Vampires and Hunters, Oh My!

I knew I dozed off, caught between the realms of consciousness and sleep.
And somewhere between those realms, I dreamed.
  My dreams were nothing more than garbled images of hideous and grotesque humanoid creatures with endless rows of sharp teeth stained with black blood. There was screaming, blood curdling screams, but somehow I knew it wasn't those creatures. it was human.
  In my in-between state, I knew it was nothing more than a dream, but it felt real, so damn real.
  A cold sweat had broken out over my entire body.
  It was just a dream, only a dream. A horrible nightmare.
  A soft mewling sound dragged me from my nightmare, followed by a soft scratching. At first, none of it registered as I rubbed the last of the sleep from my eyes.
  I looked over at my brother, who was still sound asleep, his shoulders rising and falling rhythmically. Where was that noise coming from?
  Another whimper. More scratching.
  It took only a moment for my eyes to adjust to the darkness of the room. I blinked a few times, scanning the room, searching for the source of the whining and scratching.
Even through the cracks between the boards on the windows I could see the creature.
  It was scratching at the window with long, claw like hands, whimpering pitifully. It looked almost human.
  Almost.
  Except that its skin was the color of ash, its long dark hair matted, and its eyes... they were so dead. They were nothing more than milky orbs in dried out sockets.
  I opened my mouth to scream, but a warm hand  silenced me, covering my mouth. My eyes bulged in terror.
  "Shh," I heard Old Rob growl softly. "It can't see or sense you or the boy. Don't make it notice you by opening your yap."
  I nodded slowly. Old Rob let his hand drop.
  "What is it?"
  Old Rob grinned at me, flashing perfect white teeth. For an unkempt Hillbilly he had some white teeth, let me tell you.
  "What do you think it is?," he asked me.
  I looked over at the creature on the other side of the window. It's gaunt face was pressed against the glass, thin lips pulled back to reveal sharp rows of yellowed fangs, it's blackish green tongue probing the glass.
  I wasn't quite sure what in the hell it was. But a voice in my head whispered...
  -"Vampire," I said softly.
  Old Rob chuckled. "Close girl. It's similar to a vampire. It's a Hunter, a sort of psycic bloodhound that vampires use to hunt prey. But don't be fooled by it's frail apperence, they're just as nasty and deadly as a vampire. And they hunt in packs."
  My head whipped around so fast  to look at the old man that I probably gave myself whiplash.
  "Are you saying it is vampires?," I demanded.
  "Thats exactly what I'm sayin' girl. Vampires," the old man said.
  "How do you know?"
  Old Rob smirked. "Because I'm on the other team."
  "What do you mean?"
  "Listen up, I know that Benivides boy gave ya his gun and I know you how to use it. I want you to use it if you have to, to protect you 'n the boy. We're out numbered, and back-up won't be here in time.
  "But if it's vampires, dawn isn't far off, can't we hold out until then?," I asked.
Old Rob shook his head. "There's too many of 'em and I'm not as young as I used to be," the old man sighed with a note of regret.
  I had no idea what Old Rob was talking about and it scared me almost as much as the Hunter outside the window.
  "They'll be here soon. Best git ready," Old Rob said as he rose to stand. He slung Stumpy over his shoulder as he turned and strode from the room.
  I was speechless.
  Vampires? Hunters? Old Rob? What the hell was going on?
  A high pitched scream that sounded more like nails on a chalkboard, pierced the still night. The sound chilled my blood and shook me to the very core.
  The hunter outside the window let out a similar shriek, its head flung back.
  "Skyler!," Zach cried.
  I stooped to grab my kid brother and fled the room.
  I blindly collided with Felix in the middle of the pitch black hallway.
  "Skyler! Are you two okay?," he demanded.
  I swallowed and nodded my head. "Yeah. Did you hear that?"
  "Yes, what the hell was that?"
  I opened my mouth to tell him  what Old Rob had told me only minutes before, but gunshots followed by high, terrified screaming cut me off.
  "Jesus," Felix swore as he spun around and raced back up the hallway, leaving me to follow close behind.
  The townsfolk were all huddled in the farthest corner from the main doors. There were several large dents in the heavy wooden doors, in parts it was starting to splinter. They wouldn't be able to take much more damage.

  Billy Bedford stood before the doors, a very illegal sawed off shotgun cradled on his arm. His face was drawn and pale.
  "D****t Bedford!," Felix bellowed as he grabbed the big man, "Your gonna shoot the damn door off and let those things in!"
  Billy turned to face Felix, his eyes wide in terror. They rolled wildly in their sockets, reminding me of a terrified horse that would bolt at any second.
  "It really is vampires!," Billy cried in a voice that was to high.
  "Snap out of it!," Felix hissed, shaking Billy.
  "Skyler, Zach," my father breathed as he crushed Zach and I to his chest, pressing kisses to our foreheads.
  "Daddy," Zach whimpered. "I'm scared."
  "I know bubba, I know. It's okay," my father soothed.
  "What are we going to do Daddy?," I asked.
  My father, my pillar of strength, shook his head. He looked lost, and just as scared as the rest of us.
  "I don't know baby."
  Old Rob came up beside Daddy, Stumpy still slung casually over his shoulder.
  "What yer gonna do is pick up a gun boy, and protect yer family. Them kids need ya to be strong 'n protect them. The rest of 'em people 's too scared to do a damn thing. Now pick up yer gun Matt," Old Rob demanded.
  My father nodded slowly, as if rousing from a strange daze.
  "Your right, your right," my father said to Old Rob.
  What the hell? It seemed as though everyone I counted on was loosing it!

      Something slammed into the door, splintering it. It wouldn't hold much longer. Everyone screamed, including myself.
  Old Rob shoved a rifle at my father, who clutched the gun to his chest for a moment.
"C'mon Matt, snap outta it and git your a*s in gear or we're all dead," Old Rob growled.
  My father cocked the rifle, his green eyes going blank. I knew that look too, he was going in the "zone".
   Another crash. More splintering wood. More screaming.
  I squeezed my eyes shut, willing them away.
  More terrifying shrieking. Crash.
  They were getting closer to getting in. We were all doomed.
  "Stand back," I heard my father bellow as he gave me a hard push in the opposite direction.
  I stumbled back a few steps.
  Everything suddenly seemed to crawl to a snail's pace as if the whole world were suddenly set to slow motion.