The Kiss: An Anthology About Love and Other Close Encounters(74)

O’Reilly looked at Abbie, shock and terror evident in his eyes. “I don’t underst—”

The vampire grabbed him by the shoulders, spun around, then shoved him toward the two creatures standing by the door. “Turn him,” it said. “Then we’ll kill the rest.” The door-vamps threw O’Reilly to the ground, then dropped to their knees and sank their teeth into each side of his throat.

O’Reilly’s screams echoed across the chapel.





*


Several seconds passed. O’Reilly eventually fell silent, but the other vampires remained crouched over his fallen body. The lead vampire paced back and forth in front of the group of humans, but he didn’t attack. Abbie wasn’t sure if he was concerned about the cross or if he was simply waiting for his friends.

Making sure to stay between the vampire and the humans, she stole a glance around the chapel, looking for anything that might help. She saw nothing.

“I’m so glad we found the church,” the vampire hissed. “The others can have the crowds outside. I’ve always had a taste for religious blood.”

Abbie’s heart sank. So there were more of them. This wasn’t just an assault on the church. It was an assault on the town. “Tim,” she said, still looking at the vampire.

“Yes?” Tim answered from somewhere behind her.

“There are two tables behind the podium.”

“I see them.”

“Knock them over,” Abbie said. “Break them up. See if you can break off the legs.”

“On it,” she heard Tim say.

The vampire smiled. “If you’re looking for makeshift stakes, you’re wasting your time. Stakes or no stakes, you won’t leave this church alive.”

“You’re probably right,” Abbie said, “but that doesn’t mean I’m not going to do everything I can to stop that from happening.”

The creature cocked an eyebrow. To Abbie, it felt strange to see this monstrous thing make such a human gesture. “I’m impressed. The people outside are screaming and running, but you and your friends are handling this remarkably well.”

“Oh, I think we both know I’m terrified,” Abbie said, “but I have responsibilities I can’t walk away from.” She extended her arm, pushing her cross a little closer to the creature. “And don’t think I didn’t notice you trying to inch your way closer.”

The vampire laughed and took a step back. “What responsibilities?”

Keep him talking, Abbie thought. Keep his attention away from the others. And pay attention to what he says. There may be clues about how to kill these things. “My first responsibility is to the people in this church. While I’m alive, you won’t touch them.”


“That won’t be a problem for me,” the vampire said. “I fully plan to kill you first. What’s your second responsibility?”

“You’re a real Chatty Patty for a monster,” Abbie said.

The creature pointed a clawed thumb toward the vampires at the door. “Turning a human into a vampire can be a time-consuming process. We have to feed him our blood, so the more vampires we have, the faster it goes. Since there’s only two of them—”

“No,” Abbie whispered.

The vampire laughed again. “Wait a minute. You didn’t know that’s what we were doing to the good Father? I thought I had made that very clear.”

“It has been an eventful night,” Abbie said. “I must’ve missed it.”

Abbie instinctively knew it was time to act. She knew she had to do something. The problem was, she had no way of knowing whether or not Tim was ready. One wrong move and they were all dead. With a deep breath, she decided it was time for faith.

Still looking at the vampire, she raised her right arm and opened hand. “Now, Tim.”

She prayed Tim was ready and she prayed he understood what she was asking for.

“Heads up!” Tim yelled.

Abbie risked a glance behind her. A makeshift stake – which was actually just a broken table leg – flew toward her.

With agility she didn’t know she had, Abbie caught the stake and quickly drove it into the heart of the lead vampire. She was surprised by how easily the leg plowed through the creature’s chest. The vampire’s eyes widened in horror and pain.

“My second responsibility,” Abbie spat, “is to rid the world of vampires. It’s a brand new job. Just started tonight, actually.”

The vampire fell to the floor, dead. Abbie calmly reached down and pulled the table leg from its chest. She looked back at the others. For the first time, she noticed just how young they all looked.

Seven of them were holding table legs.

She turned back toward the front entrance. The two vampires were now standing above Father O’Reilly’s body. “She killed him,” one of the creatures said. “She actually killed him.”

“Run?” the other vampire asked. “Get help and come back?”

“No,” his companion said. “It’s a church full of children and one nun. They must be punished for what they’ve done.” He pointed a claw at Abbie. “Especially her.”

“Kids,” Abbie said, “we came here to clean this chapel. So let’s clean it.”