Jamie

by I D Johnson

  Jamie wasn’t even sure why they were going into the basement. Bo seemed to be of the opinion the vampire who had turned Col. Gage occupied that space and that he was some sort of nefarious creature of the night who slept in a coffin like the infamous Dracula rumored to be terrorizing parts of Europe, but Jamie thought most of that was simply folklore.

  The attack began on the front of the house just as Jamie and Kit rounded the corner and entered the back yard. They were still quite a distance from the cellar, and Jamie feared if this monster truly did occupy the space, the cacophony going on upstairs would soon wake him.

  Screams began to fill the night sky, the sounds of furniture falling over, though somehow the music continued to play. “We need to hurry,” Jamie said. “They’re going to need us upstairs.”

  Kit agreed and took off toward the back of the house. Jamie was surprised at how quick she was, though he could keep up. He wasn’t wearing a gown, however. As they approached the back of the building, they saw the cellar doors protruding from the ground on a concrete frame, just as Bo had foretold. “You ready?” Kit asked.

  “Ready,” Jamie confirmed, sprinting ahead of her so that he could be the first one to enter.

  Just as he reached the doors, a window on the second floor right above their heads shattered, spraying them with glass, and a piece of furniture came flying out. Jamie looked up in time to see a Vampire, dressed in coattails, attempting to fling himself out of the building. He was caught from behind by a pair of male hands, though Jamie didn’t see which of his teammates had prevented the escape, and a few moments later, another shriek filled the air above them.

  “Seems like they’re doing okay,” Kit muttered.

  Jamie didn’t take time to respond. Instead, he grabbed ahold of the doors and ripped them both from their frames, the bolt holding them together still in place. He tossed them to the side, bracing himself for a frontal assault, but nothing came.

  The stairwell that lay before them was steep and darker than the night sky behind them. Though their eyes could cut through the blackness to some degree, it was difficult to see what may lie before them. The stairs were infiltrated by cobwebs, and Jamie stopped several times to wipe the sticky, cotton fibers away.

  Once they reached the bottom, they found a dirt floor pocked with holes of various sizes that could’ve been tripping hazards to beings with less surefootedness. Jamie could see three timber posts ahead of him which he assumed helped support the part of the house that rested atop this space, though the narrow basement certainly didn’t occupy the entire space beneath the mansion.

  There were shelves lined with what appeared to be old bottles, tools, and other castoff, miscellaneous items, on either side of them, and before them there were a few larger pieces of equipment, but certainly not the coffin that Bo had spoken of.

  Shaking his head, Jamie formulated a declaration that they should head back upstairs, because there was clearly nothing down here. Just as he turned, about to give Kit his recommendation, a dark shadow bounded from behind one of the timber pillars, knocking Kit off of her feet and sending her careening into the shelf anchored to the wall on her left.

  She was caught off guard and let out a slight scream, but even in the dim light, Jamie could see her struggling to regain her composure and fight off her opponent. He, too, needed a second to realize what had happened before hurling himself into the fray.

  As Jamie moved to draw the vampire off of the top of his partner, he took in what appeared to be some form of a mutant creature. Either that or this monster was so old he had shriveled with time. He must’ve been only four and half or five feet tall in his present form, his skin a grayish pall in the little moonlight streaming down the stairwell. He had tufts of hair atop his misshapen, oblong head, and when he turned to snarl at Jamie, his teeth protruded from a dark hole of a mouth. His eyes were red and seemed to glow, and Jamie would’ve thought he was a demon if the familiar churn in his gut didn’t tell him this was, in fact, a vampire.

  He noticed right away that Kit was injured. Blood poured down her forehead from where she’d collided with the shelf. Additionally, the long, razor sharp fingernails of the creature had torn the soft flesh of her underarm even beneath her dress and jacket. Nevertheless, Kit fought to free herself, pulling a knife from a sheath at her waist and stabbing at the monster.

  The silver tip did more to injure the vampire than the cuts themselves, and each time Kit’s blade made contact with him, he screeched, but he did not let go. Jamie noticed his gray uniform seemed to be thin with age, and he wondered how many decades this beast had been wearing the same outfit. He didn’t pause to take in too much of the macabre sight in front of him as he did his best to grab the bloodsucker from beneath his armpits and lift him off of the woman on the floor.

  The creature was stronger than Jamie had anticipated, and he bucked, arching his back and trying to break free as Jamie held on tightly and Kit used the shelf to pull herself up to standing. She stumbled once, almost landing on the ground again, and Jamie attempted to get his hands into position so that once she was fully recovered, perhaps they could tear the monster’s head off.

  He wouldn’t get the chance, however. The beast stopped with his endeavors to throw Jamie off of his back and drove a sharp elbow into the Guardian’s ribcage instead. Stunned, Jamie lost his breath momentarily, giving the vampire the opportunity to free himself from captivity. With only a backward glance, he took off, headed to the stairwell and freedom.

  “My gun!” Kit shouted, dropping back to her knees and feeling around on the ground for the only weapon they’d have available to them that could take out the creature at this distance. “I can’t find it!”

  Jamie surveyed the area and quickly spotted the revolver in one of the many holes along the ground. He would only have a moment to grab the weapon and discharge it before the monster was gone. He’d never fired a gun at a vampire before, but he supposed it couldn’t be all that difficult. Scooping it up off of the ground, he took aim at the creature who had reached the top of the stairs and squeezed the trigger.

  “Careful!” Kit shouted, but it was too late. Once the weapon discharged, Jamie went flying backward with such force, when he slammed into one of the timbers holding the floor above them in place, the entire house shook. Dust and debris rained down on them, and once again, he found himself breathless. For a moment, his head smarted and his back ached, but he was able to heal himself quickly enough.

  Once he’d regained his composure, he took a moment to return his attention to the Vampire. “Did I get him?” he asked. He could no longer see the monster.

  “You did,” Kit assured him. “That must’ve been the infamous Col. Gage. No need to sweep up any of his ash, though,” she noted, holding out her hand to catch some of the flakes still falling from above them.

  Jamie hauled himself up off of the floor and dusted off his backside and then his shoulders. “Well, that was unexpected.”

  Despite the blood trickling down her face, Kit laughed. “Which? The vampire or the revolver?”

  “Both,” Jamie admitted. “Let me see your face.”

  “Not just yet,” Kit replied, already heading toward the stairs. “There could be others more seriously injured who may need your assistance.”

  Jamie couldn’t argue with her if he couldn’t catch her, so he headed up the steep steps behind her. Once they reached the top, they were both surprised to hear the music played on. “Perhaps they need our assistance,” Kit noted, and Jamie agreed, heading toward a door on the back porch. He assumed by now his teammates would’ve had a handle on the vampire revelries.

  The door led to a small attached kitchen space where they saw no one. Kit had her gun back now, the weapon in her hand, pointed up but ready to fire. They made eye contact and headed forward.

  Once Jamie stepped through the swinging doors that led to the parlor, everything around him changed. It was as if they’d stepped into a nightmare. Everywhere he looked, vampire
couples danced, their pale skin glowing in the candlelight, their fangs protruding. Ball gowns dating back hundreds of years twisted and twirled alongside tails as macabre partners made their way across the black and white marble dance floor.

  “Where the hell is everyone?” Jamie asked, stepping between ghastly couples. Kit did not answer, and he turned to see her more bewildered than he’d ever noticed before. He imagined this must be more than a bit terrifying. There had to be nearly fifty Vampires in the room, and from what he could see, she was the only Hunter, though none of them seemed to pay her any mind at all.

  They should’ve had teammates already on this floor. Jamie thought perhaps there were other rooms, but the parlor led to a grand staircase, and it seemed as if all was quiet on the upper floors as well. Where were the rest of their allies?

  “Maybe they retreated,” Kit said quietly in his ear. “I think we should go.”

  Jamie realized there was no way to tell if the rest of the team had decided it was too dangerous to stay in the house and exited while he and Kit were in the cellar. “I think that is a fine idea,” he said, and Kit began to back up, heading back the way they’d come.

  Just as she was about to step into the hallway that led back toward the kitchen, the quick paced waltz that had filled the room screeched to a stop. Violins shrieked and the piano reverberated in a missed chord. The room around them became eerily silent and fifty pairs of undead eyes fell upon them.

  As if rehearsed, the vampires squared their shoulders and shifted so that they were side by side in a ring of pale death. In unison, they bared their teeth, fangs protruding, and their clawed hands shot up at the ready. Even the daintiest of debutants, dressed in a light pink damask dress, became a demon from hell.

  Jamie felt Kit clutch his arm. “Jamie!” she said in a sharp whisper. “We can’t….”

  “We don’t have to kill them all,” he reminded her in a steady voice, his arm up in a defensive stance. “We only have to get you out of this house alive.”

  “Is that all?” he could feel her trembling against him and realized it would be easier said than done.

  Jamie withdrew a long blade from his waistcoat. “Get back!” he shouted. The Vampires hissed and took a collective step forward. “How many bullets do you have?”

  “Not enough.” Kit’s voice sounded meek, and he thought she might be crying. This was not the brave Hunter he had known for so long, but he couldn’t blame her. And while he knew the bloodsuckers could not kill him, they could inflict enough pain to make him wish he’d never made the costly mistake of interrupting their party.

  “What do we do?” Kit asked, her body still shaking with fear.

  Before Jamie could answer, the death marchers took another step closer. They seemed to be enjoying this new dance as much as they had the waltz that had just ended. While none of their ghoulish faces stretched into smiles, he could see a glint of amusement in the black eyes staring at him.

  “We go out the back,” Jamie said. “When I count to three, turn so your back is to me, and head for the door. Take out as many as you can, and I’ll be just behind you.”

  “All right then,” Kit quaked.

  “One… two….” The monsters took another step forward so that Jamie could reach out and touch the putridly pale flesh of their faces. “Three!”

  He lurched forward, swinging the knife around in an arch, making contact with a woman with raven hair, slicing into her arm and then catching her dance partner in the chest as well. Both of them shrieked as their flesh began to bubble up around the melted areas where he’d sliced them with the silver blade. Behind him, he heard three quick shots, followed by shrieks. Bo was right about one thing; Kit was a deadeye. The Vampires seemed caught off guard at first by the brazen actions of the Hunter and her Guardian, but as soon as the initial shock was over, the mass moved forward, and it was all Jamie could do to fend off the attackers as he attempted to help Kit clear a path to the door behind them.

  The vampires were undeterred in their quest to get to the girl, and soon he heard Kit scream she was out of bullets. They had only made it halfway down the hallway toward the kitchen, and though the vampires were bottled up trying to flee the parlor in their pursuit, some had slipped by and were attacking Kit from behind him. She had her knife out now and was doing her best to cut them down, but Jamie heard her wince in pain and turned to see a vampire rip into the flesh of her left shoulder. He jabbed his knife into the monster he had in front of him and then twisted in one fluid motion, bringing his blade around, catching Kit’s attacker in the jugular. Putrid black smoke stung his lungs as the vein burst and the Vampire dropped to the ground in a pile of ash.

  Commotion behind them coming from the kitchen caught their attention, and in a momentary pause, he caught Kit’s eyes. If the Vampires had caught onto their plan and come around the back of the building to head them off, there would be no way Jamie could get Kit out of there alive.

  A loud crashing noise came from behind the kitchen door, the sound of a table or workspace laden with dishes and silverware hitting the stone floor. Whomever was coming wasn’t being graceful about it, which suggested to Jamie it was an undead army.

  “Jamie!” Kit shouted as she simultaneously attempted to cut down another Vampire while bracing herself for what was about to come through that door. The pounding of footsteps grew nearer, and the door came flying open.

  “Jamie!”

  His eyes bulged from their sockets for a brief second before he exhaled in relief. “Margie!” he shouted. Never in his life had he been more relieved to see his sister. She was accompanied by two more of the Hunters he hadn’t paid much attention to.

  “What the hell are you two doing?” Margie asked as she dispatched the Vampire Kit had been struggling against and quickly cut through too more, clearing the way to the kitchen.

  “We came to help,” Kit explained, ducking under one of the other Guardian’s arms as he held the swinging kitchen door open for her.

  “We retreated. Twenty minutes ago.” Margie seemed more than a little perturbed as Jamie backed through the kitchen door, following her.

  “How the hell were we supposed to know that?” Jamie asked, following the rest of the team members out the back door. “We were in the basement.”

  Margie didn’t get a chance to reply before an explosion rocked the front of the house. Once again, Jamie found himself on shaky ground, and as he sprinted off of the back porch, he was happy to make contact with solid terra firma again in the form of a yard that had seen better days back when its caretakers had been alive.

  “What the hell was that?” Kit asked, sprinting behind the rest of the teammates toward the tree line.

  “That’s Bo,” Margie explained, pulling up short and stopping about twenty yards from the house, causing the rest of them to come to a halt as well. “He decided to use one of his silver bombs.”

  “Silver… what?” Jamie asked.

  “It’s an explosive filled with silver—silver dust, silver shards, silver everything. He was hoping we’d all be out by the time it went off, and I guess we are. No thanks to you.”

  Kit was reloading her revolver. “Won’t they just run out the back?” she asked, rushing back over to stand at Margie’s side.

  There was no use in responding. In front of them, a swarm of shrieking Vampires stumbled out of the house, which was now on fire. They crawled out of every opening available, sometimes knocking out windows as they frantically clawed for freedom. They burst forth, most of them were rubbing at their eyes or holding onto various body parts, and even from here, Jamie could see that skin was beginning to slough off of most of them. He could only imagine what those who were exiting out the front, where he assumed the brunt of the explosion had impacted, must look like.

  A few of them were actually on fire as well, and as a tall column of smoke filled the Southern starlit sky, many smaller pyres streamed across the yard. One monster dressed in a now tattered suit, collided with the t
ree line, and a row of magnolias went up in a blaze.

  Jamie and the others watched in stunned silence for a long moment before they realized now was the best time to get to work. Margie moved first, which shouldn’t have been a surprise, and before long, the Hunters and Guardians were mowing through the Vampires like fodder for a herd of starving bovines. Kit made quick work of them with her revolver, now that she had a chance to reload, while Margie preferred a longsword, which she used to decapitate one after another until the ground would’ve been littered with dozens of corpses were it not for the instantaneous bursting of the bodies into clouds of ash. By the time they were finished, the two halves of the team had met back up together and were standing in front of the blazing building.

  It wouldn’t take long for neighbors and other folks from the nearby towns to start heading out to investigate the structure fire. “We need to git to gittin’,” Bo suggested, and they headed for the spot about a mile away where they’d tied up their horses and left their carriages. Jamie took a glance backward, thinking he’d never forget the Gage Mansion and his first experience with silver bombs, which he sort of hoped he’d never see again.

  Once they’d made their way back to the pasture where their rides awaited, Margie waved goodbye to Jamie without much of a glance over her shoulder, and he let her go, riding a black stallion off into the night. Jamie hadn’t expected to see her here, and he had no way of knowing when he might see her again. That was okay, though. He knew she needed her space and her freedom. Besides, she wasn’t the woman he was concerned with just now.

  Kit had ridden in on a little trap with a single horse, and while she was readying for her departure, he noticed she seemed to be lingering. The moonlight caught her brunette ringlets, and he couldn’t help but stare at her for a moment. She noticed and turned to him, staring for a second before her face turned slightly scarlet and she looked away.