Vampires of the Plains (Book 1): Burden Kansas by Ryker Alan

Author:Ryker, Alan [Ryker, Alan]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: horror
Publisher: Sucker Punch Press
Published: 2011-03-29T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 8

Dennis leaned against a small scrubby tree and watched Keith lead his best friend through the pasture. He could see Keith and Brandon as clearly as if it were daylight. More clearly even, at that distance. Keith gripped a chain attached to Brandon's collar tightly, but didn't pull it. Brandon scurried along behind him, docile as a house pet. As Keith led him along, Brandon looked all around and sniffed the air. He appeared to be starving for sensation. Dennis's anger rose and he pulled the branch he held off the tree.

Brandon heard this and looked straight at him. Keith didn't hear and couldn't see him in the dark, but Brandon could. Brandon shrieked and ran, hitting the end of the chain. Keith braced himself before he hit and held fast. He turned, slung the chain over his shoulder and plodded on, dragging Brandon behind him casual as could be. Eventually Brandon stopped fighting and let himself be guided into the strange wooden box. Keith shut the lid and locked it with two padlocks before returning to his house. He didn't look back over his shoulder even once.

What an over-confident idiot. He knew that monsters lurked in the darkness, and he still strutted around like a puffed-up rooster. Dennis wanted to kill him right then, but he didn't. He dropped the branch from his left hand. His bad hand. He hadn't gotten used to that yet. He held it in front of his face and flexed it, and dried blood fell away in flakes. He smiled, but the smile faded as he picked up his gas can and started toward Brandon's strange little prison.

He patted the wood. The thing was heavy-duty. He tugged lightly at the padlock's that secured two thick latches. Then he slid his clawed fingers under the edge of the lid and ripped it up, letting it clatter to the other side and hang from its hinges.

Brandon jumped to his feet. He stared at Dennis for a moment with huge black eyes, then leapt from the box and ran.

"Wait, Brandon," Dennis said as Brandon hit the end of his chain. His feet shot out from under him and he landed flat on his back, but he flipped into a crouch. He scrambled back and forth at the limit of the chain. Then he started batting at the chain with stumps that should have ended in hands, and Dennis felt sick to his stomach.

"Damn it, Brandon. Look what he's done to you." Dennis held his hands out, palms-forward. "Shhh… Shhh… It's alright. I know. I feel the same way. It's taking all my willpower to not either run away or kill you."

Dennis tried to get closer to Brandon, but Brandon scrambled in a circle, still attempting to remove his collar with hands that weren't there. Dennis shook his head as he stared into Brandon's eyes and saw no hint of recognition. He saw more than a lack of memory, but also a lack of human intelligence. It really was taking everything inside Dennis to be near Brandon.

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