The men split up and dove for cover, all over the courtyard, hiding wherever they could find shelter from the storm, as the bullets flew by in a hail of silver. David and Ross hid behind a short wall, along the border of the courtyard and set their mini-cannons loose, unloading wave upon wave of their specialty rounds into the dozens of Vampires, who were firing back from the castle. The two brothers unleashed an unbelievable and unmatched, amount of firepower, as the bodies dropped, one after another, burning up into a fine dust, never to roam the earth again. As the Moore brothers took care of the Vampires storming the main pathway, JD and his Pack of Lycans focused on the gunfire that was coming from overhead, taking out Vampires, left and right, as chunks of concrete and flesh began to rain from above.
It only took the crew a few minutes to clear the path and David and Ross led the way, guns blazing and ripping through anything that dared to step into the path of their cannons, thousands of bullets slicing through the air. The Vampires flooded out of the main entrance, just as fast as they were being cut down, when JD finally brought out the rocket launcher they’d brought all this way. He began firing off the shells filled with holy water and garlic that burst into fiery explosions, destroying dozens more of the Baron’s minions, sending them to hell for the remainder of eternity.
“Attach your wooden bayonets, NOW!” JD shouted, as he reached back to grab his own.
Once the Pack had the blades fixed to the end of their weapons, they followed JD as he stepped behind the Moore brothers who were clearing the way. They charged through the massive, arching entrance into the castle of Baron Valvasor, delivering a full-on assault.
JD and Nate were the first of the Lycans to make it in and they were both attacked from either side. The two responded with a double-piercing, directly into the hearts of the fang-baring Vampires, bringing about an instant death. Rows of Vampires filled the place, shooting and slashing with their razor-sharp claws and one by one, the men defended their cause, pushing forward, deeper into the castle.
The Moore brothers followed the long corridors of lit torches, until they reached the entrance of the Baron’s inner chambers. Just as they were about to burst through the doors, the floor beneath them dropped out and they fell into a pit of tall spikes waiting below, impaling the two brothers. Ross had fallen on several spikes, some sticking through his chest and one that pierced through his neck, protruding out of his mouth, moaning for only a second, before falling silent. David was still screaming and thrashing around, as his bodyweight brought him further and further down on the widening spikes; his thrashes soon turned to twitches, before he became silent and still.
There wasn’t even a moment to rest before another wave of Vampires moved in, creeping out of every room and corridor in sight and soon, there were too many for them to handle.
“We need to get the hell out of here, NOW!” JD shouted. They had kept their Lycan form untouched since their arrival, but now it was time. “Retreat! Transform and follow me!”
Everyone dropped their weapons at their feet and instantly brought on their change. JD and Nate ran towards the nearest room, with their brothers hot on their heels, cutting their way through the enemy in a bloody mess. JD led them out of harm’s way, crashing through a window, but before his deputies could take another step, another trap door gave way and they dropped into another pit. The Vampires all took aim, standing at the mouth of the hole, pumping the deputies with just enough silver not to kill them, but enough to transform them back to their human form… captured.
JD and Nate hit the ground with such force, that it crushed the rocky earth beneath them, where they now laid, healing, looking up to the castle… realizing their men were still inside. The massive double-doors were closing and a heavy metal gate was coming down, as the two Lycans happed to their feet and rushed the entrance. They fought, side by side, clawing, ripping and biting their way through the dozens of Vampires, who were rising from the ground by the edge of the courtyard, holding them back from reentering the Baron’s castle, just as the double-doors slammed and the gate crashed down in front of them.
Knowing there was no way back in, JD and Nate ran on all fours, down the side of the mountain, heading back to the van, trying to put as much distance between them and the castle, as fast as they could. They finally reached the place where the van was hidden and they blazed out of the woods going back the way they came.
“Are we being followed?” JD asked, with the pedal to the floor. “Take a quick look, would you?”
Nate stuck his head out the window, looking up the path and then up to the sky. “Nothing that I can see,” he replied, still looking. “I think we might’ve really stirred up the hornet’s nest, JD, that couldn’t have gone any worse. They were waiting for us.”
“I know,” JD replied, deep in thought. “We have to get back to Wolf Creek and get our families into hiding. I see no other options,” he said, taking a turn off of the main road. “The Baron isn’t going to let this go unanswered.”
“Who do you think let them know we were coming? I can’t believe we just left those guys there…”
“We had to, Nate,” JD interrupted. “And, we’ll figure out who ratted us out, later. But, for now, we need to ditch this van and get back to the airport,” he said, keeping a close eye on the trees. He thought for a short moment, before speaking again, “There was nothing we could’ve done for them… you know they were as good as dead. Going back in, would’ve just gotten us killed, too. We tried, Nate… we tried.”
Chapter Sixty
Inside Alnwick Castle, the Baron stood above the pit that held the Lycan deputies captive, staring down at them as if they were wounded dogs.
“Remove those filthy animals from that pit and get them out of my sight… NOW!” he demanded, spitting down on them and cursing. “Some nerve… trying to attack me.” He spit on them, one more time.
“What do you want us to do with them, my lord?” one of his minions asked.
“Impale them on stakes, outside the castle for everyone to see!”
“Yes, my lord, it will be done.”
The Vampires tied up the fallen Lycans and pulled them out from the pit, placing them in iron shackles. Brad, Wayne and Tony were hit with so much silver, that they were unable to put up any kind of fight. They just drudged behind with their heads hung, none of them saying a word.
Once they were outside of the castle, the Lycans were thrown facedown, naked in the dirt. One Vampire stuck a boot on the back of their heads while giant wooden stakes were shoved up inside of them, before they were stood upright, so the weight of their bodies would slowly sink them down on the dull point of the spike. The men groaned, as they were lifted into the air, but the sounds were drowned out by the laughter of Vampires. The men cried out in agony, as the wooden stakes pushed through, following the path of their spines, as the blunt tip left all of their vital organs untouched.
The Vampires returned into the castle and the doors closed shut behind them, leaving the Lycan’s hanging to live, just long enough to see the sun rise for one final time.
“I love you, my brothers,” Tony managed to say, through the blood that was gurgling from his mouth.
“It’s been a hell of a run, friends,” Brad choked out. “I love you, too.”
Wayne was falling in and out of consciousness, when he raised his head and spoke, “I never knew the sun could look so beautiful.”
Those were his final words, before both of his hearts beat, for one last time. Soon after, Tony coughed and took his last breath and Brad soon followed, as the stake pushed through his throat and out his mouth, cutting off his supply of air.
JD and Nate arrived at the private airport, their dark van racing to a halt. They jumped out, yelling for their waiting pilot to get the plane ready for immediate departure. Nate ran for the plane, as the pilot disappeared into the hangar, preparing for flight, while JD drove the van into the nearby woods. He camouflaged the veh
icle, covering it with brush and tree branches, before returning back to the airstrip, where they would be taking flight back into the United States of America.
When JD returned, the pilot was topping off the fuel, checking all of the plane’s vital points and clearing the morning dew from the windshield.
“How long before the rest of the guys arrive?” “They’re not coming,” JD said grimly. “And, we need to leave, at once… it’s not safe here.”
“What the hell happened?”
“Just get us in the air and then I’ll explain. Come on, we’ve got to go, now!”
The pilot obeyed his orders and the three of them boarded the plane, soon taxiing out onto the runway. As they turned out onto airstrip, they suddenly realized that there were about ten winged Vampires standing in the middle of the runway, blocking their way of escape.
“What do you want me to do?” the pilot asked, with obvious fear in his voice.
“Gun it! Ram those fucking bastards!”
The pilot obeyed JD, taking off down the runway, at full speed. As the plane came upon the enemies standing in their path, most of them jumped out of the way, but two of them did not. The ones that choose to stay in place lost their heads; as the plane stayed right on course, plowing through the line of Vampires that blocked the way. Once they made it past, it was open skies ahead and everyone in the plane let out a huge sigh of relief, once the tires had finally left the concrete pavement of the airport landing strip.
“There’s something hanging on to the back of the plane!”
A Vampire had managed to grab hold of the tail of the plane and was following them into the air.
“I won’t be able to control the plane! You better do something and do it fast!”
JD got up and opened the side door, poking his head out into the wind, seeing the Vampire that was trying to climb to the front of the plane. JD took out his silver bowie knife and threw it, sticking the blade right between the Vampire’s eyes. The undead being instantly let go and blew back into the wind, in a ball of flames and ash. JD
After the door was secured, JD took his seat again. “It’s handled.”
There was an eight-hour flight ahead, so JD and Nate both decided to close their eyes and take a nap. They knew there was limited time, once they landed, to gather up the families of the fallen deputies and the families of their own. It would be a race to get everyone safely hidden away, because the Baron would soon be coming for them… and the ultimate evil would finally be coming to America.
The sun had finally set in England and Alnwick Castle had returned to life. The Baron was pacing in his inner chambers, extremely unpleased that two of the Lycans got away. “Remove those rotten corpses away from the front of my castle! Chop their heads off and burn the bodies! We are leaving no chance of survival!”
“Yes, my lord, as you have instructed,” one of the high servants replied.
The Baron walked up the steps to his throne and he waited in his seat for his second in charge to arrive. The Baron’s servants moved about the chambers, using extreme caution, knowing that it was highly likely that he would lose his temper and lash out at one of them.
The Baron was about to rise from his seat, when the double-doors to his inner chambers swung open and a Vampire, who was dressed ready for battle, entered, bowing before the feet of the Baron; his only master.
“Leave us!” the Baron shouted, waving his servants away.
“I came, as soon as I heard the news,” Maximilian said. “Is the word true? Is Ouija really dead?”
The Baron rubbed his old, wrinkle-lined hands together, as he spoke. “Yes, it’s true,” he replied, softly. “And, I need you to lead me and my covenant to this place called Wolf Creek. I need you to track down every last Lycan and kill them,” he said, laying out his plan. “Two of them escaped back to their homes and I want them dead, along with their families,” he said, his voice rising. “I want their kind wiped away from the planet!”
“When do we depart?” Maximilian asked. “I’ll have to commandeer a vessel that can bring along enough Vampires.”
“Do what whatever you have to do,” the Baron snapped. “I want to leave within two night falls, before they have a chance to disappear for good.”
“I will be ready,” he assured the Baron, before turning and leaving the chambers.
The servants began filling the chambers again and the Baron called for one of his young lady servants. “Raise, my child and come forward to me.”
The female servant stepped closer and the Baron grabbed her, sweeping her off of her feet. She screamed, as he bit deeply into her neck, frantically sucking, draining her blood… draining her of life. Drinking until he was satisfied, the Baron then snapped her neck, with one solid twist, making certain that she couldn’t come back and carelessly threw her body to the side, like nothing more than a piece of discarded litter.
Chapter Sixty-One
The plane finally crossed into Indiana airspace, making a bit of a rough landing, even bouncing a couple times, but they’d made it, nonetheless and JD and Nate were almost home. They’d spent the first half of their flight removing the silver bullets and fragments from their bodies, before they both passed out from anxiety and weariness. Lucky for them, not a single bullet went through either of their hearts and they both healed up nicely, once all of the silver was removed.
The jumpy landing awoke both sleeping men and they were now sitting up and finding themselves surrounded by familiar ground. JD and Nate gazed tiredly out the windows, seeing endless miles of cornfields, knowing they were finally close to home.
“You know what we’ve got to do, right?” “Absolutely,” Nate replied, “Get our families together and get the hell out of Wolf Creek.”
“Exactly. I’m sure the Baron and his entire covenant will be coming for us… I’m positive they will. I just can’t see him forgetting about this one.”
“We probably only have three or four days, before they arrive,” Nate stated. “Luckily, we have a twelve hour jump and can move in the daylight. But still, I think we should be out of here in two days… play it safe.”
“I haven’t really thought about this yet, but where do you suggest we should relocate to keep the Vampires off our trail?” JD asked his only surviving deputy.
“I only know of one place.”
The rapping on the front door was made by the serpent-headed grip of a golden-handled walking cane; the loud knocking startled Gibson and he was not one who could be easily snuck up on. Usually, Gibson could smell anything living coming for miles, but this time, he didn’t… and this troubled him, because he knew what that probably meant. Even though his home was protected from the undead legion of Vampires, the lone wolf cautiously stepped to the front door, holding his fifty caliber Desert Eagle behind his back.
“What can I do for you?” he asked, opening the door just a crack.
“I brought your van back,” said Maximilian, who was standing out on the front porch. “It was left at the airstrip. You’re welcome.”
“Since when do you work for the police? I reported that van stolen, a couple days ago.”
“You can cut the shit, Gibson. We know you helped the Lycans from overseas,” Max said in a cold, flat voice. “The Baron is far from pleased. He’s demanded that all Lycans be removed from the earth,” he explained to him, through thin slit of the open door. “I am sorry to report this to you, but he feels that there’s only room for one supernatural bloodline on this planet.”
“So, what are you saying?” Gibson inquired, some anger rising in his voice.
“I know that I may not enter your house,” Max replied, “But you’ll have to leave, eventually and the second you do… the truce is over. You know you can’t hide forever, Gib.”
“I hide from no one!” Gibson shouted, kicking open his front door. “Step back and I’ll come out and show you!”
Maximilian took several steps back, as Gibson ripped off his shirt and began to growl, quickly tra
nsforming into a towering Lycan; drool was streaming from his mouth and dripping down the thick fur covering his chest. Maximilian didn’t look worried, as Gibson began pawing at he floor… he didn’t flitch or even move a muscle; he just stood there with an evil smile, holding his hands behind his back.
The Lycan charged forward, leaping through his front doorway to tackle Max, but just as he was about to make contact, Maximilian flew into the air, leaving Gibson to slam himself into the ground. Gibson quickly looked up to see where Max had gone, when he suddenly heard several hundred clicks. He didn’t get a chance to react, before he was nailed from every direction by a barrage of automatic gunfire. Over and again, the silver bullets riddled Gibson’s body, cutting him down in his tracks, as he tried to drag himself back into his house, to no avail.
The impact of the silver had caused him to transform back into his human form. “Fuck you and your entire bloodline!” Gibson shouted at his enemies. He continued to shout curses, as he tried desperately to drag his broken body back into the house. “I was hoping they would kill every last one of you bastards!”
“But, they didn’t, Gibson. I hope you had a good last supper,” Maximilian coldly said. “It’s time for you to meet whoever the hell it was that made such a creature, like you.”
“I’ll see you in hell, you son of a bitch!” Gibson screamed back at him.
Max took his cane and swung, smacking Gibson in the back of his head with the snake’s head on the end of the stick. The blow cracked his skull wide-open and the blood dripped down past his eyes that were still burning a bright red. Max put his boot on the back of Gibson’s head, mashing his face into the puddle of mud he was laying in, laughing with all of the other Vampires who were surrounding him.
“These are just the Baron’s orders. It’s nothing personal.”
Several Vampires held Gibson down, while two others shoved a giant wooden stake up inside of him. After the impalement, they stood him up in front of his own house, to let his own weight pull him down the pole of excruciating death. As he slid further onto the stake, he let out a long, agonized howl of pain.
The Lycan Chronicles Page 40
