The Lycan Chronicles

by Schroeder, Brent

  “David, you and your brother don’t have to go with us,” JD offered. “We can take care of this end, if you’d rather stay.”

  “No way, JD,” David said, as he set one of his cases down to get a better grip. “They killed my father… he’d want me to finish the mission. Ross and I will fight to the death, that’s what we were born for.”

  “Then to the end it is,” JD answered back. He stopped and set his bags down, sticking his hand out to shake with David. “We’re going to be bringing one hell of a fight… we may not be returning.”

  David set his case down and he grabbed JD’s hand, giving it a firm shake. “No matter to me. Let’s get these fuckers, once and for all.”

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  Chapter Fifty-Seven

  JD and the Pack, along with the Hunters, Ross and David Moore, were about to land on a private airstrip in England, just before sunrise. The plane came to a screeching halt on the runway and the crew was met on the tarmac by their contact, Gibson. Gibson was an older-looking gentleman with a touch of gray in his hair and muscular build… and he was also a Lycan. He was one of the few still living in England and he was tired of the Vampires, himself. They’d been after him for some time, now and Gibson was ready to steer JD and his crew in the their direction. He’d lived in the area for many years and he knew it well… including the precise location of Alnwick Castle.

  JD took a whiff of the foggy, English air, as the crew caught up with him, carrying their cases and heavy duffle bags that were loaded with weaponry and ammo. “Smells a bit snobby, if you ask me,” JD said with a smile. “I can see why everyone here has rotten teeth.”

  Gibson reached out to shake hands with him, smiling back, appreciating his sense of humor.

  Just a few feet behind, the Moore brothers were already at it, arguing with each other and they were about to throw blows.

  “If that’s your backup, you’re in some serious trouble,” Gibson commented, raising an eyebrow. “Where did you get them from, Craigslist?”

  “As their father once told me,” JD replied, as he shook his head. “They might be idiots, but when it’s time to go, they’re the best ones to have on your side. Believe it or not, Gibson, they’re really good.”

  “Well, your word is good enough for me. I’m just glad you brought the rest of the Pack,” he said, glancing over JD’s shoulder. “Hey, Nate! Hey, guys!”

  “Hey there, Gibs!” Tony hollered, walking to shake hands. “Are you joining us on our mission, or are you just gonna flap your lips and go hide?” he said, laughing. “Seriously though, we sure could use an extra hand, my brother.”

  “No way,” Gibson answered. “I’ll point you in the right direction, but I want no part in your plans,” he explained. “I live here in peace with the Vampires, just as you do… or try to do.”

  Wayne and Brad walked over and gave Gibson a hug and a pat on his back; it had been decades, since they’d last seen him.

  “We sure could use you,” Nate said. “I know we’re going to be outnumbered. Come on, you can come back to the States with us, afterward.”

  “I know you could use me. You could use a dozen of me and I still don’t think it’d be enough,” Gibson said with a laugh. “If you really want to know what I think, I think you guys are on a total suicide mission,” he said, offering his opinion. “I don’t know what you boys are thinking about, attacking them on their home turf. It’s rather fucking crazy. I’d just as soon stick my head inside of a shark’s mouth.”

  “We’re here to cut the Vampire bloodline at the source, to finally put an end to the Baron’s reign for good,” JD confidently said. “Do you have all of the information I need?”

  “Yes, I do, but let’s get the hell out of here. We’ll talk about it at the house.”

  Everyone followed Gibson to his van that was waiting for him or her and the airport was soon out of sight. Gibson drove them to a secluded location out in the England countryside and after a forty five-minute drive, the van slowed in front of an old brick house with smoke pouring out of the chimney. Everyone piled out, grabbing their duffle bags and cases and they all followed Gibson up the steps, just as the sun was rising in the east. The house didn’t look very welcoming, with all the silver bars covering the windows, but it did look well-protected from the undead… there was even a huge cross on the front door.

  Everyone entered Gibson’s home and he shut the door, locking it tightly, behind him. JD threw his bags on the floor and he looked up, noticing another cross hanging on the inside of the door and it gave him an added touch of comfort, being so far from home.

  “Make yourself at home, guys. What’s mine is yours… don’t be shy.”

  “Oh, you don’t have to worry about that,” JD replied, shooting a look at the two Moore brothers, who were already looking in the refrigerator for something to eat.

  Gibson walked out the back door and he returned from the porch, carrying a couple cases of beer. There was a sudden bustle of life in the living room and everyone clapped and cheered, as Gibson set the beer down on the floor, opened the boxes and began passing out bottles to the guys in the room. Everyone took a sip and sat back, enjoying the moment and savoring the flavor… they all knew this could be their last beer on earth.

  After disappearing into a back room, Gibson returned with an envelope, which he handed to JD. JD opened it up and pulled out a small, folded-up map to Alnwick Castle, located only thirty miles away from where they were sitting.

  “As far as I know, they don’t know you’re coming,” Gibson said, as they looked over the drawing. “Is there a chance that anyone you knew?”

  “Not a chance. I told no one, except you,” JD interrupted, before he even finished asking. “As far as anyone knows, we’re still back in Wolf Creek.”

  “Good,” Gibson said. “You’re going to need a fucking miracle to pull this off, John. No way of talking you out of this?”

  JD shook his head and asked Gibson, “Can we get into the castle during the day, or is it locked down, tight?”

  “Locked down, tight, with plenty of guards armed with sniper rifles. Any regular being couldn’t get within a thousand yards of that front gate… and there are attack dogs patrolling during the day, as well. It’s a fortress, as much as it is a castle.”

  “We’ll wait until the sun goes down,” JD said, “when the castle is open for business. I think that’ll be our best chance of getting in.”

  “That’s the only way you’re getting in,” Gibson replied. “If I thought you stood a chance in hell, I’d go… but I think you are all dead men. As it stands for me now, they leave me alone and I leave them alone.”

  JD finished his beer and yawned. He looked over at the rest of the guys and most of them had already fallen asleep, the boxes of beer barely touched. “Looks like a severe case of jet lag. I could use some rest, myself.”

  “Get some sleep then, JD. You’re safe in my house.”

  Gibson leaned back and sipped on a bottle of beer, thinking back three hundred years, to the time when he was but a mere slave at Alnwick Castle. He’d been captured by the Vampires and kept alive to work strenuous labor during the day, with only bread and water given to survive. He saw no hope of escape and prayed for death for over twenty miserable years.

  Late one evening, Gibson was out of the castle repairing a bridge. Out of the darkness came a creature and a starving Werewolf soon attacked him. Being left for dead, with half of his throat ripped out, he laid on the river’s edge, just waiting to bleed out. A Vampire solider, not wanting to explain to the Baron that he’d lost a slave, bit into his wrist and dripped Vampire blood into Gibson’s mouth, not realizing he’d already been attacked by another supernatural creature, creating the very first hybrid.

  Gibson healed very quickly and he soon realized, that his new powers made him superior to his captors. He broke free of his enslavement; killings a slew of Vampires during his brutal and daring, escape. For the ne
xt hundred years, he would hide out in the woods, killing every Vampire assassin the Baron would send. Gibson always threw the severed heads in the front of the castle, just to let the Baron know that they’d failed and that he was still alive and well. A Vampire solider finally called out to him that the Baron had declared a truce and they finally left him alone. He built and settled into the house, where he’s now resided, for over three hundred years… unbothered.

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  Chapter Fifty-Eight

  “Rise and shine, fellas! Get your lazy asses up, it’s five o’clock! You got an hour till sundown!” Gibson was shouting. “Come on, I got food ready for you guys. You’ll need a good meal, before you go.”

  “I’m getting way too old for this shit,” JD mumbled, sitting up on the couch where he’d slept. “Talk about a kink in my neck.”

  “I hear that,” Nate groggily said. “I can feel my bones creaking.”

  “Ah, quit you’re bitchin’,” Ross called out, rubbing his eyes. “At least you’re not aging every day, you immortal pussies. You sound like a couple of women.”

  “Ross?” JD said, as he stood up to stretch. “If anyone ever invited you to a hog roast, I wouldn’t go, as you are probably the main course, you fat bastard.”

  Everyone in the room burst out in laughter, as they all slowly migrated towards the kitchen.

  “Always the smartass, JD,” said David, sticking up for his brother, for once. “Well, if I ever need a toupee, I’ll just shave your backside and make a hat out of your ass.”

  Everyone laughed again, while picking up a plate and lining up at the stove, where Gibson stood, serving his guests a late breakfast of steak and eggs. After the generous meal, the crew began preparing their weapons. Everyone laid out their guns, to give them a proper oiling and to make sure the slides were nice and free and flowing smoothly… the place where they were going, would be no place to jam up. After that, they opened up a crate of specialty ammunition and began loading every extra magazine with wooden bullets.

  The Hunters, David and Ross, each had their mini-cannons, that would shoot three thousand bullets, a minute and they would both be carrying spare belts with about nine thousand rounds of ammo, over each shoulder… not to mention, packing some extra heat, consisting of a couple forty five caliber side arms.

  JD was happy with his 44 Magnums and the deputies brought along MP15 assault rifles, made by Smith and Wesson, all loaded with NATO 5.56 rounds with silver piercing-tips, reinforced with wood chips that have been soaked in holy water. Each one there added a rocket launcher to their cache of weapons, that would blast a shell containing a holy water/garlic combination that would burn through a Vampire like acid.

  “You can’t miss the castle,” Gibson assured him. “It takes up the entire side of the mountain. If you can’t find it, then you’re as blind as a bat. If you find yourself at that point, then my advice is, just turn your asses around and go home.”

  Everyone did a last-minute check of their weapons and ammo; everyone making sure they all had their special knives. One was a petrified wooden knife dipped in holy water and rolled in the ash of a white oak tree; poison to a Vampire. And, the other knife was dipped in a dead man’s blood, which is just as deadly as the first.

  “Thank you for your hospitality, Gibs,” JD replied, gathering his equipment. “Is everyone ready? It’s time…”

  “Yes!” everyone boomed together.

  “If things go wrong, guys,” Gibson instructed. “Don’t come running back here. You head for the airport. I’ve done my part and that was already too much,” he explained. ”I want to live out my years in peace.”

  “We won’t,” JD let him know. “We should’ve done this, years ago.”

  “Are you sure you want to go through with this? They’re very powerful and they seem to have everyone on their payroll,” Gibson warned. “They’ve lived up there a long time and they seem to be connected to everyone, everywhere. Are you sure they don’t know you’re coming?”

  “Not unless you told them,” JD said, shaking hands to leave.

  “They probably would’ve paid me well,” Gibson said, pulling JD in for a manly hug. “Hell, you’re probably going to get killed, anyways… maybe I should’ve cashed in.”

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  Chapter Fifty-Nine

  JD was riding shotgun, giving Nate directions, as they rolled up the gravel road, while the Hunters and the rest of the Pack rode in the back of the black van that Gibson had provided for them. Everyone was a bit nervous, looking out the windows, checking and rechecking their weapons, making sure the sights were perfect and ready to fire… they couldn’t afford any mistakes on this mission.

  The black van slowly crept up the steep incline, through the thick woods, at the base of the rocky mountainside. After a few minutes of driving, they finally passed the last line of trees and Alnwick Castle was already beginning to come into view, sitting at the top of the mountain. The immense castle was one of the biggest structures any one of them had ever seen and the sheer size of it was frightening, in itself. With the windows down, they could smell the ocean and the waves could be heard slapping up against the rocks along the bottom of the steep cliff below.

  Nate finally broke the silence between the men in the van. “JD,” he said, “I think we should go the rest of the way on foot. It’s probably best not to be seen coming up the main path.”

  The van turned around and they drove back, pulling off into a thick, wooded area, far off of the beaten path. Everyone got out and as a precaution, began to gather any fallen branches or limbs they could find, covering up the van, as best as they could, before they started back up the steep incline to reach the home of Baron Valvasor.

  “Everyone, keep it tight,” JD demanded. “One mistake and it’s over… this is for keeps.”

  They strayed away from the main path, that lead directly to the main castle doors and decided on choosing an alternate and much more difficult, route, up the rocky, mountainous cliffs. The climb was slow and treacherous under the midday sun and the Hunters were having an especially hard time carrying their heavy minicannons and ammo, but after scaling the rocks, everyone finally made it to the base of the castle. They slipped quietly along the high walls of the expansive building, staying well out of view of the sniper guards, that Gibson had warned them about. JD and his men found a comfortable, secure place among some tall rocks to wait for the sun to set before they would begin their assault on Alnwick Castle.

  Another hour passed and the sun finally set on the other side of the horizon, casting darkness upon the mountainside and the monstrous castle began to come to life. Voices and even a few screams, could be heard echoing around them as the men moved out from their positions, while the movement of shadows could be seen through the windows of the towering castle.

  As JD’s deadly crew approached, he stopped them and signaled to Nate, pointing in the direction of the sniper guards, who were spotted up in the tower overlooking the front of the castle; this is where JD’s and Nate’s American Indian training would come into play. Wayne handed them a case containing a set of graphite bows, with special silver-tipped wooden arrows that have all been soaked in holy water.

  The rest of the Pack and the Hunters tucked themselves out of sight, tightly nestled up against the brick wall, to wait for JD’s signal once everything was clear.

  “There are two of them, that I can see. You take the one, up there on the left,” JD said, preparing his arrow for flight. “Ready? On the count of three….”

  Nate gave him a smile and a nod, as they both stretched back, ready to release the arrows.

  “One. Two. Three,” JD whispered, as they both let go, sending twin arrows soaring, high in the sky.

  One guard dropped and then another, both taking the arrows straight through the heart, neither making a sound, as they fell dead. Nate and JD kept moving, quickly crawling around to the other e
nd of the castle, drawing upon the next tower and nailing both of their targets with great precision. JD ran back for the others, while Nate waited for him to return, before the Pack and the Hunters moved even closer towards the front gates of the castle.

  JD led the group, suddenly stopping where he was and signaling for the others to get down. A patrol of two guards with attack dogs were approaching around the bend, headed straight for where the Pack and Hunters were hiding. Everyone exchanged worried glances, sure that the dogs would smell them and bark… but the crew remained still, holding steady.

  Nate and JD quickly raised their bows, pulling another set of arrows back and taking aim. The guards were about to descend upon the spot where everyone waited and as soon as JD and Nate released their arrows, Tony and Brad jumped into action, grabbing both guard dogs by their necks, instantly snapping them; not another sound was made, after the sickening crunch of bones faded into the night air.

  After everything was sure to be clear, the men cautiously entered the courtyard, stepping very quickly and quietly, to the steps leading to the main entrance of Alnwick Castle… a place that Donovan, Mason, Terrance, Ouija and the other Vampires have occupied for many previous centuries.

  “This seems too easy,” JD quietly whispered.

  “Yeah, I was expecting more guards than that,” Nate agreed.

  “I don’t like it,” JD said back.

  Everyone had their weapons drawn at the ready, pressing forward, slowly approaching the massive double-door entrance, when JD suddenly stopped. “Did you hear that?”

  Not a second sooner than the last word left his lips, when the front doors to the castle swung open, with a boom that shook the entire ground.

  “It’s a fucking trap!” Nate yelled, as automatic gun erupted from all over the castle, raining down on the crew, kicking up the dirt and rocks around them.