The Zompire (9 page)

                            
Chapter 7

In the depths of the forest, the remaining members of the vampire clan had come to the conclusion that night that their former alpha who was now turned into what they could not understand, attacked and killed one of them. They could not continue staying there as they could tell from what they saw that he would come again and again till he eliminates them all.  They had moved on farther into the forest and camped there. They were now using an old abandoned wooden house that they found in the forest as their new secluded resting place. They were resting in the house during the day when they heard a twig break, then another. No one ever came to this part of the woods if memory served them right. Could it be the owner of the wooden house? But this house seems to have been abandoned for a rather very long time. These questions and more they pondered as they looked on till their visitor came into view. Alas, it was their worst nightmare. Yes. Of lately, he had come to be.

“ You surely must be fucking kidding meee ……He can now fricking walk in the damn sun?” the female among them asked, bewildered.

“We have to leave …..now……immediately” their leader stated.

“ But …but ….but …..our skins will be hurt by the sun’s rays but it’s a better option than to have him meet us here again ……I dunno what the hell he is, but he surely aint one of us again” he continued.

“How are we sure he is coming to us” one of them asked. How do you think he got to this part of the woods?” their leader asked under a whisper. I have a feeling that he can pick up our scent. We only have to move to find out” he concluded.

They left through the backdoor and made their way through the forest undergrowth. They had wisely chosen this portion of the forest which was well covered with tall deciduous trees that effectively shaded the ground. They went forward a while and waited while the youngest vampire quickly climbed up a short tree and looked to see if he was following and lo and behold, he made hand signals to them below that they were surely being followed. Most worryingly, in the exact same part they treaded, stopping now and then as if sensing something. Their fear was now confirmed and there was going to be only one way to distract him. They headed straight to the river that ran across the forest. On reaching it, they ran upstream along its rocky edge though deep enough to reach their knees they went up very far till they got to where the river cascaded and then made their way across. They waded across the shallow river despite their dislike for water. They got across the river and waited to see what he would do when he got there. It was a while before he arrived at the river and found that he could not figure where they crossed from. It showed its frustration by picking a huge stone which it slammed into the water. It did not however as much as step into the water. It just turned around and made its way back. They just sat under the shade there and began seeking a way to put an end to it. They knew they could not keep running for much longer. What would they do should he attack them in a hiding where running out meant going into the direct sunlight. They planned on how to attack him if not for anything, but for their own peace of mind.

The vampires went their way. They had to find another refuge and one that would be really far from the present vicinity that the morphologically changed vampire scouts. They could not however do this at the moment as the sun was now quite high in the sky. They found shade nearby and sat around in a circle; their topic of discussion, how to put an end to the common enemy. Their new alpha suggested they build a trap. If they can lead the zompire into it, then it would be easier to have their problem solved. In the past, in the days when zombies were still rampant, the vampire community did contribute a lot in reducing their population. They hacked them to death with clubs, machetes and any weapon at all that served their purpose. The zombies were just slow bodies craving flesh to consume. This ‘friend’ of theirs was however hugely different. He still retained the speed of a vampire and more so his intelligence…..and as they could see, he was also able to travel in the scouring sunlight.

One of the vampires brought up another aspect of the creature which interested them all. He asked how it was that cyanide bullets in the quantity the SSS rained on the zombie vampire had no effect on him. They figured that his weird metabolism in his body must be so unheard of to wield such immense resistance to cyanide. That was however only to be if they could find out  how to combine whatever was responsible for this in him with their system without being turned into zombies themselves.

They discussed other trivial things like how the VCA and SSS were so busy looking for their transformed brother that they have totally forgot about them. Probably, they thought, he was a much greater threat than they were being his immense strength and uncanny ability to walk in the sun and also his zombie like features having come from the dead so to speak and consuming human flesh.

Even though they were now fairly thirsty given that they spent a lot of energy running when they should be resting during daytime, hunting for blood to sustain themselves right then and now was however not an option. They therefore remained under the shade, fighting sleep as they couldn’t let down their guard out there in the open. It would be till night that they can go farther from there to find another place to stay.

As they remained in the woods across the river half asleep, there was this awkward silence amidst them. This was not just due to the fact that they were tired after fleeing under the scorching sun from a previous member of their vampire clan who was now a threat to them;  this silence was however as a result of fear. Fear of what would happen should he suddenly appear amidst them. This same fear is what kept them awake even when their vampire bodies were desperately craving for rest and sleep.

The rustling wind blew leaves off their branches leading them all the way down to cluster among previously fallen leaves thus making a sound which was far from pleasant to them at the moment; their fears heightened more with this making each of them snap out of their slumber staring around confusingly.

Back at the laboratory, the VCA officers’ confusion was at an all time high, considering the fact that they were the originators of their newly found problem. They didn't resort to trading blames on each other though. They knew better. Instead they continued their brainstorm on how to combat this ZOMBIE-VAMPIRE which was at loose as they spoke.

As a result of the mishap, they had suffered huge losses, a couple of their scientists having being put to death by this creature or they have been left incapacitated. Such individuals include Dr. Socrates, Dr. Kerkov and Dr. Mabel, three top scientists whose strength and presence would have helped bring this menacing behemoth to an end. They just had to think and do what these brave men would have done in every situation that they now faced.

Some other staff members of the VCA and officers of the State Security Service who were at the scene of the incidents at different times were also killed by the zombie-vampire totaling 17 deaths up to that moment. This did not take into account the number of civilians that may have encountered the strange creature and died cruel deaths by its hands.

Dr. Fisher the head professor of Biology and Genetics at the state's university had earlier been invited by the VCA to come join Dr. Lenzo to help curb and bring an end to this creature.

On his arrival Dr. Lenzo did not even bother exchanging pleasantries with him before he began to fill him in on the situation at hand.

When he was done the suggestion made by Dr. Fisher was the same made by the VCA team which was that they get a sample of the vampire's body fluid so as to possibly produce a lethal weapon that would bring this creature to a halt since the cyanide bullets proved ineffective against him.

A brilliant idea it was but it all came down to the same problem which the team had envisaged earlier which was how could they extract body fluid from such a fierce creature.

“This is mission impossible” they mumbled among themselves.

One of the members of the VCA team spoke up to the professor. He asked him a simple question which at this time seemed a bit more complex that it should.

“How do we do that Prof?”

The question lead to an unusual silence in the room. The silence was soon broken by a staff of the VZCA who dashed into the lab with a phone, handing it to Dr. Lenzo, saying a few words which left Dr. Lenzo a bit terrified.

“
The Governor would like to speak with you sir.”

Dr. Lenzo slowly collected the phone, placed it on the table and picked up the receiver. Clearing his Throat he said "Good day sir"

Then the Governor replied; "Good day doctor"

"Reports reaching my ears say we have a life threatening situation at hand, is this true doctor?"

"It is sadly true sir" Dr Lenzo replied.

"Okay so have you and your team any solution to quickly put this monster under control?"

"We are working on one as we speak sir."

"Very good doctor, very good."

"If you and your team need anything to help put this to an end as soon as possible be sure to contact me."

"Okay sir"

"Don't forget to keep me informed with every new development."

"We will do just that sir"

"Good. I'll leave you to get back to work doctor."

"Okay sir."

Dr. Lenzo dropping the receiver says to the other doctor and other top officials of the VCA there with him.

"That was the Governor on the phone. He has been informed of the situation at hand. We have to act fast."

Dr. Fisher said to Dr. Lenzo……

"Let's have the security team and other VCA officers to figure out a means to extract body fluid from the zombie-vampire while we move to inspect the bodies of its victims for any reasonable clue.

Dr. Fisher and
Dr. Lenzo left the room and headed to the morgue where the bodies of the victims had been stored.

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The zombie-vampire was also on the move but his move was in search of prey for food. His transformation from a vampire to a zombie-vampire had also lead to an increase in his appetite. He roamed through the woods as he did not want to move into the streets till it started too darken a bit. He moved briskly through the woods and after about an hour of
fruitless roaming, he could perceive the scent of a human nearby. Could it be another camper or was it those pesky VCA officers who were on his trail yet again.

He moved slowly this time in the direction of the scent sniffing in more air with every step taken as though to separate the smell of the woods from that of his prey. The zompire finally arrived to meet yet another camper at a small stream which seemed to be linked to the river he saw when chasing the vampire clan.

The camper looked backwards on hearing the sound of a creature creeping up on him. He thought it were a wild animal not knowing it was much worse.

He was shivering from fear of this weird looking man-like creature heading for him but still managed to pick up his hunter's gun he had beside him. It wasn't useful because before he could point the gun towards this creature, the zompire knocked out the gun with its left hand, lifting him up with its right. As a vampire he spotted the man's
jugular veins in less than half of a second and began to suck the man dry while the man stayed shivering in his arms. He continued till the man now lay quiet and made no more movement. His zombie characteristics kicked in and he then sat on a fallen log beside the stream as a man at a picnic with his kids would, and hurriedly devoured portions of the man's body. After his meal and feeling a bit full, he continued roaming the woods in no specific direction. This is a prominent trait found in zombies as they do not sleep, making them forever in motion.