It looked like a small version of a Thor hammer, but the head was the wrong shape; not square enough.
I swung it back and forth. It was a bit heavier than a framing hammer, but because of the heavy handle, it was kinda balanced, while being slightly weighted to the head.
“The swing is vitally important. The head of the hammer is larger than the top of the spike. We don’t want you to miss and hit my hand!” We grinned together.
He positioned the stake on the dummy. “Swing.”
With a deep breath, I swung the hammer. Bam. Right on target, but the stake did not go all the way down. Hideo pulled it out again.
“Again, harder this time.”
Bam. And I felt the stake hit the table.
“That’s good, but now after the kill, we hit one more time. The stake must be imbedded in the table, the vampire must slide past it.”
I remembered the last two executions; always two hammer strikes.
So we tried the whole thing, three, four times. Then we tilted the table, and I got used to swinging the hammer at the forty-five degree angle.
“Remember, Lyman. This is not a young man we are killing. This is a parasite that has taken over his body.” He looked at a small page of notes. “As far as we can tell, the young man was killed in 1989. His mind is long dead. His soul has lived in pain and suffering for twenty-three years. We now kill the body.”
I nodded. “I get it, Hideo. Thank you.”
I felt a bit like Ralph Macchio in Karate Kid, it was weird, but calming at the same time.
Wax on, Wax off.
Hideo showed me the stake. “This is also African hardwood, almost as strong as steel.”
The pointy end was very pointy.
“Gentlemen, when you are ready, everyone is here.”
Then I realized that Hideo had been just putting off time, waiting on the audience to arrive. The wily fox. Despite the circumstances, I grinned.
“It is time, Lyman Bracks. Follow me.”
With my mask in my hand, I followed Hideo through yet another double door.
When it opened in front of us, we walked into the high ceilinged laboratory. It was obviously the same one used before, but now I was looking up, rather than a visitor, looking down.
I was actually surprised just how high the viewing windows were, I had to crane my neck to see. Mary-Christine was there, Dave, Roni, all silhouetted against the light behind them.
“You bastards!” My head snapped round to the table. On the large wooden slab, Jim was bound tightly, and was naked but for a pair of shorts.
There was no trace of the bullets that I’d put in his chest, and his face was totally healed.
One leather collar held his neck, and there were three each on his arms and legs. One thick belt held his waist. Even though he struggled hard against the bonds, his body was flattened to the table.
“You’ll get yours, you fucking red headed prick!” he screamed at me.
As Hideo spoke, Creary fell suddenly silent. The arrogance immediately replaced by abject fear. “We are here to witness the execution of James William Creary. He was taken in 1989.” Hideo began to put on his mask.
As I did the same, I noticed the hammer standing up on the floor beside the table.
We checked each other’s masks, then Hideo turned the large wheel on his side of the table. Slowly, the whole thing tilted forward.
As per Hideo’s instructions, I positioned a large blue rectangular bin at the end of the table. To collect the debris.
Jim was just shaking his head. He turned to me; crying, trembling. “There’s still time, Red. You don’t have to kill me. Think of Alan. What would he think of his friend now?”
That was probably the worst thing he could have said to me. Resisting the impulse to speak back, I just smiled slightly, and picked up the hammer.
Holding it in two hands, I waited on Hideo.
From his side, he picked up the stake.
Polished African hardwood.
I then noticed that there was a small ‘x’ marked on Jim’s chest in black Sharpie. Man, these people think of everything.
Hideo jabbed the stake onto Jim’s chest, and the vampire went ballistic.
He suddenly shook his head frantically from side to side.
“NO!”
Hideo nodded to me.
I raised the hammer, and with one almighty swing, hit the stake smack in the middle, driving it through his heart. There was one single last convulsion, and Jim was dead.
But my job was not finished.
I readied myself for one more blow, then slammed the stake hard into the table, where it jarred and shook.
We both stepped back.
Jim’s skin slowly began to putrefy, drying out in rapid time, then it slipped into his ribcage, past his leg bones.
His face just collapsed in on itself, and slowly but surely, he fell apart, dropping bones, flesh, shorts and powdered Jim Creary, into the blue box on the floor.
It was nowhere near as spectacular as Avery Coleson, but he’d been three hundred years old.
When I lifted my end of the box, I was surprised that the box was light; hardly any weight at all, and Hideo and I took it through a doorway, out of the lab, and out of sight of the spectators.
A large furnace was in the center of the room.
We placed the box at the door and pushed it inside.
Hideo closed the door, then took his mask off.
“Non hazardous.” Hideo said, and for the first time since I’d met the man, he smiled, then bowed to me. “Thank you, Lyman, that was my first time. I was nervous.”
I laughed. “No shit.”
~ ~ ~
We drove the whole night and into the next day to get cross the border and all the way back to Everton. Pablo was a little sketchy to say the least. The guy at the border checked his paper work like six times but still didn’t seem to believe he was on the level. I think that’s why Pablo had picked me up in the first place. I mean- I was an American citizen. Of course, I didn’t mention the part where I was also a vampire and there was probably a huge man hunt out for me… for murder.
Somehow, though, they let us cross.
Pablo wasn’t a big talker and that was fine by me. I didn’t want him asking any questions that might be hard to answer truthfully. We’d barely gotten to the very outskirts of Everton- into this really seedy part of town- when he spoke to me for the first time in hours.
“You hungry, Mihas?”
It would have been strange if I’d said no. I mean- driving all day, nothing to eat; any human should have been famished.
“Starving.”
Pablo’s English was a bit broken but not bad. I could tell he’d been in the States before.
“What’s a good place?”
“I don’t really know this side of town…”
“No problem. Anywhere you wanna go- just name it.”
Instantly I thought of Jonna’s- it was this little diner close to Everton High that made the best broccoli-cheese soup on the planet. But, then I figured it wasn’t really in my best interest to go anywhere I’d be recognized.
There was this dive-looking Mexican joint just coming up on the left. I pointed for Pablo to pull in there even though I was pretty sure the place should have been condemned by the health department.
Pablo pulled up to the restaurant and parked the car.
“Los Charros? What’s up, Amiga? You can’t get enough Mexican food?”
I paid him a courtesy laugh and followed him inside. Pablo turned out to be nearly as quiet during lunch as he’d been throughout our long drive. But, he ate quickly and we were in and out of the public eye without my getting pegged as a wanted felon.
“Where to now, Amiga?” he asked as we got back in the car.
It still wasn’t dark. My plan had been to have Pablo drop me virtually on Jackson’s doorstep once night had fallen. We were like an hour ahead of schedule.
“Um… well… I’m not
for sure…”
Pablo started the car and backed away from the restaurant, “no worries… I know a good place.”
We drove another hour and Pablo pulled into a sleazy-eight-type-motel.
“We’ll kick it here for the night- what do you say?”
His hand was roving up my knee and he leaned over to my seat. He smelled like sweat and salsa.
“No thank you,” I said as nice as possible with his stinking breath in my face, “that’s really not what I had in mind…”
“C’mon… I drive you all the way up here, I take you to nice dinner and you can’t do nothing for me? That’s not right… you gotta pay the taxi driver for the ride, Amiga.”
Okay. I was starting to think Pablo wasn’t as nice as I’d first thought. I swatted his hand like a bug.
“Listen… friend… I appreciate the ride but I’m not paying you… THAT way.”
Pablo’s far hand reached under the driver’s seat. Five seconds later he had a switch blade at my throat.
Big mistake.
Chapter 14. New Car, No Hope.
At the dinner that night, I was toasted so many times, I lost count. Mary-Christine was always at my side, and I was on top of the world.
Later, from our high 17th floor hotel room, I looked over the lights of Atlanta. “How many vampires out there tonight Mary? How many killings in the name of human blood?”
Mary-Christine came up behind me, and pressed herself into my back. She had got ready for bed, I felt her breasts on my back. Her hands came round to my chest.
Oh boy. That took my mind off vampires.
I turned, still inside her arms, and we kissed. Tender at first, then wild and passionate.
“Hey you two!” Dave’s voice cut across the room. “Easy there.”
We grinned sheepishly, and Mary-Christine broke from me and slipped into bed.
I changed into my PJ’s in the bathroom, then turned out the lights and slipped under the comforter. From the light coming in the open curtain, I could see Mary-Christine’s face, still grinning.
The flight home on Sunday afternoon was not boring, but it was kinda ordinary. Then we had to drive to Unicorps in Gregor to get me a car. I mean, we had to keep up the story for my parents.
It was almost dark again when we got into the low, underground garage.
“Take your pick.”
I was both shocked and exuberant. “I get to choose?”
“Yup.”
“Oh, no you don’t.” Mary-Christine pulled me by the hand. “I get to choose!”
“Yeah, right.”
Well, in the end, neither of us chose.
We both stood in front of a small maroon SUV, the car choosing us..
“Gregor Academy colors!” we shouted. “Go Hawks!”
I could even see us painting a hawk on the hood.
We all walked round it for a while, while Dave got the keys, then Mary-Christine and I got inside.
“We have to go show Mom and Dad.” I said out the window to Dave and Roni.
“Ok, on you go.” Dave raised a hand in farewell.
“Don’t you forget you have school in the morning, young lady!” Roni called after us as I drove away.
We were high as kites when we pulled up into the drive. With keys in hand I ran to the door, and burst inside. “Mom! Dad!”
I stopped in my tracks.
Mom and Dad were tied to two wooden chairs, and gagged. They looked terrified.
I turned in the direction of their stares.
‘The Five’ were standing, all had guns, all looked as malevolent as I could have imagined them.
“Evening, Red.” Billy Tankard sneered enough to bare his teeth. “Evening, Red’s girl.”
He pointed the gun at Mom’s head.
“Welcome to your worst nightmare.”
~ ~ ~
After having my second meal of Mexican food for the evening, I arranged Pablo’s body on the seat of his car, leaning back, like he was sleeping.
I slowly got out and looked around.
It’d been so long since I’d been home that the town didn’t even feel the same anymore. I mean- yeah, in reality it’d only been a handful of weeks but it felt like a whole other lifetime.
It was still early but really dark and really cold, so nobody was out. That made it easier to listen for any approaching vampires. But, none showed up. I hoped that meant Alan’s gang had given up on ever tracking me and probably never assumed I’d had the balls to show my face in Everton again.
As I walked up to Jackson’s door, I could hear his guitar bleeding out from the inside. I could almost feel my heart pounding just to know he was there. He hadn’t fled town; and better yet- the Blanche vampires hadn’t killed him.
Only problem was- I had no idea if Jackson had any desire to ever see me again.
“There’s only one way to find out,” I told myself, all out loud.
Following the music, I stood under his bedroom window. I’d never really taken the time to just listen before; that time I did.
He was playing like his soul was coming out in the notes. And it was filled with pain. As I listened, I wept. For the first time in all of what I’d been through since meeting Alan McCartney, I realized I wasn’t the only one who’d lost everything. And I wasn’t the only one who needed a family.
With that thought giving me courage, I shimmied up the side of the house. Just like always before, Jackson was bent over the guitar and totally lost in playing. I tapped. He didn’t even look up. So, I tapped again- harder.
Jackson’s fingers stop strumming long enough for him to put out the middle one at me. I probably deserved that but it didn’t stop me from tapping again. Or more like pounding.
That time he got up and stormed over to the window, throwing it open so hard that the glass shattered and rained down on my head.
“What the fuck do you want?”
I just lost it. Bawling while hanging outside a second-story window with broken glass in my hair. That wasn’t how I’d planned my reunion with Jackson.
“I’m so sorry,” was all I could say, “I’m so, so sorry.”
Jackson pulled me in through the opening and caught me up in a big, kinda painful hug. He was crying too but trying not to show it.
“I know it wasn’t your fault.”
“Yes it was my fault! They killed your parents to teach me a lesson!”
Jackson pulled me at arm’s length, “You did the right thing resisting them, Mandy. Just like I told you from the beginning- there’s another way.”
I hit him then, “If you don’t blame me for what happened to them- why’d you flip me off, you asshole!”
“That was for running away,” he was only half smiling, “I mean- I’ve been hanging round Everton all this time, trying to pretend all is normal and just waiting for you to show back up. I’ve been worried sick about your ass!”
He shoved me back. That’s when we both started laughing.
“Well. At least you’re back now.”
“I’m not really back-back,” I told him, “I just wanted to come get you and then we leave together. I need you, Jackson- you’re all I got.” Then I started sniveling, “I hate being a lone vampire… I don’t want to do it anymore.”
Jackson got all smug.“Told you.”
“Yeah- you did. So, can we go now? I don’t care where… well, just not Mexico.”
“Soon. But, not yet.”
“Why not?”
“Something’s going on here, Mandy, something big. I’ve played nice with Alan and his lackeys for a long time now; long enough that they didn’t really think of me as a threat. So, I heard things. And I know what’s happening here, so can piece things together.”
“Okay,” I said, “What’s going on?”
He opened a Coke and passed it to me.
“Started a month ago. One of the vamps at Gregor Academy got hit.” He drank from his can, and put his guitar away in its case. “Well, her whole family, mom,
dad too. The story was they ‘vanished’, but I know better. I watched the removal truck. Whole bunch of jocks from the high school cleared the house. That family didn’t move, they were hit.”
“You make it sound like assassins.”
“Pretty much so. Then Jim Creary- one of Alan’s most loyal- went missing. No mess, no loose ends. He just vanished, and the rest of Alan’s old crowd are real antsy. From what it sounds like there’s at least one person out there hunting vampires down… and doing it successfully.”
I got to my feet, “That’s even a better reason for us to get out of town. NOW.”
“Don’t be so chicken shit. I mean- think about it. Getting rid of the Blanche vampires has just as much interest for us as for any human; I mean- as long as they exist they’ll continue to recruit and eventually wipe all non-Blanche vamps out. So, maybe we can be of assistance to this vampire hunter, Mandy.”
“Do you really think they’d want help from us? I mean- we kind of are vampires. They might not like us too well.”
“If that’s the case then we say fuck it and head on up to Canada.”
I thought about it for a couple minutes. The idea of those Blanche vampires getting hunted down and taken out was a little too good to resist. I figured it was worth a shot.
“But, where do we start?” I asked, “We don’t even know who the vampire hunters are.”
Jackson smiled; something he didn’t do a whole lot. He looked really cute when he did.
“Thanks to Alan- I think I might have an idea.”
“How’s that?”
“Like I said… Alan trusted me for a long time, thought of me as one of his pals. A couple years ago he told a few of us that if anything ever happened to him then we needed to check out this dude he knows from school; gave name and address. He goes to Gregor. And he’s a Helsing.”
~ ~ ~
I saw the guns leveled at Mom and Dad.
From a euphoria a mile above sea level, I fell like a stone.
“What’s up, Billy?” I asked, just trying to buy myself some time.
“Nothing much, Red. Where you been that was so important, you left your mom and dad with us?”
“Getting myself a new car.” I had to tell the truth, in case they had questioned Mom or Dad.
Vampire High School (Book 1: Gregor Academy) Page 17
