The Vampire & the Rebel (Completed)

Part 2: Chapter 7

My journey continued, and I remained in my solitude, although there were occasional signs that other humans had been through. Twice I spotted carved symbols on tree trunks indicating that vampire attacks had happened nearby and I made sure to get out of those areas as quickly as I possibly could. The last thing I wished was to get enslaved again before I had my chance to take out that demon Jack.

With every passing day, I became more impatient to take him out. I wanted that monster's black blood on my hands.

I smiled grimly and continued forward with my single minded purpose.

It was a relief when I finally reached the cranky old man's hideout that I had been heading for. I approached cautiously. "Hadron?" I called out. "It's Jamie."

Other than the shriek of a bird somewhere far away, no response met my ears.

I would have liked it if he had been here, but I was going to see what he had and borrow what I needed with or without direct permission. Hadron would be pissed off like crazy if he discovered I had plundered his supplies while he was gone if I did not replace them before he returned, but that was meaningless compared to the fact that I had a name and location for the face.

A small part of me wished that I had gotten as good of a look at the other vampires that got away, but, he and the one I had already killed were the only two whose faces I could recall.

And the one I already killed I recalled with deep satisfaction.

I wanted it again, but I was certain that Jack's destruction would bring with it a relief sweeter than anything else I had ever experienced. I wanted it so bad.

Wasting no more time, I went to the entrance, a moss covered metal door over a bunker. I knocked on the top hard, and pulled it open. "Hadron? It's Jamie. You around old man?" I called again, just to be safe.

My voice echoed out of the bunker. I climbed down the ladder and looked around the dimly lit room. Since dark was getting closer, I decided to spend the night down here and enjoy the luxury of somewhat increased security. I rummaged around the crates that served as cupboards, and found nothing edible in the slightest. I was not surprised, since he never intentionally left food behind.

I ate some of my dried meat and lay down on the cot in the corner of the small room. I was close to the demon's lair now, probably less than two day's journey. It seemed insane that my quarry had been so close to one of the cranky old man's hideouts, but I supposed that the near location actually worked to make Hadron less conspicuous since who would imagine there was a human living so close?

Weary as I was, I closed my eyes and let myself fall into a rejuvenating rest.

* * * * *

I needed sleep, but my dreams were anything but restful. I dreamed of the demon killing Melissa over and over again, but the dream that shocked me into wakefulness was when she was the one attacking us, and she did not kill Melissa. Instead she drank Melissa's blood with that knowing smirk and then fed her own blood to Melissa in turn. Melissa lay there unmoving, and then those sweet brown eyes opened and looked towards me without recognition but rather with that disturbing hunger I could not bear to see.

I woke up sweating and my heart slammed in my chest. Understanding it was a dream did not help to lessen my distress at the images my mind had concocted to torment me.

Sickness at the thought of Melissa or any human turned into one of those undead monsters sickened me. She had been someone beautiful and the idea of her twisted that way was—

Maybe still better than seeing her dead. I was not sure.

While I waited for sleep to reclaim me, I thought about Melissa, and though I had no desire to admit it, I thought about the leech. What had she been like when she was human? Her beauty was inescapable. I could never quite ignore it as much as I would have preferred to and I wondered if her mysterious nature was something that was inherent to her or something brought on by her undead condition.