Rotter Apocalypse (22 page)

Backtracking to the first intersection, Derrick steered left onto it, and then left again onto the first street that paralleled Boul des Ecluses. There were only a few zombies here. Racing down it, off to his left he saw Cassi running between the houses, clutching her bleeding arm, with the horde chasing her. She spotted him and frantically waved her one good arm, hoping to catch his attention and have him come to her rescue. He focused his attention back to the road. At the end of the street, he steered left and then swung right back onto Boul des Ecluses. 

After traveling for two kilometers, signs advised that Route 302 was ahead. As Derrick drew closer, the number of abandoned vehicles lining both sides of the road increased, so he rode up onto the sidewalk and slowed, keeping an eye open for zombie activity. He cruised past a Burger King on his right and approached a Shell station when he saw movement down by the intersection fifty meters ahead of him. Pulling into the gas station, Derrick rolled over to the side of the building, parked by the men’s room, and shut down the engine. He reached for his Glock. It wasn’t there. Damn thing must have fallen out when he overturned the Harley. Nothing he could do about that now. Moving along the side wall, he checked behind the building to make certain nothing lurked there, and then retraced his steps back to the front. He couldn’t see inside the station because of the darkened windows. Crouching low, Derrick rushed across the parking lot to the outermost bank of fuel pumps and hid behind them to get a better view of the intersection.

From this distance, he couldn’t make out much. Abandoned vehicles blocked the intersection in all four directions, and he could discern movement between them. He estimated a couple of hundred of those things roaming around, most moving along Route 302. He could never cross from here and, judging by the number of living dead, he figured he’d probably run into the same problem anywhere along this route. Fucking Cassi. She made him come this way, and now he was trapped because of her. If the living dead hadn’t gotten her, he had half a mind to go back and—

A sound off to the right caught Derrick’s attention. A figure stood in the open doorway leading into the gas station’s concession area. Derrick froze, hoping it wouldn’t see him.

“What are you waiting for?” the figure said in a low voice and waved him forward. “Get your fool ass in here before one of those things sees you.”

Ducking down, Derrick ran over to the gas station. The figure stood aside and, once Derrick entered, closed and locked the door behind him. The darkened interior resulted from boards having been secured over the glass from the inside. A series of battery-operated lamps lit up the interior. The figure moved away from the door and walked over to Derrick. He appeared to be about fifty, with graying dark hair and mustache, and a gaunt physique. He extended a hand.

“My name’s Andre.”

“Derrick,” he replied, taking the hand and giving it a halfhearted shake.

“It’s good to meet you.” Andre stepped close and gave him a hug. “Damn, it’s been awhile since I’ve seen another human.”

“How long has it been?”

“A year, maybe more. I’ve lost track of time.”

“How long have you been here?” Derrick asked.

“Since the third day of the outbreak.”

Linda stirred. Gradually she regained consciousness, as if coming out of a deep slumber, only this time she rose from the dead as a vampire. The grogginess associated with sleep had been replaced with a heightened sense of awareness. She could hear a spider spinning its web and a mouse scurrying across the floor in the other room. She could smell things around her that she never knew emitted an odor, like the age of the wooden beams behind the walls, the accumulated dust and sweat in the mattress she lay on, and even the staleness of the air. That all paled in comparison to the powerful aura that inundated her senses, pushing its way to the forefront of everything else.

“Good evening, my child.”

Linda opened her eyes and rolled over. Vladimir sat in the corner on the floor. Although the room was pitch black, she could make out every detail, almost as if she wore night vision goggles with a red hue.

“Good morning… what do I call you?”

“Vladimir. I don’t like formalities.” He stood up and crossed over to the mattress. “How do you feel?”

“More alive than I’ve ever felt.”

Vladimir laughed. “So many people say that after waking up from death. I find it ironic.”

“I never knew it could be this way. The sights and smells and sounds I’ve never experienced before. And I feel so strong, so confident, so… so….”

“Hungry?”

Linda met his gaze, her eyes filled with lust. “Horny.”

Vladimir laughed again. “That’s natural. Right now it’s intoxicating. Some people find these sensations overwhelming. In time you’ll learn how to deal with them. The sights and sounds will fade into the background, like they did when you were human. You’ll always be able to tap into them. It’s what makes us superior to the humans. I’ll be here to mentor you.”

Vladimir held out his hand. Linda took it, lifted herself off the mattress, and moved up against her Master. She wrapped one arm around his waist and ran her hand up and down his chest. Her voice grew lustful. “Will you also be there to take care of my desires?”

“Of course.” Vladimir took her hand, raised it to his lips, and kissed the knuckles. “Right now, you must feed. The euphoria you’re experiencing is temporary. Like your other feelings, once the hunger strikes, it’ll be overwhelming.”

“Okay.” Linda clutched his hand.

“Let’s get the others, and then we’ll all get something to eat.”

*  *  *

When Robson heard the chains on the barn door rattle, he braced himself and hoped tonight’s outcome would be different. This time he knew what to expect and had prepared the others to stand up to Vladimir. He had no delusions about his position, and knew full well that being forewarned didn’t give him an advantage over the vampires. It only made them less vulnerable than they had been yesterday.

The door opened and the coven entered the barn. Everyone except Vladimir and Linda carried a lamp. They stopped by the entrance and formed a line. Vladimir continued inside with his latest sire holding his arm. Robson had not expected the extent of Linda’s transformation. Yesterday she had been a frightened, broken, abused woman. Now she strode into the barn with a confidence rivaled only by Vladimir. Rather than lower her head to avoid contact, like she had done at their first encounter, she kept it held high and met the gaze of everyone held captive. He also detected a sensuality about her that he had not seen before. Robson cursed himself for miscalculating so badly. He had hoped that when the others saw what Linda had become, it would strengthen their resolve not to join the coven. Instead, Vladimir paraded Linda before the others like a fucking poster girl for vampirism.

Vladimir stopped in the center of the group. Linda let go of his arm and walked in front of the others as if she were a model on a catwalk. Vladimir extended his hands toward her. “What do you think of your friend?”

“She’s not our friend anymore,” said James. “She’s one of you now.”

Linda stepped over and crouched in front of him. “That’s not true. Nothing has changed.”

“It hasn’t?” Ed asked. “What if we refuse to become like you? Are you going to drink our blood?”

“Yes.” Linda’s tone bore no guilt or remorse.

“Then you’re not our friend,” said James.

“I am, and I want what’s best for you. If you continue following Robson, you’ll wind up being eaten by the living dead.”

“How do you…?” Yukiko glanced over at Robson. He glared at her, his eyes warning her to stop. Yukiko went silent and bowed her head.

Linda moved over to the young woman and knelt in front of her. “How do I what?”

“Nothing.”

Placing her hand under Yukiko’s chin, Linda gently lifted her head until their eyes met. She spoke in a soft, comforting tone. “What is it you wanted to ask?”

Yukiko hesitated. “How do you feel?”

“I feel stronger, more confident, and more alive than ever.”

Robson laughed at that one, intentionally trying to goad Linda.

She ignored him. “No one is ever going to push me around again. Or take advantage of me. Or force me to do things against my will. I’ll never fear someone like Price again. The Prices of the world will fear me.”

“Everyone will fear you,” said Robson.

“Mike, I don’t have a grudge against you,” said Linda. “I wouldn’t be here now if it wasn’t for you. I had hoped you’d see how much better off we would be as part of the coven, and would encourage the others to join us. If you don’t want to, that’s fine. Don’t stop the rest of them. You have no idea what we endured under Price, the threats, the humiliation, the physical abuse. I do. I spent months living among monsters.”

“And now you’ve chosen to live among monsters again,” said Robson.

Tibor leaned closer to Dravko. “I told you he never liked us.”

“You know that’s not true.” Robson appealed to Dravko. “We worked well together.”

“And where did it get us?” asked Tibor. “Most of the coven was wiped out. We won’t let that happen again.”

Robson sought support from Dravko. The former master averted his gaze. “That’s the difference between humans and vampires. Paul offered you hope. You offer only death.”

“That’s not true,” Vladimir said, maintaining his pleasant demeanor. “We offer you a choice.”

“Some choice. Become one of you or become your food. It’s no better than what the rotters offer.”

Linda placed her hand on Yukiko’s shoulder. “Do you want to join us?”

The young woman shook her head and sobbed. Linda stood up and glared at her, doing nothing to hide her disgust.

“Wait!” Caslow stood up. “I want to become one of you.”

Vladimir nodded to Linda. She stepped over to Caslow, unshackled the chain around his ankle, and escorted him toward the Master.

“Who are you?”

“That’s Caslow,” Tibor snarled.

Vladimir’s expression grew stern. “You’re the one who abandoned his wife and daughter, and then hid during the raid on the compound?”

“Y-yes.”

Vladimir moved closer to Caslow, who lowered his head.

“Look at me.”

Caslow swallowed hard but obeyed.

“Now tell me,” said Vladimir. “Why do you want to become one of us?”

“B-because I don’t want to die.”

“Interesting.” Vladimir walked away a few feet. “You’re saying you don’t really want to join the coven, it’s simply preferable to dying.”

“No…. I mean…. it’s….”

Vladimir spun around and held up a hand to silence Caslow. “Let me tell you something, human. You are the only person in this group I would not allow to become a vampire. You’re a coward. If you can’t find the balls to stand up for your own family, how do you expect to stand up for the coven?”

“No!” Caslow said, starting to panic. “I could if I was as strong as one of you.”

“The only reason you want to join us is to save your worthless life.”

Caslow lowered his head again, his bottom lip quivering.

“I would walk out into the sunlight before I allowed someone as pathetic as you into the coven.” Vladimir stepped back over to him. “However, you can be of use to us.”

“How?” Caslow asked hopefully.

“As food.”

Clutching Caslow by the shirt, Vladimir spun around and flung him across the barn. Caslow slammed into the dirt in front of the others, the wind knocked out of him. The vampires looked to Vladimir for guidance.

“Eat! And don’t leave a drop behind!”

The coven morphed into their vampiric forms, dropped to their knees around Caslow, and plunged their fangs into his body. Except Dravko, who stepped back and tried to hide in the shadows. Linda’s eyes pleaded with Vladimir. When he approved, she rushed forward to the others. The sound of fangs piercing skin and of sucking was drowned out by the howls of fear and pain from Caslow. Yukiko refused to watch, closing her eyes and shaking her head back and forth in a futile attempt to block out the noise. Ed and James stared on impassively, while Corey’s face contorted in horror. Magda kept her head lowered. Roberta stared at Robson, her eyes pleading for solace he could not provide.

After a minute, the screaming and thrashing tapered off. One by one, the vampires stood and wiped the blood from their mouths. Linda kept on sucking even after Caslow’s body gave its final twitch. Tibor stopped her and helped her to her feet. She gazed at him, a euphoric expression on her face. Vladimir came forward, cupped Linda’s face between his hands, and licked her skin clean. He turned to the humans.

“Caslow made his decision. We’ll be back tomorrow for the next human.”

Vladimir ushered his coven outside. Tibor stepped up and gestured toward Caslow’s body. “What should we do with him?”

“Leave it. It’ll serve as a reminder of what happens to those who refuse to become one of us. Leave one of the lamps in front of the body so they can see it all night.”

Tibor obeyed and then joined the others, closing the barn door and chaining it shut behind him.

A deathly silence fell over the barn. Everyone avoided each other’s gaze and dealt with the event in their own manner. Robson had to contend with the horror of the spectacle that had happened as well as the burden of knowing he had failed. He had hoped to keep his people united, to present a strong front to Vladimir and hopefully work out a compromise. Any such hopes died along with Caslow. He knew he could count on Ed, James, and Roberta. The others were in doubt. If even one of them broke ranks, it would be impossible for him to maintain discipline. Even worse, he now knew he could no longer rely on Dravko to intercede on their behalf. Based on Dravko’s behavior, Robson assumed the coven’s former master had given up hope. Robson had to face the realization that he had no one way of stopping them from turning the rest of his people or draining them of their blood.

Robson did take comfort from the fact that he still had an ace in the deck. It would not stop the vampires from doing what they wanted to his people, although it would prevent them from harming anyone else.

*  *  *

Before the vampires reached the farmhouse, Vladimir stopped and motioned for Dravko and Tibor to stay back. He waited for the rest of the coven to go inside then spun around to confront Dravko.

“What the fuck was that back in the barn?”

Caught off guard, Dravko took a step back. “What do you mean?”

“You know damn well what I mean.” Vladimir moved forward, shoving his face into Dravko’s. “When the rest of the coven drained Caslow, you stood back and did nothing.”

“I wasn’t hungry,” he lied.

“Fuck you, you weren’t.” Vladimir shoved Dravko with his chest, forcing him to retreat. “Why didn’t you join in?”

Dravko could not admit that he found it impossible to terrorize Robson, or that he felt he owed a greater loyalty to the humans than to the coven. He bowed his head.

“Answer me!”

Tibor inserted himself between the two vampires. “Dravko was holding back because Robson has been good to us.”

“Have you forgotten that he banished me from your camp?”

“I haven’t. But Robson changed after that. He learned to trust and respect us.”

Vladimir glared at Tibor. “Don’t tell me you’ve gone soft on the humans, too.”

“I agreed to work with them because Elena ordered it, and the arrangement worked. Elena’s dead, and you’re the Master. My allegiance is to you.” He stepped aside and motioned to his friend. “Dravko has an emotional attachment to the humans, much like humans have to their dogs. He needs to realize that, like dogs, humans have to be put down when they are no longer of any use.”

Vladimir grinned. “You’re full of shit, though I respect your loyalty to Dravko.”

“My loyalty is to him. My allegiance is to you.”

“I appreciate that.” Vladimir said to Dravko, “Keep this up, and you’re banished from the compound.”

Vladimir stormed back into the farmhouse, leaving the two outside. When he was gone, Dravko confronted Tibor. “So you recognize Vladimir as the new Master of the coven, not me?”