Working with Gage this past month was becoming routine. Every night was the same. Jay would call one of us and tell us a place and time. Tonight, we had a job in the small neighboring town of Blackwater. The sun was setting and the vampires would be waking soon. I liked to catch them sleeping, but sometimes things don’t work out the way I like.
We walked out of our rooms at practically the same time, dressed in our hunting apparel. He looked damn sexy in his black leather jacket and faded blue jeans. I was wearing a dark brown knit sweat shirt about two sizes too small, tucked into my skinny jeans. My leather jacket and boots tied everything together. He looked at me and smiled. His eyes flashed with excitement, which was most nights. “Are you ready?”
“Ready.” I smiled.
In the truck, we called Jay and put him on speaker phone so both of us could hear what he had to say. “I got a whiff of a new location tonight. Gage, do you know the old house on Kaw Road?”
“I do,” he replied and backed out of the driveway. The sun was fading fast. He hit the gas and the powerful engine of his truck roared angrily as we traveled toward Blackwater. “We will be there in fifteen.”
“Blackwater is a good thirty minutes from my house.”
“I’ll get us there,” he grinned and hit the gas.
He did not stay on the highway. He got off and turned down an old dirt road I had never been on. I never thought his large truck could maneuver on the road as well as it did. He got us there in time to see everyone else arriving. A small red convertible pulled in after us and my stomach turned with displeasure as I spotted her blonde hair waving in the wind. I hated working with Dawn, so much. She was a decent hunter and had been working for Jay a lot longer than me. The problem I had was her passion for complaining, as well as being a snob. She put Gage on a pedestal. She was a huge flirt with every man at T&J, even Jay at times. I would never say anything about it, but it did bother me that she liked Gage.
Dawn and I had a mutual understanding of hate, but Rayce was even more of a mystery than the man sitting next to me. In the beginning, he would give me a sultry stare and winks. Then, everything stopped abruptly and he became the biggest jerk alive. It was a real shame too. I had my eye on him from day one. He was adorable with his messy dark-auburn hair and chocolate eyes.
The structure we were in front of could have been a house at one time, but now it was a leaning shack of dilapidated shit. We gathered together as a team to discuss our course of action. I stood next to Rayce and waited for the disgust to slam into me but nothing came. His energy was welcoming tonight. I felt comfortable next to him, even if he was stand offish. Dawn stood across from me and all I wanted to do was find a way to barf all over her red suede high heels. Her hunting wardrobe baffled me.
Jay told us the game plan with great intensity, “I have been doing some sniffing around and have been led to believe this dump is a nest of at least three. Dawn, you go in first. Gage, you will kick in the door for her. Jessica, you follow in after Gage. Rayce and I will hold down the fort outside.”
I looked at Rayce and he didn’t have a care in the world. His manner was calm. He looked at me and winked. I blushed and looked at the cold hard ground. Gage must have seen it because I could feel how rigid he’d become, and then he cleared his throat loudly. I found it a little strange and flattering he would be offended by Rayce making the gesture toward me.
“None of those disgusting blood suckers’ will get passed us,” Dawn stated as she pulled the crossbow from her shoulder.
“Geez, get a grip,” I snidely said. Rayce snickered.
“It will be dark inside. I would watch your back. I may mistake you for one of them.”
Heat flowed through my entire body and across my scalp. My adrenaline was pumping as her words cut through me. I severely hated her. I gripped my gun in my right hand and stepped up to her, “Are you threatening me, Dawn?”
“Catfight,” Gage announced. I heard the happiness in his tone but ignored it, for now.
“Ladies, enough,” Jay growled. I didn’t move a muscle as I glared into her shit colored eyes. She had too much eyeliner on and fibers of her thick black mascara clung to the skin below her saggy eyes. She stepped back a little but Jay pushed himself between us. “The real fight is inside. Save it.”
Dawn stepped back and grinned at me. She was a prissy Barbie bitch and I was ready to knock her on her ass. I had never been a hair puller but I would rip every glistening strand from her scalp if given the chance. She climbed the steps to the porch but one of the old board gave way. She stumbled but caught herself.
“I suggest you stop wearing hooker heels when hunting,” I called. “You should save them for when you’re working that pole.”
She shot me a loaded look. “Fuck you, bitch.”
“Jessica, enough,” Jay barked. “Dawn, get ready.”
Gage followed Dawn up on the rotted porch and kicked in the door as instructed. Jay and Rayce were on opposing sides of the shack. I followed once Dawn entered. She waved for us to come in. We entered, and all I could smell was mold and what smelled like a dead rat. The small living room was clear of anything living. An old tattered chair sat askew in a corner. The cushion had been torn and the fluff was coming out. We moved on to the hallway. Now, this was where the fun happened. Gage nearly filled the entire space with his size. The first door was to the right. Gage opened it and stood back so Dawn could search. I turned around to watch our backs.
“Nothing,” she whispered. The next room was also on the right. We go through the same thing and nothing. The third door was to the left. I could tell Dawn was getting pissed off. “This is bullshit, there’s nothing here. Jay is so full of shit.” She lowered her bow and kicked the wall. I hissed through my teeth and waited for an attack.
“Dawn, look behind you.”
She rolled her eyes and looked. “Oh, look, another door. Let me guess, nothing is behind this one too,” she said as she opened it. When she did, a putrid smell poured out of the room. We discovered the dead rat smell. Dawn gagged and covered her nose. I took one hand off my gun to cover my nose as well. Gage turned on his flashlight. We walked into the room and found two bodies. Both drained of blood and their skin was turning green. My stomach lurched. The smell was dreadful. The mouths of the poor people were hanging open in a sick way, as if they would be screaming forever. Their eyes were white with a hint of gray. My stomach turned again. I turned away from the death in the room as Gage got on his radio. Vomit was fighting its way out of my body. Dawn’s gagging wasn’t helping me.
“We have two bodies drained and decomposing. It smells awful in here,” Gage reported over the radio.
“Keep looking,” Jay replied over the walkie.
Dawn exploded in rage and snatched Gage’s radio from his hand, “There’s nowhere else to fucking look! It’s empty!”
Gage snatched it back from her. I looked at the stupid obnoxious bitch in front of me. “Shut up and look behind you, stupid fucking idiot,” I growled passed my palm.
Fire burned in her eyes but I could care less if she liked it or not. It was now getting dark out and I didn’t want to get killed because she was having a fucking fit. She and Gage looked and what they saw was another door. It must lead to a basement.
Gage looked over to me and winked, “Nice find, Jess.”
“Oh, Jess, is it? Whatever.” Dawn rolled her eyes. “Stupid name for a stupid bitch.”
“We do not have time for one of your tantrums, Dawn,” Gage stated. “Take a look around. The sun is setting and they will be waking soon.”
She calmed down instantly and smiled at him, “I’m sorry. You’re right.”
She aimed her weapon at the door. Gage pulled it open and stood back. There were stairs leading into the dark. Fear hit me as I hated small dark spaces. I was glad Dawn was going before me. Dawn started her way into the basement, Gage and I followed. Vampires had a distinct scent. They smelled like butterscotch with cinnamon. It’s too sweet and disgusting. It wasn’t as powerful a smell as the rotting bodies upstairs but pungent enough to cover the putrid smell. The basement was filled with it. Four vampires were still sleeping. “Holy Hell, Jay said three vampires, not four.” I didn’t like the fact we were all in this small 8x8 space with soon to wake and starving vampires. They all looked so young. The youngest I estimated to be fourteen to fifteen years of age when he was turned. He didn’t even have facial hair yet. “Wow,” I whispered.
“Dawn, keep an eye on the door,” Gage ordered.
She sprinted past me, knocking her shoulder into mine. I ignored her as our adventure was about to begin. Gage pulled a long silver blade out of the sheath on his belt. He approached the closest to us. I stepped back but kept my gun ready. Gage put his head back and smelled the air. I saw something I was sure he didn’t plan on me seeing. He smiled slightly and sighed. He literally sighed in almost relief or pleasure. He lifted his knife up, and just as he was about to plunge it into the first chest, its eyes opened. Then the rest.
“Fuck,” I aimed my gun but they were too fast. They rushed us and I found my ass on the floor. I heard gunfire and covered my head. I went momentarily deaf from the weapon firing in such a closed space. A high pitch squeal echoed in the room. As I gained my focus, I looked up the stairs and Dawn was holding her neck. She pulled her hand away and blood gushed like a fountain.
“That little fucker bit me,” she screamed before toppling to the floor.
Gage rushed up and put his hands on her throat. I checked the room but it was empty. I wanted out of the darkness and ran up the stairs. I stepped past my hunting companions and readied my gun for an attack. Gage pulled his large hand away to look at the wound. It didn’t look like a bite. It looked like her throat was cut. Blood poured out onto the floor and coated his hands. He grabbed her throat with his huge hand tightly, as if he were choking her. I fished my radio out of my pocket, pressed the talk button and started screaming.
“We have movement…Dawn’s been bitten…she’s down and bleeding out!” Her eyes were rolling in the back of her head. With the grip still on her throat, Gage looked up at me.
“We have to make a choice.”
I nodded. I knew what he meant. He knew she wasn’t going to make it. If we didn’t take care of her she would turn on us. Then we would have five vampires on our hands. I turned my back to him, trying to watch our asses. Dawn whispered a gurgle to Gage while he held her throat together.
“No, I’ll be fine.” She was obviously delusional. “I’m not leaving you.” She was looking up at him and reached to stroke his face. She knew this would happen. It happens to anyone of the crew who was bitten.
“Dawn, you will turn. We have to.” Gage gripped both sides of her head but I had to look away. I might not have liked her but I didn’t want to watch her neck be broken.
Then the shit hit the fan. Gage let go of Dawn’s neck and stood ready to fight. His blood covered hand reach for his shotgun. The first came, a female from the left. He took the shot. She dodged it and moved closer. I fired at her and she hit the floor. I run over to her and pulled my knife. I stuck the tip of the silver blade into the back of the vampire’s neck and severed the spinal cord.
“Where in the fuck are Jay and Rayce?” I bellowed frantically and clenched my gun tightly as I stood.
“Jess, watch your ass,” Gage bellowed.
I turned and the youngest one was on me. Gage aimed his gun but couldn’t fire without hitting me. The vampire grabbed me by the throat and slammed me against the wall. My head spun slightly as he dropped me and started to walk away. I stood up and took aim. My bullet hit him in the shoulder. He turned to me with fang’s dripping with blood and his arm nearly hanging off. He must have been the one who had bitten Dawn. He would stop at nothing to finish the job. He readied to charge me when a knife blade burst through his chest.
Gage whispered in the vampire’s ear, “I don’t think so.” Gage was enraged. Something was different about his eyes. They looked bigger somehow. I couldn’t place it, and I didn’t have time to. Another male vampire was coming up the basement stairs behind Gage. I could have sworn that room was clear.
“Watch out,” I yelled.
He took Gage by the shoulders. His blade hit the floor and with one swift move, Gage reached back and grabbed the vampire’s head. He threw his hips back, pulling the vampire over his shoulder. The skinny vampire landed with his back on the floor. Gage took him by the throat and slammed him into the wall. He was tossing this vampire around like a rag doll. I had never seen anything like it. Vampires were strong, but he couldn’t get a hold of Gage at all. Even the young ones are fast but he couldn’t do anything. Gage turned him around and put the vampire in a choke hold, one arm under the chin, one behind the head and broke his neck. He picked up his huge knife and chopped the vampire’s head off.
He seemed so pleased with himself. He walked over to the one who attacked me and cut his head off too. A loud noise made me turn and aim my gun. Something slammed into the wall from outside and I heard a deep growl. It was menacing and caused the hair to stand up on my arms. Jay and Rayce must have captured the stray vampires before they could escape.
I looked at Dawn and her dead eyes were forever staring at me. The sound of the walkie-talkie startled me. “We got them,” Jay announced. Gage replied and returned to Dawn’s dead body. He closed her eyes gently and held her hand close to his chest.
I walked over to him. “Gage, there is nothing more we can do.”
“I know.” He placed her hand on her chest and left her while we gathered the other bodies. He carried them all down into the darkness.
“What do you want to do with Dawn?”
He stopped and looked at her again, “Leave her until Jay comes in. He will know what he wants us to do.”
He carried her to the living room area and set her down gently. I leaned up against a wall, slid to the floor, and pulled my knees up and sat back. The smell of vampire and death was thick in the small hall way. I couldn’t wait to get out of this disgusting shack of a house. I ran my hand through my hair. It was all gross and tangled, I really needed to cut it. I wanted to go home and shower.
Jay walked in with a vampire under his arm. He was holding it like a football under one arm with ease. All the men who worked for Jay were strong. The body looked so limp in his grasp. He tossed the body on the floor, almost hitting my feet, and told Gage to add it to the pile. He looked at Jay with a go-to-hell look on his face. He bent and picked up the body and turned to go down the stairs without a word. Something was strange about my boss. He looked different. His body was all red like he had a sunburn.
“When you get back up here, add her to the pile too,” he instructed. I gasped. I might not have liked Dawn but she was one of our people. “Do you have a problem with that, Jessica?”
“Well, I do, actually. She worked for you, she died for you. I figured you would have a little bit more respect for her than that.”
He looked at her for a long time and then to me. “Nope, I don’t,” he said making the P pronounced with a pop of his lips. It bothered him, I could tell. “We all know the risk.”
Gage picked Dawn up carefully and carried her into the deep dark basement, her forever resting place. He and our boss also got the decomposing bodies from the third room we had searched. I couldn’t even get close to them. I finally got to my feet and walked outside for some fresh air. Rayce was over by Dawn’s car putting his shoes on. “What the hell?”
Jay brought a gas can in and poured it all over the bodies. Then he led a trail with the gas all the way to the front door. Gage and I were standing next to his truck. Rayce was leaning up against Dawn’s car smoking a cigarette. He was staring at me. I looked to the ground and back in his direction through my lashes. He was still looking and it made me smile. Jay got into his truck and Gage and I got into his. Rayce climbed his long body into Dawn’s vehicle and flicked his cigarette. The house went up in a spectacular blaze with a whoosh.