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Nightfall 1X03
By VampireHunter_D
NIGHTFALL
"Building A Mystery"
"Anything?" asked Roy, inverted on the copter’s seat so that his head was under the control panel.
"No, not yet," replied Bill, fiddling with the radio controls.
The problem with the helicopter’s radio had turned out to be more than a burnt fuse, the fuse having gotten that way from an overload that had still managed to short out a few wires. Roy had set them down at a small airport near Galion, Ohio, and though they had found plenty of fuel, other supplies were scarce. He was attempting to repair the radio without the proper parts, hoping that it would last long enough for them to re-establish communications with the other groups of humans.
"Wait a minute!" shouted Bill, a burst of static filling the cabin. He adjusted the controls, finally locking in a clear signal.
The voice was strong, full of authority, and rushing along in a completely foreign language. Bill thought it somehow seemed familiar, the tones hitting a cord somewhere in his memory, but he couldn’t place it.
"German?" asked Ron, sticking his head in through the open door next to Roy.
"I think so," agreed Roy, sliding out to look up at the two men. "It’s been a long time since I’ve heard it, but…Yeah, I think it is."
"Why are we hearing German?" asked Bill. "This radio ain’t that strong. Besides, we’re in the heart of Ohio."
"It is time, my children," whispered Roy, barely loud enough for the others to hear. "Return to the great cities of man."
"You speak German, too," admonished Bill, clearly impressed.
"Some what. But like I said, it’s been a while," replied Roy.
"It is time, my children?" repeated Ron. "What the hell is that suppose to mean?"
"Shhh!" commanded Roy, straining to hear the broadcast. The voice continued on, a few minutes later becoming evident that it was a recorded message that was looping.
"A hand, please," directed Roy, letting Ron help him shift himself around so that he could get out from under the console he had been working on. Once on solid ground, he pulled out a handkerchief and began wiping his hands off.
"Well?" demanded Bill, staring at the man standing outside of the copter. "What was it saying?"
"This is worse than we thought."
"How can the world being overrun by vampires be any worse?" asked Ron. "Fighting for our lives against hordes of frenzied bloodsuckers seems to be at the top of my we’re fucked list."
"They’re organized," Roy informed the stunned men.
* * * *
"Are you sure this stuff will work?" asked Bill, nervous as hell about what they were attempting to do.
"No," answered Roy, honestly. "We used it before, with no problems, but there’s always a first time."
Bill and Roy were dressed in camouflage fatigues, hunting suits recovered from a desolate farm house, hidden in some foliage off of state route 71, just outside of the Columbus city limits. Besides their garb, they had dowsed themselves with liberal amounts of "Buck Scent: The Hunter’s Helper". Roy claimed that it helped to cover their natural scents, hiding them from any casual observances by vampires.
Ron and Diane were similarly outfitted, hidden on the opposite side of the split, double laned highway. They were investigating the message that Roy had deciphered from the radio earlier that day, the message that was still playing and was calling for all vampires to return to the larger cities.
It was nearly three in the morning, and so far the group had spied over a hundred vehicles roaring down the road, heading directly for Columbus. They had no idea what it all ment, only that someone was calling for the vamps to regroup, and, strangely enough, the vamps were obeying.
"How long are we going to stay out here?" came Ron’s voice over the walkie talkie. "You’ve proved your point, Preach."
"We might as well stay put until daylight," responded Roy. "We’ll be safer holding off than trying to trounce through the woods."
"You guys stay here," rebutted Ron. "I’m heading back for the house."
Roy merely shook his head, tired of fighting to keep Ron in line. The man was an excellent fighter, having dispatched more vamps than any of them, but his past life kept surfacing to challenge the only order left in this world.
"What the heck’s his problem?" asked Bill. He had joined the group only two days ago and had not gotten a chance to learn much about any of them. He was thankful for them having shown up, staying off his intended suicide, but wanted to know that he could count on them past that impromptu meeting.
"I think Ron should be the one to tell you that," offered Roy. He may have been the ‘designated’ leader of the group, only occasionally challenged by Ron, but he was still a priest, and he still tried to follow his own teachings. "Let me just say that, when I found him, Ron was not in a position to go anywhere."
"Jail?" asked Bill, already knowing the answer. "Jes…er…sorry. He’s a criminal, isn’t he?"
"This is a new world that we live in, Bill. I think that we need to put the past behind us if we’re going to survive in it."
"That’s a nice sentimentality and all, but can we trust him to cover our backs?"
"I have, several times already."
"Hmm."
The two remained, silence settling over them as they continued to watch the occasional car or truck go whizzing by. It was strange to see the vehicles on the highway, almost so normal seeming as to make Bill want to flag down one of the cars for a ride. He had to fight the urge, reminding himself all the time that the drivers of those vehicles were no longer human, and that they would consider him a fast food stop.
"This is just too weird," spoke Diane, over the walkie-talkie. "It’s like they’re going back to their previous life."
It was obvious that the girl was getting nervous, now left alone in the dark on the other side of the highway. Bill wished that he could trade places with her, though he doubted he would be any less scared, that he could ease her fear.
"Uh, hey, Father Cameron?" called Diane, her voice now filled with concern.
"It’s okay, Diane," he replied. "We’re still over here."
"No, it’s not that. There’s a truck coming," she told them. "It’s coming from the city!"
Being on a slightly larger hill, Diane had the advantage of seeing over the small rise in the highway, spotting the truck before the two men had. Roy and Bill both turned their attention south, making out the dull, pre-shine of approaching headlights. A large, black truck suddenly came over the rise, it’s roof covered with a myriad of antennas and radio dishes. Tall, white letters on the side of the truck read S.W.A.T., and confusion began building in the humans.
The truck screeched to halt on the road, at a point directly between the humans, and four shadowy forms emerged from it. The vamps were decked out in full tact armor, each of them carrying rifles. One of the vamps was also carrying a large piece of electronic equipment, constantly fiddling with the numerous controls on it.
"What are they doing?" came Diane’s voice, Roy silently praying for her to be quite. "Father, are you there?"
"Are you going to answer her?" asked Bill, his mouth immediately covered by Roy’s hand.
The vamp with the gizmo began speaking excitedly, the distance making his words unintelligible, and pointing in Diane’s direction. The other vamps charged across the road, their powerful strides carrying them almost faster than Roy or Bill could follow. These weren’t newbies; these vamps had been around a while, developing their strengths and becoming skilled with them.
"We’ve got to do something," hissed Bill, straining to be quiet.
"What do you suggest?"
Bill was caught, he had no idea how they could stand against four skilled vamps. Hell, he wasn’t sure how they could stand against unskilled vamps! He continued watching, as did Roy, as the vamps began thrashing through the brush, drawing ever closer to Diane’s hiding place.
One of the vamps turned and yelled at his comrades, probably something along the lines of "Over here", and suddenly stumbled backwards, a large bolt sticking out of his chest. He had been right on top of Diane but she was definitely not going down with out a fight.
Bill could barely make out her form as she rose, sighting on another of the vamps and firing her crossbow. The bolt missed it’s mark, striking the side of the S.W.A.T. van with a metallic twang, and the vamp raised his rifle in response.
Tensing, dreading the coming boom of the rifle, Bill and Roy were both surprised when all they heard was a flat hissing sound. A bright, pink spot appeared on Diane, a dart hanging from her arm as she looked down at it in confusion. Two more soft pops rang out, two more darts hitting the woman.
Diane’s eyes rolled back, showing nothing but white as she slumped to the ground, unconscious. The remaining vamps were on her in a second, lifting her body effortlessly and carrying her back to the waiting truck.
"Wh…What are they doing?" whispered Bill. His emotions were running the gauntlet at the moment; shocked that she hadn’t been fed from, thrilled that it seemed like they wanted her alive, and confused as to the whole thing.
"I don’t know," replied an equally stymied Roy. "But come sunlight, we’re going to find out."
9/15/2002 7:08:37 PM
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