From Gee Avenue Eddy’s team watched as the Mayor’s men split up, ten moving up the left hand side of the street, ten up the right. The Mayor stayed right at the back and tried to walk slightly behind Tolon, clearly attempting to use the vampire as some kind of shield. In front of them the pack of half-lings waited for a command, drool dripping from their yellowed teeth, eyes otherwise blank.
On Kay Avenue, Max and his team watched from behind cover as half the mayor’s men passed in front of them, creeping slowly towards the hammerhead. Max looked toward Jake, who watched intently and Max noted with a grudging admiration how impassive and calm his brother had become.
Suddenly a roar of gunfire shattered the night’s silent, as a hail of bullets erupted from the old railway carriages at the end of the hammerhead. At the same time another hail of bullets roared from Railroad Avenue. The staccato sound of the rounds echoed in the cold air as the bullets ripped through the night, the muzzle flashes almost blinding in the darkness. All around, brick dust, glass and blood, rained down.
The Mayor’s men froze, caught in the open with no cover and nowhere to go they were immediately cut in two by the crossfire. However, Tolon reacted without hesitation. Not retreating as expected, but moving forward fast as bullets zipped all around him. Then he screamed a command, his voice just managing to sound out above the roar of gunfire, just one word, ‘Kar!’ and on this command all six of the half-lings began their awkward lope forward on all fours, oblivious to the gunfire that descended all around.
On Gee Avenue, Eddy was screaming at the top of his lungs trying to compete with the roar of the guns, desperately trying to warn his men of the impending danger as four figures loped out of the darkness and haze and smoked created by the gunfire, directly towards them.
The half-lings screamed in rage as they closed on the resistance and were hit by yet another hail of lead. Gunfire, muzzle flashes and smoke charged into the air, like demented fireworks. The lead animal was hit by a burst of heavy gunfire that nearly ripped it in two, but it nonetheless continued, seemingly oblivious, crawling on all fours, dragging a now useless leg behind, blood streaking the road. Tolon was still running, zigzagging fast across the pavement and into the hammerhead.
All eyes in Kay Avenue were focused on him as he passed their position behind the half-lings and the Mayor’s men. Max’s team waited for their command, as they watched Tolon and the others move further up Kay Avenue. They waited as the figures grew closer and began to pass right in front of them. Tension grew as sweaty fingers began to tighten on the triggers and the men’s mouths ran dry.
‘Wait for the command, hold your fire, steady, steady.’ Whispered Max, then as Tolon and the half-lings finally passed their position with their backs to them, his eyes narrowed and he screamed one word with a terrible pent up venom;
‘fire!’
Eighteen men opened fire at once. Bullets ripped into the backs of the half-lings, some staggered and fell, others clambered over them, confused, as the few humans that remained were cut down, dead.
Tolon span round, the only one aware of the direction of the new attack, bullets ripped into his right shoulder. Ignoring the pain he charged at Max and his men, screaming a godforsaken curse in the old tongue that cut through the night and deep into the hearts of the resistance. In front of him eighteen men rose as one and fired together. Bullets rained down on the vampire who weaved and span to avoid as much of the hail of lead as possible.
Someway behind now, the Mayor crouched behind a pile of rubble shaking, rocking slightly back and forth, his eyes tight shut. Then, taking a deep breath he slowly began to crawl away.
Eddy and his team panicked as three half-lings rushed their position. Two of the half-lings were cut down, hit hard by multiple shots, but still they managed to drag themselves forwards clawing their way ever closer. Men scattered as the main gates and barricades crashed down as the remaining three half-lings smashed their way through.
The third creature exploded towards one of the men, covering ground at a surprising rate. In a panic the man fumbled his re-load and was hit by the beast square in his chest. He screamed as it crashed into him and he was knocked back over ten feet. Then he was fighting, fighting for his life, as the thing bit and gauged at him. The other men tried to help him firing their bullets which seared into its back, but it remained oblivious to the onslaught having only one focus only; the kill.
The other two creatures, although badly injured, turned abruptly and launched an attack on the remaining men, who in the panic had now broken rank. As the beasts closed the men turned and were now running for their lives as the half-lings bore down on them from behind.
A lone and shadowy figure watched from the darkness, unseen. Then a burst of gunfire illuminated a pair of dangerous eyes, on the edge of madness. It was Zidtool, watching, waiting and smiling.
Inside the factory, in one of the old machine rooms, where she’d been told she’d be safe, a young woman clutched her daughter close to her, the child’s head buried deep into her mother’s chest as she listened to the scratching at the steel lined door. The heavy thud bent the steel and sent splintered wood flying through the air and the woman scrabbling into a corner with her daughter, hardly able to breathe. Behind her another thud broke the door’s lower panel. The mother looked at her daughter and quickly around the room. A pile of old sacking cloth was stacked in the corner.
‘Here,’ she whispered as her terrified daughter stared up into her own, equally terrified eyes. ‘Let’s play a game, hide and seek. Can you be really, really quiet?’
The little girl nodded as behind her mother an arm pushed through the splintered door.
Outside, Eddy’s team had been split into three smaller groups by the various attacks and he was now desperately trying to get them back together.
‘Regroup, regroup’ he yelled. Then he span round as a vampire half-ling approached, its eyes red and insane. Blood and pieces of skin hung from its mouth. Bone protruded from a wound in its leg as it lurched ever closer on unsteady legs.
Eddy fumbled with the magazine on his empty rifle, and felt it drop through his sweaty fingers. It clattered and bounced helplessly away across the ground. Weakly, he held the empty gun up in front of him as the creature attacked.
‘No!’ he screamed as the beast lunged.
But instead of the expected impact, the creature jerked in mid-air as one deliberate shot after the other hit it in the side, sending it crashing to the ground. It looked up at Eddy, not understanding what was happening and began to crawl forward trying to finish its attack on him. Eddy tore his eyes from the beast in front of him and saw Jake striding toward him, his eyes focused, the shotgun blaring. The shotgun shells impacted, again and again, one after the other until they finally brought the creature to a halt.
Jake was running now, whilst quickly reloading his shotgun as the creature’s head looked up at Eddy and began once again to crawl towards him. Eddy realised that he hadn’t moved, couldn’t move still frozen in terror. Jake was now behind the beast and, as the half-ling pulled itself up on one arm, he kicked it hard in the back sending it face first into the earth, then he stood on the creature’s back as he brought the shotgun to his shoulder. He fired once more, into the back of the beast’s head. The creature jerked, and then slumped, finally dead at Eddy’s feet.
Max’s team stared, awe struck, as Tolon smashed straight through a brick wall in front of them, sending grey dust pluming into the air. Their eyes widened as his roar cut deep into their subconscious minds. In a panic the men scrabbled to escape as Nathan tried to reload his weapon, trying to ignore the vampire as it strode towards him.
Max watched, stunned, as the vampire calmly closed on Nathan who was desperately trying to reload his final round. Nathan froze as the shadow engulfed him. Then with a strange calm he looked up into the eyes of Tolon. It was the last thing he was ever to see as the vampire literally ripped him limb from limb. Then, without a moment’s pause, Tolon continued on an
d through the others, like a land-based tsunami.
Inside the factory there was chaos as the remaining half-lings had broken through the perimeter defences. One half-ling fell to the ground as it was hit by a solid shotgun slug in the back of its head, whilst another thudded into the man that fired the round, leaving him screaming, sending a thin spray of blood arcing through the air in a fine mist as its teeth bit deep.
In the machine room the monster had finally smashed its way through the steel lined door and inside. It was bleeding heavily and the running blood had partly obscured its vision, making it hard for it to see. Instead it slowly sniffed the ground, moving like some obscene spider, dragging its useless leg behind. Then picking up a scent it stopped and looked up. Through the blood it saw the woman, backed into the corner on the opposite side of the room, a look of abject terror on her face.
Outside Jake looked across and saw Max, standing, frozen to the spot, saw the carnage left in Tolon’s wake and saw the vampire closing, cutting through the men like a hot knife through butter, he could see the figures of the fallen laying on the ground and in despair screamed at his brother, ‘Max? Max. For God’s sake pull yourself together.’
But Max didn’t move, ‘Max!’
Jake screamed again at the top of his lungs.
Then Jake began to run, knowing his shotgun was empty he threw the weapon away as he grabbed his 1911, .45 Colt and racked the slide. In front of him he watched as the vampire walked almost casually towards his brother, who remained seemingly glued to the spot.
Max just stared at the vampire, his mind retreating twenty years to the dark alley beside the Amato theatre. He screamed then, just like the young Max had screamed twenty years before, pleading for his brother’s help, ‘Nooooooooooooo!’ and Max was transported back to that night.
The Vampire looms before them, pure evil incarnate. Its empty eyes stare into Jake’s, its teeth bared, as it prepares to attack.
Max squeezes his eyes tight shut waiting for the inevitable, then feels Jake move in front of him, protecting him, beginning to recite the Lord’s Prayer softly, at first but growing in strength, a tremendous inner strength that he knows he doesn’t have. ‘Our Father who art in Heaven…’
The creature leaps.
Suddenly Jake’s voice cut through the fear and the old memories, and Max was brought abruptly back to the present, back to face the very real vampire that was closing in on him, fast.
‘Max! You bastard, you started this, for Christ’s sake, get a grip!’ He heard Jake yell. He started at the sound of the single gunshot that exploded into the night. Before him the vampire flinched, dropping to one knee as Jake fired another round.
‘I didn’t save you all those years ago for this! Now snap out of it,’ Jake screamed at the top of his voice, as he fired a third round.
All of a sudden Max’s eyes re-focused. In front of him Tolon sneered, blood dripping from his wounds. His teeth were formed into a snarl as he prepared his final attack, then, just as the vampire had done twenty years before, the creature leapt.
Max jerked involuntarily as Jake ran in between him and the vampire and opened fire again. The point four five slugs hit Tolon, once, twice, three, four five times in quick succession, and then he pulled the trigger and nothing happened. He looked at the weapon and saw that the gun’s slide had locked back on the last round.
Covered in blood and very, very angry, Tolon roared, then he hit Jake hard, knocking him down, pinning him to the ground. Tolon snarled as he sat astride Jake and then he looked to Max and smiled at the fear he saw in his eyes, with a contemptuous snort he turned back to Jake.
‘Looks like your luck just ran out’ he hissed.
From the corner of his eye, Jake could make out Max as he fumbled in his pockets for some ammo. Jake could sense Max panicking as he realised that he had none. Taking a deep breath Jake forced himself to re-focuses on Tolon.
The vampire was still smiling. ‘First you, then him’ he growled, a mixture of blood and spittle flying from his mouth.
Beneath him Jake managed to move his arm slightly, his fingers touching the top of the ten-inch Bowie knife hidden in his boot. From the corner of his eye he saw Max drop to the floor searching in vain for a shot shell. Jake looked back into Tolon’s dark eyes, as the vampire leaned closer. He could feel the vampire’s breath hot and pungent on his face.
‘Any last requests,’ Tolon hissed.
‘Yeah…,’ replied Jake, ‘…Die, you bastard.’
Tolon laughed then. ‘Not today,’ he snarled, and then with a roar, he leant back slightly and opened his mouth. The slight movement was enough to release Jake’s arm. Teeth like razors slashed down toward Jake, just as his fingers curled around the hilt of the heavy bladed knife. In one motion Jake jabbed the blade deep into Tolon’s side, in between the straps of the body armour, up between the creature’s ribs. The vampire grunted in pain as the blade dug in deep, Jake pushing with all his might, twisting the blade so hard that it actually snapped.
With blood dripping from its side the vampire roared as a wave of pain flushed through him. Tolon stood, pulling Jake up with him and with one hand he flung him through the air like a rag doll. Jake crashed hard into a crumbling wall, with the last bricks giving way on impact.
Max scrabbled to where his brother lay unconscious and shook him.
‘Jake, come on, wake up bro.’
Behind him Tolon loomed large in the background, taking a breath the vampire carefully managed to pull the piece of broken blade from his side and toss it away. He took a few deep breaths, focused on Max, who was still crouched low over his brother, shaking him.
Max could hear the vampire approach from behind him, his anger palpable. Slowly he forced his hand to move, his fingers rummaging through Jake’s pockets, his fingers finding a loose shell. Gripping the shotgun shell he tried to control his fear, finding it difficult to breath. He squeezed his eyes shut as his fingers wrapped around the shot-shell, sliding it into the guns breech, his other hand gripping the shotgun butt tightly. Tolon loomed behind him, his body-armour hanging loosely from a single strap.
‘Now, you both die,’ he hissed.
In a blur, Max span round bringing the re-loaded shotgun up towards his attacker, there was one explosion. The slug hit Tolon in the stomach doubling him up, bringing him to his knees. Seconds ticked by as Max stared at the crumpled figure of Tolon. Then despair hammered through him as he watched the vampire slowly stand and straighten. Tolon’s eyes narrowed, Max could see the wound caused by the shot-shell visibly bubbling – and he could also see that the vampire was angry, very, very angry.
‘Missed,’ Tolon hissed, his eyes boring into Max.
With incredible speed he closed on Max, who stood frozen to the spot, the empty shotgun in his hand, smoke still spiralling from its barrel. Now Tolon stood before him, his face contorted in pure rage, his teeth bared. In a blur one massive arm swung back. The resultant blow span Max through one hundred and eighty degrees, dropping him like a stone. Tolon spat blood on the fallen body, and then leaned forward, picking Max up easily with one hand. He pulled Max’s limp body up towards his open mouth by one of his arms. Tolon’s teeth lengthened his face contorted. Behind him a shadow flickered. A puzzled look flashed across Tolon’s face as he looked down at the hand sticking out from the middle of his chest, a hand still holding a silver bladed knife. Max dropped from his fingers.
Tolon slumped to the ground, dead. Above him Zidtool stood for a second admiring his work, then his eyes narrowed as he focused on Jake’s unconscious body. Slowly he stepped forward, a frown on his face. Suddenly a shout went up from somewhere behind him. Turning, he dissolved into the shadows.
Inside the factory the half-ling crawled across the floor. Behind it the woman lay dead, her unseeing eyes open reflecting the monster as it dragged itself across the floor towards the corner where the little girl was buried under a pile of old sacking. The thing couldn’t see her, but it could smell her. The little g
irl waited in terror unable to move, hearing the creature shuffling towards her, trying not to allow her imagination to put into reality the hideous scene the creature had left. The little girl tried not to move as the beast closed. She could hear its rasping breathing; feel its breath heavy on the thin sacking above her. Clumsily it pulled the sacking cloths away, revealing its prize, the smell of fear increased. The little girl tried not to look at the creature, tried not to look at the dead body of her mother, when a command barked through the machine room.
‘Sen!’
Zidtool stood in the corner, an amused look on his face. The creature paused, confused. Zidtool had slid into the room through the shattered doorway, a shotgun hanging loosely from his bloody fingers. He smiled as the creature turned. The little girl, with long brown hair, watched in wide-eyed terror as Zidtool casually walked forward, placed the muzzle of the shotgun in the half-lings unresisting mouth and smiled directly at her. Then never once taking his eyes from the girl, Zidtool raised his finger to his lips and pulled the trigger once.
In Times Square in the midst of the vampire city confusion filled the air. Half-lings scurried backwards and forward making their strange skittering noise. People hurried home if they were out and stayed in if they weren’t. They could sense something was wrong; something big.
In the United Nations Building Voltan entered Karick’s office. Karick sat alone, the curtains drawn, making the room even darker than usual. Voltan scanned the room before speaking.
‘Overlord Karick, the dogs are…’
‘I am not a fool Voltan. Tolon is dead. I sense it too.’
Voltan bowed and turned to leave.
‘Stay. Please.’ Karick’s request was just that, not a command.
Voltan paused, his back still to Karick.
‘You do not always agree with my governance do you, Voltan?’
Slowly, Voltan turned to face Karick. ‘I am here to serve…’
Dominant Species Page 10
