River, Sun, Freedom

Chapter 18: Rest in Peace

Chapter 18: Rest in Peace

Nate felt his chest seize up in pain as he watched Jodi disappear as the swarm of vampyres overcame her. Her scream filled his ears. Damien ran ahead of him pulled two knives from sheaths concealed in each of his boots.

“Here.” He yelled at Nate over his shoulder and threw the knife back. It landed neatly blade first in the sand in front of him. Nate didn’t think twice, but ran after him, his

Suddenly four vampyres detached from the group and charged towards them with frightening speed. Damien was in front and would be the first they reached.

“I got these!” he yelled at Nate. “Save Jodi.”

Nate understood. Damien sprinted faster and reached the vampyres first sinking his blade into the neck of one. “GO!” he roared.

Nate dodged around the group without breaking stride, leaping over the fallen body of the vampyre, grabbing the knife in its neck as he did so. He plunged into the melee of vampyres pulling them away by their necks, slicing and stabbing every vampyre in sight until he reached the centre.

There lay Jodi.

Curled up in a foetal position and covered in blood.

She wasn’t moving.

Nate roared and threw vampyre after vampyre off her, not caring about protecting himself from their teeth and claws. But despite his efforts there were too many. They kept returning, intent on their prey. Just as Nate slit the throat of vampyre before him, one vampyre behind him locked its fists together and brought it crashing down on Nate’s head.

Nate cried out in pain and dropped to his knees, the knife clattering to the ground as he grabbed his throbbing head. The vampyre swung one arm around his throat and cracked the elbow of its other arm on Nate’s head.

Shadows swam in front of Nate’s eyes as pain blurred his vision. “Jodi.” He whispered, fighting oblivion. He turned his head to the right and watched as the blurred face of a vampyre loomed towards him, its gaping mouth opened ready to sink into his flesh.

BANG!

The vampyre’s head flicked around to face the direction of the noise.

BANG! BANG!

The vampyres before him dropped to the ground like flies. Pools of blood flowed from their heads. A path cleared from the surrounding vampyres for a moment and Nate saw a flash of skylight between them.

Damien stood with a gun aimed towards the group. Lying around him where the strewn bodies of the monsters he had killed.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

More gunshots, from elsewhere around the throng; the people that were escaping must’ve have gotten a hold of some weapons as well.

The vampyres were dropping like flies, and by now the pain from Nate’s head had ebbed slightly; enough that his vision cleared. He spun around and glimpsed his knife in the ground. He grabbed it and impaled the vampyre that was leaning over him.

Leaning his body back he pulled to knife back out and used the momentum to run through the vampyre he knew was behind him. While Damien and the others picked off the vampyres on the periphery of the swarm Nate destroyed the group from the centre out.

Bodies fell. Blood ran. Nate’s strength slowly ebbed away until soon all that was keeping him going was adrenalin and bloodlust.

Kill them. His mind screamed. Kill them all.