by I D Johnson
“Won’t your parents miss them?”
“No, they’re mostly the ones we never put up and a few of my own I’ve collected over the years,” she explained. She pulled out a Christmas tree shaped ornament. “See, it’ll be perfect!” Setting it aside, she reached back into the box and promptly pulled her finger out, with a sharp, “Ouch!”
Jamie glanced down to see her finger was bleeding. She quickly shoved it into her mouth out of instinct. “Are you all right?” he asked.
“Yes,” Ellie assured him, leaning forward to glance into the box. “One of them must’ve broken.” She stared at her finger. “It’s not too deep is it?”
Careful not to touch her, as he still hadn’t explained anything to her about what he was or what he could do, he glanced at the slit in her finger. “No, it’s all right. You might need a bandage, though. I’ll get you one.”
Before he could step away, she reached out and put her uninjured hand on his bare arm. “Thank you, Jame--” she said, but even while she was still speaking, her voice changed. “What in the….”
Frozen for a moment, Jamie continued to stand with his back to her. She’d never had an injury before in all the time they’d been dating, so he’d never been in a situation where he was forced to tell her what could happen. He slowly turned back to look at her, staring at her finger in awe. “What… what happened?” he asked, trying to sound innocent.
“My finger!” Ellie shouted. “Look! It’s… it’s healed! Completely!”
“Let me see,” Jamie said, sitting back down next to her and taking her finger in his hands. There was no need to avoid contact with her now since he’d already healed her. “Hmmm. Must’ve just stopped bleeding. The cut must be so small that you can’t see it now that there’s no blood.”
“But it doesn’t hurt anymore either, Jamie. Not at all. It’s like it never happened.” She continued to stare at her digit like she’d never ever seen it before.
“Very odd,” he said. “I think you should still put a bandage over it, just in case.”
“Why?” she asked, pulling him back down just as he began to get up again. She was eying him suspiciously. “Listen, I wasn’t going to say anything because I thought it was odd, but I bumped my shin on a desk at school the other day.”
“Yes, I can see why you would think that odd,” Jamie said, squinting at her.
Ellie rolled her eyes. “Let me finish. I had a big bruise on my shin. But then, I noticed later, after I’d had dinner with you, that it was gone. The bruise had been about this big,” she showed him with her hands in a circle about an inch in diameter, “all blue and green. Now, nothing.” She pulled her skirt up just enough to show him.
“Bruises heal.”
“In an hour?”
“Sure,” he shrugged.
“And… last week, I had an awful headache. But the moment you touched my hand, my head suddenly stopped hurting.”
“What are you saying, Ellie?” Jamie asked, wondering how far she was willing to go.
“I’m saying… I’m saying… I don’t know. But… something seems odd about you, Dr. James Joplin. You’ve never told me how old you really are. I know you don’t sleep much at all. I thought it was because of the stress of your job, but you don’t seem too stressed. You go out late at night with your friend, who is also a little odd, mind you. When you eat, it isn’t much. I feel like you’re just eating because I am. You have that odd black box you carry around in your pocket. What’s going on, Jame? Is there something you’re not telling me?”
Dropping his head, Jamie ran a hand through his hair. “Yes, El. There’s something I’m not telling you.” He looked up to see concern all over her pretty face. Slowly, he ran his hand along her cheek, caressing her jawline. “I’m… an alien. I’m from the planet Borgon, and I’ve been sent her to pillage Hawaii of all the beautiful young women.”
“Oh, stop!” she exclaimed, swatting at him, but he grabbed her around the waist, and as he began to chuckle, so did she until his lips were on hers and they had moved on to other things. As the kisses deepened and Jamie’s hands moved to work the buttons down the front of her dress, Ellie whispered, “This isn’t over. I haven’t forgotten you’ve dodged my question.” His lips pressed into the flesh between her neck and shoulder, and she breathed, “But you can tell me later.”
“I will. Later. I promise,” Jamie said, scooping her up and carrying her to the bedroom. The Christmas tree, the explanation, all of it could wait until later, and while part of him hoped she’d let it go, he knew in the back of his mind if he was to have a future with this woman, he’d need to tell her the truth. And a future was exactly what he was looking for because there was no doubt in Jamie’s mind that he loved Ellie.
The sun was a sliver over the horizon as Aaron steered the Buick Century down a deserted highway headed toward Kahuku Sugar Mill. They’d arranged to meet a local Hunter, a man Jamie didn’t know, by the name of Taavi near a row of abandoned plantation houses. Rumor had it some Vampires had been using them to hole up in during the day. Aaron reminded him of the situation as they went along. The buildings were at least a century old, and the plantation was 6000 acres. How anyone knew for certain where the Vampires were hiding was behind Jamie, but he knew Ellie likely wouldn’t even be up by the time he got back to his apartment, let alone have left her parents’ house, but she had the afternoon shift at the diner, so even if it took a few hours, he hoped to be back in time to have lunch with her before she headed to work. He had a feeling between the two of them, he and Aaron could handle just about anything the island Vampires had to throw at them regardless of what this Taavi person had to offer.
Aaron pulled the car to a stop on a narrow gravel road. Up in the distance, Jamie could see a stocky male form standing amongst the trees. They got out of the car and headed that way. “What’s his name again?” Jamie asked before they reached him.
“Taavi Kalani,” Aaron replied. Jamie couldn’t help but notice the man standing in front of them looked a little uneasy.
“Good morning,” Taavi said as he shook their hands. “Thank you for coming out and meeting me today.”
Aaron introduced Jamie and then remarked, “Beautiful day.” The sun was mostly up, though there was still some darkness beneath the trees. “What do you have for us?”
Gesturing to a group of three buildings set off from a drive just past the trees in a small clearing, Taavi said, “The houses are over there. I think they are in there now. I’m sure they were out late last night.”
“You’ve seen them?” Jamie asked as they stepped back under the cover of the palm trees. The group was far enough away that any inhabitants might not notice them unless they were on the lookout, but it was always best to be cautious.
“Yes, and last night we got a report that a young lady was taken from the streets in Honolulu. We think they are the culprits. They are getting more brazen.” Taavi shook his head as he was speaking, like he was having trouble believing the lengths these Vampires had gone to.
“Did one of our people actually witness this?” Aaron asked. Jamie could tell by his demeanor that his friend had underestimated the seriousness of the situation. Until now.
“It was the daughter of a Hunter who claims to have seen it. She has not yet Transformed and could do very little, but she said she could tell by their pale faces that they were undead, these people who snatched the young lady from the street near her home.” Taavi’s explanation was eerie. The sooner they got these monsters off of the street, the better.
Jamie had heard enough. “Well, if that’s the case, we may as well get this over with right now.” He pulled his revolver from its holster and checked the ammunition.
Catching Aaron’s eyes, Jamie could see a bit of surprise, but then he shrugged. “Do you have a weapon, Taavi?”
“Just the wooden stake I always carry with me,” Taavi replied, patting his pocket. “I guess we are not as advanced on the islands as you.”
“Not a
lot of areas are using this new weaponry yet,” Aaron explained. “I’ve got an extra in the car. I’ll be right back.” Jamie knew he was referring to the new bullets he’d had a hand in designing. As Aaron rushed off to the Buick, Jamie stood with Taavi, neither of them saying anything at first. It was a bit awkward, but Jamie was mentally preparing to go to battle, and he wasn’t in the mood for small talk.
Taavi had something else in mind. “So… what’s the plan?” he asked.
Normally, Jamie would’ve left that up to Aaron, but since he’d been asked, he surveyed the situation for a moment and said, “I think we should go around back and let Aaron clear the first building. He’ll be better at it than either one of us.” He assumed if Taavi had never used a gun before, Aaron was the best candidate. “Then, we’ll move to the next house.”
A moment later, Aaron was back. “Sound like a plan?” Jamie asked, turning to him. “You clear ‘em one at a time’ we’ll keep an eye on the back doors?”
“Uh, yeah,” Aaron agreed, handing his extra revolver to Taavi and making sure he knew how to use it. Taavi held it like he was afraid it might accidentally blast his hand off.
“If I had known we were doing this now, I’d have brought a few friends,” Taavi muttered.
They began to move into the positions they’d discussed. “May as well get it over with. You said you thought there were eight of them, right?” Aaron asked
“That is our estimate,” Taavi acknowledged.
“We can take eight,” Jamie assured him, thinking Aaron could probably take eight by himself, especially if they were asleep and he had the element of surprise. Jamie gave a hand signal he hoped Taavi would understand and nodded in Aaron’s direction as he approached the front of the house. Jamie and Taavi quietly slid to the back, weapons in hand.
“I think we should back up a bit,” Jamie whispered, “and spread out.”
“Okay,” Taavi said, but there was a questioning tone to the word.
About the time that Aaron’s first shot rang out, Jamie heard movement in the middle house and then in the one on the far right as well. He barely had time to yell at Taavi to get ready when a stream of Vampires came flooding out of both back doors, and from the sound of it, there was a commotion in the front as well. “Aaron! Cover the front!” Jamie shouted as he opened fire on the band of ghouls heading at them. Taavi was over by the far house now, taking aim at the monsters who were clearly running to save themselves without thinking about what they might be running into, and as Jamie took careful aim at those coming out of the middle house, he was thankful Taavi was a pretty good shot for someone who said he hadn’t handled a gun.
Jamie didn’t have too much time to think about it, however. A middle aged woman was the first to fall victim to his silver bullet, followed by an older man with long, dark hair, and a girl who only looked to be ten or twelve. Despite the fact that he knew she was already dead when he shot a child, it was always difficult for Jamie. Next, two men came charging at him at the same time. He managed to shoot one squarely in the head before the other ran into him. Jamie flew back into the air, making contact with the trunk of a palm tree, but he managed to hold onto his gun. He fired at the back of the large man who’d knocked him off his feet, and like the others, his aggressor went up in a poof of ash.
Whirling back around just in time, Jamie saw a large woman soaring at him, her teeth barred, her claws out. He ducked down, and she went flying over his head, careening into the same palm tree he’s just gotten to know. He shot her and then realized he was out of bullets. There was one more Vampire, a young man, who’d manage to make it about twenty yards into the tree line. Jamie glanced in Taavi’s direction and saw him giving chase to a teenaged woman as well.
Jamie holstered his revolver and sped after the boy. The bloodsucker might’ve run faster if he would’ve stopped glancing over his shoulder every few seconds, but his anxiety allowed Jamie to catch up to him, and just before he got to the thicker part of the rainforest area, the Guardian flung himself at the boy, knocking him to the ground. Before he could even shriek in protest, Jamie had ahold of his head and was cranking. It popped off a few seconds later, and he was left sitting on a pile of ash.
Slowly getting to his knees, Jamie saw Taavi standing with his hands on his thighs a few feet away. “Did you get her?” he asked.
Taavi shook his head. “She got into the trees, and I lost her.”
“That’s all right,” Jamie assured him, looking off into the rainforest the best he could. There was no sign of the last Vampire anywhere. “We’ll get her another day.”
They slowly made their way back to the houses and Jamie took a seat on the front porch of the middle house, Taavi lowering himself down as well. “Do you think Aaron could use our help?”
“No, he’ll be fine.” Jamie was certain of that. A few minutes later, Aaron came through the tall grass. Jamie, who had been polishing his revolver, slipped it back into his holster, thinking he needed to reload it, just to be safe. “Well, that didn’t go as planned.”
“You can say that again. How many did you take out?” Aaron asked, looking a little more winded than Jamie expected.
“Five, but one got away,” Taavi explained. “We’ll have to track her down later.”
“I took out seven. I guess the estimate was just a little off.”
“Guess so,” Taavi nodded. “Sorry.”
Aaron laughed. “Don’t apologize. I think it’s just evidence that there is a growing problem on the island.”
“Yes,” Taavi agreed. “We need to get it back under control.”
“I’ll let Jordan know. Let me know what we can do.” Aaron assured him. Jamie stood, thinking it was time to hit the road. He had places to be, people—person—to see.
Taavi was a little slower to rise. “Thank you,” the Hunter said, offering his hand, which Aaron took. “Oh, here’s your gun.” He pulled the revolver from his waistband and offered it to the Guardian.
Aaron waved him off. “Keep it. I’ll get you more of the special ammunition it takes. It looks like you might need it.”
“I appreciate it,” Taavi replied. He shook Jamie’s hand. “Doctor, thank you for your assistance.
“No problem,” Jamie smiled, thinking he’d like to work with Taavi again someday. He was a pretty good shot and followed directions much better than some of the people Jamie had worked with over the years.
Walking back to the car, Jamie said, “Well, that’s enough excitement for one day!” He couldn’t help but hope he’d get back to his apartment to find Ellie had come to pay him a visit.
“Yes, it is,” Aaron agreed. “I’ll be perfectly content to spend the rest of the afternoon finishing up paperwork, staring out the window at the ocean.”
“A lazy Sunday morning in paradise sounds good to me,” Jamie muttered as he climbed into the passenger seat of the car, wondering if Aaron had any idea he wasn’t talking about the island. The smirk on his friend’s face told the doctor he probably did.
They headed back toward town, mostly in silence. Jamie glanced at the time on the dashboard and saw that it was almost 8:00. He imagined Ellie was likely still sleeping. However, as he was daydreaming about her, a strange noise caught his attention. He and Aaron exchanged glances as they realized they were hearing engines, lots of them. Off in the distance, in the sky above the harbor, Jamie could see a fleet of aircraft, and to his horror, they were not US planes.
“They’re bombing the fleet!” Jamie shouted as a Japanese Zero buzzed past them overhead. It was low to the ground and looked as if it was completing a bombing run. “Get me as close to the hospital as you can!”
While Aaron was not in the military, Jamie was certain he knew the kind of disaster such a surprise attack could entail, and Aaron hit the gas. The closer they got to town, the louder the sounds of war became. Zeros circled over the ships in the harbor, dropping explosives that shook the ground, and gunfire rained down all around them with no regard for civilians
or the fact that the US hadn’t even declared war.
They were perhaps a mile from the hospital when a Zero pelted the car with bullets. The engine wound down, and Aaron pulled it over. Jamie couldn’t wait to try to find another ride. Without a word, and not caring who may see him, he took off in a blur toward the hospital, knowing there would be more wounded than they could possibly handle.
The sting of bullets hitting him did little to slow him down as Jamie sprinted to his post. He slowed only slightly as he entered the hospital yard. Already, he could see streams of people being brought in on gurneys or whatever they could find. Some appeared to be sailors from the ships in the harbor, others civilians or those who had been ashore sleeping on an early Sunday morning, some who had been preparing to attend church. The Japanese were as indiscriminate about their victims as dysentery or the Bubonic plague. Immediately, Jamie pulled on the gloves he always kept with him and began to triage patients. The airplanes overhead began to fire into the people standing outside, and Jamie watched in horror as some of the medical staff were shot directly in front of the hospital. It occurred to him that there were no US planes in the air, and if none of the Navy birds could get off of the ground, he had no idea how they could possibly survive this attack.
Jamie began to give orders, and while it did seem that the Japanese were not intentionally bombing the hospital, he had no idea how safe the people standing outside might be should there be another rain of bullets, or worse, a bomb. He began to direct everyone to get inside, and then began to treat the worst of the wounded.
Quickly, Jamie fell into treating those who had a chance at survival. At first, they were mostly gunshot wounds, but then, perhaps an hour after the attack began, sailors began to come in with burns. The skies quieted for a while, allowing more of the injured to be brought into the hospital, before a second wave of attacks began, and another barrage of bombs fell from the sky.