I placed a ladder against the wall near the entry point and climbed to the top of the barrier, dragging my defense with me. It was a sack made of gator skin that I’d filled with around ten pounds of smooth river stones. It was lashed closed with a six-foot strand of rope that had several knots and loops at one end.
I put a loop over my wrist, gripped just under a knot, and lowered the sack over the side of the partition. Swinging it back and forth as a pendulum, I crushed in the skulls of those zombies who reached the wall.
The moist cracking sound of their heads caving in kept my adrenaline flowing. Every half hour or so, I would heave the gore encrusted bag up and move to a different wall, taking short rests in between. The sight of the bag swinging usually drew the creatures right up to the weapon.
All day we slayed the corpses in near silence, waiting for dusk to bring our reinforcements. Everyone knew that we couldn’t depend on the living to save us; the vampires were our only hope to escape today’s atrocities and see tomorrow’s fresh horrors.
The last rays of light dimmed out of existence as the last of our arrows struck the neck of its target; it shambled closer, unaware of the protruding missile. My forearms burned like acid and shook as I withdrew the sack and dropped it to the dirt along the bottom rung and climbed down. My back popped with every stretch and twist. Several of our shooters came off the tower and went for the weapons shack. I placed myself in front of the door.
“Don’t touch those guns! We have almost all of them eradicated, if one shot’s fired, this mess will start over.”
At that moment, twin streaks lit out of the coffin cabin and over the shimmering steel partition. Hacking and slashing, the vamps annihilated the lingering Dead as they circled the wall.
Cal jabbed his short wasp-bladed sword into half-devoured faces as Daemon swung an ax like Paul Bunyan, felling fleshies as the blade separated the top of the cranium from the jaw with each swipe. The pair moved like lightning, shredding the attackers furiously and edging their way further and further from our encampment.
After nearly an hour, they returned and tossed their weapons aside. Their clothes were matted with shards of bone, coagulated blood, and the occasional patch of scalp. Both looked ravenous, having still not fed. The dog gave a low growl as Daemon stepped towards me. The fledgling regarded the canine with a stare; the dog whimpered and sat by his master while the young Undead spoke.
“We need to clean and feed. Squirrel, I’ll meet you in my cabin in a minute. Cal will be there, too. Bring his donor with you, please.”
He flew off in the direction of the stream as the last word left his pursed lips. His mentor glanced at me with his blazing eyes. His voice echoed in my mind. “I will make sure he keeps control and you are unharmed. Please get Sunny.” Cal followed Daemon to wash away the battle.
Sunny and I stood in the small cabin for ten minutes. The room was quiet as a tomb and as uncomfortable as borrowed dress shoes. I stared at the door, unwilling to look at her after our earlier standoff. The door launched open. Caelinus strolled inside.
“Sunny, if you wouldn’t mind, I would prefer to wait until Daemon has fed. It would be best if I ensured the Hunger did not cause any further issues this evening.”
She said nothing, but nodded and sat awkwardly on the end of the nearest bed. I noticed she was looking in every nook and cranny that was not a view of the feeding. Cal joined her as Daemon stepped towards me; he was clean, but the flames in his eyes still raged; the desire for blood wreaked havoc within his every cell.
The feeling of embarrassment at having my donation observed promptly shifted to fear. His face showed no sign that my friend was even aware this feeding was being monitored. I wasn’t even sure he still knew it was me standing in front of him.
Daemon’s fangs scraped his bottom lip as he reached out to push my hair aside. I felt an iron hand gripping my waist as he pulled me closer. I closed my eyes, and leaned my head to the left for him.
The familiar gentle pricks were replaced with a fierce bite; I startled at the savagery as much as the pain. He took two or three deep pulls from my vein before I felt my knees waver. Warm hands caught me as I felt Daemon’s grip disappear.
I forced open my eyes. My head struggled to steady itself from the buzz I was feeling. Sunny held me upright and kept giving my cheek light slaps. She was asking me something; it sounded like she was speaking underwater.
I giggled at the concern on her face. Earlier that day she shoved a spear in my face, ready to kill me without a thought, and here she sat genuinely worried for my health.
Looking over, I saw the vampires scuffling. Cal smacked the young vampire in the face. A bicuspid somersaulted through the dim room and landed against a small tower of dog-eared books. The Roman walked over and rubbed his palm a moment before picking up the tooth with the tips of his forefinger and thumb.
Daemon was on his knees holding his mouth; his eyes were back to their usual brilliance. Examining the prize, Cal turned around and presented it to his protégé.
“Put this back in the hole in your gums. It will be agony for a minute until it heals, but only a minute.”
With a whimper, Daemon did as instructed. Cal sighed and held out his hand to Sunny.
“Are you ready to donate? I assure you, they’re both fine now and I only need my regular quantity of blood.”
Sunny looked around the room at the three of us before helping me back to the bed and offering her vein to the elder vampire; her eyes flitted about as he took a few tiny sips. She gripped the dagger on her belt with an unsteady hand. I gazed at Daemon across the cabin; he sat hunched with his back against the opposite wall. His cheek had returned to its normal pallor, but the thin streaks carved by his tears remained visible.
The fledgling rose to his feet as soon as his mentor was done. Daemon’s eyes were glued to the floor as he spoke in a muted tone.
“I’m going to start clearing up the mess outside. I’ll leave the useful stuff in a pile by the gate and drop the corpses in the burn zone for you humans to torch during the day. It’ll probably take all night. Both of you should get some rest. Especially Squirrel. I’m…I’m sorry I lost control again. It won’t happen anymore.”
He hurried out of the cabin to his task with the door slamming shut on the final word. Cal merely looked deep in thought and said goodnight before following. Sunny and I sat in the coffin cabin, immersed in silence, until my legs cramped up and brought the exhaustion I’d been ignoring crashing down on me. I stretched my legs, stood, and ambled to the exit.
“How is Chase doing?” I asked.
Sunny flinched.
“He’s okay. That nurse guy patched him up before wrapping that boy Jordy’s ankle. Kid only sprained it, so that’s good. Chase is enjoying a little rest thanks to a couple of painkillers someone scrounged up on the last raid.”
“Good to hear. By the way, it’s okay what happened. I get it; he’s your husband. There aren’t any hard feelings about earlier.”
Sunny let out the breath she’d been holding and a weak smile appeared.
“Just know that if you ever aim a weapon at me again, one of us will be getting cremated. No ill will, just a fact. Otherwise, we’re fine.”
I strolled out to the main cabin for some rest, leaving her silhouetted in the doorway with her eyes wide and mouth open. “Have a good night.”
CHAPTER 14 SEPTEMBER 1ST YEAR 1
Half a dozen wristwatches blared their alarms at 6:30AM to rouse the cabin from our restless dreaming. I pulled on my jacket against the dry, cool air. I had to step over one of the new arrivals to exit the cabin; all of them lay wrapped in blankets in the walkways except for the boy with the sprained ankle.
Sunny sat beside her husband all night in a collapsible chair to allow Jordy her cot. His foot sat elevated on the foot rail of the old bed, while Sindbad the dog slumbered underneath.
I considered waking the entire cabin so we could get our town council out of the way, only to realize
that if these people had been dangerous we’d already be dead. I’d failed to set a watch over the strangers or keep them separate until we knew they weren’t a danger.
Some leader I am.
I looked at the others who were waking to the chorus of buzzes and beeps. They showed no signs of concern about the lack of precaution. Maybe they’re still too drowsy to notice. I shook the second-guessing from my head and left the peace of the cabin to plan for another day’s survival.
The sentries on duty were haggard from the marathon of defense and the dullness of the night. We all stood clad in the musty clothes from the prior day. At seven in the morning, half the camp wore a five o’clock shadow under their frowns. When the outsiders rose to join us for breakfast, I noted the puffy eyes and tear-stained cheeks.
Our camp hadn’t lost loved ones – yes, an arm was gone, but our people remained alive. Our counterparts had witnessed the deaths of friends and family a matter of hours before. It was surreal to sit next to these wanderers and try to decide their fate.
The nurse and his German Shepard were the last to arrive at the table. Sindbad circled the assembly, sniffing each person, before settling by his owner. I noticed many residents tracked the canine’s progress; the kids petted the dog as it passed.
None of our visitors approached the food. They sat to one end of the table and stared at their surroundings, each eventually stopping their visual tour on me. The sensation was disturbing; I felt like I’d been put on display.
Forrest saw my discomfort and chuckled loudly.
“Hell, y’all can have some breakfast. We ain’t ‘bout ter kill you for havin a bite to eat. We gotta have a meeting to see where we all stand, but until then, y’all are guests. So eat up and stop starin at Squirrel like she’s gonna turn into a big purple clown and eat your hearts.”
The funereal atmosphere evaporated as the nervous strangers laughed and helped themselves to some deer bacon, berries, and oranges. I grinned in spite of my exhaustion. I raised my strip of venison in thanks and Bubba nodded in return.
In a matter of minutes, everyone in the fort was breaking figurative bread and chatting lightly. The tension easing, I waited for everyone to be seated at the tables.
“I think this is a good time to start.”
The small talk tapered off and I stood to be better heard. “We have seven new people here…” Sindbad’s barking cut me off, “…and a dog.” I finished over a soundtrack of giggles.
“We need to decide a few things: do you want to stay, will you abide by our rules, and do we trust you enough to let you stay.” I paused to study the reactions of the conglomeration. The newcomers’ eyes shone with fear at the thought of leaving. Of our residents, only Sunny seemed disinterested in the options. The nurse quickly looked at his cohorts and stood.
Found their leader.
“I think I speak for all of us when I say, we’d like to join your village.” He received several emphatic nods. “Our shelter was destroyed by those murdering bastards; we don’t have anyone or anywhere else. All of us agree to your rules and will pull our weight if you all allow us to stay.”
I watched his Adam’s Apple wobbling as he swallowed.
“We have a lot of valuable skills to offer: I’m a Registered Nurse, Jonah worked as a carpenter, and Levi is a mechanic. If you all choose to let us move in, we bring all of our abilities and hard work with us.”
The dog barked as his master sat down again and pet his head. “Also, Sindbad can alert us to the presence of zombies and infection.”
I watched Chase and Sunny as she helped him with his meal, stalling to gather my thoughts.
“You must really want to stay; you didn’t even ask about our rules before agreeing to them for not just yourself, but your whole bunch. Seems kind of hasty.”
The outsiders looked to their spokesman as he leaned back a little. His eyebrows rose in the center creating an arch of doubt.
“Then again, I was so stupid last night, I didn’t even have the sense to keep a watch on the group of strangers who led a mob of corpses to our gates before letting them sleep beside us. Not all mistakes turn out badly.”
Nurse looked at me with wide eyes as my own neighbors now glared at me for the potentially dangerous oversight. I ignored the steely eyes boring into me as best I could.
“Our rules are simple but non-negotiable. We have a pact with two vampires and every adult takes turns donating blood to keep them alive and well. We maintain firearms only as a final resort and focus on silent weapon usage. Also, everyone contributes to the community, every adult stands watch according to the rotation, and any infected…” I turned to Sunny “…no matter who they are or how much we love them – dies.”
Sunny lowered her eyes and grimaced slightly at my statement. Chase reached his remaining hand down to stroke the canine as though affirming his status as healthy.
“Let’s take a quick vote of where we stand and go from there.” Chase declared without looking up from the animal’s face.
I smiled and followed his cue.
“All in favor of taking in these eight raise your hands.”
I scanned the assorted limbs; Chase nodded his assent as he continued scratching behind the dog’s ears. “So far none opposed,” the new arrivals let out a collective sigh of relief “anyone want to volunteer to get a vote from the guards and vamps?”
Michael shot up off the bench like a rocket and I heard him say, “I will!” The boy ran to the tower, gate, and cabin in a blur of energy. Laughter cascaded through the moist dawn air as we all watched the child sprinting around with that fervor only kids possess. Returning out of breath and triumphant, Michael announced between gasps, “They all said the people and puppy can stay.”
After several pats on the back, he sat next to his sister to listen to the rest of the meeting.
“It’s official then; welcome to Nova Nocte.”
For several minutes, hugs and handshakes were exchanged with introductions and small talk. I remained standing and listened to bits and pieces of the interchanges before pressing on. Holding up and waving my right palm slowly, I caught the attention of those assembled.
“We still have a lot to do today. We need to revise the donation and guard schedules, gather all of the arrows, stones, and other usable items from last night’s attack, burn the bodies, and try to settle everyone into a cabin. We also need to gather the crops, clear the fishing lines, check on our traps, and do our regular errands.”
The celebration ended and the business got underway. “For now, I think we should buddy up each newcomer with a previous resident to show them the ropes out here and answer questions.”
I stopped while the pairings were hastily made. Jordy raised his hand and asked, “Can I stay with my Mom?”
I hadn’t considered the kid.
Brain not firing on all cylinders today is it?
I blinked away my self-rebuke and reflected on the options.
“Yes, you can stay together for a few days, but one of us will still be playing tour guide for the two of you. You’ll be working within the camp until your ankle mends. At that point, you’ll each have to learn to do the other tasks needed to keep this community running.”
“At dinner tonight, I’ll post updated rotations; in the meantime, everyone show your buddy how to do errands and explain day-to-day life here. By the way, if anyone has a food allergy or medical condition, tell the Nurse. As of this time, he’s our only health care professional. I’m going to borrow the carpenter and get plans together for smaller defense platforms for each wall before picking up and cleaning all the weaponry.”
I carried my plate to the washtub and strode over to the brawny woodworker. We began discussing the projects needed to prepare our society against the lurking hazards this new world could provide. A loud gunshot sounded in the distance while the group dissembled to their assignments.
Everyone moved expeditiously, arming himself or herself and pulling their partners along. I scaled
the tower and grabbed the binoculars from the sentry’s outstretched hand.
“I, I don’t see who did it. It came from somewhere in that direction I think.” The anxious woman stated with a stammer as I scanned the horizon, acutely aware that we hadn’t even retrieved the arrows or stones to shoot yet. The guard kept fidgeting and mumbling prayers next to me. I snapped at the poor woman in frustration.
“Just get down and do something useful instead of bugging the Hell out of me with your constant muttering.”
Her eyes watered at the edges as she scrambled down the ladder, only to be replaced by Marley Guy. He watched me while I desperately tried to locate the source of the blast. I scoured the area in the direction of our vehicles. A second round was fired.
The source was in my view in an instant, the clamor below lessening as I heard Sunny, Chase, and the Nurse directing everybody to be quiet.
Some idiot was running with a shotgun across his chest. I searched in his wake to see if he was fleeing from Dead or from marauders. It was a black bear chasing him.
It took me a moment to realize I was giggling uncontrollably, and throttle that splintered ball of stress back down inside. I tossed the viewers to the carpenter shadowing me.
“You two stay up here and keep an eye out for anyone or anything those shots drew this way; I’m going out to take that moron’s twelve gauge and save him from Smokey the Bear.”
Descending the ladder, I picked up a bow and hustled towards the exit. The news was passed to the others and I found Sunny and Bubba at my side when I reached the gate. Bubba just smirked while his counterpart grumbled and held her spear. We jogged across the red-spotted grass and I picked up a few bloodied arrows.
The dew and gore made our feet slip whenever we tried to go any faster. I heard a thud behind us and wheeled about, my arrow notched and ready.
“Sorry, we thought we could help.” The young man lay on his side, slick with humidity and blackened blood. I turned back to the task at hand and withdrew the arrow.
“Freaking new guys.” Sunny exclaimed as Randolph helped his new shadow to his feet and we hurried towards the failed hunter.
After The End Page 11
