As the black fluid drained from the grey shape, Vance stood over it, the question "Why do they always bleed?" kept repeating in his mind. Though, it was good question, he never took the time to logicaly answer it. They were dead already, yes, so why did they bleed? It didnt matter though, he was used to it.
The smell, sight, even taste of it didnt bother him, just the color. A thick black tar oozed from the leathery corpses every time he stabbed them. They never made a sound though, that was the worst part of killing them, the lack of sound. It helped ease his consciounse though, no pleading made it easier to kill without remorse, even if they were already dead. Though something was different today, maybe the way wind made the leaves in the lone tree in the lot to his left, or the rusty door hinge creaking in the breeze, or the way the setting sun set everything on the street ablaze, wait, the setting sun?
He had fogotten, the sun was setting, it was atleast a quarter after seven,theyd be out in drozes in just a few moments. Vance looked down the road behind him, he thought he heard something, then, seeing a shadow ahead of him, whirled around to see the stumbling sea of gray flowing toward him. "Like clockwork." he though as he raced through the vacant lot to his left.
He ran through the waist high grass, and over a patch of concrete were a house had been, probably burnt in the last days of the world. As he slowly lost speed, due to fatigue and pain in right knee, he stopped, looked around, trying to catch his breathe. He eyed a dumpster, but saw it was minus a lid, he had to find a safe place, and fast.
The zombie like creatures that came on cloudy days and in the twilight of early night were easily taken, in small groups, not in hordes, though even the largest lake of these creatures was dwarfed by the cunning of the silver dead. The creatures that gave the night its terror, the creatures that, in the early days, been responsible for the disappearnces and curious deaths. No one had ever seen one of that kind, except Vance.
Vance was six foot three and weighed near two hundred and twenty pounds. He was much larger than the shrivled corpses that perverted his daily life, during the day that is. His face scraggly, except his upper lip and chin, which he kept shaven at all cost, to retain some shred of distinction from the white creatures that stalked in the shadows.
The 'Ivory Jet' as they were nicknamed before the end, were actualy the 'true' vampires, that is, the ones who retained there minds, though lost their humanity, in place of bloodlust. To them, the mere sight of the scarlet fluid bred insanity in their minds. Their hearts replaced with a hatred for the living, the ones who had forsaken them long ago, the days when Vance had not valued human life, friendship, or love, the days when the moon still shone.
The misty morning air smelled oddly bitter as Vance awoke. His eyes slowly opened as he remembered that hed taken refuge from the night inside a ventilation unit atop an old building. He pushed out the grating and stood up as the suns light breeched the horizon, filling his grey eyes with red beams. He held his hand in front of his face as he looked out over the city, or what was left of it.
In the last days before the darkness had come full circle, those still living set fire to the city in a last effort to retard the speed at which those who haunted the night moved across the blackening earth. The phantom steel beams and occasionl cement building were the only things still standing. Though, this too, had failed.
As Vance decended a fire escape on the sun side of the building, something was watching him, through cold eyes. Watching, waiting. As Vances boot hit the cement, the hair on the back of his neck pricked, and at this he pulled his club from his back, waiting. Vance slowly, attentively moved out the alley toward the pavement road. The thing watching got to its feet, grabbed hold of dumpster, and sent it hurdling at Vance.
Vance fell backwards to the ground, the dumpster barely missing him. Vance jumped back up as the dumpster smashed through the building behind him. He looked down the alley at the creature now moving in toward him. The creature, almost totaly black, eyes black like oil, lifted its torn wings and lifted itself into the air. "Move!" were the last words Vance heard as his head filled with night, and a stake from a crossbow across the street sailed, screeching, through the thick air, into the demonic creatures chest, instantly knocking it from the air, never to move again.
The sun was already set when Vance woke to the sound of a diesel engine rattling and chugging. Vance, blinkling, tried to lift his head, but set it back down due to a splitting headache. Vance moaned as he turned his head to see someone at the wheel, clean shaven with an emotionless face. "Hey..." Vance groaned closing his eyes again. "Oh, your awake, bout time. It didnt hit you that hard." The person at the wheel said. "Yah, thanks. Names Vance..." he closed his eyes again, another pain shot through his foggy head. "Heh, names Dirk, and this Cledus." the man said patting his dashboard.
It was another hour or so before Vance finaly could lean forward in his seat. Holding his head, he looked at the road ahead of him and realized they were stopped. Holding his head he opened his door and stepped out, to see Dirk standing next to the huge vehicle. The vehicle, Dirk called Cledus, was apparently some kind of military truck. It was atleast fifteen feet in height, thirty in length, with a large bed encased in metal. It was drab green, standard military color, and the wheels were about five foot tall each.
"So, where'd you get this beast?" Vance said, suddenly becoming aware that Dirk was holding a gun and looking keenly at the buildings around them. "Shhh..." he said pointing at a metal box on the side of the truck. Vance stepped to it, unlatched it with a 'thunk', and pulled out sub-machine gun. He himself started scanning the buildings around them.
They had been standing there for what seemed like a day and half when Dirk finaly let a shot off, moments later one of the grey, zombie like creatures fell out of a third floor window, to the pavement with a crack. Almost immediately a swarm of the creature descnded on the dead and tore it to bits as they fed. "They always bleed." Vance said. "Duck." Dirk said turning toward Vance. "Huh?" "MOVE!" Dirk shouted running at him and jumping over him as he ducked out of the way. Dirk pulled the trigger of his revolver again, sending another creature splattering against the pavement ahead of the truck.
"Get in!" Dirk shouted and Vance obliged. Dirk kicked the truck into drive and hit the accelerator, plowing over a few of the grey creatures and soon totaly out of sight of them. "I didnt think bullets killed those things." Vance said. "They dont, the others do." Dirk replied with a wry smile.
The rest of the ride was totaly davoid of sound except for the engines grumbling and the occasional rattle of something in the back of the truck. After driving through the suburbs and the country side, Vance asked the question that was burning in his mind, "Where are we going?" Dirk looked over, then back at the road., "Home."
"What?" Vance said startled, not having a 'home' in months. "One of the last human cities left, Gravionburg.", and with that, a huge wall was looming on the horizon with the sun setting behind it. "Beutiful."