“No, no,” Sam said. “That’s not what I meant.”
His head began to pound again, made worse by the violent braking in the car. And now his painkillers had kicked in.
“I mean,” Sam began, but his voice was woozy.
“Have you been drinking, sir?” the police officer demanded.
“No, I—”
The police officer cut Sam off with a stern hand. He spoke into his walkie-talkie, asking someone in the station to check Sam’s number plate for him. Sam could hear the crackle of a response but couldn’t make out the words. But by the look on the officer’s face, whatever information he’d just been given was not good.
“Turn around!” the police officer shouted. “Hands on the hood!”
“Not this again,” Sam grumbled.
The officer drew his gun.
“Turn around before I shoot!” he screamed.
Sam did what he was told. The officer approached from behind and cuffed him.
“What’s that for?” Sam protested.
“You’re a wanted man,” the officer said, dragging Sam to standing. “Wanted for a firearm incident at this very school.” Then, with relish in his voice, he added, “You’re under arrest.”
Sam’s insides clenched. He was shoved roughly toward the squad car by the police officer. Just as the officer pushed down on his head to get him inside the vehicle, Sam saw Polly emerge from the high school. Their eyes locked for a moment, then it was too late, and he was trapped inside the car heading toward the police station, leaving Polly a mere street away from a gang of vicious vampires.
CHAPTER TWENTY ONE
Kyle watched from the sidewalk as the door to the little suburban house flew open. A man ran out, a man he recognized. Kyle realized with a burning sensation of rage that the man was one of the people who’d tried to shoot him at the high school.
So this is the right place then, Kyle thought to himself. Scarlet’s house.
Kyle had a sudden urge to end the man’s life there and then. But he held himself back. This pathetic human wasn’t worthy of becoming part of his army, of being sired by him. Kyle watched in disgust as the man tripped over his own feet in his haste to get to his car. He didn’t want an army full of idiots, and a man who tried to shoot a vampire with bullets was clearly a dimwit.
So Kyle let the man leave, knowing full well that he would be confronted by a vicious vampire army in the not too distant future, who would do with him what they desired.
He waited until the car had raced away before strolling casually up the garden path toward Scarlet’s house. He could hear a dog barking from inside. Something for the boys to snack on once they got here, he thought.
He found the front door damaged. It looked as though someone had got here before him. Perhaps someone else was on the hunt for Scarlet Paine?
Kyle wedged his shoulder against the door. It swung open with such force it banged against the wall. The house was in darkness, but Kyle’s super vision could easily see through the gloom. He found himself staring into the bright blue eyes of a husky. The creature bared its fangs and emitted a low growl from deep inside its throat. Kyle’s vampire instincts immediately recognized that the dog was warning him away, squaring up to him, and so he flashed his own teeth at the dog and began to growl in response. The two stood there, neither moving, neither blinking, until the dog finally realized she was no match for a vampire, whimpered, and scurried away.
Kyle smirked and stepped over the threshold and inside the house. So this was Scarlet Paine’s cozy little suburban home. This is where the girl he was so intent on destroying had grown up.
He listened, using his super-sensitive hearing, and deduced that, apart from the dog, the house was empty. Which meant all he had to do was sit and wait, and Scarlet Paine would come waltzing straight up to him.
He decided to climb the stairs. Nothing would be more terrifying for the girl than to come home and find him sitting on her bed, waiting for her. If luck was on his side, she’d get to see a town in chaos first, her nearest and dearest lying dead in the streets, the roads stained with their blood. Kyle wanted nothing more than for Scarlet Paine to hurt.
He began snooping in each of the rooms, scoffing at their domesticity; their floral wallpaper and vases of flowers, their walls filled with smiling photographs in gilded frames. Happy families disgusted him and he was glad to have a starring role in ruining this one.
The next door revealed a room that Kyle decided must belong to Scarlet. It was painted purple, and was strewn with pairs of jeans and stripy tops. Pictures of pouting teenage girls and brooding teenage boys were stuck all over the walls in artistic configurations. Kyle paced toward them and recognized a few faces from his rampage at the high school. How wonderful, he thought, that half of these kids that Scarlet knew were already turned.
Just then, Kyle heard a noise coming from the streets outside. He paced over to Scarlet’s window and peered out. Down below, people were running, scattering in all directions. Some were leaping into their cars and taking off, others were screaming in blind panic, frozen, unable to make a decision as to what to do. A car rounded the corner, its engine spitting out fumes, and sped past the house.
Kyle smiled to himself, realizing that his vampire army was on the prowl and causing chaos. It was all going exactly to plan. Then he saw them, the jocks from the football field, turning the corner at the far end of the street. They strolled arrogantly along, leaping onto cars and smashing windshields, wrenching street lamps straight out of the sidewalk. To Kyle it looked like the most fun in the world. He decided then that he didn’t want to miss out on all the action.
Kyle went back downstairs and out the front door. He beckoned to his army. They recognized their sire at once and went straight to him obediently.
“You,” Kyle said to a dark-haired boy in a varsity jacket. “What’s your name?”
“Marcus,” the boy replied.
“You’re in charge.”
The boy nodded. He was well over six feet tall and broad-chested. The perfect person to keep his army in check whilst he was otherwise engaged, Kyle thought.
“Watch this house for me,” Kyle ordered. “If Scarlet arrives, keep her here and send someone to fetch me.”
“Anything you say,” Marcus said, mindlessly obeying his leader’s command.
Kyle leaned in close and spoke in a hushed voice.
“Don’t let them get their hands on her,” he said, tipping his gaze toward the rest of the jock vampires. “Understand? The girl is mine. Kill them if you have to.”
He leaned back and glared into Marcus’s eyes. The boy looked perturbed.
“But they’re my friends,” he said.
Kyle sneered.
“If I come back and find out any of them has laid so much as a finger on her I’ll kill them myself. And then I’ll kill you for failing my orders. Got it?”
Marcus knew better than to argue with his sire.
“Of course,” he said finally.
Kyle clapped a hand on Marcus’s shoulder so hard the boy flinched.
“Good,” Kyle said. “In that case, I’m off for a night on the town.” He smiled to himself. “I’ve got some old friends I need to pay a visit to.”
*
Satisfied that the Scarlet situation was under control, Kyle decided that the first stop on his tour of chaos would be the jail where he’d spend years languishing. A vampire army made of healthy young athletes was one thing—but a vampire army comprised of violent, brutal convicts was quite another.
He chose to fly, this new ability being the one he was most excited to utilize. After years locked up inside a tiny cell, being able to swoop and soar through the clouds was exhilarating. It felt like freedom to him, and the sensation was as powerful as a drug.
Kyle saw the prison in the distance and shuddered. Even from here, it looked like a horrible place. It was built with drab gray cement and was surrounded by two separate wire fences, each over twenty feet tall an
d topped with spikes. It was one of the highest security prisons in New York, and most of the recreational space outside was comprised of caged areas to keep inmates apart from one another. Kyle remembered his one hour of outside time a day, which he used to work out and keep himself strong. It was hardly a life. But look where he was now. Look what he’d become. It was like the devil himself had rewarded him for his patience all those years behind bars.
Kyle flew over the fence and landed on the flat roof of the main prison block. Even though it was nighttime and a solid layer of cement lay between him and the inmates below, he could still hear their calls and shouts. Prison was never quiet. Noise was a constant. There was no such thing as a good night’s sleep in jail.
Kyle strode over to the roof’s door and wrenched it open. He leapt down the stairwell, bouncing from wall to wall until he reached the floor below. The prison was built on two levels. The top floor was a row of cells that went around the perimeter of the prison so that each had a window to the outside world. The watery-green-colored steel doors faced inwards and there was a walkway connecting one to the next. In the center was an open plan area with tables for socializing. Another row of cells were on the ground floor, directly beneath the ones above. Then the prison split off in different directions, leading to the dining room, the TV room, the chapel and the guards’ area.
Kyle wasn’t interested in anything but the cells. He had no need to stake out the guards; once he’d opened the cells, the guards would come right to him.
Kyle went up to the first cell and slid back the metal rectangular flap that covered the viewing window. Inside the cell was a bald, heavily tattooed man lying on his bed, sleeping. He hadn’t been part of Kyle’s crew when he’d been inside.
“Hey,” Kyle said.
The man flinched, then opened his eyes.
“What?” he said with hostility, assuming that Kyle was a guard.
“You wanna get out of here?” Kyle said.
The man frowned then turned in his bed so that his back was to Kyle. He clearly thought Kyle was just goading him.
“I’m serious,” Kyle said.
And to prove his point, he grasped hold of the door handle and twisted it. The metal screeched as he levered it up and snapped the lock.
The man was suddenly on his feet, his eyes wide with interest. Kyle hauled the door open and stood there, facing the man. He was a big guy, a good few inches taller than Kyle and definitely heavier. Without pausing, he thundered forward, barging Kyle out of the way.
“Hey!” Kyle shouted after the man. “Where’s my thank-you?”
But the man was just running. He’d seen his opportunity to escape and he wasn’t going to lose it. He bolted down the stairs, making the metal steps clang with each of his heavy footfalls, and into the main recreation area.
Kyle rolled his eyes as he watched him run from one locked exit to the next. Then he strolled casually over to the railings, climbed over them, and jumped.
He landed perfectly on one of the picnic tables in the recreation area. It creaked under the weight of him, making the bald man turn on the spot with surprise. He looked at Kyle, open-mouthed.
“How the hell did you do that?” the man said.
Kyle hopped down from the table.
“If I told you, you wouldn’t believe me,” he said.
The bald man frowned.
“Am I having another one of those hallucinations?” he said.
He sounded quite dim. Kyle felt a little sorry for him.
“No, my friend,” he said. “You’re having the best day of your life. You get to choose whether you leave this place a man, or a warrior.”
The bald man just kept frowning. Kyle wondered if perhaps he wouldn’t make the best addition to his army after all. He seemed a little dumb. So, Kyle wrenched open the main door and gestured for the man to leave. He ran, almost tripping over his feet in haste.
Kyle watched him go, shaking his head at how pathetic he was.
He went along to the next cell and peered inside. There was a young man in there that Kyle recognized, a guy called Shady whom Kyle had known during his time inside.
“Shady,” he called through the viewing window.
Shady’s eyes widened with surprise when he recognized who was standing on the other side of the door.
“Kyle, man,” he said, standing and coming to the door. He peered out the gap. “Is that you?”
“Yup.”
“You back in?”
Kyle laughed. “No. I escaped.”
“I know,” Shady said. “I heard. So what you doing standing there then? You should be in the Caribbean by now.”
Kyle smiled.
“I have some unfinished business here,” he said. “Want to help?”
Shady looked puzzled.
“I’d love to, man,” he said, shrugging. “But I’m stuck in here.”
Kyle wrenched the door handle up, snapping the metal clean in half, then pulled the steel door open.
“Not anymore you’re not,” he said.
Shady’s mouth dropped open.
“What’s happened to you, man? You got a dose of radiation or something? Turned into a superhero?”
Kyle tipped his head back and laughed.
“Something like that,” he said. “Want in on the action?”
Shady’s eyes widened like he’d just been offered a million dollars.
“You mean you can make me strong enough to bust out of a prison cell?” he cried. “Damn straight I want in on that action!”
“Then close your eyes,” Kyle said. “It will only hurt for a minute.”
Shady dutifully did what he was told, and Kyle sank his fangs into his old friend’s neck. Shady went limp in his arms and dropped to the floor. Kyle wiped Shady’s blood from his lips then turned to look at the cells behind him.
One down—one hundred to go.
*
It didn’t take long for Kyle to find his old prison friends and turn them. After he’d located the fifth member of his gang, the noise began to disrupt the prisoners. They began hammering on their doors and crying out. Kyle laughed, thinking that the guards were likely just to ignore the commotion, being not exactly being out of place here.
He took his time, lining up the bodies of his limp friends so that they would be comfortable when they woke up turned. If they were anything like him, they would immediately recognize the powerful feelings rushing through their veins and realize that something amazing had happened to them, rather than freak out.
To the backdrop of noise and shouting, Kyle prowled from one cell to the next, turning men who’d been loyal to him inside prison, and letting others escape through the busted open doors. Letting loose a vampire army was one thing—but randomly allowing some of the country’s most dangerous men to prowl the streets again added a whole new level of excitement.
Finally, the racket in the prison summoned the guards. They came out from their room, batons at the ready, expecting to follow a protocol on getting the loudest trouble makers to calm down. Usually that involved transporting them to a solitary room and leaving them there. But this time, the guards entered the main recreational room and halted, surveying the neat row of limp bodies lying on the ground, the open cell doors, and the smears of blood.
Kyle looked up from the man he’d been feasting on and wiped the blood from his lips. He dropped the body to the floor.
“I wondered how long it would take you guys to react,” he said.
He recognized that amongst the guards were some of his absolute least favorites, the ones who had made his life in here hell, the sadistic ones who revelled in the small slither of power their jobs gave them. They were bullies and Kyle wasn’t going to let a single one of them live to see tomorrow.
One of the guards approached, slowly.
“Kyle,” he said. “You shouldn’t have come back here. You’re a wanted man.”
Kyle shook his head.
“That’s where you’re wrong.
I’m not a man anymore. I’m a vampire.”
The guards exchanged glances, clearly thinking he’d lost his mind.
Kyle noticed one of the guards at the back was trying to peel off from the group unnoticed, undoubtedly to raise the alarm while the rest of them tried to subdue the situation.
“You think backup is going to help?” Kyle scoffed. “I’ve already turned 10 men. Once they wake we’ll outnumber you. That’s not to mention how many of these men I can let loose just like this.”
To iterate his point, Kyle grabbed the door handle of one of the cells and heaved it. The door came off its hinges and Kyle held it above his head like a trophy. The man who’d been inside the cell stood there, unable to comprehend what he was seeing.
The guards looked terrified.
“I bet there’s quite a few men in here who have a bone to pick with you,” Kyle added.
Then he threw the heavy steel door through the air at the guards. They just managed to duck out of the way in time, before the door hit the ground with a clang.
“What do you want from us?” one of the guards cried.
Kyle shrugged.
“Nothing in particular,” he said. “I just want to make you suffer. I want payback for all the pain you put me through while I was in here. And so do they.”
Kyle pointed to the row of bodies. Shady was starting to wake. He groaned and touched the puncture wounds in his neck, wincing. Then his senses seemed to come back to him and he sat up in a rush, looking about him dazed.
“Kyle man,” he said. “What’s going on?”
Kyle beckoned for Shady to stand.
“You’ve been reborn, my friend,” he said. “You’re probably hungry.” He gestured to the group of trembling guards. “Want a snack?”
Shady’s eyes widened. He leapt to his feet and pounced across the room, grabbing the first guard he could get his hands on and sinking his fangs into them. The rest of the guards scattered, searching for somewhere to hide.
Shady fed greedily. When he was done, he dropped the guard’s body to the ground.