Death Walker

AuthorHouse

Chapter One

From the sky, the runner was easily spotted, as vampires can see the glow of warm blooded beings moving across the cold dark ground as easily as you or I can see each other in broad daylight. This vampire could not resist the temptation of a meal that had literally delivered itself to her. It only took a moment for her to land and wait anxiously a half-mile ahead.

As the runner left the circle of brightness and entered the darkness between the highway lights, a silhouette in the distance broke her concentration. She wiped her eyes, making certain that her mind wasn't playing tricks on her. There, standing under the street light ahead, appeared to be a woman watching her approach. She looked about for a car, thinking one must have broken down, leaving the poor woman stranded ... but saw none and thought the car must be further up the road.

As she jogged closer, she noticed that the woman had taken an offensive position, much like a teacher who was waiting to admonish a student. The woman was facing her with arms folded and legs spread apart, just glaring in her direction. It was at that moment that the little hairs on the back of her neck began to stand on their own and a feeling in her gut told her to turn and run in the opposite direction. Having already ran twelve miles, she ignored her body's warning signals, thinking that this run had taken its toll on her mind and was playing games with her. She ignored the little voice in her head warning her of danger.

Only when she was close enough did she witness the eyes of this woman glowing bright red, and suddenly felt a sense of fear. With no one but the two of them on this deserted road, calling for help was futile, so she turned and changed her rhythmic run to a full sprint in the opposite direction. She knew her physical limitations at this point and could keep this fast pace for at least a mile before collapsing in exhaustion. As she ran, she only hoped a mile at this pace would be enough to distance herself from whatever it was that she thought she had seen.

When she felt something brush against her back from behind, she panicked and turned off the road toward the shelter of the trees and bushes of the countryside. Leaving the black tar surface for the soft moist ground slowed her down a bit, but fear and adrenaline were kicking in and it was like turning on a booster rocket. She was running as fast as she could and never looked behind, as her only thoughts were of increasing the distance and finding a place to hide.

She heard herself scream as she felt two hands grab her from behind and lift her completely into the air. She struggled to stay on the ground as her feet lifted off and then touched back on the solid surface as she bounced back and forth between the earth and the air.

"Let me go!" she screamed. "Dear God, let me go! Please!"

Suddenly there was a sensation of cold breath on the back of her neck, then the shocking pain of having flesh torn away, her blood flowing freely. Hearing her own skin being torn, combined with the pain, put her into instant shock. The pain, exhaustion, and blood loss prevailed, as she blacked out into an inevitable deathly sleep.

The female vampire drank the blood with enthusiasm and enjoyment as a commanding voice pierced the silence.

"Anne, I told you not to take risks," he scolded.

"But I needed it. Christian, I was so hungry, I couldn't help it. She was alone and there were no witnesses," she explained as she licked the blood from her fingertips.

He paced back and forth. "Well, what's done is done. I'll disguise the kill." She had drained the body, so Christian began dragging it further into the brush, leaving a clear trail. With his razor sharp claws, he tore at it, much the way a wild animal would do, until the body was completely mutilated. He knew that it was likely that the real animals would tear at it long before the body was ever found, making it appear clearly as an animal attack.

"Anne, it will soon be daylight. We must go."

Satisfied that their presence would not be detected, they lifted their arms and floated effortlessly, disappearing into the night sky.

* * *

The body was literally torn apart. As he viewed the photographs of the death scene, he wondered, "Where's the blood?" He turned to his friend, a detective, asking that exact question.

"Mike, where is the blood? This girl was torn to shreds?" Mike Evans was a ten-year veteran of the Minneapolis police and had seen these types of tragedies before.

"Teddy, when an animal attacks a human, it will typically drag them to another location, especially if they're hungry and intend on feeding. She could have been killed a mile from where her body was actually found."

Ted Scott was a writer. He was visiting his good buddy, hoping to find the subject for his next book.

"What kind of animal was said to have done this?" Ted thumbed through a whole series of pictures.

"A bear ... or possibly wolves," Mike answered. "The county examiner hasn't confirmed it yet, but they think it's a bear. It's really a tough call, because the body was at least a few days old. The forest rangers are out there tracking it down as we speak."

Ted didn't agree with that answer, but would say nothing. He had grown up in the North Woods and a real bear attack was rare. Minnesota was primarily Black Bear country, with a lesser population of Brown Bear. He had hunted when he was growing up and knew that these bears kept to themselves; they are not exactly in the same category as the Grizzly. The only way to force an attack is to approach a cub, and then any mother bear would surely become aggressive. Other than that, bears were pretty hard to find, even for the experienced hunter. At this time of the year, food was plentiful, so it was not likely that this bear was hungry. So why would a bear attack a jogger? It was possible, but not likely.

Ted turned to Mike. "So? You said that you had a good story for me. A bear attack doesn't make for a whole book; an article, maybe."

Mike turned away from the file cabinet and tossed another stack of pictures on the table. "So far, we have had three attacks in this region of the state. Three bodies found in less than three months. Check these out ..." Mike stood in anticipation of Ted's reaction. Mike looked the part of a cop; tall, muscular, dark haired, with an air of authority about him.

"I didn't hear about three ... three, in three months? Nothing was on the news or in the papers?" Ted was puzzled.

"Yes, it was. The problem was how it was treated. Three different counties,...