The Midnight Murder Series: Pieces

Daylight curled into darkening skies, and Oliver grew frantic. He watched the ramshackle, white, Victorian farmhouse with his brothers and Rufus in Alvin’s vehicle in the parking lot of St. James Manor & Villas. He noticed the end windows on the second-floor lights were on and the pole barn loafing shed as well.

“We need to go,” Oliver sighed while impatiently tapping his foot on the floor mat while holding onto Beyond’s glove. “We need to save them.”

“Yes, Oliver. Let’s go in and throw ourselves to the fiends,” Alvin sarcastically spoke. “Use your brain. You have one for a reason.”

“Bugger off,” Oliver barked. “For all we know, they could be feasting on them.”

“Will you two shut up?” Arvel spoke while looking through his night-vision binoculars in the passenger seat. “I see four: A female and three men. One of the men is carrying a body behind them. The female – She’s wearing a long dress and holding something in her hands, but I can’t make it out.”

“What about Adán?” asked a worried Rufus from the backseat, next to Oliver. “Is it his body? Can you see him?”

Alvin stared at Rufus in the rear-view mirror from the driver’s seat. He picked at his bottom lip while resting his elbow on the door. His face was brooding and pensive.

Arvel shook his head and set his binoculars on the center console. “He’s probably in the house or somewhere in the shed. The body is too long to be his. I have a plan. I’ll go with Rufus to check out the shed. Alvin and Oliver can take the house,” he checked his gun to see if it was loaded and hooked his bolo machete to one of his belt loops. “Zombie or ghoul, we aim for the head.”

Adán opened his eyes, but gray and brown fuzziness blurred his vision. His head was pounding as he tried speaking but only groans escape his mouth. He tried sitting up, but the leather straps over his wrists limited his mobility. He was even too weak to lift his head or turn it. His skin was pale and sickly with cuts covering his arms and chest. His stomach was sliced open from side to side with his entrails hanging out from the wound.

“So, we’re eating our own?” Adán heard a male voice along with humming echoing in the air. “I can’t believe we have a reason to eat a vampire.”

“Don’t get so happy, you idiot,” he heard a female voice. “We have to kill him and that princess. Put the buckets of blood in the refrigerator and see if the organs are finished cooking. I want a liver, right now.”

Adán can only listen as he heard footsteps coming closer to him. His breath was becoming shallower when a female with brown hair loomed above him with a sly smile. “Who-” he hissed in pain as she dug a finger into one of his open wounds to taste his blood.

“Dead man’s blood with vampire blood taste so yummy,” the female licked the rest of the red liquid off her middle finger while turning to the men and leaning against the table that Adán was bound. “Boss wants the bitch’s stomach well done. You know how he is if his meat isn’t what he wants. That crabass. Matter of fact, he has been one for the last three hundred years. I don’t know. Maybe it’s something to do with that meat suit he ate.” She drew out a syringe full of red liquid from her dress pocket and turned back to the vampire to plunge it into his neck.

“Ghouls,” Adán managed to speak, trying to fight off the dead man’s blood. “You’re ghouls. Where’s Beyond? I’ll kill you if you hurt-” he convulsed before going unconscious.

She snickered and pulled out the syringe with a grin. “Not if we kill you first, batty.”

Arvel and Rufus pressed their backs against the two dormant trees in the front yard and peeped stealthily around the corner. Arvel looked right to watch his brothers creep up the wooden porch steps in front of the house. He watched as Oliver set his shotgun down and picked the screen door lock while Alvin signaled his twin to go ahead with their plan. Arvel nodded and turned left to stare at the werewolf.

Oliver slowly opened the main door and stuck his head around the door. His eyes darted left and right to make sure the coast was clear. Discovering that the foyer entry was indeed empty, he moved towards the wall with his gun in hands and allowed Alvin to enter. The brothers heard muffled screams from upstairs. “I’ll check upstairs,” whispered Oliver to Alvin, who was slowly closing the door. “Okay?”

Alvin nodded before carefully making his way through the hallway with his gun.

Oliver stood up and watched his brother before tiptoeing up the stairs with his back against the wall. He held his gun close to his chest, aiming it at the air with his finger on the trigger.

“Baby,” Oliver jumped at the woman’s voice. He looked up to see a blonde, curly-haired woman in a hospital gown leaning on the railing, watching him. The hunter was incredulous. The woman gave him a soft smile. “Oliver, don’t play with fire. You and your brothers should know that.”

Oliver’s expression softened as he lowered his gun. “Mum?” Oliver softly spoke as photographs of her surfaced in his mind. “Is that you? Are you alive?” He felt tears in his eyes.

His mother nodded then shook her head like she was answering both of his questions. She pointed to the distance. “She’s in the last door on the right.” With that, she vanished, leaving Oliver to continue wonderingly staring at her spot.

Outside, Arvel and Rufus were still behind the trees. They watched the shed as the men exited the outbuilding. Arvel nodded at Rufus before they cautiously ran towards the building. Rufus halted halfway and hissed in pain. He looked up to see the full moon shining through the dark clouds. The werewolf took in some deep breath before catching up with Arvel. They hid on the side of the place.

“You okay?” asked Arvel when he noticed sweat glistening off the knight’s skin.

Rufus nodded before burying his face in Arvel’s back, stopping himself from screaming. “Moon,” he grunted. “Full.”

Arvel understood and thought of a plan. “You get Adam, and I’ll take care of the big boys, okay?”

“Okay,” Rufus nodded and let the hunter get up and sneaked behind the shed to the other side.

Arvel jumped out, just in time before the male ghouls went inside the house. “Hey!” The men looked over. “Hey, look at me! I used to be a redhead! Fresh meat, you fatsos!” The males ran after Arvel, who took off. As soon as they’re gone, Rufus limped into the shed and panted.

“Don’t worry, Adán,” Rufus murmured to himself while grabbing his side. “I’m here.” Rufus stood up straight and saw his friend bloodied and strapped to an embalming table. He moved towards him and frowned. “Don’t worry, little buddy. I’ll get you out of here.”

“I won’t do that if I was you,” a female voice spoke from behind, startling the werewolf. Rufus spun around and was stunned at the woman’s face. “Rufus.”

Back inside the house, Alvin started down the basement stairs with his gun and flashlight. Halfway down, a vomitrocious stench hit his nostrils. The hunter recoiled by immediately covering his nose with his jacket. He shined his light around the basement and found a mutilated female corpse sitting in the corner of the room. “Jesus,” he mumbled before walking down again.

A hand grabbed one of Alvin’s ankles from under the stairs and knocked him down. Alvin tumbled down the remaining stairs, hitting his head on each step and groaned. A male ghoul stepped out from under the wooden steps and smirked at the hunter, who was searching for his missing gun. “Fresh meat,” he went over to the Brit and picked him up by the collar before slamming him against the wall. “I hope you taste delicious as you look.”

“Thanks, but I’m straight,” Alvin pushed the guy off him and undid the carabiner of his machete from his belt loop. He held his weapon in his left hand. The man hissed at the hunter and charged at him. Alvin swung his blade down hard on the male’s neck. Blood sprayed across the brick walls and Alvin’s jacket.

Beyond screamed into her gag. Gashes and sweat covered her from head to toe, the white cloth soaked in her blood, and her internal organs were missing. Her glasses were in Jonathan’s hand as the other hand was digging out her left eyeball.

“Shh,” Jonathan cooed as the half-breed stomped her foot on the wooden floor. “You’ll wake up the neighbors. Your screams remind me of this female I’ve killed. What was her name? Mai Kipling. Yeah, she was a screamer and delightful. You know,” Beyond’s knees buckled as he finally gouged out her eye and grinned. “When Master Dany told me to take this form and don’t change. At first, I thought he was mad, but I now thank him for this body,” he ate the eyeball and moaned. “Mmm! Delicious!” Jonathan swallowed and licked his fingers to get the blood off. “Your Jonathan’s memories showed you were pregnant. I have to ask: Was it a boy or a girl? Also, did little Jessika ever marry that boy she liked? What was his name? Leo Ginter, right?” Beyond leaned forward and let the blood from her socket drip to the floor. Jonathan waited for an answer and sighed. “Woman, you better answer me before I remove your lungs and heart.”

The bedroom door flew open, and Oliver stormed in. The fiends jumped in surprise. “Boo!” Oliver fired his shotgun and hit one of the male fiends’ heads. His head exploded, and blood spattered across the room and onto some of the others’ faces. He fired another round at the woman and watched as the headless corpses fell on the ground.

“Attack him, you idiots!” yelled Jonathan in the distance.

The ghouls obeyed and did so.

Oliver smirked and pulled out his machete from his belt loop and swung at the nearest ghoul’s neck. He stepped forward and aimed his gun at the monster’s forehead. “Hey,” he pulled the trigger. His smirk didn’t last long as one of the remaining two ghouls tackled him, and they crashed to the floor, causing the hunter to lose his gun. The ghoul began punching Oliver’s face, but Oliver managed to block him with his arms and sliced off his head. Oliver pushed the headless body off him and eyed the last ghoul seizing his gun. The Brit leaped to his feet and at the monster, cutting the fiend’s head off and panted.

Jonathan clapped at Oliver’s performance. “Well done, hunter,” Oliver spun around to see him standing next to a bloodied Beyond. “My, don’t you look like my twin, doesn’t he, Destiny-honey? Except he doesn’t have brown hair,” he listened to Beyond’s low distress sounds. “Ah, don’t worry about her. She’s fine. We were having a little S&M before you came.”

“Get away from her,” ordered Oliver. “NOW!”

Ghoul Jonathan laughed at the hunter’s command. “Are you a comedian? You’re funny, kid, but I’m not scared of you.” In a blink of an eye, the ghoul was in front of Oliver, causing the hunter to be stunned. “And I don’t like party spoilers like yourself,” Jonathan seized Oliver’s throat and threw him backward. Oliver crashed through the wall and landed on the floor in the other room.

Arvel raced through the dried crop field with the ghouls following him. He panted as he moved farther into the area. The hunter tripped over a rock and fell. Glancing back, he saw his pursuers were getting close. “Dammit!” he jumped up and began firing his shotgun at them. Arvel hit the ghoul Samuel between the eyes and frowned. The promise he made to Mark exploded in front of him, like the ghoul’s head. The Brit fired his gun repeatedly at the last two men before dropping his weapon and rubbed his face in his hands in non-fulfillment.

“Mary,” spoke Rufus as the woman came closer to him. “You’re not her.”

“But I am, my sweet German,” Mary giggled and wrapped her arms around his neck. She pulled him down to kiss his lips, but he didn’t kiss back. “How’s our son, Rufus?” she asked when she pulled back her lips.

He pushed her off him and growled. “You’re not his mother, you bitch,” his eyes glinted yellow for a moment. He felt the wolf gaining control of him. Rufus groaned in pain as he hunched over. “No. No.”

Ghoul Mary grinned before seizing his shirt to throw him out of the shed, but Rufus snatched her throat, causing her to gasp. “Ru-Rufus, what are you-”

Rufus spoke nothing as he slammed her against the shed wall. He looked up at her with his wolf eyes. Ghoul Mary grimaced as the werewolf began squeezing her neck.

“W-Wait,” she choked out as he squeezed harder. Ghoul Mary tried gasping for air, but with each gasp, his grip tighten. A scream escaped her lips as his nails entered her skin. Blood leaked from under Rufus’ fingers as he squeezed his nails more into the flesh. “I-I-” her eyes rolled back into her head until he crushed her windpipe and snapped her neck off, sending her head tumbling.

Rufus’ eyes changed back to normal as he stared down at the ghoul’s head on the ground. He examined his bloodied hand before collapsing towards the ground. “Aahh!”

Ghoul Jonathan slammed a wounded Oliver against the floor mirror and rubbed his face with his hands. “You know what’s annoying, do you? Wearing a dead man’s corpse for hundreds of years and thinking that you will get to torture the wife because your boss says so, but then, a guy pops out of nowhere, and he looks like the deceased. I HATE that!” he kicked Oliver in the stomach, making him groan and cough. “Master Dany paid some demons to kill his brother-in-law and told me to dig up Jonathan’s body to wear it, but he goes off the radar until now.”

“You’re mental for obeying him,” Oliver staggered to his feet.

In the other room, Beyond slowly lifted up her head, giving another low sound of distress. She heard the ghoul’s conversation about her brother and late husband and whimpered. With her only eye, she scrutinized the room and at the headless bodies. Her vision stopped at the hole in the wall and the ghoul winning the fight against Oliver. Beyond had to do something. She used her shoulder to rub the gag from her mouth. After it was off, she panted, and her heart pounded.

Ghoul Jonathan punched Oliver twice in the face. The hunter’s face was swollen and bloodied. The ghoul drew back his fist for another punch when a shrieking noise entered his ears. Jonathan unclenched his fist and looked around the room for that increasing sound. He covered his ears and bent over in pain. “What’s that noise?!”

Oliver smirked but covered his ears as well when he heard the now piercing scream. “Oohh!”

Ghoul Jonathan headed back to the hole and stared in horror when he looked in Beyond’s direction. “Ba-Banshee,” he swallowed as the banshee let out another screaming, causing the house to shake, but not too violently. The ghoul collected himself before stepping into the room and towards Beyond. “I’m going to cut your fucking tongue out, you lit-” his head exploded. The ghoul’s headless corpse fell to reveal Oliver standing behind him with a smoking shotgun in his hands.

“Beyond,” he raced towards her as she transformed back to her previous state. Oliver halted in front of her and checked for any way to unchain her. “Key,” he spoke when he found keyholes in the shackles. The hunter spun around to search for the key. He desperately checked every pocket of each body until he found the key in Jonathan’s pockets. “Got it,” Oliver saw the reaper’s trap above and aimed his gun at it, shooting it and breaking the circle. He fiddled with the key before reaching up and freeing the female.

Beyond dropped to her knees and crawled to the headless corpse of Ghoul Jonathan. “N-No,” she whimpered.

Oliver grabbed her shoulder to stop her, but she jerked away. “Beyond, he’s not the real Jonathan.”

She took the body and cradled it in her arms before crying. “Not again. N-Not again. Why, God, why did you take him from me again?”

Oliver frowned while taking off his jacket and draping it over her shoulders. He knelt beside her and carefully parted her from the corpse. The hunter put Beyond on his lap and cradled her against his chest, rocking her to comfort her. “It’ll be okay. It’ll be okay,” he stroked her hair.

Beyond peeped up to see his bruised face, slowly lifted her bare head, and hesitantly, touched his cheek, healing his wounds. “I-I-I-”

“Shh, shh, shh, save your strength,” Oliver said as he kissed the top of her head. He heard footsteps coming up the stairs. The hunter looked up, cocked his gun, and aimed it at the doorway. Oliver waited as the footsteps got louder with each step. He pointed the gun higher and held his breath.

Alvin appeared from around the corner, and Oliver exhaled in relief. “Oli,” he rushed into the room and knelt in front of his baby brother. His glance swept the room and scoffed. “Glad you didn’t lose your head.”

“No time for funnies, Alvin,” spoke Oliver. “She needs help. Take off your jacket. We can use it to dress her wound.” He carefully positioned Beyond on the floor with her knees up.

Alvin bit his lip in disgust at the sight of the female’s state. He watched the ends of her lungs moving from her rib cage. “Where’s the rest of her organs?” Alvin took off his jacket and gave it to Oliver.

“In the ghouls’ stomachs,” replied Oliver while laying the jacket flat on the half-breed’s wound and outstretched the sleeves. He grasped one end of the sleeves and slid it under her body. “Get the other end, Alvin.”

Alvin did so and tied the sleeves tightly to her side. “Let’s get her up.” The brothers hoisted her arms over their shoulders and slowly picked her up to her feet. Beyond let out a scream as the men straightened her up. “Sorry, sorry.”

Oliver used his other hand to hold the jacket in place as they tardily headed towards the door and hallway.

Arvel rushed into the shed and descried the beheaded ghoul’s body and Rufus on the ground. “Rufus,” he raced towards the werewolf’s side and picked him up to his feet.

Rufus groaned as the full moonlight shined through the steel roof cracks. His skin was paler than before with more sweat glistening on his face. “Get Adán,” he panted as he took off his jacket and gave it to the hunter. “I’ll be fine.”

Arvel nodded and leaned him against a support beam before heading towards the table and unstrapping the vampire. Adán let out a groan of anguish. “Hey, take it easy, Adam,” whispered Arvel while putting Rufus jacket on Adán’s stomach and using it to dress the knight’s wound. “Rufus and I are here to save you.” He gently carried him in his arms, bridal style, and turned to Rufus.

“I can smell the dead man’s blood in him,” grunted Rufus while trying to make his way towards the exit with Arvel. “He’s on, ah, his deathbed,” the werewolf collapsed on his knees in the grass. He noticed his fingernails transforming into claws. “He needs animal blood and now.”

Arvel spun around and watched Rufus fighting the wolf within while getting up. “Wh-What kind of animal does he like, or he needs?”

“It doesn’t matter, it doesn’t matter,” growled Rufus as he scampered towards the hunter and his friend. “Get him to the car.”

Arvel nodded in agreement and raced beside him. “Do you want to get on my back, Rufus?” The werewolf shook his head.

Rosario poked her head out from behind Arvel’s shoulder and wrapped her arms around his neck. She looked down and frowned when she saw his father’s state. “Papi, despierta. Daddy, wake up.”

Adán peeped through half-opened eyes as heard his daughter’s voice then saw a blurry her over Arvel’s shoulder. “Ro-Rosario?” his voice broke as tears escaped from his eyes and down the sides of his face. “Rosario, lo siento. Lo siento.”

Arvel arched an eyebrow at Adán’s apologize. “Rufus, why is he saying sorry to this Rosario person?”

Rufus halted halfway in the unpaved driveway and closed his eye, fighting back the tears. “He’s saying sorry to his dead daughter. We need to hur-” The side door burst open, causing the hunter and werewolf to jump out of their skins. Oliver and Alvin emerged from the house with Beyond in the middle.

Arvel looked anxiously at his brothers. “Who kicked the door?” His twin held out a finger while Beyond lifted her head to see Arvel, causing him to gag at the sight of her gouged eye socket. “Guts and all, I understand, but eye sockets are come on.”

“N-N-No,” Beyond whimpered as Arvel past them with Adán in his arms and Rufus after him. “Th-They hurt him,” the brothers helped her down the side porch wooden steps. Blood tears rolled down her cheeks. “They hurt my boy!”

“He’ll be fine,” said Oliver as he and his brother scurried towards the SUV while holding the jacket in place. “Arvel and Rufus got him. Alvin, watch out for holes,” they cut through the grass and onto the road. “Look! We’re almost to the car,” he smiled as Arvel and Rufus settled Adán inside.

Once they reached the S.U.V., Oliver and Alvin picked Beyond up and put her inside. The half-breed whined when she saw the dying vampire laying down on the seats with his head on Rufus’ lap as Oliver got inside behind her and Alvin raced in the driver’s seat. Arvel was in the passenger seat. Alvin frantically searched for his keys in his pockets. Beyond observed his body and carefully uncovered his dressing to look at the wound. She swallowed as she took off her bracelet and put it inside of Adán’s wound. “Sano,” she hovered her hand over him as she whispered. A turquoise glow emanated from the crystals and shined throughout Adán’s body. The vampire arched his back as his chest puffed into the air. One by one, his organs returned to their regular spots.

“Adán?” softly spoke Rufus as he watched the other knight let out a startling gasp like all the oxygen was thrust down his throat and into his lungs all at once. Adán opened his eyes before rolling them back into his head and closing them. His body jolted back onto the seat as his skin began shutting itself.

“He has dead blood in him. He needs animal blood,” Beyond uttered while leaning over to the seats and puked up blood. Oliver seized her shoulders and pulled her to his chest before she collapsed onto the bloodstained floor.

“Son of a bitch!” raged Alvin. “I-I can’t find my keys.”

“Oh, God,” panicked Arvel. “I-I-Is there an animal farm near us that w-w-we can carry him?”

Beyond raised a hand and snapped her fingers. The car vanished from the parking lot of the nursing home and materialized onto the side of a side road. “Barn,” she panted.

“Good, good, good,” Alvin got out and rushed over to Oliver’s door. He opened it and helped his brother and Beyond out before getting Adán out. “Oliver, get his legs. Arvel, keep watch for any farmers. Rufus,” Alvin made a face when he saw no Rufus, and the door opened. “Do whatever,” The brothers hastened up the hill and towards the barn with Beyond following them. Adán let out a few loud groans, but Alvin quieted him with some soft lullaby humming. “Beyond, open a door,” he whispered.

Beyond nodded and opened one of the wooden double-doors with a swish movement of her hand. “Ow,” she whined and held her side as the siblings entered. “Ow.”

The animals in the stables were sleeping as the brothers searched for an animal for the vampire to feed. Their eyes found themselves on a sleeping cow. The brothers looked at each other and nodded before going to the defenseless creature.

“Here you go,” Alvin spoke as he and Oliver set Adán next to the cow. “Adam, fresh animal meat.”

Adán sniffed the air before slowly opened his eyes. He stared at the cow’s flesh hungrily before he hissed and extended his fangs. The vampire sunk his fangs into the cow’s neck. The brothers watched with cringing faces. The cow lowed loudly as its skin was torn open.

Beyond stepped between the siblings and limped towards the vampire and his feast. She stood in front of the dying animal and inhaled deeply. A bright, blue light came from its body and Beyond absorbed it. Beyond closed her eyes as a bright, green light exploded from her body. Alvin and Oliver quickly shielded their eyes as the blinding light flooded the barn.

Back outside, Arvel raised a brow at the shining green light coming from the distance as he stood next to his twin’s vehicle, having a smoke. “What the hell is that?” he mumbled to himself while tossing the cigarette butt on the road and stomping on it. The hunter stepped onto the grass as the sound of growling was right behind him. Arvel froze in terror and hesitantly looked over his shoulder.

The light faded and the siblings uncovered their eyes. They gazed in amaze at the pair of black wings behind Beyond, stretching off into the distance.

“Better,” Beyond whispered as her wounds disappeared and she opened her repair glowing green eyes. She smiled at the men, and they returned the smile.

Oliver stood up and reached into his pants pocket to pull out the half-breed’s glove. He made his way towards her and cleared his throat. “I think this belongs to you,” he gave it to her, but she refused to take it. Instead, she moved closer to him.

“I have extras,” she said while taking his face into her hands. Oliver swallowed in fear as she leaned forward to kiss him.

Alvin chuckled while watching the two. “Finally, Oli.”

Oliver’s eyes widened as they flashed green. Beyond broke away from the kiss while Oliver’s eyes returned to their original color. “That-”

She nodded as a black shadow leaped over their heads and attacked another cow that was sleeping in the corner. The hunters whipped towards the sound of cow mooing and flesh tearing. They saw the thing as Rufus in werewolf form feeding on the cow.

“Rufus?” whispered Alvin as he heard footsteps racing towards him. He looked towards the sound and saw his twin standing next to him, panting and sweating.