Chronicle XVI

Dracula’s Dog flew out of sight, hidden behind the horde of vampiric suburbanites. Tumbo didn’t care to spare a life, and Tombs seemed all but eager to dispatch as many of them as he could. As the brawl began, it was apparent that these were no simple vamps. These were Thralls. They were familiar, having traveled with Dracula’s Dog. Whenever needed, he often would create powerful Thralls to get the trio food by any means necessary. The transformation was drastic; their muscles grew larger and their intellect skyrocketed. Once the group was fed,  he’d release them back to human life. But he was only ever able to turn one at a time to be a Thrall. This many attacking T&T was a true showcase of Dracula’s limitless ability.

Tombs’ approach to combat was intriguing to Tumbo. Where Tumbo pounded his drum and blasted multiple vampires into the distance before they got near, Tombs waited for them to get incredibly close before doing anything at all. A large woman in a pantsuit reared back and bared her teeth. Just before chomping down on Tombs’ neck, he wiggled his mace. Matching the rate of motion he had, her body wiggled. All the Thralls around stood back as they saw her torso and neck expanding quickly. Tombs stepped toward her and delivered a solid kick to the stomach. From her mouth, ears, eyes and nose erupted black dust that reeked of death. Tumbo chuckled to himself, still battering his own stomach with his drumsticks.

Whilst his travel-mates were battling, Dracula’s Dog excitedly approached the house of his master. The sky had turned an unnatural black the moment he got near. The architecture of the home shifted, as if he stepped into a different realm. It was reminiscent of the castle they once shared, but slightly modernized. He could see through the window that the interior was pretty mundane. There was a living room with a tv and a couch, nothing special. He shrugged it off and flew up to ring the doorbell.

For a moment there was no reply. Dracula’s Dog again flew up to the doorbell, but before he rang, the door opened.

“I’ll be right back, Timmy.” Dracula stepped out in a polo shirt and blue jeans. Dracula’s Dog’s tail began to wag violently and he flew to greet his master. “Ugh.” Dracula turned away in reply. “What are you doing here?”

“WOOF!” Dracula’s Dog answered, still filled with joy.

“Go back to your home. You don’t belong here.”

A loud blast from Tumbo’s drum hit a protective barrier around Dracula’s home, distracting them both. The sound caught the attention of someone inside. Dracula’s Dog watched as a golden retriever came outside and brushed up against Dracula, receiving a gracious pet from its owner. Dracula’s Dog was appalled. He looked inside and saw a child playing on the floor of the living room and angrily said in his mind, “Timmy.”

“WOOF!” Dracula’s Dog barked.

“You were never my dog. You were my mistake.” Dracula replied, walking inside and slamming the door behind him.

Dracula’s Dog stood in shock on the porch, numb to the madness taking place in the street.

Tumbo grew tired, his arms still slamming the drum, but looking for an easier way to remove chunks of thralls at once. He stopped hitting the drum, held one of the drumsticks close to his stomach and fell backward onto the floor. Then, he let a pile of vampires accumulate. Once he was satisfied with the quantity, he tapped the drum with the skulls. A few vampires on the top of the pile were sent flying. What he was most proud of were the ones at the bottom being pressed into the others, literally squishing them all into one grotesque mass of thrall flesh.

Tombs grinned watching his big buddy pull that off. “Mind if I use that?” He asked Tumbo, pointing up at the ball of dead vampires. Tumbo shrugged to indicate he didn’t mind. He didn’t really know what Tombs’ plan was.

With his mace, Tombs exploded the ball of death, sending chunks of meat all around, pelting vampires with pieces of their own brethren. The crescendo, however, was the second part. He waved his mace again, commanding the corpses to reform. Every single body part flew at impossible speed to rejoin the rest. Tumbo watched as one of the male vampires removed a big chunk of meat from in front of his eyes just to have a set of legs plow through its brain and connect with the chunk.

Tumbo started laughing uncontrollably, loving the devastation. Tombs looked around to see that if any Thralls remained, they weren’t coming to fight. Then he saw his little buddy.

“Tumbo, look.” he called to the giant.

They walked towards Dracula’s House, kicking aside bodies. They both noticed the house transform and the sky darken. Then they looked in the window and saw Dracula playing with his new dog and his son and realized why Dracula’s Dog was slumped there. Tombs whispered something into Dracula’s Dog’s ear and then stood in front of the entry.

“I got it.” Tombs assured. He rang the doorbell and knocked on the door, which swung open immediately.

“WHAT?” Dracula shouted.

“Hold on.” Tombs looked back at his crew. “This is one of the most powerful beings in the world?”

“Of course I am.” Dracula stated unconvincingly.

“I think I saw you in an Old Navy commercial.” Tombs messed with immortal evil. “We got the wrong guy, team. Sorry to bother you, sir.”

“I see.” Dracula grew bitter. “You’re with IT.” he pointed at DD. “That makes you all mutts. Go before I call animal control.”

“Is this animal control?” Tumbo stepped aside and pointed out the thousands of bodies on the street. Dracula got upset and turned to go inside.

“You know, even though you’re clearly not the right guy, I guess this trip wasn’t a total loss.” Tombs said.

“How so?”

“We came for a powerful vampire, we’re leaving with a powerful vampire.”

Dracula’s Dog brushed past Dracula’s legs, coming outside.

“Wait.”

Timmy followed, bite marks in his neck, massive muscles for a 10 year old. “Bye, Dad!” he exclaimed.

“Yeah, we’ll be taking him.” Tombs informed Dracula, who, even with the extremely pale skin, lost all his color at that moment.

Dracula’s Dog led the group away from the home, his tail wagging happily. Tombs and Tumbo walked behind, smiling. Timmy was way behind, searching for bones for Dracula’s Dog to play with, as was his command.