The curtains open, and chapter nine comes out with his top hat and cane

The curtains open, and chapter nine comes out with his top hat and cane. Chapter nine then yells, "Showtime!"

Chapter Nine: The Big Bad Ed

A single light illuminated the pale faces of a small group of people. They were hiding in a grocery store, in an employees only room. Six of them were silently sleeping, while the other two were sitting there quietly.

"Eddy, can we play tic-tac-toe?" Ed whispered.

Eddy looked over at Ed, with bags under his eyes. "No, Ed, I can't. We gotta keep watch since this is our turn." Eddy said, desperately trying to stay awake. Ed nodded, and went back to drawing pictures in the dust on the floor. I wonder how the others are doing back at the village... Eddy wondered. He yawned, and stood up.

"Where are you going, Eddy?" Ed asked.

"I'm going to look around. You stay here, okay?" Eddy said.

"Yes Sir, Master Gunnery Sergeant Sir!" Ed said.

Eddy quietly made his way to one of the windows and looked out into the street. There wasn't a soul in sight. I wonder if this is the place that "vampire" was talking about... Eddy thought as he sighed. He turned away from the window and grabbed his bow and quiver. He walked back over to Ed. "Ed, how much food do we have left?" Eddy asked, strapping his arrow quiver to his back.

Ed turned around, mouth stuffed with food. "Um, let me check." Ed said, as he spit out the food he had in his mouth. "We have some bread sticks, some chips, some..."

"ED YOU IDIOT!" Eddy yelled. He covered his mouth. Oops. I didn't mean to yell... Eddy thought. "Ed, we were supposed to save some food! Not eat it all at once!"

"Sorry..." Ed said, a sad look spreading across his face.

Eddy sighed. "Looks like I'll have to go out and look for some food..."

"Can I come?!" Ed said, happy once more.

"No, Ed. You have to stay here and protect the men. Okay?"

"Okay dokey!" Ed said, saluting Eddy.

Eddy promptly made his way to the door, and silently cracked it a little. He peeked through the crack, and saw that there was no one there. So he opened it just enough so that he could slip through, and he closed it behind him. He snuck through the aisles of food, looking for something edible. Looks like this place has been cleared out... Eddy thought. I'll just have to check somewhere else. Eddy snuck to the front of the store, and peeked out one of the glass windows. Once again, nothing moved. It was like he was staring at a still life. There wasn't even a breeze. Eddy sighed, and made his way to one of the doors. He slipped through it, and walked along the sidewalk, staying as close to the outside wall of the grocery store as possible.

Now where would I be able to find somethin' to eat... Eddy thought, as he looked around at the dark and ruined buildings around him. Directly across from him was an electronics store, and right next to that a pharmacy. Next to the grocery store he was leaning against was a barber shop. Darn. Looks like I'll have to search for one...

Eddy started walking slowly on the sidewalk, making sure to make very little sound. He rounded the corner of the barber shop, and stopped. There was a small gas station next to an office supplies store. Maybe there's some chips or something in there. Eddy thought. He looked around to see if any one was watching him. Time to find out.

He started sneaking across the street toward the gas station, and quickly got up against the wall of the office supplies store. Just a little bit closer... Eddy made his way behind a banged up car that was in the gas station's parking lot, and finally made it to the door. Eddy breathed slowly, relaxing himself. When he was done, he slowly opened the door and went inside. The inside looked relatively untouched, and there were plenty of chips and water on the shelves. Looks like this is my lucky day. Eddy started walked toward it, but then he stopped and snapped his fingers. How am I supposed to get all of this back to the camp? Eddy looked around, trying to find some kind of thing to carry the supplies back to camp. Eddy spied a storage closet. Maybe there's something in there...

Eddy crept over to the closet, and slowly opened it. There, sitting on the floor, was a cardboard box. Perfect! Eddy thought as he lifted it off the floor, and exited the closet. He walked over to the chips, and grabbed a couple of bags. Salt n' Vinegar, Sour Cream, Barbecue... Once Eddy was done getting some chips, he made his way to the water, and grabbed three eight packs. This will be enough for now... Eddy thought as he walked toward the door.

"You're not going to leave without paying, are you?" a voice from behind Eddy said. Eddy froze, and slowly turned around. Behind the cash register stood an old man with liver spots covering his face. He had a long, flowing, white beard, and he had eyes that were sunken deep into his head. "That would be stealing, you know." the old man said.

"I was just... um... trying to survive. I mean, this is the only place around here with any food." Eddy said nervously.

"Ah, yes. It is, isn't it? You still have to pay, however. Just because this is the only place with food doesn't mean you don't have to pay." the old man said smiling. His fangs glinted in the moonlight.

"Vampire..." Eddy unintentionally hissed.

The vampire's smiled got wider when he heard what Eddy said. "Are you going to pay me, or what?" the vampire asked.

Eddy gulped. "I do-don't have any money." Eddy said quickly.

"Oh, don't worry about that. I don't except money anyway." the vampire said.

Eddy started to panic. "The-then what do you except?" Eddy asked.

The vampire laughed. "Blood.", he simply said, before screaming and leaping over the desk.\

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Ed sat quietly on the floor, drawing a demonic cow in the dust. He sighed, wondering when Eddy would get back. Suddenly, he heard yelling and screaming. He jumped up, and whipped out his axe. The others began to wake up from all the noise. They grabbed their bows and arrows, and waited for something to happen. Suddenly, the door flew open, and Eddy burst into the room. "VAMPIRES!" Eddy yelled. Eddy slammed the door shut, and braced it with his body. "WHAT ARE YOU GUYS WAITING FOR! HELP ME!" Eddy yelled. The others quickly rushed over, and helped him brace the door.

Fists started beating on the door, and the hisses and screams of vampires could be heard on the other side of the door. "What happened, sir?" one of the men asked, desperately trying to keep the vampires out.

Eddy strained himself trying to talk and brace the door at the same time. "I was out looking for food, when I bumped into this vampire at a gas station. When I got back here, the noise from me yelling attracted more of 'em." Eddy said, as the doorknob fell off of the door.

"We can't hold the door much longer, sir!" one of the men yelled nervously. Eddy looked around the room for an escape. He spotted a window.

"Hold the door while I go smash that window open!" Eddy said. Ed and the others nodded, and then Eddy left the door, and grabbed a brick off the floor. He raised it above his head, and tossed it toward the window. It smashed open, and Eddy yelled, "LET'S GET THE HECK OUT OF HERE!"

Everybody left the door, and ran toward the window. The door busted open, and a horde of vampires came running in. Ed jumped out the window, and then the others started jumping out. Eddy stood beside the window, shooting the vampires with arrows as they ran toward him. "Sir, quickly get out here! You can't hold them forever!" one of the men yelled. Eddy kicked dust toward the vampires, blinding them for a few seconds, giving him enough time to leap out of the window. Eddy started running, and Ed and the men followed suit.

They made it to the town square. A large fountain stood in the middle of the square, and, strangely, the fountain was still running, with water coming out of a lemon sitting on a plate. Eddy and the others climbed on the outer rim of the fountain, and shot arrows at the vampires, while Ed was protecting them from any vampires that got too close with a swift swing of his axe. Suddenly, the vampires stopped, and stood there, staring at them. "What the..." Eddy said, bewildered.

"Maybe they're going to give us a prize?" Ed happily said, imagining all the cool things they could give him.

A voice from behind them startled Eddy.

"Hallo, Ed-boys."

Eddy, Ed, and the others turned around. There, standing on the lemon at the top of the fountain, stood Rolf.

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