The Attackers
Mike Barrister liked the way the cold concrete felt underneath his sweaty palm. He gripped the corner of the wall, an old, and cracked white concrete, nervously, hoping that he would have the courage to go through with what he was attempting. His father always said that he lacked any type of courage, but then again, his father wasn't the type to lend support to any of his children. The only thing that Mike's father ever did with great regularity was drink Miller Lites and fondle his children. He wasn't an outright sexual abuser, but he touched his children enough for it to count as child molestation. Mike was very sure that his mother, the saint that she was, would have done everything in her power to prevent Mike's father from his escapades, but she had died giving birth to Mike's younger sister, Carly.
"Is this the guy?"
Mike shot a glance towards the voice and wasn't a bit surprised to see Ted standing in front of him, shaking from the cold, and probably because he needed a fix. Ted was a tall and pale young man that looked like he hadn't eaten a good meal in over six months. All of the residents of Bridgewater knew who Ted was, the son of a garbage collector and a full-blown heroin addict. Ted had grey eyes that were always bloodshot and usually teary. He always looked sick and his skin was usually slick with sweat. It was easy to understand what Ted's motivation was for taking part in this job, he needed money for his candy.
"Is this the guy?" Ted repeated again, much louder than before, too loud as far as Mike was concerned.
"Would you shut the fuck up!"
Ted leaned back against his section of the wall and decided to shake in silence. A hand went to Ted's forearm and gave it a slight shake, a notion of comfort. Ted looked at the hand on his forearm and then at the face of Riley, his only friend.
Riley was also hooked on the candy, but he wasn't as far along in his addiction and dependency as Ted. Riley hadn't begun to shake on a daily basis, before and after his fix. He was the shortest and pudgiest guy that Ted had ever seen, but his charisma made up for anything he lacked in appearance. Riley was the kind of guy that always made a new guy feel welcome at a party. That was exactly how Ted had met Riley, four long months ago, right in the middle of a glorious summer.
Riley seemed to sense that anyone with the name Ted Theodore was cursed by his parents to either have to change his name, or become the laughing stock of his school because of that name. The school children teased Ted every day that he went to school, never relenting as they got older, the way some children do. It was always the same teases and taunts. Do you stutter stutter, Ted Ted? Ted hated those kids, every one of them. He hated the teasing and the name-calling. Sometimes, Ted even hated his parents for giving him the same first and last name. Why would parents ever do that to their only child? Lots of kids had silly names that were made fun of by the other children; but that usually stopped as the kids grew up. Not for Ted Ted. The teasing got worse as the years went by, sometimes it was so much worse for Ted as an adult that he cried like he was a child. But, that all changed when Ted met Riley. The teasing stopped and, for the first time in his life, Ted found a way to like his name. He was given a nickname. Riley began to call him Teddy Ted. It wasn't a big change, but it was cool. Ted was finally cool. He decided that he owed Riley a favor, as many favors as he wanted. He didn't know the favor involved jumping some guy and robbing him, but hey, if he could help Riley and possibly get some money for a hit, then all the better for him. Plus, Riley was a scary looking guy, so Teddy Ted wouldn't have to do much of anything to help. Easy money was the best money.
"Alright, when he comes by, I'm gonna whack him with the board. You guys better not shit the bed and run away. Especially you Teddy". Mike barked these orders to his two fellow criminals, as the cowered behind the wall, ready to strike out violently at whomever happened to come along.
"Why do you have to single me out?"
Mike didn't answer the question. He raised him arm, in a motion that meant to be quiet, and stole a quick peek at the person that was walking towards them. The guy had his collar pulled up over his face, trying to block the wind, but all it really did was make it impossible to see clearly. This is almost too easy. I don't even think this guy is paying attention!
Mike steadied himself behind the wall, stretching his arms out and shaking the cold away. He would only need one good shot with the board if the guy wasn't ready. Mike needed this to be quick, one swing, grab his money and run. Mike closed his eyes and listened to the sound of the leaves crumpling with every one of the man's steps. The guy was closer, almost close enough! Mike's fathers voice echoed through Mike's head, angering him, making him grip the board harder, too hard. Splinters began to seep into his hands. You don't have the balls to do it. You're a coward!
"Shut up!" Mike whispered to himself. He checked to see if Ted or Riley heard him. If they did, they didn't show it.
The crumpling of the leaves was almost there. Mike took a deep breath and swung the board around the corner. The board struck the guy in the face, a perfect shot. After the loud smack of the board and the sound of crumpling leaves, the guy lay silently and motionless on the ground. Mike stood over the guy and looked at him for what seemed like an eternity, waiting for the guy to breathe. Jesus Christ, I hope I didn't kill this guy! Finally, he started to breathe, slowly, but regularly.
"Grab his wallet, I'll check the backpack", Mike ordered his conspirators.
Ted and Riley immediately started to rifle through the guy's pockets. Blood had begun to trickle from his nose and his eye was beginning to puff slightly. Ted felt a little guilt looking at their victim, as he lay motionless on the cold grass.
Teddy reached into the guy's right front pocket and felt the lone jingle of a set of keys. Riley pulled the left front pocket out, exposing white fabric and school identification. Pierre Forgues. Riley took the identification and showed it to Ted. Neither knew this guy. That made it easier. Even if they had recognized him, it was too late now to stop. They'd already broken the law; they might as well get the money. Teddy needed the fix.
They had scoped the college for weeks, searching for potential victims. When none had seemed more enticing, or easier than the rest, it was decided that they should choose their victim at random. The idea to stand behind a wall with a two by four was actually Mike's, and it had proven very effective on its maiden experiment. The victim never saw their faces, and they would be long gone before he, or she, if need be, woke up.
There was the sound of crumpling leaves from behind Mike, rousing him from his search through the backpack. He dropped the backpack, the lousy thing was only full of books anyway, and took hold of the board. He whirled around, prepared for anything. Ted and Riley had their backs to him, they had found the guy's wallet in his back pocket and were busy counting a large wad of cash, probably ones, but at least it was money. Mike saw an empty field, dark and frightening. A stiff breeze chilled Mike to the bone as he turned to resume his pillaging.
He stood face to face with a man the likes he had never seen. In an instant, he took in the man's entire appearance. It was impossible not to see it all. The man was tall, gigantic even. He was easily 6'5, with broad shoulders and the darkest hair he had ever seen. The hair was long, too, draping the tops of his shoulders. His face was unnaturally elongated, mostly at the jaw-line. The man smiled, exposing a mouth full of razor sharp teeth, too many teeth to fit inside of a normal jaw. The incisors had to be an inch long, and sharp at the ends. Mike felt his bladder letting go and began to shake. The stranger's nostrils flared and he smiled, smelling Mike's fear and urine. Mike looked upwards, into the stranger's eyes. His eyes were blood red. They weren't bloodshot; the actual color of his pupils was red!
Mike opened his mouth to scream, hoping to alert Ted and Riley to the stranger. The only sound that emerged was a whimper. I knew you were a coward! Mike's fathers voice echoed through his head. Mike tried to scream again, but the stranger, almost to quickly to be seen, had his mouth clamped over Mike's throat, stifling the scream. Mike felt a warm liquid run down his chest and onto his shoes. His father's voice tormented him. Are you too scared to fight, you coward! After a moment, the voice stopped and Mike eased smoothly into death.
The stranger moved through the darkness, hunting for the remaining men. They smelled different than the first, diseased and weak. They hadn't even been alerted to his arrival the way the other had. The stranger didn't even know if they were worth feeding on, but food is food. He attacked.
Ted had turned his attention to the credit cards in the guy's wallet, hoping they could yield as much as the cash that Riley was counting. At last count, Riley had said there was ninety-eight dollars. Not an entirely wasted effort.
"Hey, Riley. You think this guy has more money than most of the students? Cause ninety-eight bucks ain't bad".
Ted, head down, thumbing through the wallet, paused when he heard no reply from Riley. Ted looked up and Riley was no longer there. Where the hell had he gone? Where was Mike? Is it the cops? Did they run from the cops and not tell me? A million questions raced through Ted's head in the instant he realized that he was alone, barring the unconscious guy on the ground.
"Where the hell did-", was all that came out of Ted's mouth as he saw the stranger rise from the ground. The stranger seemed to float up out of the mist. I don't remember it being foggy at all! Teddy tried to step back, wanted to step back, needed to step back, but was paralyzed with fear. The stranger continued to rise. How tall is he? This can't be real; he's too big to be real!
The stranger locked eyes with Teddy. The stranger's mouth had blood splattered underneath, dripping from his teeth as he smiled. Teddy finally took a half step backward.
The stranger stood motionless, his tongue out of his mouth licking blood off his chin. A voice spoke inside Ted's head, a voice he had never heard before. The voice wasn't human. It was so loud and powerful it seemed to make Ted's eyes bleed with each deep pronunciation. The voice only asked one question, but, even if Ted lived through this night, he would be completely insane.
"DO YOU STUTTER STUTTER, TED TED?"
The drugs, the years of relentless teasing and the horror of this night all proved too much for Ted's damaged psyche. His mind splintered into a million pieces, each one more insane than the next. When the stranger finally moved in to take Ted, he welcomed it with open arms.
A moment later, Ted's lifeless body dropped to the ground. Although he never knew it, he landed on top of Riley. He had finally found his friend.
The stranger licked his lips. Even the weak and diseased pitiful tasted good. Once, the stranger had felt guilt killing these people, but that had long since passed. But, he still enjoyed killing those that were evil. They were never as evil as he was, nor could they fully understand what real evil, his evil, was. They had tried to rob this man that lay on the ground. This young man smelled different than the others but that was only the first thing that made him different. He was a full-grown man, not the height of the stranger, but only an inch or two shorter. He was strong, too. Not as strong as the stranger, but no human could be that strong. It was the strength of the un-dead. The stranger looked at the unconscious man for a long time, admiring him. This one was different. He was more powerful than the rest. He was almost conscious. A blow like that would have killed a normal man, but this one was only temporarily out of it. He was unique.
The stranger continued to admire the unconscious man on the ground. Slowly, he approached. In a moment, the stranger was on him.
©2003 StoriesByEmail.com
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