The Night Killers

by Senese, Rebecca M.

  Darkness hung like a curtain outside the windows, invaded the spaces in the front of the van. As the darkness encroached, Sami leaned over the steering wheel while Peter felt a calmness descend on him. He remembered standing outside that first night, knowing he was safe from vampires, that they could never infect him again. Sami’s fear, hidden under her sorrow, seemed almost alien to him now. Now he feared other things, like what might happen to Lucy, and the meaning of those children left behind in the lab.

  He couldn’t think about them right now. He had to focus on Lucy. Mad, desperate, crazy Lucy. He’d known she’d been hiding things from him these past few months and he’d expected it. After ten years alone it had to have been difficult to adjust to another person. But he hadn’t imagined the magnitude of her secret. Even now he wasn’t sure exactly what it meant. He wished she’d trusted him enough to tell him before now. If she had…

  He stopped that thought. Enough wallowing. He had to focus. It was the only way to keep his own panic under control.

  “So, do you have any ideas of what to do when we get there?” Sami said.

  He opened his mouth and stopped.

  She snorted. “Hadn’t thought that far ahead yet, huh?”

  “No.”

  “Right. This is why you were the spotter, not the captain,” she said.

  For a moment, he smelled her pain thicken then it faded back again.

  “Tell me about this place again, everything you can remember.”

  He realized she was trying to keep him from thinking about Lucy and he was grateful. This time when he opened his mouth, he spoke: “We found the entrance in the rocks…”

  He retold the entire story to her, just like he’d told her the first time. As he spoke, he noticed her hands gripped the wheel; he wasn’t the only one that needed a distraction.

  “That natural duct formation,” Sami said. “Could you find it again? That sounds like it might be the best way in.”

  He meant to say no. “Yes,” came out of his mouth.

  “Good. Let’s start there. Should I keep on straight?”

  “Veer right a few degrees.”

  As she made the turn, Peter felt the urge to stop her, to turn back and follow Lucy directly. They would still reach her this way, it was just different. He took a deep breath to quell the panic inside. He had to stay focused.

  The high beams on the van revealed a hulking rock formation, a darker black against the night sky. Peter scanned the area. He felt the presence of vampires in the distant. None were close by. So far so good.

  “Pull up there,” he told Sami.

  She aimed the van into the alcove he indicated and turned off the engine. Silence flooded in as the engine cooled. Sami turned in the seat to face him. He couldn’t make out her expression in the dark.

  “Now what?” she said.

  “I’ll go in. You keep your head down and be ready when I come out with her.”

  He couldn’t see it but he could almost feel her shaking her head. “No way, Peter, you aren’t going in there alone.”

  “Sami...”

  “Forget it. You think I want to face Josh if something happened to you?”

  “You’ll slow me down and be a liability.”

  “You’re just going to have to deal with that,” she said. “You aren’t leaving this van without me, Peter.” Her hand clamped over his left wrist. “And don’t try any shit on me. I’ll take you out if I have to and go in myself.”

  He could hear the tinge of desperation in her voice, felt it echo with his own inside his head. She needed to do this as much as he did, if not necessarily for the same reason. How often would she have to save Michael in the future before she learned to live with the one time when she’d failed? He had no way of knowing and he realized he had no right to deny her.

  “Okay,” he said and meant it.

  She must have believed him as a moment later she released his wrist. “Okay. Let’s go.”

  They both slipped into the back and by the light of a signal button globe, they outfitted for battle. Sami slipped bands of stakes over her shoulders that crisscrossed her chest. At her waist, she carried two small guns, extra clips stuffed into her pockets. She handed an extra band of stakes to Peter. He took it although he didn’t think he’d need it. His own weapon was always with him but he fastened the band around his waist anyway. He didn’t want to take the time to explain to her.

  Finally Sami extinguished the button globe, plunging the van into darkness. They both waited a few moments for their eyes to adjust and then Sami cracked open the back door. The dim light from a half moon brightened the landscape. Peter could make out the shape of the rock wall around them.

  He touched Sami’s arm, tapping in the code of the Night Killers: to the left, follow, stay close. Her finger tapped once on the back of his hand: agreed.

  Peter turned to his left and followed the edge of the van toward the rock wall. Gritty sand dug under his fingernails as he touched the surface. He let his hand trail along the rock, feeling the cool smoothness against his palm alternating with warmth as the heat of the day bled out. He thought back to last night, remembering the frantic escape. Close by here. Echoes still lingered; he could feel it and it would lead him back inside.

  His fingers curved over a handhold in the rock and he knew. Here, climb here. With his other hand, he reached back for Sami and pulled her forward to touch the same part.

  With her standing so close, he took the risk and whispered in her ear, “We have to climb without light. I’ll be able to find the way. But you…”

  Beneath his lips he felt tension as her jaw clenched. She turned her head. He pulled back fast to avoid her chin hitting him.

  “Go!” she hissed.

  Well, he’d tried. He faced the rock and began to climbing starting with the same handhold. As he headed upward, he heard her follow.

  His hands and feet seemed to know where to find the right spots. Soon the sounds of Sami’s progress grew fainter and he realized he was climbing much faster than her. He couldn’t leave her behind. He stopped, clinging to the rock and closed his eyes. His mind opened. Turning his head down, he could energy through his eyelids. The landscape lit up before him, glowing. The rock had a dark blue resonance. He felt it humming against his body. Beneath him he saw the red blur of a body. Sami. How could he communicate with her? Lucy had been insistent about him ditching his ear bud and throat mike. Now he wished he’d defied her. He would have to try another way.

  He imagined being in the spot where she was, groping for the right handhold. He saw his right hand moving up and just over to the right. There, the right spot. Now a foot hold, just to the left and up. The red blur began to move faster, with more confidence.

  A hand touching his foot brought him back to himself. Sami’s hand tugged at his pants as if to say ‘get a move on.’ He smiled and moved on.

  Another couple of feet and he found the hole he had enlarged for their escape. He climbed in, turned around and lay down to help Sami navigate the last few feet and climb into the hole. As she scrambled in after him, she pulled out a button glow and stuck it onto her shirt. The soft glow lit the area between them.

  She tapped his arm. Now where?

  He pointed down the tunnel. She gestured at the button glow as if to turn it off. Peter shook his head and moved her hand off it. That amount of light was okay.

  She nodded and he headed down the tunnel.

  This time the breeze was at their back. With the tunnel curving down, Peter had to be careful not to move too fast. Dust and pebbles scrapped under his feet and trickled ahead of him. Would the vampires hear that? Too late to worry about that now. They had to keep going. He had to find Lucy.

  His heart was pounding from more than the exertion. Fear tightened the skin on the back of his neck. Was Lucy already dead? Would he get to her in time? He forced himself to focus on the tunnel, to follow its winding path downward.

  Around a curve, he recognized the hole in the fl
oor, just off to the left. He signalled back to Sami for her to wait. She stopped. The button glow showed the concern on her face. He nodded at her then inched toward the hole.

  Again he felt a tingling in his mind. He peered over the edge. The same small chamber lay beneath him but this time the children were not sleeping. They all stood looking up at him, silent.

  Energy flooded over him. Peter pulled back in surprise. His breath caught in his chest. He felt their multiple presence, pushing at him, some gentle touches, others rough shoves. The cacophony threatened to overwhelm him. He pulled a deep breath into his lungs and pushed it out. He focused on the outer edges of his mind, remembering the drills from scanner training. Multiple vampires could overwhelm a scanner if he or she didn’t learn to protect themselves. These children were not full vampires, even if they were infected.

  After a moment, the din settled down in his mind and he was able to peer over the edge again. This time the rush of energy flowed over him and he rode it like a wave. He sent down sensations of calm and relaxation. The rush lessened. The group of children parted, leaving a space under the hole. They wanted him to come down.

  He gestured back at Sami and she crawled forward. Her eyes widened at the sight of the children beneath them. Peter pointed at himself and then into the hole. Sami nodded, then pointed at herself and down. Peter grabbed her hand and shook his head. One of her eyebrows raised and she touched a stake. He got the message and with a sigh, nodded. She wasn’t going to let him get away with anything.

  Peter climbed down first and then helped Sami down. As they both stood, brushing dust from their pants, the children flowed around them. Silent. Expectant.

  Sami glanced at them and then looked at Peter. Alarm crossed her face before she could shut it down and resume her bland expression. She couldn’t quite figure out what they were but she obviously sensed something odd about them, Peter thought.

  “I was here last night,” Peter said. “Two of you came with me.”

  “Katey and Marc.” A tall girl spoke. She wore dark pants too short for her with a faded yellow tunic. Her little brown hair was chopped in an untidy mess around her head.

  “That’s right,” Peter said.

  The girl nodded. “They told us about you.”

  Peter’s mouth went dry. He glanced around at the other children. Several of the older ones nodded. The younger ones just stared. He again sensed that flood around him. They were connected together, even when far away. Had Katey and Marc told these other children everything? Would these children give them away to the vampires?

  “They said you were nice,” the girl said.

  “I try to be,” Peter said. “What’s your name?”

  “Trina.”

  “Trina, the woman I was with last night came back here and it was a mistake. I’ve come to take her home.”

  Trina cocked her head. “Lucy. You mean Lucy.”

  Peter tried to swallow. “That’s right.”

  “She’s with Elliott. He wants her to stay.”

  Sami opened her mouth but Peter held up a hand to stop her. “Can you tell what Lucy wants?”

  Trina’s eyes defocused, looking past him, beyond him, to something farther away. After a moment she shook her head. “I can’t see her. She’s not clear like you.”

  “Can you help me find her?” Peter said. “I know she’ll want to come home.”

  Trina frowned. “Elliott wouldn’t like that.”

  “Do you always do what Elliott likes?” he said. “You didn’t before you were brought here. Do you remember that?”

  Murmuring sounded through the circle of children. Trina’s head jerked up and the speaking stopped. She glared at Peter. “What do you know of that?”

  “I know you used to live outside, beyond these caves. I know you had families and friends who cared about you. I know that Elliott or one of his vampires brought you here and they did something to you. They injected you with something, didn’t they?”

  Trina seemed to pull away. Her shoulders hunched and her chin lowered. Her thin chest caved inward.

  Peter took a step toward her. “Do you know what he put in you?” His whispering voice echoed through the silent room.

  “Vampire juice,” a voice whispered back.

  Peter nodded at a small boy at his right. The boy looked startled that he’d spoken aloud.

  “Pretty close,” Peter said. “Elliott infected you to make you like him.”

  “Not like him,” Trina blurted out.

  “Then like what, honey?” Sami said.

  Trina blinked. Her shoulders hunched further, making her almost look doubled up. Sami held out her hand and stepped forward. Peter hung back, letting Sami take the lead. Trina flinched as Sami’s hand descended on her shoulder.

  “What does he want to make you into, Trina?” Sami’s soothing tones helped relax Trina. The girl straightened.

  “The new ones.”

  “New ones? What kind of new ones?” Sami said.

  Trina shrugged. “They’re the old ones. They don’t change. They’re stuck.”

  Peter felt the prickling of awareness raising the hairs on the back of his neck. “You aren’t stuck?”

  Trina shook her head. Sami glanced back at Peter, confusion on her face. She didn’t understand what the girl was saying. Peter couldn’t be sure but he had a thin thread of it. He was almost afraid to pull that thread, to find out what it would unravel. You can never unknown something, he thought. But he had to know. Lucy’s life depended on it and he suspected his own sanity.

  “What else is different about the new ones?” he said.

  He felt the energy shift in the room, as if the children were talking, at a frequency just outside his hearing but close enough that he could feel the hum of it. Each time they did this he got closer to their level, closer to being able to converse with their minds. Any other time he would let them go on and take the opportunity to learn and connect. But he didn’t have that time. Lucy didn’t have the time.

  “Talk out loud,” he said. “Talk to us. Katey and Marc would want you to.”

  “Some of them hardly think,” said a boy on Peter’s left.

  “They can’t have babies,” a girl behind Trina blurted out.

  Sami’s hand fell away from Trina’s shoulder. “Can you have babies?”

  Trina shrugged again. “Maybe. I don’t know. We haven’t tried yet.”

  Sami and Peter looked at each other. For a few moments, Peter’s brain felt frozen, refusing to work but replaying Trina’s casual shrug over and over. He pulled himself out of it.

  “We have to get them out of here,” he said.

  Sami nodded. “Okay, kids, everyone up the hole and go to your right. We’ve got a van outside waiting to take you to Katey and Marc.”

  An eager buzz of conversation started as Sami boosted up a couple of larger kids and then started handing up the smaller ones. Eager hands grabbed at Sami’s pants or tugged at Peter’s sleeve, wanting to be next. They got almost two thirds of the children passed up into the ceiling when their voices fell silent. Trina grabbed Peter’s arm.

  “They’re coming. They smell you.”

  She pointed at Sami. Of course, Sami was the only full human here. One brief whiff of her and they would lock on and hunt her down.

  “Go,” Peter said. “Start leading them out. I’ll keep passing. Trina, you’re next.”

  “Peter,” Sami said.

  “Go!”

  She took a breath, crouched and leapt for the hole. Several hands grabbed as she leapt, catching clothing and arms. They helped haul her up. Peter handed another young girl up, then turned to Trina.

  “They’ll stop you,” she said. “They won’t let you take Lucy.”

  “We’ll see,” he said. “Go up. I’ll hand the others to you.”

  She leapt up the hole, not even needing assistance to pull her up. Already the vampire strength was developing in her. Four smaller children stood around him. The last ones left. A li
ttle boy sniffed and pointed at a door.

  “Coming,” he sing-songed.

  Peter picked up another little boy and lifted him toward the hole.

  The door splintered. The four remaining children screamed in unison. The boy in Peter’s arm twisted hard until Peter dropped him. Vampires flooded into the room. The four children launched themselves at the adults, shrieking their high pitched screams. Peter managed to glance up at the hole in the ceiling. Empty.

  The stakes felt at home in Peter’s hands. He jumped into the center of bodies fighting in the room. One girl was clawing at a vampire’s shoulder as it twisted her little body. Peter ducked under its arm and plunged the stake home. The vampire shrieked and fell forward, hands opening. As it fell, the girl tumbled away, landing on her feet. She launched herself at the next vampire.

  Peter turned in time to see another of the adults rip the head from the boy’s body. The boy had been the one to announce their arrival. His body jerked as blood sprayed across the front of the vampire’s body. It tasted the blood and spat it out. Then it noticed Peter.

  Soon all the adults were advancing on him. He pulled out more stakes and swung, keeping them at bay. Just a little longer, he thought, just hold them off a little longer.

  A few minutes later they had dispatched of the last of the children and began surrounding Peter. They stayed well enough back from the tips of the stakes but he knew he couldn’t hold them off forever. Just another few minutes. Just a little more time, time for Sami to get the kids out. Time for her to start the engine and escape back across the desert. It was too late for him now, too late for Lucy. But just a few more minutes and Sami could escape, and then maybe she could stop Elliott and his madness.

  He swiped a stake at the female vampire in front of him, driving her back. Then a blow hit him across the back of his head. Peter fell to his knees. Vision blurred. Snarls roared in his ears. No, not yet. He needed just another few minutes… but the blackness wouldn’t wait any longer.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  Josh sat at the lab table, hunched over the compad, poking at it, trying half heartedly to pry the back off. Anything to avoid looking at the two children who stood in the center of the room, watching him. He never felt all that comfortable around kids. Couldn’t really offer them a beer or tell them old squad stories. But these kids were even creepier than normal. He thought of offering to get them something to eat but stopped. He had a feeling he didn’t want to know what they’d eat.