“Luke… Luke…” a woman’s desperate voice yelled his name.
It sounded like he was underwater. Why was he underwater?
“Luke…get up. Fight!” Each word cut to his brain a bit more clearly. A sliver of light returned to his eyes. “Get up, damn you!”
His mind slow from the concussion, Luke thought he recognized the voice of Delilah. He felt someone nudge him with a foot. Unwillingly, his body uncurled and fought its way to his hands and knees. He reached to the metal rail to pull himself up, but slipped and fell back on his hands. As he slid his hand toward the pole, his fingers ran over the hilt of his gladius. He picked it up. Once more, he swam up toward the railing, locking his wrist behind the back of it while holding onto his sword. Using his forearm and elbow to stabilize himself, he pulled himself to his feet. As he rose, he rammed his head into the railing, sending searing pain through his head as a fresh wave of blood tinged his vision red.
Luke roared in pain and rage, staggering to his feet. Someone threw a fist at his face. His body automatically moved to counter it and blocked it with a blade that bit deep, nearly taking most of the forearm off. The assault and the sound of someone else’s pain flicked a switch in his brain. Luke plunged a blade forward into the chest of his assailant. Over swinging, he fell forward into the faceless vampire, shoving the blade deeper. Their fall stopped as the vampire bent backwards over the railing, her back slamming against the chain link fencing. The body softened around his blade as it started its final journey to true death.
His enemy’s death brought with it a taste of victory as Luke, vision red and guided by his reptilian brain, went into automatic mode. Centuries of swinging a blade against the forces of fanged darkness had honed his body and mind into a weapon, one that didn’t need a pilot to guide it. A breath shuddered through him as he gasped in sweet air and released it as a brutal roar of anguish and rage. He swung his gladius. He stabbed at whatever moved. Enemies fell before him like wheat to the reaper. He was the reaper. Death to the undead. His fury was boundless. His bellicose shouts cowed the victorious fangers as his friends fought to save him.
The brutal efficiency of Luke’s slaughter both buoyed and terrified his rescuers. The werewolf and woman continued their advance, keeping a good distance between them and the battle-maddened Luke. Gradually, with each vampire wounded or killed, the rest began to retreat until finally, the bravery of the last few standing against the two humans and the werewolf broke ranks and ran. Luke, still mired in his foggy fight brain, tried to chase them down.
“Pablo! Stop him!” the woman shouted. A massive set of hairy arms wrapped around Luke’s chest, pinning his arms to sides. Luke tried to pull away and run after the fleeing vampires, but Pablo just lifted him off the ground. Luke kicked out with his feet but was coming down off his battle high and quickly losing his strength and coordination. Delilah cautiously walked up to him, staying out of reach of his legs and his sword.
“Luke, it’s OK. They’re gone. We’re your friends.”
Luke continued to thrash weakly and ineffectually, the familiarity of her voice slipping through the haze of his brain.
“It’s me—Delilah. Pablo will let you go if you relax.”
Delilah continued making soothing sounds and reassuring him they meant him no harm. Her words finally penetrated Luke’s foggy brain; he stopped struggling and went limp, dangling like a rag doll in Pablo’s arms.
“OK, Pablo. I think he’s calmed down. You can set him down now.”
Pablo set Luke down gently, propping him against the steel rail that separated the chain link fencing from the walkway. Luke wobbled as he placed his hands on the rail to hold himself up. He bent over the railing and vomited. Once he finished heaving, he tried to turn around but nearly fell. Pablo darted in and stabilized him.
Delilah scrunched up her nose. “That’s nasty! Let’s move him away from the puke.”
Pablo wrapped his arm around Luke’s back and helped Luke stumble to the other side of the bridge where Luke sagged against a pole and slid down to the ground breathing heavily.
“Let’s give him a moment to catch his breath. I think we’re OK here for a minute, but we better get out of here in case the popo decide to stick their noses where they don’t belong. You better change back.” Delilah reached into a small bag slung across her shoulder and pulled out a bundle of cloth and handed it to Pablo. She turned her back and folded her arms across her chest.
Luke took shallow, short breaths, trying to keep his mind clear enough to stay conscious. A few moments later, Pablo rejoined them in his human form, wearing a T-shirt, shorts, and a pair of slip-on sandals.
“Can you help him back to your truck?”
“Yeah, I’m still way stronger than a normal human, even in my human skin.”
“OK.” Delilah turned to Luke. “Luke, Pablo’s gonna help you up and get you back to his car. We’ll get you somewhere safe and get medical help.” She reached down and took the gladius from his weak fingers. “Shit, where does he keep his swords? I don’t think a Black woman and a Latino man carrying an obviously injured white man should be seen carrying a huge sword.” Spying his rudis on the ground, she walked over and picked it up.
“Yeah, that might not go over well with the authorities. I think he sheathes them on his back. Luke, I’m going to tip you forward a bit so Delilah can put away your sword, OK?” Pablo asked.
Luke nodded in response.
Pablo knelt and making sure Luke was securely propped up, located. his back scabbard. “Yup, it’s right here.”
Delilah slid the gladius into its scabbard. “OK, now the wooden one.”
“No…” Luke fought weakly to reach it. “Ne…need it.” He swallowed and struggled to form his next sentence. “Need…it. Body. Take me…to…” He was gasping for breath. “Body. Vampire…” His head sagged onto his chest as he panted.
Delilah looked at Pablo, who shrugged in response. “Let’s get him up, Pablo.”
“Damn, he’s heavy. All that armor…” Pablo commented as he squatted and lifted Luke by the armpits. He worked his shoulder under Luke’s arm so he could help him stumble out of there.
“Please…Pablo…body…”
Pablo looked at Delilah. She shrugged and nodded. Pablo walked Luke over to a vampire missing a head. He helped Luke down to his knees next to the body. As Luke settled onto his hands and knees, he grunted, taking the weight off his left arm. He rolled onto his butt and held his arm.
“Arm. Broken?” Luke gasped out.
Delilah looked at Pablo and shrugged. “I know some basic first aid, but I’m not a doctor.”
Pablo bent down and gently took Luke’s arm and felt up his forearm. “Is this it?”
Luke grunted and nodded as Pablo touched a spot in the middle of his left ulna.
“It doesn’t feel broken, but he could have some hairline fractures or a serious contusion. He probably needs an x-ray.”
Luke nodded and leaned over the vampire body next to him. He propped himself up with the rudis. “Help. Heart.”
Pablo pulled aside the vampire’s jacket and helped Luke move the point of the rudis over to the vampire’s heart. “Can you do it?”
Luke shook his head and nearly toppled over. Pablo caught Luke and righted him before he completely lost his balance. Pablo placed one hand over Luke’s clenched hands and the other on the pommel of the sword. With a grunt, he shoved the blade down into the vampire’s ribcage. Ensuring Luke was stable enough, he stood up and backed off a step as Luke placed his forehead on the pommel. It took Luke several stuttering starts and stops until he finally muttered the proper incantation to activate the rudis, sending threads of light winding down and back up the rudis’s silver filigree. The trembling that had been running through his body lessened. He raised his head and looked at Pablo.
“Another,” he said, his voice sounding firmer and stronger.
He offered his free hand to Pablo, who helped him up and guided him to another vampire body. This time, Luke managed to punch the wooden sword through the vampire’s ribs without any assistance, although the extra effort nearly made it too difficult for him. This time, the process went faster.
All three of their heads perked up when they heard the distant sound of sirens off to the east, getting louder as they approached their position.
“Uh, guys. I think we better get the hell out of here…” suggested Delilah.
“We have to stab the rest of these bodies or there’s a chance they can heal,” Luke said.
“Fuck! Um, you’re not going to be fast enough. Can Pablo and I do it with your swords? Do we have to say something to make it work?”
“Here.” He grabbed his gladius and offered up his swords. “No, just stab them through the heart. The wood and silver will take care of the rest.”
Pablo and Delilah rushed about stabbing the remaining bodies while Luke crawled over to the railing and pulled himself to a standing position. He worked on catching his breath while Pablo and Delilah finished up.
“I don’t think I’m going to be able to walk out of here on my own…” Luke gasped out.
Pablo nodded. “Alright, between the two of us we can get you out of here.”
They handed Luke his swords one at time so he could resheath them.
“Delilah, you get under the right arm, I’ll do the left.” Pablo slid under Luke’s left arm.
With Delilah and Pablo’s help, they quickly walked, half dragging Luke west and off the pedestrian bridge as the flashing red and blue lights pulled onto Failing Street and moved toward the bridge’s east side.
“We’re up the block and around the corner. We had to park far enough away that the vamps wouldn’t see us,” Pablo said.
Pablo and Delilah were breathing heavily as they lugged Luke toward Pablo’s truck. Luke tried to keep his feet under him to take some of the burden off his rescuers. They rounded the corner onto North Montana Avenue.
Delilah, panting, said, “I think it’ll be faster if we just put him in the bed of the truck.”
Pablo drove a black Toyota Tundra crew cab with a canopy. As weak as Luke felt, he wasn’t sure he could climb into the back seat without a lot of help, and time was burning.
Delilah fished the keys out of her pocket. “Pablo, let’s turn him around so he can sit on the tailgate.” After they turned around so all three of their backs were pointed toward the tailgate and canopy door, Delilah added, “OK, keep him standing, I’ll unlock it and open everything up.”
“OK, back up slowly,” Pablo said.
They each took a hand and helped Luke sit back, then stuffed him the rest of the way in, shutting the tailgate and canopy behind them. Delilah tossed Pablo the keys as they headed to the front of the Toyota. A few seconds later, they pulled cautiously onto Failing Street and headed to Interstate Avenue and back home.
Luke dozed fitfully as they made their way through the dark and nearly abandoned streets of North Portland. He startled awake when he felt the truck climb a curb and flop back onto the street as the driver parked sloppily along the street side. Two doors shut, shaking the truck, before the canopy and the tailgate were opened.
“We’re here, Luke,” Pablo exclaimed. “Swing your feet around and we’ll pull you out.”
Luke didn’t know where he was. They were still a few hours from sunup and the cloudy winter sky blocked any moonlight. The fact that Pablo’s canopy windows were tinted nearly black didn’t help either. When they finally got him out of the back of the truck and on his feet again, he saw that he was in front of his house.
“How do you know where I live?” Luke asked.
“Well…” Delilah said awkwardly. “I kind of followed you home after we met at the brewery.” She wasn’t making eye contact and looked embarrassed.
Luke sighed. “Whatever. We can talk about that later.”
He fished a pouch on a cord out from under his armor and pulled out a key and handed it to Delilah. She and Pablo helped him to the door and walked him inside.
“Light switch is to the side of the door. Take me into the kitchen, please.” They complied and set Luke down in an armed dining chair. He sagged against the back and closed his eyes, releasing a sigh from the exertion. “There are some clean dishrags in the drawer. Use the red ones, please. You’ll need to clean my scalp and see if it’s closed itself up.”
Pablo grabbed a rag out of the drawer and got it damp, then dabbed gently at Luke’s blood-matted hair and scalp. “Holy shit, man. It’s completely closed! There’s an angry red scar, but no cut. How about the arm?”
Luke pressed the fingers of his right hand into the tender spot where the suspected fracture had been. “The arm is tender but feels a lot better. I think it started knitting.”
“There’s no way you could have healed that quickly,” Delilah stated. “What the fuck?”
“I don’t have the energy or brain power to discuss this tonight. This is embarrassing, but I’m going to need some help. Can you snag me a coconut water from the fridge? There’s beer in there; help yourself to whatever. In the left most cabinet on the second shelf is a box of candy bars. If you want one, you’re welcome, but I need two please. And can someone please feed the cat? Alfred!” he called, raising his voice so the cat would hear him. “It’s OK, you can come out. They’re friends.”
The giant, orange tabby sauntered out of the hallway that ran back to the laundry room.
“Aren’t you a big, handsome fella!” Delilah said as Alfred rubbed up against her legs before walking over to check out Pablo. He was a bit more wary of the werewolf, but still let Pablo scratch under his collar after he’d had a good sniff of Pablo’s hand. “I’ll take care of the cat. Where’s his food?”
“Just follow him. You’ll see his bowl and the food container next to it.” Alfred mraowed in response and jogged back to his food dish.
“You want a beer, Delilah?” Pablo called.
“Sure! No candy bar though.”
Pablo grabbed two candy bars, handing one to Luke and setting down the other. He opened cabinets until he found the glasses, then got two beers and a coconut water out of the fridge. He opened the coconut water and placed it in front of Luke before pouring his and Delilah’s beers. Luke, his hand and arm trembling, knew he needed sustenance to keep healing. Pablo sat down at the table next to Luke and pushed the glass toward Delilah as she sat down. Pablo and Delilah drank their beers in silence while Luke slowly worked through his candy bars.
“Good beer,” Delilah commented.
“Yeah, Pfriem’s a great brewery. Can never go wrong choosing their beer,” replied Pablo.
“Even over Howling Moon’s?” teased Delilah.
Pablo chuckled. “I wouldn’t go that far.” Noticing Luke was finished, he added, “What can we do for you now, Luke?”
“Um,” Luke said as he forced his attention back into the present. “I need to wash the blood and grime off before I crawl into bed and pass out. In the back of the coat closet in the entryway, there’s a wooden stand. I’ll need that. Then I’ll need to get these clothes off.”
Luke fumbled with the zipper of his hoodie, unable to get it moving.
“Here.” Pablo removed Luke’s hand and got the zipper started. “Let’s get you standing.”
He propped Luke up against the counter while Delilah set up the wooden stand with the t-bar at the top she’d gotten from the closet. Pablo finished unzipping the shredded hoodie.
“That’s ruined. Just throw it in the garbage can. I should buy those things in bulk.” Luke shook his head.
Delilah whistled appreciatively. “That’s some mighty fine armor.”
Luke nodded weakly while Pablo unbuckled the tactical straps holding the swords, then handed them to Delilah, who set them on the table.
“The thong should pull like a shoestring.”
Pablo untied the leather thong holding the front of the armor closed and pulled it free of the brass loops. “The back one too?”
“No, leave it. Throw the one in your hand up on the shelf or the cat will eat it.”
Pablo carefully worked the armor over Luke’s shoulders and down his arms. He walked over and set it up on the stand where Delilah ran her fingers over it, checking out the detail. Luke unwrapped the scarf from around his neck and tossed it on the table.
“What’s the scarf for?” asked Delilah. “It’s not that cold.”
“It protects my neck from the armor. I think I can shower myself but wouldn’t refuse some help to the bathroom.” Pablo helped him down the hall, stopping at the open door to the guest bathroom. Delilah followed behind.
“Hey, the cuts on your butt and legs have healed up too!” Delilah remarked.
“Checking out his ass?” Pablo snickered.
“No, his pants are shredded and covered in blood. It’s kind of hard to avoid it.”
Luke sighed, adding one more embarrassment to the evening’s tally. “Thanks. Make yourselves comfortable. Have another beer. I won’t be long.”
Luke shut the door as he hobbled into the bathroom and somehow managed to get undressed and in the shower without falling over. Leaning against the shower wall, Luke let the steaming hot water cascade over his head and body, washing the blood and dirt away. If only the soap could wash away the humiliation of nearly dying along with the physical grime…
When Luke shuffled out of the bathroom wearing a robe, he saw Pablo sitting in a chair with a fresh beer. Delilah had taken off her boots and fallen asleep on the couch. Alfred had decided that sprawling out against her stomach seemed like a good idea.
“Pablo, there’s a blanket for her in the coat closet. You can crash in the guest room if you want. I’m about to pass out here, so I’m going to bed. Goodnight.” Luke didn’t look back as he stumbled into his room and passed out on top of the bed without even crawling under the covers.