The Human Race (Book 1)

by Tahnee Fritz

  “How was your trip through town?” I ask.

  He shrugs as he walks into our room, “Not bad. Got a few things so we can head out again tomorrow. More ammo, some food, stuff like that. How was your shower?”

  I follow him to one of the beds and sit down next to him, “Awesome. I think you need to take one now. The soap is in my bag if you want to take one here. We’re all done in our bathroom.”

  “Yeah, I probably should before we go to that thing tonight. Jim is taking one across the hall anyway. So, if you ladies and young man don’t mind, I’m going to hog your bathroom for a bit.” Dad says with a smile.

  Dena chuckles and shakes her head. She’s just finishing up with Sherry’s hair, not a strand out of place. Other than her jeans and t-shirt, she’ll fit in perfectly with the other girls in this town. I’m proud to admit that I never will. It’s good to not fit in once in a while.

  The sun has set and our little group is on our way down the street to whatever event is going on. Sherry’s mother decided to stay behind with, Dillon, but the rest of us are a little curious to see what this town has going on. I’m actually a lot curious. I’ve never been to something like this before. I might even be a little giddy about seeing what this place has to offer. That doesn’t mean I’m going to go without my gun. I have it tucked safely in my jeans behind my back with my shirt to cover. You never know what could jump out at you, even in this seemingly safe town.

  There are quite a few people walking down the street toward the big tent that is setup at the other end of town. It’s so massive it takes up enough space to build two good sized houses. The people here seem really excited and probably know exactly what is going to be under that tent. The girls are all traveling in groups, whispering and laughing amongst themselves. The boys walk together, staying relatively quiet, but wear smiles on their faces. Quite a few men wander the streets with shotguns and rifles, keeping watch and to make the rest of the townspeople feel safer at night. Must be nice to have this kind of security all times of the day and night instead of just yourself and your father to rely on.

  We make it to the tent and have to walk past a couple guards at the entrance. Their eyes are busy scanning for vamps and zombies so they pay no attention to the people entering through the open flap.

  Inside are dozens of metal folding chairs set up in rows on the grass. People are filling them up as they come inside. The chairs are facing a stage-like platform at the other end of the tent. Torches illuminate around the stage and a section of it is blocked off by a black curtain, obviously hiding whatever they don’t want the rest of us to see. There are a few tall torches standing at the back of the tent behind the rows of chairs so everyone can see where they’re going.

  Sherry leans close to me and whispers in my ear, “What do you think it is?”

  “I have no idea. Hopefully nothing horrible.” I reply.

  We choose a row of chairs at the back and sit down. I’m sandwiched between my dad and Sherry who is sitting next to her father and his three brothers are on the other side of him. My heart is beating pretty fast not only because I’m nervous about whatever is going on, but from being surrounded by a hundred or so random people I’ve never seen before. I feel a little claustrophobic being trapped in a room with all of these strangers. If something bad were to happen and we need to make a quick getaway, there’s the good possibility of getting trampled by some of these people. I’m used to not having to take a risk like that so being in this large of a group is really keeping me on edge. I hope this night goes by quickly so I can get back to that nice, cozy bed waiting for me back in our room.

  The rest of the people file into the tent and choose places to sit. Many of them search for a place up close to the stage, but all those chairs are taken. A good majority of the town must be here and all of them are staring up at the stage. My eyes are glued to it as well, patiently waiting to see whatever surprise this place has to offer.

  After the crowd quiets down a bit, a familiar face walks onto the stage. He’s wearing a black suit and tie with a top hat on his head. It’s Henry Johnson and he reminds me of a host I’d see at a circus. The huge grin on his face even screams that this is going to be a good show, much like a circus. He’s even carrying a cane as he walks to the center of the stage.

  “Welcome!” he waves his arms out and smiles to the cheering audience. “I’m sure all of you are wondering what I have in store for you this fine evening. I must say, it took a lot of effort to make this night happen and I am more than pleased with how things have turned out so far. This will be far better than what we brought out last month. We all know how that night ended.”

  Laughter comes from the crowd and Henry begins walking back and forth across the stage, working the audience.

  “Tonight, ladies and gentlemen, I have something all of you are dying to see. An up close and personal look at something which has taken a while for us to get our hands on. This is nothing like those zombies we brought out, those were boring and predictable. I’m sure all of you can remember the monotonous moaning they let out that night. We were all disappointed in their act last month.” Henry exclaims.

  My heart is racing faster now and I have a gut feeling what they have hiding behind that curtain. If he’s saying they had zombies here a few weeks ago, there’s only one other thing they could have gotten their hands on that would surprise anybody. Why they would want to capture those demons is far beyond anything I can comprehend.

  “Fellas,” Henry turns his attention to a few men standing off stage, “if ya’ll would please bring out our main event.” He looks back to the audience, “No sense in keeping ya’ll waiting when this is what you came here for.”

  I can feel my hands shaking and I’m starting to find it hard not to reach for my gun. Why would this town be fascinated with keeping zombies or vampires as their prisoners? Why would they celebrate like this? Why ask myself questions like this when they’re only making me more nervous? This place is the exact opposite of what a safe town should be.

  The crowd is cheering at the top of their lungs as we watch two large men roll something on the stage. A black sheet is draped over it, but I can tell it’s some sort of cage. The bars underneath the sheet stick out a little, letting the cloth dip between the gaps.

  I glance over to Sherry. She’s huddled up with her father, scared out of her mind. She’s told me they haven’t had many run-ins with the vamps and I’m sure they were hoping they wouldn’t have to face them any time soon. Especially not in a town they hoped to stay the night in. I look to my dad and his eyes are focused on the black sheet.

  “Dad,” I whisper to get his attention, “I think this might have been a bad idea.”

  He nods, without turning his head to look at me, “I was just beginning to think the same thing.”

  I turn back to the stage and Henry is so excited, he doesn’t want to wait any longer. He grips a corner of the black sheet and with one quick jerk of his wrist, he rips the cover off and reveals a large metal cage. My jaw drops as I stare at not one, not two, but three pale vampires reaching their arms through the bars of the cage. The crowd around me cheers and claps their hands only making the vamps more excited. Even from where I’m sitting, I can see the long, white fingernails on their hands as they try reaching for anything within distance. Their sharp teeth glowing in the light from the torches. I really want to pull myself out of that chair and leave before anything bad comes this way, but the curiosity of wanting to see what happens is pinning me in place.

  My eyes dart from one vamp to the next. One is an older man with a bald head. Dried blood on the corners of his mouth. His clothes are torn and he’s not wearing any shoes. The one standing in the middle is a woman, her hair a light blonde that’s almost translucent. She is letting out a loud shriek trying to press her face through the bars. The third is a young man, probably my age. His hair is a light shade of brown and the purple veins in his forehead and neck stand out against his pale skin.

&nb
sp; All of us can see the hunger burning in their eyes. They reach out for food, for blood, and they are so close to it, but they just can’t grasp it. Their arms aren’t long enough to grab one of the men a few feet away but they still reach out for him. And he just stands there with his arms folded across his chest, laughing at them. I know they’re vampires and horrible creatures who literally suck the life out of human beings, but they were at one point a human being themselves. They just lost who they once were the day they were bitten and transformed into those bloodsucking demons up there. They don’t deserve to be locked up in cages and mocked for amusement. In my opinion, they all should be killed.

  With a smile on his face, Henry stands off to the side of the cage and speaks to the crowd again, “Now as I have said before, it was quite a feat to capture these things. It took ten of our good men to setup the perfect trap. If you were closer, you would be able to see the burn marks on their bodies from the sun. These vampires sure are stupid when it comes to hunting their food. They’d do anything just to get a taste of us.”

  He laughs. The crowd laughs. I sit in the back of the room staring in shock at what these people find entertaining. I don’t think they realize just how dangerous the vamps in that cage really are, especially when they’re hungry.

  I keep my eyes on the cage. It rattles and shakes with every move the vampires make. They shriek and shout at us, screaming words I can’t quite understand. It sounds like they are yelling “food” or “hungry”. I can see their lips moving and I know they are capable of speech. Being this far back and having to listen to the entire crowd cheer, it’s kind of hard to hear what those vampires are screaming for.

  “Who wants to be brave enough and see how close they can get to the cage?” Henry shouts to the crowd.

  A few people jump up and run to the stage. It gets harder to see what’s going on as they rush up there. I stand in order to get a better look, the rest of our row stands as well. The vamps start shaking the cage even more as their food source comes closer to them. I can see the deranged looks on their faces even from all the way at the back of the tent.

  Two young girls approach the cage first. They don’t get very close before getting scared at running back to their seats with playful grins on their faces. An older man gets a little closer and smacks the bars of the cage with his wooden cane and laughs about it on the way back to his seat. With every person who gets close, the cage moves a little more. It doesn’t seem stable or strong enough to hold them and if I strain my ears just enough, I can hear the metal of the bars clanking together. It’s only a matter of time before things get out of control.

  A few more souls brave Henry’s challenge and chicken out before getting close enough. Then a teenaged girl with bright red hair stands alone on the stage. She stares at it while those behind her urge her to get closer. She takes a few baby steps to close the gap between her and the cage. She’s closer than anyone else has gotten before and I can tell she feels pretty proud of herself. She spins around, her dress twirling around her legs, and a huge grin crosses her face and the crowd goes wild. In that very moment, with her back turned, the vamps are able to reach her.

  She screams as the younger of the three is able to grab her hair and yank her closer to the cage. The other two dig their claws into her skin while she screams out for help. The crowd screams and a few even rush on the stage to help her. I cover my mouth with my hands and stare at the horrific event knowing it’s already too late for that girl to have any chance at surviving.

  Guns are drawn and a few bullets whiz through the air hitting the flesh of the vamps. One hits the arm of the older man and I watch him growl at the man who shot him. He lets go of the red head, blood dripping from his fingers and mouth. He slams himself into the bars of the cage and it shakes much more ferociously. He does this again and again.

  Dad grabs my arm and says, “We need to get out of here.”

  I nod and turn to Sherry. Her family is one step ahead of us and already on their way to the exit. A few others in the crowd are rushing to get out as well. I hear another gunshot, followed by a sound even worse. The crowd gets quiet and I turn my head to the stage. The older vamp was able to use all of his strength to bust through the metal door on the cage. It flew off its hinges and crashed to the floor.

  The red head is already dead or will be soon. She has turned pale and they let her fall to the floor in order to make their way out of the cage. I see Henry take off through a flap in the tent, leaving the other men to shoot at the vamps. It doesn’t help much. The woman screams and jumps five feet in the air landing on top of one of them, biting into him the second she touches him. The other two jump into the crowd and it’s at that second I reach behind for my gun. I grip it tight in my fingers and prepare myself for whatever happens.

  Dad keeps my arm in his grasp and we try to get to the exit. Even more of the townspeople are pushing and shoving their way to get out. They bump into whoever is in their way, knocking people off balance and letting them fall to the floor. Their screams burn my ears as I listen.

  “We need to get back to the hotel!” dad shouts over the screaming crowd.

  I don’t reply. It’s no use to try to say anything when everyone is yelling around you. There are more gunshots and I turn my head one last time toward the commotion. The younger vamp is jumping through the crowd, knocking over anyone in his path. I can’t tell if he is trying to get out or trying to find the perfect person for his meal. Either way, I want no part of it.

  We are able to make to the opening, but there are still plenty of people shoving each other on the outside. I try to stay close to dad, even when dozens of people shove by me and he loses his grip on my arm. I am forced to move with the crowd, not knowing if dad is right behind me or not.

  Out in the open, everyone is running back to their homes for safety away from those monsters. I move out into the middle of the street, then turn around to face the tent. My eyes scanning the faces of the people still piling outside, hoping one of those faces will belong to dad.

  My heart pounds. I jump with every gunshot I hear. I don’t see him in any direction I turn. The screaming grows louder and more intense and I keep my eyes glued to the opening in the tent. The crowd of people running outside is growing thin and there’s still no sign of my dad.

  “Dad!” I scream, blending in with the other shrieks around me.

  Two older women, holding each other rush outside and the way is empty for a brief moment. There are three more gunshots and the air around me changes to an eerie silence. Others around me notice and stand in the street as well. I see a shadow moving behind the fabric of the white tent and pray to whatever god in the sky there is that my dad will be the one walking outside. I can’t take any more of my heavy breathing or the sound of my gun shaking in my hand. This has already been too much for one night.

  The thing responsible for the shadow comes strolling outside, blood seeping out of his mouth. Bullet wounds in his legs and stomach and still he stands as though he isn’t hurt. It’s the younger of the three vamps and I’m hoping the only one still alive. A few of the people around me stop waiting for their loved ones and run to wherever they think they’ll be safe. The fear of leaving my dad behind, not knowing if he’s still alive, is one thing holding me back. Another thing, is just straight up fear of that damn vampire.

  It takes a few steps toward me, tilting his head to the side as our eyes meet. He seems too young to be so violent and bloodthirsty. Yet, he slowly moves closer to me and has the ability to frighten me much more than the zombies. The way his black eyes burn a hole straight through to my soul, the way he saunters toward me with a bloodlust look on his face. That’s enough to scare the hell out of even the toughest guy on the planet.

  Don’t get me wrong, I am more than capable of killing him, my aim is pretty damn good, but being this close to something like him, I’m completely frozen. Fear is causing the gun to weigh my arm down and not shoot this thing in his heart. My mind is screaming
at me to do it, but my body can’t comprehend the message.

  “Brave?” his growly voice speaks to me, then he takes in a big whiff of air through his nose. “I smell fear. Not brave.”

  His words are choppy but he gets the message out. The next few steps he takes toward me are quicker and filled with hunger. The look in his pale eyes should be enough to get my hand to raise my gun. It should be enough to get my legs to move so I can run away. Still, I’m frozen in place and await whatever fate is about to come.

  It’s too late to run now, he’d catch me in a matter of seconds. His footsteps get louder and I hold my breath. I shut my eyes tight and wait for my life to flash in the darkness behind them. Then I hear something that allows me to breathe again. A single gunshot echoes around me and when I open my eyes, the young vamp has fallen to the ground. I look down at him and see a gaping hole in his back where the bullet entered and struck his heart. My eyes move back up and I let a few tears rush from my eyes.

  Dad stands at the opening of the tent, a rifle in his hands. I keep my distance away from the vamp on the ground and run to my dad. He drops the gun and wraps his arms around me, squeezing me in a tight bear hug.

  “I told you we needed to get to the hotel. You should have gone.” He says.

  “I’m sorry. I couldn’t leave you.” I cry into his shoulder.

  “It’s okay.” He replies as he strokes me hair to calm me, “The other two are dead. A couple guys inside got them, so we’ll be okay for now.”

  He pulls away from me and stares into my eyes. I stare back and wipe the tears from my face. It’s a horrible thing to think you lost the only person left in the world who truly cares about you. But, it’s a far better feeling to see them right after you thought they were gone forever.