Only Human: Monsters and Men

Chapter 3: June Jackson *Self-Edited

Van tires screeched to a stop not far from where I was. I tried to breathe silently and slowly clasping my hands over my nose and mouth to prevent the dust from making me cough or sneeze. Knowing no way that I could silence my heartbeat, I settled with trying to remain as calm as possible. Engines died, doors were forced open, and multiple pairs of feet crunched on the dirt road. Peering out from under the car, I could see a few shoes. Some in as bad of state as mine, and others made of pristine leather. My fingers curled around the chain on my handcuffs for comfort as I waited. "They're not here!" a man I didn't know shouted to his comrades. I could hear the van shake above me as they wrenched the driver's door open.

"Shit! Those bitches are pretty smart." A tenor-voiced man cursed. "They tricked us into believing they were still in the car by locking the steering wheel with the seatbelt and pressing the pedal with a damned rock. I think we underestimated them."

"Yeah well, I still don't understand how they got out in the first place." I could hear Jacob's nasally-self mutter.

"That isn't a concern at the moment. All that matters is knowing where they are now. If they're not here then where else can they be?" Another, obviously more intelligent vampire, asked.

"What about that abandoned gas station? It would be the only place to hide." Brian's voice offered. I held my breath and squeezed my eyes shut. I didn't think this all the way through. If the police hadn't arrived yet, then I'd be sending these villains right back in their direction.

"Not possible. That was down the other road, right? They couldn't have ran all the way there from the turn. Not without us seeing them." The first man reasoned. I carefully released the breath I was holding.

"Anybody else have any better ideas?" Brian scoffed.

"Fuck, they could be anywhere. We were far enough behind for them to stop somewhere and let the car go off without us even fucking knowing it." The tenor voice said.

"Not true. They might have gotten out of the car, but there aren't many places they could run without us spotting them. Especially with our keen eyesight. There might have been some dens or trenches we missed..." The intelligent voice said.

"Then let's get searching. The longer we stand here yapping the farther they will be from us. I don't know about you, but I don't want to lose my meal ticket." Jacob barked. My spine tingled with the term 'meal ticket.' That statement couldn't have been more accurate right now. I watched as the shoes disappeared from my line of sight. Only one set remained, and I could hear their owner rummaging in the car.

"Jimmy, let's go!" The intelligent one shouted. A loud bang vibrated through the vehicle, and a ring of keys clattered to the ground in front of me.

"Fuck, my head... Wait a damn second!" The tenor called. I froze as the man's hand reached for the keys. I struggled to keep my heart from jumping into my throat and I once again held my breath. His hand paused before brushing at the dirt near his keys. "What the hell is this? The grounds all scrapped up like something..." Something what?! No, stay calm! Stay calm. Despite my mantras and wishes, I watched in helpless terror as "Jimmy" knelt and peaked under the van. For a few moments we looked at each other in mutual surprise. His buzzed black hair and black eyes seemed plain and innocent at first, but a twisted and pleased grin quickly changed my assessment.

Like lightning, Jimmy's hand latched onto my arm before I could even think of trying to crawl away. "Look what we have here! I think I just found one of the bitches!" He crowed to the others. I gasped and tried to hold onto whatever I could grab onto, but his grip was painfully unyielding. He roughly dragged me out from under the van and forced me onto my feet. No matter how I tried to pull loose, his hold remained effortlessly firm. I was caught.