An Echo of Royalty

2

    The chilly morning found me in my tent putting on an extra sweater. I had my gear on, which included stakes, an axe, a handgun I'd found on a hunt, and my father's pistol. My ammo was stocked up from the last patrol. We hadn't found anything and I had a clip for each. It's not your usual ammo. After all, where would I be able to restock all the time? Luckily we have Jeremy. He makes our wood tipped bullets, like small stakes. Regular bullets don't do much damage, just slow them down. But if you can hit them square in the heart with a wood bullet… poof. 

    Jeremy invented them and spent all his time carving them. He was paralyzed from the legs down and I guess he figured it was his contribution to the camp.  

    Someone squealed as I stepped out of my tent. Reaching for my pistol I looked around to see Melissa standing next to her tent, her boyfriend down on one knee. It appeared to be a proposal. They hugged. Yep, a proposal. 

    I holstered my gun, taking two tries to do it. My fingers tingled and shook. I flexed them eyeing Melissa. We're a camp of people ready to kill anything and she decides to scream. Not such a good idea.

I wasn't the only one who had leapt to the aid of those who needed it. Men and women had come out of their tents or run back from where ever they were, to help. 

    I tried to ignore the tension that was building, starting with Melissa's little stunt. And then I scolded myself for getting mad at the situation. At least in the circumstances that the world had fallen into, someone could still have happiness. It's a good thing. People caught on to what happened and their faces changed from sour to happy. They hugged Melissa and congratulated them both.

     Standing next to the kitchen, Joe had his own pistol out. His eyes were on me. I shrugged and walked toward him. A smile flickered across his face, then he forced a grim look.

   Great. "Hey," I said as I approached him.

    "What?" I replied.

    "So now you want to get talk to me?" He said.

    I shook my head. "Nope, I'm just ready to go." I leaned against the table to wait.

   "Right! Why can't you just admit that you want some attention? If not from anyone else, then me." He smiled.

   That grin. My stomach plunged and I turned my face to the ground to control the smile that tried to come through. When I was composed, I gazed back at him. "I don't like to lie, so I'm not gonna say anything." 

    He ground his teeth as he stared at me. Oh my goodness, even when he’s mad at me he’s good lookin'.

James and Carter set some gear on the table, so I had someone else to take my attention. 

    Exhaling, I took a piece of toast from the pile left on the table for us. Melting butter touched my tongue and I took a moment to enjoy its rare flavor. That was a lucky find.

    Antsy, Carter checked his gun and James loaded his extra clips. I checked mine too, just to be safe.

When I was done I leaned against the counter, waiting. Joe stepped near me. "You okay?" His eyes darted down at my waist.

    "Why?" I asked.

    "You keep clicking the safety," he whispered.

"Oh." I peered down at my carrying hand, then holstered the weapon still in my hands. "Maybe I am nervous. I feel weird today. Don't know why." 

    He leaned against the table right next to me, the sides of his arms gently rubbing against mine. "Maybe were going to fight another day walker. Never know what to expect out there. It looks like everyone's here."

I didn’t think it was because of a day walker, but the unease in my gut wasn’t letting up.

    I stepped away from the table, remembering the first time we'd come face to face with a day walker. It had smiled at me. I'd pushed it into the sunlight, expecting it to crisp, but he only stood in the light of a beautiful day. It was a hard thing, forgetting his malicious grin. He knew we didn't get it. Five of us charged him. I broke a finger trying to stake him, and James cracked a rib. After all of us pinned him down, Rico staked him in the heart. But instead of crumbling into a dusty decomposed pile like the normal ones, he fell to his knees, and hardened into a marble human being. 

    Joe nudged me in the shoulders and I turned to him. "You're phasing out again. You need to get your game face on," he said.

    Nodding, I blinked the memories away and rolled my shoulders. "Sorry, I was thinking about the first day walker. Don't worry, I'm ready for this."

    He nodded. "Allright guys, let's go."

    The sun rose as we headed up the mountain toward our destination. Taking this steep journey multiple times a week helped keep us in shape. That didn't mean the climb got any easier over time. I glanced back to see Emily grabbing the trees as she huffed. She was one of those girls who didn't like to break nails. But that was before we became survivors of the apocalypse. Now she was working just as hard as the rest of us.

    Between her, Elizabeth and I, we made up the only three girls that did patrols. Neither of them were very good, and they almost got me killed more than they'd helped, but at least they were trying. Joe told me they hadn’t gotten their swing of things yet, and that I needed to give them time. How much time is needed to get used to this? 

   At the edge of the town, we split into groups and scurried to the outside of the warehouse we were implementing. Moving inside to the darkness was always unsettling, so everyone kept tabs of each other's movements, not wanting to shoot one another or lose sight of each other. When the door was popped open, we scanned the room for nests. 

    These were some of the only times that Joe didn't hover. He knew I could handle myself, sometimes other people too. It was nice knowing he trusted me. For some reason, it pleased me.

    James and Carter pushed some rubble with the heels of their boots in the corner, searching for any signs. These creatures may have come from myth, but there were a couple of things the legends got wrong.

     Vampires didn't sleep in coffins. The dead don't need rest. If they ever did lie down, it was in a nest they made out of blankets, cardboard, mattresses or different garbage. Sort of like a bird. 

    We cleared the room and went to the staircase. We left two men to watch the main floor while the rest of us split up to check both the upper and basement levels. They were clear.

    We moved down the buildings, which soon turned to houses. When those ran out, we were in the business section of town. There had been no vampires so far. We came across a building three stories tall covered with glass windows. Not exactly a hot spot for vampires, but you never knew until you checked.

    Joe and I flanked the door. Carter opened it and we pointed our guns inside. Shuffling to the entry, we gestured for the rest to follow. The enormous first floor had been decimated. Or a vampire decided to remodel. I could hear a music coming from up above us. I walked in the direction of the stairs while everyone else cleared the room around me. 

    I stopped at the bottom and listened to what sounded like 40's or even 50's music. 

    Joe came up behind me. "The oldies?" he whispered. 

    I shook my head and whispered back, "Older." 

    Hunkering down we moved up the steps, both of us on an opposite wall of the stairwell. We peered over the top step into the bright room ahead. Vampires wouldn't want to be in here, but we made our way in cautiously all the same. 

    Broken desk pieces and mattresses littered the room. It looked similar to the lower floor.

The others came up behind us, checking this room as well.

    James, Carter and Nick worked on the steps across the room. It was covered in debris and they were removing the chairs and mattresses shoved into its narrow space.

    I peered out at the town. It’s charming, peaceful appeal was only for show because I knew what most of the offices looked like on the inside. As I enjoyed the view, something above the frame caught my eye and I squinted at it. A string was running along the edge of the trim, wrapping onto a spool. A mesh roll was cinched to the top of the woodwork, the string holding it tight. What the hell is that?

    As I reached up to touch it, I listened to the "clear" whispers from the others. I touched the soft rubber bundle, observing the other windows, finding the same things at the top of them. What was even stranger, were the single strings coming off each roll, winding across the ceiling, all headed for the middle. They traveled through a small quarter size hole to the upper floor. I stared up through the opening.

    "Hey, here's the CD player," Joe whispered across the room. I glanced at him before returning my attention to where it had been before, now expanding my curiosity to scuffs and foot treads on the ceiling. Those shouldn't be there. "Hey guys." I said.

    Something zipped. The room went dark. The windows had disappeared. I yelled, "Ambush," as the pieces of the ceiling caved in, scattering debris across the room. 

    A vampire dropped in front of me, backhanding me across the room. I landed on a desk, no time to point my gun. s**t.

    The monster ran to me in seconds. Before he slammed his arm down on the dark wood, I rolled off the opposite side. I jumped up and shot him in the chest. Three shots and he went down in a pile of dirt remains. 

    I surveyed everyone around the room. Elizabeth was backed against a wall. The vampire leaned in for the fatal kiss. Joe wrestled a vamp with pigtails. James lay knocked out on the ground, the vamps ignoring him. Carter was being held down while his tattooed arm was chewed on.

    Everything happened in a matter of seconds.

I took aim at the vamp trying to eat Carter. It was leaning over him and I couldn't get a straight shot at his heart so I chose his head. Two shots and it exploded rubbery goo. His body crumbled on top of Carter, sliding off the side and to the floor. That's a first. I had never seen a body shrivel like that after shooting the head. 

    Carter held his arm to his chest and nodded, wiping at his face. He'll be fine. I shot at the vamp holding Elizabeth. With his back to me it took more shots. My gun clicked empty with the vamp not down yet. I dropped my weapon and pulled a stake from my pocket. No time to reload. Running at him, I shoved the stake in just as his teeth pierced. He collapsed at her feet as boney dirt. I grabbed Elizabeth's hand and cupped it to her neck. "Go help Carter." She nodded.

    I turned to Pigtails still on top of Joe. Her arms bulged as she pinned him down. I pulled out another stake making my way over to them. I aimed for her back as I got closer. Her arm flew out and swiped my legs. I fell to the ground, my stake flew behind me. She’d never looked at me, her eyes were only for Joe. Or I guess I should say teeth. 

    Where’s my stake? She was the last creature in the room, and Joe seemed to be keeping her at bay. I pulled out my dad's pistol. Aiming it at her school-girl head, I glanced once at Joe. "Shut your eyes." I pulled the trigger. 

    Chunks of bloody dirt splattered Joe. New.

    We know that when people die, they end up decaying and turning into earth pretty much. Vamps are already dead, so all that's left is the decomposing. When a vampire is new, they still have human blood and tissue in them. So when they're staked, well it's a lot gorier.

    Joe panted on the ground, a sick look on his face. He stared at where she used to be. "She must have been a new one." 

    I grimaced. "Yeah, are you gettin' old, 'cause last year, you could a' taken a girl on." With a smile, I offered him a hand up. 

    He grinned at me. "That's what I like to see," he said as I hauled him up. As he stood he removed his shirt, first rolling it up his stomach, then holding it out away from his face as he pulled it over his head.

    "What?" I said, then swallowed, eyeing his sweaty skin. Someone moaned and I turned to the rest of the room.

    "A smile that's just for me," he said, taking a step closer. The strands of undone hair dangling next to my eyes moved from his breath.

    I dropped my gaze to his knees and reddish guck on them. Just move away. Don’t say anything.

I went to James, who was still out cold. How could he get knocked out so fast? I knelt down on my knees and tapped his face. He didn't move, so I slapped him. He rolled over gasping. "Crikey, what was that for?" He held his face and gaped at me. "I feel like I just woke with ah hang ovah."

    "Close enough with as hard she slaps." 

     I glared at Joe from across the room. He grinned and turned to the window.

     James sat up. "So what the hell was that? They weren't supposed taw know we weh here." He moved to a kneeling position, resting his hands on his knees.

   "They may have to cover themselves from the sun, but they can still see outside. They could have seen us coming. Either that, or they've been watching us for a couple of weeks now, and noticed we were heading down the line of buildings, waited for us," Joe said. 

    Scanning the debris around the room, I searched for my gun. As I moved, I glanced up at the ceiling. Oh yeah, there’s another floor. They'd been hiding up there. 

     My gun was near the bottom of the stairs and I grabbed it as I made my way to the other staircase. It was now cleared and I put my foot on the first step. 

     Joe grabbed my arm, turning me to him. "Wait for us, there could be more." 

     I tugged my limb back. "So come with me. Cause I'm goin' up. Not everyone needs to." I glanced at Carter and the bandages.

    He turned to see where I stared, then nodded when he understood. “Fine.”

    Cautious of the holes in the floor, I walked in to the room. I pulled out my flashlight and swept the room with its light. The boxes were big enough to fit whole human beings in, and some were flattened into nests.

    My stomach tightened. Would they hide in those? When I reached the other side of the room, rustling came from the containers near me.

    My heart thudded in my chest, pounding harder as I crept closer. A mass of blankets came into view. I pushed them aside with my foot, afraid to have my gun pointed in the wrong direction if a vamp decided to jump out at me. 

    The mound of fabric rolled my way and I tripped backwards, landing on my butt. I scooted away like a crab, bumping into Joe's legs. I glanced up at him. He stared at the bundle with a stake in his hand. 

    I swallowed. He's got my back. Moving to my knees, I crawled back to the pile. It could just be a rat. Please be an animal. I pulled some of the blankets and the blankets rolled over. 

    "Wow," Joe said from behind me.