Page 42 of Marked for Execution
Multiple boot steps got louder, approaching us. I turned to see all three men in the living room with scowls on their faces. There was a red mark on both Reed and Eliseo, but I didn’t say a word. They needed to get this shit out of their system, because I didn’t know what I could do to help.
“Whiteridge,” I told them. My mind supplied images of the human camp equipped with a small wall and a farm.
“Are your memories coming back,Sili?”
I stared at him. The man who took me in and gave me a group to watch my back. “I remember they had a place that housed criminals and such. We can start there. Maybe they’ll have what we’re looking for.”
Flashes of chains rattling, and tormented screams floated with the breeze, brought me back to the moment where I escaped and ran.
“You’re an abomination. You shouldn’t exist, yet here you are, tainting the remaining human populace.” His spittle sprayed out as he snarled in my face.
For such a small town, their hate for bloodsuckers was strong. The fact that I didn’t even drink blood wouldn’t sway them, even if I mentioned it. There was no point. Not when they chained me the moment they saw my skin heal.
“Pity a womb like yours will go to waste.” He kneeled down, and all I could think about was how much I wanted to rip his face off when I got out of here. “I guess it wouldn’t hurt to have a little fun before we kill you. After all, what difference does it make, in the long run?”
The chain beside me rattled, stealing his attention. The old man beside me has his sharp gaze fixed on the man before me. There was something about him that screamed danger despite his frail looking body.
“You getting excited, old man? Bet you wish you didn’t try to steal that food right about now. You could have been partaking in the events,” the leader of Whiteridge said with menace.
This whole town hid their true faces. They welcomed you with open arms, only to see how they could exploit you and use you to their advantage. When one of them tried to blame me for touching their husbands, she stabbed me, only to witness my skin stitch back up.
“Be wary. It’s a town of lies. Keep your guard up,” I told the men as I checked all the weapons on my body one more time.
We all moved under the cover of darkness, Gunner showing us an area that was easier to climb over than what I found when I tried. The second to climb, I jumped the edge of the wall and landed in Eliseo’s arms. He smiled at me, refusing to put me down.
“Sili.”
“Put me down, Eliseo.”
He slid me down his hard body slowly until my feet hit the ground. My face heated up and I shoved him away only to have him chuckle quietly. The men quickly followed suit and we all started our trek outbound until the sun slowly crested the sky.
“Hey, guys. That car looks like it still runs,” Samuel pointed out in front of us.
We reached an abandoned town about a mile ago. This car sat off the road by itself at a strange angle. The top was rusted out, but the body was pretty much still intact. The sun had beaten down on us today, making us sweat profusely under our clothes. A vehicle would help us cover more ground quicker.
“You think it’s fresh?” Reed asked.
“Only one way to find out.”
We cautiously walked around the vehicle and looked around the parameter.
It was the loud crash against the nearby tree that stole all of our attention, then the splatter of blood spraying like rain our way. The tree creaked as it fell over and hit the other ones nearby.
“What the hell?” Samuel murmured as he pulled his gun from his pants.
I readied a bolt and the rest of the guys all brought their weapons up, looking at the blood-splattered trunk.
A dark figure came from behind another tree, dragging a body behind him. His smile was menacing when he saw us and didn't stop walking at a slow pace. His boots crunched the dead leaves on the ground and my hackles rose.
His eyes, his eyes. They were hungry, and reminded me so much of…
Bang!
A shot rang out from Reed’s gun, and then the rest of the guys. The vampire was quick. He threw the body on the ground and jumped on Gunner, tackling him.
I lifted my crossbow and aimed, but the bodies grappling on the ground were moving too quickly. Eliseo jumped into the fray, trying to pull the guy off, but got tossed against the side of the car with a loud crash, depressing the doors in.
“Nice day for a walk. Didn’t think I’d find company. Iama bit hungry…”A vampire? Out now?