And so the story continues in the daylight. As for some administration, for those who would like to continue receiving notifications, please leave a single comment in the subscription/ table of contents thread. A link is provided in every chapter. I will soon no longer be giving notification to those who merely comment on chapters after the next chapter.
Subscription/ Table of Contents
FAQ
Blood of the Damned
Part 11
Lila stood above the sleeping vampire, butcher knife in hand. All the stories said she needed a wooden stake, but this was reality not a myth. Not a legend. Cold steel should be able to kill the undead creature.
But what if it didn't? Too much of everything that happened was born of madness, what if Haley just calmly tore out Lila's throat, with the butcher knife piercing her breast.
Lila bit her lip as she stepped away from the vampire, and turned her attention to the window in the kitchen. Sunlight poured in through the glass, crawling across the floor the higher it climbed into the sky. Lila forgot about Haley as she moved to look out the window, letting the sunlight hit her face and warm her skin.
"You weren't sure if you get to see it again were you?" Jay's voice cut through the silence, making Lila's heart leap.
"Sorry. Didn't mean to startle you," Jay continued, limping over beside the woman with his walking stick.
"It's okay," Lila said with a sheepish smile as she looked at the soldier who had shed the digital camouflage tunic and wore just a t-shirt beneath.
Jay's eyes quickly saw the M4 that had been left on the counter top, and the knife clutched in Lila's fist, the stainless steel glimmering in the sunlight. Jay sighed and looked back at Haley who still slept content in the chair. Or was she actually watching them and just pretending to sleep. Jay couldn't begin to guess.
"She's hope... on an island that seems to have lost it all," Jay said softly, his words for Lila, but his eyes not leaving the vampire... the woman, who had saved him in the forest.
"She's not human. She feeds off of humans. We're a food source for her," Lila said, pointing with her knife at Haley.
Jay sighed, and moved to the counter to look out the window. He couldn't argue against it, couldn't prove Lila wrong. It made sense for a vampire to protect humanity, like a farmer protecting his herd of livestock from ravenous wolves.
"But I was once human," came a voice from the living room.
Lila and Jay turned to see Haley sitting up in her chair, now playing with something silver in her hands. Jay squinted trying to see what it was.
"I was in London. On a rooftop, just laying there waiting to die," Haley started.
"London... that's where it all started. That's where it spread from," Lila said, almost in shock.
"Yes. I was there at the start of the madness, when the switch from reality to fantasy was flipped. I saw my family butchered, my mother's head torn from her shoulders, my brother's stomach ripped open. All I could do was run. So I found myself on a roof, waiting to die," Haley said quietly, a chain slipping between her fingers. She was playing with a necklace of some sort.
"On that roof I was given a choice. Wait for the zombies to get me so that I may join their ranks. Or conquer death. A woman gave me the chance to become strong enough to avenge my family, and to protect others where I had failed so miserably with those I loved," Haley finished with a sad laugh.
She tossed the object in her hands to Lila, who caught the silver object in a clenched fist. Letting her fingers uncurl from the fist she looked down at a silver cross on a simple chain.
"It was my mother's. It's a reminder. I have the power to protect now, and despite the fear of what I am, I will not fail," Haley said sternly.
~~~~~~
John heard screaming and swearing. With no expression he turned down an alley way to see two men wielding baseball bats to keep away the ravenous zombies. Blood flowed from multiple wounds covering their forms as they desperately fought for their lives.
A zombie's head was smashed between wooden bat and brick wall, crushing skull and spilling brains. A man's arm was bitten, teeth tearing through skin and muscle lifted from bone. A scream of pain filled John's mind as he moved towards the fight. He could save these two. He had that choice.
"Keith. Oh fuck man here comes another one. He's a big bastard too," one of the two men said.
Keith shoved a zombie the ground after it clawed at its face, scratching his cheek. His foot slammed down repeatedly on its neck, snapping the spine and leaving the undead monstrosity paralyzed.
"Size don't matter. They all die the same way," Keith yelled back to his friend as he viciously swung his bat, crashing against another ghoul's skull.
John moved up the nameless man, pushing a zombie out of his way. The man looked in confusion at the zombie now clawing at the wall as it slowly got to his feet. He looked up at John, and John wondered if the man knew that he would save him.
John grasped the man's throat, and lifted him off the pavement, his fingers digging into his flesh, crushing his windpipe on itself. The man tried to gasp, tried to do something, but not even a wheeze escaped his throat as John simply held him there. The man's eyes rolled into the back of his head, showing the pure whites as he dropped his bat to claw desperately at John's grasp.
"What the fuck?" Keith yelled out as he turned at the sound of the bat striking the pavement.
John looked down at him. Could this human not see that John was saving his friend? Perhaps he was simply impatient for his turn.
Keith lashed out, his bat striking John's shoulder, making the creature shake with the impact. Indeed, John had almost dropped the man still, but just barely, struggling in his grip. So John kicked Keith in the chest. He could hear the sound of ribs cracking as the blow sent Keith smashing against the wall.
John simply watched him, trying to get up despite his pain. He felt the nameless man go limp in his grasp, and so tossed him away like a rag doll. He would arise soon enough, saved from the pain and misery of life. It was Keith's turn, he had been so impatient.
John stood above the man, who quivered in fear. John's fist punched down hard, smashing through into his chest cavity, and grasping his heart. Keith's eyes went wide with pain, but John knew that he would know peace soon enough. So in one vicious movement, tore the heart from Keith's chest.
johnwalrus
Nice update! Lots of good stuff going on here. I hope the improvements continue.
The way Lila and Jay think of Haley is interesting. Jay saw Haley save him first hand, and so he isn't afraid of her. Lila, on the other hand, sees her as some powerful stranger, who has the ability to kill her, if she so desired. And although Haley reassured them that she was looking out for their best interests, I don't know if Lila is so sure.
Haley's decision to become a vampire must have been a tough choice, and to make it in so little time! Basically, she could avoid death, become nearly invulnerable, and be able to have a chance to do what she wants with others, but then become an outcast in the uninfected world, or, die a horrible death, lose all chance of living other memories, and sacrifice the chance to affect the world, but be spared from the terrible humanity that is the epidemic of the zombie plague, and be able to see you family again. I would have had to have a little while to sit and think.
John is becoming an intriguing character. The way he views the world around him as one big pain and there being no hope in it is very interesting. The way he spares humans instead of satisfy his urges sets him apart from the other zombies. I wonder if John will be given a backstory later on...
If Haley can hold a crucifix, what is her weakness? I may be thinking a little old-fashioned after reading my last vampire novel, Dracula, but what is she open to? Is it the normal stake to the heart, then fill the mouth with garlic, or is it something new? I hope that if it is something new, it is something dumb, like the tears of a pure human (not that I would think that, anyways).
I saw the error fairy return. OH NO! But it was only two lines, so it is okay. Your story, anyways.
Really liked this installment, gave me something to think about. I hope there is more to come!
sinfulwolf
Glad this installment gave you something to think upon, as well as to entertain you. I am trying to put good character dynamic into the story, and so far I seem to be doing well. Or at least that's what I'm told. Of course, its always some of issues that are placed in front of the characters that really show this. Sure they all want to survive, but with Haley in the picture they start to disagree. Where else will this affect them?
John has a back story planned out. Hopefully when its revealed people won't just think "oh, what a cop out." I know where he came from, and why he is different from the others. Answers will come.
Haley isn't evil, as vampires in such old stories like Dracula were portrayed, so she is not hurt by religious artifacts. That was part of the reason I had her holding one. Weaknesses, besides the sun will be revealed in time, but I don't think I'll do anything like tears of a pure human. Also, you got other big questions about things that may have already been covered, don't forget the FAQ.
More soon, glad yer enjoying.