Bram's Hollow

The forest of Tall Trees seemed more ominous as Tobias led Richter and his undead brethren along its edge by the mountainside. To Tobias the trees looked larger and somehow far more menacing though he was finding it easier and easier to make out the landscape even in the nighttime darkness. He looked down by his side where Bibby was doing his best to keep up while softly rubbing his neck, trying to relieve the stinging pain from where the overly tight grip of Richter had left its mark. The lurch in his step and the fright in his eyes made Tobias feel terrible for getting Bibby caught up in this business.

Tobias did his best to not make his walking look as aimless as it truly was. He had no idea who even took Count Orlok’s ashes let alone where to find them. What he was really doing was stalling for time and hoping Isabelle had help on the way.

“How much further?” Richter barked at Tobias from behind the tethered bodies of four ravenous zombies.

He didn’t know how to answer the question, Tobias was making it up as he was going and hadn’t figured out the next move yet. Quickly and without moving his head he looked around the terrain for something to do or somewhere to go. Tobias even considered making a run for it but knew he and Bibby wouldn’t have a shot at getting away, the vampires were just too fast. His eyes searched from one side of the forest to the next with nothing to aid him for the effort, but then he saw the enormous Mother Tree from around the corner of the rocky cliff face, jutting in toward the mountain. The spark of an idea flashed in his mind and Tobias had figured out where to go.

“It’s up ahead, not too much farther.” It was hard for Tobias to keep his voice steady. He was pretty sure what was going to happen to him and Bibby if the vampires found out he’s leading them on a wild goose chase.

As the Mother Tree drew closer Bibby became more and more nervous. He held on to Tobias’s pant leg like a toddler not wanting to lose his mommy.

“Bibby is scared.” He whispered threw his water filled mouth.

“I am too Bibby.” Tobias looked down at the frightened lake creature and whispered as low as he could. “Listen to me, the first chance you get I want you to run. Wait till the vampires are distracted but when you can, run for the lake.”

Bibby nodded, never letting go of Tobias’s pant leg. Now it was only a matter of finding a way to distract them for Bibby. Tobias could smell the rotting flesh of the zombies stumbling behind him. Every so often they would surge forward trying to get a chunk of Tobias or Bibby causing their vampire keepers to pull them back. Richter walked behind the flesh eaters and would grab them by their leather collars to help keep them in line, at least for the time being.

The Mother Tree looked even taller that it did the last time Tobias laid eyes on it. He walked up to the trunk and placed one of his hands on the massive trunk. Bibby let go of Tobias’s pants, and did the same.

“Here,” Tobias said. “This is where the ashes are.” He anxiously held his breath, hoping he sounded convincing.

Richter scoffed. “You hid the ashes of one of the most powerful vampires in history up in a tree?” With a snide look Richter examined the enormous tree. After quickly considering his options he turned to one of his vampire companions. He was pale and thin as most vampires were. His hair looked meticulously primped and styled to look as trend setting as possible. His clothes were black with hints of gold as was Richter’s though this vampire’s outfit looked far less extravagant. “Zander, bring the ashes to me at once.” Richter demanded.

The vampire Zander handed off the straps of the two zombies he was minding over to his companion who tied all four to a nearby low hanging branch on another tree. The primped vampire opened his mouth and rubbed his long fangs with his tongue as he determined how he should go about climbing the tree. Tobias half expected him to transform into a bat like they did in the movies but suspected that wasn’t something they actually did. The vampire Zander crouched and with all his strength leapt up the side of the Mother Tree and tried to clench onto the side. The leap was impressive but didn’t come close to even the lowest branch. He started to slide down but kicked his feet off the side of the trunk and cleared at least twenty more feet before he dig his fingers forcefully into the bark. He repeated the process until he managed to grasp a branch. The vampire pulled himself up and vanished into the foliage of the Mother Tree.

“How were you able to get the ashes up there in the first place?” Richter asked Tobias with a suspicious tone to his velvety voice1.

Tobias thought quickly for some sort of convincing lie. “My father helped me.” He tries to say it as coolly as possible.

“It that right?” Richter looked untrusting of Tobias’s answer. He stepped close to Tobias and Bibby as his eyes seemed to darken in their red hue. “You’re lying, aren’t you?”

There was nothing that Tobias could think to say that could save him now. Richter was on to him and as he brandished his fangs Tobias shivered with terror that crawled up his spine. The rustling of leaves and the snapping of branched distracted Richter momentarily. Everyone looked up and as the branches of the Mother Tree began to writhe and swing in every possible direction.

“Zander?” The vampire watching the restrained zombies cried out to the tree top.

The branched continued to swing, curling inward as if looking for something. After a few seconds it seemed to have found it and a voice from the tree began to scream. The tree branches moves quick and furious now, whipping inward trying to hit its target. One of the branches seemed to be straining to pull something. Another branch joined it and together was able to remove the intrusive party. Zander the vampire emerged from the tree, flailing about while other smaller branches struck him. The branches, perhaps feeling that he had been duly punished, dropped Zander.

Zander’s companion ran underneath the falling vampire in an attempt to catch him. Thought the purpose he ended up serving as was a cushion or Zander to land on. The two vampires collided and crashed to the ground in a pale heap. Richter turned and shouted at his disciples. “Get up you morons, or it will be the Den of Souls or you.”

Tobias quickly pushed Bibby on his upper back. “Run now!” Neither one of them hesitated and began running into the forest.

Unfortunately for Tobias Richter was quick and was able to grasp him by the shoulder and throw him to the ground before he got very far from the tree. Richter’s vampire compatriots stood up looking disheveled and beaten from the fall and subsequent collision. He turned to them and shouted. “After the lake mutant, go.” The underlings followed Richter’s orders and ran head long into the forest in pursuit of Bibby.

Richter stood over the fallen Tobias, his mouth curled up in a sort of manic smile. His fangs became the prominent feature on his face as they almost glistened in the moonlight. In that moment Tobias understood unequivocally what fear looked and felt like. He was clearly outmatched.

In the darkness of the forest a violent sound emerged. A guttural and fierce growl that didn’t sound like it could have come from the vampires or Bibby. It sounded large and angry. It even made Richter look into the dark forest puzzled by the commotion. Tobias caught him off guard and kicked both his feet into Richter’s chest staggering him backward against the trunk of the Mother Tree.

“I’ll have your blood for that.” Richter said as he pushed himself off the tree. He reached out for Tobias but stood still, as if he were lost in thought for just a moment. Richter smiled and pulled back. “On second thought, I have a better idea.” He dashed with incredible speed over to the shorter tree that the four zombies had been tied. Tibias lost sight of him for a moment he had never seen anyone move that fast before. With a wicked smile, Richter looked Tobias in the eyes. “What would I want with your mutt blood anyway?” With his hateful words said he grasped the four leather straps keeping the zombies in place and with an almost effortless twist of his hands he snapped them.

The freed shamblers did not hesitate and began walking toward Tobias. He tried quickly got to his feet and backed himself against the trunk of the Mother Tree. The zombies separated from each other and encircled around him making any chance of running disappear. The merciless growling continued to ring through the trees and Richter was laughing.

“It’s not too late you know.” Richter smugly shouted. “All I want are the ashes.”

Tobias eyed each zombie as he pleaded with Richter. “I don’t know where they are. You have to believe me.”

“No I don’t.” Richter chuckled. “But if you insist on not telling, at least my pets here will get to have a little fun.”

There really nothing more he could think about. Tobias had to become willing to fight for his life. He looked at his four attackers, there was no plan and no skill associated with their assault. This played to Tobias’s advantage. Their only want was to feed. They really had no other motivation. They were already dead, Tobias thought, for all he knew he would be doing them a favor by sending them back to their graves, so to speak. He had decided. Tobias took a quick but deep breath and charged headlong into the center zombie on his left.

He crashed shoulder first into the zombie and both of them fell to the ground. Tobias wrestled himself free from the flailing arms of the grounded lurker and tried to run into the forest where it would be harder for them to follow without the vampires leading them. Richter had other plans and headed him off.

“It was a nice try.” Richter said coldly. “But they’re not done with you till I say so.” He shoved Tobias back into the zombies.

Another of the zombies got close enough to grasp Tobias’s shoulder. Surprisingly quick, even to himself, Tobias spun around and kicked its knee causing it to buckle and topple to the ground. The next zombie approached and reached out. Tobias grasped the arm and twisted it till it popped and pulled the attacker down. It was then that Tobias realized that all of the zombie’s movements seemed to be slowed down, much more than a typical zombie. It was as if he could feel the next advance in attack coming just before it actually did. The third zombie to attack came from the ground. It was the one that Tobias had run into first. The zombie held his ankle, Tobias pulled his foot away and swung it forward with all of his strength and kicked it in the mouth, breaking several of its sharpened teeth.

Tobias waited for the last standing zombie to make its move. The shamble, like the others reached out for Tobias as it advanced. A cold hand suddenly wrapped around Tobias’s neck from behind. Richter squeezed to tightly as he used his other hand to hold Tobias’s arm behind his back.

“You know, you really are your father’s son.” Richter whispered into Tobias’s ear. “That is going to make your death far more enjoyable to watch.”

The moonlight began to darken. Tobias felt as if he were on the verge of passing out. Darkness was taking him and he could do nothing to stop it. He felt at first like Richter were strangling him to death, but as the darkness closed in he felt the vampire’s grip weaken and release him. Tobias fell to the ground, feeling cold and hopeless. He heard the growling and scraping from the trees stop. He heard the sound of shouting and twigs breaking like someone where running away. He heard crushing and murmuring. Then finally he heard voices.

“How is he?”

“You know I cannot touch him. Light that blasted candle.”

“None of the zombies bit him did they?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Did you see him fight off those zombies?”

“I saw him almost get killed.”

“He’s a scrapper.”

“He’s a boy.”

“He’s stronger than you give him credit for.”

“And how would you know that?”

“Now is not the time for fighting. Where is the candle?”

“There I got it lit.”

Tobias’s dark world began to warm and glow. An orb of light came into his view and shrank as everything became clearer. The orb cleared until Tobias saw it as the flickering light of a candle being held by a man standing just behind his great uncle Jerome.

“Are you alright my boy?” Jerome asked.

Tobias sat up slowly. “I guess so. What happened?”

“Richter is a man of great ability.” Jerome said in his usual raspy voice. “But he also knows when he is outnumbered.”

Tobias turned to his knees and then stood up. Jerome was with two other men, Isabelle’s father Henry. And a tall slender man with ragged, long black hair.

“Bibby,” Tobias blurted. “is he alright?”

Henry nodded. “If you are talking about the small lake man, he’s fine.”

“Where is he?” Tobias asked.

“Well, Isabelle sent me to come and help. The lake man, uh Bibby?”

“Yea.”

“Well Bibby was running away from a couple of Richter’s men. When I had my run in with them, he just kept on running. I think my bear form might have scared him off, I don’t know.”

Tobias sighed in relief. “I don’t think Isabelle would ever forgive me if something happened to him.”

The black haired man took a couple of steps toward Tobias. “Are you alright Toby?”

Tobias rubbed his neck where Richter was choking him. “I guess so.” Tobias’s hand froze when he realized, only his mother called him Toby. Nervously and slowly he looked at the man. He looked frail yet burly, though his eyes felt endearing when they looked at him. Tobias pictured the man with shorter hair and a little more filled out. He suddenly lost his breath. He couldn’t believe what he was looking at in that moment. Tobias gathered enough air in his lungs to push out one word.

“Dad?”