Section Nine

Oooh this is a fun one. :D

 Philo looked at the radar and grinned. He was proud to be commander of the amazing force that was the Order of the Rather Sharp Cross. There were seven Armored Rescue Vehicles speeding down the streets, painted black with the customary pointy gold cross on the side. There were two helicopters hovering towards the target.

      Then he looked at the Undead-O-Senser and frowned. Lots of vampires, he saw, hopefully not more than he could handle.

      “How’d you get these vehicles? Aren’t they something like a SWAT team uses?”

      “I have friends in the government that know about the undead problem in America.” Philo winked at her. “They give me help.”

      Mara smiled. Philo knew she could feel comfortable being around him because he would never try to flirt with her—for one thing, because he valued Cy’s friendship too much and also because Philo was not the kind of man to flirt with someone who could rip his esophagus out as easily as waving at him.

      Philo’s walkie-talkie buzzed. Philo whipped it out. “Yes?”

      “Are you guys there yet?” Cy’s voice came across.

      “Almost. Count to sixty and then move in.”

      “Gotcha.”

      There was the subway entrance—it was in an old area of the city where buildings stood that could have been cleared away years ago, buildings where few people lived and worked. Perfect for a nighttime gunfight.

      Philo pushed the full-broadcast button on his walkie-talkie. “Alright, Knights, move in!”

      ARVs pulled up and agents leapt out wearing helmets and bearing assault rifles loaded with vamp-shot. Philo leapt out of his scanned the surroundings.

      There was the subway entrance, an ominous stairway that led down underground. He didn’t see any movement, so he crouched down and motioned the agents forward.

      Trenchcoats brushed against the ground as the agents skittered forward, crouching. Still nothing happened.

      Philo motioned to Sergeant Tungsten. The Sergeant unhooked a grenade from his belt and tossed it at the subway entrance. A dark shape detached itself from the aperture and streaked across the scene, grabbing the grenade in midair and tossing it back as it hovered above them.

      Gunfire erupted from the ranks of agents, but the vampire flew above them too quickly. She made a wide circle around the Order and then dove back into the subway tunnel.

      “They’re too fast, Chief,” Tungsten grunted.

      “We’ll see.”

      In they moved, spewing gunfire and tossing grenades as they went. The vampires at the entrance returned fire with their automatic pistols and the night air was rent with bullets.

      Mara streaked across the flagstone ground, running on a course that brought her right past the subway mouth—as she ran past, she lobbed three grenades right in to the aperture. Two bullets hit her as she ran, but they did nothing to her.

      The Order cheered as ashes wafted out of the entrance.

      #

      Zeph sat suspended in the air, levitating above the floor since it was covered with stakes. In such a dark room there were few light thoughts he could think. There was only one happy thought in his mind, and it kept returning.

      Why was he thinking about her so much? Zeph blinked, trying to think about something other than the way she walked, her voice, and above all her beautiful maroon eyes—

      He growled. She was an enemy. He would probably have to stake her if he ever got out of here. She had probably brought many men to their deaths.

      Zeph sat up. His mind was, blessedly, ripped away from her as he heard gunfire from somewhere above.

      Then, so suddenly he almost screamed from shock, he was in his dad’s arms.

      “Zeph!”

      “Dad?” He must have been hallucinating. Or perhaps he was dreaming or something.

      Cy hugged him as the two floated in air. “I told you I wouldn’t let you stay here.”

      “How’d you get in here?”

      “I’ll explain later. Let’s get out of here, first.” Cy turned his attention to the door. It was just large enough to be able to throw someone through, about three feet tall and two feet wide. With a punch, Cy’s hand went right through it.

      “Come on, Zeph,” Cy cleared away the metal scraps and levitated out, landing on the stone ground outside.

      Zeph followed. “How are we going to get out?”

      “Don’t worry. Your mother and Philo are attacking them at the entrance, hopefully drawing away all of their attention.”

      “So we’ll just make our getaway, then?”

      Cy and Zeph leapt back as two vampires came down the tunnel, snarling.

      “No you won’t,” the front one said.

      “Hello, Eldred, Edelbirt,” Zeph nodded. “How you doin’?”

      “Fine, thanks,” Edelbirt nodded. “How about—“

      Eldred smacked him across the mouth and zoomed through the air at Cy.

      Cy was drawing out the pistol Philo had given him, but Eldred smacked it out of his hand and sent his fist at Cy’s neck.

      It surprised Eldred quite a bit when his hand went right through. “What the—“

      Cy delivered a powerful kick to Eldred’s neck, snapping the bone and sending the vampire flying across the room. Eldred crumpled—Zeph knew he would be lying there until his undead body regenerated the broken bone. Which might be only thirty seconds.

      Edelbirt gave them the thumbs up as they ran past.

      “I suppose that you’ll also explain soon?” Zeph huffed as they streaked through the halls of the coven Headquarters.

      Cy winked at him. “You got it.”

      They ignored any turnoffs, following the main way. They came to a door—other than that the tunnel was a dead end.

      “Well? Is this the way?” Zeph put his hands in his pockets.

      “I don’t know,” Cy looked back.

      “Didn’t you come down this way?”

      “No, I came through the wall.”

      “Ah.”

      Cy opened the door and stepped in. There was a large room before them, probably a storeroom in bygone days. Moldering banners hung from the walls, saying ‘WELCOME RETURNING CLASS OF 1807’ and ‘HURRAH FOR COUNT CRIBBONS.’ There were several tables through up, but mostly the ground was clear.

      “This isn’t the way.” Cy sighed.

      “On the contrary, Cy, this is the way—to your doom.” Upton materialized from the shadows, grinning like Satan.

      Cy had never been one to say damn. He just couldn’t bring himself to say it. He had always been brought up to say dang, or perhaps darn. Right now, he would have given anything to say damn, but unfortunately, what came out of his mouth was, “Dang.”

      Upton laughed.

      “Come on, Dad,” Zeph pointed to the tunnel, “let’s go back.”

      “Unfortunately, Eldred and Edelbirt are out there. I have told them to wait.” Upton tossed away his walkie-talkie and squared his shoulders. “Jacqueline, you take the boy. I want to see if Cy has learned anything since we met last.”

      Zeph turned around. Jacqueline was standing in the doorway, a bit of a smile on her face as she nodded.

      Upton’s chest bulged under his muscleshirt and along his arms. He wasn’t as tall as Cy but he was much more compact.

      Cy took off his suit jacket and tossed it aside. “Alright, Upton. If you really have to.”

      Upton laughed and leapt up into the air, sending a kick at Cy’s face. Cy took the kick on his stomach, as he was already levitating up. The force sent Cy back but he spun through the air. Upton leapt at Cy.

      Upton’s iron hands grasped Cy’s middle as the two hit the ground. Upton stood, lifted Cy over his head and threw him into the wall.

      Zeph’s mouth dropped. He blinked and received a boot in the stomach, sending him flying into the wall also.

      Zeph looked up. Jacqueline was standing there, an eyebrow raised as if asking ‘is that all I have to do?’

      Zeph and Cy both leapt up and faced their attackers, back to back.

      “Zeph,” Cy whispered. “If you see a way out, take it as quickly as you can!”

      “I’m not leaving you, Dad,” Zeph grunted.

      “I can get out through the wall. I could leave any time I wanted to, but you really need to get out. Just throw her aside and run.”

      “I hope I can. She’s pretty tough.”

      Cy didn’t have any time to reply. Hovering over their heads, Upton spun like a corkscrew at Cy. Zeph charged for the doorway and Jacqueline planted a foot in his groin.

      Father and son went down.

      #

      “Damn,” Amelia stepped back and held her nose as garlic filled the air. “That vampiress out there is giving us some trouble.”

      Madge, opposite the pilot vampiress, whipped out a stake and sneered. “You and the others keep me covered. I’ll take her out for you.”

      Amelia nodded. Putting a new magazine in her Glock, she leapt forward and opened fire into the darkness. The others followed suite and Madge zoomed out like a rocket in the night.

      A finger tapped Amelia’s shoulder. The vampiress turned around, frowning.

      Malt smiled at her. “May I suggest some cream for that boil on your nose?”

      She clocked him in the face.

      Malt retreated, holding his nose for a moment before it regenerated. “Wanna wait until you decide? Okay by me!”

      #

Mara picked up another grenade from the back of the ARV and rushed forward, preparing to toss it right at the conglomeration of vampires that were returning the Order’s fire.

      Then Madge landed on top of her, along with a kick and a punch, knocking the grenade out of her hand. Mara was overcome in a second, and the bigger vampiress had her pinned. Mara’s flailing hand barely managed to stop Madge’s wrist holding the stake.

      The two struggled, but Mara’s highly trained muscles won after three seconds. She tossed Madge off and leapt into a standing position, sending a kick at her head. The vampiress ducked it and swiped at Mara’s feet, tripping her.

      Mara landed on the ground, her head right next to the grenade she had been carrying. Her hand streaked up and pulled out the pin. Then she rolled away, leapt up and ran.

      “Coward!” Madge screamed, standing up.

      Then she saw the grenade, and she screamed again—this time in agony.

      #

      It is said that sometimes, twins or triplets can converse telepathically with one another, since they were conceived together. Whether or not this is true remains to be seen.

      It is also said that when one becomes a vampire, mental traits that were submerged in the brain before surface. Whether or not this is true also remains to be seen.     

      Whatever the cause, at that minute Edelbirt and Eldred turned, looking up the tunnel.

      “Madge?” Eldred stuttered. Edelbirt was already running up the tunnel.

      The door was now unguarded.

#

Zeph collapsed, pain coursing through every nerve in his being. It is one thing to have someone kick you in the crotch—it is another thing entirely to have someone with supernatural strength kick you in the crotch. Zeph felt the pain at the back of his throat.

      Then, suddenly, it was gone. Zeph smiled inwardly, attributing this to his regeneration powers. However, he still stayed in a crouched position as Jacqueline strode up, standing over him.

      In a quicker instant than she was prepared for, Zeph lunged out and knocked her feet out from under her. Then he dove for the door.

      Cy, caught in Upton’s headlock, grinned. “See that, Upton? Looks like I trained my kid better than you trained yours.”

      Then he turned intangible and Upton was suddenly holding nothing.

      #

      “What happened here?” Eldred snarled, running into the main subway entrance.

      Amelia stood up, sneering at him. “Your sister went out and got herself killed, that’s what.”

      “Where’s Edelbirt?”

      Amelia glanced down the tunnel. “Right there.”

      Edelbirt ran past them, clinking with weaponry. He had Rocky’s P90 submachine gun in one hand and a Glock in the other. He ran up the steps two-by-two and pulled both triggers, sending a fleet of bullets at the Order.

      “C’mon,” Eldred picked up a gun and checked the magazine.

      “What? No! I’m not going out there. Your sister might want to get staked, but I—“

      Eldred grabbed her by her collar and growled, “Look, you whining excuse for a pioneering pilot—I may have lost my sister, but I’m not losing my brother. I don’t know if you ever knew this, or if you forgot it after years of being a vampire, but family is what hangs on when everybody else lets go. Now get your a*s out there.”

      He shoved her toward the aperture. She regained her balance, hesitating. One snarl from him and she was hurrying up the stars.

      “Come on, the rest of you!” Eldred gestured. “If Edelbirt dies you lot are going to be sorry.”

      Eldred charged out, firing one pistol with his one hand while he slipped a magazine into the other. When the first was used up he fired the second gun, reloading the first with a lightning fast gesture of his fingers.

      #

      Philo leapt back as several of Eldred’s bullets burrowed into the ARV’s armor. He yanked out the talkie and pressed the button.

      “Sergeant Harman! Get the helicopters over here now!”

      “Are we gonna spring the secret force, Chief?” Harman’s voice buzzed.

      “Yup. Have them rappel down.”

      “Will do, Chief.”

      Philo picked up his pistol and squeezed off two shots. His men were taking cover behind ARVs and buildings. What were those vampires doing, anyway?

      #

      Edelbirt threw down the P90 and fell to the ground. He picked up a handful of ashes and ran them through his fingertips. His eyes were moist.

      Eldred finished off the magazine and touched Edelbirt on the shoulder.

      “You and me have got to stick together now, Ed,” he said, biting his lip.

      Edelbirt nodded, afraid he would choke if he said anything. Truth was, Eldred had never been Edelbirt’s friend. Madge had always protected Edelbirt—as the youngest and smallest sibling—from Eldred’s anger.

      But Eldred wasn’t all bad. When he felt disposed towards his siblings—about fifty percent of the time—he could be downright selfless and jovial. He had included them in the vampire business instead of sucking their blood, after all. But he was fickle at his core, and Edelbirt had never liked him. He was afraid he never would.

      A distant k-chunk k-chunk k-chunk came to their ears, the sound of helicopter rotors slashing through air. Edelbirt and Eldred looked up. Two helicopters were closing in above them. Ropes flew down and dark shapes rappelled down them.

      Edelbirt clutched the gun. More agents? No, these were women—in dresses.

      One landed right in front of him and struck a karate pose. “Hiiiiii-yah!”

      Edelbirt paled.

      They were nuns. With nun-chucks.

The Coffinmaker sat down. He was on top of a five-story building that overlooked the fighting from behind the fray. On his lap was an M82 sniper rifle.

      He smiled as he saw the shape he knew as Philo duck back and fire with his pistol. Sighing with pleasure, he pressed the rifle stock into the crook of his arm.

      There were three cracks as the bullets left the rifle, and the shape crumpled. The Coffinmaker grinned, took a standing position, and strode away.

      #

      “Philo!” Mara shrieked, kneeling next to him. She rolled him over like he was a rag doll.

      “God,” Philo blinked. “I knew I’d be glad I put that bulletproof vest on. God.”

      Mara laughed and hugged him.

      “Now hold on a minute, hold on, Mara,” Philo coughed. “He shot three and none of them missed. I think one got in my hip.”

      Two agents came beside him and lifted him up into the ARV’s back.

      “Don’t worry, Mara, I’ll be fine,” Philo croaked at her. “You make sure Cy and Zeph got out in time.”

      Mara nodded and ran for the subway entrance. The ARV drove off.

      #

      Eldred turned a corner and cringed against the wall, panting. Amelia was there.

      “Gah!” Eldred choked, “Those—those nuns are unstoppable!”

      Amelia frowned. “What, are you going to be beat by a bunch of nuns?”

      “Their nun-chucks are cross shaped, alright? It hurts to look at them, and if that isn’t bad enough they’re really, really fast.”

      “Hiiiiiii-yah!” A nun flew around the corner, tossing ninja stars dripping with holy water.

      “Run!” Eldred got his legs pumping down the corridor. Amelia followed him.

      #

      “Now, ladies,” Malt said, wiping away a bit of sweat. He was surrounded by three nuns, all holding cross-shaped nun-chucks in a way that made Malt’s eyes twitch.

      “How would you like to get a great deal on this amazing new detergent soap? Guaranteed to keep your kirtles and habits white!”

      The chief one was about to swing her nun-chuck when her walkie-talkie buzzed.

      “Yes?”

      “This is Sergeant Harman, Sister Lea. Retreat, you’ve beaten them well enough for one night.”

      “Very well.”

      Malt saw his chance and dove under one of the nun’s arms, charging down the hallway.

      Sister Clara turned to go after him.

      “Let him go, Sister,” Lea touched Clara’s arm. “He will get his reckoning yet, the miserable salesman.”

      They strode back to the subway tunnel.

#

      Zeph leapt out of the subway tunnel and stumbled into the battle-scarred clearing. He looked about. The concrete ground was accented by three bodies of dead agents, caught by the vampire’s bullets. And then there was one small pile of ashes that was sifting away in the wind.

      “Zeph!”

      Zeph looked up and smiled. Mara caught him in an embrace that would have crushed a mortal.

      “Mom!” Zeph grinned.

      Cy strode out of the wall behind them and joined the hug.

      #

      Sergeant Tungsten put a cigar in his mouth, watching the family as they stood there, caught in a powerful clinch.

      “Should we tell them that we’re heading out, Sergeant?” a corporal asked.

      Tungsten grunted. “Naw, let them be. There’s some things you’d never forgive yourself for breakin’ up, you know?”

      Corporal Sage nodded. “Yeah, I know, Sergeant. I tried to break up my wife and Rocky Road, and I’m still regrettin’ it.”

      “Yeah. Let’s get going, Corporal.” Sergeant Tungsten dropped his cigar and stepped into the front seat of the ARV.

Corporal Sage picked up his shotgun and rode shotgun. “She took away my ABC channel privileges, Sergeant, and my Reality TV privileges, and she even took away my History Channel privileges, which I don’t understand because I only watch that one when they have a bloody show on…”

      The ARVs drove into the night, leaving those three huddled close together—the mother, with her forehead against her son’s chin, and the father encircling them both.

      “Let’s go home, guys,” Cy whispered. “I think it may be time for some time-off.”

Author's Note

Tell me what you think of the nun-chuck nuns. Too silly? Too funny? Too nunny?

Reviews

[Shanna (Renae)]

I liked the nun-chuck nuns. It did seem as though you were explaining that part too fast though. I had a hard time understanding what was going on. And I didn't understand at first that Cy had the ability to turn on or off his new power. Maybe you could explain that a little bit earlier in the story. But then maybe you did that in the last section and I forgot . . .

Anyway, good job. You know I'm waiting for more. :)