Crisis Chapter 1: Just Another Post Apocalyptic Day

Many years on from the events of the prologue, Jade is on the front line of a new fight

If you haven’t read the prologue to Crisis you can find it here.

The wind whistled through the trees, blowing the last of the autumn leaves along the dark path. Jade crouched, hidden in the shadows, waiting. She had been there, in the same position since sunset. Jade knew it was out there somewhere; its lust and need growing stronger as the night went on. Yet, she could neither sense nor smell it. Her eyes swept along the path, the moonlight reflecting off the small stones that created its surface. As she began to question the information she had received, she became aware of movement at the edge of the woods.

A young male walked swiftly along the path. His breathing was short and rasping, his heartbeat thumping against his chest. Jade sensed his fear as he quickened his pace. She felt his need to return to the light as soon as possible. Why had he chosen this way home if he knew something was following him? As the questions raced through her mind, she was alerted to another presence. A shadow crept almost silently through the branches of the trees on the opposite side of the path. She watched, unable to act as it swung down like an animal and grabbed the young male by the throat. He did not have time to think, react, or realize what was happening as the creature’s free hand tore away his jacket and shirt from his neck. The beast pushed the victim’s head to one side, opened its mouth, exposed its needle-sharp teeth, buried its face into his neck, bit down, and began to feed.

Jade knew its routine down to the last second, yet still, she doubted her timing. Too soon, and it would be alert to her presence and flee. Too late, and it would be too strong from feeding for her to stand a chance of making a kill. She mentally checked her weapons; she held a needle-sharp six-inch wooden stake in her right hand, and a length of wooden-handled cheese wire hung from her belt. Neither would guarantee a kill, but they would immobilize it enough for her to stand a chance of severing its spinal cord. Slowly she uncurled herself and prepared to leave her hiding place.

The wind was in her favor, masking her smell as Jade walked slowly towards the feeding huddle. Keeping her pace and breathing steady, she got within arm’s length of the creature without alerting it. The creature’s stance made a clean shot with the stake difficult. She carefully placed it in her pocket and reached for the cheese wire. Holding the wire steady, she positioned herself, ready to slip it over its head. It lifted its head and swung around to face her as she reached up. In one swift, fluid movement, it dropped its victim to the ground and grasped her by the throat. As it closed its fingers tight around her neck, she could see that its face was full of contempt, even hatred. It knew who and what she was, and it would need no time to decide what to do. It would kill her to survive and protect its kind. It would then continue its feeding, she and the victim would both dead, and she would have failed.

Her training took over as she struggled to breathe. If it got both hands around her neck, she was finished. Jade swung the wire over its wrist and pulled both ends sharply. It was risky, but the wire was sharp, and the flesh and veins of its wrist cut easily. The beast roared with pain and threw her away, wrenching the wire from her hands as it did. Jade landed heavily against a tree trunk, pain searing through her back and head. She reached into her pocket and pulled out the stake. She had no time to dwell on the pain as it came towards her, its injured hand limp at its side, blood oozing onto the ground as it walked. Jade had two choices and only one chance. She either waited until it was on top of her and hoped for a clean shot at its heart or threw the stake and hoped that she had injured it enough to slow down its reactions. Before Jade had decided, it leapt for her. Instinctively she slid flat to the ground, fighting the urge to raise her knees as it descended. She brought her arm across her chest, stake pointing up. As it landed, its weight impaled it.

Jade felt the warmth of its blood as it trickled over her hand and slid down her arm. The smell brought pleasure and revulsion. It clawed at her with its one good hand. She winced as its claws took strips of flesh from her face, mixing her blood with its own. She knew she had to move before it regained its senses and pulled away. Pushing with her whole body and the stake still clamped tightly in her hand, she rolled them over and sat astride it. Jade pushed hard on the stake until she heard it pierce through the flesh of its back and hit the rough stone underneath. Its flailing stopped, and blood from the wound poured over its chest and seeped onto the path from the exit wound. At the sight of the blood, she again felt the heat rise in her stomach and her chest tighten. Repulsed by her desires, she turned and vomited. The smell of days’ old food and stomach acid brought her back to her senses. She dismounted the now still body and moved awkwardly over to the trees where she had hidden an axe and wooden block when she had first arrived. Returning to the body, she moved it into position and brought down the axe across its neck, severing the head in one movement.

Dropping the axe, Jade collapsed to the floor, her adrenaline flavored energy all but used up. Blood from the marks on her face continued to drip onto her top and sweat poured into her eyes. Her bruised and swollen throat made breathing hard, and at least one rib had cracked as the creature had landed on top of her. She closed her eyes and sat quietly, listening as her heartbeat slowed back to its normal steady rhythm. Running on reserves, she carefully picked herself up and began the painful task of cleaning up. Jade checked on the victim. He was unconscious but breathing, and there were no signs of severe injury. The cuts and bruising to his head would heal in time, as would the bruising around his throat. The bite marks would close over before the morning, leaving no sign of what really happened to him. He would be yet another random victim of a desperate mugger. The curfew’s lifting created new opportunities for the many desperate people who preyed on those fortunate enough to be full state members and foolish enough to be out after dark. She checked and emptied his jacket pocket of his wallet, his wrist of its watch and his trouser pockets for any loose credits. Pocketing her finds, Jade moved back to the creature and repeated the process. Its pockets were empty, making this its first attack of the night.

All that was left was to hide the body until dawn, when nature’s glory would dispose of the evidence for good. She dragged the body over the edge of the trees into the undergrowth. It was hidden enough for no one to see it in the dark but exposed enough for the sun to reach it at first light. She did the same with the head, placing it away from the body as a precaution. There had never been a report of one of them coming back, but Jade took no chances. If it came back before she was clear of the area, her life expectancy would be shorter than a mayfly’s.

Jade headed slowly back to her car, picking up her weapons as she did. As she walked past the still-steaming pile of vomit, she wondered what the militia would make of it. It was at least the third time she had puked during a kill. They would soon start looking for a serial puking mugger suspected of loving carrots. There were always bloody carrots, and she didn’t even eat them.

The car, as always, started the first time. The solar-powered engine quietly kicked into life with just a touch of a button. The drive back was painful. Each turn of the wheel took more energy than she had, the slightest bump or dip in the road may as well have been a crevasse riddled with razor-sharp rocks digging into the flesh of her legs and, worse still, her backside. She knew she should be grateful; she was still one of the few to own a vehicle at all, and only her position as a full member of the state allowed her to hold it. An involuntary smile crossed her face at this thought. What would those less fortunate than herself think if they knew a vampire hunter afforded full status? How much worse would it be if they knew what she really was. Her true nature was hidden, known only to the consortium and a few trusted individuals. Yet as Jade stared in the mirror at her even paler than usual reflection, she didn’t much care, nor did she feel like being very grateful.

Thank you for reading. I found this in some old files, dated 2006. There is more to the story and I may continue it if there is enough interest.

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