A living dead heart

THE FAMILY

I never thought the end of the world would be so relaxing. Having had to spend a lifetime of blending in, resisting the urge, the urges. Risking every second of being noticed of what I am. But, now that most of humanity is gone, being a vampire is a hell of a lot easier. Don't get me wrong, I'm not now nor was the clichevil bloodsucker out for your blood. In fact I only killed criminals; killers, rapists, and drug dealers that were never caught or got out on bail. Of course I didn't bite them, no I killed them "normally", I guess is the way I would put it. And as they'd bleed to death I'd get my drink, kind of like a water fountain but blood and a human. However now that the world as I knew it has ended, selection isn't as easy anymore. That doesn't mean I still don't look for the bad ones.
A large buck runs for its life through a thick forest that soon turns to high grass and that's when the shot is taken. It falls to the earth dead with a clean shot through its head as its hunter makes his way out of the tree line. The hunter has long, black, shaggy hair (for a guy), a black bandana over his face, blacked out swim goggles, tattered black hoodie, black tactical pants and boots, and black gloves. His pockets are full of empty water bottles, on his backpack hangs two empty black gallons, in his back pack are items far more precious than his own life. This hunter cautiously walks to his kill while he scans the surrounding area and pulls another arrow from his quiver. He reaches his kill knowing he's not alone, and outnumbered. The group of 6 that somehow look worse than they smell surround him armed with rusted rifles or makeshift m weapons of the sort. He takes off his backpack and his quiver, places them and his compound bow on the ground, and backs away from his kill with his hands up. The tension is so dense he can feel it wrap around his body. He can taste and smell their sweat. However more than anything, he can hear their heartbeats.
"Look there are more of you, so I'll just take a leg and be on my way and you guys can have the rest. Okay?" A man behind the hunter pulls a machete and hacks into the hunter's back dropping him to the earth motionless. They chuckle at their small victory.
"Is he dead?" They all surround the dead hunter looking down at his body.
"Of course he's dead I just severed his fucking spine." The fat attacker reaches for the hunter's backpack.
"Did you though?" The dead hunter retorts with a sigh letting them know his level of annoyance.
"What the fuck!?" They collectively say as they quickly back away while the hunter gets to his feet whilst taking the machete out of his back. His goggles have moved down his face and that's when they see them, his pure, almost glowing, piercing, paralyzing, blue eyes. The hunter looks over his shoulder to the one that hacked into him and gives him a smile revealing his fangs.
Though sometimes they find me.
"Fucking shoot it!" The one that hacked him shouts after he's just pissed himself. The hunter leaps onto his attacker wrapping himself around him sinking his nails into his neck and stomach. He rips them open as the others open fire unaware their compatriot is being used as a meat shield. Their guns either jam or fall apart in their hands as the body of their ally plumps to the earth. Armed with a knife and crowbar 2 of them are brave enough to charge the hunter and within a split second, or what seems to be a split second. The hunter cuts off the right arm of the attacker on his right and slices his left leg in half at the thigh. With his bare hands. He then vertically slices the attacker's head from the nose up on his left. Before the bodies can fall to the earth the hunter takes their weapons from their hands and throws them as fast as bullets into 2 of the 3 attackers currently running away. However with the last one, the hunter dashes back over to his bow and steps on the bottom end of the bow and his quiver. In 1 second the bow flips into his grip as do 2 arrows and he knocks and fires both arrows at the same time. They tear clean through the woman's kneecaps just as she's about to make it over the ridge. He can hear her screams and curses on her way down the other side of the ridge out of sight.
With the threat gone he immediately drops his bow to carefully check his backpack for any damage to the contents inside. To his relief and conscious the backpack and its contents are just as he left them. He unclips the gallons on his pack and brings them over to the severed leg to drip the blood into each of them. He does this with the rest of the limbs of the 2 attackers until both gallons are full. Next he takes the water bottles out of his pockets and one by one fills them up after he severs the limbs of the other attackers. Once he's done he clips the gallons back on and puts the blood bottles in their pockets with the exception of one. Which he drinks down faster than usual granted he hasn't had a drop in almost 2 weeks. He closes the bottle before putting it back in its pocket and picks his backpack and quiver back up and slings them over his back. He sniffs the air multiple times trying to find the blood scent he desires, he does and starts his way to it.
The raggedy, filthy, wounded woman pulls herself along the muddy ground barely getting anywhere. Her fear, pain, and desperation can be heard in her whimpers and cries, although on the bright side at least she's getting a shower. She continues her pointless struggle with all her will only to be stopped by the sight of 2 black tactical boots. Thinking its one of her own coming to check on her and her hunting team she looks up to see those same paralyzing crimson blue eyes staring down at her.
"Are, y-you an angel?"
"I will only ask once." He moves his foot over her shoulder and gently presses down. "Where's the girl?" She cackles.
"I knew it, only by his divine hand I will be allowed to die, praise him for he is gracious." The hunter presses down dislocating the woman's shoulder. She screams and thrashes until she can handle the pain and does so by breathing in through her teeth. "Only through pain and suffering can I be cleansed of my sins and then, and only then I can beg for his forgiveness." The hunter does the same to her other shoulder rendering her motionless and silent for the pain is too much. The hunter stares down at her, thinking, plotting. He squats down and relocates both of her shoulders with ease then he stands back up and walks away. "Wait, wait what are you doing? Where are you going?" He doesn't stop. "You can't leave me until you've done his work!" He continues on. "You can't just leave me here, he, he won't allow it. He will order you to come back to me!" He's almost out of her sight and she begins to whimper and cry again. "Alright I'll tell you, shit!" She gives up the charade his response is in a split second both of her shoulders are dislocated once again but she finds herself also being lifted off the ground and held there with ease by her left leg. Now she screams uncontrollably from the pain and that's when she's dropped back into the mud. Her shoulders are crushed by her weight and she screams out a curse before sobbing. She's silenced by the feeling of a boot gently pressed where her thigh and waist meet. She follows the leg to find those same eyes now staring at her with death in the stead of anger in them.          "If I tell you, you help me get--." He dislocates her left leg which is followed by her cursing at him only to be silenced again by the feeling of his boot on her other leg. "There's a group of cabins 'bout 5 miles from here, you can't miss them cause they're in an open field!" He dislocates the leg to then use her body as a carpet and ends up stepping on her head forcing her face into the mud. "Don't you leave me here! You fucking fanger!" He disappears from her sight and she's left all alone in the mud and rain as she continues to relentlessly scream curses at him. Once more she's silenced by the sound of a low growl that soon turns into several louder growls. She doesn't want to, but she looks behind herself to see 4 wolves only mere feet from her.
The girl screams and fights to get free from the 4 men carrying her by her arms and legs into one of the cabins. The center cabin to be exact with the other 3 forming a semi-circle behind it, lined with clothing and sheets in between creating a fence of privacy of sorts. Around the cabins is a wooden fence with barbed wire wrapped around it as well as tens of bear traps in the surrounding field. Only those that live here know the paths to take to avoid them and have the key that unlocks any of the 4 doors to leave the settlement. The men kick open the door to the cabin and rush her inside as their grip on her starts to loose due to the fact that they're all wet. They pin her on the bed she still fights with all of her strength yet they tie down her arms and legs to the bed posts. She knows she lost, her hope of escaping is gone, she realizes and accepts that her best option is to let them have their fun with her. Only then and only when they're done and asleep her bonds will be loose enough for her to get free and she can sneak out. One man forcefully pulls her hoodie open breaking the zipper to find a baggy plaid button up shirt underneath. He and the others chuckle while they take off their pants the man gets on the bed with her in between her legs. He rips open her plaid shirt to find a thick baggy black t-shirt.
"Goddamn she's like one of those Russian doll things." She struggles thrashing her body from side to side so he can't get any closer.
"I like me some dolls." One of them says in a desperate, thick accent. The man on top of her pulls out a knife which prompts her to go still with fear and comply. Seeing this in her face makes the man laugh. He grabs the bottom of her shirt and brings the knife up to it and slices her shirt in half to reveal the last layer so to speak. A black tank top that allows these men to see what she's been hiding so desperately. Her early bloomer developed 15 year old body, more specifically her breasts. The man gets off the bed to take off his pants once off he grabs the bottom of her baggy black sweatpants and pulls them down revealing that she's wearing baggy plaid shorts. "Damn girl you ain't got to be shy no more." The man walks over to the side of the bed to unzip the shorts when a haunting scream is heard. they stop. "What the fuck was that?"
"Just Jesse or peter fucking around come on we got a virgin that needs to be shown how its done." The man turns his attention back to the girl and reaches for the zipper. The sound of the back left window shattering followed by the sound of metal clapping together then a scream right after halts the man. They look over to see their friend's right calve gripped by a bear trap connected to a chain leading out the window.
"Bobby!" The man is pulled out of the house through the window screaming for his friends and god. Before they can do anything another window shatters and a second man is torn out of the house screaming for his friends.
"What the fuck was that!?" The last man standing starts to pull his pants back up.
"Grab the guns." The man on top of her barks.
"We left the guns in the dang truck." the man has a heavy accent and is barley understandable speaking with his toothless mouth.
"The windows, get away from the windows and we'll be fine." The third man is taken out of the front right window before he can get to a corner. The man on top of her looks through every window and sees only rain as he breathes heavily sweating like a mad man. He gets off of her slowly and picks up his pants whilst waiting for something to happen, it doesn't. He takes the chance and cowers in the front left corner of the cabin. The girl is too shocked, horrified, confused, and still tied up to freak out like these men. "What the hell is this shit bitch!? What the hell did you do to my friends?!" Something tears through the cabin right next to the man on both sides of him cornering him in. A yelp is all he can get out before he's pulled out of the cabin and disappears into the heavy unrelenting rainfall. Despite the sound of the rain there's complete silence, no screams, no footsteps.
Only her rapid heartbeat and breathing. The front door opens with a clichcreak to reveal a man unlike the other men and women that took her from her family. Unlike any man she's ever seen since the end of the world. He's clean, doesn't smell, and is dressed rather in a uniform of sorts is the best way she would describe it. But what starts to create fear in her is the fact that he's carrying a large duffel bag full of things left to her imagination.
"Who-who are you?" Without a word he drops the bag and walks over to her and undoes one side of her bonds. "Did my parents send for you? How did they find you?" She frees herself and sits up when she feels the cold on her chest, reminding her that she's exposed. She's quickly hides herself from him pulling up her pants back up as well before he can get too good a look. Except after she looks up at him she finds him looking away from her holding out a new heavy thick jacket. She rudely takes it from him and quickly realizes she did so and she changes her demeanor and normally puts on the jacket. "How, did you find me?" She asks in a humbled voice. He pulls his bandana down.
"Your parents are hurting every second you're not there with them." She's taken aback by how good looking he is, compared to those men at least.
"They don't know you're here, do they?" He walks to the door, picks up the bag, and waits just outside the door on the porch.
"When you're ready young ma'am." She keeps her torn layers on and zips up the jacket and pulls the hoods over her head.
"Ready." He looks back inside at her and sees an Eskimo in the stead of a teenage girl. He can't help but smile as he mockingly bows and shows her out saying ladies first. She blushes and walks through the door with him right next to her. They make their way through the little settlement to one of the doors in the fence. She stops at the sight of the 4 heavy duty locks on it while he keeps going to the door. He grabs the door and pulls it open with ease shattering the locks like ice. She stands there in amazement as she fully realizes what he is which confuses her and now she's stuck wondering why she isn't afraid.
"Step as I step."
"Okay." She follows him step by step as he said keeping her gaze at her feet and before she knows it he stops her from walking into a tree. His grasp around her right upper arm is gentle, careful yet strong, gentle enough to move her without her noticing she'd been moved. "Thanks." He gives her nod before continuing through the woods with her quickly following to catch up. "So, you're a--."
"Fanger?"
"Vampire?" She corrects.
"Yes." He says with a smile.
"Are there more of you out there, still?"
"I don't know."
"Well, aren't you lonely?" He doesn't answer and she realizes that she struck a nerve once he keeps looking straight instead of slightly at her. Just not the one she thinks..
"That's smart by the way." He obviously changes the subject.
"What is?" She hesitantly goes along with the change.
"How you dress?" She looks down at herself and feels herself still so exposed, vulnerable, caged.
"Thanks, but it was my mother's idea in case we ever encountered anyone else."
"You shouldn't have to hide what you are for something as simple as fear." She looks at just exactly how he's dressed to cover up his skin, eyes, and mouth.
"You're hiding." He chuckles and moves his goggles up to his forehead.
"It's more for the bad guys." He mockingly shows her a snarling face, mocking the cheesy vampire movies of the past. She blushes and smiles before looking back at herself while he moves his goggles back over his eyes and his bandana over his mouth.
"So you don't think its dangerous for me to let the world know I'm a girl?"
"It is, most would say it's stupid. Yet your mother isn't dressed like you. So you could say that your mother's stupid." She laughs.
"She's just worried."
"Of course, as she should be. You're her daughter. A child in a world where man no longer has reigns."
"Except for those like you. People like you that is."
"There are no people like me. Not anymore." She becomes visibly saddened. "However, young people like you can be."
"Starting with bravery?" He gives her a nod and once again she looks down at herself thinking before she grabs her zipper. Her zipper lowers an inch before its stopped by the same gentle strong careful grip on her wrist. Careful not to touch anywhere near her chest. She looks up at him confused.
"You'll get sick."
"But you just said."
"Be brave yes, but you also haft to be smart."
"Brave, and smart." She quietly repeats to herself for mental noting.
"It's a good start." She blushes. They approach the break in the sea of trees where the deer and corpses of their attackers lie.
"These are the ones that." She stops herself taking in the sight while he keeps going until he reaches the deer. He tears one leg off as he said he would carrying it in his right hand. With his left hand he grabs hold of the deer's remaining leg before continuing on dragging the rest of the deer. She slowly walks to him taking her time to look at the carnage trying to piece together what happened. He sniffs her which scares her but only for a second for she realizes that her nose and mouth have a trail of dry blood running down them. He sniffs the air for the blood scent similar to hers. He finds it, turns to the right and continues on. Meanwhile the shock and adrenaline leave her leaving her to face the scope of realization of what was about to happen to her. What did happen to her and who and what she's with now. From her frantic breathing he can tell what she's going through and is surprised it took this long.
"When you're ready." He stops to say before breaking back into the thick sea of trees which takes her out of her head and into the now. She sees that he's gone so she runs into the brush still disturbed from his entrance.
A starved, poorly clothed family of 4 cowers under an unintentional man made cement tepee from collapsed highway onramps. Rainfall is heavy, cold, and so unrelenting that the family can barely see just a couple of mere feet outside of their shelter. They're unarmed and have no supplies as they were just attacked and robbed, though they have their lives they're short one family member. Their teenage daughter. The bright flash of a lightning strike just outside of their shelter paired with the ear ringing clap of thunder scares the family. They open their eyes to spot a figure holding the leg of a deer in one hand over its shoulder with a large duffel bag as well. The rest of said deer is being held in the other. Next to the figure is the silhouette of a 15 year old girl.
"Mom!" The girl shouts as she runs to meet her family once again.
"Oh, my baby!" The family embraces as tears are shed and lungs are strained. The figure takes the rather large bag off its shoulder and tosses it to them followed by the deer corpse. Lightning strikes once more and he's gone before they can question or thank him. They turn their curiosity and hunger towards the bag. They open the bag to find all that was stolen from them and much more; shoes, boots, clothes, weapons, firewood, a lighter, blankets, sleeping bags, canned food, and water. But that's not what amazes the family, the weight of the bag is far more than any of them could lift and yet that figure lifted it with ease.
"Who was that mommy?" The little brother asks as he looks up at his mom.
"I don't know baby, but god grace him." The mother turns her attention back on her daughter and she hugs her once more. The daughter looks out over her mother's shoulder into the grey, lonely, rainy, cold world imagining herself out there. Being out there and being as strong and brave as him.