Dead by Dawn (26 page)

“Here’s what’s going to happen. At this point in time I know more about vampire anatomy than any other human in existence; your anatomy specifically to be exact. I know your strengths and weaknesses, what hurts you and what will kill you. I know how you tick and have a team that is equally qualified to cause more pain than you could ever imagine. One way or another, you’re going to give me the information I want.”

Chapter 38

              Adam felt the cold water swishing around his feet as he sat at the edge of the boat. The scrambled eggs he was eating tasted delicious in the way that only true appreciation could inspire.

There wasn’t a cloud in the sky and the temperature was already rising. The boat rocked against the gentle waves, pulling on the anchor that held them in place. They had no view of land, which meant that nothing on land could see them. Hopefully it would be enough.

The salt in the eggs was heaven. He could smell Keith whipping up the next batch and took a big whiff. It was his own floating paradise.

Joe was up on the top deck, drinking a coffee and staring out. The only other person awake was Chip, who messed with the radio. So far all he could pick up was static.

“We should look for some CDs on the next supply run,” Chip said after giving up.

“What kind of music do you like?” asked Adam. “I swear if it’s rap, I’m jumping ship.”

“What’s wrong with a little rap?” asked Keith.

“A lot. I mean don’t get me wrong, there’s some good rap songs, but it seems like everything that’s come out lately sucks.”

“That’s not you hating rap, that’s you getting older. It won’t be long before you say that about every song on the radio.” Keith paused for a moment, seeming to reflect on what he’d just said. “If they ever do get the radio running again that is.”

Chip walked up to the back of the boat and stood by Adam, looking down into the water. “I could listen to anything really. I figured some Jimmy Buffett might be best, considering our new lifestyle out here.”

Adam tossed a piece of egg into the water and waited to see if a fish would bite. “I think I’m going to look for fishing poles.”

“Good Idea,” said Keith. “I bet the fish population is exploding right now.”

“There’s one good thing about the apocalypse,” said Matt. He was lying on a pile of blankets in the middle of the deck, where he’d been all night.

Sherry and Chip shared what little space there was on the deck. They had a blanket bed between Matt and the motor. Joe slept up on the observation deck, while Keith slept on the couch in the cabin. Meanwhile Adam and Sarah were volunteered for the bed, something they did not object to. At that point, everyone just assumed they would sleep together. He guessed that had become routine. If Sarah was uncomfortable, she didn’t complain.

Sherry pretty much took over on day one, deciding where everyone would sleep. They all knew there weren't very many choices, so no one objected.

Adam thought Chip and Sherry should have the bed, but wasn’t quite ready to relinquish the comfort just yet.

“Oh wait, I almost forgot,” said Adam. He pulled out his cellphone and climbed up from the back of the boat.

When the yacht was running, it had hot water and electricity. As a result, they were able to cook on the electric stove, take hot showers and charge their phones. The problem was, without a network their phones were useless. That was about to change, because Adam just figured out a use for them.

He used the phone’s Bluetooth to sync it with the radio. A few seconds later, and Good Vibrations by Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch was bumping across the yacht.

“I thought you didn’t like rap?” asked Keith.

“I said I don’t like any of the new stuff.”

Sarah came out of the cabin a few seconds later with an odd look on her face.

“What’s going on?”

“We survived another night,” said Adam. “Time to celebrate.”

“Does this mean we have to celebrate every day from now on?”

“Shouldn’t we?”

Sherry was the only one who looked a little upset about being woken. She cheered up fast when Chip brought her a plate of Keith’s eggs.

The temperature continued to rise, pushing its way into the nineties. Their supply of bottled water began to dwindle. Joe was refilling them with water from the lake, but most in the group were a little hesitant to drink it.

Adam went back to the end of the boat and dipped his feet in the water.

“Are you going to swim with me?” asked Sarah.

She stepped over the back of the boat and onto the ledge where he was sitting. The first thing he was aware of was that her leg was bare. From there, he realized she was in a bikini.

He’d known she’d found one at a store the day before, but he wasn’t prepared to see it on her.

He cleared his throat and jumped to his feet. “Uh kind- ye- sh- sure.”

“Well hurry up or I’m jumping in without you.”

Adam didn’t have to be told twice. He was in the cabin and wearing a pair of running shorts (that he’d also picked up the day before) in under a minute flat. His heart was hammering and he was pretty sure his face had gone beet red. He hesitated at the door, and then twisted it open.

Sarah jumped as soon as he came out of the cabin. Adam went to the ledge in time to see her emerge from the dive.

“Come on, the water feels great.”

Adam knew it would, any relief from the heat would have to feel like heaven.

He climbed onto the ledge and stood, counting backwards from three in his head. When he reached zero he flipped forward.

Joe took them inland after they got out of the water. He said he wanted to restock their food while picking up a fresh pair of clothes for himself. Adam couldn’t agree more on his reasoning. The man’s clothes were falling apart at the seams.

Two miles inland from their mansion was a hobby shop that doubled as a clothing store. Most of the clothes mentioned Lake Michigan in some way or another. Joe ended up wearing a gray T-shirt that read “Smallmouth University”. A picture of a large fish accompanied it. His pectoral muscles rippled underneath, while his arms stuck out like two stumps from the short sleeves.

Sherry and Sarah went off on their own. When they came back, Sarah had a sundress to wear over her bathing suit. Sherry was wearing a floppy flat hat.

Matt wound up putting on pink shorts and a pair of blue boat shoes. Chip and Adam were content just getting a pair of sunglasses. Keith got no clothing, but did pick up a model car to build.

In between the mansion and the hobby shop was a gas station. One quick stop later and the place was rid of all its possible dinner food. It also lost a bottle of bloody Mary mix, a bottle of Vodka, a case of beer, three cases of bottled water, and six bags of potato chips.

Adam watched the gas station as they pulled away. He was thinking about the gas generator Keith and Joe had secured from a hardware store their second day on the boat. It was set up at a gas station a few miles from the mansion. They used it to power the gas station long enough to fill a few gas cans with diesel fuel.

Adam was thinking,
If that gas station ever runs out of fuel we can bring the generator to this one instead.

When they got back to the mansion, they didn’t go directly out on the boat. They knew they would be out all night and decided it would be best to stay on land for as long as possible.

Keith explored the surrounding houses for a while. He came back saying he’d found string and set up a bunch of snare traps. If all went well, he said they would be having squirrel bacon for breakfast the following day. He also came back holding a fishing pole and tackle box.

Adam saw the pole and immediately began fishing off the end of the dock. Sarah had followed him out there, so he taught her how to cast a line.

Her first attempt was disastrous, the line bounced backwards instead of flying forwards. Adam had to duck as it flew by his head. All he could think about was what would happen if the hook had hit him in the eye.
Was that a death shot in this new world?
He didn’t think so, but maybe if it got infected.

As it turned out, Sarah was a natural. Her second throw went a lot better and she never seemed to have a problem after that.

They stayed out there for a while, casting the rod and seeing what they could get. There was a breeze coming off the water that felt perfect and the fish were biting. Sarah didn’t complain when she had to remove the hook from the fish’s mouth. She went about her business, insisting they throw all the smaller fish back.

They thoroughly enjoyed themselves while they were out there. It may not have been much, but for a moment they were able to forget everything that was happening in the world.

Chapter 39

              Joe made Keith pilot the yacht while he prepared the fish. The kids had done their fair share and caught enough fish to feed everyone. They didn’t know how to prepare them however, so that was where Joe came in.

Joe set to work removing the scales and gutting the fish as Adam and Sarah watched. Years of practice had made him meticulous and efficient. There was almost no wasted movement.

By the time Keith found a place for them to drop anchor, the fish were ready to be cooked. Joe used a charcoal grill he salvaged a few days earlier.

He began cooking as the boat slowed to an idle and the anchor was dropped. Using lighter fluid, it was up to temp in no time.

“Oh man that smells good,” said Matt from his seat on the railing.

“It’ll be ready soon enough,” said Joe.

He took a solid pull from his beer then placed the lid over the grill. A newer country song was playing from Adam’s cellphone that he didn’t recognize. It was more of a rock song disguised as a country song. He didn’t mind it, but it wasn’t his first choice. If it had been up to Joe, they would be playing a little Seger or maybe some Haggard.

The sun was beginning that recently stressful dive down towards the earth. In another half hour he would have to remember to tell them to shut the music off. He thought that their distance from land made it less likely that the vampires would hear the music, but he didn’t want to think about what would happen if he was wrong.

The bedding on deck was folded and put away, replaced by two folding tables, set up end to end. Sherry insisted they eat at the tables and made Chip scavenge for a bunch of chairs. The result
was a semi-decent dinner setup that they could all sit down to.

Joe cooked a few potatoes he had taken from the cupboards in the mansion. He also heated up a few cans of tomato soup. Sherry set the table with plastic plates and bowls making space in the center for all of the food. She did her best to spread it all out evenly and didn’t do a half bad job.

The fish went out last and by then everyone was seated. Adam turned the music down and they were soon settling into the meal.

“Oh hell yea,” said Matt. “That’s the stuff.”

Adam swallowed down the fish he was chewing and sighed with visual satisfaction. “Good work Joe.”

“Yea, this is delicious,” said Sarah.

“It was your guys’ fish, I just added a little heat,” said Joe.

Keith poked his fork across the table, accusing. “Don’t let this guy fool you, he’s one of the best cooks I know. It’s too bad he didn’t have any of his dry rub or else you’d have been in for a real treat.”

“What do you think Sherry?” asked Chip. “Does Joe’s cooking pass the test?”

Sherry acted like she was studying the food in her mouth. She squinted her eyes and moved her jaw back and forth. “Mmmhm, mmmhm,” she clicked her tongue then nodded. “Yup, he can do the cooking from now on.”

“Easy now,” said Joe as the others began to laugh.

The way everyone was talking, Joe figured he would have to go find a cow soon.
If they think this is good, wait until they try one of my steaks.

He wondered where he could possibly find one. It wouldn’t be long before all the cows were either dead or well guarded by a bull. That could make things tricky.

He wondered about his own cows, where were they? He didn’t have a bull on his farm.
Would they find one at a neighboring farm? Would the coyotes figure out a way to take down the much larger, yet defenseless prey? They would sure as hell try.

Another thought occurred to him that he wasn’t quite sure how to take.
Could the vampires eat the cows, or any other animal for that matter?
He didn’t think so, but in all reality how much did he really know? It didn’t seem possible to survive on blood alone.
If the vampires became desperate, could they perhaps drink the animal’s blood instead?
The idea that the entire human race could be eradicated and the vampires would still have food was a nightmare, something he didn’t even want to think about.

He decided to force his thoughts back to the animal problem. For the time being, coyotes were the number one predator for cows in his mind.

Thankfully, there were no wolves in the area. Although in a world without people, it would not take them long to repopulate in places they wouldn’t normally be seen.

Wild dogs were another issue, and basically every other animal left unchecked.

Regardless, I’ll try to find some livestock anyways.

He thought if he could, he’d build a fence in the backyard of the mansion. He’d use the neighbor’s yard too. Maybe he didn’t even need to build a fence. He could just bring them to the neighborhood and let them roam. They wouldn’t be too hard to find. Of course that brought him back around to the predators.

“I think we should grow a garden,” said Sarah. “My mom used to have one. We grew all sorts of things.”

“Good idea,” said Joe.

“We probably won’t have to,” said Chip.

“What do you mean?” asked Adam.

“Vampires may have super strength, but they also have vulnerabilities. Now that the element of surprise has passed, it’s only a matter of time before we start pushing back.”

“You actually think we can defeat them?” asked Matt.

“I do.”

“You’re out of your mind.”

“Why?” asked Joe. “I’ve killed my fair share of ‘em.”

Matt dropped his fork and leaned back in the chair. “You got lucky.”

“Luck had nothing to do with it.”

“Exactly my point,” said Chip. “Now imagine if every last person put up a fight like Joe. The vampires would disappear just as fast as they came.”

“That’s insane,” said Matt. “There’s no stopping the vampires, no matter what your delusions tell you. Let’s face it, we’re out here cowering in a boat and when our time comes, we’ll die too.”

Keith leaned forward and put his elbows on the table. The smile faded from his face. “I beg to differ.”

“Oh yea, I’d love to hear this,” said Matt.

“We’re going to turn the tide of this war and when we do, the blood suckers won’t know what hit them. I’m going to personally put thousands in the ground.”

“Elbows off,” said Sherry, waving her napkin at him.

“You’re an idiot if you truly believe that,” said Matt, ignoring Sherry.

“I think we can do it,” said Sarah. “I mean, it has to be possible right?”

“It is possible,” said Joe.

Matt threw down his napkin and pushed away from the table. “Not one of you can face what's going on around us,” he said as he began storming towards the cabin. “The vampires are going to kill every last human on earth. We should be thankful for what little time we have.” He slammed the door as he went inside.

“What the hell’s his problem?” asked Adam.

The conversation switched to a lighter subject after that and everyone soon broke off into their own smaller conversations. It wasn’t long before dinner was over and Sherry had everyone clean up.

Joe took his normal place on the top level when it came time for sleep. He lay on a bed of couch cushions stolen from the mansion. It wasn’t the most comfortable bed he’d ever slept on, but he was able to sleep and that was all he could ask for.

He worried about rain. There were too many people sleeping outside and even the smallest of showers could shoot their plan all to hell. Soaked bedding would make sleep almost impossible, and if it got anyone sick it could kill them all, no vampires necessary. They were all young and healthy enough, but the last thing they needed was some disease running through their group. He would have to get everybody tents as soon as possible. It might help Sherry and Chip to have a little privacy from Matt as they were stuck on the back deck with him after all.

Speaking of their little lawyer friend, Matt had kept to himself all night. Aside from grumbling whenever anyone walked past, he hadn’t really socialized since the outburst. Joe thought it was childish, but couldn’t blame him. It was hard to think positive with the world crashing down all around you.

Joe wasn’t going to let that get him down, not on that night. His stomach was full, he had a nice buzz, and the temperature was in the seventies which was perfect weather for a blanket. Joe stretched out and fell asleep in no time.

He almost woke once, when he thought he heard a splash. It stirred in his dreams, but faded just as fast as it had come. On another night he might have sat up, but the alcohol numbed his reactions.

Their anchor had just come untied and fallen into the water. Joe continued on in his restful sleep, unaware that in four hours they would drift into the sight of shore.

Billions of stars, it was the greatest advantage of having no power for thousands of miles. There was no light pollution to block out the view. The entire galaxy beamed down in all its glory. It wasn’t black and white, it was purple and blue and yellow. The Milky Way streaked across the sky like an interstellar cloud. It churned and broiled through the heavens.

Joe was aware only of the stars when he first woke at 2:30 in the morning. That was until he heard the scream, and the splash that followed.

Joe grabbed the shotgun he kept next to his bed. He crawled the three feet to the edge of the yacht’s upper floor.

Sherry was leaning over the back of the boat, reaching down to the water. Matt was scooting backward towards the cabin and Chip had disappeared entirely.

“No!” Sherry screamed.

“What the hell happened?” Joe yelled.

“They took him, they took him!” Sherry was leaning out so far that he thought she might fall in.

That was when he noticed the shoreline. It was only two hundred yards away, maybe a little more. There were figures standing at the edge of the water, hundreds of them. They were little more than tiny shadows from the yacht, but he knew what he was looking at. White plumes formed where they were jumping in.

“Holy shit,” Joe whispered.

“Keith,” he shouted. “Get us moving!”

Sherry’s hand was close to the water. She didn’t stand a chance when the vampire pounced. Water burst into the air, carrying with it the dark silhouette of a monster. It came up high with its arms spread wide. Joe had just enough time to see its gleaming fangs before it landed on Sherry and dragged her over the edge.

Joe ignored the ladder and jumped down to the lower deck. He took two bounding steps past a quivering Matt and onto the back ledge of the boat. He looked down, through the sights of his shotgun.

The water was black and the ripples were fading, replaced by natural waves. The yacht became eerily calm without Sherry’s sobbing screams.

“I’m not ready,” Matt sobbed. “No, please, I’m not ready.”

Joe searched the water, looking for any sign of his companions. The cabin door burst open and Keith appeared wielding his revolver.

“What the fuck is going on out here?” he asked.

The water below Joe exploded as a vampire burst up through the surface. Joe shot it with a slug and it fell back down.

A wake was coming towards them from the direction of land. The water behind it bubbled as if it were boiling. Joe thought he could see an arm and a leg here and there, kicking and pulling their way through the churning water.

“We’ve gotta move!” Joe yelled.

Another vampire leapt for him. Joe shot it, but the creature still managed to finish its dive. It shouldered Joe square in the stomach, knocking him backwards onto the deck.

The vampire clawed at the hole in the side of its stomach from the shotgun slug. Joe was able to get a hand on its neck and push away.

Keith stepped up and pressed the barrel of his own gun against its temple. He pulled the trigger and the contents of the vampire’s head painted the deck a deep crimson. Keith then grabbed the flailing body and tossed it overboard.

Joe sat up and muttered his thanks.

He racked the slide of his shotgun before hopping back up onto the railing. The boat’s engine began to rumble and he was sure either Adam or Sarah had started it.

The water stirred and Joe fired a round into it. He immediately cursed himself for wasting a bullet. He wouldn’t have time to reload so every shot had to count.

Joe heard Keith’s pistol and risked a glance back. There was a vampire crawling towards them from the bow of the ship. Keith shot it twice more, then unsheathed his knife.

The boat lurched forward and Joe almost fell over the stern. He was forced to straddle the railing to keep from tumbling into the water. A different man might have lost the shotgun in the process, but not Joe. He kept a firm grip on it with his left hand.

The vampire coming from the bow slid forward, where Keith stabbed it in the neck with his knife.

He yanked it free and the vampire tumbled into the water, screeching all the way down.

Joe stood up and stared out at their wake. The swarm of vampires had changed their course to follow. Already they were fading behind.

Joe might have watched them longer, but climbed up the ladder to his bed instead. Reloading the shotgun was his number one priority at the moment.