Alexia Purdy - Thomas Hamblin and the Bowery Theatre: the New York reign of blood and thunder melodramas

By

Alexia Purdy

This book is sold subject tothe condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, belent, re-sold, duplicated, hired out, or otherwise circulatedwithout the publishers prior written consent in any form ofbinding or cover other than that in which it is published andwithout similar condition including this condition being imposed onthe subsequent purchaser. If you did not buy this e-book, pleasepurchase your own copy.

Reign of Blood

Copyright April 2012Alexia Purdy

Cover Design by StephanieMooney

Cover photographycontribution & April 2012 Juan Manriquez

Edited by Michael K.Rose

All rightsreserved

This is a work of fiction.All characters and events portrayed in this novel are fictitiousand are products of the authors imagination and any resemblance toactual events, or locales or persons, living or dead are entirelycoincidental.

www.alexiapurdybooks.com

in association with

Lyrical Lit. Publishing

For my parents, Juanita andAlfonso

Acknowledgements

First and foremost, thankyou to God.

I want to thank thefollowing people who have stood by me and helped me every step ofthe way. I appreciate you more than I let you know. Im indebted toyou.

My brother JuanManriquez-love you and thanks for the awesome photography. AmyConley-your friendship and feedback is immeasurable. ScottPrussing-your continued support and encouragement are invaluable.JT Lewis- youre the best beta reader ever! Thanks for pushing meto keep torturing poor April! Michael K. Rose- your advice has beenphenomenal, thank you for all you have helped me with. Jenna Kay,Madison Daniel, Kyani Swanigan, Linna Drehmel-your friendship andprayers have been soul quenching. Madison, thanks for lending meyour musical talents for the book trailer, you rock, literally. Myfamily at Crushing Hearts and Black Butterfly Publishing, for beingthe best literary family ever, love you!

Chapter One

Never tease anything thatwants to eat you. The ravenous eyes that bled death all around andpeered from their windows drooled at the sight of us. The buildingsloomed above as we rushed across the concrete and asphalt, hurryingto beat the sun as it set. They lurked in every window, shrouded bythe shadow from the searing sun. The east sides of the buildingswere crawling with vampires. They smirked and sneered their inhumangrowls, hissing right at us as we jumped from sunbeam to sunbeam,racing to the awaiting van. Only the light kept them at bay. Onlythe light kept us from their sharp, gripping fangs.

Each block felt like itstretched longer and farther, growing with each of our steps. Mymother ran hurriedly, as fast as she could with my little brotherwrapped around her, molded to her chest, afraid to look up. I wasdashing right next to her, afraid to get left behind and afraid tobe first in any place. My backpack bounced on my back with eachjump and step. I tried hard to not look up. To look upon them wasto feel your soul drain of life, to wither away. Mom always saidnot to let them look into your eyes; they can steal your humanityand freeze you in your steps. But I did look, and I did study theirred searing eyes. Even while running, I had glanced up into theirpale, grey ashen faces. I waited for them to take my soul; I waitedand discovered that I was immune. Immune to their mind control andtheir deepest desire. I wanted to smile and flip them off but Ididnt think that my mother would appreciate that. I wasnt sure ifshe or my brother were immune. I wasnt about to piss her off byadmitting that I had given in to such a temptation and had staredeye to eye with monsters.

So for now, we ran. We ranto our awaiting van where mom tied my little brother into his seatand slid quickly into the drivers seat, turning the ignition andslamming the gas as though our lives depended on it. Actually, theyvery much did. Soon the sun would fade, inhaled into shadows and wewould be surrounded by monsters capable of draining our bodies ofevery little drop of crimson blood. They did not discriminate. Theywould rip even me and my younger brother to shreds. For now, theywaited in their makeshift graveyard; the citys dilapidatedbuildings and streets.

I stared out the windows ofthe van and hugged my knees to my chest. Mom had her serious andstern face on. Sometimes I wish I could see her smile again, likethe old days, before any of this happened. Before foraging for foodhad become an absolute for survival. Before running was a dailyoccurrence. Seeing her hair streaked with grey was not something Ithought I would see so soon. She wasnt that old.

Times like these, even Ifelt old.

We left the city limits wellbefore sunset. We were safer in the rural areas, where vampiresfeared to tread, too far from the shelters of the concrete jungles.I learned early on that some part of their humanity must still beintact because unlike the stories and movies I had heard and seenabout vampires, these ones hated to sleep in the dirt. Oh, and allthat crap about mirrors and garlic? Definitely not true. Stake tothe heart? I had found that it did work but decapitation was a muchmore successful option. Missing the heart was too easy a mistake.Crosses and holy water? Well, that does work but you must be abeliever for it to work as intended. If you did not believe, well,lets just say you might as well be throwing plain water atthem.

An arsenal of swords,crosses and faith was pretty much all I needed. It had been just ayear since the virus had turned more than three quarters of thepopulation of the Americas into blood-seeking walking dead. Mostdied within days of contracting the strange ailment. Id had allthe practice I needed for a lifetime in learning how to killvampires. It definitely made for an interesting life but I wouldgive anything for my old one. Nothing beat a cold soda and movie ona Saturday night. High school issues seemed petty compared to theones I had now. Stability, security, all gone. Staring out thedusty windows of the van as the trees grew thicker and the duskseeped into the sky, I felt nothing but numb. Everything was allbut gone.

Chapter Two

My name is April. I live ina bunker, somewhat hidden in the sparse forests surrounding what isleft of Las Vegas, Nevada. I wish I could say that the nights wouldbring bright lights, slot machines ringing and an endless party,but that would not be so. The valley is a graveyard, black as pitchat night and a ghost city in the day. All that is left of a citythat never sleeps.

My mother Helen and myyounger brother Jeremy live with me in this makeshift home buriedin the side of the mountains. Its pretty cool considering we couldbe out in the open where the vampires roamed at night. It wassimple; we had found a door in a mountain cabin to what wouldvebeen part of a basement that led down a long hallway and into acemented-in bunker. Located deep inside the bowels of the forestnear Mt Charleston, this had become our home. It was ventilatedsomehow, had stores and stores of non-perishable food liningshelves and storage areas in a separate room.

Gallons of water sat indrums as big as me and a filtration system was set up for recyclingthe water that we did use. The place was wired with solar energyand generators if needed. The sleeping quarters were in a corner ofthe first room and consisted of three beds lined up next to oneanother. My mother and I took turns keeping watch during the nightwhile Jeremy got to sleep the whole night. It wasnt much, but itwas home.