THE DEAD GAME -- DAY 176

Linda was horrified that her friends were tied together on top of a bonfire. She couldn't believe that Todd was unable to save them from the wrath of Shirley.

     “Everyone has forgotten about me again.” Hayden appeared before them. He turned to Shirley. “You’re becoming very tiresome, always getting in the way of the true course of events.”

     “Do you really believe that you will be able to save these humans when I have all my vampires to back me up?” Shirley lifted her arms. A large group of vampires dressed in black hooded robes appeared behind her.

     Once they pulled back their hoods, Linda was stunned to see that they were tired, middle-aged men. However, upon closer inspection, she noticed that their fangs were extended and their eyes were burning red hot.

     “What a fine group of vampires: consisting of the old and infirm,” Hayden said as he waved his hand to make the whole group of geriatric vampires go up in flames.“Now you have no followers.”

     Waving his hand once more, Shirley, Hank, Minnie, and Frank were lifted up and thrown against the wall. They hung suspended while Hayden informed them of their fate. “I’m sending the four of you down to burn in hell so that you can forever lament over the choices you’ve made that have sealed your fate for all eternity.” With that said Hayden turned his hand slightly and vanquished them forever from this world.

     The bonfire sizzled and died out. Todd and Sam, whose shackles clicked open, helped Shana down from the tall mound of burnt wood. Linda was thankful that they only looked black from the smoke of the bonfire, but not hurt. She threw herself into Todd’s arms despite his disheveled and burnt appearance, holding him tight. Brushing feather-like kisses across her face, he crushed her against his body.

Kindle

http://amzn.to/1lKvMrP

Nook

http://bit.ly/1lFdqNj

 

THE DEAD GAME -- DAY 103

Chapter 18
Early next morning, Linda heard loud shouts coming from outside her apartment that sounded like they were originating from the beach near End House. I hope Todd is still home.
She couldn’t find Todd anywhere so she dressed quickly, with her cats peeking out at her from under the bed, and raced out to the beach. There was a loud commotion of people standing at the edge of the beach—right below End House. She was shocked to see that David was the one doing all the shouting and shrieking. He was standing beside a blanket with his hands waving in the air, his voice becoming higher and higher pitched.
She moved closer and noticed a red shoe sticking out from under a blanket that was draped over a form lying flat on the beach. David ran over. “I found the body when I was taking a walk on the beach by myself. All I was able to see was a red shoe. When I got closer, I realized that the shoe was on a dead body of a young girl. She was totally white—like all her blood had been drained from her body. Are there such things as vampires? I don’t know what to believe anymore. How many bad things could possibly happen in one town?”
Linda scanned the tight cluster of bystanders and spotted Todd talking with the sheriff and his deputy off to the side. She took David’s arm—which quieted him down somewhat—and guided him over to where they were standing. Todd walked over to David and said, “If you hadn’t found her, someone else would have.”
Sheriff Sam said, “She looks like the young photographer who’d been nosing around town this last month. She’d been asking a lot of questions about a girl who’d disappeared last year from the Oasis Hotel.”
“Maybe she’d discovered some information that had gotten her killed,” said Linda. She was concerned about the number of deaths piling up in town.
“We’ll never find out, since that girl has never been found. And the newspaper that this photographer was supposed to have been working for doesn’t even exist,” further explained Sam.
“Let me look into this. She could have been posing as a photographer, but been hired by someone else to dig deeper for answers,” said Todd. He turned to Linda. “Please take David home with you and remain in your house until I can join you. I don’t want you wandering around town without me. From now on, I’ll accompany you to and from work. Since we don’t know who we are up against, we must be extra careful.”
“I’m fine on my own. What about all the blood that had been drained from her body? Who could have done that? Have people been posing as vampires?”
“I’ll get to the bottom of this with the sheriff. Just be careful. Promise me that you’ll listen to me or else I’ll come home with you right now and never again leave your side.”
“All right, I’ll listen to you this time.”
“I think you should always listen to me…you’ll be much safer and happier that way.”

THE DEAD GAME--DAY 25

Chapter 5

The next morning, Louise arrived early at her store. As soon as she stepped through the doorway, she sensed that something was wrong: the air was frigid and the lights wouldn’t turn on. From the corner of her eye she noticed a shadow pass by her. She was terrified that the creeping shadows were now stalking her inside and in the daylight.

She grabbed the door handle but found that it wouldn’t budge in either direction. She stared through the door’s plate glass window and began to realize that the town was deserted. All the other stores along Main Street were still closed, except for the sheriff’s office, which was too far away to be of any help. She was all alone with no one around to save her. If she cried out for help, no one could

possibly hear her.

She felt panic beginning to overwhelm her. She couldn’t breathe; it felt like all the oxygen in the room had been sucked out. She began gasping for breaths of air, but there didn’t seem to be any left in the locked store. She scanned the store for something to help her break the front window but only found the display of mannequins. She rushed over to one of the mannequins and threw it head first through the window. Sharp shards of glass sprayed across the outside pavement and fresh air flowed into the store. She gulped in huge breaths of air and climbed through the broken glass. She threw glances up and down the streets, but couldn’t detect any signs of movement.

She ran all the way home without informing the sheriff’s office about the intruder in her store. She decided not to tell anyone what had really happened—not even the sheriff—since she didn’t know who to believe in anymore. She didn’t believe that the sheriff had ever investigated any of the strange sightings or unsolved disappearances.

From that moment on, Louise decided not to trust anyone or to confide her fears to anyone in town ever again. She would become an island to herself: strong and self-sufficient. She didn’t even trust Todd any longer: he was too chummy with the sheriff and the original residents. She suspected that these residents were the ones responsible for the unknown creatures stalking her and all the other unexplained incidents in town.

When the call finally came from the sheriff’s office later that day to inform her of the break-in at her store, she managed to sound surprised and concerned. She even returned to the store with the sheriff to check out the extent of the damage, informing him that nothing had been stolen. She then arranged to have Tom and Edward fix the window. No one had commented on the fact that the store mannequin and the broken glass had been on the outside of the store. And this didn’t surprise her at all.

ACT OF KINDNESS

This is the picture that touches my heart. It represents the kindness that we as humans have within. It also represents the helplessness we feel at times.
The fact that someone is willing to help this helpless animal gives me hope for all mankind.