Dead by Dawn Read online

  When they reached the hall they began to laugh. They didn’t understand why and neither could do anything to prevent it. It was as if they had lost their minds. The only thing they could do was to try to laugh quietly. Unfortunately, this only made them laugh harder.

  Adam was frustrated with himself for laughing. The situation was way too serious for the way he was acting. Even so, it couldn't be stopped. The laughter continued, playing on his frayed nerves.

  Adam checked his hand and was glad to find the cuts weren't that deep. The bleeding had already stopped.

  Both he and Sarah staggered back downstairs, regaining some of their composure before reaching the lower level.

  When the laughter left Adam it was replaced by the shakes. He could hardly hold himself still. He had once gotten buck fever a few years earlier when he’d gone hunting with a friend, this was ten times worse.

  Sarah wasn’t faring any better. She had her arms crossed over her chest and was breathing in rapid pulls as if she’d just fallen into an icy lake.

  “What the hell happened?” asked Joe as he met them at the bottom of the steps.

  “We killed one,” said Adam. “It was asleep upstairs.”

  Keith came out of a room to their right and set his drag bag on the floor. He unzipped it and began digging around inside.

  “Alright, that’s it, everyone gets a gun.”

  “We should have done this in the first place,” said Joe.

  Matt came out of the room after him, looking sick. He received a black .45 ACP Smith and Wesson, pistol. Sarah was handed a Sig Sauer P220 Combat revolver. Adam received a single barrel, twelve-gage shotgun.

  “They’re all loaded and the safeties are on,” said Keith.

  Matt held the pistol like it was a snake that might bite. Compared to him Sarah looked like a professional with years of training.

  Maybe she had been a cop, or a soldier in her past life, thought Adam.

  He kept the barrel of the shotgun trained down at the floor. He held it with two hands, one finger on the trigger.

  “Do me a favor,” said Joe. “Take your finger off the trigger until the moment you’re ready to shoot.”

  Adam pulled his pointer finger away and let it rest against the stock of the gun. It felt a little awkward.

  Keith gave him a gentle slap on the shoulder. “That keeps us from getting accidentally shot in the ass.”

  They went together to the next three rooms, all of which were vampire free. The first was a meeting room with a large oval table in the center, followed by somebody's office and a waiting room. There were pictures of a family on the desk in the office. The frames were covered in dust and a few had been knocked on the floor. The people inside stared up through cracked glass.

  Each room grew harder to see inside than the last as the light outside faded.

  On the other side of the third room, Joe stopped them.

  “I think the kids should make a run for it before the vampires wake.”

  “What do you mean?” asked Adam.

  “Find a car and head for the hills. If we kill the vampire we’re looking for, you’ll be safe. You too Matt, you should go with them.”

  “I’m not going anywhere,” said Adam.

  “Me neither,” said Matt.

  “This isn’t a negotiation,” said Joe. “This building is a death trap. Even if we kill the leader, I don’t think we’ll last long in an infested building.”

  “But that’s why we should stick together,” said Sarah. “We can put up a better fight.”

  Joe shook his head. “No. My gut tells me this is a suicide mission. I should've never dragged you guys this far into it.”

  “We’re in this together,” said Adam. “Don’t forget, we were the ones to get the text message in the first place.”

  Keith stepped in between them and placed a hand on Adam’s shoulder. “I agree with Joe, make a run for it. Let us stop them tonight so you can give mankind a second chance tomorrow.”

  “We can’t just run,” Sarah complained.

  Adam agreed with her, but he also saw the logic in what Keith said. They shouldn’t all spend their lives in one moment when they didn’t have to. But still, he couldn’t help but think their chances were better together. It wasn’t like it was any less of a death trap outside.

  “What do you think’s going to happen when we try to run?” he asked. He could feel the fear beginning to build in his chest. “There’s vampires outside too, remember.”

  “You’ll probably die too,” said Joe, looking sullen. “But it’s better than placing all our eggs in one basket.”

  Keith glanced at him before turning back to Adam. “You’re going to drive like a bat out of hell and when we kill their bastard leader, the vampires won’t have a mind to catch you.”

  “Adam?” asked Sarah, her voice was strained and slightly pleading.

  Adam kicked the ground. If he was being honest with himself he didn’t want to choose either option. At that point he would have preferred they get back in the helicopter and come back in the morning. He knew that wasn’t an option though, they didn’t have enough fuel and the vampires would be waiting for the moment they landed. Their leader would probably find a new place to hide as well.

  “Fine,” he said. “I’m going to get a car and I’m going to drive us back to the mansion. I expect to see you guys there tomorrow afternoon.”

  “You’d better get moving,” said Joe.

  Adam and Sarah went for the door, but stopped when they saw Matt wasn’t coming.

  “Go on without me,” he said. “I’ll see you tomorrow afternoon.”

  Joe gave him a look that was disapproving, but didn’t say anything.

  Adam went through the front door first and stared out at the front lawn. It was a few acres across with a black fence that separated it from the sidewalk. There was a handful of trees here and there and, of course, the helicopter. The sky was pink on the horizon and turning purple overhead. Adam’s heart froze as he realized he couldn’t see the sun.

  “Come on,” he said to Sarah. “We’re running out of time.”

  They ran across the yard, only stopping when they reached the black fence. Breathing heavy, Adam boosted Sarah over. When he attempted the climb himself, his pant leg got caught at the top and he wound up parallel to the ground. Sarah had to climb up and work it free before he could get down on the other side.

  There was a Chevy Cruze in the middle of the road a few yards away from where they jumped the fence. For a moment, Adam thought they were in luck, the door was open and the keys were in the ignition. Unfortunately when he tried to start it, he discovered the battery was dead.

  “How are we going to get a working car?” asked Sarah.

  Adam glanced around. He could feel the grip of night moving in. They had no time at all to find a working vehicle.

  There was a truck sitting in front of a parking meter that’s time had long since expired. Adam peeked through the passenger’s side window to find the keys were gone.

  “Can you hot wire it?” asked Sarah.

  “No, but I have a plan.”

  He picked up a rock and broke out the window. Once the glass was shattered, he snaked his arm inside and opened the door.

  He began searching under the seat and through the glove box, looking for any tool he could use.

  “What are you looking for?” asked Sarah.

  “Any type of sockets or wrenches.”

  The truck was barren of tools. It was barren of almost anything, the vehicle’s owner kept it cleaned out. It might as well have been straight off the dealership’s lot.

  The Cruze however was a different story. Sarah came running across the street carrying a pair of pliers she’d fished out of the glove box.

  “Remind me to kiss you when this is over,” said Adam, taking the pliers.

  He popped the hood of the truck and began undoing the battery. With the battery out and in his hands he went over and did the same with th
e Cruze. It was nerve-wracking work, as the pink was fading out of the sky. Their hourglass was down to its last grains of sand.

  When Adam was finished, the truck’s battery was in the Cruze and the Cruze’s battery was on the ground.

  “Wish me luck,” he said, sliding behind the driver’s seat.

  “No pressure,” said Sarah. “It’s only our lives at stake.”

  “Thanks for the reminder.”

  Adam closed his eyes and turned the key. The engine whined as the starter began doing its work. The truck battery kept the starter humming with little hesitation; they were lucky the battery was a good one. The engine, however, was refusing to turn over.

  It took at least ten seconds for the engine to sputter to life. To Adam it felt like a lifetime.

  He opened his eyes again and saw they had just over a half tank of gas.

  “Get in,” he yelled out the window.

  Sarah did what he asked and was soon sitting in the passenger side. “What do we do now?”

  Adam shrugged. “I guess we just start driving.”

  He put the car in drive and did just that. Overhead the first star was making its appearance.

  Chapter 45

  Joe was painfully aware of how dark it was outside. Most of the windows were boarded up, but there were a few that he could still see outside through. The night was upon them.

  They ran into a vampire in almost every room. At first they were using Keith’s silver tipped knife to dispatch them, but now they were running out of time. They were looking for one specific vampire who stood out from the others. They took one glance and then skipped over any that didn’t.

  The vampires they skipped over showed no signs of being special. They wore regular clothes, most sleeping on the floor, some on desks. All of them were sleeping, none stirred when Joe entered the room. He didn’t know what to look for when searching out their leader, he just knew it had to be different. In his mind he pictured it wearing a crown.

  If only we had more time, Joe thought.

  The vampires would be waking any minute. As far as he knew, some could already be awake. He fully expected to open one of the next doors to find the vampire inside standing.

  Their shoes were covered in white dust from tromping through all the plaster that had been ripped from the walls. There were places where the framing underneath was exposed. Everything was so gray. The shadows seemed to reach out for them, trying to hold them back with darkness.

  “Maybe we should start a fire and burn the vampires inside,” Keith suggested.

  “We’re not burning down the White House on my watch,” said Joe.

  “True, that was always more of a British thing.”

  Matt was breathing heavy, it was the loudest noise in the hall. Joe couldn’t exactly blame him, though he still wished the guy would stop.

  “Alright,” said Joe. “We’re in the West Wing. If this guy’s not here you owe me that twenty.”

  Keith smiled. “He’ll be here. If that cocky son of a bitch loves playing king of the hill as much as I think he does, the only place he would stay is the Oval Office.”

  “Or he could be in the basement, far away from the sun,” said Matt. “We probably just wasted what little time we have left.”

  “He’ll be in there, don’t you worry,” said Keith.

  They continued down the hall in a single file line, guns at the ready. They skipped over entire rooms, not even checking if there were vampires inside. They had one last shot of finding the head vampire before losing the last of the daylight, and that was the oval office.

  They found it behind the sixth door they opened. By all means it looked similar to all the other office doors, but the plaque on the door could not be mistaken. Joe twisted the knob and the door opened.

  The room got its name because of its oval shape. It was a large room with blue couches set up in front of a large desk. The carpet was decorated in different shades of gray stripes and in the center was a large eagle crest. Joe knew the eagle to be the presidential seal.

  How many great people claimed this room as their office? How many had taken the oath and sworn to protect this nation from all enemies, both foreign and domestic?

  Now Joe and his companions were the protectors. The very fate of the nation, and world rested in their hands.

  The Oval Office was no longer the peaceful room it had once been. The windows were boarded up and covered in dark red drapes and it smelled like a rotting corpse. The eyes were scratched out of the paintings on the walls, and dried blood spotted the carpet. George Washington was one of the paintings staring out at them through black eye sockets. It made him look like a demon. A vase, set in the center of a coffee table in the middle of the couches, stood frozen in the stale air. Its flowers were wilted and brown, the petals falling to the table.

  Joe took a step inside, half expecting a mob of bats to go flying by. His hulking features were an intrusion to the dead room.

  All the pens and other supplies had been pushed off the large desk and onto the floor, in their place was a coffin. It was gray and massive. The lid was missing.

  The vampire inside was asleep with its arms folded over its chest. It wore a black cloak that floated around its body in tattered strips. Joe imagined they would flail out around the vampire when it moved. The effect would be sinister.

  The cloak covered all but its long and bony hands. Those rested over his chest, each fingernail coming to a point. The vampire was old, older than any vampire Joe had ever seen before. The skin was still smooth, but fragile looking like aged parchment. As they approached, they noticed its features were speckled with aging spots.

  This was the vampire they were looking for.

  “Take him down Joe,” said Keith.

  Joe handed Keith his shotgun and pulled the stake from his belt. It was the same stake he had carved from the chair at his house. It was hard and sturdy. It would do the job.

  He started creeping up on the coffin. Boards creaked with every step and he wondered how much noise it would take to wake the vampire. He tried to keep his foot falls light. The last thing he wanted was to wake the vampire on a noisy approach. With the night so close, who knew how deeply it slumbered.

  Joe made it half way between the door and the coffin before things went wrong.

  A gun went off. He turned in time to see Keith hit the ground.

  Blood poured from both the entrance and the exit wound on either side of his neck. He began to gurgle and attempted to hold the holes shut with his palms. It was no use. Joe could see clearly that the bullet had passed straight through his jugular.

  Matt turned his pistol from Keith to Joe.

  “What the fuck did you just do?”

  Matt began to laugh; it was a chilling, crazy type of sound. “You dumb hillbilly.”

  Joe was frozen under the glare of the pistol, he wasn’t sure what to do. Any wrong move and he would be shot; he faced the same odds if he stood still. He wished he could help Keith, but knew his friend was a goner. The blood was already pooling around him.

  Keith continued to gurgle on his own blood. He opened his mouth wide, gasping for air. Even more blood trickled from the corners of his lips.

  Joe tried to look over his shoulder, but knew Matt wouldn’t let him turn his head enough to see the sleeping vampire. Instead he chose to look his would be killer in the eyes.

  Matt momentarily glanced at the floor.

  On the ground, Keith stopped moving. His hands no longer gripped at the wounds. The gurgling had stopped as well.

  “Well aren’t you a clever son of a bitch,” said Joe. “You shot a man who had his back turned.”

  “I did what was asked of me, which is more than I can say for you.”

  Joe eyed down the pistol, wondering how many shots he could take and still wrestle it away from Matt. He imagined the answer was somewhere around zero, even for him.

  “Then why haven’t you killed me yet?”

  “Curiosity, I want to s
ee what they do to you when they wake up.”

  “And you’re not worried what they’ll do to you?”

  “When they wake up, my task will be complete and I will be with her.”

  Joe squeezed the stake, wondering how much pressure would be needed to snap it in half.

  Keith is dead and the string that holds humanity is being cut, all because of this stupid motherfucker, thought Joe.

  “You’re the one that untied our anchor.”

  Matt kept moving his aim up and down from Joe’s gut to his forehead, as if he were deciding where to shoot. “So what? It was taking the vampires too long to find us.”

  “They got Sherry and Chip… I should snap your fucking neck.”

  “I don’t think so, I’m the man with the gun remember.”

  Joe rocked up on his heels, preparing to charge. The rage inside would have it no other way.

  If this little piss ant thinks I’ll go down without a fight… I’ll drown him in my own blood if I have to.

  Joe took his first step then froze. Matt was not alone.

  A woman came up behind him. She was thinly veiled in a slip. Thick red curls fell over her shoulders and down her back. She was the most beautiful person Joe had ever seen.

  But that was their trick wasn’t it? The vampires had a certain beauty about them that was meant to draw humans in.

  She was just as pale as any other vampire, and when she smiled he could see her fangs.

  “Matthew.” said the vampire in a silky voice.

  Matt visibly shivered. “I stopped them from hurting our master my love, I did what you asked.”

  “You did.”

  “I even brought you a gift.”

  “I can see that.”

  Matt shifted. “Now that I’ve completed my task, is it finally time for me to join you, for us to be together forever?”

  The woman’s voice grew cold and menacing. “No.”

  Without looking away from Joe, she palmed the side of Matt’s head. Matt squealed and the gun went off into the floor. The woman shoved his head into the side of the doorway. His skull collapsed under the pressure of her arm. When she pulled him away, there was a dent in the doorway as well.