Reign of Blood (The Vampires of Vegas Book 1)

Chapter Ten

I waited until the sun had fully risen to emerge from my hideaway as carefully and as quietly as I could. I left prepared for a fight, no longer sure if the hybrid vampires were day walkers or not. Anything was possible. I was not about to walk out like a cow to slaughter. If it came down to it, I would die fighting.

As I crept out the metal doorway, I quietly clicked it closed behind me, hatchet in hand just in case I was jumped at close range. With my eyes constantly scanning the area, I waited minutes upon minutes, listening for any unusual noises. When nothing happened, I let out the breath I had been holding. My relief flooded me as I punched in the key code to lock the door and walked down the driveway, heading to the neighboring houses. I knew of several cars that had been left abandoned with the nice cabins that lined the roads in the Mt. Charleston community. I had spent many a youth church camp weekend up in these mountains. Some of the adult members had had cabins up here. It may not have been Aspen, but these houses were not cheap. Most had the log cabin feel to them and sat buried in snow in the winters. Right now, I wanted to get a new ride and hopefully someone had stowed a car in a nearby garage. But first, I would have to make sure no ferals were lurking about in the dark garages and houses.

The nearest cabin I came across looked like it might house something. I took the steps two at a time and tried the handle. It didn't turn in my grasp. Cursing under my breath, I ran around, checking doors and windows to find a vulnerable spot. Groaning when I found none, I took out the hatchet and positioned it to slam against the window next to the door. The impact sounded like an avalanche of massive chimes clinking onto the ground in a shower of glass, making me hold my breath. I scanned around the trees and the land, waiting for anyone to appear. Luckily no one came from outside or inside the cabin.

Reaching into the shattered remains of the window and avoiding the shards of sharpened glass, I turned the bolt that kept me from getting in. Rushing inside, I clicked the door behind me, surveying the cabin. It also seemed abandoned and untouched for what could've been eons. I quickly made my way to the garage door, pulling my flashlight out; it would be dark as night inside there. I swung the door open and flashed the beam of light across the space. It was empty except for some storage containers and shelves of old sledding equipment and bicycles. I had wished it would've been that easy but up here in the mountains most people hadn't made it back. I doubted they would leave a car in an unwatched house.

I moved onto three more houses before finding one that had been occupied more than most of the others, but no one had been there in at least half a year. There was the foul smell of old garbage sitting in the trash can. I wrinkled my nose, knowing I had to work fast. It smelled like whoever had lived here might be rotting upstairs. I held my breath after quickly scanning the rooms before me. Making my way to the garage, I flipped the lock open and turned the door handle. My beam of my flashlight showed me an older model Toyota. I wondered where the keys would be. Closing the door, I made my way around the kitchen and front door, hoping to find the keys somewhere common, on the counter or a hook somewhere. I found them on a hook on the kitchen cabinet catch all area, like a mini desk in the middle of all the action.

As I scooped up the keys, I heard a thump. I stopped in my tracks as I waited to see if it would sound off again, attempting to listen over the drum of my own heartbeat. The moments ticked by forever, but I never heard it again and chalked it up to a tree branch thumping the side of the house. I rolled my eyes, muttering to myself; I couldn't believe how paranoid I had become. I walked back over to the garage, opening the door to find myself immediately thrown onto my back, holding back a feral vampire who had slammed me onto the wooden floor.

I shoved back up at him, keeping his drooling fangs off my skin. He was incredibly strong, probably starving if he had been stuck in that garage for a while. I grunted as I tried to hold him up, jamming my forearm in his throat with my right arm, I reached down to my chest to the dagger bandoleer that I had crisscrossed there, quickly yanking out a thin sharp dagger. I jammed it as hard as I could into the side of his head, where the temple bone was thinnest, closing my eyes and mouth as the cold wetness of his fluids poured down onto my face.