Vampire Apocalypse: A World Torn Asunder (Book 1) (8 page)

“I hope you’re right.”

Chapter 5

The moon shone brightly in an
otherwise clear sky. Its light illuminated the surrounding area and
forced Tyrone Johnson and his two companions to retreat further
behind the undergrowth.

“Bloody typical,” Bill Anderson
complained and received a withering look for his trouble.

The sound of shuffling feet
reached them from further down the trail and Johnson risked lifting
his head to get a better view. The trail led to one of the many
guard compounds littered throughout the state from the days when
the thralls had kept the humans locked up in camps. That was before
they started using the serum all the time. This particular one
wasn’t the closest to the city, but it was the nearest that could
handle the number of humans involved in this particular punishment.
Johnson sighed with relief when the group came into view. If they
had chosen incorrectly, a lot of people would have died. As it was,
he hoped that they wouldn’t all die anyway.

About a hundred yards down the
trail Johnson could see five thralls striding confidently toward
them. The humans behind them were, in contrast, frightened and
shuffled awkwardly along the trail. The line was orderly, with
three abreast, stretching as far back as he could see in the pale
light.

“All right,” he whispered as he
turned to his companions. “When the guards go by we go. And for
God’s sake, remember to shuffle.”

The first row of humans passed
by and Johnson could see the look of pure terror in their eyes.
Goddamned serum, he thought bitterly. Each and every human in that
line was all too aware of what was about to happen, but was
physically incapable of doing anything about it.

“Good, no vampires,” he
whispered and then the three companions slipped into the line and
quickly fell into step with those around them.

Harris surveyed the scene below
from his vantage point in a tree near the camp. A chain link fence
reached some ten feet in height around the compound and culminated
in a wicked spiral of barbed wire. The fence used to be
electrified, but the guards had had it too easy for so long that
they had become complacent. The fence had not been maintained in
quite a while and current no longer flowed through it.

The overall shape of the
compound was rectangular and measured some three hundred yards in
length by two hundred wide. At each corner of the camp was a
twenty-foot guard tower manned by at least one thrall. To his right
Harris could see the barracks where the guards slept. Beside that
was the motor pool, which housed some ten vehicles. Other buildings
dotted the circumference of the camp. Harris could identify the
armoury and mess hall easily enough, but the other buildings
remained a mystery. Many of the buildings bore the look of neglect.
This camp was too far outside of town and had been abandoned since
the serum had replaced these prisons. Everywhere he looked Harris
could see signs of recent occupancy, the thralls had rushed out
here just that morning to prepare for the vampires” show tonight
and he hoped that the thrall’s unfamiliarity with the camp would
work in their favour. To his left was the entrance to the compound,
comprising of two huge gates flanked on either side by guard
towers.

Harris shifted position. The
pain in his stomach was from tension not cramp, so all he could do
was ignore it while he watched the gates open. The guards led the
doomed group into the camp and proceeded to assemble them in the
large forecourt. It was early evening and, already, Harris could
see the sun beginning to sink behind the horizon. Shadows grew
longer inside the camp and a cold breeze seemed to herald the
approaching darkness. Harris shivered. When all the humans finally
past the main gates the thralls closed the huge doors and assembled
the poor wretches into neat rows within the main courtyard. A
deathly silence descended over the camp, as if the thralls too were
nervous.

Harris looked at his watch.
Three minutes, he thought. In the distance he could hear the faint
rustling noises they had all come to dread.

The noise grew louder and louder
until, finally, Harris could make out the outline of the
approaching swarm. They came from the east and their ebony darkness
filled the sky. They screeched and swooped at the assembled humans
and added further to the terror of the pathetic group below. Each
time they swooped into the compound the camp’s lights illuminated
their hellish features and Harris felt his resolve slip.

Twenty! My God, twenty of them,
he thought in horror. What have I gotten us into?

One by one the creatures swooped
down and began to change as soon as they touched the ground. Their
wings seemed to shimmer and shrink back into their bodies with a
cracking of bone that grated on Harris” nerves. Their faces were
contorted into sunken, bone-ridged masks of terror and, as he
watched in horror Harris could see the flesh begin to flow as if
suddenly melting before reforming around the newly crafted
features. Their hideous mouths, filled with sharp, over-sized
teeth, seemed to crack and fold back in on themselves as flesh
began to form over the new bone. Gaunt, angular cheekbones suddenly
puffed out and became almost plump. Their bodies too, contorted and
cracked as their long, animal forms were replaced with a squatter
human frame. The guards dropped to their knees in supplication and
Harris gripped his radio tightly, feeling the cold metal dig into
his flesh as the abomination before him strengthened his
resolve.

“Group Two, begin,” he whispered
into the mouthpiece.

Chapter 6

“Group two, begin.”

The words broke the reverie of
the four companions as they stood quietly together. Harrington
looked at each of his group. Sandra stood to his right. He had
argued strenuously against his daughter coming tonight, but, in the
end, it had been futile. John and Amy Stone sat to his left and
held hands so tightly that their skin had long since turned white.
He looked at each in turn. No words were spoken. None were needed.
The group stood, embraced silently, and melted into the
darkness.

John Kelly heard the radio
crackle and knew that the time had long passed for changing their
minds. They were committed. He always felt nervous just before an
attack. His stomach would twist, his hands would shake
uncontrollably, and pain would shoot through his body. Normally he
would hide his nervousness and keep his hands in his pockets or sit
alone and pretend to go over the plan one last time. Tonight,
though, he was on his own. He could pace freely and count down the
remaining seconds. He looked again at his watch and felt a calm
suddenly come over him as all the tension passed.

It was time.

He bent down, picked up the axe
from the grass and smiled when he saw that his hand no longer
shook.

Harris waited until the guards
on sentry passed his position and then dropped from the tree. They
would take only ten minutes to complete a full circuit of the
complex, so he hurried over to the fence and began to climb. When
he reached the top he threw a rubber mat over the barbed wire to
protect himself. He looked around quickly to make sure he hadn’t
been seen and then pulled himself over and dropped to the ground.
He checked his backpack was secure, pulled an Uzi machine pistol
from its holster on his hip, and then disappeared into the
darkness.

Sandra Harrington sighted along
the aiming bubble at the end of the crossbow. The subject of her
attention was a thrall in the east tower. She followed his pacing
for a second and then allowed herself to exhale slowly. She forced
herself to relax and said a quiet prayer. Her finger squeezed the
trigger and she felt the weapon snap back against her shoulder.
Many thoughts raced through her mind. Would her training pay off?
Would she miss and cause the alarm to be raised?

The thrall suddenly jerked
upright and then crumpled silently to the floor of the tower.
Sandra smiled grimly and allowed the crossbow to swing from its
strap. She looked again at her watch and then began to climb.

Chapter 7

“My Lord, the prisoners are all
assembled as per your instructions.” The captain of the guard rose
from his knees and began his report. “The cameras will be ready in
five minutes.”

“Excellent,” Nero replied and
turned away to view the proceedings.

The cameras had been his idea.
Screens had been set up everywhere and they would pipe the feed all
over the city. He smiled at the thought of the terror this massacre
would instil in the cattle. The serum might take away their ability
to act independently, but it didn’t stop them from being petrified.
Maybe this will make these rebels think twice before attacking
their masters.

Harris hurried through the
darkness toward the motor pool. A line of jeeps and trucks were
parked neatly in three lanes, and he ran through them to the fuel
dump at the far end. He shook a number of cans and grunted in
satisfaction when he found one almost full. Then he slipped back
between the vehicles. He laid a trail behind him, removed petrol
caps and sprinkled petrol liberally around the whole area. When he
reached the last vehicle he poured the remaining fuel in a line
leading back to the fuel dump.

When he was satisfied he checked
around the grounds for sentries and sneered when he saw that most
of them had given up their patrols to view the proceedings in the
centre of the camp.

Morbid bastards, he thought, and
then slipped silently toward the barracks.

Tyrone Johnson could feel his
heart thumping in his chest and sweat trickling down his face. He
fought to remain still, but couldn’t help pressing his left arm
tighter against his side to ensure that the miniature crossbow was
still strapped there. His eyes moved wildly from side to side while
he took note of the each of the vampires” positions.

Jesus! They were terrifying up
close. They moved with such grace and assurance that he began to
wonder how a pitifully small crossbow could do anything but piss
them off. Was Harris mad? Were they all mad? He could feel his
muscles spasm in fear and he clamped his teeth tightly together to
stop them chattering. He was convinced that they would smell his
fear any second and set upon him before the others were in position
but he forced himself to remain as still as he could. Jesus, how
did he get himself in this position? He liked Harris, he really
did, but he would have to have some strong words with the boy after
this. If there was an after.

He had expected to be terrified
being this close to the vampires but, now that he was here, he
began to realise that there was something magnificent about the
creatures as well, something so powerful that it was almost
alluring, thrilling. Despite their evil, despite what they had done
to him and to humanity as a whole he felt himself weakening.

Surely he would be better
confessing to them, warning them and maybe they would allow him to
live. Johnson felt himself beginning to move forward. In his mind
he screamed at himself but his body didn’t seem to take any notice.
He knew they were evil, he had seen them slaughter his wife and his
daughter in front of him while they laughed, but the compulsion to
throw himself at their mercy was so strong that the images in his
head couldn’t stop him. He took one faltering step forward,
helpless to resist their allure.

Suddenly, he became aware of a
faint odour of decay on the wind and he stopped moving. The stink
was like a slap in the face as the vampires” true nature came back
to him. The compulsion was still there but now he was able to focus
his hatred and fight against it. He felt a fire grow in the pit of
his stomach and he fuelled it with memories of his family. He saw
them scream as the vampires tore them apart and he felt his resolve
grow. His teeth suddenly stopped chattering and he felt his control
return. One way or the other it would end tonight. Either he would
avenge his family or he would join them.

“Four minutes,” Harris muttered
to himself as he set the final timer and placed the charge in
position under the barracks. Sweat rolled freely from every pore
while the thralls moved about above him. At one point he could even
see the wood of the floor dip dangerously close to his face when a
guard stopped to warm himself against a radiator.

Harris thumbed the safety off
his machine gun and rolled out from under the last of the five
wooden structures along the western fence. He had no idea if all of
the buildings were occupied but he couldn’t take the chance. The
facility may have been abandoned for some time now but there had
been over a hundred thralls crawling over it all day trying to get
it ready on such short notice and Harris wasn’t certain how many
had returned to the city and how many had stayed. He checked again
for patrols and then made his way toward the assembled group in the
forecourt.

The captain approached Nero and
bowed low. “Camera uplink is now ready, my lord.”

“Excellent,” the vampire hissed
and swept around to face his clan. “Come; let us show this rabble
the price of resistance.” And with that the vampires approached
their terrified prey.

Johnson watched the vampires
approach and slowly moved his hand toward his side. God, I hope the
others are in position, he thought desperately, or this is going to
be one short-lived act of defiance. He whispered a quick prayer and
gripped his weapon tightly.

Just then a loud explosion
shattered the silence. Four more quickly followed, so close
together that Johnson thought it was one long thunder crack. He
ripped the crossbow from its hiding place at his side and sent his
first shot at the lead vampire.

Harrington heard the explosions
and tried to blot out the scene of mayhem below him. All five of
the buildings along the west fence had exploded and now burned
fiercely. Thralls stumbled out of two of the ruined barracks
covered in flames, screaming hideously as their flesh burned and
crackled in the heat. An orange glow illuminated the camp. It
undulated as the flames waxed and waned and gave the whole scene a
surreal, hellish appearance.