“Right.” She was fed up. “This guy who contacted you probably has friends and they’re messing with you.”
“No. It’s all true!” Peggy swore. “This isn’t a hoax.”
“The RV is fine.” She glanced around.
“The engine isn’t. We checked it during the day once we realized we were trapped. The RV’s impossible for them to move. There were signs that they’d crawled under it so we took a peek. Your father had activated the emergency pillars on the motor home. They are six footings that flatten to the ground. It’s a precaution for high winds and bad storms. The wheels won’t roll. We have the same setup here. It’s why they haven’t managed to kill us yet.”
Jadee was fed up. Their paranoid delusions had finally gotten the best of them. Her father ran for supplies often and his hunk-of-junk tow car had probably just broken down again. He refused to spend money on it. “The RV has power. Notice the lights on?”
“It’s the solar panels. I’m telling you, we looked under it and they ripped out the oil pan on the motor home. It wasn’t shielded as well as the hood is with the reinforced steel.” Mark shook his head. “We’re stranded. They’ve taken out all our vehicles.”
Jadee clenched her jaw, ready to start screaming at the idiots. They were so gullible. “Have you guys been smoking pot? Been adding a little LSD to it again? Is that it? Or have you just totally lost your damn minds? Dad probably went to a major town because he needed his car repaired. Remember New Mexico? You called to tell me you thought he’d been kidnapped by an army of ghosts. Instead, he was waiting on a new transmission to be installed in some out-of-the-way repair shop.”
“Wait until darkness falls,” Mark warned. “They tried to break into our trailer a few times last night.”
Peggy leaned in, her face close to the screen. “Do not let them in! I know you don’t believe us but damn it, we found Vampires, hon. These are real Vampires. They kill their victims by tearing out their throats and drinking the blood.”
“Show her the evidence,” Brent urged. “We found a few bodies of the locals. They decapitated them postmortem. We believe it’s so they won’t turn, if legend is accurate about their bites transmitting the Vampire disease. Maybe we should ask her to rush outside and make a run for it in her rental car. She could come back in the morning to rescue us.”
Jadee frowned. “I rented a truck from the airport, not a car. Dad said I’d need one to get to your camp.”
“It’s too late,” Peggy moaned. “It’s miles to the main highway. You’ve seen how fast those things run. They’d catch up to her and attack. Hell, they would probably be on her before she made it ten feet out the door. Look at the cameras. The sun is too far down. It’s already dark enough for them to be awake and moving around in the shade of all the trees.”
“They have us cut off,” Mark agreed. “She’d never get out of here in time and escape.”
A bad feeling settled in the pit of Jadee’s stomach but she didn’t want to believe what they had to say. Her father and his team had never found anything real. They sure weren’t going to locate a nest of Vampires in the middle of the Alaskan woods. “Hey, loco researchers,” Jadee interrupted. “I’m done playing this game. Where the hell is my father, really?”
“Maybe they won’t go to the motor home since they already took Victor.” Mark ignored her to instead stare at Peggy. “It’s possible they won’t find her rental if we make a lot of noise and keep them occupied. At first light, we can make it out together.”
“That means they’ll attack us again.” Peggy backed up and bumped against the wall. The terror on her face appeared genuine enough as she frantically looked around. “Can the exterior take it?”
Mark stood, approaching her with his hands outstretched to grip her by the shoulders. “The trailer shell has two inches of steel. We’re safe. Stay calm. We built it to withstand a Sasquatch attack. They’re supposedly bigger and stronger than night walkers. We made it last night, didn’t we?”
Jadee rolled her eyes. “Sasquatch?”
Brent dropped into Mark’s empty seat. “We were on Bigfoot’s trail and your dad had designed this trailer after hearing about how the creatures were breaking into cabins. He wanted us to be safe. It’s a nine- by twenty-five-foot container with all our monitoring equipment. We even have a toilet and two pull-down bunks for taking naps.”
“Oh my God. Does it have windows? Maybe you guys are experiencing carbon monoxide poisoning or something. Open a door and let in fresh air. How long have you been locked in there?” Jadee wondered if that was the reason they’d lost their minds.
A loud thump sounded over the speakers and all three of the people on the screen looked upward toward the roof of the metal container they were inside. Brent’s eyes widened as he gasped, “They’re back!”
Peggy began to sob.
Mark hugged her against his chest. “Quiet!”
“Where’s the trailer?” Jadee stood. “I’m coming over there just to prove that you guys are nuts. Or your so-called source is just some asshole having fun at your expense. You’ve lost it. You need to open the doors and I’ll take you to a nice hospital where they’ll treat you for whatever the hell is wrong with you.”
“Hook her into the outside monitors,” Mark hissed. “Show her what we’re seeing.”
“Did you hear me?” Jadee’s frustration rose. “Tell me where you guys set up in relation to the RV and I’ll come there.”
Brent twisted to the side and suddenly her view changed to a dark screen. She could tell by the gray-toned images that they were using the night-vision cameras. The trees were clearly outlined and they seemed to be set up in a small clearing without any signs of civilization. The image switched, going to another camera angle.
A man stood on top of what appeared to be a shipping trailer, the kind usually hooked to a big rig. It was a view from the top of the roof looking down the length. Jadee frowned, staring at the back of the person. He wore slacks and a ripped-up dark shirt. His hair was shoulder length and scraggly. He turned, facing the camera as he jumped once, seeming to test the roof of the trailer. The night camera made him look really pale, and his eyes appeared black to her as he scanned the top of the roof.
“No. It’s all true!” Peggy swore. “This isn’t a hoax.”
“The RV is fine.” She glanced around.
“The engine isn’t. We checked it during the day once we realized we were trapped. The RV’s impossible for them to move. There were signs that they’d crawled under it so we took a peek. Your father had activated the emergency pillars on the motor home. They are six footings that flatten to the ground. It’s a precaution for high winds and bad storms. The wheels won’t roll. We have the same setup here. It’s why they haven’t managed to kill us yet.”
Jadee was fed up. Their paranoid delusions had finally gotten the best of them. Her father ran for supplies often and his hunk-of-junk tow car had probably just broken down again. He refused to spend money on it. “The RV has power. Notice the lights on?”
“It’s the solar panels. I’m telling you, we looked under it and they ripped out the oil pan on the motor home. It wasn’t shielded as well as the hood is with the reinforced steel.” Mark shook his head. “We’re stranded. They’ve taken out all our vehicles.”
Jadee clenched her jaw, ready to start screaming at the idiots. They were so gullible. “Have you guys been smoking pot? Been adding a little LSD to it again? Is that it? Or have you just totally lost your damn minds? Dad probably went to a major town because he needed his car repaired. Remember New Mexico? You called to tell me you thought he’d been kidnapped by an army of ghosts. Instead, he was waiting on a new transmission to be installed in some out-of-the-way repair shop.”
“Wait until darkness falls,” Mark warned. “They tried to break into our trailer a few times last night.”
Peggy leaned in, her face close to the screen. “Do not let them in! I know you don’t believe us but damn it, we found Vampires, hon. These are real Vampires. They kill their victims by tearing out their throats and drinking the blood.”
“Show her the evidence,” Brent urged. “We found a few bodies of the locals. They decapitated them postmortem. We believe it’s so they won’t turn, if legend is accurate about their bites transmitting the Vampire disease. Maybe we should ask her to rush outside and make a run for it in her rental car. She could come back in the morning to rescue us.”
Jadee frowned. “I rented a truck from the airport, not a car. Dad said I’d need one to get to your camp.”
“It’s too late,” Peggy moaned. “It’s miles to the main highway. You’ve seen how fast those things run. They’d catch up to her and attack. Hell, they would probably be on her before she made it ten feet out the door. Look at the cameras. The sun is too far down. It’s already dark enough for them to be awake and moving around in the shade of all the trees.”
“They have us cut off,” Mark agreed. “She’d never get out of here in time and escape.”
A bad feeling settled in the pit of Jadee’s stomach but she didn’t want to believe what they had to say. Her father and his team had never found anything real. They sure weren’t going to locate a nest of Vampires in the middle of the Alaskan woods. “Hey, loco researchers,” Jadee interrupted. “I’m done playing this game. Where the hell is my father, really?”
“Maybe they won’t go to the motor home since they already took Victor.” Mark ignored her to instead stare at Peggy. “It’s possible they won’t find her rental if we make a lot of noise and keep them occupied. At first light, we can make it out together.”
“That means they’ll attack us again.” Peggy backed up and bumped against the wall. The terror on her face appeared genuine enough as she frantically looked around. “Can the exterior take it?”
Mark stood, approaching her with his hands outstretched to grip her by the shoulders. “The trailer shell has two inches of steel. We’re safe. Stay calm. We built it to withstand a Sasquatch attack. They’re supposedly bigger and stronger than night walkers. We made it last night, didn’t we?”
Jadee rolled her eyes. “Sasquatch?”
Brent dropped into Mark’s empty seat. “We were on Bigfoot’s trail and your dad had designed this trailer after hearing about how the creatures were breaking into cabins. He wanted us to be safe. It’s a nine- by twenty-five-foot container with all our monitoring equipment. We even have a toilet and two pull-down bunks for taking naps.”
“Oh my God. Does it have windows? Maybe you guys are experiencing carbon monoxide poisoning or something. Open a door and let in fresh air. How long have you been locked in there?” Jadee wondered if that was the reason they’d lost their minds.
A loud thump sounded over the speakers and all three of the people on the screen looked upward toward the roof of the metal container they were inside. Brent’s eyes widened as he gasped, “They’re back!”
Peggy began to sob.
Mark hugged her against his chest. “Quiet!”
“Where’s the trailer?” Jadee stood. “I’m coming over there just to prove that you guys are nuts. Or your so-called source is just some asshole having fun at your expense. You’ve lost it. You need to open the doors and I’ll take you to a nice hospital where they’ll treat you for whatever the hell is wrong with you.”
“Hook her into the outside monitors,” Mark hissed. “Show her what we’re seeing.”
“Did you hear me?” Jadee’s frustration rose. “Tell me where you guys set up in relation to the RV and I’ll come there.”
Brent twisted to the side and suddenly her view changed to a dark screen. She could tell by the gray-toned images that they were using the night-vision cameras. The trees were clearly outlined and they seemed to be set up in a small clearing without any signs of civilization. The image switched, going to another camera angle.
A man stood on top of what appeared to be a shipping trailer, the kind usually hooked to a big rig. It was a view from the top of the roof looking down the length. Jadee frowned, staring at the back of the person. He wore slacks and a ripped-up dark shirt. His hair was shoulder length and scraggly. He turned, facing the camera as he jumped once, seeming to test the roof of the trailer. The night camera made him look really pale, and his eyes appeared black to her as he scanned the top of the roof.
