 
# Vampire Witch Zombie

Copyright © 2015 by Razor Blade All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

# Prologue

In 1975, vampires were added to the list of species protected by the Endangered Species Act of 1973 which provided for the conservation of the ecosystems upon which the threatened population depended. This change was mandated because of the decline of the vampire population to near extinction due to over hunting.

In the mid 70's vampires made up less than .02 of the general population and were forced into hiding to survive. To keep the species viable, legislation passed allowing vampires free hunting of up to two humans per year with a permit. The permit stipulated the humans had to be over the age of eighteen, and not be of social, political or economic importance.

Once legislation passed, there was a backlash from the general population concerned the vampires were allowed too much free reign over who they killed. Until a system could be put in place to protect those who were deemed important, people lived in fear and vampires continued to be hunted by poachers.

In 1980, the "Vampire Protection Agency" was created with their own law enforcement and justice system. Game wardens were charged with keeping records on the Vampire population and enforcing the laws protecting the species.

Seventeen years later, a new system was created that ranked the human population in order of importance and marked them with chips that could be scanned. Vampires were given an electronic scanner that could decode the chips and tell them who they could and could not take. The vampires were also charged with administering an anti-vampire serum within thirty minutes of a bite. This serum was designed to keep the victim from turning into a vampire and keeping the vampire population at a maintenance level.

The vampires were then required by law to call the Vampire Protection Agency immediately after a kill and have the body tagged and picked up for disposal. Failure to report a kill was punishable by incarceration up to twenty years.

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# Chapter 1

# The beginning 2002

In the dark of the evening, Alice drove down the street and kept an eye on the house at the end of the block. It was a well-known drug house located on the wrong side of the tracks hidden by an overgrown lawn and brush. The house was hidden in shadow with only a single light on the porch letting anyone know there was someone home. It was well known that people came here to buy drugs and that the lowest of lowlifes could be found there.

Halfway down the block, Alice pulled to the curb, turned off the lights and shifted the car into park. She kept the engine running in case she decided to leave. Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, she sat back in her seat and watched the house to see if anyone was coming or going. It was late evening and she was sure that there would be customers tonight, like every night. Then she saw a car pull up and park next to the house. A woman and a man got out of the car and walked up to the house and knocked on the door. The door opened and the two were let inside by a person Alice couldn't see. But now she knew there were people there.

With her heart racing, she shut off the engine, got out of the car and walked over to the sidewalk. This wasn't something she did often and it made her nervous every time. She slowly walked down the sidewalk towards the drug house and stopped at the walkway to the porch. Swallowing hard and clenching her hands into fists, she got up the courage to walk up onto the porch and knock on the door.

The door opened and a large overweight man with a full beard greeted her. He didn't say anything, just looked at her.

"Aren't you going to say hello?" Alice asked. She was shaking.

"Who sent you?" the man asked.

"A friend from work."

"Give me a name or get the fuck off my porch," the man replied.

Alice had no name to give, she was lying to this man to get in the house so she lied again, "He's some guy I met at work, and he didn't give me his name."

"What does he look like?"

Not knowing what to say, Alice decided to describe her ex-husband. "He's in his forties, grey hair, has a belly."

"Yeah, I don't believe you, what do you want?"

"He told me I could get hooked up here."

"Are you a cop?" the man asked.

"No," Alice replied.

"Did the cops send you here?"

"No, I don't know any cops," Alice replied.

"I don't do business with anyone I don't know or been referred by someone I know."

Scared to death, Alice shrugged her shoulders as if she didn't care. "That's fine, I can go somewhere else."

"Yeah, you better," the man said as he pushed the door shut.

"Wait a second," Alice said as she put her hand on the door. She reached into her purse and pulled out what looked like a camera. She held it up to the man and pressed a button.

"You better not be taking a picture of me," the man said.

The gadget in her hand lit up with a green light only she could see. If this guy had a chip coded as a "No kill" it would have lit up red. The scanner was good for about five feet so the people inside the house couldn't register. "It's not a camera," Alice said.

"What is it? Are you recording me?"

"I told you, I don't work for the police..."

"Bullshit," the man said. "If you're a snitch, you're a pretty fucking shitty one."

Now scared to death, Alice turned to walk away when she felt the man grab her from behind. She spun around to face him again. "What are you doing?" she asked.

"Give me that thing," he said with his hand out.

Alice stepped back and the man stepped forward almost in unison. "I came here to get hooked up, not robbed," Alice replied.

The man grabbed Alice by her shirt and tried to grab the machine out of her hand. She pulled her hand back away from his grasp and walked back towards the steps. She turned and tried to get away when the man grabbed her by her collar and yanked her back. He grabbed her hand, forced the object out and shoved her to the ground. He looked at the box and couldn't make sense of what it was. It was about the size of a pack of cigarettes, black with a single button on the side. He pressed the button and a green light lit up. "What's this?" he yelled.

Alice stood up and now saw there was five people on the porch watching what was going on as well as the man who had just attacked her. "It's a scanner you fuck!" she barked back.

"A scanner? Like a police scanner?"

"No, a chip scanner you dumb ass," Alice snapped back.

The man stood dumbfounded, he had no idea what a chip scanner was. Then a woman standing on the porch spoke up. "She's a vampire!"

The man turned around and looked at the woman who had spoken. "What are you talking about?"

"Those scanners are given to vampires, they read our chips," the woman replied.

The man looked back at Alice. "Is she right? Are you a vampire?"

Alice put her hand out but didn't expect the man to give back her scanner. "I don't know what you're talking about," she replied.

The woman stepped down off the porch and stood by the drug dealer. "Who else would have a scanner? They made all of us get chips so these fuckers could scan us and kill us."

"Yeah, I remember now," the man said. They put mine in my scalp.

The woman stepped in close to Alice and pointed her finger at her. "They can only kill us worthless fucks. That's why they have the scanner. So they don't kill a doctor or a lawyer or some other high class asshole."

The man pressed the button again and again the light lit up green. "So green means go?" the man asked.

Alice shook her head and played dumb. "I found that in my kid's room, it's a toy."

"Bullshit, why would you point your kids toy at me?" the man asked.

Knowing she was fucked, Alice decided to change tactics and do what she came for in the first place. She reached into her purse and pulled out a pistol and pointed it at the woman who had accused her of being a vampire.

Shocked, the woman stepped back and put up her hands. "Hey, no need to pull that out," she said.

The drug dealer reached behind and pulled out a pistol from his belt and pointed it at Alice. "You think you're going to come to my house and I wouldn't defend myself?"

"No, I figured you would," Alice replied. "But I had to take a chance. It's getting harder and harder to find worthless assholes like you to feed on."

"See, she admitted it," the woman said. "She's a fucking vampire."

"That's right, and bullets won't kill me, but they will kill you," Alice said.

"Shoot her," the woman said.

The drug dealer raised his gun and pointed it at Alice's face, but before he could pull off a shot, Alice pulled her trigger and hit the woman in the right shin. She buckled and fell to the ground. The drug dealer took a shot, missed and ran back into the house along with the others who were standing on the porch.

Alice knew she only had a few minutes so she lunged at the woman and fought off her scratches and punches while she wrapped her fangs around the woman's neck puncturing deep inside. As the woman fought for her life, Alice sucked blood from her neck draining blood from her brain rendering her unconscious. The whole attack took less than five minutes and now the woman lie on the sidewalk already in the throes of turning into a vampire.

Knowing she had little time, Alice ran back to her car and fished out a box from her glove compartment. She opened the box, pulled out a prefilled syringe and noticed the box seal had been broken. She ran back to the woman who was lying on the ground in mid change and prepared to give her a shot. Then Alice noticed that the fluid in the syringe was no longer clear. It had a purple tint to it and knew something was wrong.

With no time to spare, Alice plunged the needle into the woman's chest and pressed all the liquid into her body. She expected the change to vampire to stop but it didn't. Instead she began to groan and turn grey in color. It was almost as if she was dying but not. The more she turned grey, the more she writhed in pain and squirmed on the ground.

Now Alice began to panic, she knew something was wrong and that she'd have to call the game warden soon to pick up the body. But it wasn't a body, it was a living being. Not a vampire, but not human either. By now, two men had come back onto the porch and watched the woman change into something they had never seen before.

"Call the game warden!" Alice yelled at the men. "Tell them to come quickly!"

One of the men ran back into the house and the other stepped closer to see what was happening to the woman on the ground. "What's going on?" he asked.

"I don't know," Alice replied. "She was supposed to die."

"What did you stab her with?"

"It's an injection the state gives us to use to stop us from making more vampires," Alice replied.

"Is she supposed to look like that?" he asked.

"No, she's supposed to be dead, I don't know what the fuck is going on," Alice said. She was freaked out and wanted to run, but knew she had to wait for the game warden. If she didn't, she'd lose her license and could be put in jail.

"Shoot her," the man said pointing at the gun in Alice's hand.

For a second, that sounded like a good idea, but it wasn't what her license said she could do. All she was allowed to do was to give the injection and call the game warden. "I can't, it's against the law," Alice replied.

The woman on the ground stopped squirming for a moment and seemed to be calming down. She was ashen grey and looked like she in a stupor. For a moment, she seemed to be trying to stand up, but lost her balance and fell back to the ground. Again she tried and fell a second time.

"What's she doing?" the man asked.

"I don't know," Alice replied.

Then the woman regained her balance and stood up wobbling back and forth as if she was drunk. She blinked her eyes rapidly and began to drool.

The man, feeling sorry for the woman asked, "Are you ok?"

The half vampire, half grey zombie spun around and looked at the man as if he was a ghost.

"Do you know her?" Alice asked.

"She lives here, but I don't know her. I was just here to buy some pot," the man replied.

In the distance, the sound of sirens cut into the night. It was the game warden on the way to collect the body but the zombie vampire had a mind of its own. Hearing the siren, the grey being walked into the street and crossed over to the lawn on the next block. It then took off into the shadows between two houses and was gone leaving a pile of hair behind.

"Now what are you going to do?" the man asked. "Your vampire took off."

Now in a panic, Alice took off and ran to her car leaving the man and the drug house behind. She got inside and took off before the game warden could get there. It didn't take long before she was back on the right side of the tracks and at her house. She parked her car in the garage and closed the door so nobody could see it. She then ran into her house and sat down at the kitchen table shaking.

"Mom, what's wrong?" Cane, her son asked.

"Mommy had some problems tonight, nothing for you to worry about," Alice replied.

"I don't like to see you this way," Cane replied.

"Where's your brother?"

"He's in the living room playing video games."

"You guys need to get your baths done, do you have any homework?"

"No, I did it at study hall," Can replied.

"How about Sam?"

"I don't know."

Then Alice remembered the syringe and the odd color. "Did you guys get into the fridge and mess with any of my stuff?"

Cane was silent.

"I asked you a question, did you or Sam mess with any of my stuff?"

"Yes momma, I'm sorry," Cane said. He was tearing up.

"What did you do?"

"We took out the needle from that box and used it."

"Used it for what?" Alice asked scared. "You didn't use it on yourselves did you?"

"No mommy, we used it to shoot grape juice at each other."

"What?"

"Sam squirted the needle into the sink and we used it to shoot juice at each other," Cain said.

"The needle didn't have grape juice in it, it looked like some sports drink."

"Sam got scared you'd find out and put water in the needle, there must have been some grape juice inside and it mixed together."

Alice shook her head realizing she had injected a turning vampire with diluted grape juice and now she had created some vampire zombie hybrid. Soon the game warden would be knocking on her door and she'd be spending the rest of her life in prison.

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# Chapter 2

# 12 years later

Jaycee sat down at the break room table and pulled out her phone. She checked for messages and found none. She had three more hours to go at the Glory Hole and her jaw was already sore. She knew she had six more appointments before her shift ended at eleven and didn't want to finish. Then another girl, Cassandra walked in and grabbed her soda from the fridge. She sat down and looked over at Jaycee who was busy checking Facebook.

"How's your night so far?" Cassandra asked.

Jaycee looked up and replied, "I had three black guys,"

"So?"

"I don't like black guys," Jaycee replied.

"Why not? Dicks to big?" Cassandra asked with a laugh.

"No, just don't like them, never did."

"Are you from the deep south or what?"

"No."

"I never met a girl that was so racist before, do you say that stuff in public?"

"No, doesn't come up in conversation much," Jaycee replied.

"So what do you do when a black dick comes out the hole?"

"It's a job, I do what I have to do," Jaycee replied.

"Yeah, you're a real trooper."

"Do you like every cock that comes at you?"

"Hell no, I get those limp, wrinkled up things all the time. Makes me gag sometimes," Cassandra replied.

"How long have you worked here?" Jaycee asked.

"Three years in May," Cassandra replied.

"Ever get burned out?"

"You think I like this job? Sucking old men's cocks for eight hours a day, getting their blow all over me?"

"Why don't you quit?"

"One word honey, tips. I can make three hundred a night in tips. That pays my rent for a month."

"Where do you live that you can pay three hundred a month? Must be a closet,"

"I have a roommate, I only have to come up with half."

"What does she do?" Jaycee asked.

"It's a he, and he's a cop."

"That's an odd pairing," Jaycee said.

"He's also a male dancer on the side," Cassandra said with a smile.

"You ever..."

"No, after a day of sucking cock, I have no interest in going home and doing it again," Cassandra said. She took a drink of her soda and looked at her watch. "When is your next appointment?"

"Eight thirty," Jaycee replied.

"Do you know who it is?"

"Yeah, it's Roger."

"Oh, Roger, I think he likes you," Cassandra said with a smile.

"Shut the fuck up," Jaycee replied. "He tips well, that's it. He has a huge fucking dick and takes forever to finish."

"What kind of tips?"

"He once gave me five hundred, but usually it's around fifty bucks."

"Not bad, most of these fuckers don't tip at all."

"I know, $39.99 for a blow job is pretty cheap if you ask me. I'd almost be better off cutting hair."

"Why don't you?" Cassandra asked.

"I'd have to get a cosmetology license and I really don't want to go back to school."

"If you did you'd be higher up the list and you wouldn't have to worry about vampires."

"I don't give a shit about vampires, I give a shit about those fucking zombie vampires that they can't get rid of."

"I thought they had most of them rounded up in some warehouse?" Cassandra said.

"No, I heard there was a whole family of them living down by the dam, and another that lives underground at the old downtown. Those fuckers don't carry scanners, they kill whoever they want. I can handle myself with a normal vampire. Those zombie's I watch out for."

"Yeah, I suppose you're right. The chances of running into a regular vampire is pretty low, but you never know when those zombie vampires will show up."

Jaycee pushed a newspaper across the table to Cassandra and turned to the back page. "See that? There's a story about a kid that was killed two days ago by zombie vampires. He was down buying drugs near the tracks and they got him. Found him the next day laying on a gravel road."

Cassandra picked up the paper and took a look at the story. She read it and put the paper back down. "Back in the old days, these kids would get killed by other druggies, now they get killed by zombie vampires. Man things have changed."

"You ever hear what happened to the bitch vampire who started the whole zombie vampire thing? I heard she's in some sort of witness protection due to death threats," Jaycee said.

"Well hell yeah, I bet. Lots of people are pissed at her."

"It wasn't her fault though, it was her kids that caused the problem."

"Yeah, but if she would have let her turn into a vampire instead of using the messed up drug, there would have been one more regular vampire, not a pride of zombie vampires."

"How was she supposed to know? Nobody had ever messed with the shot before."

"I don't believe that story, she just blamed her kids to take the blame off her," Cassandra said.

"Well, that was a long time ago, now we have to live with it. Why don't you get your cop roommate to go out and kill a few instead of dancing around showing off his dick?"

"It's not his job, that's the agency's job. I know, he applied there once."

"He didn't get the job?" Jaycee asked.

"No, they wanted someone with a four year degree," Cassandra replied.

"Takes a four year degree to kill zombie vampires?"

"Back then it did, they didn't want anyone that wasn't on the safe list. They didn't want to hire someone and then have them killed by some regular vampire with a hunting permit."

"Why doesn't he apply again?"

"He couldn't strip and work for the agency, they have a rule against moonlighting," Cassandra replied.

Jaycee looked at the clock on the wall. "I got to go," she said and stood up. "I really don't want to blow Roger tonight, my jaw already hurts and he takes an hour."

"It's part of the job," Cassandra said.

Jaycee left the break room and stepped into her booth. She flipped the indicator switch telling Roger she was ready and a huge penis pushed through the hole in the wall. Jaycee looked into the camera that Roger could monitor on his view screen and she faked a smile. She then grabbed him by the base of his cock and began to give him the best blowjob should could with the pain she had.

An hour later, Roger blew his wad in Jaycee's mouth, she turned to the camera and opened her mouth so Roger could see. She swallowed the blow and flicked another switch turning off the camera. She then sat back and rested her back on the wall rubbing her jaw. A few minutes later a voice came over the intercom telling her Roger left a hundred dollar tip. She was happy and sore all at the same time.

It would be another half hour before her next appointment came so she left the booth and walked to the front counter where a very pretty blonde girl was sitting behind a desk making appointments.

"Is there any way I could go home early?" Jaycee asked.

"Are you sick?" the woman asked. Her name was Melony.

"My jaw hurts," Jaycee replied.

"I don't have enough girls to cover your appointments," Melanie said.

"If I strain my jaw, I won't be able to work tomorrow at all. Can't you do a few?"

"I work the desk, I don't do what you do," Melony said. She was acting like a snotty bitch. "If you can't do your appointments, you need to call these guys and reschedule."

"You call them, the phones are your job," Jaycee snapped back.

"I make appointments, once you break them, it's up to you to reschedule."

"Fine, I'll stay, but if I get hurt, you'll have to reschedule all my appointments for tomorrow," Jaycee said and stormed off back to the break room. She had twenty minutes to kill and there was no use sitting in the booth for all that time.

Then she heard Melony stomp into the break room and yell at her. "You need to get back in the booth, you can't sit in the break room all night!"

"What am I going to do in the booth for twenty minutes? Give me a fucking break," Jaycee said. Their voices could be heard all over the building.

"You can get a mop and clean up the blow off the floor. And while you're at it, clean off the walls as well."

"We have housekeeping for that!" Jaycee snapped.

"Not at night, they only work day hours, you know that. Now clean up the mess before your next appointment gets here. I don't want cum all over the walls. And while you're at it, you might want to look in the mirror, you got some on your shirt."

Jaycee pulled her collar out and saw the wet spot on her collar. "Fuck," she said under her breath. She looked up, saw Melony leave the room and noticed the television. On the screen was a news report with pictures of a fire in what looked like an industrial part of town. Jaycee turned up the volume and listened as the reporter talked about a group of zombie vampires that were burned out of an old warehouse.

According to the news report, some locals decided to take matters into their own hands and kill as many zombie vampires as they could. In the process they managed to set fire to an old abandon warehouse and burn it to the ground. It was estimated that a half dozen zombie vampires were killed in the incident and three firefighters were injured fighting the blaze.

The news made Jaycee feel good knowing another group of zombie vampires were gone. She knew that a lot of people were unhappy with the agency and felt they weren't doing enough to stop the problem of zombie vampires increasing their population. Unchecked, they were able to add to their ranks by the same method regular vampires do. But they didn't carry a license and answered to no one. They had no mind, they didn't think like others, they were unthinking killing machines bent only on feeding. They didn't realize that each kill would turn someone into another zombie vampire. They didn't care either.

Jaycee left the break room and found a mop and bucket in the broom closet. She hated doing shit work but knew she better do what Melony said. So she filled the bucket with water, added some soap and pushed the bucket out to her booth. Once in the hallway, she saw Melony talking to a man at the reception desk. He looked like a businessman dressed in a suit with short hair and glasses. Was this guy her next appointment?

Wrestling the bucket into place, Jaycee opened the door to her booth and wringed out the mop. She cleaned the mess from the floor and put the mop back in the bucket. It would take a few minutes for the floor to dry, but at least she had a clean place to kneel down and do her business. Then she heard Melony over the intercom. "Your next appointment is here," she said.

The man was fifteen minutes early and the floor to her booth was wet so Jaycee pressed the intercom button and replied, "It'll be fifteen minutes,"

Before she knew it, Melony was at the booth storming mad. "You're not going to make him wait!" she barked under her breath.

"You told me to mop my booth and I did, so he has to wait," Jaycee replied.

"Use another booth, this guy is a first time customer. I don't want him to think we run a shitty business."

"They're all being used," Jaycee said.

"Get a towel and dry off the floor, you have two minutes," Melony snapped.

Jaycee pushed the mop and bucket back to the closet, she found a roll of paper towels and pulled off a handful. She then went back to her booth and wiped the floor dry. Then she heard some commotion coming from the reception area and tried to peek out until her door slammed shut sealing her inside. For the next few minutes she heard screaming and the sound of banging and smashing. She didn't dare try to leave and huddled down at the bottom of the booth waiting for the sounds to stop. Then it was all quiet.

Pushing the door open, she slowly peered outside and looked around the corner to the reception area. What she saw looked like a hurricane had blew through leaving blood all over the walls and floor. Neither Melony nor the new customer were in her view, but she had a feeling they didn't survive whatever happened.

# Chapter 3

# The Poachers

A knock on the door startled the man at the breakfast table. He was dressed in boxers and a t-shirt reading the paper drinking his morning coffee. He never had visitors, especially this early in the morning. He got up and answered the door to two men dressed in work jumpsuits with their names ironed on them. One said Jack, the other read Mike.

"What's going on?" the man asked the men at the door. His name was Randall.

"Hi, sorry to bother you, but we're from the gas company and we got a report of a gas leak in the area. We're checking all the houses on the block."

"No, you're poachers, and I will defend myself," Randall replied. He was pissed.

"Poachers?" Jack asked. He didn't lie very well.

"Yeah, you don't even have a work truck," Randall said as he looked out to the curb.

The men turned around and looked at the car parked at the curb. It didn't have a logo on the side and didn't look like a company car. "Truck was broke down, I had to use my personal vehicle."

"Show me something that proves you work for the gas company," Randall said.

"Like what?"

"A work order, any kind of paperwork with the company logo on it."

"I left it at the shop," Jack replied.

Randall scratched his forehead and shook his head. "I've had poachers before, and I think you two are about the two stupidest ones I've ever ran into. If you think I'm letting you into my house, your fucking nuts, now leave."

The two men shook their heads and the lead man replied, "Fine, I'll have my boss call the fire department, or the police. There is a real threat here and you're obstructing us from doing our jobs."

"Where's your gas detector?" Randall asked.

"What are you talking about?"

"Even I know the gas company uses a hand held gizmo to check for gas leaks. You don't have one. Now get the fuck off my property!"

Pissed, Jack pushed forward and tried to shove Randall back into his house. Randall pushed back but when the second man joined in Randall was forced back into the hallway. Once inside, Mike shut the door. Now trapped, Randall turned and sped back into his living room followed by the two poachers. He then ran over to his television stand and pulled open a drawer, but before he could fish out a weapon, Jack jumped him and wrestled him to the ground.

"Look in the drawer," Jack said to his partner.

Mike pulled out a hunting knife and showed it to Jack.

"Fuck, that's one hell of a knife, do you use that on your victims?" Jack asked.

"No, I use that to defend myself against fucks like you," Randall replied.

"Fucks like me? You get a license from the government to hunt humans and you have the balls to call me a fuck? Where do you get off thinking you can kill me? Where's your scanner?"

"On the table," Randall replied.

Jack walked over to the table and found the scanner sitting on a stack of newspapers. He picked it up and pressed the button on the side. It lit up green. "See that? Legally you can kill me and there is nothing I can do about it. My family would be fucked."

"The government gives an allowance for anyone killed legally by a vampire with a license," Randall replied.

"Yeah, what? Twelve hundred dollars for my family and they pay for the funeral, you think that's all I'm worth?"

"I don't make the laws," Randall replied.

"So right now for two licensed kills, me and my partner, you're looking at twenty four hundred dollars' worth of subsidies and two funerals. Hell, the funerals are worth five times that much. I guess that makes us worth twenty grand at least."

Randall stood up and fixed his clothes. "Like I said, I don't make the laws, if you don't like it, run for office."

"You're a real smart ass, you know that?" the poacher asked.

"I have to live, it's not my fault I need human blood. I can barely survive on two humans a year. If I had my way, I'd have one a month."

"And if I have my way, I'll have one another dead vampire before the days out, "Jack replied.

"We're a protected group," Randall said.

"Yeah, I get the irony, you're protected, but I'm not. Where is the equality in that?"

"You have the option to change that, you can go back to school, get a job that takes you off the list."

"Maybe I could, but it's my right not to do what the politicians say. This is America, the land of the free and the home of the brave, not the place where I'm on the menu because some congress fuck decided to protect you. As far as I'm concerned, they should have exterminated your kind, not protected it. What good does it do to save a bunch of worthless vampires anyway? What good do you provide to society? It's like saving a bunch of rabid badgers because some liberal cry baby thinks you have rights. Well asshole, I have rights too."

"I'm not saying you don't, but according to the law, you have to follow proper channels. You can get off the list if you want, but you'd rather kill me instead. You're the one breaking the law, not me."

"Yeah, it's called anarchy, ever hear of it?" the poacher asked.

"If you kill me, they will find you, and the punishment for poaching is worse than for murdering a regular human," Randall said.

"I know that," Jack replied. "I don't plan on getting caught."

"I realized you were a poacher the second I saw you, you didn't do a good job of disguising yourselves. It won't take much to catch you."

Jack took a moment and looked to his partner. He looked back at Randall and shook his head. "How do you get to the basement?" the poacher asked.

"Why?"

"I have this all planned out, and I need to use your basement, how is that for an explanation?"

"You think I'm going to lead you to my death?" Randall asked. He was almost laughing.

"We can do it here, I don't care. I was worried about the noise but from the looks of this place, I don't think that will be a problem." The poacher pulled a rope from his pocket and pulled a portion tight like he was going to wrap it around Randall's neck. "Mike, grab him, and watch for his mouth, he might try to bite you," Jack said.

Mike took a few steps towards the vampire keeping an eye on what he was doing. He judged him like a wrestler in a match and tried to size him up.

"Don't do it Mike," Randall said. "If you get caught, the punishment is torture, you know that. Don't trust this asshole, he doesn't know what he's doing and you will get caught."

Mike spoke up, "One of your kind killed my cousin six years ago. Do you know what it's like going to a funeral knowing that the perp is going to get away with murder? Everyone there wanted to get revenge but knew legally they couldn't do anything. My dad tried to sue the state and lost. It cost him thousands. And it turned out the vampire that killed my cousin was some unemployed baby raper that had more rights than any of us."

"That's not my fault," Randall said. "The law is the law, it's there to protect everyone."

"Who protected my cousin? She was planning to go back to school, she had two kids."

"Two kids? That should have taken her off the list," Randall said.

"Her ex had custody, so she was on the fucking list," Mike replied.

"Sorry to hear that."

"No you're not, you'd of done the same thing."

"Did the vampire have a hunting permit?" Randall asked.

Mike stepped in close and shoved his finger in Randall's face. "I don't give a fuck if he had a permit or not. My cousin is not some animal to be hunted. None of us are. You're the problem, I don't know why we're bothering to debate this with you. You're going to be dead in the next five minutes.

Randall knew he was fucked. He had a gun in the kitchen and another hidden in the spare bedroom, but he had no way to get to either one. But he wasn't going to go down without a fight. "Go for it," Randall said with his hands raised to defend himself.

Mike stepped in close, all he had to do was wrap Randall up and hold him down as his partner cut off his head. The poachers intentionally didn't bring any weapons into the house because they knew it would be easier to spot them if they did. Once inside, they planned to find a knife and cut off the vampire's head. Randall made it easy by leading them to his knife.

Randall took a few short shots at Mike's face to try to intimidate him. It didn't work. Mike jumped Randall and grabbed him around the midsection allowing his weight to pull him down and knock him off balance to the ground. Once on the hardwood floor, Mike fought his way on top of Randall and pinned him to the floor allowing the other poacher access to his neck.

In a flash, Jack brought the knife down to Randall's neck and began to saw back and forth cutting down to his spine. From there he hacked until he was through and severed Randall's head allowing blood to drain onto the floor and spill everywhere. Randall, the vampire was now dead lying on the floor and the two poachers were high on adrenaline.

"Now what?" Mike asked. "Do we leave the body or dump it?"

"We need to get rid of the body, we can't leave our DNA. And then we need to clean this place up."

"I had gloves on," Mike said.

"Yeah, but they can find DNA anywhere now a days. You might have spit on him by accident, or scraped him when you were holding him down."

"Where should we take him? And how do we transport him like this? I have blood all over me." Mike said.

"We'll wait till dark, then take him out. That will give us time to clean the blood. Go see if you can find a mop."

One in the morning, the two poachers moved Randall' body to the trunk of the car and headed to the edge of town when they saw flashing lights behind them.

"Holy shit," Jack said as he pulled to the side of the road. "I'm not speeding."

"Stay cool, we'll get through this," Mike replied.

Once the poachers pulled over, an officer approached with his flashlight shining in Jack's eyes. "How are you two doing tonight?" the officer asked.

"Fine," Jack replied as he squinted at the officer's face.

"The reason I pulled you over was you trunk lid isn't shut all the way, there's something hanging out the back."

Jack looked up at the officer and noticed he had a set of fangs. A fucking vampire he thought to himself. "You're a vampire?" Jack asked.

"Yes, is that a problem?" the officer asked.

"No, of course not," Jack replied. "I've only seen a few in my life."

"Night shift works well for me," the officer said.

"If you don't mind, can I ask you a question?"

"Go ahead."

"I know a lot of people hate vampires, doesn't that cause problems with your job?" Jack asked.

"Not usually, most people don't notice the fangs, and if they do, they rarely say anything," the officer replied.

"I thought vampires got some sort of social security, so they don't have to work."

"We do, but we can work if we want. I can't spend all my time at home, I have to have a life. You better get your trunk shut," the officer said.

Jack opened the door and walked to the back of his car. What he saw was part of the blanket they used to cover Randall's body. Jack used his key and opened the trunk just far enough to shove the cloth back inside and close the trunk again. "How's that?" Jack asked.

"Looks good, where are you two headed tonight?" the officer asked.

"Home," Jack said.

"You live around here? I don't recognize you."

"Yeah, I live here," Jack said, not wanting to say too much.

An awkward pause ensued as the two men scrambled for what to say to each other. "Well, you have a safe trip home," the officer said.

"Thanks," Jack said and walked back to the driver's side of his car. He watched the officer walk back to his car and got inside his.

"That was fucking close," Mike said.

"You want to kill two?" Jack asked.

"What?"

"We got one in the trunk, want to put that fucking vampire in there too?"

"He's a cop, they would know he was missing," Mike replied.

"Yeah, but it would be a missing persons report. They would never find him," Jack said keeping an eye in the rear view mirror.

"No, let's get rid of the one we have. We don't need to bring any attention to ourselves."

Jack pulled out into the road and followed behind the officer who was now a quarter mile in front of them. "You know, I wonder how many vampires there are holding respectable jobs? I mean, they have protected status, collect social security and can take jobs from humans."

"You should run for office, get that shit changed," Mike said.

"I read there are less than four hundred vampires in the United States, it would be a better idea to exterminate them. A little vampire genocide," Jack said.

"You could be your own little vampire Hitler," Mike said. "And what about the vampire zombies? I bet there are thousands of those by now."

"Yeah, but they aren't protected, and they don't get government benefits," Jack said as he pulled off the road onto an abandon farm.

"Ever been on a zombie vampire hunt?" Mike asked.

"No, but I plan too. I'm getting some hunting gear."

"I heard there are zombie vampire hunting clubs now, and you can book a hunt with a professional guide for like two grand. We should get into that," Mike said.

"That would be sweet, getting paid to kill those fuckers."

"Yeah, and legal, we wouldn't be running around in the middle of the night ditching a body like we are now."

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# Chapter 4

# 6 months later

Detectives Gary Heller and Eric Marr pulled onto an abandoned farm property and parked behind a sheriff's deputy car. They got out and walked over to where a small crowd had formed near on old barn. They stepped around the group, inside the building and saw an officer from the crime lab taking pictures of a partial skeleton lying on the dirt floor.

"What do you got?" Gary asked.

The crime scene officer stood up and looked at Gary. "Dead body, probable six months to a year, most likely a vampire," the officer replied.

Gary stepped in closer but no so close as to compromise the scene. He looked at the skull and saw the fangs hanging from the maxilla. "Looks like another poaching, I don't think he came out here and died on his own."

"I'm sure it was a poaching," the officer replied. "There are cut marks on the vertebrae, C3 and C4. The head wasn't articulated with the body. Looks like they tossed it on top and it rolled off."

"Any way of identifying the body?" Gary asked.

"We can check with the agency, I think they keep records."

"That's right, I forgot about them." Gary replied. Digging in his pocket, he pulled out his phone and searched for the agency's phone number. Once he found it, he called and got ahold of one of the agency officers. They asked him to take a picture on his phone and text it to their database. Gary asked the crime scene officer to take the picture of the skull and Gary sent it off.

"That's pretty fucking cool," Eric said. "They have a damn app for everything these days."

"They said it shouldn't take long, the recognition software should be able to identify the body by the teeth alone."

Gary heard the phone ring and answered, it was the Vampire protection agency on the line with a response. The agency had made a positive identification of the body and informed Gary of what the database had found. "They got a name, Randall Stewart."

"Was he reported missing?" Eric asked.

"Didn't say, but at least we know who this was."

"What do we do now?"

"Vampire's fall under the agency's jurisdiction, we don't do anything."

The crime scene technician spoke up, "You might want to check with your office, I think they changed that."

"What do you mean?"

"With the population of zombie vampires on the increase, they're making regular law enforcement deal with poachers."

"What the fuck?" Gary asked. "Since when?"

"I don't know, but I bet if you call the agency, they'll tell you to take care of it yourself."

"Why can't they take care of this shit? They made that agency for a reason," Gary snapped back.

"There has been a fifty percent increase in zombie vampires this year alone and the mayor has put the agency in charge of killing them off. There was no department charged with killing zombie vampires so the agency has picked up the responsibility and they don't have enough staff.

."This is bullshit, for all I care, they could kill off every fucking vampire, not just the zombie ones," Gary said. He was pissed.

"A lot of people think the same way, but it's the law. Call your boss and see what he says."

Gary pulled out his phone again and called his commanding officer. He asked if what he heard was true and to his dismay found out that he and Eric would be responsible for this case. Livid, he hung up and stomped out of the barn. Eric followed.

"What's going on?" Eric asked.

"We have to take care of this shit," Gary replied.

"What's the problem? It's another murder, that's what we do."

"You don't understand, I hate these fuckers. They get everything handed to them, they don't have to work, they have more rights than you and I do."

"They're almost extinct, there's a reason for that."

"They should be extinct, I'm all for it, I'm for the poachers" Gary said.

"I wouldn't say that around the station, you might lose your job."

"I do my job, and I do it very well. Don't worry about that. I'll catch whoever did this, but I have rights as well. I have the right to hate the lazy fuckers."

"They can fire you for your attitude, I wouldn't make it known you feel this way," Eric said.

Gary shook his head and took a deep breath. "Fine, don't repeat anything I said.

"I won't," Eric replied.

"Out of curiosity, what do you think about your welfare blood sucking friends?" Gary asked.

"Hey, I never said I was friends with them. I just think you should play by the rules, that's why we have them," Eric replied.

"Sounds to me like you want one for a pet."

"You're an asshole," Eric replied. "Don't make me out to be a vampire lover. I'm just doing my job and not letting my feelings get in the way."

"That's impossible, everyone let's their feelings get in the way somehow."

The two stood silent thinking about what to do next. Then Gary walked back into the barn and found the crime scene tech. "Can you send me a report?" Gary asked.

"Sure," the tech replied.

"Have you worked with the agency much?"

"A little."

"I heard working for them is tough, seems a lot of people give them a hard time for what they do."

"I bet they do, having a job where you protect vampires, I've heard of agents getting harassed and attacked. The turnover there is huge," the tech said.

"And now I have to watch my back," Gary said.

"The general public doesn't know you guys are getting the overflow. You should be fine."

"I wonder what those guys make?" Gary asked.

"The agency cops? I think they make eighty grand a year."

"You're shitting me, eighty grand? For what?"

"It's hard work, and like I said, there is a lot of backlash. Nobody wants that job."

"I make less than forty grand a year, and now I'm doing their job? I'm not picking up the slack for half the pay."

"Yes, yes you are," the tech replied.

"Fuck!" Gary yelled and stormed out of the barn. He headed to his car.

Eric followed him outside and yelled, "Where are you going?"

"Back to the station!" Gary yelled and got back in his car.

Once back at the station, Gary stormed into Andrew Reed's office followed by his partner Eric. Andrew, his boss and Commander was on his phone so Gary waited until he was done. Seeing how pissed Gary looked, Andrew ended the conversation and addressed the man hovering over him.

"What's wrong Gary?" Andrew asked.

"I just got word that we're picking up agency work now,"

"Yeah, that's true."

"When were you going to let me in on it?" Gary asked.

"Why is this a problem?" Andrew asked.

"For one thing, agency makes twice what I do."

"There's a good reason for that."

"Now I'm agency by default and I'm still making less than forty grand."

"You're not agency, yet," Andrew said.

"What?" Gary asked. "What do you mean yet?"

"There is talk at the mayor's office of assigning officers to the agency. With the increase of zombie vampires, they don't have enough staff."

"No fucking way," Gary said.

"It's a very real possibility. I'm supposed to recommend four from this office by Friday."

"Not me, I won't do it," Gary said.

"Do you want a job?" Andrew asked.

"Are they adjusting my pay?"

"No, the city can't afford to raise everyone's pay. There is talk of cutting the agency officers pay."

"The mayor is going to have a crisis on his hands now," Gary said. "Why don't they get out the National Guard and exterminate the fuckers? It would cost a lot less and get the job done a lot faster."

"That option is on the table, and I think by the end of the year will be what they have to do. There are legalities about what the guard can do, so they have to change some laws before they can bring them in," Andrew replied.

"Declare martial law, problem solved," Gary said.

"Zombie vampires aren't considered citizens, so martial law won't work. It's more like a rat infestation. They have to have the CDC or some other agency ask for special permission to use the guard. It's all political and technical. In the meantime, it's up to you and our other officers to fill in."

Gary shook his head in disgust. "So what about this case I have now? If I get sent to the agency, whose going to take care of that?" Gary asked.

"I'll have to assign it to another officer, we all have to pick up the extra load," Andrew replied. "And I don't know if you're being assigned anyway. You're jumping the gun."

"Is there anything I can do to make sure I don't get assigned?'

"Like what? A bribe?"

"No, like seniority, I've worked here twelve years," Gary said. "I'm third from the top in seniority."

"They may take that into consideration, I don't know. I don't make those decisions."

"Who does? You're the chief."

"That comes from city hall, I'll get a report on Friday. If I have any new assignments, I'll know then."

"Can I appeal?"

"Jesus Gary, what's your fucking problem?" Andrew snapped.

"I don't want to chase zombie vampires in old basements! I'm fifty four years old. They don't pay me enough to do that shit!"

"If you're too old to do your job, quit!" Andrew replied. "Go work fast food, see what real work is like."

Gary bit his tongue and looked over at Eric who hadn't said a word. Seeing he wasn't getting any support from his partner, he smiled at his boss and walked out. Eric followed and tried to keep up.

"Now what?" Eric asked looking at the back of Gary's head.

Gary spun around and tried to keep his mouth shut, but it was difficult. "We have a murder to investigate, let's get to work."

For the next hour Gary bit his tongue and focused on the case. He stopped at Randall's residence and checked in with the crime scene investigators. They had nothing to go on besides a blood soaked floor, now dry after six months and footprints that were indistinguishable from any set of rubber boots that could be found in most closets. There was a large contingent of people who hated vampires and trying to track down who killed Randall would be a nightmare. Then one of the investigators approached Gary and asked him to come to the bathroom.

"What is it?" Gary asked.

"Not much, but we do have what looks like blood in the sink," the tech replied.

"You think this is from the perp?"

"Most likely, I doubt the victim took the time to wash his hands after he was dead."

"Great, get that to the lab, I want this case solved fast, and this whole thing leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I'd rather be out chasing a car thief, at least I can wrap my mind around that."

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# Chapter 5

# Zombie interruptus

Jaycee stepped into the hallway and walked down to the reception area keeping a lookout for whatever had torn the place apart. She was scared but more curious and willing to see what happened. As she reached the end of the hall, she saw Melony lying on the floor with her belly tore open and her intestines draped over the desk.

"Are they dead?" Cassandra asked. She was behind Jaycee and scared the piss out of her.

"Melony is," Jaycee replied in a hushed voice.

"Where's the guy?"

"I don't know," Jaycee replied stepping further into the reception area.

"What are you doing?" Cassandra asked. "You want to get killed too?"

"I want to see what happened."

"It was a zombie vampire attack, can't you see?" Cassandra asked.

"It might have been."

"No, it was, look at the door, they broke it off the hinges, who does that?"

Jaycee knew Cassandra was right but didn't want to believe it. Neither one of them had ever seen a zombie vampire attack in real life. It wasn't until recently that the population had grown to such a size that they had become a commonplace threat. Jaycee turned to head back to the break room when she heard a noise coming from the reception area.

"What's that?" Cassandra asked.

Jaycee turned back and took a few steps closer to the reception area. When she reached the doorway she looked left around the corner and saw the businessman lying on the floor and a zombie vampire drinking from his leg. The zombie vampire was grey and misshapen, like a sickly hairless ape with patches of thin hair running down its back. It was hard to think that this being used to be a person.

Jaycee stepped back and pointed to the break room indicating to Cassandra she needed to back up. Cassandra understood and turned back. Then they both heard a noise from the break room. It was a chair sliding across the floor. Was it another coworker? Or was it another zombie vampire? Neither girl knew what to do so they stood still trying not to bring attention to themselves.

"What now?" Cassandra whispered.

"Wait till they leave," Jaycee replied in a whisper.

"What do we do if they attack us?"

"Be quiet!" Jaycee whispered back.

For the next half hour the girls sat quiet in the hallway waiting for the noises to stop, once quiet, the girls slowly and quietly crawled into the reception area and peeked around the corner to see if the zombie vampires left. There was no sign of them, just the two bodies they left behind. And they were starting to turn.

"Do you see that?" Cassandra asked.

Jaycee looked at the businessman and saw that he was ashen grey and starting to move. Neither girl knew how long it took for a zombie vampire to form from a freshly killed human, but they were watching the process live.

"That's so gross," Cassandra said.

"Look at Melony," Jaycee said.

Both girls looked as Melony's intestines began to curl back into her body, like a snake with a mind of its own.

"I think I'm going to throw up," Cassandra said.

"What should we do?" Jaycee asked.

"What do you mean?"

"We can stop this before they change all the way."

"How?"

"Cut them up, burn them, hell I don't know," Jaycee replied.

"Cut them with what?' Cassandra asked.

"Go in the break room and see if there are any knives in the drawers."

"I know there are plastic forks, but I'm pretty sure there aren't any metal knives," Cassandra replied.

"Just go look, if you can't find a knife, find something we can use to bash their heads in with, there must be something."

"What are you going to do?"

"I'll check in the reception area, maybe I can find something to use."

Cassandra walked back to the break room and Jaycee walked into the reception area. Neither girl knew how long they had before both victims turned into zombie vampires, but from the condition of the bodies, it didn't look like it would take long. Then Cassandra ran back with a metal knife in her hand. "Look, I found one."

"Where was it?" Jaycee asked.

"In the drawer, next to the plastic forks."

"Good, now go over there and cut his head off," Jaycee said a she looked at the businessman lying on the floor.

"No, you do it," Cassandra replied.

"Fine," Jaycee said and took the knife from Cassandra. Jayce stepped over to the man who was now convulsing and shedding hair all over the floor. "Can you at least hold his legs still?"

Cassandra moved in and leaned down holding the man's legs to the floor. Once his body was stilled, Jaycee took the knife to his throat and sawed back and forth. The half man half zombie vampire squirmed but didn't open his eyes. It seemed like they had got to him in time. With a few well-placed cuts, Jaycee was down to his vertebrae where she had a difficult time getting through, but with persistence, she made it all the way and separated the man's head from his neck. Now it was onto Melony.

Jaycee turned to take on Melony and noticed she was gone. She scanned the room and looked out the window to see if she ran out the front door. Nothing. Then she heard Cassandra scream and spun around to see Melony, now grey and hairless pulling Cassandra back down the hallway towards the break room. Melony used her inch long claw like fingernails to dig into Cassandra's leg and pull her along.

Jaycee stood up and ran down the hall with the knife in her hand. She stepped around Cassandra and sunk the knife into Melony's chest and pushed her away trying to get her to let go of Cassandra. Instead, Melony lunged at Jaycee and scratched her neck with the fingernails on her left hand. Cassandra managed to kick herself free of Melony's grasp and scoot herself back down the hall to the reception area where she was met by two men in military style police armor carrying automatic rifles.

"Down there!" Cassandra yelled pointing down the hall.

The two men entered the hall and took aim at Melony who now had Jaycee pinned up against the break room door. One of the armed policemen blasted a single shot to Melony's head that knocked her to the side. Getting her attention, Melony pushed Jaycee towards the police into the hall and slammed the break room door shut.

"Get over here!" the policeman yelled to Jaycee. Without hesitation, Jaycee stumbled back towards the reception area and around the two policemen who were now trying to kick down the break room door. With a few well-placed kicks and a few gunshots to the lock, the door opened and the men entered with their rifles in the ready position.

Pinned up against the counter, Melony scrambled to find a way out of the room but couldn't find one. The two police officers opened fire and shot until she was motionless on the floor. Once Melony was dead, the police returned to the reception area and did a quick scan. "Are there anymore?" the policeman asked.

"Yes, that guy." Jaycee said as she pointed to the headless man lying on the floor.

"Any workers?"

Jaycee knew there were two other girls working the booths tonight, but hadn't seen them for hours. She walked over to the reception desk and spun the monitor around so she could see the camera view of the booths. They were all empty. "They left," she said.

"You two need to leave, there's a group of zombie vampires in this area we're trying take down."

"No shit," Cassandra said. "Since when do they come out and attack like this? I thought they hid in old buildings and waited for people to walk by."

"I don't know, it's new to us. Something's changed," the officer replied. "But as long as they're out on the streets, you need to get home."

"If we leave, they'll find us."

"Do you have a car?"

"Yes."

"We can escort you to your car, you should be alright once inside, just lock your doors," the officer said.

Then a gunshot rang out from outside the building.

"What the fuck was that?" Cassandra asked.

"We have officers out patrolling the area, they might have come across a zombie vampire," the officer replied.

"How many are there?"

"We think probably ten or twelve. It's hard to tell, we can't use our infrared on them, and they don't put out a heat signature. Now let's get you to your car. Where are you parked?"

"In the back," Jaycee said.

"Both of you?"

"I didn't drive," Cassandra said, "My boyfriend drops me off."

"I'll take you home," Jaycee said and led the group to the back door. Once outside the lead policeman checked the area and allowed the others to follow. Jaycee led them to her car and she and Cassandra got inside.

"Drive straight home, this area is off limits to the regular public," the officer said.

Jaycee nodded in agreement and drove the car down the alley and into the street heading for home.

"Now what?" Cassandra asked.

"What do you mean?" Jaycee replied.

"I don't know, I'm cut, bleeding and scared. I never thought those fucking zombie vampires would ever come after me. I thought I was safe at work."

"Yeah, I know what you mean. I never thought I was safe, but it wasn't like we were walking down a dark alley either. He said something changed, I wonder what it was."

"They're probably starving, I heard on the news that their population has increased a lot. They probably went through all the local's, now they have to expand."

"Expand my ass, they need to hire more cops and get this shit taken care of," Jaycee said. "Give me a gun, I'll exterminate the fuckers."

"You want to work for the vampire agency?" Cassandra asked.

"Those guys protect vampires, why would I do that?'

"Those guys were agency, don't you ever read the paper? The agency is doing double duty, they protect vampires from poachers and kill off the zombie vampires, they said they were hiring. You don't have a job anymore."

"I don't have a bachelor's degree either," Jaycee replied.

"You don't have to have one anymore, remember? They said they're so desperate they're waiving the requirement."

"I didn't know you were so well read," Jaycee said.

"I do more than suck dick all day," Cassandra replied. "I'm thinking about applying myself."

"You? Shoot a gun?" Jaycee said with a laugh. "You're too much of a girly girl."

"Like you've ever shot a gun," Cassandra replied.

"I grew up on a farm. I've been around guns all my life."

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# Chapter 6

# Friday

Jack handed a cup of meds to a resident from his med cart with a glass of water. He watched the resident take the pills and took the cup and glass back tossing them in the trash. Up on the television in the day room was a newscast about a beheaded vampire body found in an old farmhouse on an abandoned farm. The same farm he and Mike had disposed of Randall's body six months ago. Jack swallowed hard and stepped into the med room to call Mike. Once the door was closed, he had Mike on the line.

"Did you see the news?" Jack asked.

"What news?" Mike asked.

"They found the body," Jack replied.

"Holy shit, I thought they'd never find it out there."

"Well they did."

"Don't panic, they won't be able to tie it to us, it's been too long. The body is probably bones now," Mike said.

"I know, I'm just freaking out because it's on the news. I don't think there's any way they can tie it to us."

"I'm surprised they didn't report that fucker missing a long time ago."

"They might have, it probably didn't have a job anyway and was on vampire welfare. He never left the house." Jack said.

"If they figure out who he was, they'll be checking the house you know."

"I know," Jack said.

"We left that place bloody as hell."

"We were careful, as long as we didn't leave anything behind we'll be fine," Jack said. "You didn't leave anything behind did you?"

"Fuck no, we used the knife from his kitchen, I left it on the bathroom sink." Mike replied.

"Did you wipe it off when you left?"

"Didn't have to, remember? We wore gloves," Mike said.

"Yeah, I remember." Jack said. "I just wanted to let you know what I saw on the news. If you hear anything let me know."

"Hear anything like what?"

"Like if they stop over."

"Did you hear me? They're not going to stop over, they have no reason to tie us to this, stop worrying and let it go," Mike said.

"Fine," Jack said. "I'll talk to you later, bye," he said and hung up the phone.

Jack put his phone back in his pocket and heard a knock at the door. He opened it to see Beth, one of the nurse's aids. "What do you want?" Jack asked.

"Do you have a minute?" Beth asked.

"I'm in the middle of a med pass, what do you need?" Jack asked.

"I got something I want you to look at."

"Like a rash or something?" Jack asked.

"I don't know what it is," Beth asked. "It itches down there."

"Itches? Sounds like a yeast infection," Jack replied.

"Can you take a look at it?" Beth asked.

"I'm not a nurse, you should find one of the RN's."

"I don't like any of them, please take a look," Beth said.

"You should see a doctor," Jack said.

"Fine, I'll find someone else," Beth said. She was pissed.

"Close the door," Jack said shaking his head. "I'll look at it."

Beth shut the door and locked it. Jack took a seat on the office chair by the computer and waited for Beth who was sliding her scrub pants and panties to her ankles. She kicked off a shoe and slid one leg out of her pants spreading her legs apart. She used her fingers to spread her vagina lips apart and give Jack a front row view of her freshly shaven pussy. Jack always figured that Beth had a crush on him and this might be a ruse to get him interested in her.

"What am I looking for?" Jack asked.

Beth used her fingers and spread her pink lips wide. "It itches and burns right there," she said pointing to a spot near her clit.

"I don't see anything," Jack said.

"Look closer," Beth said as she moved towards Jack's face.

"It all looks the same to me," Jack said.

"Put your finger on it," Beth said. "It feels different."

Jack hesitated, but did as Beth said and touched the pink skin. He could feel himself becoming aroused. "Feels like skin to me," Jack said.

"Rub it some more," Beth said.

"I have pills to pass," Jack said.

"Lick it," Beth said.

"What?"

"Put your tongue in me," Beth said.

"We're at work, and I'm married," Jack said.

"What kind of man turns down a woman?"

"A man that wants to keep his job," Jack replied.

"Call it your break," Beth said.

"Put your pants back on before we get caught and I get fired," Jack said.

"Fine," Beth said. "I've seen your wife, you would do so much better with me." Beth put her clothes back on as Jack watched. He stood up and was heading for the door when Beth stopped him. She reached down and grabbed him by his balls and said, "I'll have these soon enough, and your wife won't know the difference."

Jack let her rub him and didn't say anything. He really did want to fuck Beth, but knew he'd be screwed if his wife found out. So he unlocked the door and stepped out of the room. Beth followed and took off down the hallway as Jack went back to his med cart and his med pass.

That evening after supper was served to the residents, a voice rang over the intercom calling Jack to the office. He didn't have time for this, his med pass was scheduled down to the minute. He locked the cart, turned off the computer screen and headed down the hall past a resident sitting in a wheelchair. He never got called to the office before and it struck him strange that he would be called right now. Once in the office the door closed and Jack was met by his director of nursing and two police detectives, Gary Heller and Eric Marr.

"What's going on?" Jack asked. He was visibly shaking.

"Are you Jack Bailey?" Gary asked.

"Yes," Jack replied.

"You're under arrest for the poaching of a vampire."

Jack shrugged his shoulders. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Your friend Mike Church told us everything. We found his blood on a sink in the bathroom. Identified his DNA. He's back at the station right now." Gary said.

"Do you have my DNA?" Jack asked.

"Yes."

"Bullshit, if you did you would have said so right away, you got the wrong guy."

"We found your hair."

"My hair?" Jack said with a grin. "I've never been in trouble with the law before. There is no reason for my DNA to be in your database. You're lying to me and it isn't working. Now I have meds to pass so I need to go."

"I said you're under arrest, we have enough evidence to hold you," Gary said.

Jack looked over at his director of nursing who was listening intently. She had a shocked look on her face and didn't know if she should speak up or not. Mike stepped over and pulled handcuffs from his belt. He put his hand on Jack's shoulders and spun him around to cuff him from behind. "This is bullshit and you know it," Jack said.

"I'm just the messenger, for now," Gary said. "We can get your side of the story when we get back to the station."

At the station, Gary and his partner Eric took Jack to the interrogation room and checked him in for booking. It was then Gary got the message to see his supervisor Andrew Reed right away. This was the meeting he had been dreading all week. He left Jack with Eric and headed down the hall to Andrews office. Once inside he greeted Andrew with nervous anticipation.

"Have a seat Gary," Andrew said.

"Is it that bad that I have to take a seat?" Gary asked.

"It's not the news you want to hear, but no, I was being courteous."

"So what's the deal? Am I on the zombie sewer detail? Do I get to crawl around in attics and basements?"

"You're being assigned to the zombie vampire division. What your job there is I don't know," Andrew replied.

"You can't pull some strings for me? Get me a desk job?"

"They don't need administration, they need officers on the ground."

"You just said you didn't know what my job would be, how do you know they don't need supervisors?" Gary asked.

"I don't know, ok?" Andrew asked. "You are to report Monday morning to Amanda Engler, in her office at 8 am."

"Amanda? My new boss is a woman?" Gary asked.  
"You have a problem with women?" Andrew asked.

"Killing zombie vampires is a man's job. It's all military style kill or be killed. I can't take that job seriously if she's busy painting her nails."

"You're not serious are you? This isn't the 1950's, times have changed."

"If she has a rack of tits, nothing's changed," Gary replied.

"You're going to have to get used to it, either that or resign and find another job."

"Trying to kick me off the force early and fuck up my 401k right? I knew there was more to this than zombie vampire hunting."

"You're paranoid," Andrew said. "Nobody's trying to kick you off the force. You need to learn to work with whoever they set you up with, be it a woman or a man."

"Better not be a spick," Gary said.

"What the fuck? I knew you had a few sexist views, but I never took you for a bigot."

Gary shook his head in disgust. "You haven't seen what I've seen, if you did you wouldn't say that."

"Gary, I've been on the force for twenty two years, twice as long as you. I've seen the same things you have and if you say that shit over there they will kick your ass off the force. I really don't care for it here but I've known you for ten years so I'll cut you some slack. Now take my advice, shut your mouth and do what they tell you to do."

"But..."

"No but's, if a Hispanic woman tells you to crawl into a basement naked and find zombie vampires in a rat infested sewer, you do it, do you understand me?" Andrew asked.

Gary was silent for a moment. "Fine, I'll do it, and when I get bitten by one of those fuckers, I'll get shot, and for what?"

"You complain too much," Andrew said.

"I have diabetic neuropathy in both my feet. Some days I can barely walk, and you want me to dress up like a Robocop and shoot zombie vampires."

"Your other option is a clerk at Home Depot, now get out of my office. You work here till five then you're the agency's problem, not mine."

Pissed, Gary spun around and left Andrew's office. He headed back to the interrogation room where he met Eric waiting for him. "Where's Jack?"

"He's waiting in the interrogation room," Eric replied. "What did Andrew say?"

"Let's put it this way, you better do the questioning, after today I have a different job."

"Oh crap, sorry to hear that," Eric said. He was lying. He hated Gary and his constant complaining and rude comments. Inside Eric was jumping up and down and on the outside he was trying his hardest to not crack a smile.

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# Chapter 7

# Interview

Jaycee knew police work wasn't for her so she decided to apply for a housekeeping job she found in the classifieds. She called and made an appointment with an elderly man who lived in a large house in the rich part of town. She was on time, dressed in a nice flower top and black skirt ready to put on the best show she could. Most housekeeping jobs didn't pay shit, but when she drove up to the house and saw the three stall garage and working fountain in the front yard, she knew she might be onto something special.

She walked up to the front door and rang the bell, the door opened and an older man, probably in his eighties greeted her at the door. He was using a walker and was stooped over a bit trying to look up at Jaycee over his glasses.

"Hello," the man said, "You must be here about the job. My name is Everett, and you must be Jaycee."

"Yes," Jaycee replied. She didn't know exactly what to say, but she could see Everett needed help so she took him by the arm and helped him turn around.

"Thank you, my nurse is gone for the day," Everett said leading Jaycee down the hall to the living room. "Have a seat."

Jaycee sat down and tried to act as proper as she could. Her last job was giving anonymous men blowjobs so this was very different for her.

"Can I get you anything?" Everett asked.

"No thanks," Jaycee said with a smile.

Everett pulled out a chair and slowly sat down. Jaycee felt like she should have helped him, but at the same time didn't want to seem too anxious. "So, have you ever cleaned houses before?" Everett asked.

"Just my own," Jaycee replied.

"How old are you?"

"Twenty four."

"Are you married?"

"No."

"Any kids?"

"No," Jaycee replied.

Everett grabbed a pen and scratched down Jaycee's answers. "I'm looking for a girl to do the housekeeping, which means cleaning up after me, doing the laundry, going to the store for supplies, stuff like that. No cooking though, I have a cook."

"I see," Jaycee said nervous.

"I don't have set hours, all I care is that the house is clean. If you get the job you don't have to work weekends."

"That's cool," Jaycee replied. She felt like that was a stupid thing to say, but it was too late now.

"My last housekeeper quit when her husband died, she worked for me for twelve years. Nice woman, didn't talk much, but she knew me, always knew what I was going to do and had everything ready for me," Everett said. It was obvious he was saddened by her leaving. "I don't expect that from whoever I hire, that was just the way she was."

Jaycee sat quiet trying not to do anything that might blow the interview. She didn't know how many other people had applied and really wanted to land this job, weekends off was a bonus, now she needed to know how much the job paid. But she didn't want to seem forward and ask outright. "I'm a quick learner," Jaycee said. She felt like that was also a stupid thing to say.

"The job pays six hundred a week with full health insurance and two weeks paid vacation. It's salary so you don't have to punch a time card. If you get sick, you have to make up the work. Like I said, as long as the place is clean and I have clean clothes, I will be happy. Do you have any questions?" Everett asked.

"Is it just you? Or does anyone else live here?" Jaycee asked.

"There is a woman and her two daughters that live downstairs in the basement," Everett replied. "You don't have to do anything for them."

"Are they renters?"

"No, vampires, I let them live here to keep them safe from the poachers."

"I wouldn't think you'd have any poachers around here, this is a pretty nice neighborhood."

"It is, I've lived here over sixty years. Me and my wife bought the place after we were married," Everett said.

"When did you lose your wife?" Jaycee asked.

"Oh, she's not dead, she lives in a nursing home. I can't take care of her anymore. I do have a private nurse that comes in for me three times a week, but she needed full time care."

"I'm sorry to hear that, is she well otherwise?" Jaycee asked.

"As well as an eighty three year old diabetic with congestive heart failure can be I suppose," Everett replied. "If you get the job, when can you start?"

"I can start anytime," Jaycee said.

"Oh I forgot to ask, what was your last job?"

Jaycee began to freak when she heard the question. She figured telling Everett that she worked at the Glory Hole would screw her interview. She swallowed hard and replied, "I used to work at the Glory Hole."

Everett smiled and leaned back in his chair. "Really? I used to go there a few times a month. My nurse would take me."

Now realizing she may have swallowed Everett's cum sometime in the past, Jaycee began to wretch and felt like she was going to puke. But she kept it in, covered her mouth with a few fingers and tried to smile. "Really?" Jaycee said, "What a small world."

"We used to go in the evening after we visited Margie"

"Did Margie know?" Jaycee asked.

"Fuck no, I'm not going to tell my wife I'm sticking my cock in a hole and paying a stranger for a blowjob," Everett said with a grin. "Plus she has Alzheimer's, she wouldn't remember anyway. Tell you what though, if you want to offer your services as part of your job, I'll pay you an extra hundred a week,"

"Housekeeping and blowjobs?" Jaycee asked. She was grossed out at the idea, but agreeing may be the difference between her getting the job and someone else. The pay was a lot better than she could get anywhere else, and the free health insurance was a huge bonus. "How many blowjobs are we talking?"

"One a week, maybe two," Everett replied. "I can't get my nurse to do it. I call it therapy," Everett joked.

"If I agree, do I have the job?"

"I do have three other girls to interview."

"I doubt any of them will suck your dick," Jaycee said.

"Maybe, maybe not, never know till you ask."

"The job in the paper didn't say prostitute, I'm pretty sure I'm the only one willing to suck you off," Jaycee said. She was getting irritated.

"If you get the job, I'll call you on Wednesday. If I don't call, I hired someone else, ok?"

Jaycee was livid but kept it inside. She told this old man that she was willing to suck him off in exchange for getting the job now. She was about to take the offer off the table. Then she did. "If I can't get the job right now, I won't suck your dick. I only offered to make sure I got the job."

"Who do you think you are? I'm the boss, I'm the one with the job. If you want to work for me you better get a better attitude right now," Everett snapped back. "I told those other women I'd interview them and it would be rude not too. What would you do in my position?"

"I'd hire me on the spot because I give the best head you'll ever get. And that includes Margie. I bet you love the feeling of her dentures scraping on your cock."

"Get out of my house young lady," Everett said.

"The Glory Hole shut down, if you want sex, you'll have to fuck your cook. The best thing you had is walking out the door and I'm not coming back Everett. Do you think any woman wants to suck your old wrinkled cock? It's disgusting, and none of the other women you're interviewing are going to do it either. You have one chance before I go, hire me now or I'm gone!" Jaycee yelled.

Everett looked at Jaycee over his glasses and shook his head. He was used to getting his way with his money and his power and now some woman whom he had just met ripped him a new ass. And the worst part was she was right. "You suck me off right now and you got the job," he said. He needed to reassert his manhood and put this bitch in her place. "Make it good and swallow."

"I always swallow, "Jaycee said walking over to Everett. She pushed his walker aside and grabbed Everett by the belt. She undid his pants and pulled out his flaccid penis and put it in her mouth. The next ten minutes was the vilest disgusting act Jaycee had ever performed on a man, and she was used to sucking dick eight hours a day. But she had the job and the freedom she wanted.

From the bathroom, Jaycee heard the front door open and close. Then she heard footsteps and knew someone other than Everett was in the house. She dried her hands, stepped out into the living room and met a forty something man in a business suit sitting next to her new boss.

"This is my son Brandon," Everett said. "Brandon, this is my new housekeeper Jaycee."

Brandon held out his hand to Jaycee and she shook his hand. "Glad to meet you," he said.

"Glad to meet you," Jaycee replied.

"Brandon takes care of the finances, he'll have you sign your work papers for the accountant. We do direct deposit here," Everett said.

"I have health insurance papers for you to fill out as well," Brandon said. "We can do that today or whenever you start."

"When do I start?" Jaycee asked.

"Tomorrow if you like," Everett replied.

"That will work fine,"

"You will have a room to yourself in case you ever need to work late or spend the night. You can keep whatever you like there, it has its own bathroom attached," Brandon said. "Would you like to see it?"

"Sure," Jaycee said. She followed Brandon up the stairs to the first room on the right. It was a large bedroom with a full dresser and king sized bed. Far more than she'd ever need. "This is nice," she said.

"Yeah, the old housekeeper used it, fucking bitch," Brandon said to Jaycee's shock.

"What? Your dad said she quit when her husband died."

"Yeah, he died all right, but that isn't why she's gone. I fired the cunt," Brandon said. "She pissed me off one too many times."

"Does your dad know this?" Jaycee asked.

"No, and don't get too used to this job, he won't be around much longer."

"Why? Is he sick?"

"Prostate cancer, doctor gave him less than a year," Brandon said.

"That's so sad."

"I can't wait, I want to sell this property and get moving on some ideas I've been working on," Brandon said.

"You want your father to die?" Jaycee asked.

"No, I'd be happy if he signed all this over to me now, but he won't, wants to take it to the grave with him."

"What about the three women in the basement?"

"I'd evict those fucking leeches in a second if I could. Last thing I need is vampires bringing down the property value. This house is worth a quarter million easy, if anyone found out vampires were living here, I'd be lucky to get one seventy five. I know I sound cold hearted, and maybe I am to a certain extent, but my father is fucking this place up bad and when he's gone, I'm the one left fixing this mess."

"What about your mother?" Jaycee asked.

"I have power of attorney over her, that's not an issue, Everett is the issue."

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# Chapter 8

# Tunnel walk

Monday morning Gary walked into the office of the Vampire Protection Agency expecting to have a full day of orientation, instead he was sent to the quartermaster to get suited up for an early morning raid. He was issued the standard black military style riot gear and an assault rifle. Gary's supervisor was changed at the last minute to Commander James Blunt who headed one of three teams created for the extermination of the zombie vampire race. This made Gary happy, he no longer had a woman for a supervisor.

"I want you to watch your back today," Blunt said.

Gary was nervous and pissed at the lack of training. He had never done this sort of police work and considered it bottom rung level. It was like getting a demotion, although he'd never tell any of the men he was working with, at least not now. "I've never done this before," Gary replied.

"We have three days of training scheduled for the end of the month, I know that's not going to do you any good today, but as long as you follow directions, you should be fine," Blunt said. "I want you to partner up with Officer Schultz, he's our trainer. Call it, on the job training."

"Great, where are we going today?" Gary asked.

"We'll discuss that at the pre raid meeting, head to the conference room on the other side of the building once you're changed."

Gary changed into his heavily armored uniform and followed the other officers into the conference room. He took a seat at a long table along with two other officers and waited for his commander to speak. As he looked around, he felt a sense of power and dread at the same time. He felt good in his uniform, and felt it would be very difficult for anyone, even a zombie vampire to penetrate the armor and get to him. It was like a space suit made of steel.

The room filled quickly and Commander Blunt took the podium. Behind the commander, projected on the wall, were the words, "VPA Mission" in bright red letters. Blunt typed on his keyboard and moved his mouse around changing the slide to the layout of today's raid. From what Gary could see, it looked like several buildings connected by what looked like tunnels. The picture was in the form of a blue print so it wasn't that easy to understand. Then Blunt spoke up, "Today we're heading to old downtown, we have seismic reports that indicate there may be as many as two dozen zombie vampires living in the basement of these old buildings and commuting through the tunnel system that connects them."

Blunt changed the slide and brought up a closer image of one of the tunnels. "These tunnels were created back in the 1920's to transport goods underground and now the zombie vampires are using them to get around unnoticed. We plan on going in and sealing off the tunnels, taking out as many zombie vampires as we can in the process. This will take several days we think and are cutting up the mission into sections. As we close the tunnels, we are planning to corral the majority of the zombie vampires into the basement of the old Darcy department store. Once there, depending on how many we have, we are either going to implode the building, gas them, burn it down or go in with guns and take them out."

Gary was getting pumped up and scared at the same time. He was actually looking forward to blowing zombie vampires to bits. Maybe he was wrong about the change and too comfortable in his old job as a detective.

Blunt spoke up again, "We have a new man today, he doesn't have any background in ground assault so I'll need you to help him out and keep an eye on him. Gary, will you stand up?"

Gary stood up briefly and sat back down.

"Ok, I want everyone ready to go in fifteen minutes, we will meet at the train station and go from there," Blunt said.

The group pulled into position at Darcy's department store and entered the building heading down to the basement. Once at the bottom of the staircase, a five man group entered the tunnel system through an unlocked door and did a quick scan of the area. Keeping silent, Blunt signaled for Charles Garman to do a seismic scan of the area. Garman unloaded a case from his backpack and placed three palm sized sensors on the ground about twenty feet from each other. He then used a receiver to triangulate any signals coming from the tunnel system. The readout lit up like a Christmas tree showing a large area of seismic activity across the street...

Garman showed the scan to Blunt who motioned for the group to follow. Keeping to the sides of the tunnel, the group traveled fifty feet to the entrance of the next building. The men separated and took up sides on each side of the door waiting for Blunt's signal to enter. Guns at ready stance, Blunt gave the signal and the men rushed inside the building, night vision in place.

Once inside the building the men immediately saw two zombie vampires to their right, on the ground tearing another zombie vampire to shreds. The zombie vampires didn't seem to notice the armed men as they continued to dismember one of their own. Blunt took aim and shot one of the zombie vampires in the head knocking it to the floor. Another well placed shot and the other fell flat on top of the one they were tearing apart.

Now that their entrance was revealed, the men were on a heightened alert as adrenaline shot through them. They expected to be attacked any moment, or for the rest of the zombie vampires to scatter and hide. They stood their ground, weapons at the ready waiting for the attack that didn't come. Blunt signaled for the men to follow him further into the building. They weren't leaving until he was satisfied they had exterminated most of them, and from the seismic signal, there were a lot to exterminate.

The men slowly walked through the door into the next room. This room was a large storage room filled with empty pallets and not much more. There was no room to hide and there were no zombie vampires to see. Then Blunt looked up to the second tier and saw a zombie vampire standing on the walkway looking down at them. It didn't move and seemed more curious than scared. Like a cat who had heard a noise.

Blunt signaled to the men as he pointed up at the zombie vampire. He again took aim, but this time, before he could take a shot was knocked to the ground by a zombie vampire he didn't see from behind him. One of the other agency officers put the end of his rifle to the zombie vampire's head and pulled off a shot making sure not to hit his commander. The Zombie vampire rolled off and lay on its back.

'I think they know we're here now," Jason Klein said. "We don't have to be quiet anymore."

Then they heard a rumbling sound echoing in the large room. The men looked around and saw an open doorway leading somewhere into the building and shadows dancing on the walls.

"Get ready," Blunt said getting back to his feet. From the doorway, a group of zombie vampires ran into the room and scattered, slowing down as they caught eye of the armed men.

"What are they doing?" Klein asked.

"Fire!" Blunt yelled and the police opened fire on the zombie vampire crowd mowing them down as they entered the room. Shots rang out and blood splattered on the walls as zombie vampire after zombie vampire was cut down in a hail of bullets. Once the zombie vampires stopped running into the room, the firing stopped and the men moved in close to see what they had done.

"That's gross," Jeff Carr said kicking at one of the bodies. "How many did we get?"

"I count seven Gary said. "Eleven if you count all we've seen or killed today."

"That's a pretty good start," Blunt said. "They estimate there are over a thousand now, we have a long way to go."

"What do we do with the bodies?" Gary asked.

"We report them, then they send in a clean-up crew. We can't let the rest of them feed on these. Removing their food source is one of our tactics"

"How do you get a job on the clean-up crew?" Gary asked.

"Why? You want to clean up dead Zombie vampires?"

"No, I've never seen that job advertised anywhere."

"It's listed as a maintenance job, the city hasn't classified the position yet, this is still pretty new."

"What does it pay?" Gary asked.

"Fuck I don't know," Blunt replied. "I'm not planning on applying. I'd rather be down here with a gun than scooping up guts with a shovel."

"They don't give them guns? What if they're attacked?"

"I'm sure they have guards that go with them. I've never heard of anyone getting killed clearing an area." Blunt was annoyed by Gary's questions and losing focus. "Ok, we need to get back to work. Let's head down the hall they came from and see what we can find."

"Do you want another seismic survey?" Garman asked.

"No, I'm pretty sure I know where they're coming from," Blunt replied.

The men crossed the large room and entered into the hallway. They looked with their night vision to make sure it was clear and headed further inside the building. Slowly they stepped quietly, listening to whatever sounds they could pick up. Gary was pretty sure that if there were any other zombie vampires, they would be long gone by now. Then he saw one standing at the end of the hallway looking back at the men. It was either very stupid, or knew something they didn't. Then they heard the door slam behind them and lock.

The men spun around and saw that their retreat was blocked.

"Holy shit," Gary said.

"Shut up," Blunt replied.

"Now what?"

"I said shut up. Garman, cover the rear, everyone else keep an eye out for anything moving."

Garman spun around and kept an eye on the now locked door. The rest of the men looked around the hall and tried to see a zombie vampires that might be hiding in the dark. Then Gary saw a ceiling tile move and aimed his rifle up at the movement. "Up there," Gary said. "In the ceiling."

Blunt spun around and shot at the moving tile. He shot again and a body fell through to the floor. It was grey, bloody and still moving.

"Shoot it again!" Gary yelled.

Blunt put a three shot burst into the zombie vampire's head and stepped over to Gary who was cowering like a scared kid. "Next time you shoot the fucker! Don't wait for me!"

Gary swallowed hard and nodded in agreement. "Sorry," Gary said.

"Sorry my ass, if one of those comes up behind me, shoot it, don't yell for me to do it, by then it'll be too late," Blunt said.

"What about the ceiling," Carr asked. "I bet there are a bunch up there."

"Keep an eye up as well as down the hall," Blunt said. "As far as I can tell these zombie vampire assholes are like shooting fish in a barrel. They don't seem too smart and they die real easy. If we shoot enough, we'll need to go back to the station for more ammunition."

"Should we call the clean-up crew?" Gary asked.

"Why are you micromanaging everything I do?" Blunt asked. "I'll call the clean crew when I Goddamn feel like it."

"Just saying, they might want to get a start on cleaning them up if we're going to kill a lot of them. I'd like a heads up call if I worked for them," Gary said.

"If you don't shut your pie hole, you will be working for them," Blunt said. "Now I'm the commander and don't forget it." Blunt turned to where the zombie vampire was standing at the end of the hall to shoot it but it was gone. "Where did you go you stupid fucker?" Blunt said. He usually didn't curse, but was so pissed he couldn't restrain himself.

"He probably went back to warn the others," Carr said.

"Good, I hope they attack in a group, it'd be easier to take them out that way." Garman said.

"No, I have an idea," Blunt said. "Now that I know how these zombie vampires think, or don't think, I want to change strategies. I think we should go back to the station, get some different gear and come back after lunch."

"What's your idea boss," Carr asked.

"I want to get some guns with more rapid fire and larger magazines. These assault rifles are more for picking off individuals. I want to corner these stupid animals and take them out in a group. We have thousands to kill and doing it one by one will take forever."

"What makes you think they're all the same? Maybe these were stupid, but that doesn't mean they all are. Not all humans think the same," Carr said.

"Good point, but I still want more firepower. We did a good job so far, killed more than I thought we would and it's only been two hours. If we don't kill another one today, I'll still be happy."

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# Chapter 9

# Tynice

Jaycee decided to start her first day at work catching up on the laundry. It had been two weeks since the last housekeeper had done laundry and Brandon only did enough for his father to get by. Heading downstairs, Jayce could hear the sound of a television and realized the vampire family must be living in one of the rooms close by. As she made her way down the hall to the laundry, she spied a young black girl in a room sitting on a couch watching the television. She looked to be around thirteen years old. Jaycee stopped at the doorway to introduce herself. "Hi," Jayce said getting the girls attention.

"Hi" the girl replied.

"My name is Jaycee and work for Everett now. I'm his new housekeeper."

"My name is Alondra, my sister's name is Veneshia, we live down here," Alondra replied.

"I heard that your live with your mother, is she around?"

Jaycee heard a woman's voice reply, "Yes, I'm here,"

Jaycee was surprised to hear a voice not realizing the mother was standing behind her in the hallway. Jaycee turned to face a lean muscular black woman with shoulder length hair and a set of fangs that would make a snake envious. "Oh, hi, I didn't know you were back there."

"I was getting dressed, it's pretty early yet," the woman replied. "My name is Tynice, I heard you're Mr. Cole's new housekeeper."

"Yes, I started today," Jaycee replied. She tried to keep her prejudices at bay but had a difficult time speaking so casually with a black person. Jaycee wasn't raised to hate blacks, she was raised in a good home by good parents and had no real reason to dislike anyone, let alone blacks. But she did and she was becoming uncomfortable being around them.

"I hope you're better than the last one we had, she was a bitch," Tynice said.

"We had? Everett told me I'm only supposed to clean upstairs."

"Really," Tynice said in a droll voice. "I think he told you that so you'd take the job, the old housekeeper used to clean down here too."

Jaycee was confused and a bit shocked. She knew Tynice was living rent free, or was at least getting government housing benefits, probably had no job and now needed a housekeeper? This was a touchy subject, but she needed to clear the air so she spoke up. "May I ask why you need a housekeeper?"

Taken aback, Tynice replied, "I have two growing daughters, do you have any children?"

"No, but if I did, I'd make then clean up after themselves," Jaycee replied.

"You think I'm a bad mother?"

"No, I'm just saying that when I was that age, my mother made me clean up after myself, we didn't have a housekeeper."

"That's because your family couldn't afford one, Mr. Cole is a rich man and can afford a cleaning lady," Tynice replied.

"Yes, for him. He's an old man and needs assistance, you and your daughters are young and capable of taking care of yourselves," Jaycee said.

"I don't like where this conversation is going," Tynice said.

"Hey, I'm just doing what I was told, Everett told me specifically not to clean up down here. The only reason I will be down here is to use the laundry."

"I'll have a talk with Mr. Cole and get this straightened out, you will clean up for me and my daughters or I will make sure he hires a new housekeeper," Tynice snapped back.

"Go ahead," Jaycee replied. "Can I ask a question?"

"Sure."

"Do you have a job?" Jaycee asked.

"What business is it of yours if I have a job or not?"

"I don't see why you don't have time to clean up after yourself if you don't work," Jaycee said.

"If you must know, I get a stipend from the government. That's a perk of having your race almost wiped off the face of the Earth."

"Great, another welfare vampire," Jaycee replied expecting to be ripped apart. She was pissed and ready for a fight.

"Oh bitch, you don't want to go there," Tynice said. "You didn't live the life I did. You didn't see your family slaughtered and live in fear you'd be next. There's a reason why I get that check every month, I earned it and I can spend it anyway I want."

"You earned it? You look fine to me."

Livid, Tynice tore back into Jaycee. "My grandmother was killed off and two of her sisters back in the thirties. Back before they had the laws passed to save us. Tell me, how many members of your family were killed off? Back then it was legal to cut the head off a vampire and my family had to live with that pain."

"That was over half a century ago, you probably didn't know your grandma," Jaycee said.

"So what? She was my family and it affected my mother to no end. I had to live with that all my life," Tynice replied.

"But things have changed, you now have protected status. You can get a job and stop living off the government."

"Fuck you white bitch that money is mine and I'm entitled to it. If you want to change that, run for office and change the law, until then, I want you scrubbing the shit stains out of my girl's panties and my kitchen mopped three times a week."

Jaycee smiled at Tynice and shook her head biting her lip. She stepped around Tynice and headed to the laundry not looking back.

"You will do as I say," Tynice said. "Mr. Cole may own this house, but I run it."

Jaycee turned back around and looked at Tynice. "I'll have a talk with him myself, and if I have my way, you'll be living on the street by the end of the week."

"I doubt it, he gets twelve hundred a month from the government to cover my rent. He may be old, but he isn't stupid. Housekeepers are a dime a dozen, but sweet government subsidies isn't. If he rented to a regular family, he'd get maybe four hundred a month. For what I pay, he gets three times that."

"What you pay? You don't pay shit," Jaycee said. "You're a government bum living off the taxes of hard working people. What do you do all day besides cook and watch television all day?"

"Cook? I don't cook, Mr. Cole's cook feeds us, its part of our rent," Tynice replied with a smile. She knew that would piss of Jaycee and it did.

Jaycee shook her head again and stepped into the laundry shutting the door behind her. The first thing she saw was a laundry basket filled with girls clothes. The thought of doing Tynice's or her daughter's laundry filled her with rage. She kicked the basket to the wall and sorted Everett's laundry.

Jaycee started a load of Mr. Cole's laundry and folded a basketful making a dent in what had become a huge mess. She brought the folded load upstairs to Everett's room and put the laundry in his dresser. It was there she ran into him in the hall on her way back downstairs. She was anxious to ask him about what Tynice said and now was her opportunity. "Mr. Cole, can I ask you something?" Jaycee asked.

"Sure, and call me Everett, the only person who calls me Mr. Cole is that bitch that lives downstairs."

Immediately Jaycee's mood improved. "Ok Everett, when I was downstairs doing laundry, I ran into Tynice and her daughter. Tynice told me that I was supposed to clean up after them as well as you."

"Bullshit, don't listen to her. The government pays me her rent, she has to take care of herself. She's just trying to screw with you so she' doesn't have to do anything."

"She said your old housekeeper used to clean there three times a week," Jaycee said.

"And she's a lying cunt. If she tells you to do anything, you tell me. I don't mind making some extra money renting out the basement, but if she fucks with my paid help, she and her kids are out."

"Thanks Everett, for a while I thought maybe I misunderstood you."

"No, she's a manipulative bitch. I went down there a few times to check on them to see if they were taking care of my property. Every Time I did, the place was tore to shit with garbage, clothes, old food and whatever else they could find. The basement leads right out to the trash bin and they can't seem to find it. I've been tempted more than once to kick them out. Problem is once you sign the agreement with the government to house vampires it's almost impossible to kick them out. They have special rights."

"What would it take to get rid of them?" Jaycee asked.

"I would have to prove they were breaking a law, or stealing from the government, or some bullshit like that. They even require I give a six month notice for eviction instead of thirty days. If I break the contract, I have to pay an extra five thousand as a penalty," Everett said.

"Sounds like you're stuck with them, how long is the contract?"

"The longer the contract, the better the pay so I signed for ten years. Now I regret that day I ever saw them."

"Why? What else have they done?"

"Oh God, you don't want to know."

"Sure I do," Jaycee said.

"Let me sit down first," Everett said heading for the living room. He sat down in his chair and shook his head in disgust. "One time, that bitch brought a guy back to the apartment, she had her permits to kill and decided to do it in the living room. There was screaming and banging on the walls. I called the cops because I didn't know what was going on down there so when I finally got to see what she did I was shocked. The place was covered in blood and his dead body was lying on the kitchen floor."

"Oh my God," Jaycee said.

"I had to replace the carpet and bring in a cleaning company to scrub the blood off the walls. Then I had to have it all repainted."

"All that and you weren't allowed to evict her?" Jaycee asked.

"Hell no, they said that was part of being a vampire. Since she had a valid permit, I had no recourse. The worst thing is that she can get two permits a year and I'm stuck with her for six more years."

"Has she ever brought another one to the house?"

"No, she knew I was pissed, but that doesn't mean she won't," Everett said.

Then Jaycee thought of something. "You know, I'm not on the protected list, as a housekeeper, she could legally kill me anytime."

"You don't have any college?" Everett asked.

"No."

"Could you enroll at the community college?"

"I suppose, but I don't have money for tuition and books. And I don't know when the next session starts, "Jaycee said.

"Tell you what, I'll get my son on this. We need to get you enrolled, as a student you're on the list until you graduate. I'll pay your way as long as you work for me."

"That's very nice of you, but what do we do in the meantime?" Jaycee asked.

"I'll have a talk with her, tell her if she lays a finger on you that I'll personally cut her head off, and her daughters as well."

"That would be poaching."

"At my age do you think I care? My son would love it if I went to prison anyway, then he could get his hands on my money faster."

"Yeah, he sort of told me about that," Jaycee said.

"Doesn't surprise me, he'll get what he deserves soon enough."

"Hey, I have another question for you, I was wondering if I could use your woods for a religious ceremony. I'm learning about witchcraft and need a private secluded spot."

"If you want to go dance naked in the woods it's fine with me. There is a cabin and a lake back there too if you follow the trail. All I ask is that you leave it as you found it. You can use the fire ring, but you will have to gather your own wood," Everett said.

"Awesome," Jaycee said with a smile, you made my day.

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# Chapter 10

# Vampire Zombie Nation

In the basement of the old city hall, dug deep into the ground, set a tank that once stored the city's fresh drinking water. At one time the tank held five hundred thousand gallons of water, but today it held almost three hundred zombie vampires waiting for someone very important to speak. With only a few beams of sunlight shining through the broken windows, the area was mostly in the dark. The only exception was a makeshift stage that set empty and awaited for someone to appear. From the shadows two men stepped up on the stage dressed in ceremonial cloaks. One approached the front of the stage and looked down upon the mass of zombie vampires and addressed them with arms stretched wide. "I have arrived, I am your leader Cyprian." he said. His name was Cyprian Dalca, twin brother of Doran Dalca and full blood vampire.

The crowd of zombie vampires hushed to listen to what Cyprian had to say.

"I have urgent news for you, we have been attacked by men from above. They came today to murder you and your kind, wipe you from the face of the Earth." Cyprian looked out at the crowd to judge their response. What he heard was a hushed murmur and the rustling of cold bodies. Cyprian and his brother vampire had descended into the tunnels and took over control of the zombie vampire population six months ago. They saw an opportunity to become something important and become the powerful leaders they knew and wanted to be. Today was the first threat they had to their new empire and needed to squash the resistance.

"Our numbers have grown large, and we no longer need to hide from those above us who wish to exterminate us. It is our time to rise and take over a part of the city for ourselves, to govern our own kind and live with the humans. My brother and I have a plan for the future, a future where zombie vampires, vampires and humans can coexist. But before we can put our plan into place, we must defeat the men who come to kill us. Today we must defend our homes and our homeland."

As far as anyone knew, zombie vampires were dumb and mute. They also lacked the ability to think on more than a reptilian level and communicate. But that was wrong, no human had ever had the chance to study the zombie vampire. They had intelligence, nowhere near that of the human or vampire, more like that of a chimpanzee. They could understand, and they could form groups and perform tasks, but still had the attributes of a lower class of subhuman, more ancient and instinctual. They had fight or flight, but had difficulty with reason.

"We don't know when the men will return, but when they do we need to be ready for them," Cyprian said. "I need two of you, from your ranks to come to me to lead."

Cyprian didn't know what to expect, or if the zombie vampires were able to make that sort of decision, but soon several zombie vampires crawled out of the tank and stepped up onto the stage. They didn't look much different from the other zombie vampires, but there was something different about these. Cyprian counted four altogether and brought them to center stage.

"These my brothers are your new leaders, take a look at them, they will be my new generals. I will lead two of them and my brother Doran will lead the rest. We need to act quickly and form a defense for when the humans return. I anticipate it may be as soon as today. They are well armed and have killed at least ten of us so far. Keep an eye out for anything out of the ordinary and attack if provoked," Cyprian said. He left the stage and motioned for the four zombie vampires to follow him to the room just off the side to the stage.

Cyprian and Doran entered the room and stood off next to the window. A trickle of light dripped inside the room that illuminated their faces and cast shadows on the wall. The four zombie vampires came in the room and faced the vampire brothers with their backs against the far wall. They looked like dogs waiting for their master to speak.

"Do any of you speak?" Cyprian asked.

There was no response.

"I need to know if you can speak, if you can tell me now."  
The zombie vampire second to the left raised his head as to say something. His mouth moved but no words came out.

"Do you have a name?" Cyprian asked.

The zombie vampire nodded his head.

"Say it," Doran said.

"I was Martin before I turned," the zombie vampire said. His voice was gruff and low.

"Do you know of others like you that can speak?"

"No," Martin replied.

"The rest of you, can you speak?" Doran asked.

None of the three remaining replied. They seemed to understand the words they were hearing, but they couldn't respond with words.

"Martin, you're now the lead general," Cyprian said. "I want you to communicate with the others."

"Yes, I do that," Martin said.

"I've been here six months and I didn't know any of you could speak."

"You didn't need to know until now," Martin said. "First time attacked."

"I know, but it would have been easier if I had known all along you could talk."

"Didn't want to stand out," Martin replied.

"That makes sense, I probably would have done the same thing if I were you."

"What do you want to do?" Doran asked. He was the quiet one who usually deferred to his brother Cyprian.

"We need to organize into groups and get weapons. They have guns and we have nothing."

"How do we get guns?" Doran asked.

"We don't, there isn't any way I know to get that kind of firepower. We need to use our strengths and beat them in a different way. We don't have to kill them all, we just need to hold our own and let them know we won't be exterminated. Then we can mark our territory as our own and let them know they aren't welcome here."

"Like forming our own country," Doran said.

"Exactly, we will be the zombie vampire nation."

After lunch, Gary and the rest of the officers gathered in the conference room for an emergency meeting. Commander Blunt stood at the front of the room reading through his notes waiting for the crew to take their seats.

"What's going on?" Gary asked Garman who was sitting next to him at the table.

"I don't know, I thought we were heading back down to the tunnels with more firepower."

"Something's up and I don't like it," Gary said.

The last man took his seat and Blunt addressed the group, "I know you guys are planning to head back down to the tunnels, but we had to change our plans. During the lunch break I was briefed with new information that has a huge impact on our mission to clean up the old downtown. I want to introduce Officer Peterson from our investigation unit."

From the door to Blunt's left, a man in a grey suit stepped out and took Blunt's place behind the podium. He had a manila envelope with him that he set on a table and adjusted the overhead projector. "Hello, my name is detective Peterson, a few of you may know me but for those who don't, my job is to study and learn all we can about the zombie vampire population in order to eradicate them. Once I heard about your raid today, my staff decided it was time to let you guys in on what we now know from our investigation. We feel this information is very important and will save lives."

Peterson picked up the manila envelope and pulled out several photographs picking out one to display on the overhead. He placed the picture and checked over his shoulder to make sure it was displaying correctly. The picture was of two men, both in their mid-thirties, medium builds with dark hair. They looked like twins. "These are the Dalca brothers, Cyprian and Doran. They are full blood vampires and currently reside in the old downtown area. Through several informants, we now know that the brothers have installed themselves as the self-proclaimed leaders of the zombie vampire nation."

"They're a nation now?" Garman asked like it was a joke.

"It seems they have some influence over the population and have rallied them into a semi coherent group. What you ran into this morning was a fringe element. From what we understand, the brothers may have as many as five hundred vampire zombies organized. If you would have continued further into the structure, you may have come upon them. And I think your outcome would have been much worse."

"So we're not going back today?" Garman asked.

"No, and probably not for another few weeks, not until we can assess the threat and find a solution. This morning you were shooting fish in a barrel, you came close to the shark tank," Peterson replied.

Blunt walked back to the podium and addressed the men. "From what we've gathered from the informant, we need either twenty more men, which I don't see coming anytime soon, or a huge increase in firepower. Our job now is to procure said firepower and come up with a plan to use it that doesn't include destroying old downtown."

"Why don't you open this up to the private sector? Pay a bounty for every zombie vampire killed? Every redneck with a gun would come out of the woodwork to earn some cash and kill these bastards."

"The last thing I need is a bunch of weekend warriors running in the tunnels shooting at whatever they can find. We'd end up with innocent people getting shot and killed. The city can't afford that kind of lawsuit," Blunt replied.

"Have them sign a waiver," Garman said.

"A waiver?" Blunt asked. "Is that legal?"

"I don't see why not, you wouldn't have to recruit anymore help, or steal them from other agencies. You sit back and wait for the independent contractors to drive up with the bodies and pay them."

"I'll bring that up to the city council next week that actually may be an option. I guess it would depend if a waiver is legal and how much of a bounty they can afford," Blunt said.

"Five hundred a zombie vampire," Garman said. "I'd do it for that."

"I think we need to get back on topic, but I will say that five hundred is way too high. At that rate the city would be bankrupt in a month. I think fifty dollars a head is more like it. Anyway, I want you to head back down and patrol the area for stragglers for now. I don't want anyone going into the tunnels. Monitor the entrances and look for any zombie vampires that have wandered out. That's it for the meeting," Blunt said.

The group of men stood up and left the room. They headed to the transport vehicles and drove back down to old downtown some ten miles away. It was early afternoon and a bright sunny day, perfect visibility to monitor any movement. Once unloaded from the bus, the men paired off and were assigned an area to patrol. Gary and Carr were assigned G through J streets from third to ninth and the old sex trade district.

"So what do you think?" Gary asked Carr as they headed to G Street.

"About the vampire brothers?'

"Yeah."

"I didn't think zombie vampires could do more than eat, shit and make funny sounds. I can't see anyone organizing them, it would be like making a cat army," Carr said.

"Don't put down cats," Gary said with a smile.

"All cats do is eat, shit and make more cats, what's the difference?"

"I have a cat, I wouldn't keep a zombie vampire as a pet."

"If your cat was as big as a zombie vampire, it would eat you, you know that," Carr said.

"What are you saying? Should we shrink zombie vampires down to cat size and make pets out of them?" Gary asked.

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# Chapter 11

# Witch of the woods

The path to the cabin was well worn from years of use which directed Jaycee right to the place in the woods where Everett said it would be. It was about dusk and the moon was bright in the sky hovering overhead. The view of the lake was fantastic and again Jaycee felt like she fell into the best job in the word with some awesome perks.

She had fancied herself a witch for less than a year, picking up what she could from internet articles and movies. Her idea of what a witch was came more from The Wizard of OZ and less from reality. The thought of casting spells and dancing naked in the moonlight was a romantic notion and it gave her a sense of power and worth. Tonight she brought some printed material to try out and wanted to be as close to nature as she could be. With the sun heading down and the moon shining bright, she headed to the cabin to prepare.

She tried the door and it opened, there was no lock or key needed. She stepped inside and looked at the sparse furnishings. There was a makeshift bench that could be used as a bed and a counter top for preparing food. There was no bathroom, but an outhouse was not far away. Lucky for her it was still warm out with only a slight breeze.

Setting the papers on the counter, Jayce slipped off her clothes and set them on the bench. She then picked up the papers and walked back outside feeling a bit exposed. She knew she was a good mile from the house and any view would be obstructed by trees, but she wasn't used to being naked outside.

Once she felt comfortable, she walked down the steps and looked for a place to try out her new material. She walked past the fire pit and thought about lighting a fire, then realized she didn't bring a lighter with her. It didn't matter though, it was almost a full moon and she would have no problem seeing where she needed to go or reading the print on the sheets. The area around the cabin was short grass but quickly turned to tall grass and woods. She didn't know the area well so she decided to stick close to the cabin for now.

Then she heard a female voice call out from the path. It was Tynice and her seventeen year old daughter Veneshia. They were walking together as they approached the cabin.

Jaycee spun around and covered her breasts with her arms, she felt very vulnerable and scared. "What are you doing here?" Jaycee asked.

The two vampires stopped about twenty feet away. "We heard you were going to the cabin, we've never seen it ourselves and wanted to check it out."

Jaycee turned her head and looked at Tynice. "You've lived there four years and never came out here?"

"We weren't invited."

"If you don't mind, I was doing something in private," Jaycee said.

"I can see that," Tynice replied. "Do you white girls hang out naked in the woods often?"

"I'm a witch," Jaycee replied.

"Really? A witch? You don't look much like a witch to me," Tynice said.

"Can't you see I'm naked?"

"Yeah, I see, everyone can see that," Tynice said with a chuckle.

"You think this is funny?"

"Oh yeah, I do. After what you said to Mr. Cole, I think you're a riot."

"What are you talking about?" Jaycee asked.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about. You ran to Mr. Cole like a little baby and tried to get me and my daughters evicted. Don't try to deny it."

Jaycee knew she was caught and felt more vulnerable than before. She did talk to Everett and now Tynice had her right where she wanted her. Tynice could legally, if she had a permit, kill Jaycee and make a huge problem go away. Jaycee looked to see if she had the box the syringe came in and didn't see anything. Without the shot, the kill would be illegal.

"I didn't try to get you evicted, I just asked him if I had to clean the basement."

"And what did he say?"

"He said no, that's your responsibility," Jaycee replied.

"I'll talk to his son, I'll get that changed right away."

"Do what you want, Everett is my boss and he tells me what to do, not you, not his son."

"You know you're probably too fat to be hanging out naked," Tynice said.

"If you don't mind, I'd like to continue in private," Jaycee said.

"Continue what? Hopping around naked with your ugly bare feet on the grass? What you need is a broom and a pointed hat. Then you could be a real witch," Tynice said laughing. She was joined by her daughter Veneshia.

"You think this is funny? Wait till I cast a spell on you," Jaycee said.

"Go ahead, cast all the spells you want you dumb white girl. Play witch all you want, I'm just here for the show."

"No, go back, I need privacy."

"This is a lot of woods, you can find someplace to act like a fool."

Jaycee was pissed. She unfolded her arms and strutted over to Tynice and Veneshia jabbing a finger at the mother. "You listen to me you fucking black welfare vampire bitch, Everett told me I could use the cabin, not you, so get you and your bitch daughter out of here now!"

"Whoa Cinderella, you can talk all the trash you want to me, but you watch your mouth when it comes to my family," Tynice replied. "And get your ugly painted fingernails out of my face before I tear them off and feed them to you. I'm not leaving, so get on with your stupid dance."

Jaycee knew she had no recourse and backed down. She turned and walked back to the cabin and picked up her clothes. It was getting dark and she wasn't going to be able to do what she had planned. Once she had her bra and panties on, she noticed Veneshia walk over and stand by the porch rail looking at her. The young vampire didn't say anything.

"What do you want?" Jaycee asked.

Veneshia didn't reply.

"What's wrong? You never seen a white girl in her underwear?"

Veneshia turned away and let Jaycee continue to get dressed. "I'm sorry about my mother," Veneshia said.

"I wouldn't say that too loud, she might hear you," Jaycee replied.

"I don't care, she knows how I feel. She and I don't see eye to eye on much anymore."

"I'm shocked, you seem more mature than your own mother."

"She was raised in a different generation. She's just doing what her mother did and her mother before that. Times change. I don't want to live on Vampire welfare, I want to earn my own way. I plan to go to college and have a career. My mother didn't have that opportunity. When she was a child, she lived in fear of being killed. Do you know what it's like to be hunted?" Veneshia asked.

"Yes I do, as it is right now, you could legally kill me if you had a permit. Things haven't changed, they've switched," Jaycee said.

"It's not the same, at that time the vampires were being exterminated. No one is trying to exterminate the humans. The hunting is very limited."

"That don't really matter when you're the one being hunted now does it?" Jaycee asked.

"I see your point, but you're comparing apples to oranges. At one time there were ten thousand vampires, now there are around four hundred. How many humans are there? Seven, maybe Eight billion?"

"Why can't you just go to a blood bank and get a pint now and then?" Jaycee asked. "That would save a lot of lives."

"Stored blood goes bad very quickly for us. It can still sustain life for you, but it is like poison to us," Veneshia replied.

"What is it in blood that you need so bad anyway? Can't they synthesize something?"

"No one knows for sure what the blood contains we need. It may not be the blood at all, but the hormonal reaction we have to drinking it. The blood may simply be a trigger that causes us to secret something internally we need to survive."

Now fully dressed, Jaycee stepped off the porch and looked to the West as the sun set over the lake. "Where did your mother go?" Jaycee asked.

She walked back to down the path to the house," Veneshia replied.

"And left you alone? Nice," Jaycee replied.

"She wanted me to kill you, and put you in the lake."

"I hope you're not planning too," Jaycee said.

"No, I told her I wouldn't, that would be murder."

"You don't have a permit?" Jaycee asked

"I'm only seventeen, I can't get one," Veneshia replied. "And my mother used both of hers already this year."

"She has a lot of balls asking you to kill me, where does she get off?"

"Like I said, she and I don't always agree. That's what mothers and daughters do. That's where we learn to fight."

"If that's the case, I could finish what I started."

"You could, can I stay and watch if you don't mind?" Veneshia asked.

"If you don't mind watching a white girl dance naked in the moonlight," Jaycee replied.

"I don't mind, can I ask you a question though?"

"Sure."

"You seem more pissed off than I'd expect for someone who hates vampires," Veneshia said. "Is there something else bothering you besides that?"

"I'll be honest with you, I don't like black people all that much," Jaycee said.

"I figured, doesn't surprise me though."

"It's nothing personal, and I can't even explain why, but I have never liked blacks, I don't like being around them, I don't like the way they talk, the way they act, all of it," Jaycee said.

"Does it bother you to talk to me?" Veneshia asked.

"A little," Jaycee replied.

"You don't know me at all, we just met."

"I know, I said I can't explain it."

Veneshia laughed and shook her head. "That's fucked up."

Jaycee undressed and hung her clothes over the railing next to Veneshia. She stood pale, lit up by the moonlight like a beacon in the woods. "If you want to watch, you need to follow me."

"How far are we going?"

Jaycee grabbed her papers, walked to the side of the cabin and stood in the short grass waiting for Veneshia to catch up. She looked down at the papers and tried to read the print but it was too dark to make out what it said. Frustrated she set the papers on the grass and decided to make up her own chant. She raised her arms to the side and bounced around in a semicircle humming to herself.

"What's that?" Veneshia asked.

"Please don't interrupt," Jaycee replied. She continued to hobble like a chicken with a broken leg until she came up with some words. "Oh Goddess of the woods, listen to the words I say. Oh Goddess of the woods, listen as I pray," she said in a broken rhythm. "Keep me safe from harm and keep those who may harm me at bay, please Oh Goddess of the woods please do as I say."

Veneshia turned and tried to hide her laughing at the insane chant Jaycee made up on the spot.

Jaycee noticed right away and spoke up, "Stop it."

"I can't help myself, you sound ridiculous," Vaneshia replied.

"If you're going to be out here, you need to respect what I'm doing. I plan to have my coven out here and if you ever want to join you need to behave."

"Join your coven? A black vampire?" Veneshia asked with a smile. "You might as well ask an agency cop. Why would you ask me to join?"

"Just because you're black and a vampire doesn't disqualify you from joining my coven," Jaycee replied.

"Great, an equal opportunity witch coven," Veneshia said. "I think I'll pass."

"That's up to you, there is a lot witchcraft has to offer."

"I'm already a member of two minorities, I think I'll skip being in a third."

"Oh but witchcraft is different, we have power," Jaycee said. "We can conjure spells and communicate with nature."

"You mean like talk to the trees? Because I have no need to talk to no oak tree, we have nothing in common. It would be a boring conversation."

"It would get you out of the basement, and away from your mother," Jaycee replied.

"In that case, I may consider it," Vaneshia replied.

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# Chapter 12

# Capture

Two weeks later the agency department heads came up with a plan but was rejected when the city attorney found out that it meant killing off Cyprian and Doran. Seems it still wasn't legal to kill off vampires even if they were leading a resistance movement of zombie vampires against the human race. Now it was onto plan B, the capture of the vampire brothers. Once they were removed from power, the agency could go back down to the tunnels and gas as many zombie vampires as they could.

Without an informant, it was difficult to locate exactly where the vampire brothers were located in the tunnel system. The agency was forced to search blind in hopes of coming across them without running into the zombie vampires under the brother's control. Today Blunt, Garman Schultz, Klein, Carr and Gary were in the tunnels on the hunt for Cyprian and Doran and they were fully loaded to fight.

Commander Blunt decided, with the assistance from the city planners, to try a different approach. Using the designs located in the basement of the architects division, they located a service elevator that was once used by maintenance crews to repair and install new plumbing and electric systems. This entrance was off the beaten path and away from where most people traveled back when old downtown was new.

With the assistance of a crew from the city power plant, the elevator door was reopened for the first time in fifty years. All the power had been cut off a long time ago and the agency relied on helmet mounted lights to see as well as night vision technology. Once the agency men were lowered down the elevator shaft, they broke into the elevator and climbed inside. From there they pried open the door and made their way into the dark tunnel system.

Once again they used their seismic sensors to locate the direction of the bulk of the zombie vampire population and headed off in that direction. Carr was given a map of the tunnel system and was in charge of navigation for the group. The tunnels were long and narrow with pipes attached to the walls that ran the length front to back. There was dust and broken plaster on the floors from years of neglect and an overwhelming smell of decay. This must be a place where animals come to feed and leave their dead.

It took less than twenty minutes for the agency group to locate the bulk of the zombie vampires. They were held up in the dried up fresh water reservoir underneath the old city hall. The men were in shock when they peeked through the cracks and saw how many zombie vampires there actually were and the thought of heading back was a real possibility.

"How do they feed all those?" Garman whispered.

"There's only two ways I know," Carr replied. "They either head out to find humans or they feed on themselves."

"Cannibals? Just when I thought they couldn't get any worse," Garman replied. "I don't see how we're ever going to find those brothers down here, there are way too many zombie vampires around."

"Cut the chatter," Blunt said. "If they locate us, we're fucked."

"What's your plan?" Garman asked. He was pissed.

"Everyone look around a see if you can locate the brothers, that's all we can do for now."

"And what if we find them? Are we supposed to waltz out there and ask them to surrender? They have five hundred body guards," Garman snapped. "Whatever fucking lawyer decided that we couldn't kill them all should be down here with us right now!"

"I know, but we have to stick to the plan."

"As far as I'm concerned, there is no plan. If we locate them, we can't take them so this is pointless, we need to go back," Garman said.

"We'll go back when I say," Blunt replied, "Now shut the fuck up and look for the brothers."

Garman turned and walked away.

"Where are you going?" Blunt asked.

"You don't pay me enough to die this stupid. You can fire me if you want, but at least I'll be home for supper, you'll be supper."

Blunt watched Garman walk away leaving the group one man short. In his mind, he knew Garman was right and that putting his men in harm's way was insane.

"I think Garman's right," Klein said. "We didn't know we were going to run into such a large population. Now that we know, we should head back."

Blunt chewed on what Klein said. If they left, it would make him look like a fool since he tried to keep Garman from leaving. "Search for ten more minutes, if we don't locate the brothers, we'll head back."

Shaking his head in disgust, Klein looked through the broken plaster, and through the wall searching for two men in a group of five hundred. Watching the zombie vampires mull around like cattle in a pen sickened him. All he wanted to do was put on his gas mask, pull the pin on his gas canister and toss it in the middle of the crowd. There was enough gas to wipe out the whole room and each man had three cans.

Scanning the pit for the brothers, Klein saw something that scared and shocked him at the same time. He saw one of the zombie vampires dragging Garman across the floor at the edge off the tank towards a doorway. Garman was alive and kicking but couldn't be heard over the grumblings of the massive group of zombie vampires. "They have Garman!" Klein said. "Three o'clock, by the doorway."

The rest of the men drew in close to the wall and looked through the cracks to see what Klein was seeing. They saw Garman being dragged to the doorway and let go. Garman didn't try to escape and was quickly surrounded by three more zombie vampires. From the doorway, a man stepped into view. The men recognized him from his photo as Doran Dalca.

"That's Doran," Carr said.

Then another man joined Doran, it was his brother Cyprian, who gestured to one of the zombie vampires to drag Garman into the office. Taking the order, the zombie vampire dragged Garman into the room and out of the view of the agency officers.

"Now can we go?" Carr asked.

"What?" Blunt asked.

"We located the brothers, now can we go?"

"They have Garman."

"Yes they do, last I knew he quit."

"You expect me to leave a man behind?" Blunt asked.

"He quit."

"He's still a human, we can't leave him behind."

"Then you can dance right in there and rescue him. I don't think the five of us can do a damn thing about saving him."

Blunt again knew his men were right. Why the fuck they sent six men down into the tunnels when they knew there were hundreds of zombie vampires was beyond him. The lawyers and politicians didn't have to put on riot gear and face death, all they had to do was sit behind their desks and wait for the casualty report. "Ok, we're leaving," Blunt said, "You're right, there isn't a damn thing we can do to help him now. I need you men to back me up on this because they will tear me apart back at the office."

Garman was picked up and set in a chair across from a large wood desk. Behind the desk sat Cyprian and standing to his right was his brother Doran. The room also had three zombie vampire bodyguards standing by the door to keep Garman from escaping.

"I see you're an agency man," Cyprian said. "How many more of you are down here?"

"Five," Garman said. He had quit his job and felt no loyalty to the agency for putting him in harm's way. Although he was friends with the other officers who came with him, he knew they stood little chance anyway so giving up any information wasn't going to make much difference.

"Where are they located?"

"South hall," Garman replied.

"What kinds of weapons do they have?"

"Same as me, an assault rifle, two standard grenades and three gas bombs."

"What kind of gas?"

"I don't know, all I do know is that one can could take out the entire building and more," Garman replied.

"Let me see it," Cyprian said. Garman unclipped a gas can and tossed it to Cyprian. He read the label and could make no sense of what it said. "Some long chemical name I've never heard of, probably designed to kill children in third world countries."

"What are you going to do with me?" Garman asked.

"I'm going to toss you into the pit and let my army consume you," Cyprian said.

"I have information."

"What kind of information."

"The kind that will keep me out of the pit."

"What is your rank?"

"I'm a regular officer," Garman said.

"To what kind of information does a regular officer have access? If you were of a higher rank I might grant your request."

"I know more than you think."

"What's there to know? They want to kill us."

"I know how they plan to do it," Garman said.

"Then tell me," Cyprian said. He looked Garman in the eye and waited an answer.

"First you have to promise me you won't feed me to them," Garman said looking at one of the zombie vampire guards.

"I will promise you that I will kill you before I let them eat you, how about that for a compromise?"

"You won't get any information if I'm dead," Garman said.

Cyprian gestured for one of the zombie vampire guards to approach. He looked up into its grey dead eyes and said, "When I tell you, I want you to eat this man's leg, do you understand?"

The zombie vampire nodded its head in agreement.

Cyprian looked back to Garman and said, "Tell me what you know."

Garman knew he was dead. "Fuck you, if you're going to kill me, you can find out on your own."

Cyprian looked at the zombie vampire and gestured with a head tilt in the direction of Garman. The zombie vampire hunched over and attacked Garman's leg sinking its teeth deep into his calf, pulling and trying to tear out a mouthful. Garman screamed and tried to kick the zombie vampire off with no success. Cyprian leaned back in his chair watching the attack showing little emotion. His brother Doran also did little but watch as the zombie vampire ripped into the man's leg.

"I'll talk! I'll talk!" Garman yelled but neither brother did anything to stop the attack. It was now obvious that Cyprian was being honest when he said the zombie vampire would eat his leg.

For what seemed an eternity, the zombie vampire tore into and ate at German's leg until it was chewed off at the hip. By now Garman had long bled out and was dead.

"Toss him out," Cyprian said to the zombie vampire. Garman's body was dragged out of the office and tossed into the crowd who were now in a feeding frenzy in the pit. Cyprian told the other zombie vampire guard to clean up the mess on the floor and watched as it bent down and licked the blood like a cat drinking milk out of a saucer.

"Why didn't you save some for us?" Doran asked.

"If we are to control these animals, we have to reward them once and a while. Its basic psychology my brother."

"I guess," Doran said. "But he looked so good, and it's been a long time since I've had a human."

"There are five other humans down here, I'll send a group to fetch them and we'll keep one for ourselves," Cyprian said.

"I'll tell them," Doran said walking to the door. Once he reached the doorway, Doran could see the crowd of zombie vampires tearing Garman's body to shreds and being consumed. He waited until the frenzy died down and stepped up onto the stage where he addressed the crowd of hyper excited zombie vampires. "Give me your attention!" He yelled. "There are five more humans close by hiding in the tunnels, I need for you to find them and bring them to me before they escape! Go now and find them!"

The zombie vampires scurried up the sides of the pit and onto the landing and headed out into the tunnels. It didn't take long for the pit to empty leaving a blood stain on the floor the size of a semi-truck. One lone zombie vampire stayed behind to lick up what was left on the floor.

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# Chapter 13

# The basement

Brandon entered the kitchen and saw Jaycee as she unloaded the dishwasher. She was bent over giving Brandon a good chance to look down her shirt. Hearing his footsteps, Jaycee looked up and saw what he was doing, stood up and blocked his view. "Hey, I wanted to talk to you about something," Brandon said.

"What?" Jaycee asked. She was a bit worried with Brandon's tone.

"I want you to start cleaning downstairs."

"What? Everett told me I didn't have to clean up after them," Jaycee said.

"I know, but I sign your checks."

Jaycee was beyond annoyed and her anger grew inside. "Why now? What changed?"

"Tynice asked me, I didn't see a problem with it," Brandon replied.

"I don't know, Everett was pretty specific about not cleaning up after them."

"Yeah, about that, don't tell him what I said. He doesn't need to know."

Jayce was now livid and ready to snap back, but she knew her job depended on not pissing off Brandon. She was fucked and now was stuck cleaning up after that leech Tynice and her two vampire welfare daughters. "I don't really have time to pick up after them, she doesn't have a job and can clean up after herself."

Brandon was pissed that his hired girl would talk back to him. He didn't like the idea of anyone telling him his business. "You like your job?" Brandon asked.

"I knew that was coming," Jaycee replied.

"Then why did you sass back to me."

"I didn't sass back, Everett told me not to clean up after them and it's true she can clean up after herself."

"I didn't realize we had the sort of relationship we could negotiate."

"We seem to have the sort of relationship where you think you can look down my shirt at my tits," Jaycee replied.

"We pay you an extra hundred a week to suck off my dad, I didn't think it would be an issue."

"It is, nowhere in our agreement was it said that you could do anything with me or that I had to clean up downstairs," Jaycee said.

Brandon stood dumbfounded. No one had ever talked to him like this before. "You can pack up your shit and get out," Brandon said. He looked into Jaycee's eyes to judge her reaction.

"Not before I talk to Everett," Jaycee replied.

"I'm sending him to a nursing home in six weeks, you won't have a job by then anyway."

"That still gives me six weeks."

"No, I said get out."

Jaycee slammed the dishwasher closed and grit her teeth. "Fine, I'll clean up after that welfare cunt!"

Brandon brandished a smile on his face and nodded in agreement. "That's more like it."

Beyond pissed, Jaycee stormed off out of the kitchen to the stairs that led to the basement. She stomped down each step trying to make as much noise as she could till she reached the bottom. Turning to the right, she walked into the living room where she saw the youngest daughter Alondra sitting on the couch watching television. The room was a disaster of dishes, blankets and magazines strewn all over the floor. Jaycee looked through the kitchen door and saw dishes stacked in the sink and garbage spilling over onto the floor. It smelled like rotting food and flies were buzzing all around.

"I see Brandon talked to you," Tynice said. Her voice came from behind and scared the piss out of Jaycee.

"Yeah, he said it was either clean up after you or lose my job."

"You should have listened to me the first time, I knew I'd get my way. I want you to start in Alondra's room. It's down the hall and to the right."

Jaycee put on a fake smile and walked around Tynice, through the living room and into the hallway. She walked down to Alondra's room and stepped inside. The room was a complete mess of clothes on the floor and dressers stacked with books, jewelry and anything else a thirteen year old could find. The bed was unmade and the closet door was open. On the floor were what looked like an endless supply of shoes, belts and accessories. Jaycee had no idea where to start.

"What are you doing in my room?" Alondra asked.

Jaycee turned around and saw the girl in the doorway.

"I'm supposed to clean up your mess," Jaycee replied.

"That's nice of you."

Jaycee smiled. It was the first time anyone had said anything nice. "Do you want to help me?" Jaycee asked.

Tynice stepped into the doorway and replied, "Go back and watch television honey, we have a housekeeper now. Let her do her job."

Alondra left leaving Tynice and Jaycee alone.

"What are you teaching her?" Jaycee asked.

"She's my daughter, don't worry about her."

"There's no reason why she can't clean up her room."

"Are you saying I'm a bad mother?" Tynice asked. She cocked her head like a rooster and gave Jaycee demon eyes.

"Don't put words in my mouth, this isn't about you, it's about her. She needs to learn responsibility. Shouldn't she be in school?"

"She's homeschooled," Tynice said.

"Homeschooled?"

"I don't want her picked on at school. Kids can be cruel."

"I know I shouldn't ask this, but what are your qualifications to be a teacher?" Jaycee asked.

"Make sure you organize her underwear drawer," Tynice said and walked away.

Jaycee shook her head and tried to think where to start. It looked like gathering up the clothes and doing laundry would be a good start so she headed to the closet. After picking up a pile of shirts and pants, she came across a pair of very expensive boots. Jaycee had seen boots like these advertised and knew they ran over three hundred a pair. The first thing she thought was what child needed a pair of three hundred dollar boots? When she grew up, she was lucky to own a pair of thirty dollar tennis shoes.

"I don't like those boots," Alondra said. She had been watching Jaycee rummage through her closet. "Mom bought those for me but I think they're ugly."

"Maybe you could sell them," Jaycee said.

"Mom said I could throw them away."

"Throw them away? Do you know how much these cost?"

"No, mommy says we get everything free so it's no big deal," Alondra replied. "Do you want them?"

"I doubt your mother would let me have them," Jaycee said. "Plus I don't have a daughter."

"Ok, but you can throw them out if you want."

"I think I'll store them in your closet, I don't want to throw them out. You might change your mind one day and give them to another girl."

"I don't know any other girls. We don't go out."

"You must go out once and a while," Jaycee said.

"We go outside, but not downtown."

"That's sad," Jaycee said.

"Mommy doesn't want us to get hurt. She says there are a lot of bad people downtown. People that want to hurt us."

"Not as many as you think, most people are very nice," Jaycee said.

"Where do you live?" Alondra asked.

"I live in an apartment downtown," Jaycee replied. "And I have a room on the second floor."

"You live here?"

"Not all the time, just when I need a place," Jaycee replied.

"Can I come visit?"

"That's up to your mother," Jaycee replied. "Now, I need to get back to your room, and I don't think your mother wants me talking to you."

"I heard, I'm sorry."

"You don't have to apologize, now you better get back to the living room before she finds you in here."

One her hands and knees, Jaycee scrubbed what looked like old chewing gum mixed with fruit juice out of Alondra's bedroom carpet. After twenty minutes, she managed to get the crusty part out but couldn't get the red stain completely removed. She was beyond frustrated and ready to call it a day when Tynice came back into the room.

"I need you to go downtown and pick me up a carton of cigarettes," Tynice said.

"Brandon said I had to clean down here, he didn't say anything about fetching you cigarettes," Jaycee replied.

"Don't talk back to me, I thought we understood each other, now finish up this room and get my cigarettes."

"You need to give me cash."

"You can pay for them, I'll give you a voucher in exchange."

"A voucher?"

"I can't use my benefit money for cigarettes," Tynice said.

"So how do you buy them?"

"None of your fucking business, now I told you I'd give you a voucher in exchange."

"What am I going to do with a voucher? I'm not a vampire," Jaycee said.

"They never check."

"They who?"

"Don't they check an I.D.? If they catch me using a vampire expense voucher they'll put me in jail. Can't you cash those in?" Jaycee asked.

"No I can't cash them in, that's why they're a voucher," Tynice snapped back.

"Well I can't help you, I'm not paying for your smokes and getting a worthless voucher in return. You'll have to get them yourself."

Tynice shook her head in disgust. "I'll buy something for you the next time I go shopping."

"No, forget it, I'm done with Alondra's room and I'm going home," Jaycee replied.

"I have one more thing I need done before you go," Tynice said.

"I told you I'm not buying you cigarettes."

"I heard you," Tynice said. "I need you to clean the bathroom and do the dishes, won't take more than a few hours."

"No, I'm going home," Jaycee said.

Tynice walked over to Jaycee and looked down at her. Jaycee was still sitting on the floor next to the bucket of pink stained water. "Don't fuck with me," Tynice said. Her hands were on her hips and her eyes glared with anger.

Jaycee stood up and faced Tynice. "Scrub your own fucking toilet you fucking welfare vampire nigger!" She said.

Tynice reached out as if to grab Jaycee, but before she could, Jaycee reached down, picked up the bucket of water and splashed it on Tynice. In a rage, Tynice lunged at Jaycee, pulled her to the ground and buried her fangs into her neck. With an alligator death grip, the two women rolled and wrestled on the ground until Jaycee lay still. She was dead, and the turning process began immediately.

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# Chapter 14

# Five

The five remaining agency officers took off in a full retreat back to the surface leaving Garman behind. They didn't stick around long enough to see Garman tossed into the pit and torn apart, but they didn't think he would be allowed to live anyway. It was a good thousand yards back to the elevator and the hallways were only wide enough for two people to stand side by side. The men hunched over as they ran keeping their helmets from scraping on the low ceiling.

"We should gas the place," Carr yelled as they ran.

Blunt tried to ignore Carr choosing instead to save his own life and find his way out. The men didn't have permission to use the gas if they didn't have Cyprian and Doran with them. It was still illegal to kill a vampire.

The distance to the elevator was more than three football fields away and running in full gear was slow going, but they made good time and felt like they would make it. That was until they heard rumbling from behind and knew that they were being chased. The men huffed and puffed as they sprinted single file towards the elevator door. They had a good two hundred yard lead on the zombie vampires who were bearing down on them. The hardest part would be scaling the elevator shaft as the zombie vampires tried to pull them back down. They needed a plan.

"Carr, when we get to the elevator, I want you to hold them off!" Blunt yelled from the lead position.

Carr yelled, "Yes sir!" and turned to look over his shoulder. All he could see as he ran was the hallway that receded into darkness. He checked to make sure he knew where his gas canister was, just in case.

At the end of the tunnel, Blunt ran into the elevator shaft and climbed, normally he would be the last one out, but since the path was so narrow, moving to the back would only slow them down, so he was doing his best to get out of the way. The distance from the bottom to the top of the shaft was only two stories so climbing out was quick and easy. Before he knew it, Blunt was standing on the surface looking back down at Schultz who was next in line behind him.

"You're doing great! Keep coming!" Blunt yelled as each of the men surfaced from the shaft. The last to climb out was Carr who was visibly happy to be out and in the open air. By now it was late afternoon and the sun was low in the West. The less light there was outside, the easier it was for the zombie vampires to traverse the open streets of the city. The men had about a half hour before it would be dark and needed that much time to get home.

"What about them?" Carr asked pointing down the shaft.

"What do you mean?" Blunt asked.

"What if I toss a gas grenade down there?"

"You know the drill, not without the brothers," Blunt said.

"Fuck the brothers," Carr said.

"Toss that grenade and you'll be in prison for thirty years," Blunt said.

"This makes no fucking sense to me at all. There's no way anyone's going to capture them, not when they live with five hundred zombie vampires!"

"I don't want to stand around here and discuss this with you," Blunt said. "Fall back to our vehicles,"

The men followed Blunt away from the elevator shaft, all them men except for Carr who removed the safety from one of his gas cans. He flipped on his gas mask and tossed the canister down the shaft and took off running. As he caught up with the other officers, he pulled off his mask and put it back in his gig pouch. The other men didn't see what he did and were unaware the canister was ejecting lethal gas into the tunnel. The gas quickly dispersed from a grey cloud into a clear aerosol that was difficult to see. That was one of its killing benefits. It was hard to detect.

The jog back to the agency vehicles didn't take long and the men were quickly on their way back to the office. Carr sat in the passenger seat of one vehicle with Shultz driving. The other four men were in the other vehicle. "What took you so long?" Schultz asked.

"I was making sure none of those fuckers were getting out. I was watching out for your ass," Carr replied.

Schultz looked over at Carr and counted his gas canisters. He counted one less than he should have had. "You're missing a gas can."

Carr pretended like he didn't know and searched himself for the canister. "Holy shit, you're right."

"You can't lose a gas can, those can take out a city block," Schultz said.

"I know," Carr replied. "It must have fallen off in the tunnel when I was running."

Cyprian sat back at his desk and surveyed the pit through the window. Doran had returned from the stage and sat waiting for his brother to speak. Doran usually only spoke if spoken too. Cyprian seemed unusually concerned as he watched the zombie vampires return from the tunnel back into the room with the pit. Something didn't seem right but it was very difficult to communicate with the zombie vampires. Although they were similar, there were enough different that they couldn't communicate well. Then Cyprian saw the zombie vampire Martin move down the walkway around the pit and step into the office.

"What is it?" Cyprian asked. He didn't expect to hear what he did.

"Many dead, in tunnel," the zombie vampire said. It was stiff and broken, but Cyprian could understand.

"What happened?"

"Don't know, many dead."

"The humans?"

The zombie vampire shook his head. "Many dead, can't see."

"Get a group, pull the dead from the tunnel and find the humans. I want a report when you're done, do you understand?" Cyprian asked.

The Martin nodded its head and left the room.

"I bet they used gas," Doran said.

"They know better than to do that, they might kill us," Cyprian said. "We're protected."

"Maybe not, maybe the governor changed that."

"Kill us for what? We haven't done anything wrong. It's not a crime to live among these wretched animals."

"They know better Cyprian," Doran said.

"How?"

"One of these had to have informed on us."

"I don't think so, most of them can't speak, most of them don't think. I think you're giving them more credit than they deserve. The only person I know that has the capability to speak is you my brother. Did you run to the agency and tell them about us?"

"Of course not. But I don't think you're giving these animals enough credit. We didn't know that one could talk until now. There is no way to know how many of them can."

"Why would they mull around like animals if they are intelligent?" Cyprian asked.

"Maybe because if they act human, they will be first on the list to be eaten by the others," Doran replied. "They do eat each other, but something sets them off as to who they attack."

"That does make sense, eat the ones that act human, or the ones who are so stupid they wouldn't know the difference if they were alive or dead."

"Exactly, so we need to watch what we say and do around them. We will never know who might betray us and run to the agency," Doran said.

"Our power over them is tentative at best, if they decide to be smart they could turn on us in a second," Cyprian said. "We need to weed out the smart ones before it's too late."

"And how do you propose to do that?" Doran asked.

"I don't know, and we have hundreds to check. Maybe we would be better cutting our losses and leaving."

"I can't believe my brother would suggest such a thing, leaving?"

"I am no coward, but no fool either. We are lion tamers that live in the cage with the lions. If they decide to go after us, there isn't much recourse."

"Then we need to find a way to control them completely. Put the fear of death in them," Doran said.

"They've died once, I think the fear of death isn't enough to hold them."

"Then the fear of pain."

Cyprian rested his head in his palm as he listened to his brother. He liked that idea, sometimes pain is the only way to get someone or something to comply. But then Cyprian was a smart vampire, and he liked to use psychology. "Or there is another idea," Cyprian said. "If we can offer the zombie vampire an unlimited supply of humans, they would treat us like Gods."

"And the humans would increase their efforts to get rid of us. We would create a war with the humans that we can't win. We only have around a thousand zombie vampires. There are millions of humans. How can we win?" Doran asked.

"We don't have to win, we have to survive. One day the humans will realize that we are a power too great and they have to live with us. Getting rid of us would be like exterminating every fly on the Earth, they can't do that anymore than they can exterminate us. They will have to learn to take the losses."

"They already do that with vampires, I don't think they will stretch that to include zombie vampires," Doran said.

"Why not? What choice will they have?"

"Are you proposing the humans issue permits to the zombie vampires like they do with us? They can't read, they can't reason, they wouldn't care."

"No, they issue the permits to us, we will be the caretakers."

"How can we promise the humans we'd follow the rules? There are thousands of zombie vampires and two of us. We'd have to police them constantly. Why would I want to do that?" Doran asked. "And by what power could I enforce the rules? I'd be no better than a human."

"They would have to change the rules. Issue us a permit package, expand the range to all ages. Include all economic, social and political groups. Except for the super powerful and rich," Cyprian said.

"There would be an uprising. No human would go for it. There just isn't any way to control these animals and they have too large of a food requirement. They can't live on cattle, they have to live on humans. So they will do everything in their power to exterminate us. Even if it means killing off the vampires in the process. When it comes down to it, we as vampires may lose our privileges. It may be in our best interest to exterminate these animals as well."

Doran knew Cyprian was right. They came down here to organize the zombie vampire population and in doing so may have sealed their own fate. They had some control over the population, but knew that if shove came to shove, they would be on the menu as fast as any human. "I don't think we should do anything rash yet," Doran said. "Let's sit back, watch the news and see how this plays out. Maybe the humans will reach out to us."

"They just gassed us, remember?" Cyprian said.

"Yes, and they will find out it's not that easy to kill us off. Give it a week, in the mean time we can try to organize the zombie vampires and make sure they continue to be loyal to us."

"What is your plan?" Cyprian asked.

"I think we should start with a feast."

"Go on."

"We send out a hunting party, gather up a few dozen humans and bring them back down here to the pit. We feed them to our animals and keep them fat and happy. As long as they aren't starving they should listen to us."

"Why can't they do that on their own? Why do they need us?" Cyprian asked.

"They don't, but they're not smart enough to know that. We need to make them feel like they need us. Every time they do anything on their own, we sabotage it."

"I like your idea," Cyprian said.

"Let's get our generals and organize a hunting party. The sooner the better. This attack did little to endear our population to us. We need to show leadership and power," Doran said.

"Fine my brother, you do that."

Doran left the room with a determination to make his plan work. He already had the beginning of a plan in his head and felt he had the support of his brother. Now he needed to find the four zombie vampire generals and put his plan into motion.

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# Chapter 15

# Abandoned

Veneshia ran into Alondra's room and saw Jaycee lying on the floor jerking back and forth on blood stained carpet. Standing over her was her mother Tynice who was huffing and puffing from the fight dripping blood down her chin.

"What did you do?" Veneshia asked.

"She called me welfare vampire nigger," Tynice replied. "No white girl calls me that."  
"So you bit her? Oh my God! You don't have any serum!"

"I wasn't thinking about serum, I was thinking about teaching her a lesson."

"It's against the law to turn a human into a vampire without a permit, you used yours up already this year," Veneshia said.

"I'm well aware of that honey, find her car keys, I'm going to pull ours up to the door."

"What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to get rid of this bitch before she turns and dump her body."

"She's not dead," Veneshia said.

"She will be as soon as I get done with her," Tynice said as she stepped out into the hall and into the kitchen. Digging through the drawers, she pulled out an eight inch carving knife and brought it back into Alondra's bedroom.

"No, you're not cutting her up," Veneshia said.

"If I don't, she can identify me and turn me in."

"You've done one horrible thing already, you're not doing another. If you want to ditch her somewhere I'll help, but I won't sit back and watch you cut her into pieces."

Tynice stood and thought shaking her head. "Fine," she said and set the knife on the night stand. "Help me drag her out to her car."

In an alley behind the city hall, Jaycee sat unconscious in her car. She had been abandoned by Tynice and Veneshia and allowed to turn into a vampire on her own. The process took about an hour and when she was finished, Jaycee woke up in a confused daze not knowing where she was. The puncture wounds to her neck were sealed and the pain that she felt when she got them was gone.

She looked out her window and knew she was in an alley, what alley she didn't know. But before she could think straight and start her car, she saw a zombie vampire that she didn't notice before looking at her. It was standing about thirty feet away next to a dumpster hunched over, grey and muscular. It was like the one she saw at the Glory Hole sucking the juices out of the businessman on the floor.

Then she saw another, and another. Soon there were a group of them that approached the car. She checked to make sure the windows were up and the doors were locked and remembered to start the car but it was too late. Two of the zombie vampires reached down, grabbed the car and flipped it up on its side sending Jayce tumbling down against the passenger side door. Another zombie vampire kicked out the windshield and pulled Jaycee out of the car and dragged her out onto the cement. Normally there would have been a feeding frenzy, but something about Jaycee made them stand off. One of them came in close and sniffed her. It sniffed her again and stepped back into the group.

"What is it?" Jaycee asked. She was scared shitless.

The zombie vampire didn't reply, but it did step forward and grab Jaycee by the arm and pull her along.

"Where are you taking me?" she asked.

Still no answer. The zombie vampires surrounded Jaycee and escorted her into one of the abandoned buildings to a staircase that led down to the tunnel system. From there they walked two miles in the poorly lit tunnel to the old city hall building where the mass of zombie vampires were housed and Cyprian and Doran lived.

Jaycee felt strange, she had no idea why she felt this way and only had a vague recollection of what happened. She remembered the fight, and Tynice jumping her, but didn't remember the bite that transformed her into a vampire. She had no idea she was a vampire. She also had no idea why the zombie vampires hadn't torn her apart yet.

Then she stepped into the great hall and saw the old fresh water tank zombie vampire holding pit filled with mulling zombie vampires. They noticed her right away and stopped what they were doing to look at her. At first they didn't know why the smaller group had escorted her there, but soon they could smell her and knew why she was still alive.

Doran stepped out of the office when he noticed the change in the behavior of the zombie vampires in the pit. He saw a woman being led around the rim of the holding tank and awaited her arrival at the office. Once Jaycee was at the office door, Doran raised his hand to gesture for her to enter the office.

"Have a seat," Doran said.

By now Cyprian noticed the woman and stood while she sat down. Both brothers took a seat and took a good look at the woman. "What is your name?" Cyprian asked.

"Jaycee."

"Nice to meet you Jaycee, my name is Cyprian, this is my brother Doran."

Jaycee smiled and nodded to each brother.

"What brings you to us today?" Cyprian asked.

"I don't know, I really don't know," Jaycee replied. "I woke up in the alley in my car and the next thing I know I'm being attacked by a group of zombie vampires. I'm sure I'm going to die and then I'm being sniffed and led down here."

"Woke up in your car? Interesting," Cyprian said.  
"Do you know what's going on?" Jaycee asked.

"How long have you been a vampire?" Doran asked.

"A what?" Jaycee asked. "I'm not a vampire."

Doran stood up and walked over to Jaycee. He leaned over and smelled her neck. "Actually, you are," he replied and returned to his seat.

"No, no I'm not," Jaycee replied.

Doran put his index finger to his right fang looking Jaycee in the eye. This led Jaycee to do the same thing and she immediately noticed that her canine tooth was twice as long. "What the hell?" she asked.

"I think I know what's going on here," Cyprian said.

"Please tell me," Jaycee said.

"You've been dumped. Happens when a vampire turns a human without a permit. You're now an unregistered vampire."

"That's impossible."

"You're like a family pet that the owner took out in the woods and abandon. Only your owner probably didn't consider you much of a pet to start with," Cyprian said. "What's the last thing you remember?"

Jaycee looked at the floor as she tried to think. "I was cleaning the floor, scrubbing juice out of the carpet."

"Where?"

"At Everett's house, I was in the basement."

"Who is Everett? Is he a vampire?"

"No, he was my boss," Jaycee replied. Everything was foggy and she had a hard time recollecting the recent past. "I remember scrubbing the carpet..."

"It will come back to you," Cyprian said.

"Fuck, I can't believe I can't remember. It's like I hit my head or something. When I was a kid I fell on the ice and got a concussion and couldn't remember falling. It feels like that."

"That's very common with head injuries," Doran said.

Jaycee felt her head and searched for any abrasions or hematoma. She found nothing and her head didn't hurt. "My head feels fine."

"The same thing happens when a human turns into a vampire. Usually caused by a blood loss to the brain," Doran replied.

"What are you? A doctor?" Jaycee asked.

"No, but I've been a vampire long enough to know," Doran replied. "In any case, you're now one of us."

"What am I supposed to do now?" Jaycee asked.

"Technically, you're supposed to go to the city offices and register. Then you can get on the protected list and start getting your benefits."

"Vampire welfare?" Jaycee asked.

"Some call it that, it's not a requirement, you can work if you choose," Doran said.

"I choose that, nobody's going to accuse me of being on welfare."

"Why do you say it like that? You were turned against your will, think of it as compensation. If you were in an auto accident, wouldn't you sue for damages?"

"Yes, but why sue the city? They didn't do this to me."

"Yes, you are correct, but the chances of finding the person who did this to you are slim, unless you knew them personally. Do you know any vampires personally?"

That was enough to jog Jaycee's memory. She remembered Tynice and her two daughters. "Yes, now I remember, Tynice and her daughters Veneshia and Alondra. I was in the basement cleaning up after her kids."

"Cyprian pulled out his phone and brought up and app. He typed in the name "Tynice" and a picture with a description popped up on his screen. He held his phone so Jaycee could see the screen. "Is that her?" he asked.

Jaycee looked at the picture and replied, "Yes, that's the bitch."

Cyprian turned the phone back and read what it said under her name. "Says she's fifty four, divorced, has two children and was born a full blood vampire. Current address is unknown, and has been registered since 1996."

"I know her address," Jaycee said. "I'm going to turn her in as soon as I get out of here."

"I wonder why she didn't kill you. She would have been smarter to kill you and hide your body, instead she left you to turn in an alley."

"I'm sure it was her kids," Jaycee said. "Her kids aren't like her."

"What do you mean?"

"Tynice is a cunt, plain and simple. I don't know how to describe her to you other than to say she thinks the world owes her something."

"You two fight a lot?" Cyprian asked.

"Every time we spoke it ended up in a fight. I don't remember what led to the last one, but it must have been a good one."

"If I were you, I'd leave her alone. She could have killed you and didn't, best to leave sleeping dogs lie."

Jaycee sat and thought about what Cyprian said. "Yeah, maybe you're right." She looked around the office and out the window at the mass of zombie vampires that endlessly mulled around in the old freshwater tank. "What's going on here?" she asked.

"My brother and I are attempting to tame these beasts."

"Why? You trying to start an army?"

"Sort of, we have no plans to attack the humans, we are more of a defensive adversary."

"I've never seen so many of them before, is that all they do? "Jaycee asked.

"Yes, as long as we keep them fed they behave."

"How do you feed them all?"

Cyprian looked to his brother Doran and replied, "We don't do a very good job actually. They seem to eat each other but I don't expect that to last long. We need to get them some fresh humans."

"If you do that you're going to have a war on your hands," Jaycee said.

"We already do, they have an agency that's trying to eradicate us but so far have been unsuccessful. We think they may be changing tactics soon so we need to come up a plan if we want to survive."

"I don't get it, why do you live down here with these things? You're protected, you can live anywhere you want?" Jaycee asked.

"I know, and the longer I live with these disgusting animals the more I regret my decision, but it was based on power to start with. Doran and I wanted to start our own kingdom with our own army at first. But controlling these beasts is like trying to control a herd of cats. They are too stupid to follow directions and if left alone would destroy their own environment and food supply.

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# Chapter 16

# Wrought iron

Blunt stood at the podium marking notes on a yellow pad. The rest of the crew sat waiting for today's briefing one man short, Officer Garman, who had been torn to shreds in the pit by the zombie vampires. None of the men knew Garman's fate, but he didn't return to the surface with them after the raid. There was a chance he was still alive, but considering how many zombie vampires there were, they didn't count on it.

"I've got some real fucked up news," Blunt said addressing his men. "Pardon my French, but this goes beyond anything I thought city hall would ever come up with." Blunt scratched his eyebrow and continued. "Seems the city attorney is now involved and has put a huge dent in our plan to exterminate the zombie vampire population. He says according to law, we have to offer the two vampire brothers an opportunity to leave the area before we can enter. Seems since they are a protected species, they have to sign a waiver stating they give up their legal vampire rights. That's the only way we can take them out."

"You're fucking kidding me," Carr said.

"Nope," Blunt said. "It has to be in writing. If we go in there and gas the place, or fill the tunnels with water and accidentally drown either or both brothers, we would be liable for their deaths. We could actually serve time."

"What are we supposed to do? Walk down there with a white flag and a pen?" Carr asked.

"Our fine city attorney didn't provide us with any ideas, he just said he has to have a signed waiver in his office before we proceed," Blunt replied.

"Why don't we seal off all the entrances and starve them out?" Schultz asked.

"I like that idea actually," Blunt said. "But we have to let the brothers out before we do that, or like I said, get them to sign off that they refuse."

"So now what?" Schultz asked.

"Well, I'm open to ideas," Blunt replied.

The room was silent for a moment, then Klein spoke up. "What about a remotely operated vehicle, like they use on the bomb squad?"

"Good idea, not sure if we can get a radio signal through the concrete. It might make it a hundred yards and stop dead," Blunt said.

"Put a man in it, like R2D2," Carr said with a grin.

"We'd have to build something from scratch."

"I have an idea," Schulz said. "My fat grandma drives one of those electric scooters. It will run for hours all over the place. Hell, she drives it out in traffic."

"The driver would be easy pickings," Gary said.

"Not if we put a cage around the top, around the driver," Schultz said.

"Like a shark cage on wheels?" Blunt asked.

"Sure, it would work great," Schultz replied.

"But what if it gets stuck?" Blunt asked.

"Fuck, I can't think of everything," Schultz said.

"No, no, I like your idea, I think it'll work. We just need to work the bugs out in case something happens."

"Like one of those zombie vampire fuckers shoving a big stick through the cage and into whoever's driving," Gary said.

"The cage could be solid with a viewport," Schultz said.

"Then how do we hand the form to the vampires? Through the hole? It would need robot arms, I think this is getting too complicated," Carr said.

Blunt wrote down the best answers and tapped his pen on the pad. "I think we could do a wrought iron cage mounted to the scooter and have the driver wear a Kevlar suit and helmet."

"That's a lot of work just to deliver a sheet of paper," Carr said.

"Yes it is, but we are required by law to do so," Blunt said. "If we are all in agreement, we need to pick out who's driving."

"I'll do it," Klein said. "I've driven my grandma's scooter before."

"How hard is it to drive an electric scooter?" Carr asked.

"It can be tricky if you're not used to it," Klein replied.

"I see old ladies driving down the street next to semi's and all sorts of shit and never have I seen a dead old lady who was hit by a car driving a scooter," Carr said.

"Do you want to drive it?" Blunt asked.

"Fuck no," Carr said. "I don't want you to think this guy is a hero just because he knows how to drive a scooter. They have those in department stores for fat old ladies now."

Blunt raised his pen and pointed at Klein. "You'll be our driver. Anyone here know how to weld?"

It took six days to find a scooter and assemble the parts into a mobile delivery unit. The scooter was bulky and difficult to maneuver inside the cage, but with practice, Klein was able to traverse the practice track set up in the parking lot. The Kevlar suit wasn't too bulky and he was able to move around inside the cage without much difficulty. Now it was a matter of setting up the time and getting the unit winched down the elevator shaft into the tunnel. Once the scooter was moving towards the old city hall building, there was no turning back until he reached the end. The width of the tunnel was too narrow to spin around and getting stuck was not an option.

The day of contact with the vampire brothers, Klein climbed into the cage wearing his Kevlar suit and was sealed inside. The door to the cage was tack welded instead of hinged so the zombie vampires couldn't rip it open. The scooter was lowered down the elevator shaft and pointed in the direction of the old city hall. Tucked inside the Kevlar suit, Klein kept the manila envelope containing the legal papers to be signed to waive their rights to rescue.

Over his headset radio, Klein gave his ok and took off down the dark hallway. His scooter was equipped with headlights and he could see very well. Not like the last time he was in the tunnel being chased out by zombie vampires. Using the g.p.s. attached to the frame of the scooter, Blunt and the rest of the crew could monitor the scooters progress as it moved further into the tunnel complex and the video cameras attached showed what Klein was seeing.

"How's it going?" Blunt asked over the radio.

"So far so good," Klein replied. The tunnel was clear and there was no evidence of what Carr had done when he let off a gas canister into the tunnel. The zombie vampires that were killed blocked the gas from entering the main chamber and the zombie vampires that found the dead brought them back and consumed them. It was as if the dead were never there.

The ride was smooth for the most part and Blunt figured that the scooter would have to travel a half mile to get to the pit where they saw Cyprian and Doran. Klein was well prepared for the trip and was having no problems driving along the pathway keeping an eye out for anything moving. In his mind he played over and over what he would do if he came across a zombie vampire with only a pistol to defend himself. He didn't know what he would run into once he made it to the main chamber, it seemed there were a lot of zombie vampires. Would then let him through to the office to see the brothers or would they treat him like a toy?

"Fifty feet," Blunt said.

"I hear you," Klein said. "I can see light up a head."

The scooter continued down the tunnel and Klein slowed down. Once at the end he slowly made a right turn into the main chamber and immediately saw a zombie vampire hunched down leaning against a wall. The zombie vampire looked at the scooter but didn't move. It was like it was an everyday occurrence. Klein drove around the zombie vampire and came across another, then another until he was surrounded by them. The walkway surrounding the old freshwater pit was clear enough to traverse but zombie vampires were everywhere. Sitting, walking, mulling around, everywhere.

On the monitor above, the men could see what Klein could see and they felt scared for him. One wrong turn, or one good shove from a zombie vampire and Klein would be stranded with no backup plan. "How are you doing?" Blunt asked over the headset microphone.

"As long as they stay out of my way I should be fine. I only have to get to the other side of the tank," Klein said as he pushed on the control lever of the scooter. As he moved along slowly, the zombie vampires parted allowing the scooter free range. It struck Klein odd that none of the zombie vampires gave him a second look and treated him like he was a basic annoyance. Once to the other side of the tank, Klein pulled up to the door of the office and honked the horn.

Doran heard the beep of the scooter horn and stepped out of the office. What he saw struck him funny, a scooter with a cage welded on it with a man inside wearing a black bomb squad suit. "And who are you?" Doran asked.

"Officer Jason Klein from the Vampire Protection Agency," Klein replied.

"Ok Officer Klein, what can I do for you?"

"I'm here to offer you the chance to leave this place before we seal it off and kill everything down here."

"Wait a second, let me get my brother," Doran said. The vampire stepped back into the office for a moment and back out. His brother Cyprian followed.

"What's going on?" Cyprian asked.

"This officer says he's offering us a chance to leave."

"That's very nice of him, why do we need to leave?"

"He says they're planning to kill all the zombie vampires and it seems they don't want to kill us in the process."

"Is that right?" Cyprian asked Klein.

"That is correct, you're a protected species and we can't kill you, unless you sign a waiver stating you don't want to be saved."

"A waiver? How funny," Cyprian said. "Did you bring one along?"

Klein fished the envelope out from under his suit. There was a slit put in the webbing of the iron mesh so he could transfer the paperwork out of the cage. He fumbled with the envelope, lined it up with the slot and pushed it out to Cyprian. Once in his hand, Cyprian pulled out the paperwork and read what the city attorney had prepared.

"What does it say?" Doran asked.

"Pretty much what our man in the cage said. Says here we are being offered the opportunity to give up our rights so we can be exterminated with the rest of the zombie vampires. There is a place on the bottom to sign if we refuse to leave."

"What if we refuse to sign?"

"Yes officer, what if we refuse to sign?" Cyprian asked.

"You're on camera, they can use the transmission as a record."

"Then why bother to sign at all?"

"It's more official," Klein replied.

"Did you bring a notary?" Cyprian joked.

"No, now are you going to leave or not?"

"I don't know, we want to think about it first."

"How long does it say we have to decide?" Doran asked.

Cyprian scanned the document and replied. "It doesn't say, I assume your city attorney thought we'd be packed and ready to go on a moment's notice. Tell your city attorney we need time to think this over."

"How much time?" Klein asked.

"I don't know, a month maybe, we have new company and I don't want to rush her out the door."

"Company? Who?"

Cyprian stepped back inside the office and said something Klein couldn't hear. Then a woman stepped outside and stood next to Cyprian and Doran. She wasn't a zombie vampire. "This is Jaycee, she's our new friend."

Klein didn't know what to do, he wasn't prepared to meet anyone besides the brothers. "You can take her with you," Klein replied.

"Where would we go? We need time to prepare. Thirty days' notice is the norm isn't it?" Cyprian asked.

"You're not a renter and the city isn't your landlord. If you don't sign the paper the city attorney will come up with another plan to get you out," Klein said.

"Tell you what, I need forty eight hours to decide, that's not unreasonable. If I decide to give up my legal rights, I'll sign the paper and send it out with one of my beasts. Make sure you don't kill it before it hands you the envelope."

"What if you decide to leave?"

"If I do, I'll make a note on your form saying so."

"Fine with me, it's your neck," Klein said.

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# Chapter 17

# Hostage

"You don't have to use that silly contraption if you don't want to, my beasts won't touch you, they had a feast and won't feed again for days," Cyprian said.

"Feasted on who? I didn't hear reports of anyone missing," Klein replied

"On the beasts you gassed, you must not have been at the last raid."

"Actually I was, what are you talking about? We didn't gas anything."

"Someone did, we had to dig twenty three dead zombie vampires out of the tunnel. We have the gas canister in my office, do you want to see it?"

"Sure," Klein said.

Cyprian stepped into the office and brought the gas can back out. He held it up so Klein and the cameras could see it. On the surface, watching the video feed, Schultz realized that Carr had used a gas can and had lied about losing it.

"Who used gas?" Blunt asked. He looked at his men and expected an answer. Nobody said anything.

By now, Carr had replaced his gas can from the supply room and there was no way to trace who took it. It was a general supply and came out of a box in the locked room.

"Nobody wants to fess up?" Blunt asked. Clicking his microphone, Blunt spoke to Klein in his headset. "Get the canister, I want to check it for prints."

Carr freaked out when he heard what Blunt said. He knew he was busted. He didn't remember wearing gloves and figured his prints were burned onto the can forever. So he decided to lie again. "It was my can," Carr said.

"What? I specifically said no gas," Blunt said.

"I lost the can, off my belt, one of the zombie vampires must have picked it up and pulled the tab on accident."

That explanation sounded plausible, it made Blunt think twice about his request to Klein. He tapped the microphone again and said, "Forget it, we have it figured out up here. Carr lost one and a zombie vampire found it and set it off."

"My commander said one of our men lost a canister during the raid and that one of your zombie vampires found it and set it off," Klein said.

"Maybe so," Cyprian said. "They are dumb beasts. Probably tried to eat it. In any case, you move along and have a nice day. We'll get back to you soon."

"Before I go, I was supposed to give you a radio, we don't have any way of communicating with you down here."

"Where is it? That slot is too small to slide out a radio."

"It's strapped to the frame of the chair under my seat. It has long life batteries and a power cord if you ever get electricity down here."

Doran stepped around to the back of the chair and unclipped the radio from the chair. He turned the power on and pressed the speak button. "Hello, is anyone there?" Doran asked.

Blunt heard the voice and replied on his radio. "This is Commander Blunt, too whom am I speaking?" Blunt could see Doran on the view screen but needed something to say.

"My name is Doran Dalca, and who are you?"

"This is Commander James Blunt from the Vampire Protection Agency. How are you doing today?"

"I'm doing fine," Doran replied. "This is fun."

"Are you getting those papers signed?" Blunt asked.

"Not today, we're too busy, but we'll think about it and get back to you later," Doran replied.

Blunt shook his head in disgust. The longer the brothers stalled, the longer he had to wait to put any plans into motion. He had a copy of the waiver and scanned it to see if there was a time constraint on it. There wasn't. Now the agency was back to where they started from. An unsigned waiver meant they couldn't do anything that might endanger Doran, Cyprian or the girl. Then Blunt wondered about this girl, where did she come from? He picked up his radio and asked, "Where did the girl come from?"

"I'll let her tell you," Doran said.

"Doran handed Jaycee the radio and she replied, "The zombie vampires brought me here."

"Are you ok? Are they treating you well?"

Jaycee didn't want to tell Blunt that she was a vampire so she didn't. "Yes, I'm fine," she replied.

"Are they holding you against your will?"

Jaycee looked at Cyprian to judge his reaction. He didn't relay any information.

"I'm afraid to leave, "Jaycee replied.

"Have they made threats against you?"

"No."

"Ask them if you can go."

Jaycee didn't want to go, not yet, these two men were the only other vampires she knew besides Tynice and her daughters and she didn't know what it would be like to be among humans again. She needed time to think. "I think I want to stay for a while," Jaycee replied.

"Stay? Why?" Blunt asked.

"I just do," Jaycee replied.

"If they're holding you against your will, say so, we need to know."

"I don't know if they're holding me against my will, they haven't said anything. I'm afraid if I try to leave they may hurt me."

"Put Doran back on the radio."

Jaycee handed Doran and radio and he asked, "What do you need?"

"I need to know if that girl is free to leave."

Doran shrugged his shoulders and replied, "We haven't discussed that yet."

"Stop being so evasive!" Blunt yelled. "Send her out!"

"Give me that," Cyprian said grabbing the radio from Doran's hand.

"You're going to have to have some patience, she just got here and we haven't decided what we're going to do yet."

"What you're going to do? Is she a hostage?" Blunt asked.

"Goodbye," Cyprian said and clicked off the radio. He looked at Klein who was still in his little robot cage and said, "You be on your way, I've had enough of the Vampire Protection Agency for one day."

Klein backed up and spun his chair around leaving the paperwork with Cyprian. He drove the chair back along the pathway through the zombie vampires along the edge of the pit. That was until he came across one zombie vampire blocking his path holding a three foot long steel pipe. Klein swallowed hard and backed up hitting a zombie vampire who was blocking his retreat.

"You said I could go!" Klein yelled to Cyprian who was halfway back into the office.

"I guess there wasn't enough to feed them all, sorry," Cyprian said and closed the door.

The zombie vampire shoved the pipe under the scooter seat and used it as a pry bar to pull the cage off the scooter. The welds held tight and the pipe bent under the pressure. Again and again the zombie vampire shoved the pipe up and down trying to tear something loose until it heard a crack. The seat, not the weld broke loose and snapped under the pressure. Klein felt the seat give way and started sliding to the left.

Now realizing it was getting somewhere, the zombie vampire shoved harder until the seat broke completely loose and detached from the chair taking Klein and the cage with it to the floor. One his side, Klein called desperately for help over the radio. Blunt could see everything that was happening over the video feed but couldn't do anything to help. All he could do was watch the zombie vampires crowd around and obstruct his view of the room.

"The cage is still holding," Schultz said.

"Yeah, but for how long," Blunt said. Then they watched as the cage was tossed over the edge of the pit and landed on the floor below. The screen went blank as the transmitter was smashed on the ground.

"They can't get to him," Blunt said.

"We need to initiate a rescue!" Schultz said.

"How? The one idea we had failed and now Klein is trapped. And I don't think that cage is going to last long."

"You're going to let him die?"

"What choice do I have? It would be suicide for us to go after him and the law is on their side," Blunt replied. "With him trapped down there, we can't use gas or anything else. We'd kill him in the process. All we can do is wait them out."

"I think we should bore down from above and extract him that way," Schultz said. "We could send down an assault team, extract the brothers, Klein and the girl and gas those zombie vampire fuckers!"

"We can't pick them out of a thousand, that's insane," Blunt said.

"So you're going to let him die?"

"No, I'm not, we're going downtown and speaking to the city attorney, there has to be a legal way of handling this. They are tying our hands and letting innocent people die."

"They did that when they issued vampires permits to kill, you think anything's going to change?" Schultz asked.

"My officer is on the list, I don't know about the girl but as far as I'm concerned, we have a legal obligation to save Klein, not just moral."

Klein didn't last ten minutes, the zombie vampires found more pipe and popped open the cage like a can of tuna. He was devoured and his scooter was shoved back in a corner along with the remains of the cage.

Doran sat in the office along with Jaycee and his brother Cyprian. "What do you want to do?" Doran asked.

Cyprian tossed the waiver on the desk and let out a deep breath. "I don't think we should sign it," Cyprian replied.

"Why not?"

"If we sign it, they gas us, if we don't, they have a legal obligation to save us. I don't feel like being gassed."

"But we're vampires, gas won't kill us," Doran replied.

"Are you sure? Things have changed over the years."

Doran didn't know for sure, maybe his brother was right. "But we are protected, they can't harm us."

"They can't kill us, but they can toss us in prison. I'm sure harboring zombie vampires or conspiring with them is a felony," Cyprian replied.

"We haven't done anything wrong, it's not a crime to live," Doran said.

"I think they know more than you think. Someone went to the agency and told them we were planning to take over the world or something."

"But that's not true, we weren't planning on taking over, just living side by side."

"You're too sentimental," Cyprian said.

Jaycee listened to the brothers and tried to figure out what was going on. "How long have you lived down here?" Jaycee asked.

"About six months," Cyprian replied.

"What made you decide to live down here with these things?"

Doran piped up, "Cyprian has a power complex, and he thought he could rule them."

"And how did that turn out?" Jaycee asked.

"Not well, they don't work together, too many chiefs and not enough Indians. Plus it's hard to communicate with them," Doran replied.

"It's getting better!" Cyprian snapped back. "I'm making progress."

"Progress? It took you two months just to get them to stay in the pit, they used to roam all over the place and we could never get them together. What kind kingdom is that when your subjects act like retarded cats?" Doran asked.

"That's not nice," Jaycee said.

"Don't be so politically correct," Cyprian said. "This isn't your job, I'm not going to fire you."

Jaycee shook her head in confusion. "I don't see what the issue is here, I don't see a crime. Are you sure it's against the law to live with zombie vampires?" Jaycee asked.

"I have no idea, but I'm not waltzing out of here to find out," Cyprian said.

"Get a lawyer, find out," Jaycee said.

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# Chapter 18

# Lawyer up

The city attorney had a cluttered office. His desk was filled with stacks of papers, boxes of court documents and whatever wouldn't fit on his conference table. He didn't spent much time in the office but today had an appointment with Commander Blunt and Officer Gary Heller, who was getting used to his new position at the agency. The city attorneys name was Tony Hood and today he was in for a fight.

"I have an idea why you're here," Hood said, "But go ahead and tell me anyway."

"The vampire brothers refused to sign the waiver, now we're stuck," Blunt said.

"I see, and what do you want me to do about it?"

"Talk to a judge, get us permission to gas the place," Blunt replied.

"It doesn't work that way, a judge can't change the law just because he feels like it that takes an act of legislation."

"A judge can interpret the law, and in this case I think you've misinterpreted it."

"You think I can't understand the basic concept behind the Endangered Species Act? Let me explain it to you, anything on the list is protected. That means you can't kill it. What part of that don't you understand?" Hood asked.

"That was originally written for animals that couldn't hire their own lawyers, like bald eagles and polar bears," Blunt replied.

"Polar bears are on the endangered species list?" Hood asked.

"I don't know, I was making up an example. My point is that vampires never should have been included on the list in the first place. They're human, not animals."

"I could find a biologist that would testify differently,"

"I bet you could, let me make this more plain. Vampires talk, they were derived from humans, they don't walk on four legs, bark, growl or live in a tree. They are covered by a law that was designed to save animals from being destroyed by a dam, or over hunting. You're allowing a technicality to keep us from killing the real problem, the zombie vampires they are protecting."

"Not my problem," Hood said.

"Every human that is killed by a zombie vampire is on you. Get me? On you!" Blunt yelled.

"Run for office, get the law changed. My hands are tied."

"You're not even going to try?"

"I did try, I gave you a waiver to have signed and you failed. Where is it anyway?"

"Cyprian has it, said he wanted to think about it," Blunt replied.

"There you go, give him a chance, he'll sign it."

"Who would sign a document allowing themselves to be killed? As long as he doesn't sign it he's safe."

"He's not safe, he's leading a rebellion against the human population, that's a felony," Hood said.

"How do you even know that?" Blunt asked.

"I have an informant."

"Who?"

"You're an officer of the law, do you name your informants?" Hood asked.

Blunt pushed himself back into his seat. He knew he was getting nowhere with Hood. "Do me a favor and run my idea past Judge Jordon, see what he says."

"I don't think that's a good use of my time. The judge will agree with me. The Endangered Species Act has been around since the seventies. It's held up for decades."

"You won't even try?" Blunt asked.

"I don't see the point," Hood replied.

"Then who is responsible for the deaths that could have been prevented?" Blunt asked.

"No one, it's an act of God," Hood replied.

"No, it's an act of stupidity. By the time the law could be changed, this city could be wiped out. We may become a city of zombie vampires instead of humans. Have you seen one? Do you know what they look like? What they do?"

"I'm a man of the law, I can't get emotionally involved every time one of those things decides to kill someone. You can still go out and kill the ones that don't live in the tunnel system, I bet there are a few hundred running around right now in the streets."

"Yes there are, but they're not organized. They don't have two intelligent vampire brothers leading them into a revolt against the human race." Blunt said.

"Sorry, this is out of my hands, go out and do what you can. I'm sorry," Hood said.

"You pathetic fuck," Blunt said.

"Like I said, I'm a man of the law, no judge would touch this."

Blunt stood up and Gary followed.

"Why did you come along?" Hood asked Gary, "You didn't say a word."

"They don't pay me enough to talk, I only make forty grand a year," Gary said.

"That's the spirit, it's all about the money."

Cyprian stood at the office window looking out at the pit as he watched the zombie vampires walk in pointless repetition. Doran knew something was wrong but didn't want to upset his brother. Cyprian turned and faced Doran and Jaycee, he was visibly upset, pissed to be more specific. "I'm not getting a lawyer and going to court," Cyprian said. "I didn't come down here to get my tail chased back to the surface."

"If we play our cards right, we can get immunity," Doran said.

"I don't want to play my cards, I want to rule, if you want to leave go a head, take the girl with you," Cyprian said as he sat at his desk.

"I might do that," Doran replied.

"I knew it you fucking coward. You've always been a pussy. Living in my shadow, but no more. You can get your shit and leave anytime," Cyprian said.

"I don't want us to be this way brother, if you stay you will either be killed or end up in prison, you're outnumbered a thousand to one."

"I have a thousand to rule over, I will be king."

"Look out there, at those beasts in the pit, you call that ruling? You found one that can speak, and it functions on the level of a child. What makes you think you can rule? When they realize you can't feed them any longer, they will turn on you."

"Then I need to feed them," Cyprian said.

"How do you propose to do that?"

"I will take a hunting party out on a raid, take out a school, or a department store full of humans. Once they realize I can provide for them, they will be mine."

"As soon as you reach the surface they will mow you down and you know it. What defenses do you offer?" Doran asked.

"Numbers, we have more than they can handle."

"Your plan hinges on the fact the zombie vampires are too stupid to know you're letting them be slaughtered?" Doran asked.

"I can get more food with an organized attack than they can separately and they know it. They crave leadership and I'm going to lead them. I will be their king."

Jaycee spoke up, "He's right, they will be more powerful together than they would be apart."

Doran looked at Jaycee and Cyprian and shook his head. It was as if he was listening to the most stupid idea he had ever heard. "How long will that last? Every time you go out on a hunt, you lose population. Eventually your numbers will be unsustainable."

"Then we make more," Cyprian replied.

"More? You're creating a vicious cycle. Go out and hunt, get killed, and then make more that you have to feed? The more I listen to you, the more I think you're insane," Doran said.

"You want to live on the surface with the humans go ahead. You can get your two yearly permits and live in a studio apartment. You can take your girlfriend with you."

"Hold on," Jaycee said. "Why are you pissed at me? I agreed with you."

Cyprian ran his hand through his hair and looked up to the ceiling. "Sometimes I feel like everyone's against me. My own brother won't back me up, I assumed you wouldn't either."

"I'm new to all of this, I don't have an opinion either way, "Jaycee said.

Doran took the opportunity to try to persuade Jaycee. "Cyprian has always had dreams of power, even as children he was a bully. I don't think he knows any other way."

"A bully?" Cyprian asked. "No, I knew what I wanted, and I knew how to get it, but I wasn't a bully."

"Our classmates feared you and you know it. Don't try to deny it, I was there."

"You were a pussy then and a pussy now."

"If I'm such a pussy why did you keep me around?" Doran asked.

"Because I was stupid, but I'm stupid no more. Get out, I don't need you anymore."

"Anymore? That implies you needed me at one point."

"I did, I didn't think the zombie vampires would listen to me alone, so having you around helped. But now I have control so you're worthless."

Doran stood up and walked over to Cyprian who sat behind his desk. "Worthless? I'll show you worthless," Doran said. His jaw was clenched and his hands were fists.

"What are you going to do, hit me?" Cyprian asked. He mocked his brother.

Doran knew that there wasn't much he could do to his brother. He could fight him, toss him against the wall, but in the end the pain would go away and his brother would heal. It was the endless cycle of the vampire. "If you want me to go I will, but realize that your power will be short lived and you will either be killed or locked up. Mark my words."

"Mark your words?" Cyprian said with a grin. "You were always so dramatic."

Doran stepped away from the desk and left the room. He disappeared out of view of the office window and was gone.

Cyprian looked to Jaycee who had been watching and listening to the conversation. "What do you think? Was I too hard on him?"

"You're an asshole," Jaycee replied.

"Yeah, maybe I am," Cyprian replied. "Are you going with him?"

"I might."

"Feel free, I have this under control now. The last thing I need is a woman slowing me down."

"You're a fuck head aren't you?" Jaycee asked.

"We all have our prejudices don't you know?"

Jaycee immediately thought about Tynice and how she called her a welfare vampire nigger. She knew she was no better than Cyprian. "Yeah, we do."

"If you want to stay that's fine, if you do anything to get in my way, I will let my beasts take you into the pit. You got me? I run this place."

"I'll think about it," Jaycee said. "Do you have any plans for a raid right now?"

"I've had a plan for months, I guess now is the time to put it in place. I see my breasts are getting hungry and restless. If I were truly an asshole I'd feed my brother to them, but one body won't be enough to quell their anxiety."

"That's nice of you not to kill your brother, "Jaycee said sardonically.

"I would never kill Doran that was in bad taste" Cyprian said. "He may be a pussy, but I love him all the same."

"About your plan?" Jaycee asked.

"Oh yes, I am going to form a small hunting party, take out about twenty of my zombie vampires and attack a movie theater. We should be able to take about one human per zombie."

"Then what?"

"Bring them back here and toss them in the pit. Nothing tastes as good as human to these animals. They can feed on themselves for a while, but they grow old and stagnant on the same thing all the time. As you can imagine, human is a delicacy compared to zombie vampire meat."

"I've never had either," Jaycee replied.

"I have, zombie vampire is like eating a three day old dead mule. Human is like the best steakhouse steak you can imagine."

"In a way that grosses me out, but in another it sounds great, the human that is."

"Now that you're a vampire, your taste in food will change. You will find beef disgusting, pork and chicken will make you nauseous. The only thing you will crave will be the people you used to be."

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# Chapter 19

# Pay inside

One the way home from work, Gary stopped at a gas station to fill up and get some coffee. He always carried a gun off duty and wondered how many people carried concealed weapons as well. A quick class and certification would allow anyone to carry legally and with the threat of zombie vampires a constant threat, it made perfect sense. After his tank was filled, he put the nozzle back on the pump and headed to the store to get coffee. It was then he saw a zombie vampire standing by the dumpster in the dark. It didn't move, it was looking around like it was lost.

Gary pulled his gun from the holster and slowly walked over to the hunched over grey beast. For some reason, he decided to try to talk to it. "What are you doing here?" Gary yelled. He kept the gun pointed at the zombie vampire. The animal looked up at Gary and didn't respond so Gary stepped in closer and made sure the zombie vampire saw the gun. "You know what this is?" Gary asked. The zombie vampire made a grunting sound and looked away for a moment.

Then a voice called out from behind Gary. It was a woman who pulled up to gas her SUV. "What's going on?" she asked. Then she saw the zombie vampire and yelled, "Kill it!"

Gary took careful aim at the animal's face and was knocked to the ground by a zombie vampire he didn't see from behind. As he stood up, he could see the woman in the SUV being pulled from the vehicle and attacked by two other zombie vampires. Gary got his focus back and took two shots at the vampire that hit him. By the third shot the beast was gone behind the building along with the first one. The woman was also gone and her truck sat empty.

Then a clerk ran out of the store and yelled, "Are you ok?"

"Yes," Gary yelled back.

"Do you want me to call the police?" she asked.

"Yes, call 911, tell them a woman's been abducted."

The clerk ran back inside and made the call. Gary looked around and found no sign of the woman, no screams, no nothing. He entered the store and watched the clerk speak on the phone to the 911 operator. Then she hung up. "That scared the piss out of me," she said. "Are you a cop?"

"I work for the agency," Gary replied.

"The agency? Why did you shoot at that thing? I thought you were supposed to protect them."

"Not those kind, we only protect regular vampires, not those zombie fuckers. We shoot those on sight," Gary said.

"Did you get one?"

"No, I don't think so."

"I've never seen one around here before, and I've worked here six years. What's this town coming too?"

"There's been a huge population explosion of zombie vampires over the last year. I'm surprised you don't have an armed guard here," Gary said.

"They pay me minimum wage, do you think they'll hire an armed guard?" she asked.

"Then you better be packing a gun."

"They don't allow it, company policy."

"How do they expect you to defend yourself?" Gary asked.

"They don't want us chasing robbers, they probably didn't think about zombie vampires."

"Fuck your policy, keep a gun hidden somewhere. One day you won't have an officer to defend you."

"If my boss finds out he'll fire me," she said.

"What's more important? Your job or your life?" Gary asked. "I need a coffee and I have gas, how much?"

The clerk tapped the screen and said, "Forty four fifty."

Gary handed her his debit card and paid for the gas and coffee. Then then poured his coffee and listened to the sirens as the police showed up. Fuck, he thought to himself, now he had to give a statement. He wouldn't get home for another half hour.

Back outside, Gary stood drinking his coffee as the first police car pulled up. Two officers got out of their vehicles and approached Gary. The first officer was a male, around thirty years old, the second, a younger chubby female with her hair pulled back in a ponytail. Gary read the name off the male officer's uniform, it read. "Snyder" No first name.

"Did you see what happened?" Snyder asked.

"Yes," Gary replied. "I work for the agency, I took a shot at one of them."

"We got a report that a female was abducted from her vehicle by a zombie vampire, is that correct?" Snyder asked.

"Yes."

"Did you make the call?"

"No, the clerk did, she's inside."

The female officer said she'd interview the clerk and left Gary and Snyder to interview Gary.

"What did you see?" Snyder asked.

"I saw a zombie vampire over by that dumpster. I pulled my weapon and was attacked from behind. When I got up the woman was gone," Gary said.

"Did you get a good look at the zombie vampire that attacked you?"

"They all look alike," Gary said. "Grey, humped over, no hair." Then Gary noticed that when Snyder talked, he seemed to be covering something up. It was like he was hiding something.

"Yeah I know, but I have to ask," Snyder said.

"Are you a vampire?" Gary asked.

Snyder hesitated, but replied, "Yes."

"Hey, that's cool with me, I admire when you guys get jobs," Gary said.

"You guys?"

"You're not offended are you? I mean, I work for the agency, it's my job to protect guys like you.

"Guys like me?" Snyder asked. He was getting more offended by the minute.

"Ok, I'm sorry, I know you guys get a little sensitive over the whole vampire thing," Gary said.

"I'm not sensitive."

Gary shook his head. "Then why do you cover your fangs?"

"It puts some people off," Snyder said. "In my line of work it's best not to rile anyone up."

"I see," Gary said. "Like covering a tattoo."

"No, not like covering a tattoo. This isn't something I did after getting drunk at a frat party, I was born this way."

"I realize that, nobody would intentionally become a vampire," Gary said. He was digging himself a bigger hole.

"I'm not offended by what I am," Snyder said. "Now can we get back to the report?"

"There's not much more to say, once the woman was gone, the clerk called 911."

"What happened to the other zombie vampires?" Snyder asked.

"One ran behind the building, I didn't see where the others went," Gary replied.

"Ok, let's see what Rhonda got from the clerk."

The two men walked over to the door and opened it. Gary stepped inside and immediately noticed the counter was covered in blood and the female officer's body on the floor by the restroom. Snyder followed and moved around Gary to get a better look. He pressed the call button on his radio transmitter and relayed what he saw.

"Where's the clerk?" Snyder asked.

"I don't see her," Gary replied.

Snyder ran to the counter and looked to the floor behind. He was careful not to get any blood on him and spun around looking back towards pop coolers, nothing. There were bloody footprints and drag marks leading to the back room that caught his attention. "Go around back!" Snyder yelled at Gary.

Gary took off out the door and ran past the dumpster to the back of the building. It was too dark to see much, but he did see intermittent blood markings on the ground leading across the alley and into the neighbor's yard. There were no signs of any zombie vampires or anyone else for that matter.

At the front of the building, Gary was met by two more squad cars that were dispatched to the scene. It would be a long night and he knew he wouldn't be getting home anytime soon. He felt sorry for the officer and the clerk, but he was burnt out on death and had a way of detaching himself from this sort of thing.

Once back home, Gary fixed a sandwich, grabbed a soda and sat down in front of the television. Before he could turn the television on, he heard a knock at the door. It was past eight in the evening and he wasn't expecting company. He got up, pulled back the curtain on his window and saw a black woman standing at his door dressed in a short skirt and light jacket. He had no idea who she was.

Gary opened the door and greeted the woman holding his soda in his hand. "Hi," was all he said.

"Are you Gary Heller?" the woman asked. "The agency cop?"

"Yes, that's me, I'm off duty right now," Gary replied. "You can call the agency, they have a toll free number."

"I don't need to talk to the agency, I need to talk to you," The woman said. It was Tynice, the vampire that turned Jaycee into a vampire. Her daughters were not with her, they were back at Everett's house.

"Ok, what about?" Gary asked.

"Can I come in?" Tynice asked.

Gary let Tynice in and offered her a chair. Gary sat down and took a bite of his sandwich.

"I have a proposition for you," Tynice said. "I don't usually make a practice of this, but I'm in need of something and you might be able to help me."

"What can I do?" Gary asked.

"You work for the agency that issues the killing permits. I used both of mine up and need a few more."

"You're a vampire?"

"Yes," Tynice replied.

"You want me to get you illegal permits?" Gary asked.

"Yes, is that a problem?" Tynice asked.

"Sort of," Gary replied. "First, I work in law enforcement, not in the office, and second, I could go to jail. What makes you think I'd help you in the first place?"

"I don't, I asked around and you're the only agency agent anyone knew of," Tynice replied.

"You picked me at random? You realize you can go to jail just for asking."

"Are you recording me?" Tynice asked.

"No."

"Didn't think so, I'll deny it if you try to arrest me. So are you saying you won't help me?"

Gary chewed on his sandwich and thought about what she asked. "What's in it for me?"

"I can pay you a thousand dollars for three permits," Tynice said.

"I'm not sure, but I'm guessing it's at least five years in prison and a ten thousand dollar fine for each offence if I get caught. One thousand dollars isn't enough to cover that kind of risk," Gary replied.

Tynice stood up and removed her jacket. She then slid her skirt and panties to the floor exposing her clean shaved pussy. "I'll let you tap that as well, as often as you want."

Gary looked at the half naked female vampire standing before him. He liked what he saw and for a moment considered her offer. But the risk was still way too high. "I want a test drive before I commit to anything."

"You want to fuck me for free?" Tynice asked.

"Yes, is that a problem?" Gary asked.

"I don't give anything away for free."

"And I don't risk my job for a vampire I just met. For all I know you're an agency mole working for the internal review. This is probably a test."

"You think internal review would show you their pussy?" Tynice asked.

"Yes, yes I do."

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# Chapter 20

# First attack

The night of the raid came and Cyprian was ecstatic. Doran decided not to leave his brother and begrudgingly agreed to lead a group of zombie vampires on an attack. Jaycee also decided to stay and teamed up with Cyprian who was leading the larger offence. The target this night was the Grand Cinema Theater. It was a single screen theater located near the highway. Tonight was Friday night and the house would be packed, easy pickings for an organized army.

Cyprian led a group of twenty zombie vampires out a secret tunnel exit he created months ago. An exit that he alone knew of and wouldn't be on any survey map. The exit led into an alley that ended at the edge of town near a grassy field. Once the group was away from the alley and off the pavement, they were free to move as they wished. Without a heat signature, they were basically invisible.

Cyprian led his group of twenty to the rear of the theatre and Doran led his smaller group of five to the south side where they hid in the dark waiting. The plan was simple, Doran would lead his group into the theater and scare everyone out so Cyprian and his group could pick them off in the parking lot. Once a zombie vampire had a human, dead or alive, they would run back to the exit and back into the tunnel. Cyprian's only fear was that the zombie vampires wouldn't understand his commands or the plan and run amok killing everyone in sight.

If the zombie vampires didn't follow direction, the police would show up and mow them down like grass on the lawn. For now the beasts stayed in a group and followed Cyprian. Jaycee followed from behind and watched for stragglers who might wander off. Jaycee felt very odd doing this. She was used to odd jobs, but nothing as strange as zombie vampire wrangling.

Cyprian checked the time on his watch. He told Doran to enter the theater at nine o'clock exactly. According to the readout, the raid was due any second.

"Listen to me," Cyprian said in a hushed voice to his zombie vampire herd. "We will attack very soon, only take one human and bring them back home, do you understand me?"

A general rumbling was heard among the crowd. Cyprian hoped this meant yes, and he would find out soon enough. He peered around the corner of the building and watched Doran lead his five zombie vampires into the lobby and disappear from view. Now his heart began to race anticipating the rush of humans from the entrance.

Then it happened, people ran out the front door screaming and Cyprian lost it. He yelled for his group to attack and stood back watching as all twenty ran out into the parking lot picking off humans like fish in a barrel. One after another, the humans were attacked, grabbed and pulled back. Some alive, some dead, but each animal found a human and dragged or carried them back and disappeared into the darkness towards home.

The entire episode lasted about five minutes, too short a time for the police to show up and do anything. Before the patrons knew it, the theater was cleared out and a crowd formed in the parking lot in defense of the attack. Only the attackers were long gone with twenty humans.

The trip back to the tunnel took less than three minutes. Everyone, including the zombie vampires were high on adrenaline and it took little effort to carry the humans, dead or alive. The ones who fought hard were silenced immediately with a quick snap of the neck and the rest were either dead or close to it. Down the shaft they went and through the tunnel to the main room where the rest of the zombie vampires waited in the pit.

Cyprian shouted directions and told the beasts to stack the humans on the floor against the wall. He didn't want them tossed in the pit yet despite a feeding frenzy that was growing every second. Then Doran showed up with his five and five more humans.

"What a fantastic night this has been brother!" Cyprian yelled.

Doran was less enthusiastic, but couldn't hold back a smile. "Yes, you did a great job," Doran replied.

Jaycee watched as the human bodies were stacked like wood against the wall. She could see that a few were still alive and at least one was screaming for help. "Are you going to show them mercy and kill them before you feed them to the masses?" Jaycee asked.

Cyprian looked to where Jaycee was referring and stepped over to the human who was yelling for help. Cyprian grabbed the human by the feet and dragged him out from under the stack and pulled him close to the edge of the pit.

"What are you doing?" Jaycee asked.

"I'm going to cement my power," Cyprian replied. "Help me drag him up to the stage."

Jaycee stepped over and took the human by the arms and Cyprian took him by the feet. Together they carried him kicking and screaming up to the stage and laid him down. It looked and sounded like he had a broken bone somewhere but no one knew where. The human rolled back and forth but couldn't stand on his own.

Cyprian climbed up onto the stage and raised his arms to get the attention of the zombie vampires in the pit. It was difficult to settle them down as they anticipated a feast at any moment. But Cyprian knew it was better to address them now that after as they would pay little attention to him on a full stomach. "Silence!" Cyprian yelled motioning with his arms to lower their sounds.

The crowd lowered their voices and soon it was quiet.

"I have brought you a feast!" Cyprian yelled. "With the help of your brothers, you will eat well tonight!"

The crowd erupted in shouts of joy.

Cyprian waited for the shouts do die down and yelled, "This is what I can do for you, what we can do together. We are stronger together and together we can destroy the humans!"

Another collective shouting reply.

"I promised to be your leader, if you follow me, you will not starve. You will not have to hunt on your own. You will survive and thrive. We will live with the human and the human will be forced to live with us. We will feed on them, we will make them provide for us. Together we can not only survive, but rule!" Cyprian yelled. "I give this human to you as a promise of my power over the human," Cyprian yelled motioning for Doran to assist him.

Doran joined Cyprian on the stage. "Together, I and my brother will lead you!" Cyprian yelled." And together, the brothers picked up the screaming human and tossed him into the pit. Immediately, zombie vampires attacked and tore the human to bits and devoured him. Cyprian held out his arm and stepped closer to the stack of humans on the floor against the wall. "Devour them as well!" Cyprian yelled and the group of five zombie vampires that assisted Doran began to toss the humans into the pit one by one. Some alive, most dead, but it didn't matter, Cyprian came through with what he promised and tonight the beasts in the pit were going to feast.

Cyprian walked back to the office and Doran and Jaycee followed. There was no use in watching the humans being devoured, they could watch it from the office window if they chose. Once inside the office, Cyprian took his seat behind the desk and Doran and Jaycee sat in chairs in front.

"What do you think of that?" Cyprian asked.

"Very impressive," Doran replied.

"What do you think of your brother and his ideas now?"

"You did well today, but what about the next time? I know there won't be a theater full of unsuspecting humans again. I would guess that no one will ever go to a movie again, or the theater will hire security. You had your Pearl Harbor, but they will have their Hiroshima."

Cyprian knew Doran was right, there would be no more sneak attacks. It would only take one to set off a chain that would be difficult to break. "Life is about change, the next time I will use different tactics," Cyprian said.

"They will attack us, now that you've shown you're willing to take the humans in mass quantities, they will change the law. We won't be protected for long."

"Don't worry brother, the liberals will save us."

"Doesn't matter now, I was a part of this and now they will hunt me down and kill me, what was I thinking?" Doran asked.

"They can't hunt you down, you're protected."

"I'm protected from death, but not prison. They can lock me up for as long as they choose. We killed twenty humans without a permit."

"Zombie vampires don't require a permit," Cyprian replied.

"The humans don't recognize zombie vampires as a viable species. They consider them a parasite, a virus to be exterminated."

"So what's your point? We didn't take the blood of any of the humans we took tonight. Technically we did nothing wrong in the eyes of the law," Cyprian said.

"We organized a killing party, we are an accessory to murder," Doran replied. "Twenty counts of murder."

"That's for the lawyers to decide, these beasts did the killing, I was along for the ride," Cyprian replied. It was obvious that Doran was getting the best of him.

"I think we should get a lawyer," Doran said.

"Are you kidding me? Do you think we'd get a fair day in a human court of law? I don't even know if vampires are covered under human law."

"We have rights," Doran said. "I know a lawyer who can help us."

"Is he a vampire?"

"No, he's human," Doran replied.

"Why is it I don't know this lawyer?"

"You've been too busy plotting your world domination to pay attention to anything else," Doran replied.

Cyprian looked to Jaycee who was listening intently trying not to see the blood fest occurring outside the office window. "What do you think?" Cyprian asked. "You're an accessory now."

"This is all too new to me, I don't know what to think," Jaycee replied.

"Have you ever tasted the blood of a human?"

"No."

"We should have saved one for you, it may have helped you form an opinion."

"Why do you say that?" Jaycee asked.

"Until you taste human blood, you don't know what it's like to be a vampire. It's like the first time you shoot heroin. Once you do, you can't go back, it changes you."

"I'll claim Stockholm syndrome if I have too," Jaycee said.

"I'm impressed, I didn't realize you were so smart," Cyprian said.

"I've seen it in a documentary."

"Give it time, you'll come around," Cyprian said.

"Come around to what? I think your brother is right, you can't sustain this for long. Right now the humans are doing everything they can think of to keep you from doing what you did again. When the food runs out, your army will turn on you and you'll be back to feeding them from their own ranks."

"Seems like I'm in the minority," Cyprian said. "I was sure this attack would change your minds, seems to have done the opposite."

"You bought some time," Jaycee said. "Did you have a second plan of attack or was this a one hit wonder?"

Cyprian shrugged his shoulders and looked out the window at the feast. "I have a few ideas," Cyprian said.

"And?"

"And I'll tell them when I need too, if you two are going to abandon ship, I may need to change them anyway. Seems I can't count on anyone but myself. What a couple of pathetic fucks you two are."

Doran spoke up, "I'm just being real. Come on brother, can't you see what's going on? You made a mistake, now end this before you get yourself killed!"

"The only mistake I made was trusting you. If you don't want to be my second in command, get the fuck out. I thought you were leaving once before and you stayed, this time if you can't support me, I will kick you out myself. I provide you with shelter and safety down here, go up top and get your own," Cyprian said.

"It's too late for that now, I'm an accessory to twenty counts of murder, and I can't leave!" Doran yelled.

"No one put a gun to your head," Cyprian replied.

"I realize that," Doran replied. "And now I have to live with it."

"Then I propose you get in line and do what I say. You can't go back, so you might as well make the best of it. And don't get some bright idea of turning me in to save your own hide, if I get an inkling you're not behind me one hundred percent, I'll have you tossed in the pit."

"I'm not behind you at all brother, I'll let you know that now. Do what you want to me if that makes you happy. I said I'll stay, I won't be happy about it, but I can't change time."

# 

# Chapter 21

# Hot and cold

Tynice slipped off her top, took off her bra and dropped it to the floor. She kicked off her heels and stood buck naked in Gary's living room. Ten minutes earlier, he didn't know this woman from a hole in the ground and now he was getting an erection in his pants looking at her glossy black skin and firm breasts.

"How do you want it?" Tynice asked.

"What are my options?" Gary asked with a smile.

"You said you wanted a test drive, I'm standing her naked, do something."

"Turn around and bend over," Gary said.

"You want it in my backside? I draw the line there honey, nobody sticks anything in my ass."

"I want to see your pussy from behind, don't worry, I'm not into anal," Gary said.

Tynice spun around and bent over like Gary asked. She had a nice wide round rear as smooth as glass with a perfect clam shell pussy. She brought her head around and looked at Gary. "You going to fuck it or what?" Tynice asked.

"Not yet, I like the show," Gary replied.

Tynice stood up and turned back around facing Gary. "I'm not putting on some Goddamn show, either you fuck me or forget it."

"Honestly, I've never fucked a black woman before, or a black vampire for that matter. I want to remember this so slow down."

Tynice stepped over to Gary and sat on his lap facing him with her legs on each side of his. She put her hands around his neck and kissed him on the lips. She was cold, like kissing a leather couch and her body gave Gary the chills. She leaned back and looked at the expression on Gary's face. He was grimacing.

"What's wrong?" Tynice asked.

"You're freezing," Gary replied.

"What did you expect?"

"I expected you to be room temperature at least."

"I am room temperature, you just think I'm freezing," Tynice said.

"This isn't going to work, I can't get it up if you're cold."

Tynice leaned back and shook her head. Her tits looked awesome to Gary, but he knew that were two sacks of ice cold sex death. "Come up with a plan mister," Tynice said. "You said you'd get me permits if I put out."

"No, I asked for a test drive."

Tynice was getting pissed. "You do have a shower right?"

"Yes," Gary replied.

"Turn on the hot water, we can fuck in there."

"That's a good idea, how long does it take for you to warm up?" Gary asked.

"Fuck I don't know."

"Ok, let's try," Gary said.

Tynice crawled off of Gary and waited for him to get off his chair. He led her to his shower room and turned on the hot water. As the room steamed up, he undressed and tossed his clothes in the hamper.

"Are you married?" Tynice asked as she looked around the room. She noticed women's accessories all around.

"Yes," Gary replied.

"What are the chances your wife will be home soon?"

"She works the evening shift at the hospital, she won't be home till after eleven," Gary replied.

Tynice reached out and grabbed Gary by his cock and looked at it. Her hand was cold and Gary backed off. "You got to stop that shit if you want to fuck me white boy," Tynice said.

"What if I stuck a popsicle up your pussy? Would you like that?" Gary asked.

"Not if it vibrated," Tynice replied with a grin.

Gary opened the door to the shower and let Tynice inside. "I'm going to turn off my phone and put it on the charger, you let that water warm you up," Gary said and left the shower room.

Tynice spun around slowly allowing the hot water to fall upon her naked body. The water felt good and the warmth gave her the shivers for some odd reason. Tynice was born a vampire so she never knew what it felt like to be warm, but she always enjoyed a hot shower and how it made her feel.

Gary stepped into the shower stall and felt the hot water splash all over. Tynice looked even better with the water dripping off her smooth polished black skin. He reached out and touched her around the waist and was relieved to feel she was no longer cold. "What does it feel like to go from seventy to ninety degrees so quickly?" Gary asked.

"Seventy doesn't feel bad to me and ninety feels like I'm in a sauna," Tynice replied. "How are we going to fuck in here?" Tynice asked looking around. "There's no room unless you sit on the floor with your legs hanging out the doorway."

"How long will you stay warm if we get out of the shower?" Gary asked.

"About ten minutes, depends on where I am. Did you turn up your heat in the house?"

"No, that's a good idea, and I have a space heater in the closet."

"This is getting way too complicated," Tynice said. "What if I just give you a blowjob here in the shower?"

Gary thought about it for a second. He really wanted more if he was going to try to get this woman more permits, but in the back of his mind he knew he had no intention of doing anything for her. He didn't have access to the permits, didn't know anyone who did and wasn't willing to risk losing his job for a blowjob. "Sure," Gary said and took a step back giving Tynice room to get down on her knees."

Tynice lowered herself and got into position. The water from the shower got in her eyes and she had to spit water out of her mouth constantly. She grabbed Gary's cock and put it in her mouth and to Gary's pleasant surprise, it felt warm. Tynice rocked back and forth bringing Gary's cock in and out her mouth stroking the shaft with a firm grip as she went.

Gary put his hands on her head and pretended to lead her as she moved in and out rocking his hips as she went in rhythm. Then Gary heard a noise from outside the shower room. It sounded like a door shutting but he wasn't sure. In a panic, he shoved Tynice back and pulled his cock out of her mouth.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Tynice asked. She was very annoyed.

"Shut up, I heard something," Gary said.

"You said your wife wouldn't be home till eleven."

"I know," Gary said. "I heard a door shut."

"Do you have kids?"

"Yeah, they moved out a few years ago, nobody else would be in the house but her."

"That's fucking awesome," Tynice said. "Maybe you're hearing things."

Then the bathroom door opened and a female figure stood on the other side of the frosted glass. "Honey, I'm home early," the woman's voice said. It was Gary's wife Cheryl.

Gary slowly turned to hide Tynice from his wife's view. "What happened?"

"Michelle asked me to trade a half shift so she could go to her daughters baby shower. I'm going to work for her Sunday night for a half shift. Do you want me to get in the shower with you?"

Freaking out, Gary did his best to not panic and tried to stay calm. The frosted glass was the only thing keeping his wife from seeing the naked vampire woman kneeling down on the other side. "I'm almost done honey, I'll be out in a minute," Gary replied.

"Are you sure? We don't get chances like this to fuck very often, usually I don't get home till almost midnight."

Gary was screwed, normally he would take every opportunity to fuck his wife that came along. She was hot, even for a forty something mother of two. If he turned her down, she'd know something was up. But there was no way to get Tynice out of the shower before his wife got in. He had to think of something fast. "Can you get me some clothes first? I forgot to grab some before I got out of the shower and I don't want to get the floor wet."

There was a pause while Gary looked at his wife's form through the frosted glass. Then she replied, "Isn't there any towels in there?" Cheryl asked.

"Yeah, but I don't want to put on dirty clothes," Gary replied.

"Sure, what do you want to wear?"

"You can grab my robe? It's hanging behind the bedroom door."

"I know where it is, I'm the one who hangs it up when you leave it on the bed. Why are you acting so weird?" Cheryl asked.

"Weird?" Gary asked back.

"Do you usually take showers in the evening? I thought you took showers in the morning before work?"

"I got some blood on me today after work, there was a zombie vampire attack at the gas station I was getting gas at and I got roped into helping out," Gary replied. That was a plausible explanation based on true events, except he didn't get any blood on himself at all. And then he realized his wife would look at his clothes lying on the floor and find out he was lying.

"I don't see any blood on your clothes," his wife said. In his line of work, she was used to washing blood on a regular basis.

"I only got it on my arms, I was careful this time," Gary replied.

"Ok, I'll be right back," she said and left the bathroom.

Gary opened the shower stall door and motioned for Tynice to get out.

"What do you expect me to do?" Tynice asked as she stood up.

Then Gary realized Tynice's clothes were still lying on the floor in the living room. If he pulled this off it would be a miracle. First he'd have to get rid of Tynice, or hide her, and then get her clothes, or have her get her clothes or fuck it, he was screwed. "You need to get your clothes and get out!" Gary barked as quietly as possible.

"You want me to walk to the living room naked and wet while your wife is in the house?" Tynice asked.

"Either that or leave out the back door. I'll try to get your clothes later and leave them out back for you," Gary said.

"I'm not leaving this house naked. You go get my clothes and bring them to me," Tynice said.

Then the bathroom door opened. It was Cheryl again, this time her image through the frosted glass looked different. She was holding something in her arms. "Gary, why are there women's clothes in the living room?" Cheryl asked.

Gary was beyond screwed and knew it.

"Is there someone in the shower with you?" she asked.

Gary turned off the water and stepped out naked. His wife could now see the form of the black woman who he was hiding.

"Who is she?" Cheryl asked.

Gary looked at the floor in shame. The last thing he wanted to do was confess to his wife that he was getting a blowjob from a vampire five minutes earlier. "Her name is Tynice," Gary replied.

"Get her the fuck out of my house," Cheryl said as she dropped the clothes on the floor.

Tynice, who was usually very brash decided not to step out of the shower and wanted to wait till Gary's wife left the room so she could make her exit.

"I will," Gary said. "Give me a minute."

"No, I want her out of my house now!" This time Cheryl shouted.

Tynice stepped out of the shower stall and stood naked before the woman who had caught her. Still dripping wet, she looked at Gary's wife and put her hands on her hips like she was ready for a fight. "Sorry honey, it was a business."

"Business? What are you talking about? Did you hire a prostitute?"

"Are you fucking kidding me? I'm no prostitute," Tynice snapped back.

"Then what are you talking about?"

"I'll let him tell you," Tynice said grabbing her clothes from Cheryl.

Cheryl looked at this woman like she was the devil. "Since when do you like black women?" Cheryl asked Gary.

"It's not what you think," Gary replied.

"Really? What do I think?"

"She's a vampire, she came to get extra hunting permits," Gary replied.

"And you keep them in the shower?" Cheryl asked.

#

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# Chapter 22

# Down below

Jaycee felt depressed. Living underground in the dark went against everything she knew as a witch. At least what she thought a witch should feel like. Although she was a vampire, she felt first and foremost that she was a witch and was feeling conflict between the two. Sitting in the dark office, she looked out the window at the mass of zombie vampires mulling about in the old fresh water tank. They made her more depressed. Then Doran entered the room. "What's wrong?" Doran asked.

"I need to get away, to see a tree, breathe some fresh air," Jaycee replied.

"I know what you mean, this place can get quite depressing."

"Do you ever go to the surface just to hang out?"

"Whenever I try, Cyprian finds me and sends me back. He feels if we aren't watching the beasts closely, they may turn on us," Doran replied.

"Really? Not for even a few minutes?"

"Like a smoke break?" Doran asked kidding.

"Yeah,"

"The last time I was on the surface was the raid."

"Where is your brother?" Jaycee asked.

"In the tunnels somewhere, he's sure they're planning to seal all the entrances soon and is looking for places to make new exits.

"Why aren't you helping?"

"I'm playing babysitter," Doran replied.

"Do you think the zombie vampires would turn if you left them for a while?"

"How long a while?" Doran asked.

"A couple hours," Jaycee replied.

"Are you inviting me somewhere?"

"If you don't mind, you and your brother are the only people, I mean vampires I know. I can't go back to my old job, that bitch Tynice would kill me."

"Alright, what do you propose?"

"I want to go to the surface, and find a park, or someplace that has trees and grass. I need to be around nature," Jaycee said.

"Maybe we can do that, there is a grassy area down by the river we could visit."

"How far away is that?"

"If we go by the storm sewer, we could be there in twenty minutes," Doran replied.

"Storm sewer?" Jaycee asked.

"There is a storm sewer that runs a main line from the highest part of town down to the river. The main trunk runs by this building and can be accessed through the tunnels."

"Why doesn't this place get flooded?" Jaycee asked.

"The sewer is below the level of this floor. We can crawl inside from above, there is an access port.

"Have you been there?"

"Several times, Cyprian found it looking for escape paths. We've walked it from end to end."

"What's it like? Is it full of rats?" Jaycee asked.

"It's not a waste disposal sewer, like where your toilet water goes, it collects rain water and drains the city into the river. It's very clean," Doran replied. "Do you want to go?"

"Yes, can we go now?" Jaycee asked.

"I should wait until Cyprian gets back, he'd be pissed if we were gone."

"How long will he be gone?"

"Who knows, he's obsessed with finding an exit, it may be all day," Doran replied.

"Let's go," Jaycee said.

Doran scratched his nose and thought about what Jaycee said. He looked out the office window at the mass of mulling beasts and back at Jaycee. "Yeah, let's go," Doran said.

Jaycee smiled and stood up. Together they left the office and headed down the tunnel to the storm sewer portal.

Cyprian walked along the tunnel flanked on each side by a zombie vampire. One of them was a general, the one that used to be named Martin when it was human. It could speak broken English and was the only zombie vampire Cyprian could use to judge what the rest of the population was thinking. Each step echoed down the tunnel and bounced off the walls.

"Do you think you can get some of your kind to dig?" Cyprian asked. "These walls are two feet thick concrete and I don't have the backbone to do dig it myself."

"I don't know," Martin replied.

"Why is it you have a mind but most of the rest are stupid animals?" Cyprian asked. "What were you before you were turned?"

"Worked for the phone company," Martin replied.

"That's all? I expected you to say you were a university professor or something. How is it a phone company worker retained so much of your human self but the rest of these animals act like mindless ogres?"

"I don't know," Martin replied.

"Maybe you're not what you seem."

"What you mean?"

"Maybe you're not a zombie vampire at all, you might be something altogether different. You look like one, but you don't act like one," Cyprian said. "But if there's one of you, there must be more."

Martin didn't reply, he didn't have anything to say.

"What do you think about all day?" Cyprian asked.

"Family," Martin replied.

"Do you miss them?"

"Yes," Martin replied. "They are dead."

"Did you kill them?"

"No, other zombie vampire did."

"Did you see it happen?"

"No, heard it. I was turning when they attacked," Martin said.

"Do you hate them?"

Martin shook his head and then nodded. It was as if he didn't know the correct way to respond. "I hate no one," Martin replied.

Cyprian turned to the other zombie vampire that was sitting on the ground scratching its rear. "Get up!" Cyprian yelled. His voice echoed down the hall and back.

The zombie vampire got up and turned around. It was like barking instructions to a dog. "Get over here," Cyprian snapped.

The zombie vampire walked over awaiting the next command.

"Do you understand what I'm saying?" Cyprian said to the zombie vampire. It looked back at Cyprian like a confused dog. "Do you understand me?" Cyprian yelled. He thought if he was louder the animal would understand better.

"He can't understand," Martin said.

"Why not? I got twenty five of them to attack a theatre and I can't get this one to understand simple commands?"

"They understand as group, but as individuals they dumb," Martin said.

"Ok, that sort of makes sense," Cyprian said. "So if I told this one to go back home it would stand there and stare at me?"

"Yes, I think so," Martin replied.

"Isn't there some special code, or language you can use to talk to it? Make it understand better?"

Martin didn't answer.

Cyprian stepped closer to the dumb zombie vampire. "Speak," Cyprian said.

The animal looked at Cyprian and didn't move.

"Speak," Cyprian said again, this time slowly.

The animal made a grunting sound and looked away.

"Fucking stupid animal," Cyprian said. "Trying to rule you is like trying to rule a monkey in a zoo."

"Tell it to talk to me," Cyprian said to Martin.

Martin looked at the zombie vampire and said, "Talk to him."

Nothing.

"Great, fucking great, well, I guess I'll have to dig this exit myself," Cyprian said. "Unless you think they'll do it as a group."

"You can only try," Martin replied.

"Tell me something, what's it like being you?"

"What do you mean?" Martin asked.

"You used to be human, I was never human, and now you're a hunched over, hairless monster. How does that feel?" Cyprian asked.

"I don't know how to tell you," Martin replied.

"Can't be good," Cyprian said. "Let's get back and get some tools. See if we can round up a few helpers to get that exit dug out."

Jaycee and Doran walked two miles through the storm sewer to the end where it emptied into the river. The area was lush and green and exactly what Jaycee was looking for. There were no houses or buildings near and she would have the privacy to perform her witchcraft and the ceremonies that went with them.

"I love this place," Jaycee said as she stepped into the river with her bare feet.

Doran stood back in the entrance of the tunnel keeping out of the setting sun. He was more sensitive to light than most vampires. "I'm glad you like it."

"Come out here," Jaycee said.

"Let me find some shade," Doran said. He stepped out of the tunnel and ran into the shade of a large tree that was near the edge of the river.

"What's wrong with you?" Jaycee asked.

"I can't take the sun, never could," Doran replied. "My skin is very sensitive."

"Makes sense, you're a vampire."

"So are you," Doran said. "Doesn't the sun hurt?"

Jaycee raised her arms and let the sunlight fall on her skin. "Not really," She replied.

"You'll get a nasty burn later."

Jaycee pulled off her top and tossed it on the bank of the river in some grass. She unsnapped her bra and let her breasts hang for Doran to see. She was very pale and lit up like a candle.

"Do you make it a habit to walk around topless?" Doran asked. He didn't find her attractive at all.

"I'm a witch, I'm in tune with nature," Jaycee replied.

"Then how about your bottoms?" Doran asked. He was kidding, sort of.

Jaycee stepped out of the river and stripped nude. She danced around a little, giggled and laughed like a school girl.

"So what does a witch do?" Doran asked. He couldn't keep his eyes off the naked girl dancing before him.

"I live with nature, and I cast spells," Jaycee replied.

"What kind of spells?" Doran asked.

"Oh, I can cast love spells, money spells, good luck spells, just about anything you can think of."

"How about a romance spell?" Doran asked.

"Right now?"

"Yeah, go for it."

Jaycee thought for a second and came up with a spell. "Every day I see your face, I long to feel your warm embrace, I long to have you by my side, one day be your vampire bride."

Doran was impressed, "You just made that up?"

"Yes," Jaycee replied.

"Very nice," Doran said. "Was that for me?"

"You wish," Jaycee replied.

Doran had no desire for Jaycee, or any other girl for that matter but flirting was fun. Jaycee was a fine looking woman and Doran was having a great time.

#

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# Chapter 23

# Rage

Tynice decided to switch strategies, she took her hands off her hips and took a step closer to Cheryl who was looking for a fight. Tynice put her hand on Cheryl's shoulder and said, "You're looking at this all the wrong way, don't think of this as me and your husband, think of it as you, me and your husband."

"What are you talking about?" Cheryl asked.

Tynice moved in for a kiss and Cheryl backed away.

"What are you doing?" Cheryl asked.

"You ever been with another woman?" Tynice asked.

"No, that's disgusting," Cheryl replied.

"Don't knock it till you tried it, only a woman knows how to please another woman."

"Get the fuck out of my house," Cheryl repeated.

"It's his house too, and I wasn't finished with him."

"Oh yes you are!" Cheryl snapped. Cheryl lunged forward and slapped Tynice around her face and chest. Tynice smiled and giggled at this woman's attempt to put her in her place.

"What are you doing? You hit like a girl," Tynice said.

Gary stood off to side and watched the two women go at it and was aroused. He was hoping his wife would go for Tynice's proposition but was fairly sure she wouldn't "Hey honey, why don't you stop while you're behind," Gary said.

"Who are you to tell me what to do you cheating bastard!" Cheryl said.

"I'm sorry, I made a mistake," Gary said.

"I'll say, you pack up your shit and get out!"

"I'm not packing anything, you need to calm down," Gary said.

"I come home and find you fucking this black whore in our shower and you want me to calm down? What if you came home and found me fucking some guy in our bed?"

"That's easy, I'd kill both of you," Gary replied.

"So, it's ok for you to fuck whoever you want while I'm at work but I don't get the same?"

"No, you don't," Gary replied, "I'm the man."

"Oh, you didn't say that!" Cheryl snapped. She stepped over and got in Gary's face. He was still nude and dripping on the floor. "I could have cheated on you a dozen times in the last seven years. The radiologist has tried to get me in bed so many times I can't count and never did I take him up on it. And he's good looking, not like you, you hairy fucking ape."

"I said I was sorry," Gary said.

"Leave him alone," Tynice said. "He's doing what a man does."

"And you're doing what a whore does," Cheryl barked at Tynice.

"Call me what you want, I don't care. I was in the middle of a transaction, it wasn't like I was enjoying sucking off your husband."

"You lying bitch," Cheryl said. "Whores like you can't get enough cock, why don't you get your own?"

"I'm a lesbian, like I said, this was a transaction, and I'd rather have you."

"A lesbian, vampire whore, wow, that's one for the books," Cheryl said. "Get your clothes on and get out of my house, I'm tired of saying it."

"Not till I get my permits," Tynice said.

"He can't get you permits you dumb whore," Cheryl said. "He doesn't work in that department. He's an officer, not a clerk."

"I know you stupid cunt, but he has connections."

"How long have you known Gary? An hour? How do you know if he has connections?"

Tynice stood silent. She really didn't know and was hoping Gary would speak up and defend her. He didn't. Realizing she wasn't going to win, Tynice bent over and picked up her clothes off the floor. She slipped on her panties and tried to work her bra and got pissed. Frustrated she pulled it back off and flung it at Cheryl. "You keep it, it's a souvenir."

Cheryl caught the bra and used it as a whip to hit Tynice in the face. Tynice grabbed the end closest to her and together, the two women had a tug of war with the bra. Back and forth they pulled until Cheryl pulled in close and grabbed Tynice by her hair and pulled her to the ground. Then she beat her with her fists and clawed at her skin.

Gary watched the two women fight on the bathroom floor and stepped back. It sort of turned him on.

"Do something you asshole!" Cheryl yelled.

"Fuck you," Gary said. "You think you're going to kick me out of the house and then ask me for help. I hope she beats the shit out of you," Gary said.

Hearing what Gary said gave Cheryl a boost of adrenaline that helped her gain an advantage over Tynice. Rolling on top, Cheryl mounted the vampire by straddling her hips with her thighs and pummeled Tynice in the face with her fists. Tynice tried to fight back but on her back it was difficult to strike back.

Gary thought about kicking Cheryl over and letting Tynice get on top, but now realized that both women had no use for him and that it wasn't to his advantage for either to win. Most likely he was going to be moving out soon.

Cheryl stopped hitting Tynice when she noticed Tynice was no longer fighting back. The mostly nude vampire was either unconscious or dead lying on the bathroom floor.

"Nice, you killed her," Gary said.

Out of breath, Cheryl put her hand on Tynice's neck and felt for a pulse.

"You won't feel anything either way, she was dead to start with," Gary said.

"Then how do you know?"

"I was kidding, you can only kill a vampire by fire or dismemberment, she'll be coming around soon," Gary said.

"Get her out of my house before she wakes up, and stay with her, I don't want you coming back," Cheryl said.

"You get rid of her, I'm going to watch television," Gary replied.

"No, you're getting rid of her."

"Or what?" Gary asked.

Cheryl was beyond livid, she stood up and left the bathroom leaving Gary to stand naked over Tynice. He could hear his wife digging in the kitchen drawers and slamming them looking for something. Then she came back with an eleven inch cutting knife and a towel.

"What are you doing with that?" Gary asked. He felt very vulnerable.

"I'm going to finish what I started, no bitch fucks with me," Cheryl said.

"Do you realize the irony here? It's illegal to kill a vampire and I'm an agency officer."

"Do you realize that this cunt was fucking my worthless husband in my shower while I was at work earning money to pay our bills?"

"Touché'," Gary replied. "Do what you want."

"I will, no thanks to you," Cheryl replied and got down on her knees. She took the knife and placed it over Tynice's neck and counted to three. When she hit three, she pressed down and sawed back and forth cutting till she hit the spine. "Help me," she said to Gary.

"Are you nuts? Gary asked.

"I can't get through the bone!"

"Try harder."

"You fucking asshole, get down here and help me!"

"I'm not going to be an accessory, I'm getting dressed and going to the living room."

"Asshole," Cheryl said.

Gary got dressed and left Chery to finish what she was doing. There was a lot more blood than she anticipated and the floor ran red. Although she was a nurse, in her hyped up state, she wasn't thinking clearly. Using all her strength, Cheryl managed to cut the cervical vertebrae and sever the head letting it roll to the side. Tynice never regained consciousness.

Now that Tynice was beheaded, her body needed to be disposed of. Clearly thinking only in the moment, Cheryl was now tasked with the job of cleaning the scene and hiding what was left of Tynice. She knew Gary wouldn't be willing to help so now she had to think of an idea and do all the work herself. How do you dispose of a body? She thought to herself, she loved watching all the forensic shows and knew that nine out of ten bodies were either found by a hiker in the woods or discovered through a friend who blabbed. Gary might blab, but she'd have to deal with that cheating bastard later.

Cheryl got up and walked into the living room where Gary was sitting watching television. "Who knew she was here?" Cheryl asked.

"I don't know, she just showed up," Gary replied.

"I don't suppose you'd help me get rid of the body would you?"

"I'd rather not," Gary replied.

"It's your house too, if they find her, you're going down with me."

"Not my problem, it's not a crime to fuck a vampire, but it is to kill one and I didn't cut her up, you did."

"Fine, call the cops," Cheryl said.

"I might do that, since you want to kick me out."

"What are you saying? If I don't kick you out, you won't turn me in?"

"Yep," Gary said, he had the advantage and knew it.

"Fine, I won't kick you out."

"Come over here and suck my dick," Gary said.

"What?"

"You heard me, suck my dick."

"We have a body to get rid of," Cheryl said.

"I want to make sure we're both on the same page here, if you don't do what I say, when I say it, I'll call the guys at the station."

"You had your dick in that black whore vampire's mouth less than a half hour ago, and you want to put it in mine?" Cheryl asked.

"I'm waiting," Gary said.

Cheryl stood like a deer caught in the headlights. She couldn't imagine how brash Gary was acting. "I'm not your sex slave."

Gary pulled his cell from his pocket to signify he was ready to make the call to the Vampire Protection Agency. "You know the penalty for killing a vampire?"

"Yes, I've heard you say it a million times," Cheryl said.

"My dick is waiting."

Cheryl begrudgingly walked over to Gary and got down on her knees. She unbuttoned his pants, unzipped them and pulled his limp cock out of his boxers. "Try not to scrape it like she did," Gary said with a smile.

"If you like getting your cock sucked so much by her, why don't you grab her head and do it yourself?" Cheryl said.

"I don't have to warm you up first."

"That's sick."

"Shut up and suck me," Gary said.

Cheryl put her husband's cock in her mouth and gave him the worst blowjob he ever had. She put little effort into what she was doing and Gary could tell.

"Try harder," Gary said. "Or you'll be sucking me all night."

The thought of sucking Gary off pissed Cheryl off and she wanted it done as fast as she could. She grabbed his shaft hard and jerked him like she was shaking a soda bottle trying to make it explode. Gary smiled, rested his head back on the chair and enjoyed the ride.

Then they heard a voice from the bathroom. It sounded like a woman calling out. Cheryl stopped jerking off Gary and turned around. They recognized the sound of the muffled voice as Tynice.

"What the fuck?" Cheryl said.

"Go look," Gary said.

"I cut her head off, she should be dead!"

"That doesn't always work, that's why you always burn the body afterwards," Gary said.

"Oh my fucking God, you're telling me she's still alive with no head?" Cheryl said.

"Yes, and she's probably trying to get up."

Then they heard a thud, like the sound of someone falling down. Cheryl looked through the doorway and saw a headless body crawling through the kitchen dripping blood on the linoleum floor.

"Go kill it!" Cheryl yelled.

"It's harmless, finish what you started first," Gary said. "It was just getting good."

#

# 

# Chapter 24

# Spell

Back at the office, Doran and Cyprian met to work out some sort of plan. Cyprian was getting anxious and anticipated an attack from the human's any day.

"Did you find a place for a new exit?" Doran asked.

"I found a few spots, but it will take forever to get them dug out," Cyprian replied. "By the time I'm done, they will have killed us all."

"What's the problem?"

"The tunnel walls are too thick and I can't control any of the beasts to do the work. They are like stupid apes."

Doran thought for a second. "Did you know Jaycee's a witch?" Doran asked.

"What?"

"We took a walk to the outside, through the storm sewer."

"The storm sewer? I didn't' think of that, we could use that for an escape."

"I thought you knew about that," Doran said.

"I guess I did, but the humans also know about it. That's why we need a new exit that's not on the map.

"Did you hear about what I said? About Jaycee being a witch?" Doran asked.

"What about it?" Cyprian asked.

"She can cast spells."

"Rubbish, witchcraft is a joke."

"What if she could cast a spell over the beasts? To get them to work for us?" Doran asked.

That caught Cyprian's attention. "That's an idea," Cyprian said.

"You said it was a joke a second ago."

"That's before you came up with a brilliant idea," Cyprian said. "Do you think she'd do it for us?"

"Sure, it would make her feel important," Doran replied.

"Go fetch her," Cyprian said.

Doran stood up and left the office. He found Jaycee sitting as she watched zombie vampires mull around in the pit. She seemed to be daydreaming. "Wake up," Doran said.

Jaycee looked up at Doran who was approaching her. "I'm awake," Jaycee replied.

"I have a question for you."

"What is it?" Jaycee asked.

"You said you're a witch, can you cast a spell over the beasts?" Doran asked.

"Yes, I can cast spells over anyone," Jaycee replied.

"Can you cast a spell to make them obey?"

"They already do obey, "Jaycee replied.

"As a group they do, I mean individually," Doran said.

"You want me to cast a spell over just a few of them?"

"Yes," Doran replied.

"I don't know if I can make them obey, spells aren't usually that specific."

"Can you try?"

"Sure," Jaycee replied.

Doran walked back to the office and got Cyprian. They returned with two zombie vampires picked from the pit. "Will these work?" Doran asked.

Jaycee looked at the two disgusting white hairless animals and shrugged her shoulders.

"If you think there are better ones, tell me, I can find more," Cyprian said.

Jaycee looked at the pit. There were hundreds roaming around aimlessly. "No, these are fine," Jaycee said.

"Do you need anything special? Like chicken bones or spices?"

"I'm not making lunch," Jaycee said.

"Ok, go ahead," Cyprian said. He was like a giddy schoolboy.

Jaycee stood up and faced the two zombie vampires.

"Do you need to get naked?" Doran asked.

"No, not for this I don't," Jaycee replied. "She raised her arms and closed her eyes. "In potestate moderatus fortitudine, vocem meam ut servirent omnes voluntates meas et sit servus meus," Jaycee chanted.

"What does that mean?" Doran asked.

"It's Latin, I think," Jaycee replied. "It means, I control with power might, you to obey my will, to serve my every wish, and be my slave."

"Are you sure? You don't have an English to Latin dictionary."

"No, but it's the thought that counts," Jaycee replied.

"How will we know if it works?" Cyprian asked. He was anxious to try them out.

"Tell them to do something," Jaycee said.

Cyprian thought for a second. "Go to the pit and bring me bones of the dead," Cyprian said.

The two zombie vampires stepped over to the edge of the pit, jumped in and disappeared into the crowd looking for bones. The bottom of the pit was littered with bones from the theater kill and finding what Cyprian asked for should be an easy task.

"Looks like it's working," Cyprian said. "This shouldn't take long."

"Where are they?" Doran asked.

"Wait for them, give this a chance," Cyprian said.

Then one of the zombie vampires crawled out of the pit with a flat bone in its teeth followed by the other with a long bone in its hand. The two stood up and brought the bones to Cyprian and laid them at his feet.

"Very good," Cyprian said with a smile. "I think our problem is solved. How long does a spell last?" Cyprian asked.

"There is no time limit, unless I put one on," Jaycee replied.

"Excellent," Cyprian said. "Now to form a team to work on the exit."

Cyprian gathered a group of six zombie vampires for a work crew and brought them to the office. Jaycee cast the spell over the beasts and Cyprian tested them to make sure they would comply. Once he was satisfied, Cyprian led the group down one of the tunnels to an area that he mapped that would terminate in an alley three blocks from the old city hall building. But before he could get there, he found that the tunnel had been sealed with cement a half mile from the pit. Somehow the humans, the agency most likely had begun to block up the tunnels that lead out and were trying to trap the zombie vampires.

Frustrated and pissed, Cyprian led the group back to the pit and found his brother talking with Jaycee. He stormed up to Doran and kicked a zombie vampire off the walkway into the pit in anger.

"What's wrong brother?" Doran asked.

"They've begun to seal the tunnels. They're trying to trap us down here!" Cyprian replied.

"They can't do that, it's against the law to kill a vampire."

"One of two things have changed then, either the law has been changed and they can kill us now, or they are limiting our movements. That's why I wanted to dig out an escape in the beginning," Cyprian said.

"I'm surprised they didn't seal off the tunnels sooner. We will have to find if they left us an escape route."

"If they have, I'm sure they've set up a gun to mow us down as we try to leave," Cyprian said.

"Then take your crew and dig us out a new exit, beat them at their own game," Doran said.

"I plan too, I just wasn't expecting to be blocked. The location I picked was perfect, now I have to do a survey and find a new location."

"I suggest you dig out more than one, we have to vast a population to feed to have only one exit. And I can tell they are becoming restless and hungry. If we plan to continue to control them, we will need to feed them soon."

Cyprian looked out at the vast numbers of zombie vampires roaming about in the pit and knew Doran was right. They needed another raid to gather humans to feed the masses or lose control. Only now Cyprian had no idea how many tunnels had been compromised and how long it would take to dig out new exits. "It will take me a day to survey the remaining tunnels, it will take three days to dig out enough exits to complete a raid. I don't know if we have that much time."

"Do you have another plan?" Doran asked.

"I think we need to think smart, bring the food to us, not the other way around," Cyprian replied.

"You want to trick them into coming down here? They will be armed!" Doran replied.

"I said think smart, we don't invite the police," Cyprian said.

"What is your plan?"

"I don't have a plan yet, I need to think of one. I need to find a way to lure enough humans down here to feed our beasts without them bringing guns. I need to find a reason why they would want to come down. I need to think like the humans."

"In the meantime, we risk the chance of the beasts turning on us. We need to get them something," Doran said.

"Like a snack?"

"Yes, like a snack."

"Fine, you take a hunting party down the storm sewer and bring back as many humans as you can find. Do it tonight."

"You, yourself said the humans will be monitoring the storm sewer."

"Maybe not, we don't know for sure. It's a risk we'll have to take," Cyprian said.

"I don't know brother, I think using the storm sewer is a mistake."

"Why? Because I asked you to do it? What are you? A coward?"

Doran looked at his brother and knew he was right. "Fine, I'll do what I can."

Cyprian spoke to his zombie vampire crew and said, "You will go with my brother and gather as many humans as you can find. Understand?"

The zombie vampires did what they could to respond in agreement to Cyprian.

"What time is it?" Cyprian asked.

Jaycee checked her watch. "It's almost eleven thirty," Jaycee replied. It was almost midnight, the best time to go hunting for a vampire.

"Go, now," Cyprian said and the crew of six zombie vampires followed Doran out the main door to the tunnel that led to the storm sewer. Jaycee followed.

"Have you ever done anything like this before?" Jaycee asked catching up to Doran.

"No, my brother is more of the leader, I really have no idea what I'm doing," Doran replied.

"So why did you agree to do it?"

"I guess I'd rather die trying to hunt humans than becoming food for the beasts. They will eat us if we don't feed them. I really have no choice in the matter," Doran replied.

"You could leave, you're not obligated to your brother," Jaycee said.

"I would be worse off without him," Doran said. The group made good distance in a short time and was at the entrance of the storm sewer. One at a time they crawled down into the sewer and headed down towards the river.

"Take these six and go out on your own," Jaycee said.

"Why are you so interested in me leaving my brother behind?" Doran asked.

"I think he's a fool that's why," Jaycee replied. "He's going to get himself, and you killed eventually. The humans will find a way to exterminate the zombie vampires without killing you directly. They've begun to seal off the tunnels and they know that they can't legally seal you in. But at the same time they also know the zombie vampires will turn on you and do their dirty work for them. It's happening right now. I wouldn't be surprised if there isn't an army waiting at the end of this tunnel waiting for us. All they have to do is capture you and me and kill the six we have with us. We are on a suicide mission and your brother is sitting pretty back at the pit guarded by a thousand bodyguards."

"I thought about that," Doran said. "But I don't want to go out on my own."

"There's a good chance your brother sent you out to die, do you think he cares?"

#

#

#

#

# 

# Chapter 25

# Skill saw

Chery stood up and let Gary's dick flop over onto his pants. She walked into the kitchen and looked down at the headless naked vampire woman crawling across her floor. Tynice's head was facing the wall dripping blood making gurgling sounds. Without lungs to support her vocal cords, she went silent.

"Gary, get in here and take care of her," Cheryl said.

"You made the mess, you clean it up," Gary replied. "After you finish what you started."

"I'm not sucking your dick unless you take care of her, she's bleeding all over my floor."

Gary stood up and walked into the kitchen, He put away his cock and zipped up his pants. "What do you expect me to do with her? You killed her."

"Put her in your trunk and toss her in the woods," Cheryl said.

"You toss her in your trunk and toss her in the woods. You killed her, not me. This is all you."

"I'm not strong enough to carry her to my trunk," Cheryl said. "Plus she'll fight me and bleed all over me."

"What do I get? You already denied me a blow job once," Gary said.

"Is all you think about is sex?"

"Yeah," Gary replied.

"Then fuck her, she's already naked and on the floor. You were going to fuck her once tonight anyway."

"She's cold by now, no thanks," Gary said. "But you could bury her in the basement, or out back."

"Why would I want to do that when I could hide her in the woods?" Cheryl asked.

"You wouldn't have to leave the house," Gary replied. "Nobody would see you."

"What about her car?"

"Shit, I forgot about that," Gary said.

"Yeah, she parked in my spot, fucking whore," Cheryl said as she kicked the disembodied head against the wall. As it came to a rest, the head turned to face Gary and Cheryl.

"Look, she's looking at you," Gary said.

The mouth on the head moved as if speaking words but no sound came out. "What's she trying to say?" Cheryl asked.

"Pick it up," Gary said.

"You pick it up," Cheryl replied.

"What a fucking baby," Gary said and picked up the head by its curly black hair. Gary raised the head up and faced it towards the couple. The mouth continued to move and the eyes shifted back and forth. "I still can't tell what she's saying," Gary said and tossed the head on the body which bounced onto the tile floor. "We need to cut her up and bag the parts. We can put the bags in her trunk and get rid of the car."

"Why do we have to cut her up?" Cheryl asked.

"Our fucking neighbors keep their porch lights on all night. They won't be as suspicious of a few garbage bags as they would a dead body with no head."

"What happened to burying her in the basement?" Cheryl asked.

"That was a good idea till you pointed out her car was still here. If they find the car, they will come looking for her. So we need to get rid of her body and the car. Look for her keys."

Cheryl found Tynice's clothes and dug through her pockets. "Did she have a bag?" Cheryl asked.

"Fuck I don't know," Gary replied as he looked around. Then he saw a black purse in the living room. "There it is," Gary said as he pointed to the bag.

"Good, do you have a saw big enough to cut her up?" Cheryl asked.

"I have a skill saw and a saw for cutting tree branches," Gary replied. "One is as loud as hell and the other as messy as hell."

"Which one is faster?"

"The skill saw, but it's loud and will shoot blood all over the place, the branch saw will take more time, but won't leave the walls all red," Gary said.

"Get them both," Cheryl said.

Gary took off down the steps into the basement to retrieve the two saws. He returned with both saws and an extension cord. "You'll have to hold her down while I cut," Gary said.

"Fucking God," Cheryl said shaking her head in disgust. "Look what you got me into."

"I really don't want to be an accessory to your crime," Gary said. "I could just leave."

"No, don't go, let's get this done so I can clean up my kitchen."

Gary plugged in the skill saw and gestured to Cheryl to hold Tynice in place. He pulled the trigger and with a loud shrill sound spun up the blade. He then let go of the trigger and the blade came to a slow stop. Satisfied the saw was in good working order, Gary knelt down and placed the blade of the saw on Tynice's shoulder joint. He pulled the trigger and pushed the spinning blade into her flesh cutting it clean but not deep enough to sever the joint. Shoving hard, Gary moved the blade back and forth until he cut through the bone and tendon releasing her arm. The area on the wall behind the saw was stained red like someone had spray painted the wall.

It took about a minute and a half to dismember the arm from the body but Gary wasn't satisfied with the results. Although it was fast, it was very messy and his saw now had tissue stuck in the wheel well and electronics. His saw would be worthless once he was done and he didn't want to spend another seventy five dollars to replace it. He set the saw down and picked up the tree saw. It was about two feet long with long jagged teeth meant to dig into wood, not cut tissues. It would be messy, but wouldn't shoot blood and tissue onto the wall like paint from a can.

"What are you doing?" Cheryl asked.

"My saw is getting clogged up," Gary said. He pointed to the spot on the saw where the tissue was wrapping around the motor. "I want to try the other saw."

"That other saw will take forever," Cheryl said.

"We have all night."

Cheryl saw the severed arm behind Gary and noticed the hand and fingers were still moving. "Do you see that?" Cheryl asked.

"See what?" Gary asked.

"The hand is still moving."

Gary turned and looked at the arm. "It will be fine once it's in the bag."

Cheryl stood up and walked to the cabinet looking for her garbage bags. She found the box and pulled out the last bag. "Fuck, I don't have enough bags!" Cheryl yelled.

"Can you run to the store and get some more?"

"Can't you see I'm covered in blood?" Cheryl asked.

"Do you have anything we can use?"

"Like what?"

Gary sat and thought for a moment. Nothing came to him.

"We're going to have to bury her in the basement," Cheryl said.

"Yeah, I think you're right," Gary replied.

"Where in the basement? Isn't it all concrete?"

"It is, I'll have to hammer out a spot."

"How long will that take?"

"I'll have to borrow a sledge hammer," Gary said.

"Holy fucking shit!" Cheryl yelled. "Then how long?"

"Probably take me a day to get to the dirt below."

"Let's cut to the chase, how long will it take for you to bury her in the basement?"

"Technically it takes concrete a week to cure," Gary replied.

"So a week?" Cheryl asked.

"You also have to figure in time to cut her up, busting out the old concrete and digging the hole. I'd say more like a week and a half."

"That's not going to work, we can't wait a week and a half," Cheryl said. She was frustrated.

"What do you suggest?" Gary asked.

"Can we grind her up and put her down the garbage disposal?"

"That would take just as long and you'd have all the bones to deal with," Gary replied.

"How about the deep freeze?" Cheryl asked.

"That would be a temporary fix," Gary replied.

"Fine with me, at least then we could clean up this mess and get rid of her car."

"Our deep freeze is three quarters full, where are we going to put everything?"

Cheryl leaned back against the wall and hung her head in defeat. Then she got an idea. "What if we cook her?"

"In the oven?" Gary asked.

"Yes, we cut her up like you were doing, but instead of burying her, we cook her like a pot roast."

"You're not planning to eat her are you?" Gary asked.

"Hell no, but we can dispose of a roast a lot easier than a body," Cheryl said.

Gary thought for a moment. "How long does it take to cook a roast in the oven?" Gary asked.

"About an hour," Cheryl replied.

"How big of a roast is that?"

"Ten pounds maybe?"

"She's at least one fifty, divide that up and it would take around fifteen hours to cook her completely. That's not bad actually. And we could dispose of the bones in the trash."

"Now you're thinking," Cheryl said.

"Ok, you get the pots and the stove going and I'll cut her up into small pieces. When she's in the oven, we can clean the walls and the floor," Gary said. "Give me one of your butcher knives."

Cheryl found an eight inch butcher knife in the butcher block and handed it to Gary. He straddled Tynice pinning her face down on the kitchen floor and cut her up into small parts that would fit in a roasting pan. "What about the pressure cooker?" Gary asked. "We could save some time if we used the stove top as well."

"Good idea," Cheryl said. She dug in the kitchen cabinets and found her pressure cooker. She placed it on the floor and Gary tossed in chunks of meat filling it to the rim. Once full, Cheryl added some water, slipped on the lid and put it on the burner. A flick of the switch and the burners turned red.

"What about her head?" Gary asked.

"I have more than one roasting pot, we can put her head in a different one," Cheryl said.

Gary leaned back and grabbed Tynice by her head. She was wide eyed and it looked like she was screaming. He picked up the head and tossed it into another roasting pot Cheryl brought over and she put the lid on. Once both pots were in the oven, Cheryl turned the heat to four hundred and fifty degrees for an hour and pressed the start button.

"I'll keep cutting, you grab a mop and a bucket," Gary said. "She's about all bled out so I don't think there will be much more blood to deal with."

Cheryl disappeared into the closet and dug out the mop and bucket. "What are we going to do with her car?" Cheryl asked.

"Nothing, if we touch it we'll look like we're up to something. I'll let the neighbors call the cops after it sits for a week," Gary replied.

"What if they ask us about it?"

"What if they do? We didn't drive it here."

"Did anyone see her walk up to the house, or come inside?"

"Don't know, don't care, I never met the woman before tonight and I have no connection to her at all."

"She's a vampire and you're and agency cop, there is a connection," Cheryl said. "They might think she came here looking for help."

"Ironically she did. She wanted to help herself to some free permits. But that don't matter, for all I know, she parked her car and was abducted."

Cheryl could smell Tynice cooking in the pot. "Do you think I should have added some salt or pepper?"

"No, she's fine just as she is," Gary replied.

#

#

#

# 

# Chapter 26

# Capture

Jaycee, Doran and the six zombie vampires approached the end of the storm sewer with extreme caution. They didn't have a plan and didn't know if there was an army waiting for them once they got there.

"I think you should send a zombie vampire out first," Jaycee said. "To see if the entrance is clear."

"You cast the spell on them, you do it, what would make them want to risk themselves for me?" Doran asked.

"The spell doesn't fade, they will obey."

Doran shook his head and looked at the six zombie vampires that were gathered in a bunch against the east wall. He pointed at the closest one and said, "You, go out and see what you can find, then come right back."

The zombie vampire separated from the group and hobbled the thirty feet to the end of the sewer and stopped for a moment. Doran and Jaycee could see it looking around and then step out of view. They waited for five minutes until the beast returned.

"What did you see?" Doran asked the beast.

There was no response, just a glance and a few gestures they couldn't understand.

"What does that mean?" Doran asked.

"He's not dead, that's what it means," Jaycee replied. "I think we can go outside now."

Doran hesitated and then agreed. He walked to the end of the tunnel and looked out at the river and saw some lights on the horizon. He knew there were houses close by and they would be the best source of food. "We can try over there," Doran said.

Jaycee looked over at the lights and then to her left and to her right.

"What's wrong? You don't think that's a good idea?"

"We'd have to cross the river to get to those houses, there must be something closer on this side," Jaycee replied.

Doran stepped out of the tunnel and onto the grass. He climbed up the hill next to the sewer pipe entrance to the top and stopped at a barbed wire fence. From that point, he could see the city lights towards town. He looked down at Jaycee who was at the bottom of the hill standing with the six zombie vampires. "We could head back towards town I suppose, but our chances of getting caught are higher."

"I'm not in love with the idea of swimming across the river to get to those houses," Jaycee said. "And I'm not sure if the beasts would like it either."

Just then the entire area lit up like it was day. Huge lights shined on the tunnel entrance from across the river and machine gun fire ripped through the air from all directions. Immediately two of the zombie vampires were torn to shreds and fell to the ground in the tall grass. Doran scrambled over the barbed wire fence and took off running across a soybean field towards town. Jaycee dropped to the ground and hid in the tall grass as the other four zombie vampires ran for their lives. Jaycee could hear the sounds of water splashing and knew at least one of the zombie vampires ran to the river, the others she had no idea. Now she knew she was right and that the humans had been waiting at the end of the storm sewer.

The machine gun fire stopped as quickly as it started leaving Jaycee too afraid to get up and escape. The first thing she thought of was why would they shoot blindly? The police knew there were two vampires in the tunnel system and that it was illegal to kill them. What changed? Were they able to distinguish the zombie vampires from the non-zombie vampires? No vampire put out a heat signature, so she couldn't explain what was going on. All she knew was that she was still alive and nobody was shooting at her anymore. Then she heard footsteps and movement through the tall grass.

"Get up," Jaycee heard and felt a rifle barrel poke her in the back. She knew the police had found her.

"Don't shoot me! I'm a vampire!" Jaycee said as she stood up.

The police had no record of Jaycee as a vampire. She was turned by Tynice and dumped so she didn't know how the police would react. One of the three police officers that surrounded her spoke up. "Name?"

"Jaycee Henry, "Jaycee replied.

One of the officers pulled out a tablet and checked her name against the vampire database. "I have no Jaycee Henry listed," the officer said.

Jaycee opened her mouth and showed the officer her fangs.

"Why aren't you in my database?" the officer asked. He wasn't much for conversation and wanted answers.

"I was turned a few weeks ago and left to die," Jaycee replied.

"Who's responsible?" the officer asked.

"Tynice somebody, I don't know if I ever knew her last name."

The officer looked up Tynice and found her. "Tynice Moore, I found her," the officer said. "Why didn't you report her?" the officer asked.

"I didn't get a chance, she left me to die and some zombie vampires found me and took me into the tunnels. I've been there ever since."

"Have you had contact with a Doran and or Cyprian Dalca?"

"That was Doran you almost killed," Jaycee replied.

"What are you doing out here tonight?"

Jaycee didn't want to give up the plan and didn't reply.

"I asked you a question ma'am," the officer said.

"Ma'am? Nobody's called me that, ever," Jaycee replied.

"You can either answer my question here or down at the station."

"Are you arresting me?" Jaycee asked.

"Detaining you would be a better way to put it."

"For what? Is it illegal to be a vampire?"

"No, but when we find two vampires out with a group of zombie vampires in the middle of the night, we take notice. Plus you're not on the authorized list and we need to interview you and get you registered."

"What if I don't want to be registered?" Jaycee asked.

"Registration isn't optional. All vampires are required to be in the database."

"Fuck your database, "Jaycee said. "I didn't ask to be a vampire and damn if I'm letting you put me on some fucking list so you can monitor me."

The officer looked at the officer to Jaycee's right and said, "Cuff her, we're taking her to the station."

Jaycee was brought to the Vampire Protection Agency and put in a room to wait. It was like an interrogation room but didn't have a sign on the door. There were cameras set up to record and a one way mirrored glass on the wall but little else besides a table and a few chairs. Then the door opened and a man walked in. It was Officer Gary Heller, the cop who had finished cutting up and cooking Tynice the day before. He sat down and put a notepad on the table.

"Hello, my name is Gary, may I ask your name?" Gary asked.

Jaycee sat with her arms and legs crossed. Gary could tell right away she'd be a hard one to crack. "Jaycee," Jaycee replied.

"Last name?"

"I told your other officer."

"I want it on record for this interview."

"Henry, Jaycee Henry."

"Ok Jaycee, can you fill me in on something first, what were the circumstances in which you were turned into a vampire? And what were you doing tonight?"

"I heard it's a felony for a vampire to turn a human into another vampire, is that right?" Jaycee asked.

"It is, that's why I need to know who did this to you."

"Good, that fucking bitch deserves to rot in prison," Jaycee said.

"Do you have a name?"

"Yes, Tynice is her name," Jaycee replied to Gary's horror. Tynice was the name on the driver's license of the vampire he and his wife had cut up and cooked.

Now more hesitant and with a drip of sweat on his brow, Gary asked, "Did you know this Tynice before she turned you?"

"Yes, she lived in the basement of the house I worked at. Her and her two daughters," Jaycee replied.

"How long did you know her before she did this to you?" Gary asked.

"Not long, maybe a week or two," Jaycee replied.

"Do you know why she did it?"

"Yeah, we got in a fight."

"Over what?"

"It's a long story, you don't want to hear it."

"Can you give me the gist of it?" Gary asked.

"She pissed me off," Jaycee replied.

"I got that, over what?"

"She wanted me to be her slave, I was working for the old guy that owned the house and she talked his son into making me clean up after her and her daughters."

"She turned you over house cleaning?" Gary asked.

"It sounds bad when you say it like that. She was a lazy welfare vampire, she sat around and did nothing and expected me to clean up after her. I wasn't getting paid to clean her shit, I was working for Everett."

"Everett was the old man you worked for?" Gary asked.

"Yes, Everett hired me to clean the house, not the basement. He told me specifically not to clean up after that bitch."

"So what changed that you did end up cleaning up down there?"

"That cunt went to Everett's son Brandon and asked him to make me do it. Brandon threatened to fire me if I didn't do what she said," Jaycee replied.

"Why?"

"I don't know, maybe Brandon was fucking her."

"Alright, you two get in an argument, she turns you and then what?"

"I wake up in my car in some alley," Jaycee replied.

"So why didn't you go to the police?"

"I was abducted by zombie vampires and taken underground," Jaycee replied.

"Is that when you met Cyprian and Doran Dalca?"

"Yes," Jaycee replied.

"Did they hold you prisoner?"

"No."

"Then why didn't you leave?"

"They were the only other vampires I knew. I was afraid to leave," Jaycee replied.

"Makes sense, so why did you leave?"

"We had too, you guys cut off the exits to the tunnels and Cyprian was afraid they zombie vampires would starve and turn on us," Jaycee replied.

"You were working with the brothers?"

"What do you mean?"

"We have informants that tell us the brothers were forming a zombie vampire army and are planning to take over part of the city. Were you a part of that?" Gary asked.

"They didn't come out and ask me to do anything. I was just living down there because I felt comfortable with them," Jaycee replied.

"I find that hard to believe," Gary said.

"It's the truth!" Jaycee said. "I wasn't a part of any conspiracy to take over the city. I was taken down there against my will. I didn't know anyone or anything else. I had nowhere to turn."

"You said yourself they didn't hold you, you could have left at any time," Gary said.

"If you were in my situation, you would have done the same thing," Jaycee snapped back.

"All I know is that you were captured with six dead zombie vampires and you were with Doran Dalca who escaped. This doesn't look good for you," Gary said.

"I was trying to save myself, that's not a crime," Jaycee replied. "You're trying to make me guilty by association. I told you I wasn't part of any plan. It's not a crime to not want to be eaten."

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# Chapter 27

# Garlic

Doran ran till he couldn't run any longer. He had crossed two soybean fields, a dirt road and was exhausted running for his life. As a protected species, he had never worried about being killed before, but for some unknown reason, the police decided he was a viable target tonight. Maybe they didn't recognize him and thought he was a zombie vampire, maybe the police were incompetent fools, who knows? But now Doran had no way to return to the pit where his brother was alone keeping an eye over the zombie vampire army.

Scanning the countryside, Doran spied a farmhouse with the lights on. The house was behind a windbreak of trees with grain bins and various farm equipment scattered around. He needed somewhere to hide and the open field did little to provide cover. Once he regained his breath, he took off in a jog towards the farm and hid in the windbreak looking for shelter. It was a cool night and being cold blooded didn't sit well with him. He could hide in the barn, or the tractor shed, but he craved heat and really wanted to get inside the house.

The windows on the ground floor of the farmhouse were lit up and Doran could see the blue hue of the television in the living room. As he approached the front porch he noticed a dog in the shadow looking at him. All he needed was the dog to bark and alert whoever was inside the house. Doran was of the belief that every farmer kept a shotgun behind the front door in case of intruders and was now stuck with either running away or running to the door. The dog might be the deciding factor.

Taking baby steps, Doran crept closer to the porch and walked up the steps keeping an eye on the dog. Feeling unusually brave, the chilly vampire stepped up to the door but hesitated. He could either knock or pretend to be in need, or he could break in and take over the house. Doran wasn't good at lying and thought maybe the gunfire could be heard from the farmhouse, or at least be on the evening news. Then he had an idea. From where he stood, Doran could see the glow of the television through the large living room window. Ever so carefully, he stepped over, peered around the corner and looked through the window. What he saw was encouraging. Sitting in a recliner, he saw an elderly man sleeping with the television on and no one else.

He thought for a moment and decided to break in. There was no lie that could explain why he would be out so late and he needed the house for a few days. Now confident in his plan, he stepped back over to the front door and gently tried the door knob. To his surprise, it turned and the door opened. Once the door was open enough that he could enter, Doran slipped inside and gently closed it behind him. The sound of the television filled the room and he found himself in a hallway that led to the living room on the right and to the kitchen on the left.

When Doran looked in the kitchen on his left, he saw a woman sipping coffee reading a book. She was dressed in a nightgown and unaware of Doran's presence. Thinking about the gun behind the door, Doran turned and found nothing but a pair of boots. It was now or never, but he didn't like the idea of attacking one while the other could run or fight back. Who to attack first? The old man sleeping in the chair, or what looked like his wife reading in the kitchen?

Then Doran saw a movement to his right, it was a blur and when he turned he saw a woman holding a gun to his head. She was a large woman, mid-forties, black hair with a puffy face and squinty eyes. She was dressed in a long nightgown and was out of breath.

"Don't move mother fucker," she said.

Doran thought about raising his hands but changed his mind.

"What are you doing in my house?" she asked.

Doran scrambled for a lie. "I was going to ask to use your phone," Doran replied.

"You never heard of knocking?" the woman asked. "Try another bullshit story."

"My car broke down and I needed to call for a ride," Doran said.

"Who doesn't have a cellphone these days?"

"I don't," Doran replied.

The woman shook her head in disgust and was still high on adrenaline. "What's your name?" she asked.

"Doran," Doran replied.

"Full name?"

"Doran Dalca. What's your name?" Doran asked.

"None of your fucking business," the woman replied. Her name was Amy Mead, but she had no intention of telling Doran anything. "Now tell me the real reason why you broke into my house."

Then a voice called out from the kitchen, it was Amy's mother Kim. "What's going on Amy?" Kim couldn't see Doran, he had backed up against the door.

"We have a break in momma," Amy said.

Kim walked over to the doorway and took a look at Doran. "Get your father," Kim said.

"Daddy!" Amy yelled. Her father was fast asleep on the recliner in front of the television. "Daddy!" Amy yelled again and no response. "You'll have to wake him momma," Amy said.

Kim stepped around Amy and walked into the living room. She woke her husband Bill and brought him back to the hallway. "What's going on?" Bill asked.

"This guy broke into the house," Amy replied.

"Who are you?" Bill asked.

"Doran Dalca, I stopped to use your phone," Doran replied.

Amy spoke up, "He's lying daddy."

"How do you know honey?"

"He didn't knock, he just came in, and he probably has a gun."

"I don't have a gun," Doran replied.

Amy stepped in closer. "Turn around, let's see your back," Amy said.

Doran turned slowly showing he had no gun in his pants or belt. "See, I told you."

"I don't see a gun," Kim said.

Amy wasn't satisfied. "Take off your clothes," Amy said.

"I don't think that's necessary," Kim said.

"Let me handle this momma," Amy said. "Now, strip."

Doran removed his shirt, then his shoes, socks, pants and boxers. He stood nude in the hall in front of the family who were now holding him.

Kim was getting more and more concerned. "Why don't we call the sheriff and let him take care of this?"

"He's hiding something," Amy said. "Look how he's acting."

"The poor man is naked, what can he be hiding?"

Amy leaned in close to Doran and looked at his face. "Smile for me," she said.

Doran kept his lips pressed together and looked to the floor.

"I said smile," Amy said. "I have every right to blow away an intruder. You know what we country folk are like, always shooting everything we see."

Doran knew bullets wouldn't kill him, but he didn't know what else they had to use against him. If they injured him enough, they could toss him in a grain auger and make stew out of him, so he decided to comply and smiled, without showing his teeth.

"Let me see your teeth," Amy said.

"What are you trying to prove?" Kim asked.

Doran showed his teeth and everyone saw his vampire fangs, they were like a neon billboard.

"Look! He's a vampire!" Amy shouted. She was excited that she found a vampire in her parents' house.

"A vampire? Are you sure?" Bill asked. "I haven't seen one since I was in the navy in Korea."

Kim backed into the kitchen when she saw Doran's fangs. "Yes Bill, look at his teeth, he's a vampire!"

With an air of smugness, Amy smiled and said, "I bet he was out looking for a kill. They get two permits a year."

"Is that right?" Kim asked. "I had no idea."

"Yeah, they get to hunt us like we hunt deer, it's all legal. He could have killed two of us and walked away free."

Doran decided to speak up. "No vampire is going to use both his permits like that. Most spread out the kills by six months."

"Really?" Amy said sardonically. "What other vampire trivia do you have to share?"

"If you're going to tell your parents about my kind, I at least want you to tell them facts, I hate nothing more than rumors," Doran said.

"So tell me a fact Mr. Vampire, do you need a phone? Or were you planning to kill one of us?" Amy asked.

Doran was silent.

Kim spoke up. "What do you want to do with him?" Kim asked.

"I'm going to keep him for a while," Amy replied.

"Keep him? Where?" Bill asked.

"In the cellar," Amy replied.

"Why?" Bill asked. "I don't want him on our property."

"Why? Because I don't like that fact this fucker decided to make a meal out of us. I'm not some cow that anyone with a permit can butcher."

"We don't know if that's true," Kim said.

"I don't care, he broke in. If he'd of knocked, this might be a different story. Now vampire, take the door to the left at the end of the hall. It leads to the basement."

Doran refused to move or reply.

"What to play hardball?" Amy asked. "Daddy, get me a blowtorch."

Kim spoke up. "Now Amy, that's not nice!"

"Momma, let me take care of this, Daddy, go."

Bill left the hallway and disappeared into the next room.

Doran didn't want to go into the basement or get shot, and for a moment thought about bolting out the front door taking his chances. He would heal from a bullet wound, and she would probably only get one or two good shots.

"Momma," Amy said. "Do you have any garlic in the kitchen?"

"Yes, why?" Kim replied.

"Can you fetch me some?"

Kim went to the counter and grabbed a clove of garlic and brought it to Amy. "What are you going to do with garlic?"

"Rub it on him," Amy said.

"I don't want to get that close honey," Kim replied.

Doran smiled and shook his head. "Garlic gives me a rash, if you want me to itch for the next few hours go ahead."

Amy thought the garlic would render the vampire less powerful but a rash wasn't what she was hoping for. "Fine, forget it momma. You, get downstairs," Amy snapped at Doran.

"I'm going to leave now," Doran said. "You can shoot me, bullets won't kill me. I'm going to get dressed."

"Daddy! Hurry up!" Amy yelled.

"I'm coming!" Bill yelled. He walked quickly through the living room with a blowtorch in his hand.

"Turn it on," Amy said.

Bill flicked a switch and ignited the torch. He handed it to Amy who took it with her free hand. Once she had it, she pointed the flame at Doran who was bent over picking through his clothes. "Get up!" Amy yelled jabbing the flame at Doran.

Doran leaned back up and faced Amy. "I'm not a dry Christmas tree, I won't go up in flames if you burn me."

By now, Bill was getting pissed. He stepped into the hall and punched Doran in the face. Doran was shocked that this old man would try to hit him and smiled. "What are you doing old man?" Doran asked.

Outraged that he was being mocked, Bill took the gun from Amy and pressed it up against Doran's forehead. He pulled the trigger and instantly Doran fell to the floor in a heap. "He said a bullet wouldn't kill him, but he didn't say anything about knocking his butt out. Help me drag him downstairs. He can heal down there."

"Thanks daddy," Amy said.

Together, Amy and Bill dragged Doran down the hall and down the steps to the cellar below. Once past the locked door, they laid him on an old metal bed and shackled him to the frame.

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# Chapter 28

# The cage

Jaycee was frustrated and pissed. "Are you arresting me?" Jaycee asked. "If not, I'm leaving."

"I can hold you for seventy two hours without a formal warrant," Gary replied.

"For what?"

"I don't believe your story. I think you were in on the plot with the brothers."

"You don't know if there is a plot, it's all rumors and speculation," Jaycee said.

"In my business, that's gold," Gary said.

"I have rights, I want a lawyer!" Jaycee said.

"You're a vampire now, your rights have changed."

"What do you mean? I'm still a citizen."

"Yes you are, but not a human citizen, you are a vampire citizen. That's how you can be put on the Endangered Species list. They don't list humans."

"I'm not some dumb animal. I have rights!" Jaycee yelled.

"I heard you the first time, but you're wrong. Sort of. You do have rights, but they're not human rights."

"What do you mean? What's the difference?" Jaycee asked.

"Well, for one thing, you're not entitled to a lawyer, that's at the discretion of a judge. And for another, we can basically do to you the same thing we do to dogs. As long as we don't harm or kill you."

"Dogs?" Jaycee asked.

"Yes, you do realize that you have to be registered. We register dogs as well. You actually have to go to the same department to register as a vampire as you do to register your dog. They give dog's tags and vampires a card and identification bracelet. Most vampires don't wear the bracelet but if they are found without the card, they can be fined."

"Fuck that shit, I'm no dog," Jaycee said.

"No, but you're not human anymore either," Gary replied. "And another thing, we don't house vampires in our jails or prisons either, we house them in pens."

"Like a dog pen?" Jaycee asked. "You're going to stick me in a dog pen?"

"It's a vampire pen, dog pens are too small."

"Are you saying I have to shit on concrete and eat out of a bowl?"

"Pretty much," Gary said.

"This is bullshit, I didn't ask to be turned into a vampire, and there must be something you can do."

"Once they do the lab work and find you're a vampire, there isn't anything I can do," Gary said.

"That's not fair. I wasn't born a vampire, I was turned illegally. I have to have a lawyer!" Jaycee yelled.

"Sorry, my hands are tied."

"Where's this pen?"

"It's out back of the station," Gary replied.

"Outdoors? It gets fucking cold at night!"

"Sorry, I don't make the rules, now let's get your information put in the system."

Gary gestured for Jaycee to stand up. He led her out of the room and down the hall to the booking room. Once inside, Gary told the woman at the booking station to enter Jaycee as a vampire. Since vampires traditionally didn't show up on video or film, they had to put her thumbprint on her record instead of a photo. The booking officer took Jaycee's personal information and was led by another officer to the rear of the building where she was walked out back and put in a pen.

The pen was basically a cage with a cement floor and dry food in a bowl. Just like a dog pen. Jaycee shivered in the cold and sat down on the concrete base. Alongside her were three other joining pens all similar in construction with another vampire next to her. The vampire in the next pen was a male, around twenty years old curled up in a ball against the cold wall of the building. He was dressed for warmer temperatures and shivered uncontrollably. His name was Mateo.

"What are you in for?" Mateo asked.

"They think I want to take over the world," Jaycee replied. "Damn it's fucking freezing out here."

"Tell me about it, I've been locked up for two days."

"For what?" Jaycee asked.

"Terroristic threats and assault with a weapon," Mateo replied.

"Was it really a threat if you assaulted someone?"

"It was two different people. My ex and her new boyfriend."

"Which one did you assault?"

"The bitch, I hit her with a coffee cup."

"A coffee cup?" Jaycee asked.

"It was a big coffee cup, gave her stitches," Mateo replied. "It's all I had at the time."

"Why did you through the cup at her?"

"She was being a cunt."

"I get that, what specifically did she do?" Jaycee asked.

"She brought her new boyfriend over to my house to pick up her shit. Then she got all bitchy and we got in a fight."

"What about her new boyfriend? Was he there?"

"He sat in the car at first, then when he heard shouting he showed up at the door. I told him if he came in the house I'd kill him."

"What did he do?" Jaycee asked.

"He's a pussy, he went back to the car."

"Was the before or after you threw the cup at your girlfriend?"

"Before," Mateo replied.

"Is your girlfriend a vampire too?"

"No, she's a bitch," Mateo said with a smile.

"May I ask why you two aren't together anymore?"

"Yeah, she said she didn't like fucking a guy with no body heat. She said it was like fucking a dead person."

"I do see her point," Jaycee said.

"So she goes and finds some other guy at work and cheats on me for a month before I find out."

"That sucks," Jaycee said.

"Yeah, tell me about it."

"Why did she wait a month?"

"I get checks, you know, vampire welfare checks. She liked the shit I was buying her."

"I forgot about the checks," Jaycee said.

"How can you forget about the checks? Are you one of those vampires that decided to get a job instead?" Mateo asked.

"No, I've only been a vampire for a few weeks," Jaycee replied.

"Really? I thought it was illegal to turn a human into a vampire."

"It is, I don't know the circumstances as to why I was allowed to turn, but here I am."

"So now you get to live out here in the cold with me," Mateo said with a smile.

"Yeah, isn't this awesome?" Jaycee asked sardonically. "I get to stay for three days out in this deep freeze."

It was six hours before the sun came up and Jaycee was about forty degrees and numb. As the sunlight lit the pen, she slowly warmed up to the point where she could move. It took the rest of the morning and part of the afternoon for her to get to the point where she could speak and by then Gary was back on shift. He pulled her back into the same room he had her in before for round two of questioning.

"How was your night?" Gary asked.

"Fuck you," Jaycee replied. "How can you treat people like that?"

"You're not people anymore, remember?" Gary asked. "Now tell me about the plot to take over the city."

"What's in it for me?" Jaycee asked.

"I might be able to arrange better living conditions."

"Not good enough, I want out."

"You're in no position to bargain," Gary said.

"I'm the one with the information, I'm in the perfect position to bargain," Jaycee snapped back.

"Once again you're thinking like a human, I can do shit to you that you can't imagine, and it's all legal."

"Bullshit, you're bluffing," Jaycee replied.

"I froze you last night almost to the point of making you a vampire ice cube. You think that's all I can do? Tempt me," Gary said.

Jaycee looked at Gary and tried to judge him by his eyes. He was hard to read but she felt he was telling the truth. "What else can you do to me?" Jaycee asked.

"I can torture you to the point of death if I want," Gary replied.

"I bet you'd love that," Jaycee replied.

"Actually I don't, we have staff trained to do that."

"You're too much of a pussy to do it yourself?" Jaycee asked.

"I'm a Vampire Agency officer, I do police work, and we have people that are specially trained in torture techniques. If I see fit, I send you over to another building with a list of questions and you come back later that evening beat to shit and I get a report sheet with your answers. I don't get my hands dirty at all."

"All I ask is for you to let me go, what's wrong with that?" Jaycee asked.

"If you give me the answers I want, that might very well happen," Gary replied.

"Then why all the torture talk? You trying to scare me?"

"You asked."

"Yeah, I asked," Jaycee said.

"Now tell me what the brothers have planned."

"You have the basic idea, they want to kill enough humans that you will take notice and leave them alone."

"If they kill humans, leaving them alone is the last thing the agency will do. What are they thinking?"

"They think you're planning on wiping them out. They want to show the humans a demonstration of force and power, to keep you from attacking," Jaycee said.

"They're right about one thing, we do plan to contain and maintain them."

"What does that mean?" Jaycee asked.

"Let's put it this way, it's in the best interest of the city not to have a thousand zombie vampires living below the old city hall. They tend to want to eat, breed and turn innocent humans into more zombie vampires. The mayor and city council thinks of them as vermin that need to be exterminated." Gary said. "So what is their specific plan of attack?"

"They don't have one, your guy sealed up most of the tunnels and Cyprian is afraid the zombie vampires will turn on him and on each other," Jaycee replied.

"Was there a plan before the tunnels were sealed?"

"I think they planned on another attack," Jaycee replied.

"Like the one on the theatre?"

"Yes, but bigger this time. I don't think they had a target in mind yet."

"Do you know why they sealed up the tunnels so fast? Our city administrator and his wife were killed in that attack," Gary said.

"I had nothing to do with that," Jaycee said.

"I didn't think you did."

"So now what?"

"I'll give this information to my boss. Is there anything else you want to add?"

"No," Jaycee replied.

"Ok, I'll see about you sleeping inside tonight."

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# Chapter 29

# Rape room

Amy shut the door and pulled up a chair. The cellar was lit by a single sixty watt bulb that hung from the joist by wires. The room had shelves filled with home canned vegetables and various other junk that was covered with dust and spider webs. Doran was lying naked on top of an old mattress shackled to the bedframe by his wrists and ankles. He couldn't escape if he tried.

"What are you going to do with me?" Doran asked.

"I'm going to keep you, like a pet," Amy replied. Amy was a homely woman, about two fifty and hard to look at.

"You'll find keeping me locked up more difficult than you realize."

"I've taken care of my parents for years, I don't see a problem."

"They can use the toilet, you expect me to shit on the bed?" Doran asked.

"I can make you a diaper out of a bed sheet. I used to work at a nursing home after high school."

"I told you I wasn't looking to kill any of you."

"You didn't tell me anything actually," Amy said. "Now that we have some time, why did you break into my house?"

"I was running from the police," Doran replied. "Are you happy now?"

"Why were you running from the police?" Amy asked.

"They want to arrest me for the theatre massacre," Doran replied.

"That was a group of zombie vampires, what did you have to do with that?"

"My brother and I led that raid, it was our zombie vampires that killed those people," Doran replied.

"You have a brother? Where is he?" Amy asked.

"He's down in the tunnel system, under the old city hall."

"Why aren't you down there with him?"

"Must you pester me with these relentless questions?" Doran asked.

"What else are we going to do?" Amy asked.

"You can let me go."

"Maybe I should call the police and turn you in?" Amy asked. "Would you rather be with them or me?"

"I'd rather be back with my brother," Doran replied.

"That's not an option at this point."

"Can you at least let me put my clothes back on?" Doran asked.

Amy looked over Doran's body. She hadn't seen a naked man in years and was enjoying the show. "No, I like you as is," Amy replied.

"Can you turn up the heat?"

"The furnace is next door and the vent to this room is small. Sorry, but this is as hot as it gets." Amy leaned over and grabbed Doran by his penis. She felt how cold it was and gave it a squeeze.

"What are you doing?" Doran asked. He was stunned at what Amy was doing.

"I haven't been with a man since forever, now that I have you that will change."

"Do you plan to rape me?" Doran asked.

"Rape a man? Are you kidding? Amy asked.

"I don't think you're going to have much luck with me, its cold down here and you don't do much for me."

"What does that mean?" Amy asked. "Are you saying I'm ugly?"

"Why do you think it's been so long since you've been laid?" Doran asked.

"Oh you mother fucker," Amy snapped back. She dropped Doran's penis and stood. She lifted up her nightgown to her neck and showed Doran her hairy pussy and huge pendulous breasts that hung to her belly button. "Most men would give anything to have this," Amy said.

Doran looked in horror at the body of the woman who was holding him captive.

"I know you want this," Amy said taunting Doran.

"Please, cover yourself," Doran said.

Pissed, Amy took off her nightgown and draped it over the chair she was sitting on. She stepped over to the bed and laid her naked body on top of Doran. He moaned as the air was forced from his lungs as the huge woman pressed down upon him. "You are fucking cold," Amy said.

"I told you, you stupid bitch, now get off!" Doran yelled with what air he had left.

"No, I don't think so," Amy said. She pushed her face into Doran's neck and kissed him hard, then she sucked on his skin and licked around his ear. As she moved, she moaned and grinded her hips into Doran's groin. He was powerless to stop Amy and tried to ignore her as she continued to molest him. As she moved her lips around Doran's face, she reached between them and found Doran's penis and began to stroke it hard. She backed off a bit and looked into Doran's eyes to judge his reaction.

"You like it?" Amy asked. "I bet you love having a woman stroke you off."

Doran looked away and pissed Amy off. She yanked hard on Doran's penis and got his attention.

"Don't ignore me!" Amy yelled. "Now get it up!"

"It doesn't work that way," Doran snapped back. "I can't make it hard on command. Especially when you're trying to rip it out of me."

Amy liked the reaction she was getting from the vampire tied to the bed. She got off on the power she had over him and for once in a long time was getting aroused. "You're getting warmer," Amy said. "My heat is rubbing off on you."

"Get it over," Doran said.

"Don't act like you don't like it. All men love to get laid."

"I do, but not by a cow like you," Doran said.

Amy pulled back and pushed herself up onto her arms. "Cow? Did you call me a cow?"

Doran knew he was in for it now. He was tied down and vulnerable and made a huge mistake. He looked around for anything Amy could use as a weapon. Pissed as a rodeo bull, Amy rolled off Doran and did her best to stand up. She stomped around the room nude looking for something to use to hit Doran with. All she could find was jars of canned food and some painting supplies.

"What are you doing?" Doran asked.

"I'm going to show you what a cow can do," Amy replied.

"You're going to harm someone who can't defend themselves?"

"That's the best kind," Amy replied. She was pulling jars off the shelves looking to see if there was anything behind them. In frustration, she stepped over to Doran and bent over slapping him in the face. "You're a piece of shit, you know that?" Amy asked.

"You were raping me a second ago, what do you expect?" Doran asked.

"You wish I was raping you," Amy said. She stopped looking for something to use for a weapon and sat back in the chair.

"Can you put your clothes back on?" Doran asked.

"No, fuck you," Amy said. She spread her legs and dangled her tits in front of Doran. "You don't like what you see?"

"Not really," Doran replied.

"Get used to it, this is going to be my sex parlor from now on, and you're going to be my sex slave," Amy said.

"Why? Are you tired of fucking your dad?" Doran asked.

"Oh no you didn't!" Amy snapped.

"I must have struck a nerve," Doran said.

Amy stood up and picked up the chair she was sitting on. She held it up like she was going to strike Doran with it and paused panting like she had run a marathon. "I will fuck you up, do you understand me?" Amy asked.

Doran knew he pushed too far this time. "Yes, I understand," Doran replied.

"You know what? You look like a queer to me anyway, are you a queer?" Amy asked.

Doran stared at Amy and didn't reply.

"I bet that's it, I found the one queer vampire there is."

Doran still didn't reply.

Amy set the chair back down and picked up her clothes. In frustration she shut off the light and left the room slamming it shut leaving Doran locked up in the dark. Livid, Amy stormed up the stairs to the hallway and walked into the kitchen. She was still nude but didn't care and tossed her nightgown on the table where her mother and father were sitting drinking coffee. It was very late and normally everyone would be in bed, but instead with all the excitement, everyone was up drinking coffee in the kitchen.

"Honey, put your clothes on," Kim said. "Do you want some coffee?"

"I'll get it myself," Amy said and grabbed a cup from the cupboard. She poured a cup of coffee and walked over to the table.

"You heard your mother, put your clothes on, nobody wants to see you naked," Bill said.

"That makes three of you," Amy said pissed.

"What do you mean?" Kim asked.

"Our vampire is a fucking queer."

"What do you mean?" Kim asked.

"I tried to fuck him and he turned me down."

"But don't most men turn you down?" Bill asked.

"What does that mean daddy?" Amy asked. She was beyond livid.

"You're always complaining about how men ignore you."

"You could be more supportive you know, you are my father."

"I've supported you all your life, you still live at home."

"I take care of both of you and you know it. If it weren't for me you'd both be in a nursing home and I'd be living here alone," Amy said.

"That's right, alone, because no man will have you," Bill said.

"That's funny daddy, because you had me last week, remember?" Amy asked.

Kim's eye's widened and her mouth opened when she heard her daughter. "What are you talking about?" Kim asked. She was in shock.

"Don't act like you don't know," Amy said. "Me and daddy have been doing it for years."

Kim sat in stunned silence.

Bill spoke up to defend himself. "That's a lie and you know it, don't say such horrible things!"

"Horrible things? I had your cock in my mouth on the couch while mom was a bible study. How's that for horrible?" Amy asked.

"Is that true Bill? Did our daughter have oral sex with you?" Kim asked.

Bill shook his head no but was an awful liar. "This is the ranting of a spoiled child. She should have moved out years ago."

"Then who would have let you fuck them in the ass? Mom? I don't think so," Amy said.

"Bill! You fucked our daughter in her ass?"

Realizing he was fucked, Bill decided to confess. "Every Time I ever asked you, you turned me down. Sixty years we are married and not once did you let me put it in your backside!"

"So you put it in Amy?" Kim asked.

"I'm not proud of it, but yes, I did," Bill replied.

Kim looked at Amy with horror in her eyes. "You home wrecker!" Kim yelled.

"Home wrecker? He molested me!" Amy yelled back.

"I want you out of my house!" Kim yelled. "I won't have another woman screwing my husband, not even my daughter!"

Amy was surprised at her mother's reaction. She thought she'd be pissed at Bill, not her. "Mom, dad started molesting me at fourteen, I was a child. You can't blame me for what he did."

"I don't believe you, get out," Kim replied.

"Ask him, he's sitting right next to you."

Kim looked at Bill and back at Amy. "Bill would never do such a horrible thing. It was your fault. You tempted him and he had no choice."

"No choice?"

"He's a man, he was only doing what men do. You walked around the house in your underwear tempting him."

"What's wrong with you mother?"

"You tried to have sex with a man tied up in the basement, what's the difference between that and having sex with your father?"

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# Chapter 30

# 9 days later

Cyprian sat in his office looking out the window at the zombie vampires mulling in and around the pit. He knew they were starving and he needed to get out before they fed on him. His brother and Jaycee had failed to return and now with the tunnels blocked and with no food to feed his beasts, his time was up. Sporadically, Cyprian heard the sounds of fighting and outbreaks of the beasts killing each other for food. It would only be a matter of time before an overall feeding frenzy took over that sent the mass of zombie vampires after each other.

With no light from above, it was hard to judge the time of day without a clock. It always felt like three o'clock in the afternoon but it was actually ten in the morning. Cyprian walked to the door and opened it, he peered out and tried to judge the mood of the beasts as he made his escape. He looked at the pit and saw a skirmish on the opposite side that was gaining momentum quickly. He knew it was time to go before the entire pit turned into a bloodbath but it was too late. As quick as a wildfire, the zombie vampires tore into each other, feeding and killing any others around them.

In a mad dash, Cyprian took off running along the path around the pit and ran into the tunnel that led to the storm sewer. Behind him he could hear the roar of the beasts as they continued to tear each other apart and feed on each other. As he scurried along the tunnel, Cyprian met up with other zombie vampires that were wandering around who had now also heard the sounds. They seemed to be tuned into what was going on and headed back towards the pit ignoring Cyprian to his relief.

Then Cyprian head a voice, the voice of Martin, the one zombie vampire that could speak. "Will you save me?" Martin asked from the shadow.

Cyprian recognized the voice and paused to answer. "I don't know if I can save myself," Cyprian said.

Martin stepped out of the shadow. "I don't want to be eaten."

"Neither do I, if you want to follow me that's fine, just don't get in my way."

Cyprian took off down the tunnel followed by Martin. A few hundred yards further and they found the entrance to the storm sewer. This time, instead of heading downstream, Cyprian decided to head upstream. He didn't know why Doran and Jaycee failed to return, but he was sure he wasn't going to follow the same path. Down into the sewer Cyprian and Martin climbed and upstream they walked in the dark. Moving along, their footsteps echoed in the tunnel and their feet splashed water that ran down the pipe.

"Where you go?" Martin asked from behind.

"Where I won't be eaten," Cyprian replied.

"Where is that?"

"I don't know," Cyprian replied. "I'll know when I get there."

"Can I be with you?" Martin asked.

"If you mean stay with me, no, I don't need a tag-a-long to hold me back," Cyprian replied.

"I can help."

"Help? Help how?"

"I can find more zombie vampires."

"I had over a thousand and couldn't keep them, what makes you think I want more?" Cyprian asked.

"Too many, you had too many."

Cyprian thought about what Martin said. He might have been right. Maybe an army of over a thousand was too much to maintain, but a smaller, more manageable force would work. But he didn't want to start over from scratch. Being a vampire, the agency couldn't kill him, and he couldn't be given the death penalty for the theatre massacre, but they could lock him up for a very long time. Now a fugitive on the run, he needed a new plan. "How many can you find me?" Cyprian asked.

Martin raised his hands and used his fingers to count.

"What does that mean? Ten?" Cyprian asked.

"No, more than ten," Martin replied.

"I need fifty, can you find me fifty?" Cyprian asked.

"I try," Martin replied.

"I need better than try, or else I need to leave this city. What I need is that girl. With her powers I could take over."

"I will find her for you," Martin said.

"What? What's with you? First you tell me you will find me more beasts and now you tell me you'll find the girl. What else will you promise me and why?"

"I don't like being zombie vampire, I was man, I feel like man," Martin replied.

"I always wondered about you, it looks like you only turned half way. I wonder why?"

"I want to be man again," Martin said.

"I'm sorry but I don't have a magical cure that will turn you back into a man, but if you can help me fine. You find me an army and I'll find the girl," Cyprian said. "Now we need to find a way out of this tunnel."

"Look for cover on top of tunnel," Martin said.

"Like a manhole cover?" Cyprian asked.

"Yes, that is our way out."

Cyprian continued up the storm sewer looking for the light around a manhole cover. Then he spotted one and ran up to it. There was metal rungs embedded into the brick leading up to the cover so Cyprian climbed up and pushed the cover aside. Once he popped his head up, he could see that he was still downtown, but in a less traveled area. There were cars parked along the street but none driving on the street that could be a problem. Quickly, Cyprian climbed out of the hole and helped Martin out sliding the cover back into place.

"We need to hide," Cyprian said. "They probably have cameras on every exit they could think of."

The sunlight stung Martin and he cowered covering his eyes. His pale white skin looked like he was covered in snow and contrasted his dark shadow from the morning sun. "Where?" Martin asked.

Cyprian took off and darted between two buildings into an alley followed by Martin who had a difficult time seeing in the bright sunlight. Once they found shade, Cyprian looked around and tried to get his bearings. Before they lived in the tunnels, the brothers had a house on the south edge of town which Cyprian was sure was now confiscated by the agency. Going home was not an option. The other option was to purchase a room with vampire welfare money, the same money he no longer had access to since turning against the humans. The thought of living on the streets offended Cyprian, he was used to better living arrangements.

"Where we go?" Martin asked.

"My options are limited with you tagging along," Cyprian said. "Why don't you go round up more zombie vampires and meet me back here tomorrow night?"

"Where you go?" Martin asked.

"I can blend in, maybe go to a homeless shelter, or go down to the north viaduct."

"What's there?"

"There's a large homeless population that lives there. I can stay there and not be noticed."

"Can I meet you there?" Martin asked.

"Absolutely not!" Cyprian snapped. "Last thing I need is a group of zombie vampires showing up. I need a place to stay for a while so I can get back on my feet. They're not going to reinstate my benefits anytime soon."

"I will look for you," Martin said.

"See if you can find an abandoned house while you're out," Cyprian said. The more he spoke with Martin, the less of a burden he became and more of an asset. At first he felt Martin was a nuisance tag along, but now he was turning out to be someone he could use.

"I will try," Martin said.

"Ok, go now, I'm going to head to the viaduct. I'll meet you back here tomorrow night. If I'm not here, don't try to find me, do you understand?" Cyprian asked.

"Why you not come?" Martin asked.

"One, I'm dead or two, I found a better deal, for your sake, hope I come back."

Martin didn't like what he heard. "No, I won't go then," Martin said.

"What?"

"I won't go, you won't come back."

"You're worse than a fucking stray dog," Cyprian said. "Go or I'll make you go."

Martin shook his head then looked away. He was very disappointed and felt like he was being used. He turned back to Cyprian and said, "Fuck you."

Surprised, Cyprian replied, "Now you grow some balls? Funny, now get away from me."

Martin hobbled down the alley and out of view as Cyprian took off in the other direction heading north towards the viaduct.

Then Cyprian had an epiphany, why not look up Jaycee? If she and Doran survived, they may have gone back to her place instead of the pit. Cyprian felt the two never really were on board with him and his plan. Without a phone it would be difficult to find an address, so Cyprian had to find a way to look her up. Phone booths were a thing of the past and finding a cell phone in a phone book was next to impossible. Then he had an idea, all he needed was to find someone with a phone and lie to them. And he saw his mark between two buildings across the street, an automotive parts store.

Crossing between the buildings and across the street, Cyprian entered the parts store and waited at the counter. A middle aged man with a shirt that read "Bob" greeted Cyprian. "What can I do for you?" the man asked.

"I need to look up an address and I don't have my phone, do you have a way I could do that?" Cyprian asked.

The man pulled his cell from his pocket and looked at Cyprian. "Name?"

"Jaycee Henry," Cyprian replied.

The clerk typed in her name and waited for a response. "1114 Oak, apt. #4," the man said. "Do you want her phone number?"

"Yes," Cyprian replied and the man read off the number. Cyprian wrote the number on some scratch paper with a pen he found on the counter. "Thanks," Cyprian said and left the building.

Looking at the street signs, Cyprian figured he was a good two miles from Jaycee's apartment and took off walking in that direction. If he found his brother there, they're would be hell to pay leaving him behind to fend for himself with the zombie vampire army starving to death. Then Cyprian head sirens and saw police cars and fire trucks speeding across town accompanied by a civil defense siren that blew only when tornadoes were in the area. He could only assume the zombie vampire feeding fest had broken free of the pit and had spilled out into the streets.

He was only a few blocks from the old city hall and knew of only one exit the agency didn't block. It would be like shooting fish in a barrel as the zombie vampires fled to the streets to avoid being eaten by the others starving below. Then he heard gunshots, and machine gun fire and the occasional screams from people he couldn't see. Above he heard then saw a helicopter fly by, it was either the state patrol or a news helicopter, he couldn't tell in the glare of the sun.

The city was anticipating the zombie vampires to starve and eventually try to leave the tunnels and now they were faced with the aftermath. The plan was for Cyprian and Doran to be killed by their own monsters so the city wouldn't have to be responsible for doing it themselves. Little did they know both brothers had escaped and were on the loose.

Cyprian walked in the opposite direction of the sounds putting as much distance between him and the cops as he could. He was a wanted vampire and he knew he would be picked up on site and taken to jail. He was still a protected species, but that didn't mean much when it came to jail time. The further Cyprian walked, the better he felt as the gunfire increased the sounds faded but it was more constant, like an endless firing squad. All Cyprian could do was imagine the beasts leaving the one exit and getting mowed down. After a while the exit would be so bogged down with bodies they agency would have to clear them with a bulldozer to let more out just to get mowed down.

A thousand zombie vampires were either killing themselves or being killed trying to run for their lives and Cyprian wanted nothing to do with them any longer. His plan failed and his only hope was meeting up with Jaycee. Martin he felt, was a long shot.

# Chapter 31

# License

Jaycee picked up her car from the impound/evidence lot and drove over to the license bureau like she was told. As a new vampire, she was required to register within sixty days but decided to get it done right away. She had been released from custody as it was determined she was not working with the vampire brothers in a plot to take over the city. Now at the license counter, she met with a county clerk at the license office window.

"I need to apply for a license," Jaycee said to the man behind the counter.

"For?" he asked.

Jayce was insecure and didn't want anyone to hear her so she spoke in a soft voice. "Vampire," Jaycee replied.

It was very rare that anyone applied for a vampire license since it was illegal to turn anyone into a vampire so the clerk thought she was joking. Seeing the expression on his face, Jaycee smiled and showed the clerk her fangs. He quickly changed his tone. "I need to get my supervisor," he said and stepped away from the counter disappearing into an office. Jaycee looked around at the clerks who were busy typing and helping customers waiting for the supervisor to return. Then a woman approached the counter and said, "Come with me," and pointed to where Jaycee could walk around the counter.

In the supervisor's office, Jaycee was asked to sit down on the opposite side of the desk. It felt like she was at a job interview.

"Hi, my name is Linda, I run the license office. We don't usually bring people into my office but my clerk has never done a vampire before and asked for help. I haven't actually done one either but we have more time in here."

Jaycee smiled and tried to be polite as Linda explained what was going on.

Linda typed on her computer while Jaycee looked at the pictures of Linda's kids on her desk. "You have a nice looking family," Jaycee said.

"Thanks, those are my twins, Amanda and Susan. Do you have kids?" Linda asked.

"No, not yet," Jaycee replied.

"Ok, I think I found what I need. I have a few questions for you if you don't mind."

"No, go ahead," Jaycee replied.

"First, your name?"

"Jaycee Henry."

"Date of birth?"

"September 7th, 1970," Jaycee replied.

"Address?"

"1114 Oak, apt. #4"

"Phone?"

"874-555-5241"

"Occupation?"

"Unemployed," Jaycee replied.

"What were your last three jobs?" Linda asked.

"Housekeeper, the Glory Hole, and pizza cook," Jaycee replied.

"What's the Glory Hole?"

"I used to suck old men's cocks for cash, they went out of business I think," Jaycee replied.

"I see, well you won't have to do that ever again," Linda said.

"Why not?"

"You qualify for benefits now, I think it's around two thousand a month for life."

Jaycee immediately thought of Tynice and how pissed she was that Tynice didn't have to get a job because she got vampire welfare checks. The irony made Jaycee giggle.

"What's so funny?" Linda asked.

"I knew a vampire who got vampire welfare, I hated that bitch with every bone in my body," Jaycee replied.

"It's not welfare, there are a lot of people who hate vampires and this money allows the vampires to live without being harassed or harmed."

"I get that, but this bitch took her entitlement to the extreme. I admire vampires that get real jobs," Jaycee said.

"According to this, you can earn up to twelve hundred a month and not have it affect your benefits. Do you still want to work?" Linda asked.

"I want to do something, I can't stay at home all the time, and I'd go nuts."

"Well, this will allow you to find a job you like instead of a job you have to take. I also see there are credits for college if you want to go that route. The state will pay sixty percent of your tuition and if you stay in the state after graduation will forgive the entire cost of school."

"That's awesome!" Jaycee said.

"It does say that it has to be in an approved field of study."

"Like what?" Jaycee asked.

"Says nursing, engineering, social work, teaching or truck driving."

"Truck driving?"

"There is a nationwide shortage of qualified over the road truck drivers," Linda said. "I know, we license them."

"I think nursing sounds interesting," Jaycee said.

"The community college has an associate's degree program. You should look into it," Linda said. "Ok, there is usually a twenty dollar fee for any license but since you're a vampire we waive that fee. We need to get a thumb print for your license since your picture won't show and we'll have you on your way."

"This is awesome," Jaycee said with a smile.

"Oh, there is one other thing is says here. We need to set you up with a serum kit."

"What's that?" Jaycee asked.

"As a vampire, you're allowed two human kills a year with a permit. I'll issue you your permits before you leave. You also get a scanner that reads the chips we have embedded so you don't kill someone not on the approved list."

"Approved list?"

"They don't want you killing doctors or lawyers or anyone else they deem important, it's all legal. All you have to do is get within five feet of who you want to kill, click the scanner and look at the light. Green means you can kill, red means no. It's pretty simple," Linda explained.

"Who gets a green light?" Jaycee asked.

"People not deemed important to society, like the homeless, criminals, people like that."

"So what's this serum for?"

"What you get is a syringe filled with a chemical that keeps the human you kill from turning into a vampire. All you have to do is pop the top off the needle and inject the serum anywhere in the body. Says here preferably in the mid torso or neck. Once that's done, you have to call the Vampire Protection Agency to pick up the body for disposal."

"What if I forget to do all that?" Jaycee asked.

"There is a fine and jail time, don't forget to inject and call," Linda said.

"I won't," Jaycee said.

"You have to be careful with the syringe too, don't let anyone near it. That's how we got the zombie vampire's in the first place."

"Really? How?" Jaycee asked.

"Some vampire's kids got ahold of her syringe and played around with it. She injected her kill with diluted serum and instead of not turning into a vampire, it turned into the first zombie vampire. That one got loose and spread its contaminated blood all over. Now we have thousands of them running around."

Jaycee was well aware of how many zombie vampires there were. That was before they turned on themselves in starvation. Now the population was closer to a few hundred that were scattered around the city. "I don't have kids, so I don't think that will be a problem."

With her new license, permits and serum kit, Jaycee drove home to her apartment. It was the first time in a long time she had been home and it felt odd. Luckily her rent was paid up for the month and she didn't have to come home to an eviction notice on the door. Once inside, she set her purse on the living room table and fished out the serum kit. It had to be refrigerated and kept under forty degrees. Then she noticed something odd. There was a mess on her kitchen counter and it looked recent.

"Don't freak out," a male voice said. It was Cyprian standing in the doorway between the kitchen and Jaycee's bedroom.

Jaycee spun around and saw Cyprian standing with only a towel around his waist.

"I hope you don't mind, I need a shower," Cyprian said.

"What are you doing here?" Jaycee asked. She felt panic and a sense of relief at the same time.

"I had to leave the tunnels, the beasts were starving and turning on each other. It was only a matter of time before they turned on me," Cyprian replied.

"How did you find my place?"

"Online, how does anyone find anyone?"

"How long have you been here?" Jaycee asked.

"Not long, a week maybe," Cyprian replied. "Where's my brother?"

"We were separated, I haven't seen him since we left the tunnel."

"What happened?"

"They were waiting for us at the end of the tunnel. I heard gunshots and everyone took off running," Jaycee replied.

"The last you saw he was still alive?"

"Yes, they took me to the police station, I didn't see him."

"So he either escaped or was killed," Cyprian said.

"I don't know," Jaycee replied.

"If he's alive, I'll find him, but for now I need to hide out. I hope you don't mind if I stay here," Cyprian said.

"Do I have a choice?"

"I let you live with me, I would hope you'd return the favor."

"Things have changed, I'm registered now and you're a wanted vampire. You being here could screw that up for me," Jaycee said.

"I see, you'd rather throw me out on the street. I didn't throw you out, I could have you know. I could have fed you to my beasts."

Jaycee felt guilty now. She knew Cyprian helped her in her time of need and now she was feeling obligated to help him. "Fine, you can stay, but I don't want you coming and going and getting caught."

"I don't plan on getting caught."

"Nobody plans on getting caught," Jaycee replied.

Then Cyprian remembered Martin. Hopefully the zombie vampire moved on to greener pastures and had no desire to look Cyprian up in the future. If it did, his plans would be fucked up for good. "You're a witch, I need another spell," Cyprian said.

"What kind of spell?" Jaycee asked.

"A spell of protection, I need a buffer to keep my fellow species at bay."

"I'm your species if you forgot," Jaycee said.

"Let me be more specific. Do you remember the zombie vampire named Martin? The one that could talk?"

"Yes," Jaycee replied.

"He might be looking for me, I don't want him to find me."

"Why is he looking for you?"

"He's like a child looking for a parent. He wants me to take care of him. The last thing I need is a zombie vampire hanging around," Cyprian said.

"So you want a spell to keep him away?" Jaycee asked.

"Yes," Cyprian replied.

Jaycee thought hard for a spell she could use. Most of her spells she made up on the spot and they seemed to work. She stepped over to Cyprian and placed her hands on his bare shoulders and closed her eyes. "From this time forth, maybe you be invisible to those who seek to bind you, I say this to keep you from harm, and to keep those who would at bay." Jaycee opened her eyes and looked Cyprian in the eye. "How was that?" Jaycee asked.

"I guess we'll find out if Martin comes a knocking on the door," Cyprian said with a smile. "If spells were that easy, why don't everyone use them?"

"I don't know, maybe not everyone's as good at casting them as I am."

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# Chapter 32

# Martin

It was past nine in the evening when the silent alarm went off at "Smokes and More" tobacco shop. Gary and his crew were called to the scene when a group of zombie vampires were seen leaving the building. Gary pulled up to the curb and shut off the lights, they didn't use lights or sirens as they wanted to catch the zombie vampires in action. Out of the car, Gary and two other agency officers approached the open front door and entered with guns drawn.

Immediately Gary saw a zombie vampire across the room and shot at it as it ran into the back. Looking at the floor, Gary saw a zombie vampire raise its head and look back. It had been chewing on an employee and was dripping blood on the body below. It didn't try to run and seemed more lucid than most of the zombie vampires Gary had contact with before. Then it spoke. "Don't kill me," and pushed the body away.

Gary aimed the gun at the zombie vampire and wondered if he was imagining things. A zombie vampire that talked? "Don't kill you? Since when do you fuckers talk?" Gary asked.

"Only I talk," the zombie vampire replied. It was Martin, and he was now alone. His fellow zombie vampires took off running out the back door.

Gary was at a loss to say anything to the zombie vampire who was kneeling over a body ten feet away speaking to him. "Get up," Gary said.

Martin stood up the best he could. He was still hunched over and couldn't stand fully erect. "I was hungry," Martin said.

"I don't know if I should blow you away or take you to the zoo," Gary said. Shooting the one talking vampire might not sit well with his supervisors Gary thought. And one other officer heard Martin before he ran out back so Gary couldn't kill Martin like he was a common zombie vampire. "I guess I should take you down to the station," Gary said.

"I will go," Martin said.

"I'm not sticking you in my car like that," Gary said. Then the two other officers returned to the front of the store out of breath.

"They got away," one of the officers said. His name was Brent. The other was named Bo.

"This one's going to the station," Gary said. The two officers didn't see the zombie vampire standing in the middle of the room till Gary brought it to their attention.

"Holy shit! Shoot it!" Brent yelled, gun in hand.

"No! Not this one, it talks!" Gary yelled back. "Cuff it."

"Seriously? I'm not getting close to that thing," Brent said.

"Well zombie vampire, I don't know what to do with you."

Martin put out his hands for the officer to cuff him.

"Look, this one not only talks, it's smart," Gary said.

Brent walked over and cuffed Martin keeping a close eye on his face to see if it would attack. Martin didn't flinch, but blood continued to drool out of his mouth and down his chest. "We need to hose it off if we're taking it down to the station," Brent said.

Back at the station, Martin was cleaned up and locked in a cell. A camera was aimed at the zombie vampire and all his actions were being monitored. Gary pulled up a chair and sat in the hall outside Martin's cell with a notepad in his hand. Martin sat on a cold steel bench in the corner of the cell huddled against the wall picking at his teeth.

"I need to talk to you," Gary said.

Martin slid over and faced Gary but kept his eyes looking at the floor.

"Why is it you can talk and none of the other zombie vampires can?" Gary asked.

"Don't know," Martin replied.

"Do you know who you were before you were turned?" Gary asked.

"Martin," the zombie vampire replied.

"Martin who?"

"Don't remember."

"How long have you been a zombie vampire?" Gary asked.

Martin shrugged his shoulders, he had no idea.

"What do you know about the other zombie vampires?"

"Nothing," Martin replied.

"You are one, how can you not know anything about them?"

"They don't talk."

"But you live with them."

"So do you," Martin said.

"Not like you do," Gary said frustrated. "Where did you come from?"

"I lived in tunnel," Martin replied.

Realizing Martin may have had contact with the brothers, Gary found a new line of questioning. "Did you meet any vampires? Not zombie vampires, there would have been two of them."

"Yes," Martin replied.

"Did you know one named Cyprian?" Gary asked.

"Yes," Martin replied.

"Do you know where he is? Is he still in the tunnels?"

Martin hesitated to reply. He was hoping to meet up with Cyprian again in the future. "I don't know," Martin replied.

"When was the last time you saw him?"

"Few days ago," Martin replied.

"Where?"

Martin went silent and looked away.

"If you know where he is you better fucking tell me now. I don't give a shit if you can talk or not, you either tell me what I need to know or I take you out back and put a bullet in your head," Gary snapped.

"He's not in tunnels anymore," Martin said. "Zombie vampires kill each other in tunnels, he and I escaped," Martin said.

"So you do know where he is."

"No, he told me to leave," Martin replied.

Gary didn't have the information he needed, but he did know Cyprian was no longer in the tunnel system and that the zombie vampires turned on themselves. With this new information, maybe the mayor would allow the agency to gas the tunnels. But without proof of Cyprians whereabouts, it might still be a tough sell.

Hearing footsteps in the hall, Gary turned to see Commander Blunt heading his way. "What do you have?" Blunt asked stopping at the cell.

"This is Martin, he talks," Gary replied.

"Get anything useful from it?"

"Some, he says Cyprian is out of the tunnel system."

"What about Doran?" Blunt asked.

Martin nodded his head, "Yes, he left as well."

"Good, we killed about six hundred of those zombie vampire fuckers when they left the tunnel like rats abandoning a sinking ship. Maybe we can gas the rest of them now," Blunt said.

"I don't know if we can trust the testimony of a talking zombie vampire," Gary said. "We probably need more than that. He could be lying to us to protect the brothers."

"Could be, what do you think we should do with it?" Blunt asked.

"It's the only one of its kind, we should keep it locked up in case we need it later," Gary said.

"I suppose, but I'd rather not house it down here with the other prisoners," Blunt said.

"Where else is there?"

"I don't know, never mind, leave it here, if the other prisoners complain, tell them we have no choice."

Then Martin spoke up. "I will help you, if you save me."

"Save you from what?" Gary asked.

"I don't want to die."

"Nobody's trying to kill you."

"Not now, but later."

"You want to make some sort of agreement?" Gary asked.

"Yes," Martin replied.

"That depends, what can you give me that I need?"

"I can give you Cyprian," Martin replied.

"You just said you didn't know where he is."

"I don't, but I can find him," Martin said.

"How? Do you have some special zombie vampire tracking ability?"

Martin shook his head. "I can sense him," Martin replied.

Gary looked up at Blunt who was standing over his shoulder. "Looks like we have ourselves a tracking dog."

Blunt spoke up, "How long will it take for you to find Cyprian?" Blunt asked.

"Day, maybe two," Martin replied.

"And another two days for Doran?"

"I don't know about Doran, I can't feel him," Martin replied.

"What does that mean?"

"He is lost, buried somewhere."

"Dead and buried?" Blunt asked.

"I don't think he's dead, but I can't feel him anymore," Martin replied.

"Maybe he's left the area," Gary said.

Blunt thought for a moment. "Ok, put a leash on it and see what you can find."

Gary contacted the k-9 unit and obtained a dog harness that he strapped onto Martin. Gary didn't know how strong Martin was but he looked fairly sickly and didn't think he could escape. He, along with Officer Carr put Martin in the back of a squad car and drove downtown looking for Cyprian. Martin was in the back seat behind the metal mesh barrier looking out the window as they drove down the street.

"Feel anything?" Gary asked.

"No," Martin replied.

"Where should I be heading?"

"I don't know."

"You're not a lot of help," Gary said.

"I will know when I know," Martin said.

Carr, frustrated said, "I think he's bluffing, we should take it out and shoot it. We're wasting our time."

"Do you have something better to do?" Gary asked.

"Yeah, I heard there are still zombie vampires coming out of the tunnels, I could be getting some target practice in right now," Carr replied.

"As much fun as that sounds, we have the most important job right now. If we can locate the brothers, they can gas the tunnels and get rid of over half the zombie vampires in town in one shot," Gary said.

"I heard they're going to hold a special session of congress and change that fucking law," Carr said.

"I didn't hear anything about that."

"Yep, they want to change it so that in an emergency, a judge can ok the suppression of the Endangered Species Act," Carr said.

"When are they doing this?"

"Right now, I'll Google it," Carr said pulling out his cell phone. Pushing on the touch screen Carr pulled up the news story and read it aloud. "Says here, and I quote, "Congress has convened a special legislative session in direct response to the zombie vampire attack," Carr said.

"How long will it take?"

Carr continued to read the story to himself scanning for the answer. "Says they could have the law changed as soon as tomorrow."

"So we're wasting our time looking for Cyprian?" Gary asked.

"Looks like it, if they change the law, they can gas the tunnels by Friday," Carr replied.

"I need to tell Blunt, we might be taking Martin out to the shooting range anyway."

"Keep it, you don't have a pet," Carr said with a smile.

#

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# Chapter 33

# Apartment

Jaycee slipped her hands down to the towel wrapped around Cyprian and tugged on it till it fell to the floor. Cyprian stood naked before her. "Do you mind if I take a shower with you?" Jaycee asked.

"I don't mind at all," Cyprian replied.

Jaycee stepped around Cyprian into her bedroom and undressed. Once nude, she turned to face the vampire. She had an average body, wide hips and a firm set of breasts that rode high on her chest. Without saying a word, Jaycee led Cyprian into the bathroom and turned on the shower. Once the water was warm, she stepped inside followed by Cyprian. The stall was confining, but in a way a good thing. It brought them together as they held each other.

"Are you getting a job?" Cyprian asked. It was getting dark outside and both vampires were sitting at the kitchen table sipping coffee after the shower.

"I think so," Jaycee replied.

"Doing what?"

"I saw an ad for a daycare worker."

"Daycare worker? You want to clean up dirty screaming kids all day?" Cyprian asked.

"I like kids," Jaycee replied.

"You couldn't pay me enough to do that job."

"Have you ever had a job? Or have you lived on vampire welfare all your life?" Jaycee asked.

"I don't like it when people call it welfare. I'm not a bum," Cyprian said. He was getting angry.

"What do you prefer to call it?"

"Reparations," Cyprian replied.

"What does that mean?"

"That means your ancestors hunted my kind almost to extinction. The money I get is too pay for the crimes against my people."

"Yeah, that makes me wonder, why did you give that up?"

"I didn't give it up."

"Are you sure? When you and Doran decided to take over the world I'm sure they canceled your payments," Jaycee said.

Cyprian slid his chair over to Jaycee's computer table and brought up his bank account. He logged on and looked at his balance. Then he realized that he fucked up by logging on and could possibly be traced. In a panic, he logged off as if that would erase what he had done."

"What did it say?" Jaycee asked.

Cyprian turned to Jaycee with sweat dripping off his face. "It said balance zero. Not only did they stop my payments, they took what I had in the account."

"Why are you sweating?" Jaycee asked.

"I just made a huge mistake logging into my account. They can trace me back with your IP address."

"I use the Wi-Fi from the superintendent's office, I don't have my own internet access. It's part of my rent," Jaycee said.

"That's better, but it may still lead them to this building," Cyprian said.

"Maybe, but they'll still need a search warrant if they want in my apartment."

"I'm not usually paranoid, but I better not leave this place for a while. They'll put it under surveillance for sure."

"That's not a problem, where were you going anyway?" Jaycee asked.

"I was going to look for my brother at some point."

"Are you planning on starting a new zombie vampire army?"

"No, I knew eventually it would never work. There were too many mouths to feed. At first I had all these grandiose plans, but as time passed, I soon realized they were unsustainable," Cyprian replied. "But I wouldn't mind having a few bodyguards."

"I'd have to cast another spell for that to work," Jaycee said.

"Would you?"

"I suppose, but I don't want any zombie vampires living here."

"I agree, this place is too small."

"How many bodyguards do you want?" Jaycee asked.

"I need around twenty," Cyprian replied.

"You'd need the entire apartment building to house that many, and you're stuck feeding them again."

"What do you propose I do? Turn myself into the agency?" Cyprian asked.

"I don't understand what you're trying to prove, living on the run is no life. If you pay your dues you can start over," Jaycee said.

"My dues? I'm sure that's at least forty years in prison."

"What's that to a vampire? How old are you?" Jaycee asked.

"Two hundred and sixty five," Cyprian replied.

Jaycee was a bit shocked by Cyprian's answer. She knew vampires lived long lives, but that was more than she anticipated. "In all those years, have you ever tried anything like this before?"

"Zombie vampires didn't exist back then. I was on my own," Cyprian replied.

"How about your brother?"

"We weren't always close."

"If I were you I'd contact the police and negotiate something," Jaycee said.

"Negotiate with the police? Are you trying to be funny?"

"Cut your losses, you're not immortal. If you continue, they could cut off your head, or burn you. Do you want to end up dead?" Jaycee asked.

"I've wanted to die more times than you can imagine. Live as long as I have and you soon realize that a long life is a curse. Living in prison for forty years would be unimaginable."

"I think you're heading for suicide. " Jaycee said.

"If that were the case, I would have jumped into the pit and let my army consume me."

"Then explain to me what you plan to do? The cops are after you and they will get you."

"I plan to stay here for a while," Cyprian replied.

"And then?"

"I need to think on it. Give me some time."

"You can stay as long as you want, I don't care. But I think you should come up with a plan that doesn't land you in prison for the next forty years. I personally think you'd be best turning yourself in," Jaycee said.

"I'll consider that as an option," Cyprian said. "But I do want to find my brother before I give myself up. I won't be able to find him behind bars."

"I think that's an excuse," Jaycee said.

"Do you have a brother or a sister?" Cyprian asked.

"No," Jaycee replied.

"Then you don't know what I'm going through."

"Fine, look for your brother, but I think trying to take over the world is a big mistake. You will lose."

"I never tried to take over the world, I just wanted to own my own personal slice of it," Cyprian said. "For once I wanted to be in control, to rule. Since I was born I was the bug everyone stepped on. Now it was my turn."

"There are better ways to go about that. You can run for office, start your own company."

"I'm no business man, and politics are for the filthy and corrupt," Cyprian said.

"Using an army of zombie vampires to rule over and serve you wasn't filthy and corrupt?" Jaycee asked.

"No, I was taking advantage of an opportunity. Never before did such a population exist and I seized the chance to rule. It wasn't my fault the zombie vampires were attuned to such violence."

"That's why there's no king of the badgers, some are not meant to be ruled," Jaycee said.

"How was I to know until I tried?" Cyprian asked.

"You do have a point, but I think after a while you realized what they were all about and you should have cut your losses. Now you're complicit in their ruthlessness and have been branded Hitler of the zombie vampires."

"I abhor your comparison. I'm no Hitler."

"The public sees you that way."

"The public? Sheep I call them," Cyprian said.

"They may be sheep, but they make the laws and you're on the run. Like I said before, consider turning yourself in. As it is I'm now considered a coconspirator in your plan."

"An accessory maybe, I think coconspirator sounds a little cloak and dagger," Cyprian said. "It's not like we've had meetings to plan anything."

"We just fucked, I think we had our first meeting," Jaycee said. "So what are your plans for tomorrow?"

"I plan to keep low for a week, then go out and search for my brother," Cyprian replied.

"I hope we don't drive each other nuts, with my new vampire benefits I don't have to go look for a job so I can hang with you," Jaycee said. "I can help you look for him if you like."

"I could use your help. But I want to make sure I didn't fuck up by logging onto your computer. If they located the address, they'll stake out this apartment building."

"Ok, let's say they do think you're living here, if they get a search warrant we're fucked," Jaycee said.

"No shit," Cyprian replied.

"I got it, I'll tell them you gave me your login and username when I was living in the tunnel. You gave it to me in case I ever needed money," Jaycee said.

"They won't believe you, you have benefits now."

"They don't kick in for sixty days and my rent is due. That actually is true, I need to speak to my landlord and tell him what's going on so I don't get evicted."

"They may try to evict you anyway, lots of people don't like vampires," Cyprian said.

"That's discrimination, I'll call the equal opportunity commission if they try that shit."

"Your landlord can find ways around that. All he has to do is say your rent is past due and you're out. You better find a way to cover that until your benefits kick in," Cyprian said.

"I never thought of that, but you're assuming that's what they'll do. Maybe they won't give a shit."

"Past due rent is past due whether you're a vampire or not," Cyprian said.

"Great, now I either need a loan or a job!" Jaycee said.

"What kind of work do you do?" Cyprian asked.

"I used to be a housekeeper, and I sucked cock at the Glory Hole before it closed down," Jaycee replied.

"There's a new Glory Hole at the mall, I saw it when I walked over here," Cyprian said.

"I don't want to go back to sucking cock all day. And with these fangs, it would be very difficult."

"How much does it pay?"

"I could make enough in three days to cover my rent till the benefits come in," Jaycee replied.

"There you go, go over and apply, they'll probably hire you on the spot."

"They have a drug test," Jaycee said.

"So? Do you do drugs?" Cyprian asked.

"No, but what if it comes up in the test that I'm a vampire? They're not going to hire me if I am."

"You don't know that. Go apply and see what happens."

"You apply! You suck old men's cocks for eight hours a day and see how you like it!" Jaycee snapped.

"My brother's the queer, not me," Cyprian said.

"You know, I always thought that about him. He always gave me the gay vibe."

"So are you going to apply?" Cyprian asked.

Jaycee hung her head and shook her head. "Fine, I'll apply tomorrow morning," Jaycee said.

"Great, now let's get to bed."

"After my coffee," Jaycee said, and took a long slow sip.

#

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# Chapter 34

# Basement

After a discussion with Commander Blunt, Gary was told to eliminate Martin so instead of taking him out and shooting him, Gary decided to take him home and keep him as a souvenir. Since Gary didn't have any valuable information to provide to the agency, and the agency was planning to exterminate all the zombie vampires anyway, there was no need for another one to be running loose that could start up a new line. Gary felt he could keep Martin from escaping and thought the chances of the agency ever eradicating the entire population was pretty low so it was no harm to keep Martin around. If the agency got close to one hundred percent, Gary could finish Martin off then.

In the basement of his house, Gary cuffed Martin around the leg of his workbench. The only problem Gary anticipated was how to clean up after Martin, it wasn't a dog, but it had to be toileted somehow and installing a bathroom wasn't an option. Maybe a diaper? No, so Gary found a shovel, a bucket and a mop until he could come up with a better idea.

"How often do you eat?" Gary.

"All the time," Martin replied.

"How long can you go without eating?"

"Not long."

"Fuck," Gary said. He was hoping Martin was like a fish he could feed once a day. Now he was reconsidering keeping him. "I don't have any human to feed you, you'll have to settle for hot dogs and bacon for now." Gary opened the downstairs freezer and pulled out a package of bacon and set it on the workbench. With a knife he found on the bench he cut open the package and tossed it to Martin. "Wait till that thaws out and eat it," Gary said.

Martin looked at the frozen bacon and sniffed the air above it. "I can't eat that," Martin said.

"What?" Gary asked.

"I can't eat bacon, only human," Martin replied.

"Why not? It looks like human!"

"Make me sick."

"That's all I need, a zombie vampire puking all over my floor. Well I don't know what to tell you, I don't have any human in my freezer and I can't buy any down at the store."

Martin looked up at Gary and shook his head, then looked down at the floor.

"Is there anything else besides human you can eat?" Gary asked.

"Don't think so," Martin replied.

"You don't think so or you don't know so?"

"Please take away," Martin said looking at the bacon that was thawing on the floor.

"Fine," Gary said and picked up the bacon. He shoved it back in the package it came in and tossed it back in the freezer.

"The last time you ate was a while ago, how long can you last until you eat again?" Gary asked.

"I feel weak," Martin replied.

"Great, now I either need to get rid of you or raid a morgue."

"Can't eat old meat, must be fresh," Martin said.

"That's great," Gary replied. "Fuck!" he added and stomped around pissed. "I'll see what I can do, maybe I can find a bum for you down at the river," Gary said. He was kidding but not at the same time.

Hearing his wife upstairs, Gary needed to let her in on what he was doing. She was off today from the hospital and was cleaning the kitchen. "I'll be back later," Gary said and took off up the stairs to the main floor where he greeted his wife Cheryl. "Hey, I got to go get some stuff, whatever you do, don't go downstairs," Gary said.

"Why?" Cheryl asked. "What's going on?"

Hesitantly, Gary replied, "I have a zombie vampire tied up to my workbench."

"You're kidding right?"

"No, I'm keeping it for a while."

"Why in the fuck would you keep a zombie vampire in our basement?" Cheryl asked.

"It talks," Gary replied.

"So what? I don't want one of those fuckers in my house!" The last vampire we had we ended up cooked in our oven."

"This isn't a vampire, it's a zombie vampire."

"And that's supposed to make it better?" Cheryl asked.

"It's cuffed to my bench, just don't go down there."

"What if I need to get something out of the freezer?" Cheryl asked.

"If you need anything, I'll get it for you."

"Where are you going?"

"I need to feed it, I'll be back soon," Gary replied.

"Feed it what? I'm not cooking for that thing."

"It only eats human, I don't expect you to feed it."

Cheryl looked at Gary like he was stupid. "Where do you plan on getting human meat?" Cheryl asked.

"I'm going to find some homeless guy or something, don't worry about it," Gary replied.

"Are you insane? You can't go bring some homeless person back here and feed him to some pet you have tied up in our basement! You're an agency cop, you should know that better than anyone!" Cheryl yelled.

"Don't worry, it'll be fine," Gary said trying to reassure his wife.

"No it won't, I won't stand for it. The next time we get into a fight you'll try to feed me to it. Sorry, not going to happen. Now get that thing out of here or I'll kill it myself."

"Now listen honey," Gary said.

"Don't listen honey me, you let some vampire whore into this house before and I ended up cleaning up after you. I forgave you for that but I'm not letting you do this to me again!"

"It's a male, I'm not fucking it," Gary replied.

"Maybe I should," Cheryl said. "Serve you right after what you did."

"Yeah right, you don't put out for me anymore, I don't think I have to worry about you cheating on me."

Cheryl was pissed and ready to prove her husband wrong. "You said it was tied up, you go get your homeless guy and I'll spend a little quality time with your pet."

"Have you seen one of these things? They're gross, not even you'd fuck one," Gary said.

"Get rid of it unless you want to find out," Cheryl said.

"You know what? Go ahead, I'd like to see that myself actually."

"Fine, let's go," Cheryl said storming off to the door to the basement. "You coming?"

Gary followed his wife to the basement and down to his workbench where Martin was cuffed. Cheryl looked down at the naked, white hairless beast and started to reconsider what she said to Gary. But she wasn't going to let him win and needed to prove a point.

"Get at it," Gary said with a smile.

Martin looked up at the couple standing over him. He was hungry and confused.

Gary spoke up, "Martin, this is my wife Cheryl, she wants to prove a point to me and fuck you to get back at me for trying to screw a vampire in our shower."

"I don't understand," Martin replied.

"You don't have to understand, she's going to play with your cock for a while, just enjoy it," Gary said.

"I changed my mind," Cheryl said.

"I figured, you never follow through with anything you say."

"You're just trying to piss me off to get me to do it."

"I'm just trying to see if you'll do what you say," Gary said.

"I know when to admit I made a mistake."

"That is a cop out and you know it, once again you fail to deliver," Gary said.

"Try all you want, I'm not fucking that. If I want to get back at you, I'll find a person, not this diseased looking thing," Cheryl said.

"Hear that Martin? She thinks you're diseased."

"I am," Martin replied.

"Well, still proves a point she can't keep her word to save her life," Gary said.

"Fine asshole, you watch this!" Cheryl snapped as she pulled down her leggings and panties. With her bottom half naked, Cheryl got down on her knees and grabbed Martin by his ice cold cock. The sensation freaked her out at first but she wasn't going to let Gary see it in her eyes. After a good stroking, Martin began to get hard and respond to what Cheryl was doing.

Gary was jealous as his wife never put that much effort into him. "Why don't you do that to me?" Gary asked.

"You're hard before we ever start, I don't need too," Cheryl replied.

Although Martin had an erection, the ice cold cock and Martin's appearance did little to arouse Cheryl so she wasn't getting wet. "Can you go up to our bedroom and get that tube of lube?" Cheryl asked Gary.

"No, get it yourself, you didn't help that vampire when she was in the shower with me," Gary replied.

Frustrated, Cheryl spit on Martins cock and mounted him sliding his cold hard cock inside her. As he penetrated further, Cheryl grimaced and grit her teeth. She wanted to bail but couldn't let Gary win the argument.

"How's it feel?" Gary asked with a smile.

"Like a frozen tampon," Cheryl replied.

"I think you've proven your point," Gary said. "You can get off now."

Cheryl started to slide off when Martin lunged and wrapped his arms around her. The cuffs were broken and his teeth were embedded in Cheryl's neck as he tore in for a drink. In a panic, Gary ran to the tool rack on the wall and pulled off a pipe wrench. Trying to miss his wife, Gary slammed the pipe wrench on Martin's head and pounded until he let loose and flopped to the side. Cheryl pulled back with her hands wrapped around her throat spewing blood down her front and on the floor. She was unusually focused, as if she knew she was going to die if she didn't stop the bleeding.

She looked up at Gary and spit and sputtered trying to speak but she soon realized that her voice box was gone and the blood wasn't stopping. As she bled, she started to weep, almost realizing that there was no chance for recovery. It would only be a matter of time before she bled out and died in the basement on the floor.

Gary didn't know what to do, he knew there was nothing that could be done soon enough that would matter. His wife was dying and he was unable to help, all he could do was watch her die. Then it happened, she eventually lost consciousness and humped over dead, her hands falling to her sides.

As Gary looked at his dead wife, he saw Martin move. Its brains were visible through the scalp, but it was still alive. He felt like taking more whacks at the zombie vampire that had killed his wife, but was so defeated all he could do was set the pipe wrench on the bench and stare. "Why?" Gary asked.

Martin rolled over and looked up at Gary.

"Why did you kill my wife?" Gary asked.

"She attacked me," Martin replied.

"Attacked?"

"I defend myself."

"How are you not dead?" Gary asked.

"I am," Martin replied and Gary realized that Martin had been dead all along. It was impossible to kill the dead. All he could do is dismember or burn it.

"I'm fucked," Gary said. "I let a zombie vampire into my house and it killed my wife, how am I going to explain this?" Gary asked out loud.

"I broke in," Martin replied.

"What?"

"I broke in," Martin said again. He was giving Gary an out.

"Yeah, that's right, you broke in and killed her, then I found you and bashed your head in," Gary said. He didn't know why Martin was helping him out of the situation, but for now he had a story he could tell that the agency would believe.

#

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# Chapter 35

# Glory Hole 2

Jaycee walked into the new Glory Hole located at the downtown strip mall. She noticed right away there was something different as she had to be buzzed in instead of walking in like at the Glory Hole she worked at before. Once inside, she approached the receptionist and asked for a job application. The nicely dressed woman handed Jaycee a job application but before Jaycee could get out the door, called the manager. Jaycee sat and waited until a sickly looking thin woman approached her wearing a skirt and suit top that her grandmother wouldn't be caught wearing.

"Hi, my name is Michelle, I'm the manager, and Cheyenne said you're looking for a job?" Michelle asked.

"Yes, she gave me an application," Jaycee replied. She tried her best to hide her fangs.

"Do you have time for an interview?" Michelle asked.

"I'm not dressed for an interview," Jaycee said embarrassed, "But sure."

"Come to my office," Michelle said. She led Jaycee past the booths to the rear where her office was located next to the break room. "Come inside," Michelle said and gestured for Jaycee to sit down.

Once both women were seated, Michelle said, "Have you done this kind of work before?"

"Yes, I used to work at the Glory Hole downtown before it was attacked and shut down," Jaycee replied.

"Really? Were you there when the attack happened?"

"I was in the booth when it happened, there was a group of zombie vampires that broke in and killed our receptionist and a customer. They turned right there, I was lucky to get out alive," Jaycee replied.

"That can't happen here, we have shatterproof glass and the front door is locked at all times. You probably noticed you had to be let in."

"Yes, I noticed."

"What have you been doing since?"

"I took a job as a housekeeper."

"Why aren't you still there?"

"The owner's son was going to put the man I worked for in a nursing home and I had a conflict with a woman who lived in the basement. It was better for everyone that I moved on. The job wouldn't have lasted long anyway," Jaycee replied.

"Ok," Michelle said. She wrote down some notes. "Do you live close by?"

"Yes, about five blocks."

"Do you have transportation?"

"I have a car."

"Do you like this kind of work?"

Jaycee hesitated. "It's alright," Jaycee replied.

"Don't feel bad, most women hate this job." Michelle said. "But the tips are very good."

"Yeah, I did very well on tips," Jaycee said.

"The job pays ten fifty an hour plus tips. You have to tip out the receptionist five percent, not sure if it was like that at the Glory Hole you worked for, but it's a franchise and the owner is allowed to make his own decisions on pay."

"That's fine, I knew it would pay around that," Jaycee said.

"I do have an assistant manager position open if you're interested. The pay is two dollars an hour more."

"What would I do as assistant manager?" Jaycee asked.

"Well, you'd be supervising the girls on the shift you work, scheduling, dealing with customers and complaints and recruiting new girls."

"We had a hard time finding enough staff where I worked. We were always working short," Jaycee said.

"Same here, that's why Cheyenne called me when you came in. We don't let any potential employee out the door without an interview," Michelle said. "Because of that, if you take the assistant manager position, you will be required to do two shifts a week in the booth. You'll still get assistant manager pay."

"I only make tips if I work the booth, right?" Jaycee asked.

"Yes," Michelle said.

"So I'll make less money if I take the assistant manager position? That don't seem right."

"It's less money, but you don't have to suck cock all day, it's a trade off," Michelle said.

"I need the money," Jaycee said.

"I understand, most of the girls do. I was hoping to find an assistant manager so I could stop putting in seventy hour weeks. This job is killing me," Michelle said with a smile. "But you can make tips on the two shifts a week you put in the booth."

"I know, but putting up with other women's bullshit, excuse my language, for ten fifty isn't worth it. I had a customer that would pay fifty to a hundred dollars in tips every time he came in. The base pay isn't why I'm here," Jaycee said.

"I see, when can you start?" Michelle asked.

"I wasn't expecting you to ask that so soon, don't you check references?" Jaycee asked.

"I'm not hiring a CEO, I need girls that can suck cock and make my boss money, if you can do that, you have the job."

Jaycee thought for a moment. "I can start tomorrow I suppose," Jaycee said.

"How about tonight? I only have one girl on and I would like to have three."

"Me and her only make two," Jaycee said.

"I'll have to work the booth tonight," Michelle said. "Not what I want to do, but I have a quota and if I don't make money for the owner, he'll replace me."

"Ok, I can run home and change I suppose."

"You work the booths naked here. I don't know how it was at the Glory Hole you worked at, but there are cameras on you at all times that the customers can see and they like to see you naked. I don't know why, they can't touch you, but that's company policy."

"Do I have to swallow?" Jaycee asked.

"If the customer requests it, yes, but you get a bonus. I forgot to tell you about that. A swallow bonus is fifteen dollars."

"We didn't get a bonus, but the tips were always better if we did."

"Great, so what time can you start?" Michelle asked.

"What are the hours here?"

"Four pm to one am," Michelle replied.

"I can come in at eight I suppose, I need to do some stuff at home first."

"Eight sounds fine, when you come in I'll have you sign your tax forms and a few other papers and we'll get you started," Michelle said.

Jaycee figured she'd get the job and wasn't very excited about starting tonight. She wanted a day to settle in, but now had to get back into the mindset of being on her knees for eight hours with some man's dick in her mouth.

Eight o'clock came and Jaycee showed up for her shift. She told Cyprian that she was needed that night so he settled in for a night alone. For some reason Jaycee took a shower before her shift, there was no real reason to take another shower, she'd be covered in cum soon enough. "Where do you keep the wash rags?" Jaycee asked the receptionist on duty. Cheyenne had left for the day.

"There is a laundry room next to the manager's office." the receptionist replied. Her name was Kaylee and she was a bitch.

Jaycee grabbed a handful of wash rags and a bucket of warm water to put in her booth. It was faster to wipe off the blow then run to the shower. Especially on busy nights.

Kaylee walked over to Jaycee and saw what she was doing. "You can't do that," Kaylee said.

"Do what?" Jaycee asked.

"Take a bucket into your booth, it's against policy."

"Why?"

"The customers don't want to see that."

"I always used a bucket before."

"You didn't work here before, this place isn't a shit hole like where you used to work."

Not wanting to get into a fight with the receptionist on her first day, Jaycee decided to smile and do what she said. Jaycee could speak with Michelle and have a talk about what kind of a bitch Kaylee was. Without hesitation, Jaycee picked up the bucket and wash cloths and took them back to the laundry room.

"You can't leave them sit in there," Kaylee said.

"What am I supposed to do when I get covered in some guys blow?"

"You are supposed to get out of your booth and shower off, that's policy," Kaylee replied.

"What if I have customers waiting?"

"Doesn't matter, policy is policy," Kaylee replied.

"I might have a talk with Michelle about policy."

"Go ahead, I run this place."

"You're the receptionist."

"I know, but everyone does as I say."

"You're not management," Jaycee said.

"That's just because I refuse to suck cock. I'm not a whore like you."

"What did you say?" Jaycee asked. She was pissed and ready to fight.

"You heard me, I'm not a whore."

"I work for a living, to pay the rent and put food on the table. I'm not a whore!" Jaycee snapped.

"Keep it down, we have customers in the building," Kaylee said.

"Why do you work here if you don't like what we do? Do you realize what a Glory Hole is?" Jaycee asked.

"I don't have to like what you do to do my job," Kaylee said. "I also have bills to pay."

"You self-righteous bitch," Jaycee said. "Go back to your desk and leave me alone. I'll be talking to Michelle in the morning."

"You can talk to her tonight, she's in booth three sucking off some nigger," Kaylee said.

Jaycee forgot Michelle was working and was shocked to hear someone use that word, Jaycee hated black people, but hearing that come from another person sounded odd. In a way she felt a kinship to Kaylee, but at the same time despised her for being like her. "Nigger?" Jaycee asked.

"Yeah, we get fucking black guys in here all the time, makes me sick," Kaylee said.

"Just out of curiosity, what's your issue with black guys?"

"Mostly attitude, fuckers think they're entitled to everything. Plus they look like apes," Kaylee replied.

Jaycee didn't know how to reply, in a way she agreed, and in a way she wanted to stab Kaylee in the eye with an ice pick. "I'll wait till Michelle is done and talk to her."

"You have a customer waiting, get in booth two and I'll send him back," Kaylee said.

Jaycee shook her head in disgust and walked off to the laundry room. Inside there were lockers she could store her purse and clothes. After stripping nude, she stepped into the hall and over to booth number two and got inside. She flicked the switch indicating she was ready and awaited a cock to slip through the hole at waist level. As she got down on her knees, she looked at the monitor to see who was coming. With the monitor she could tell when the man was about to blow and was standard equipment in all Glory Hole franchises.

As she waited, she noticed the screen go dark as if someone had covered the camera with a hand. Then she felt a cold hand grab her by the neck and pull her tight against the wall from the hole where the cock was supposed to come. Someone or something had reached inside and now had its fingernails dug into Jaycee's neck squeezing the life out of her.

Then from the side of the booth, she could feel and hear slamming and crashing as if someone was trying to break the lock to get inside. Behind the wall she heard the muffled screams of a woman that reminded her of the attack she had at the last Glory Hole.

Grabbing the cold hand that had her by the neck, Jaycee pulled on the thumb until it let loose its grip which flung her against the back wall of the booth. Thinking quickly, she turned and put her back against the wall and her feet against the door to keep whatever was trying to get in out.

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# Chapter 36

# Disposal

Lying on the floor in the basement, Gary's wife Cheryl was quickly turning from a human to a zombie vampire before his eyes. It would be less than fifteen minutes before Gary had two zombie vampires to deal with and now realized that calling the agency to pick her up would be a real bad idea since Gary was keeping the zombie vampire tied up that he was supposed to dispose of in the first place. Gary didn't know if it was illegal to keep zombie vampires like pets, but as an agency cop, he was sure it would be frowned upon.

"You need to help me get rid of her," Gary said to Martin.

"I try," Martin replied.

"You grab her by her ankles and I'll grab her by her arms. Together we'll haul her upstairs and put her in the trunk of her car," Gary said.

Martin scooted over and grabbed ahold of Cheryl's ankles and lifted. Gary grabbed her arms and the two ended up dragging Cheryl instead of carrying her, spreading blood along the floor and up the stairs. Once they reached the main floor, they dragged her across the carpeted hall to the garage door and stopped to catch their breath. Gary could see that Cheryl was starting to act odd, twitching and losing hair while she turned white. "We need to get her in the trunk fast," Gary said.

Now in a panic, Gary opened the door to the garage and pulled out his keys. He kept a spare key to Chery's car and she kept a spare of his in case of emergency. Clicking the trunk release button, the lid to the trunk of Cheryl's car popped open with a thunk. Taking the lead, Gary pulled Cheryl across the cement floor and lined her up with the trunk. "On three, one, two, three," Gary said and the two lifted Cheryl into the trunk and dropped her like a sack of potatoes. "Watch your fingers," Gary said as he slammed the trunk lid shut.

Once Cheryl was secure, Gary walked to the door and pressed the garage door opener button and clicked the electric key to unlock Chery's car. "Get in," Gary said to Martin. "Put on your seatbelt and get down so nobody can see you."

Martin scurried over to the car and got in. He put on his seatbelt like he was told and slid down in the seat so he couldn't be seen by anyone. Gary got in and started the car adjusting the rear view mirror.

"Where we go?" Martin asked.

"Not sure, I'm planning this out as I go," Gary replied. "She's going to change no matter what, I just need to make sure she doesn't do it at home."

"Why?"

"I'm an agency cop, I'm supposed to know better," Gary replied. "How am I going to call the office to report my wife has changed into a zombie vampire due to my negligence? That could be considered murder."

"Yes, I see," Martin said.

"You don't say much do you? How does becoming a zombie vampire make you so stupid?" Gary asked.

"I didn't lock zombie vampire in basement," Martin replied.

"Are you trying to be ironic?" Gary asked as he drove away from the house.

"I be quiet now," Martin replied.

"Yeah, you do that," Gary said. He was getting pissed. As he drove down the street, Gary racked his brain trying to think of how to get out of this situation. He needed to dump Cheryl somewhere and be able to convincingly tell the agency he didn't know what happened to her. It could be as simple as she went to the store and was attacked but how would he dump the car in a parking lot with all the surveillance cameras out these days? It was getting to the point where it was almost impossible to commit a good crime anymore. He'd have to dispose of her somewhere where no one would see. But that would make his story more implausible.

"I need an idea," Gary said. "Feel free to give me one."

"Take her to agency, tell them you found her," Martin replied.

Gary was amazed at the simplicity of Martin's idea and impressed that he was able to come up with it. His idea was probably the only idea that would work. Gary could pull up to the agency, without Martin of course, and tell his fellow officers he came home and found his wife already turning from a zombie vampire attack. Once he fended off the attacker, he put her in the trunk to save himself and decided to bring her down to the station before she got away. Putting her in the trunk was the only safe way to keep her confined "I like your idea, but you're not coming with me. I need to drop you off first."

"Good, I want to leave," Martin replied.

"No, I don't want you to leave, I want to drop you off back at home," Gary said.

"Why you want to keep me?" Martin asked.

"I just do," Gary replied. "I'm not going to tie you up, but I would like for you to stay."

Gary drove back to his house and pulled into garage. "Get out, and go back in the house. I'll be back later," Gary said.

Martin got out of the car and went back inside leaving Gary to pull back out and head to the agency office.

At the agency office, Gary called and two officers met him in the parking lot. Officer's Ed Schultz and Jeff Carr.

"You said you have your wife?" Schultz asked.

"She's in the trunk," Gary replied. "Fucking zombie vampire invaded our house and got her, when I got home she was starting to turn."

"You must have just got there when that thing left, it don't take long to turn," Schultz said.

"Yeah, I'm sure she's turned all the way by now, "Gary said. "What do you want to do with her?"

"Procedure is we kill her, why didn't you?" Carr asked.

"She's my wife," Gary replied.

"Yeah, sorry," Carr said. "You want us to do it?"

"No shit, don't you have to file a report first or something?" Gary asked.

"You're an officer, you tell me," Carr asked.

"I'm a little distraught if you haven't noticed. The woman I've been married too for the last twelve years is now a zombie vampire in the trunk of my car," Gary said.

"I'm sorry, why don't you go inside while we take care of her," Schultz said.

"What are you going to do?"

"Do you really want to know?" Schultz asked.

"No, I guess not," Gary replied. After a moment to think, Gary handed the keys to Schultz and walked to the agency building leaving the two officers to take care of his wife. Gary was upset and pissed, he truly loved his wife and felt guilty for what happened to her. But now he had to move on and let the agency take care of his fuck up.

Once inside the building, Gary stepped into the office and found a window that faced the street. From there he watched Schultz and Carr open the trunk lid and pull his wife who was now a zombie vampire out and wrestle her to the ground. Killing zombie vampires was so common these days that most people didn't bother to notice. When the phenomenon first started back in the day, people would post video's online and take pictures. Now it was common place.

"What's going on?" a voice called out to Gary.

Gary turned to see commander Blunt standing behind him. "It's Cheryl, she was attacked and turned into a zombie vampire."

"Oh shit, sorry to hear that," Blunt said. "How did you manage to get her here?"

"I found her before she was completely turned," Gary replied.

"This has to be hard, are you sure you want to watch this?"

"What else am I going to do?"

"Let's go to my office, you don't want to watch, trust me," Blunt said.

"No, I think I need to see it actually. Otherwise I'll always wonder how she died," Gary said. He watched Schultz and Carr drag his wife off to a storage building and drop her on her back on the grass. Gary could tell they wanted to finish her off in private away from the prying eyes of the neighbors. Carr opened the shed door, came out with a red gas can in his hand and fished for a lighter in his pocket. Schultz seemed to be saying something to Carr and was gesturing for him to hurry up.

"Really Gary, don't watch this," Blunt said.

"Hold on," Gary said watching Carr pour gas on his wife. Schultz backed up and let go of the new zombie vampire as Carr lit some paper on fire and tossed it on Cheryl. In a woof of flame, Cheryl lit up and rolled back and forth trying to put out the fire. To Gary's horror, she stood up for a moment and fell back down when Carr tripped her. It didn't take long for the flames to bring Cheryl to a stop as she lay motionless cooking in the gas flames.

"Sorry Gary," Blunt said. "You need some time off?"

Gary turned from the window and looked at his boss. "Yeah, that's a good idea. I need to arrange a funeral."

"How much vacation time do you have?"

"I have plenty, I need about three days," Gary replied.

"Fill out the request and put it on my desk,"

Gary looked at the wall like he was looking through it. He was lost in thought and overwhelmed with the day. "Thanks," Gary said and walked out of the office.

"Give them time to move the body before you go home, I don't want that to be your last memory of her," Blunt said.

"Yeah, ok," Gary replied, almost in a trance.

"Get some coffee," Blunt said.

Gary walked down the hall to the lounge and poured a cup of coffee and sat down. He had the rest of the day off and needed to fill out the paperwork but his mind was elsewhere. Then Carr stepped into the lounge. "She's all done," Carr said.

"I saw," Gary replied.

"Really? Sorry man, I don't know how you have the guts to watch that."

"I didn't have a choice, you'd of done the same thing."

"No, I wouldn't have," Carr said. "You're going to be scarred for life man."

Martin sat in the basement for hours until he heard the door open and close upstairs. He heard Gary's familiar footsteps and waited for him to come downstairs. With the thunk of leather boots, Gary stomped his way down to the basement with a roll of paper towels in his hand. Looking at the blood mess on the floor, Gary quickly realized that paper towels wasn't enough to clean up the floor.

"Are you able to help me?" Gary asked. Martin.

"What you want me to do?" Martin asked.

"Can you run a mop?"

Martin held up his hands and looked at them. "No," He said and put them back down at his sides.

"Fucking great," Gary said. "I thought you guys licked up the blood, why is it still on the floor?"

"Zombie vampire blood, not human blood," Martin replied.

"What's the difference? It's red, and it's blood."

"Zombie vampire blood bad."

"Can't you speak a whole sentence? Why is it bad?" Gary asked.

Martin didn't like being scolded and turned away.

"Don't be an asshole, I asked you a question. The least you can do after killing my wife is answer me!"

Martin grit his teeth and growled at Gary. "Don't know, is bad!" Martin snapped back. "Told you, she attack me!"

"I get that, now clean this place up," Gary said throwing the paper towels at Martin. "You made this mess."

Martin pushed the paper towels aside and ignored Gary.

"You're really starting to piss me off," Gary said. "You better get cleaning or I'll do to you what they did to Cheryl, and I guarantee you won't like it."

Martin reached out and picked up the paper towels. He didn't pull off a single sheet but used the roll like it was a huge sponge and wiped the blood on the floor. Martin wasn't doing it right, but at least he was putting in an effort. The thought of keeping it around as a pet was becoming less and less appealing all the time.

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# Chapter 37

# Escape

Jaycee heard knocking on the door and let up the pressure with her legs. "Who is it?" she yelled.

"It's Cyprian! Open the door!"

Jaycee stood up and unlocked the door to her booth. She pushed out and saw Cyprian standing bloody holding a machete in his hand. "What's happening?" Jaycee asked. She was scared to death.

"Zombie vampire attack," Cyprian replied.

"That's impossible! They have shatterproof glass and a lock on the door."

Cyprian gestured for Jaycee to step out of the booth and look for herself. What she saw was Kaylee lying on the floor in pieces and what looked like Michelle's head propping open the front door with no body.

"How?" Jaycee asked.

"It was going on when I arrived, I assume they followed a customer in after the door was unlocked," Cyprian replied.

"Where did you get the machete?"

"It was in the receptionist's hand, she must have used it to defend herself," Cyprian replied.

"What are you doing here?"

"I came to check on you, it was your first evening on the job," Cyprian replied. "You've been injured."

Jaycee felt her neck and looked down at the blood drying on her chest and midsection. "One of them reached inside and grabbed me," Jaycee said.

Cyprian kicked a white, hairless arm that was lying on the floor with a clean cut mark above the elbow. "I think that was him," Cyprian said.

"You saved me," Jaycee said with a smile.

"I can play hero later, we need to get you back home. There is an uprising going on and we need to be away from downtown. We're a target here."

"Uprising? Why?"

"Full moon? Who knows what drives these beasts, I don't want to be around here when they come back, now get dressed."

Jaycee took off to the laundry room and jumped in the shower, she didn't want to have any blood on her when she got dressed. Once she washed the blood off, she jumped out of the shower and toweled off. It didn't take long to get dressed and out to the lobby she ran to join Cyprian who was becoming very impatient with her. "You need to take this seriously, we don't have time for you to make yourself pretty."

"Shut up and let's go," Jaycee said and took off to the door. Being careful and respectful to her boss, Jaycee gently slid Michelle's head to the side so she could get through the door. "Watch your feet," Jaycee said. "I parked in back." Jaycee led Cyprian around the mall to the rear where it was dimly lit and hard to see.

"Be careful, it only takes one bite to turn you," Cyprian said.

"Be a man and defend me," Jaycee replied.

"If one gets it's fangs in you before I can stop it, there's nothing I can do."

The car was parked next to Michelle and Kaylee's cars and offered up excellent hiding places for anyone that wanted to jump them. Cyprian took the lead and approached the car and looked to see if it was clear. He didn't see anything and gestured for Jaycee to unlock the doors. With a press of a button, Jaycee unlocked the doors with a click and both got inside. "Lock it," Cyprian said and Jaycee locked all four doors.

"Maybe we should head out of town," Jaycee said. "If they're out looking for blood, my door won't hold them."

"Where do you propose to go? A hotel?" Cyprian asked.

"Do you have any money?"

"No, remember, they drained my account," Cyprian replied.

"Fuck, I should have taken some money from the cash drawer," Jaycee said.

"I don't think it's a good idea to go back in there."

"I can drive around to the front door, you hop out and look in the cash drawer," Jaycee said.

"I assume it's locked," Cyprian said.

"Use the machete, you can bust it open with that."

"Fine," Cyprian replied. He didn't like the idea, but having some cash would help and getting a hotel for the night would be safer than sitting at home with a simple door lock to save them.

Jaycee started the car and drove to the front door. It was dark out and the lights from inside the Glory Hole lit up the driveway to the street making them easy targets for whomever might come along. Cyprian jumped out of the car and ran over to the reception desk looking for the cash drawer. Once he found it, he tried to open it but it was locked. He then took the butt of his machete and banged the lock repeatedly trying to bust it open. But it failed to break the lock.

In frustration, he looked back at Jaycee who was watching from the car and gave her the look that he was at his wits end. He shrugged his shoulders and waited for her to give him the signal to give up and come back to the car. Only she didn't and he was stuck. Then Cyprian saw movement behind the car. "Look behind you!" Cyprian yelled. Jaycee was too far away to hear and gave him a curious look. Then Cyprian pointed over the car trying to get her to look behind her. Before she could look, a zombie vampire dove onto the hood of the car and slammed its fist on the windshield trying to break in.

Without thinking twice, Cyprian ran to the door and out to the car with his machete held high. When he got in range, Cyprian chopped at the zombie vampire repeatedly, hacking into its flesh until it rolled off the car and onto the cement parking stall. Bleeding and confused, the zombie vampire backed up, sliding on its backside trying to get away from Cyprian and his knife.

"Get in," Jaycee yelled.

Getting his focus back, Cyprian ran around the car and waited for Jaycee to unlock his door. When the door was unlocked, Cyprian jumped inside and pushed the door lock close. "Get the fuck out of here," Cyprian said.

Jaycee pushed on the gas and ran over the zombie vampire who had attacked her. With a thump and a thud, the car drove off the lot and onto the street heading out of town. As they drove, they saw police and agency cars speeding by with lights on, no siren.

"Something is up," Jaycee said.

"No shit!" Cyprian replied. He had zombie vampire blood and guts all over him.

"It's best we get out of town."

"Fine with me, we can sleep in the car for all I care. Just as long as we're far from this place."

Jaycee continued down the street and turned off onto the highway. Once she was out of town, she hit seventy five miles per hour and didn't look back. "I have three quarters of a tank, that should last a while," Jaycee said.

"Good, head for the next town," Cyprian said.

"Why is it these things only live in town? I mean, they haven't spread to any other towns have they?"

"Not that I know of," Cyprian replied.

"I wonder why?"

"Probably because they can't drive, and no sane person would give them a ride. And if you saw one walking down the road, you'd drive over it or call the agency," Cyprian said.

"That makes sense, but why not stow away?"

"From my experience with them, they don't think that way. They have the mind of a gerbil and the appetite of a shark. It's not like them to think. If you put one in a large paper sack, they might not be able to find their way out."

"Then how come there are so many?" Jaycee asked.

"They have to eat, and the byproduct of feeding is turning humans into more zombie vampires. If they only drink the blood, you get more, if they consume the whole body, you don't. It all depends on how they feed."

"So we have a city full of infected rats that breed uncontrollably," Jaycee said.

"Basically yes," Cyprian replied.

"And thank to you and your brother, we have so many they may never be able to get rid of them all. Speaking of your brother, I wonder where he is?" Jaycee asked.

"I have no idea, but it would be difficult for him to contact me. I'm not listed in the phonebook," Cyprian said. "I'm sure he's fine somewhere."

"If he's anything like you, he's probably fine," Jaycee said. "Now where should we stay for the night? You want to sleep in the car?"

"Not really, but I don't know what other options we have."

"When we get to the next town, we can look around. There must be a room we can find somewhere. I'd hate to think I gave up a nice warm bed for a car seat in the cold," Jaycee said.

"We can go to a bar and find someone there," Cyprian said.

"You're pretty confident aren't you?" Jaycee asked with a smile.

"I am when I need to be."

"You think some woman in a small town bar is going to take you home? I say your chances are slim at best."

"I don't pick women up in bars as a rule," Cyprian said.

"Oh, so what's your plan then?"

"I'm hoping to find a kind soul that will lend us a couch for the night."

"A kind soul? What is this, the sixteen hundreds? We're not two weary travelers out knocking on the king's castle looking to stay in the stable overnight," Jaycee said.

"I disagree, I think we have a good chance of finding someone to help us. You never know unless you try."

Jaycee pulled into the next town and pulled up the only bar she could find. The bar was on the highway with a little gravel parkway for about ten cars. In the windows were neon beer advertisements that lit up the lot and let everyone know they were open.

"I guess this is our only chance, I hope you can work miracles," Jaycee said.

Both Jaycee and Cyprian got out of the car and walked up to the front door of the bar. Cyprian opened the door and stepped inside a small hallway that split in two directions, to the left were tables and chairs set up for food service and to the right was the bar. Looking to his left, Cyprian saw there were no people in the diner section so he turned and walked the short hall to the bar where he found no one. That was until he looked down and saw two bodies lying on top each other next to an overturned barstool.

Cyprian put up his hand to signal Jaycee to stop and be quiet. Scanning around, Cyprian could see no other people in the bar and decided to turn back. Then they heard a sound from the diner section. Like chairs scraping across the linoleum floor. Thinking fast, Cyprian darted to his right and pulled Jaycee out of the view of the hallway. If there were anyone, or anything there, they didn't want them to see them.

"What's going on?" Jaycee whispered.

"Did you hear that?" Cyprian whispered back.

"No, what was it?"

Then a loud booming voice replied. A voice neither of them recognized. "It is I," the voice replied and a hunched over, hairless white zombie vampire stepped out of the hall into the bar. "It was I you heard."

Jaycee was shocked to hear the zombie vampire speak. She had heard Martin speak before, but this wasn't Martin, this one was larger, more aggressive and didn't speak broken English.

"Who are you?" Jaycee asked.

"My name is Morgan, what is your name?"

"Jaycee, why do you ask?"

"I like to know who I'm about to kill," Morgan replied.

Cyprian stepped out from behind Jaycee. "You'll have to kill us both," Cyprian said.

"That is my plan vampire, that is my plan," Morgan replied.

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# Chapter 38

# Kitchen

"Who or what are you?" Cyprian asked. "I only know of one other zombie vampire that can speak."

"My name is Morgan, the self-proclaimed king of the zombie vampires," Morgan replied.

"Self-proclaimed? What the fuck does that mean?"

"It means I said so, what the fuck do you think it means?"

"So you're no king at all," Cyprian said.

"If you want to get technical, it would be really hard to rule a bunch of fucking retard zombie vampires now wouldn't it? So I don't think they really care what I call myself."

"So you have no control over them," Cyprian said.

"Is that a question or a statement? Make sense asshole," Morgan said.

"I'm saying you don't have any control, you are an anomaly, like Martin."

"Who's this Martin?"

"He's the only other zombie vampire I know that can speak."

"So I have a rival? Huh, and I thought I was one of a kind," Morgan said.

"Where there's one, there's bound to be more," Jaycee said.

"Now what are you two doing here tonight? Looking for something to eat? The diner's closed and I sent the bartender to his maker," Morgan said.

"We were looking for a place to stay," Jaycee replied.

"This is a bar, not a hotel, can't you read?"

"I can read, we have no money, we were looking for someone to take us in for the night," Jaycee replied.

"Of all the places you could have stopped," Morgan said with a grin. "What's going on where you came from? Why did you leave?"

"Zombie vampire uprising," Cyprian replied. "It's too dangerous to stay there."

"I figured that would happen eventually. After the massacre in the tunnel they wouldn't stay put for long. I wonder if they ever found those brothers that were living down there. I'd love to show them what ruling is really like," Morgan said.

"What do you mean?" Cyprian asked.

"Those two pathetic vampires tried to rule a thousand zombie vampires. What fools! I heard they were turned on and eaten alive."

Cyprian wanted to tell Morgan off and let him know he was one of the brothers, but changed his mind. The less Morgan knew the better.

"You two are vampires, I can tell," Morgan said.

"Yes we are, does that matter to you?" Cyprian asked.

"It means it will be harder for me to kill you."

"Looks like you've killed enough for tonight, why don't you finish off what you started and let us go?" Jaycee asked.

"Who are you to tell me what to do?" Morgan asked. "I have other mouths to feed and these three won't be enough."

"What other mouths?"

"My wife and my daughter if you must know," Morgan replied.

"Can they speak as well?"

"My daughter can, my wife struggles," Morgan replied.

"Where are they?"

"I'm done with your stalling, prepare to die," Morgan said.

Cyprian picked up a barstool and held it up to defend himself.

"They tried that trick, see where that landed them?" Morgan said with a grin.

"They were old men, I'm not," Cyprian said and slammed the barstool down on Morgan. The barstool struck him in the left shoulder and the side of his head stunning him. Again Cyprian struck Morgan over and over until he fell to the floor with his hands held out to defend against the blows.

"Not so tough when it's not an old man are you?" Cyprian asked taunting Morgan. "Some fucking king you are."

"Come close and let me whisper in your ear," Morgan said.

"It don't work that way, you can't turn a vampire into a zombie vampire, only humans. The worst you can do to me with a bite would be a staph infection," Cyprian said.

"I will do far worse to you," Morgan said.

"Are there others here with you besides your wife and daughter? I haven't heard of any zombie vampires traveling."

"I have hundreds waiting for me outside," Morgan replied.

Cyprian walked over to the window and pulled back the curtain by the neon beer advertising sign. Looking past the glare in the glass, he looked out into the dark and saw nothing. "You're a fucking liar," Cyprian said.

"Go out and find out for yourself."

"I plan on it, after I take care of you," Cyprian said.

"Killing me would be foolish," Morgan said.

"Why am I not surprised you said that. Is that your last ditch effort to save yourself?"

"I can by your ally, to the zombie vampires."

"You called them retards, how do you expect me to believe that you can communicate with them let alone control what they do?" Cyprian asked. Pointing to the bar, Cyprian asked Jaycee, "Go look for a knife, a big one if you can find one."

Jaycee stepped around Cyprian and walked behind the bar looking for a knife. She found one used for cutting up limes and lemons. It was small and fit in the palm of her hand. She held it up for Cyprian to see.

"Go look in the kitchen," Cyprian said.

Jaycee left the bar and walked through the hallway to the diner. She found her way to the kitchen and located a block of knives. Looking for the biggest knife, she pulled out what she thought was the largest and headed back to the bar. Then she saw a movement in the dining room through the open space used to pass plates from the kitchen to the dining room. It was dark and she wasn't sure what it was, but it moved from right to left and then down out of view.

"Who's there?" Jaycee asked.

There was no answer.

Jaycee approached the window and looked through it down at the counter on the other side. All she could see was where the menus were stored under the counter top. "Cyprian! There's something in here!" Jaycee yelled.

"It's probably his wife or kid, be careful," Cyprian yelled from the bar.

"Ok," Jaycee yelled back. "Whoever's in the dining room I saw you. I have a knife and I know how to use it!"

Then Jaycee heard a chair slide across the floor and stop. She knew whoever or whatever it was, it was close to the door to the kitchen. She didn't want to be surprised at the window and felt she needed to stay put, but at the same time knew if she didn't check the door, whoever was in the dining room could be in the kitchen any moment. "Can you come in here and help me?" Jaycee asked. There was no answer. "Cyprian! Come help me!" Jaycee yelled again. Still no reply.

Then the voice of Morgan called out. "Your friend is dead, and soon you will be as well." Jaycee heard footsteps and knew Morgan was on his way from the bar into the dining room. The footsteps sounded rough and irregular, not like Cyprian.

"Cyprian!" Jaycee yelled again. Then she saw a blur in the dark and felt something hit her in the shoulder that flew through the window and fell on the kitchen floor. She looked down and saw the head of Cyprian rolled onto its side facing the doorway. Morgan had killed Cyprian and beheaded him. The cut was clean, as if Morgan had a knife all along. Jaycee held back her scream and raised her knife to defend herself. She knew there were at least two zombie vampires in the dining room and that they could be in the kitchen any moment.

"Come out and I promise I won't harm you," Morgan said from the dining room.

"I don't believe you!" Jaycee yelled back. "You killed Cyprian!"

"I know, but I changed my mind about you, I want to keep you," Morgan said.

"Fuck you! I'm no pet!"

"You have two choices, fight to your death, or do what I please."

"I'll take my chances," Jaycee said high on adrenaline.

Jaycee heard the door to the kitchen open and saw a shadowy figure walk in hunched over. The white skin lit up the zombie vampire enough that she could make out its features in the dark. "You can't escape," Morgan said. He was standing ten feet away and splattered with Cyprian's blood.

"Neither can you," Jaycee replied.

"You think you're knife scares me? I'm an expert with a knife, look at your friend there, I cut clean through in less than five seconds."

"I'd rather take my time with you. The longer it takes, the more it'll hurt," Jaycee said.

"Yes, I can imagine. You would take pleasure in killing me after killing your mate."

"He was a friend, that's all," Jaycee said.

"I'll offer you again your life. You be my servant and I'll keep you alive," Morgan said.

Jaycee stepped in close to Morgan to try to scare him. Morgan held his ground with a knife dangling from his grip. Jaycee knew if she attacked she would be severely wounded or killed. She was starting to reconsider Morgan's offer.

"If I agree, what do I have to do?" Jaycee asked.

"Be at my beck and call, do my will as I command," Morgan replied.

"I don't know what that means? Am I supposed to pick up after you? Walk your dog? What are you talking about?" Jaycee asked.

"Your first job will be to kill my wife," Morgan replied.

"What? You can do that yourself!"

"I could, but I choose not to, I need someone else to do my dirty work for me. At one time I loved her, now she is different."

"So are you if you haven't noticed," Jaycee said.

"I still have my mind, she has no mind."

"That would be like going into a nursing home and killing all the Alzheimer's patients."

"Yes it would, and if I were in control that's what I would do, even before I became a zombie vampire."

"I don't think I need to say you're one sick asshole," Jaycee said.

"Maybe that's why I still have my mind, because I'm different," Morgan said.

"You're smarter than the rest because you're an unsympathetic sociopath?"

"I don't claim to know why I'm different, but I know of no others who think the way I do."

"You and Hitler would both have made great zombie vampires," Jaycee said.

"Don't forget Mengele," Morgan said.

"Mengele?"

"Angel of death, "Morgan replied. "Haven't you studied your history?"

"Not enough from the looks of it," Jaycee replied.

"I'm not here to give you a history lesson, my offer is good for a few minutes more. You decide or I'll decide for you."

Jaycee stepped back and then stepped forward. She didn't want to seem like she was giving up but at the same time was looking for an exit. To her left was the door that led to the outside, but she didn't know if it was locked or not. Making a run for that door may cost her time and allow Morgan to jump her from behind and stab her in the back. He other choice was to climb through the window to the dining room and run into whatever zombie vampire was hiding behind the wall, or give into Morgan. "Fine, I'll kill her, one less zombie vampire fucker I'll have to deal with," Jaycee said.

"She is in the bar, eating the bartender. Go to her and kill her now," Morgan said.

"I do this and you let me live" Right?" Jaycee asked.

"Yes," Morgan replied.

"You need to prove to me I can trust you."

Morgan dropped the knife on the tile floor. It made a metallic tink sound as it struck and fell on its side. Morgan kicked the knife over by the handle with his bare feet and stepped back. "Kill her now, and make it quick," Morgan said.

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# Chapter 39

# Take over

Watching Martin try to clean up the blood mess was like watching a four year old trying to clean up Kool-Aid. Gary was becoming more and more frustrated with the zombie vampire that he brought home and was reconsidering his decision. He should have let him go when he took his wife to the agency instead of bringing him back to his house. Now it was time to get rid of it. The only problem was that Martin knew what happened to Cheryl, and how the zombie vampire killed her and this information could land Gary in prison on manslaughter charges. It wasn't good enough to take Martin out and set him free, Martin had to be silenced.

"Forget the paper towels, I'll mop that up later, we need to go for a ride," Gary said.

Martin stopped rubbing the roll of paper towels on the cement floor and set them in a puddle of blood. "Where we go?" Martin asked.

"I need to find you another place to live," Gary lied. He had no intention of letting Martin live.

"I live here, you said," Martin said.

"Yeah, things changed," Gary replied.

"You mad at me?"

"I'm not happy, let's put it that way."

Martin got up and slipped on the bloody floor. He regained his balance and reached to the workbench and grabbed a skill saw blade. As he turned back to face Gary, he said, "I won't go."

"Oh yes you will," Gary snapped back. "I'm not afraid of a saw blade. You're so uncoordinated you'd probably cut yourself first."

Then Gary heard a noise in the back of the room, and another behind him. He looked to see what was making the noise and to his horror saw a zombie vampire step out of the dark and stand next to Martin. Gary turned to see another zombie vampire coming down the stairs and another behind it. "What the fuck is going on?" Gary asked.

"I found more zombie vampires," Martin said.

"Why? "Gary asked. "I'm not running a zombie vampire hotel."

"You mad, I need help."

"You went out while I was taking my wife, the woman you turned into a zombie vampire, and found protection?"

"Yes, I afraid of you," Martin replied.

"Who are these guys? Are they friends of yours?"

"No, I find them outside," Martin replied.

"Lucky you," Gary said. "What are you going to do now?"

"We stay here, live with you."

"I told you I'm not running a hotel, you need to get these fuckers out, now!" Gary snapped.

"No, they stay," Martin replied.

Gary realized his verbal threat and tone was getting him nowhere, and if he continued to push, he may end up being torn to shreds on the floor any moment. "This will never work, I work for the agency, and they will figure out what's going on eventually."

Martin was unmoved by Gary's reasoning.

"You don't get it do you? What if one of the guys from the office comes over? What are you going to do? Hide?"

Martin didn't reply, he didn't think he needed too.

"You have the mind of a fucking four year old for God's sake. You're not thinking this through," Gary said. Then he realized how stupid it was to try to reason with a child. What do children understand? They understand a good spanking and a good yelling. So Gary decided to try that. "I want you out of my house! Now!" Gary shouted.

Martin backed away a step and stopped. He was a few feet from the basement wall and didn't have much room to maneuver. He would have to step around Gary to get to the stairs and Gary wasn't giving Martin an out.

Gary stepped in closer to try to intimidate Martin. "I told you to leave! You killed my wife and I want you out of my house you dirty little fuck!" Martin shook his head and looked at the floor. It was obvious Gary was now getting to him so Gary stepped to the side to allow Martin to get to the stairs. "Now!" Gary barked and Martin took a few steps towards the door to the stairs.

Martin stopped and looked up at Gary. "I not go," Martin said and spun the saw blade into Gary's abdomen with all the strength he had.

Gary grabbed Martin's arms and tried to force the blade back out. Gary was much stronger than Martin but Martin had the advantage of surprise and made a cut large enough to cause Gary to freak out. In a panic, Gary put a hand on Martin's face and shoved him hard enough he fell backwards onto the floor sending the saw blade down with him. The blade hit the concrete with a metallic tink and rested flat on the floor.

Looking down at the wound, Gary realized he needed to seek emergency help. This was way beyond a mere scratch and he was sure his intestines had been perforated. Then he saw one of the zombie vampire's step in close and sniff. It was as if it was tuned into the smell of blood and now Gary would be the target of a feeding frenzy. Frantically searching the basement, Gary needed a weapon to save himself, but it was too late. From behind, a hand grabbed Gary by his neck and pulled him backwards to the floor where he was torn to shreds and eaten alive.

Martin joined in on the feast and for the next hour the four zombie vampires finished Gary down to his bones which they left on the basement floor in a puddle of blood and odd uneaten remains.

Martin heard a knock at the door. It had been three days since Gary was killed and Martin heard Gary's cell phone go off many times. He knew eventually someone would check on Gary since he hadn't been to work. By now, another six zombie vampires had taken residence in Gary's house living in the basement.

As he looked out the upstairs window, Martin saw two agency vehicles parked on the curb and four officers as they walked around the yard. In a way, Martin knew his time was up and the officers weren't going to allow him to leave alive. That was unless he could escape while the men were taking care of the zombie vampire's living in the basement. As the only zombie vampire with any reasoning skills, he did have an advantage the others didn't. If there was a way he could serve them up for the men outside, he might be able to escape with his life. Or maybe he could hide in the attic until the coast was clear and walk out undetected.

Then Martin heard a loud bang on the front door. It sounded like the door was hit hard and was loud enough to vibrate the window glass. Now in a full panic, Martin scrambled to find a hiding place in the bedroom he was in. He ran to the closet and opened the door. The closet had a few shirts hanging from a bar but Martin noticed right away a trap door leading to the attic above a high shelf. If he could get up there and hide, he might be able to survive the attack.

Then Martin heard gunshots, and then more and realized the men had found the zombie vampires that were in the basement and were taking them out one by one. Grasping at the top shelf, Martin pulled himself up and pushed up on the cover to the door to the attic. The door moved to the side and Martin was able to climb up into the dark dank and dusty unfinished attic.

Being careful not to fall through the ceiling, Martin placed his weight on the ceiling joists and not the spaces between that were filled with cheap insulation. The roof rafters were covered in dust and spider webs and the only light was from a vent that led out to the front of the house. A few more muffled gunshots rang out and Martin replaced the door cover sealing himself off from what was going on three floors below.

In the basement, Blunt, Schultz, Carr and one other officer were checking for more zombie vampires. They had killed two and were being cautious, checking every nook and cranny for more. On the floor they saw the remains of what looked like human bones and figured it was Gary.

"Let's get out of here," Blunt said. "If that's Gary, we're too late, and I don't need any more dead officers. We can gas the place and come back for his remains."

"Sounds good to me," Carr said. "I have gas in the trunk of my squad car."

The men ran back up the basement stairs and gathered in the living room for one last quick look.

"What are you looking for?" Schultz asked as he entered the room.

"Just making sure nobody else is in the house, I don't want to gas the place if there are any humans in here," Blunt replied.

"Gary and his wife were the only ones that lived here. His kids are all married and gone," Carr said.

"I'm being careful, I'm not going on the evening news to explain how I gassed this place with a bunch of kids playing that I didn't know about."

"If there are any kids in this house, they're gone," Carr said.

"Go upstairs and check," Blunt said.

"What?" Carr asked. "You're going too far this time."

"If you want to be put on report for insubordination keep it up, otherwise, I want two of you to clear the upstairs before I order gas," Blunt said.

Carr felt like a scolded child and acted like one. "Come on," Carr said to Schultz and the two headed upstairs with guns drawn.

The last officer stood waiting instructions from commander Blunt. "Go outside, around back and keep watch, I don't want anyone getting in this house once we clear it."

With his instructions, the fourth officer took off out the front door and headed out to the back to keep watch.

At the top of the stairs, Carr and Schultz took off down the hall with their guns drawn. There were three bedrooms and a bathroom to check and Carr didn't intend to take long in getting the job done. At the back bedroom, Carr opened the door and pointed his gun inside looking around quickly for any movement. There was none. He spun around and stepped around Schultz heading down the hall to the other large bedroom. Once again he opened the door and found no movement inside.

"What a fucking waste," Carr mumbled.

"Two more rooms and we're out of here," Schultz said.

Back down the hall, they stopped at the bathroom and pushed the door open. It was clear, that left a small bedroom across the hall.

"Ready?" Carr asked.

Schultz nodded yes and Carr opened the door. Inside were two zombie vampires hiding in the corner of the room.

"Look what we have here," Carr said. "Looks like more target practice for me."

"Blunt said to gas the place, don't waste your time," Schultz replied.

"This won't take long," Carr said aiming his gun at one of the zombie vampires. With a flick of his finger, Carr pulled the trigger and shot the zombie vampire in the head. The sound spooked the other zombie vampire and sent it running towards the door knocking Schultz to the wall and onto the floor. Carr pulled off two more shots and hit the zombie vampire but didn't stop it. Down the stairs it ran dripping blood on the steps as it moved, it finally made its way to the ground floor where Blunt stood waiting with his gun drawn.

With repeated cracking sounds, Blunt pulled off three shots that hit the zombie vampire in the head and sent it dead to the ground. It always fascinated Blunt that you could kill a being that was already dead. But bullets usually didn't do the trick. Almost always they managed to recover and kill again. That's why you had to dismember or burn them.

Blunt waited for Carr and Schultz to return down the steps but they didn't come. "Get down here!" Blunt yelled.

There was no response.

Blunt had a feeling something was wrong and bit his lip. "Get down here!" he yelled again. Still no response. As the commander, it was his responsibility to make sure his men were alright. But he had a feeling they weren't. Now he had to go upstairs to check on them. Taking a deep breath, Blunt climbed the stairs one at a time keeping as quiet as he could. At the top of the stairs he paused, then walked to his right where he saw a leg through the doorway jerking back and forth on the ground.

With his gun outstretched, Blunt approached the doorway slow and quiet as he peered around the corner and saw Martin chewing on Carr's leg. Schultz was nowhere to be found and Martin was oblivious to Blunt's presence.

One quick shot to the head, and Martin fell face first onto Carr and rolled off.

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# Chapter 40

# Take over

Jaycee bent over and picked up the knife Morgan slid over to her. She walked past the zombie vampire and out into the dining room into the hall and into the bar. From there she could hear Morgan's wife chewing on the bartender behind the bar. Morgan followed along with his child who stood behind him in the hall.

"What will my life be like once I kill her?" Jaycee asked. "Maybe I'd be better slitting my own wrists and getting this over with."

"Fine with me, I win either way," Morgan replied.

Jaycee turned around to face Morgan. "What do you plan to do with your life? You can't go on the run forever. One day all the zombie vampires will be dead."

"What do you propose? Turn myself in? There is no prison for zombie vampires, just a sure and quick death. I didn't ask to be turned, it happened against my will. I don't think I should have to suffer again."

"I know it's not your fault, but once you turned, you became a dangerous threat to the rest of the world. The very act of survival brought forth more zombie vampires and now your kind have spread like a deadly virus. Life isn't fair, it's very cruel and in order to insure the survival of the human race, you must be illuminated."

"I disagree," Morgan replied. "I think the human and the zombie vampire can live separate but equal lives. History shows that humans treat each other very differently so I don't expect them to welcome us with open arms. So we must defend ourselves and make our own way. We will have our own land, and our own culture and live at peace with the human race."

"How will you survive? You feed on humans, you can't survive on any other food source, including other zombie vampires. You would have to have a constant supply of human to maintain your population and that means only one thing. War."

"No, we can do what humans have done for millennia, we will raise and maintain a population of humans to feed on, like you do cattle. We will breed what we need to survive and leave you alone," Morgan said.

"Are you kidding? Your kind doesn't have the intelligence to the most basic things. How can you expect to raise food? You're the only zombie vampire I know with the ability to do such a thing."

"We will have humans in charge of our food, it will be a tradeoff to keep us from attacking and waging war upon your kind," Morgan said.

"What the fuck? You expect humans to raise other humans for your food, just so you won't attack? That sounds like blackmail."

"What is your other choice?"

"Killing off all you fuckers once and for good," Jaycee replied.

"Good luck that would be like trying to kill off all the cockroaches, you will never get rid of us all and it only takes a handful to repopulate our ranks. Now do what you said you'd do and kill my wife."

Jaycee shook her head in disgust. She turned and walked to the bar and looked over the top at Morgan's wife who was ripping flesh from the bartender. After listening to Morgan rant about how she and her kind would soon be slaves and food, she had no problem killing. It would make her feel better.

Around the bar Jaycee walked and stood over the zombie vampire who was too busy to notice the woman with a knife standing above her. Jaycee raised the knife with both hands over her head and plunged the knife into the zombie vampire's back repeatedly anticipating an attack. Morgan's wife tried to stand up but every time she did, Jaycee stabbed her and pushed her back down. Soon the zombie vampire rolled over on her side and gasped for air. It was then Jaycee say her opportunity and jumped on top of it and sliced at its neck.

Back and forth Jaycee cut until the zombie vampire's head was cut off and was dead for good. Jaycee picked up its head, stood up and tossed the head onto the bar in the direction of Morgan and his daughter. In the distance, in the dark, Jaycee saw Morgan bob his head up and down in acknowledgement. "There you go," Jaycee said. "One down, a few hundred to go."

Morgan stepped forward into the light of the bar and poked at his wife's dead head. He smiled and said, "Very good, she is in a better place now."

"What about your daughter? You want me to kill her too?" Jaycee asked.

"No, my daughter is like me, she has a mind. Together we will rule."

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# Chapter 41

# Darkness

Shackled to the bed in darkness, Doran listened to the sounds of insects as they scurried around the room. No one came to save him, no one cared he was there.

