LinkBack URL
About LinkBacks
Hey everyone! I'm just messing around with a new genre. Thought it would be fun. Let me know what you think.
Revision comments are helpful. Comments in general are nice too. (:
-----
It was a crisp and lucid daybreak, the change in seasons evident as its chill sent rakes of shivers down the spines of its victims. The summer’s gentle breath of soft fragrant bliss was becoming transformed into the hideous monstrosity that would soon turn into the dangerous world called winter…
Autumn. The season of death. Dead leaves, reddened like blood spilt from a wounded neck or eyes bloodshot with excruciating pain, littered the ground in random sequence, teasing the remnant, healthy and lush grass as if they were proclaiming the innocent green’s imminent doom… It, too, would soon meet the same fate. It, too, would meet its end.
Everything had an end. This fact had been established since the dawning of time, or so it was told. The sun rose into the sky, but soon fled back to its horizon and cursed the lay of land it had once been so eager to protect.
However, every end has once had a stunning beginning. The most beautiful thing to the starving inhabitants of planet Earth was the sight of the sunrise. It marked a new beginning. It meant safety. It meant another night had gone by and there were still lives to witness the dawning of a new beginning.
Underneath the purple bruised sky, of Vantucker, Minnesota, a city slept at the sight of a new day, where moments before it had been living and breathing. The fronts of stores that had been bustling a couple hours prior were now sealed shut, the street devoid of any life-form, newspapers that had been the entertainment for the evening were abandoned at every bus stop, some even scattered across the avenue by the relentless zephyr that cycloned every so often through the tunnel at the other end of town. The only steady pulse of activity came from a blinking traffic light that lazily flicked through its three programmed colors. Green… Yellow… Red. Cars were parked staggered along the town’s main corridor, as if hurriedly dejected. A couple of the doors were swung ajar, the draft that seeped into the city sweeping trash from an automobile’s interior and tossing it carelessly about the cement. But as devoid of human-life as the abandoned, cold city seemed, it was quite the contrary.
Underneath the purple bruised, beautifully painted sky, of Vantucker, Minnesota, a youthful renegade fawned in neutrality.
“Would you put that out? Do you want to get us all killed?”
The paper which wrapped tightly around smoking tobacco struck the ground in silent defeat, soon followed by a stamp of a boot-cloaked appendage.
“You understand they can smell that reek from inches away?”
“We won’t get within inches of them. You said we wouldn’t, didn’t you? You said at this time of day they’d least expect a run,” came a response, heightened to a panicky tone as the words were spoken. “Right? Isn’t that what you said?”
The nervous speaker was met with a round of hushes, and immediately the party’s light footfalls ceased and heads ducked beneath a smelly dumpster.
There were five of them, and all of them were obviously very young. Two bore the wide-eyed and freckled faces of prepubescent teenagers, maybe twelve years old. The two boys exchanged nervous expressions as their slightly more mature friend was scolded by the leader of the pack. Their leader was also young, however seemed to be a more seasoned veteran in provision-runs.
“If you don’t shut up,” the supposed leader hissed, his hand snatching the younger lad by the collar, “then I’ll shut you up. You’re going to get us all killed. You had the choice to stay behind, but you insisted on coming. So shut up or buck up, pal.” He pushed the tweener away from him and slithered expertly towards the corner that would lead them into the main avenue.
“Who died and made you king, Prosper?” The boy mumbled in response, embarrassment crowding his features as he straightened up his crumpled shirt.
“Henry, let it go. He’s right, you need to shut up, or I’ll drag you home myself.” The feminine vocals belonged to a raggedy looking girl, who brought up the rear of the posse. She looked to be around eighteen years old and had two blonde ponytails falling around her ears.
Prosper retreated from the corner and returned to the gathering. “Okay, here’s what’s going to happen. Everything looks clear, but you gotta be on your guard. These guys are extremely tricky… and fast. And they won’t stop at anything to eat you for—”
“Okay, okay, we understand.” The girl rolled her eyes. “We’ve heard it all before in class. You don’t have to go and make Henry all freaked again.”
The two younger boys giggled and Henry’s tanned face crumpled in embarrassment.
Prosper gripped his messy brown hair in frustration before looking up again. “Whatever. The pharmacy’s across the street. There’s not a lot of cover, so be sure to move fast. I’ll go first, and I’ll wave Perry and Martin over when I’m sure the coast is clear. Rachel, can you and Henry take up the rear?”
“We got it.” She responded. Henry was too antsy to respond.
“Okay, let’s go. And remember, be quiet.” With that, Prosper spun around carefully and approached the corner again. His eyes scanned the empty street, understanding that if his sight didn’t register their predator’s movement fast enough, it might mean the death of his entire party. He couldn’t have that on his record this early on in his life.
After a brief hesitation, he took off towards the backside of an abandoned maroon truck, crouched low to the ground. He gripped the bumper with shaking hands, peering up and around the tailgate towards the store fronts before glancing up towards the eager faces of Perry and Martin. He nodded and indicated it was clear with a sharp nod.
Before the two had made it to where he had been, Prosper had already scanned the area and dashed to the front of the pharmacy, crumpling behind the cover of a green trash can that overflowed with old wrappers and pop cans.
His eyes darted across the street to see how his companions were doing. Soon, Perry, Martin Rachel and Henry had joined him, wide-eyed and crouched to the left and right of him. Prosper could almost be certain he wore the same frazzled expression.
“Now, what?” Perry, who hadn’t spoken since they left the camp a few hours before, piped up. “What if… they’re in there?” A shiver visibly roared through his petite frame, from the very tip of his blonde head to his clog-like shoes.
“It’s a pharmacy. Why in the world would there be someone sleeping in a pharmacy?”
“You never know, and one mistake could end us all.”
“You guys, stop talking! You’re being ridiculous. Besides,” Rachel held up a rusty dagger, waving it in front of Perry’s face as if teasing him. “We’re armed. If they try to attack us, we’ll kill the bastards.”
Henry scoffed. “You really think that measly piece of crap you call a weapon will do anything to hurt a stampede of those damned—”
“Sh!” Prosper had already cracked open the door, quickly reaching in to silence the clanging bell meant to warn the shop owner of any intruders. He grabbed Martin by the back of the neck and shoved him into the building. Perry crept in behind him, followed by the other three.
They stood in silence for a solid minute. The clock above the front door ticked noisily behind them. Tick, tock, tick, tock. It was incredibly still in the run-down, deserted-seeming building, of course, by the way the party was dressed, it wasn’t a far cry from the ordinary.
All of them were dressed in a mixture of animal skins and old fabric. The twins wore faded jeans and jackets seemingly made from the hide of an animal. Their skin was bare beneath the coats, but adrenaline was pumping so fast within their veins, it was no wonder they couldn’t feel the biting frost.
Rachel simply wore an “AC/DC” shirt (she had no idea what the mysterious label meant), and it was slightly tattered around the hems, but other than that, pretty well put together. She also wore jeans. Henry wore a similar outfit, but his shirt was a plain gray with dirt smudges on it. He also wore a cap that had a squiggly on the front of it.
Prosper, their fearless leader, wore faded dark blue jeans as well, and his feet were clad in a pair of hand-me-down hiking boots. He had on a filthy white shirt underneath a dark brown leather jacket. His shoulder-length brown hair was tied hastily at the back of his neck with a strand of floss.
After about two minutes of silent fear coursed through the group, Rachel shrugged nonchalantly and skipped past a check out area. Everyone else watched her, mortified.
“Well, come on, the supplies aren’t gonna gather themselves.” She joked, heading down aisle three at a gleeful gallop. Rachel had gone of plenty of supply-runs, but she had never seen action. Prosper assumed that was why she was so easy-going about everything. He had not seen anything either, but had heard horrible stories and had even lost his brother to one of the night-lurkers. He would always be on his guard.
“You’re mighty chill about this whole situation, Ray.” Martin said, kicking the ground for another breath of time before following the older girl at a hurried pace.
“She’s right, we have to hurry.” Prosper lowered a disheveled looking pack from his shoulder until it struck the ground. Kneeling, he unzipped it and pulled out three very different looking sacks. They seemed to have been haphazardly sewn together with random chunks of fabric. “No funny business, let’s get what we came for and get out of here before they smell us. Henry, you get the medical supplies, I’ll get some miscellaneous canned food. Perry, you… stay close behind me.”
Henry didn’t have time to throw a rebellious remark about Prosper’s leadership, because Perry and the leader were already off on their way down an aisle. The sign above the row of canned food was faded, but they had been at this location before, and Prosper knew where all the important stuff was.
The leather-jacketed leader tossed a sack at his comrade. “Perry, fill that up with some soups. I’ll get the vegetables.”
Perry nodded his little blonde head and rushed further down the aisle. Prosper ran his fingers along the aisle shelves, trying to decipher the language splayed across each can’s faded labels. “L-I-M-A beans. Great.” He snatched a couple of cans and dropped them in his bag, then hastily made his way down the aisle for more.
When his bag was halfway full and pretty heavy, he tied it up and swung it over his shoulder. “How you doing down there Perry?”
“Good. Is Beef… uh… Beef-a-roni soup?”
“Dunno. Stick it in there.”
“Kay.”
“Don’t make it too full though, we still have to haul it all the way home.”
Perry nodded at him with an obedient expression, tossing a few more cans of Beef-a-roni into the sack before tying the top of it. “I think that’s all I can fit in here.”
“Good, now let’s go get-”
A shriek resounded inside the pharmacy, making Prosper’s heart stop. Perry glanced around frantically before looking at his leader with a terrified expression
“Shit.” He took off down the aisle, skidding to a stop at the end. Henry came stumbling out of the pharmacy with a white expression. “What the hell is going on?!”
“There’s a dead person in there, Prop. All his blood is gone. It’s a fresh kill.” For once in Henry’s life, he looked as if he wanted Prosper’s advice on what to do. The cowardly boy leaned against the side of the door frame weakly.
As scenarios flitted across Prosper’s mind, Rachel, Martin and Perry jogged to his side. Rachel hesitantly stepped around Henry to take a peek into the medicine room. She disappeared for a second before coming back out with a grave expression. She nodded at Prosper.
“Okay…” Prosper announced to the group. They all stared at him. Prosper’s heart beat fast, and paranoia crept up on him. All of a sudden, he didn’t feel so bold. “Okay, did you get any supplies Henry?”
“Bout a quarter bag.”
“Did you get the tourniquets for Gunny and Alan?”
“Y-yeah.”
“Okay, then let’s get the hell outta here. Stick close behind me. Rachel, bring up the rear.”
“Got it.”
Prosper headed towards the front of the store at a brisk walk, reaching behind him for Martin’s hand. Martin grabbed the appendage.
“It’ll be okay, you guys. It probably-”
Something clattered. Prosper skid to a stop and hushed Perry, who was whispering with Rachel.
“Did you hear that?” Henry squeaked.
Prosper signaled for his group to stay put and slid to the edge of the aisle, peering down cautiously.
There it was.
The night-dweller was the size and shape of a twenty-five year old woman. She had brown, beautiful hair to about her mid back, which was tied at the back of her neck. She was dressed scantily in a red cocktail dress… but the thing that stuck out the most was her face.
As she inhaled the human-stench that filtered the air, her gray nose crumpled. The blood-red in her eyes was inflamed with thirst, almost as crimson as the velvet around her body. Normally, the creatures seemed like regular human beings… but this one had dark blood dripping down her face, was foaming with thirst, and fangs were protruding from her pale lips. She stood erect in front of the aisle that he and Martin had been gathering supplies, a disturbingly alert expression on her famished features.
Prosper had never seen one before. He couldn’t help but gasp at the sight of her. Once he did, the creature’s head immediately snapped in his direction.
They stared at each other for a second, his heart stopped. The night-stalker purred in curiosity. The curiosity turned into realization. Realization turned into a dead sprint.
“RUN!” Prosper hollered, instinctively throwing his bag of gathered food at the oncoming predator before rushing over to his entourage.
Martin and Perry screamed, but Henry and Rachel understood immediately and grabbed a twin before running. Prosper threw a look behind him, noticing that his distraction had worked momentarily, but the creature was much faster than the five of them and would catch up in no time.
“Rachel, get them out of here!” He screeched before being hit in the head by something heavy. He cussed and hit the ground. The dangerous woman mounted his back, crushing his spine and biting off his air supply. The predator yanked his head back by his hair. He could feel the beautiful, horrifying creature’s lips against his neck. He tumbled to the side, knocking her into the side of the aisle. His hand pulled out the dagger from his belt loop and he slashed blindly at it. The creature screamed in apparent contact.
He pushed off the ground and was halfway up before crashing down again, the creature’s grasp around his ankle. His eyes cast a glance at the creature’s face—hungry, rabid, angry. He knew he wouldn’t survive this ordeal on his own. The predator hurried to his neck before he could realize what was going on.
“You’ve been a bad little snack.” She hissed in frustration, fangs dripping with venom. Her face descended on him, but immediately flew away once again, a look of pure agony written all over it.
Rachel stumbled away from the creature, her knife in its back. Her expression was terrified, but determined. “Go! Prosper, get out of here!”
He flipped over and pushed himself up, bolting down the aisle. Rachel was right behind him. It seemed like minutes had gone by before he saw the heavenly front door.
Rachel and Prosper leapt over the checkstand, Prosper grabbing her hand once their feat was done. They dove out the door into Henry, Martin, and Perry’s antsy aura.
“KEEP GOING!” Prosper hollered, and the group immediately obeyed. Apparently, Martin had snatched the backpack full of canned soup and medicine supplies before fleeing. Everything Prosper had gathered was lost in the store.
Rachel shrieked behind them, making Prosper halt to a stop.
“Keep running!” He instructed the other three before turning around to see what had become of his female comrade.
But it was too late. At the curb in front of the door, Rachel had been caught up by the monster, who was now feeding on her neck. The predator kneeled down, gently cradling Prosper’s friend in her dangerous grasp. Rachel’s chest heaved up and down desperate for life, her blue eyes wide and searching. But by the time her eyes rested on Prosper, all life had completely left her.
Prosper shook with resentment. “NO!” He leapt forward, towards the murderous demon. He ran at the monster, completely devoid of thought and wisdom. The creature tossed its kill to the side to receive Prosper’s threat, the look on its face satisfied, thinking it would be getting another meal.
But Prop wasn’t as weak as he seemed. He full-on tackled the night-dweller. They struck the ground, wrestling. The vampire was weaker in the sunlight, but it was still a lot stronger than Prosper. The thing that Prosper had was gray matter… the creature had speed and strength.
Prop clenched the thing’s neck underneath his brawny hands. The creature reached up and swatted his grasp away with ease, punching him in the eye. Something broke, but Prosper didn’t have time to register what, exactly, because soon he was underneath and therefore, at a disadvantage.
The creature sat on his torso, pinning down his forearms with her surprisingly inhuman strength. “You are quite the handful. Maybe I should keep you for my collection.” She hissed, the words dripping with contempt.
Blood dripped onto Prosper’s face, and soon he realized that it was Rachel’s blood. Rachel, his friend of thirteen years. Rachel, the girl who claimed she could kill one of these creatures with one arm tied behind her back…
Prosper spat a wad of blood and saliva in the monster’s face. The monster, surprised, let up on her hold a tiny bit. It was enough for Prosper to bring his dirk into its unsuspecting eye-socket.
Blood spurting, the dead woman rolled off of Prosper. Instead of running, Prop reached over, yanking the dagger out and stabbing it into her chest cavity. He repeatedly performed the deed until he was sure the creature was stunned.
It was too bad the undead couldn’t die.
He knew, however, that as long as he had stabbed its unbeating heart, it wouldn’t recuperate for hours, maybe even days. His eyes stared down at the undead thing, his dagger in her heart, and Rachel’s knife in its back.
Rachel.
He tried to compose himself as much as he could before turning to look.
Her eyes were still open; her lips open as if stunned. Blood that had once supported a living body now ran onto the sidewalk aimlessly wondering what its purpose was now that its host was dead. The horrified expression on her face was too much, he had to look away.
His body felt numb as he pulled his dagger and Rachel’s knife from the stunned body on the ground. He shoved her knife into his belt loop and rolled his bloody dirk in his hand twice before sprinting away from the scene.
Tears which he hadn’t noticed before streamed down his cheeks, and the biting cold licked them away.
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by tornskate
Bookmarks