Reign of Blood Read online

  I stretched to keep limber, too. If I had to fight one, it would be to my advantage to be ready. Jeremy watched me with studious eyes, filled with a knowledge he was too young to own. I smiled brightly to deflect the anxious energy floating in his eyes. He smiled and turned back toward the window. He knew that every trip into the city could be racked with danger. He didn’t deserve this kind of life. He should have been allowed to be a kid, playing on swings and jungle gyms, eating cookies and ice cream under the intense sun of Las Vegas summers. Swimming in crystal blue pools and playing ball. I missed these activities myself but to deny him his childhood cut me to the bone. I wish he had had that before all this happened.

  The van reached the first buildings after turning down I-95 southbound into the city. I watched the concrete speed by as the van swayed, dodging the debris and cars strewn across the way. Jeremy’s eyes were staring at the back of the seat in front of him. He had averted them to avoid taking in the gruesome details outside. I wasn’t so squeamish. I glanced over him through the window. Crashed and stalled cars alike were not out of the ordinary now. What bothered him was the endless array of corpses laid out in their last positions of death. Sitting in cars, hanging halfway out windows, lying in pieces across the highway after being hit when the panic of the masses had set in. Though they were mostly mangled and mummified now, I didn’t blame him one bit. I looked at the bodies and emblazoned their empty eyes and terror-set faces into my head. I would not forget and I would not let it disillusion me. I couldn’t.

  Mom’s voice softly interrupted the silence. “Coming up on the store, April.”

  I unbuckled my seat belt and, grabbing my weapons and equipment, nodded my acknowledgement to her. She slowed the van down to a crawl then lightly tapped the brakes to bring it to a full stop. I glanced out towards the huge Pro Shop sign that sat dusty in the bright morning sun. Butterflies fluttered their wings in my belly as I took a deep breath in. I loved these stores. So many fine weaponry and goodies, it got my heart racing. I needed to restock some of my supplies and today seemed like a mighty good day to do so.

  I hugged Jeremy and kissed the top of his sandy brown hair. Smiling, I gave his fear-filled eyes a wink. “I’ll see you in a bit, squirt.” He nodded slightly but my reassurance was not convincing. I turned away, stepped out of the van and clicked the door shut behind me. I didn’t look back as I heard the tires crunch away, rolling on the pavement toward the supermarket two streets down. I stood staring at the windows of the sporting goods store. Scanning the area around me, I expected nothing but I wasn’t going to start getting careless.

  The breeze was cool this morning, sweeping up small billows of dust and dead leaves. The street was desolate; cracked pavement, smashed windows and garbage were littered about. I closed my eyes. Standing by myself and listening to the eerie quiet made me feel naked, like I was exposed. I no longer heard the van and no steps betrayed anyone’s presence. Opening my eyes, I sighed and said a silent prayer for courage as the flood of fear threatened to break. I had done this dozens but each time never got any easier.

  I unsheathed my machete from my right side; it was perfect for close range combat and did the job. I didn’t want to have to use it but that wasn’t up to me. I had to secure the place before browsing the goods. Pushing the heavy glass doors to enter, I glanced around the store, looking for signs of movement, especially in the shadows. The air was stuffy but not sour, like the places that had rotting corpses and dead vampires lying around. This store wasn’t frequented by the feral and wild vampires. The skylights high in the ceiling and the walls of glass windows kept it well lit and therefore, mostly vampire-free. I hadn’t run into one in this particular store yet, but I wasn’t taking my chances.

  Systematically, I walked the perimeter of the isles then down the middle and zigzagged, stopping frequently to listen for footsteps or other noises. None came. Only the slight whistle of the wind outside broke the solace of the place. Having finished with the storefront, I made my way to the storerooms in the back. It was riskier there, darker. I lit a flashlight and scanned the area, shoving the double doors open to let the sunlight in. Luckily it wasn’t a large area and the many boxes were stacked flush against the walls, since space was limited.

  Satisfied, I closed the doors and turned back to the racks of camping stuff, weapons, bikes and more. A flutter of excitement now ran through my chest as I turned down my favorite isle of knives and arrows to restock my supplies. I grabbed a few boxes of ammunition and retrieved the wheeled metal cart to start piling it up with things. I opened some of the large duffle bags. These were for the smaller items, to keep them together and arranged as space efficiently as I could.

  I slipped a few packages of arrows into the cart along with several daggers and throwing stars. I grabbed some extra boots–mine were wearing out–and a dart throwing set for Jeremy. Satisfied with my haul, I pulled the cart outside, letting the doors swing shut behind me.

  I looked around and felt a slight chill down my arms. Even though I was wearing my thin jacket, it felt cold and I rubbed my arms. The sun was rising and would warm the air soon enough, but the feeling of dread seemed to stick to me as I scanned the area again. Nothing but silence greeted me. I shook off the feeling and turned towards the intersection. Turning east, I slipped my sunglasses down over my eyes and followed the road.

  I scurried down the sidewalk, glancing around me and studying each building as best I could as I hurried down the road. When I turned down the second street, I felt silly for feeling skittish. I let out a laugh. Sometimes I felt like a fool, but living in this ruin of a world had made me so paranoid, I could swear that I was always being watched. The sun was brilliant and its intensity would burn the vampires to a crisp if they attempted to leave their shadowed sanctuaries. I talked myself down as I continued, calming my inner voice to silence as I approached the supermarket I was to meet my mother and brother at.

  The van was nowhere to be seen but that wasn’t unusual. They could have thought of another place they had wanted to visit before heading to our meeting spot. I looked around, repeating my surveillance of the outside of the market. Pulling the cart to the doors, I pushed them open and unsheathed my machete once more. The market was darker than the sporting goods store, though it had high windows lining the store front. Still, the back was lined in shadows and anything could be lurking at the ends of the isles.

  I grabbed my flashlight and let its beam caress the rows of food and along with the mess of things flung across the tile floor. Some stores had been ransacked when the epidemic hit, but most were still generally intact. A few stragglers had made it and looted supplies before probably dropping dead when they attempted to escape the city or getting ravaged by the wild vampires that the virus had created. I stepped into the store slowly, watching my step to avoid tripping on the bottles, boxes and cans that blocked my path. The further in I went, the less of a mess there was, like the looters had not considered going too deep into the store for supplies. They’d had good reason for that.

  It took a few minutes but it was well worth the peace of mind to do my rounds. Finished with my examination of the store and back storage area, I started to load up my cart with non-perishables that were on my list. It was a tedious job, dragging the cart along with one hand and holding the flashlight in the other hand, I was used to it and managed to dump a ton of supplies into the cart.

  Finishing up in the store, I wanted to get outside to see if my mother and Jeremy were there yet. It didn’t seem like much time had passed but it was near noon. Where were they?

  Pushing through the doors, I spotted the van parked to my left. Looking around for them, I saw nothing. How could they be here, but not have come in and say hello? I headed for the van and peeked inside. The keys were in the ignition and the back seat was filled with bags of supplies they had probably stuffed in there. Glancing around again and listening for any noise, I shrugged. They were probably in the store and I had just missed them.

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; I opened the trunk and started to fill the rest of it up with the stuff I had acquired. Once I was done, the metal cart folded up nicely and slipped in, too. Closing the hatch slowly so as to not make too much noise, I pushed at it and felt it click. I sat on the back bumper as I looked around again, feeling the tug of anxiety as I wondered once more where my family was.

  Deciding to recheck the store, I hopped over the sidewalk and went through the front doors. Clicking the flashlight back on, I listened for movement but none came. I decided to call out to them, figuring it was safe since I had already secured the place.

  “Mom? Jeremy? You guys in here?” My voice echoed in the emptiness, giving me a shudder as the large room seemed to grow dimmer as the midday sun no longer shined directly through the grungy windows. I licked my lips, feeling my throat close up as the air seemed to suddenly thicken and the staleness of it choked me.

  I called out to them again and again but no answer came. I backed out and slammed the doors open, looking wildly around. The van was still parked in the same spot, nothing out of the ordinary that I could see. There was just no one else there.

  Where were they?

  My eyes fell on one thing that I had not noticed before. The driver’s side door was slightly cracked open. My stomach lurched for a moment as I slowly stepped around the front of the van to look at the door. A smear of blood ran along the handle and up to the edge of the window. A bloody handprint of dark brick red in color, painted the center of the door. I gasped as my heart jumped, immediately drawing my machete out. I crouched against the van as my eyes darted around, looking for anything that would lead me to where they were. I searched the ground for blood trails but none could be found. If scavengers were out here too, they could have snatched them and I’d have been none the wiser. Not that I had seen any for almost a year.

  I prayed for something but nothing came. I ran out toward the sidewalk that lined the street. It was quiet and desolate as ever. The sun reflected brightly on the dusty white buildings around me and fluttering trash floated by, riding on the breeze. My hair was flying in a halo as I wildly looked around.

  “Oh, God, no, please! Where are they? Help me, please!”

  I sucked back the sob that threatened to spill, not noticing the tears that already streamed down my cheeks. I ran to the corner of the sidewalk and glanced down both ways, desperate for any signs of them. Was Mom hurt? Was Jeremy? If I couldn’t find the sign I needed, I could lose them forever. It wasn’t something I was going to do, no, I couldn’t lose them.

  As I was about to turn back into the parking lot, I spotted what I needed. A tire track was pressed into an old bag of stuff. Whatever had been in it was now smashed and imprinted with the wavy lines of a tire. I ran to it and studied its lines intently. It was fresh. The track was well defined and nothing interrupted it, no dust, no streaks of the sparse rain that had recently fallen. I looked in the direction the tires headed, but that was the only clue that anything had changed. I ran down the street but nothing came into view. I came to a stop, slightly out of breath but feeling the panic surge like an overwhelming asphyxiation. I bent over, feeling the world spin as I tried to tame it back down.

  They’re gone, they’re gone.

  No, no, no, no!

  I fell to my knees and let my stomach release the knot of breakfast, spilling it across the pavement. Tears flooded my eyes as I finished and let the sobs rip through me and shake my body. How could this happen? Who would take them? I hadn’t seen anyone or come across any scavengers in so long that it had become a world of just us three. We had often spoken of that, wondering together if we truly were the last humans left.

  The thought of being left by myself jolted me up from my position. My machete was on the ground where I had dropped it. I scooped it up and began walking back, glancing around as I wiped the tears off my face and sheathed my weapon. I wanted to get to the van and follow the track. If I could find another clue, maybe, just maybe, I could find them in time. Trying not to think of the feral vampires or worse that may have captured them, I ran until I found myself back at the van. Flinging the door open, I cranked the engine. I slammed the door shut as I accelerated, screeching from the parking lot and out into the streets of Sin city.

  Chapter Four

  The endless drive and search had left me broken in despair. I had not found any signs anywhere of my mother and brother. I had returned endless times to the supermarket with no further clues of anything. The streets had not offered further hints to their whereabouts. I now sat waiting in the van, dried tears and dirt caked on my face as I pondered what to do as the sun descended just above Mt. Charleston to the west. Nothing made sense. Everything was so wrong and the pit of sadness growing in my chest arrested my breath. The dusk warned me in colors of orange and dusty red that the night threatened to make its appearance and the looming shadows grew.

  I gritted my teeth and shook my head. Disbelief and denial flooded my head as I screamed, pounding my hands against the steering wheel, making the van shake.

  This can’t be happening! It’s not real! Wake up April!

  My hands screamed as the hits flared into a raging pain, turning them scarlet red. The ache was not enough to numb me, but it did send me into a spill of sobs. The last of my tears spilt down my face and soaked my shirt as they plopped onto the fabric.

  I can’t leave them here! I can’t! That was not a possibility. How could I ever leave them for those beasts? How could I live knowing I drove away into the sunset without them?

  I sighed, sniffling and wiping my nose. I knew the answer all too well; I would never be able to forgive myself when I finally did leave this place tonight. I would rather die looking for them and I’d never give up. They were all I had to live for.

  Shifting the van into gear, the hum of the engine made my panic surge one more time but I swallowed it down into the pit of my stomach. I could almost hear my mother’s voice telling me that it was fine. She would expect me to return home, to the safety of our sanctuary in the mountains. She had always stated as such. But I didn’t want to. I could hardly breathe thinking of following her directions.

  Her voice echoed in my head, making me nod slowly as if she could even see me. “Anything happens, you return here for the night. We get separated, or anything, don’t let your emotions destroy your senses. You know what must be done. Don’t look back.”

  Moving the shifter into gear, I gently pressed on the gas and drove across the empty parking lot to the street. Pausing at the edge of the concrete, as if any other cars would ever be crossing the way anymore, I took in a deep breath as the sun’s last beams seared into my eyes. My foot pressed the gas once more and I slowly pulled away from the desolate city, leaving my heart behind.

  Chapter Five

  The sun slumbered as I stared at the monitor of the security cameras. Its screen was split into four squares, each square displaying an image from one of the cameras that continually scanned the perimeter of the bunker. I sat on a steel chair that was ever so uncomfortable but it kept me awake, never letting my eyes waver from the screen. It was now burning itself into my retinas, making my eyes dry out. I hadn’t changed and my grimy clothes clung to my skin. My disheveled hair flew in a crazy array of wisps and tangles about my head in a mangled halo, but I did not care. My feet ached, still in boots and sore from the endless search of the day. It was late but I was not going to be sleeping any tonight.

  I prayed for them to suddenly appear, waving at me on the screen to let them in. I tapped on one of my katana swords that I had laid out on the desk before me. Its shiny steel surface gleamed under the fluorescent lights as I rocked the blade back and forth. The sun was not going to rise fast enough for me; the waiting agitated me down to my core. My nerves were jumpy and shaky as the overload of caffeine surged through my veins and made my head ache with a feverish pain. Rolling my shoulders, I stood up and stretched, walking over to the medicine cabinet to scavenge for some migraine medicine.

  Finding w
hat I needed, I sank back down on the steel chair. The hardness of it made my body protest even more. I grabbed a bottle of water I had left on the desk and swallowed down the two pills. I hated taking medicine if I didn’t have to, but the caffeine and pain relievers were a necessity at the moment. I didn’t want the migraine to get to the point where I would be debilitated and stuck in bed all night and day. I couldn’t afford that when my mother and brother were out in the death-filled night.

  Rubbing my temples, I groaned. I had to stay focused. Glancing at the screen again, I jumped as a flash of movement stilled my breath. I scrambled closer to the desk and glowing monitors. The other cameras were still and had showed nothing so I waited, hoping my pounding heart would slow down as I anticipated whatever it was that had moved to round the corner to the next camera.

  I didn’t have to wait long; a blur of a figure came into view looking around as if disorientated. A girl or young woman slowly walked by, as oblivious to her surroundings as she was of me watching her. I gulped as I studied her slow, delicate movements and grabbed the camera’s remote to follow her with the lens. I hoped the camera’s movement was quiet enough to not be heard as I followed her in the darkness. It had a night vision lens and the brightness along the person’s skin made me think of my mother. I hoped the vamps had not gotten to her and wondered if maybe it was her. I squinted to study the image closer, zooming in on the figure.

  Suddenly, the girl turned her bright, reflecting eyes towards the camera. I held my breath as I watched her inch closer, like a cat in the night toward the camera and seem to sniff up at it, cranking her head to see it better. My lips were numb, pressed so tight together that they were surely white. I waited as she stood on tip toes to get closer. I stilled the camera and observed her. Her fair blonde hair was in tangles and her dress hung on her like shredded rags. Her face had the baby fat of youth with a bruise of shadows under her eyes. Her face was smudged with dirt, adding to the wild look in her bright eyes.