Free Created (Book 1 of the Created) by Shannon Shaw Page A

totally random. There would be a rational
thought which would then be followed by a thought about my hunger. The thoughts
battled back and forth. Rational. Hunger. Rational. Hunger. Then hunger
began to dominate. For every rational thought, I began to have ten thoughts
about my hunger. A torrent of rational thought broke free squeezing out rapidly
before the hunger could dominate again.
    The thoughts were all related to a single fact, I am a
killer. At any moment I could rip out the throats of my new friends. I worried
it could end badly for us all. Still they walked and I followed. Surprisingly,
neither of my companions seemed appetizing. There was no need or want to
consume their blood.  
    The girls were silent which left me even more alone with my
painful need to feed.
    A flash of movement from Veronica broke me from my
obsession.
    Veronica was securing her cape to cover her red bustier.
Modesty amongst vampires I contemplated until I looked further down the path.
    The Town neared, less than a mile ahead.
    Hunger or no hunger blinding my judgment, I knew the crowd
of people standing at the end of a row of houses at the edge of town was no
welcoming committee.

 

Chapter 11

 
    To our right, men dressed in black military fatigues were
using shovels to scrap up shards of bones and chunks of tissue from the
concrete floor inside an enclosure made of treated lumber. A lone man stood in
a corner using a hose to wash away dried blood and the smaller remaining bits
and pieces.
    There were five pens measuring in the vicinity of forty feet
by forty feet. Each of the pens was separated by approximately forty more feet.
The enclosures were marked with colored coded signs. The signs were red,
purple, blue, pink and green. This was of no meaning to me, but was something I
would definitely have to ask Darby or Veronica about later.
    Anxiously, I watched the armed guards who were posted
outside of the structure label with a two foot by two foot placard in the color
red. There were eight, two stationed at each corner, with another ten inside
working to clean up the mess.
    Darby and Veronica marched straight ahead. Neither one paid
any attention to the cleanup operation though the guards shifted their weapons
swiftly from shoulders and into ready positions as we pulled even with the pen.
    The scene was surreal and one I hoped I would soon forget.
    Past the pens were single story row houses all painted
white. Each house was well maintained, yard manicured, some had plants hanging
from the corner post, others did not. The houses were a few on the right and a
few on the left, no more than twenty total . Sounds of
foreign origin mingled with sounds of various television shows as we slowed.
The sun rose steadily revealing the detailing of each home as the shadows were
torn away.
    Had it not been for the smell of gore lingering in the early
morning air, the scene would have been ideal.
    Stopping at a house marked with the number fifteen, I jumped
when the hiss of a sprinkler kicked on beside my leg. I stepped from its half
rotation path in the nick of time, keeping my pants leg from getting soaked.
The ladies sidestepped the initial stream of water jetting from the sprinkler
head. Just as suddenly as the sprinkler started it disappeared back into the
grass.
    Darby faced me before I knew what was happening. "It
was great meeting you. Maybe next time you will have a name."
    I laughed uneasily not sure of what to say.
    She hugged us both. Her tiny arms were strong and the hug
seemed of genuine warmth. The gesture was needed. It had been a long night and
the contact was greatly appreciated. I even thought she lingered a little long
during our hug, but it could be the over burden imagination playing tricks on
me.
    Veronica spoke, "See you at the meeting tonight. Darby,
please don't be late."
    Darby fingered the cross around her neck between her thumb
and forefinger. She fiddled with the small silver cross on the chain, passing
it back and forth