A Little Undead Page 5

  The officer patted his pockets and abruptly stopped walking. “Hey, wait here a sec, I think I dropped my headphones.”

  I would have walked along with him to help, but I was feeling a little woozy. The lack of sleep and food had done me no favors. Throw in my still healing injuries and, if the hot feeling on my neck was any indication, a sunburn from lingering in the clearing and I was in bad enough shape to feel barely functional. A fallen tree seemed like invitation enough to sit down. My forehead felt cold and clammy, and I doubted I looked much better than I felt. I was really missing out on my beauty sleep these days.

  “Uuu.”

  I knew that sound. It was the same as in my dreams, a haunting moan from a creature with no right to breathe. I leapt to my feet nauseatingly fast, drawing my gun in one hand and my knife in the other. The moan came again, soft and rasping as if short of breath. Should I really be doing this? What if there was more than one, or if it was a feral? I'd heard stories of a single one of those clawed monstrosities cutting through entire villages in minutes. But I was a police officer, wasn't I? This was my job, this was why I was allowed to carry a gun in a city with endemic gang violence and a strict weapons ban. I could do this.

  My breath hitched as I caught sight of her. Raven-black hair wreathed a face that with her eyes and mouth closed could pass for human, but no human could survive this. Springtime it might be, but here in the deep shadows of the woods spring always came late. A miniature glacier had formed from the stream that now rushed along beneath, fed by the spring melt. She was encased in ice, nearly up to her neck. She was still half asleep, though whether that was from the feeble sunlight through the branches or from being half frozen I couldn't say. Her skin was dusky but had that sallow, almost translucent look common to most zombies. Even with the hint of crimson beneath her near-shut lids and the hint of sharpened teeth between her purple lips it was difficult to label her a zombie. She looked terribly, deathly thin, but... 'not so dissimilar to me.' I backed a pace, knife rising to ward off this immobile opponent even as my gun hung limp, nearly forgotten in my off hand.

  A crunch. I spun, knife sweeping out as I spun low, edge barely clearing his leg.

  “Whoa! Easy lass, I wasn't trying to hurt you.”

  It was Jake. “Sorry! I'm so sorry, I thought–“

  “No harm done,” he interrupted. “Zombies can put the best of us on edge.”

  I was mortified. He could put me on report for something like this. A rookie officer like me didn't have any job security either. I'd have to give up my gun, maybe the taser too, and then find some job in a pizza shop or something. It wasn't like there was anything waiting for me in Haven.

  'Oh my god I could have killed him.' My shoulders shook as I held back a sob.

  Jake appeared to take no notice. “You'd best go ahead and finish her off then. Can't have her walking around a school zone and she's not a rotter so there's no need for a containment squad. Their blood's cleaner than ours is half the time. Course I hear that about dog mouths too so I'd take it with a grain of salt.”

  How could he be so calm? I raised my pistol as if the weight of the world was pressing down on it. This wasn't like in video games or the handful of times I could afford the ammo for the shooting range. It felt like the world was shaking. Everything in my sight wavered like flags in the wind. I wondered if I was standing on a tightrope to make things sway so violently.

  “Best not waste a bullet.” The world snapped back into clarity as I heard his voice. My finger left the trigger, knuckles white from my grip on the gun. “This is your first time, isn't it. I'll help you.”

  Was it the first time? I couldn't remember. Had I killed in the time before I reached Haven? The hot tears on my cheek were no use to anyone in the wild parts of the world, and neither were prayers. Only killing. If I hadn't killed, I would have been killed myself. If I didn't kill now, she would eventually free herself from the ice and attack the living. Jake's hand enfolded mine, wrapping around it like a warm, rough glove. One quick thrust of the knife later the deed was done.

  My hands were clean. Her blood was thick and near-black, stuck firmly to the blade but on my hand – nothing. Besides, it was Jake's hand that moved the knife, wasn't it? But I hadn't fought him, had I. 'She was dead anyways.' I cleaned off my knife upstream, trying to blot out the memory of the feeling of each groove of the knife slipping through flesh and bone. It had felt like an extension of my body, a piece of my hand slipping through her skull. 'It's skull. It's not a person, just a thing.” My knife had been like a teddy bear to me for too long to hold any bad memories against it.

  “Julie, you alright?”

  “I'm fine.” Jake looked confused as he tried to peer beneath my hollow smile. We didn't speak again.

  As we exited the woods I heard a number of car doors closing as various officers left the scene. “Fisher,” called the captain, a brief burst of frustration tugging at the creases lining his face before fading away. I swiftly came to his side as he walked to his vehicle. “Take the afternoon off. You can come by after five at the station to fill out your paperwork.”

  He shut the police van's door before I could respond and drove off. 'Well he's grumpy.' With the crime scene suddenly abandoned it appeared my chance of catching a ride was gone. I decided to take a leisurely pace on my way back to my apartment. There was just enough time to catch a nap and it would be counterproductive to get my blood pumping if I wanted to get to sleep at all quickly.

  Succumbing to the allure of a non pasta-based meal I shelled out five credits for a turkey sandwich on the way home and quickly gobbled it down. I did feel slightly guilty considering how much foreign cuisine there was available in this area. All the world to choose from and I chose a turkey sandwich in springtime. That said, it was the perfect thing to send me straight to sleep moments after I undressed and set my alarm clock. My eyes slowly drifted shut.

  They flashed open a moment later as the zombie's face painted the backs of my lids. 'I'm nothing like her.' I hoped it was just my exhaustion that made my mind's voice sound so hollow.

  * * *

  Awakening was unpleasant. Oddly enough, my dreams were happy for once. And now, now I was back in the real world. For the first time since this mess began I was alone and had nothing else to distract me. I had thought I'd come to terms with the fact I was adopted a number of years ago, but now things weren't so clear cut. My adoptive parents were my parents, even if we didn't always click, but now I had to wonder if my biological parents weren't transforming into bats and haunting the night somewhere. And why had my fangs only come out around Alex? Well, it happened around Bruce a bit, but that might have been just leftover from drinking Alex's blood. 'Isn't this the part where some smelly old guy tells you important truths in riddles?' I would have asked for a sign but for some reason the image of a bumper sticker saying “Follow the Fangs” kept coming to mind.

  I sighed, wondering if I needed to buy myself a muzzle. Wearily I put my police equipment belt back on and started boiling some water for hot chocolate. 'Now this is a drink to sooth the troubled soul. Wine is just good for headaches in the end.' As the water boiled I fed and watered my ant farm and attempted to put up my posters of bare-chested rock idols. I wasn’t really a fan but in the absence of expensive artwork they did do something for ambiance. Besides, they were free. Unfortunately by the time I finished putting up the last one they started falling down in succession, folding over like wilted flowers. 'Cheap tape foiled by oversized posters yet again.'

  “Woomf.” The doors hinges gave way instantly, door flying inwards. I saw the foot first, stomping firmly on the welcome mat. As his face turned towards me I recognized him instantly, despite the newly grown fuzz on his cheeks. 'Alex Whitman.' Reacting quickly I drew my taser, firing at the center mass. 'I missed?' Even as I saw the shot go wide it was too late. Twisting around the shot with incredible speed and agility he grabbed me by the throat and lifted me onto the wall. His other hand pressed a crucifix f
irmly to my forehead like a branding iron.

  “Take this you crazy vamp!” For a brief moment I froze, wondering what would happen as I went cross-eyed looking for smoke or burning flesh. “Eh? It's not working.”

  I took the opportunity to knee him between the legs before driving my head into his nose as he bent over. I felt my fangs growing once more at the scent of his intoxicating, magnificent blood. A weak growl escaped me that must have scared me more than him but I kept enough presence of mind to deliver an elbow to back, forcing him face-first into the ground. His yell barely fazed me, even if my reflexive growl in response made me cover my mouth like a nun after a swear. The moment he started to rise I decided that decorum was entirely out of place here and body slammed him with the full force of my dainty eighty pounds. I was probably lucky he was still woozy from my previous shots.

  Twisting him into an arm-lock with my limited judo experience I snapped the handcuffs onto his right arm and left leg. Even a werewolf, I hoped, would have trouble getting out of that. Unfortunately I wasn't able to revel in my brilliant hogtying technique for very long, as a few seconds later I proceeded to toss my cookies. “What is that awful smell?” I spat on his back as I retreated to the window of my kitchenette.

  “What the hell are you?” said Alex from behind me. I turned to face him, fangs clearly visible as I panted to draw in fresh air. Pain had largely been replaced by confusion and stark disbelief in his face as he lay on his side in a pile of vomit. That's when I saw it, a bulb of garlic hanging from his neck. It should have been unbelievable that such a thing could have so great an effect on me but I was having a hard time disbelieving anything at the moment.

  'Of all the things Hollywood had to get right. It's not like I ever really liked garlic but if just the smell is this bad I'm going to be worse off than those poor saps with peanut allergies.' I even felt a little faint, but I wasn't sure if that was from the garlic itself or just throwing up. “I'm still figuring that out,” I replied to him as I watched sunlight play across my deathly pale skin.

  Grabbing a paper towel I rushed him, batting aside his one free hand with a swift kick as I grabbed the garlic necklace with the paper towel and tore it from his neck. Not daring to breathe I ran and launched it out the doorway, nearly nailing a truck driving by. I stepped outside to grab a few deep breaths of fresh air. Surprisingly no one had come to investigate the noise as of yet. Either no one was around at four in the afternoon or no one cared. Knowing this neighborhood it was probably a mixture of the two,. Stepping back inside I awkwardly propped the door back up, wincing at how much this was going to cost me. That reminded me. “Alex did you bring my purse?”

  “What?”

  “My purse, I think I left it on your brother's yacht.”

  “No,” he said, squirming as he finally seemed to realize what he was lying in. “I haven't seen it.” His earlier bravado had all but vanished. “Are you going to kill me now?”

  “I wasn't planning on it. Were you planning on paying for my door?” I filled a cup of water from the sink to rinse my mouth out, never quite taking my eyes off him. My fangs clicked against the glass, reminding me of another important issue. “And why the hell do I keep growing fangs whenever I'm close to you!” Blood rushed to my face as my irritation with him grew.

  Sure, he was basically helpless right now, but he had just tried to kill me – again. Even the nicest girls could get mad at homicidal stalkers who broke into the privacy of their homes. And as the cop I apprenticed to could attest, I was not the nicest of girls. Though, to be honest, a lot of those crotch shots on the firing range were just due to a bad habit formed from the zombie video games the school had us play to desensitize us. Was it my fault that was the only shot you could take besides a hit to the head that would slow them down for any length of time?

  “You're worried about the door? I thought all vampires were rich.”

  My estimation of his intelligence was rapidly falling. Why did I date this guy exactly? “Listen, I'm fairly certain I'm not whatever it is you think I am, so how about you just tell me what you know about vampires.”

  “You promise not to bite me afterward?” His tough guy persona was taking some serious hits as well.

  “Sure.” I was starting to feel like I was dealing with a four year old. This was poster-boy material for why you shouldn't pick up guys at a burger shack, rich older brother or not. Still, he was right to be worried. It was only by staying close to the window that I was able to avoid the heady scent of his blood that seemed to smother everything else, including my self-control.

  “I'll tell you after you let me go.” The look on his face made it apparent he thought himself clever for coming up with that condition.

  “Or I could just call the department and have you brought in for breaking and entering.” 'Not to mention my suspicions that he’s behind the serial murder case.'

  “Alright, alright, I give already.” Still looking hilarious, pinned on his stomach as he was, he managed to summon up a vague air of authority as he began speaking. “Real life vampires have pretty much all the weaknesses found in film. During the night they can pretend to be almost perfectly human. Also, they're all soulless killers.” I cocked my head, eyes narrowing. 'Was that last bit a dig at me?'

  “Hey, get over it already, I bit you by accident, okay?” 'It's not my fault he smells so tasty.' Somehow I didn't think he believed me about it being an accident. Might have had something to do with how I was staring at him like he was filet mignon. I shook my head to clear it. 'Bad vampiress, behave.' I still wasn't sure I was a vampire, or at least not the kind he was talking about, but it was starting to make more sense than other options. It was strange how natural the fangs felt, considering I'd lived all my life without them. I wasn't even slurring as I spoke, or at least not noticeably. “Is that really all you know about them?” I wasn't quite willing to say “us”.

  “What do you expect? The Queen killed off nearly every supernatural being on the planet a couple decades ago, including my father.”

  “Oh. Sorry for your loss.” I paused. “Queen who of what, exactly?”

  “The Earth, and she didn't have a name, as far as I know. Not one she told us lycans anyways.” His nose twitched slightly.

  'I think I need to go back to the kiddie pool.' I'd suspected it before, but knowing for certain there was a whole supernatural world hiding beneath the seemingly normal surface everyone was used to was a shock and a half. Well, normal except for zombies. In hindsight that probably should have been a clue. “Is she a vamp?”

  “If you can call someone who devours souls a normal vampire, then sure. Listen I’m not the guy to talk to. You want more information go find a vampire hunter or something. The ones that lived longer than a month generally knew what they were doing.”

  I really wished he wasn't so close to my bed. This would have been the perfect time to collapse on top of it and hide beneath the covers. 'I wonder if I'm supposed to go offer my fealty to the queen. I’m sure a vampire hunter would point me in the right direction before staking me.'

  I looked at the clock. '4:30. I need to get to work.' As amazing as these revelations were, I didn't want to lose my job. 'Choices, choices.' I really didn't want to leave him tied up and alone in my apartment, but if I let him go who knew what he might get up to. And as far as bringing him to the police department... that might be unwise. No one would believe him if he said I was a vampire, but if he turned into a wolf while in jail or had them bring me close enough to him for my fangs to pop out, well, I knew how that ended. No stake and pitchfork wielding villagers or lab-coat wearing scientists cutting into my body, no sirree. And that was assuming they didn't think I was just some species of zombie and pop a bullet in my head. “Erm, one last question. How long do werewolves live.”

  “About a hundred years, but we're healthy until at least eighty. And stop calling us werewolves, we're lycans.”

  'Now he's just being silly. Even if I'm not a huge fan of the genre
I know those words mean the same thing. Close enough, anyways.' Still, even if he was pretentious and overly hateful towards vampires he probably wasn't Mr. Chains, serial killer extraordinaire. It really didn't seem like he was lying, which meant that given when his father died he was probably too young or not even born at the time of the original case. Even if it was possible that he didn't suffer from gray hairs like the rest of humanity he really didn't act old enough to have committed homicide over forty years ago.

  “Have you ever worn a dog collar?” I blushed, cheeks burning from embarrassment.

  'Oops. Didn't mean to say that out loud, even if it would look fetching on him.' He looked like he had just swallowed a scoop of wasabi. “Forget I said that.” Circling around the room to maintain my distance from him I retrieved my taser. Reloading it with care I retook my spot at the window. “So, wolf boy, if I let you go will you find it in your heart to stop attacking me?” I was fairly certain he wouldn't attack me again, at least not immediately. Still... 'This might be a good time to start investing in silver, which will hopefully hurt me less than it will hurt him.' It's not as if I had ever liked garlic before, and I'd never understood the draw of pizza, but if my response to garlic was this strong now it could seriously affect my dining plans in the future. If it turned out the myths about vampires and silver were true too then my future wedding jewelry needed some serious reworking.

  Alex seemed to be growling under his breath but he grudgingly gave his answer. “Fine, I'll stop hunting you.” Weighing him with my eyes one last time I gathered my courage and threw him the key for the handcuffs. As he fumbled with the key I drew my handgun but only kept the taser locked on him. I'd never fired it at a person before and didn't want to start now, but it was better to be safe than sorry. Besides, even though he charged me when I had the taser, he wasn't crazy enough to rush someone with a real gun, was he?