Page 10 of Before We Burn

We pull into a town called Spencer—a name given by the people. Kids play in plots of empty land filled with dead grass and broken concrete, their clothes neat and pressed—a clear distinction from their broken down environment. They are some of the lucky ones, though. Their buildings still stand and their town is still running. I grin, surprised this tiny community is thriving in the middle of nowhere.

I look at Benny who is just as surprised as I am. These people seem to have no fear at all. I don’t know if they have a death wish or if they've made peace with the idea of living with monsters, but I wish they would practice caution. Get inside, lock their doors, and close their windows. Vampires could be anywhere, and wandering outside while the sky is this dark is dangerous.

We drive through town until we’re right outside where the witches had been reported. It’s a small gas station, and a light flickers inside as the sun disappears the moment we stop. I look at the sky, then to Benny, his eyes already on me. His brows are set in a permanent scowl as he reaches for the talkie, both of our intuitions telling us these aren’t witches.

“John, this doesn’t look like witches.” I pull out my gun, taking off the safety and making sure it’s fully loaded. Benny takes out his weapon, repeating the same motions.

Johnny's voice comes through on the speaker, sounding amused. “Did I say witches? Fuck, I’m sorry. It’s vampires, three of them.” I groan, but Benny loses it. He punches the radio over and over again until it is completely unusable.

I look at him in disbelief, and he heaves, “Don’t look at me like that, Everett. You know he did that shit on purpose. We should’ve turned around and gotten UV rounds. The bastard knew it was vampires!” I knew that, he knew that, but the time for that has passed. We have to do something about this now.

“Get a grip, Benny. We’re here now, and we need to get this under control before the whole town turns into fucking vampires.”

I agree with Benny—his anger’s in the right place—but there is nothing we can do to change it. We’re here and our suspicions seem to be right. I’m not excited to have a run in with vampires, but I can only imagine the bonus points we will get with our general. Extra rations—maybe even some off time. The incentives made the risk worth it.

“I keep one UV bullet on me. If I need to use it, I will.”

I try my best to reassure him, but there is nothing I can say that will stop him from being pissed. He flings open his door and storms toward the gas station’s store, leaving me to follow after him quickly. Benny is capable of holding his own, but one vampire is the equivalent to three humans—five if they just fed. We are outnumbered, and the weapons we brought will wound them at best.

We have to stick together, or we will die quickly—or worse, be turned into one of them. I chase after him, placing my hand on Benny’s shoulder to force him to slow down. I need to let him know I am here and not to shoot me. A lot of deaths we see are accidents. People get scared and start shooting at everything and anything they see. I hold my gun firmly in my other hand as I check our surroundings, then tap twice on Benny’s shoulder to let him know it’s clear.

There is no sign of anyone. Just old, rotted cars no one was using and overgrown weeds coming from the cracks in the cement. We slowly move inside, making sure to keep our footsteps light and quiet.

The inside of the gas station store is destroyed, and whoever owned it must’ve been selling different types of jerky as the dried meat is discarded, the cash register thrown to the ground. Money is scattered across the floor, and though it isn’t a lot, it would be enough to buy families meals for two weeks.

The Collective provides rations to families, but it’s never enough, and the rations they offer for sale are pricey. That’s why most people join The Collective’s military. The food they provide is some of the best. Plus, finding a fully-stocked grocery store was near impossible.

We move into the darker parts of the store, our steps perfectly timed. Slowly, we enter the garage area where some light snarling sounds linger in the air. The vampires are somewhere in there.

Benny freezes, the sounds becoming loud. We’re getting closer to them, but with no plan of attack. Benny turns to me, motioning with his eyes to the tools on the wall. I quietly move toward it, searching for what he was indicating, until I see them at the end of the bench—a plethora of broken wood and yard tools.

We slowly holster our weapons while the snarls and crunch of the vampires feeding make my skin flush in a cool sweat. We both grab wood shards—now the most useful weapons we have—and move around the room in opposite directions.

We have to strike before they notice our scents. Vampires experience blood frenzies when they feed, and it’s the best time to attack. The only downside to it is they’re always stronger in a frenzy.

I settle myself in a corner, watching as each vampire feeds on their own victim. I hate hearing the sounds and the way the bodies spasm against the floor, letting me know the vampires had bit deep, making their muscles twitch and thrash.

I look to the other side of the room, spotting Benny there in the shadows. His hand is tight over his mouth as he watches in horror. He has never seen an active feeding before, and I can tell he never wants to again.

I remember this part from my childhood—this was the one part of vampirism I remember experiencing. I walked in on him—the vampire with the white hair and cold eyes—as he fed on my mother. I remember her feet kicking the ground over and over again, her nail beds bloodied and broken from clawing at the floorboards. Seeing this made me relive that moment, except I’m not a scared boy anymore.

I couldn’t save her then, but I can start avenging her now.

I don’t wait for Benny to move; the shock of the feeding was going to make him move slower regardless of if he’s ready or not. I hold the broomstick tight, the bottom of the wood sharp and jagged in my grasp. I move swiftly toward the vampire within my reach and stab him through his back, making sure to pierce his heart. His shriek is so loud I think my eardrums will burst, but that doesn’t stop me.

I push the wood in deeper, the squelch of the flesh as it tears making nausea roll in my gut. I look at him with a smug smile, his wide black eyes laced with the realization he isn’t so invincible after all. I let go and take a step back, ready to admire my handy-work, when his body catches fire and he is reduced to nothing but ash. I’ve never seen a vampire die like that before.

Vampires normally rot just like any human. The story is that wood reminds them of the grave they should be in, that reality is what kills their eternal souls, sending them to an unmarked grave in hell somewhere.

The other vampires wail in sorrow, but Benny is there. He drives his weapon into the other male vampire's heart. The scene replays again, and the lone female lets out a deafening cry that forces us to our knees. I cover my ears as she turns toward Benny, her face twisted in malice. I move my hands from my ears, quickly loading the one UV bullet into my gun that I’ve always kept in my pocket just in case. Today is the day I will change that to an entire clip.

I stand and move slowly to the lone vampire, fighting the pain in my ears as I place my gun to her temple. With the cool metal pressed there, her mouth shuts and my ear drums ring with a slight tingle of relief, making me feel airy for a moment.

I press the gun deeper into her flesh as I come back, a rush of adrenaline taking over. “I wouldn’t move if I was you. I have one UV bullet, and it’s loaded right now. We are with The Collective, so you should know we love killing vampires, and we won't hesitate to kill your screaming ass. Don’t attempt to run. Don’t signal for help. I have one shot, and I’m not going to hesitate to take it.”

That adrenaline high drifts away and pain radiates in my left ear. I shake away the pain and almost lose my footing. Benny grabs my shoulder, but the vampire turns to face me now instead. Her eyes are nearly black from her feeding, thin yellow irises reflecting back at us. Black veins crawl down her face from the corner of her eyes as if she’d cried them out. She looks up at me through her brow bone, a sneer on her face.

“What do you want?” Her accent catches me by surprise—it’s rich and rough-edged, each word deep and intentional.