United Service (21 page)

As the last boy in his care settled down, Kekoa glanced over to Michael, a ten–year–old boy who was sound asleep. Kekoa liked the boy, but he was a snitch and reported on everything Kekoa did. Of course, no one ever ate with the young boy, talked with him, or considered him a friend – but who would? Kekoa could hear Michael softly snoring so he went to the lights and flashed them on and off several times – signaling that all boys were accounted for and in the cabin. He waited by the window for Rebecca to return the signal. He waited a long time. As he paced the floor waiting, he heard Stephen restless in his bunk. “Whatcha doing?”

Keeping an eye out the window Kekoa answered the young boy. “Just watching the girls’ cabin. I want to make sure Rebecca and the girls are okay.”

“Rebecca? She the tall one?” Stephen asked sleepily.

“Yes”

“She’s probably,” he said, yawning, “busy with the new girl.”

Kekoa’s heart skipped a beat. “The new girl Tiffany?”

The boy shook his head. “Brooke somebody. She came in today.”

Kekoa’s jaw tightened. He could see Rosalie from the window. Still no signal came from Rebecca. Kekoa shook Stephen more awake. “Tell me everything you know about the new girl.”

Stephen yawned as he wiped his eyes. “I don’t know. She came in after dinner. I didn’t see her, just heard about her from one of the girls. Rebecca had to get her cleaned up for tonight. Something about special prayers. I heard she’s older than Rebecca, so I guess, Deacon Victoria will put her in charge of the girls.”

“What?” Kekoa always feared the possibility of one of the kids being separated. And it now explained why Rebecca wasn’t flickering the lights. Not all the girls were safe and sound.

Kekoa knew Rebecca was only about sixteen and had seemed to be Henry’s chosen favorite. If a new girl was culled from the herd, it was so she could be raped, killed, or both. It had been a long time since there had been a girl at the camp in their late teens, and Kekoa still remembered the haunted looks the girls had after nights with Henry. His heart sank as he realized he didn’t know where Henry was at this very moment.

Kekoa heard the soft snoring of Stephen as he drifted off to sleep. Taking inventory on the boys, he realized they were all passed out.

He knew there were no special prayers. If there were, Henry’s bed was the Alter. Kekoa had to move now.

As darkness fell, Sterling paced along the camp’s western perimeter, growing more impatient by the minute. Never having attended a summer camp before, he wasn’t sure what to expect, but it wasn’t this. The camp seemed like a prison with its border fencing and guard dogs near the gate entrance. The two vampires stood downwind of the dogs and out of sight. According to the tracker Ben was watching on his phone, Kate was somewhere inside this depressing jail. The child she had cared for, Tiffany, as well as all the other kidnapped children, were also somewhere inside.

Human smells filled the air in the camp and surrounding woods, even as far away as where they parked their car. No trash collecting trucks would come out this far, especially since he suspected the humans did their best to keep the camp secret. The trash bins overflowed with garbage and leftover food. The stench hung in the air and smelled sickening to Sterling.

As he and Ben waited, movement stirred in the camp. They watched as the humans patrolled the campground. Once or twice they caught a glimpse of the children as they walked from one building to the next for various activities. The guard dogs had ignored the children.

It wasn’t until what they guessed were evening exercises that Sterling recognized Tiffany from the pictures he had seen of her. The child marched up and down the walkway that wound its way around the tiny buildings. Based on the kids’ sluggish movements, Sterling assumed they had all been drugged.

A human female guard marched with them. Sterling swore she looked exactly like Arnold Schwarzenegger in a wig, but not as attractive. The guard yelled at the girls and kept them moving even though the girls appeared tired enough to drop.

“No boys,” Ben noted. “Only girls.”

“We know boys were also taken. They must be elsewhere.” Sterling noted the obvious exception to the lineup of girls was that Kate was not with them. At first Sterling thought that Kate may do something foolish, like taking on the humans on her own, but then he realized the huge flaw in that scenario. Tiffany was with the other girls. Kate wouldn’t leave her once she had found her. That could only mean one thing. Kate had been pulled apart from the girls. Sterling’s jaw clenched at the thought.

Holding his phone, Sterling punched in the transmitter’s frequency code so he too could track Kate once on the inside. At the moment, the signal only told him she was located in the north eastern part of the camp. If he could get closer, he might be able to narrow down the exact building.

“This camp is from the 1950’s,” Ben said.

Sterling glanced around at the old wooden buildings. “That explains why this place looks like shit. No one has preserved the area.”

“The camp was a church retreat until some wild boars forced it to be closed,” Ben added as he read from his phone. “The church reopened the camp, but people were too scared to come back. After a few years, the church sold the land to a developer – but then he declared bankruptcy in the early 1970s. I don’t think anyone has been around here in years.”

“This fence is new,” Sterling said, pointing to the electrified metal barrier dividing them from the campers.

Ben studied the fence. “It’s either not too new or just hasn’t been maintained. There are places along the length of it that look broken. There may not be electricity in those parts.”

Sterling walked past the gated entrance, careful not to stir the dogs, and looked down the southern wall of the fence. “The perimeter goes on for well over a mile. You find a map of the place?”

Ben shook his head incredulously. “Dude. 1970s. No one has put a map of this place on the Internet. I was lucky to find a reference to it in the church’s archives.” He pointed up towards the sign swinging freely in the breeze over the gate’s entrance. “Camp Ichowi isn’t high on anyone’s search engines.”

Sterling’s eyes lit up as an idea came to him. “Google maps will at least have the layout of the buildings.” After bringing up the location on his phone, Sterling tilted the small device and then zoomed in on the place. He noticed Ben doing the same. The two studied the map for a few minutes. The camp was mostly rectangular in shape with the far SE corner cut off by the lake. “Looks like this here,” Sterling said pointing to the gate, “is the main entrance. A couple of bigger buildings just to the left could be administrative cabins.”

“Probably a hospital, post office, and that type of thing,” Ben said as he studied the same image on his phone. “The biggest building in the center and to the left is probably the cafeteria.”

Sterling nodded. With this many children, they would need a large place to feed everyone. Plus, many times camps like this did skits and performances. They would need a large building for that. “The little shed between the admin buildings and the cafeteria could be a generator for the place.” He looked up towards the buildings. “There are no phone or electric lines this far out.”

“There are two medium sized buildings near the middle of the camp. I’d guess they’re bathrooms since they’re long and narrow.”

“Eight,” Sterling announced. “There are eight small buildings just past the gate and another set of eight buildings in the NE corner where Kate is.”

“Personal cabins most likely.” Ben glanced over to Sterling. “The kids and camp counselors need to sleep. I’m guessing their cabins would be separated.” He glanced back down at his phone’s display. “The big building near the lake is probably a stable for horses, but what would the small building near the far cabins be?”

Sterling took a good look at the unknown building and finally answered, “Chapel.” He shrugged as he looked over at Ben. “This was a religious camp, so it makes sense they would have a place of worship.” Examining the map again, he studied the cluster of eight cabins where Kate was being held. He wondered if she were in the children or the adult area, and why she was separated.

“If all goes well tonight, those children will be reunited with their families by tomorrow morning,” Ben commented. “We have to wait for everyone to fall asleep so we can cut down on the chance of kids getting hurt.”

Sterling stopped pacing long enough to glare at Ben. “Kate may not be able to wait that long.”

Ben’s eyes narrowed. “We wait for the team and for nightfall.”

“Fuck that.”

“Sterling,” Ben sternly said.

Beginning to pace again, Sterling continued at an agitated pace. He stopped when he saw one of the dogs looking in his direction.

“Your aura is indigo blue.”

Sterling rubbed his eyes and immediately regretted doing so, wincing at the pain.

“Why is your condition so bad right now? Your hands are gloved and you haven’t touched anything for hours.”

Sterling pointed to the trees and vegetation which surrounded them. “I don’t know. Ragweed? Fucking cedar trees?” he barked. His body shook uncontrollably, as if it was covered with ants¸ and he let out a shudder. “I have some rain left in the car.”

Ben shook his head. “Your store won’t be enough. Sulie will be here soon. She’ll take care of you.”

“I’ll manage!”

The puffiness of Sterling’s eyes, and the rash forming around his neck, told another story. “The sun has already set,” Ben said calmly. “Sulie is your best bet. I doubt you’ll have time to be at your best, especially since I know you can sense the same thing I can.”

Sterling eyes darted back into the camp. “Of course I sensed it. There’s another vampire here, a purebred.” He stared at the gate as if looking for more information from the camp. “I’m betting the vamp is the boy who recently turned. Even if he has sided with the kidnappers, I think I can still take him out if needed.”

“A purebred, Sterling. Maybe just a boy, but he’s still going to be stronger than you.”

Sterling rolled his eyes as he quietly opened the car door. “I’m not going out in a pile of dust because of a punk teenager.”

“Pollen is taking you out! Look at yourself.” When Sterling remained silent, Ben added, “If we can sense that vampire, he sure as hell can sense us.”

“You.”

Ben gave a surprised look, so Sterling repeated. “He can sense you. Not me.” Sterling pulled out his raindrops and a small bottle of rainwater. He tilted his head and put two drops in each eye. Letting out a small sigh of relief, he spritzed what little rainwater he had left around his face. It was the worst affected part of his body since it was the only exposed area.

After refreshing his face, he tossed the empty bottles back into the car. “Wait here for the team. I’m going to find a weak panel of fence and get Kate out now.”

“Hell, no. The team will be here soon and we need to fill them in on what we know.”

“The last time I checked, it only takes one person to deliver status.” With that, Sterling took off down the north side of the fence alone.

Kekoa listened for the sound of the guard’s heartbeat outside the cabin. When he heard the sound, the rhythmic beating excited him. He pursed his lips together as saliva pooled in his mouth. The armed guard stood only a few feet from the door, and he was alone. Kekoa walked carefully around the sleeping children to the back window. The pane was nailed shut, but with his new found strength he popped the window directly out of its frame, nails and all. He looked over to the sleeping boys. They all still slept. Being careful with the noise, Kekoa placed the window inside the cabin and climbed out.

When he spotted the guard, Kekoa’s heart raced. Was he really going to take a human life? He felt sick, but he committed himself to this act. If not for him, then for the children. He was their only hope.

Kekoa took several deep breaths and considered all the options of how to kill the guard. After running through a few scenarios, he chose his deadly strike. The end would be quick.

He picked up a rock from the ground and felt its weight. The stone fit firmly in the palm of his hand and had a good heft. The wait wasn’t long. The guard turned his back to the cabin, and away from Kekoa. With super speed, Kekoa advanced on the unsuspecting human and struck him in the back of the head with a mighty blow.

The impact of the rock caved in the man’s skull. Blood sprayed from the head trauma like a sprinkler on parched land. Kekoa jumped back as his face and clothes were covered in red. He smelled the blood instantly, and it smelled good. He tore into the man’s wrist while the blood was still warm. The blood tasted sweet and delicious as it dribbled down Kekoa’s chin. His fangs ripped the tissues in the arm as he drained the man dry.

Cells in Kekoa’s body regenerated, with even more strength and stamina. Kekoa felt stronger than he ever had in his life. He licked his lips and savored the moment.

One down. Many to go.

Hearing the soft crunching of the freshly fallen leaves beneath his feet, Sterling crouched low to the ground and scurried around the perimeter of the fence. He redirected his path towards a muddy trail where the rain soaked leaves sounded quieter under his steps. His efforts hadn’t gotten him far down the northern side of the fence before he heard the faint sound of several cars as they approached. The Colony team had arrived, but he still didn’t head back. It would take his father too long to be debriefed and to divide the team up with a plan of attack. Plus, Sterling suspected his father would spend a few minutes scolding Ben for his disappearance from the team. Sterling cursed inwardly. He owed Ben big for that one.