by J. Axbridge
Lawrence Karayan continued our way slowly before pausing once more as if sensing my deceit; he surveyed the area, and then hesitantly began walking the last quarter to the boat.
Chapter 66 – Arrival
Adelaide
Arthur, Ethan, me and the rest of the city protectors remained silent as we waited in positions around the front entrance. Just as we began to believe all was clear a large group of infected appeared on the road and made their way around the cars and debris moving slowly towards us. My heart was racing as thousands of them gathered together quietly just outside the gates, seemingly waiting for their master to return or a signal to attack.
“It’s those Black Eyes, this can’t be good,” Arthur said to me as he cocked his gun, the warrior in him was definitely more ready for this fight than I was.
To make matters worse, as the trail of Black Eyes grew larger, halfway to the entrance we spotted rogue werewolves mixed in with them, heads tilted down trying to blend in. My stomach churned from bad to worse and I felt for a moment that I might throw up seeing such an overpowering force building just outside our gates. To overcome my fear I had to look away and take deep calming breaths before glancing back.
“What do we do?” Ethan whispered.
“We hold them off, give the plan to rescue our sisters a chance,” Arthur replied, as he aimed his gun at the group of Black Eyes who were closest.
Seconds later shooting erupted below the tower we were in and Arthur instantly joined the firing. Bodies of the Black Eyes were piling up quickly but more kept coming. There were more Black Eyes than bullets it seemed and sooner than I’d expected they overtook the entrance and busted into the city. The city protectors had already began hand to hand combat with the vicious things but didn’t stand a chance against the strength of the Black Eyes and rogue werewolves working together as they savagely tore at the protectors’ heads and legs while engaged in fighting.
“My God, what the hell is that?” Arthur yelled as I was now in the fray trying to pick off as many werewolves as I could while climbing even higher in the south lookout tower.
“What is what?” I yelled back to him adjusting my rifle, getting ready to shoot again.
“That — that thing, there — look! Is that a werewolf or Black Eye or Red Eye or something totally different?” Arthur yelled, pointing to a grotesque figure walking threateningly through the fighting staring up at . . . me.
“SHOOT HIM!” I shouted to Arthur as I spun my gun around to take shots at that “thing,” myself.
“I think it’s coming after you Addie? It’s staring right at you! Keep shooting at it!” Arthur hollered, seeming more afraid of this creature than the others as this thing didn’t seem to be afraid of anything around it and didn’t even carry a weapon. At least not one I could see.
I fired shot after shot, missing by mere inches; Arthur started taking shots at it also, totally ignoring the others entering the city. Neither of us though were able to directly hit the grotesque creature and it eventually ran off disappearing through the fighting into the dimly torch lit city and was gone.
“SHIT! That’s not good. Whatever that thing was, it looked like it was on a one thing mission!” Arthur said, swinging back around to the front, once again shooting at groups of Black Eyes still filing in.
“Shouldn’t we go warn them Addie?” Ethan looked from the battle to the glow of the torches rising from the boat dock in the distance.
“No time to warn anyone, they’ll have to figure it out on their own, we have enough problems here.”
“That’s an understatement — LOOK!” Arthur yelled again, this time pointing down at the road. Vampires were also now entering by the thousands and it finally dawned on me that this was a battle we would not win today, not here, not now.
“F – IT! EVERYONE RETREAT—VAMPIRES ARE COMING. RETREAT TO THE DOCKS, TAKE THE BOATS! SAVE YOURSELVES!” I shouted over the fighting as loud as I could.
“Get to the zip line guys,” I turned to my brothers.
“What zip line?” Arthur looked around in panic as the vampires now began entering the city at high speed, joining the battle. A few of them unfortunately noticed the three of us perched on the platform above the entrance and began climbing up to get to us.
“ADDIE . . . , THEY’RE COMING,” Ethan hollered, holding onto the tower as it shook like we were in an earthquake.
“Get to the damn zip line — NOW! IT’S ON THE NORTH TOWER.” I pointed to the other side of the entrance as I lifted my gun and amazingly hit the first vampires coming up the ladder nearest us. Unfortunately that drew even more unwanted attention to the three of us as we tried to escape.
Arthur slung his gun over his shoulder and took off followed by Ethan. I almost fell, sliding more than climbing back down the south tower ladder to the platform before running at full speed across the narrow planks to a second set of ladders that rose up higher into the north tower.
“I never even noticed this wire,” Arthur said, his heart pounding as he climbed up to the top of the north lookout platform.
“I did, but I thought it was for phones with the ground or something,” Ethan shouted.
“Well thank God you’re both wrong. It’s a zip line so let’s get hooked in and get the hell out of here.”
Arthur jumped up on a very thin railing grabbing the zip line to steady himself, teetering back and forth.
“There’s only one line Addie?” Ethan said scared, watching vampires begin to now climb the ladder to our north platform.
“Arthur, hold on tight, you’re the strongest and we’ll hold onto you,” I said to him as I hugged him tight around the waist.
Arthur reached back, unlatched the trolley and grabbed the handles.
“GO, GO, GO, GO!” Ethan yelled frantically bear hugging me from behind even tighter than I held Arthur, “They’re almost here.”
“HOLD ON!” Arthur shouted back and pushed off with all his might sending us flying away from the platform rocking as Ethan and I held onto him as best we could. The vampires climbing up the second ladder leaped and only missed us by inches falling into the fighting going on thirty feet below, landing on several Black Eyes and humans hard.
The zip line took the three of us to the middle of the city where it ended abruptly, sending us tumbling to the ground hard. Ignoring the pain, cuts and bruises from our difficult landing, we stood hastily and began limping then running towards the boat dock as fast as our feet could take us, barely ahead of an advancing mob of death.
Chapter 67 - The Disfigured Thing
Hadwin Allister
Lawrence Karayan had finally neared the boat with the twins in tow when he’d heard the same loud thumping we’d heard, and the dock began to bounce noticeably under our feet.
“Ah, more help; you have room for one more, dragon!” Lawrence Karayan snarled wickedly as someone or something was running hard and fast down the dock towards us.
Ravot and I watched intensely, staring at the disfigured thing running hard, getting ever nearer. “This was not the deal vampire,” I said, still cautiously watching the thing coming closer.
“Deals change human,” Lawrence Karayan grinned turning back to face us. But Ravot and I still spied the running creature with unsure curiosity.
To everyone’s surprise especially Lawrence Karayan’s, the thing did not slow down hitting Lawrence Karayan full speed just above the waist, tackling him with a loud grunt into the deep waters at the end of our floating dock.
“That’ll do!” I stammered in surprise, trying to take in exactly what had just happened.
“GET THE TWINS!” Ravot hissed loudly, and two GuDra shadows swooped in from the dark of night lifting the twins by their shoulders and flying them high into the air.
The large werewolf that was with Lawrence Karayan watched in shock also, as the oversized vampire sank into the water kicking and screeching. Ravot didn’t hesitate; he unleashed his deadly fire engulfing the large wolf, which began screaming
in panic and pain then fell onto the dock before rolling into the water with a nightmarish sizzling noise.
Groups of retreating humans and werewolves were now leaving in droves, taking every available boat, loading them full and heading out into the darkness to safety. It was only then that I realized things must have been terrible at the entrance. As boat motors were firing up I only worried about my three children who were stationed at the front gate with the twins now safe in the hands of the GuDra. Looking around, boats big and small pulled away from the docks as fast as they could but there was no sight of Ethan, Arthur or Adelaide. On shore the Black Eyes, traitor werewolves and vampires continued their advance, attacking and killing those that were too slow or retreated too late to make it to the safety of their boats.
“Let’s go Hadwin!” Ravot hissed impatiently. “No need to stay now.”
“NO! We must wait for my children; I will not leave them here to die or be turned.”
Meten and Dako brought the twins back down to the boat safely and untied them. The drugs Lawrence Karayan had given them were still in the process of wearing off and the twins sat down feeling the effects of being both dizzy and sick, they’d muttered. Meten, Dako and Ravot then shot into the air to see how the battle was unfolding and if they could locate Adelaide, Arthur and Ethan.
“THERE THEY ARE!” I shouted, relieved as my three kids appeared in the distance, running hard. I hurriedly cut the boat ties readying the boat to leave as I stood on the end of the dock waving for my children to run faster when I heard a noise behind me and knew instinctively it was Lawrence Karayan. I whipped around only to witness him pull his giant frame back onto the dock in the blink of an eye, his ancient body dripping with water and blood from head to toe with noticeable rips in his clothing and gashes in his flesh.
“I TOLD YOU HUMAN, IF THIS WAS A TRICK YOU’D DIE!”
Chapter 68 - Lawrence Karayan
Adelaide
My dad’s face appeared to be in sheer shock turning at the vampire’s loud voice but he wasn’t fast enough to move out of the way. Lawrence Karayan reached back his long arm then plunged his hand deep into my dad’s chest, ripping out his still beating heart before snapping his neck. He’d released his full rage upon my father in one swift movement.
“NOOOO!” Arthur and I screamed lifting our guns and shooting wildly at the vampire; only to pause when we saw the grotesque creature that passed through the front gate appear, this time climbing up the end of the dock behind Lawrence Karayan. Reaching for Karayan’s legs the creature powerfully pulled Karayan back towards the water. Karayan’s face lit up with shock as he fell fast and hard, catching his chin on the end of the dock with a loud “crack”, before being dragged under the water and the world around us went silent for a moment.
“Did you see that? Arthur . . . DID YOU SEE THAT!” I yanked Arthur’s shirt sleeve jerking his body as we ran once more. I was surprised, and then shocked, then devastated as we came up to my dad’s lifeless body lying at the end of the blood soaked dock.
“See what Addie?” Arthur said, kneeling down beside our dad’s limp body. “Because all I saw was that vamp being pulled into the water by that thing after killing dad. Let’s take the break while we can and get the hell out of here, that’s what dad would want. I don’t want that thing coming after us next!” Arthur gently closed our dad’s eyelids before closing his own eyes resting his forehead upon our dad’s for a moment of peace within the surrounding screams and shouts of horror and death as still people tried to escape the city.
I knelt down beside my dead father on the opposite side as tears began to stream uncontrollably from my eyes. Looking up somberly, I stared at the water where Lawrence Karayan and the creature disappeared only seconds earlier, my mind screaming to leave yet my body was unwilling to move from my father’s side.
“Jump on young humans, do not delay,” Ravot hissed, landing back on the boat, handing the Book of Symbols to the twins. Arthur stood up clearly shaken, then reached across our father’s body pulling my shirt to get me up. I stumbled then half heartedly jumped on the boat to join Ethan, Victoria and Caelyn who were also now sobbing, staring at our father’s lifeless body lying still on the dock. Arthur took one last stare down the dock to shore watching the advancing vampires, werewolves and Black Eyes, then to our father’s body noticing what I had at the same moment, his wallet hanging out of his jacket.
“Get on now young warrior or we’re leaving without you!” Ravot yelled as the boat began slowly drifting away from the dock.
As vampires raced towards Arthur, he quickly grabbed the wallet from our dad’s pocket then leaped to the boat and ran to the controls pushing them full speed ahead and the yacht took off picking up speed rapidly leaving the advancing evil behind.
All I could do was gaze at my dad’s body on the end of the dock as vampires converged on it. Wishing more than ever that we could have taken his body with us but knew it was impossible. Then I waited in anticipation for the vampires to shoot onto the water to come after us. It was strange, although they had the ability to run on water, none gave even the slightest hint of a chase.
Chapter 69 – Adelaide
Lawrence Karayan
What is this beast that will not give up; I thrashed under the water as I fought the strange creature fiercely. Unable to break free from its strong grip, I for the first time in my long existence thought this may be my demise. I was going to surrender to my fate as my body plunged deeper into the abyss, exhausted when something else thankfully yanked the strange creature away from me, pulling it further out to sea and deeper into the dark murky waters leaving me on my own.
My fortune had changed, I thought, this is a good sign; it is not my time to die. A moment later I climbed back onto the long floating dock and promptly spied Adelaide Allister on the escaping boat in the distance and in her eyes I saw fear, she knew her nightmare was still alive, that I was still alive and I was going to kill them once and for all — NOW.
Chapter 70 – Help
Adelaide
“Arthur, look,” I grabbed Arthur’s arm and swung him around. “Lawrence Karayan, he’s still alive!”
Arthur zoomed in on the dock, focusing the best he could as we bumped over waves spraying water over the front of the boat.
“Holy shit, it is him, but he’s not on the dock, he’s on the water heading this way. At that speed he’ll catch up with us for sure.” At this point my three younger siblings’ eyes filled with panic as we stared behind our boat watching the large vampire approach at an unbelievable speed.
“Can’t you shoot him with your fire Ravot?” Ethan asked as his body bounced around on the bench in the front of the boat as he held onto the silver railings to stay seated as best he could.
“If the beast comes closer, yes, otherwise it’s a waste of my energy and flame.”
“Does this boat go any faster?” I loaded my gun as best I could as we continued to bounce over the waves. “I’ll try to slow him down,” I said, aiming then firing round after round steadying my arm as best I could with each shot, hoping at least one would hit its mark and slow the large vampire down.
Chapter 71 – Help
The Grotesque Creature
Suddenly I was in a very different struggle, fighting for my life under the deep dark ocean waters, unsure of what happened and what thing had a hold of me. I . . . I can’t breathe! I thought in panic, trying to release myself from some sea monster’s grasp. That’s when a burning pain surged through my finger and suddenly I found breathing underwater possible. Not understanding how that was, but realizing the sense of drowning had disappeared, I turned my full attention back to the sea monster, kicking, punching and biting as hard as I could to get away from its deathly hold on me.
It was a battle I thought I may never win but my tenacity paid off, I dislodged myself from the underwater monster with a series of punches and knees to its soggy body. Once free I swam straight up to the surface to find my location after having bee
n dragged out to who knows where. Surfacing I swiveled in circles in the dark until I finally spotted a boat heading away from land at full speed, a moment later I watched the large vampire, still alive, jump onto the water sprinting after it. Without hesitating I swam as hard as I could but there was no way I was going to make it to the boat before the vampire. Very quickly it was apparent that I wouldn’t make it to the boat at all. I wasn’t nearly fast enough or strong enough to catch any of them and I began to slow my pace about to give up, and instead focus on getting back to shore alive.
If only I could swim faster. I thought annoyed, when suddenly a second finger on my hand burned in pain and I felt my legs begin to kick ferociously fast. I dove under the water for less resistance and kicked even harder sending my body slicing through the murky cold waters towards the large vampire and the boat at a speed I never thought was possible. A moment ago there was definitely no chance in hell that I’d get to the boat on time, now it was only a matter of seconds before I reached the unsuspecting demon.
Surfacing, I found that the large vampire was only feet from the boat as he reached out, his long fingers just touching the back when what looked like a large dragon, shot a stream of molten fire at him. The fire stream had worked, keeping the huge vampire at bay having to slow a bit while moving side to side away from the flames, giving me a chance to get even nearer. The giant vampire didn’t give up that easily and having out maneuvered the dragon’s fire stream multiple times, he was crouching about to jump to the boat when I launched myself out of the water from behind, tackling him and sending both of us tumbling in a high speed wipeout. Skipping over the top of the water our arms and legs flailed about until we skidded to a stop only feet away from each other. In the darkness as I treaded water I tried to locate the vampire to resume our unfinished battle, but he seemed to have disappeared.