My bastard right knee ached something fierce—a dull, throbbing burn that went straight to the bone. Although my knee cap was mending, the process had been regrettably slow. I resented how uncoordinated and helpless the injury made me. I wasn’t my usual self when I needed to be in tiptop shape.
The folded newspaper seemed oddly heavy as I headed south, in the direction of The Razor. Some things changed, but I hoped in this circumstance, others remained the same. The club that belonged to Paine—Disco’s trusted friend and the second most powerful vampire in our house—wasn’t a bad place to start. I could search for answers there. If I got lucky, not only would Paine direct me to Disco, he could also offer me protection in the surreal reality in which I’d found myself.
Find Paine. Get off the street. Seek shelter.
If I wanted to see tomorrow, I had to take things one step at a time.
I walked as fast as my mending knee allowed, wishing some of the vampire blood that saved had my ass when I took on a deranged child vampire four weeks prior had mended all my wounds. A minor physical handicap was nothing when compared to crossing over to the other side, so I knew I shouldn’t complain. If it weren’t for Disco, Paine and Goose, I would have died. I’d almost stepped past the pearly gates into Heaven.
I suppose Hell would have been worse.
The streets were eerie, completely void of the human elements that created a community. There were no cars, no traffic, no people, no pets and—something uncharacteristic of New York—no sounds. The muffled scrape of my sneakers on the pavement was the only distinguishable noise as I scuffled along the sidewalk, seeming so loud in the misplaced silence.
I couldn’t recall one time I’d been completely alone on a street in New York.
My attention flickered nervously from building to building, and I studied what remained of the street and nearby homes. Several of the apartments were in shambles—the doors and windows missing. Those with opened thresholds appeared to be decimated and destroyed.
I took a moment and peered inside one of the apartment buildings.
From what I could see, these homes had been raided.
Garbage, clothing, and personal belongings were tossed next to stairs. The objects outside—suitcases and garbage bags—had been opened and the contents were falling onto the street and sidewalk. It was as if the tenants had been permanently tossed out on their asses and forced to leave their possessions behind.
It didn’t make sense.
Why the rush? What the hell happened here?
Did people run to escape the war? The disease?
If so, why leave everything behind?
I hobbled along each new street, hoping to escape the hellish nightmare, only to be greeted with more of the same. A few of the doors had huge white crosses painted on them, while others had enormous pieces of wood that were interlocked together to form the same symbol.
They’re ‘don’t beware of dog, beware of fucking owner’ warnings.
I tried to piece the puzzle together. The newspaper showed that many humans wanted to turn to the dark side. In fact, the ads made it apparent humans were desperate. Yes, there had been a war, but there appeared to be some balance. If not, that section of the paper wouldn’t exist. Some people, apparently, didn’t share the sentiment, which was understandable. I often questioned my own relationships with vampires. Yet some wanted to embrace the change.
A couple of times I thought I saw heavy curtains shift as I passed. I paused, gazing at windows. Unfortunately, I couldn’t confirm my suspicion that residents lived inside.
“Hello?” I called out softly. “Is there anybody out there?”
No answer. Just that same, odd quiet.
Fuck.
It was a damned shame I didn’t have the time to play Nancy Drew and go door to door to unlock the mystery of the religious holy relics adorning entrances. There was a solid chance I could get pertinent information. And hell, even if I didn’t, it would have matched the surrealism of my situation.
Me? Nancy Drew?
Hell no.
For a moment, I paused and lifted my face toward the darkening sky.