Chapter 31

The blizzard fell relentlessly in Barrow, creating a blinding whiteout under the cover of night. Suddenly, a gunshot echoed throughout the town, its sound muffled by the thick snowfall.

Inside a modest home, a father in his fifties and his son in his twenties lay on the living room floor, forcibly pulled from their hiding place. The father clutched a newly-fired pistol, his eyes wide with amazement. Marlow, black blood dripping from his chest, glared at them while effortlessly ripping the gun from the man's trembling hands. He spoke in a guttural rasp, his English not easy to decipher, his accent unplaceable.

"You had your chance to help us find your friends. Now, you'll have to watch," Marlow declared.

Marlow lifted up the man, his eyes cold. He reached for a fireplace poker and impaled the man through the guts, pinning him to the wall. Choking in pain, the man was unable to move as Marlow took his chin, directing his gaze toward Iris.

"Iris. You may take your time," Marlow continued.

She nodded with a menacing glint in her eyes, acknowledging Marlow's words.

Neither Marlow nor Iris took any sadistic pleasure from this act. It was simply the price the father and son had to pay for their resistance. Iris reached for the hand of the terrified, sobbing son, and a series of sickening snaps echoed in the room as she broke his fingers, one at a time.

The father cried out, "Nooooooo!"

Marlow, though not as distracted by the scene as he wished he could be, dropped his hold on the man and looked at Iris. The son gasped with each finger snapped, while Marlow's thoughts remained unreadable, his emotions hidden behind a mask of cold indifference.

_*_

Inside the the main room of the massive shredder. Mark rested his head on Stella's lap, enjoying her soothing scalp massage as she spoke with Eben over the walkie-talkie. Denise and Kirsten sat close, Mark's feet comfortably resting on their thighs beneath the thick, cozy blanket. Together, they huddled, engrossed in movies playing on Mark's phone.

The relentless weather made Mark unusually lethargic, a sense of laziness seeping in. All he craved was the warmth of cuddling with the girls.

Kissing Stella's hand, he spoke, "Let them know visibility is almost zero. The vampires won't see a thing. The whiteout will hide their tracks, giving them a better chance to transfer here safely."

"Do you think they can make it?" Stella's voice held concern, catching Denise and Kirsten's attention as they paused the movie to listen.

"Once they're out there, tell them to stay low and use the crawlspaces of the houses. I've already reduced the number of vampires. There should only be 4 or 5 left," Mark reassured.

Stella shared the information with Eben, her worry still evident on her face. Biting her lip, she glanced down at Mark, she clearly wanted to express something. Her concern for their long-time friends in the attic was clear as day. Mark caught her gaze and grinned mischievously. He bit her soft thigh, making her gasp in surprise, before sitting up and playfully molding her cheeks to make her lips pout.

"Relax, beautiful. I'll meet them at the general store when they got there. No need to worry," he said, planting a kiss on her lips. In his mind, he considered resolving the Marlow situation sooner, so he can finally have an uninterrupted carefree moment with the girls.

"Thank you," Stella replied appreciatively. In a moment of gratitude, she gently cupped his face and reciprocated the kiss.

"But first, I want to get an incentive." Mark laughed as she positioned Stella in between Kirsten and Denise, laying her down. He climbed on top of her, his body pressing against hers.

He began to nibble on Stella's neck, making her ticklish. She laughed and snorted, her body shaking beneath him.

"Stop it, Mark!" Stella squealed between fits of giggles, trying to squirm away from him. Her laughter was infectious, filling the room with joy. The other girls giggled at the sight of Stella being teasingly attacked.

Mark grinned and continued his assault on her neck, his teeth leaving small, red bite marks on her pale skin. Despite her protests, there was a spark of desire in her eyes that told him she was enjoying the teasing.

As he pulled away, he winked at Denise and Kirsten. "Don't worry, girls," he said with a playful smirk. "It's your turn next."

With that, he began to undress himself, revealing his toned body beneath his clothes. Denise, eager to join in the fun, quickly shed her clothes, revealing her own naked body. Kirsten, on the other hand, was a little more shy and hesitant, but eventually stripped down to her underwear.

Stella, meanwhile, had managed to slip under the blanket, waiting for Mark's next move.

_*_

In the midst of the storm on the rooftop, Marlow, his chest wrapped tightly in clothes salvaged from one of their victims earlier, stood beside Iris. They strained their eyes, attempting to pierce through the thick sheets of snow that surrounded them. Marlow screeched in frustration as the howling winds weakened their visibility, making it harder to track their possible prey.

At the same time, one of Marlow's followers, a bald vampire, circled a house, scratching at the windows. A desperate sewage worker, driven mad by the taunting vampire, fled from his house, running through the snow towards the utilidor.

Afterward, the man found himself at the familiar sewage pipe, a place he had once worked on with his partner. He twisted the hatch open and, without a second thought, slid inside, quickly closing the entrance behind him. He remained unaware of the vampire steadily tracking him from a distance.

The man crawled out from the pipe, his eyes wide with fear as he spotted the nearby pumphouse. Summoning his last reserves of strength, he took a deep breath and leaped over it, landing in the main room with a clumsy tumble. Timid and drained, he called out hesitantly,

"Hello? Is anyone here?"

A glinting pair of black eyes belonging to the bald vampire gleamed ominously in the empty sewage pipe behind him.

Back to the main room, Mark gently soothed Kirsten's reddened buttocks that had endured the spanking she received earlier. He could see the marks left by his hand. As he ran his fingers over her pale skin, she let out a soft moan, her body trembling under his touch. Stella and Denise were still catching their breath, their eyes closed as they basked in the afterglow of their earlier climax. Before he could ask Kirsten for a clean up duty, they heard a sudden scream of pain echoing through the corridors.

Mark and the girls exchanged glances. The girls quickly sat up and covered themselves with the sheets. He sighed in frustration as he quickly put on his boxers and ran towards where the sound came from.

As he walked past the refugees, he gave them a reassuring nod. They watched him go, their worried eyes showing their uncertainty, unsure whether to follow him or stay put.

When he arrived at the scene, he found a bald vampire feasting on a still living man. Without hesitation, he brandished his axe and took a crushing swing at the vampire just as it turned to face him. The axe severed its arm with a sickening sound, causing it to howl in pain.

The vampire lunged towards him, seething in anger. Mark caught the vampire with a strong left hook and started beating the unliving shit out of it, breaking all it's remaining limbs. The girls and the refugees, having followed Mark to the scene, watched in awe as Mark continued giving the bald vampire its needed physical therapy. They almost felt sorry for it.

Each punch he landed was a testament to his pent-up anger. "You baldy, you made me miss the clean-up duty of Kirsten!" Mark roared, slamming the vampire to the ground, where it lay there twitching.

The onlookers looked at Kirsten curiously, making her blush with embarrassment. Stella and Denise laughed at her teasingly.

Stella then rushed to Mark, handing him the newly crafted handheld UV light. He approached the incapacitated vampire and prepared to illuminate it. The moment the intense light touched its skin, the creature's eyes widened in terror, releasing a guttural scream of agony. Its skin started to sear, resembling a dry branch slowly turning to charcoal under the merciless brilliance of the light.

The refugees gasped, their hands covering their mouths in horror, unable to tear their eyes away from the gruesome spectacle. The girls, too, were wide-eyed, their expressions a mix of shock and fascination.

The room filled with cheers as the vampire's screams faded. Mark looked at the handheld weapon in his hand. Finally, it's done. He knew it was time to bid farewell to Marlow.

Dispersing the crowd, Mark directed his attention to the injured man. Clutching his neck, the man writhed on the floor, his eyes turning vampire black. Involuntarily, he keened as he saw the axe raised, releasing a deafening wail that was extremely uncomfortable to the ears. With a swift motion, Mark brought the axe down, silencing him. The girls approached him, looking at the headless corpse.

"Poor, Paul," Denise said with regret, her voice heavy with sorrow. Stella and Kirsten nodded in sadness, sharing the sentiment.