C.O.T.V.H. (Book 3): Extermination (16 page)

“Chris, go inside and call your father.  Tell him what happened and make sure he knows that we’re all okay.”

One by one the rest of the hunters loaded their gear and pulled away from the motel.  Soon only John's Ford pickup, Anderson's Suburban, the dead
Slayers
two motorcycles, the dead couple's four door Toyota Corolla and Cat's beat up Chevy van were all that remained.

“Is that true?”  Jake asked as Cat worked the needed through his skin.

“Is what true?” she replied coldly.

“Don’t play dumb with me, Cat.  What Turner said about me turning dark side, is it true?”

“I don’t know,” she said moving the needle again.

“You know,” Jake said straining to look up at her.  “I saw the way you pointed that gun at me when you first saw me healed.”

“That was different, I didn’t know if you were turning.  It’s very dangerous what Cort did.  The repercussions aren’t always readily apparent.”

“I’m still me, Cat,” Jake frowned.

“I hope so, Jake.  For the sake of both yours, and Cort’s souls, I hope so.”

Chris came running out of Cat's office. "Mom." he said shakily.

"
Si mi hijo
?" she said finishing with Jake’s scalp.

"Mom . . . I called the safe house where Dad's staying." 

"And?" She said, getting irritated.

"And . . ." he went on, "a strange little girl's voice answered.  She said her name was Pearl and that she needed help.  Mom, she said, that everyone there was dead."

Jake jerked his head toward Chris so fast it jerked the needle from Cat's fingers. Cat went white as a sheet. "
Dios mio
." she whispered.  "That's impossible I just talked to him a couple of hours ago."

Jake was speechless. Cat didn't even have to say it.  He knew. John hadn't only turned, hadn't only survived the blazing inferno they'd left him in, he'd actually given the vampires everything he knew.  The attack on their safe house had only been the beginning.

"CORT!!" Cat screamed in a voice Jake couldn't have imagined her having. "CORT!!" she screamed dropping her kit from her lap and running to the motel office.

Jake followed her inside.  She jerked up the phone and began dialing numbers.  With no answer she hung up and tried another number and another.  She did this a total of ten times until Cort and Anderson stepped inside.

"What's going on?" Cort asked looking around.  

"Chris go pack your stuff, now!  We're leaving in ten minutes!" Cat yelled.

But why Mom?" Chris answered a terrified look on his face. "What's going on?  Is Dad dead?" 

"Just do what I tell you!" She screamed at him.   Chris disappeared into the back of the motel office at a dead run. 

Cort grabbed Cat gently by the shoulders. "What is it Catherine?  What's going on?" 

She relayed the story Chris had just told her minutes before.  Cort dropped into a lawn chair in the corner. 

"Cort I called every safe house I could think of!" she said, tears filling her eyes. "Every damn one!  Not one answer!  They must have hit everyone like they hit us!"

Cort lowered his head, "Jake pack up, we're leaving." Jake looked back and forth between Cort and Cat for several seconds before Cort yelled at him.  "Damn it boy do what I tell you!"

Jake took off to their destroyed motel room and grabbed up their gear, tossing it one by one into the bed of their truck.

Cort came up a few minutes later talking softly with Henry Anderson.  He handed him a small slip of paper.  Anderson took it, looked over at Jake and nodded then took off at a fast pace back to his black suburban. 

 This is bad," was all Cort would say when he walked up to Jake. "This is very bad.  Is the truck loaded?”

"Yeah it’s loaded.  Grandpa, what are we going to do?  Dad will know we’re headed for Hometown, he’ll know every route we’ll take!" Jake said, punching the tailgate of the truck.  "We should have gone back.  We should have finished the job!  If I hadn’t acted like such a cry baby we could have done it."

Cort grabbed Jake's bag and tossed it to him. "I'm sorry Jake but you're not coming with me." 

"What?" Jake said dumbfounded. "What do you mean I'm not coming?" 

"It's too dangerous." he replied coldly. "Like you said, John thinks too much like I do. He knows all the same hideouts I know. You have to go somewhere he won't suspect.  I have to lead him away from you.  He'll never imagine that we would separate."

Jake stared at him not sure what to say. "But," he stammered. 

"No buts boy. Do as I tell you." 

"No," was all Jake could manage to get out. 

"No?" Cort repeated. 

"No!" Jake all but shrieked. "I'm sorry about Dad!  I know it's my fault!  I know all these deaths are my fault!  But please don't leave me like this! Grandpa, please.  You're all I’ve got left in this miserable God forsaken world!"

Cort grabbed Jake and slapped him hard.  "This isn't the time for that!  It's easy to say it’s my fault, I should have done this!  I should have done that!  The past is the past boy! Grow up, be the man John wanted you to be!  The man I know you can be!"

Cort shook his head sadly.  His voice choked up. "It's not your fault, Jake.  I'm sorry I hit you, but don't you ever think that again.  Your daddy loved you.  He would have gladly paid the price he paid to get you safely out of that house.  But I've got to put a stop to this.  Too many good hunters died tonight." 

Jake just stared at him.  Cort gripped him in a giant bear hug.  It was then that Jake knew he might not ever see him again. 

"Henry will set things up for you,” he said with tears in his eyes.  “Going with him is something John wouldn’t expect.  He'll take care of you and make sure you get out safely.  I don't always agree with him, but I respect and trust him.  Do as he tells you. Understand?"

Jake couldn't believe what he was hearing.  The whole day seemed like a bad dream. "This is because you think I’ll change like Wes did, isn’t it?" he blurted out.

Cort shook his head. "Son, you’ve got a soul like none other.  You’re caring, you’re kind, you are strong as a bull, stubborn as a mule, and tough as nails.  You’ve also got a heart with enough love for a hundred lifetimes.  I don’t think a little bit of vampire blood is going to take all of that out of you." 

Anderson pulled up in his suburban and Cort opened the passenger side door. Reluctantly Jake climbed in. “Call Talon the minute you get some place safe.” Cort shut the door and nodded to Anderson. "Henry, you know what to do. Take good care of him." 

Cort shoved
The Cleaner
back in its case with Jake’s axe and tucked it into the back of Anderson's Suburban.  Anderson nodded without saying a word.  He put the car in gear but was quickly stopped by Cat standing in front of him with Chris, a large duffel in one hand, his rifle in the other, standing at her side. 

"Henry I need you to take Chris." 

Cort started to object, "Now Cat I don't know if that's . . ." 

"Shut up Cort!” she cut him off. “You owe me this.  Making sure my son is safe is the least you can do after bringing this hell to my doorstep."

Cort opened his mouth to say something but quickly closed it.  Chris looked up at his mother with what Jake knew to be the same shock he felt.  Chris began arguing with her. She slapped him hard across the face and then embraced him in a tight hug. Seconds later he climbed into the back seat, his eyes full of tears. "Goodbye." she said, kissing him on his forehead. "I
will
see you again. Okay?" Chris nodded unable to utter a sound. "Goodbye Jake," she said, with a small smile.  "Take care of yourself, and take care of my son.  He’ll need you now more than ever."  She hugged Chris one last time before slamming the door. 

Take care of . . . Take care of . . .
Donnie’s voice rang in Jake’s ears.  “Don’t worry, Cat.  I give you my word.  I will take care of them all.”  She looked at him quizzically, but nodded her thanks.

Cort reached through Jake's window gripping his arm tight. Tears filled his eyes. "Goodbye son," was all he said, before tossing something into the truck and walking away.  Jake looked down to see his Grandpa's sheathed bowie knife lying on the floorboard. "GO!" Cat yelled and Henry pulled away from the parking lot tires spinning.

They headed down the highway.  Both Jake and Chris stared back toward the motel. Soon it was completely out of sight.  "Hey Henry?" Chris asked staring out the window into the dark night.

"Yeah, bud?" Henry said, looking at him in his rear view mirror.

"What will they do now?  What will
we
do now?"

Henry sighed.  "Them.  They'll do what they have to.  They'll try and regroup with whoever is left.  As for us, well, first thing we're going to do is keep driving till the sun comes up.  I'm not taking any chances that the motel wasn't being watched.  Second, we're going to get Jake patched up.  Third, well we'll deal with that when we get there."

"The hell with that!" Jake said, hitting his knee with his fist.   "I'm fine!  Let’s go get some payback!"

"Freaking A!" Chris yelled from the back seat.  "I'm with Jake.  Let's gear up and kill some vampires!"

"Yeah that sounds like a great idea.  A kid that spends most his time glued to a computer, a fat old man, and another kid with his head cut open are going to bring the vampire hierarchy to its knees."

“Don’t underestimate us, Ranger. We’ve got more training under our belts than most military,” Jake said, “And I say it’s time we put those skills to the test.”

Chris started to speak but Henry held up his hand silencing him, "Look boys.  I know you're upset.  I know you want revenge."

"What do you know about upset?" Chris said from the backseat.  "Your family wasn't murdered tonight!"

"Look Chris, Cort said we should lay low and . . ."

"I don't care what Cort said!" Chris interrupted.  "They don’t get to do this, not anymore, not ever again.  I’m not giving them one more inch.  Someone's got to put a stop to it and if we're all that's left then it's up to us."

"Chris is right Henry.  With or without you we’re doing this."

"Look, you're right, I don't know what you're going through and to be honest I don't doubt that you two can handle yourselves.  I've known both of your fathers for over eight years now.  But training or no training if you go off halfcocked you're only going to get yourself killed, and I don't want that on my conscious.  I promised Cat and Cort that I'd keep you safe.  So for now we're going to get the hell out of Dodge, lie low.  See if anyone else made it out alive.  Then we'll go from there."

“Do what you want Ranger,” Jake replied, looking ahead.  “As far as I’m concerned those bloodsucking bastards are about to learn what fear is all about.”

Chapter 11

Jake

September 11, 2001 5:02am

"You okay to drive Henry?"  Jake asked.

"Yeah I'm all right.  Just a little tired, I haven't slept in about twenty eight hours."

"Well pull over, one of us can dri . . "

"LOOK OUT!"  Chris yelled from the backseat.

Henry slammed on his brakes.  The tires squealed loudly as the suburban started to fishtail out of control.  Henry fought desperately to control the truck as it hit something in the middle of the road.  The two front tires blew as the object wedged underneath the truck causing sparks to fly across the highway.  Miraculously, Henry got the truck to stop without them rolling.  The engine died with a sputter, and all three men sat breathing heavily. "You boys okay?"  Henry asked.

"Yeah," Jake said, rubbing his still hurt head.  "I think so anyway."

"Chris, how about you?" 

"I'll live.  I busted my lip on the back of your seat and broke my glasses but I think I'm okay."

"What the hell was that?"  Henry asked unbuckling his seatbelt.  

"Something big and metal was all I saw," Chris said unbuckling his own seat belt.

"Damn Henry, how on Earth did you keep us from rolling?"

"You got me.  Someone up above must have been looking out for us."

The truck sat long ways across both lanes of the highway.  All three men climbed out of the vehicle.  Chris spat a mouthful of blood on the pavement and wiped his mouth with his sleeve.

"What did we hit anyway?"  Chris said looking under the truck.  "I can't see anything.  Henry do you have a flashlight?"

"Yeah," Henry said moving his head from side to side with his hand.  "I sure hope I don't have a concussion.  My neck hurts something fierce."

"Henry, flashlight?" Jake said coming around and looking under the truck with Chris.

"Yeah, it's in the back with the rest of my gear."

Jake walked around the back and opened the rear doors.  The bags and gun case were tossed all over the place but Jake found a flashlight in the biggest duffel bag.  He clicked it on and shined it under the truck.  Chris knelt down next to him.  “Is that a . . .ah man!  Ah man!"  Chris yelled, taking a step back.

"What?  What is it?"  Henry said, leaning down to see what they were looking at.  

The dim light of Jake's flashlight shone on the wrecked remains of a blue Harley Davidson motorcycle.

"Son of a bitch," Henry said looking around.  "Please tell me there wasn't someone on that!"

Jake glanced out into the darkness then shone the light across the highway.  It was littered with at least a half dozen more broken, wrecked bikes.  Among them were empty shell casings and lots and lots of blood.  "I don't think you have to worry about that." Jake grabbed Henry by the shoulder and turned him to look down the highway.

"Jesus, Mary and Joseph," Henry said shaking his head.  "What happened here?"

"Oh man, I recognize a couple of those bikes," Chris said.  "That's Turner and his guys’ bikes."

"What the hell happened to all of them?"  Jake said gingerly touching at his cut scalp.

The answer struck all three of them at the same time.  They looked back and forth at each other then ran back to the Suburban at the same time.  Henry jumped into the driver’s seat and began cranking the engine.  Jake ran around to the back and pulled
The Cleaner
from its case and checked to make sure it was fully loaded.  He shoved all the shells he could fit into his pockets and cocked it one handed, then grabbed up
Judgment
in the other hand.  He then ran around to the passenger side door and jerked it open.  He grabbed the sheathed Bowie knife from the floor board and tucked it into his belt.