Dead by Dawn (11 page)

Chapter 17

              “Go get ‘em boys,” said Keith from his spot behind the living room window.

Joe hadn’t been sure how much of Keith’s story was fabricated. It wasn’t that he thought Keith was a liar, just that the story was unbelievable. Now that he could hear the echoes of gunfire in the distance, he wasn’t so sure of himself.

The gunfire started ten minutes earlier and had since increased. Judging from the direction, it sounded like it was coming from town.

Joe was a fan of nonfiction books about history. Every night he would usually spend a good half hour reading before bed. It was a good break from his daily chores and to him, better than television.

A short while earlier he started the evening reading in his recliner. After the sun went down Keith insisted they keep the lights out. Joe didn’t agree, but allowed the lights to stay off anyway. This left him with nothing to do, but nap in his recliner. That was before the gunfire started. Now he was thankful they kept the lights off and even secured himself a spot next to Keith, under the window.

They were both crouched down, Joe holding his twelve gauge and Keith his M16. The window was open and Joe had a flashlight next to his leg. They kept their spare rounds on the window ledge.

Every few minutes Joe would get up to check on the back yard. So far, the gunfire was the only sign that something was wrong.

“What do you think is out there?” asked Joe. “Honestly.”

Keith shrugged. “I really don’t know. Whoever it is, they’re pretty damn sly to make it go this far. Probably some underground organization that half the country is in on.”

“Makes you wonder.”

Keith stiffened. “Contact,” he whispered.

Joe set the barrel of his gun on the windowsill and peered down its length. He spotted what Keith saw almost immediately.

There was a figure walking right up the center of his driveway. It was still far enough away to be surrounded by corn, but it would soon reach the yard.

“You stop right there!” Joe yelled clicking on his flashlight.

The man’s eyes reflected the light, the way a raccoon or deer’s would. Those animalistic eyes were locked on the flashlight. His skin was pale, so much so that it matched the moon. His hair hung lank in tangled ropes that framed his somewhat pointed face and he was wearing a ripped up, long trench coat.

“I’m warning you,” said Joe. “One more step and I’ll take your head clean the fuck off.”

The man showed no fear as he continued forward.

“Wing ‘em,” Joe whispered.

Keith, who already had the creature in his sights, pulled the trigger. The fabric of the man’s pant leg shredded just below the knee as the bullet made contact. The man took one limping step before continuing on with his normal stride.

Keith followed his first shot up with a three round burst. He hit the same spot twice and once in the other leg.

The man dropped down to one knee, not even pretending to be in pain, before standing back up and walking again.

“He’s a tough little spit fuck isn’t he?” said Keith. “What, did he duct tape a hunk of steel to both shins?”

“Last warning,” yelled Joe.

“Fuck this guy,” said Keith.

Keith fired two more shots: one in the chest and one in the forehead.

The man’s head flew back, but he kept coming. For a moment he looked like he was doing the limbo, then he straightened. There was a black circle on his forehead that was already beginning to shrink. Joe and Keith watched in mute horror as the outer edges squirming towards each other to seal the wound

“I’m going to rip your guts out,” the man hissed in a voice that was so raspy it didn’t sound human.

Joe fired four rounds of buckshot, racking the slide as he did. When he was done he reloaded the shells.

The man was riddled with holes, including a large one in his chest. Joe could see down his driveway through it. The man fell backwards stiff legged.

“Let’s see him get up from that,” said Joe.

The body twitched, then lifted one arm and planted its hand on the ground. It lifted itself so it was sitting, then took a knee. They could still see through the hole in its chest, but it was closing. The other wounds across the creature were sealing themselves as well.

The toothpick Keith was chewing fell from his mouth.

The creature was now leaning heavily on its left arm as it propped itself to stand back up.

Keith and Joe both glanced at each other.

Without any verbal cue they both hopped through the window, brandishing their weapons.

The back side of the creature’s largest wound had completely closed up so Joe could no longer see through to his driveway. They had a momentary view of its lungs and heart before the muscle and ligaments began growing around them. The heart was still in the creature’s chest, yet he still moved and talked
…
he was dead.

As Joe and Keith unleashed a hellfire of bullets, the creature struggled to stay on his feet. He stumbled backwards as chunks of his body were ripped clean off. 

Joe ran forward, firing twice in rapid succession when he was closer. The shots picking the creature off of his feet and threw him backwards. When he hit the ground, one of his arms was only hanging on by a flap of skin.

The creature howled in rage. He looked at his useless body as if he felt betrayed.

The ligaments in his arm wiggled like worms, looking for a place to reattach.

Joe and Keith reloaded as they approached. The creature’s clothes had been shredded to pieces, along with most of his skin.

“Just die already!” Keith yelled, firing two shots into his forehead.

The creature ignored its new wounds and continued to hiss up at him as they healed. The flap of skin on his arm continued to tighten until the worm-like tendons found each other. They wrapped together and pulled tight. When the arm was in its proper position it began to fuse together.

“What the hell are you?” Joe mumbled.

“I’m gonna cut you open and spread your entrails across this land,” the creature moaned. “And I’m going to make sure you’re alive when I do it.”

He snarled, opening his mouth wide as if he were trying to bite the air. His incisors were long and sharp, they flashed against what little light was in the night air.

Joe walked over to the porch and leaned his shotgun against the railing, barrel up. He was pretty sure he wouldn’t need it once he finished with what he was about to do.

When he came back he was holding an axe.

The creature lifted his newly repaired arm. “I’m going to…”

Joe brought the axe down, burying it deep into the creature’s throat. The second swing severed the spine, lodging the axe in the ground.

Joe kicked the head away before the worm-like ligaments could reconnect.

“You’re going to fucking stay dead is what you’re going to do,” Joe said before spitting on the creature’s body.

Keith kept his rifle trained on the body. He lifted one hand to show Joe it was trembling.

“I’m shaking,” he said.

Joe went to observe the head. The thing’s fangs were still out, but the face was unmoving. The bottom of the neck was active, all of the ligaments and arteries wiggling in the direction of the body. He gave it another kick so it would roll even farther away.

“The hell are we dealing with?” he whispered.

He followed the head one more time and gave it another kick.
The farther away from the body the better.

“Maybe you shouldn’t wander so far,” said Keith.

Joe looked up to see he was getting pretty close to the cornfield. The shadows leered out at him. Anything could be hiding amongst the corn, easily hidden from his sight. For all he knew, another creature was preparing to dive out at him.

He tightened his grip on the rifle and began walking backwards. He listened, trying to see if he could hear footsteps. It was difficult trying to block out the sound of distant gunfire coming from the town.

When he had backed away far enough, Keith put a hand on his shoulder.

“What do you say we get back inside?”

“Probably not a bad idea,” said Joe.

Both men sat at the window, watching for the rest of the night. They blew off sleep entirely. Though they were waiting, no one else approached.

There was no more excitement until after dawn.

The sun lit up the sky first, painting the horizon red, then blue. The moment it touched the creature, both its head and body burst into flames.

Joe stood up to go nap on the couch for a bit.

Keith stared at the creature’s charred remains before rubbing his bloodshot eyes. “I don’t think it’s terrorists.”

Chapter 18

Darkwood Military Base, WA - July 11th

            
 
Dr. Bennet sat in the break room with his head resting on his folded arms. His steaming cup of coffee was left untouched. His lab coat was stained with a grayish grime and the occasional spot of coagulated blood. The smell of sweat, body odor, and layers of deodorant wafted over him in sharp drafts that made him long for some spare time to take a shower.

If someone were to have asked him when he had seen the sun last, he would honestly not be able to answer.

“Dr.,” called Smith.

Bennet jumped, a string of drool following him. His glasses were askew on his face and there were dark circles under his eyes. His hair was greasy and stuck out in odd places as if he were some kind of homeless vagabond.

Major General Smith was standing over him with his arms folded behind his back. “You’ve been called to an emergency meeting. They want you to discuss some of your more recent findings.”

“What?” Dr. Bennet asked, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

“I’m not permitted to discuss it here. You’re going to have to follow me. We have a conference room set up.”

Dr. Bennet stood, feeling every joint in his body protest. He couldn’t remember any other time in his life when he had been so over worked. Not that he could blame them; they were staring down the eye of the apocalypse after all.

Smith began to walk so Dr. Bennet followed. It wasn’t far, they were in the upper level of the building and it was just outside and across the cobblestone road. As they crossed, the sun felt like a foreign object. The sight of it was almost overwhelming. It was one more thing he had in common with the vampires.

When they reached the conference room in the adjacent building, he couldn’t quite remember how he’d gotten there. He was so tired.

The room was small and dark. There was a wide screen television that stretched from wall to wall. In front of the television was a single leather-backed chair.

“Have a seat,” said Smith.

Bennet did as he was told, wanting to close his eyes as he sank back into the cushions. There was a single glass of water on the table to his right. It still had ice in it from whoever put it there.

Smith began to close the door.

“You’re not going to be in here?” asked Dr. Bennet.

Smith shook his head. “I wasn’t invited.”

As he closed the door the room went completely dark. He might have felt uncomfortable, or at least odd, but in truth it felt good. It was quiet; he could already feel himself beginning to rest.

Maybe that was their plan. They put him in here to take a quick nap before the meeting. He could get some rest and be more alert when it came time to report.

Illumination pierced his eyelids and he knew his peaceful rest was being cut short. Dr. Bennet strained to open his eyes against the glare. It stung.

Not only had the television clicked on, but so had a light that was hanging above him.

There was a man on the screen. He was clean cut, wearing a black dress suit with a blue tie. He sat straight, giving off confidence and authority.

Dr. Bennet knew the man well. Hell, he’d voted for the guy. But why were they showing him a video of the president? Was he going to meet him?

“I’m sorry we couldn’t have this meeting in person Dr. Bennet. For obvious reasons I have been forced to stay aboard Air Force One. I’m sure when this is all over we can greet in a more formal matter.”

Dr. Bennet took a drink from the water glass. He was completely shocked that the president recorded a message specifically for him. It was the type of thing he thought he could only dream about.

“I’m sure you have a few questions for me,” said the president after an awkward pause. He had an odd look on his face.

“Yea,” said Dr. Bennet. “Like when the hell are they going to let me sleep.”

The president furrowed his eyebrows slightly before sliding back into his expressionless appearance. It was a small gesture and even if Dr. Bennet hadn’t been so tired he might have missed it.

“I’m sure considering the circumstances, you can find a way to make a sleep schedule that works.”

Dr. Bennet let out a laugh that sounded just as sleep-deprived as he was. “Easy for a guy who gets to relax on a jet this whole time to say.”

“I can assure you I have been doing a whole lot more than relaxing Doctor,” said the president.

Dr. Bennet broke out in a cold sweat. He was suddenly wide awake and aware that the video on screen was live.

“Mr. President, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to.”

“It’s alright, we’re all under a lot of stress. Some outbursts are to be expected.”

Dr. Bennet was too embarrassed to admit it was less of an outburst and more stupidity caused by sleep deprivation.

“I’m so sorry,” he repeated.

“I believe we have a meeting to get to?” asked the president.

“Um, yes. Though I haven’t been told what exactly for,” said Dr. Bennet.

“The crisis we are facing is only growing more dire with every passing day, so I am going to be quite blunt with you. I have been informed of a recent discovery of yours, I would like you to elaborate on just what it was.”

Dr. Bennet stuck one finger under his collar and pulled away from himself in an attempt to relieve the tightness his shirt seemed to be causing. The choking feeling in his neck did not go away.

“Um, yes. Just this morning.
”
He took a deep breath to try and relax.

“Well actually it started yesterday with an MRI scan. Obviously we couldn’t see the vampire’s brain because the scanner uses mirrors. What we did catch was a blue spark that appeared to be floating in space. Our best conclusion at the time was that we were able to see neurons firing inside the vampire’s brain. What we later discovered was a transmission of sorts.” Dr. Bennet paused to take a sip of water, trying to swallow the lump in his throat.

The president was stone faced.

“After further testing we were able to pinpoint a low frequency signal emanating from the vampire.”

“And you determined the vampire was trying to use this method to communicate with other vampires?”

“At first we believed so. We thought the vampires might have a way to communicate with each other telepathically. At first we were panicked thinking other vampires could know where we were testing. A quick read on the surface let us know the signal was not making it above ground. For whatever reason, our lab’s structure and the layers of earth were enough to stop the signal.” He cleared his throat. “We also discovered another signal while we were doing our reading up top. This one was far more powerful. We scanned in a ten-mile radius and we still have readings coming in from all across the country. The signal is everywhere.”

“And your conclusion on this new signal?” asked the president.

“If our original theory of telepathy was to be correct, there would not be one powerful signal, but many smaller, weaker ones. Like the signal given off by our vampire. This one larger signal would hint towards a queen bee of sorts, if I may.” He took in a long and deep breath in an attempt to calm the quiver in his voice. “It’s one signal sent from one vampire directing his colony on what he wants them to do. The smaller signals are most likely so the smaller vampires can report back.”

“There is a vampire with enough power to send out such a signal? Do you actually believe that?”

“After studying the vampire we captured for this long, I can honestly say I’m ready to believe anything.”

“Continue with the hive mind theory,” said the president. “If it’s true, is there a way we can use it to our advantage?”

“The vampire we captured has been cut off from the signal for well over a week now. So far it hasn’t died and its body takes the blood we inject into it. Having said that, I still think it will do great damage to the vampires’ efforts if we were to cut the signal. It all depends on how attached they are to it. At the very least it will break their unity and cause them to become unorganized. Some vampires might even turn on each other over territory and food disputes. At the most, the separation could drive them mad. Some might even die on the spot.”

“Quite the reward for killing one vampire.”

“Indeed Mister President.”

“I’m going to need you to tell the United Nations what you just told me.”

“What?”

“We go live in one minute.”

Dr. Bennet was just beginning to relax when his heart rate doubled. “Mr. President please, I’m not ready.”

“It will be fine Doctor, repeat everything you just said. Well, maybe try to hold back the attitude you had at the beginning of our conversation.”

Dr. Bennet squirmed in his chair. The shadows seemed to close in from the corners of the already small room. He didn’t know what to do. He couldn’t get up and run when the President of the United States was watching him. For all he knew, General Smith locked the door. How bad would it look if the United Nations came on and he had his back turned, beating on a door handle that wouldn’t open.

“Ready?” asked the president.

The box around the president shrank and his image was whisked to the upper left side of the screen. In his place the screen was split between twenty different people of various ethnicities. Dr. Bennet was now staring at some of the most powerful people in the world, and they were staring right back at him.

He was going to have a panic attack, or maybe a full on heart attack. Yes, he was sure it would be the latter. To counter his nerves, Dr. Bennet dove into his speech. If this meeting was going to kill him, he might as well try and get out the important information first.

He repeated everything he had just told the president, this time with a minimal amount of breaths.

When he was done, an Asian man was one of the first to respond. Dr. Bennet could only see his lips moving, a few seconds later he heard an English translation come through the speaker.

“This signal has been heard all over China as well.”

“How long have you known about this,” asked the President. “And just when were you planning to inform the rest of us?”

“Without further knowledge of the signal we felt we should study it more before bringing it to light.”

The President shook his head in disapproval. “As a result we lose precious time because you have failed to share important knowledge.”

“We will judge what information is important and what is not.”

Another man began talking and the translator was soon speaking. “How do you suggest we pinpoint the source of this hive mind?”

Dr. Bennet shrugged. “I really don’t know, we’ve only recently discovered the signal at all. It takes time to discover these things.”

“Meanwhile France burns,” said another.

“We all do,” said the President. “Let’s not forget that.”

“You might be able to take a wide range of reading and trace the signal to where it’s strongest,” Dr. Bennet blurted. “Or,” he shook his head. “I don’t know, discover where this outbreak started.”

“We need to discuss what weapons should be used,” said one of the many people.

“It would be foolish for us to set any limits at all,” said another.

A few people began to speak over each other.

“Nuclear attacks should be documented and passed by us all before any detonation can occur.”

“All nuclear attacks must be strictly forbidden.”

“You have been a great help Dr. Bennet,” said the President. “You have a nice day. Make sure you take a nap before going back to work.” Although his voice came out the loudest, there were at least four people talking at the same time.

The television went black; everyone and their arguments disappeared. Dr. Bennet was alone again.

With his nerves still doing backflips, Dr. Bennet got up and went to the door. Major General Smith was waiting on the other side. He was standing like a statue on the far side of the hall.

“How did it go?” he asked.

What little was left of the excitement from the conference faded. Dr. Bennet took one step out of the room and then collapsed.