Wake of Darkness (20 page)

“She will be
very
good at
it,” Alexander corrected him, before leaving the kitchen and disappearing on
the way to his own room.
She must be.

Chapter 18

Jim groaned.
Typical.
He was
the first one ready. He paced at the foot of the stairs; he wanted to get out
there tonight so badly he could taste it. Something in his bones told him that
it would be a good night.

“Ready?” Alexander asked, suddenly
appearing at his side.

You really have to ask?

Alexander shrugged seconds before
they looked up to see Sophie and Zoey coming down the stairs. Jim muffled a
snicker when he heard what ran through Alexander’s head.
Good luck, man.

Alexander raised an eyebrow at his
brother.

Good luck keepin’ your mind in
the game with her lookin’ like that.

Sophie shot Jim a smug smile.

“Alright! Let’s go,” Jim said,
leading the way out the back door.

“Have fun!” Laney called from in
front of the T.V.

“Thanks!”

Jim held the door open for the
others and led them back to the storm cellar out back.

“What’s first?” Sophie asked.

“Gettin’ a few things, just in
case,” Jim answered, typing the code in at the door. “After the increase of
activity the past couple of weeks, I’d put money on seeing one or two out and
about.”

“Dante mentioned that their
migration pattern has changed,” Alexander added, quietly, “Perhaps it is due to
the fact that we are here and growing in numbers, although it has taken them a
while to catch on.”

“They’re a little slow, huh?” Sophie
asked.

Jim shrugged and swung the doors
open and walked down the descending pathway into the dark hole, not bothering
to turn on the light. They could all see as well in the dark as the day, so
what was the point?

Sophie watched as the other three
went immediately to work. Zoey strapped a belt—full of wooden stakes—around her
waist. Jim slung his gun belt around his waist and checked the magazine in the
Desert Eagle .50 AE he preferred to carry, before sliding it into the holster,
while Alexander examined his Smith and Wesson revolver, spinning the cylinder
with a quick touch of his thumb.  

Sophie watched them with wide eyes.
“What are those for?” she asked quietly.

“Pretty much anything shot through
the heart slows one of those suckers down long enough for us to get them,” Jim
answered, slipping a knife and a couple of stakes in his belt. He pulled a leather
jacket on, concealing his weapons. “Silver’s the best, but these’ll do.”

“Oh,” Sophie replied, sounding
unsure about the situation.

Alexander leveled his eyes at her. “You
wanted in on this, Sophie, and this is how we do things.”

“No, it’s not that,” she retorted. “It’s
just…I’ve never shot a gun before. I don’t know what to do, or
how
to do
it.”

“Well, we’ll remedy that soon,” Jim
promised as he reached for a belt that held six stakes. “Here,” he tossed it to
her, “you can use these. No point in taking you out there with no self-defense.”

She fastened the belt around her
waist, the stakes concealed on the inside of it, against her body.

“You will not need them,” Alexander
assured her.

Jim nodded in agreement. “We’ll
take care of whatever’s out there. You’re not gonna be in any danger.”

Zoey patted Sophie on the shoulder
reassuringly.

Sophie shrugged; she wasn’t scared.
“Let’s do it,” she replied.

Alexander nodded before he led the
way out of the cellar, threading his arms through the sleeves of his jacket as
he walked. Jim reached down to secure the door after them all.

“We’re not driving?” She asked as
they bypassed the cars.

“No,” Alexander replied. “We can be
more mobile if we don’t have to concern ourselves with vehicles. We’ll go to
the square first.”

Jim nodded and Sophie shot him a
questioning glance.

“It is a heavily populated area at
night. The bars especially draw them out,” Alexander explained.

Sophie restrained a shiver as she
recalled the nights she’d spent on the downtown square before she knew what the
real world was actually like. Those images ran through her head as they walked
in silence into the approaching dusk.

So why aren’t we jumping there?
Sophie asked in a thought.

The threat of exposure is too
great to jump in. We could appear right before someone’s eyes and that could
be…bad,
Alexander replied.

Oh, right.

The square was full of people and
the trees around the courthouse were full of white lights and it made it feel
festive. Safe.

Jim and Zoey fell behind Sophie and
Alexander. Jim stopped on the corner of Elm and Oak, taking a seat on a bench
there, and Zoey went to peer into shop windows nearby. The other two continued
on ahead of them, watching everything as they walked along.

Alexander looked around, and when
his eyes settled on a good observation spot, he led Sophie to it.
Let’s sit
here for a while and see if you can spot anything out of place.

Alexander and Sophie sat so the
building’s wall was to their back. He looked at her seriously for a split
second.
You have spent the past twenty years trying not to
hear
anyone. Now, you must
listen.

Passersby walked in a wide arch
around their table, giving them a wide berth. The two didn’t intend to look
threatening, but there was something about them that made people want to steer
clear.

We’re lookin’ for anyone who
doesn’t seem normal,
Jim commented silently.

Shouldn’t be too hard,
Sophie
replied sarcastically.

From the other side of the square,
Zoey laughed silently.

Sophie was right; they
were
in a college town, but of course she knew what he meant. She’d been able to
pick Jim and Alexander out of a crowd of hundreds in that town; she figured it
wouldn’t be too hard for her to find what they were looking for.

So, not all of us hunt vampires
like this, right?
She asked.

Correct,
Alexander replied
without looking at her.

Then why do you—
we
—do it?

Alexander sighed.
Because it’s
the right thing to do,
he answered too casually, not meeting her eye.

She wasn’t buying it.
Is that
all?

No,
was all he would answer.

What else are we going do with
all that time?
Jim interjected quickly.

I could think of a
few
things to do with my time.

Damn girl, get your head out of
the gutter.

Okay, you two,
Alexander
warned with a faint smile on his face.

Sorry,
she replied, a smile
spreading across her own face.

And then they were silent for a
while.

Does it ever bother you?
She
asked all of a sudden, still staring across the street towards the courthouse.

Does what
,
ever bother
us?
Alexander asked.

Killing someone like that?

You mustn’t think of them as
individuals, as human beings. They are not human any longer, but they
do
take human lives.
Oftentimes, we are all who stand between them and the
humans they would kill. Besides,
his thoughts hesitated,
each of us has
the innate capacity to kill, whether we recognize that characteristic or not.
Must I remind you of your reaction when one of
us
has ‘attacked’ you? It
is simply our nature.

I don’t believe that
.

He chuckled.
Alright,
he countered,
watching her with humor in his eyes,
without thinking about it, how would
you kill Jim?

Jim laughed.

Easy,
she replied
automatically,
I’d run up behind him, stab him in the back and then go for
his…
“Oh!” She exclaimed out loud, covering her mouth with her hand, horror
spreading across her face.
Oh, Jim, I’m so sorry,
she thought
frantically,
I didn’t mean it! I can’t believe…

It’s okay, Sophie,
Jim
interrupted her,
Don’t worry about it.

But that’s horrible. I’m SO
sorry, Jim!

Sophie—
seriously—get over
it.

She smiled meekly in response, but
didn’t quite believe that she hadn’t insulted him.

Do you see now?
Alexander
asked.
Now imagine how easily and naturally it would be to end the life—if
you wish to call it that—of something that is trying to kill you or your
family. There would simply be no hesitation.

Hmm…I see your point, but I'm
still not…
Her thought trailed off as something caught her eye. She froze.

What is it?
Alexander asked.

Jim, Zoey, can you guys see the
guy on the opposite corner there, by that statue?
She asked.

Jim’s eyes shot across the street,
scanning the crowd.
What’s he look like?

She shot an image to Jim of the guy
she’d seen.

Oh, okay, yeah I see him,
Jim thought.

Just watch him for a minute,
she
thought back.

The one in the gray hoodie?
Zoey
asked.

Um hmm.

The four surreptitiously watched
him for a few moments.

He’s moving a little too fast,
don’t you think?
Zoey thought.

Good eye, Sophie,
Alexander thought.
Let’s get ready to follow him if he moves.

Told you she was a natural,
Jim
said.

Thanks, Jim.

You betcha, sis. Whoa, he’s
moving.

Come along,
Alexander
instructed Sophie, rising from his chair.
Slowly.

She rose silently. He reached back
and grabbed her hand, taking the time to appear casual.

Jim crossed the street to be closer
to the vampire and pretended to talk on his phone. Zoey remained a few yards
behind him.

They began slowly following the
vampire as he moved south on Elm, exiting the square.

He doesn’t know we’re following
him,
Sophie thought idly.

Is that an assumption?
Alexander
asked firmly.

No
, she shrugged again,
confused.
That’s what he’s thinking
.

Jim and Zoey came to a halt. They
exchanged looks, shocked by the revelation.
Whoa!
Jim exclaimed.
That’s
crazy, Soph.

What’s crazy?
She asked.

No one’s been able to do that
before,
he answered.

Let’s keep up with him. We will
follow him and see where he leads us,
Alexander pulled Sophie along with
him.

And then?
She asked.

And then, we’ll take care of
him,
Zoey answered.
And we'll see if you can pick up on all of their thoughts.

Jim’s heart rate quickened. He
could see the vampire perfectly. He started walking faster.
I can’t wait to
get him alone in a dark alley. Dirty, stinking, evil piece of…

Language,
Sophie jokingly
warned.
There’s a lady present.

Please, I’ve been in your head,
girl,
he replied. “
Lady” is questionable.

Now, Jim,
Alexander warned.

Sophie snickered.
I was talking
about Zoey.

Zoey laughed quietly.

They were slowly gaining on the
vampire as he turned the corner and headed down a dark alley.

Surprise, surprise,
Jim
thought.
A dark alley.

Quite the cliché,
Sophie
agreed.

The four of them came together a
few feet from the vampire’s turn. Zoey stepped away from Jim. Alexander stood
with his hands in his pockets and Sophie, a couple steps behind him, had a hand
behind her back, her fingers just touching one of the stakes concealed there. She
didn’t stop to think how instinctual the action was, but she felt the familiar
boil of aggression in her gut when she saw the vampire up close for the first time;
her first reaction was to have a weapon in her hand.