by Drew D'Amato
2
The stairs went down toward the back of the garage, the west wall. The east wall had eight garage doors, one for each car in the garage. Not all eight cars faced the same direction. Some were backed in, and some were pulled in. Three Radusons waited down there for them. The Radusons were five cars away. The three crouched behind the fifth car and stared at the master of the house. Jericho and Vlad had not seen them yet.
“Which one you want?” Vlad asked.
“The Ferrari,” Jericho said.
The three Radusons jumped up to shoot.
“Get down!” Vlad yelled.
Vlad and Jericho ducked behind the driver’s side of the first car, a Lamborghini Contouch, near the base of the stairs. The front end faced the garage doors. The three vampires shot up the car. The windows shattered and bullets plugged the shotgun side of the car. After a few rounds, they stopped. Jericho popped up behind the driver side of the Contouch and shot back with each of his Desert Eagles. He killed one who was in the process of reloading his weapon.
“I got one,” he said as he ducked back down.
The other two moved toward the Contouch. They kept their guns drawn waiting for either Vlad or Jericho to pop up next. Jericho and Vlad moved behind the tail end of the car against the wall. The two Radusons approach the Lamborghini, each taking a different side. If Vlad or Jericho made a move either way, they would be shot dead.
Jericho rested his right foot against the car with his back to the wall of the garage, behind the passenger’s seat. Vlad leaned his right half behind the driver side at the tail of the car. The black stretch limo was the next car down. Its front end faced toward the wall. Its passenger side lined up against the Lamborghini’s passenger side.
Jericho held a gun in his right hand around the corner of the car. The vampire waited for the rest of Jericho’s body to come out. Jericho slid down and could see underneath the car at the vampire’s feet. He calculated the shot. He shot twice. The vampire fell to the floor after the first shot hit his ankle. The second one hit him in the heart.
“Let’s go,” Jericho said.
Vlad and Jericho duck-walked down the line of cars. The last Raduson ran over to the end of the Lamborghini and turned left to look down the line of cars. Vlad threw Jericho and then dove behind the car after the limo, a Lincoln Navigator. The vampire shot down the line between the cars and the wall. He missed them as they got behind the SUV.
His shooting stopped. The vampire took out a grenade from his belt. Vlad heard the sound of the pin being pulled in the quiet garage. He looked underneath the SUV. The vampire was about to roll the grenade under the cars to the two of them. In no time Vlad shot the grenade not even two feet away from the vampire underneath the Lamborghini during his attempt to roll it. The grenade went off and the vampire disappeared as the car blew up.
3
Upstairs, Malachi, Michael and the others fired at the vampires through the windows of the house like cowboys trapped in some type of barn. The Radusons were moving around the perimeter of the house, judging the best place to enter. They seemed to be giving up the idea of coming through the front and started to make their way around the sides.
“We should move,” Michael said to Malachi.
“Listen, you two come with me.” Malachi pointed to Henry and Matt. “We’ll jump out of the windows in the dining room. Michael you take the rest of them and try to get out upstairs. Whoever gets out covers the other group so they can get out.”
“Good idea,” Michael said.
Henry and Matt followed Malachi. Michael and the others flew up to the fourth floor.
Malachi and the two jumped through the side windows of the dining room almost at the exact same time. Malachi changed into a wolf, and the two changed into bats. Matt got away but a Raduson outside waiting by that side of the house shot Henry before he fully transformed. Malachi turned his wolf head and found the vampire. He ran at him. The Raduson did not have a chance for a second shot. Malachi had his mouth gripped around the right hand of the vampire that held the gun. The speed and strength of a wolf/vampire jaw far exceeded that of a normal wolf.
After the lunge Malachi had the vampire on the ground. He changed back and now sat on the vampire, pointing his gun at him and biting into the Raduson’s hand. He shot the vampire right in the heart, killing him. Matt had flown away to safety.
4
The Ferrari F430 Spider roared out of the garage. The door had barely risen high enough for the car to pass through. The car peeled out of the drive and took the curb to get around the first of the three Yukons parked in the driveway. Jericho drove as Vlad rode shotgun.
Radu stood behind the Yukons and watched, but the car moved too fast for him to get a shot in. He ordered Ash, Victor, and another vampire to get into a Yukon with him. The four drove off after them. Three other vampires went for the second Yukon. Malachi noticed this. He aimed at the second because the first had already gotten out of his range. He first shot hit the back door panel. The second hit the gas tank dead on. An explosion started from the back that engulfed the truck.
5
Michael and the rest of the vampires got to the fourth floor landing. They aimed to leap off the balcony, but they found three of Radu’s men standing outside the glass doors waiting for them. They shot at Vlad’s vampires from outside once they got into sight. Between their leaping and climbing abilities, it was completely possible for a Raduson to get up there.
“Get back downstairs,” Michael said.
The vampires jumped over the railing back down to the first floor. Michael and the vampires landed on the first floor in a crouching position. The Radusons broke the shattered glass off the door upstairs and walked into the mansion. When Michael stood up, he found himself staring down the barrel of a gun. The vampire aiming at Michael stood four feet into the house from the open front door. The other vampires froze, afraid to make any fast moves that would cost Michael’s life. Michael recognized the vampire with the gun.
“Jordan?”
Jordan appeared a little confused as for what to do next. Then, from behind the Raduson, a wolf attacked the vampire’s neck. Jordan managed to throw the wolf off of him. He turned around and raised his gun at the wolf lying on the floor, but was shot in the back before he could pull his trigger and dissolved. Michael stood there with his gun aimed where the dead vampire previously stood.
Malachi changed back into his vampire form and got up off the ground. The sound of vampires coming up the stairs from the garage could be heard along with the sound of Radusons coming down from the fourth floor. Malachi got a grenade from his belt. He pulled the pin and threw it straight through the door to the garage. He propelled it with so much force that it did not explode when it hit the door but went through the door and blew up somewhere in the garage, hopefully killing a few. Malachi looked back out the front door. Most of the Radusons had by now completely moved from the front of the house. It looked like a clear path.
“A few of you come with me,” Malachi said.
Four vampires ran with Malachi out the front door. Michael and the others stayed in the entrance. When they ran out, a Raduson coming around the right side of the house killed the last of them. Malachi turned to his left and destroyed the vampire in one shot with not a second wasted. He drew his gun back and continued to run for the third Yukon that was still there. The four of them got in. Malachi sat behind the wheel. The keys were still in it.
“What about the others?” Stephen, the one sitting shotgun, asked. Gregory sat behind Stephen, and Andrew sat behind Malachi.
“Another truck with Radu in it drove off after Jericho and Vlad. That is all that matters. We kill Radu, we win. They haven’t got Vlad yet, but if he’s in trouble so are we. The others are going to have to fight their way out. I’m sorry.” Malachi shifted the truck into gear and peeled out of the drive.
6
Vlad and Jericho sped down the nearly empty road. The speed limit said forty-five, but Jericho race
d the convertible at around 100 miles an hour. His reflexes could handle a faster speed, but with all the occassional turns coming up, he wasn’t sure if the Ferrari could. A police car parked behind some trees flew out after the two.
“Shit,” Jericho said as he looked into the rear view.
“Radu?”
“No, cops.”
“Fuck ‘em, don’t stop. Try to lose them.”
Jericho looked back again and saw the police car in the rearview explode as it caught a grenade in its rear windshield. The car spun out onto the side of the road and exploded again as it hit a tree, killing the two cops inside. A black Yukon appeared out of the fire and smoke in the rearview.
“Fuck,” Jericho said.
“This one is Radu?”
“Yeah.”
Vlad stood up in the convertible turning around toward the SUV. Vlad held a small machine gun, an HK MP5K, and shot at the front windshield of the truck. Ash and the driver—the other Raduson—ducked under the dashboard as he shot. Victor hung outside the back shotgun window and Radu hung out the back driver’s side, shooting at Vlad with their Uzis.
“This isn’t going to work,” Vlad said.
“What do you want to do?”
Vlad looked at the emergency brake and then looked back at Jericho. Jericho understood. Jericho slowed the car slightly to allow the truck catch up to them.
Jericho pulled the e-brake.
The two flew up out of their seats.
Vlad dropped a grenade from his belt as he took off.
Radu knew what was coming next and so did Ash and Victor. They jumped out of the SUV, but the driver did not think fast enough. The SUV crashed into the Ferrari that was stopped in the middle of the road. Both cars blew up and the driver was no more.
Vlad and Jericho transformed into bats and flew to safety.
The three Radusons rolled in the dirt for a good distance. Radu dislocated his shoulder and broke his leg, but the injuries would heal within moments. Victor and Ash also suffered brief injuries. The three of them stood up with their bones healing as they moved.
“Fuck, we were so close,” Vcitor said.
“I want Jericho,” said Ash.
“It’s okay men,” Radu told them. “There will be another chance.”
7
Vlad and Jericho reached the rendezvous point. This house was about one third the size of his other house. A different type of house, in this one the walls were made up of mostly windows. It was an off-level, new age home only to be used for emergency situations. The house had just two stories but twelve rooms, most of them upstairs. The outside walls not windows were colored gray, and on the inside a lighter gray. Not as lavishly furnished inside as the old house, but it had what it needed. This house was not as secluded as the last one. This was the Malibu beach, there were houses close by.
Vlad and Jericho changed back into their vampire forms as they landed in the driveway. Matt sat alone on the front step waiting to get in. He was a young-looking vampire, joined the damned at twenty-four. He had short, light brown hair and green eyes.
“How did you get here?” Vlad asked.
“I flew here as a bat, no one saw me,” Matt answered.
“What about the rest of them?”
“I don’t know.”
“Well let’s get inside, we should be safe here.”
They walked up the stairs and Vlad unlocked the door. Matt and Jericho both found a seat on the couches in the parlor to the right of the entrance of the house. The dining room sat to the left.
Vlad stared out the window of the parlor, waiting.
8
Back at the house the attack continued. Michael and the others stood in the entrance of the house trapped. Vampires started to come in from the side windows, some from upstairs, and others from the downstairs garage. The group of vampires fought them off bravely, but the forces still moved farther into the house.
“Quick, get into the parlor,” Michael said.
Most of the vampires followed him into the parlor. Gabriel appeared in the front doorway and saw the vampires running to the back of the house. He threw a grenade toward the kitchen doorway. Daniel and Colin did not make it into the kitchen. Colin turned and fired at Gabriel. Daniel ran to the elevator. Gabriel dodged Colin’s shots and fired back, killing him. Daniel closed the gate to the elevator before Gabriel could redirect his aim. The elevator went up.
Inside the office Daniel realized he had a chance to escape out of the picture window in the smaller room. He ran to the window. He heard the sound of the elevator moving back downstairs. Gabriel would be following quickly behind. As he looked around thinking of his next move he saw the silver sword in the glass case on the wall. He broke the glass and took the sword.
Daniel moved to the elevator doors. He opened the doors and looked down. The elevator car started to move up. He held the sword back and then swung the sword. He cut the cables and the elevator crashed down. Gabriel jumped out of the car once it crashed; he knew what was coming next. Daniel dropped his only grenade on top of the elevator. The car exploded.
He looked at the sword in his hands and knew it was an important heirloom to his master. He held the sword as he ran to the picture window near the desk. He jumped out of the window, changed into a bat, and left the mansion with the other vampires having to fend for themselves.
9
Daniel walked into the second house. When he entered, he found Vlad staring out the window of the parlor. On the couches sat Jericho and Matthew along with Andrew, Gregory, and Stephen. Malachi sat on a recliner sipping on a snifter of bourbon he got from the bar in the corner of the parlor. Daniel walked to Vlad.
“I thought you would want this,” Daniel said as he handed Vlad the silver sword.
Vlad took it from his hands and stared deeply at the weapon. Daniel could tell he was off having a thought he did not want to share. Finally, Vlad just said. “They destroyed the office?”
“I don’t know. I got up there and destroyed the elevator. It was untouched when I left it, but I can’t tell you what is happening now.”
“What happened to the others?”
“The Radusons came in the front, the garage, and the roof. Michael told everyone to go into the parlor, but I couldn’t make it there safely so I took the elevator to the third floor. Up there I grabbed this sword, cut the cables to the elevator, and flew away.”
“Michael told them to go into the parlor?”
“Yes, why?”
“Let me ask you, wouldn’t you say that would be a bad idea since that was where the firing started?”
“Vlad, we had nowhere else to go. The men came in from everywhere. I don’t know if any of them made it out. It seemed like the best idea.”
“Yes, it seemed like the best idea.”
Vlad went back to staring out the window. Daniel walked over to the rest of the vampires.
“Oh, and Daniel.”
“Yes, Master?”
“Thanks for grabbing the sword.”
10
At about an hour before dawn, Vlad, who hadn’t moved from the window, saw Michael in the distance coming closer to the house. He was walking by himself—this was not a good sign.
He opened the door. His head was down and he looked lost as he walked in. Vlad moved from his post and grabbed Michael.
“Come with me,” he said with fire in his eyes.
They went into the kitchen behind the first room and closed the door behind them.
“What’s wrong, master?” Michael asked confused.
“Did you sell us out?” Vlad yelled at him.
“What the fuck do you mean?”
“Radu found out where I lived. And those girls from the other night, you were the one who knew them. I should fucking kill you right now!” Vlad put his gun to his chest.
“What is this, the third degree?”
“This is the second, you don’t want to see the third. Tell me why you are the only one left? Did you help R
adu butcher the others?”
Jericho and Malachi came into the kitchen. Jericho pulled Vlad off of Michael.
“What the hell are you doing?” Jericho said to Vlad.
“Haven’t you wondered how Radu was getting so close to us all of a sudden? This motherfucker has been selling us out.”
“I have not.”
“Vlad this is Michael, he wouldn’t do that.”
“Oh yeah, well then how were you the only one who got out?”
“We went into the parlor. We had nowhere else to go. There was some shooting and then this bomb of some sort, I never saw anything like it before, got thrown into the room. This bomb was powerful. The explosion sent a blast at first, some sort of sound wave. It blew me out of the window and then the parlor lit up with fire right after. Everyone inside the room burned to death. I fell into the trees, changed into a bat and got the hell out of there. They destroyed everything in the mansion. I don’t think anything was saved.”
Vlad stared at Michael.
“C’mon Vlad, if he sold us out why would he stay there and fight with everyone else?” Jericho said in his defense
“Why wouldn’t I kill you now, or before when I’ve had my chances? When you have your guard down?” Michael said.
“He’s right, Vlad,” Jericho agreed.
“Yes, maybe he is, or maybe he was concerned about the wrath you men would put on him, if he did betray me. You would all be human and he would be outnumbered,” Vlad said.
