Full Moon Rising
A Monster Squad Novel
Book 2
Heath Stallcup
Edited by TW Brown
Cover by Ronak Kothari
Full Moon Rising
©2013 May December Publications LLC
The split-tree logo is a registered trademark of May December Publications LLC.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons living, dead, or otherwise, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
This book is protected under the copyright laws of the United States of America. Any reproduction or unauthorized use of the material or artwork contained herein is prohibited without the express written permission of the author or May December Publications LLC.
Printed in the U.S.A.
DEDICATION
To my children. May they never forget that you miss every shot not taken, the only stupid question is the one not asked and to never stop believing in their dreams. Because without dreams of something larger, man never would have walked on the moon. Go forth and walk on moons…
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Not to sound like a broken record here, but this entire series is due entirely to my beautiful wife, Jessie. It was her encouragement that made it all possible.
Of course, I also owe a debt of gratitude to Mark Tufo that can never be repaid. His guidance through the everything in the beginning is the only reason this project has seen it this far forward. And it is with his permission that a certain character with his name makes a debut appearance in this volume.
Todd Brown (and his brilliant OCD) polished this rough work into the shining story that you see before you. His hard work and dedication to putting out the best work possible is the only reason I can hold my head high and call myself an author today.
The tireless efforts of Denise and everybody else at May December Publications who have had a hand in making this the gem that it is…I can never thank you all enough. Not to mention simply taking me on as an author and adding me to the stable of other fine writers that you have. I am honored to be associated with each and every one of you.
And of course, my graphic artist, Ronak Kothari whose work you saw gracing the cover of my first Monster Squad novel has (in my humble opinion) given us the best of the four works with this cover. I can’t thank him enough for taking my poor attempts at describing what I was seeing and providing me with what you see here.
My heartfelt thanks and gratitude to each and every one of you for putting up with me through each step of this journey. And, my condolences to you all, because there are at least two more to come!
-Heath
CONTENTS
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
1
Chief Petty Officer Jack Thompson pulled up alongside the hangar in his stolen SUV and noticed the double doors at the front were standing open. May as well make a grand entrance. He thought. He could see what appeared to be two full squads checking and packing gear. Just another day preparing for the muck, he knew from experience.
The two guards normally assigned outside the hangar weren’t posted by the doors. Normal when both squads are topside. Jack rolled up and pulled inside the front area of the hangar. He stopped the engine and opened the door. He clipped his P90 carbine back on to his tactical vest, grabbed his duffle bag and shut the door. Time to make the doughnuts.
*****
“Who the fuck does this clown think he is?” Wallace asked nudging Spanky, Second Squad’s team leader. They couldn’t quite make out the figure in the black SUV at the far end of the hangar, but they both knew he had made a huge mistake rolling up on their turf like he owned the place.
Spanky whistled to Apollo who was First Squad’s team leader and unofficial team captain and gave a motion to the front doors. Apollo stepped from around the Humvee and instantly his hackles rose. Somebody was about to get an ass-whoopin! Apollo bowed up and started stepping toward the unknown intruder. The other squad members fell in behind him.
Colonel Matt Mitchell, Commanding Officer of the Monster Squad stepped out in front of the squads just as the door to the SUV closed and Jack turned around to face the incoming commandos with the Colonel in front of them. Just as he had figured, all of the contingencies he had planned on the island during his recovery and on his drive up the coast went right out the window. The best laid plans of mice and men…and shit.
Jack strode up toward the teams until they could clearly see who he was and they stopped. The new members had no clue, but he realized that the Colonel didn’t seem surprised at all that he was alive.
“Chief Petty Officer Jack Thompson, reporting for duty, Colonel.” Jack snapped off a salute.
“Who the fuck is this guy?” Lamb asked.
Apollo broke into a toothy grin, “Phoenix, you son of a bitch!” and practically ran to bear hug him.
Jack grunted as Apollo lifted him from the ground and the original Monster Squad members surrounded him to welcome him back. Colonel Mitchell held his ground. The new members of the Monster Squad surrounded the colonel. “Who is this guy, sir?”
“A dead man.” He deadpanned, his face stoic.
When the original clamor was over at Jack’s resurrection from the dead, he approached the colonel. “You’re not happy to see me, sir?”
“Thompson, we have to follow protocol. You know that.” Neither man smiled.
Jack nodded. “I expected as much.”
Mitchell nodded at the guards who quickly approached Jack. “Yeah, yeah. Give me a minute.” He unhooked his P90 and handed it to one of them. “Careful with that junior, it’s loaded. You might put an eye out.” He pulled his FiveseveN from its holster and handed it to the other one. “Easy there buster. That’s a real one. No Airsofting with that or somebody goes home in a body bag.” He pulled his magazines from the various pouches and pockets and handed them to his squad mates. “Here, you guys can probably use these.”
He looked up at Apollo again. “Damn it’s good to see your ugly mug again, you brute.” And punched him in the arm, “I can’t believe looking at you would be refreshing.”
“Believe it.” Sanchez said with a smirk. Jack finally noticed that a female had infiltrated their ranks.
“Yours?” Jack asked, hooking his chin at Apollo.
“Damned straight, baby.” Apollo grinned again.
“I’m nobody’s.” Sanchez reminded him.
“That’s right!” Apollo quickly corrected. “I’m her bitch.” He whispered.
Jack laughed. “Sweet, bro.”
“Ahem.” Mitchell interrupted. “Protocol, Jack.”
“Yes, sir.” Jack said, sobering. “Lead the way. I live to serve. Ask and I shall obey. Waggle the carrot and the ass will follow. I’d come up with more but I’ve been driving all night and I really got to pee.”
“Needless to say, we have a lot of questions, son.”
“Oh, we definitely have a lot to talk about,
sir.” Jack said, giving the Colonel a knowing look. “A very lot to talk about.”
“It sounds like there’s a few things on your mind, Chief.”
“You don’t know the half of it, Skipper.” Jack reverted to his nickname for the Colonel from the early days and Matt did a double take. Skipper being the Navy term for most boat captains and Jack being a Navy SEAL, he often called his CO that as a term of affection. Matt knew from his tone of voice that it wasn’t meant that way.
“Anything I should know offhand before we get started?”
“There’s a war coming, sir. And we’re stuck in the middle of it. We’re all being played, Skipper… by both sides.”
“Really?” Matt said disbelievingly.
“Oh, yeah.” Jack said. “There’s a shit-storm coming. A war like we’ve never seen before and God Himself only knows how many people will pay because of it. What you decide today may very well tip the scales of that war.”
The elevator doors opened and Matt dismissed the guards so that he could address Jack alone. “Just what do you know, soldier?”
“Everything.”
*****
Nadia paced the room that she and Jack had shared. She knew that something was wrong, but she couldn’t put her finger on it. “You must calm down, Nadia. You’re wearing out the floor.” Her mother said. Natashia had been trying to calm her since shortly after Jack had left. Nadia had been sad by the way things were left with Jack, but she hadn’t been frantic until about an hour after he’d gone and she’d been growing worse ever since.
She had informed Jack that she did not wish to leave the island and her family once he had completed his mission and fulfilled his promise to Rufus Thorn. Rufus, the vampire who owned the island, had orchestrated Jack’s rescue and had him nursed to health in hopes that Jack would assist in bringing the truth of the vampire civil war back to the human hunters who had been decimating the Lamia Beastia, Rufus’ people. Jack did not take it well. He left without saying goodbye to her. But during his stay at the island, they discovered that the Fates had preordained their mating, and now she and Jack were paired together forever. Their lives intertwined. If one died, both died. And somehow, she knew that he was in dire straits.
“He is in danger mother. I can feel it in my bones.” She cried.
“Are you sure that it is not the pull of the moon? It is tonight…”
“No! It is not the moon. It is Jack. Something is coming for him.” She continued pacing. “I must go to him!” She turned and began throwing clothes into a bag.
“Wait! Nadia! If you are to insist on this, we must first ensure that we do this the correct way.” Natashia said calmly.
“We?” she asked, cautiously.
“But, of course.” Natashia answered. “I cannot allow my only child to go out to fight by herself. She will need her mother.”
Nadia wrapped her arms around her mother’s waist and held her tightly.
“Enough child.” She gasped. “We must wake Rufus. He will not like it, but it must be done.” Nadia pulled away and wiped at her eyes. “You, dress in something appropriate for the mainland, and for doing battle. I will deal with Rufus and see if I can find out anything that may help us so that we do not go blindly in search for Jack.”
“Thank you, mother.”
“Go!”
*****
Damien Franklin stormed toward the double doors of his master’s quarters. The young vampire had just heard of his father’s death from one of the guards who had been listening to a police scanner. Shock was his first reaction, followed quickly by anger. He had been robbed of the pleasure of taking his father’s life and now he wanted to throw a tantrum. His master had promised him blood and he wanted it. He wanted it now!
“Let me pass!” he growled at the two bodyguards standing outside the chamber door.
The guards, dressed in Armani suits and wearing dark sunglasses in the gloom stood a full head taller and possibly two hundred pounds heavier than Damien. Size mattered little to vampires. Age increased power more than anything, and both guards could sense that Damien was what they called a ‘baby vamp’, barely a few years old. Both guards were well over a century in age and were accomplished fighters. The smaller of the two looked down his nose at Damien, standing stiff, hands balled into fists, chest heaving with gasps from his anger, then glanced at the other. “Is he serious?”
The other vampire pulled his sunglasses down slightly and looked over the top of them. He looked Damien from head to toe. “I think that he thinks he is.” He then pushed his glasses back up on his nose. He assumed his position again and they both ignored him.
“I said let me pass!” Damien jumped up and down to emphasize his point. Both guards ignored him again. Damien stood there a moment staring them down until it became apparent that neither guard would allow him in to see Paul Foster. Paul was his master, he should be allowed to see him whenever he saw fit, but these overstuffed gorillas couldn’t see past their biceps long enough to realize that he was directly created by the master. That made him one of the privileged classes, unlike these oafs who were indirectly related and were hired for their services.
Damien tried once more to stare them down, then tried to worm his way past them. One arm came out and pushed him roughly back out to the middle of the parking area. He landed roughly on his bony ass with an ‘oof!’ and sat there glaring at the two. They stood there like the royal guard, unmoving, unsmiling, unwavering, unliving statues who served as nothing more than bouncers to the king.
Damien stood and turned as if he was going to walk away, then tried running to the door as fast as his vampire legs could carry him, only to be clotheslined by an extended arm that was as solid as a steel pole. Damien flipped in the air and landed on the concrete. He caught his wind and looked up just as the doors jerked open. “What is all this noise?!” Foster yelled at the guards.
The larger of the two barely turned toward him and pointed down at the ground at Damien. “You promised me his head!” Damien cried. Paul raised an eyebrow. “He’s dead! I can’t have my revenge.” He sobbed.
Foster stood a moment contemplating Damien’s babbling. “Do you have any idea what he’s talking about?” he asked the guards.
“None, sir.” The larger answered.
“The Senator.” Damien cried from the ground. “He killed himself.”
“Well. Doesn’t that toss a wrench into my plans.” Foster deadpanned as he turned and walked back into his chamber. Damien crawled after him sobbing.
“Boss?” the guard asked indicating the mass following after him.
Foster waved them off, allowing Damien inside. They closed the doors after him. “Get up, you fool!” Paul hissed.
Damien pulled himself to his knees, sniveling and shaking.
“You’re a vampire for fuck’s sake, act like one.”
“I’ll not have my revenge.” He whimpered.
Paul lay back on a chaise lounge. “Revenge? What would you know of revenge?”
Suddenly Damien found courage enough to stand. “I know that I needed it!” he snarled. “The man ruined my life. He ruined her life. He was a bastard and he deserved to die!”
“And now he’s dead.” Paul quipped. “The status quo has been met. You should be celebrating.”
“I wanted to taste his blood, to rip his heart out with my own hands!” he snarled, “It isn’t the same when your vengeance is robbed from you.”
“Why not? The end result is the same, is it not?” Paul was staring at his fingernails, as if Damien’s arguments held no merit. “You wanted him dead, now he’s dead. You win, he loses. Who’s to cry over a little spilled blood?”
“You don’t understand! I wanted to be the one to end his life!” He shrieked.
Paul glared at Damien and he shrank back. Damien knew better than to raise his voice at the master.
“Did you play a part in his death?” Paul asked. “Did you not warn him that if he failed, you would be the one to drain h
im, to torture him, to see to it that his death was as painful as humanly possible?” he asked the baby vamp.
“Y-yes.” Damien answered, his voice barely audible.
“And did he not take his own life rather than face your wrath?” Paul surmised.
“Yes. Yes, he did.” Damien brightened.
“Then, the way I see it, you were indeed responsible for your father’s death.” He watched a smile spread across Damien’s face as the realization hit him. “The very fear of your threat caused him to take his life. It may not have been your hand, but it was certainly your doing.” Paul gave him a knowing look.
Damien gave an audible sigh. The weight of the world lifted from his shoulders. “You’re right. You are always right, master.”
“But, of course.” Foster responded. “But the real question now, is what is our next step? With the Senator gone, we have nobody of power that we can manipulate…”
“We don’t need anybody else.” Damien said, pleading. “As you, yourself said…we are vampires. We need to act like it.”
Foster dismissed Damien. The man was a child and knew nothing of the ways of vampires. He didn’t know of the battles within the vampire community, he didn’t understand how they had to remain in the shadows, he didn’t understand that if vampires came out into the open, they would once again be hunted as they were in the past.
“Paul, if we take the fight to them, like some of the others want to, then they’ll never…”
“What are talking about?” Foster demanded, cutting him off. “What others?”
Damien blanched as much as a vampire could. “Er…um…I’ve just heard some others talking that some of the other clans were planning to attack the hunters, that’s all.” He stammered.
Foster rose from the chaise and lifted Damien in the air, “Tell me!” He demanded. “Everything!”
Had Damien fed recently, he would have wet himself. “I-I-I was out at a blood den a few nights ago. You said I could!” he whined.
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