Chapter Six

Peter

I was skeptical but after all we'd heard I guess even I became more open minded. We followed stories of deaths, whole families wiped out with no witnesses and tales of mutilations and they seemed to cut a swathe through the mid west working ever westwards. As we traveled we met a few old comrades who had no families or farms to return to and they joined us, Jed, Luke, Matthew and Solomon. We soon slipped into our old ways and Jasper became The Major again until no one used his given name any more, not even me. We camped outside towns, two of us going in to hear the news, see if there were any about massacres or demons but for a while there was nothing. Our friends didn't necessarily believe in the demons but they were willing to help The Major after learning about the fate of his family and we lived off the land, something we had become accustomed to during the war.

Everything changed the day Jed and Luke got back, we knew they'd heard something by the speed they were riding and the way they dismounted before the horses had come to a halt.

"Major, they were here a day ago, a family were massacred in their farmhouse last night, the townsfolk are terrified, the bodies were ripped to pieces but hearsay is there wasn't any blood. Sounds like the ones we're lookin for."

We mounted up and chased after our quarry still not certain what to do if we came across them. We'd talked sure, but we weren't sure about the idea of fire although we'd made several torches outta old shirts and pitch. Both Matthew and I preferred the idea of blasting the sons of bitches with a shotgun.

The following morning when we woke having slept rolled in our bedding without a camp fire, if we were close then we didn't want them seeing a fire close by, The Major and Luke rode out to see if they could find any tracks while Matthew redressed my leg, he'd been a medical orderly during the war and saved a few lives that would otherwise have been lost.

"Its lookin' good Captain, good job The Major had some a that powder on him or you'd ha' lost that leg for sure."

I tried standing up and sure enough it felt heaps better, it was finally beginning to take my weight again though it'd never be right and I'd always be slow and gimpy. Still I was alive and that's all that mattered. Jed cooked up some rabbit stew and saved some for the others swallowed down with strong black coffee, then we cleared up waitin' for the others to get back.

It was almost dusk before Luke rode up alone and my heart was in my mouth until he explained they'd found the attackers who didn't bother hiding their tracks much.

"So, we lookin' at men or monsters Luke?"

"You see for yourselves, I ain't sayin nothin."

It didn't matter how much we questioned him he was tight lipped. The only clue we got was when Matthew checked his shotgun. Luke laughed but there was no mirth in it,

"That ain't gonna do ya much good, not if we're right. I'm gonna get me one of them brands."

We looked at each other and grabbed the brands and made sure we had matches close at hand.

As we rode Luke opened up a little telling us they'd come upon the attackers trail just after day break.

"How in tarnation did it take y'all so long to find them and git back to us then?"

"Cos they're fast Matthew, real fast, it took us all day to catch them and it were only cos they stopped and made camp."

"How close did ya get?"

"Close enough, too darn close you ask me. We watched from downwind on a ridge, about half a mile from their camp but up high. There was plenty of scrub to hide us and The Major had his spy glass."

"Ain't that overly cautious Luke boy?" You reckon they might sniff you out or see you on a damn ridge half a mile away?"

Luke looked at Jed, his face pale and set,

"I ain't sayin nothin', we just wasn't takin' any chances."

Matthew

As we got closer Luke dismounted signaling us to do the same then we left our horses with Peter, he couldn't climb the bluff to get a look at the attackers. It took a lot of hard work to climb the uneven surface in the dark and Luke kept hushin' us. I was getting pretty sick of his queer mood but finally we met up with The Major who was laying in bushes at the edge of the bluff and we joined him moving as quiet as mice. He turned his face and put a finger to his lips then passed me the glass. I didn't think we'd see anything even though the full moon was up but as the figures came into focus I could hardly stifle a cry of terror. I moved from one to the other then looked for more but it seemed there were only two. Both of them had pale skin that seemed to shine from within but the most terrifying thing was there eyes, they both had gleaming red eyes. Swallowing down my reaction to run I passed the spy glass to Luke and then on to Jed and when we moved away down the face of the bluff to rejoin Peter not one of us spoke of the terror that showed in everyone's face, everyone but The Major. He had a set look to his jaw and we all knew that whatever these critters were, their days were numbered.

Jasper

I had watched the creatures for hours trying to figure out their weaknesses, if in fact they had any. They were fast, I saw that for myself when one caught a bird that flew too low past them. He crushed it in his hand then threw the mangled body to the ground ignoring it. They were strong too, one of them tore up a sapling one handed to use as a seat. I waited for them to light a fire but even as dusk fell they didn't bother, nor did I see them eat or drink although the day was hot and I almost drained my own canteen. What were these? Not human that was for sure but whatever they were they must have a weakness and I needed to find it. Was it possible these two creatures had massacred family after family alone? It hardly seemed possible but I was determined to find out. I was cautious, seeing the strangeness of them I kept well back, down wind and made as little noise as possible. Perhaps their hearing and other senses were as keen as their strength and speed.

I explained what we had seen to Peter who made the observation I should have,

"Maybe the red eyes come from drinking blood and that's why the bodies are all torn up and yet there's no blood."

"They drink blood? Human blood? You mean like the bats that feed on cattle at night?"

"Why not? If they can do it and live on blood then why not another critter."

"Well I didn't see em eat or drink all day so they're living on somethin' else. They're fast and very strong so I don't think we can afford to get too close unless we find a weapon that'll kill em."

"What about fire? Maybe that'll work, after all they didn't light a fire. Maybe they're afraid of it."

I looked at the brands we had brought with us, the idea was good but in order to use them we would have to get very close, possibly too close.

"If so we need a way to get the flames to them from a distance, we ain't fast enough to take them by surprise. We need to track them for a while, find their strengths and weaknesses, then we attack, when we know the best weapon."