Deadline
Issue #6
by Tom Zjaba
CHAPTER 9: THE FINAL CONFRONTATION
Nat awakens from his restless slumber and slowly makes his way up towards to the subway. As he makes his way outside, he tries to make sense of it all. What does he do now? Everyone he knows is dead, his life is gone and he is an undead creature that needs to drink blood to survive. No advice his mother ever gave could apply here. As he walks down the street, he thinks about how he always had a goal. Ever since high school, when he first worked on the school paper, he wanted to be a reporter. Nothing else mattered to him, except to get the story. Seeing his name in print only topped the thrill of writing an article or doing an interview. Nothing compared to that, except maybe the night of passion he spent with Sam. Girls were never something he pursued. He liked girls, but they always seemed so distant to him. He was a good writer, but he fumbled with words when it came to speaking. Plus, he had seen many of his friends settle down and get married, only to end up at jobs they didn't like and give up their dreams. He didn't want that, he had a goal and was going to realize it. If he failed, he wanted it to be his fault and his only. He didn't want to lay the blame on a wife or some kids. That wasn't fair to him or to them, so decided it was best to avoid women and concentrate on his career.
As he continued towards his apartment, he ignores the cabs and buses that drive by. This was one night that he needed to think, to sort out the events and to determine his next move. One option that he ruled out was suicide. While he hated being a vampire, he knew he could never end his own life. Driving a stake through his heart was enough to sicken him and he still remembers the agonizing pain from the sunlight and that was only a few seconds. He could never subject himself to that much pain. Pain was never something that he could tolerate. His threshold for pain was quite low. That was a major reason why I avoided contact sports in high school. If he wasn't going to die, then he needed a plan. He couldn't stay in the city. Without the other vampires to protect him, he was at the mercy of the demons and werewolves. He would have to leave and start over somewhere else. But where and what would he do? Would he get some kind of job or would he hide out like the other vampires did? He wishes that Sam were still alive; she would be able to help him sort it out. The one thing he knows he must do is to go back to his apartment and collect up all his personal belongings. Then from there, he can make a decision on what to do. He could take his bankcard and get out what cash he can from the ATM. Since banks are only open during the day, it would be pretty hard for him to make a withdrawal. But he can slowly get cash out, with a bankcard. With the money he has saved, he should have enough to get by for a few months. One advantage about not pursuing the opposite sex is that it allowed him to save a sizable amount of money.
As Dominick parks the car, he wonders the current state of the clan. While he was recuperating, he guessed that the demons made their way to the vampire's lair to finish the job. But did they succeed or not? Since they came back, he is guessing they either were successful or couldn't find them. The thought of starting a new clan was too much for him to bear. He spent the better part of five years, molding this group into a formidable group. But they never did anything without him, so he is unsure how they would do under such pressure.
As he enters the lair, he sees the place is in shamble. Everywhere is blood and there are still some decayed demons. As he walks from room to room, he looks for any remains. All he finds is a shred of clothing here or a broken spear over there. He can see that there was a terrible battle here and he is guessing that all the vampires are dead. Then he notices something that changes his mind. In a small pool of blood by the doorway are footprints. Someone who was alive walked through the blood and there is a fresh trail of footprints heading down the tunnel. He looks carefully at the footprints and notices that someone wearing dress shoes makes them. There is only one person in the clan who wears such shoes. Most of the demons favor boots or sneakers, but one person wears nice clothes. That person is Nat, the person who is responsible for this whole mess. A look of anger comes over his face as he begins to follow the footsteps. He follows the tracks up to the subway where he notices that a set of footprints that now carry the dirt from the subway, head upwards and not onto one of the subway cars. The tracks are soon lost among the hundreds of other ones on the platform, but they are enough for him to figure out where Nat is headed. He came from an era when you needed to track and hunt your food. He has an innate sense when it comes to guessing what a quarry will do. He figures that Nat is headed back to his apartment to leave town. Where else would a coward go? While he doesn't know where Nat lives, he knows how to find out. He knows that Nat works for the paper and knows his name and that is enough for him to track him down.
At a local cyber cafe, Dominick begins his search. He enlists one of the local cyber geeks to find the information. Within minutes, the guy gives Dominick all the information he needs and in exchange, Dominick hands him a hundred dollar bill. Good thing he found a hidden stash of money at the demon's hideout. He learned that while intimidation can yield many answers, the almighty dollar still opens more doors. As he leaves with the address, he begins to think about the possibilities that the Internet may offer to one such as himself and how he will have to look into that as a way to lure victims.
As Nat enters his apartment, he grabs a duffel bag and begins to fill it with clothes. He then grabs some personal items, like some awards he won and a cassette recorder he used to keep notes when he is on assignment. As he looks at the room, he thinks about the night he shared with Sam and how everything seemed so wonderful that night. He can still hear her voice in the room. When he is finished packing, he decides to take a hot shower. He doesn't know when he will be afforded that luxury again, so he better take advantage of it.
With the shower complete, he begins to dress for his coming journey. He still has not determined where to go. Should he head south where the weather is nicer or possibly west. He still has not figured out where to go or what to do, but he figures he will see what is available at the airport and go from there. As he combs out his hair, he looks in the mirror. This is the first time he has looked in a mirror, since he turned into a vampire and it is true. He doesn't reflect in a mirror. He is standing there waving his arms and jumping up and down, yet nothing shows in the mirror. He wonders why that is? It defies all the laws of science. He casts a shadow, but he doesn't cast a reflection. He will never get used to being a vampire.
While Nat puts his shoes on, he hears someone fumbling with the door. He knows he locked it and cannot guess who would be here. He then hears a knock on the door. Could it be the landlord? Who else could be here? He walks carefully over to the door and opens it. As he does, the door is pushed up and he falls back. Into the room, bursts Angel with a wooden spike in her hand. "I came to kill you, you bastard." Before he can respond, he rolls to the right as she thrusts the wooden stake at the floor, missing him. He then starts to get up as she also gets up. As they are both standing, she looks at him and says, "You murderer, you killed my best friend." "Wait!" is all Nat can say as she lunges at him again. He easily pushes her hands aside and knocks the stake from them. He then throws her on the bed. He then jumps up on the bed and pins her arms down. "Maybe you will listen to me now. I did not kill Sam, honest." She spits at him and screams, "You blood sucking bastard." Nat wipes his face on his shirt as he looks at her and says "I loved Sam, honest. I would never do anything to hurt her." "Liar, liar" she screams as she struggles to break free from his grasp. He then gets off her and lets her go. As she gets up, she rubs her wrists. Nat lies down on the bed and spreads his arms out. "If you must kill me, go ahead. I hate being a vampire and welcome death." With a surprised look on her face, she walks over and picks up the stake. She looks at it with the one end made into a very sharp point. She spent considerable time on it. She then walks over to the bed and raises it over her head. She looks down at Nat, who is lying there, waiting. A look of intense sadness overcomes his face as he looks away. She stands there for a minute, trying to muster the courage to do it. She has prepared herself for this moment. She longed for the opportunity to exact her revenge. But it was supposed to be some great fight. She even brought along a crucifix and some holy water that she stole from a church. She spent hours, sanding the stake into a sharp point and practiced stabbing her stuffed bear with it. Now she had the opportunity to kill him and she couldn't find the will to do it. Why did he have to just lie there, so willingly? Why couldn't he fight back, like he was supposed to? She let her arms down and fell to the ground, sobbing. Surprised by the whole thing, Nat sat up and looked at her. Did he try to comfort her or let her be? He was unsure what to do in this situation. But he didn't have a chance to agonize over it too much. In the doorway stood Dominick. "Surprised to see me?" he says with a smile on his face. As he says that, Nat looks up and whispers "Oh my God." Angel stops crying for a moment and looks up. Her sorrow and pain quickly turn to fear. As he stepped into the room, a sense of evil came in with him. From the cruel smile to the cold eyes, there was nothing human about this man. "I heard the whole thing from out in the hall. It is so touching that you would give your life for her.,” he says as he claps his hands. Nat starts to move towards the edge of the bed and Angel clutches the stake tightly. "Didn't Nat tell you, I was the one who killed your girlfriend? I was the one who ripped her throat open and watched her bleed." he says as he takes a few steps closer to her. "Nat couldn't kill a fly, he is a disgrace of a vampire.,” he says with a laugh. He is not only a few feet from her. She is now on her feet and facing him. He then spreads his arms out and smiles at her "Go ahead and stab me. I am giving you a free shot." He then looks up at the ceiling. She fumbles with the stake as her hands are trembling. She looks at him as he stands there in a mocking pose of the crucifix. "Go ahead and kill me, if you have the guts." he laughs. She then raises the stake and thrusts it at his chest. Within a second, he grabs her arm and knocks the stake out, while he grabs hold of her wrist. He then pulls her close to him and says in a very demonic voice "You really didn't think I was going to let you kill me, did you?" She struggles to break free as he pulls her close and bares his fangs. As he prepares to bite into her neck, he gets hit in the head by a paperweight. The surprise of it knocks him back for a second and he loosens his grip on Angel. She pulls free and runs as he looks at Nat who is standing there. He wipes the blood from his forehead, from the fresh wound and licks it. He then smiles at Nat and says, "You cost me everything, it will be a pleasure killing you." He then lunges at Nat and pushes him into a wall. As they smash into the wall, the leave an indentation. As they hit, Nat crumbles under the strain and falls to his knees. Dominick reaches down and picks him up by his neck. He picks him up and looks him in the eyes "You will suffer like I suffered. When I am done with you, you will beg for death." He then throws him against another wall, knocking a shelf of knickknacks down. The small snow globes and toys of his youth, all fall to the ground. As he falls to the floor, he sees Angel looking for the stake. Dominick just laughs at her and walks towards Nat. She then grabs the bottle of holy water she had brought with her and throws it at him. The bottle breaks and splashes over his back. She expects to see him scream in agony or something, but there appears to be no effect at all. He just laughs as it drips down his back. He cannot help but be amused at the way humans continue to believe these silly rumors that were spread thousands of years ago. He just keeps walking towards Nat as she finally finds the stake and grabs it. Dominick then grabs Nat with both hands and lifts him up over his head. As he holds him there, he begins to speak "You had immortality, you had it all, but you threw it all away and for what? A woman?" Nat struggles to talk, but says "What good is immortality if you cannot feel?" Dominick just laughs and says, "Feel? I feel the fear in my victim’s eyes, I feel the power of determining if someone should live or die. That is what I feel and what can compare with this?" Nat looks to his left and sees that Angel has picked up the stake and is ready to strike. He then looks right into Dominick's eyes and says in the loudest voice he can muster "Love!" Dominick just laughs at Nat.
As Dominick laughs, Angel dives at him, sticking the wooden stake, deep into his back. He screams out in agony as he releases his hold on Nat, who falls helplessly to the ground. Dominick turns around, very slowly and pulls the stake out of his back. "Stupid bitch, don't you know you need to hit the heart.?” he says as he grimaces in pain as the stake is slowly pulled out. Angel is walking backwards, trying to get away before he can remove the stake completely. As she reaches the door, she runs out. He drops the stake and runs after her, holding his hand over the fresh wound and trying to keep the blood from pouring out, but with little success. As he runs after her, he leaves a trail of blood.
Nat rises up, and shakes his head. He tries to get his wits together, because he knows he faces the challenge of his life. He looks around the room and sees the bloody stake, lying there on the floor. He quickly picks it up and follows the trail of blood.
Angel has made it outside and looks back to see if she is being followed. She doesn't see anyone, so she stops to catch her breath. She starts thinking about what to do next? She needs to get out of here and fast. Maybe she should get some help, alert the authorities. But who would believe that a vampire is chasing her? What went wrong? She came here to kill the man who she believed had killed her roommate and best friend. But instead of doing that, she finds out that he didn't do it and instead some other, much more powerful vampire killed her. She tried to kill him, but only wounded him and now he is after her. How did everything go so horribly wrong? All she wanted to do is live out a fantasy of being bitten by a vampire. She didn't think they were real vampires. If she ever suspected that they were real, she would never have done it, or at least she convinces herself now that she wouldn't have gone within a hundred feet of them. But inside, she knows that the lure of danger and eroticism would have attracted her to the vampires, no matter how much she tries to convince herself that she wouldn't.
While Angel is lost in her thoughts, Dominick comes out of the front door of the apartment and soon spies her, leaning against a bus station. He is standing there, fighting the urge to pass out. His bloodstained handkerchief does little to stop the excessive bleeding from the fresh wound that punctures his back and comes out in the middle of his chest. There is a steady stream of blood flowing out and it has made a very easy to follow trail. He knows that he should rest and allow himself time to heal, but the desire for revenge is too great. The anger that is swelling up in his still beating heart is enough to push him forward, despite the intense pain. He descends down the stairs and heads towards her, in a slow and lumbering fashion. He just keeps mumbling to himself, "Die! Die!" It is his inspiration to carry on and not give in to the strong urges to stop and rest.
As Angel looks up, she sees Dominick coming towards her. He has a look of extreme anger on his face as he bares his fangs. Like a mad dog, he growls at her as he comes towards her. She is stunned for a second, but quickly looks out into the street and sees an opening and rushes across the street. Dominick begins to run across the street towards her, still clutching at the wound in his chest that is slowly healing up. As he runs across the street, he dodges a car that would have hit him. The driver beeps at him and flips him off. At the same time, Nat comes running out of the building and sees the scene unfolding. Not wanting to see another innocent person die, he screams out "Dominick, stop! I'm the one you want, so come and get me." Dominick stops for a second and turns to look at Nat. At the same time, a taxicab screeches its brakes and beeps at Dominick, who has stopped in his path. Dominick turns to see the car as it runs right into him, flinging him in the air. As he lands, he crashes on his head and is instantly knocked out. The cab driver gets out and yells "Someone call 9-1-1 now!" A few other cars pull over and soon an ambulance is dispatched.
Meanwhile, Nat rushes across the street to Angel and hugs her. "Thank God you're alright.,” he says as clutches her tight. She hugs him back and they both look on as some people try to attend to Dominick. "What should we do?" she says to Nat. She then adds, "We can't just let him go, more innocent people will die." He looks her in the eyes and says "What do you want me to do, kill him with all these witnesses around?" She looks at him and says "But someone has to do it. Someone has to stop him." He begins to walk away and says, "I am sorry, but he is not my problem. I never asked to be a vampire and it is not my problem to fix." She looks at him with an angered look on her face and says, "Do you expect me to take care of this?" He smiles at her and says, "You did come here to kill him, so finish the job." He then walks off. She stops for a second and then yells after him "But where are you going?" He turns around and says, "I am going to do something that I never did when I was alive, and I am going to watch the sunrise." She stops for a second to absorb that and asks "But won't that kill you?" He looks at her and smiles and says "Precisely!" With that he walks off into the darkness.
At the hospital, the x-ray tech is talking with the doctor. "It is nothing short of amazing! He has been punctured through the back, hit by a car and yet he has no serious injuries. Besides an immense loss of blood, and a broken leg, he is in good shape." The doctor looks over the x-rays and says, "This is the strangest case I have ever seen. I guess all we can do is set the leg and give him a blood transfusion and see how he is doing in the morning." The doctor then prepares to fix the broken leg.
The next morning at the hospital, Dominick is in his room. He is lying there asleep. While he looks better, he still looks quite weak. There is a large, white cast on his leg, which is elevated. He has an IV in his arm and is lying in a bed. He is in a room by himself. Into the room walks Angel. It took some effort for her to find out what room he was staying in, but she finally was able to get a visitor's pass. "Good morning! What a lovely day it is." she says as she walks past Dominick, who barely opens his eyes. "Wouldn't want you to miss this gorgeous day, so why don't we open these curtains and let the sunshine in." She then smiles and pulls open the curtains and let the sunshine flood into the room. Dominick's eyes open wide and he screams "NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" As the flood of sunlight hits Dominick, he struggles to get up. But the pain is overwhelming and soon he is engulfed in flames. Angel quickly makes her way out of the room, but makes sure to close the door on the way out. As she runs down the hall, the alarms go off and there is a rush of people to Dominick's room. In all the confusion, she heads down the stairs and out of the building. While she has lost her best friend, she can now rest with the assurance that Dominick will never again be able to terrorize the city.
A few days later, Angel is
looking through her mail when she notices a rather large envelope. It is
addressed to her, but there is no return address. When she opens it, she finds a
story and a letter. The letter reads, "Angel, this is the story I was originally
working on for the newspaper. But as you can guess, it is too wild for anyone to
publish. But here is the story of what happened. Do what you see fit with it. I
hope by the time you read this that Dominick has been taken care of and the
plague has been lifted from this city. I would write more, but I have a sunrise
to enjoy. Think of me the next time you watch a sunrise. Love Nathaniel. " She
sets the letter down and begins to cry.
THE END
Deadline © 2001- 2008 Tom Zjaba