The Ancient Storm (The Scourge Book 3) Read online

  Joel turned the engine off and listened.

  Scuffling, wheezing, longing…

  “There are vamps here, but they’re resting. If we are quick we can get what we need without them knowing.”

  He and Kirk got out. Hickman and Ethan were already outside. The sergeant was holding his M4.

  “Two teams. I’ll go with Kirk, you both find fencing,” said Joel.

  Hickman and Ethan nodded and ran off to the land supplies section.

  Joel looked at Kirk who was watching the large glass entrance doors. “Stay close. Don’t fire that thing off unless you have to. The less noise we make the better.”

  Kirk nodded.

  Joel didn’t need to open the large door as an open space was all that was left of the glass wall to the left of it. They both stepped through, trying to see into the gloom of the aisles beyond.

  They were both acutely aware of the crunching their boots were making on the glass and were happier when they made it onto the smooth, tiled floor.

  Joel pointed up at a green sign that mentioned household supplies in the fifth aisle. Kirk nodded, and they both walked past the others until they arrived at shelves containing gallon cans of paint, polish, brushes, cleaning materials, and down the end what looked like large drums of fuel for generators.

  They both quickly moved past the other items until they got to the end.

  “Wait here, I’ll see if I can find a cart,” said Joel, moving around the end of the aisle.

  Kirk look down at the gallon and a half drums. “Best get the diesel and the—”

  Something clattered to the floor back near the checkouts.

  “Joel? That you?”

  In the distance, a plastic tube rolled across the dusty floor hitting up against the base of the shelves.

  “Joel?” he repeated, this time keeping his voice lower. Letting his shotgun lead the way, he walked slowly back towards the front of the store.

  Peering around the front of the aisle Kirk stopped frozen. Two vamps, standing idle, were facing away from him. He pulled himself back around the corner in one movement, not realizing he was holding his breath.

  He went to move forward to have another look when a rush of wind was followed by a claw which sliced across his jacket. His gun went off but only hit the shelves above, exploding bottles of cleaning goods.

  Kirk fell back and tried to run, but a vicelike grip held him to the spot. The creature pulled him backwards towards itself slowly, seemingly enjoying watching his struggle to get free.

  And then he was.

  The air filled with squeals as something more horrific tore at the vamp, felling it in seconds. It then turned and rushed the other creature that looked as though it had been caught in headlights. It was on the floor, convulsing, as this new creature attacked it.

  Kirk then realized he was watching Joel. The vamp that was also 'human.'

  Hickman and Evan appeared at the front entrance just as Joel stood up from between the checkout counters, wiping the blood from his hands and mouth. He turned, looking at Kirk.

  “You hurt?”

  Kirk looked down at himself. “No, I think I’m… no, I’m fine.”

  Hickman frowned then walked back outside. Evan followed.

  Joel walked back to the end of the aisle and pushed a flatbed cart into the fuel aisle. “Sorry about that, had to go some way to find this. Let’s get it filled.”

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Amos looked at the pine trees passing by and pulled his vest away from his neck. He already knew the female soldier driving wanted to take a break which just so happened to be what he wanted too. “Why don’t we take a break.”

  “Hawkins will let us know when it’s time to stop,” said Shaw.

  “We’ve been driving for four hours, what’s the big deal in stopping for fifteen minutes? Anyway, I need to use the bathroom and I don’t mean the stand-up kind.” He knew Shaw needed the same, from when they turned off the main highway twenty minutes before.

  The merc thought about it then held the radio mike to her mouth. “Sir, Amos wants to take a leak. There’re a few places up ahead if we take the next left exit. Over.”

  Amos looked at Kizzy who appeared to be sleeping although he knew she wasn’t.

  The Humvee ahead turned off and headed onto the smaller two-lane road.

  “We’ll take a short break then head back out. There’s still an hour left of light. Over,” replied Hawkins.

  Soon they were pulling off the road completely and into the forecourt of a gas station.

  Amos got out and immediately started walking towards the store.

  The tall slim figure of Fields started to follow him.

  “I don’t need a caretaker to use the restroom,” said Amos.

  “Go with him,” said Hawkins.

  Amos heard the young merc’s protests, but knew he was going to follow him inside anyway.

  “Hey, wait!” shouted Kizzy, running after them. “I need sugar.”

  Amos sighed. “You don’t need sugar. You just need blood. Like we all do.”

  She pushed past him as they arrived at the door. “Speak for yourself, I know what I want, emo boy.”

  Outside, Dalton stood. He was a good few inches above Hawkins who wasn’t exactly short.

  “You don’t want to use the restroom?” said Hawkins.

  Dalton shook his head while looking at the forests around them.

  Hawkins laughed while looking down at the computer tablet in his hand. He scrolled a map around with his finger.

  “What’s so funny?” said Dalton.

  “Oh, nothing.”

  Dalton frowned.

  In the store, Fields stood looking at magazines with cars and girls on the front while sneaking a glance at the door to the restroom.

  Inside the men’s restroom, Amos was making his case for them to make a break for it.

  “Look. I can read that soldier guy’s mind. He’d sooner shoot us than let us really be free.”

  “And your great plan is to wait until we’re in the middle of nowhere to getaway?” said Kizzy. She shook her head then walked into one of the stalls, closing the door behind her.

  “You and I. We can survive out here. We find animals and feed on them—”

  “Eww, gross.”

  “Okay, humans then, whatever.”

  “Ewww, even worse.”

  “How did you even survive this long? You know you really can’t last eating candy, right?”

  “I find medical centers. I find the blood, and I’m good to go.” The toilet flushed in her stall. The door opened. “And I doubt there’s any of them in the middle of nowheresville.” She walked to the exit. “If you want to play children of the forest, be my guest.” And left.

  Amos sighed.

  *****

  The sun hung low on the horizon just above the heads of thousands of kernels of wheat. On the edge of the field, Joel, Evan, and Kirk tied off the last of the fencing they had brought back.

  He waved to Donnie at the bottom of the field who in turn waved to Max to turn the generator on.

  A mild buzzing came from the metal cords between the posts.

  “Even I can hear that,” said Kirk.

  “Yup. You might want to keep it turned off during the day, and just use it at night. It’s not going to stop vamps getting through if they want to, but it might slow them down enough so you got some warning.”

  “I appreciate… all this,” said Kirk.

  “We need farmers to keep on farming if we’re going to get through this. You’re helping everyone by keeping on,” said Joel.

  Kirk looked out over his fields. The lights of the farmhouse sparkled in the distance. “We’ll keep going for as long as we can.”

  “Tomorrow, we’ll get these crops in then we have to hit the road. Still some way to go to the border,” said Joel.

  Inside the house, April sat with a shawl across her shoulder in the living room. Marina sat with Jess and Jasper on the sofa ne
arby. The latter two were giggling over a children’s book April had given them. The others were spread out across the house. Three or more to each of the family’s three spare bedrooms, and the others bedded down in a sun room at the back of the house.

  After Joel and the others had returned earlier, Kirk had taken April aside. Ten minutes later they reappeared. April did a good job of pretending nothing was different, but Marina and the other Hybrids picked up the slight smell of sweat on her from then on. Joel could also hear her heart beating faster than it needed.

  Marina smiled at the woman sitting nearby, and April returned the gesture. A part of the bookshelf was covered in photos of a young girl. Marina didn’t need to ask to know what must have happened.

  “Harper. My youngest,” said April, noticing Marina's interest.

  “She’s very pretty,” said Marina.

  “She is… umm… yes.” April sprang up, slightly taking Marina aback, walked to the shelf, and picked up one of the photos. “This was her first prom.” She handed it to Marina.

  “She looks like a princess,” said Jess.

  Marina smiled and handed it back.

  April went to talk, but instead no words came from her mouth as it opened. She silently walked across the room and placed the photo frame back in its original place. “I think I’ll bid you night.” She looked at the nearby group of blankets. “Do you have what you need?”

  “Yes, that’s plenty. Thank you.”

  April moved into the hallway and ascended the stairs.

  Outside, as the last vestiges of day slithered into night, Joel stood inside the largest of the four outbuildings which made up the Bradley’s farm. He dropped the pack of tools back into their rightful spot and went to turn when he sensed a presence standing in the doorway.

  “Does your father know?” said Joel, without turning around.

  “Damn, usually I can sneak up on folks, and they don’t know I’m there until I tap them on the shoulder. But you’re not most folks. Or vamps even.”

  Joel turned around. “I’m guessing he doesn’t.”

  Behind Donnie the world was awash with a pink glow of the setting sun. The young man stepped over the wooden threshold and closed the door behind him.

  “He killed my sister!”

  “From what I understand, your sister became like most do when they turn. There was nothing that could be done for her…”

  “What are you saying! You’re a vamp! If you don’t take me with you, he’s going to kill me!”

  Joel examined the young man in front of him. He could tell he wasn’t like him. He was something else entirely. “How old are you?”

  “What’s that got to do with anything? You don’t get it. I’ve managed to keep it from him up until now because of the cattle—”

  “You’re the one killing them?”

  “Mostly. Some were vamps also. But he’s going to figure it out sooner or later!”

  “What kind of vamp are you?”

  “You not seen my kind before?”

  Joel went to answer, but stopped when the sound of footsteps came from outside. They both froze. The door then opened.

  “Everything good in here?” said Kirk.

  Joel smiled. “Donnie’s showing me where everything goes. A guy could get lost in here!”

  Kirk smiled and stepped inside. “In the dark, yeah. But, umm, the farm’s been in my family for three generations. There’s equipment in here from the great depression era.”

  “Yeah, I told you to sell it online. Now it’s too late,” said Donnie.

  “You never know when you’re going to need tools like those, son. Now we can’t use the machinery much they are coming in handy… literally.”

  “Now we got fuel, I don’t have to plow the field, right?”

  Kirk laughed, pulling Donnie in close. “Maybe, we’ll see.”

  Joel noticed the reluctance for Donnie to be hugged by his father, but the young man smiled nonetheless.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  ‘Insane sexy body!’ said the sign opposite the bank just visible in the moonlight.

  Kizzy help up her arms, mimicking the female body builder in the poster opposite. Her muscles flexed and started to expand, stretching the fabric on her T-shirt until it started to rip. After a few seconds, she was an inch taller and just as compact as the older woman.

  When the scourge hit Las Vegas she had just lost her job working at ‘Cob’s cuisine’ and was spending some time in her shared apartment scouring the web looking for something else. The restaurant gig was just meant to be temporary, and she had already saved halfway to what she needed to go to her dream city, LA. She hated the scourge for that. Her dream ended the moment a state of emergency was declared on the west coast. Most were moving in the opposite direction. Away from the densely populated areas of California, but hardly any made it to the Midwest.

  It was her roommate who turned first. A friendly girl who worked as a magician on the strip. She had been plying her trade to some tourists when one of them suddenly freaked out and attacked. She came home crying, with her sparkling outfit torn, covered in splatters of blood. This was before the word ‘scourge’ had even been mentioned on the mainstream media. She hated those news corporations almost as much as she hated the government. In her eyes, they were all to blame for what happened to ‘Lydia the Mysterious’ and then herself.

  Lydia was on a diet of chicken soup and oranges from that day onwards. She mostly kept to her own room, only appearing during the night as the sun hurt her eyes. But still she seemed mostly the same to Kizzy. Happy, fun to be around. The same Lydia. Until she wasn’t.

  Kizzy had awoken one night to a burning sensation in her ankle. Lydia informed her that she thought if she only bit her there it would be ‘okay.’

  After a few hours of freaking out, Kizzy calmed. By the time the media started to report that people should ‘watch their relatives closely,’ especially if they start to show any strange behavior, Kizzy and her roommate had already come to an agreement; Lydia would only take a small amount of blood from her roommate each day.

  Kizzy had no idea she herself was now infected. When she turned, she wasn’t so pleasant as her friend. When the initial bloodlust hit her, she was consumed by hunger. Her body also transformed as if it were a child’s toy to be contorted into impossible shapes.

  Lydia tried to run. But even with her extra vamp agility, Kizzy caught and fed on her until Kizzy no longer had a roommate.

  She looked into the shadows in the parking lot outside the bank Hawkins had chosen to stay in for the night and sighed. Her body slowly reverted to its normal five-foot seven, athletic build.

  Hungry.

  It had been over twenty-four hours since Hawkins opened the secure cold box in the back of the Humvee and allowed her to suck on the blood bag. She hated working for Copeland. He was obviously insane, but blood is blood, and considering how difficult it had become for her to find supplies she was willing to go along with his crazy plan to find a boy and a suitcase… oh and kill some guy called ‘Joel.’

  She turned around, her head rotating like an owl’s until she was looking at the others sleeping in the chairs. She wondered if any of them were trustworthy. She looked at Amos.

  Definitely not him.

  How could you trust someone who could read your mind?

  She then looked at the big guy. Since she first set eyes on him, he hadn’t said more than three words. And all of those contained one syllable.

  She didn’t need to be a mind reader to know that Dalton wanted out. She had no idea what his vamp ‘abilities’ were though. She guessed, as he stood at over six-foot four, he already had strength to spare, but she felt there was something else up with him. She had already learned that even though most people became dribbling, bloodlusting idiots when they turned, some, a rare few, became something else. Something not human, but not completely vamp as well.

  She sat down on the wide chair, and tried to get comfy. Amos didn’t realize
that she could have probably escaped at any point she wanted, but for now, she was along for the ride.

  *****

  A hand tugged at Joel's own, and his eyes flicked open into the gloom. The sun hadn't made an appearance yet. Donnie was standing over him in the sun room.

  "What?" Joel whispered, trying not to wake the few others around him.

  Donnie nodded towards the back door that was already open.

  Joel sighed then yawned, got to his feet, and followed the young man out to the yard. He closed the door quietly behind him.

  "Have you given it thought? You have to take me with you."

  Joel shook his head. He didn't need to be in the center of family drama, but the boy did have a point. Kirk had killed his daughter once she had turned.

  Would Kirk really kill his remaining child? Even if he wasn’t human anymore?

  It was a question Joel didn't fully have the answer for. He stood in the chill of the early morning, trying to push his mind to come up with a solution.

  “How about this. I'll talk to Kirk, and ask him to let you come with us to the camp—”

  Donnie’s eyes widened.

  “—But, you have to agree to return…”

  “What? No! I can’t come back!”

  Joel moved closer. “Keep your voice down!”

  Donnie frowned.

  “We’ll say you can bring back supplies for the farm in exchange for what we take up there… If you don’t come back, that’s on you.”

  Joel could tell Donnie’s excitement was tempered by indecision.

  “Sure, yeah. Talk to him, convince him to let me go with you.”

  “I can’t promise anything. He’s your father.”

  “He’s crazy.”

  Joel couldn’t help but be reminded of his state of mind, or lack of, when his own life spiraled out of control. He put his hand lightly on Donnie’s shoulder. “I’ve not known him long, but I can read people usually pretty well, and your father is a good guy. I’m not saying I agree with what he did to your sister. But you need to accept as well that she wasn’t coming back. Once she changed she wasn’t your sister anymore…”