Fall of the Mortals (Book 1) (33 page)

“Thai! Yuri! Lock the elevators! I’ll get the stairs!” shouted Harold, running out of the room.

“We’re on it!” hollered Thai as he and Yuri dashed to the elevators.

***

In the biker area, Shane reloaded another magazine and fired at Terry’s meth lab shattering most of the clandestine equipment. Bits of glass flew everywhere.

“What the hell, Shane!” shouted Terry, angry but scared at the same time.

“Terry must die,” stated Shane in a sinister voice, firing at them again, the bullets hitting the posts all over.

Terry glanced at Curtis with a frightened expression. Curtis stayed hunkered down behind the post. A look of fear came over Curtis knowing he too was going to die as soon as Shane moved in with his gunfire and shot him and Terry. 

“Next time he’s out!” Curtis hollered to Terry with a head gesture indicating they rush Shane. Terry nodded.

Outside the tower, Trent flew up to the window of the seventy-first level to see if Shane succeeded in assassinating Terry. He peeked through the bead strands and smiled watching Shane firing his weapon at Terry and Curtis knowing they were seconds away from death. The room lit up terrifyingly with Shane’s rapid automatic gunfire.

“Did he kill them yet?” asked Alessandra, floating down next to Trent.

“Any second now,” Trent responded with a grin changing back into Shaun in vampire form.

Shane ran out of rounds again and struggled to reload another magazine. Curtis and Terry sacked him like a weak quarterback, knocking him to the floor. His weapon fumbled out of his hands and landed on the floor. Curtis grabbed the machine gun as Terry pinned Shane down on his back scuffling to hold him down by the wrists.

“What the hell are you doing man?” Terry shouted frantically, holding Shane.

“Terry must die,” Shane responded, still in a trance. “I must kill Terry.”

“Are you tripping?” Curtis shouted at Shane. 

“Terry will die,” said Shane, refusing to come out of his disoriented state.

“Snap out of it, man!” Terry hollered, punching Shane across the face to the left, then again to the right. Shane went unconscious.

“What the freaking hell, Curtis!” Terry shouted.

Curtis stood over them holding the machine gun, awestruck at Shane’s erratic behavior. He glimpsed a vampire at the window watching them. He didn’t know it was Shaun but the silhouette was undeniable. He knew Shane’s machine gun was next to his feet. He bent down slowly, picked up one of Shane’s magazines and loaded it.

“Terry?” Curtis asked quietly. “Are Shane’s rounds updated with the new stuff on them?”

“I don’t think so. Why?” asked Terry.

“Don’t look, but there’s two vampires at the windows right behind me watching us. I’m going to let ’em have it,” said Curtis sternly.

“Go for it,” Terry mumbled.

Curtis turned quickly and opened fire at Shaun through the bead strand curtains and the windows. Shaun and Alessandra flew away from the windows while glass shattered and rounds flew past them. Bits of glass showered to the street. The bead strand curtains jolted to the left, to the right as Curtis unloaded thirty rounds at them until his weapon clicked empty.

Shaun flew up to the window grinning at Curtis.

“Who’s that?” asked Curtis.

“You missed!” said Shaun.

“Shaun!” hollered Terry, his eyes large with surprise.

“I’ll be coming for you, Terry,” Shaun sneered. “There’s nowhere you can hide from me.”

Terry grabbed the mp5 out of Curtis’ hands, loaded another magazine and fired at Shaun through the window yelling. Multiple shots hit Shaun in the chest, face and legs. Shaun flinched at each penetrating hole on his body. Terry’s gun went empty as he breathed heavily staring at Shaun with eyes of rage. Curtis stared at Shaun too, watching him as if he was a dangerous wild animal.

“You see? You can’t hurt me, Terry,” Shaun chuckled, floating outside the window grinning at him. “But I can hurt you.”

Terry yelled and threw the gun against the window but it hit the wall and dropped to the floor.

“I’ll see you soon, Terry,” said Shaun, drifting away from the window with Alessandra until he faded into the night. “I’ll see you soon.”

“What the hell is going on down here?” Billy shouted, running into the room with Brody.

“You got the new rounds we made?” hollered Terry.

“Yeah!”

“Shoot him, it’s Shaun! Shoot him now!” shouted Terry.

Billy and Brody opened fire at Shaun and Alessandra from the living area chasing them across the windows with their rapid fire of vampire-killing bullets. Shaun and Alessandra flew across the windows evading the shots.  The bead strand curtains bounced out of the way hit by rounds as the bullets whizzed through the windows shattering window after window. Multiple pieces of broken glass fell to the street. Billy and Brody’s guns went empty and clicked. Shaun and Alessandra flew off into the night.

Billy, Terry, Brody and Curtis looked out the windows for any sign of Shaun or Alessandra but they were long gone. An odor of gun smoke permeated the room.

“I’m going to kill that bastard,” said Terry glaring out the windows.

“He’s got him a vampire broad teaching him mind tricks,” said Curtis, looking back at Shane who was still knocked out on the floor.

“That’s fine. He can bring her to the party too,” Terry responded. “We’ll end her right in front of Shaun.”

Terry glanced at Billy and Brody.

“Wait a sec! Who’s upstairs watching the others?” asked Terry, his voice full of fright.

“Chris,” Billy responded.

A look of horror came over Terry. He ran full speed to the elevators.

“What’s the matter?” yelled Billy, running behind Terry.

“You think I trust that little turd?” Terry hollered, rushing to the elevators.

Terry slapped the up button on the wall. The number seventy-two flashed in red above the elevator doors.

“Damn it! They jammed it!” shouted Terry.

“Stairs!” Curtis yelled as they ran to the stairwell door.

They ran up the stairwell like a pack of wolves after its prey. They reached the door at level seventy-two but it was locked.

“Shit!” Terry shouted, pounding on the door in frustration. “Gimme that!” he hollered, ripping Brody’s gun from him. Terry opened fire at the stairwell door.

On the other side of the door, Harold, Thai and Yuri backed away from it watching bullets ineffectively come through.

“Anybody comes through that door, they’re getting this right on the head,” said Harold firmly, holding a sledgehammer.

“Harold! I’m gonna freaking kill you!” Terry shouted through the door, pounding on it again repeatedly. “Open this damn door right freaking now!”

Harold and the others stood quietly.

Terry punched Billy in the face sending him down the stairwell violently. Billy’s machine gun bounced off the stairs and followed him down. Terry backhanded Brody across the face knocking him down on the stairs leading to the roof. Brody stayed down holding his face.

“You stupid bastards!” Terry shouted in his crazed anger. “We’re locked out now, you retards!”

Terry turned to the stairwell door and fired the machine gun at the door handle and lock.

“Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!” Curtis hollered in a stern voice helping Brody up. “Don’t shoot the lock! You’ll damage it permanently!”

“I’m going to kill ’em, Curtis! I’m going to kill ’em all, I swear it,” said Terry, his voice sour with bitterness.

“Shooting holes through the door ain’t gonna help anything,” said Curtis.

“What the hell we supposed to do?” asked Terry.

 “Let’s make another plan,” Curtis responded.

Terry and the guys hurried back down the stairs.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN
A Turn Of Events

Shaun and Alessandra flew down close to street level. They flew around other vampires flying through the air. Alessandra let out a moan and crash landed on top of a car denting the hood and spider-webbing the windshield. Shaun vanished and appeared over her.

“What’s wrong?” he asked in a worried voice, taking her by the hand.

Alessandra held her stomach in pain. Shaun moved her hands and saw a gunshot injury where blood was beginning to pool around the wound.

“You’re hit!” Shaun hollered.

“I’m cold,” said Alessandra in a quivering voice. “I’m so cold.”

“You’re going to be okay,” said Shaun frantically.

“Kiss me,” said Alessandra in a whisper. “Kiss me one last time, Shaun.”

They kissed passionately.

“Don’t talk like that,” said Shaun hysterically. “You’re going to be fine.”

“Listen. I never told you why I chose you,” said Alessandra in a soft voice.

“Why?” asked Shaun, his eyes saddened as if he was going to cry.

“Shaun was the name of my first love in mortality,” she whispered. “I loved him so much.”

“I’m going to get you help,” said Shaun, holding her beautiful face by the cheeks.

“It was the way you looked, spoke and behaved that reminded me of him,” said Alessandra, smiling at Shaun. “I would have done anything to live out in eternity to be with y—”

Shaun’s heart wrenched with agony as Alessandra closed her eyes for the last time. Her long, brunette hair turned gray and peeled off until she was bald. Her skin dried up peeling and flaking until she was a skeleton. Shaun kept his hands on her cheeks and didn’t move. Her cheek bones crumbled to dust before his eyes and blew away.

Shaun filled with fury and looked to the sky roaring. All he saw was red. He flew away at a fast speed over the streets, cars, buildings and around other vampires who mingled in the air. The thoughts of getting revenge on Terry were overwhelming. He screamed in a rage flying through the air. Some vampires who were mingling in the air floated in his path but they were knocked out of his way violently.  He didn’t care. He flew on with images of Alessandra burning in his mind. He flew down to a pickup truck landing fiercely on the roof of the cab, crushing it badly. The windshield cracked. The passenger, rear and driver windows exploded outward. Glass shattered and fell on the seats and onto the pavement. He stayed in a crouched position clenching his fists in a quiet rage over Alessandra. He felt the vampire in him increase even more pushing out the old Shaun. He hated that he couldn’t barge into the tower because of their new weapons and that it would endanger the others. He gnashed his teeth in frustration and flew off into the night.

***

Harold, Thai and Yuri rushed to the gun cabinet but it was locked with a padlock and chain.

“Damn! Terry must have locked it,” said Harold in frustration. “You guys step back.”

Harold swung the sledgehammer at the cabinet, smashing it open after a few swings. They scrambled taking the weapons out and loading the magazines.

In the living area, Harold and the tower family were huddled up for a conference. Harold stood folding his arms, looking like a father and leader of the group, once again.

“We have a decision to make,” said Harold. “For the sake of survival and the safety of this family, Terry and the rest of his bikers must be expired.”

“What do you intend to do? Run down there and shoot the man in the head?” asked Betty in a worried voice. “You’re no killer.”

“We need a way to get them out of here, out of the tower even,” said Harold.

“They’re secured from the vampires for now,” said Yuri. “The window blinds are good for weeks to come.”

“Then the blinds need to be removed,” said Thai.

“Removed?” asked Harold. “How?”

“Someone has to pull them down from the outside of the windows,” Thai answered.

“Outside of windows?” asked Yuri.

“The last I checked, Spider-Man wasn’t in town, Thai,” stated Harold. “What are you saying?”

“All I need is you guys to hold it while I take care of it,” said Thai, taking a long coil of rope out of the closet.

“This is crazy,” said Yuri.

“Thai, seriously,” said Betty.

“Absolutely not, Thai,” Harold responded in disbelief. “I wouldn’t think of watching you suspend yourself over seventy stories removing their blinds.”

“Not a thousand feet, c’mere look,” said Thai, directing them to the window.

Harold and Yuri followed him to a window and looked below. Betty and the tower family were behind them with worried faces.

“You see there. The part of the building that sticks out will catch me if I fall,” said Thai self-assuredly. “The platform there is at least fifty feet wide right at level sixty-nine.”

“That’s still a thirty-foot drop if you fall, Thai,” said Harold sounding skeptical. “Not to mention, if Terry catches you, you’d be an open target on that platform.”

“Beats a thousand feet,” Thai responded. “Besides, I can jump through a window at level sixty-nine.”

“You would be locked out, Thai,” said Harold with concern. “The stairs and elevator would be sealed off and you couldn’t come back here.”

“I know that,” Thai responded.

“Sure you can do this?” asked Yuri.

“It’s no different than repelling down the side of Big Cottonwood canyon with my dad in Utah,” said Thai. “You got any better ideas?”

“Thai, Terry will see you,” said Kim in a worried voice. “When he does, he’ll kill you. Even if you escape from the tower, the vampires are out there.”

“I know but I got to do this,” said Thai sounding anxious to be a hero. “I feel we can win.”

“There’s something I failed to mention,” said Yuri. “With Terry around, I couldn’t speak of it.”

“What is it?” asked Harold.

“The other night, Shaun was outside the window,” said Yuri. “He told me he had a plan to help us.”

“Shaun, being a vampire, told you this?” asked Harold.

“He’s one of them now, Yuri,” said Betty. “He can’t be trusted.”

“Whether or not Shaun still wants to help us, now would be the perfect the opportunity,” Thai replied, confident in his daring plan. “We rip down the blinds and let the vamps take Terry and the bikers.”

“You’re going to rip down all six blinds across the platform?” asked Harold scratching his head.

“I’ll rip down all eighteen if I can,” Thai answered. “It’s our only shot.”

“This is very dangerous, Thai,” said Harold. “If you run into a problem, we wouldn’t be able to help you, other than pull you back up.”

“It’s worth the risk,” said Thai, still certain.

Harold thought about it some more, mulling over the idea.

“Well?” asked Betty.

“Okay then. Let’s do this,” stated Harold. “But we pull you up at the first sign of trouble, got it?”

“Got it,” Thai answered.

“We’ll begin at dawn,” said Harold.

***

Shaun flew into Kristof’s mansion through the front and descended to the large floor beneath the double staircase. It was dark and quiet as he paced the floor agonizing over Alessandra’s death. He looked up, staring at another large portrait of Miranda hanging on the wall near the staircase with a tear rolling down his cheek. The cruel irony of both he and Kristof losing their lovers to mortals was unbearable. He thought over his treachery and deceit and began to judge himself that he deserved to be exactly where he was—a lonely, miserable vampire.

“It’s my favorite one,” said Kristof from above on the upper landing of the double staircase.

Shaun looked up at him but didn’t respond. Kristof vanished and appeared next to him in front of Miranda’s portrait. Shaun remained gloomy with nothing to say.

“The artist was very good,” said Kristof, staring at Miranda’s painting, animating himself with his hand. “The shading on her face. The shape of her cheek bones. The perfect dark glare in her eyes. An absolute masterpiece.”

“Right,” said Shaun quietly, still grieving over Alessandra.

“Where’s Alessandra?” asked Kristof.

“Apparently, we won’t be together anymore,” Shaun responded in a sad voice. He didn’t dare mention his awful attempt on the tower.

“She left you? That bitch,” said Kristof. “Well, don’t worry my friend. If there’s one thing I know a lot about it’s vampire women. Come, walk with me,” said Kristof.

***

Shaun and Kristof walked down a path which was elegantly paved through the trees on his grounds. They looked like brothers or a couple of friends going on a stroll through a park.

“After my brothers and I took out our revenge on the world and saw that mankind was falling at our feet, Miranda and I regretted one thing,” said Kristof.

“What’s that?” asked Shaun, wiping another tear from his eye, trying to be interested in Kristof’s words.

“Children,” Kristof answered. “If the day came that my immortal existence was to end, I wanted so badly to leave behind a legacy of the Arcos family.”

“It’s never too late to start,” said Shaun sounding encouraging but feeling empty.

“Well, without Miranda, I would have to search an eternity to find a queen that matched her beauty, physique and…”

“What?” asked Shaun.

“Ferocity,” Kristof answered with a chuckle, reminiscing about her. “One time, Lucian and Seth tried to trick her. She was so furious.”

“What did they do?” asked Shaun sounding more interested.

“They both disguised themselves as me while Miranda bathed herself in my home on two separate occasions,” said Kristof with a smile. “Don’t worry, they meant no discretion, infidelity or impropriety. For they knew Miranda was my love. However, when they attempted to enter the bath with her, she knew right away they were imposters.”

“What did she do?” asked Shaun with a curious smile.

“She turned into the most dreadful fire-demon goddess I’ve ever seen,” Kristof said, breaking into laughter with Shaun. “She flew after them with no clothing on. Her eyes were like fireballs. Her fangs and fingernails could have frightened the most horrible of monsters,” he added as a tear rolled down his cheek.

Shaun felt disgusted with himself once again because he knew the truth that he was the real vampire killer.

“Forgive me,” said Kristof, wiping the tear from his cheek. “Not all of us have the promise of eternal love, I suppose. Despite the fact that father passed his gift of the Alpha vampire to me.”

“You okay?” asked Shaun.

“Of course,” Kristof answered mustering a smile. “I have my immortality, my home, three of my brothers and you as a friend.”

Shaun looked down, unable to receive the compliment.

“What do you mean by
Alpha
vampire?” asked Shaun.

“Only one can exist in the world at any one time,” Kristof answered. “The Alpha vampire is the most powerful in the world. His senses are enhanced as is his resilience against the common things which repel the average vampire.”

“What common things?” asked Shaun, still walking beside him.

“The deadly white rose, garlic, the wooden knife to name a few,” Kristof answered. “These things can harm me, but they will probably not kill me.”

“Why don’t you just barge into the tower yourself and get the last of the humans?” asked Shaun, intrigued by the information he was giving him.

“They would still hurt me badly and most likely cause me to fall, thus making me vulnerable to a human,” said Kristof as a tear rolled down his cheek again. “Much like Damien, my poor foolish brother. So daring, so idiotic. Whoever killed him had the nerve to stab a wooden knife into his eye. He was already dead when I found him.”

“What else can the Alpha do?” asked Shaun feeling scared, changing the subject.

“He has the greatest strength. All vampires are chained to his thoughts. His will is their will, “Kristof responded.

“Any others?” asked Shaun.

“Telepathy, which is a powerful asset,” answered Kristof. “I can go into the dreams of other vampires or the mortals if their minds are weak enough. Even after I die, my spirit would allow me to do so.”

“How can another vampire learn this power?” asked Shaun.

“Impossible. A common vampire would have to defeat me in battle,” Kristof answered. “Which you could imagine doesn’t happen very often.”

There was thunder in the distance. Kristof looked to the sky noticing the dark thunder clouds rolling in from the east. His saddened face turned to a teeth-gnashing grin.

“The storm cometh,” stated Kristof, his eyes lighting up with excitement. “Tomorrow night will be the night of all nights of the vampire, my brother.”

“Then you’ll have your revenge,” said Shaun.