A Little Undead (7 page)

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 firmly 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?”