Dead by Dawn

by Wellman, Bret

  “Is it broken, did we run out of gas?” asked Keith.

  “Turn on the phone, I need to see.”

  Keith did as he was told and the dark gray machine was soon visible, as were they.

  Joe took the phone and stepped up to the machine.

  “Watch our backs,” he said.

  Keith lowered the shotgun and stepped up to the door. “Hurry up and get that thing going. I’m not liking this one bit.”

  Joe inspected the machine. It appeared to be fine; nothing was out of place, no exposed wiring. He spotted the problem at almost the same moment the shotgun went off. It fired twice, making his ears ring.

  “There’s three of them Joe!” Keith yelled.

  Joe ignored him, keeping his focus on the generator. Keith fired again.

  The main power switch had been yanked down to the off position. Joe lifted it back up and it clicked into place. The machine remained off.

  Keith shot a fourth time. “They’re about to tear me apart!”

  Joe ran his hand along the face of the generator until his thumb found a circular green button. He pressed it in.

  Keith was tackled backwards, the shotgun knocked from his grip. It bounced across the floor, spinning as it went.

  The green button did the trick however and the generator was roaring to life. The lights flickered on in its wake.

  The vampire on top of Keith howled. Keith took advantage of its distraction and buried his knife in its side.

  There were three other vampires nearby as well. They were teenagers and wore clothes that suggested they recently raided the mall. They still wore the tags. Their pale skin looked like powder under the lights. They were beginning to smoke as they sank away from the ceiling, falling to the ground and holding their hands up to block out the light.

  Joe grabbed the shotgun and prepared for one of them to charge. None did, they were too distracted by their burning skin.

  Blisters were popping up all over their bodies. Two of them stayed on the ground, rolling and writhing. The third tried to get up and run. It took two steps before falling back to its knees.

  Keith worked his way free of the now dead vampire and got to his feet. He brushed his hand over his body, checking for bite marks. There were none.

  The lights in the school weren't nearly as powerful as the sun; as a result, the vampires did not spontaneously combust. Instead it killed them slower, making their skin sizzle until it was burnt and blackened.

  Either way the end result was the same, the vampires died.

  A group of soldiers showed up a minute later. There were seven of them. They looked beat up and one was holding a wound on his neck. Blood oozed through his fingertips.

  The others had their rifles raised as they approached.

  “What are you doing in here?” the man at point asked.

  Joe set down the shotgun and raised his hands. His eyes were locked on the barrel of the soldier’s gun.

  “We came in here after the lights went out and restarted the generator,” said Keith.

  “It was off?”

  “I think somebody flipped the power switch.”

  The soldier waved the end of his gun, gesturing for them to move towards the door. “Is it just you two? Did you see anyone else?”

  “It was dark,” said Joe. “But no, I don’t think there was anyone else around.”

  “They must have killed the power and ran,” said Keith. “If it was a human, that is.”

  The soldier lowered his rifle slightly. “It was definitely a human. No vampire could stand a chance of getting in here.” He closed his eyes and scowled. “Shit, the damn things aren’t even allowed to come inside unless they’ve been welcomed.”

  The soldier with the neck wound stepped forward. “What kind of a sick bastard would kill the power and let the vampires in?”

  Keith looked down at the floor and sighed. “They have to be under the influence of the vampires.”

  More soldiers were coming down the hall; Joe could hear their footsteps. It sounded like they were running.

  “Whoever it was, they got us good,” said the soldier at point. “You two should head back to your rooms. We’ll take it from here.”

  Joe made slow movements, going back and picking up his shotgun. There were a lot of loaded rifles aimed at him and he didn’t want one going off. The soldiers allowed it and he was soon heading down the hall with Keith.

  He checked that there was still a shell in the gun. Whoever let the vampires in was still out there and he wasn’t planning to be caught off guard.

  Chapter 32

  The vampires did a lot of damage during their short time inside the school. There were people lying on the ground everywhere. Most were moaning and incoherent, some were crying. Others held their hands over their necks and looked sick. There were bodies strewn about as well; their heads bent at awkward angles, some missing limbs, while others were covered in gashes.

  A chorus of weeping echoed through the halls. Desperation and despair emanated from all but the dead as Adam shuffled down the blood-strewn halls in a daze.

  He passed a few people that were shambling along. They walked like zombies with their heads hanging low and their arms limp by their sides; it wasn’t natural. They looked as though they were in some form of shock.

  Adam knew the light was the only thing keeping him safe, but he couldn’t help noticing how much worse it made the halls look. Everybody, every wound, every smear of blood, it was all magnified under the glare of the bright ceiling. It made every bit of carnage stand out in sharp relief, making him feel sick.

  It didn’t help that the air smelled like old pennies. It left a sharp taste in his mouth that, when inhaled deeply, made his stomach roll. He was forced to take shallow breaths to avoid losing his meager lunch.

  Being in the hall made him feel exposed. He didn’t know whether or not the lights would go out at any moment. He was determined to find Joe and Keith, however and pushed on regardless. He figured their room was at least a little safer and made Sarah stay back with the others. On the off chance the vampires attacked again she would stand a slightly better chance by not coming along. He was glad she stayed back, but still wished someone was wandering the halls with him. Being alone only made it worse.

  Staying in their room had worked for them the first time. After Joe and Keith left, he shut the door and urged everyone else to huddle towards the back of the room. Matt stayed with him closer to the front. Their plan was to jump the first vampire that attempted to get through the door. They would have probably been ripped to pieces, but it was the best idea they could come up with. Luckily, no vampire barged through the door and eventually the lights came back on.

  Now he was wandering the halls, waiting for the moment when he would turn a corner and find Joe and Keith’s broken bodies mixed in with the rest.

  Instead Adam spotted Lindsay, the girl who kept to herself from their room. She was sitting Indian style with her back against a row of lockers. Her head was leaning against her shoulder and her arms lay still against the floor.

  Back at their room, when the lights had come back on, she wasn’t with them. He assumed she must have run away during the confusion. Seeing her now, he wasn’t sure if she was still alive.

  As he got closer, he spotted a syringe next to her open palm. Her arm was wrapped tight with a piece of plastic, just above the elbow.

  “Lindsay?” Adam asked, his voice sounding shrill to his own ears. “Are you okay?”

  He reached out, extending his hand towards her shoulder.

  The skin on her arm was bruised and covered in red marks where she had stuck herself with the needle. There was a fresh mark just below the rubber band.

  Adam wasn’t sure what he should do. He was afraid that if he touched her, he would find she was dead. She looked so still, he couldn’t tell if she was breathing. It was unnerving.

  His fingers touched her shoulder. Lindsay lifted her head and he drew back. She moaned and let her
head fall again.

  As far as Adam could tell she hadn’t been bitten. It was only drugs keeping her incoherent. There didn’t appear to be any marks on her neck.

  Has she been sitting in the hallway the entire time? He wondered.

  He was careful not to use too much force as he bent down and took her under the elbow. “Come on Lindsay, let’s get you back to the room where we can watch over you.”

  He pulled her to her feet. Her protests came out in unsatisfied moans. Fortunately she gave little resistance and he was able to drape her arm over his shoulders and pull her along.

  “I’m sorry,” she slurred.

  “It’s no big deal. I got your back.”

  She strained against him, barely lifting her head to look up. “I can’t stop. No matter what I do, I always go back.”

  Her words were almost intelligible, but he could understand well enough. She was crying too, not much, but tears were escaping her eyes.

  “That’s addiction,” said Adam. “It’s hard. Just know that we’re here for you, all of us. We can help.”

  “You should kill me.”

  Adam was taken back. “What?”

  “I’ll never stop. You need to kill me,” her voice trailed off, “Please.”

  “No. With our help you can beat your addiction. It’s going to be hard at first, but it will get better, I promise.”

  “I can never stop.” She let her head drop and he could feel her body go slack against him.

  Adam had to hike her back up against him to get a better grip. She was still shuffling her feet so at least he had that to help.

  He went slow, carful not to jostle her around too much. There were a few times her head rolled to the side and he caught a whiff of her rancid breath. It was horrible and made him want to gag, but he resisted the urge. It did nothing to help his already unbalanced stomach.

  Once he glanced over in time to see inside her mouth. Her teeth were yellow and grimy; a few were black. He looked away.

  Joe and Keith were already in the room when he got back. Adam let out a sigh of relief. He felt comforted knowing they hadn’t died.

  He lay Lindsay down on a cot with some help from Matt, who tucked her into a blanket.

  “It’s a bad time to be a drug addict,” said Matt, still standing over her. “I’m surprised she still had anything left to use.”

  “Yea,” said Adam. “We’d better keep an eye on her until she wakes up. I’ve heard of people overdosing if they take a bump when they haven’t done it in a while.”

  “Is she bitten?” asked Sarah.

  Joe was watching Lindsay, a dark expression on his face. “She’s been using.”

  “Drugs?” asked Sarah.

  “Was she out in the hall the whole time?” asked Keith. “The damn vampires must have walked right by her.”

  Adam shrugged. If he was being honest, he didn’t know where she had been when everything went down. It was too chaotic to track everyone.

  “What a useless waste of her life,” Joe mumbled before grabbing his shotgun and unloading the shells.

  Keith cracked a smile. “This might be the one case where a world gone to hell could be a good thing. Once she runs out of drugs she’ll have to go sober.”

  “That or she’ll start raiding houses in search of hidden drug stashes,” said Matt. “At that point she’ll probably overdose on some rich guy’s stash of coke.”

  “Don’t you have any respect?” It was Sherry, from her spot next to Chip on a bunk. She was crying. “The poor girl is right in front of you.”

  Adam was pretty sure it was the first time he’d heard the lady speak in anything more than a whisper. Her voice was raspy like someone who spent years of their life smoking. Chip ran his hand up and down her back, coaxing her to calm down. It appeared to work, as she soon turned back to their little bubble. Adam could still see her shoulders trembling from behind, however, and knew that the woman had been deeply upset.

  “What’s got her panties in a bunch?” whispered Matt.

  Adam pulled out his phone and attempted to contact Barry. It was no use; his phone had absolutely zero service. Not even his texts were going through.

  When did that happen?

  He sat down on a cot next to Sarah as Keith recapped how he and Joe had gone out and turned the power back on. How it had been shut off in the first place was what Adam wanted to know.

  They were expected to go to bed after that, something that wasn’t easy. Adam was pretty sure it was impossible. How could he be expected to sleep after what happened last time? Was he going to wake up and find it dark again? It was like trying to sleep when in line to get on a roller coaster. His stomach was all twisted and his heart rate higher than usual.

  He closed his eyes and concentrated on his breathing. His thoughts were spinning. He thought about finding Lindsay in the hall, the power going out, the bodies, the blood, he even thought about how improved Sarah had become. Every day she came out of her daze a little more.

  It was mainly his racing mind that kept him from passing into sleep. He didn’t know how long he’d been lying there, but it had to have been hours.

  When he was shaken awake in the morning he couldn’t imagine it was more than an hour after he’d fallen asleep.

  Sarah was shaking his shoulder. He blinked, his eyes burning.

  “Are the lights out?” he moaned. He didn’t have to squint to realize that they were.

  Adam jumped up, taking in a sharp breath as he went. Sarah fell back a step.

  “Relax Adam, it’s the morning.”

  Adam was rigid, his hands tightened into fists. It took a second for him to sink back, and when he did, he practically fell onto the cot. “I think I’m going crazy.”

  “I don’t think anyone would blame you at this point, but do you think you could hold it together a bit longer? We should at least go crazy one at a time and I don’t quite think I’m fixed yet.”

  “Right,” said Adam, running a hand through his hair. “I’ll try and keep that in mind.”

  He glanced over and spotted Lindsay sitting on her cot. She offered him a closed lip smile then put her head down and hugging her arms around herself.

  “Sorry I woke you up,” said Sarah, “but I thought you’d want to talk to Joe and Keith.”

  Adam stretched a sore spot in his neck, the previous night was coming back to him in all its glory. “Shit,” he whispered.

  “What is it?”

  “I have to find Barry and make sure he’s okay.” He stood up, ignoring her request to talk to Joe and Keith, and left the room.

  As it turned out, Barry wasn’t okay, he knew it the moment he saw him.

  Adam went up and down the halls in search of his friend. He stopped at every door and peered in, searching for Barry or anyone in his family. A few people questioned his inquiry, but most either hadn’t noticed he was missing or didn’t care.

  In one classroom there were no cots. A large tarp was spread across the floor with rows of bulges underneath. The thick smell of old pennies from the night before struck him and Adam forced out a gagging cough. Before he could get out of there, he spotted a bare foot sticking out from under the tarp. There was a smear of dried blood on its heel.

  Deeper in the room there was an upbeat jingle playing. It was the alarm clock on one of the dead’s phones. It played out, repeating the same notes over and over. Adam didn’t think anyone would turn it off, who would want to go in there and dig through the bodies to find it?

  The way it sounded, so stale and echoing, it was almost as though the dead were taunting him.

  Adam reeled backwards, almost falling into the hallway. He hacked and leaned against the wall while he waited for his stomach to settle.

  The room was where they were storing all the bodies from the night before he realized.

  What is that smell? The halls themselves smell like bleach, why is it still so strong with the bodies?

  Adam doubted he would ever forget the memory of
that smell. It might very well haunt him for the rest of his life.

  He did his best to shake it off and continue the search.

  In the end, he could have saved himself the trouble. It turned out that Barry had been in the lunchroom the entire time. Had he gotten a little more sleep, he might have searched there in the first place.

  His family was around him when Adam walked up. Barry was staring down at a full plate of pancakes, none of which had been touched. His black goatee was in stark contrast with his pale white face.

  Barry had been bitten…

  “You’ll never guess the night I had,” he said when he saw Adam.

  Adam didn’t respond, his mouth had become too dry to talk. His knees started to feel weak, he thought he should sit down before he fell.

  Barry looked up and smiled at him. “You stay back with a death wish, then travel overnight to get here and somehow I’m the one that gets bitten. Explain that one to me.”

  “I don’t know,” Adam managed, through the wad that was building in the back of his throat. He could feel his eyes getting wet.

  “Don’t tell me you’re going to get all girly on me and start crying.”

  “Barry,” his mother chided, though she looked quite distraught.

  “What?” asked Barry. “Mom, if Adam starts crying then I’ll start crying, if I cry then you’ll cry. Pretty soon everyone in the room will be crying. Therefore it’s my obligation to prevent that from happening.” Barry looked up at Adam. “Adam is a pussy, mom.”

  “Barry,” his mom repeated. “Watch your language.”

  “It’s alright Mrs. Wood,” said Adam, pulling himself together. “Your son has a point.”

  Barry’s mom lifted a handkerchief to her nose and blew out. Barry’s sister was on her right, hunched over and crying. Adam couldn’t bring himself to look at her.

  “Check it out,” said Barry, lifting his arm in the air. “My poison ivy’s gone.”

  Adam forced a shaky smile that fell flat. “That’s nice man.”

  He didn’t state that he’d prefer the poison ivy to the alternative. Instead, he swallowed hard and concentrated on keeping his composure. As it turned out, it wasn’t an easy thing to do. He felt pressure in his chest fighting its way into his throat to get out.