Hunter's Moon

Chapter 25

            They parked the Crown Vic a block or so away from the mansion. Robert turned to the others from the driver seat. “Now, usually, we'd go in armed for bear, able to shoot any vampires we see. But most nests I've run across are out in the country where the sound of a gun isn't out of the ordinary or prompt a call to the police. Because of that, I had to pull out some different artillery.”

            Robert pointed to a large duffel sitting in the back seat next to Matthew. Matthew opened it and found three crossbows, each with a magazine sitting on top of the barrel.

            “The magazines hold a dozen bolts,” Robert said, “and there are extra magazines.”

            Matthew pulled one of the crossbows out of the bag and passed it over to Robert, and then one to Taylor. Robert had already given them knives that were just shy of being small swords. Taylor had suggested back at the house the option of water balloons filled with holy water. Robert had turned her down and instead offered holy-water-filled light bulbs. Throw it against a wall or ceiling and not only would the bulb shatter, creating shrapnel, but the water would fill the air.

            “Remember, stay together. If we get separated, don't go off exploring; try to retrace your steps to the exit,” Robert instructed.

            They both nodded and the three got out of the car. They walked up to the indicated house and Robert knocked on the door. No answer. Robert knocked again and after a few moments of waiting he glanced back at his partners. They both nodded and held their crossbows at the ready.

            Robert's heavy steel-toed boot slammed into the door knob, punching it through the wooden frame. Apparently the dead bolt was not being used and the door swung inward rapidly. The trio moved into the main entrance hall. Empty. Taylor, being the last one in, closed the door the best she could, so passersby on the street wouldn't see the blatantly open door. They moved through each room on the first floor and found no one. No sound or movement could be heard from anywhere in the house.

            Setting aside the lack of inhabitants, signs of habitation were clearly evident. Someone had been residing in the house, someone who decorated with arterial spray on the walls and human remains on the table tops and floor. There was an overly ornate high-backed chair sitting next to the hearth, an old pile of bones sitting on the floor beside it.

            “It's the middle of the morning. Would they be down in the basement, away from the windows?” Taylor asked in a hushed tone keeping her eyes peeled for movement.

            Robert grunted. “I guess it's possible. But this place just feels all sorts of wrong.”

            They moved down the stairs into the basement. Taylor stayed at the top of the stairs, keeping their escape path clear. The boys cleared the entire basement in literally seconds. Unfinished, and with hardly any walls to block eyesight, the basement was easy for them to view in its entirety by just a few movements around the support beams.

            When they regrouped with Taylor, Matthew was carrying something in his arms. "No sign of Ed, but I did find this." He heldup a manilla folder with the words 'Phase Two' written on it. It's contents were a collection of loose papers with diagrams, charts, and writings on them. The papers looked very old, at least a century, and aside from the folder label none of the writing was in English.

            "No clue what this is, but it looks important." Matthew said with a small shrug.

            They moved to the second floor and Matthew took guard duty at the stairs this time. Once again it was empty of occupants. At the bottom of the stairs Robert looked around the house. “Well, it's clearly evident that this was their nest. As to why they would abandon it, not even leaving anyone to guard it . . . I'm really confused.”