Chapter 159

1411 hours, local time
Thursday, 14 August, 2014
East Prairie High School
East Prairie, MO

“I don’t like doing this, you know, attacking a school, even a largely vacant one,” I groused as we slugged our way through the campus of the local secondary school.

“Yeah, well, those Kluckers didn’t leave us much of a choice, did they? They provoked and attacked us as we came passing through. They killed me and forced you to revive me as an undead confederate of yours, for which I am rather grateful, I might add. I’m sure that it will help in many ways, but the fact remains that I died rather painfully at their hands. Trust me, buckshot in my gut is no laughing matter. It literally destroyed my entrails ... yikes!” Till cursed the Klan troops for raiding our caravan and picking a fight with us as he recalled the trauma of his temporary demise.

“You’re preaching to the choir there, of course. Those hooded bastards started this fight and we are going to finish it, by God! No quarter to the likes of them, at least not yet. Let’s make them pay for what they did!” I declared, even as I saw two shapes in the shadows of the mostly empty corridors.

I fired instantly, acting on pure reflex, and quickly hearing a groan around the corner. I saw blood pooling at a doorway of a classroom where the door was ajar. I then heard a scream and saw a pair of dainty hands reach out from inside the classroom. I swiftly closed the distance and darted inside, as I was immortal and could risk it better than most. I saw a teenage girl with torn clothes, bruises, and cigarette burns on her flesh. Her lip was cut and bloody, too.

“So, who are you?” I asked the girl in question, “and why are you in school, when clearly school’s out for summer?”

“I’m trying to get out of here and away from the Klan. Those fuckers killed my folks and two of my brothers, just because we were the last black folks left in town. There were never many of us, but the KKK doesn’t want any at all. They were going to rape and then kill me in front of my last living brother and both of my sisters. Then they were going to rape and kill all of us, including my brother himself. I heard them discussing it as if I was deaf or something.

“I’m Denise Calderon, They raped Mom in front of Dad, and then those pricks sodomized him in front of her. With a broomstick, not their dicks, because that’s somehow less gay or whatever. They tortured them for days, even castrating Dad before they lynched him. They found that Dad was Dominican, too, which really angered them for some reason. They buggered Mom and then hung her as well, naked and bloody just like Dad. It was like something from Hell!” the girl told me as I reacted to the sudden arrival of two more Kluckers by lifting my staff to clear out the corridor at least.

Denise’s eyes grew and her jaw dropped as she saw the burnt out eye sockets on the faces of the Klansmen now. I looked out briefly into the hallway and saw six more corpses, each wearing civvies with armbands containing Klan insignia. Their eyes were burnt out of their sockets as well. Denise looked at me and took my hand as I extended it to her, sensing that the safest place available was at my side. I was suddenly in no mood to play any longer with my prey and I lifted my staff to annihilate every Klucker left in the school. They all dropped dead to a man and the ladies accompanying them ran away screaming at the sight of my victims.

“Well, Denise, I’m Adam Clarke. These are most of my tribe, the ones not watching the brats. Perhaps you’ve heard of me,” I told Denise, who surveyed the damage with a sense of shock and awe that my own family no longer felt.

“You’re the Prophet! I’ve heard of you ... the Klan hates you with a white-hot rage, man! They view you as the biggest threat to their control of this county. Which is funny, as you just seem to be passing through town with your caravan. Heading west, perhaps to Haven? Look, I’d love to go with you, but you gotta free my brother Elias and my sisters, Maricela and Isabel! I don’t know how they feel about leaving or staying or whatever, I just know that I want to save them and myself from the Ku Klux Klan and their militia,” Denise reacted to this news, even as I rejoined my small band of warriors.

“Where are they being kept?” I demanded to know.

“In the gym changing room. Girls’ side, even Elias, since they plan to rape him and treat him like a girl! They have even discussed castrating him as well, right before they murder him! It’s truly horrifying! Follow me, please! I can lead you to them!” Denise guided me to the area that she mentioned, even as we struck down every Klansman in our path.

By the time that we reached the changing room, there were a dozen Kluckers slain along the way. Five had the telltale burnt out eye sockets, as I didn’t hesitate right then to use my staff. The rest had bullet wounds in their flesh, even as the blood clotted near the points of entry. I smote three guards just inside the changing room, while two more were killed with knives in close quarters combat. I then gestured for the Calderons to follow me and we exited the changing room for the school clinic, where we worked to clean and dress any wounds.