Jadee couldn’t take the siren for long and shut it down. It was starting to give her a headache, and she wanted to be able to hear what was going on outside. That thought reminded her that her father had cameras mounted to the exterior of the RV.
She placed the rifle on the dining room table but kept it close. She found the remote for the television near the driving compartment and flipped channels to locate the feeds. The first one revealed the passenger side of the RV.
The woman by the door wasn’t there anymore. A little satisfaction struck. She flipped to another channel, getting a view of the front. Jadee didn’t see anything on the driver’s side or on the rear camera. She lifted her chin, peering at the roof. It was all quiet up there.
“They don’t like loud noise,” she deduced. “I might survive this after all.” She spun, talking to the tablet. The three people locked inside the trailer were still in view. Mark’s mouth moved soundlessly, a reminder that she’d muted the device. She turned it back up.
“Jadee? What happened? Are you okay?”
“Yes. I hit the panic alarm and they stopped attacking. I don’t see them on my cameras.”
Peggy clutched at her brother Brent. “They’re coming after us again!”
Mark turned in his chair. “Shut up.” He faced forward. “They’re sensitive to noises. That was smart of you.”
“Didn’t you try that last night? I’m hoping someone heard it and help arrives.”
“There’s no one within range to hear us.” He paused, probably for effect. Mark loved dramatics. “All the residents are dead. We found blood in every home we checked when we arrived.”
“Everyone?” The news stunned Jadee. “As in, the entire town?”
“We can’t be sure, since we only went to a few homes,” Peggy whispered. “But we didn’t see anyone while we were driving around, before they took out the vehicles.”
“We checked the home of our website tipper first,” Brent explained. “His front door was kicked in but he wasn’t there. It’s not a big town and they only have one diner. It was empty.” Brent kept Peggy in his arms, trying to ease her visible shaking. “Probably sixteen homes in all in this area. We couldn’t find any survivors in the few homes we searched the first day. Then we set the trap, hoping to catch whatever had made people disappear.”
Jadee was outraged. “What in the hell were you thinking? Normal people call the police when they find blood! You should have gotten out of here the second you realized something was actually wrong!”
“We caught four Vampires!” Mark boasted indignantly.
“And lost them, you stupid bastard! Why didn’t you get help before they escaped?”
“We couldn’t have someone else taking credit for our work! We planned to study them and document everything before we reached out to a few of our colleagues.”
“So no one else knows you guys are out here and what you were involved with?”
“Just you, Jadee.” Brent frowned. “Your father wanted you to be a part of this.”
“Oh, I am.” She wanted to kill someone, preferably Mark, since she disliked him the most. “Now my father’s missing and I’m trapped just like you are.” She breathed deep, trying to calm down and think. “Okay…how did you catch them the first time?” She was hoping they might be able to do it again.
“We used the motor home,” Peggy whispered. “The bedroom is caged in, so we put a recording devise inside the storage section under the bed to mimic a heartbeat and breathing, left worn clothes and fresh blood for them to scent. It lured all four inside the room. They thought someone was hiding there.”
Jadee had to admit that sounded smart. “And then what?”
“We had cameras to see inside the RV and a remote-controlled trigger to seal the door,” Mark added. “Once they were locked in, we waited until the sun rose, and were able to go in to get them. They do sleep during the day.”
“It was just a matter of shooting them with high doses of paralytic drugs to be sure they would stay down before we opened the door. We put them in body bags and carried them to the cages we brought. We dumped them out of the bags into the cages so we had access to draw blood and do tests on them,” Brent added. “We’d put up a tent to protect them from the sun.”
“They shouldn’t have been able to escape those cages.” Peggy paused. “But they somehow did. We only managed to contain them for a day.”
“Fantastic.” Nope. No luck calming down. She was still furious. “Now we’re in this mess.”
“They might not see your rental and leave it alone.” Peggy’s expression became hopeful. “You could drive us out of here in the morning.”
Jadee resisted calling them idiots again. Her rental was about fifty feet from the motor home. Only a blind person would miss it.
A loud noise struck the top of the RV roof and Jadee almost dropped the tablet. Her gaze instantly fixed on the television to see outside.
The camera feed died, the screen going black.
“Shit.”
“What is it?” Mark demanded from the tablet.
She placed it on the table and grabbed the remote, flipping to another channel on the television feed. It was out too, and heavy footprints crossed the length of the roof.
“Jadee?” Brent hissed her name.
She bent over and braced her hands on the table so they could see her. “It knows where the cameras are. It’s tearing them out or covering them.”
“That’s not good. How would they know they were even there?” Mark scowled.
“Probably because they can see them from the top of the roof.” Jadee rolled her eyes.
Mark shook his head. “Your dad had them hidden to look like part of the framing at the top. There’s no red eye or anything to give them away.”
A jingling noise—like metal on metal—came from the door, and Jadee instantly straightened, spinning around. She grabbed the rifle, cradling it against her chest with one arm. Her stomach clenched. The bars were down to keep the door secured, but she wasn’t certain how strong they were if the locks themselves were disengaged. “Tell me you don’t keep spare keys to the RV inside any of the tow cars.”
“We don’t,” Mark responded.
“Does anyone else besides my dad have keys to his RV?”
“No. Just him.”
The sick feeling intensified as she concentrated on that slight jingling sound…
“You must have used the electronic keypad to get into your dad’s motor home,” Peggy said. “The second your dad activated the shutters, bolts slid into place on the two driving-area doors, so they can’t be opened with a key anyway. Only the side door can be.”
That was unexpected but good news. “When did he have that changed?”
“We were investigating Bigfoot reports and some witnesses said the creatures could tear off vehicle doors to steal food. Your dad had the motor home and the trailer modified so that couldn’t happen. Regular locks weren’t enough.” Mark paused. “He also had our roofs reinforced, since Bigfoots are supposed to weigh up to a thousand pounds and are reported to have sharp claws.”
Jadee felt only a small relief. She still had hope that her father was alive and awaiting car repairs somewhere away from the campsite. But if someone had his keys…it would mean he hadn’t made it out of the area after all.
A new threat popped into her head. “Are there weapons in the tow cars?” She cocked her head, staring the shutters covering the front windshield. “Something strong enough to go through safety glass and metal?”
“No,” Mark sighed. “No weapons. They’re all in your father’s safe.”
Jadee bit her lip, thinking. “What about a tire iron? Could that work? Every car has one of those and a jack.”
“It wouldn’t cause enough damage to breach the exteriors of the motor home or this trailer,” Mark swore. “They were built to withstand a lot of damage.”
A chill flashed down Jadee’s spine at the sudden beep by the door.
Her gaze flew to the electrical pad—and it flashed green.
One of the locks inside the door slid, creating a soft scraping noise. Something outside tugged on the door hard but the extra bolts and bars across it held.
She yanked the tablet from its charging cord and clung to it. “Oh shit.”
Jadee hesitantly stepped toward the door to get a better look. The light turned red and the main bolt clicked back into place.
A quiet beeping sound repeated and the pad flashed green a second time. The bolt slid again inside the door, unlocking it. The handle moved slowly as she stared at it in horror. Whoever was on the other side tugged hard but the extra dead bolts and bars kept them from getting inside.
She stumbled back until her ass hit something solid. The pad turned red and the interior bolt slid into place again.
Her hand shook hard as she lifted the tablet to peer at the screen. “Who has the code to my dad’s RV besides me?”
“Why?” Mark sounded wary.
“Because someone is punching in the right numbers and trying to get in,” she whispered. “The emergency bolts are holding and I pulled both of the bars down across the top and bottom of it.”
“Only your dad,” Peggy gasped. “Open it up! He’s outside!”
“Don’t do it!” Mark shouted. “He could be one of them!”
“It’s Victor!” Brent argued. “He’s alive. Open the fucking door before they find him!”
“What if they already did? He could be a Vampire,” Mark warned.
That’s what Jadee was afraid of. She muted the volume of the tablet and dropped it on the dining table. She took a small step forward and gripped the weapon in her arms, aiming it at the door. She balanced it and reached out with one hand to push down the intercom button. “Dad?”
“Let me in, Jadee.”
The sound of his familiar voice almost buckled her knees.
Her first instinct was to unlock the door and pull him inside to safety before the Vampires attacked him. Reason made her hesitate. That panic alarm might have chased away the ones attacking the exterior—but it also could have drawn more of them, like a dinner bell being rung.
No way would he be outside that door unless he was one of them.
She might not have been on his research team, but Jadee wasn’t clueless about the things he believed in.
“Where have you been, Dad? Who took out the cameras so I can’t see you?”
“Never mind about that. Unlock the door and let me in, honey.”
“Where have you been?”
“With friends.”
He sounded calm, not stressed at all. He knew Vampires were out there, had been studying them. It screamed all kinds of wrong to her, and made her wonder who these “friends” were.
A hot tear slid down her cheek but she didn’t bother to wipe it away, not willing to release the rifle.
“What did they do to you, Dad?”
“I’m okay. Unlock the door. It’s going to be fine.”
Oh God. She fought the urge to scream and cry at the same time. Part of her felt tempted to release the intercom and curl into a fetal position. He hadn’t denied that someone had done something to him. Nothing is okay. Nothing.
“Jadee,” he soothed. “Open the door, honey. We need to talk.”
Her knees finally gave way and she collapsed onto the carpet. She reached up and blindly turned on the intercom fully so she didn’t have to hold the button down. The rifle ended up across her lap. She leaned sideways a little, pressing her face against the smooth wood of the counter next to the door.
“Do it,” he demanded. “Let me in.”
“Are you going to kill me, Dad?” It was hard getting the words out.
“Of course not.”
She squeezed her eyes closed. Her dad was still in there, even if he had been changed into a Vampire. He knew the code to his RV and who she was. All the movies she’d watched regarding Vampires flashed through her mind. She really hoped they were the friendly types who were basically the same once they were turned…
But then there were the horror versions, who lured people into letting them inside to rip out their throats.
According to her father’s team, they’d already found the bodies of some residents. She couldn’t forget about that.
“Jadee? I’d never hurt you, honey. Let me inside. It’s cold out here.”
“Vampires aren’t supposed to get cold,” she responded, holding her breath to see how he’d respond.
“You don’t believe in Vampires. You’re being ridiculous. I was with friends. Open the door.”
The lock beeped and the interior bolt slid. The door she leaned against moved slightly but held. It was enough to get her to open her eyes and stare up at the pad. It went from green to red, the bolt sliding home again.
Anger suddenly surged and she turned her face into her shoulder, wiping it against her shirt to be rid of the tears. She’d always feared his lifestyle would get him killed. Just not like this.
Whatever he was, whoever he’d become, he was still her dad. She had to at least give him a chance.
“I’m not dressed,” she lied. “Give me a few minutes, Dad.”
“I’ve seen it all before. Open the door.”
“Two minutes.” She forced her body to move, standing and turning off the intercom. The cold metal of the rifle helped her stay calm. She went to the front cab where the security panel was, removing the key that controlled the shutters. She hoped he didn’t have a spare as she pocketed it. The gun safe in the closet remained open and she went to it next.
Her movements were jerky as she collected the weapons from their nesting places in pockets attached to the wall of the safe. She rested the rifle along the closet wall and strapped on a waist holster. The twin Smith & Wesson 380s were shoved into it after she flipped off the safeties and pushed in a cartridge for each one. Her hands didn’t tremble when she lifted the rifle and closed the closet, not bothering to secure the concealed panel. There was nothing left inside to take.
She approached the side door, taking calm, steady breaths.
Her father grew impatient and slapped the door. The pad beeped as he punched in the code again to unlock the bolt. It scraped open but the interior locks continued to hold. She paused by the door, fighting fear and the uncertainty of her actions.
This is so fucking stupid, she tried to reason with herself. She reached out before she could change her mind and turned the intercom back on. “Dad? Stand back, and once I unlock the door, count to ten before you come in. Do you understand me? You don’t want to scare me, do you?”
“Of course not, honey.”
She wanted to believe him. One way or another, she needed to do this. She had to know if he was still her father or a fiend.
Her grip on the assault rifle tightened as she hefted the first bar out of place. The second one she had to bend a little to reach. The interior bolts were easier to yank to the side, and she backed away quickly when the last one was pulled.
“Come on in.” She didn’t dare glance away from the door as she inched down the hallway, closer to the bedroom. She could always escape into it if need be.
The beep was a menacing sound…the bolt slide terrifying.
This time the door opened, fresh air pouring into the interior as it was thrown back wide.
Jadee lifted the assault rifle, gripping it with both hands, pointing it at the darkness beyond the door. She located the trigger with her finger, resting it there.
The white-haired man who slowly entered looked so familiar, but she noted the differences immediately as he stopped in the aisle, turning her way. His skin still looked weathered from the sun but his complexion had become unusually pale, with dark veins showing. His normally sparkling blue eyes appeared duller. What used to be the whites of his eyes were bloodshot and appeared wrong. Evil.
A soft moan sounded and Jadee realized it had come from her.
His gaze lowered, studying the rifle she held. “It’s okay. You can put that down.”
“Close and lock the door, Dad.”
He didn’t move to do it. “You’re safe. You don’t have to point that gun at me.”
“Close and lock the door,” she repeated.
He slowly lifted his hands out to his sides. She glanced at them, saw a lot of dirt and what appeared to be some dark red stains. It was possibly blood.
“Easy, honey.” He took a step forward.
“Don’t,” she ground out. “I’ll shoot you. Stay right there and lock that fucking door.”
He didn’t blink at all. The eerie way he stared at her was freaking her out. She glanced at his chest and saw that it moved, as if he breathed. It could have been force of habit, or perhaps Vampires did need oxygen. She focused on his face again.
“I want you to meet my friends. They aren’t what we expected.”
“What happened to the people who lived in the nearby town? I heard they’d all disappeared by the time your team arrived. Where are they?” She backed up more, reaching the doorway to the bedroom.
“You don’t need to go in there and activate the safety door, Jadee.”
She wasn’t so sure.
“Don’t be afraid. We were wrong about them.” He took another step forward.
Jadee aimed the gun at his heart. “Don’t come any closer.”
His smile chilled her to the bone. “Bullets won’t kill me.”
Fear nearly overrode her anger. “I bet they’d hurt.” She adjusted her aim, targeting his head. “And I’m pretty sure some of them tearing through your brain would slow you down.”
“Why did you let me in if you planned to shoot me, honey? I raised you to never point a gun unless you were willing to pull the trigger.”
“I needed to know if you were still you. You’re not.” It broke her heart. “My dad would have locked that door so no one else could get at me. He would have gone to the cab area and stayed as far back from me as possible to make sure I felt safe. I’m so sorry, Dad. I came as soon as I could get a flight…but I got here too late.”
“You’re not too late. You’re right on time. We’re not going to kill you, honey.”
His repeated use of that endearment was becoming disturbing but the use of “we” was worse.
“I told Mitch all about you, and he needs someone at his side. I even showed him your picture from my wallet. He thinks you’re beautiful.”
Jadee tensed. “Who’s Mitch?”
“He turned me and gave me eternal life. He’s going to bestow that gift upon you too. We’ll be a family again.”
She had a name for the bastard who had taken her father. “Where were you when the other ones attacked the roof and the door?”
“I thought you hadn’t arrived yet so I was waiting along the road with Mitch to welcome you. Then I heard the alarm. Mitch wants to meet you.”
“Where is he? I’d like to meet him too.”
“He’s outside, allowing me to calm you down. This doesn’t have to hurt, honey. Put the guns down and we’ll walk outside. He’ll be gentle, and he promised to take good care of you. You need that. I always worry about you being alone.”
“How sweet.” She swallowed down the bile that rose. “Why don’t you have him step in here and introduce himself? It’s bright in here so I can see better.”
Her father turned his head, seeming to stare at something right outside the open doorway. Movement drew her attention but she was careful not to allow it to distract her from her dad. He was a threat, and she couldn’t forget that.
The tall, thin man who climbed inside looked horrific. He had black, scruffy hair, a narrow, long white face, and his black clothes were Gothic. It might have been the way they were made, but the arms and legs of his pants and shirt had rips in them, revealing slices of his white, skinny limbs. Dirt also covered his hands. Dead leaves were stuck to his clothing in a few places, as if he’d been digging or rolling in the dirt. She didn’t even want to imagine why he’d do that.
The top of his head nearly brushed the ceiling of the RV, putting him at about six foot four. In life, he’d probably been odd looking with his lanky body, but he was horrific as a Vampire. Bloodshot eyes met hers and his thin lips curved upward. The dark veins on his face became more pronounced.
“Hello. I’m Mitch. It’s nice to meet you, Jadee. I’ve heard so much about you.”
She saw the sharp tips of his fangs when he spoke. They scared the shit out of her. The smell coming from him reached her nose and she inhaled through her mouth. It reminded her of the time she’d found a dead mouse under her mobile home in Washington, where she lived. It was faint, but the smell of death clung to him.
“The feeling isn’t mutual, Mitch. You took my dad from me.”
He tilted his head, his cheek almost resting against the top of his shoulder, and it make him look even more inhuman. “He’s right here.”
“Did my dad ever tell you that I had a rough life, being pulled around with him on his hunts? Kids made fun of me all the time. It was a bitch always being the new student at school. We never lived in one place for long. I was bullied until I learned how to fight back at a young age. It kind of gave me anger issues.”
His head straightened. “You won’t be alone ever again.”
“That’s the thing. I kind of like it now. I learned to never depend on anyone besides myself. Remember that anger issue I mentioned? I’m pissed, Mitch. You might be the big bad, but guess what? I loved my dad, and he was all I had left after my grandma died. I want to test a theory. Dad was big on those.”
Jadee opened fire without any other warning, the sound earsplitting in the confined space.
The first bullet struck Mitch in the forehead. He jerked back from the impact. She got three more into his chest before he fell. She turned the weapon on what used to be her father. His mouth hung open. He looked stunned as she shot him in the head.
She backed up and blindly reached out, hitting the round red button on the wall. The gate slammed across the door as she fell backward, forgetting about the bed being in the way. It took her seconds to sit up and scramble toward the side of the bed frame, backing up into a corner far out of reach of the gate.
She was aghast when she saw Mitch coming down the hallway.
The healing holes in his chest were visible and a dark red substance poured out of them before they sealed.
She opened fire again, targeting his heart. He roared out in pain or anger, twisting away and presenting her with his back.
The gun emptied and she popped out the clip, grabbing another one to slam home. She fired again.
Mitch used the bathroom for cover, darting into it. What used to be her dad came down the narrow hallway next.
“Stop it, Jadee!” he yelled.
They weren’t dying, seeming to heal in seconds. She struck Victor mid-mass a few times, sure she hit his heart at least once. He stumbled and crumpled to the floor. She held her breath, praying he wouldn’t get up.
“You’re making me angry,” Mitch hissed from around the corner, out of her line of sight.
She sucked in a lungful of air. “You don’t know what pissed is, fuckhead! Why don’t you step out of the bathroom and stop cowering in there? I’ll show you angry.”
She glanced down. Victor still hadn’t moved. She pushed back the grief and guilt over having to kill her dad. He had already been gone before she’d arrived.
I put him out of his misery. She clung to that idea. It helped her keep her shit together. Crying comes later. Right now, kill the other bastard.
Victor’s arm twitched. Then she watched him attempt to sit up. She was glad she couldn’t see his face. It made what she had to do easier.
“Oh God.” She pointed the gun, aiming for his spinal cord, and fired into the back of his neck. He jerked once and became still.
“You’re only delaying the inevitable,” Mitch yelled. “I’ll make you pay if you don’t stop right now. I’m offering to make you my wife.”
“Were you nuts before you became a Vampire? Now you’re stupid and crazy if you think I’d agree to that. You’re a walking horror show. Did I mention ugly too? You’re disgusting and you smell like a dead rat.”
“You bitch!” he shouted. “I’m going to make you hurt when I get my hands on you—you’ll beg me to die. But that’s not going to happen. I’ll keep you around to watch you suffer.”
Jadee wished her father had kept more clips inside his safe for the ACR. She removed one of the guns from her waist. She needed to be more careful with her rounds. Summer in this part of Alaska meant a lot of daylight, but it was still hours away. She had to survive that long. They couldn’t get into the room but that didn’t mean they couldn’t kill her if they had a weapon. The safe was empty but they might have access to other guns. She was in a cage, with no place to escape gunfire directed her way.
Mitch suddenly stepped out of the bathroom and grabbed the bars across the door. She pointing the gun at him while they glared at each other.
“You’re going to bleed, bitch.”
“How’s the head?” She made a point of staring at where he’d taken a bullet to the forehead, seeing only blood but no gaping hole. “I’d ask if you have brain damage but you’d have to have one first, right? It doesn’t seem like you do.”
He growled and his mouth opened, showing those sharp fangs. “This isn’t going to keep me out.” He looked down and started to shake the bars. They held, but slight popping noises sounded from the walls around them.
She had a sinking feeling that with enough abuse, he’d bust inside.
She opened fire, aiming for his heart. It might work if she totally annihilated the sucker, so she blasted holes into him.
He slumped, dropped to his knees, but didn’t fall over completely.
Minutes passed. His chin finally lifted and he growled again.
“I recover, bitch. Bullets won’t stop me.” He got to his feet.
“They slow you down though. I also notice you’re not healing as fast as you did before.” She shot him in the head again and he jerked back, crashing to his knees once more. He didn’t fall over but he did bump Victor.
Victor moved, turning his head. He stared at Mitch, then at her.
“Dad?” She felt hope he still might listen. “Try to remember your old life and how much you loved me.”
“You shouldn’t have pissed Mitch off, honey. He’s going to have to make you pay for that now.”
Jadee backed up and bumped the wall. This was a nightmare. She never should have opened the door to let Victor inside but she had to know what he’d become.
I know now. I’m so fucked.
“I’m your daughter.” She made one last attempt. “Don’t you want to protect me? Fight him and get him out of the RV. Lock the door and keep him away long enough for me to seal it again.”
Victor’s limbs were jerky as he rose to his feet. The wounds she’d inflicted weren’t bleeding anymore, the only proof of his injuries were bloody stains and holes in his clothes. He did seem sluggish though, as if being shot all those times had drained him of some energy.
“I’m doing what’s best for you. That’s being with Mitch. We’ll be together forever.”
“Who the hell are you?” She lifted the gun. “Don’t talk to me. You break my heart. My dad is dead. You’re a mockery of everything he stood for.”
He hissed and sharp fangs slid down from a row of what had been mostly straight teeth. “Don’t talk to me that way!”
“Go to hell.”
She shot him in the heart and watched him fall back. He was only down for a short time before he struggled to sit up. Mitch began to rouse too.
She’d tested a theory and it hadn’t panned out. Shooting them in the heart and brain put them down but it wasn’t for long, and they seemed to heal from injuries, regardless of how severe.
Her gaze swept the room for a different weapon. There was another theory she wanted to test. The cabinets and the bed frame were made from wood.
She placed the handgun down and lifted the ACR. It was out of ammo but it would work great to smash shit with. She used the butt of the weapon and slammed it against the footboard, breaking off a jagged chunk.
She gripped it and turned. The only problem was she’d have to get close enough to stab one of them—and that meant they’d be close enough to grab her.
“Fucking great,” she muttered. She glared at Victor. “Couldn’t you have equipped your armory with water guns filled with holy water? Some crossbows? I’d like those options right now way better.”
He hissed at her.