a student on a daily basis.
Suddenly I felt stupid and more than a little embarrassed as I really hadn’t paid much attention to the small pouch Ethan had given me until now. Slowly I pulled the leather pouch strings apart opening it, then carefully shook the contents out to have a look.
“Wow, he gave you a lot of great items. Look at all of this,” Mayumi pointed to each item excitedly, “Fishing string, sewing needles, matches, mini survival knife, bandages, toothbrush and paste, water purification tablets, ibuprofen, plus mini hand sanitizer, iodine and rubbing alcohol. Ethan really knows his stuff for such a young kid, and what’s this leather card holder?” Mayumi lifted it, handing it to me curiously.
“I’m not sure,” I said as I slid out the contents. “HOLY CRAP,” I shouted in excitement, “I didn’t know he took these from home. I wonder if he gave one to each of us.”
Of course Mayumi knew instantly what the item was used for and she knew just like I did that we now had a better chance in communicating with and finding the rest of our group.
“That’s a nice signaling mirror,” Mayumi looked it over in more detail. “I have used these in Japan as part of my training. This makes it possible for us to communicate with everyone, as long as they are looking for a signal of course. I have read that some of these mirrors can even be seen at one hundred miles away on a clear day,” she said, looking out into the distance. “Unfortunately we do not have clear skies most days, but we only need to send signals a few miles at most and this morning is the brightest I’ve seen in weeks. So this should work, we just need to find the highest point possible and then signal towards the east in the early morning before the sun’s rays are above those fallout clouds.”