My Summer Vacation (With Fireworks!)

[Grace]

“STOP!” I started yelling, “Stop the trucks!”

Egghead slowed to a cautious stop. Lumberjack was driving the truck ahead of us and didn’t stop until they were on top of road block.

“What’s going on?” Egghead asked me, “why did you want to stop so fast?”

“Those dudes in the cloaks,” I pointed out the blockaders. “They were in the graveyard last night, doing something.”

“What exactly were they doing?” Egghead’s normally calm and level voice betrayed a hint of panic.

I shrugged, “I don’t know. I didn’t stick around to ask them. It’s not what I’m here for.”

“You mean all this could have been prevented last night?” Panic was turning to anger. Anger at me.

“It’s not like I knew that!” I said defensively. I was finding that I didn’t like having Egghead angry with me. “If I had known… things would have gone differently.”

“What’s done is done…” He seemed on the verge of forgiving me. Perhaps he didn’t care for being angry with me? I like to think so. But there were more pressing matters for both of us.

Ahead of us, from both sides of the road came the moan. Rising from shallow graves came the dead to swarm the living.

We’d barely stopped in time. The truck in front of us was not so fortunate. Lumberjack tried to put his truck into reverse and crashed into several of the corpses. He was trying to wheel the pickup around to plow back into our direction. Unfortunately, he miscalculated and wound up flipping the vehicle into the ditch. He didn’t have a seatbelt on so between the impact of rolling over and the airbag going off, he was knocked unconscious. The moaning dead took care of the rest.

The civilians in the back of the truck had no better chance against the swarming dead. Only Mr. Voices was able to extricate himself from the passenger side. He’d had enough sense to wear the seatbelt. The dead were attacking the living in an orgy of murder and had not seemed to notice him.

He started running for our truck.

He was noticed by the cultists. One of them gestured and a couple of the newly created dead broke away from the violence. They started after him and were quickly gaining. Mr. Voices was limping, apparently he wasn’t entirely unhurt by the accident.

While all of this was going on, I was busy pulling out my .338 and started picking my target. Those runners were going to catch Mr. Voices before he got to us. Egghead was frozen in indecision.

I lined up a head shot and fired.

Mr. Voices dropped to the ground.

The runners stumbled in mid stride as their target was denied to them. But with a gesture from the lead cultist, they acquired new targets and started to close on us.

Two carefully placed head shots ensured they never made it to us. My fourth shot brought the cult leader down. The fifth took out another cultist who seemed to think gesturing oddly was a good idea despite where it had gotten her boss.

“I don’t have enough of these rounds to get all the available targets.” My voice seemed to reach Egghead over the cacophony of the situation. “We need to withdraw if we’re going to save the people in the back.”

“Do what she says!” Gizmo screamed from the back of the pick up while trying to shoot some of the shamblers that were starting to turn their attention to us. His shots were ineffective.

Slowly, Egghead nodded. Then the nodding increased in frequency. He turned the truck around while I reloaded. We were again barrelling down the road, right back into town.

[Grace]

Well on my 416 I mount a reflex site, a night-vision site, an illuminator and an entry gun for most ops. This gives me the ability to quickly and accurately target in light or dark, with or without an active light source. Also the ability to switch between .223 and 12 Gauge without switching weapons is really handy.

You say the sexiest things, Mr. Caliburn.

[Cybermancer]

I know that this happened all the way back in the summer time but I have to question something here.

Did you really need to shoot Mr. Voices? Was it mercy as is implied or was it that you just didn't like what he could see in your head?

In the time you took to line up a single head shot, you probably could have staggered both pursuing zombies with body shots from your .338. It's a high powered round, it probably would have knocked either of them to the ground. In fact, you describe it having similar effects when used in other stories.

It is difficult for me to beleive that someone who takes life cheaply wouldn't exploit an oppurtunity to remove a potential enemy or obstacle.

[Joe Smith]

I am a large caliber kind of guy, and the MC51 and HK53 are both good guns. I am particular fond of Beowolf however, it works well with a 16" barrel.

I like large medium velocity rounds for maximum shock impact, and less richochet potencial. Also, light armored targets get knocked around pretty good and don't really get a change to fire back.

[Grace]

I am a large caliber kind of guy, and the MC51 and HK53 are both good guns. I am particular fond of Beowolf however, it works well with a 16" barrel.

I like large medium velocity rounds for maximum shock impact, and less richochet potencial. Also, light armored targets get knocked around pretty good and don't really get a change to fire back.

Geeze, you let it get out that you're really a girl and suddenly all the boys come around to flirt.

[Joe Smith]

Pfft.

Flirt? Thats not flirting. You will know when I am flirting.

[Grace]

Mr. Smith, you're the one who started talking about 'large caliber kind of guy' and 'maximum shock impact'.

It's like you're sending mixed signals now. You shouldn't tease a girl like that.

[Clarity]

Well on my 416 I mount a reflex site, a night-vision site, an illuminator and an entry gun for most ops. This gives me the ability to quickly and accurately target in light or dark, with or without an active light source. Also the ability to switch between .223 and 12 Gauge without switching weapons is really handy.

You say the sexiest things, Mr. Caliburn.

_____Miss Nemesis, maybe you shouldn’t say such things? Because Mr. Ron and Miss Wie are together, I think. He probably only wants to say . . . those kinds of things with Miss Wie only.
_____P.S. Umm . . . maybe I should erase this talk, Mr. Ron?
_____P.S., again. It sounds a little like when Mr. Ron didn’t say anything about Ashby and me.
_____P.S., again, again. Though I don’t think Ashby and I were like Mr. Ron and Miss Wie. We were just friends.

[Grace]

Well on my 416 I mount a reflex site, a night-vision site, an illuminator and an entry gun for most ops. This gives me the ability to quickly and accurately target in light or dark, with or without an active light source. Also the ability to switch between .223 and 12 Gauge without switching weapons is really handy.

You say the sexiest things, Mr. Caliburn.

_____Miss Nemesis, maybe you shouldn’t say such things? Because Mr. Ron and Miss Wie are together, I think. He probably only wants to say . . . those kinds of things with Miss Wie only.
_____P.S. Umm . . . maybe I should erase this talk, Mr. Ron?
_____P.S., again. It sounds a little like when Mr. Ron didn’t say anything about Ashby and me.
_____P.S., again, again. Though I don’t think Ashby and I were like Mr. Ron and Miss Wie. We were just friends.

Yeah, wow. This is twice I've had this particular chat because of that post.

So just for the sake of Clarity, I will be clear.

Mr. Caliburn is neither as pretty nor as dumb as I usually like my boys. I was just being a brat and teasing him. I am absolutely no contender for Wie in this matter.

I hope that clears things up.

[Grace]

A little driving around revealed that all the routes of town were blocked in much the same way. We also picked up more survivors here and there.

One of them was the deputy who opened up the jailhouse so we could hole up there for a bit. The armoury was opened up and guns were distributed along with ammo. Those of us who knew how to use them showed those who didn’t.

By nightfall, the little jailhouse was like a little fortress. And we were under siege. It seemed like the entire town had surrounded us. From the roof, I taught some of the survivors to aim their weapons into a target rich environment below us.

There wasn’t much concern about sleeping though. The moaning was too loud, too constant and far too unsettling to allow anything resembling rest. Every so often, one of the oddly dressed cultists would show up and seem to try and direct the dead.

Eventually they learned that coming within a mile of me was a death sentence for them.

We also learned what most of us had already suspected. The distant cell tower whose flashing lights would have been visible at night was no where to be seen. Hard lines were likewise cut. Radio signals lacked any real range in the mountains. Electrical power had been cut as well.

In a world of billions, we were alone and isolated.

Egghead was also making observations. “You notice that a lot of these things are far more decayed than the others?”

I just shrugged.

“And those ones are often wearing out of date clothes,” he went on, uninvited. “Based on what you said about the cemetery I’d say that those cultists summoned the dead buried there in some sort of ritual. Only the zombies they’ve created are somehow infectious.”

“Zombies? Like in the movies?” I asked. Have I mentioned I’m not a real horror buff? I don’t even like Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’. “Aren’t they always infectious? They bite you and you join the living dead or whatever?”

He shook his head, “most zombie rituals I’ve encountered only create one undead. They don’t pass along their infliction to others like were-beasts and vampires do.”

“So what?” I asked while I lined up a shot on what had once been an old woman. “Are these something new or something?”

“Could be a case of life imitating art,” he suggested. “With all those zombie movies out there, it’s possible that someone experimenting with arcane rituals tried to create zombies from scratch based on what they thought they should be instead of what they’ve traditionally been.”

“Oh great,” I was exasperated. There was simply more of these zombies than I had ammo for. “So what’s next? Freddie and Jason?”

“There is still a line between fiction and reality,” he laid a comforting hand on my shoulder and smiled.

There was an explosion in the distance. The town gas station was now a ball of fire. Literally dozens of flaming bodies were shot into the night sky.

“Apparently we’re not the only survivors,” I commented as I pulled out my binoculars to survey the scene. Zombies were burning and flailing. Other zombies were fleeing from the scene and their fellows. Also departing the scene were a couple of the sun bathers I had seen at Vlad’s house.

“We may have allies,” I said quietly enough for only Egghead to hear me. “But they may not be our friends.”

“What are you talking about?” Egghead wanted to know.

“Unlike you and your friends, I wasn’t sent here to stop the Zombie Apocalypse,” I continued to watch the arsonists pile into a black SUV and drive away. They were headed in the direction of Vlad’s home. Maybe they had cleared the road block in that direction? “I was hired to come here and kill Vlad,” I lowered my binoculars. “He’s definitely not human. And the people working with him aren’t much better.”

“Vlad?” Egghead exclaimed, “he’s here? I thought he died ten years ago.”

I turned to look Egghead in the eyes, “I think he died a lot longer ago than that.”

His frown suggested that he knew I was playing with him, “Fine, not killed but destroyed. Word was, an independent vampire hunter did him in.”

Casually I began to reload. “Sorry to disappoint you but I had him in my scope last night.”

“So he’s destroyed now?” Egghead was studying me closely.

“No.”

“Why not?” he asked with a touch of bitterness in his voice, “not being paid enough?”

For some reason, that comment sort of stung. “No. The price set was fair for what Vlad is,” my voice was betraying my own emotion. “He saw me. Spoke right into my head. I got scared and I ran away.”

“Oh,” Egghead’s voice softened. “It’s understandable. A vampire of his power would be very intimidating.”

Suddenly the wind picked up and a cyclone of red mist appeared on the roof with us. It coalesced into the familiar form of a man.

“Indeed.”

[Joe Smith]

Mr. Smith, you're the one who started talking about 'large caliber kind of guy' and 'maximum shock impact'.

It's like you're sending mixed signals now. You shouldn't tease a girl like that.

I am just being "mysterious".

BTW - I just went through over 500 rounds of Beowolf in a "field test". It works beautifully.

[Grace]

Vlad stood before us. He was about my height and a slim build. The features of his face were drawn tight. His green eyes were piercing and his red hair pulled back into a ponytail. Still something of a hippie, I thought at the time. Yet he was dressed fashionably, in current styles.

Egghead immediately placed himself between Vlad and me. Reaching under his shirt he pulled out a small silver cross on a silver chain, “stand back, vampire! I know what you are and how to deal with your kind!” His voice was surprisingly strong and forceful.

“Let us dispense with the theatrics,” Vlad’s voice was soft and sounded almost bored. It also betrayed a familiar lilt to my ears. Yet he did not approach any closer to us. “I have come to help you. We may be on opposite sides of the eternal struggle but in the short term, we have a common foe,” he gestured to the moaning mass on the street below. “If this plague spreads, your kind will be extinguished and my kind shall be driven mad with hunger. Think of me as a Sheppard.”

“We’re not your sheep, Vlad,” Egghead was still defiantly holding aloft the cross. “I’m not going to let you fleece us.”

Vlad’s sigh was from one who had suffered long, “have you heard nothing I said? We must work together to stop this.” Vlad’s eyes glowed as emeralds as he stared hard at Egghead, “I am not a threat to you. You do not need the cross. Lower it.”

Slowly, as though struggling with his own arm, Egghead lowered his arm, dropping the cross beneath his shirt once more. As this happened, the glow in Vlad’s eyes faded.

That is when I drew the pistol I had in the holster over the small of my back. A little larger calibre than my usual two and loaded with special ammunition. I also moved in front of Egghead. He was sweet but at this point we had to be realistic about who was protecting who. A red dot appeared over Vlad’s chest, just a little left of center, “your eyes do that eerie glow thing again and I won’t wait to hear what you have to say. And if you’re wondering, this time I will shoot.”

He smiled and the boredom evaporated from his voice, “I believe you.” He raised his arms, palms towards us, “You have the drop on me, Darcy. If you wish to forego my assistance in this matter, you have but to pull the trigger.”

“How the hell do you know my name?” I demanded without lowering my firearm.

“I was with you in your dreams this morning,” his smile only sent unpleasant shivers up my spine. He breathed deeply through his nose, as though smelling the air. “Ah, your blood betrays the secret I suspected last night. I have encountered your bloodline before, my dear.” His fangs flashed in the moonlight.

“I have no idea what you’re yammering about,” I was sure then and am convinced now that it was some sort of mental trickery.

“It is of no importance at this time,” his eyes seemed to scan the few others on the roof with us at the time. His look was… hungry. He refocused his attention to us, “I offer a truce between us. Complete your contract when this is done… if you can. In the mean time, we pool our resources and abilities to end this threat once and for all.”

“How do we know that we can trust you?” Egghead demanded from behind me..

“I don’t expect anyone to trust me,” Vlad said calmly, his eyes on mine. “I expect you to trust my own vested self-interest in this matter.”

Hesitantly I lowered my pistol, “okay. We’ll work together on this and when it’s over, the hunt is back on.”

“Darcy! No!” Egghead objected, “we can’t trust him!”

“We?” Vlad asked with an arched eyebrow at Egghead, “You misunderstand. You have nothing to offer me except to act as bait.” With that, Vlad burst apart into a cyclone of red mist once more.

I found myself engulfed in the swirling crimson.

And then everything went black.

[Eilonwy Solstice]

Vampires. Even now, I pity them.

[Ron Caliburn]

I'd rather pity the victim that died to become a vampire.

[Cybermancer]

Any victim of vampirism deserves some measure of pity.

[Grace]

What happened next is hard to explain.

You ever wonder what it would be like to be a shadow? Peter Pan’s could move independently of him and even slide across surfaces until Wendy sewed the wayward shade back to the eternal youth.

That is how I found myself moving across the town. Held by Vlad and dragged through the blackness. I tried to struggle free but I couldn’t get any leverage against him. Even if I could have, I doubt I could have broken his vice like grip.

It seemed as though no time had passed before we were standing inside his chalet.

“What the f***?” I demanded of my new host. It was disconcerting to be three dimensional again.

“I am a creature of darkness and I move as the shadows,” his facial expression suggested that was a satisfactory answer despite being cryptic.

“What about Egghead and all those people?” Really, I was only concerned about Egghead.

He seemed to understand that, “if you want to save him, then you will have to work quickly. Time is a precious commodity and our enemies have the upper hand. But I believe they can still be defeated.”

“But what about all my gear? I’m not carrying much on me,” my duffel bag was left at the jail house.

“Do not fret, my dear,” his teeth were quite unsettling when he smiled. “You may restock from my collection in the cellar. You’ll find it quite extensive with a few choice pieces you’ll find attractive. Your arrival was anticipated, you see.”

The whole mysterious, I know something about you, act was getting on my nerves. “Before we go any further, why don’t you start spilling the beans? How do you know me and what do you mean my arrival was anticipated?”

“Your current employer is not the only one who reads the Lazlo boards nor is she the only one who has means of procuring information. You are a pawn in all this, Darcy. You are being moved across the board in an attempt to remove other pieces. Nor are you the only such pawn being moved in like manner.” He paused to examine me closely, “as for my knowledge of you, I have long followed the exploits of your family. Going back over a thousand years ago when first we crossed paths. I owe your family a great debt for one of your ancestors taught me an important lesson about humility and to never underestimate mortals.”

Oh great. So my family going back generations has had a supernatural stalker. Creepy.

I pursed my lips thoughtfully, “let’s just put those issues aside for the moment. What’s your brilliant plan?”

“I need you to hunt,” he paced over to the glass pane overlooking the well lit outdoor pool. “These… abominations are no threat individually. Even the numbers they have amassed here can be dealt with by a sufficient display of force. But they have intelligent direction and magical support. My followers have been sufficient in burning the infestation where it is found but they are not fighters. They are no match for the cult leaders who are behind all of this.”

“Why don’t you face them, then?” I asked with genuine curiosity.

“They know who and what I am,” he turned to face me once more. “It was your ancestor who taught me not to underestimate such people. So armed, they are a threat even to me.”

“So what makes you think I can do anything about them?”

“They don’t know anything about you,” there was a slightly feral curl to his smile, “they will not expect your ruthlessness. It is one thing about you that I respect and admire, as one killer to another.”

I found his ‘respect’ and ‘admiration’ to be the most unsettling things yet. “So how am I supposed to find these guys?”

“Ah yes, well we won’t be having you work alone, my dear.” He turned his head slightly to the direction of the one of the side doors leading into the room. “Chandak! Could you be so good as to come here?”

The door opened and a man walked in. He was about average height but quite broad. He had brown hair and blues eyes. His expression suggested a surly individual with a chip the size of the Rocky mountains on his shoulder. His bushy eyebrows and five o’clock shadow gave him an almost feral look. His clothes and gear pegged him as a mercenary. He looked me over disapprovingly, “I don’t need her.”

“My dear Chandak,” Vlad asked in bemusement. “When have I ever given a rats a** as to your needs? Now, what I need from you at the moment is to show Darcy to where the cultist cells are so that she may eliminate them quickly, efficiently and quietly. Without the usual mess that you tend to leave. Maybe you’ll learn that killing is an art that can be above the butchery you normally engage in.”

Chandak’s teeth were bared in a grimace while his eyes flashed his anger. Yet he took no further hostile action and after a moment of glaring into Vlad’s bored stare, he backed down, relaxing and submitting to his superior. “As you will, my lord.” His accent seemed eastern European.

“Good,” Vlad let his lips curve arrogantly into a smile, “now take Darcy down to the cellar and make sure she gets all the toys she likes. After that, you are to be a good boy and sniff out our enemies for her. You are to be her spotter and her protector. If she is harmed, it will be your hide.”

A snort was all the response that Chandak gave Vlad before turning and walking back the way he had come.

It was up to me to catch up.

[Brutal]

Any victim of vampirism deserves some measure of pity.

All they deserve is extermination.

[Grace]

Any victim of vampirism deserves some measure of pity.

All they deserve is extermination.

Yeah well, it helps if you know how they're supposed to be killed.

[Brutal]

Any victim of vampirism deserves some measure of pity.

All they deserve is extermination.

Yeah well, it helps if you know how they're supposed to be killed.

A policy of scorched earth has a way of dealing with most creatures.

Another method is to stake them them outside and let the sun deal with them.

[Slayer]

The problem with that is they tend not to want to be staked in the first place. Besides with the number of flunkies Vlad seemed to have, it is unlikely he would have remained staked for long enough.

[Cybermancer]

The problem with that is they tend not to want to be staked in the first place. Besides with the number of flunkies Vlad seemed to have, it is unlikely he would have remained staked for long enough.

That's why you stuff garlic in the mouth, decapitate the corpse and then burn the head and body.

[Grace]

Yeah. This is all stuff I wish I had known about a year ago.

[Holister]

Yep; they like to hide important info like that in books.

[Grace]

I happen to be very well read, Mr. Holister.

But knowing what is myth and fact in this business is not always straight forward.

Hollywood hasn't helped at all.

[Holister]

It seldom does Darcy. Best places for research material; the off limits special books section at large libraries. Carter told me about this one.

[Grace]

I'll have to check that out. After hours of course.

[Holister]

Of course.

The Antiquitity Acquisitions section in any library or museum can also prove quite useful from what I hear.

[Grace]

Naturally I was able to catch up to my new ‘partner’.

“You realize what he’s doing, aren’t you?” I asked as I fell into step with him.

“And what precisely is that?” he asked, annoyed at my existence.

“He’s deliberately setting us at odds with each other. So we’ll compete for his approval and position within his clique or organization.” It wasn’t the first time I had observed such tactics. “He’s forcing us to vie for position in the pecking order.”

“It would seem that he already favors you,” he replied with a growl.

“So what if he does?” I asked, “you’ve seen other favourites come and go, haven’t you?”

“That’s right,” he agreed, “something you should remember.”

“It doesn’t matter,” I stopped and turned sideways to face him, “when this is done I’m going to kill him, just like my contract requires.”

He also stopped to face me, “once I tried to kill him. Now I am his slave. Those who become involved with him tend to wind up under his control.”

“So? Work with me then,” it certainly seemed easy enough to me.

His eyes fell to the floor, “I cannot.”

“In that case, try to be somewhere else when it goes down.” I laid a hand on his arm. A carefully executed manoeuvre that had the desired effect on a male adversary, “in the meantime let’s just try and find a way to work together, okay?”

Slowly his gaze came up from the floor and to my eyes. I remember noting that he was a little shorter than me. “Alright,” his voice was almost petulant.

I rewarded him with a smile and gently squeezed his forearm before letting go. “Good. That makes me glad.”

I’m not sure how I would have written that scene if I was still letting everyone think I was a guy.

In any case, I was pretty sure that I had made him a reasonably trustworthy ally. Not that I was silly enough to actually trust him. Any dog will bite you if given sufficient provocation. Especially if he resents having a leash on.

Soon enough, we were down in Vlad’s cellar and past the secret door to his private arsenal. It was a thing of beauty. What grabbed my attention was the .338 rifle with the welded sound suppressor. The night vision scope was just added gravy. I lifted it off the hooks on the wall. “I’m going to need to zero it to me.”

Chandak nodded, “there’s a range not far from here but we’ll have to hurry.”

Rounding things off I grabbed an AR-15 carbine with a few nifty attachments. I looked at the Desert Eagle but it’s really too big for my hands and I didn’t want to risk it jamming on me at a critical moment.

Apparently my new partner didn’t have any such reservations as it was the first weapon he grabbed. He also selected an AR-15 with the ‘Beowulf’ upper receiver. He also grabbed an automatic shotgun.

It was all I could do to refrain from asking him what he was compensating for. There was a lot of weight to the firepower he had selected but he seemed to heft it all easily. Much easier than he should have been able to. Something I filed away under, “Definitely good to know”. I decided to make use of his burly muscles and added several boxes of ammo for my weapons to the pack he had grabbed.

It took about ninety minutes for us to travel to the makeshift range Chandak had mentioned and zero our weapons. It was a secluded area, a fair distance away from the town so there wasn’t much concern of being overheard.

So it was a little after midnight before we were approaching town again. Naturally there was a road block set up. We stopped as soon as it came into sight and I popped up out the SUV’s sunroof while Chandak killed the lights. No doubt they had already been spotted.

Once I had them in my sight picture, I started shooting. I didn’t worry too much about headshots, I just knocked them all down. You don’t get hit with a .338 and get up again quickly. Chandak handed me fresh magazines while I did my thing. When the last of them fell, we drove to within twenty-five meters of them before exiting again. Chandak stood vigilant for danger while I walked around the scene, putting bullets in everyone’s head from my Glock.

Even so called ‘silenced’ rounds aren't like in the movies. The sound is reduced somewhat but mostly it is altered or camoflaged. We couldn't rely on not having been heard. Especially at night in the middle of nowhere with no other noise to help camouflage the noise. From here, we would have to assume that everyone else in the town knew we were there and that we’d soon be coming for them.

[Grace]

Sure enough, as we circled town, taking out the road blocks, we started encountering more resistance. While each group had at least one ‘priest’ present who could control the nearby zombies and cast spells, the others were primarily for show. They didn’t know how to use the weapons they were carrying.

As we went, I noticed more and more buildings in the town on fire. “What’s going on?” I asked as we passed some burning buildings.

“Vlad wants the town burned,” Chandak explained. “Zombies are vulnerable to fire. Plus it will cover up the fact that anything ever happened here.”

“But what about the people? How’s he going to stop them from talking?” I was starting to get a sinking feeling in my gut.

“He probably expects the fire to take care of that issue too,” Chandak was nonchalant.

Then he blinked and slowed the vehicle down as we saw a most implausible scene.

It was Mr. Paces. He was out in the middle of the street with a blanket, trying to bat out the flames threatening to engulf a zombie. For its part, the Zombie was staring at Mr. Paces with a quizzical expression on its face. Clearly, something wasn’t adding up to its limited intellect.

“Just hold still, you’re almost out.” Mr. Paces was saying as he batted away at the last embers. “You look a mess.”

“What the heck?” Chandak asked, “why isn’t it tearing him limb from limb?”

“I don’t know, they just seem to ignore him.” I said, remembering what had happened earlier with the stairs.

Apparently it had become aware of us. Its eyes fixed on us and it started to moan.

“I know, I know, it hurts but that’s a good sign,” Mr. Paces was reassuring it, “but that’s a good sign. It means that the burns aren’t that deep.”

It began to shuffle in our direction.

“Whoah, hey!” Mr. Paces objected, “you’re in shock buddy. You better come over here and sit down for a bit. Then I’ll take you to the clinic since the phones aren’t working.” He grabbed the Zombies arm and tried to stop its forward progress.

Whatever confusion the zombie had about him before, as an obstacle, it seemed to know how to deal with him. It backhanded him across the face. The blow caused him to fly across the street and into a parked car. Mr Paces fell face first to the ground and did not rise again.

The report from Chandak’s weapon broke me out of my state of disbelief at what I had been witnessing. His round hit the creature solidly in the chest, staggering it momentarily.

I brought my own rifle to bear, firing a round right between its eyes.

We carried on our way, eliminating the cultists as we went. As their control over the zombie population was broken, the zombies began to drift toward the center of town. Where I knew Egghead and the others were.

“Okay, let’s get a move on,” I said to Chandak. “We can still help my friends.”

While he didn’t seem to particularly care, he did accelerate through town towards the jailhouse.

We got in sight of the last bastion of humanity to see that the security the jail offered had been compromised. The zombies had piled up against the wall in such a mass that some of them were able to climb up over their fellows to the people waiting in fear above.

Without hesitation, I pulled out my rifle and started targeting the undead that were closest to Egghead. There was a sick feeling in my gut as it became obvious that there were more targets than I had ammunition. I kept shooting until I had only one round left.

Through my scope, I could see it all unfold. They surrounded him, the last survivor here in Ashcroft. They grabbed him. They dragged him down.

And I just couldn’t force myself to fire that last round.

Even when he rose again.

Chandak had not been idle in this time. He had gotten out and went around back of the vehicle to pullout a large rectangular case. Opening it, he pulled out a rocket launcher which he aimed at the jail. He fired the first round, scoring a solid hit. “I need you to cover me while I reload.”

That shook me out of my shocked state. I fired my last round into the head of a zombie that was running out ahead of it’s fellows towards us.

Then I switched to my carbine and started firing, careful to conserve ammo.

Chandak got off a second round before he had to get back in the SUV and drive back a few more hundred meters. Then he started firing incendiary grenades into the zombie crowd.

I spotted my car down the street. “This is where we part ways.”

He paused and looked me in the eyes. Then he nodded once. He continued to provide covering fire while I ran for my car.

Rubber smoked and I peeled away into the night.

[Grace]

I didn’t have to drive very far. Just to the nearby campgrounds. I wasn’t surprised to find it empty of people. From the looks of it, the cultists had come here with their zombies and killed everyone, adding to the undead horde. There were signs of resistance here and there but they had obviously left here with more bodies than they had arrived with.

Scrounging around produced some food and a decent place to sleep. Not that I trusted myself to nod off until the sun had come up. By about noon, I was awake again and going over my arsenal. I had back up weapons and ammunition in my car. There were a few other items I could salvage from the various campsites.

Smoke was in the air. Even from here, the fires from Ashcroft were making themselves known.

I had no intention of going back to that hellhole. I was going to hunt down Vlad. Every death I blamed on him. Especially Eggheads. I have killed a lot of people with nary a second thought but the face of the once person I couldn’t shoot had haunted me in my dreams. Vlad was going to pay.

At his chalet, I found all the drapes drawn shut. Not a single ray of sunlight was getting in now.

I drew the string of my bow tight and let fly.

There are advantages to bow weapons. They’re silent, for one.

They can deliver flaming arrows for a second.

I was going to smoke the bastard out in broad daylight.

Sure enough, his little minions started filtering out. And then they died.

The Chalet burned down to the ground but Vlad never showed. And I was losing daylight. Through my scope I could see that the stairs leading to the cellar were still intact as they had been made of stone as had most the foundation. Actually, with the house burned away, the cellar looked a lot like a concrete brick.

Apparently Vlad had anticipated something like this. If I wanted him, I would have to go in after him.

Down into the depths I crept. The fire had not made it down here. Apparently a HALON suppression system was in place. It was now exhausted but had served its purpose. There was an eerie silence that hung in the air as I explored. Even the noises I made seemed to be muffled. Eventually I found what I had been looking for. A vault door leading down. One that could only be opened from the other side.

There was no way for me to go farther. There was no way he was coming out before the sun went down. So I made myself comfortable and waited.

Metal slid over metal letting me know that he was coming. The vault door opened in what seemed like deliberate slow motion.

There he was!

I took my shot.

The bullet flew through red mist. The crimson cyclone was in motion, moving for the door way. I triggered a device that I had built for this job. A cloud of misted holy water, garlic and wolfs bane clouded in front of the exit. It halted his departure at least for a moment.

“Don’t be foolish, child,” his voice whispered in my mind. “I have no quarrel with you. But if you persist, I will have no choice but to kill you.”

“You’re going to have to become solid again to hurt me,” I pointed out. “You’re the only one who is going to die today.”

“Better than you have tried,” the voice again whispered directly inside my head as the cyclone began to approach me. “Many from your own bloodline. They are all dead now and yet I am not.”

As Vlad’s bloody mist form approached me, I pulled out one of the things I had acquired and modified at the campsite. A six foot long walking staff, pointed on one end. I drove the stake into the middle of his mass, “tell me Vlad, what happens if you solidify with this bad boy in the middle of you?”

He didn’t seem interested in finding out. The cloud backed off. I moved, putting myself between him and the exit even as the mist that was so toxic to him was dissipating.

“Truly you are Cathan’s descendent,” Slowly the cyclone of red mist moved to the far side of the room before solidifying. “The blood has not been diluted by one drop.”

Fast as I could, I was drawing my 10mm and firing the specially prepared ammunition at his chest. Several rounds hit but none got his heart. They all dropped to the ground as he melded to the wall as a shadow.

I’d been prepared for that little trick too. A flick of a switch activated the light attached to my pistol. A tiny cross had been painted on the lens and now I chased him about the room with the shadow of the crucifix.

Unfortunately, it is too easy for a shadow to get lost in a dark room. In retrospect, I should have used a bigger, brighter source of light to banish all shadows from the room.

The darkness slid up beside me and I could feel it’s coolness against my skin. Then once more I was liquid shadow being splashed against the ground. Swiftly I was dragged outside, my pistol and wooden shaft left behind.

Together we materialized on the surface. In the darkness the glow coming from the direction of Ashcroft was plain. He released me and it was like escaping the cold embrace of the grave.

“Look, the fire spreads. This will be called a natural disaster. The propensity for self-deception that your kind indulges in shall serve my purposes once more,” he shook his head as he returned his attention to me. “Don’t continue this, Darcy. You have no hope of defeating me, much less destroying me. Just walk away. You’ve impressed me and maybe in a few years you’ll understand things more clearly. Then perhaps you’ll be ready to either face me or join me.” The smile that crossed his lips seemed genuine, “I sincerely hope you’ll choose to join me. Or go your own way. Find a nice man and have children. Continue your line. Yours is a long and honoured legacy. Don’t toss it away.”

I spit at the ground by his feet, “even if I wanted to take your advice. I couldn’t. I can’t have children so this legacy that fascinates you so ends with me.”

The smile disappeared as though it could never have been there. “I see,” his eyes searched me to find the truth of my words. “So the old prophecy was true. This changes things,” he began to approach me. “The time has finally come to repay my debt to your ancestor.”

Before I knew what was happening, his arms were around me, pinning one of my arms to my side and the other between us. A sharp pain shot through the back of my neck as he bit into me. There was nothing at all seductive or romantic about it. It was the worst sort of violation as he sought to wretch my soul from me.

Of course I struggled. Mostly in vain.

“Do not fret my dear,” his voice hissed in mind. He seemed enraptured, “you shall live forever. The blood of your family shall not perish.”

Whoosh-Slunk.

Whoosh-Slunk is the sound made by a spring activated, air compressed fired, six inch long silver spike being embedded into the chest of a vampire.

I must have just grazed his heart or something. He backed away from me with a look of horror in his eyes as he started to claw at the spikes entry point in a desperate attempt to remove the projectile.

Whoosh-Slunk.

The second derringer launched projectile found its mark, right in Vlad’s heart. He keeled over, a look of total disbelief on his face.

I figured the sun would take care of the rest. So I gathered up my stuff, hopped into my car and drove off. On the way out of there I passed Chandak’s SUV going the other way. For a moment I had considered trying to take him out but then I figured, “why bother?” So instead I honked my horn and waved as we passed in the night.

A short while later, I could hear a wolves howl. It was almost immediately answered.

Only now do I realize why I wasn’t paid the remainder owed for this job. Chandak must have gone back to where I left Vlad and removed the stake.

The job isn’t done yet.