Created (Book 1 of the Created) (28 page)

I felt myself start to lunge in the direction to which she
had disappeared. Instead, I held fast to my position smiling at Mandy, who
tried not to return my smile, but a smile would peek out then be extinguished
then she would look away then the process would start over. She was as
obviously uncomfortable as I was, but for different reasons. I was hopeful that
I could detect the presence of an approaching assassin. A minute ticked away as
I stood before the family in all of my glory.

Another minute eased away before
Sunnie
poked her head around the corner from the suddenly lit hallway and motioned to
me. "Ethan."

Not sure if anything needed to be said, I stepped over
Cassidy, walked around the boxes and progressed down the hallway after her and
waited. She stopped at a doorway at the very end of the hallway. It was hard to
tell the format of the other rooms since the doors were all shut. The lightly
colored walls made the recently repainted doors stand out vividly. The
decorative door handles were also new and appeared to more about substance than
usage.

I walked toward
Sunnie
, who had a
sly grin emblazoned across her face. She opened the door, and I followed her
inside her bedroom. The room was decorated with piles of clothes and opened
boxes in various states of unpacking. There was a bed in the room though it was
covered to such an extent with items of clothing and purses that it was hard to
determine the last time it had been occupied.

I thought she would apologize about the mess. There was no
apology.
Sunnie
instead turned into me, grabbing my
head. Her small, wanting mouth found mine. The kisses were a series of quick
pecks at first which carried us to a long, dangerous, singular kiss. The final
kiss was filled with wetness and desire.
Sunnie's
tongue parted my accepting mouth as I ran my hands under the back of her shirt,
finding the silky smoothness of the skin of her lower back then lightly inside
the top of her panties. She moaned softly then roughly sought more from my
mouth. As the passion increased, her hands tugged at the front of my T-shirt
along the top of my pants tentatively. Speared on by our embrace,
Sunnie
traced her fingers along my lower abs. Her pulse
quickened. My hands searched deeper inside her panties, no longer confining
myself to the painful teasing along the top. I caressed her closer with one
hand while gently rubbing her behind with the other. There was a slow burning
desire inside of me to taste her blood that grew in intensity as we continued.
There were moments when the vampire in me wanted to take over. Her smell filled
my nostrils. Desire became danger. I was becoming as much of a threat as the
GV6 if I didn't stop. I pulled her closer to me for a second then broke the
kiss. Why were we so into each other?

Her eyes were searching me for the reason for why we
stopped. There were too many things that could go wrong with us being alone
besides me giving into any countless temptations that were running through my
mind. I whispered, "We must be smart. If we are gone too long, and I think
we have, your parents will begin to worry. We would like to get to see each
other again, right?"

She wiped her face and mouth.
"Yeah."
Frustrated,
Sunnie
walked away to the mirror then
smoothed her hair down with her hands before attempting to discretely adjust
her shorts and panties. "The bathroom is through that door. I probably
need to get back to the living room before they send out the search
party."

We both laughed. I waited until she left to exhale a deeply
held breath. With her gone I checked the locks on the windows then the darkness
outside. The surrounding shadows were devoid of any sign of my new adversary.
Unsure of what to do next, I made my way back to the living room.

Hours passed as we all became comfortable with each other
though, some things did not change. I avoided all questions about my life even
though I had become well versed in the deception. There was a longing inside of
me not to lie to
Sunnie
, so I opted to not put myself
in a situation where I had to be untruthful.
Emeline
was polite and repeatedly offered to get me food and drink. Mandy was still the
Mandy I had met earlier. She stared at me and remained quiet.

Cassidy watched television while lying in the floor along
with his dad who had joined him there. Bruce was living up to his moniker of
being Mr. Personality. One or the other would occasionally pass gas without
regard to the rest of the room, much to the chagrin of the women who voiced
their protests. One particularly putrid fart caused me to join the chorus of
complaints which left everybody laughing.

Time zoomed past. Soon, I would have to make a decision
about how to proceed since it was getting late. I could be asked to leave at
any second. When that happened, I could either reveal my secret and scare them
to death and insure that
Sunnie
never talked to me
again. Worse would be the possibly that I would have to end up killing the
family to protect the identities of my group and the generations. Then there
was the outside chance that Chadron or the U.S. might take the family out. All
of the scenarios that ended in death for the people surrounding me made the
current attempt to save them moot.

Thoughts of what if and what was happening on the base were
driven from my mind. I didn't have time to worry about anything, but the
preservation of the lives around me.

I didn't have time to think anymore as the room went black.

Bruce sat up from the floor and looked outside. I joined him
as we both scanned the neighborhood for any signs of light. The street lamps
were fully aglow and several nearby houses could be seen with lights and other
devices in use.

He started to rise as did
Emeline
who hopped from the couch. She offered. "I will see if I can find us some
candles. I believe they are in the kitchen somewhere. Mandy, do you still have
that app on your phone dear that allows you to use it like a flashlight?"

Mandy answered, "Uh, yeah. I had deleted it, but I
think I reinstalled another one." She fumbled to locate the phone that had
been on the couch with her. The screen's glow betrayed its location as an
incoming text arrived.

Bruce was standing looking out at the street. "It could
be a fuse I guess.
Emeline
, when you get the candles,
see if the flashlights are still packed too. I will go out to the garage and
see what I can figure out. Ethan is that your car outside by the curb?"

"It belongs to a member of the family," I replied.
I had been almost too distracted to answer since I was on full alert. The power
loss was no accident or blown fuse. The Hunter had arrived.

"It sure is a beautiful car. What size motor?"
Bruce asked.

"Uh...I am not sure. Wait, 396." My confusion was
a symptom of my being aware that the family was being stalked.

"I had a model from the late seventies, but nothing as
cherry as that ride." Bruce was finally opening up.

Emeline
had joined Bruce at the
window to admire the car while awaiting Mandy to finish texting. She turned to
Mandy. "I guess I will have to stumble through the kitchen in the
dark."

The younger teenager relented. "Sorry, I had to text
someone back." Mandy moved toward the kitchen shining the flashlight app
on her phone with
Emeline
in tow in order to find
candles and flashlights.
    

A subtle succession of two thumps on the roof alerted Ethan
it might be time to formulate a way of trying to escape. If he grabbed
Sunnie
and fled, the GV6 would surely pursue. There was no
way the Hunter could match his speed, but what if the GV6 attacked the family
then gave chase. The carnage and murder could spread indefinitely as the
vampire sought his prey. No, it was time to make a stand. It was time for the
vampire to stop being the destroyer for which he was purposed and become the
hero.

There was a light scattered scratching noise coming from
something upon the shingles. The entire family paused to listen.

"Everybody needs to move to the center of the room.
Do
it now please and hopefully you all will survive the
night, "I commanded.

The family started to protest, but fell silent when I raised
my hands to gesture for everybody to circle up near me after the noise shifted
to another part of the house near
Sunnie's
bedroom.

Bruce grew belligerent, yet he did so in a voice little more
than a murmur as he spun me to face him. Two inches apart, we stood nose to
nose. The scared father placed himself between his huddled family and me.
"Ethan I don't know who the hell you are
or
do I
give a fuck. All I want to know is what the goddamn hell is happening."

"There is a corporate designed creation currently
walking along your roof trying to find the most advantageous time and means of
which to attack. It is called the Hunter. He will not stop until the Vass
family is dead," I calmly said as my senses scanned the movements of the
GV6, who was stunningly still. It was as if the vampire was listening to what I
had to say, but I knew it was only the assassin searching for signs of weakness
or escape.

Emeline
huddled together with her
children. The gravity of situation caused her to buckle, pulling the three
children with her to the floor.
Sunnie
held her
mother as the lady began to gently sob. I looked into her sad, scared eyes and
knew that at all costs I had to protect this family.

Bruce grabbed my shirt with both hands in anger as he tried
to find out what was threatening his family. He did his best to control his
voice level. "How do you know what is happening here Ethan?!"

It was time for a lie. "I know because we have had to
deal with the creatures on the base a few times. I was informed by a friend
that one the beasts had escaped while training. One of the trainers had used my
shirt. The Hunters use genetically enhanced senses. Unfortunately for your
family, it had been around my clothes that smelled like
Sunnie
.
Now it will not stop until its mission is completed."

He was stunned at my answer as evidenced through his
rambling comments. "What can I do?
 
Ethan, lock the door. Where is the dog? We need to call the police. We
could shout for help maybe a neighbor could...Shit, my guns are in the safe in
the garage."

Bruce looked down at his family then started stumbling as
his mind reeled toward the hallway that must have led to an entrance to the
garage. I reached for his arm and held him in place. There was fear in his eyes
as he looked from his arm to my face. There was a sudden recognition that I was
exceptionally strong. Stronger than anything than he had felt was the omission
that spread across his face. Bruce realized there was more to the terror than I
had explained. He swallowed hard and began to sweat profusely.

"The police would never get here in time and it would
be more lambs for the slaughter. Alerting the neighbors would be alerting them
to their own death. Bruce, you need to stay with your family. It is waiting for
us to make a mistake. One of us tries to flee or is separated, that person will
be the first to die. We need to wait for it to make the mistake. The Hunter
needs to come inside to us, not us to it."

His pulse was racing harder than it needed. He was on the
verge of collapse. I let go of his arm and he took his place with his family at
my behest. He got down on his knees beside Mandy and Cassidy, wrapping his arms
around them as they shivered with fear. Bruce consoled his family, but it was
as much for him as it was for them.

I thought the best option might be to wait the GV6 out into
the morning light, but that was too long of a wait. The risk of one of the
family members breaking was too great. The desperation was growing by the
moment as I monitored their vitals. Every sound great and small worsened their
conditions.

Sunnie
tugged at my pants leg with
urgency. Bending down, she whispered to me, "Don't do anything stupid.
There is nothing you can do. Sit down with us. Please, Ethan
don't
be a hero!"

Gazing into her eyes I explained very simply, "I
promise I won't do anything too stupid."

Her lower lip quivered and her eyes were teary, but she was
able to grin. I freed my pants leg from her vise like grip and stepped away
from her to get closer to the center of the room. The Hunter hadn't moved in a
while. I had to locate him so I could plan accordingly. What is he doing I
asked myself.

A rear window was heard being broken then another in a
different room. Gasps and crying became louder from the family. The monster was
toying with us.

I faced the family and squatted to talk to them. "I
need you all to listen to me. When the Hunter comes into the home, he will do
everything he can to separate you so remember you must stay together. He will
also be monstrous in appearance so don't let that freak you out. You must do as
I tell you no matter what happens. The next thing is kind of a big deal so I
need your full attention. I have been modified myself and may appear a little
differently than I normally do after I get angry. Please, do not freak out. By
the way, I also may be in love with
Sunnie
."

The group appeared stunned by my statement of love for
Sunnie
except her. She giggled and nodded her head. Of
course the group could have been stunned by the fact that I admitted I was
similar in some way to the Hunter who was taunting us. This was the most likely
truth. For
Sunnie
, I think the truth of my altered
state was wiped from her brain when I admitted my feelings for her. I took her
hand in mine. The rest of the family was horrified. The tender moment for
Sunnie
and I was disturbed by another window being broken
then the tinkling and cracking of glass upon the floor. The Hunter was in the
house.