I quaked as I realized what her surprise most likely was. ‘Oh, poor Tommy.’ I was already mourning his passing.
“Michael?” a labored voice asked.
I looked over towards Tracy, whose interest was piqued as was BT’s.
“Is Lawrence with you?” the voice struggled to ask.
Questioning looks passed throughout the group. This was a gravely serious time, but still I couldn’t resist a small dig on my friend. Who knows? It could be my last time, might as well do it while you can… no regrets! “Hey Doc, yeah, BT is with us.” “BT’s name is Lawrence?” Alex asked me.
BT looked at me like he was going to rip my spleen clean from my body.
“I’m here Doc,” BT said.
“She’s killed my wife,” Doc said, choking back the tears.
“What about the kids, Doc?” I asked hesitantly.
“She… she hung her upside down and then slit her throat. She made Tommy drink all of her blood as it fell… oh God!” The doc was having a very difficult time reliving the event, but he kept on going.
“She turned Tommy,” Justin said bowing his head in grief.
“Then, when the boy was done, she just let the zombies have the rest, like my beautiful wife was a side of beef.” Doc was full on crying, “She made me watch the whole thing. She swore she would do that to my kids… I believed her. I had to do it!” The doc was needlessly asking for our forgiveness. He did whatever he needed to do to protect the rest of his family. Who am I to judge, and I told him so.
“Doc, you did what you needed to,” I said, putting as much commiseration into my words as I could.
“Mike…” he paused. “I saved her. I saved Eliza.” He started crying again, or had he ever stopped?
“Are you not happy, Michael? I once again walk among the immortals,” Eliza said gleefully.
We could hear the doc being removed from the scene.
“Where are those kids, Eliza?” I said menacingly.
“Where I wish them to be,” she answered cryptically.
That ranged from a room downstairs to a zombie’s belly.
“Eliza,” I started.
“Silence!” she yelled. “I owe no answers to you!”
The force of her words pushed us all back a step or two. I noticed April looking down the wall again as that was a potential avenue of escape. Hell, so was I. Maybe the zombies would break our fall and we could run on top of their heads. It could work, I saw something like it in a cartoon.
“This ends tonight Michael,” she said in a more even tone.
“About fucking time!” Travis yelled.
Tracy and I both turned to him. “No swearing!” we said together.
“Just get on with it Eliza. I figured you to be above the theatrics,” I told her.
She was quiet. Any chance I ruffled her feathers? I could only hope.
“Very well, but one more thing. I have someone here who wishes to say hello.”
“Hello Mr. T,” Tommy said in the voice we had all come to love but that no longer carried any warmth within its timbre.
“Tommy?” I asked, hoping above and beyond any recognizable chance that it wasn’t him.
“It’s Tomas,” he answered. The cold response sent shivers through me.
“Is there anything from the boy we love still in there?” I asked him unsteadily.
“Tommy died alone and in the dark, Mr. T.”
“I’m sorry for that Tomas.”
“So was he.”
“What a touching family reunion,” Eliza said, her voice as brittle as broken glass.
“Any chance of a one-on-one Eliza, me against you for the fate of our souls?” I asked. Rage burned through the fibers of my being like a wildfire sparked from a lightning strike.
“Mistress, let me be your champion!” Durgan shouted.
“He’s still alive?” BT asked me quietly.
“Apparently,” I said dejectedly.
“That could be amusing,” Eliza said.
“As soon as you open that door, I’ll blow a hole in his friggen’ head,” I said, meaning every word.
“Not very sporting of you, Michael,” Eliza laughed.
“I don’t much see any reason why I should get the snot beat out of me before I die,” I told her.
“But yet you wish to fight with me. Surely you know that there is not a mortal on this world that can defeat me,” Eliza said triumphantly.
“I would only agree to fight you if you let my family and friends go unharmed, to live out their lives as they see fit.” “Michael, the fun will be when I kill them all one by one as you watch. I could never let them go. Perhaps we can work out a different arrangement.” “I’m listening,” What choice did I have?
“What if I allowed Durgan to fight you? If you best him, I would allow your family and friends to go unharmed.” “And what of my husband?” Tracy asked.
“Either way he dies, of course, and in front of his family,” Eliza answered as if this were the most insane question she had ever heard.
“No, Talbot!” Tracy said thrusting a finger in my face.
“Tracy, I will do whatever I can to make sure that all of you are safe.” “What makes you think she will honor her end of the agreement?”
“What makes you think he could beat me?” Durgan yelled.
I hadn’t thought about Eliza not following through with her promise but it wasn’t like Vampires were noted for their honor.
“Eliza, how valid is your word?” I asked, although what was I expecting? If she lied about the first part, wouldn’t she do the same with the second? Maybe some morality would bleed through. Yup, little known fact, soulless demons can’t tell two lies in a row.
“Cross my heart and hope to die, Michael,” Eliza said coolly.
“Mike, technically her heart doesn’t beat and she is already dead,” Gary cautioned.
“Thanks for that,” I told him.
“Mike, let me fight Durgan, I’ve been wanting to bust his ass up forever,” BT said with a smile that scared the hell out of me. “I’ll fight that racist prick! I’ll be Mike’s champion!” BT yelled before I had a chance to tell him this was my fight.
“What is this, 1634?” I said, “I can fight my own damn battles.”
“Who you kidding Mike? He’ll kick your ass,” BT said none too softly.
“Don’t sugarcoat it man, tell me like it is,” I replied, a little perturbed at his lack of faith in me.
“Oh hell man, you know what I meant,” BT said, back peddling.
“Yeah, that he’d kick my ass,” I told him crossly.
“That’s what he said,” Gary clarified.
“I have no beef with you!” Durgan shouted through the door, “But me and Mike have some reckoning to complete.” Durgan sounded like the coward that he was. He would only fight when the odds were clearly stacked in his favor. I was sort of surprised that he would even decide to go one on one. He probably figured that Eliza would have his back if I somehow got the upper hand. Although I doubted first that I would get the upper hand and second that Eliza cared anything about him.
“Did he say reckoning?” BT asked. “What kind of cracker ass speak is that?”
“I will allow it,” Eliza said as if she controlled the entire production, which ultimately she did.
“Okay, so there’s a lot going on right now. What exactly are you allowing?” Mad Jack asked her.
Damn, his balls must be the size of small boulders. His stock just went up in my eyes.
“I will allow Durgan to fight Michael,” Eliza intoned smugly.
BT shrugged his shoulders in frustration.
“Michael, if Durgan kills you,” she started.
“When,” Durgan said interrupting her.
“You do that again, I will rip your throat out,” Eliza told Durgan.
