Nasferas: The Begotten

27

Jimmy banged on the cab so hard it woke Matt from a deep sleep.

"Would you tell him to stop?" Jason yelled.

Brett opened the sliding glass window. "Jimmy, stop pounding. You're waking everyone up."

Jimmy leaned down and stuck his narrow head through the window. "We're here and it doesn't look like we're alone. Lights are flashing down there," he whispered.

Matt peered out the front window and saw a cluster of trees covered in snow. A light glow bounced against the trunks. It seemed they'd slept the entire day as the sun had already set. He had no idea how long they had been on the dirt road, but every muscle in his body ached.

"We'll be at the top of the canyon in a few minutes. Should give us a bird's eye view of the area," Jason said. "So, sit down and relax, Jimmy."

Jimmy Boy retreated to the bed. However, he didn't sit. He opened his case again and clicked a plastic block of something to the scope of his rifle.

"What's that?" Matt pointed at Jimmy.

Brett urged his body higher and looked out the back. "That's his night vision. He's strapped it to a semi-automatic AR-17 assault rifle."

"Didn't the government ban those types of rifles?" Matt thought he'd heard it on a morning talk show.

Jason smiled. "Not yet. And if they do, they'll have to pry those weapons out of Jimmy's cold, dead, hands."

Katelyn sat up from her position in Brett's lap. "What's going on?"

"Nothing," Brett said. "We're near the top of the mountain. Are you feeling better?" He kissed her forehead.

"How near?" She rubbed her eyes and looked at Matt. Then her eyes fell on Eve, who hadn't woken up, using Matt's shoulder as a pillow. "What time is it?"

Matt looked at his watch. "Five-thirty."

"We've been gone a long time."

Nancy stretched and yawned, which made Matt, Katelyn, and Brett yawn. "We told you the drive would take a while."

Jason humphed. "Especially taking these back roads up the mountain. I've had to stop and backtrack a couple of times.

The truck leveled out as the top of the canyon road flattened. The tree line blocked Matt's view of the ravine.

"Holy shit!" Jason yelled.

"Oh ... my ... God!" Nancy crawled over the seat and hid on the floor.

Matt unbuckled his seat belt and woke up Eve. He moved her to the side, straining to get a glimpse of what had spooked the other three. "What is it? Plane crash? Was Jason ... right?"

Nancy kept hidden. Jason stopped the truck at the edge of the precipice. His eyes bulged, and his body shook.

Jimmy Boy leaped from the bed of the truck and landed on the ground with a clanking of metal. He'd changed into a camouflage suit and flack vest lined with bullets. A large assault rifle swung from his back. He had an even larger rifle, with an infrared scope, clasped in his hands. A buck knife jutted from a sheath on his belt. He tapped on the front passenger window.

Dustin rolled it down.

"Turn off your lights. They'll spot us," Jimmy Boy whispered.

Jason turned off the truck and shut off the lights.

"What's down there?" Katelyn asked.

"Aliens." Jimmy Boy shook his head. "Mother fucking aliens."

"You've gotta be shitting me." Brett opened his door and hopped out of the truck, joining Jimmy Boy by the grill. They shared his binoculars, looking at something down the hill.