Reginald Baxter the Vigilante Vampire (9 page)

As he swung downwards with his sword, he felt a giant hand grab his wrist. The horrible breath flooded his senses again. "Perhaps giving you a fighting chance will give me some sport. Making you succumb to fear will make you all the more delicious. A fearful member of the undying, how my stomach yearns."

Reginald was helpless to defend himself as another hand grabbed his face. Still gagging and struggling to breathe, he felt himself lifted off the ground roughly. With a laugh, the creature hurled him forward through the back window of the apartment. Reginald cried out in pain as shards of glass cut into his skin as he fell backwards towards the ground below. He screamed in pain as he landed roughly on his left arm, feeling it break for the first time in three centuries.

'What went wrong?' he asked himself, feeling waves of pain wracking his body. 'Tonight, I was supposed to make things better, not worse.' As the thoughts of defeat traveled through his mind, he felt the ground shake near him. Forcing his head up, he saw a massive shape leaning over him. Reginald felt his breath get caught in his throat. 'He wasn't this big before. What's going on?' In the darkness, all he could see were the eyes glaring down at him. He felt something wet falling over him. 'Drool,' he thought, feeling a cold sensation run down his spine.

"Now, my precious vampire, I will dine," the creature said. It raised its head and prepared to plunge onto its prey.

Reginald jumped as he heard a noise nearby. He turned and saw an older man sitting at a picnic table in the center clearing of the apartment complex. He had his morning paper stretched out on the table before him, but it was quickly catching flame as his lit cigar laid on it. He was struggling to get to his feet, but the belt from his robe had gotten caught up in the chair.

The creature growled. "Tonight is full of interruptions, it seems," the beast said, turning towards the man. "Wait for me, my undying meal." The creature calmly strode over towards the old man, who had frozen with fright. As it neared, Reginald's eyes grew wide. 'If the old man's five feet, that thing has to be at least fifteen. That's impossible though. He was just in the apartment!' Reginald thought.

The old man cried out as he just barely dove to the side as a huge fist crashed down on the table, splintering it to pieces. "Stay still, my food," Reginald heard it grumble. "I have no more time for sport, just feeding." The creature began to raise its arm again.

Reginald felt a tear roll down his face as he looked in the other direction. 'I could run now, and keep living. I can do anything with this life that I want. There is still so much more that I want to do." He bit his lower lip. 'I could run and live.' He took a deep breath as he felt his blood surge through his entire body. 'I could run, and keep living.' He felt his muscles tense up and convulse, waiting for his next command. "I could run, but I won't," he said quietly out loud. He felt his legs begin to move as everything slowed down to a crawl.

The creature slammed his arm down and gasped as it hit something more solid than it had expected. "Run old man!" Reginald yelled, standing over the man and feeling every muscle in his body screaming as he held the large fist at bay with the sword. He felt as if his left arm was being grinded down as the side of the sword pushed into his elbow as both arms forced the creature to a standstill. "I said run!"

The man finally overcame his fear and began to crawl away. With a tremendous growl the beast moved its hand, causing hin to almost fall forward. It slammed its fist down even harder, giving Reginald barely enough time to roll out of the way. 'Good,' he thought, seeing the old man make it inside his apartment from the corner of his eye. The creature roared and picked up the remains of the table, throwing it into the window of the man's apartment.

Reginald blinked as the light from the windows poured out into the yard. 'This thing isn't anything near human,' Reginald thought, finally getting a clear view of the creature. It was a humanoid shape with a head, two arms, and two legs. Its entire body was covered with what looked like light chunks of bone or stone. As it moved, the bones or stones would shift, keeping every inch of it covered and protecting it from whatever creature was foolish enough to attack it. It head was protected just like it's body except for a couple of cracks that let its eyes peer out.

It shifted its attention back to Reginald. "You are going to pay for this, undying one!" it shouted, beginning to slam its hands and feet down rapidly. Each time Reginald barely had time to dodge or dive out of the way as the creature made small craters in the ground all around him. Reginald did manage to get one lucky hit on the monster on one dodge, but groaned as the sword glanced off the hard outer surface.

The beast laughed. "Human swords are no match for me," it said, continuing its attack. "Consent to being dinner, my friend. Nourish me, and as long as I live, a small part of you will too."

Reginald frowned. 'This thing has no weakness,' he thought, jumping back as a fist crashed into the ground near him. 'What on Earth can I do?' He continued to dodge. 'Maybe it can get tired. Maybe I can wear it out.' He darted in the opposite direction, towards a back alley behind the apartments. Glancing back, he saw the beast smile and take chase. 'Who am I kidding? I'm more tired than it is.'

Reginald led the monster through the alley and into a backstreet of the city. From there he would dart in and out of alleys, race along deserted streets, leading the monster further and further away. Luckily it was still too early for many to be out and if anyone witnessed the pair, it was only a blur through the window. Each time Reginald glanced back, he noticed the monster was closer than it was before. He saw teeth glistening in the dim streetlights as it smiled at him each time. 'I can't go much longer. I can't go much longer,' he was repeating in his mind as he turned into an alleyway. He choked on a sob. 'No, no!' he thought, seeing a wall looming at the end of the alley. He heard a loud burst of harsh laughter behind him.

Without hesitating, he pushed on. 'I can't stop now, even if I want to.' He bit into his lip as he pushed his body for more speed. 'If I'm going to die, I won't die standing still.' He strained as his footsteps quickened. As he got to within several feet of the dead end, he leaped up as high as he could and planted his feet on the wall. He let the momentum push his entire body towards his feet, feeling himself getting compressed like a spring. With every ounce of energy he could muster, he used the momentum to leap towards the pursuing beast. He brought out his sword and pointed it towards the beast's face.

In the moment of confusion where his prey had suddenly leaped towards its head, the creature shouted in surprise and tried to dodge to the right. Fortunately for Reginald, that was all the time he needed to jab his sword inside and slash the side of the monsters mouth open. Reginald hit the ground as he heard the beast shriek in pain and fury. He felt drops of something coming down all around him. Looking up he saw blood and spittle flowing from the monster's wounded mouth. He took his sword and carefully aimed the point towards one of the open gaps of bone in its leg. With a heave, he shoved the sword inwards, passing through the armored shell. Blood came spurting out as he withdrew the blade.

"I'rl gek you, you baskard!" the monster shrieked. He barely had time to dodge between its legs as it stomped its good leg down. The beast tried to turn to confront him, but it was too big to move easily in the cramped alley.

'This is my chance!" Reginald thought, drawing up a deep breath. He placed the hilt of the sword in his teeth and jumped up onto the creature's back, grabbing hold of one of the bony plates. The beast flailed its arms around, trying to rid itself of the intruder on his back. Reginald ducked his head down as bricks rained from the crumbling buildings on each side as the beast continued to flail about.

'Damn, this is going to hurt,' he thought, grabbing hold of his sword with his left hand. His lungs emptied as he felt the bones grinding together as his muscles struggled to obey their master. He focused on trying to stay conscious, but he saw his vision beginning to fade. 'Got to fight. Can't stop.' His hand shook as he aimed his sword at the back of the creature's neck. "Fight!" he screamed, beginning to stab downwards.

Just before contact, Reginald felt himself begin to fall forward. 'How?' was all he could think as the beast knelt down and threw him forwards towards the dead end. He screamed as his body hit the hard brick. It felt like years passed by as he slid down the wall into a clump on the ground. 'There went several ribs!' he thought gasping down air as he fought against the pain. He watched as the beast slowly lumbered forward towards him.

As Reginald laid there, motionless, he felt a small smile creep onto his face. 'Three hundred year isn't so bad. I've always believed this day would begin like every other day and end like every pointless day. But today wasn't pointless after all.' The smile grew. 'Today I made a difference. Today I leave no regrets.' He thought about the woman in the apartment and laughed out loud. 'Live as long as you can for me.'

"Have youc lost it at the endc?" the creature asked, his disfigured mouth just inches from Reginald's face.

Reginald's smile grew to its fullest. "No, I've only just found it."

The beast glared at him for a moment, then drew it head back and roared. The ground shook as the cry went up into the air, but Reginald barely felt it. A warm feeling was pulsing through his body. Then the beast drove its mouth straight for Reginald's head. He kept smiling as it neared. He saw the glistening teeth lined up in rows as the mouth opened wider. With a quick breath, Reginald fell to the side, bringing up his sword in his place and thrusting forward. With its mouth wide open, it missed its prey's final move. Reginald kept the blade steady as it plunged upwards through the roof of the beast's mouth, upwards into the brain. With a large boom, the head crashed into the wall, bringing down dozens of bricks onto the two of them. Reginald cried out as the beast fell over onto his legs.

He fought hard not to pass out as the beast uttered its last words. "Heeh, heeh, undyincing one. Youc killedered me, but myc brothersss will avenge mees." Its deformed and broken mouth formed a grotesque smile. "Dies, when they findss youc."

After a few short moments to catch his breath, he pushed his body against the creature's side and slowly released his legs. "Oh, I've never felt this much pain," he said, clutching his side. "Though I'm glad to be alive to feel it, I'm sure its welcome will be worn soon." He grabbed hold of his sword from the monster's mouth and pulled it out. "I'm lucky I didn't lose a hand." Slowly, he began to crawl towards the entrance of the alley. He looked up and swore as he saw the sky beginning to lighten.

"Not now. Anytime but now," he cried. "After all of that, I can't die. I'll not make the day like this."

Reginald noticed a dumpster towards the entrance. He took a deep breath and forced himself to stand. For a moment, he thought he was going to fall, but he managed to keep his balance. As his eyesight switched back and forth from hazy to clear, he hobbled forward. "I can do this," he said to himself. "I stopped two crooks, when no one else could. I slayed a great monster that was stronger than me. I can walk a few more feet. Move!" He stabbed at the ground, using the sword as a cane as he slowly pushed forward. His legs shook from the effort, but he kept moving onward.

Reginald almost fell as he bumped into the dumpster. "Woah, there already," he said, blinking weakly. With some effort, he opened the flap several inches with his teeth and threw in his sword hit his good hand. Then taking hold of the flap, with his hand, he jumped upwards with all of his might.

Reginald Baxter was unconscious by the time he ever hit the layer of garbage covering the bottom of the dumpster. The flap slammed down, shutting him away from the outside world. Despite all the pain and anguish he had encountered that night, a smile remained on his face as his first night of vigilante justice came to a close.

Reginald sat straight up in bed as he heard a loud banging from the door. He reached up and rubbed away some of the crust that coated his eyes. "Just a minute!" he hoarsely shouted as the banging continued. He grunted as he realized any movement made small waves of pain pass through him. Clumsily, he began to untangle himself from the sweaty sheets covering him. As he stood, a small wave of dizziness passed over him. He waited a moment to start walking towards the door.

Reginald peeked through the peephole and grunted. "Again," he muttered, letting himself smile. He took in a deep breath and opened the door. "Hey, he said, waving weakly.

Rachel walked into the room. "I heard last night that you had asked for more time. Are you feeling worse?"

"Um, yeah, I had a little bit of a relapse, but it's going better again," he said, trying to focus his hazy mind.

"What happened to your arm?" she asked, pointing at the sling cradling his arm.

"Oh, um," Reginald started, trying to find his words. "I got dizzy in the shower and fell. It's just sprained so it will be better soon. I'm just trying to keep it still."

"Sheesh," she said, shaking her head. "I told you to call if you needed help."

"I'm fine. I didn't want to trouble you with my problems."

She looked around at the messy room. "You need someone to help you. You can't always do things on your own."

'I manage more than most,' he thought, sadly. "Thank, you, but really, I'm fine.. You don't have to worry."

"This place looks terrible," she said. "You haven't done any cleaning since last time."

Reginald walked into the kitchen. "Yeah, I have been laying around a lot lately." He reached into one of the cabinets and brought down Rachel's bowl from before. "Thanks again for the soup. I think it did make me feel better."

She took the bowl and frowned. "But you got got sicker after eating it."

"Hmm?" Reginald grunted, looking confused. "No, no, no. I would have gotten much sicker if I hadn't eaten it. What I'm saying is that I really did enjoy it and thanks."

She looked uncertain. "I've been told that I'm a horrible cook."

Reginald smiled. "Really, I loved it."

Rachel returned the smile. "Thanks. Nice to know I've got one fan out there."

A silence hung between them. Reginald began to feel his heart begin to beat quicker. 'Now's the chance,' he thought. 'There may not be a new day tomorrow, so do it.' He opened his mouth and said, "Umm."

Rachel looked at him to continue.

"Umm, I've been meaning to ask you something," he said, trying to keep his hands from shaking.

"Okay, ask away," she said.

He began to continue, but was stopped by her phone ringing. As she took it out and looked at it, he said, "Go ahead and answer it. It can wait a minute."

"This won't take long," she said, giving him an encouraging smile.

He walked over to the refrigerator and looked inside. 'Nice to see it restocked while I've been out of it,' he thought, taking out a green can of Vrrooom. Opening it, he took a quick sip and sat it down on the counter. He took down a bottle of pills from the cabinet and took a couple of them with his drink. He tried to hide his frown as he listened to the conversation going on behind him.

"Hey, you don't have to keep calling so much, Mark. Yeah, I know we're supposed to be at the movies in a few minutes. So what? If I'm late, we'll just go see another one. No, it isn't a big deal. What? You're the one I should be worried about, so just calm down. I know, but I'm capable of protecting myself. Alright, alright, I should be done in a few. Bye, love you."

Reginald stood there calmly sipping his drink. He smiled as Rachel ended the call and put her phone up.

"Sorry about that. What were you going to ask me?" she asked.

Reginald looked up as he wracked his brain. "What was I going to ask you?" He tried to focus. "Sorry, the medicine is killing my concentration," he said, chuckling. "Ah, I was going to ask how everyone at work was getting along without me. Is Mr Davis getting by with me being gone?"

Rachel gave him a confused look. "Yeah, everything thing is fine. We miss you, but it's slow enough that one person can manage anyways. Everyone is just doing a little more."

"Good, I was beginning to feel lazy. I'm glad everything is under control."

Another silence hung between them. "Are you sure that's all you were going to ask?"

"Yes, that was all," Reginald said, forcing a smile. "I'm still quite drowsy though. I'm thinking of going back to bed."

Taking the hint, Rachel stepped to the door. "Alright, I'll let you get to sleep then. Call me if you need anything. I'm serious."

"I will."

"Get yourself better. We all want to see you back at work and back in good health."

Reginald nodded as his smile grew. "Thanks."

"I will be back in a couple days to clean this place up. This mess can't be good for your health. Bye." Before he could put in another word, she had stepped out of the apartment and closed the door.

For several minutes he just stood there looking around the room and sipping on his drink. The kitchen light shone into the dark living room. He could see the television on but noticed its volume turned down. The bed was in a mess as well as the sofa. An opened first aid kit was sitting on his coffee table with most of its contents scattered around it. Various other garbage was littered throughout the room.

"It really is a mess," he muttered sitting down on the sofa. He propped his feet on the table and sat there lost in his own thoughts for several minutes. "I don't know how much longer I can take this." He leaned forward and cradled his head. "I can't take this solitude any longer." He crumpled up the empty can and threw it onto the table, causing things to scatter even worse. Looking closely, he saw a piece of paper halfway pushed underneath the kit.

"What's this?" he asked, taking the paper and reading it. A genuine smile crept over his face as he read aloud. "Hey, Dad. I'm back at work but I'll be back in the morning to check on you. I think you remember me being there, though you've been in and out of dozing all week. I'm going to see about quitting my job in Requiem and moving up there with you. You need me, Dad. Plus I've really missed you. I'm old enough now to handle anything the world throws at us so keep all that crap about it being dangerous to yourself this time. I've restocked the fridge so drink up. There's some blood coffee in there to help build up your energy quicker. It's pig-blood so don't worry about it. Also, yesterday Grans stopped by and left something for you. It's under the bed. I love you, Dad. P.S. I better not find you in another dumpster in the morning."

Reginald fell backwards into the couch laughing. 'What am I going to do with her?' he thought. 'I'm not ready to be a father and wasn't then, but I'm happy about it now. Maybe I can do alright by her.'

As his laughing fit was dying down, he heard his phone begin to ring. He picked it up and almost dropped it again as he saw the name. "H-hello," he said, trying to keep his voice calm.

"Hey there Reginald," the voice said on the other end. "Long time, brother."

"It has," Reginald said, trying to find more words but failing.

"How have you been?"

"Well," he said. "And you?"

"Tired," the voice said. "We've been after the Cannibal Killer and I haven't slept since the whole thing started. I'm sure you've heard as much, even from your box up there."

"I have heard," Reginald said. "Have you found anymore leads?"

"Sort of. There were two murders the other night in the other two cities, but we have found no body as of yet in Ottowash."

"Really?" Reginald asked, scratching his head. "Well, that's good news, isn't it, Corey?"

"We hope," was the response. "There was quite the uproar the other night in an apartment building on the other side of town. Supposedly a monster took a woman hostage and was fought off by a stranger. He threatened to eat her, so that may have been the killer there."

Reginald's head jerked to the side. "Yes, it may have been."

"Speaking of this stranger, have you heard anything about him?" Corey asked.

"No, I haven't."

"Hmmm," Corey grunted. "Well, it seems we have a vigilante roaming our streets. He showed up week before last for the first time, and then he showed his face, metaphorically speaking, again last week. He fights robbers and monsters, it seems so far. He appears to have superhuman strength and speed. He does seem only to come out at night."

"Wow, that does sound amazing."

"Not only that, but he has OCD tendencies, like requiring to be invited inside a room even when a woman is tied up. Sounds familiar."

Reginald hesitated. "It does sound kind of like a vampire, but that would be crazy."

"It would be. You are right. It's crazy enough to attract the attention of the president of the United States, who happens to be a vampire. You remember that, right?"

"Yeah, I remember."

"Just making certain. Michael contacted me specifically to get this situation under control. The three of us grew up together and he believes he can count on us. I want to prove him right. If this guy is one of us, he's putting everyone in danger. He cannot take the law into his own hands or reveal to the world that we exist. If he continues this path, he will make an enemy of every vampire on this planet and if he lets the cat out of the bag, every human as well. I hope he understands the consequences of his actions if he does wind up being a vampire."

"Yes, I hope he does too."

"Well, I just thought I would call and check on you. I hear Maya is going to be staying with you from now on."

"Yeah, she's moving in soon."

"That's great to hear," Corey said. "If I hadn't proposed to Lilly, I would have took Maya in, but it would be hard to explain how I had a daughter that looked as old as me."

Reginald laughed. "Yes, that would be a tough sell."

"Well, keep a close eye on her. She's a free spirit, and is likely to get into trouble. Don't let her get into trouble, please."

Reginald frowned. "I will do my best."

After another silence, Corey said, "I've got to make sure the kids are sleeping before I report in tonight. I will talk to you soon."

"Okay, talk to you later. Bye."

"Bye."

Reginald dropped his phone onto the table and walked over to the window. He stared down at the street below. He could see cars on the road and people walking on the sidewalk. "There's so many people everywhere," he muttered. "They will all die one day, but they keep up the same routine. They work, they play, they love. Despite the inevitable end, they keep going. I have to try to do the same. I can't back down. I have decided on my path and I must walk it, to whatever end it leads me to."

Smiling he walked over to the bed and reached under it. He pulled out a box he didn't remember ever seeing before. "What did Mother bring me?" he wondered out loud. He opened up the box and laughed. He held up the red and black flannel coat out in front of him. "I can tell that she made it for me." He pulled it on over his head and walked into the bathroom to look in the mirror. "Looks alright," he muttered. He pulled the hood over his head. "Keeps my face more in the shadows. That's useful. With a cap, it would be tough to tell who I am."

Reginald kept staring at himself. "After scolding me like she did, what does this mean? Does she support my decision?"

He walked out of the bathroom and looked around the small apartment. "I can't stay here any more tonight. I have to get out there." Reginald lifted his left arm and slightly winced. "It's much better." He realized most of the pain in his side was gone as well. "I would say that I'm at eighty percent tonight. I won't get involved in anything too big."

Reginald remembered the final words of the monster. "I guess they will be coming for me. I have to get ready. I have to be stronger. If I can kill them, I will save more people." A grim smile appeared on his face. "That is something worth risking my life for."

He threw his clothes off and took a shower. Reginald felt energy coming back to him as the scalding hot water washed over him. The stink of the dumpster disappeared as the room became surrounded in mist. "I'm not as alone as I believed, but even if I had no one, I still would have this city and this city would still have me," he said, laughing out loud as the water relaxed his muscles and he began to feel like a new man.

It was about three in the morning when an SUV came careening through the streets of Ottowash. It narrowly missed hitting another car as it sped along. "Whoow!" a man called from the backseat. "There's got to be a hundred DVDs back here. This bastard's been spoiling his children rotten."

The driver smiled. "Great, just more loot to sell.Check those bags back there. Looks like the fools left some of their shopping in the back. They must have stayed at the mall late last night."

The robber in the backseat laughed. "Yeah, they ought to know that leaving stuff in the car can get it stole." He turned to take inventory.

The driver continued on but slowed down as he saw something flash from one of the nearby buildings. "Hey, Dave, what's that?"