The Red Dawn Killer

It was a cold autumn evening when my phone rang.
"Hello?"
"There has been another body found. We need you to the airport in 45 minutes."
"I'm on my way" I responded while jumping from bed.
The drive to the airport I went over the case file in my head. I've been reviewing pictures and police reports for a week and half. The media have called this killer the Red Dawn Killer. I don't know where the media comes up with this stuff but I guess it helps ratings. To me its just another sociopath that I need to find before he hurts anyone else. I've been on this case for two weeks now and I'm no closer to knowing who it is.
Sitting on the plane I quietly sat away from the other Agents while I reviewed the case file again. This sociopath first came to the attention to the FBI when a body with the same kill pattern was found over state lines. That was over a month ago. The last team was taken off the case when one of their agents was found with his throat slit and a note that said, "You'll never stop me". After that the Director felt it was time to take them off and put a fresh set of eyes on the case.
Our plane set down at the airport just as the sun began to rise over the horizon. Walking off the plane with my black duffel bag in one hand and my laptop bag across my back, I walked down the stairs to the waiting police vehicles waiting for us. I was greeted by the rookie cop who anxiously took my bags and put them in the trunk. "I'll take you straight to the scene sir." said the nervous officer.
"You mean the scene hasn't been cleaned yet?" I asked
"No sir. It just happened. We closed down the roads and we think the killer is still in the area."
I sat in silence. Could we have the killer trapped in?

We pulled up to a scene of flashing blue and red lights on the side of a corn field.
Getting out of the squad car I asked, "How did we find the body so quickly here in the field?"
The officer responded, "Someone saw a man running out of the field and called it in. The responding officer happened to see the body. It was pure luck!"
He made his first mistake, I thought to myself. We will catch you.
I asked the officer to call the others in my team and let them know I'm on scene waiting for them to get set up. I walked toward the circle of officers and crime scene investigators.
"Hello Sir. We kept the scene clean waiting for your arrival." said a voice from the side of me.
I turned to see a officer standing there with brown eyes that looked like he had seen more then he had ever wanted to.
"Hello Sargent. What we got?" I asked.
"Dead woman. Stomach cut with her insides falling out. Main arteries in the neck and thigh also cut open. Looks like something startled him because its only partially like the others we found, I mean her hands are still attached. So he didn't get to finish his work." replied the Sargent.
I walked up to the body and put on my rubber gloves. The body was the same as the others but he was right. The hands were only cut, he didn't get to finish. I sat and pondered what could have made him run.
"Alright Sargent. Have we searched the area yet? If he ran he could have dropped a murder weapon or he could be hiding in the surrounding area. What's out there?" I said
"Well there are a lot of fields, a hotel that your team is setting up at, and a couple of abandon houses." was the reply.
"I want a grid search. We will search every piece of this land. Call in hounds and every available unit. Call SWAT also...we may need it." I said.
The reply came from another officer, "We have SWAT and more officers coming from the city. We don't have that much force out here. We mostly deal with farmers and speeders. They'll be here in an hour."
"Alright well we will make do with what we have and they'll have to catch up. Have the crime scene investigators document the body. Let's move out." I said as I checked to make sure my gun was loaded and ready. I began to walk into the corn field with a dozen officers fanning out behind me.
As I was walking through the field in my ear I heard a familiar voice say, "Czarnocki? We are set up in the local motel. You are missing out cause they are setting us up with coffee and breakfast!"
I laughed to myself and said, "Glad you are having a good time. I'm out here looking for our killer. You guys set up over there or enjoying the southern hospitality?"
The response was, "Yes sir we are set up and ready for your orders."
"Alright coordinate with the other police agencies when they come in and get them on this search." I ordered.
"Yes sir" was the response before all went quiet again.
I came to a clearing in the field and a small house sat in front of me with a creek running next to it. The house was dark in color and hadn't been maintained in some years. I cautiously approached the house and peered inside. The house was empty. I held my breathe and unholstered my H&K USP while entering the front door. Empty except for one peculiar thing, the smell. It smelt like bad body odor. Someone had been here I thought to myself.
"HQ come in." I said to my microphone. "HQ" I repeated. No response. All was silent. "Anyone out there come in".
"Yes sir" came the response.
"Who is this?" I asked.
"Rodriguez sir. I picked you up from the airport." Rodriguez said.
"Rodriguez. Go to the motel and see why I can't get in contact with my HQ."
"Yes sir."
I began walking around the small one roomed house. Looking for any other evidence that might give me a idea of where my killer had gone. I'm so close and I can't screw this up. There are lives at risk.
"Sir come in" my radio buzzed.
"Rodriguez. Did you find them?" I asked
"Kinda sir. There is blood everywhere"
"What do you mean?!" I yelled.
Rodriguez shaky voice spoke back, "Looks like there was a fight. One agent is down and I think the hotel owner is laying dead also."
"Damn it" I whispered. "Call in back up now!" I yelled.
I sat and listened to Rodriguez make the call to the officers coming to the scene from the city. The response was a half hour away. Rodriguez told them the urgency and they better step on it.
While examining the room I noticed a small blob of blood sitting by one of the windows. Did he see me coming? I exited the house and started running to the motel with gun still in hand. When I arrived at the motel Rodriguez was sitting outside with his head between his legs.
"Rodriguez" I said.
No response.
I walked over to him and tapped him on the shoulder. His body fell over as blood started pouring from his neck. I took off my jacket and put it around his neck but it was to late. He was dead. Poor kid. The serial killer must be in the motel still but back up is a half hour away at least. Where is the rest of my team?
I pointed my gun at the front door and walked through. One of my agents lay dead on the floor next to the young motel owner. Blood covered the wooden floor.
I began making my way through the bottom floor of the motel. As I turned around a corner I heard something crash at the stairs. I spun around and pointed my gun towards the stairs. No movement but I knew I heard something. I began to walk up the stairs. When I got close to the top I heard whispering through one of the rooms. I slowly approached the door. Standing in front of the door I kicked it open. The door flew open and sitting in the corner was a officer and two of my agents with their guns drawn to the door.
"Glad we didn't shoot you sir" said the officer.
"Yeah I'm glad too" I said "What happened?"
"We were up here looking out the window and heard a crash. We walked downstairs and saw two bodies bleeding out on the floor. Our radios weren't working so we came back in here to wait for the Calvary. We didn't know what to do." said my agent.
"Alright well I'm gonna finish clearing the upstairs. You three go down and start securing the scene. Keep your guns out." I ordered.
I left the room and started moving down the hallway of doors. I felt every door to see if they were unlocked or not. Toward the end of the hall I felt one of the handles and it was warm. I looked down and my hand was covered in blood. He is in that room. I took a breath and kicked the door open. The room was empty but a paper sat on the bed.
I walked over to the bed and lifted up the paper and it said, "Hello Mr. Czarnocki. Now its personal. I'll be waiting"
Signed at the bottom in blood was 'The Red Dawn Killer'

Part 2...

What was happening? This couldn't be real. Could it?
I stood in a daze as all the training soldiers stared up at me. I didn't know what to do or say. I felt that my entire world had stopped spinning and I was in some dream that I couldn't wake from. Who were these people? The Keepers? I know there are secret organizations but they don't fight the underworld! Do they? All my logic and knowledge seemed to be useless. I felt that all the years spent learning Math, Science, English, and History were a waste. Especially History, it never taught me about the Templars unleashing a dark evil on the world!
"Alright Phil. Now what?" I asked in hopes he would say it was all a joke.
Phillip nodded and said, "Now we train you."
I stood there with a blank look on my face, "You are serious. Aren't you?"
"More serious then you realize right now. It'll all come clear tonight. Tonight you will hunt and you will realize how true all this really is."
I was escorted up the stairs by a young man who didn't say anything but wore a sword on his back and a gun on his belt. He opened the door to a room and pointed for me to go in. I walked in and before I could say anything the door shut behind me. The room I was standing in was covered in candles that made a dancing yellow glow through the room. Shadows covered the walls. In a corner sat a bed with red sheets and a wooden frame, the middle of the room had a round wooden table with four wooden chairs surrounding it. On the wall hung a red shield and two swords placed on both sides of it.
I walked toward the bed to find a small sword strapped to a leather belt. On the belt sat a gun holster with a black gun sitting in it. I picked up the belt and felt a sudden sense of honor come over me. I don't know why but I placed the belt around my waist and took the gun out. Pulling out the clip i noticed the bullets were silver and had a strange tint to them.
A knock came to the door and I spun around gun still in my hand. A man and a woman entered the room.
"Glad you found your weapons okay there. I am Jason and I'll be the lead hunter tonight. This beautiful lady is my wife, Jessie. She will be your body guard in case anything happens. Listen to what we say and react without question."
I was in slight shock but nodded and followed them out the door.
We walked up the stair case to a iron gate. Jason pushed a button to the side of the gate and the gate opened. Walking through the gate was a distinct smell of garlic. We entered a garage full of exotic and street cars. Jason pulled out a set of keys and a black trucks lights began to glow in the distance. Without any words we all got in the car and Jason began to drive through the tunnels till we reached the city streets.
It was dark out with a yellow moon that reflected off the puddles from the recent rain. The cities lights illuminated the sky and we proceeded through the city. No one said anything and I sat quietly hoping that we will stop at some place with all my friends and they will tell me it was a big joke.
We pulled into a parking garage of a small apartment complex. Jessie turned around in her chair and nodded to me. Jason pulled out his gun and prepared a bullet into the chamber.
"Lets go" said Jason "stick close to Jessie and do whatever we say."
"You'll be fine" whispered Jessie.
We walked into a stair well and started walking the flights of stairs till we reached the third floor. Jason slowly opened the door while pulling out his gun. Jason signaled with his hand for us to come through.
"Pull out your gun" whispered Jason.
I did as i was told and held it in both hands in front of me. We moved slowly down the hallway with Jason in front, myself in the middle, and Jessie looking around behind us. We came to apartment D168 and Jason moved to the left side of the door frame.
"Here is where the fun begins" whispered Jason
In a flash Jason turned and kicked open the door and moved inside with his gun drawn. I felt Jessie hand push me in behind him and she followed behind me. Inside was dark as a night with no moon. Jason and Jessie both pulled out flash lights and began to move the light across the room.
I began to hear a slight growling. First I thought it was my own fears. Suddenly in a blur something moved across the room towards the wall. Jason and Jessie's flash lights moved toward the wall to reveal nothing. I said nothing but could hear my breathing getting heavier and sweat beading down my face. The lights moved up the wall to the ceiling. I couldn't describe the horror I felt at that moment the lights reached the corner of the ceiling. In the corner was a person sitting against the wall with eyes as red as blood. Jason fired off his gun and the person was gone.
"Damn it!" yelled Jason "he's running!"
Jason began moving to the window. He peered out the open window looking up and down the wall. Suddenly a wisp of air passed me and Jason was slammed against the wall but this creature. Jessie started firing her gun but the creature turned into a mist and then reformed before my eyes.
"Swords!" yelled Jessie
I holstered my gun and pulled out my sword. The sword was glowing in a strange red color and looked as if mist was coming from the blade. Could mist be coming off my blade?
Jessie and Jason both unsheathed their swords and began slicing at the creature in front of them. The creature moved faster then I could ever imagine possible. With lightning speed he dodged the thrusts from the sword and returned the attacks with fists of his own. I didn't know what else to do so I charged toward the creature sword in hand. His back was turned and I swung my sword to its showing back. Before I could realize what was happening the white face was staring at me with red eyes. In fear I stopped the sword swing and felt a warm wet feeling dripping down my face. I was bleeding!
"Move back!" yelled Jessie
I took a step back and when my vision focused I saw the white face staring at me. The face showed his teeth. The teeth looked as if they had been sharpened by the Devil. The teeth were long and pointed at the end and dripped with saliva.
"Don't let him near you!" yelled Jason
Before I could process what was said I felt cold fingers around my neck and felt myself being lifted off the floor. I stared into the red eyes as they examined the blood dripping down my face.
I looked for Jason and Jessie and saw nothing but this face and darkness surrounding it. Sword in hand I swung it with all my might and I felt myself fall to the floor. Coughing to catch my breath I started to stand and felt a hand pulling me up. Jessie and Jason stood at my side.
"He escaped" said Jason.
"I didn't know he was a solider" whispered Jessie.
"I don't think anyone did" said Jason in a disappointed voice.
"What was that?" I asked.
"That my friend was a Vampire. And if you hadn't hit it in the side with your sword, we would be telling your Family you are dead." sternly said Jason.
I stared into the darkness and my legs began to feel weak. This isn't a dream. That's my blood.

Part 1...

Everyone thought I moved to California to pursue some dream of a career but its time to come clean and honest. Allow me to explain...
I'll start from the beginning...I was driving with my Grandmother and I received a strange phone call from an unknown number. I answered the phone and on the other end it said, "We know you aren't alone and that's okay. We need your assistance. Its time you embark on the great adventure. No time for questions, it'll all come clear shortly. Just play it off as something else and we can move from there."
So naturally I said it was the phone call saying I got the job. Wohoo right? Who the heck just called me?!
I continued my day wondering about the strange phone call and thinking it was nothing but a dream. Little did I know I was going to wish I was in a dream.
Later that night I got my dog and headed to bed. Upon entering my room there was 3 hooded people.
"Who are you!?" I demanded.
"That will all come clear soon" stated one of the voices under the hoods.
"That's cool and all but I'd like to know who the freak you are and how you got in my room AND why the hoods?"
"Soon" was the only response i received.
I felt calm for some reason...you would think I'd be flipping out about people breaking into my house and scaring the day lights out of me but I wasn't. I'm not sure what happened after that but I woke up in a dark room with a single candle on a small wooden table in the middle. I tried to stand up but my head felt like it weighed a metric ton.
"Glad you are awake. Here drink some water" came a soothing girls voice from the shadows.
A slim figure walked toward me from the darkness holding a bottle of water that looked like it had just been taken out of the fridge. She was dressed in the same dark purple robes as the visitors in my room except her face glowed in the candle light and her green eyes seemed to pierce directly to my soul.
"Drink" she said.
I took the water and began to drink it, water dripped out the side of my mouth as i sucked down the fresh taste of life.
"You'll feel better soon" she calmly stated.
"Where I'm I?" I asked.
"I don't have permission to tell you but you'll be told soon enough. You have been chosen for quite a task."
"Task?"
"I've said to much. You'll know soon enough. I've been assigned to see that you get anything you require."
"Alright, well thanks. But what the heck is going on?" I asked while my frustration began to rise.
A door opened and light filled the room. The ceiling seemed to be endless and a chandelier with unlit candles hung from the middle. A suit of armor stood in a corner with a crest upon its breast plate.
"Glad you are awake. We have a lot to cover. Sorry about drugging you to get you here, its usually easier." came the familiar voice from my room.
"Alright well I need some answers." I said while staggering to my feet.
"Yes, answers. The one who seeks answers will learn but only if he continues to search." said the voice.
"Yeah whatever the heck that's suppose to mean. Where I'm I? Who are you people?" I sarcastically asked.
"Very well" said the calm voice, "We are a brotherhood. We were created during the Crusades in secret. Our purpose has been clear since the day the Templar's unleashed death upon this earth."
He moved across the room and stood next to the candle that luminated his elderly face. His face was covered in light gray scruff of a beard that was split by a scar running from his right ear to his lips. His eyes were dark as coal but the eyes squinted with a sharpness that peered through the room.
"My name is Phillip. And I'm the Grandmaster of this order. We are called 'The Keepers' and we have been fighting a secret war for longer then we would like to remember."
"That's pretty cool but what does it have to do with me and why I'm here?" I asked.
Phillip took a deep breath and said, "You have been recruited for a sacred fight and our success stands on a blade edge. We have been losing this war and we need those with cunning and a pure heart. You have been found to be such a person."
"I'm still lost. Get to the point." I spatted out.
Phillip's eyes closed and his hands clasped together tightly, "You are hear to learn to fight. Fight an evil that has plagued this earth since those that released it long before your time. You will fight a fight that wasn't yours to begin with but has been every ones fight since the times of the Crusades. You will learn to fight with the blade, the crossbow, the modern hand gun, hand-to-hand, and lastly our last line of defense, the wooden stake."
"Excuse me?" I said with wide eyes, "This is some weird joke. And 'a wooden stake'? I'm I fighting Vampires?" I slightly chuckled with the thought of Vampires.
The green eyed girl stammered, "It is no laughing matter! Vampires aren't to be joked about!"
"Its alright, Celia" Phillip said, "I know its hard to understand but its true. Vampires are not a Halloween idea but are real. They have plagued this earth for many years and there are few left that understand their true power in this world. They have a evil grasp upon the world of men and want nothing more then to watch the world burn. I didn't believe it when I was recruited fifty years ago but I have seen them and have sent Vampires back to the hell they once came. I have trained fighters that have fallen to them and I have trained fighters that fought valiantly. Now I will train you."
"Seriously?" I asked. "This can't be real. This is a dream. I was going to my room to get some sleep. This isn't real. There aren't Vampires. What are you talking about?! What is this?!"
Phillip started walking to the door and said, "Follow me".
I didn't know what else to do so I followed him through the door. As I got closer to the door way I heard clanking steel and shouting. We entered a large circular room with a wooden banister following the stairs up and down.
"Look down" said Phillip.
I stepped to the edge and looked down. As I looked down everything went quite. I saw below me a large area with men and women with swords, crossbows, guns, stakes, and all matters of weapons looking up at me.
"They all questioned like you but they have seen the truth. Soon you will see the truth"

To be continued...