I turned away from him, trying to focus on the night ahead, not the aftermath. I thought I was ready for a vampire hunt but I was wrong. I could feel an impending doom looming over me. I wanted to tell Jay that I couldn’t make it but I couldn’t. He needed me. They all did. I entered the gym and found Jay checking his gun.
“Hey, Jessica.”
“What’s the plan?”
“There have been some more reports of possible wild dogs nosing around livestock again. It’s not too far from Devils Bend.”
“That’s not good, Jay,” I expressed. We couldn’t allow my tiny town to become overrun with vampires. That wasn’t an option.
“I know. I thought it smart for us to check it out tonight.”
“That’s a good idea. I have a craving for blood anyway,” Gage stated as he walked up behind me.
“Who knew you were so bloodthirsty,” I stated as he put his arm around my shoulders. I wasn’t one for public displays of affection. Having him do this made me uncomfortable in front of my boss but I remained under the weight of his arm. I wouldn’t go out of my way to bruise his ego in front of another man.
“You have no idea,” he snickered. Gage took great pleasure in the hunt. Killing vampires was his thing. His liking.
“When do we leave?”
“Cool down, Jess. We’ll head out soon.”
“Well, I’m ready. I want to know what the plan is,” I wasn’t trying to think about the man next to me or the one I had dreamt about only minutes before I got there. I was trying to stay pumped for the hunt. “Anyone else hunting with us?”
“Nope, just us three,” Jay replied.
“No Marie tonight?”
“She wasn’t happy with what she did to you so she decided to stay home,” Jay explained.
“Good thing too,” Gage expressed. “She needs to stay away from Jessica until she has adjusted.”
Adjusted to what? Self-defiance? “Gage, I’m fine. If she’s going to be a hunter, she needs to hunt. Are you sure you don’t want her to come, Jay?”
I’m sure. I may call her in for a late-night hunt sometime soon. Don’t worry.”
“Let her know that I have no hard feelings. Nothing an aspirin won’t cure,” I said with a smile. Jay smiled down at me and nodded. “So, it’s just us. Great,” I expressed a little too eagerly. As much as I sought to see him, Rayce was a sexual distraction and I had enough of that with Mr. Sexy Pants beside me.
We all piled into Jay’s truck, I was in the middle as usual. Gage on my right side with his arm around me. I kind of had to lean into him, which I didn’t want to do in this moment. He was a temptation that I didn’t need before a hunt. Every now and then, he would run one of his fingers on some part of my skin. One time, his mouth was on my ear and he started to tease me. A gentle heat grew between my legs. He began to tell me how much he wanted me and then his tongue found my ear lobe. That made the hair on the back of my neck stand up and sent a shiver down my spine. How can I concentrate in that kind of situation?
My body became tense. I couldn’t handle being a Jessica sandwich any longer. I pulled away from Gage’s mouth.
“What’s wrong?”
“Let me out.”
“We aren’t there yet,” Jay expressed. He looked at me like I was crazy.
“I need some air, Jay. Please let me out.”
“Are you alright?” he asked.
He didn’t slow the truck and my anxiety was through the roof. “Jay, I swear to God, if you don’t let me out of this truck now…”
“Alright.” The truck slowed and finally came to a stop.
I looked over to Gage and he wouldn’t open his door, he stared at me with mischief in his eyes. “Fine, Jay can you let me out?” I pushed him in the shoulder slightly so he would get out of the truck faster.
He looked at me like I was senseless but stepped out. Maybe he’s right. Maybe I was having a PMS moment. I don’t know but I had to get away from that man.
When I finally made it out of the truck, I stormed off into a field. The corn leaves were sharp against my skin.
“Jessica, where are you going?” my boss called but I didn’t look back. I didn’t reply. I just had to get away from them. I needed space. My emotions were all mixed and I was having a hard time dealing with life at the moment. I wasn’t ready to have a relationship with Gage. Especially when I was having thoughts of another man. I knew it was a risk but allowing Gage to move in was a mistake. I could feel it in my bones. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do. I could give him back his money and tell him it wasn’t working out. He may accept that. Maybe not. I hated to be the cause of more hurt for him and the road I was on, that was a sure thing. I had feelings for Rayce I couldn’t deny any longer.
I stopped and looked up at the sky. The moon was full and cast a clear light on the dark field I was in. Suddenly I realized what I was doing and where I was. Alone. If anything wanted to attack me, it could without much effort. After a few moments, my fuse had burned down. I could breathe again. I looked back to the road but I couldn’t see anything. I jumped slightly so I could see over the corn. My stomach sank when I saw the truck was gone. They had left me. That was my own damn fault for walking off into the darkness without a word. How could Jay leave me, and how could Gage, my boyfriend at the moment allow him to drive away?
My solitude crept around me. The corn field grew silent. My imagination had time to open up and all I could think about were not vampires, but the creature sightings. Almost every sighting was in a field, exactly like the one I was standing in.
“Well, that was stupid, Jessica.” I heard the leaves of the corn rustle. If I ran for the road, I was pretty sure it would give chase and catch me before I could reach safety. I tried to slow my breathing. The corn moved again. It could have been the wind but I could feel something watching me. Maybe it was the guys trying to teach me a lesson. “Alright, guys. Come out.”
It happened again but with it came footsteps. Fear balled up in my chest. I pulled out my gun and pointed it in the direction of the noise. “Guys, if that’s you. You need to speak up,” I warned. I couldn’t live with myself if I shot one of them. There was no reply. My ears were filled with the sounds happening all around me. It was coming toward me from several directions. I knew it wasn’t the guys simply fucking with me.
I felt like bait. I had to move. I risked stepping into the corn. I didn’t want to run but I needed to get away. After pushing my way through many stalks of corn and sharp leaves, I made it to a clear path where the farmer would drive their tractor. The direction went right and left. I wasn’t sure which way to go. The movement around me didn’t stop. It continued to grow closer. When I chose to make my way to the right was when she emerged. My breath hitched. Those eyes. I knew their shit color all too well. “Dawn,” I whispered.
“Bitch,” she grinned evilly, showing her fangs.
I shook my head, “No, you burned with the rest. I saw the blaze.”
“Did you? Are you sure about that?”
“How in the fuck did you get out?” I gripped my gun tighter, ready to shoot her if needed.
“I escaped before the fire reached that dark basement. The others burned but I made it out.” Her once kept hair was a mess and she was filthy. The scent of natural gas and garbage clung to her cinnamon and butterscotch scent. My stomach flipped.
“But, we checked you.”
“You would be surprised how easy it is to look dead when you have turned. It was simple. The hardest part about it was not attacking you when I had the chance.” Her eyes held nothing but pure loathing for me. “Did you enjoy your little gift?” she asked while wiggling her fingers at me.
She was the one who left that disgusting hand in the back yard. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing or seeing for that matter. I remembered back in that house when I looked down into her eyes. Her eyes looked so dead but alive at the same time. She had turned right before my eyes and I didn’t even realize it. I couldn’t belie
ve Gage couldn’t see it himself. He was the one who carried her down into the dark basement.
“Jessica, you have always been my competition, and once you’re dead, he will be mine.” That’s why she didn’t attack him while he carried her down, she wanted him.
“So, your plan is to kill me, is it?” I had to keep her talking so I could come up with a plan.
“Oh, yes,” she smiled. “After I have had my fill of you, I’m going to go after him and make him mine. I will turn him and he will have no choice but to love me.”
“Well, good luck with that, you crazy bitch. I have taken on more than one of your kind at a time and I’m still here,” I said smugly.
She didn’t take her eyes off of me, “Yes, I thought about that.” She smiled at me and showed me her fangs. What followed her words snapped me back into reality. I was suddenly in a circle of four more vampires. I held off the shiver of fear as it crawled up my spine. I was going to die. I knew this job would kill me eventually.
“My, my, Dawn, you’ve been busy.”
“They are mine and will do whatever I command,” she said happily and approached me slowly.
“I know something you don’t, Dawn,” I said with a smile, trying to stall. She stopped. “Gage and I are living together.”
“Not for long,” she hissed through her fangs.
“You can think what you want, Dawn. I had him in my bed last night.” We didn’t have sex, but she didn’t need to know that part or the actual location of our affections. I wanted her imagination to run wild. The hate rolling off her was thick on my skin and tasted it on my tongue. The metallic taste of nails and broken glass.
“You lie,” she hissed.
I shook my head no, “Why would I lie about something like that?” She moved a little closer to me, I took a step back. She saw it, of course. The others didn’t move because she wanted me for herself. My death wasn’t enough for her. She was planning on draining me dry. Not the thought of dying but the thought of her mouth being on me made me sick. If I ran she would chase me, as long as she had control of them they wouldn’t move. I might have a chance against her alone. I took the chance and ran my ass into the tall corn again and a sharp leaf sliced my cheek. I wasn’t sure which way to go, I only ran. I hoped I was running in the direction of the dirt road. Maybe I could flag down a car.
I didn’t get that far before she was on me. She took a handful of my hair and slammed me to the ground, knocking the air out of me. I still had my gun in my hand. I tried to shoot her from the ground. She kicked it from my hand. She took my hair in her hand again and lifted me up to my feet.
I dropped to my ass and she lost the grip she had on my hair. She picked me up and was holding me from behind. I was stuck until I remembered the move Gage did. I reached my arm’s up and grabbed her arm and pushed my hip’s back and pulled her forward. She flipped over and landed on her back. It looked better when he did it because I stumbled. I got down to my knees and wrapped my right arm around the front of her neck and I put the other behind her head. That’s all I had was that hold. I didn’t have the strength to snap her neck. If I still had my gun, I could shoot her in the head and be done.
She began to screech and worm around, I couldn’t hold her long. The nest was rushing up on us. She had lost control of them. I didn’t know what to do, I was screwed. I was tired and trying to twist her bleached head off wasn’t working. The nest was getting closer. I had to make a choice. I chose to let her go so she could get the control again.
“I’m going to kill you, you fucking bitch. You will never be good enough for him,” she hissed.
“Maybe not, but he loves this kitty cat,” I panted in exhaustion. She turned to me in a rage. I balled up my fist and gave her a swift punch in the nose like the first vampire that attacked me. I don’t care who you are, I know that shit hurts. Her hands went right up to her face, and I could see blood dripping from under her hands. Good. She would heal fast, though. I had to think of something. If I only had a gun. My gun. It was on the ground only a couple feet away and I went for it. It was all I had.
Dawn came up behind me and picked me up into the air and slammed me down again, knocking the air out of me once more, and forcing me to hit my head on the hard-frozen ground. I was dizzy, it seemed like everything was in slow motion.
I was trying to shake the dizzy feeling from my head while she was standing over me. Her nest was right behind her, she had them under control. I was going to die, I had nothing left. The moment I accepted that fact, something amazing and unbelievable happened.
A huge black mass jumped in between us. Dawn and the rest took a step back with a hiss. The massive creature started to move closer to her as if it were stalking her. It turned to look at me out of the corner of one eye. This animal looked nothing like a dog. What I saw in the photo was real. It was a large creature with cat-like features. This animal’s fur was so black it looked blue in the moonlight. The hair on its back stood up like thorns and pointed in the direction of Dawn. It seemed to have a mind of its own as it moved with the movements of the creature. It seemed to twist and sway like a flame. The reports made complete sense now.
My savior had powerful talons for claws. They cut into the hard ground with ease. It snapped its powerful jaws at Dawn and flashed teeth that resembled polished onyx, sharpened to a point.
Dawn and her nest of vampires were hissing at the creature. She was afraid, but not afraid enough to run. She was ready to fight. The cat-like creature gave a deep growl that sounded like a huge bear and snapped its teeth together. The sound which forced my hands to cover my ears, was almost like a tree branch breaking in the winter when it could no longer take the weight of the ice. It was absolutely terrifying. This time I allowed the shiver of fear to crawl through me. I was screwed. I was going to die. If Dawn didn’t get me, the beast would.
With shaking knees, I got myself to my feet. I wanted to run but I was frozen in place by fear. I had nothing to defend myself. I was easy prey. The vampires were surrounding the creature and myself. The menacing animal pressed its body against mine. I was shaking like a leaf. I wasn’t sure what was going to happen. Suddenly, more creatures jumped in. I released a gasp. I had a group of creatures on all sides of me, a total of four.
The others were all different. One of them was gray with a black streak down its back. One was reddish in color and had what looked like a darker color around its neck. The hair seemed thicker, like a male lion. The fourth one was a beautiful cream. They stood at four-foot-tall and the body girth was massive with muscle.
Dawn looked at the black one and began to speak to it as if it understood her. “How did I know you would come for this bitch? I only wish I would have killed her sooner,” Dawn said to the creature and glared at me.
The growling coming from the creatures sounded like a landslide, rocks crashing. I could feel it rolling through my body, all the way to the bone. Then the shit hit the fan. One of the male vampires attempted to move closer to me and the red creature sprung on him. Its claws sliced the vampire’s face and went all the way down its chest at an angle. The vampire’s insides were visible and I could see his rib bones. It sprung on top of the vampire and bit his head off with its powerful jaws. The vampires erupted with anger and attacked. I hit the ground, curling myself into a protective ball. All I could hear were the sounds of growling, snapping of jaws and breaking bone, and the sound of flesh being ripped.
A yelp of pain caused my heart to skip a beat and I looked up quickly. Dawn had the gray creature on the ground. She was on top of it and trying to pull its mouth open and break its jaw. I scrambled to my gun.
I knew the magazine was full so I took my aim. I didn’t want to hit the animal fighting for its life. I saw Dawn had the upper hand and the mysterious animal was going to lose the fight. I took aim and fired, hitting Dawn in the leg. She put her head back with a scream. Smoke rose out of her wound as the silver burned its way through her dead flesh. She glared at me with rage.
/> “I have you right in my sights, bitch. Get off it,” I commanded.
“This isn’t over,” she hissed and disappeared into the tall corn.
I found myself standing in the middle of utter carnage. Some of the vampires were missing limbs and one without a head. Two of them were trying to crawl away but the beasts were finishing them off. Fear engulfed me as the gray one eyed me quizzically. I didn’t want to move. It could attack and feed on my dead body if it wanted. It nudged my hand softly and stroked its long body against my legs.
The black one ran up in between the small group of animals and myself. It snapped its jaws and gave a low growl in their direction. I stepped back. I didn’t want to be right in the middle of a dogfight. The black one must be the leader. The others took a step back. The black one turned to me slowly and approached and looked into my eyes. There was something there. Something familiar.
“Gage?” I whispered and quickly everything went black.
CHAPTER
9
Did I dream it all? How did I get back in the truck? Was everything that happened…real?
Yes, it was. I could feel it in my body. Dawn was one of the undead out for my blood. On top of that, strange creatures came and saved me from a terrible fate.
My mind and body were coming back to consciousness. I opened my eyes and I was safely between Jay and Gage again. Gage had me nestled safely against him. His arm felt heavy while wrapped around me. As my mind cleared, I looked at my companions. Jay had his eyes glued to the road, as did Gage. My last memory played and upon realization, I looked up at Gage. His eyes finally met mine and an unsure fear came across my body. I wasn’t sure how to react. Gage and Jay were my saviors, among others of which I hadn’t a clue of their identity. My world had shifted and I felt like I was going to barf. My stomach was doing acrobatic flips.
“Jess, are you alright?” Gage asked. It took me a second but I finally nodded.
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