Neckbeard Vampire: Nightbeard Rising

by David Morgan

  Chapter 16

  “She’s stable now,” the doctor walked into the room, wiping his hands with a towel, “thanks to Fantasia.”

  “So it worked?” Mickey asked.

  “It’s a temporary fix—but yes.” Dex answered. “The blood transfusion should restore her strength for now. However,” and his expression turned grave, “based on what I’ve seen in the past—if we do not destroy the Dakimakura, then she will turn completely. And then we will have to kill her.”

  Silence filled the room.

  Dex turned to Chad, “How long has the Dakimakura been feeding on her?”

  Chad scrambled to answer, Dex’s presence intimidated him. He stood tall—breaking well over six feet. His broad shoulders and barrel chest made Cruxx seem petite, and the trimmed, but thick facial hair made Chad’s own wispy, pubescent facial hairs curl in fear.

  “Speak!” Dex demanded.

  “A week!” Chad answered hastily. “A week…I think.” He added, “That’s when she came into school looking tired. She seemed exhausted, complaining of nightmares and a cat and…then there was Darren…and Paxton…and…” Chad continued on.

  Dex and the guild sat patiently, attentively listening to all of Chad’s story from the first appearances of the mysterious Dasha to the present situation.

  “As interesting as all of this anime-vampire shit is, I’m afraid I have to draw attention to the fact that our friend here,” Jaxxon5 pointed to Dex, “isn’t just a hunter—but it also seems he’s being hunted. Now it seems the furries managed to trace things to the comic book store—somehow—but unless we all want to become surgically transformed into pony sex slaves, I suggest we find another safe house that is not connected to the guild in some way.”

  “You certainly have a way with words,” Mickey responded. “But I agree—the furries are dangerous, and they’re not to be underestimated. Frankly, unless it’s in the safety of Cruxx’s blacksmithing shop, I don’t ever want to run into ‘Jiggles’ again.”

  The team became aware of the collective confusion of Chad, Randall, and Johnathan, so they quickly reviewed the history of the Furries, causing Johnathan to shout out, “OH! I’ve heard of them! I have a friend who is one!”

  At which point everyone turned their eyes to him expectantly.

  “…well…” he finished, feeling the stares of everyone in the room, “at least we’re acquaintances…” he stopped again and then added, “Those guys are some sick puppies.”

  “Yes. We’re aware,” Mickey continued. “Regardless, the present issue is that, considering Dex’s condition, we need a new safe house. We cannot risk, under any circumstances, the location being tied to the guild lest we be discovered and attacked by Furries.

  “We need room enough for Dex and the Doctor experiments with the sample, so that he can kill the Dakimakura.” Fantasia said.

  “I’m afraid it’s not going to be that simple,” Dex said. “I cannot take the Red Pill, so I am losing strength with every minute, the signs are already beginning to show. My physical transformation will be only the beginning, and then I will become one of her servants….turning against you all. You do not want to have one more enemy on your back. So I must train you. It will be up to you all to kill the Dakimakura. I can help you—I can guide you and train you. Together, you may be strong enough.”

  “Why not just kill her now? We know where she is!” Randall shouted.

  “What?!” Dex turned to him. “Why didn’t you speak of this before?!”

  “We’re speaking of it now,” Chad answered. “She is at my friend Paxton’s house. I…saw her there.”

  “Describe it to me.”

  “My friend Paxton,” Chad began, “He lives in the basement of his house.” Dex nodded, signaling him to continue. “We went down there this morning—right after dawn. We thought it’d be safer.”

  He swallowed hard and continued to tell the entire story, describing the mildew and the rancid smell. He went into grotesque detail, telling of the re-filled Dew bottles and the endless Dorito crumbs of the Cool Ranch.

  Dex confirmed, “I can’t tell for certain without seeing it for myself, but it sounds like one of her chosen lairs. All the pieces of the puzzle fit.” He sat silent for a moment, thinking to himself, “Tell me, where does she rest; what is it like?”

  “That’s the strangest part,” Chad said, “She was in the crawl space—separate from Paxton’s room. But she didn’t sleep in a bed or anything, but like a small wooden box.”

  “A coffin.” Cruxx said.

  “No.” Dex corrected him, “Continue,” he motioned to Chad.

  “It was a small wooden box, maybe three or four feet long, and I opened it—I felt like I had to—it was covered in anime pictures and Manga. And then…”

  “What?” Dex said. “What happened?”

  “She was there. Well---she was on the pillow.”

  “The pillow?” Mickey asked.

  “Yes, it was a long pillow. It was her—but it wasn’t. I mean it was her picture…or it looked like her. It was long, like a person—and she looked beautiful—like an anime girl.”

  “A body pillow.” Dex said, “It is the resting form of the Dakimakura.” “Continue, Chadwick,” he said.

  “It was her…I thought it was just a picture—but I knew it was her. And then…” Chad stopped himself. He did not wish to speak of the way she looked at him. He felt naked at the thought of it. He did not want to tell them of her penetrating gaze. He stumbled over his tongue for a moment.

  “…and then?” Cruxx asked.

  “…and then…then we ran into Paxton—and that was it. We left and found Kara. And here we are.” He concluded his story.

  Dex stood up. “Perfect!” He exclaimed. “There’s hope!”

  “It sounds like we’ve got a fighting shot at this!” Mickey said.

  “Yeah! You can take her out!” Cruxx was excited too.

  “Yes,” Dex proceeded. “There’s a good chance I can destroy her, but it’s not without risk.”

  The rest of the guild sat silently, intently listening.

  “We can prepare for the--,” and Dex cut himself off, “DUCK!!!”

  He threw himself to the floor, pulling down a few of the others with him as the rest of the guild dove behind furniture. The quiet that had, second before, filled the room was now utterly destroyed by the spraying barrage of repeated shots. The sound was of breaking glass and pounded walls as bullets poured through the windows from several directions, creating a storm of dry wall, dust, and broken appliances.

  Every member of the guild lay on the floor, motionless, shielding their heads with their arms and trying their utmost to flatten their bodies against the floor. Bang followed bang as the bullets of Thompson guns pounded the walls and furniture without mercy.

  After a few seconds, the bullets ceased and Dex crawled over to the window, looking up just enough to see outside. He ducked again quickly as another wave of bullets poured in where his head had just been.

  Outside, raging voices could be heard voices, marked with calloused laughter, shouting insults at their would-be targets. The laughter was followed by curses of frustration, the empty clicking of a jammed gun, and the screeching of tires as they sped off. Dex looked out the window again, just in time to see a low-riding Cadillac take off. The driver and passengers could not be seen—except for a long tail, striped yellow and black, clamped in the driver’s door, hanging low and almost dragging on the ground.

  “Furries.” Dex said. “They found us!”

  “We’ve got to move NOW! It’s not safe here anymore!” Mickey shouted.

  “We can go to my house!” Chad shouted, temporarily deafened from the noise of the drive by.

  “What? Chad, don’t! It’s too dangerous,” Randall grabbed him.

  “We’ve got a big basement!” Chad defied him, “but we’ve got to go NOW!”