Dead by Dawn (16 page)

“Goodnight,” he said.

Her voice came back so soft that he wasn’t quite sure if he had heard it or not, “Night.”

Now that he was able to lie down and relax, the days ride caught up to him. He was pretty tired and began to doze right away.

A faint rumble in the ground made Adam come awake. He was surprised; he hadn’t even realized he’d fallen asleep.

There was a whimper that came from his right. As he listened, he became aware that Sarah was silently sobbing.

It didn’t last long because her cries were drowned out by an explosion. It sounded like thunder, only the crack was deeper and lasted longer. The faint rumble was growing worse, even rattling a bunch of bowls that were sitting in the sink.

He didn’t know how close the bomb had been, he supposed maybe four of five miles away, but he didn’t think they could get much closer without causing damage to the house. The fact that they could get blown up at any moment did little to put him at ease.

As the explosion faded he could hear another farther off.

He felt Sarah slip into his bed. She pressed her back against him and he could feel her warmth. She was shaking and he could tell she was still crying. Her body was racked with silent sobs.

As a third bomb went off, dust shook free of the ceiling fan. Adam closed his eyes and felt a tear of his own slip free.

Chapter 26

              Joe could feel the rumble in the pit of his stomach. It had been less than ten seconds since he heard the jet fly over his house and already there was a mushroom cloud rising up from town. It glowed in a wavering ball of fire a few mile past his property. He could see it through the trees.

A gust of wind struck the farm, bending the fields of corn sideways as it passed.

More fires raged in an orange hue from horizon to horizon. Their brightness fluctuated as the echo of bombs racked the small farmhouse. It almost looked like a dull sunset except for the fact that the sun had gone down more than an hour earlier.

They weren’t nukes, but they were by no means firecrackers.

Joe and Keith watched all of this through the gap in the boarded up living room window. They hid in shadow, unable to look away.

In front of Keith were his .50 Caliber sniper rifle, his assault rifle, and a .44 magnum revolver. The revolver was loaded with one single silver bullet. The bullet had been one of the most expensive ammunitions he ever bought. Before today, he always kept it on his mantle for decoration. Up until recent events, using it in actual combat seemed like a ludicrous waste of money.

In front of Joe were a double barrel 12-gauge shotgun loaded with buckshot, a pump action 10-gauge shotgun loaded with slugs, and his 9mm pistol. He was positive that if both shotguns failed to kill the vampires the pistol would most likely do nothing. Still, it would be foolish for him to leave it out, especially when the only alternative was nothing.

Joe also had the jug of holy water resting on the floor next to his leg.

Earlier that day Keith had melted down a bunch of silver coins he brought from home. He used the melted silver to coat the blade of his army knife. Now the deadly blade was tucked into its holster on his belt. He was also wearing his bulletproof vest again.

Shadows of corn stalks waved across Joe’s yard in the glow of explosions. He had seen them make similar shadows under fireworks. This time, however, the fireworks looked as though they had sprouted from the very depths of hell.

An artificial wind whistled every time it came in from the south, and made the stalks rustle together.

“It’s like Armageddon out there,” said Keith.

“There’ll be hell to pay if they hit my farm,” said Joe.

“You think it’s working?
”
Asked Keith.

“Maybe.”

“I don’t know Joe, if one of those bombs lands close by, we’re toast. Maybe we should get down in the cellar.”

“You think the cellar will stop one of those bombs?”

“Good point. I just don’t like it is all.”

“Yea, they’re beginning to piss me off.” Joe glanced away from the double barrel for a moment. He squeezed his eyes closed and then opened them a few times. They felt dry. “Look at it this way, if one of those bombs lands on us, we won’t know it.”

“And here I thought my days of almost getting blown up had passed.” Keith tilted his head to the side until it cracked before going back to looking through his binoculars. “I mean I don’t know what’s worse, our own guys dropping bombs over our heads or the vampires.”

“Just worry about your aim.”

Keith leaned forward, the kitchen chair he was sitting in creaked. “I’ll find my target, don’t you worry about that.”

“There,” said Joe. “On the left side of my driveway, coming out of the corn near the road.”

Keith dropped the binoculars and searched through the scope of the 50. Cal. “Oh yea, there’s the ugly son of a bitch. How the hell did you see that?”

Joe grabbed his binoculars and peered through. It was the deputy from the night before. He stared right back at Joe as if he could see him. There was a small smirk on his dead face. His police uniform had a tear in the shoulder and was stained with dark blood. 

“You going to take him?” asked Joe.

“Let’s let him get a little closer. I don’t think we want to wander too far when we clean him up.” He twisted the end of the scope, adjusting his sights.

The vampire took his time, strolling as he made his way up the long driveway. He was almost to the edge of the cornfield before Keith spoke, “you might want to plug your ears.”

He pulled the trigger and the house exploded with the sound of the .50 Cal. Joe’s head was ringing with the noise. He fought the pain and brought the binoculars back up to his eyes.

The vampire was still on its feet, or rather the body of the vampire was still on its feet. The head was gone. Everything from its collarbone up had been turned into a fine mist.

The vampire fell to its knees before collapsing to its stomach. It twitched twice and then went still.

“Let’s see it get up from that one,” said Keith.

There was an inhuman shriek right in front of them on the porch. Splinters shot from the wall as the board they put up was ripped from the window.

Joe stood back, brandishing the 12 gauge. The fresh opening in the window gave him a panoramic view of the front porch and yard beyond.

Charlie was standing there, pale and rigid. His eyes were dark red and his hands were long with fingernails that came to a point. His mouth was wide open revealing two large fangs.

He grabbed the nose of Keith’s 50. Cal. Keith tried to pull it back, but was overpowered and yanked through the window.

He landed stomach down on the porch as both he and the vampire let go.

With Keith so close, Joe had no intention of firing a round of buckshot. He ignored the gun and instead came up to his full height.

He took one look at Charlie reaching for Keith and dove. He used the bottom of the window to push himself forward.

He hit shoulder to chest, sending both he and Charlie off the porch.

The vampire landed on its back with Joe on top. Joe grabbed its wrist and tried to pin it down. The vampire ripped his arm out of Joe’s grip with ease.

In any fight Joe had ever been in, he was always the superior force. He had never before met someone who could match his strength, let alone surpass it, until now.

Try as he might, he was unable to stop the clawed hand from reaching up and grabbing his neck. He was helpless as Charlie pulled him down into those long fangs.

Joe pushed away, fighting against the cold grasp of steel. He might as well have been playing tug of war against his truck.

The vampire’s breath smelled like fresh oranges. Even in the flurry of the moment, that small detail struck Joe as odd.

There was a gunshot and Charlie screamed. Joe was able to get some separation as the creature’s hand slipped off the back of his neck. He used the new space to push it away.

The vampire held its side and began to howl.

Joe saw Keith holding the revolver as he got to his feet.

He must have shot Charlie with the silver bullet. It’s working too. He’s not getting up.

He also spotted Rose. She was climbing up from the open end of the porch in her yellow sundress.

“Look out!” Joe yelled.

He felt a hand clamp down on his ankle and was forced to turn back to Charlie. He kicked, but Charlie didn’t let go.

The vampire was using the arm that hadn’t been shot. The other hung limp at its side, the clawed fingers now shriveled.

Joe grabbed a rock from the edge of his porch and smashed Charlie in the head with it. The vampire made no attempt to let go.

Joe bashed again and again, disfiguring its skull. It took twenty swings for the hand to even flinch. Even then Joe had to pry it open to get his leg free.

He stumbled back to the porch, seeing Keith cornered at the far end. He was brandishing his silver laced army knife. Rose was standing a few feet away from him, hissing at a cut in her shoulder.

The flesh around the wound wrinkled and looked soft compared to the rest of her skin. It didn’t bleed, it was simply a black gash.

Joe reached through the window and grabbed his 10 gauge shotgun. Adrenaline was surging through his veins and he felt as though he could tear the house down with his bare hands if he wanted.

Keith dove to the ground and Rose turned to face him. She looked so young, like Joe remembered her being as a kid. She could have been in her early thirties. One look into her cold red eyes and he knew it wasn’t her. The woman he grew up to know was gone.

This woman was alluring; she had a charm about her. Joe suddenly found himself remembering the oranges. He wondered if that was what her breath smelled like, if that was what her lips tasted like.

He put a slug in her chest.

Rose stumbled backwards until she hit the wall. There was a small inch diameter hole where the bullet went in. As she turned to crouch she revealed a much larger exit wound between her shoulder blades. There was a hole in the wall where the bullet had lodged itself after exiting her body, it was surrounded by pieces of dark red flesh and gore. 

Rose was wheezing, but still on her feet. She stood straight and turned back towards Joe, the hole in her chest already beginning to close.

“You will suffer,” she hissed.

Joe racked the slide and took aim again. Before he could shoot, Keith lunged at her and buried his army knife in her side.

Rose screamed and her left leg gave out. What skin he could see below her yellow sundress began to shrivel. It looked as though it took great effort for her to lift her arm.

Keith pulled the knife free and stuck it in her back.

The scream Rose let out was that of a dying animal. She fell to her stomach, eyes still on Joe. She used her right arm and leg to try and drag herself across the porch; her clawed fingers leaving gouges in the wood.

Keith kneeled on her lower back and pulled the knife free. He began to stab her repeatedly. Each time he pulled the knife out, a plume of dried and dusty blood followed.

Rose’s face began to change, shifting back into that of an old lady and even worse. By the time Keith was done she had stopped moving. Her right arm was outstretched as her left lay at her side. Her skin had gone tight to her bones, making her look more like an actual skeleton than a living organism. Her head held the resemblance of a skull, resting with her mouth open, a clear liquid dripping from her fangs.

Joe heard wood creaking and turned to find Charlie dragging himself onto the porch. The loyal husband of countless years paid no attention to Rose and went only for Joe.

Joe reached through the window and grabbed the jug of holy water. When Charlie got close he dumped it on his head.

The water sizzled like acid and began to eat away at Charlie’s skin. He shrieked and attempted to pull away.

Joe splashed more on him.

As Charlie ran his hands over his head, the skin peeled, revealing the bone underneath. The skull continued to disintegrate. It wasn’t long before a hole had formed allowing some of the water to get inside. As this happened, Charlie began to seizure. It lasted maybe ten seconds before he went still.

Joe allowed himself to take a breath. He turned to Keith.

Keith wiped the army knife on his leg then placed it back on his hip. “Least we know these things work.”

“Come on,” said Joe.

He hopped down from the porch, taking the jug of holy water with him.

The vampire police officer was a short way down the driveway, still laying flat on its back.

There was a pile of gore above him. The pieces of flesh were alive. Random chunks vibrated while others moved like worms towards the body. The vampire was already beginning to regrow its neck.

Joe uncapped the jug and poured it over the wound.

The body sprang back to life; the arms flailed at the water as if they were trying to knock it away. The legs kicked, sending pebbles flying.

After the body went still again Joe emptied the rest on the gore splattered ground. The noise it made when it touched the vampire’s flesh and blood was that of bacon on a frying pan. Fog rose up like dry ice.

“I don’t think we can stay here another night,” said Keith as a plume of fire rose up towards town.

“We’ll see,” said Joe.

With the water jug empty he headed back to the house.