was in Texas. He was tall despite being hunched over—well over six feet, clean cut, mid-twenties; though, with vampires, age was meaningless. He was a pretty-boy, his bullet-riddled designer clothing more suited for clubbing than murder and arson. Of course, that tracked with some other vampires I knew. They tended to overdress.
When he lunged, I let loose another burst, sweeping the fire down toward his legs. Half of the Thompson’s drum was expended before the bullets won out. The slugs had shattered the vampire’s knees and shins, pitching it forward. The focused onslaught became a crashing roll. With a flash of Donkey Kong nostalgia, I leaped, then reached into my jacket pocket to pull out a sharpened stake. I coughed once, stumbling sideways. I had just moved in to finish him when my peripheral vision caught motion.
I stopped, making sure to keep my distance from the twitching mess on the floor, which I realized was once again between me and the stairs. I brought the gun toward the newcomer.
Smoke followed the young blonde out of a doorway down the hall, and I surmised that she must have been in the room I had seen burning from outside—the one that I had assumed Fred was in.
Her lithe figure was clad in a pair of jean shorts and a once-white cropped t-shirt that was now discolored by grime and gore. She was covered in so much blood it was impossible to tell which was hers. Blood splattered her bare limbs, covered her mouth, and ran down her chin to soak the front of her shirt. She was bleeding from multiple gunshot wounds, including a tight group of three in her chest. In her hand was a fire axe, its head thick with viscera.
“Chance!” She smiled, causing me to take an involuntary step back. I half jumped, half tripped over the vampire on the floor. Fortunately, it was too busy writhing in agony to grab me.
My dead girlfriend’s sister advanced as I withdrew. I felt my left heel encounter air as it hovered above the top of the stairs.
“Katy?” I coughed as soon as I said it. The smoke was beginning to take its toll.
“You finally came back for me! You know, I had almost given up on you. When I woke up at the ranch and realized that everyone was dead but you, I knew you’d come for me. I thought to myself: Chance will rescue me. He’ll do the right thing. He’d never leave me to die, not after what he let happen to Kristi.
“All during that first day, while they laughed and drank from me, I told myself you’d come. Even that evening, after they murdered the family and brought me somewhere else, I was sure you’d rescue me. My knight in shining armor.” Her smile reminded me of the old Katy, the popular high school kid who might have had a little crush on her older sister’s boyfriend. Then her smile changed into something dark.
“I have to be honest, though. By the second day I was starting to have my doubts. My faith was crumbling, you know? By the third day, when Christian finished turning me, I think that’s when I finally gave up hope.
“Then the fourth day rolled around, or maybe it was even the fifth... for a while it was a blur. But at some point, I became what you see here, and the whole world looked different. Oh, Chance, you can’t imagine how wonderful it was! It even made me forget about you for a while. But now here you are! I have to tell you, though: I think you’re too late. You know, to save me. What do you think?”
I was pondering how to respond to the axe-wielding lunatic when I coughed again. The spasm bent me forward, and I noticed that the vamp with the shattered legs had recovered enough to begin slowly clawing his way toward me.
Katy noticed him too, taking his head off with a sudden vicious strike of her axe. Her preternatural strength sent the bit cleanly though the thing’s neck and several inches into the hardwood floor. She pulled it out with a flick of her wrist.
“He was an asshole. Still, Christian says we’re not supposed to kill our kind. Our
When he lunged, I let loose another burst, sweeping the fire down toward his legs. Half of the Thompson’s drum was expended before the bullets won out. The slugs had shattered the vampire’s knees and shins, pitching it forward. The focused onslaught became a crashing roll. With a flash of Donkey Kong nostalgia, I leaped, then reached into my jacket pocket to pull out a sharpened stake. I coughed once, stumbling sideways. I had just moved in to finish him when my peripheral vision caught motion.
I stopped, making sure to keep my distance from the twitching mess on the floor, which I realized was once again between me and the stairs. I brought the gun toward the newcomer.
Smoke followed the young blonde out of a doorway down the hall, and I surmised that she must have been in the room I had seen burning from outside—the one that I had assumed Fred was in.
Her lithe figure was clad in a pair of jean shorts and a once-white cropped t-shirt that was now discolored by grime and gore. She was covered in so much blood it was impossible to tell which was hers. Blood splattered her bare limbs, covered her mouth, and ran down her chin to soak the front of her shirt. She was bleeding from multiple gunshot wounds, including a tight group of three in her chest. In her hand was a fire axe, its head thick with viscera.
“Chance!” She smiled, causing me to take an involuntary step back. I half jumped, half tripped over the vampire on the floor. Fortunately, it was too busy writhing in agony to grab me.
My dead girlfriend’s sister advanced as I withdrew. I felt my left heel encounter air as it hovered above the top of the stairs.
“Katy?” I coughed as soon as I said it. The smoke was beginning to take its toll.
“You finally came back for me! You know, I had almost given up on you. When I woke up at the ranch and realized that everyone was dead but you, I knew you’d come for me. I thought to myself: Chance will rescue me. He’ll do the right thing. He’d never leave me to die, not after what he let happen to Kristi.
“All during that first day, while they laughed and drank from me, I told myself you’d come. Even that evening, after they murdered the family and brought me somewhere else, I was sure you’d rescue me. My knight in shining armor.” Her smile reminded me of the old Katy, the popular high school kid who might have had a little crush on her older sister’s boyfriend. Then her smile changed into something dark.
“I have to be honest, though. By the second day I was starting to have my doubts. My faith was crumbling, you know? By the third day, when Christian finished turning me, I think that’s when I finally gave up hope.
“Then the fourth day rolled around, or maybe it was even the fifth... for a while it was a blur. But at some point, I became what you see here, and the whole world looked different. Oh, Chance, you can’t imagine how wonderful it was! It even made me forget about you for a while. But now here you are! I have to tell you, though: I think you’re too late. You know, to save me. What do you think?”
I was pondering how to respond to the axe-wielding lunatic when I coughed again. The spasm bent me forward, and I noticed that the vamp with the shattered legs had recovered enough to begin slowly clawing his way toward me.
Katy noticed him too, taking his head off with a sudden vicious strike of her axe. Her preternatural strength sent the bit cleanly though the thing’s neck and several inches into the hardwood floor. She pulled it out with a flick of her wrist.
“He was an asshole. Still, Christian says we’re not supposed to kill our kind. Our
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