Blood Harvest (Book 1): Blood Fruit

by Goodman, D. J.

  “I think I may actually puke,” V said. She stepped closer and tentatively poked at the squirming brain thing with the tip of her shotgun. The body shuddered and V quickly stepped back away. “This is the thing that… is this what killed Tony?”

  Even when looking at the face from the wrong side Peg could see through its mouth to the other side. Part of its lower jaw still remained and there were gums at the top, all of which held those wicked sharp teeth into slightly incorrect place. “Maybe. I think… yes.”

  “And it’s what turned your sister into a vampire? Don’t you need the blood of another vampire to do that?”

  “I think this thing is a vampire… or it was. At some point.”

  “Okay then, what the ever-loving sweet fuck is it now?”

  Peg didn’t get a chance to answer. The thing jerked, its hands reaching up for her. To her own surprise Peg didn’t flinch. V did, jumping back, but Peg stood her ground and rammed the tire iron down. It went through the thing’s chest with no resistance—Peg couldn’t be sure if there was even a rib cage there, it was so easy—and sunk into the wooden floor beneath. The thing made a noise, although Peg didn’t know what to call it. It was somewhere between a hiss, a rattle, and a whistle. It shuddered for several seconds, the movements so violent that Peg finally stepped away. She could see the few places of exposed flesh turn ashen gray and start to slough off his bones in thick slimy gobbets of flesh. More of the black substance that wasn’t quite blood oozed out from every opening in its clothes. By the time it stopped moving the only way to identify that it had once been humanoid was from the general shape of the clothing.

  “I… I think I’ve finally found something that I can’t describe with some variation of the word fuck,” V said.

  “Heart,” Peg said. She hadn’t realized how heavily she was breathing until the moment now when she desperately needed to take a breath. “Guess we know. That works.”

  “I suppose so,” V said. “Now…” V jabbed the shotgun into Peg’s ribs.

  “Ow! What the fuck?” Peg asked.

  “We need to go downstairs,” V said, but her voice was distant and dreamy. “They’re waiting for us.”

  “What has…” Peg stopped and looked at V’s face. Her eyes were unfocused and her head was cocked at a funny angle as though listening to something only V could hear. Peg would have bet good money that if V were able to describe this later she’d say it in remarkably similar terms to what Zoey had said about the night she’d disappeared.

  Peg put her hands up. “There’s more than just the one here, huh?”

  “Go downstairs,” V said. She twitched, then turned the shotgun away from Peg and awkwardly aimed it at her own head. “Do it now.”

  “Okay! Don’t do anything! I’m going.”

  The door in the corner had been damaged when the vampire thing had burst through it, so it hung open on hinges that no longer wanted to close all the way. As they approached Peg saw two sets of stairs beyond, one going up to the roof and the other going down. There was light coming from above, the obvious product of an open door. Peg could even hear the traffic out on the street. Surprisingly what she did not hear was the wail of sirens. There was no way gunshots had gone completely unnoticed in a town like this. But if she couldn’t hear the police by now she had to assume they wouldn’t be coming at all.

  The stairs going down led into complete darkness, although there had to be light coming from somewhere because as she descended she had no trouble seeing. She didn’t bother looking back at V. She could hear her walking down the stairs with an uncharacteristic unsteady gait. The room at the bottom was thick with cobwebs in the corners and the scent of old dust in the air, not to mention the distinctly unpleasant odor of mildew and mold.

  But also, there was the scent of shit and blood and body odor and decay. It was the scent that had clung heavily to Zoey, and even before she saw anyone else that smell told her that they weren’t alone.

  There were two of them standing in the far corner of the room. Peg couldn’t guess at their gender until she got closer. They were wearing hoodies matching their dead counterpart upstairs and the baggy clothing hid the shape of their bodies, but by the gentle (yet still somewhat deformed) features of their faces Peg guessed they were female, or had been once. Neither of them reacted with the same violence as the one upstairs, although Peg never doubted that they were still capable of it. Not that they needed to do anything. Peg looked back to see that V had followed her down the whole way with the shotgun still pointed up underneath her chin.

  “What do you want?” Peg asked the two creatures. She was proud that her voice didn’t crack, but she was sure that when (or if) this all finally ended she would not be able to form a coherent sentence for quite some time. No human brain could take this much pressure and come out the other side the same. She knew that one very well from experience.

  “Fruit,” one of the creatures said. “Fruit that fell to the ground and rolled away.”

  Peg was going to venture a guess that it meant Zoey. “Where’s my sister? And my son. Your note said you wouldn’t harm him.” Actually Peg couldn’t even remember by now if that was true, but she hoped it might be possible to appeal to some vestige of humanity that might be left in them.

  The other creature gestured at the corner behind them. Zoey had been so quiet and still that Peg hadn’t realized she was there. She was huddled in a tight ball but she wasn’t alone. Brendan sat in her lap, a thumb stuck in his mouth and his eyes closed. He almost looked peaceful, but Peg didn’t know how that could be.

  “What did you do to him?” Peg asked. Try as she might to keep it hidden her anger came out somewhat in her voice.

  “Same as her,” the first creature said, pointing at V. “No remembering for him.”

  “Zoey?” Peg asked. “What about you?”

  Zoey looked up at Peg. For all the confusion and pain that Peg had seen on her face ever since she came back, none was quite as heartrending as what Peg saw right now. She had tears on her face and there was definitely fear, but certainly not confusion. Zoey had known exactly what she was doing when she came here. Whatever the inexplicable hell might be that was waiting for her back where these creatures had come from, her posture and the way she held her head told Peg that she was more than ready to face it.

  “I’m going back,” Zoey said.

  “The fuck you are,” Peg said. “I will kill both of the fuckers before I let that happen.”

  “You may have already killed one of me,” the second creature said, “but we’re ready now. If you try your son and your friend die.”

  “So what, you just expect me to walk out of here?” Peg asked. “And how do I know you’re not going to try killing us all anyway?”

  “We do not want your son. I do not want your friend,” the first creature said. “They are too young and too old for our needs.” It sniffed the air. Something caught its attention and it tilted its head in curiosity. Without sniffing the second one did the same. “They can go safely. But only if you come with us too.”

  Zoey stiffened. “No! No no no.”

  “How do I know I can trust you?” Peg asked.

  “Trust?” the second one asked. “What does trust do with it?”

  “Trust doesn’t matter,” the first said. “I want healthy fruit. We are not here to sow seeds.”

  “I have no clue what any of that is supposed to mean,” Peg said.

  “Comprehension doesn’t matter,” the second said. “You are coming with us. Your friend and son can stay.”

  “No Peggy,” Zoey said quietly. “No don’t no.”

  Peg could try fighting. She knew she could. She might even surprise everyone and manage to hurt or kill one of the things. She’d done it upstairs, after all, although she didn’t understand fully how that had happened. But Brendan would likely get hurt, and V would almost definitely be killed. She’d already lost Tony today, and she couldn’t take another dead loved one. She wasn’t sure how she
was holding it together right now as it was.

  But that wasn’t even what finally made up her mind. Instead she knew exactly what she had to do as she saw the look on Zoey’s face. She had been through eleven years of horror, yet that entire time Peg had been living her life. True, sometimes, even most times, she hadn’t been living her life very well, but she’d been doing it. Even if Zoey had been able to forgive her for all that Peg couldn’t say the same for herself, not yet. There was still that vital part of her that wouldn’t be able to rest until she really paid her penance.

  “Can I hold my son one last time?” Peg asked.

  “Quick,” the first creature said. “We cannot stay much longer.”

  Moving past the two cautiously, Peg bent down next to Zoey.

  “You can’t,” Zoey said. “You don’t know. You really don’t.”

  “I have to,” Peg said. “They’ll kill us all.”

  Zoey shook her head. “No they won’t. No they won’t. Not me. Not…” She sniffed the air. “No. No. I’m sorry. You’ll ripen. I’m already there. Harvesting is coming.”

  “Hey,” Peg said, reaching out to hold Zoey’s hand. “I’m not just doing this for Brendan and V, you understand? I’m doing this for you. We’ll get out of this and we’ll do it together.”

  “Can’t get out. Once the fruit is harvested it’s gone forever.”

  Peg wanted to say something else to calm her down, but she didn’t know that anything would work. Peg herself was scared out of her mind right now, and she didn’t even understand yet what was happening. Zoey already did. The only thing Peg could think to do to reassure her was squeeze her hand again before taking Brendan into her arms.

  He woke and sleepily squirmed in her arms. She’d actually hoped he would stay asleep. As much as she wanted to look into his enormous, innocent blue eyes one last time she also didn’t want him to have to see any of this.

  “Mommy?” he mumbled.

  “I’m here sweetie.”

  “Wass happening?”

  “Nothing. Just go back to sleep.”

  “I don’t wanna. Feels weird.”

  “I know, baby.” Peg fought back tears as he stared up at her, still completely uncomprehending. She didn’t have any choice in this matter, but it felt like she was making one anyway and she didn’t know what that choice said about her. Here in her arms was the life she had made for herself. She’d gone through so much and made so many changes in who she was just to feel like she was even remotely worthy of the little boy huddled against her chest. It felt like she was rejecting him, going back to the things that had almost destroyed her.

  Oh boo hoo hoo. Fucking spare me, that voice in her head said. Do you really mean to tell me you’ve gotten through all you have in your life just to give up now?

  Sometimes she hated that little voice. Other times it was the only thing that kept her sane.

  “Listen to me, sweetie,” she said as she wiped away the tears, refusing to let any more come. “Are you listening?”

  “Yes?”

  “Mommy’s got to go now. But I swear to you. I fucking swear to you on your life and everything else that I find holy, I will come back to you. You understand?”

  “Mommy, you’re scarin’ me.”

  “I know, honey. I’m sorry. But there’s nothing to be afraid of. Aunt V’s going to take care of you while I’m gone.”

  V still stood in the same place, but at least the two creatures had let her lower the shotgun. Peg set Brendan on the ground next to her, making sure he was on the side farthest from the shotgun. She didn’t know how long it would take for V to come out of this trance they’d put her in, but if she was unaware of the things going on around her Peg didn’t want her to wake up startled and accidently shoot him.

  “V,” Peg said. “If you can hear me I need…”

  She didn’t get a chance to finish her sentence. An arm wrapped around her chest from behind and with a sudden, impossible jerk they were gone.

  Chapter Fifteen

  The only way Peg could describe the way they moved was pressure all around her. The air itself felt like it formed a thin wall that the creature had to forcibly push her through. The actual amount of time it took them to move that fast couldn’t have been more than a few seconds total, although it felt to her like they slowed down after the initial burst of speed. Peg was only vaguely aware of their ascent up both flights of stairs then felt the open air against her skin as they came out on the roof and jumped off. She wasn’t sure how far away they landed, but by the time the pressure finally stopped and they ceased moving they were on a far end of the parking lot.

  Peg tried to get her bearings, to look around and see if there was any way they might escape, but didn’t get the chance. She heard a metal door screech open and then she was roughly thrown through it. She hit something metal that rattled violently, then got another jolt as Zoey was thrown in with her. Both of the creatures got in with them and then shut the doors behind them, making for a dark, incredibly cramped space.

  As much as Peg wanted to shut down after so much her brain went into a hyper-alert state. Their lives might just depend on her ability to see the little details that could save them in the end. They were obviously in some sort of van, a rather spacious one, but old judging by the worn interior. Peg looked around to see what she had crashed into and saw a cage. Actually, there were four cages. Each one was a cube about three feet on a side, and unlike the van they seemed new and highly polished. They also smelled like they’d been rubbed down with garlic. There was so little room that two of the cages had been stacked on the others. As Peg’s eyes went up to look at the cages on top she realized the roof was lined with lights, although she couldn’t yet guess why.

  “Do not make us repeat any of this,” one of the creatures said to them both. “If I have to repeat or you fight I will harm the other one. You understand.”

  It was a statement more than a question, but Peg figured it would be a good idea to nod anyway. Zoey just stared.

  “Do not try to run. Do not disobey. Do not try to harm us. If you do I will remove a piece of your sister. You understand.”

  Peg looked over at Zoey. She expected to see terror on her sister’s face, but she just seemed resigned. “I understand.”

  The second creature pointed at Zoey. “You. In a cage now.”

  Zoey looked at the cage. Now she showed some of that missing fear. “No, please. I’ll go. I won’t do anything.”

  The first creature slammed Peg against the wall of the van before she could even put her arms up in defense. With equal speed it bent down, grabbed her by the left foot, and ripped off a shoe and sock. It tossed them to the side. “Do it now.”

  “No,” Zoey said again. “Please. I’ll be good…”

  White-hot agony ripped through Peg’s foot, and despite every attempt to maintain some kind of composure Peg screamed. On some level she thought maybe that was a good thing, like someone outside might be able to hear, but that wasn’t likely. All of this so far had been happening outside in the open and no one had done anything. Whatever trick these two had used on V, is was entirely likely that they could do something similar against anyone who got close enough to be curious and just send the person on their way none the wiser.

  Peg looked down at her foot. Her little toe was missing and blood poured from the wound. The scene was so unexpected, so absurd, that she actually let out a brief, staccato laugh before the pain hit her brain again and it was all she could do to keep her screams down to nothing more than a whimpering moan.

  The creature that had ripped off her toe held it up where Peg could plainly see it and then, in a scene so bizarre and horrific that it was only beat by the tableau she’d seen earlier in her fridge, opened its mouth wide and popped the toe in. It couldn’t chew the toe, since it didn’t have a tongue or even the inside of a mouth to hold it in place, but Peg could clearly see as the toe landed on the mess of gore inside its head where the beginning of the esophagus sho
uld have been. It made a swallowing motion with its throat, and the bizarre misshapen flesh folded itself over the toe. The thing closed its mouth and then opened it wide again right in front of Peg’s face as though to say See? All gone.

  Peg felt she should have been more upset that some kind of abomination had just eaten a piece of her, but by this point most of her emotional mind had shut down in self defense, leaving only a kind of scientific fascination behind in its place.

  “Get in the cage,” the second creature said to Zoey again. With an incoherent but obviously frightened mutter she finally did what she was told. It slammed the cage door shut behind her then locked it with a padlock remarkably similar to the one Peg had used on the basement door back home. Well that’s not going to work, Peg thought smugly, but she made sure to keep any indication of her thinking to herself.

  “Now you,” the first creature said, pointing at the cage right next to Zoey’s. Peg wanted to just spit in what passed for its face, but she knew that if she showed any defiance she probably would not be the one paying the price this time. She looked over at Zoey hunched over in her too-small cage. The sight reminded her of those horrible Humane Society commercials, the ones where beaten, abused and scab-ridden dogs were shown crammed together in rusting metal kennels while Sarah McLaughlin music played incongruously in the background.

  Zoey, I swear to you that I will get you out of here this time, Peg thought, then hunched over and crawled into her own cage.