Isn't it sad, that my first thought was embarrassment for her? That thing wasn't satisfied to take her life, he wanted to degrade her. He wanted to enrage Bernhard so he would run out to save her. We were in the open door, the light spilling out illuminated Auntie's exposed bosom. Bernhard held me back. I was trying to run out to help her. She made the slightest whimper when it bit into her bosom then her head fell back as if she were with a lover.
The monstrous creature looked into my eyes while he drained the life from my last living relation. In that moment, I could see him the way that Auntie saw him when she walked into the street. He was a vision of true beauty. No abomination could ever be more offensive. A monster as ugly as any that has walked the earth, with the power to deceive so convincingly, and with such evil intent, is truly enough to make Jesus himself forsake the lord.
When Auntie went limp, the monster scooped her into its arms and carried her away.
The rest of them followed, leaving the corpses of the six men from the tavern, and the charred remains of the three from Tami's. By then the smoldering vampire had been reduced to a black stain on the road.
Patricia's Journal—Sunday, July 14, 1912
I am completely alone in the world. I have no family. God, why have you let Satan consume my family? Does my faith need such a test? If You think yes, then I have failed.
My faith has been lost.
I sat all that night in Bernhard's arms. I rocked back and forth on the couch, and he rocked with me. The dear man never wavered in his support. I think we both slept off and on.
As soon as the sun breached the horizon, Bernhard began the day. The most immediate task, to dispose of the dead. Just like all the others, a grave was dug in the cemetery, the body went in and was soaked with kerosene. After those who wished to give their last respects came forward, the bodies were torched. The smell, oh how awful.
The graves were left open until the fires burned out. Bernhard left two men to close the graves when the smoke cleared.
The rest of those left in town were divided into two groups. The vampire hunters, and the childcare workers.
Since I refused to be separated from Bernhard, I went with the vampire hunters. We again went from farm to farm searching for their hiding place.
The day became one disappointment after another. We found several dead animals, horses, cows, goats, and dogs. In the old Miller farm, a hideous thing wandered aimlessly around the house. I think it was a failed attempt to change Mr. Miller into one of them. It was neither human nor vampire. It bumped into walls, and stumbled over furniture.
"Put it out of its misery," Pete Lameraux said.
John Smithson put a bullet in Mr. Miller's brain. He fell to the floor but kept flailing. They shot that man twenty times, and he wouldn't stop. Bernhard pushed through the crowd with an axe. The gunfire stopped when he entered the room. He walked right up to that abomination, and without hesitation, swung the axe, removing Mr. Miller's head.
Moments later the body went still. Two men dragged it outside. Bernhard took a towel from the kitchen and used it to cover the head before he picked it up. Nobody wanted to touch it, and Bernhard was no exception. He tossed the grotesque bundle on top of the corpse and burned it.
Chapter 61
Roland felt better about things when he got Patricia settled back in her bed. Propped up with her pillows, her teacup steaming on the nightstand and her journal in her lap, she was ready to continue.
"When darkness fell over the town that night, I truly envied my Mother and Daddy their peaceful slumber. The monsters came to town in force. Up and down the street they walked, staring into the houses. Dim light shone in every window of every home. Most curtains and shades were pulled tight, but a few brave souls peered out into the darkness.
"Bernhard, as always, prowled the house, peering from window to window. He had more energy than any human I have ever met."
Patricia paused for a moment and looked about the room. The ceiling light and both bedside lamps illuminated the room with pale yellowish light.
"This is quite silly, Roland," she said.
"Sorry?"
"It won't be dark for another two hours, and we have all the windows covered and these dreadful lights on. This part of the house is blessed with a view of the most glorious sunsets in the country.
"Be a dear and pull those blinds, would you?"
He did as asked, and when he looked back to her, her face glowed.
"That's better. If you would, turn the lights off. We don't need them anymore."
With the sun flooding in, the lights did little to brighten the room. When Roland turned them off, it just made the sunlight all the brighter.
"As I was saying," she continued, "Bernhard trundled from one window to the next, looking for the first sign of the vampires.
"That was when the oddest thing happened. I had told Carol about Bernhard's singing. How it seemed to stymie the old one. She must have mentioned it to others.
"Just before midnight, I heard singing coming from the church. Several men and women were still staying in the church at night. They set up a temporary toilet in the pastor's closet. It was just a bucket, with a toilet seat propped on it, but it served them. Well damned if they didn't start singing hymns. By the sound of them, they all sang. It was dreadful singing, and the most glorious sound I have ever heard.
"The scene looked like a replay of the previous night. The vampires strolled up and down the road, looking into windows. I think they were trying to make that mental connection. Trying to lure lazy minds into the street.
"Shortly after the vampires walked into town, I heard singing from the open windows of the nearby houses. It seems the whole town, what was left of us anyway, had taken to song.
"The monsters were infuriated. They began to run up onto porches, and climb walls. They were in a near frenzy when he came. The old one. He held his arms up to the sky, and every last one of them settled down.
"As he did the night before, the old one stood before Auntie's door. He motioned to the north end of town. A ghostly figure emerged from the shadows.
The fires illuminated the skin of a completely naked form."
"Auntie?" Roland asked.
Patricia nodded and continued, "Bernhard had formed a fondness for her, and the old one knew it. I think he felt that Bernhard would charge out of the house to rescue her."
"Bernhard didn't act on emotion though, did he?"
"What he did was go up to a second-floor window, singing that same song the whole time. As soon as Auntie had come close enough, Bernhard set her ablaze with one of his fire bottles.
"Auntie's screams consumed the night. I ran up the stairs to find Bernhard sitting on the floor next to the window. His hands covered his ears, and he wept like a child.
"I wanted to scream at him, to demand he tell me how he could do that to Auntie. All I could do is walk to the window, and look down at the flaming form of my last family member. My vision blurred through the tears as I watched the white flames end all hope that maybe she could be found before she became one of them.
"When her screams stopped, Auntie turned and faced him, the old one that brought this plague to our town. He looked up at me standing in the window. I have never seen such hate before. His gaze burned into me. In that moment, I wanted to jump out of the window to be with him."
Patricia's whole body quaked as the memory of that moment sent a shudder through her.
"Bernhard came out of his grieving with an anger that equaled what I saw in the eyes of that thing. He saw me leaning toward the open window and shoved me away. He didn't mean to use such force, but in the heat of the moment, we can't always control our bodies. I went sprawling to the floor. My head banged against the wall so hard I almost lost consciousness."
"'Your time here is at an end,' Bernhard yelled down at the old one.
"When I got back to the window, the hideous face smiled up at us. Then he turned and looked to Auntie, and pointed to the church
. Auntie began to stagger toward the church. The white flames lit the street like midday. I knew the church had many people in it, and I called for her to stop.
"Auntie didn't stop until her body had been all but turned to ash. That wasn't soon enough, however. Auntie collapsed on the steps of the church. The whole thing had been constructed of wood. In seconds the front of the church looked like the gates of hell."
Patricia shook her head as the images she described came back to her.
"The singing from the church turned to screams of terror. Chairs came flying through the stained-glass windows at the side of the church, followed by dozens of panic-stricken men, women, and children.
"They seemed safe at first. The vampires wouldn't go near the flames. As the fire spread through the building, the heat forced the people into the street. They didn't know what to do at first. Bernhard tossed one of his fire bottles at the old one.
"He dodged it quite easily, and that demon yelled out, as clear as can be, 'I will leave here when I say it is time to leave.'"
Chapter 62
"They came from everywhere. Even Bernhard was taken by surprise at the number of them. Fifteen, maybe twenty vampires emerged from the shadows. They looked like men, women, and children, but they were lethal monsters. Every one of them, a killing machine, hell-bent on death.
"One of the women from the church, Mrs. Peters, saw her son come out of the darkness. She ran to the boy, and he took her. As Maureen Davidson had been taken by her son, so was Mrs. Peters.
"The rest of them, the people from the church, ran. The old one took Carol. I screamed at that demon to leave her be.
"He stopped for a moment, just long enough to look up to the window where I stood. He smiled, and I could see Carol's blood glistening on those jagged teeth.
"Bernhard tried again to set him ablaze with one of his fire bottles, but the thing again evaded the flames with ease. He dragged Carol along with him, drank from her until she went limp in his arms and then he heaved her at us. What a dreadful sound it was when poor Carol's body crashed against the side of the building."
When Patricia paused, Roland asked, "Do you need to rest?"
"All this talking has made me terrible thirsty," she said. "Do you think you can get us something to drink?"
When Roland returned to her room, Patricia sat in her bed, her face as blank as a new sheet of paper. She appeared to be looking out the window, but Roland knew she had gone to her refuge. A place deep inside her mind where nothing bad ever happened and evil could not go.
He set the tray on the table near her bed and poured them each a glass of iced tea. He chugged back half the glass without taking a breath and set it down, wiping his lips with the back of his hand.
"It must be good," Patricia said, coming out of her trance.
He handed her a glass. She sipped in her dainty way, one sip, then two, then three. Roland handed her a napkin. She handed him her glass, took the napkin in her right hand, and swiped the back of her left hand across her moist lips. They shared a smile, then her eyes went cold. Her smile disappeared behind tight lips that were no more than a border for the slit that concealed her mouth.
"Do you need anything else?" Roland asked.
"The old one walked away after that. I guess he felt he had made his point. Bernhard ran down the stairs and into the street. I have no idea where he got it, but when he got out there, he had a woodsman's axe, and he knew how to use it.
"I followed him. He had a box of those fire bottles by the door, and I dragged them to the porch. I was never much for sports, but those creatures came nowhere near me once I lit the wick on the first bottle.
"The others began to fight back after Bernhard had killed two with that axe. Some of them gathered up burning debris that had fallen from the burning church. A couple of men had rifles and took target practice at the monsters' heads. They didn't die from the head wound but it turned them stupid, and they were an easy kill after that.
"Counting Auntie, seven vampires found peace that night. Nine more citizens of Kings Shore died in the ruckus. Nine people with families and destroyed futures.
"Bernhard carried that axe to every victim. He made sure none of them walked off in the night to join the old one. The vampires were stacked like cordwood in the middle of the street and set afire. Auntie's remains had been consumed by the blaze at the church. That left six bodies in that demonic pyre.
Chapter 63
Roland arrived at Patricia's before 7:00 a.m. It was the first time she hadn't been waiting to greet him on his arrival. He wasn't surprised to find the door unlocked.
"Patricia," he called upon entering the foyer.
When she didn't reply he ran to the top of the stairs, taking them two at a time. "Patricia?" he repeated. Still no reply.
With tentative steps, Roland made his way down the hall to her room. He tapped on the door and again called her name.
For the second time, he pushed her bedroom door open, terrified what he might find. If he discovered her lifeless form, he didn't think he could bear it.
Roland stuck his head in and called her name for the third time.
"Come in, dear," came a voice that sounded more like a croak than a voice.
"Are you okay?" Roland asked.
"Oh, I think I will be as soon as I get myself up and moving. I think I could use a bit of help getting started, if you don't mind."
As gingerly as he dared, Roland took her arm, and she maneuvered herself to the edge of the bed. Patricia's feet dangled almost a foot from the floor as she sat, gathering her breath from the effort.
"Are you sure you shouldn't take a day to rest?" he asked her.
She didn't answer him, just extended her hand. Roland took it, and she slid off the bed to her feet. With a groan, the old woman stood. Roland walked beside her until she got to her bathroom.
"I can take it from here, dear," she said. "Why don't you go get some tea started? I will be down very soon."
"I'll come and get you," Roland told her.
"Nonsense, if I need any help I will call you. Now go get that tea started."
Patricia was true to her word. After she got up and moving, she was able to get herself ready. Roland found himself agonizing over the snail's pace Patricia had, getting to her bathroom. When I get that slow, just shoot me, he thought.
An hour later, they were sitting at the small table in the kitchen eating scrambled eggs and toast.
"I know I said it already, Roland, but you will make a fine catch for some nice girl," Patricia said as she finished the last of her eggs.
"I don't know about that," he said. "Scrambled eggs and toast are about as complex as my kitchen skills get."
While Roland cleaned up the kitchen, Patricia padded her way to the porch. When he joined her, she was sitting comfortably, looking out over the land.
"Are you ready to hear the rest of my tale?" she asked him when he sat next to her.
"I am not sure I am," he said. "But we have come too far to stop. Wouldn't you say?"
"Indeed I would."
She looked to the table between them. Her journal lay open. The ribbon marking her page swayed in the breeze. Scuba lay stretched out on the porch swing overseeing everything.
"We found them. Bernhard called it a nest. What a dreadful thing. I could not look into the trees at a nest of robins the same way again.
"It was in the basement of the Steen house. We should have thought of it sooner. We all thought the stories were rubbish, but as it turns out, evil lives on that land."
"Is that…"
Before he could finish, Patricia nodded. "The very same. That is why I told you to stay clear of that place. I had to send you there once so you would feel it. But you should not ever go back there.
"We found seven of them in that house. Most were once people I had known from town. They were mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers. The eldest might have been fifty, and the youngest, just a teenager.
"Bernhard barked o
ut instructions, and the men from town dragged each of those people from the house. They didn't put up any fight. A couple of them hissed like feral cats, but in the end, all those bodies were pulled from the house by their ankles.
"When the sun's rays touched exposed skin, the screaming came. The ones in the house hissed louder when the sound of vampires in agony filled the day. A swirling breeze carried that sick scent into the house, and everyone in there began to cough and gag.
"They were all dragged into the sunlight. By the time they got the last one out, the air was thick with that black foulness. The smell was so horrible, I thought I would faint dead away. Bernhard tried to convince me to go back to town, but I refused to leave his side.
"After the last of them had burned up in the sun, Bernhard began to search the house. The other men assured him there were no more, but he would not give up.
"'The old one was not in there,' Bernhard said. 'Until we find him, this will not be over.'"
Scuba jumped down from the swing and trotted around to the back of the house. Patricia began another editorial on the independence of cats, and that morphed into a string of off-topic anecdotes. Roland sat quietly, while Patricia rambled on about all manner of unrelated subject matter. She had displayed many stalling methods in the days he spent with her, and he recognized this as one of those times.
When she finished, Patricia patted Roland on the hand. "Now, Roland, I think we should go inside for a bit."
Chapter 64
"I think it would be best if you moved your things into one of the guest rooms," Patricia said when they went to the kitchen for lunch.
"I don't think that would be right," Roland answered. "I am already getting strange looks from some of the people around here."
"What people?"
"The young doctor for one," Roland said through a chuckle. "They think I am here to take advantage of a senile old woman."
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