Chapter Eleven
Jason Allen Rigney II
by
Jeremy Pierce
Jason sat up in the darkness and gazed into the bright tunnel of light rounding about him. He rose to his feet and took a step forward. A sharp ringing pierced his senses and stopped him in his place. Like a stranger in a foreign land, he was unfamiliar with his surroundings.
Do not wander into the light my son.
“Who are you?” Jason asked. “Where am I?”
I am your guardian and your purpose is not yet fulfilled.
“I don’t understand.” Jason looked around but could not find the voice speaking to him. It seemed to resonate around him and within him. This place he was in seemed immaterial. He wasn’t even sure if it existed at all. The light in front of him felt warm and inviting. From the other direction he sensed danger and fear.
A gift is given unto you. Take this knowledge into your charge and do your father’s bidding. His word is law, and his will absolute.
“Am I dead? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
All of your questions shall be answered soon enough my son. Walk away from the light and return to the dark. Trust in the visions to come. They will show you the way.
Jason turned his back to the light and began to walk forward. The darkness enveloped his being and he felt taunted. He could to hear faint whispers of scorn and ridicule. These voices laughed and tease him as he continued onward. He grew increasingly more insecure with each step. He tried not to think about this and attempted to push it out of his mind as the whispering developed. Jason felt like he was standing on the cusp of madness. He wanted to scream out and curse the voice which spoke to him not but moments ago.
It wasn’t long till the light behind him was no longer there. He felt lost as though he had never known truth or love. He thrust out his hand to find something tangible. He could not see as he fumbled and groped around in the dark. Before long he couldn’t even see his own hands stretched out in front of him.
However, he was not deaf or blind. Desperation and determination gave way to physical sensation. He felt something in his hand and grabbed tight. It was the only sense he had left and tried to bring this object closer. It felt soft, yet strong. His form began to shake and his senses began to return. Sound rose like a cacophony and the brilliance of light dazzled his wits. The sensations came to a dull and he could see his sister sitting next to his hospital bed with tears in her eyes. His hand was nestled in hers.
“Sammy?”
He sat in a seat at the far end of the bar and watched her attentively. The subtle clues in her movements and the vivid signs on her face spoke volumes about who she was. Jason made mental notes about everything he saw. Every facial expression, what she drank and what kind of men she talked to were carefully noted. He watched her for hours as she moved about the bar with a sense of grace rarely seen. There was a contrast about her pale skin and dark hair that he found to be fascinating. Jason would be swooning for her too if he wasn’t here for other matters.
The shadows from the dim lighting danced playfully across her face and breasts. She wore a skinny black dress that hugged the curves of her body and heels that put her at eye level with most men. He knew that she was the one, and that she would be the first. She eventually found a companion that she talked to in great length. He was a handsome man with short hair and chiseled features. She leaned into her mate and whispered something into his ear. Then, the two locked eyes, paid for their drinks and walked out the front door. Jason waited three minutes, then slapped twenty-five dollars on the table to pay for his drinks and followed them outside.
He stepped outside and loosened a couple buttons on his denim jacket. He took in the night air and pulled out a flask. He cleared his mind and took a drink. Jason concentrated and honed his hearing. A short distance to the right he heard the soft patter of footsteps and some giggling. He followed the noise.
His hearing brought him to the opening of a narrow alleyway. He shifted his flask to his right hand. In the shadow he could make out her form entangled in ecstasy with the man she just picked up. Jason could feel a weight begin to push down on his shoulders, and his heart felt like it was held in place by a vice. He stood there and watched the couple. Their passion swept them away for a brief time and the handsome man went to his knees in front of the woman. He stayed in this position for a few seconds and slumped over onto his side. The man settled into a spot where is face fell out of the shadows and into a shaft of light. The handsome man’s face was lifeless and void of color. Jason fidgeted with an item he held in his left hand.
The woman spun around, wiping her chin with a cloth she pulled from her purse. “Who are you, what are you doing here?”
Jason began to close the distance between him and her. “I know what you are.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. What do you mean?”
“I’ve been following you, and I’m here to stop you.”
“Wouldn’t you rather spend the night with me instead?” she asked as she opened the front of her dress. Her milky white breasts stood out as beacons of sexuality.
“Your seduction won’t work on me. You are a perversion of the Lord and you will be dealt with” he added. He threw his right hand forward and splashed the contents of his flask towards her breasts. Her body burned and sizzled.
She screamed out in pain with an inhuman voice and cursed him in a language that he didn’t understand. Her true nature was showing, a visage as beautiful and alluring as before, but frightening and intimidating as a creature from forgotten folklore. She hissed and two razor sharp fangs jutted downward from her cusped. She lunged at him like a wild animal about to rip his throat out.
Jason did not waver. He shot his left hand forward and pressed a crucifix against her forehead. She was paralyzed and helpless as he dropped his flask and put a wafer into her mouth. He held the crucifix firmly against her flesh and started the chant he memorized, “Immaculate Lordly Mother of God, cleanse the venomous serpent, death, and the vampire and Satan and all evil force from thy servant of god, now, today, and always.” Ending there, he reached behind his back and pulled out a wooden stake he had hidden inside his jacket. “I don’t pity you, but I do recognize compassion for the poor women you have corrupted and everyone you have murdered.”
He plunged the stake into the vampire’s chest and pierced her heart. Her demonic screaming came to cease and her body crumbled to dust. In just a few short seconds, a wind arose within the narrow alley and swept the vampire’s ashes into the sky. The tightness around Jason’s heart came to an end, but the pressure was still pushing down on him. He felt as though his job wasn’t yet finished, and he still felt vulnerable.
Realization set it as he saw the body of the handsome man lying on the ground. Jason wasn’t sure if he should even touch the corpse. He ran his hand through his short curly hair as he pondered the situation. The distinctive sound of laughing undulated through the crisp cool air, and Jason dove for cover behind a dumpster. He peeked through the space between the trash bin and the brick wall and saw two women walking past. They seemed oblivious to the happenings and his nerves began to calm, just a little.
I’m a murder! He thought to himself. I didn’t kill this man, but I just killed someone that used to be a human being! Dear God! The morbidity of the body in front of him hounded his conscience. He wiped his hand downward across his face and tried to compose himself. What do I do now? He pulled his nerves together and decided not to touch the body and left the alleyway without calling a cab. He would have to walk home. Calling for a ride home might put a witness who can recognize his face near the scene of the murder.
Since the day of the accident, Jason has been without a car. He had to walk home and it was a white-knuckled stroll. On his walk, he was filled with fear and adrenaline. There was a level of excitement he had never before felt. It was excitement mixed with guilt. He knew that he had done the Lord’s work on this n
ight, but he was fearful that someone had seen him. What if the cops came looking for him? What if someone saw him and thought that he killed the man? His mind dwelt on this for the entirety of the walk home. If he acted sooner, he might have been able to save the man’s life. Was it fright that kept him from acting fast enough? Then a fearful thought came arose from the back of his mind. This will certainly get easier. And, if it does, will he go mad? He felt like he needed to take a shower.
It was one o’clock in the morning when he finally made it home. His legs were tired, and he tossed his keys into a wooden bowl he kept next to the door. The pressure had now loosened from his shoulders. He shambled towards the bathroom. This was the house that he grew up in. It was the house that his parents left to him when they passed on. As he stumbled through the hallway, he ran his hand along the wall and discovered a memory from his past. He stopped when he felt the notches that his parents made at the end of the hallway. These scratches were relics from his childhood. They were the marks representing each growth spurt that he and his sister had as children. This section of the wall was one of the few things he had left to remember his family. He finally felt safe He would call his sister in the morning.
It was two days after his first kill He felt more comfortable about the events of that night, but they still lingered in his mind. His seemingly dark fate was secreted away in a place which he could never share with anyone. The thought of this information getting out to anyone frightened him.
He had been invited to a co-worker’s house for a social get together. This was something that Nathan did once every two months for the people he worked with. Jason and Nathan both worked as machinists at Barton Welding and Machining. Jason had been working there for three years. He was hired after his parents passed away. He considered Nathan a friend, but didn’t spend much time with him outside of work aside from these get togethers. He felt comfortable and safe amid his co-workers and friends. For several hours he forgot about vampires and murder. He sat on one of the plastic lawn chairs with a beer in his hands and watched the children playing in the yard.
Nathan came and sat next to him. “So, how much is that hospital bill going to be?”
“Pretty harsh,” Jason answered. “But, the insurance is going to cover most of it.”
“Let me get this right. You died in the hospital and they revived you?”
“Yeah.”
“What was that like? Do you remember it?”
“No,” Jason responded. “There really isn’t much to say about it. Last thing I remember was the other car slamming into mine. They said he was going pretty fast and that I was in a coma for about a day. Luckily there wasn’t any brain damage and I recovered pretty well. I did have some strange dreams for a while after that though.”
“What kind of dreams?”
“Just nightmares.”
“You gonna get a new car?”
“No, I think I’ll just keep riding the bike for bit. It’s kinda helping me get back in shape.”
“Good idea.” Nathan paused and changed the conversation. “Can you believe these people who’re standin’ out on the street with those picket signs? They think they can get through to those fat-cats in Washington.”
“Yeah, I saw that on the news,” he retorted. “They call themselves the ‘Occupiers.’ They think they represent people like you and me. I think they’re crazy and are making us look like crybabies. We’ll see how this whole thing pans out.”
Their conversation went on and on. He enjoyed the time he spent with his friends. They ate and drank, and when the day grew into the afternoon the men played football with the older boys. No one was hurt.
Jason spent the following three days tracking down his next vampire. His first clue came in the daily newspaper. There was a picture that stood out on the front page of the paper. The vampire was the president of a local bank. This was a business that Jason used no less. The picture featured the president presenting a check to a woman who won the local lottery. What really caught Jason’s attention, was that the bank president was out conducting business during daylight hours. This news came as a complete surprise. It sickened Jason to no end knowing that he trusted this blood sucking abomination with his money. It also ailed him further to think that these fiends could walk around during the day.
The picture featured a man of heavy stature. He had short black hair that was combed back and a rather thick older looking mustache. His grooming choices seemed rather antiquarian, and Jason thought that he looked like someone who should have lived in old west.
In those three days he tracked the vampire to its place of residence with the help of his sister’s car. A rather large house in the upscale neighborhood where the upper class lived. Jason scaled the tall iron fence and stalked around the house and mapped in his mind the surroundings. He made sure to do this during business hours and found a few bushes in which to hide before the bank would close. He noted that the vampire seemed to live alone, as there was no sign of a family, a wife or children to get in the way of his mission.
It was now seven o’clock and the sun had set. From his position, he could see a light come on in one of the rooms. The vampire was lurching about in the house. Jason watched as the abomination moved from room to room. When the activity seemed to settle down, Jason made his move.
He made sure to keep a low profile as he hurried across the yard towards a sliding glass door. Upon trying the door, he wasn’t surprised to find it was locked. He would have to find another way in. He moved counter clockwise around the house, making sure not to go near the street. He kept his back to the house and looked through every window he found. He couldn’t find any sign of the vampire’s movements, but he knew he would have to hurry before it left the house.
Jason wasn’t watching where he stepped and almost fell into a recess set in the ground against the house. This was the window into a basement and he pressed on it. It opened. The opening was just big enough that he could fit his shoulders through. He slinked in and hit the ground with a thump, but he hoped not audible enough to alert the vampire of his presence. The room was dark, so he fumbled around in his pocket for a lighter. He held the lighter up and found a beaded cord attached to a light.
When he lit the room, he found the vampire’s coffin. His heart skipped a beat, and he felt the weight on his shoulders once more. He took another drink from his flask and readied the stake in his right hand. He walked around to the front of the coffin and as he bent over to fling it open, he felt the vice tighten on his heart once again.
With lightning quick speed, he cast the lid open. It was empty. Empty as far as a person or vampire, but there were several handfuls of dirt laden about the casket. He breathed a sigh of relief and emptied some of his flask into the dirt. He then took out a spare silver crucifix and laid it in the coffin. After he finished his cleansing, and was sure that the vampire would have no place to rest, he continued up the stairs that lead out of the basement.
He came to the door at the top of the stairs and pressed his ear against it. After hearing no movement or signs of activity he eased the knob. The door opened smoothly and Jason slipped into the house.
He looked to either side and found himself in a hallway. To the left was a kitchen area, so he went right. Jason tip toed down the hallway. It ended at a pair of wooden doors. He thought it might have been a den or workspace. Through the space under the door, he could tell that a light was on and there was movement inside.
Jason opened the door. Inside, the bank president was feasting on a young woman strewn across a large wooden desk. Jason interrupted his meal, and the vampire was not pleased.
“Who are you? What are you doing in my house?” The vampire’s eyes moved downward and saw that Jason was holding a stake in his right hand. “I haven’t seen a hunter in a long time. And I’m sure you won’t be the last.”
Jason anticipated the vampire’s move and threw his left hand forward with the flask. The vampire stepped to the side and Jason made
another attempt. This time he swept his hand in a sideways motion hoping to create an arc with the holy water that the vampire couldn’t dodge. To no avail, the creature was too fast. In the blink of an eye the bank president was gone. Jason turned around and the vampire caught him with backhand that sent him reeling across the room. Jason lost control of the stake and flask, they dropped to the floor.
“Perhaps I should make an experiment out of you.” The vampire loomed over Jason and bared his fangs. The hunter was caught in the vampire’s gaze. As the vampire drew closer, he found himself to be paralyzed. He snatched up Jason’s arm, and sank his fangs into his wrist.
The vampire began to feed on Jason and a burning sensation hit his throat with a fiery intensity. The beast reeled back from Jason and clutched at his own throat. The hunter threw a swift kick into the vampire’s chest and pushed the beast back as he primed the crucifix in his left hand. Jason got to his feet and retrieved the hawthorn stake from the floor. Before the vampire could recover, the hunter was on him. Jason pressed the cross to the vampire’s forehead.
“Immaculate Lordly Mother of God, cleanse the venomous serpent, death, and the vampire and Satan and all evil force from thy servant of god, now, today, and always!” The vampire began to scream, and the hunter thrust the stake through its chest. The unholy perversion crumbled into a pile of dust. Then, a gust of wind threw open a window and the dust was whisked away into night sky. The vice had finally freed his heart.
He looked across the room to the woman lying on the desk. She appeared unconscious. Jason approached. He positioned his head on her chest and could see the rise and fall of her chest. He knew she was still alive and was glad that he was able to save this one. He straightened up and looked down at her innocent face. He thought it would be best not to touch and wake her. He didn’t want anyone that could identify his face as a trespasser.
A thought resounded in his mind like an ancient gong. Cameras! He began to search the house looking for any sign of security devices. He looked up in the corners in rooms and hallways but there wasn’t any sign of a camera. His nerves began to calm. He was glad that he hadn’t been recorded in the house. His next thought was to check the outside perimeter of the house for exterior cameras.
There was a loud knock on the door. Jason froze in his tracks. The knock pounded one more time. He took a couple steps backward and peered down a hallway. He could see the front door and a security panel on the wall next to it with a blinking red light. At this point, he knew he tripped a silent alarm, and heard the knocking again. Jason made a dash for the glass door at the rear of the house. His heart was pounding. He unlatched the glass door and entered a dead sprint across the yard to the fence he had scaled earlier in the evening. Just before he got to the large iron fence he heard someone shout at him, followed by the sweeping motion of a flashlight. Beyond his understanding he found the strength and fortitude to navigate over the fence without pause. The person yelled once more, but Jason did not stop. He ran for miles. He didn’t stop until safety was certain. And he would continue until everyone was safe.