C.O.T.V.H. (Book 1): Creation

by Dustin J. Palmer

  "Why would he wipe out his own kind like that?"

  "Two centuries before myself and many other Immortals started a ruling council we deemed the Immortal Council. We instituted laws governing all of the Immortals of Europe. Most were quick to accept them. Caligula, Macro, and especially Livilla were not. They believed there should be no rules; that we should live within our nature, killing whenever we saw fit. They did not see, or did not care about the danger of such a thing. The humans were growing more aware of us by the day. A single vampire feasting in a village killed only one a night. However, a host of vampires brought too much attention to our kind. While a single person posed no real threat, as a whole they could wipe us from existence. Nevertheless, Caligula and his cohorts did not care. They had absolutely no fear of the humans. Soon they became outcasts among our kind, shunned wherever they went. I never dreamed they would take their discontent as far as they did."

  “But why come here? If they had wiped out all of the competition in Europe, why travel all the way across the Atlantic?

  "In Europe the fear of vampires was growing on a daily basis. People were being burned at the stake for such outlandish crimes as witchcraft. Here, in this so called ‘New Land’ Caligula could be a God among men. With nothing but natives to stand in his way he could feast at will."

  “How did they survive the trip?”

  "I have no proof as I was not there, but I assume that they feasted on the members of the crew one by one and hid deep within the ship’s bowels during the daylight hours. There is no other way that they could have made such a long journey. What I do know is that when they finally arrived on shore, the colony at Roanoke was more than willing to embrace them. They were starving, near death; some had already resorted to cannibalism to survive. Therefore, Caligula offered them a way out. Most accepted. Those that did not became food. It is amazing what . . ." Tiberius paused in mid-sentence. Jake walked over and peered inside his cell. He was looking up at the ceiling. "One of my kind is here . . ." he said, slowly sniffing the air.

  "What? What do you mean?" Jake stuttered. "How can you tell?"

  "I can feel him, I can smell him. How he got past the guardians outside is beyond me."

  "Guardians? What guardians? You mean the guards?"

  "No. I do not. Wait . . . there are more than one!” The muffled sound of gunfire erupted from outside. Tiberius slammed his fist into the brick wall causing Jake to jump. Repeatedly he punched it. The wall shook violently but held.

  “Listen to me son, I cannot help you. I cannot get out of this blasted cage!” Again, he punched the wall. “You must get outside, run into the woods, run as fast as you can! Do not stop!"

  "What? You want me to go outside? But… but they'll catch me! I thought you were my friend! Now you're telling me to go outside and get eaten!"

  “Silence boy! If you want to survive, you must do as I tell you! I do not have the time to explain. All I can tell you is that you will not be safe inside this house. Get to the woods!"

  “But I can’t! There are electric fences! I’ll fry if I do!” The light bulb swinging above flashed a few times then went out plunging the room into darkness. Jake felt betrayed. He let himself begin to trust this creature and now he was sending him to his doom.

  “Do as I say boy!” Tiberius yelled at him slamming his entire body into the wall.

  "The hell with you! You damn vampire! I should have known better than to trust you!" Jake ran up the stairs as quickly as he could, bursting into the dining room.

  “The woods!” Tiberius screamed from down below. “Get to the woods!”

  Automatic weapons fire rang out from right outside the front door followed by horrific screams. The gigantic doors burst inward. Jake looked around frantically for a place to hide. Just as the first vampire stepped through the doors, Jake leapt under the dining room table.

  One by one, they filed through the doors. There were seven that Jake could see, all different ages, races, and sizes. One of them was much larger than the others. He stood at least as tall as Jake’s dad, had a mane of long blond hair hanging over what looked to be some sort of twisted looking fur coat. He held a short chain in his grasp, attached to it was a man on all fours like a dog, but it wasn’t a man at all, not anymore. It was a grunt. It was also, the lawyer that had brought Jake to Riker. Mr. Murphy. "Find the boy!" The large vampire yelled releasing the chain from around Murphy’s neck. Murphy sniffed the air like a dog then bounded up the stairs toward Jake’s room. "And bring me Riker!"

  "Macro! We can't stay here!" One of the vampires yelled at the larger one. "Their reinforcements are coming!"

  Macro! My God! It’s the one from Tiberius’ story! Jake thought to himself, panic rippling through his body. There was something strange about the second vampire as well. He seemed very familiar for some reason.

  "Coward!" Macro yelled in response. "You are an Immortal Michael! Act like it!"

  "And you are a fool!" Michael responded. “They will come here and kill us all! We should not have crossed the border!"

  For a brief, second the one known as Michael looked directly at Jake making eye contact, and then leapt up to the balcony above. The big one, Macro, looked toward the door leading to Tiberius' cell and smiled. At a slow almost striding pace, he headed downstairs somehow completely oblivious to Jake hiding less than fifteen feet away.

  It didn’t make sense. Jake knew the other vampire had seen him, yet he hadn’t said anything. Who is he? Jake thought racking his brain. The other vampires branched out throughout the house. He could hear them crashing through walls and tossing furniture left and right. Jake crept to the door to the basement and hiding behind a dresser listened in to the conversation between Macro and Tiberius.

  "You're still alive old man?" Macro called out with a laugh.

  "I could say the same for you. I am surprised Livilla has not killed you. Surely, she has become bored with you by now. Maybe that is why she sent you across the border. You always were brave Macro, I will give you that, but crossing the border and breaking the treaty is pure madness. Even for you."

  "I don't fear that bunch of apes." Macro said, with a snarl.

  "You should. But then again you never were that bright."

  "Enough old man. I did not come here for you. Tell me, where is the boy?"

  "What boy?" Tiberius said, keeping his voice calm and collected.

  "The one the rich man has been keeping here, the hunter’s boy. I want him as my pet."

  "I do not know what you are talking about. I have been locked up in this cage for decades. I have seen no boy!"

  "You lie Tiberius. I smell his stench all over this very room."

  Macro looked up the stairs just as Jake peeked around the edge. For a brief second their eyes meet. Macro’s eyes glowed a sharp red, his fangs protruded.

  “Stop!” Tiberius commanded Macro. “You will not hurt the child.”

  Macro stopped in mid-step, struggling to break Tiberius’ hold on him. “You’re weak old man! You can’t hold me long!”

  "Run boy! Run!" Tiberius screamed. "Get to the woods! The woods!" Jake heard several loud thuds that could only be Tiberius slamming into the wall.

  Jake didn’t wait to see the rest of the exchange. He put his feet in motion and took off at a dead run toward the front door. He knew it was futile. There was no chance to outrun a Maker vampire, much less seven, but he had to try. Just feet from the door, he could almost feel the giant on his heels. Then suddenly something had hold of the back of his shirt and threw him effortlessly in the air. Jake saw trees fly by and the electric fence pass below him. He landed hard with a thud and felt a sharp pain in his arm and head. Screaming out in pain, he passed out.

  Chapter 14

  Jake

  May 8, 1995

  10:01am

  When he awoke, he was being carried through the woods by something very large and hairy. Jake looked up into the face of something very un-human, almost ape like. A terrified scream escaped f
rom his lips. He closed his eyes tight and when he looked, again it was just a man carrying him. A very large man, but a man. In the moonlight, Jake saw him smile. "Do not be afraid son. You are safe now."

  "Vampires . . .” he said, weakly.

  "Oh don't worry about them. They won't be bothering anyone ever again."

  He blacked out again and when next he awoke, he smelled bacon sizzling. For a second he thought he was back at his Grandpa Cort’s. Then Jake heard someone singing the lyrics to Sweet Home Alabama that most certainly was not his grandpa. Jake sat up in bed and the world started spinning.

  "Easy now." The singing man's voice said, "You had a pretty bad fall last night."

  "Where am I?" Jake said, looking around the room. From the look of it, he was in a small, one room log cabin. Jake was lying on a four post bed with several old quilts covering him. Next to the bed was a massive bay window, outside all he could see were trees. Birds chirped loudly. “What time is it?”

  “It’s a little after ten in the morning.” The man that looked to be in his mid thirties with jet-black hair, in a white t-shirt and blue jeans answered him. He was cooking on a black stove not far away. He stirred something around with a spatula then set it down. Wiping his hands on a rag, he came over to the side of the bed. "How are you feeling?" He asked, sitting in a wooden rocking chair next to the bed. "You had a pretty rough night last night."

  Jake tried to remember exactly what had happened but it wouldn't come. "What happened? Where am I?"

  "Well as to what happened, that's hard to say. I found you in the woods not far from the Riker place. You'd taken a bad fall, hit your head pretty good and broke your left arm. You were unconscious when I found you. As for where you are. Well, you're at my home about twenty miles into the woods of Southern Georgia."

  Jake reached up to find a small square bandage on his forehead. His arm was wrapped tightly to his chest. It was throbbing terribly.

  "I saw something," Jake said, remembering the large hairy creature. "Something big and hairy."

  The man climbed out of his chair laughing. "That would be me I guess. I know I need a shave but I didn't think it had gotten that bad."

  "No. It was something else. It looked like a . . . I know how crazy it sounds, but it looked like a big gorilla, but different."

  He laughed again. "A big gorilla? You must have hit your head a lot harder than I thought."

  "I swear I saw it! It was there one minute, the next it was you carrying me."

  "You got me kid. I've lived in these woods for a long time now and I've never seen any gorillas. Maybe it was bigfoot,” he said, with a touch of humor in his voice. “They say he runs loose in these parts."

  "Bigfoot? That's crazy." Jake said, shaking his head. Maybe it had been some delusion from sustaining such a hit to the head.

  "So. What's your name? And what were you doing in the middle of the woods in the middle of the night?"

  "My name is, Jake. Jake Griffin." He lied.

  "Well Jake Griffin. I am Nathan. Nathan Bishop."

  "Nathan Bishop?" Jake said, unable to hide the surprise in his voice.

  "Yeah? Have we met before?"

  "No. At least I don't think so."

  "So what were you doing out there? Are you kin to Richard Riker?"

  "Not by choice." Jake said, pulling the covers off him and sitting on the edge of the bed. "Honestly. I'm not exactly sure how I got there. One minute I was running, the next I was flying through the air."

  Nathan walked over and stirred the food cooking on the stove. "You like bacon and eggs?" he said, pulling the two pans off the stove and setting it on a small wooden table.

  "Yeah, that sounds great." Jake said, rubbing his hand through his messy hair.

  "Well, have a seat. Let’s dig in."

  With Nathan’s help, Jake managed to hobble across the room where he sat down. Nathan put half the pan's contents on a plate and set it in front of him with a napkin and fork, then poured a glass of orange juice out of a large glass pitcher. The two ate in silence for a few minutes. What are the odds that a man named Nathan Bishop just happened to rescue me from a full on vampire assault? He thought to himself. Nathaniel . . . Nathan . . . hmm, odd coincidence. But it couldn’t be the same guy. The only way he could have lived this long was if he was a vampire. But if he were a vampire, he would be frying in the sunlight. This is too weird. "So how long have you lived here?" Jake asked scraping some of the eggs onto his fork.

  "A long time." Nathan said, biting into a piece of crispy bacon.

  "Do you live here alone? Way out here in the woods?"

  "Yeah pretty much. I have friends over every couple of weeks or so but mostly it's just me."

  "You're not lonely living out here?"

  "Me? Nah. You get used to it. I mean, it's not like I'm a million miles from civilization. I go into town about once every couple of weeks to pick up supplies, get a drink with some friends. It's really not that bad."

  Jake had to ask him. No matter how crazy he thought it might sound. "What happened with the vampires?"

  "They're dead.” He said then sipped from his orange juice. “Well, most of them are anyway. The big one called Macro and one of his friends got away but the rest are dead."

  "Macro, huh? So I’m guessing you've dealt with them before?"

  "I was about to ask you the same question.” Nathan said, pushing his empty plate forward and leaning back in his chair. “It's a rare thing for a kid your age to know about vampires."

  "My family hunts them.” Jake nodded. “That’s what I’m going to be when I’m old enough.

  “Is that right?” Nathan asked.

  “Yep. So . . . I’m guessing you’re a hunter too?"

  "Of sorts I suppose. I don't exactly go looking for trouble, but when they cross into our territory I usually meet them head on."

  "Your territory?"

  "Uh huh. They cross the Old Miss and we kick their asses back across it. Doesn't happen often, but when they do we make sure they never do it again."

  "How many are in your group?"

  "A few." he said, with a chuckle.

  "So tell me about your family. You said they hunt vampires? How long have they been doing that?"

  "For a few years." Jake said, sarcastically.

  "Fair enough. I've got my secrets; it's only fair you do too."

  "I'm glad you understand." Jake said, taking another sip of his orange juice. He hadn’t had food this good in over a month.

  "So what do you want to do now? Should I take you back to Riker's?"

  "God no!" Jake said, a lot louder than he had meant.

  "That bad huh?"

  "You have no idea. He basically kidnapped me and was about to sell me to those bloodsuckers. I need to call my Grandpa Cort. I tried last night but there was no answer. I hope everything is okay. Do you have a phone?"

  "No I’m afraid not. But I can drive you into Hometown if you'd like. It’s the nearest town. You can call whoever you want to come pick you up from there."

  "That sounds great. Thanks! Oh and by the way, thanks for the breakfast and for . . . saving my life."

  "You’re welcome,” he said, with a warm smile. “It's not every day I get to entertain a future vampire hunter. Well let's get you dressed and ready to go, then I'll take you into town. By the way, who put you in those clothes? Who are you supposed to be? Richie Rich?"

  Jake laughed looking down at the now very dirty sweater vest and tie he still had on. "It's a long story."

  "Well, I think I might have something here that will fit you. It might be a little big but it beats wearing those dirty rags. I have a shower out back if you’d like to clean up. We can wrap a plastic bag around the arm."

  “Do I need to go to a hospital?”

  “Yeah, but there’s no immediate danger. It wasn’t a bad break and I set it so you should be okay for now. Just try and stay off your feet for a day or two.”

  Jake winced as he tried to stand. The room star
ted spinning.

  “Easy now kid, you bumped your head pretty good. Here take these.” He said, laying two aspirin on the table in front of him. “You can take a couple, now that you’ve got some food in you."

  An hour later Jake was dressed in an overly large pair of jeans bunched up with a belt and a flannel shirt that was two sizes too big. They climbed into Nathan’s jeep and headed for town. Thirty minutes later, Nathan pulled into a small friendly looking town with small shops on both sides of the main street. Stopping at a small repair shop on the outskirts, Jake carefully climbed out and used a pay phone to call his grandpa collect. It rang several times before he finally answered.

  "Hello?" Cort said, sounding extremely grumpy.

  Jake was elated to hear his voice. "Grandpa! It's me Jake!"

  "Jake!” he said, concern filling his voice. “Son, are you okay? Where are you?"

  "I’m a little banged up but nothing too serious. I've got a bump on the head and a broken arm but otherwise I'm okay."

  "What! What happened? Did Riker hurt you; by God I’ll kill that son of a bitch!”

  “I’m okay really, I’m just . . . I really want to come home.” Jake said, his voice almost pleading.

  “Where are you? Riker's lawyers said, you were going to Santa Fe but we haven't been able to get any news out of them since. It’s like they just dropped off the map!"

  "I'm in a little town called Hometown, Georgia."

  "Georgia? Why that slimy lying bastard. All right son, you just sit tight. I'm getting a map out right now and I will be there within twenty-four hours. You sit tight you hear me?"

  "Yes sir.” Jake said, unable to control the emotion in his voice. He’d never been so happy to hear someone’s voice. “I'll see about getting a room at this motel not far from here and I'll see you soon."