Tk Worf 2

part 2

The Nosferatu—the mindless wight that had once been a Nosferatu—spots you. But then it turns, and though you cannot see the tough-looking young guy and the old woman, you know that they're cornered in the storage room. As the dead woman's blood runs down its chin, the creature weighs its options. It turns toward the storage room, moving awkwardly because a huge iron chain is fastened around one of its legs. Then something lashes out of the darkness and the wight reels back, more in surprise than pain. The young man strikes the creature again with his crowbar.

That won't be enough to fend off a monster like this. These people will be dead in moments, and then the fallen Nosferatu will turn its mindless rage on you.

You shout, trying Spanish and then English, knowing that the man's courage alone will not save him—only the terror of an open flame can stop the rampaging monster. But he does not listen. You rush forward, but it's too late—when you reach the storage room, the wight has torn both the old woman and the young man to bloody shreds. Swollen with their blood, it turns on you, and you can only back away. It picks up the unconscious old man and throws him at you, but you duck, and his body bounces off the wall with a wet thud.

Next

Now swollen with blood, the wight again turns its attention on you. Perhaps it considers you an interloper in the haven it has claimed. You topple a shelf, forcing the creature to work its way around the devastated room and buying you time to plan.

The dead man's crowbar is useless against this hulking Nosferatu, but a broken mop on the ground might work. A wooden stake through the heart does not destroy a vampire, but it will paralyze one.

The dead man also has more of your road flares. Wave some fire at a wight, and it'll run screaming into the night—if you have the courage to hold an open flame.

The fighting has badly damaged the convenience store's ceiling. If you're quick, you might be able to climb up one of the remaining shelves into the vents, where the Nosferatu can't fit. Or…looking carefully, you realize how extensive the damage is. Maybe you can just bring the whole ceiling down.

Whatever you do, you only have a few seconds to decide; the creature wants you gone, but it's so stupid and vicious that it will kill you if you try to leave the way you came.

The Beast fears fire and sunlight, and a wight is nothing but rage and fear and Hunger. You grab one of your road flares from the dead man and, hoping that you have the courage to confront your own Beast, ignite it.

You barely flinch as you hold the flare aloft. The Nosferatu screams, its mouth almost peeling apart, and it throws its hands up over its face like Christopher Lee facing a crucifix. When you step forward, it flees, crashing through the boarded-up front door and disappearing into the desert night.

You hold the flare for a second longer, just to show your Beast who's boss, then toss it aside.

Next

You check your iPhone. It's broken. You take out the SIM card and destroy it, then destroy the spares you carry. You wear a watch because sunrise is never far from your mind, and—yes, that's broken, too. Then you check your satchel, but the USBs are all there, all safe.

Your Hunger is still a dull ache in your teeth, and you're still in control. For now.

You check yourself again in the cracked glass of the empty display case. There's blood on your hands and face and clumps of gore in your hair, and your shirt and jeans are in tatters. You try the sink in the bathroom, but the water has been shut off for years. After a few minutes, you find some cleaning supplies. Being dead, you don't worry too much as you scrape blood off your face with a sponge. After a few minutes you look like an escaped mental patient, but not like a Romero zombie—no one in their right mind would pick you up as a hitchhiker, but you might be able to reach town.

You head back to where you left your car, but it's gone.

Instinctively you check the satchel one more time, but everything is there. Everything that just happened was a distraction—someone else's problem. You can reach the outskirts of Tucson before dawn, and from there make your way to the new Prince's court. Just deliver these USBs, and you'll make enough money for a new car. You'll be able to keep doing this.

Night after night.

You start walking.

Next Chapter