Welcome to the Darkness (Darkness Trilogy) (33 page)

“Oh my God, it’s a zombie!” Sophie shrieked.

“No. It’s one of the revenants,” Trudy said.

“A rev-what?” Sophie whimpered.

“Revenants. A human-vampire hybrid. It’s started,” she said.

Nathaniel
came toward me and reached over my shoulder, pulling the samurai sword from its sheath.

“Hey, that’s Joe’s, isn’t it?” Trudy said.

I licked my lips, my gaze darting between Trudy and the woman outside. I didn’t understand why the woman wasn’t trying to break the glass or find another way inside. “Yeah, it was Joe’s sword. I didn’t think he’d mind if I borrowed it.”

“Be careful, Nathaniel,” Trudy said. “The blade is coa
ted with silver.”

Nathaniel nodded. “I shall return shortly,” he said and headed for the door.

“Wait a minute,” I shouted after him. “Where are you going?”

He ignored me and continued outside. He stepped onto the front lawn and approached the woman from behind. She didn’t even turn to look at him and kept marching mindlessly into the window. Nathaniel drew his arm back and swung the weapon through the air, slicing the woman’s head cleanly off her body.

Sophie started screaming and I watched Nathaniel wipe the sword in the grass to clean off the blood. For some reason I couldn’t look away. He came back into the house as calm as ever and replaced the sword in the sheath. I stared at him, waiting for an explanation.

“Hey,” I said. “You killed that woman! Are you crazy?”

Nathaniel picked a piece of lint off the front of his pants. “That woman was no longer human. I believe ‘revenant’ is the term the hunters chose.”

“No,” I argued. “That was a woman who was infected with a virus. Maybe there’s a cure. Except now it’s too late because she’s
dead
.”

“Do you have any idea how many years it takes to d
evelop a cure for an illness?” Nathaniel asked. “If any cure is found at all.”

Trudy cleared her throat. “I’m sorry, Reed, but I’m g
oing to have to side with Nathaniel on this. According to the most recent intel on the virus we managed to collect, the infected humans only survived for a few days at most. This strain of the virus might be different, but I bet it will have infected and killed off most of the human population long before any cure is found.”

I raked my hands through my hair. “So what else does your
intel say?”

“As I said, things might be different with this strain of the virus. As far as I know though,
when an infected human passes through the initial stages, which mirror the symptoms of a severe flu, they focus solely on feeding. Similar to a vampire, they’re attracted to human blood, although they may be able to feed off other animals. I don’t believe they can feed off each other or off vampires.”

“How can they tell the difference between humans and vampires?” I asked.

“The same way vampires can: by sense of smell. The infected humans lose the majority of their brain functions, and act only on their instinct to feed. I think that’s why the woman kept walking into my window instead of looking for another way in.”

“So basically, Nathaniel and I are safe around these revenants because they can tell from our scent that our blood is no good for them?”

“Whoa–wait a second,” Sophie said. “You’re not . . . you can’t be . . . I mean–” she turned to Sarah. “Is Reed a vampire too?” she whispered.

“Yes, Soph.”

Sophie squinted at me and turned back to her sister. “You’re robbing the cradle
and
you’re dating a vampire? Have you lost your mind?”

“Ahem–
more important issues. Hello?” I said.

Sarah pointed out the window. “There comes a more important issue right now.”

A man was walking straight across the street toward us, but he wasn’t moving very quickly. I strained to see him in better detail and I could just make out the unfocused look on his face.

“Do the revenants have the same weaknesses as va
mpires?” Nathaniel asked.

“They did,” Trudy began, “but I know that was som
ething the vampires were trying to fix. I have no idea if they were successful before they released the virus.”

“We could try one of the UV balls,” I suggested.

“No!” Nathaniel said.

“Not around you, of course,” I added. “You can hide in a closet or something while I test it out. Shouldn’t we figure out what else we can use against them besides the sword?”

“Yes. I suppose that would be wise,” he conceded. “I shall go sequester myself for a moment. Come fetch me when you have finished.” In a flash of movement, he left.

Trudy went to fetch a UV ball, and returned with one clutched in her hand just as the man reached the front wi
ndow. Like the woman earlier, he kept marching into the glass even though he wasn’t getting anywhere. I couldn’t believe a normal person was reduced to this so quickly.

“Press the button and slide this until it stops,” Trudy said and passed me the UV ball.

“Will it work through the window?” I asked.

“Not nearly as effectively as direct exposure.”

“All right.”

I walked out the front door and down the steps, coming up behind the man. I held the ball out in front of me. “Hey,” I called. The man didn’t turn to look at me. “I’m sorry,” I said quietly. I squeezed my eyes shut, pressed the button, and moved the slider until it stopped. Even with my eyes
closed, I saw the bright flash.

I lowered my arm and opened my eyes. The man
was still there, marching away. So much for that weapon.

I tossed the ball into the bushes and re-entered the house. “That totally didn’t work,” I said, stating the obvious.

“That means they’ll be able to go out during the day too,” Trudy pointed out.

“I guess the vamps put my blood to good use after all,” I grumped.

Sophie clung to Sarah’s arm. “I’m so confused, I don’t know where to start asking questions,” she said.

“Don’t worry, I’ll explain everything,” Sarah reassured her.

“Don’t worry? There’s zombie, revenant, whatever-the-hell those things are, trying to eat us! Maybe they’re too stupid to figure out how to get in the door, but what about when there’s a hundred of them at the window? Or a thousand?”

“Sophie’s right,” Trudy said. “We need to gather su
pplies and find a spot that will be easier to fortify. Why don’t you girls see what you can find in the garage? I’ll go get some weapons. You’re a cop right?” Sarah nodded. “So you know how to fire a gun?”

“I’ll get Nathaniel,” I said.

We went our separate ways, and I sniffed around until I found Nathaniel’s hiding spot. I pulled the closet door open and he stepped out.

“Well?” he asked.

“It didn’t work.” I shook my head. “Trudy thinks we should gather supplies and get out of here.”

“Yes, we should get to higher ground,” he agreed.

“Nathaniel, what are you going to do about feeding? I can tell you’re thirsty. I’m gonna be in the same boat in a few hours too.”

“I do not know, but we must deposit these women somewhere safe first. Then we can deal with our nutritional needs.”

“Um, okay. As long as you don’t lose control and munch on one of them,” I said and turned to walk down the hall.

Nathaniel caught my arm and I turned back. “You must not hesitate to protect these women,” he said, his pale eyes searching my own. “If they receive even a single bite from
one of the revenants, they may become infected themselves. Do you understand?”

I swallowed and pictured myself hacking off people’s heads with the sword. Then I imagined Sarah getting bitten and infected, walking around like a mindless zombie. “I u
nderstand.”

After collecting as many supplies as we could in a short amount of time, our group of five headed out. Our goal was to reach any good-sized apartment building and set up our safe spot on the top floor.

Despite having a garage, Trudy didn’t own a car because she got by just fine using public transportation. This meant we had to walk to our destination, but there were several apartment buildings a few blocks away. We set a quick pace, anxious to find the comfort of a closed space. We were sitting ducks out in the open.

The streets in Trudy’s neighborh
ood were still deserted: the two revenants we’d seen earlier had been the only ones. So far. Nathaniel had beheaded the poor man at Trudy’s window because the UV ball hadn’t worked. I had a feeling the sword would see a lot more action in the near future.

We continued walking in silence until we neared an i
ntersection about three blocks from Trudy’s house. Nathaniel was in the lead, and he stopped suddenly, cocking his head to the side. “Do you hear that?” he said.

There was
something, but I had no idea
what
. It sounded like people clapping. I walked up to the corner, and the rest of the group followed me. I turned to the left.

“Oh my God,” Sarah breathed.

About fifty yards away there was a horde of about two hundred revenants. They started sniffing the air, and then they broke into a run.

“They are coming for us,” Nathaniel said.

“No shit!” I yelled. “Go. Go!”

Nathaniel grabbed Sophie and threw her over his shoulder, and then he swooped past Trudy and threw her over his other shoulder. He took off at vampire speed and I had to react quickly and grab Sarah before taking off after him.

When we reached the closest apartment building, we set the women down. The revenants hadn’t been able to keep up. Thankfully, it seemed they were restricted to human speed.

We entered the apartment’s lobby and made our way to a stairwell because we didn’t trust the elevators. The power was still on, but who knew when it might stop working. The area
was abandoned, and we began the climb to the top floor without seeing any signs of life. By the time we got to the ninth floor, the girls were dragging their feet and panting hard.

I peeked over the railing and looked up. “Only three or four more floors to go, I think.”

Sarah gave my hand a squeeze, and I squeezed back. Sophie glowered at me with half-lidded eyes. Jeez, what was her problem?

When we reached the top floor at last, Nathaniel pushed open the door with caution. The hallway was empty, so we filed behind him letting the stairwell door slam shut.

“I will return to barricade that later,” he said. Approaching the first apartment unit on our right, he kicked the door and it swung open.

Two revenants stood in the middle of the room. One was a middle-a
ged man and the other was a kid: a boy who was maybe eight or nine. They both inhaled and then turned, jaws snapping, fangs showing.

Nathaniel
moved
, grabbing them both and taking them into a bedroom off the main room. The door slammed closed. Wet ripping sounds and thuds carried across the apartment. Nathaniel re-emerged into the main area and closed the door behind him. “Do not go in there,” he said.

None of us said a word.

“I will go now, to ensure the rest of this floor is safe,” he added and zipped out into the hallway.

“Hey,” Sophie said, shaking her head as if to clear it from the horror of what had just happened. I realized she was talking to me.

I turned to look at her. “What?”

“I want you to turn me into a vampire,” she said.

I frowned. “Say what?”

“Those . . . things aren’t interested in eating you or N
athaniel because you’re vampires, right? So, I want you to make me into one too.”

“I wouldn’t wish being a vampire on my worst enemy,” I protested.

“Why not? What’s not to like? You’re faster than us, stronger than us, and the zombies leave you alone,” she argued.

“You have no idea what I’ve been through in the past month since this was forced on me,” I growled. “I lost my
family, I’ve been shot, I had my ribs broken, I was strapped to a table while my blood was stolen, and my arm and leg were chewed off!” My fangs pricked the surface of my gums, threatening to pop out.

“I need some fresh air,” I muttered and spun around to stalk out of the room.

“Wait,” Sarah called after me. “You’re not going out there alone, are you?”

I glanced out the apartment window into the nighttime cityscape. Sighing, I said, “Fine. I’ll go out on the roof i
nstead. There must be a stairwell access for it somewhere on this floor.” No one followed me when I left and I met Nathaniel in the hall on his way back. He looked at me with curiosity, but neither one of us said anything as I stormed past.

The rooftop stairwell was clearly marked and I made my way
up and outside, gulping in the cool air. There was a light misty rain, and I wondered if the temperature would drop enough to start snowing. I’d never seen snow before in my life, except on TV.

I moved around the outside wall enclosing the stai
rwell, finding shelter under the overhang. I leaned back against the wall and closed my eyes. When I opened them again, I reached into the back pocket of my jeans and pulled out the crumpled family photo I’d saved from the wreckage of my home back in California. I unfolded it and looked at each member of my family in turn: my dad, my mom, and my sister Sam. A lump formed in my throat and I refolded the photo, shoving it back in my pocket.