A Town Called America (25 page)

Rick and Chris had settled into their makeshift bed after closing the door and undressing. They were exhausted but comfortable. A small oil lamp gave them just enough light to see around the room. The room had cheap 1970s wood paneling on the walls; the ceiling was stained yellow and brown from years of water damage; and they smelled the odor of waterlogged wood throughout. The pungent smell and constant drip of water from the ceiling, however, weren’t going to bother either of them that night. It was in fact one of the nicest places they’d stayed in a very long time.

With his arm around Chris, Rick was starting to fall asleep. They were lying under a thick wool blanket, ready to drift off.

Bang!

“What the hell was that?” Chris asked. “Was it the door to this room?” She opened her eyes to look around but didn’t move.

Rick sat up and looked toward the door. Chris, lying next to him, just listened.

“I thought I closed the door. Probably just the wind,” Rick said. He lay back down and slid back into a comfortable spot next to Chris.

Bang!

The door to the room slammed shut again. This time Rick shot up and jumped off the bed as Chris lit the oil lantern. The lantern illuminated the entire room in a soft yellow glow that brought them a sense of comfort and security. Moments later, while Rick was looking at the door, wondering what had happened, a cold breeze flew past him, and the lantern went out.

In total darkness now, their eyes hadn’t yet adjusted. Chris lay back down, not sharing her fear of what was happening with Rick as he stood by the door for a moment longer.

As soon as he turned his back to the door, it happened a third time. This time he had no doubt something very odd was going on. Startled and alarmed, Rick told Chris to stay in bed. He picked up his Colt pistol and, wearing only his boxers, opened the door.

“Put the gun away. You don’t need it.”

“What? What did you say, Chris?”

“Baby, I didn’t say anything. Come to bed. I’m sure it’s the wind or something.”

A few moments later, Chris also heard a voice.

“Come to me, my angel. I’m this way.”

“Why do you want me to get out of bed?” Chris asked Rick, as she rolled onto her side.

“I didn’t say anything, Chris.”

“Yes, you did. I heard you.”

“Chris, I think I’d know if I said something to you.”

Chris got out of bed and picked up her black leather pants from the floor. After dressing, she walked to Rick, fastening the buckle on her pants before picking up her shotgun.

The two walked out of the office and slowly made their way down the hall. There were doors on both sides with labels that read,
LOGIS
TICS
,
PERSONNEL
,
BREAK ROOM
, and
SUPPLY CLOSET
.

They walked past room after room until they reached the top of the staircase they knew went to the main floor, where all the police desks were.

Thump, thump, thump
.

As Rick and Chris stood silently, listening to the footsteps coming from behind them, they felt a sense of dread. Rick turned his head and looked past Chris, who stood behind him. “Did you hear that?” he asked her.

“Yeah, yeah, I did.”

“Chris, what is it? There’s no one there.”

“I’m here,” the voice said.

“You heard that, right? A man’s voice?” Chris asked Rick

“Yeah, I heard it. What’s going on?” Rick asked, half laughing, trying to contain his fear.

Holding each other’s hands, they slowly moved down the stairway. They were about ten feet into the large open space at the bottom of the stairs when Rick realized he no longer felt Chris’s hand in his. When he turned around, she was gone. He ran back up the stairs but found no sign of her. She had vanished.

“Chris! Chris!”

Rick got no answer, and after searching the entire building twice, he found himself alone in that police station for the rest of the night—if in fact he was alone.

THIRTY SEVEN

A
t the top of the stairs, where Rick and Chris had stood after hearing footsteps move toward them, Chris heard the voice again.

“Come to me, my angel. I’m this way.”

Rick had just started to move down the stairs as he held Chris’s hand. As Chris moved, the voice became clearer. By the time she had reached the bottom step, she didn’t just hear it—it was inside her mind. It was calling to her, beckoning her, as she felt her willpower slowly fade from her mind.

Having no desire to do anything but obey, Chris stepped away from Rick and walked into an adjacent hallway. The hallway had only two doors, which were marked,
INTERROGATION ROOM
1 and
HOLDING CELLS
1–4.

Come to me, my angel. I’m in here
.

“Where are you?” Chris said. “I can’t find you.”

Come to me, my angel. I’m through the doorway
.

But the door is locked
, Chris said in her mind, as she found herself standing in front of the doorway with her hand on the knob.

The lock suddenly clicked, and the door swung open slightly, just enough for her to see a faint glow from the other side. She had no fears, worries, or thoughts of Rick or what might be on the other side of the door, only an incredible, all-consuming feeling of tranquility.

She pushed open the heavy metal door and stepped inside. There were four holding cells on her right and a one-way mirror on her left.
The first three cells were empty, with the doors open. The last cell, Chris was certain, was the source of the voice that was in her mind.

Still feeling no anxiety, worry, or fear, she moved toward the last cell. Once more she saw painted red letters but paid no attention to them:
THIS IS YOUR LAST WARNING
.
UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHOULD YOU OPEN THIS CELL
.

Come to me, my angel. I’m in here
.

When Chris walked up to the cell door, she saw the last thing she’d expected to see: a feeble-looking old man in tattered clothing lying on the floor.

Her heart dropped, and all she felt was sorrow and suffering. Looking at this helpless old man on the floor nearly broke her sprit. Through her mind she physically felt this poor soul’s suffering.

Nearly in tears Chris stood looking at him. “How can I help you?” she asked him.

“Open the door and remove the salt from the floor,” the man said weakly.

Without a second thought, Chris did as instructed, pulling down a lever that was between the cells. Instantly the cell door slid to the left. With her foot she scattered the salt that lined the front of the cell.

As soon as she had cleared the salt, faster than she could see with her eyes, the old man was upon her. He was directly in front of her, looking her in the eyes.

She felt no desire to fight and no fear. The old man, whose skin displayed an irradiant glow, placed his arms around Chris’s waist as she fell backward into his arms. She was under his spell, and there was nothing she could do about it.

When he opened his mouth slightly, his sharp teeth penetrated her neck. He felt her vein pulsating as blood dripped from her wound. It was a feeling he had longed for and desperately needed after having waited for so many years in that cell. Now his time finally had come.

To Chris it was erotic, sensual; she’d never felt this alive before. It was a glorious moment she wanted to last forever.

Unfortunately for the old man, they weren’t alone. Standing outside the cell, watching as the old man took Chris’s blood, was a tall
man in a long duster and a black cowboy hat that was just large enough to conceal his dark eyes.

“Do you know who I am?”

The creature looked up for only a moment then returned to its feast.

I’m a Ghost, and I’m here to take back what you stole from the Nine
. The man in the cowboy hat only needed to think, and the thoughts were in the creature’s mind.

Ghost? The Nine sent a Ghost after me? You lie!

Yes in fact they did send me after you, and it’s my duty to take you
.

Before you do, tell me, human, what have I stolen from the Nine that you or they would wish me dead?

The man in the cowboy mentally responded,
I’m here for your life. You stole your life from them, and now they want it back
.

You foolish human, if you’re a Ghost, you should know I’m immortal. Neither you nor the Nine can kill me. Your name is Billy. I know who you are, and I can feel your fear
.

With a speed unlike that of any living being on earth, the foul demon leapt from the ground, attempting to move past Billy. To the creature’s astonishment, without moving his body, Billy extended his right arm straight out, and as the vampire moved past him too fast to see, Billy caught the creature in his grasp.

Under normal circumstances, this creature would be extremely powerful, but during its captivity, its body had deteriorated, and it was weak. As it had feasted on Chris’s blood, however, it soon would regain its strength. But Billy wasn’t going to allow it the time; he was going to destroy it without hesitation.

After lifting the vampire by the neck, Billy threw the creature hard onto the concrete floor. He then removed his revolver from its holster and shot the creature twice in the head before locking the creature back in the cell.

“Chris, listen to me,” Billy said. “I know you’re weak, but you must do exactly as I say, or you’ll die slowly and painfully.” Chris was lying on the floor next to the cell as Billy knelt next to her.

Billy stood and stepped over to the vampire, and grabbing a handful of its hair, he pulled it near Chris. Removing his knife, Billy knelt once more. He slashed the creature’s wrist then placed the open wound near her mouth so she could drink.

Billy knew what he was doing would have very serious consequences, but the only other solution was to let his only daughter die in front of him.

As the blood from the vampire’s wrist drained into Chris’s mouth, she drank. The warm blood gave her a sensation like nothing she’d ever felt before. It was indeed glorious.

After Chris had her fill of her first blood, Billy drug the vampire back in the cell, locking the door. He knew that in time the M.M. would send another Ghost to fetch the creature.

While her body lay on the floor, in her mind she awoke somewhere else, somewhere different—that place between sleeping and being awake. She was aware of everything around her, but somehow, as in a dream, she knew she could control certain things that she normally would have power over.

As she opened her eyes, the world around her was new and different. She saw the man in the hat, but he was out of focus, as was most of what she was seeing.

“Chris, hear my words.”

She knew it was the voice of the man in the cowboy hat, but she couldn’t understand where she was. Everything felt overwhelming and confusing, as if her entire nervous system were on overload. Chris felt everything yet nothing at all.

“You’re in a state of transition. You’ll be here for some time. I’m here to help and guide you.”

“Where are you? I can’t see you.”

“Don’t speak. Just listen. Everything you hear, touch, say, or experience from this moment on will be retained by you for all time. I’ll teach you so you may know how to control it.”

“But—”

“First there are rules you must follow. Before I explain them, I’ll tell you the history of vampires as I know it.

“My name is Billy, and I’m a friend. I’m here to help you through your transition. You’ll have many questions, and although I have answers, you must be patient, as more will be revealed over time.

“Long ago, near the beginning of the cycle of humans, there were twelve original human tribes. After centuries of war between the human tribes, which resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths, the overseers grew angry. In an attempt to lower the human population and maintain control, they placed a vampire in each tribe as a balance between nature and humankind.

“In the beginning the humans revered the vampires as gods. They built temples in their honor so they could offer them sacrifices—sacrifices paid in human blood, which the twelve vampires were all too willing to receive.

“For nearly a millennium, the earth was without war. If a human was weak or unable to care for himself, a vampire would take his life from him, and in return the vampire would sustain its own life through the blood of its victim. Nevertheless the humans were like rats; they bred too quickly, and the vampires were unable to maintain balance. As the human population grew, they became rebellious, hunting and killing three. The nine surviving vampires were forced into hiding, coming out only to take the necessary blood to sustain them.

“In those times vampires weren’t monsters or evil, soulless beasts. They were necessary. For all intents and purposes, they did fail in their mission, but they still had rules they had to follow. Vampires do grow old and eventually die of old age; they just age much more slowly than humans do. Their lifespan is usually about thirty-five hundred years, and they only turn a human into a vampire upon the approach of their death.

“They’re forbidden to just go out and turn humans into vampires needlessly, because they know if their population ever was like that of humans, they eventually would run out of humans to feed upon, which would mean their death.

“After failing in their mission, they remained in hiding for centuries, waiting to regain their place in the world, to once again be revered as gods. Then, when the global collapse occurred, they found
their opportunity to resurface. Man had all but destroyed the planet. With the tanked economy, global warming, and worldwide starvation, humans were out of control. The few wealthiest stayed rich, and the poor were left without hope.”

Chris’s body lay still on the floor as Billy spoke to her; she seemed to be in a comatose state.

“You, Chris, are transitioning into a vampire, which means you’ll forever be free. However, these are the rules you must follow. Know this: the vampires of film are fictitious. Forget about garlic and not being able to see your reflection. First, you can gaze upon the sun to your heart’s delight, but if you do so, you’ll burn. If you’re in the sun for more than a few seconds, you’ll turn to ash. Just understand that it’s better to remain in the shadows from this time forward.