Hunter's Moon

Chapter 8

            Robert was riding the motorcycle one minute, and the next he could see it going on without him as he was being carried to the side of the road. Oof. Here they come.

            Robert looked up to see three of the creatures standing over him. This was going to be an interesting fight. He started to stand and he felt a strong kick in the solar plexus, taking the wind out of him. He felt one hand on the back of his head shoving his face into the ground. A series of laughs filled his ears as he felt rain start to fall. Excellent. That'll give me just what I need.

            Staying low, trying to conserve energy, trying calm his mind and focus on his attackers. He tried to ignore all the ancillary distractions. In the distance he heard two car doors open and close. Concentrate. He told himself.

            “Matthew!” he heard Taylor call. She was far off.

            “Leave him alone!” he heard Matthew scream and then one stopped kicking him. Seconds later the other two stopped as they had their attention on the newcomer, gauging if he was a serious threat or not. Their attention was gone only a split second, but that was all that Robert needed.

            He found that focus he'd been looking for. His mind centered on the two vampires in front of him, everything else seemed to bleed away. No road, no motorcycle or Bug, not even Matthew and Taylor. Just him, and his targets. From that concentration, he whispered a few words, reached forth, and called lightning. He didn't create lightning, no he wasn't strong enough to create it, but it was already made, up there in the storm clouds. Robert merely guided it, suggesting a path of least resistance for it – straight through one of the two vampires in front of him. He kept eye contact with the last remaining vampire as its companion was convulsing and shaking in pain as lightning continued to course through it. Once it fell, the lightning stopped. Robert saw Matthew fighting with the one he'd pulled away, and Taylor was transfixed, watching the vampire struck by lightning. Already it was bursting into flames. Bright and quick like a magnesium flare. Robert locked the remaining vampire in eye contact as he stood.

            “Ya sure you want to stick around? Still think I need protecting from things that go bump, little precious?” Robert asked the remaining vampire, happy that chance had left the same one from the church. “You're a blight on this planet. You're a parasite that's clinging to existence when you know full well your time has passed.

            “Our time hasn't passed. It's only just begun. We are on the rise again! There are things in motion that you cannot stop. No one can stop. And soon, you will all be nothing more than mindless cattle,” the creature hissed.

            “Tsk tsk tsk, don't you remember that you once were one of the 'mindless cattle'?” Robert asked as he slipped his lighter out from his pocket.

            “I was chosen. I am strong and will continue to grow stronger through killing and feeding off the likes of you hunters. You cannot defeat our father, he grows stronger every night. There is an army building. An army that will take down the likes of you and the cattle that surround you. No longer will we need to hide in the shadows. By the light of the next full moon our father's plans will come to fruition. Sadly for you, you'll never see it come to pass. I'm killing you tonight.”

            Robert had let the vampire monologue to give him the chance to do a few things. First, it let him focus his will again. He focused all his will and mental strength into his hand. He could feel it gather, he kept pouring more and more of it into a ball that kept building. It was invisible, intangible, but it was a bundle of focused energy that he kept feeding. Secondly, it gave him information on what the vampires were up to, something big for the full moon. Interesting. Third, it kept her distracted while he set up his next move.

            “Oh, I'm sorry, you can't kill me. Don't you realize, you are already dead?” Robert asked and held up the small Bic lighter. One flick of the thumb and a tiny crimson flame popped up in between the rain drops. He then took the ball of Willpower he had been focusing in his other hand and shoved the bowling ball sized invisible energy sphere into the tiny flame.

            The small flame erupted into a gout of fire not unlike the blast of a flame thrower and engulfed the surprised vampire instantly. Robert shut off the lighter and the flame died. He slipped it back into his pocket and looked at Matthew. The boy was still sticking the knife in the vampire, as if he were trying to run the vampire ragged. The kid might have natural instinct, but he still had a long away to go.

            “Head! Take off the head!” he called out.

            Robert walked over and extended his hand, asking for the knife back.

            “What is this thing?” Matthew asked as handed the knife back.

            “Just a knife that's designed to kill vampires,” was the response. He walked to his bike and pulled the lighter fluid from it, just like the night before. Robert scanned the area for a moment and stopped when he saw Taylor, standing behind her car. “Come here, Taylor. I need to talk to you.”

            Taylor moved out slowly from behind her car as Robert took the lighter fluid and doused the vampire that Matthew had fought and killed. Robert spoke clearly enough for both to hear, but aimed toward Taylor.

“I know you've been doubting my story and to a certain extent Matthew's explanation of the other night. I also know that what you saw tonight ranks pretty high up there with some things that most people should never have to see. But I want to you notice something. See that corpse?”

She nodded.

“Did you notice how when Matthew cut into it he didn't bleed, at all? They don't bleed because dead bodies don't pump blood. That's one of the tricks you can use to find them. Now, I know you can't make sense of most of this, but I've got to make sure you believe Matthew and me when we explain that these are vampires, and that they're a very real threat.”

            Taylor nodded, looking as if her world had been turned upside down. “Oh, wow. I'm going to need a stiff drink.”

            Robert chuckled and patted her on the back, “I can help with that. Let's head to my place. We can talk more and of course the fridge is stocked.”