Nanook decided it was too cold to ride in the back, so he hopped in up front with JD and they were off. It took fifteen minutes for the defroster to finally warm up, but JD kept relaxed, even though he was continually wiping the frost from the windshield. By the time the ice was melting on its own, his truck was already pulling into the police station parking lot.
Sarah and Nate were already on their second cup of coffee, as JD entered the station.
“Good morning, JD,” Nate greeted. “Have a good night?”
“Actually, yes, I feel great!”
“Well, good, because the coroner already called this morning,” Sarah explained, “wanting to talk with you, as soon as you came in. He’s waiting for your call.”
“I bet it has something to do with Vampires, what else could it be?”
JD went into his office and shut the door. He picked up the phone to call Dr. Covey at Blood Bank.
‘Ring!’ ‘Ring!’ ‘Ring!’
“Clinic,” said the receptionist with a lovely voice. “How can I help you?”
“Can I speak to Dr. Covey, please?”
“May I tell him who is calling?”
“It’s Sheriff John Davidson.”
“I will put you right through, JD. He’s been waiting for your call.”
Down in the morgue, the phone rang.
“Dr. Covey, here.”
“Doc, it’s Sheriff Davidson, returning your call. What’s going on?”
“Hey, JD, I got a call from my friend at the FBI and he had some interesting information regarding the guys who robbed the bank.
“Oh, yeah? What is it?”
“Well, they ran a DNA sample of the blood that was left at the scene by the bank robber… the one who was shot by the dead police officer.”
“What did they find?”
“The sample contained almost four thousand different DNA strains and you know what that means.”
“A Vampire,” JD finished for him. “Damn it, I knew it. Do they understand what it is they’re looking at?”
“No,” replied Covey. “They are beyond perplexed. So far, the FBI has been able to identify seventy-five missing people, through the DNA database, after entering this guy’s blood. It won’t be long before the Feds end up here, I’m afraid.”
“That’s my main concern,” JD replied, rubbing his forehead. “Make sure everything at the Blood Bank is running smoothly and in complete secrecy.”
“I’ve already taken precautions,” the doctor replied, to JD’s relief. “Way ahead of you.”
“Great. I’ll do what I can to keep this under control. Wish me luck, doc. I hate dealing with the Feds.”
“Good luck, JD. You’re going to need it.”
Both of Clyde’s boys were still passed out from a night of heavy drinking, when JD shut the motel room door.
“Boys!” Clyde yelled. “Wake the hell up and get out of bed! JD’s here for breakfast… or, should I say early lunch?”
“While you get the kiddies ready, I’ll get Brittney from next door and she can join us. After that, I’m sending her home… before something happens to her.”
“I see no problem with that,” Clyde agreed.
JD left Clyde’s room and knocked on Brittney’s door. It took a good minute before she answered, but she did and the first thing JD noticed was her pale complexion and that she was wearing a huge pair of dark sunglasses and a goofy, oversized hat.
“What’s up, JD?”
“We’re going to get something good to eat, my treat. You taggin’ along?”
“Sure,” Brittney quietly accepted. “Just let me grab a few things and I’ll be right out.”
Brittney shut the door and ran to the bathroom sink, taking a good look in the mirror. “Oh my God, I look like I’m dying,” she whimpered, thinking about what Mason had told her. “I haven’t fed yet,” she said, wondering how long she had left before that mattered. “Well, at least with the Sunlife, I can still see myself in the mirror… not too many Vampires that can say that.”
Brittney took note of her once-beautiful eyes that wouldn’t reflect back, instead appearing as two endless, black holes in her face, as she threw on some extra makeup to brighten her skin tone. She flipped out the light, when she was finished and left the room to go meet up with the guys out in the parking lot.
Dave’s was the only place in town, so that’s where they ate. JD held the door while everyone entered and Nanook took his usual post by the front door. When Brittney passed, the hair on Nanook’s back stood on end. He growled and kept his eyes locked, as she stepped into the restaurant.
“No! Bad! Don’t you growl at Brittney!” JD hollered at the dog. He wondered what that was all about, as he followed the crew into the restaurant.
Inside, Dave and Clyde were pushing two tables together, in order to accommodate everyone and they all took a seat.
“Brittney,” said JD, “whatever you want… it’s on me.”
“Thanks, JD, but I’m not really hungry right now. I just came to hang out with you guys. I ate some junk out of the vending machine last night and my stomach kind of hurts, so don’t worry about me.”
“Are you sure? You look like you could use something to eat,” he said, realizing how bad that sounded. “Sorry, Brittney. What I meant was, is that you look a little pale. Maybe a small bite wouldn’t hurt ya.”
She still shook her head ‘No.’
“Oh, you’ll be going home today, by the way. I want you out of here, before something happens to you.”
Brittney nodded her head, as the waitress came to take everyone’s orders. She thought to herself, ‘How can I go home now? I’m not even human anymore and I’ve got to tell JD. But, what if he decides to kill me? What the fuck am I going to do?’
About halfway through lunch, JD began to notice how unusually thick Brittney’s makeup was and that she still had those stupid sunglasses on. She noticed JD taking a double glance at her and she suddenly got nervous, standing up to leave. That’s when it dawned on JD, that he couldn’t hear her heartbeat, even with his fine-tuned, Lycan hearing capabilities. He reached over the table to pick up a saltshaker near where Brittney was standing and he realized there wasn’t any sort of heat radiating from her body.
“I’m going back to my room. I don’t feel so good and I need to get some more rest. You guys enjoy your food… I’ll be back at my room.”
Knowing there was a lot more to what she was saying, JD stood to follow her.
Outside, Nanook growled at her again.
“Brittney, are you sure you’re going to be alright?”
“I’m okay,” she hastily replied, “I’ll see you later… I just need some rest.”
Brittney turned and hurried across the lot towards Hank’s Motel and JD followed. When he caught up, he grabbed her by the shoulders and spun her around, snatching her sunglasses off of her face. Brittney’s eyes suddenly began to smoke, as she screamed and covered them, running towards the door of her room. Once she got inside, she tried slamming the door on JD, but he was able to push his way through. After retreating into the bathroom, Brittney got the door shut and locked it up.
“Brittney,” JD called to her, trying to get the door unlocked. “Come out, let’s talk. When did you change?”
“No! You’ll just kill me!”
“I will not, Brittney,” JD promised her. “I give you my word on that. I want to help you… you know, you can trust me. I’m your only hope and you know that I’m here for you. Now, open up and come out of there.”
It took almost another full minute of pleading, but Brittney eventually unlocked the door, cracking it open a little bit, as she stared up to JD from the bathroom floor.
The sheriff lit up a smoke and leaned against the wall. “If I wanted to hurt you, that door would hardly be enough protection. So, come on out and let’s talk. Why would I kill you? I’ve known you since you were born.”
After peeling herself up off the bathroom floor, Brittney sat on th
e edge of one of the beds in her room. JD walked over and placed his hands on her shoulders, looking her over. He took his finger and swiped a smudge of her caked makeup off of her face. He looked down, instantly realizing that what he was holding in his hand was the Sunlife.
“When did they turn you? Who turned you and where? If you want to live and possibly return back to a human being, you have to help me help you. I need to know who made you this way and where they’re making the Sunlife.”
Brittney’s instinct was to fight Mason Rockwell’s will and she desperately wanted to give JD the information he needed to save her and everyone else, but it took her a moment to gain control of her thoughts. “It happened last night… it was Mason. And, now that I told you, he’ll try to tear my heart out. He’ll know, because our minds are connected.”
“Don’t worry about Mason, I’ll handle him,” JD swore. “And, when I do, you’ll return back into your human form.”
“Really, you think I can still go back?”
“Yes,” replied JD, “but, until then, I have to hide you. You haven’t fed on any humans, have you? If you have, then there’s no way you can go back.”
“No,” replied Brittney, sounding relieved. “But, I can feel the hungry coming on.”
“I’ll get you something from the Blood Bank, but don’t forget… if you feed, I can’t turn you back, understand? Don’t do anything stupid, Brittney.”
“I won’t,” she assured JD. “I’m fighting the urge, but I’m really starting to crave. How long before you can get me some blood? I don’t want to accidentally attack the housekeeping,” she joked, offering him an innocent grin.
“That’s not funny. Just be good and I’ll be back with some blood. That’s a promise,” Sheriff JD said. “As long as you drink freely-given blood, your change will remain non-permanent,” he explained, stopping to think for moment. “We’ll have to keep you at the police station… it’s the only place Mason can’t enter.”
“Are you sure he can’t get in?”
“I’ve never invited him in,” JD let her know. “Before all this nonsense started, I’ve never invited ANY Vampires in.”
“Well, please hurry. I’ll be waiting right here for you. Just get here, so we can do something about this, before Mason wakes up. I know he’ll sense what’s transpired.”
“Don’t move from this room,” JD demanded, as he started out the door, before asking her one more question. “How did they apply the Sunlife? Is it a lotion, or something they spray on?”
“No, not even close,” she said, repulsed by the recollection. “I was stripped naked and they stuck a big metal hook through the middle of my back. And, then they dipped me into a huge vat. It burned me alive, but it dried up and I healed pretty quickly, actually.”
She lifted the back of her shirt to show him the scar.
“Where was this done? You’ll have to take me there.”
“I don’t know where it is,” Brittney replied. “They put a hood over my head, when they brought me back to the motel.”
“Damn it… hey, wait. Did you have to climb a ladder, when you left?”
“Yes, how did you know?”
“Grab your belongings. I’m taking you to the police station right now, so I don’t have to worry about you.”
Brittney gathered her things and packed her bags, leaving the room key on the nightstand. They stepped out into the daylight and hopped in JD’s truck, peeling out of the motel parking lot, neither of them noticing that Mason Rockwell was standing on the roof of Hank’s Motel, peering down at them through his dark sunglasses, as they were driving away.
___________________________________________________
Chapter Thirty-Five
“Here’s two pints from the Blood Bank.”
“Thank you, JD,” Brittney said, taking the two thin bags he’d slipped through the bars of the cell. She wasted no time, drinking them dry, within seconds, tearing the bags open to lick them clean.
JD made the decision to put Brittney in one of the back cells at the station, in case she lost control of herself.
“Sorry, I had to do it, Brittney. You can never trust a Vampire, you know,” he said, with a wink.
Brittney cracked a smile at JD’s remark, as her thirst has been calmed for the moment. She handed JD the empty bags and then stretched out on the cot, covering up with the blanket he’d given her.
Up in the front of the station, everyone else was watching the news.
“Nate,” said JD, “Turn it up, so we can all hear it.”
Nate reached out and cranked the volume up a couple notches.
“The skinned bodies of two more young boys have been found, out in the woods of Willow Creek. The names of the two victims are being withheld at this time, until the families can be contacted. And, more sad news today, another young girl has been kidnapped from the Indiana University college campus, just last evening. She was last seen leaving her dorm room with a stranger she’d met online. Investigators believe this case and the similar case we reported earlier this week, are related…. ”
“It’s starting over again,” Nate said, becoming angry. “We have to wipe the Vampires out for good, this time. Enough of this shit!”
“But, most of them are not a problem, Nate. They want to live in peace, just like us,” JD reminded him. “There’s always going to be an evil one lurking around somewhere. It’s just in their nature, like Donovan told me from day one.”
“It’s going to take all of us, plus the help of the Hunters, to wipe out the crew that Rockwell’s surrounded himself with,” Nate stated. “He’s too well-protected. You see the size of Samson? Talk about a wall of dead meat.”
“I know,” JD said, having more than noticed. “When he moves, he usually has at least eight or nine guards. He’s a much bigger threat than Donovan could have ever been.”
“No matter,” Nate replied. “He has to go down for his crimes, just like the rest.”
“Where do you suppose they’re making the Sunlife?”
“Wherever the hell Jason Cross and Skinny Limpkins are,” Nate answered him. “Could be out in the middle of the woods… who knows?”
“I checked with Jason’s parents and they haven’t seen him since he got out of prison, so they say.”
“Do you believe them?”
“They seemed more afraid, than anything. Jason’s not a Vampire, just a regular computer nerd,” JD said, milling over the situation. “But, I haven’t seen him in many years and prison does change people.”
“Do you know where Mason sleeps? We could just take him out with a stake to the heart before nightfall and just be done with him and his whole crew. It could be that easy.”
“No,” JD said, wishing he did. “I’ve been trying to sniff him out without arousing any suspicions, for years. He probably has a safe room in his mansion, or somewhere nearby.”
“I’ll get a hold of Brad, Tony and Wayne and the Hunters and let them know that we might be up against another army of the undead.”
With a couple hours to dust off, JD headed back to the motel, wishing that he had better news for Clyde and his boys.
A Brinks armored truck pulled up in front of the Bloomington First National Bank, to unload money for the thousands of people, who will be cashing their paychecks after they get off work. Two blocks south of the bank’s entrance, two dark, faceless figures, dressed in black, were scaling the outside walls of the two, four-story buildings, crawling up the sides with no effort, whatsoever. When the both of them reached the tops, they began setting up their equipment. First, a flat metal plate was bolted down with a highpowered rivet gun, securing it tightly to the roof. Then two black cases were opened up, containing the newest in modern weaponry: two 50 caliber sniper rifles, fitted with laser-sighting, flash suppressors and silencers, that were all pulled out and mounted to the metal plates, the sighting trained on the Brinks truck below; the range finder would help them adjust to the light wind, that was blowing in from the west
.
The back of the Brinks truck opened up and a guard stepped out, carrying two large sacks of money. Out of nowhere, a black van came into view and it was aiming directly at him. The van slammed into the guard, head-on, crushing him between his armored vehicle. The truck was hit so hard, it lifted off the ground with the guard’s legs dangling in the air, before both limbs fell to the ground, severed from the rest of his body. As the vehicles slammed back down to the pavement, the guard finally let go of the sacks of cash, with blood dribbling from his mouth. The black van pulled back in reverse, as five heavily-armed, masked gunmen jumped out and ran into the bank, along with the driver who grabbed the bags laying near the dying guard, quickly darting to unload more from the truck.
The driver, who was still sitting in the seat of the Brinks, had been knocked out from the impact of the crash, but he was now coming to his senses. He stumbled out of the truck, but was instantly cut in two, by the bullets raining down from the two gunmen perched on the buildings, above, nearly a half-mile away, leaving him in a bloody pool in the street.
The gunmen inside of the bank blatantly opened fire, showing no mercy for anyone. One of them flew through the air, destroying the security cameras, just like before, while one of them sniffed out and removed the dye packs that were mixed in with stolen money.
Anyone who hadn’t already hit the floor, or dared to make eye contact with the masked gunmen, was gunned down instantly. The bank manager was forced into the back and ordered to open the vault. As soon as the red light turned green on the access panel, one of the masked gunmen shoved the manager back, raising his AK-47, unloading half of his magazine into his chest, sending his bleeding body skidding across the floor.
The bank was in a state of panic, as people were screaming and trying to run out the main doors. A few made it out, but most were shot in the back, as they tried escaping the exploding gunfire. Even though someone had hit the silent alarm, the bodies were quickly piling up, as the gunmen unleashed wave after wave of bullets. The masked men grabbed as many duffle bags as they could sling over their shoulders, before running outside to the top of the bank’s front steps, where they were met by half of the city’s police department and SWAT members. More backup was arriving from every direction, as the gunmen glided down the steps, raining a fury of automatic gunfire upon the responding police units. The side door of the black getaway van suddenly slid open and another masked gunman, operating a bolted-down mini-Gatling gun, opened fire, spraying a hailstorm of bullets into the officers, just as they were about to descend upon the ride. The police had no choice but to take cover, scattering every which way in search of protection.
The Lycan Chronicles Page 26
