by Stead, Nick
I backed away, watching her point the gun at my front leg. Not a killing shot, but it would slow me down long enough for her to catch me. And how was she planning to do that with so many witnesses around, I wondered? People would want me dead, either in revenge for the lives I’d taken or to prevent more deaths. And if the authorities were called in they would see to it that this man-eater terrorising the town was killed. They wouldn’t let civilians take me.
Had she called in reinforcements? Would they come disguised as professional animal handlers, armed with tranquilliser darts and ready to transport me elsewhere? Whatever their plans, I couldn’t let it happen. They would take what they wanted from me and end it. Handing myself over to them would only delay the inevitable – they would kill me eventually.
Her aim never wavered as I continued backing away, those pitiless eyes watching my every move. Yet the shot still didn’t come. Maybe she was reluctant to shoot before her people arrived, knowing it would draw too much attention to her? But it wouldn’t last – she would have to shoot eventually if she didn’t want to risk me escaping.
Confident she wasn’t going to kill me now, I turned my back and ran. She pulled the trigger, but for some reason she’d panicked and the shot went wild, thudding harmlessly into the wall. I bounded over to that same wall and threw myself at it, but panic got to me too. I hadn’t judged the distance as well as the first time, jumping just high enough to hook my front paws over the top while my back legs scrabbled against the brickwork, fighting against gravity to pull myself up. It gave her the time she needed, and the next bullet buried itself in my back leg. I yelped, and the shock and the pain almost caused me to lose my footing. But somehow I managed to keep hold and make it over the other side. Her curses rang out as I limped away.
Sometime later, I lay hidden in the woods, blood leaking into the soil around me. I could only hope they wouldn’t find me there. I’d tried putting weight on the leg and it had collapsed beneath me, forcing me to struggle on three legs till I found somewhere safe to wait for dawn. Then all I could do was wait for the transformation to heal my wounds, and hope the Slayers didn’t find me first.
Morning came and the moon sank beneath the horizon, driven away by the sun. They’d been searching for me. I’d heard them crashing through the undergrowth, stealthy for humans but clumsier than any other animal. It had been a long night, and I almost welcomed the transformation.
Pain spread through my body. Limbs shifted. My paws shrank and formed outstretched fingers, the claws shortening, turning blunt and harmless. My canines shortened and the extra teeth melted back into my gums as if they had never been. Guts reformed within, changing size and shape. My tail was sucked back into my spine.
I cried out with the discomfort, forgetting the danger of the Slayers. The noise started as yelps and yips but soon became human screams of agony uttered from a shrinking snout, reforming into a human mouth. My ears became rounder and moved back to the side of my head. One eye turned from amber to hazel, while the damaged one repaired itself. I felt the human’s relief as it came to the surface, pushing me back into oblivion. And then I knew no more.
Pain. Overwhelming pain as I became human again. Not only the agony of the change, but the searing sensation in my damaged eye as it reformed, swelling up like a balloon and filling itself with more of the gunk that had spilled onto my cheek. I rolled it around its socket to test my vision. It seemed to be working as well as it ever had, thank God. The one thing that truly scared me was the thought of going blind. I’d always felt I’d rather die than live without my sight, but judging from the events that night, it was something I no longer needed to fear, thanks to my lupine blood.
My leg throbbed to greater heights while the damaged tissue changed and tried to repair itself. Just as the agony of it became unbearable, I could feel something being pushed out of the limb, and then felt the small hole close over and heard something small and metallic fall the short distance to the ground. Finally the pain ended and I was fully human, where I lay in the soil, shaking from the after effects, naked and bloody. Something glinting in the dirt caught my eye and I found the bullet I’d been shot with. I didn’t know what had happened, but I knew what it meant. The war had found me, and I welcomed it.
From then on, I couldn’t go anywhere without being followed. I first noticed when I walked into town to meet up with Lizzy and heard footsteps trailing behind. Whenever I stopped, so did the footsteps, only to start up again as soon as I did, matching my pace. Yet when I turned round, there was no one there.
I had to get into the habit of doubling back on myself and circling my destination, taking the longer route until I could lose them so I didn’t lead them to my friends and family. They might know who I was now, but that didn’t mean they knew where I lived. Otherwise they’d have killed me in my sleep, wouldn’t they? It wasn’t like the police would be a problem for them. Hell, they were the police from what Lady Sarah had told me, or enough of them were. For all I knew, they could have members in the government too, and they probably had judges sympathetic to their cause in case it ever went to court. So I let them follow when it suited me, and slipped away from them when I was sure they would cause no one else any harm. As long as they were only following me, there would be no bloodshed, no matter how much I thirsted for it. I’d let them make the first move.
But the longer it went on, the more I worried it was some kind of trap. They seemed to be biding their time, waiting patiently. I could feel a fight brewing. The only questions were when would they strike and how many would die?
CHAPTER TWENTY THREE
Victim of War
Sweat trickled down my body in the summer heat. I forced one foot to move after another, my legs heavy, my body feeling like an awkward lump of flesh, melting under the blazing sun. I’d always hated the summer. I hated the heat, the long days and short nights, and all the bugs buzzing around. And judging from what Lady Sarah had said a couple of nights ago, she didn’t think much of it either.
“Bah, the worst of the seasons for vampires. We have less time to feed and spend more time in the sleep of the dead. I will welcome winter upon its return.”
Well, people always associated the winter months with death. I wondered if that idea was more to do with the undead, rather than the natural world dying as people in more recent times took it to mean. In times gone by when people knew of our existence, they knew exactly what the longer nights meant; the greater numbers of deaths it brought under the longer hours granted to the undead to roam the earth. The undead ruled the winter months. Death ruled the winter months.
Vince had little to say about it. “Yeah, it’s a bummer not having as long to do stuff, but it sure beats the hell out of spending eternity truly dead. Immortality comes with a price and I don’t regret it.” Yet despite his words, I thought I did see another glimmer of remorse. And I had to wonder, what had his hunger made him do when he’d first lost control?
My thoughts returned to the present, and how people think of spring and summer as the time for new life. In that heat I wasn’t so sure. How could anything survive the intensity of the sun beating down so hard on the land? Try as I might, I just couldn’t keep cool. It was unbearable.
I reached my destination. It had felt like the longest walk to town I’d ever put myself through, but it would be worth it.
Mum and Dad were going out that weekend and I was stuck babysitting Amy. I’d complained, knowing I might not get any peace if she was feeling that way out. Mum had given me some money for a DVD as compensation, and that’s what I’d braved the heat for.
Fans beat the dead air, trying to breathe some life into it. Compared to outside, it was heavenly. For that reason alone I spent over an hour in there, looking at every horror movie the shop had to offer, before finally choosing Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.
When I left the shop, a pleasant breeze had picked up. It had grown misty too, which seemed odd after the way the weather had been an hour ago, but I assume
d the mist had blown in from the sea or something like that. I wasn’t an expert so I didn’t dwell on it for long.
The Slayers were quick to find me, even with the mist clinging to everything. It had grown so thick that if I reached out I could see my hand in front of me, but little else. Buildings suddenly loomed, only to disappear again moments later, swallowed up by the gloom. It felt more like a dream world than reality. There could be anything hiding in the mist, waiting to jump me. It wasn’t a comforting thought. Not after the bullet wound to my leg on the night of the prom.
A dark shape lurked somewhere up ahead. It came closer and I tensed, ready to fight. Then the mists parted and Lizzy stepped into view.
“Nick, I came to warn you. Do you know you’re being followed? You didn’t tell me you had a stalker.” The last sounded like an accusation. Once again I was sorry I couldn’t share my secrets with her. If only she knew. But she was human and this wasn’t her world. I wouldn’t drag her into my mess.
“No, I guess I forgot. Just some freak who’s obsessed with me, nowt to worry about.”
She shook her head. “I don’t believe you. What’s going on, Nick? You’ve been acting strange all year. I thought it was just Fiona…” Her voice faltered a moment, then she seemed to find new strength. “But it’s more than that. Something’s up.”
I sighed. “Look, this is all I’m saying. I’ve changed more in this year than you can ever imagine, and now I’m mixed up in something I don’t want you getting into, for your own safety.”
She opened her mouth to argue but I didn’t give her chance. “I know you want to help me, but you can’t so there’s no point endangering you an’ all. I’ve been dragged into a nightmare world of shadows and I’ve seen what lurks in the darkness. I’m learning what humans are capable of, what I’m capable of. I’ve seen things kids should never see. Don’t throw away your childhood, your life, for me. Thanks for warning me, but you want to help some more? Then go home; you’ll be safe there.”
“No, Nick, I’m not leaving you here. Especially after prom.” Her eyes took on a haunted look. We’d talked a little about that night and I knew she was still struggling with the trauma of watching our classmates being ripped apart. “There’s something weird going on with this rogue wolf attacking everyone there, and then someone just happened to have a gun to shoot at it, and now you’ve got people following you? What kind of trouble have you got yourself into?”
“Go home, Lizzy. This isn’t your fight.”
“Like hell it isn’t.”
“Go home. You’ll be safe there.”
The footsteps were getting nearer. Was it meant to be a threat? This was the first time the Slayers had drawn so close. Usually they kept their distance.
Lizzy hesitated, uncertain.
“Go!” I roared, afraid for her.
She turned and ran. I nodded to myself, satisfied. I’d lost one friend to the wolf. I wouldn’t lose any more. I watched her retreating back until it was swallowed by the fog, whispering “And by God, if I am destined to die today, I will take them with me.”
With that I walked off, safe in the knowledge that at least if they got me, they wouldn’t get Lizzy.
A scream echoed through the mist, a cry of true terror. I came to an abrupt halt, heart pounding as I listened for anything else, but there was nothing. The screams came to a sudden stop, almost as if they mirrored my movements. There was an awful finality to it.
“Lizzy?” I whispered her name, afraid that the Slayers would hear. Fear was taking over, twisting my guts into a painful knot. There was no answer. Only the unnatural fog, and the memory of the screaming long after the sound had died. Was it the last cry she would ever make? With a sudden certainty, I knew what it meant.
“She was one of my closest friends,” I said, anger clawing its way out again. A snarl was forming on my features and the urge to charge blindly after her took hold. I fought it back down, feeling it was not the time to give in to my rage.
I should have felt sad at least, if not the horror that had been there when Fiona died, because in a way, this death was my fault too. And Lizzy had been even closer to me than Fiona. She truly had been there for me when I really needed her. Of all of those I considered friends, she had been the only one to stick by me when death seemed certain at the jaws of the werewolf that fateful night, the only one who’d been more concerned with saving me than saving herself. But there was nothing, except the bitterness in my voice at the unfairness of it all.
“She was one of my closest friends,” I repeated. “She was… She is dead.”
I bowed my head, fighting to control the monster inside. It looked out through my eyes for a brief moment and it spoke, pouring all its malice, all its savagery and all its rage into one sentence.
“Someone will pay for that.”
Then it was gone, locked away again, to be called on when I needed it. It wanted blood. It didn’t care whose. It didn’t care so much about revenge, it was just the need to kill and it had been given the perfect excuse. I would kill again, and it didn’t matter whether they were one of the enemies or another innocent bystander. And I would enjoy it. But I swore to myself whoever had killed Lizzy would also die by my hand. And I would enjoy that all the more.
CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR
Prepare to Battle
“They killed Lizzy,” I said, my voice dead and emotionless.
“Who?” Lady Sarah’s face was blank, impossible to read.
We were in the cemetery and it was some time after midnight. No more than twelve hours had passed since Lizzy’s death. Both vampires were sitting on coffins in the mausoleum, while I remained standing, pacing.
“Lizzy, the girl from your school?” Vince asked. “Your friend?”
I nodded. “It was me they were after. They know who I am. They’ve been following me, but until now they haven’t even attempted to kill me, though there’s been plenty of times when they could have tried. Then today, for whatever reason, they decided to do it, but it was misty and I think maybe they mistook her for me. Maybe they saw someone coming towards them and they panicked before they could see who it was. I don’t know the reason, but Lizzy’s dead and it should have been me.”
“That does not make sense,” Lady Sarah said. “I have never heard of them stalking their quarry unless they intend to kill them that same night. For that matter, I have never heard of them attacking in a public place in daylight. And they do not make mistakes. This does not make sense – why go to the trouble of following you if they do not intend to kill you?”
“Who cares why they did it, they have to pay,” Vince hissed. I nodded in savage agreement as he talked. “I’m sick of running from them. We’ve spent centuries running. It’s time we stood and fought them one final time, because time is all we have left and they’ll even take that from us eventually. They chase us from our territories and force us to scavenge on animals – to become animals ourselves. We were not given the gift of eternity to spend it like this.”
He fell silent and I took up the argument for him. “What does it matter if they kill us today or tomorrow, or in years to come? We’ll be dead all the same. If we want eternity we have to fight for it. You told me once a great battle was fought and we lost. The survivors fled and lived to fight another day, but how many of them have gone down fighting since then? Too many. Those who went into hiding might have survived longer, but it can’t last. Now the time has come for another great battle in which the undead must either win to carry on the fight, or die and be lost to eternity.”
“I told you, we are too few for another battle. They would slaughter us all,” Lady Sarah argued.
“We have no other choice,” Vince said, his face resolute. “The werewolf is right.”
“And who will lead us?” she asked. “None of us here are powerful enough to lead what others we can gather. We will fight amongst ourselves and do more damage than the Slayers before the battle has even begun. Ever has that been our downfall; it is
in our nature.”
“Worry about that later. A natural leader will rise when the time is right,” I said.
“Even so, we will be outnumbered. They will wipe us all out with ease. Better to take the time we have left than throw it all away for nothing.”
I shook my head. “We might as well be dead if we have to spend the rest of our time running. Besides, can you not make more vampires? There may be no more werewolves after I’m gone, but there will always be more vampires. Not even the Slayers can stop that, can they? And there must be more kinds of undead than vampires and werewolves. Both you and Vince mentioned zombies before. Are you sure they’re all gone? And what about ghouls, ghosts, wraiths? Are they all myths?”
“Oh, they exist,” Vince said, but his gaze slid to the side and focused on the wall, as if he’d rather not talk about it.
“Yes, they exist. But it takes a powerful necromancer to raise the dead, especially the numbers we will need for an army. There were free roaming zombies, but the Slayers wiped them out. Ghouls, ghosts and wraiths cannot be controlled so easily. And we could not make enough vampires in time. The Slayers will recognise a corpse destined to become a vampire and stake it long before it ever has chance to rise again. Even if we stole the body, it would raise suspicions.”
“So we’ll find a necromancer. We’ll raise an army so terrible no one will dare to look upon them. The dead will fight for us, and think of the possibilities! The dead will always outnumber the living. Billions have died over the millennia, billions more than there ever will be alive at any one time. And for every Slayer we kill, we will add to our ranks. There must be someone you’ve met somewhere along the line who has the power.”
