C.O.T.V.H. (Book 2): Judgment

by Palmer, Dustin J.

"Grandpa!" Amber screamed running toward them.

  Billy pulled his machete from its sheath and severed the head of the vampire stuck under his van. Another swung his claws at him, Billy ducked taking its arm off at the shoulder, then swung around again decapitating it. He could move amazingly fast for such a big man.

  Cort shoved the barrel of The Cleaner into one of the monster’s mouth hard enough to shatter its teeth and pulled the trigger. Its head splattered into bits. Giant Bowie knife in hand, he thrust it through the beast’s chest severing its heart.

  Donnie was faster than the rest of the group and was the first to make it on scene. He tossed the battle-axe over his head, burying it deep into the chest of the first Maker in his path. Rather than taking the time to pull it free, he yanked the short swords from his belt. His hands moved with blindingly fast speed, chopping, cutting, and stabbing.

  A bolt from Amber's crossbow pierced the chest of one that was about to jump on her brother's back piercing its heart. Chris was firing his sniper rifle with precision accuracy, one by one splitting their heads open like watermelons on a firing range. That coupled with the UV rays still streaming through the clouds was enough to slow them down. Whisper’s bow fired razor tipped arrows with precision accuracy, each one making contact.

  Billy and Cort quickly took the heads of any that hit the ground. All of this happened in mere seconds but everything seemed to be moving in slow motion.

  Jake lifted his own shotgun and sighted the closest vampire, a beautiful redheaded woman dressed in an elegant evening gown with a dark fur wrap over her shoulders. He took a deep breath and squeezed the trigger. Nothing happened. He cocked it ejecting a shell and pulled the trigger again. Still nothing happened. Dropping the shotgun, he pulled out his Smith and Wesson .357 and aimed it at her head. She was now less than six feet from Donnie. Don’t miss! Don’t miss! Nothing happened. He pulled the trigger nine times in succession. Nothing. My God! "Donnie! Look out!" he screamed at the top of his lungs dropping the revolver and grabbing for his axe.

  Donnie turned at the last instant, impaling the vampire on his two Roman short swords. But it wasn’t enough; she sunk her claws deep into Donnie's chest piercing his suit. Jake swung his axe with everything he had burying deep into the vampire’s back. With a single hand she knocked him off his feet.

  Jake landed hard on the ground and bit the inside of his mouth. Before his eyes the woman picked Donnie up off his feet, smiled a fang-filled smile at him, then squeezed, crushing his ribs. A tiny gasp escaped from his lips as blood gushed out of his mouth.

  “No!” A gut wrenching scream escaped from Amber’s throat.

  The vampire dropped Donnie’s broken body to the ground and licked his blood off her hands. Cort, Chris, Amber, Whisper, Diana, and Billy all fired their weapons into the woman vampire at once. She took the shots as if they didn’t harm her at all then yanked Donnie’s blades from her stomach and Jake’s axe from her back tossing them all to the ground.

  Whisper put two more arrows into her chest. The beast pulled them free and sent them back in her direction. Both hit her square in the chest, she toppled to the ground, blood oozing from her chest.

  “NO!” Diana screamed throwing her trident with everything she had. At that instant God answered the team’s unspoken prayers. The sky parted for the briefest of moments letting the sun's rays pour through. The red headed vampire, her skin ablaze, now with a six-foot tridents protruding from her back, escaped into the cover of the forest. She gave Jake one last fleeting glance, smiling her fanged filled mouth at him then disappeared through the trees. The last two Makers screamed out in pain as they burst into flames.

  Donnie lay bloodied, a scorched skeleton sitting half on him. Jake crawled over to his severely wounded friend and kicked it off him then knelt at his side. "Donnie! Oh no, no, no! Donnie!" he cried out tears already streaming down his face. “Come on man. You’re going to be okay. You’ve got to be.”

  Amber cried out in agony, dropping her crossbow and falling to her brother's side. “Donnie! Donnie!”

  Diana let out a wail and dropped to the grass next to her severely wounded sister.

  “Whisper . . . is she . . .” Donnie wheezed.

  “She’s fine. She’s just fine,” Jake lied.

  “Amb . . .” he tried to get out.

  “I’m here Donnie.” She gripped her brother’s hand. “Just hang on okay.”

  He nodded then looked up at Jake. “Take care . . . of . . .” he started to say between shallow, bubbling breaths. His hand dropped from Ambers grip, his lifeless eyes stared up unmoving at the gray sky above. He was gone.

  "Come on Donnie! Come on son! Stay with me! Stay with me!" Billy cried out.

  "We need a medic now!" Chris yelled into his radio cradling Whisper in his arms. “Whisper and Donnie are down!”

  Jake wiped the tears from his eyes with the back of his hand then grabbed Donnie’s battle-axe off the ground where it had landed when the vampire had turned to ash. Without a word, he took off at a steady trot toward the wooded area beyond.

  “Jake!” Cort called after him. When Jake didn’t answer, he yelled again. “Damn it boy! You getting killed isn’t going to bring him back!”

  “We’ve got to find her!” he yelled back but didn't turn around. He couldn’t bear to look at Donnie’s lifeless body. Whisper is she . . . not now! I’ll deal with it later! Later! First I’m going to kill that bloodsucking bitch! “She can’t have gotten far with the sun out, even in the trees!” he yelled back at his Grandpa.

  “I know you’re hurting boy but don’t . . .” Jake crashed through the tree line ignoring the rest of his grandfather’s speech.

  He heard someone coming up behind him; he turned expecting his Grandpa or Billy to be there, trying to stop him. Instead, he found Diana. Her eyes puffy and swollen, her face contorted into an unrecognizable mask of pain. “Diana. Go back. Stay with the others!”

  Diana knelt down in the grass examining footprints in the soft dirt. “She’s headed North.”

  Jake gave her a skeptical look.

  “Look! I may not be up to Whisper skills and I’m nowhere near Dad’s level, but I can track a lot better than you can. Now. Let’s find this bitch. And when we do, I’m going to rip her fucking heart out! I want her to watch me kill her.”

  “Can you find her?” Jake said, kneeling down next to her.

  “I guess we’ll find out,” Diana said, taking off into the woods. Jake followed her closely, watching her work her magic. They moved fast, Diana stopping here and there. She lost the trail more than once and had to backtrack, but each time she’d find the tinniest imprint of that barefoot in the mud or a broken twig and she’d be back on the trail. An hour and several miles later, they came upon a stream and the tracks disappeared completely. Diana waded across the chest deep water and searched the other side for twenty minutes before shaking her head in defeat.

  “Damn,” she said her voice filled with frustration. “I lost the trail.”

  Jake rested Donnie’s axe across his shoulders. “Are you sure?”

  “Yes I’m sure!” she snapped at him. “If you think you can do any better have at it!

  “I didn’t mean that,” he said, quietly. “I just meant . . .” he trailed off.

  Diana waded back across, keeping her crossbow above her head. Jake couldn’t help but notice her wet body suit clinging to her body. His heart filled with shame and he looked away. What are you doing he screamed in his head. You just lost two of your friends!

  “It’s okay Jake,” she said, standing next to him. “I’m sorry I snapped at you. It’s just . . .” The water in the stream bubbled. Diana’s attention immediately focused on it.

  Jake turned to see what she was looking at. “What? What is it? What did you see?”

  “Nothing.” She placed a finger up to her lips. “That’s it Jake, we better get back.” She pointed at the water with her crossbow. Jake looked up at the cloud covered sky. Can’t we catch one damn
break?! Diana stepped back into the stream. Jake’s hand gently touched her shoulder. He shook his head no. Rage filled her eyes and she yanked away from him stepping further into the stream.

  “No!” he whispered then pointed above at the dark clouds keeping the sun from penetrating the thick trees.

  “I don’t care!” She suddenly charged into the water.

  “Diana no!” He splashed into the stream next to her and grabbed her around the waist pulling her from the water.

  “Let me go!” She screamed struggling against him, dropping her crossbow into the water and punching at him with her fists. “We have to kill her!” she cried.

  “Shh!” He tried to quiet her pleas. “She’ll hear us!”

  “I don’t care!” Diana screamed out. “You hear me bitch! I’m going to kill you! I’m going to rip you from the ground and cut your fucking head off!”

  “Diana we don’t have the sun! We’ve got a crossbow with only one bolt and an axe! She’s a Maker! Without the sun she’ll kill us both!”

  “I don’t care!” She cried hysterically. “Please Jake! Let me go! Let me go! Whisper!” She screamed out for her sister.

  The stream erupted into a shower of mud and water. The redheaded demon flew ten feet into the air landing inches from Jake and Diana. She slapped Jake away with a wave of her hand and picked Diana up by her throat. Amber’s barbed trident was still stuck firmly into her back. “Hello children!” She screamed at them, her skin smoking.

  Jake crawled on his hands and knees to Donnie’s axe nearly six feet away. He rose with it gripped firmly in both hands, the side of his face caked in dark black mud. “Let go of her you vampire bitch! I swear I’ll chop you into a million pieces!”

  Diana pounded her fist into the monsters face, but the evil creature didn’t even blink an eye. “I will kill you both for what you’ve done today! My family! My children! You murdered them!”

  “Murder? Murder! You killed two of my best friends!”

  “What do you know of friendship boy?! I’ve lived longer than you can imagine! I am Julia Livilla! The oldest living Immortal in this world! How dare you attack my home! I will kill you all for this! Mark my words boy!”

  Julia Livilla? Tiberius . . . it’s her! “I’ve heard that before you vampire whore! If I had a nickel for every time one of you freaks claimed to be the oldest living vampire, I'd be a rich man! You're nothing to me but another bloodsucker! Drop the girl and lets you and me settle this!”

  “Why would I do that child? It would be so much more fun to turn her. I could turn you both and together we could live forever!" she laughed.

  Alright then, you wanna play games? Let’s dance! “Do you have any idea who I am? I’m Jacob Bishop!” he gripped the large axe handle tighter in his grip. “Son of John Bishop! My family has been slaughtering your kind for hundreds of years! You’re just another notch on my family’s wall! I’ll wear your teeth as a trophy around my neck!”

  To Jake’s surprise, she dropped Diana’s now unconscious form to the wet earth. “My, my, young Bishop. You have grown into quite a specimen!” She licked her lips and looked Jake up and down. A cold shiver of disgust ran up his spine. “Come boy! Join me! I will make you my child. Oh how it would anger Michael if I changed you!” She giggled clapping her hands together.

  Michael? Wait a second! The Maker from Riker’s and . . . somewhere else . . . the night of the attack, back at Grandpa’s . . . he saved me. How could I forget that? Jake spit on the ground at her feet. “I’d rather die than join you.”

  “I could force you. You wouldn’t be the first.”

  “No, but I bet you I will be your last! Come on then! Let’s do this vampire!” She took two steps closer and Jake lifted the heavy double bladed axe over his head. In the blink of an eye, she had it in her hands and Jake was shoved hard to the ground. With both hands, she bent the hardened steel wrapping the axe head around itself then snapped the handle tossing it through the air completely out of sight.

  “Come young man! Let us live an eternity together!” her mouth opened wide as she loomed above him. Jake closed his eyes tight. I’m sorry Diana! I just got us both killed.

  Chapter 12

  Jake

  Twister, Oklahoma

  July 20, 2001 10:05am

  Jake heard a loud crunch. When he opened his eyes Livilla lay on the ground with a white bone protruding from her smoking right leg. A male figure dressed in black loomed above her, his skin smoking as well. He twisted the trident in her back causing a terrible scream to erupt from her lips. “I warned you Livilla!” he stomped on her other leg crushing her ankle under his foot. “I warned you! Leave the Bishops alone!”

  “Michael!” Jake yelled out.

  “I’m sorry Jake,” Michael said, grabbing Livilla by her throat. “This is all my fault.”

  “Who are you?” Jake cried out.

  The clouds parted in the sky and the sun came into view. Michael and Livilla screamed out in pain as flame erupted from their skin.

  Voices carried toward Jake from somewhere in the woods. “Jake!” “Diana!” they screamed over and over.

  “I’m over here!” he screamed at the top of his lungs. He turned back to see both vampires were gone. Disappeared into the relative safety of the tree’s canopy. He crawled over to Diana and checked her pulse. Her throat was bruised and cut badly. He let out a breath of relief when he felt her steady heart beat. “Diana?”

  She opened her eyes and stared up at him. “Jake . . .” she said, in a weak, raspy voice. “Is Whisper okay? Donnie . . .”

  “They’re just fine,” he lied. “Just fine.” Jake cradled her protectively. “Just take it easy and try not to move. Everything is going to be okay. The others are coming.”

  “Jake!” Cort’s voice called to him.

  “I’m over here!” Jake screamed. In a heartbeat, Cort and Chris were there with a bloodied Sergeant Major Castle.

  “Jake!” Cort said, running to him. “Jake . . .” he said, looking down at Diana. “What happened?”

  Emotions overwhelmed Jake and tears began pouring down his cheeks. “Grandpa . . . Diana’s hurt.”

  “It’s alright, Jake,” Castle said, pulling his hands away from protecting Diana. “We’ll take good care of her.”

  “Sergeant Major . . . there are Makers still out here!” he blurted out.

  “We’ll take care of it. Morris, get on your radio tell the Colonel we need whatever men they can spare.

  Chris nodded and spoke into his radio. After a minute the Colonel’s voice came back, “We can’t spare anymore men. Let them go.”

  Cort placed his hands on Jake’s shoulders. “Come on son.” Jake stood up and his grandpa embraced him tightly. “It’s time to go.”

  “Grandpa we can’t! We have to find her! She has to pay for what she did!”

  “Bishop! You heard the Colonel!” Castle said, “Now follow your orders.”

  “Yes Sergeant Major.” Though it killed him, Jake did as he was told.

  The next few hours seemed to go on forever, the storm passed and the rain stopped. Diana was medevaced as was Whisper, who thankfully was still alive, though severely wounded.

  Billy and Amber cried over Donnie’s now covered body. Someone had placed him in a black body bag. Jake stared at it, his mind in a thick haze. He’d never seen someone he cared for die before.

  Of course, there’d been his mother, but he’d never seen her body. Over the years, he’d convinced himself it would have been easier to cope if he had seen her body. But staring at the shell that had once been his best friend, Jake came to the realization that it wasn’t easier at all. He knew that any time he’d think of Donnie, his smiling face would be replaced by one covered in blood. It would never leave him as long as he lived.

  The battle inside the sanitarium soon ended. It had been costly for their side, but they'd pulled it off. Buck and his father both came back laughing, charred vampire skulls in their hands. Billy took one look at Turner
and jerked up his machete. Only Cort and Chris together were able to hold him back from killing him.

  "You bastard! You sorry bastard! I treated you like my son and this is how you repay me?!" Billy screamed spit flying from his mouth.

  Shock filled Turner’s eyes. He had no idea of what had happened. “Billy . . . what?”

  Jake wished they would just let him go. Let Billy kill him. He deserves it. Billy shrugged Chris and Cort’s hands off him and ripped open the bag holding Donnie’s body.

  Jake could see the indifference in Turner’s eyes. It was clear he could have cared less. Buck on the other hand looked very shaken. His face was pale, and his eyes were wide. He kept looking from Donnie's lifeless body to his father’s face.

  Amber stood next to her grandfather, her arms crossed, and her eyes swollen and red. Buck started to say something to her but she stepped forward and punched him hard in his face knocking him to the ground. She climbed on top of him pounding his face into mush. Buck didn’t even try to defend himself.

  Jake pulled her off him as gently as he could, she turned swinging at him. He held her tight as her fist hit his chest. Tears streamed from her eyes. She finally gave up and fell to her knees, sobs racking her body. Jake dropped with her and held her tightly. He looked over at Buck still lying on the ground with tears of his own streaming down his bloodied face.

  Helping Amber to her feet Jake walked her over to Billy's van and wrapped a blanket over her shoulders. Billy sat down next to her, his face one of complete shock. He gently wrapped his arms around his granddaughter and together they cried. Hesitantly Jake walked away, leaving them to their grief. His father's form, covered in black vampire blood made him come back to reality. "Dad!"

  John ran to his son embracing him in a hug. "Dad! I'm so glad you're alive!" Jake exclaimed.

  "Same here kid!" John said, hugging him tight. "When I heard Chris’ call for a medic I imagined the worst." Cort walked up and hugged John as well. “What the hell is going on?” John asked. "What happened?"

  “It’s Donnie,” Jake said. “They killed him. Whisper and Diana . . . they’re hurt badly.”