The Dead Days Journal: Volume 1

by Sandra R. Campbell

  Three months had passed before Jack and I finally talked, and it was another six before I could relax in his presence, though I can’t recall what actually changed my mind—probably something in his eyes.

  “Are you ready to run?” Jack had secured both our packs and was inching his way to the opening of the tunnel. “We have only a couple hours of daylight left.”

  I managed to follow Jack without saying a word. However, as soon as I felt the sun against my skin, my mouth began to move.

  “Jack, what in the hell is going on? Why are you helping him?”

  Jack dropped my pack, which I quickly procured. “It’s not like I had a choice. Come on. We’re not safe yet.”

  We ran for a long while without speaking, and our silence gave me time to notice a few changes. Everything looked a little clearer, brighter. In fact, the sky was the bluest blue I’d ever seen. And the delectable fragrances of the woods—wind, earth, water, and plants—branded my nose. I felt surprisingly good for having lost most of my blood down Halloween’s throat. All the physical injuries had healed, and the only pain left was deep in my heart. But now that I thought about the fight and my wounds, I remembered that Halloween had showed no signs of our battle either.

  And I practically gutted him.

  The second Jack took a break to catch his breath, I opened fire. “Come on. You owe me more of an explanation than that.”

  “I know. I’m just not sure how to tell you. It’s not like I’m proud of what I’ve done.”

  Jack had us going south, but I had no idea which way was home, because I had been unconscious most of the time and blindfolded the rest. The woods looked similar to those near the cave and yet unfamiliar. “Well, can you at least tell me if we’re heading home?”

  “I’m sure Orrin told you that we have no home to go to. And I’m sure you figured it out by now—it was his kind that killed Margaret.”

  I rubbed my hand over a sudden ache in my jaw. It was then I realized I’d been clenching my teeth. Sometimes the sound of Jack’s voice grated my nerves. “Nothing like stating the obvious.”

  “He’d been stalking us for days. Orrin found me on patrol one evening. We made a deal.” Jack swiped a hand threw his hair. “I had to take it.”

  I jumped in front of Jack and grabbed hold of his forearm. “What kind of deal?”

  He jerked his arm away and continued walking. “I get him inside the bunker before dawn and he makes me immortal.”

  I wanted to cry, but instead I laughed so hard that I almost tripped over a fallen tree limb. The creature stood over my baby brother’s bed. It swayed to his heartbeat, and could have killed all of us in our sleep.

  Jack shot a look over his shoulder, his eyes narrowed and mouth gaping open like a codfish. I’d say my laughter had surprised and pissed him off.

  “You actually believe he can make you immortal? You’d risk everyone’s life for that? Why would you even want to live forever?”

  “I don’t know, Leo. I’m not ready to die. He’s a vampire. They drink blood and live forever. It sounded good.”

  “Do they also burst into flames in the sun?”

  Could that be the reason Halloween wanted to travel by night and the reason he had to make a deal with Jack to get inside the bunker?

  Jack didn’t answer. Everyone believed in Hollywood’s version of the vampire. It’s why my father had me check Harris for bite marks after he returned with Margaret’s body. But in almost every story about vampires, they at least started out human, and Halloween looked inhuman enough. Besides, he'd said they were never one of us. He'd even made a point of telling me what we thought we knew wasn’t true for his kind, which made me wonder if Halloween had been playing a Hollywood vampire with the whole immortality thing just to strike a deal with Jack. If I needed to gain access to a secured location, overtake the population and consume their resources, tactical misdirection would be something I’d use.

  Odds were Halloween played Jack, I decided, and so would I. “Did he make you immortal?”

  Jack continued to keep his mouth shut, but his steps quickened.

  I fell in line beside him, while restraining the growing desire to slit his throat. “Why are you leaving? Why break the deal?”

  “Orrin wants you. You should be dead, Leo. The only reason you’re not is because he gave you his blood. I watched you heal. You’ll be the one to live forever, not me.”

  I froze. Does this mean I’m going to kill people for their blood? No way! I can’t believe that, but if Jack believes it…

  “If that’s true, then let’s go back and fight the horde together. I won’t tell anyone what happened.”

  Jack stopped. While he slid his pack from his shoulder and knelt down to reach inside, I stepped back and pulled my blade.

  Jack tossed a black bundle at my feet. “If you go back and your father is alive, give him that.” Jack stood up to re-secure his pack. “Tell him I’m nobody’s pawn.”

  When I picked the black ski mask off the ground, a bottle of chloroform rolled out. I looked up at Jack. His glassy eyes shimmered, but he wouldn’t allow a single tear to fall.

  “Orrin’s been taking us east, to a sailboat or something on the coast. We traveled close to four hours before we hit the cave. Be careful, Leo. And for what it’s worth, I really did care about you.”

  But not anymore, obviously, judging by your use of the past tense.

  My shock overtook my anger. I didn’t say anything to Jack as he turned and walked away. I just watched him go. Thinking back to last night in the woods, I knew Jack would have carried out my father’s orders without an ounce of shame if Halloween hadn’t stopped him.

  I traveled west for what I thought was a couple of hours, but I couldn’t be sure because my head was swimming with the horrific events of the past several days. Darkness had fallen without warning, and I couldn’t risk using a light stick or lighting a fire. So, following my sensitive nose, I made my way to a thick block of honeysuckle bushes and crawled inside.

  I might not have been able to read Ben’s words, but the paper felt good in my hands. I clutched his note in my hands and lay down on my red throw to wait out the night. When dawn came, the first thing I wanted to see was Ben’s heartfelt note. I knew I’d hurt him when I told him we could never be together again, but I also knew he’d forgive me for saying it.

  Closing my eyes, I focused on the night, listening for any signs of a predator, though I knew the real danger wouldn’t make a single sound.

  I woke to gunfire echoing across the mountains. Then there was silence, and then another gunshot rang out and then another. I fought my way through the sticks and blooms to get out of the bushes and on my feet.

  I must be closer to the bunker than I realized.

  Fisting a light stick in one hand and my knife in the other, I knew I’d have to leave everything else behind. After cracking the light stick, I ran as fast as my legs would carry me in the direction of the gunfight.

  Howls, shouts, and explosions were becoming louder and more frequent. A light breeze delivered dissipating puffs of smoke that glowed green in the artificial light.

  “Leo!”

  Yellow moonbeams through the canopy revealed two silhouettes. I knew Ben by his broad shoulders and strong stance. The other appeared long and slight and most likely belonged to Robert.

  “Ben! Robert!”

  A few strides more and the circle of light I carried made their features clear. I watched Ben swing his assault rifle in my direction. “Get down!”

  I dropped to my knees as bullets exploded from his barrel.

  Thud. Thud. Thud.

  Ben hit his mark and I rushed to my feet, not bothering to look behind me. The instant I slammed into Ben his arms locked around me.

  “Thank God. You’re alive.”

  Robert rested a kind hand on the back of my head. “How did you get away?” he asked, and I heard suspicion in his voice.

  Turning in Ben’s arms, I met Robert’s wide
, troubled eyes. “I didn’t lead them here and I’m not infected, if that’s what you’re thinking. These things are fierce, smart, and as far as I can tell, next to impossible to kill.”

  Robert’s mouth twisted with a grim smirk. “I’ll kill them.”

  I relaxed into Ben’s embrace, and comforted by the rise and fall of his chest, I savored every ounce of security he provided. Many of us were going to die tonight. I only hoped he could feel the apology I didn’t have the time to say. Robert was already moving ahead, making his way to where the real fight was taking place—the bunker. The screams coming from inside were high-pitched and gut-wrenching. Inhuman. Soon more sounds of a gunfight erupted…

  Ben kissed my hair before letting me go, and then we took off after Robert.

  I’d gotten a few yards ahead of Ben before the impact of hitting a giant slab of marble knocked me on my ass. My head swam as I attempted to focus on the long black spot in front of me.

  “You cannot go in there.” I felt Halloween’s cold hands yank me off the ground.

  I went to stab him with my knife, but it was gone. Before he jerked me to my feet he’d managed to snag my knife out of my hand. I punched and slapped where his hands grabbed hold of me. It was the only thing left for me to do.

  “Let me go!”

  Halloween slung me over his shoulder and ran in the wrong direction. I screamed for Ben and beat my fists against Halloween, but he moved too fast. The continuous jerks and bumps from Halloween’s hasty retreat made it difficult for me to lift my head.

  I knew Ben could have gotten off a shot, but I was a flopping sack of laundry over the vampire’s left shoulder, blocking the majority of his target. I was the only reason Ben hadn’t pulled the trigger.

  Bracing my hands against Halloween’s lower back, I pushed up to get a look at Ben. Instead I caught a glimpse of a blurry black streak careening through the night woods.

  Holy shit!

  Instinctually I brought my hands up to shield my head as I curled my body tightly over Halloween’s thick mass. A half a second later the streak hit us with the force of a tornado. Tumbling end over end, I felt the hot scrape of the ground against my side followed by a swift breeze to cool the pain away.

  Huge clawed-hands pulled at me while another pair seemed to be digging straight through me. The pain was excruciating. I wanted to scream but refused to give them the satisfaction. I kept quiet and listened to the sounds of tearing fabric and ripping flesh.

  In the dark woods, I couldn’t make out one from the other. Are there only two? I caught glimpses of slick black-grey skin and instant flashes of blood-stained nails and fangs. Through all the twisting, pulling, and pain I made eye contact for a brief second with one of my attackers—wide round eyes with a murderous-red glare.

  Then there was a soft click followed by a shotgun blast, and the torture was over. My body dropped a short distance to a soft moss-covered mound of earth. I pinched my lips together to keep the screams inside. But when I moved to alleviate some of the pressure off my side, I failed to keep quiet. Cries ripped from my lungs as my mutilated body turned and stretched to obtain a seated position.

  Before inspecting the considerable damage I’d endured, I made sure another attack wasn’t coming. Moving slowly, I turned only my head to see who—or what—had ended the chaos. A full moon hung high over the tiny patch of field spotlighting the standoff between Ben, Jack, and Halloween. While Ben aimed his rifle at Halloween’s chest, Jack’s pistol was pressed against Ben’s temple. Halloween’s deadly hands contained my skinning knife.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  A gurgled snarl brought my attention to the ground under Ben, Jack, and Halloween’s feet. Between a jagged rock and Halloween’s clawed-foot squirmed another shadow-skin vampire. Even with its head partially crushed, its red, beady eyes were locked on my wounded side. A long grey tongue protruded from its broken jaw, flopping and stretching for droplets of blood that had fallen just out of reach.

  As Halloween’s orange glowing orbs met mine he pressed his foot through the side of the creature’s face. A crunching pop brought the tongue’s movement to an end. I barely blinked and Halloween was crouched next to the corpse. A red cylinder appeared in his hand. When he opened the cork-lid, a thin mist moved from the vampire’s dead body and into the small round opening of the bottle.

  “Leo, are you all right? Can you walk?” Ben called as he lowered his gun’s barrel to the top of Halloween’s skull.

  “Not a good idea, man.” Jack gave Ben’s temple a rough nudge. “Shoot him and she’s as good as dead.”

  First corking the tiny jar, Halloween then slid it into the deep pocket of his loose drawstring pants and ground his heel further down into the mush that used to be the snarling face of someone he probably knew. The pulverized meat, bone, and black blood secretions turned the dirt under his foot into a thick muddy paste.

  Instead of worrying over the significance of the bottle, which I knew had to be great, or about which of them would kill the other first, or the fact that my entire family was being butchered, I sat and compared their statures and features, sizing them up like they’d stopped by to ask me out on a date. Jack, the sexy, hair-flipping weasel was no match for Ben, the beautiful love of my life, but nothing compared to the mysterious vampire, whose blood I’d tasted and, at the moment, physically craved.

  Head trauma?

  Ben eyed Jack and then quickly turned back on Halloween. “Why is that, Jack? And why is your gun pointed at me and not at him?”

  My voice shook with a laughter I didn’t feel. “Haven’t you heard? Jack made a deal. He’s going to be immortal.”

  All three of them focused their attention on me. I didn’t feel cold, but when I tried to concentrate on their faces, my vision shivered before slowly coming back into focus. Ben’s handsome face had twisted into an angry knot, his brown eyes drowning in fear. Jack’s hazels were dull and cold, completely void of life. But Halloween’s pumpkin-colored eyes were captivating, strange and unknown.

  Serious head trauma!

  Ben moved swiftly. “No, Jack won’t be immortal.” Batting Jack’s weapon away, Ben placed his rifle in the center of Jack’s chest and pulled the trigger.

  Dark specs dotted my vision as I swayed. When my head bobbed forward, I noticed the red. I was soaked in fresh blood—Jack’s.

  Dirt and leaves flew up around me. Ben and Halloween were moving, fighting. I kept my eyes cast down, thankful that the ringing in my ears helped to disguise whatever battle was taking place. Jack’s betrayal would never be forgiven, but the events of one day couldn’t diminish the feelings for someone who’d become a friend.

  Ben! Get up and help him.

  Knuckling at the excess moisture under my eyes, I pushed up and off the fuzzy moss in an attempt to get to my feet. A searing fire exploded in my side, spread down my legs and across my chest. I collapsed.

  A half-second later, Halloween knelt in front of me with a smoky midnight hand extended. When I reached out, a hot barrel dropped between us, stopping me short.

  “She’s bleeding out. She’ll be dead in less than an hour unless I help her.” Already on his feet, Halloween angled himself so Ben had a full view of my gushing wounds.

  Ben dropped to my side, his red puffy hands flittering over my injuries. “You tried to kill her! You’re also a vampire. Why should I trust you?”

  “You lack options.”

  I loved Ben with all my heart, but I wasn’t about to choose him over a chance to live. I’m not ready to die. If I wanted to salvage my family and save my life, I needed Halloween. Failing to find the words to explain my decision, I placed a bloody hand on Ben’s quivering leg and reached out for Halloween with the other. As soon as Halloween slipped his cold palm into mine, I struck. Sinking my blunt teeth into the meat of his wrist, I tore into his flesh until his bittersweet life oozed down my throat.

  Next to me, Ben gagged and moved away while Halloween inched closer, stroking my hair with his free hand
. Instantly, my pain eased as a soothing tickle mended my ravaged flesh.

  “This is the second time I’ve saved your life. You belong to me.” Halloween’s rough voice, dry and coarse, peppered me like a car speeding over loose gravel.

  Jerking away from his vein, I shoved him hard and spit a mouthful of blue blood at his bare feet. “I belong to no one!”

  Halloween bent over and placed his nose a fraction of an inch from mine. He flashed his fangs. “Wrong. I own you.”

  I froze at the sound of the click, but no boom followed. Ben was out of ammo. Halloween reared up and was leveled by the metal barrel. Ben swung twice more and Halloween crumbled to the ground with a crater for a temple and a crack in the center of his head. I crawled on top of Halloween to retrieve my knife from the waistband of his pants. I waited for him to open his eyes. When he did, I plunged my knife into the side of his throat. But his tragic and fierce cry kept my hands from twisting the blade.

  Ben stepped over us, ready to deliver the final blow to Halloween’s skull with the butt of his rifle.

  “Stop!”

  Ben huffed. “What? You can’t be serious.”

  “We need him.” When I met Ben’s eyes, I knew he knew it, too.

  Halloween had made a deal with Jack. That arrangement had given him full access to the bunker—he knew the layout. He also knew the horde that was attacking. He knew their weakness, which also happened to be his own. I just had to find a way to get him to tell me. My family’s chances of survival were better with him than without. Provided I offered the right terms, maybe he’d make a deal with me, too. The only leverage I had was my blood and acceptance of his proclaimed ownership. If my blood really was that rare, odds were he’d accept what I had to offer. To save my family, I decided I would reduce myself to being his docile chew-toy.

  “The horde—he can help us fight them off and save whoever’s left.”

  Ben repositioned the end of the rifle, raising it a touch higher, his desire to kill Halloween still strong. “No way. It’s too risky.”