Midnight Outbreak (6 page)

Chapter Eleven

“Shit. Shit. Shit,” Will repeated. They were inside the cab of the truck. The herd was moving faster towards them but with the sun gone, it was hard to see them in the pitch blackness of night.

“Let’s just make a run for it. We can get to the entrance.”

“No; what if they get inside? Then we’ll be overrun.”

Will thought about it for a moment and his face fell. “Dammit. I’m sorry dude. I’m really sorry.”

“Shh, they’re coming.”

And they did. They moved around the truck, sniffing at the window. They crowded around, growling, smelling food. Smelling the men. Then out of nowhere came a flurry of arms and legs and squeals and grunts. Josh couldn’t see anything but the crowd dispersed.

“What the hell is that?”

“I have no clue,” Will answered.

They watched as the bodies went whizzing overhead.

“Oh damn…” Will whispered.

“What?”

“Vamps.”

“Vamps killing the deads? But why?”

“I guess to get to us.” Will shrugged. 

Josh didn’t reply. His heart was beating so fast. There were three of them. One Spanish male, a white male, and a girl with short hair. They had finished killing the last one, all of them armed with knives except the female, she had a club.

“Try the car again.”

Will did, but nothing happened. He hit the steering wheel hard. They watched as the vampires, with bared fangs stood in front of the truck. They didn’t advance; instead, the girl held her hands out in front of her.

“We’re not going to hurt you,” she called out. Will’s eyebrows rose, but the look of hatred, the same look Josh had seen the night Claire and Myra died, was there.

Will let out a long sigh. “Can’t ever trust these shitheads, but let’s get out.”

Both men got out, weapons in hand.

“Who are y’all?” Josh asked.

“We’re your friendly neighborhood vamp squad,” the pixie-haired girl said lightly, smiling. “And we just saved your asses.”

***

There had been another one, a blonde haired girl. She had been the watcher, while the others attacked the dead. She watched the whole situation play out on top of the building. She was cordial, a little quieter than her female friend, who was a complete smart ass.

“I’m Lexi. This is Miguel, Lukas and Sienna. We’ve come from Alexandria. We know how the dead virus started and it was because of my father.” Her blunt, bold statement shocked the humans. Will’s face was questioning.

She continued, “We have a proposition for you. Are there others in your group?”

Josh and Will glanced at each other and Will nodded.

“Well this is hardly the place to tell you what we need to. May we accompany you to your shelter? I don’t like being out in the open with these zombies.” Her blue eyes held hope. The others let her do the talking; it seemed that she was the leader of their faction.

Will and Josh agreed to let the vampires follow them to Josh’s house. They wouldn’t be able to come in unless invited and Josh figured if they were going to attack them, they would have already.

It was dark by the time they got to Josh’s house. The vampires helped them unload the supplies. They brought it all to the front door and stood patiently. Brendan and Mari were taken aback by the extra people.

Josh didn’t invite them in, instead opting to have them go around back to the patio table to talk. Brendan shut the door, leaving Mari inside.

Lexi straightened up and smiled sadly. “My father, Samuel, fed on a dead human. Consequently, it poisoned him and he passed away a couple months ago. My father started this, and for that I am sorry. It’s affecting us as well. We vampires cannot feed off the dead or we’ll have the same fate as my father did.”

Lexi turned her attention to Will. “You’re Will, aren’t you?”

Will seemed surprised, but offered a slight nod of the head. She smiled wide. Josh thought to himself what a pretty girl she was.

“You are very well-known in our south sector. We know you hate vamps. We know you’re a damn good hunter too. And while this may cloud your judgment, I think my proposal is logical.

“With this infection, we have lost our food source. The number of dead is rising at an alarming rate. We have always run smoothly with stability, like you. This is a far cry from stability.

“We need a group to offer an arrangement. We need a constant food source. We need protection during the day. We are not so full of ourselves to deny our vulnerabilities during this situation.

“And in return we can promise protection during the nights from all things. We have a network of other vamps far and wide and we know how things are going throughout the nation. It’s bad. We can offer that too. Communication to others.” Lexi folded her small hands in her lap and sighed. Miguel, the Spanish vampire, put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed.

“We’re all going to die horrible deaths if we don’t learn how to get along,” Sienna said. She was good-looking too, but looked older than Lexi.

Will took a deep breath, and just at that moment Mari came out the back door.

“Are y’all bad vampires like Mama was?” she asked quietly. She clutched the new stuffed animal that Will had given her.

Lexi’s face fell. “Her mother was bit?”

“Yes and so was my wife. Will killed them a couple months ago,” Josh replied.

Lexi’s blue eyes widened. “Sweet girl, we aren’t bad vampires. We don’t turn other humans. We would never do that to someone.”

Mari gave a small smile and continued. “I think my mama was just hungry. If she was in her right mind she wouldn’t have come at me or my daddy.”

Lexi nodded. “I think you’re right. It’s very difficult when you’re a new vampire. Much like a newborn baby, all they want to do is get full. I’m sorry your mama died. I just lost my father, too, and it hurts very much.”

Mari made a move to come near Lexi and Brendan instinctively put his arm out.

“I’m not going to hurt your daughter, sir. I have never harmed a child in my whole life.” Lexi stated, her face showing her offense. Brendan’s shoulders slouched and he dropped his arm. Mari, with a grin, went over to Lexi and touched her face.

“You feel a little cold.”

“I do; that’s part of what we are. It’s kind of nice during these hot summers.”

Mari giggled. “Sometimes, I have to run around in my undies ‘cause it’s too hot.”

“I bet!” Lexi smiled wide and even her sarcastic friend cracked a smile.

“You have pretty hair. And eyes. Both of you do.” Mari continued. Josh, Will, and Brendan were shocked at the girl’s boldness. She had hardly come out of her shell since her mother’s death. Maybe it was because there were finally women around. Even if they were vampires, Mari didn’t seem to mind.

“As do you, and those freckles. Oh my, I’ve always wanted them for myself. I had a brother, long ago, that had freckles splashed all across his face and they were so adorable.”

Mari’s grin grew wide. She showed them her animal and the girls asked to hold it.

“Are you really old?” Mari asked. Lexi nodded.

“I have been 17 years old for over a hundred years,” Lexi stated in a matter-of-fact tone.

“Oh wow. I’m only 5.” Mari held a hand, displaying all digits, which made Lexi and Sienna laugh in response.

“Shh! The dead heads will hear you!” Mari shushed them, a finger raised to her lips.

“Oh, don’t worry about them. We won’t let them get anywhere close to you.”

Mari raised her arms and leaned in. Lexi raised her eyebrows to Brendan. “May I?”

Brendan, his face having softened to a sad expression, nodded. Lexi wrapped her arms around the little girl and held her for a while.

“Well Mari seems quite taken,” Miguel said softly and the men nodded. It was a very sweet sight to see when they were used to so much destruction and fear.

When they were finished hugging, Brendan took her back inside.

“She is so precious. I forgot how amazing children are,” Lexi whispered to nobody in particular. Sienna nodded in agreement.

“It’s been rough for her.”

“I’d imagine so.”

“What are the specifics of your arrangement? You drink from us? Is that possible without turning us?”

“Yes it is. You only turn someone when you’ve nearly bled them dry. We would never do that to you. We need y’all, and y’all will see: You need us, too.”

“Do you mind if we discuss this? Inside for a moment, the three of us? And I’m assuming Mari would be excluded as a food source correct?” Josh said.

“Oh yes, of course. That little girl has already been through so much, I can tell. Her eyes are so sad.”

“She has,” Brendan agreed, his voice rough. They excused themselves and went inside, leaving the vampires in the backyard.

As soon as they were inside Will exclaimed, “I don’t like it. I
hate
vamps. They know who I am. How the hell do they know who am I?”

Josh shook his head. “It sounds strange, but I agree with them. I think we need each other.”

Brendan and Mari were seated on the couch; he’d put cartoons on. “They were real good with Mari. Mari likes having girls around.” She nodded enthusiastically in response.

“Well hell, we can find you some normal female humans, Mari,” Will muttered.

Mari scowled at him. “No, I like Lexi and Sienna. They’re nice. And they said they’d protect us.” She huffed, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

Josh sighed. “They saved our asses tonight, Will. You can’t deny that. And you can’t deny that they’re strong and powerful and
damn
good fighters. It’s an advantage we would have.”

“Yeah, I know they are.
I’m
the one who’s been fighting them for years.
I’m
the one who knows exactly how fast and strong they are.”

“Then you know it would be an asset,” Brendan stated.

“Yeah, well I don’t have to admit it. Or like it.” Will stomped off towards the kitchen and they heard him rummage through the fridge.

Meanwhile, outside, Lexi fanned her eyes to keep from crying. Crying vamps were an ugly mess and she didn’t want to seem scary.

“That girl, bless her heart, oh man. Who was it down here turning people?”

“Who knows, it was probably a straggler that got carried away,” Lukas said. He was in charge of keeping up with the different groups among the southern sector. “I didn’t hear of anyone that we know that was doing that shit.”

“Poor girl,” Sienna said.

“Yes, indeed.” Lexi uncrossed her legs, then crossed them again. 

They were quiet, watching through the half-open blinds at the adults inside. They were talking, and the taller one, Will, had a beer in his hand.

“He hates us,” Miguel whispered.

“’Cause he’s been bred to.”

“They’re going to agree. I know they are. They’re desperate. They were in a bad spot tonight. Could’ve died with all those dead heads,” Miguel said, using the name Mari had used.

“I surely hope so. ‘Cause we’re all a little desperate, aren’t we?”

“That we are,
mami
, that we are,” Miguel whispered as he placed a kiss on her forehead.

Chapter Twelve

Will did not like the way Brendan and Josh were leaning when it came to trusting the vampires. “I don’t give a damn if the vamps die. I don’t. Why should we? They freaking turned both of your wives and
now
y’all want to go in cahoots with them? Yeah that makes
perfect
sense, let me tell you.”

Josh rolled his eyes. “One thing about you, man, is that you hold onto your anger and let it fester. Everything around us is going to hell and both of us,” his finger waved between himself and Will, “would’ve been dead tonight if it weren’t for those vamps. Dammit Will, if you’d listen to yourself, you’d realize that you’re just going by emotions. Not logic.”

“Uncle Will?” Mari spoke up. She had stopped watching the cartoons and was focused on the men. She had started calling both Will and Josh uncle after the first month.

“Yes, Mari?”

“If they were going to hurt us, they would’ve already. Don’t you think?”

Will’s face fell with the girl’s logic. Sometimes kids weren’t as clueless as adults thought they were. “Yeah, I guess so.”

“Well, I think so. They didn’t act like my mommy. They didn’t act like they wanted to eat us. I think they would help us and not hurt us.”

Will sighed, and Brendan smiled at his daughter. Already, she was growing up too fast. This world was not something he wanted her to live in, but he couldn’t change that.

For a few minutes nobody said anything. Then Will hissed, “Well, hell, I guess invite them in. But they won’t feed off me. You two numb nuts can take care of ‘em.” 

***

Lexi, Miguel, Lukas and Sienna sat around in the living room squeezed together on the couch.

“We live in Alexandria. Our apartment is still safe, mainly because of the improvements we made to the windows and such, but the city is in ruins. We’ve been traveling around Louisiana, in contact with our other vampire friends to see what they are doing. We have some people in the DC area that we’ve been in contact with and all major politicians have disappeared, off grid somewhere safe, but the military is still in place.

“The zombies or dead heads—I like that term better,” Lexi smiled at Mari, who was sitting in her lap, “have taken over every major southern city so far, from Texas to Florida.

“What about up North or West?”

Sienna shook her head, “We don’t know. It’s not as bad over that way. Because Alexandria is where it started, it’s concentrated in the south. But the DC folks didn’t want to take any chances, ya know?”

Brendan puttered, “Isn’t that how it always is?”

Lukas smiled and nodded. “As long as I’ve been around, it has.” He chuckled softly.

They spent the next couple of hours just talking. The vampires shared abbreviated histories of their lives while the men talked a little about themselves. Even Will, with his face screwed up in frustration, shared. Lukas and Miguel were interested in his history of vampire killing and politely listened as he told a brief history of getting involved because of his father.

Mari was in seventh heaven. The presence of two women had lifted her spirits and the ladies doted on her, switching her from one lap to another. It was a sweet sight and everyone felt a tug on their hearts watching them. The loss of her mother was hard; girls needed their mothers.

“I have a feeling we will make a great team, once the newness wears off and we are all settled with one another,” Miguel offered, his accent and tone soothing.

“Yeah, once the newness wears off,” Brendan offered, still looking at Mari with a small smile. Lexi and Sienna smiled at each other and at Brendan.

“Okay, here’s to a new team!” Lexi said, squeezing her arms around Mari a little tighter.

“Yay!” Mari exclaimed happily.

Will gave Josh a weary look, and Josh nodded at him.

“A new team. And to killing all those dead head bastards.”

***

A month later they had all moved to the country. Brendan’s uncle had gotten in touch with them through the radio. His place was up and still running. It was in East Texas, several hundred miles west of them. The vampire group had packed their belongings, securing their place down like a fort. Things were easier with the group, but there were still problems. Will spoke with an air of superiority and animosity, but the vampires ignored his antics. He got along best with Lukas.

The trek west was harder than expected. Harder not because of the journey, but because of the sights. It devastated Josh to see what had gone on. It sickened him to drive past dead bodies on the street, abandoned cars, and the dead heads roaming around like they owned the place.

A couple of times they stopped, at Will’s insistence, to scavenge the lonely cars strewn across the highway. The smell was putrid with rotten food and rotten bodies all over. Josh pulled his shirt up over his nose. The heat bore down on them, still hot for the upcoming autumn. The sun had baked everything at a rapid speed.

Mari would stay inside the SUV, her small face pressed against the window, watching the men move slowly around.

Sometimes they were lucky. They found clothes that were around the right size for Mari and also blankets and pillows. Things they could trade if it came down to it. Other times they weren’t lucky and horrified at their findings. One car held a family; mom, dad, sister and brother. All of them with gun shots to the temple. They chose death rather than the uncertainty of their lives.

When it was daylight, the vampires climbed into makeshift coffins covered with tarp in the back of the construction trucks Will and Josh drove. Brendan drove his SUV, Mari with him. At night the vampires took the wheels, allowing every human to sleep.

Finally, after a rough few days of moving at a much slower pace than they wanted, they reached the deep wooded parts of East Texas. Brendan hadn’t been out to his uncle’s place in a while, not since Mari was born. But he had grown up here. He knew exactly where it was, and it was a sight to behold when they finally did pull up after passing through a manned security gate. 

It was an old farmhouse with buildings constructed all around. The house was a big and strong Victorian two-story. Much bigger than what Josh was expecting. He let out a low whistle through his teeth. They parked in front of the house, a makeshift parking lot with rows of other trucks and cars.

They all got out, stretching their legs and taking deep breaths of the fresh air. It was still daylight, so the vampires were sleeping in the back. It was a shame they couldn’t see this house in the daylight, Josh thought.

The front door opened and a burly man came out. He was as round as he was tall, his skin shades darker than Brendan’s. His beard was unruly and spotted with white hair.

“Brendan! It’s good to see you, my boy! Where’s my Miss Mari?”

She came around Josh’s legs shyly and smiled at him with a small wave of her hand.

After the uncle greeted her, he came up to Josh and Will and shook each of their hands. “Good to meet you boys. My name is John. I’m glad y’all made it unscathed. The south really went to Hell, huh?” He laughed loudly.

After they made small talk, Brendan led his uncle aside. It was decided that he would tell Uncle John about the arrangements made with the vampire group. They watched as Brendan said something and John’s hand came to rest on top of his dirty baseball cap. Finally he nodded, clapped his nephew on the back and the men walked back.

“Well Brendan’s told me about your situation. And you know, that’s great. As long as they aren’t those dead monsters and can actually help us out. Then you know, we’ll just have to get over it. Work together, right?” He smiled broadly, and held out his arms. “Y’all—welcome to your new home.”