Blood Land by J.R. Lawson (top ten ebook reader TXT) 📖

arms.  She actually felt safe; there was no doubt or fear at all.  She knew that once they were out of this place, she might finally be able to relax.  She smiled softly at this thought, just listening to Will’s heartbeat.  It was all of the sudden that she felt Will tense up slightly.  She sat up a bit and looked at him.

“What is it?” she asked him.

Will was looking over in the direction of a small table to the right side of the couch where the kerosene lamp sat burning.

“That lamp is going to go out soon,” he then turned to look back at Nora, “And I just realized we don’t have any more oil here in the basement; it’s in the house.”

Nora now sat all the way up and turned toward Will; a very serious expression on her face, “Will, you’re not thinking…”

“We have to get more oil, Nor’,”

“Yeah but you can’t go back in the house!  That night-flyer might still be there!”

“I don’t think so.  I haven’t heard it in a while.  Besides, I’d just be real quick.  I know exactly where it is.”

“Will, I don’t like this.  It’s too scary.”

Will then looked directly into Nora’s eyes as he spoke, “Nora.  We can’t let that lamp go out.  You trust me don’t you?  I can do this.”

Nora looked down at her hands that were resting in her lap and sighed. She wasn’t sure what she was going to say next but before she even got a chance to say anything, Will put his hand on her chin and brought her head up to look at him.

“You trust me—don’t you?” he repeated.

Nora looked right into his brown eyes that were behind his glasses.  She knew she could trust him.  There really was no thought that she had to give to her answer.  If anyone could do this, he could.  It was such a simple task, yet she was so worried for him; maybe because she knew what she could lose if something bad were to happen.

“I trust you.  You know I do,” Nora answered.

A small smile made its way across Will’s face, “I’ll be right back.  And I’ll take the shot gun, o.k.?”

Nora then nodded, somewhat reluctantly, “O.k.” she softly uttered.

Will then stood up and made his way around the couch to the door that led into the house.  He grabbed the shot gun that was propped up against the side of the couch as he did.  Nora followed him all the way to the door.  They both climbed the couple of stairs to the door and it was then that Will grabbed the door knob.  A confused look then appeared on his face as he jiggled the handle and pulled on the door.

“What’s wrong?” Nora asked, looking just as puzzled as he was.

“It won’t open,” he tugged some more times, “Ugh this door is so old!”

“Well, maybe we shouldn’t worry about it then,” Nora suggested.

“No, we need that oil,” Will answered.

“Well what can we do, Will?  Go outside and around to the front of the house?! That’s even more dangerous!” She looked over at him as she spoke.  He didn’t seem to be listening as he felt the door with his hands.

“What are you doing?” Nora then asked angrily.

“This door—it’s so old…” Will said, still feeling up and down the door.

“So?  What does that have to do with anything?”

All of the sudden, Will took a step back and swiftly lifted his foot, kicking the door with much force and effort.  Nora jumped as a very loud crack sound followed and an even bigger crack was left in the middle of the door.

“Will, what the hell?!” Nora shouted, “You scared me!”

Will pretended he hadn’t heard her and kicked the door again, making an even bigger crack.  He repeated this process until a hole had been made and both he and Nora could clearly see through into the house.

“What the hell did you do?!” Nora shouted again.

Will started using his hands to pry away all of the broken wood from the door, making the hole bigger, “Now I can get into the house,” he responded to her question with the utmost rationality.

“Uh…o.k. but now how are we to keep the vampires out?!” Nora exclaimed, even more upset than before, “What has gotten into you?!”

“Look,” Will said as he then stopped working on the door to look over at Nora, “I can climb through here real quick, get the oil, and then come back.  We’ll just use the wooden table that’s down here and prop it up to the door to cover the hole.  We’ll nail it in place temporarily and then fix it tomorrow.”

Nora just sighed.  She looked away from Will and her eyes rested on the table across the room.  This all felt ridiculous and she didn’t know what to think.

“Nora, come on this is the only solution for the moment.  We need that oil,” Will said.  Nora looked back at him, still slightly in disbelief.

“I’ll be fine.  I’ll be right back, o.k.?” he spoke again.  He then grabbed the shot gun that he had propped against the wall next to them and turned to exit through the hole in the door.  It was then that Nora stopped him temporarily by gently touching his shoulder.

“Will,” she spoke, causing him to turn towards her.  She then put her hand behind his head and brought him close to her and kissed him, “You be quick.  And come back here.  O.k.?”

Will smiled at her and then kissed her again, “I promise I will,” he then broke away from her grip and stepped through the broken door and into the house.

 

***

 

The next few minutes that had passed felt like hours to Nora as she patiently waited at the top step in front of the basement door.  She tapped her foot as she hugged her knees close to her and tried not to think of the worst.  Will would be back; she knew he would.  She trusted him and she desperately needed to stop thinking of these fearful thoughts.

“Nora!” a shout behind her finally made those thoughts disappear.  She turned around to look through the large splintered hole in the door to see Will hastening towards her.  A giant smile crossed her face as she jumped up and now faced him.

“Take this!” he demanded as he held out his arm and handed her a mason jar full of oil.  She took it and put it on the table next to the couch before quickly returning to him.

“Help me through, Nor’” Will asked as Nora then grabbed his hand and began to help him climb through the hole in the door.

“I think my shirt is caught on a piece of the door,” Will grumbled as he looked behind him to try to find a way to free himself.

“Just hurry, Will,” Nora was getting frustrated.  She wanted him in the basement with her so she could relax again.  However, that didn’t seem like it was going to be a possibility anymore as she suddenly saw a terrifying figure right behind Will.

“Will,” Nora now whispered, not taking her gaze off of the fearful image, “Will, get in here now!”

“Wha—?” Will looked at Nora’s horrible expression and then turned his head around to see what was making her so frozen with fear.  It was a vampire; standing right behind him with anger radiating from his dark red eyes.

“S-shit…” Will whispered as his eyes had fell upon him.  He then wasted no time trying to get back through the hole in the door.

“Nora, help me!” he found himself frantically shouting.  Nora grabbed both of Will’s arms as she tried to help him through.  She couldn’t help but keep looking back at the vampire who just continued to stand there and stare at the two of them.  What was it doing?  Why was it just waiting there?

All of a sudden, the lamp that had been burning behind the two of them on the table next to the couch had dimmed into darkness and gone out.  Nora and Will both froze, staring at each other in horror.  Nora only glanced away from him for a second to look back at the vampire who, now in the darkness, had transformed into that horrible hellion form and was smiling a wicked smile at her. What happened next startled her but was also not entirely unexpected.  The night-flyer leapt up and, spreading its giant bat wings, flew toward Will in one fluid motion.  Nora screamed as it grabbed Will from behind, pulling him out of her grasp and into the house with it.

“Will!!” she screamed again, as she watched in horror as the two of them fought.  Will tried many times to free himself from the hellion’s grasp but he unfortunately failed each time.  It was then that he had grown instantly tired and the night-flyer took advantage of his sudden exhaustion by grabbing him with its enormous claws and then flying upward.  It had pushed off the floor with such power and force that it broke a hole through the ceiling like it had been only made of cardboard.  Nora stuck her head through the hole in the door to look up at the destruction the night-flyer had caused.  There were holes through both floors of the house and eventually through the roof.  Nora didn’t think twice as she stepped through the door and picked up the shot gun that was on the floor in front of it.  She ran through the house to the front door and put her hand on the doorknob.  It was then, however, that she paused.  She thought about Rogan’s words and how he had told her to stay inside the house.  She had promised him she would, but then her thoughts turned to Will and how much danger he was now in.  She couldn’t keep some stupid promise to a vampire when the only person she loved was about to be killed.  She then opened the door without any more hesitation and ran out into the darkness.

It didn’t take her long to round the corner of the house and come face to face with about a dozen night-flyers soaring around her house, each producing terrifying screeches of its own accord.  She only stared up at them with horror for a few seconds before her eyes finally rested on the one hellion that held Will in its grasp as it hovered high above the ground.  She ran to it and shouted as loud as she could so as to be heard over all of the other hellion’s screeching, “Hey! Drop him!!!” When she stopped in front of it, she took no time to aim the shot gun right at it and shoot.  The night-flyer screamed as the shell hit its shoulder.  It looked down at Nora and shrieked again, this time in a sort of challenging way.  Nora stared as she still aimed her gun at it and didn’t hesitate to shoot again.  She hit its leg this time and it screamed again in agony.  Will was still in its arms, but Nora could see he was trying to fight it away from him, no matter how tired he was.

It was then that time seemed to slow way down as the night-flyer and Nora stared into one another’s eyes with the utmost hatred each of them could muster.  It seemed like forever that they stayed that way, until however, the night-flyer finally retaliated, and in one motion, forcefully bit Will on the side of the neck.

Nora screamed at the same time Will cried out in agony.  The night-flyer continued to look down at Nora’s horrified expression as it then threw its head back, tearing out Will’s throat as it did so. Nora screamed again with the utmost torture as she saw Will’s body go limp, and the hellion let its grip go on him and drop him to the ground below.

She immediately ran to him, but the hellion dropped to the ground too, landing in between