B00724AICC EBOK (35 page)

“
That really hit the spot.” Keith kicked the body, rattling a nearby cup and saucer. The victim’s pants leg was utilized to wipe his mouth. He considered that if he could do so much damage as a single vampire, how great it would be to form a platoon. Who better to lead such a group? Would it be possible for fifty vampires working together to more or less take over New York? The thought of all those people screaming was simply divine.

Keith went outside the trailer and paced into the darkness of the forest. He had indigestion and walking often helped it. A loud belch of unpleasant gasses went into the night. With each step taken he imagined different scenarios of people cowering in their houses waiting to become lunch. He fantasized about eliminating all those red sheriffs one by one, which would enable the biters to wander and do whatever they wanted without the risk of retribution. His smile was delicious, literally; he licked the blood off his lips and enjoyed the taste immensely. Another belch went through the forest, this one even louder than the first. The owl flew off deeper into the woods.

Suddenly, the back of his head came off as a black bear swiped and connected with its huge claws. He had been so cocooned in his own immoral thoughts that he failed to detect the approaching bear. Keith screamed out in pain as the wound healed, but the dirt in the bears claws went through his circulatory system and temporarily weakened him. The forest commenced to swirl as he swung and missed the bear, instead taking a chunk out of a nearby tree. The animal was on him tearing out pieces of flesh and he screamed with the searing pain.

“
Get off me!”

The bear’s powerful jaws snapped loudly within an inch of his face, its breath reeked from feeding on a rotten deer carcass. His right fist managed a glancing blow with the animal’s temple and the jolt made the mammal’s brain dance in its skull and stunned it. Keith pushed the bear to the side and got to his feet, but he staggered around as if inebriated; his body felt strange as it tried to compensate for its injuries. The vampire staggered to the left and ended up head first against a tree. He crawled on his knees, finally locating the animal about a minute later, killing it with a powerful right hand that shook the ground. “That’s what you get!”

CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN

DRACULA LOOKED LIFELESS on the forest path near Martin Street. The sound of the rain falling in puddles seemed loud to their vampire ears. The dagger protruding from his heart didn’t look real but it was. The situation was like a scene out of a movie. The Master was so still in his black Armani suit that even though he was very handsome he looked creepy. The blade had some blood surrounding it but not much as the rain diluted it. It was noon but to Stephen, Luke and Noah it felt like midnight on a lonely deserted island. Time appeared to have halted and the seconds felt as if they were frozen in thick ice.

They stared down at him in disbelief; he was prone with his head near the bench. One hand was on his chest near the blade, with his left hand down to his side. The rain pelted his face and the excessive precipitation flowed off like tears. Even though it was genuine the situation felt dreamlike. They didn’t know how to feel about it as they stood in silence. Reality had turned to doubt. Dracula dead was something difficult to imagine, and much harder to observe in what was their reality. Luke cracked his knuckles after interlocking both hands. Noah attempted to rub some of the stress out of his forehead. It was a mixture of emotions for all of them.

Luke nodded out of respect. “He looks so peaceful.”

Stephen looked at Noah, who in turn glanced at Luke. They all thought the exact same thing. Was Dracula really dead? They were still alive. The vampire race had not ceased to exist. But his skin had not turned to dust either. He was the original vampire so what his demise would look like was anyone’s guess. A crow cawed from across the brook and interrupted the sound of the rain. The Master was so still and so close that it was eerie seeing him lying there.

“
That crow scared the shit out of me!” Luke admitted.

Noah turned to Stephen. “Well? Do you feel any different? Do you have his power or not?”

Stephen looked inward in an attempt to gage how he felt. Was he now the Master? All he could feel was a little sadness at the situation. The biter actually stared at both of his hands as if expecting to see something. “Don’t feel one bit different. Maybe it takes a while. Or maybe it didn’t work at all. Maybe Dracula made it up put the word out so that someone would eventually track him down and kill him.”

“
Are you sure that’s him?” Luke rubbed the back of his neck. “That is Dracula? Right? I’ve never seen him in person.”

Stephen nodded. He was unsure of what to do or say but it was indeed the Master. It was a moment that should go down in the history books, but would it? Stephen sat on the bench and simply gazed down at the dagger sticking into his chest. Ten minutes passed as they continued to get wet. Thunder rumbled ominously and a bolt of lightning lit up the area.

Luke bent down to look closer at the corpse. “He doesn’t look dead to me. Why isn’t he bones?”

“
He doesn’t look dead to me either.” Noah also bent down and placed his hand on the dagger but was too frightened to remove it. “I can’t do it.”

“
He must have really been suicidal.” Stephen scratched the back of his head. “That was too easy. He didn’t even try to kill us.”

Luke couldn’t take his eyes off the body. “Should we just leave him here?”

The crow swooped down and landed a short distance from them and cawed, as if trying to tell them something. The bird walked around in a circle, cawing now and then. The vertebrate made the surreal situation even more so. They were perplexed as they continued to watch the bird. Noah thought that there was something seriously wrong with the animal.

Noah went over and sat on the other side of the bench. “Maybe that stupid crow wants to feed on him? They are scavengers and will eat road kill.”

Noah and Luke spoke simultaneously. “Do we bury him?”

Stephen considered how to dispose of the body. “We could get some gasoline and burn him. How are vampires going to know that we killed Dracula if we don’t show them proof? No one will believe what happened here. I’m not even sure I believe it.”

“
We could bring him into his house, call some people and have a party. Get some photos taken. The more vampires that know what happened here, the more word will spread.” Luke also took his place on the bench as it commenced to rain harder.

“
That won’t work because there’s no one there to invite us in.”

“
But he’s dead. Doesn’t that allow us to just go right in?”

“
I don’t know.” Stephen kicked at the Master’s shoes. “This location will become famous throughout the world. The exact place where Dracula died.”

They were becoming more proud of themselves at what they had accomplished something that no one else ever had. They were certain that their faces would forever be ingrained in history books. Stephen was visualizing statues of himself in different parts of the world. The crow started to dance, with its claws stepping out twice on one side, and then twice on the other. It appeared to have a tune in its head. It tried its best to shake its body and then its head. Dracula’s eyes opened but none of them noticed as they continued to stare at the bird.

Noah shook his head at the crow. “That crazy bird must have been someone’s pet.

Stephen pulled out his sword and showed everyone a devious smile. He approached Dracula with a great idea. “I’m gonna cut his head off. We’ll carry it around and show everyone.”

Luke agreed wholeheartedly. “Do it.”

Luke and Noah stepped back. They weren’t sure what exactly was going to transpire. Stephen raised his sword over his head and readied himself to decapitate the Master but then hesitated. He thought the situation to be so peculiar. He fought through those feelings and brought his sword down hard onto Dracula’s neck, hard enough to go straight through and dig into the ground. The blade of the sword broke in two.

Noah couldn’t believe it. “What the hell!”

Stephen stepped back to gather his thoughts. “His neck broke my sword! How the hell can that be?”

Dracula could no longer remain silent and commenced to laugh, deep and ominous. He stood and pulled the dagger out of his chest and the dagger slurped as it exited his chest cavity. He smiled. “I believe this belongs to you boys. It’s obviously not the genuine Hithroma.”

The three of them were temporarily unable to move because of fear. They knew they were dead and felt like fools. They blurred toward the Mill Road as fast as they were able. Dracula threw the dagger and caught Stephen in his left shoulder blade, exactly where he wanted to place it. The blow sent him forward and face down on the ground. His scream was cartoonish which made the Master’s smile even more pronounced. But he did not pursue them.

CHAPTER FIFTY-EIGHT

THE TEN HAD GATHERED in a hotel suite a little over twelve miles from Jenny’s location. They were in the bedroom with the king-size bed, with a loveseat and sofa all in the same room; they had never seen anything like it. Beyond the doorway was an elegant living room that looked to be fit for royalty. Why Sharpton wanted the child dead was a bit of a puzzle to all of them, but the fact that he did was enough. He was a fellow of considerable power and influence, and doing him a favor was never a bad idea. Now that they had agreed to do the deed, backing out of the bargain would be unhealthy for all of them. Why they had chosen them was a bit of a puzzle.

Bernard’s green eyes went to the black NIKE gym bag on the bed and imagined what was to be placed in it, Jenny’s head. He didn’t want any part in it but felt he was stuck. “So who’s gonna do it? I had bad dreams all day yesterday. Who does actually cut her head off?”

Archie approached the bag and sat next to it on the bed. “I guess I’ll do it.”

Gage was annoyed and on the border of being angry. “I ordered Bernard and Anthony to do it. Am I the leader of this colony or am I not?”

Bernard took the black bag and played with it. “Just because you want to be our leader doesn’t make it so.”

Gage closed his fists, cracking his knuckles in the process. Dissention this early in the game wasn’t good for anyone. “If we fight to determine who’s gonna be the boss, half of us won’t survive. What the hell will that accomplish?”

Anthony took the German glass decanter that had been previously filled with Woodford whisky and sank half of the blood in it. “Why do we need a leader?”

Gage was close to attacking Anthony for drinking his blood without permission. “That’s my blood you asshole. Why does a team need a coach? Bernard will kill the girl and Anthony will cut her head off and bring it back here.”

Bernard shook his head. “I told you I’m not killing that kid.”

Gage approached Bernard and they stood eye to eye. “You’ll kill her or I kill you right now. What’s it gonna be?”

Bernard considered it. “Okay, I’ll kill her but I’m not eating her.”

“
Who the hell said anything about eating her?” Saliva actually jumped onto Bernard’s forehead from Gage’s angry mouth.

Bernard wiped the spittle off his forehead. “He just spit on my forehead. Do we want a saliva thrower for a leader?”

Uberto laughed. “Gage, he’s trying to be funny.”

Anthony spoke from his prone position on the bed. “Gage, why do I have to cut her head off?”

“
Because as the boss I delegate.”

“
Why don’t you do it yourself? Maybe you’ll get extra brownie points for killing a little girl?” Anthony smiled and showed his teeth.

They all laughed. Bernard headed for the door through the living room but then suddenly halted. “Let’s get this thing over and done with. Anthony, are you coming or not?”

“
I guess so.”

“
Come on, I know the perfect place where we can set up the rifle.”

CHAPTER FIFTY-NINE

ALLISON SAT AT THE POLISHED KITCHEN TABLE with the scent of its lemon wax in the air; she sensed someone outside but she knew that she had to wait; her pretty eyes shifted to the left as she permitted a slight smile. She glanced past the white curtains but could see nothing, not being at the proper angle for viewing. Allison had a feeling of anticipation deep down in her stomach. She was not all that happy of a person, but for her daughter she was great at faking it. All the horrible things that were going on in the world weighed on her, not to mention the fact that her daughter was waist deep in it. Most nights were lonely. A profound breath was let out slowly and deliberately. A small dog barked in the area but suddenly stopped and commenced to sneeze. It had been one of those annoying little dog barks.

Allison was a little nervous although she knew she shouldn’t be.

Outside the figure stood tall and patient. He was as still as a tree in quiet air. He remained with his arms crossed as he went into Allison’s mind to poke around in there. She whispered from her mind to his for him to stop and so he did, but only after virtual kiss from one mind to the other was thoroughly enjoyed by both. A naughty smile lingered.