The Utterly Uninteresting and Unadventurous Tales of Fred, the Vampire Accountant Read Online Free PDF Page A

so preoccupied with handling the two below me I had forgotten there was another to watch for. He slammed into me from his hiding place in the bed of a nearby truck and hurled me from my position. I crunched into a motorcycle a few yards away and lay there. A hit like that would have easily incapacitated a human, and as far as these things knew, that’s what I was.
    The one who hit me, a grey beast whose size seemed closer to the bear family than the wolf one, came over to me and sniffed. I kept myself still as death, which is ironically still quite difficult for me. Just because my body doesn’t have to move doesn’t mean my consciousness doesn’t want to. The only concession I made was to move my chest up and down, making sure they all knew I was still “breathing.” A sharp tug on my leg let me know they were dragging me to wherever they had taken the others. I kept my eyes closed and my false breathing steady.
    My therapist says I have confrontation issues. He’s not wrong. At least he better not be at his prices. As I lay there, being dragged toward who knows what, my thoughts were not on fighting my way free or saving the rest of the class. My mind was in my apartment in Winslow, Colorado, all those miles away, fervently trying to think of a way back there.

6.
    By the time I felt like it was safe to “wake up,” I had been blindfolded and tied to a metal bar in, of all places, the gym. I couldn’t see anything through my black-fabric blindness, but I could smell the fear and blood coming from all my fellow victims. It seemed like nearly all of us were here, and from the sounds of struggling, they were just as restrained as I was. Four figures were moving around freely, two of them on four feet, and two of them as bipeds. There was no talking, only barks and snarling. In the far distance, I could vaguely make out the sounds of someone drawing closer to our location. Part of me hoped Krystal was coming to help out, but part of me wished she would just see it was hopeless and leave. She had been kind to me that night, reminding me of the few people I had liked and trusted in my living days. I didn’t want to see her get killed in some pointless attempt to save us. A loud, booming voice interrupted my attempts to track the approaching figure.
    “Ten years!” It echoed, “Ten years since our pack was formed, ten years in secret, ten years in silence, ten years in darkness!”
    It sounded familiar. Guttural and with a canine undertone, but familiar nonetheless. It continued, “You have all come here to reunite over what you once were, while we have come to see the last you will ever be. Tonight we no longer hunt in secret! Tonight we force the world to see us and accept us for what we are! A superior species to the weak humans!”
    The voice I might never have placed; however, the ego shone through crystal clear. Brent Colter. Looks like my old bully had traded up in the world. No wonder he was still so muscular and strong. Doesn’t it figure? I become an undead creature of the night, and I can’t even get a date. He becomes a glorified mutt, and he manages to pull off a grand murder plot. Jerk.
    “Tonight we sacrifice all these souls to our goddess, Grwlbrkgrwl [Look, I’m doing my best to be accurate here, but if you know a way to transcribe a name that’s pronunciation sounds like nails in a garbage disposal, then I’d love to see it.], who will bless us with the strength to overcome all who stand against us. Then we shall spread our strength until it is the humans who hide and live in fear, and never again the True Wolves!” Howls, of what I assumed was agreement, followed Brent’s speech.
    The bonds holding me in place were suddenly severed, though the ones binding my hands were left in tact, as I was pulled into the air by rough, coarse hands. A tug tore away my blindfold, affording me a full view of my surroundings. The party atmosphere had been largely wrecked by the mad trample for the doors.