Vampire Takeover

by Jez Strider

  “We’ll kill him.” I simply stated, tucking the pure white blanket up around her neck so she would feel warmer and maybe safer.

  Darcy looked away for a moment, mulling it over. Then, I saw her head give a slight nod. It was survival of the fittest. I’d be damned if I let some lowlife give my girl to a group of thugs without a fight.

  Too much was on my mind for me to sleep, but I lay down on top of the covers beside Darcy and held her tightly so she could feel secure and rest. The journey had been hard on her even if she didn’t complain and I knew it would catch up with her. I was right. Eventually, the intervals between her breaths lengthened. My only concern was the occasional whimper. She had always been quiet during the nights in the barn loft. Not now. Each step we took away from the farm, the more innocence seemed to be lost.

  The night seemed to drag on. Uneasily, I slipped in and out of sleep, waking often to check on my troubled girlfriend. In the early hours of the morning, I was jolted to awareness by the sound of a car. Careful not to make any sudden movements, I slipped off the bed and tiptoed across the rustic hardwood. The faintest creak of the floorboards made me pause, wait, and listen to see if I had been discovered.

  I reached the window and placed my back against the wall. Darcy still slept facing the opposing direction, unaware of any disturbance. With tediously slow movement, I turned my head to gaze out the side of the curtain. A car had parked a short distance down the street.

  Bandits had caught up with us was my immediate thought, but why would they risk traveling and exposure at night when the vampires were prowling? Two figures came into view briefly and even from the long distance I could see the glint of red eyes in the pitch black. Vampires had glowing crimson irises in the dark. It was one of the few warnings they were nearby, but of course, if they were that close it was usually too late to flee.

  The people had been smaller than the towering dark lords I had seen. Not that there had been many. I tried to avoid contact with the enemy. I wondered. Changed humans? Lesser vampires? I leaned back away from the window to avoid further risk of exposing our position. Darcy was sitting up in bed and her fear had returned. I held up my hand to tell her to stay put. Neither of us moved until we heard the downstairs door slam.

  Swiftly and silently I moved toward her. I lifted her off the bed and pushed her down to floor. When I pointed toward the bed, she crawled underneath. I was on my way to join her when I realized the room was not as we had found it. My mother had always required me to make my bed up before school. I was thankful for the chore now. In a flash, the covers were straightened and I slid our backpacks underneath the bed before joining Darcy in the obvious hiding space.

  No matter how hard I strained to listen, I could hear nothing. Moments later, I wished the sound I heard wasn’t real. Footsteps sounded on the stairs and I the squeaking turn of the room’s old brass doorknob made me regretful. Locking the door to protect us from Jim had been a mistake. These people would immediately be suspicious about a room secured from the inside.

  The knob was shaken and rattled multiple times. I shimmied across the floor to make my way out from under the bed. It was pointless to stay hidden. Darcy reached out and wrapped her hand around my wrist to stop me and mouthed the word, “No.”

  As scared as I was, I just calmly smiled before freeing myself from her grasp. I stood with shotgun in hand and aimed at the door. My hope was to take them out, but if that failed and they killed me, maybe Darcy would go undetected.

  “Open the door. Submit to our lords or suffer death. Humans are no longer free. Worship the blood gods.” A monotone voice said from the other side of my makeshift barricade.

  I debated calling out a threat, but remained silent. When I didn’t respond, the door was kicked causing the knob to break off and roll toward my foot. Then, both attackers were pushing on the door. Inch by inch, the dresser moved as it was opened.

  Eye contact was made. I struggled to hold the gun steady as I saw not only the red glow, but the blood eyes. The irises and whites of the eye were all dark pools of crimson. My resolve faltered. I should have fired at them immediately.

  “What are you?” I asked.

  One was a man, the other a woman. They had guns in hand and lifted them in my direction synchronously. “Children of the gods.”

  The trigger seemed so hard to pull as I squeezed. My muscles wouldn’t respond. It was like when you wake up in the morning and try to make a tight fist. I knew I was going to die and even in a world gone mad, I wasn’t ready. A loud blast ended the eternal moment and one of the creatures dropped immediately to the floor. Another shot fired, this time, not my own and I thought the other thrall had pulled the trigger. Only, there was no pain in my body and the last of the glow dimmed and then faded.

  “We gotta get outta here.” Jim said. He’d saved me. Killed my would be murderer despite everything.

  I stared at the dead bodies and the blood splattered everywhere. The scent would bring the vampires and if those people had been thralls, I was sure their masters would sense their deaths.

  “Darcy. Come on.” I fell to my knees beside the bed and reached out my hand to her. Her hand flew up over her mouth when she saw the disgusting scene in the room. We didn’t have much time, but I understood when she stepped away and hunched over to be sick.

  Jim turned and was already headed downstairs. After a moment, Darcy stood up straight and wiped the corners of her lips before turning to me. She held her head high, walked past me, and stepped over the corpses at her feet. I admired her bravery and started to follow. A strange gasping sound stopped me. The woman was still alive, barely.

  She said something, but I couldn’t hear and leaned down closer. “Thank…you.” Then, she was gone. I noticed a wedding band on her hand so I checked the dead man’s. His ring matched. The shop and room had most likely been theirs.

  Humanity had not been completely lost, though. We had set them free. Perhaps death was the only real escape from the vampire oppression.

  Sunrise was hours and an eternity away. Each person ran as fast as they could across the terrain. The events in the town would draw vampires to it immediately. We had to get away as fast as possible. I was afraid of Jim and his bandit buddies, but not as much as I feared the vampires. No one jumped from the dark abyss around us, but even when we saw the sun we didn’t stop running until we were too exhausted to move any further.

  As we looked for a place to rest, a thunderstorm rolled in. We found minimal shelter along a hillside ridge with a rock ledge. By the time we took cover, we were already soaked. I placed my arm around Darcy and glanced at Jim.

  “Thanks for saving me back there.” I said. There had been no time to discuss what had happened since we fled.

  “I ain’t too fond of babysittin’ kids.” He glared at me. “Ain’t too smart to travel alone either. Besides, your girl there has got most of the food in her bag.”

  Lightning flashed and the crack of thunder made Darcy jump. I held her tighter and closer. “It’s just a storm. We’re safe here.”

  “I want to go home, Preston.” She said and gave me a look I couldn’t say no to.

  “Okay. We’ll figure out a way. I’m sure Jim’s…friends have left by now.” I frowned at Jim, only to be met with laughter.

  “You think my gang left your little slice of heaven there for others to follow the trail?”

  The evils of mankind never ceased to amaze me. “They’re destroying the landmarks that lead to the refuge.” I stated. I didn’t have to ask.

  “Yup. That house and barn….” He held his hands up in fists then opened them and flayed his fingers wide apart. “Poof.”

  Darcy pushed away from me and jerked the knife I gave her out of the sheath on her hip. “Your people burned down my home? People like you deserve to be eaten by vampires.”

  Gently, I placed my hand on hers and had her lower the weapon. “I’m sorry, Dar. We have to keep moving forward.” I gave her a firm look, trying to remind her
of our plan to only travel with Jim until we found landmarks that matched our own directions.

  It shamed me to do it even to such a terrible person, but I planned to kill Jim in his sleep once we no longer needed him. The fight for survival was only part of it. I wanted to punish him for causing Darcy pain. Killing him would be easier than it was the thralls back in town. At least they had been victims of the vampires.

  “Let’s eat a little and then head toward our next checkpoint.” I said.

  She sheathed the knife once more, all the while staring at Jim before slumping back against the rock wall behind us. Her movements were angry as she opened her backpack and grabbed a plastic bag. It was full of beef jerky. Usually, we were more conservative, but she divided it all among us. We needed it after the rough night. Everyone ate in silence. I chewed slowly, watching the heavy deluge of rain. I missed the time Darcy and I had spent alone. Life had been pretty good then and I wished I would have appreciated it more. I should have told her how special she was to me. Who knew if I would ever have the opportunity again? I settled on being thankful that I was alive and beside her for one more day.

  “We need to cover some ground. I don’t think this rain is going to let up.” I said, slipping a couple of pieces of jerky into my pocket to eat later.

  Darcy lifted her hood over her head and tied it at her neck. “How much farther do you think we need to go?” She asked.

  “Our next marker is an old corn silo standing in a field by itself. No farm or anything is there anymore.” Jim said.

  My eyes widened a little and I caught Jim looking at me curiously. So I lied about the reason. “That’s weird.” In reality, I had read about the silo on the paper Darcy’s parents had left with her.

  “Yeah, that’s why it’s a good landmark.” He pushed by me roughly and I nearly lost my balance.

  Darcy and I followed. I reached down and held her hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. If everything went according to plan, we would be on our own again sooner than expected. She smiled up at me and I knew we were thinking about the same thing. It unsettled me to see how vengeful she was becoming no matter how well I understood the reasons.

  The sun glinting off a distant silo signaled another break in our bad luck. I don’t think any of us expected to come upon it before the end of the day. The silo was shorter than I anticipated, but it had to be the one. Nothing else was in the area.

  “Well, we should find a place to bed down for the night.” I said. The rain hadn’t let up and we were all drenched from head to toe.

  “We are out in the open here, but if we lean up against the silo, we might get a little shelter from the rain.” Jim was looking up at the storage unit.

  Darcy had walked around the other side while we were talking. I went to see what she was doing to find her jerking on the handle of a small door. “It’s rusted shut or locked. Help me.”

  She stepped aside and I gave it a few tugs. It didn’t budge. I put one foot on the building and this time I put all my weight into the pull. The door gave a few groans of protest before finally opening. Luckily, it hadn’t been locked, just old and in disrepair. Darcy started forward to go inside and I put my hand out to stop her.

  “Let me look first.” With flashlight in hand, I poked my head inside the building and examined the interior. “Looks safe enough. Good job. For some reason, I never thought about it having a door.”

  “Many people don’t that have never spent much time on a farm. We didn’t grow grain or anything, but I’ve spent time on farms that do.” She was grinning and I was happy to see her so proud of herself.

  Jim had made his way over to us. “I knew I saved you brats for more than one reason.” He, of course, killed the elated moment. It was almost a relief to be away from him when he entered the silo and started to get comfortable. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Darcy gripping the handle of the knife.

  “We’ll be in a few minutes.” I told Jim, but he didn’t even have the courtesy to respond. Then, I guided Darcy a short distance away.

  “We need to take him out. I know we can find our way now.” She said firmly.

  I shook my head. “We don’t want the smell of blood or anything else that will draw attention to this place tonight. It has to be tomorrow before we head for the next spot.”

  Another night with the bastard was unappealing to both of us, but we agreed. Darcy stood up on her tiptoes and wrapped her arms around my neck. I let my hands slip down her waist to rest softly before pressing my lips to hers. She was breathless when we parted. I didn’t have the heart to tell her Jim was leering at her from the doorway. He turned and disappeared into the silo once more.

  “One more night. Then, it’s just us again.” I said.

  The impending darkness rushed our time together once more and we headed into the towering building. We took a seat together as far away from Jim as we could get. Darcy coughed a few times. I worried for her health. Jim stared at me for a moment before pulling that dirty old hat over his eyes and going to sleep. I hoped once he had been disposed of, I could have a restful night. It was impossible when I knew he was around.

  When a person doesn’t eat or drink very much, it’s usually easy to “hold it” when nature comes calling. No one wants to go out to take a leak at night and be slain by a vampire. For once, I just couldn’t wait until later in the morning. Carefully, I slipped out of Darcy’s grasp and headed to the door. It was still dark, but the sun was coming up and the night was fading into dawn. Vampires would have taken to hiding by then. Probably. I stole a glance at Darcy. She was fine. Then, I looked at Jim. He was snoring loudly. It would only take a second to pee so I left the silo and hurried a short distance away.

  I’m not sure what I was thinking. I guess I wasn’t. I was stupid. The opportunity to spend a moment alone while I pissed didn’t seem like too much to ask. A loud scream made me realize my error. I had only been gone a few minutes. The door to the silo was stuck shut again when I arrived. I had left it open a crack when I exited. Someone had shut it. Jim! The nasty bandit was in there alone with my girlfriend.

  “Let me in!” I gripped the handle, giving several hard tugs before it finally opened. Darcy was struggling underneath Jim whose pants were halfway down. I wrapped my arms around him from behind and slung him to the floor. The knife my father had given me and I had given Darcy had been lodged in Jim’s gut. I clenched my fists as he drug himself up against the silo wall.

  “Lil’ bitch tried to gut me before I could even get it in.” Jim growled.

  My girlfriend was crying. I didn’t look back at her. The rage was too great. “Go outside, please. I will be right there.” I said each word slowly with concentrated effort.

  She listened, scrambling out the door. I could still hear her distraught wails. The shotgun was in my hand. I didn’t use it. The pervert didn’t deserve a quick death. I wanted to physically hurt him with my bare hands. I cracked my knuckles as I stared down at him. He must have known what I was capable of from the expression on my face because his tone completely changed.

  “C…come on. You know how it is. Ain’t many women around and we men got needs. It won’t happen again.” He winced heavily. Darcy must have stabbed him in a good location. Jim was suffering. The knife wound may have even been enough to kill him.

  “You’re wrong. You are not a man. You are no better than a vampire.” I threw my first punch, hitting him in the face with as much force as I could muster. “One thing you are right about. It won’t happen again.”

  In that moment of pure fury, I lost myself. All I remember is impact after impact of fist against flesh and the metallic smell of blood. By the time I stopped, I was out of breath and had tears of my own in my eyes. Jim was unrecognizable. With no remorse, I grasped the handle of the knife. I even gave it a little twist before pulling it from the dead body. Then, I wiped it clean with Jim’s tattered hat and spit on him. With my hand cradled against my chest, I left the building to check on Darcy.

&nb
sp; “Is he…dead?” She asked, reaching out to delicately take my bloodied hand.

  “Yes.” I didn’t take my eyes off her as she tore a strip of cloth from her shirt and wrapped my hand with it. “Are you…okay?”

  A round of coughs kept her from answering immediately and she sniffled a few times. On top of nearly being raped, she was ill. “Not really. I mean, I guess? His…touch woke me up and when I didn’t see you I screamed.”

  My kill count was adding up, but it was starting not to bother me. I did what had to be done. “I should have never have left you. I thought he was asleep and I was only going to be gone a second. I’m so sorry.” I wanted to hug her, but I was afraid it would upset her. She clung to me instead and I sighed with relief.

  “I would be dead, captive, raped, or burned up in a barn if it weren’t for you, Preston. I forgive you for making a mistake.” Her words made my emotions well up and tears filled my eyes. I sucked in a deep breath to try to stop myself from crying. “It’s okay.” She whispered, soothing me when I was supposed to be the one comforting her.

  The road ahead of us would no doubt be difficult, but together, in that moment, I thought we could overcome anything. “You are a beautiful rose.” I told her. “I hope you know that I love you.”

  She looked up at me with bloodshot eyes, tearstained cheeks, and a runny nose. And yet, no super model could ever compare. “I didn’t think teenage boys knew the meaning of love.”

  “I probably wouldn’t have if the world stayed the same and we never met, but now, I do.” We sort of smiled at each other in an awkward, strange way.

  “We should…probably get going.” She said, instead of returning the sentiment. It was only fair since I didn’t return the “I love you” the first time she had confessed her feelings.

  I nodded. “Right. I’m going back in there to get our supplies. I don’t want you seeing…him.”

  As usual, she surprised me with her strength. “I need to see.” She said. I wanted to argue, but I figured it was pointless. Darcy walked into the silo first and I stood in the doorway watching her reaction.