The Dead Game (18 page)

Chapter 26

T
he next morning at church, Linda didn’t see Louise sitting in the pews. She whispered anxiously to Shana, “Where is Louise? I never see her anymore. Everyone else is here—except of course for the vampires on the hill.”

“After her alleged hanging in the gazebo, something has definitely changed about her,” agreed Shana quietly. All of a sudden, she got that strange twinkle in her eye that Linda recognized as her way of over-thinking something. Her assumption was proven correct when Shana promptly suggested, “Maybe Louise is really dead and therefore can’t come into the church anymore. She could be a vampire or even one of The Dead.”

“Hold your horses! Let’s stop guessing and just follow through with our plan.” Linda laughed at Shana’s strange, off-the-wall ideas. She was embarrassed that she’d thought the same thing about Louise just the other day.

After services Father John was standing on the church’s white steps, vigorously shaking people’s hands goodbye. Linda patiently waited for everyone to depart before approaching him with Shana, Mike, and David beside her. He moved inside with them into the deserted front hall.

“Good morning, Father John…we have a favor to ask of you. We now know that Charles Wolf is the leader of the evil group of vampires on the hill, called The Dead. They are behind all the murders and disappearances in town. We’re going to confront Wolf in his own home. After we leave, we would like you to inform Todd and the sheriff where we’ll be going. This way they can come to our rescue.”

“Why can’t you just wait for the sheriff and his men to fight this evil? You don’t need to place yourselves at unnecessary risk,” pleaded Father John.

“That’s exactly what I suggested but, of course, no one listened to me,” complained Mike.

“They’re taking much too long to clean up this town. If we initiate the fight on our own, then they’ll be forced to confront the demons,” David announced gallantly. “It’s over for us one way or the other, so we might as well go down fighting.”

“Make sure to inform Todd and Sam. That’s the only way this plan will work,” Linda cautioned the priest.

“I’ll go right away,” said the Father, pulling on his coat.

Linda watched as the priest hurried out the door. He had accepted her story about Wolf and The Dead a little too easily—without asking even one question. She hoped that she was just being paranoid and that the priest didn’t have his own ulterior motive—like everyone else seemed to have in this town.

Turning to leave, she spotted someone standing inside the front door; furtively eavesdropping on their whispered conversation. Peering closer, she was shocked to recognize the priest’s housekeeper. Why would the housekeeper be interested in what they’d been discussing? And why would she be hiding? Linda mentally added this person to her ever-growing list of suspects.

Meanwhile, Father John was hurrying across the street to the sheriff’s office. Rushing inside he blurted out loud, “Linda and her friends are going to Wolf’s house to confront him; you and Todd must meet them there before they get themselves into trouble.”

“How stupid could they possibly be?” asked an aggrieved Sam. He was the only officer on duty: Carl was off somewhere on his own. “Thank you, Father. Todd and I will take care of this immediately.”

Looking relieved, Father John turned away to leave the office. Before he completely turned his face away, Sam thought he observed a weird green light reflected in the Father’s usually calm blue eyes. Hoping that they didn’t have another enemy to contend with, he closely watched the priest walk very slowly from his office and across the street. Detecting no further indication that the Father was anything but what he appeared to be, he calmed down a little—but he unfortunately knew that appearances could be very deceiving.

He called Todd to update him on the new development concerning the humans in town. Todd was horrified and angrily replied that he was heading right over to Wolf’s house before the stupid humans got themselves killed—or even worse.

Chapter 27

T
hey pulled up in front of Wolf’s dreary-looking house. David appeared to be having second thoughts about their idea: he was crouched down low down in his seat. Mike had to forcibly drag him from the car.

The four humans walked hesitantly up to the front door, but it was already standing wide open, beckoning for them to step into its dark depths.

With a slight quiver in his voice David remarked, “He’s expecting us. The Big Bad Wolf is already waiting for us. We don’t even have the element of surprise.”

“We’ve never had a chance anyway,” admitted Mike forlornly. He loved teasing his silly friends. He looked over at David, evilly visualizing him as the weak lion in 
The Wizard of Oz
who lacked courage. He could just imagine him holding his tail nervously in his shaky hands, as they slowly walked down the long hallway to meet the wizard—or in this case, the wolf. If David was the lion, then he must be the Tin Man—the one without a heart. Linda could easily be the silly scarecrow without a brain, which would make Shana Dorothy, who was always searching for a home.

“Great! We get to die in this creepy house. I hope someone finds our bodies before they decay,” lamented David. Mike desperately wanted to pull his tail real hard.

“Stop the theatrics and let’s head in already,” ordered Shana. She really wanted to find a home and a happy ending with Sam, mused “without a heart” Mike, but it was doubtful that she ever would. 
Just click your red heels together, Dorothy, and see what really happens.

“Don’t worry, Todd and Sam will come in time to help us. Todd always seems to know when I’m in trouble,” Linda assured them. Mike thought, 
Here goes “no brains” again
.

“Which is about all the time,” commented Shana
. Another genius heard from
, announced Mike silently to his invisible audience.

“What if the Father can’t locate them in time?” whimpered David. 
Boohoo
, sarcastically cried Mike to himself.

“Todd and Sam have powers of their own and they’ll find us,” soothed Linda. 
Sure! Silly scarecrow!
Mike snickered to himself.

They walked into the house very slowly. “Down the Yellow Brick Road…”

The house was quiet. The lights were off, no sounds emanating from any of the rooms. Then all of a sudden all the lights lit up at once, revealing Wolf standing in the middle of the hall—directly in front of them. One second there was air and the next second there was Wolf; Shana had forgotten how easily he could shift shapes and reality.

“Welcome, my dear friends! It’s so good to see you again!” boomed Wolf in a loud voice that reverberated off the high walls.

Shana whispered to Linda, “For dinner, I suppose.”

“Ha! Ha!” retorted Wolf.

Unhappily realizing that his hearing was superhuman, Shana hoped that he couldn’t also read minds.

Wolf gave Shana a wicked wink, causing her to freeze with fear. How could they fight someone who could read their minds?

“You definitely can’t,” replied Wolf with a smug look on his face. The others were closely observing the strange interaction between Shana and Wolf, belatedly realizing they’d unwittingly placed themselves in a no-win situation.

“Come in and enjoy what is left of your miserable lives,” requested Wolf as he swept his right arm outward to indicate the large room before them.

The eyes of the portraits on the walls were closely watching them; Shana remembered them from their earlier visit. She pointed to one of the many life-sized statues displayed about the room. This one portrayed a monstrous creature. “Is this what you really look like?” she taunted.

“Be careful or you can become one,” warned Wolf.

Shana wisely fell silent.

In the blink of an eye, Wolf had Linda in his strong arms.

Linda hadn’t realized that anyone so big could move so quickly. He was gazing down at her longingly, while she, in turn, was completely mesmerized by his black eyes and handsome face. He kissed her powerfully on the lips, causing her to experience so many deep and unsettled feelings that she felt like she was going to pass out. If he hadn’t been holding her, she was sure she would have fallen to the ground.

It felt as if there were only the two of them in the world: everyone else was disappearing in a soft, hazy mist; her friends were drifting far away; she could see their shadows fading in the distance. Where was Todd? Had he deserted her? Did she now belong to Wolf? A deep part of her still held on to Todd—refusing to leave him for a true vampire. But she couldn’t think: her mind was becoming too foggy. She wanted to yell out “Help me” but her mouth wouldn’t work. She was drifting off into a deep sleep that she feared could last forever.

“Come and see my little friends!” offered Wolf, cordially directing the rest of them to the edge of the clear glass floor that securely covered the tank of alligators. Waving his hand over the floor, the glass slowly dissolved into the water. The creatures were now right below them—without the protection of the glass floor—hungrily staring up at them.

“Be careful that you don’t fall in, or you’ll be dinner,” laughed Wolf out loud at his own crude joke. “Come closer and get a better look at my sweet babies,” he continued pleasantly.

The three humans stubbornly remained close together.

“I can make you move against your will, but the consequences would be much direr for you,” snarled Wolf, while holding a semi-conscious Linda against his muscular body.

While Wolf was busy being enthralled by Linda, Todd made his appearance. He quickly took in the whole scene: Mike, David, and Shana huddled in fear at the edge of the floor, Linda lying limp and lifeless in Wolf’s arms. He was going to kill Wolf by ripping him apart, limb by limb, from his traitorous body. No one was going to hurt Linda on his watch. With a snarl, he ran at Wolf, knocking him to the ground and in doing so, successfully freed Linda from his strong grasp.

His anger had propelled him with superhuman strength; however, his victory was very short-lived. Wolf was swiftly up again and ready for battle. He roared, revealing his long sharp fangs. Todd found himself in a choke hold, his head hanging over the edge of the tanks, close to the jaws of the snapping alligators.

Knocked from Wolf’s tight grasp, Linda hit her head hard on the floor. This effectively woke her from Wolf’s hypnotic trance. Confused and dazed, she looked around. Oh my God! Wolf was holding Todd’s head over the open tank of alligators. She couldn’t understand how he’d held her completely transfixed by his beauty, when now she could focus only on his sharp fangs, red glowing eyes, and the utterly deranged look on his face. She would never be able to live with herself if Todd got himself killed because of her and Shana’s far-fetched plan.

From out of nowhere, Hayden appeared in front of the tank. Wolf glanced up, halting in his assault on Todd, and smiled. “Good! You have finally decided to show up, Hayden! Hurry and help me dump him into the tank! The alligators are starving!”

Hayden responded by lifting his hand ever so slightly. Wolf was raised up high in the air. Then he lowered his hand to drop him mercilessly into his own tank. Flicking his hand a third time, he triggered the glass to close over the tank while at the same time open the green-glassed dome to the bright sunlight. Not protected by the green glass any longer, the light weakened and burned the trapped Wolf as he valiantly struggled with the deadly alligators. He died with a look of complete horror covering his face as he was viciously devoured by his beloved pets. His last glance was for his beloved Linda, who was standing by the edge of the water, unhappily watching him lose his last tenuous hold on life.

She felt sad that it had to end this way, when Wolf seemed to have cared for her so deeply. She had hoped to sway him to their side, but now they would never know.

Rushing over to her, his eyes burning brightly, Todd demanded, “You’re never to risk your life again! Promise me that!” before pulling her into his arms.

Not wanting to promise anything, she casually quipped, “I thought Wolf was the strong one and Hayden was his weak servant.”

“I am no one’s servant, and never will I be one,” boomed Hayden, sending sharp glares like daggers at Linda.

“No. Of course not,” declared Todd, “but your acting was so good that you had everyone completely fooled.”

“Nice save. But remember, I’m the strong one, and I decide which side I’m on.”

“Will you be on our side now?” asked Linda sweetly, comfortable in Todd’s strong arms.

“Yes, young human. I have always been on the side of humanity. I’ve only posed as Wolf’s supporter to keep a watchful eye on him and his cruel band of followers,” replied Hayden just as sweetly.

Still stunned by the sight of Wolf’s fangs and glowing eyes, Linda began to wonder if all vampires transformed into monsters when they attacked. She asked, “Do all vampires’ appearances change when they attack?”

Hayden responded, “Only vampires who drink human blood reveal their fangs and their true selves as they devour humans. The evil inside them is fully exposed when they attack.”

Black furry creatures began flying around them. Linda recognized them as the bats from Wolf’s cave. They flew at the group standing around the alligator tank, trying to push them into the water where the glass was once again wide open. Turning around to see who had opened the glass floor again, she fervently hoped that Hayden wasn’t double-crossing them to take control of The Dead—now that Wolf had been killed.

“No! I would never do that!” responded Hayden to Linda’s hidden thoughts. He pointed at the water and the huge bats dropped in—one by one, closely following the same fate as their late master. She could hear the distinct sizzle and pop after each bat was burnt alive.

“I’m so sorry…I wasn’t sure who to trust anymore,” Linda apologized.

“I accept your apology; you have stayed true and stuck by your friends. Vampires could learn a lot by observing humans. I must go now. If you ever need me again, you know where I live.” With that said, Hayden abruptly vanished.

Mike couldn’t understand how they always got so lucky with some unexpected savior coming to their rescue at the last possible moment. This story was somehow paralleling fairy tales and sappy movies. Where were the gory endings, where everyone received their just rewards? When was he going to be a hero and finally save the day? He had to admit that he did get to watch as Wolf and his furry friends got eaten alive by his pets.

Sheriff Sam ran in, closely followed by his human vampire crew: Ryan, Judy, and Gregg.

“We were waiting outside to see if you needed our help, boss,” cried out Gregg.

“Thanks, but I could’ve used the help when I was having my head bashed into the ground by Wolf,” replied Todd in an annoyed tone of voice.

“You’re the boss?” queried Linda.

“We’ll talk about that later.”

“You’re definitely not the boss of me,” replied Linda in a huff.

“We shall see.”

Shana stared at Sam and inquired curiously of him, “If he’s the boss, then who might you be?”

“The trusted sidekick?”

Todd pulled Sam aside from the others. “This is no time for jokes. Where did Ryan, Judy, and Gregg vanish to this time? They walked up to the house behind you and then disappeared from sight. They’re never around when we need them; they’re supposed to be our back-up, but they never protect our backs any longer.”

“When I’d first arrived, I had found them peeking into the front window of the house,” explained Sam, “closely watching the action being played out inside. They made no attempt whatsoever to enter the house on their own to help you out. However, as soon as they noticed me, they acted as if they’d been planning a rescue of their own. But of course, they couldn’t offer any suggestions, since I believe it was only a front. By the time we joined you, the game was already over and Hayden was leaving the scene.”

“I have very extreme doubts about whether those three are still on our side. If they’re traitors, I wonder what they’re planning to do now that their precious leader has been vanquished.”

“Reality has been distorted so many times that I am having problems differentiating between the bad guys and the good guys. My current motto is to trust no one until they can prove their worth,” Sam admitted to Todd.