Vampire Outbreak (The Josh Thorne Trilogy Book 2)

by Joe Fowler

  “So instead of taking these to the beach area, we bring the beach area survivors and the others to the Gamboa area where we can put them on ships. Josh and Rosalyn, you two go find the houses in this area. Austin and I will see about getting these people ready to leave.” Seth was happy to change plans as needed.

  After an hour of making sure the humans had eaten, Seth and I knew we would need a bus for the weaker ones. The ones who were able would start walking toward the dock area they told Rosalyn about. I was sent to find a bus. It took twenty minutes to find one of those tourist double decker buses that would crank. On a spur of the moment thought, I tried the other buses and found another that cranked. I left one running as I drove the other to the auditorium taking out a couple of street signs along the way. As Seth was loading the first bus, I returned and brought back the second bus.

  “These will help with the other houses as well. Good thinking. Hell, if we are smart, we should get a couple more if we can find some that will crank.” Seth was smiling a lot more than usual. We could almost smell home through the stench of Rio.

  “The, um, no.” I started and stopped as I solved my own problem.

  “What?” Seth didn’t know if he should be concerned or if he should laugh at me.

  “I was thinking of how blocked the roads were and wondering how much of a problem that would be. Then it hit me. We put Josh and Rosalyn out in front on foot to clear the way. Problem solved.” I clarified.

  “I like the way you’re thinking.” Seth patted me on the back.

  We got the buses loaded and Seth sent me with them to help them find a good place to unload. He made sure I knew what to look for. Close enough to the docks, plenty of food nearby, room for a large number of people, and easy to defend. I found a mostly empty warehouse that had two nearby stores for food. I figured this would be as good as we could hope for. I returned with the buses and repeated the trip. The third trip to the auditorium was the last and Seth made the journey to the docks with us.

  “Okay. I am going to run and find Josh and Rosalyn to tell them where we brought these people. I will come back for the buses when we find the other survivors. You stay and protect them. There are still some stray vamps out there.” Seth was thinking a mile a minute. He was planning ahead even while he was speaking to me.

  “Got it. I hope there is a bunch in these other houses. The more survivors the better.” I said offhand.

  “We can hope.” Seth took off then. He turned into his wolf and was gone in a blur.

  I walked around making sure everyone had what they needed. There were some mistrustful looks at first but they soon became comfortable with me. They saw me fighting for them in the auditorium and helping them to get here. There were no signs of vampires as we waited for the others. It was around four o’clock when Seth and Rosalyn came running up smiling from ear to ear. Apparently they had raced to see who was fastest.

  “We’ll call it even. I had surprise on my side that first night.” Rosalyn grinned as Seth turned human.

  “Fair enough. You two might want to go ahead and make sure you have a safe place to sleep. I will get the buses going.” Seth dressed and went to find our bus drivers again.

  “Did you find many survivors?” I asked Rosalyn.

  “Yep. There were close to eight hundred in the place I found and Seth said Josh found even more.” Rosalyn threw her arms around my neck and kissed me before I could respond. I lost track of what I was going to say anyway. We sat and held each other for a few hours as we waited on either Seth or the sun. Seth returned just before sunrise with the first busloads of people.

  “I told the rest to begin walking here when the sun came up. We are going to go get the sick and weak ones where Josh is and have the strong ones start walking this way from there too. We offered to keep making the trips with the buses. They told us to start getting the survivors from the beach and the northern parts first. They understood that it will take some time to get everyone here from the other side of the city. They are as ready to leave here as we are.” Seth couldn’t hide his appreciation for the strength these people were showing. As bad as things got here, they still had fight left in them.

  “That sounds wonderful.” Rosalyn kissed Seth on the cheek. “I am glad they are holding up so well.”

  Rosalyn and I felt the sun then and had to go to sleep. I had already found a windowless interior room in the warehouse. We got settled as the sun appeared. For the first time in weeks, I slept dreamlessly. It was refreshing.

  When we woke the noise from outside our door surprised us. We left our little room to see a lot more people than we expected. Not only had the walking survivors made it here, many more people had saw them walking and joined them. There were easily five thousand people here and according to Josh, Seth hadn’t returned from the first of the other houses yet.

  “He should be back any time now. Seth suggested that Austin stay here protecting the humans while we go find the beach area house and get those people ready to move.” Josh informed us. He seemed ready to get started.

  “We can do that. Hey, maybe we can find some buses there and speed things up.” Rosalyn added.

  “I like it. Are you ready to go or do you need a minute?” Josh asked.

  “I’m ready as I will ever be.” She did take a few seconds to kiss me. I was very thankful for that.

  “Hector!” Josh called to one of the humans. “This is Austin. He is going to stay here and protect everyone in case more vampires show up.”

  “Austin.” Hector said with a nod for a greeting. I returned the nod. “No offense, but are you sure one of you is enough? There are many vampires.”

  “Trust me, I have watched Austin fight. You will be safe from anything short of an army. Before you start to worry, there aren’t enough of them left to form an army.” Josh’s praise felt good to me.

  Rosalyn and Josh left on their mission. I took a position outside the warehouse to be able to see anyone who approached. After an hour or so, I heard the roar of the bus engines. I was happy to see a third bus filled to overflowing to go along with the first two.

  “There are so many more survivors than we thought. We would find another family of humans for every mile we drove. The gathering of them will take more time than we thought.” Seth looked around for a second before he continued. “I see Josh and Rosalyn have left. Good. The sooner we start getting them here the better.”

  “They were going to look for more buses if they get the chance to. I think we are all trying to speed things up as much as we can.” I said as we watched the buses unload.

  The ones already settled in were helping the newcomers get accustomed. There was a food area that must have been stocked while Rosalyn and I slept. We were lucky enough to have a few doctors among the survivors. Those that needed medical care could get help. It dawned on me how many people probably died in Rio because of lack of insulin or other medical supplies. As happy as we were to find these people, we had to remember how many had died here in the last months. The body lined streets were sure to remind us for years to come. That’s not an image that fades over time.

  Seth didn’t waste any time in leaving with the empty buses. He was pushing himself too hard but it was for good reason. We could all see the finish line now and we were trying to sprint. I took up my watch again looking out for any problems. All was quiet for a while until a small group of vampires smelled the humans.

  There were about fifteen of them. I saw them as they approached and rushed out to stop them. I had killed four quickly when the rest of them started running toward the humans. They seemed mad with thirst. I cut down three more as I ran to get in between them and the humans. I caught the last one just as he was reaching to grab a man by the throat. I managed to finish them off without a human being harmed.

  I got a few cheers from the crowd. I would have felt much better about it if I hadn’t been so hungry myself. I knew I needed blood before I had to fight again. I called to Hector and took him out of
sight of the other humans. I told him I needed blood but I wouldn’t drink from him unless he was willing to let me. He thought for a second and I could almost read his mind. He didn’t want to let me drink but he would not ask anyone else take the risk in his place. He also knew they needed me to be strong enough to protect them. In the end he gave me his wrist with a scared look on his face. I made sure not to drink any more than was necessary and heard his sigh of relief when I stopped.

  “I hope that will be the last time you ever have to feed a vampire, Hector. I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t need to be strong in case more vampires come.” I explained.

  “I understand. What you are doing for us is important. If you need this again let me know.” Hector seemed determined to not put any others at risk.

  As it turns out, my feeding was necessary. We were attacked three more times. Twice by single vampires desperate for blood. The third attack was more serious. There were at least twenty and they were well fed which was actually a good thing. They wanted to take out the threat more than they wanted to get to the humans. They kept their attack focused on me until I had killed all but one of them. I drained him, using his blood to add volume so I could go longer before needing living blood again.

  I cleared the corpses from in front of the warehouse so the buses could get in and out without having to run over them. Hector came and helped along with a few other men. We were clearing the last of the bodies when Rosalyn came in with two buses full of people.

  “How many survivors?” I asked as she walked up to me with a smile on her face. My God, she was beautiful!

  “Nearly two thousand there. We are finding many more on the trip from there.” She kissed me and looked around at the corpses. “So you got some action here, I see.”

  “Just a few. Nothing to worry about. Was there many vampires guarding the humans?” I asked as we watched the humans getting off the buses.

  “Not many. Maybe forty at most. The streets between here and there are almost completely clear of vampires too. We killed three on the way and I saw four more on the way back. The humans knew where to find these buses. Josh is helping get the others ready. I will be taking the buses back for another round.” She sounded cheerful.

  “Seth came back with three buses after you guys left. He said they were adding a family for almost every mile between there and here. All the survivors are coming out of hiding. There’s no telling how many we might find.”

  The buses emptied and Rosalyn left to make another trip. Hector felt comfortable enough with me now to ask about these new arrivals. I filled him in on the beach area house and the additions being made during the trip. His eyes filled with tears as he realized that there could be many more survivors than everyone thought. He didn’t waste time before telling everyone the good news. The whole warehouse was cheered by the news of more humans being found. Some lucky families were even finding loved ones that they had feared lost.

  Seth returned with another three buses full. He was still smiling even though those bus trips couldn’t be too easy for him. He made sure everyone was getting off the buses alright before he walked to where I was to talk. I saw him about to speak as he approached and I stopped him so I could fill him in on Josh and Rosalyn’s success.

  “Josh and Rosalyn have already brought two buses full.” Seth’s eyes lit up when he heard me say it.

  “Yes! Were there any problems?”

  “Nope. Rosalyn said they only saw a few vampires on the streets between here and there. There were only forty left guarding the humans. She said there were close to two thousand survivors at the beach area and more were showing themselves on the way back like what you said.” It felt good to give such great news.

  “Man, this just keeps getting better and better.” Seth was smiling until he saw the corpses of the dead vampires. “You were attacked?”

  “It was nothing serious. Those came in two groups with a few attacking by themselves. There wasn’t any real danger. The vampires are starting to get really hungry now. The ones left will get more and more desperate. I imagine they will be feeding off each other now.” I could see him relax again as I spoke.

  “We are going to need another warehouse if we keep filling this one up so fast.” He looked up and down the street.

  “The ones next to this one are full of stuff but there is another empty one almost as large as this one down a bit.” I pointed a few warehouses down.

  “I will look into it after the sun comes up.” He said. I began to wonder when he planned on sleeping. He and Josh had been going nonstop for a while now.

  “When are you planning on getting some rest? I know you’re the baddest man on the planet but even you need to sleep.” I pointed out.

  “There is too much to do. I want to get everyone here as fast as possible.” Seth looked around at all the people.

  “I say you and Josh should sleep during the day. We can train some of them on killing the few ghouls left. They can drive the buses during the day and bring everyone here without us there to hold their hand. It is nighttime when the vampires are out that they still need us to be with them.” I reasoned.

  “You are sounding more and more like Josh. You two not only start out stronger and faster than everybody else, you two seem to grow wiser by the day. I will talk to Josh about it after this next trip. We need to keep the buses going and it is too long until dawn to try that yet without one of us guarding them.” Seth patted me on the back and left to get on the now empty bus for the next trip.

  I once again took my spot on watch. One more of the hungry vampires came and died. The rest of the night was peaceful. It was getting near dawn when Rosalyn and Josh returned with two more buses full. They got the unloading started as I walked up to greet them.

  “Any problems?” I asked as I reached them.

  “None. Everything is finally going right for us now.” Josh said. I could see how exhausted he was.

  “There is hopefully going to be a slight change in plans, Josh. I suggested to Seth that the two of you sleep during the day. Teach some of the humans how to kill ghouls. They really only need us in case of vampires. You and Seth can’t keep going around the clock like this.” I didn’t have to say any more to convince him.

  “I agree. This is getting easier for the humans. Maybe they can handle the daylight hours on their own.” Josh sounded relieved.

  “Besides, how much help will y’all be when you fall asleep on your feet?” Rosalyn teased as she put her arm around me.

  “Speaking of sleep, I was beginning to wonder if you would make it back in time. The sun will be up in a few minutes.” I looked down at her beautiful face and smiled.

  “I knew we were cutting it a little close but figured we had time.” She turned back to Josh and said, “See you tonight. Try to get some rest.”

  “Yes ma’am.” Josh answered smartly with a goofy salute.

  Rosalyn and I were laughing at him when we headed for our room. We received many thanks and cheers from the humans as we went. We kissed as we felt the sun rise. Her head falling onto my chest was the last thing I felt as sleep overtook me.

  Chapter 26

  We woke to find more people than we could count. This warehouse was overflowing and the second one down the street was filling fast. Rosalyn and I looked around for Josh or Seth to see how this was possible. We finally saw Josh helping unload food from a truck. We headed his way to see if we could help.

  “Wow, where did all these people come from?” Rosalyn asked Josh when we reached where he was handing food to the humans.

  “Seth and I slept like you suggested. The humans not only kept the buses going but had a few ideas to help. Some of them went out and got another bus and put loud speakers on it. They’ve been driving all over Rio telling everyone to come out and join us. The other buses haven’t stopped between the houses we freed and here.” Josh informed us. He jumped from the back of the truck to stand beside us.

  “Where’s Seth?” I asked.

&nbs
p; “He is on his way to Sao Paolo. He thought it was time since we have streamlined our process here. He suggested we do the same as last night with Austin keeping watch here. Rosalyn and I should go with the buses to protect them. Unless you guys have a better plan?” Josh looked at us to see.

  “That works for me.” Rosalyn said.

  “I think that’s the best idea.” I agreed.

  My watch resumed from a midway point between the two warehouses. I was joined briefly by Hector as he made his way between the buildings making sure everyone had what they needed. He filled me in on the day’s events that Josh hadn’t covered.

  The group using the speakers on the bus killed a few ghouls today. Seth gave them a quick tutorial showing them the important things to remember. Since ghouls aren’t any faster than humans, they were able to kill those ghouls without any humans getting hurt. The crowd had cheered for them when they heard.

  I spotted a stray vampire and killed him as he tried to attack. I was dumping the corpse when I heard a yell from the other warehouse. I got there as a vampire was sinking his teeth into a woman. I separated them and took his head before turning back to make sure the woman was alright. Luckily she was just shaken and scared. That was the only close call, but not the last vampire attack.

  They came alone or in groups no larger than four. All of them were too hungry to put up much of a fight. In between attacks, I had Hector get some of the healthy men to grab a machete and help stand guard. I might be at one warehouse when the other was attacked. The vampires attacking were too hungry to be at full speed so the humans might be able to help defend themselves. Both warehouses had twenty foot wide doors to defend. Closing the doors would be safer but the people inside needed the air coming through for ventilation.

  Josh came back with loaded buses first. He helped them off the bus while filling me in on what he saw. There were only a few stray vampires here and there. He made sure to stop and kill each one as he found them but he was having to stop less and less. He was back on the bus and leaving as soon as the last person had gotten off.