The early morning, winter gray skies, were lacking clouds. A brisk wind swirled its icy breath and drove the white powdery snow into frenzy. Browns and grays were the colors of choice of the landscape for miles around.
Peter watched as the plane circled for a landing. He had received a call from Andrew a few days ago. All Andrew told Peter was to meet their flight at the Bayport County Airport on this particular day. He said nothing else. Peter did not like all the mystery.
The plane started its descent and landed on the long black ribbon of asphalt in the material of white. A few minutes later, it came to a stop in front of the terminal building.
Peter walked up to the plane just as the door opened and a flight of stairs were moved into place. Peter watched with anticipation for the passengers to depart. He saw no one for several minutes, and then the first passenger came out. She was a woman with black and red streaked hair, dressed in black. She looked round at her new surroundings first, and then at Peter. She smiled even though he was not familiar to her. Just as she descended the stairs, the next person came out. He was a man with dark curly hair dressed in regular street clothes and a brown leather winter coat. He surveyed the surrounding before going down the steps. The next two persons to disembark were Andrew and Wyatt. Peter recognized Wyatt from his photo on file. Wyatt was in handcuffs. Peter’s mouth dropped in shock at how pale and worn out Andrew looked. Andrew looked down at Peter and gave him a forced smile. Andrew was wearing fatigues and carried a matching backpack. Andrew had Wyatt head down the stairs first. Peter knew Talia had gone with them on the mission, but where was she? Peter was about to greet them, but stopped when he saw a wooden casket being removed from the cargo compartment from the plane. Peter had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. For some reason he could not move. He watched Andrew leave Wyatt when they got to the bottom of the stairs and go over to the casket. Andrew bent down and whispered something to the casket. He stood up and returned to Wyatt. Peter finally walked over to all of them.
Andrew greeted Peter with an embrace. Peter was surprised by how long Andrew held onto him. It was like Andrew needed it badly. Peter didn’t say a word and neither did Andrew. Finally, after a few minutes, Andrew let go.
“Peter, this is Nick and Kara,” Andrew introduced.
“Peter,” he greeted them each in return.
“Take him into custody,” Andrew shoved Wyatt. Peter handed him to one of the officers with him.
“Where is Talia,” Peter asked, even though he already knew the answer.
“In the casket,” Andrew was somber. “She died during the mission.”
“But how?” Peter pressed Andrew. Instead, Andrew walked a short distance away. To Peter it looked like Andrew was crying. He’d never seen Andrew cry before. Peter turned to the others, “How did she die?”
“Saving Andrew’s life,” Kara blurted out. She broke down and sought Nick’s arms. Nick held onto Kara and comforted her.
“What happened in Germany?” Peter demanded.
“I will explain everything.” Andrew finally rejoined them. He grabbed hold of Peter’s shoulder. “I need a few days, okay? Then I will explain everything.”
“But,” Peter started to protest, but Andrew and the others walked away. Peter took Wyatt and walked him over to the car. He opened the back door and placed Wyatt inside. Peter closed the door. He looked back and saw them load the casket into the hearse. Peter felt really sick inside. Andrew better have a really good explanation for all of this; a really good one to say the least. Peter opened the front door and slid into the driver’s seat. He started the car and closed the door. Peter took off for the police station.
There was a city of empty, take out food containers, built in one corner of the coffee table. In another corner was a mountain range of empty soda bottles. In the middle of it all was a stack of file folders and papers scattered about.
Chloe and Roxanne were sound asleep, each respectively on the two sofas of the family room. They had spent all of last evening going over the Higgins case notes.
Chloe finally awoke from her slumber. She stretched and yawned. Chloe got up and went to use the upstairs bathroom. She had to go really bad.
Roxanne opened her eyes. At first, she was disoriented, but then remembered that she and Chloe fell asleep after hours of going over all the information in the case files. Roxanne got up. She took off in search for a bathroom.
Chloe was just coming out of the bathroom, when she bumped into Roxanne. They both laughed and went on their respective ways.
Chloe had just reached the bottom of the staircase when the front door opened. It was her dad! Chloe rushed into his open arms and practically knocked him over. She closed her eyes and squeezed him tight. Andrew whispered in Chloe’s ear that he was okay, but she kept holding on for fear he would vanish once she let go. Chloe finally opened her eyes to see two strangers; a man and a woman with her dad. She gave her dad a kiss on the cheek and let go.
“Chloe,” Andrew said, as he gestured to the others. “This is Kara and Nick.”
“Pleased to meet you,” Chloe greeted them.
“We’re going to get some rest,” Andrew told his daughter. Andrew kissed her and led Kara and Nick upstairs. Chloe must have looked perplexed and Andrew said, “I will explain later. Please trust me, okay?”
“Okay,” Chloe smiled back. She went to clean up the family room.
Roxanne had just exited the bathroom when she saw Andrew come up the stairs with a man and woman right behind him. She immediately ran to him as he reached the top step. Andrew dropped the backpack he was carrying. Roxanne threw her arms around Andrew and squeezed him tight. Andrew hugged and kissed his friend back.
“I’m alright,” Andrew assured Roxanne.
“We all missed you.” Roxanne gave Andrew a squeeze and let go.
“I missed all of you too,” Andrew said. He picked up his backpack.
“Who’s with you?” Roxanne looked at the others.
“I’m sorry,” Andrew apologized. He introduced, “This is Nick and Kara.”
“A pleasure,” Roxanne smiled.
“We really need some sleep,” Andrew muttered. “I don’t mean to be rude.”
“Okay,” Roxanne said. “I’ll go help and Chloe clean up.” She left them alone.
“Just point me to a bed,” Nick moaned, exhausted.
“Me too,” Kara lamented.
“Follow me.” Andrew led the way, smiling. He opened the door to one of the guest rooms. Kara and Nick walked in and closed the door behind them. Andrew left for his own bedroom. Once he was there, Andrew just dumped the back pack on the floor, and climbed into bed and underneath the covers. He immediately fell asleep.
Chloe and Roxanne returned to the family room. They started to clean up their mess from the night before. Neither one of them said anything for some time. Then Roxanne finally broke the silence.
“Your dad looked bad.” Roxanne was worried.
“Yeah, I know.” Chloe was very concerned.
“What do you think happened?” Roxanne paused from picking up. She looked fully at Chloe, who was crying now.
“I…I don’t know,” Chloe sniffed back her tears. “But, I…I’m glad he is home.” Chloe stopped picking up and oozed down into one of the chairs in front of the fireplace. Roxanne sat in the other one across from her. Chloe grabbed a tissue and dabbed the corners of her eyes. “Whatever happened had to be huge,” Chloe cleared her throat to speak. “Really huge.”
“Did you see the woman with him?” Roxanne said after making certain they were alone. “She looked like one of those vampire people we interviewed, remember?”
“Yeah, she did, didn’t she,” Chloe finally laughed.
“And the guy looked like a cop,” Roxanne added.
“Dad said he would explain,” Chloe answered.
“It must be bad,” Roxanne said. “I’ve been getting bad vibes since they had arrived in the house.”
“What do you mean?” Chloe asked.
“There are dark forces involved,” Roxanne shuddered. “I feel death.”
“I believe you,” Chloe said. “We need to secure the house.”
Both girls rose up and went to make certain that all the doors and windows were locked.
Like so many nights before, Andrew got up and went down to the kitchen for a late night snack and to think. He grabbed some food from the refrigerator to make a sandwich. He walked over to the counter and set it all down. He grabbed a loaf of bread from the bread box and opened the bag. Andrew spread the mayo on the bread and proceeded to build his creation of meat, cheese, lettuce and tomatoes. At last, Andrew declared his creation complete and was about to put it all away, when a tiny voice from the dark said, ‘Could I have one?’. Andrew turned around to see his daughter standing in the doorway. Andrew grinned and went on to create a masterpiece for her too. While her dad worked on her sandwich, Chloe grabbed two glasses and poured them some milk. She put the milk back and slid into the breakfast nook. Andrew put all of the extra food away and joined his daughter.
Father and daughter just sat there, ate their sandwiches and drank their milk. Neither one said a word. But just then, as any child would, Chloe got bored.
“What happened in Germany?” Chloe blurted out. Andrew thought how direct and to the point she was. How he would answer, was foremost on his mind.
“Is it that important?” Andrew replied.
“To me it is,” Chloe answered. She looked keenly at her dad, “It is just that you seem different to me; more withdrawn. You are not yourself.”
“Not true,” Andrew bluffed.
“You are not telling the truth.” Chloe called his bluff. She stopped eating and focused on him. “I read all about what happened in Chicago. I know how you saved those kids in the park that night. I know what you had to do.”
“…And,” Andrew added.
“…And I want to know what happened in Germany,” Chloe answered. She stretched out her hand and touched his arm. “Please tell me.”
“It was worse than Chicago.” Andrew stopped eating. He pushed his sandwich aside.
“How much worse was it?” Chloe choked.
“I’ve had to do things I am not proud of,” Andrew’s voice trembled as he spoke. He looked away; focused his eyes elsewhere. “I had to kill people…”
“People that wanted to hurt you or others,” Chloe inquired.
“Yes,” Andrew looked away, unable to face his daughter. “Others were not.”
“You killed on purpose?” Chloe was shocked. In the past she knew her dad had defended others; himself, but never killed anyone on purpose. What could have brought her dad to do such a thing? Chloe demanded, “Tell me.”
Andrew finally granted her request. He told her about the incident in the park in Berlin when Talia and Kara were kidnapped, how Sergeant Schindler was a Knight of VanHelsing and how he was framed for his death. Andrew further explained how he was pursued by the police on the train to Zwickau. He shared with Chloe, the fight on the train and how Lieutenant Gunderson was killed.
Chloe listened with great interest as her dad recounted all the events of the recent past. She was in awe of his rouse when he assumed the identity of Gold Blade to gain entry to Gothica castle. She could picture it all in her mind. A chill consumed Chloe as her dad told about the death of Talia and how he took on Ana and her knights. She could not believe that Talia, who had hated her dad, sacrificed herself to save him or how her dad fought such zealous killers. Chloe had only seen her dad cry twice; once at her mom’s grave and the other was the day he found out Megan was pregnant. Chloe got up and went over by her dad. She enveloped him with her arms as he wept heavily.
“What are you two doing up?” Roxanne asked as she came into the kitchen, but stopped. She saw Chloe comfort Andrew. Roxanne joined them as Andrew assured Chloe he was alright now. Chloe was not so sure, but gave him a squeeze and returned to her seat. Roxanne slid in next to her.
“What is wrong?” Roxanne asked Andrew. “Are you alright?”
“I will be,” Andrew looked at his daughter. He dried his eyes.
“Did you find Wyatt?” Roxanne inquired. She eyed up his sandwich. “Are you going to finish that?”
“It is all yours.” Andrew slid the plate over by her.
“So did you?” Roxanne asked. She took a bite of the sandwich.
“Yes, Wyatt is in police custody,” Andrew answered. He drank some milk and went on, “I have an interview setup with him tomorrow.”
“So what was in the backpack?” Chloe asked.
“It’s just a book.” Andrew was being vague.
“What is so important about it?” Chloe insisted.
“The book is about the Knights of VanHelsing,” Andrew finally replied. “It contains the history of the knights, a list of all their names, and the people they killed.”
“That is a very treacherous thing to possess,” Roxanne shuddered. “What do you plan on doing with it?”
“To arrest the three knights here in Bayport,” Andrew answered. He finished his milk and pushed the glass aside. “And bring them and the others to justice.”
“And then what?” Chloe asked.
“Keep the book in a safe place,” Andrew rose up and went the liquor cabinet above the refrigerator. He took out a bottle of scotch and returned to the table. He poured some in a glass.
“They know you have it.” Chloe finally realized.
“Yes,” Andrew answered. He downed the scotch and refilled the glass.
“Won’t they try to recover it?” Roxanne worried.
“Perhaps,” Andrew downed a second glass of scotch. “Right now Ana and the knights have gone into hiding. The rest have to maintain their secret identities and remain in the public eye. To do otherwise would draw unwanted attention to them. The three here in Bayport are probably wondering what I am going to do with the book.”
“What if they come after you?” Chloe cringed.
“I will do what I have to,” Andrew was blunt.
“Not like Germany,” Chloe swallowed hard.
“I don’t know.” Andrew downed a third glass. “That will depend on them. We should go to bed,” Andrew announced. He stood up and walked over to the liquor cabinet. He put the bottle of scotch back. Andrew glanced for a moment at his daughter and Roxanne. He headed off to bed. Chloe felt unsettled and afraid of what her dad might do. She left the kitchen to go after him, and left Roxanne alone at the breakfast nook. Roxanne had a bad feeling and took off after Chloe and Andrew.
Dawn approached and soon it would be too late. The hunt would have to be called off and there would be no measure of satisfaction this night. Where could the others be? Why were they not here yet? With each tick of the clock, time slipped away.
Night Blade, frustrated, waited in the shadows. Off, in the not too far distance, were the ones she hunted. They were only ‘baby bats’, naive, but none the less satisfying to kill. She had received a call that these ‘baby bats’ had planned a blood feast at the boarded up Higgins’s house. Night Blade had always been curious as to why these creatures always chose abandoned places to gather. Either way it would prove poorly for them this night. Night Blade watched as the ‘baby bats’ and their blood dolls broken into the house. She could wait no longer and stepped forward, but suddenly stopped when she heard a noise from behind her.
Star Blade and Moon Blade came in from the north. Each had received a call from their respective sources that there would be a blood feast at the abandoned Higgins’s house. They stopped at the edge of the woods when the ‘baby bats’ and their blood dolls broke down back the door. Both of them wondered where Night Blade could be. It would be morning soon and time was running out.
“We can’t wait any longer,” Moon Blade cursed.
“We need Night Blade to help with the attack,” Star Blade growled back.
“There are only six of them,” Moon Blade fired back. “Besides, we are supposed to let the blood dolls go. You know the rules of the code.”
“I know the code,” Star Blade fired back. “They would just become blood dolls for some other of those disgusting creatures.” Star Blade watched as the last one entered the house. She removed her swords and continued, “I say we finish them all.”
“Then we will do it without Night Blade,” Moon Blade drew her own swords.
Moon Blade and Star Blade burst forth from the bushes and without delay entered the house through broken door.
Chloe couldn’t sleep. She was very worried at what her dad was going to do about the Knights of VanHelsing in Bayport. She was afraid that he would take matters into his own hands and kill them like he had in Germany.
Chloe got up and put on her robe. She left her room and went down the hall to her dad’s bedroom. Chloe wrapped on the door first and opened it. She peered inside the room. Her dad was gone! An overwhelming feeling of fear washed over Chloe. She slammed the door shut and ran back to her room. Chloe quickly put on some clothes and shoes, and grabbed her keys and jacket. She had no clue where to look, but had to find her dad before he did something horrible.
Chloe hurried down the stairs while putting on her coat. She leapt from the second step and bounded for the door. Chloe reached for the handle, the door opened and her dad entered the house.
“Where were you?” Chloe jumped on him.
“I couldn’t sleep, so I took a walk.” Andrew did not look at her. He closed the door.
Chloe walked up to her dad and felt his coat; it was ice cold.
“Where did you go?” Chloe was more subdued.
“Just around the neighbor hood, why?” Andrew looked and saw the disbelief in her eyes. How dare she question him about where he had been?
“I was worried that you might, um,” Chloe stammered.
“You thought I was going to do something bad tonight, right?” Andrew smirked.
“Yes.” Chloe took hold of her dad’s hands. They were ice cold too. “Did you?”
Andrew was about to answer when there was frantic pounding at the door. Whoever it was, they seemed very much in a panicked rush. They kept knocking. Andrew left Chloe to go and answer the door. When Andrew opened the door he saw Storm standing there. Her eyeslids and face were black from the mascara. She was still crying. Her whole body was trembling. Andrew escorted her inside and shut the door. Storm was trembling so badly that Chloe put her arms around her. Andrew told the girls to go into the family room and for Chloe to start a fire. Andrew grabbed a blanket from the foyer closet and joined them soon after. Storm had taken off her coat and sat in a chair by the fireplace. She thanked Andrew for the blanket and wrapped it around herself. Storm sobbed between labored breaths. What could have upset her so much? Chloe started the fire. Andrew sat in the chair beside Storm. He knew something terrible had happened and need to find out what it was right now.
“Are you okay?” Andrew started out simple.
“Y..Yes,” Storm sniffed back her tears.
“Are you hurt?” Andrew asked. He looked Storm over and bent down to pick up her coat. There was blood smattered on the right sleeve and shoulder. Andrew did not see any wounds on Storm. So whose blood was it?
“Where you at a blood feast?” Andrew took a chance.
“No, I mean yes,” Storm violently shook her head from side to side. “But it… it was much worse. He made us do it. Why…why the house?”
“Who made you do what?” Andrew grasped hold of Storm by the shoulders.
“We killed them!” Storm shrieked. She shook loose of Andrew’s grip and headed to the front door. Andrew and Chloe went after her. Storm reached for the doorknob, but it was Chloe that stopped her. She put her arms around Storm and subdued her. Exhaustion finally caught up with Storm, and she passed out in Chloe’s arms. Chloe struggled to keep standing, and Andrew came to her aid. He picked Storm up in his arms and carried her into the family room. Andrew laid her on the sofa and covered her with the blanket. Chloe and her dad slumped down in the chairs.
“What was she talking about?” Chloe looked at her Dad for an answer.
“Storm was part of a blood feast,” Andrew explained. He glanced over at Storm who looked peaceful now. “Something went wrong.” Andrew stood up and walked over to the gun cabinet. He unlocked it and took out a Glock 9mm and belt clip holster. Andrew clipped it to his belt and also grabbed extra clips. He also grabbed the pouch with throwing stars and clipped it to his belt.
“Where are you going?” Chloe stood up.
“To the Higgins house.” Andrew put his coat on.
“How do you know she came from there?” Chloe inquired.
“Storm said ‘the house’.” Andrew looked at his daughter. “It is safe to assume Storm meant her house.” Andrew took hold of Chloe’s shoulders and looked her in the eyes. “I need you to stay with Storm and keep a watch on her. No one can leave the house. Make sure all the doors and windows are locked when I am gone.”
Andrew looked over at Storm again. She was still asleep, which was a good thing. He went on, “I am not sure what it is yet, but I need to go and find out.” Andrew now looked at his daughter, “At any sign of trouble, call the police.” Andrew kissed his daughter on the forehead and left the family room. Chloe followed behind and when Andrew left the house, she locked the door. Chloe returned to the family room and checked on the fire. She lay down on the other sofa.
Andrew parked the car on the side of the road. The Higgins house was just a short trek through the woods to the south. Andrew checked his weapons and headed into the woods. He hadn’t gone far when he noticed several tracks headed in the direction he was going. By the number of prints in the snow, Andrew knew it was a group of six or eight all together. Some prints were larger and others smaller. So there were both male and female in the group. By the distance of the steps, Andrew knew they were not in a hurry, but walked at a normal pace. Andrew continued on his way to the house.
When Andrew cleared the woods, he saw that the back door to the house had been forced open. Andrew knelt down and scanned the area. He did not see any movement. Whoever had been at the house was long gone just like Storm. Andrew was amazed that she had traveled several miles to Bayport. But it was not on foot, Storm had ride back to town. Who had given her that ride? He would have to worry about that later. Andrew figured the coast was clear, so he walked to the house. Andrew drew his weapon and stepped inside the house.
Andrew walked down the hallway. He swallowed hard and felt sick to his stomach. Someone had written in blood on the wall ‘death to the slayers’. A shiver went up his spine. Andrew continued to the living room. When he entered, Andrew drew an exasperated breath. There were two bodies lying face down on the floor. They were Knights of VanHelsing. Their weapons lay only inches away, just out of reach. Andrew felt sick to his stomach as he knelt down beside the first one. It was Darcy, his friend from the Sheriffs Department. Her blonde hair was matted with blood and her eyes were wide open. Andrew closed her eyes. Andrew turned to the other. It was Veronica, Doctor Straussman’s nurse. Her face was spattered with blood. Like Darcy, her throat had been slashed.
Andrew stood up. He left the house to get some fresh air. He walked around to clear his thoughts, but soon came upon another bloody discovery. There was another body that lay face down in the snow. Andrew knelt down. Andrew removed the hood. It was Claudia Straussman; Doctor Straussman, the one who was treating Wyatt. Andrew tossed aside the hood. Night Blade, Star Blade, and Moon Blade were dead. Andrew took out his phone and called for help.
Andrew searched the area around the body. There was a single set of prints in the snow. Andrew decided to follow to see where they led.
Andrew walked through the woods for quite some time and finally emerged on River Road. He saw relatively fresh tire tracks in the snow. The vehicle had a leak, for Andrew saw oil spots in the snow as well. It was probably and older vehicle. Andrew took out his cell phone and snapped a picture of the tire tread marks left behind. He also took a picture of the oil stains. When he had been in the woods, the majority of foot prints had been muddled due to the deep snow. But fortune must have smiled on Andrew, for there next to the tread marks were a clear and distinctive set of boot prints, along with several drops of blood. The boot impressions were set rather deep in the snow and not single flaw about them. Andrew bent down and snapped a photo of the prints. He searched his pockets and pulled out an old candy wrapper. Andrew took his pocket knife out and scraped some of the bloody snow onto the wrapper. Hopefully, the crime lab would be able to get a blood type off of the sample. Andrew closed the wrapper tightly and placed it back in his pocket. He headed back to the Higgins house. As he walked along, Andrew could hear the sirens off in the distance. Andrew looked up at the night sky. It was clear and he could see all the stars. He closed his eyes and said a prayer for the poor souls murdered this night. Andrew knew in his heart that all of this was his fault.