Dead by Dawn (13 page)

Chapter 21

              The tin roof on Joe’s old house was getting rattled by the downpour and the rain was only picking up its pace. Each drop sang as it struck, competing with the sound of thunder.

Joe and Keith were in his storm cellar. It was a testament to the storm that they could hear the rain strike the roof from the opposite side of the yard.

They decided to head out there before the storm hit, when it was still light out. They didn’t want to have to leave the house to get to the cellar on the off chance there was a tornado. Something far more dangerous might be waiting in the dark if they did.

The cellar would also help prevent anyone from sneaking up on them while they were distracted with the storm. There was only one way in or out. If another vampire was going to attack them, he would have to do it head on.

“Dim that light,” said Joe, gesturing towards their lamp.

Keith did so and the room fell into darkness.

It was damp and cold down in the cellar, with little more than lawn chairs to sit on. They brought out the essentials with them, including two cots from the house, their guns, some food, and a twelve pack. It was going to be a long and miserable night.

The storm cellar itself was basically just a giant hole in the ground that had been cemented in. It was lined up against the closer side of his barn, the mouth of the hole facing the house. There was a large wooden door sealing the entrance to the hole. It laid almost parallel to the ground except for the fact that it was almost two feet higher at the head and sloped down. This was to make it more convenient for anyone trying to get inside.

Joe was sitting near the top of the steps, peering through a small hole that had been eroded into the bottom of the door. The door was at an odd sloping angle, but he could see his porch on the other side of the yard. The whole time, water was dripping in through the hole.

The light was on over the porch. He left it on hoping it would draw any vampire’s attention away from the cellar. So far the only sign of life was the steady stream of complaints coming from Keith. He was muttering about his claustrophobia, almost nonsensically, as one by one he took apart his guns to clean them.

Every couple of minutes lighting would flash, casting everything in a bright blue hue. Joe used these moments to observe everything he could. A few times he thought he might have seen something, but wasn’t sure if it was his mind playing tricks on him.

“Do you think, if we blow their head off, they’ll stay dead?” asked Keith in a hushed tone.

Joe didn’t turn back, he was afraid he might miss something if he looked away for more than a second. “Maybe if you take everything off from the neck up and separate the gore when you’re done so it can’t put itself back together.”

“That much?”

“If we’re playing it safe. I think the one from last night was trying to put itself back together.”

“It’s a bunch of cheating bullshit if you ask me,” said Keith.

“I guess somebody forgot to give them the rule book.”

“Not natural, that’s what it is.”

Lightning flashed revealing a sea of dancing grass. It seemed to be reaching for the sky and praising the storm. His corn swayed with the wind, resembling the waves of the ocean. A branch fell from the tree, landing between him and the porch.

“This storm’s going to be here all night,” said Joe.

Thunder boomed so close that it rattled the doors.

“Yea, I should definitely take first watch,” said Keith. “I won’t be getting any sleep in this hole anyways.”

He cracked a beer and handed another to Joe. Joe took it without turning from the door. After taking a sip he set it on the steps next to his shotgun.

At least the beer’s cold,
Joe thought as he contemplated their situation.

“I think we should board up the house tomorrow,” said Keith. “Give ourselves a little bit of a tactical position.”

“They’re here,” said Joe.

To the average person, the night was unchanging, the storm raged on, but Joe was not average. He spotted them the moment they stepped into the farthest place the porch light reached. Judging by their direction they had just come out of the corn field. He couldn’t quite make out how many there were. Only one of them stepped fully into the light at first.

Joe sensed Keith moving closer.

The figure at the porch was in overalls, he had his back to the cellar. Joe couldn’t see his face. He stood for a moment, eyeing the house before taking a step onto the porch.

Joe pressed against the door to get a better look at what he was doing.

The figure in overalls bent down and sniffed the doorknob. He turned back to the darkness and said something Joe couldn’t make out.

Two more figures stepped out of the darkness, a woman in a yellow sundress and a man in a police uniform. The woman turned towards the cellar and lightning flashed, illuminating her figure and casting a dark contrast over her features. The effect made it easier to make out who she was through the storm.

“Son of a bitch,” said Joe, pulling away from the cellar door. “It’s the old man and lady.”

“What happened, did they see you?” asked Keith.

“I don’t know, but I wasn’t expecting to ever see Charlie and Rose again.”

He pressed his face back to the hole. Rose was still looking in his direction, but she seemed to be looking over him. Joe noted how young she looked. She was by no means a teenage girl, but her wrinkles had been smoothed away and her limbs looked toned. She looked twenty years younger than the last time he saw her.

Charlie was much the same. His limbs seemed inflated with the muscle of his younger years and he stood tall. Even his hair had regained its dark black sheen.

Joe didn’t recognize the cop. He assumed that the man was a local boy judging by his uniform.

“What should we do?” asked Keith.

Joe placed one hand on the door of the cellar and grabbed his shotgun with the other. He sat there for a bit, contemplating whether or not he should confront his old friends.

On the one hand, Charlie and Rose would have to remember him. Maybe they had finally showed up and the police officer was escorting them to Joe’s so they could let him know they were all right.

On the other, more likely hand, they were infected. That would make them unpredictable and dangerous. Joe didn’t like the idea of doing to them what he did to the other vampire.

As Joe debated with himself, Charlie stepped down from the porch. He turned back to the house and leapt a clear ten feet into the air. He hit the edge of the roof with his chest and dug his hands into the shingles to pull the rest of the way up. This left the other two in the porch light.

A flash of lightning revealed Charlie at the chimney, sniffing down the shoot.

Joe took his hand off the handle and stepped away from the door. Keith slipped by and took his place.

“Son of a bitch, there’s a cop.”

Joe opened one of the cots and laid out a blanket. He got in and grabbed a pillow to put under his head.

“I don’t think they can smell us in the storm. It should be safe to sleep here.”

He grabbed the lantern and shut it off. Lightning flashed and for a moment he could dimly make out Keith’s figure.

“Try and get some sleep,” said Joe.

He knew they were both going to have a long day of preparation in the morning. It wouldn’t do either of them any good to be tired.

Chapter 22

              When Adam came home from work, Barry’s car was gone. It wasn’t until that moment that he felt truly alone. Going to work all day without anyone else showing up at the shop, no one on the road or in the houses during his drive home, the sandwich shop being closed during lunch, it was all fine. Getting home and finding Barry gone made a sinking pit form in his gut. None of it felt real until that moment.

Only one thought crossed his mind as he stood in the empty driveway,
what fate have I brought on myself?

There was a note on the kitchen counter, waiting for him when he got inside. It was scribbled in Barry’s horrible handwriting.

I’m sorry I couldn’t wait for you Adam. You took off so fast this morning that I couldn’t stop you. I know you are going through a hard time right now, but staying here is not the answer. I want to be there for you, but staying in the evacuation zone is too dangerous. Words can’t describe how frustrated I am right now. I wish we had more time to sort things out. I think you’re going to drive me nuts man. My family wants to meet me on the way to the safe zone. They’re going to be waiting for me at the Ohio border. Why did you leave!? Don’t you realize how dangerous things have gotten?

Anyways, I’m sorry man, but I have to go now. I have waited as long as possible. Don’t be stupid tonight. Stay hidden and don’t die. Remember, that thing out there is not your mom.

When the sun comes up in the morning you better get your ass on that bike and head for the safe zone. If I don’t see you pulling in before tomorrow night, I swear man…

Barry

Adam folded the letter and placed it in his pocket. It felt heavily. Going to work seemed like the right thing to do at the time and perhaps it was. His head was so messed up; anything to help clear it was a good thing.

Unfortunately, now he was beginning to wish he was outside of the evacuation zone. Hiding out with a friend was one thing, being alone while you were surrounded by vampires was quite another. Being afraid of the dark brought on a whole new meaning.

To make matters worse, a heavy storm rolled in with the night. Now Adam was huddled in the hallway-turned-bedroom. He had the blanket pulled over his head, praying for the morning to come.

The storm was in a rage with no sign of stopping. The rain was soothing, but he could feel the thunder in his chest. His phone didn’t help much; there was only so much he could do on it before it began to feel redundant and he grew anxious again. The weather app said the storm would still be around for the early hours of the morning. He managed to waste a good half hour playing games. Nobody responded to his texts. Not even Barry was responding, although he never answered his phone anyways.

Every few minutes a handful of his texts would come back saying, “not sent.” It made him wonder if the rest were getting through at all. If he looked at his sent to response ratio, he would have to say they weren’t. Every time he tried to make a call, it went straight to the person’s voicemail.

He was frustrated beyond words with the whole thing.

The isolation was making him feel even more alone than he already was.

Adam set the phone down and rubbed his eyes. He was way too hyper for sleep, yet that seemed like his only option. He pulled the covers back far enough to see the ceiling. It was dark, except when the lightning struck. There were no windows in the hallway; the light was coming from the adjacent bedrooms.

The lightning flashed and the trees outside cast shadows. They looked like long and hooked hands. They would appear on the wall, reaching for him and then fade back into the dark.

It happened one time and he could swear he saw the shadow of a woman. It had only been there for a moment, but it was enough to send his heart racing. It didn’t take long for him to retreat back under the covers.

It made him feel like a little kid hiding from monsters under the bed. He didn’t appreciate the feeling at all.

The blanket muffled the sounds of the storm, so he could hear his heavy breathing. He was panting like a dog, filling the space under the blanket with a hot and stagnate air that threatened to choke him. Adam threw the covers off and took a gaping breath. He was slipping into the grips of a panic attack.

It seemed to be coming out of nowhere. The seclusion was going to drive him insane.

There was no escaping. He was surrounded by death. He was the only human for hundreds of miles and soon the vampires would kick down the door. Would it be his own mother that killed him?

Adam’s phone began to ring. He dove on it to silence the loud noise before it could give him away. He fumbled, almost dropping it before he could hit the answer button.

“Hello?” he whispered.

Thunder crackled outside and he thought he could hear it on the other end.

The voice was a woman’s, low and half hissed. “Let me in Adam.”

Adam dropped the phone. He thought he might throw up. His entire body was shaking. He barely managed to pick up the phone and end the call.

He looked at the screen, already knowing what he would see. The call had come from his mother’s phone.

He felt like he was falling, trapped in a black hole that wanted to swallow him alive. His strength faded and helplessness took over.

Adam curled into a ball and began to cry.

He couldn’t remember the last time he cried, but he figured he must have been a kid. Not even at his own mother’s funeral did he shed a tear. He was always the man in his family. He couldn’t afford to cry.

It made him feel stupid and pathetic, like he was groveling for his life. He knew he would be shown no pity by the vampires, yet he couldn’t stop. It was as if everything bad that had happened to him was all spilling out in that one moment.

Something inside of him hardened and he felt himself regaining his resolve.

He began to feel pissed off. The anger inside started to build, creating a shield that allowed him to think.

The tears, so demoralizing, actually began to feel good. He embraced it, allowing the anxiety attack to be washed away. In its place he found determination. If the vampires wanted to feed on him, he wasn’t going to take it lying down.

Adam took his phone and called his mom back. It rang three times before someone picked up.

Adam held it to his ear, listening to the silence on the other end.

“Fuck you,” he said.

Whoever was on the other end hung up. He didn’t know what it meant, but frankly he didn’t care.

Adam went through his contacts and called Barry. This time the phone actually rang instead of going straight to voicemail. He was thankful for the lucky break.

“Holy crap man, is it really you?”

“Yea, it’s me,” said Adam. “How’s the place they have you staying in?”

“Not very good, though it’s probably better than where you’re at. They put us in a school under a bunch of bright ultraviolet lights. They’re telling us the vampires can't go under them. It just sucks because they expect us to sleep with them on.”

“Isn’t that horrible for your skin?”

“Yea, but you know what?” Barry asked. “It’s even worse for a vampire’s skin. Plus they’re providing us with sunblock, so it’s all good.”

“What, do they have you sleeping on mats?”

“Nah, they rolled out a bunch of cots. They’re a little skinny, but compared to the lights they’re not so bad.”

Adam lifted the back of his hand to his cheek and wiped away the last of his tears. “Well save me a cot, I’ll be there tomorrow.”

“Are you serious?” asked Barry. “Hell yea man. I thought you were going to stay there until you died. I was afraid you’d given up.”

“Not this time.”

Adam caught a strong scent like a camp fire. It came on thick and made him wrinkle his nose. Something was burning.

“Hey Barry, I got to call you back.”

“What do you mean, aren’t you stuck in the hallway?”

“I have to go,” said Adam, clicking the end button.

Adam stood up, following the scent to Barry’s room. He opened the door, keeping his back against the wall. On the off chance a vampire was looking they would see no more than a door opening on its own.

He waited a bit before peeking around.

As he expected, the room was dark. Barry’s bed was torn up from when he had taken his mattress into the hall. There were a bunch of posters on the wall of half-naked women. It basically looked to Adam like the room of a teenage boy.

Smoke and rain blew in from the top of the window where it was open. Adam crept up to it and peered out.

He could feel the heat before he even saw the fire. The entire left side of the house across the street was engulfed in flames. Fire rolled out of the windows and into the sky, hissing at the rain.

There were four figures standing in the front lawn. They were close enough to the flames for the searing heat to be burning them. They were all draped in black and Adam could swear that one was his mother.

The front door of the house burst open and an older man and woman came running out. They ran right into the arms of the waiting vampires.

Adam turned his gaze away only to realize another house was burning farther up the road. He sank away from the window, unwilling to watch as his neighbors were burned out of their homes.

He was forced to sit in the hallway and wait for the moment when his house would be torched.

He checked his phone on a minute-by-minute basis. His nerves were fraying. Every flash of lightning increased his unease.

Perhaps the vampires saw that Barry’s car was gone. He wondered if they were torching houses at random. When the sun rose, seven out of the fourteen houses on his street were still standing. The house Adam was staying in was one of them.