The Cactus Killer (The Inglewood Chronicles) (7 page)

“
Those were the cops Ruud
and I met outside!”

Reno and Phil were okay,
which was good. I picked up on a very strange yet familiar scent
and it was moving fast towards our location.

“
Get ready everyone. I
think whatever did this is coming here to take care of
us.”

All three vampires did
their thing from the red glowing eyes to the kitchen cutlery
growing out of their mouths. Me, I just pulled Roscoe out and
un-tucked my blasted shirt. It might not have been as impressive,
but if it got the job done, that was all that mattered.

I followed the scent and it
stopped moving just in front of the doors to the recreation hall.
All of us looked at each other. By now the vampires had picked up
on its smell and movement.

“
I don’t think it’s
coming…” Don’t jinx us Reno, for crying out loud!

I don’t know if it was some
sort of roar or scream, but the noise that broke the air ruined my
hearing. I dropped my gun and had to cover up; the sound was just
so terrible.

“
Vic, what is
wrong?”

“
The sound, it’s too much!
Oh God, my ears!”

When it finally stopped,
the pressure building behind my ears also stopped, but I couldn’t
hear a thing. I saw the others talking, but whatever they were
saying didn’t matter. I was about to tell them as much when they
all freaked out and looked towards the door. I had been so focused
on hearing, that I stopped paying attention to the scent. It hit me
like a freight train. Of course, it was the same musky scent from
both scenes, but this time it was on overload. I looked over and
saw where it was coming from; the thing that came barging in looked
like Frankenstein’s monster.

I could tell this creature
had been human once, from the underlying scent I was still able to
pick up. It wasn’t human anymore; from the green skin to the scars
everywhere and the black as a moonless night eyes, this thing was a
true monster. Either he was a big dude before, or they grew him
into the close to seven foot body.

I grabbed my gun off the
floor and started firing at the beast but all I did was irritate
it. Reno, Phil, and Elizabeth all looked over at me. I couldn’t
hear if they said anything but their eyes made it clear, we would
be doing this the old fashioned way. I holstered my gun and rolled
up my sleeves. It was time for a fight. 

Big and ugly just stared at
all of us. Well, I think he was snarling too, but I can’t confirm
that. I looked over at Reno and I saw him pulling on an extendable
metal rod to its full length. Phil was putting a pair of brass
knuckles on as well. I’m sure glad they’re on my side.

I too had a way to defend
myself. I didn’t use them often and not too many people knew I
could, but when necessary, my hands can form into claws. To be
honest, I was quite embarrassed by it, because the side effect of
using them was the hair on my hands stayed there for a few days and
made me look ridiculous. However, staring into the face of this
monster and my gun being all but useless, I would deal with
it.

I pushed hard and after a
few moments of pain, my hands were hairy wolf claws. Not pretty,
but certainly effective at defending myself. It was a good thing
too because our new friend was no longer standing
around.

Reno and Phil wasted no
time in engaging, but it didn’t go too well for them. They were
fast for sure, but Frankenstein was just as quick. He grabbed Reno
by the arm and tossed him aside like he was a kid. Phil used the
situation to give him a solid punch to the gut, but nothing really
happened. Not one to let others take a whooping, I jumped in
too.

In a coordinated effort,
Phil and I went to work. Using the brass knuckles, he turned this
into a fist fight. He was actually really good, able to duck and
dodge everything the monster threw at him. I snuck around to the
back and jumped on. I dug my claws into any part of the monster I
could find. Even though the skin was tough, I was still able to rip
him up. I thought I was doing well until a giant hand grabbed me
and tossed me right on top of Reno. A few seconds later Phil landed
right beside us.

The impact jogged my senses
and my hearing was starting to return. I had to strain, but I could
hear Reno.

“
You don’t want to miss
this Vic, Elizabeth is one angry lady.”

All of us were getting up
and getting ready to jump back in, but what we saw told us to wait
just a few seconds.

“
I’m no expert on vampires,
but I don’t think that’s normal.” I couldn’t take my eyes off of
what I was seeing.

“
No, that is far from
normal. Only the oldest and strongest of our kind can pull a stunt
off like that. Something must have sent her over the
edge.”

For the first time, I heard
Phil’s deep rumble of a voice. “This sheriff, is called the
bloodletting. When one is old enough, they can harness the blood of
the last donor they had. But I have never seen a reaction quite
like this. I wonder who her last donor was.”

“
Gentlemen, that was
me.”

**Elizabeth**

It had been decades since I
last used the bloodletting, but this creature called for such
measures. Usually when used with the blood of a human, a vampire
gets a quick boost of adrenaline. But this, this was incredible. I
had forgotten that Vic was the last person who gave me blood and
the effects were something I could never have dreamed
of.

My senses had opened to the
world. Scents and sounds were magnified a thousand times over and
everything was much brighter and brilliant than I have ever seen.
If this is how he truly sees the world, his gift is priceless. In
addition to that enhancement, my legs felt lighter and I had a
craving for meat.

I looked over and saw all
three boys were glaring at me. Phil Ruud should be old enough to
know what is going on, but Reno and Vic were probably confused. I
had no more time to waste; it was time to see what these new powers
could do.

Moving with speed and
clarity like I never experienced, I lunged at the monster’s legs. I
had planned on punching him, but mid swing my fingernails extended
to something like claws and I slashed the knee in half. It howled
its horrible growl and for the first time since it arrived, it felt
pain. It tried to punch me but missed and I did the same to the
other leg. It could not keep up with my movements; so while it
grabbed at air, I continued to slice it up.

After a few more passes, I
figured the creature would be close to death. I was wrong; yes it
was in pain and I was doing damage, but it was also no nearer to
death than when I started. I saw the boys start to come over, their
eyes full of panic and worry.

“
Stay where you are! I will
continue to fight this abomination!”

I had filled my voice with
persuasion; even Phil was not immune to its effects. All three
stopped in their tracks. If I could not defeat this creature, than
there was no hope. I was starting to tire as well. This power was
good for a quick boost, but never intended to be used for long
stretches. Vic said he had faith, so I hoped he was calling on it.
We might need a miracle.

**Vic**

I don’t know what she did,
but I felt compelled to stay where I was, even though I knew she
needed help.

“
Don’t fight it; the
persuasion she used is strong enough to stop a charging bull, like
Phil.”

I looked back at Elizabeth
and the wolfish features she had shown were slowly fading away. Her
eyes were no longer yellow, but had faded back to vampire red. The
claws she had produced were also shrinking back in. Whatever boost
she had received from me was no longer there. I think the creature
sensed it too. I don’t know what sort of brain function it had, but
I think I saw it smile. We needed a bloody miracle here.

I picked up a scent, one I
knew quite well. It was coming from the north fast, but unlike this
creature’s smell, this was the scent of the Reds.

“
Boys, I think the cavalry
is about to show up.”

“
What are you talking
about; no one else knows we are here!” Reno was upset, but he
forgot about the folks who called us for help.

The pack broke through
every entrance they could find. Some came in the door, others broke
through the windows. Soon the room was filled with fifteen angry
wolves, and they wasted no time. They pounced on the monster and
just by sheer volumes, were able to pin him down and proceeded to
tear him apart. There is a reason they say nothing is as strong as
a pack of wolves, and the three vampires got to see it firsthand.
Judging by Elizabeth’s look, I don’t think this was the first time
she had seen an angry wolf pack. Poor Reno though, he looked like
he was close to puking.

After all the carnage
calmed down, there wasn’t much left except lots of little pieces of
monster. It was a shame, I wanted Dr. Tello to have a chance to
study this, but the alternative probably was us ending up as
monster food.

One by one, the wolves
transformed back into their human selves and I thanked each one.
Most looked at my hands and I think it dawned on them just how bad
I had it. The ones who looked at me with contempt earlier now gave
me pity. I’d rather deal with contempt. Finally, the Alpha Josh
Greenfoot approached.

“
Sheriff Inglewood, I am
glad to see you are safe. We were finishing our run when a strange
scent hit us all. Stars above, what was that
monstrosity?”

“
Well it used to be a human
Chief, but not anymore. The smell you picked up on was something
I’ve come in contact with before, just not to the magnitude that
this thing produced. Also, the human who killed our fellow Red is
connected to what is going on up in my territory.”

“
So whoever is behind this
foul evil is now coming into Texas. I pity anyone who tries to do
this to us again. Now we know what to expect, we will not be caught
off guard again.”

“
No, I suspect you won’t.”
I looked back at the vampires; I think it was time for us to head
back. “Chief, I am very glad to have met you. Next time we meet, it
will be in a bar with beer, not a crime scene.”

“
That is a meeting I will
be looking forward to.” 

It was well past midnight
and we were driving back. I felt better about being in New Mexico,
but dang, could a guy get a break somewhere. I had a feeling today
would be no better with the trip up to Elephant Butte
looming.

“
Phil said that what you
did today was unusual, even for a vampire of your
vintage.”

“
I thank you for your coy
way of calling me old, but yes, it was quite different than
anything I have experienced before.”

“
To be honest, you looked
rather wolfish, with the yellow eyes and the claws growing out.”
Out of habit, I gave a quick look at mine and saw my hands overrun
with reddish fur. Uhhh…

“
Considering most werewolf
blood is quite toxic to us, I am sure that was a first for the
record. I do think for the time being we need to keep this under
wraps. I would hate to think about other vampires wanting to use
you as some sort of cow.”

That didn’t sound pleasant
at all. “Can we count on Reno and Phil to keep it to
themselves?”

“
Those two are loyal to a
fault. Some question why I keep them around. I am sure you can tell
they march to the beat of their own drummer, however, they are very
good at protecting me from threats.”

“
No offense, but I don’t
think you need a lot of help in that area.”

“
Tonight was a straight
forward problem that needed a solution. Most threats in the vampire
world come from the shadows. If you cannot see the threat, you
cannot defend against it.”

Huh, well said. Werewolves
weren’t sneaky creatures, so I didn’t think about it like that. “I
also wanted to talk about what happened right before we got the
call. I hope no lines were crossed and if they were…”

“
Would you just shut up!” I
stopped midsentence and just gawked. “I like you, you like me,
everything is quite alright. Better than it has been in years
actually.”

“
Oh, well then, I feel
stupid.”

“
Most men are stupid, but
at least you admit it and are a good man.” I didn’t know if I was
being put down or complimented. “We will enjoy the ride we are on,
that is all one can do.”

Which ironically enough is
what we did the rest of the way home. Once back at my place, Reno
and Phil took up posts and said they would watch until sunrise. I
told them they could bunk in the smaller spare room during the day,
as it was on the west side of the house and the sun wouldn’t bother
them. Before I could crash, I wrote a report up on the incident in
El Paso with Elizabeth’s help and sent it off to Argent so in the
morning he would have a good read.

“
Well, I think it is time
for this old dog to hit the sack. Thank you for the lovely, yet
exciting evening.”

“
Anytime sheriff.” Then she
kissed me again. “Something to remember me by. Now go to
sleep.”