Fall of the Mortals (Book 1) (8 page)

He came to a stop and leaned his bike on its kickstand. He checked several of the other cars surrounding the pickup trucks for keys. He grew frustrated as he checked vehicle after vehicle. There were no keys and no way to move any vehicles away from the pickups.

“Are you kidding me?” scoffed Shaun in a sharp tone. “Vampires flying everywhere, people are still worried about their damn cars.”

He got back on his bike and rode on down the emergency lane. Shaun thought about how materialistic people really were before the end came. Their cell phones, cars, flat screen TVs, other electronic devices, boats and RVs; it seemed like it was all people ever cared about.

He remembered being a police officer handling a traffic accident. One of the drivers involved had a Lotus that was wrecked. The driver was a handsome guy in his thirties wearing a nice jacket, Rolex and expensive sunglasses. He was talking non-stop on his cell phone. The driver of the other car, a beat-up, crappy minivan, was a Hispanic woman who had three children with her. She was older, didn’t’ speak English, wore shabby clothing and was badly injured. The driver of the Lotus stepped over to him.

“
Officer, is this, like, going to take all freaking day?
”

“
We’ll be done when it’s done
,” Shaun responded.

“
I need to be done here in, like, five minutes, dude
,” said the snob driver.

“
It ain’t happening. As you can see, the other driver is injured. So you’ll need to be patient, sir
,” said Shaun, standing in the yuppie’s face and adding some crust in his voice.

The driver got the firm message Shaun relayed through his body language. He stepped away and went back to his car. Shaun felt a sense of satisfaction telling off the selfish jerk as he waved in the fire engine that arrived for medical attention. He overheard the jerk in the background yell, “
You just cost me five hundred kay, copper!
” The Lotus driver blurted, in an irritated tone, “
I hope you’re happy!
”

Shaun ignored the prick and his horrible remark. He was more deplored at his lack of care for another human being.
It’s that kind of crap that’s going to bring the end of mankind; when people stop giving a rat’s ass about the next guy and are only concerned with their money and possessions,
he thought.

Now all that mattered was
people
—people helping each other defend themselves against the vampires. He pondered how he and the others at the tower weren’t just people either, they were a family and they cared about each other, although they got on each other’s nerves.
How strange it is that the value of people rises when we’re in a crisis,
he thought.

Shaun cruised down the freeway thinking of the hardware store in Ventura. He hoped there was a pickup truck in the vicinity to load up what he needed. If not, his only chance was to use the stores manager’s truck, providing there was a key in the office. 

There was a large pile of wrecked cars ahead. Some of them had dead passengers hanging out the windows. He maneuvered to the left. More demolished cars and a truck blocked the roadway. Oil and gasoline were spilled on the road. He came in too fast. There was no way around them. He hit the brakes. The motorcycle went out of control, skidding on the oil. The dirt bike struck one of the wrecked cars head on. Shaun was thrown off of his bike over the cars. He flew through the air fearing the hard landing. The impact of his dirt bike caused a spark on the pavement. The gas and oil spill went up in flames. Shaun landed on one of the other of the cars on his back. His head hit the pavement and he went unconscious. His dirt bike went back a few feet and fell over. The cars caught fire. The flames drew near him and the motorbike.

***

A few hours later, Harold called everyone to dinner. He noticed Shaun wasn’t there.

“Where’s Shaun?” he asked.

“We don’t know,” said Chris. “He took off on his bike a few hours ago.”

Harold was worried. He looked out the windows, it would be dark soon.

“This isn’t good. This isn’t like Shaun,” he said, pacing nervously. “These going-out-in-the-daytime trips are really starting to stress me out.”

“Where did he say he was going?” asked Betty.

“Ventura,” stated Harold. “It’s almost an hour just to get there. He could be anywhere.”

Harold looked at Betty. His eyes told her he had to go look for him. She knew he might not come back.

“You better get out of here and go bring him back,” said Betty.

“Give me the keys to the Ferrari,” said Harold, rushing to the doors.

He opened a cabinet and loaded a 50 caliber Desert Eagle pistol. He tossed Yuri a shotgun. Thai and his father watched Harold prepare to leave.

“Thai. You and your father watch over things until we get back,” Harold instructed.

“Sure,” said Thai.

“Let’s go,” said Harold.

Harold and Yuri rushed out the doors.

***

It was five forty-five p.m. Shaun lay on the freeway. The cars in the pile up were engulfed in flames. The wretched odors of burning flesh and oil caused him to cringe. He slowly moved his head and woke up. He quickly sat up. His eyes went large with fear. He looked around. It was horrifying knowing where he was. 

“Oh damn,” he said in a scared tone.

He had to get over the burning pile of cars. There was no way across. He went up on the left side. No good, the flames were too high. He tried the middle, reaching through a narrow gap in between two vehicles. He yelled as he burned his hand. He looked at a narrow gap on the right side. A charred human body hung out the window of a small car. It was the only thing between him and his way out. He had to hurry. He climbed over the dead body. The flames enveloped him. He yelled again. His pants, hoodie sleeves and back caught fire. He jumped to the other side and landed near his bike. He rolled over again and again to smother the flames on his clothes. His hands were badly burned. They hurt. He frantically stood his bike up, climbed on and tried to start it up. The engine didn’t turn over.

“Don’t do this me. C’mon.”

He tried again. Nothing.

“C’mon!”

He turned the key again. Nothing.

“Son of a bitch!” he hollered.

There was no way through the wrecked cars. He stressed. He got off his bike, looking around at the lifeless city.

“This isn’t happening. This is not happening!”

He pulled his motorbike away from the flames and leaned it on its kickstand. He looked over the bike. It was going to take a few minutes to fix it. He noticed he was on an overpass. It was a twenty-five foot drop to the road beneath him. There were five foot concrete medians on both sides. His only hope was to start his bike and get back to the tower.

***

Harold sped down the freeway in the Ferrari. Yuri sat in the passenger seat holding the shotgun. Fear came over both of them knowing the daylight was dimming.

“I hope Shaun is safe,” said Yuri.

“Me too, Yuri,” said Harold with a worried expression.

“Do you think more people are in other cities?” asked Yuri.

“I hope so,” said Harold.

“In Russia, the cities were cold and dark. I felt alone much of the time.”

“What made you want to come here?” asked Harold.

“I wanted very badly to study chemistry.”

“What did you want to do with it?” asked Harold.

“Create something to help mankind.”

“Like what?”

“I once saw a scientist attempt to clone wheat in his lab,” answered Yuri.

“Did he succeed?” asked Harold.

“No, but his ambition inspire me. In Russia, food is big problem.”

“It’s getting to be that way here too,” said Harold sadly.

“When I left Mother Russia, I had bad feeling I might never return.”

“Why’s that?”

“I knew America was dangerous place, especially Los Angeles.”

“Bet you weren’t expecting all this, right?” asked Harold.

“I thought maybe I get robbed by street gang, yes?” said Yuri with a grin.

Harold smiled.

“I’m sorry you lost your family,” said Harold with sincerity.

“I am Atheist. But something tell me they are in better place,” stated Yuri looking down.

“I hope our tower family compensates some for your loss,” said Harold.

“We are a family,” said Yuri gripping the shotgun. “I will do anything to protect any of you.”

“Thank you,” said Harold. “And same to you.”

The Ferrari drove down the freeway.

***

Shaun twisted a couple of wires together. He turned the key. Still nothing.

“C’mon, work damn it.”

He tried it again. It started!

“Yes!”

He revved the engine a few times, climbed on and took off.  He maneuvered around the pile of cars. A huge feeling of relief poured over him as he sped down the Ventura freeway.

***

Harold and Yuri passed through West Hollywood. They weren’t far from Shaun. Harold turned on his headlights. They watched intensely out the windows searching for him. The last bit of daylight faded in the horizon. The vampires would be out at any moment. Harold knew the further he drove the more danger they were in. His only relief was that they were driving along the coast. He figured most of the vampires would be further inland.

“The night has come,” said Yuri.

“Be ready for anything,” said Harold.

Yuri pumped a buckshot into the chamber of the shotgun.

“You ever used one of those?” asked Harold.

“I hunted wild pig with my father since I was eight,” said Yuri.

***

Shaun was passing the Sherman Oaks area. The night came on him like a bad dream. He knew at any moment the vampires would be out looking for blood.  He turned on his headlight. He heard their roars in the distance. They weren’t far away. He felt fear run down his spine.

“Damn,” he mumbled.

He accelerated to full throttle. Fear poured over him. The lines of the freeway lanes whizzed beneath him. He looked up. A female vampire with red hair flew right at him. Her eyes were bright orange. Her teeth were gnashed showing her ferocious fangs. She slashed at him with her hand. He ducked, barely missing her deadly fingernails. She flew after him. Three more female vampires joined in. One had long black hair, another was blonde and the third one had short brown hair. They flew as fast as they could trying to catch up to Shaun. Shaun’s speed was maxed at seventy miles per hour. The four vampires drew close to him from behind. They flew fast but had a hard time catching up to him. They were a few feet above his head. They reached down trying hard to grab his hoodie. Shaun hunkered down to his handle bars as much as he could to avoid their reach. His anxiety was high. He knew he screwed himself bad by crashing earlier.

One of them grabbed at his hoodie again. He yelled, jerked away and maneuvered to the right. The vampires stayed on him. He drove around several cars in the freeway lanes but quickly merged to the right side again. He had no choice but to stay to the right in the emergency lane because of the abandoned vehicles in the other lanes. There was a clearing in the other lanes. He merged back to the middle lane. The vamps were still behind him. They yelled, gnashing their teeth, trying to catch him. The bumper of a car sat in the road directly ahead of him, he drove around it.

Up ahead, two male vampires held a small car above their heads. They were fifteen feet above the lanes ahead of the freeway. They were anxious to stop Shaun.

“Don’t let him get away!” one hollered.

“Now!” the other one shouted.

They threw the car. It hit the freeway and rolled right at Shaun. His eyes widened.

“Whoa!” he screamed, ducking his head. 

The small car bounced right over him, barely missing him. The four female vampires above him scattered to get out of his way but flew after Shaun again. The sky above him swarmed with vampires. Their roars grew louder.

Another pair of male vampires, different than the first two, held a twenty-five foot boat over their heads. They threw it on the road. It hit the freeway. The front end, the middle portion, the rear, engine and propeller broke apart. The pieces headed toward Shaun. There was no way around the wall of debris flying at him. A large piece of the middle portion struck him. He dumped his bike and slid several yards across the lanes of traffic. His kickstand and right mirror broke off and he slid even further down the freeway. His bike kicked up some sparks until it slowed to a stop. He rolled several times until he came to a halt. He didn’t move. He knew he was finally at his doom. His fear escalated into complete terror but he had no strength to get away. He was done. He slipped into unconsciousness.