Part 1
We were hanging at Starbucks the way we usually do on Friday nights. Our conversation (about wrestling if you must know) was interrupted when Ryan came running up his face flushed with exertion. He looked as if he'd ran here all the way from Rossmoor, or as was more likely the case as if he'd just spent a hurried ten minutes with Carli in his car. However if that had been the case why did he run to our table and where was Carli?
I turned my attention to the matter as I had been drifting trying to ignore the conversation in progress. "Ryan, dude, what's the matter?" That was from my brother Aaron.
"That bitch" Ryan said under his breath, "that bitch."
"What's he muttering about?" asked Doug X. He has cauliflower ears from too much submission wrestling and doesn't hear all that well.
"He said 'that bitch' a couple of times" clarified Andy.
"Good for him then" said Doug X. He has various opinions on the opposite sex and all of them negative.
At that point Mai slapped Doug in the back of the head. He turned around to look askance at her. "What was that for?" he asked.
"For being you."
"Well, okay. You through?"
"Yeah" she said. He turned around. Then she slapped him again. When he turned around, she said "I changed my mind."
Doug X just shrugged his shoulders and turned back to Ryan who was still muttering under his breath. Andy yelled out "He said 'this time she's gone too far.'"
"Thanks" Doug yelled back.
"Your welcome" yelled Andy. They grinned at each other. I figured it was time to take control of this interrogation.
"Ryan are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm okay. It's just I need your help" he looked sincere when he said it but you never can tell. "You realize we might be reluctant to help you considering you've helped kidnap several of us in the past."
"I thought of that. But you're the only ones who I know of capable of stopping her."
I knew mind you, knew, who he was talking about but Aaron had to ask "Her who?"
Allowing Ryan to respond "the Evil Genius Roxanne" and the rest of the crowd gasped appropriately. I considered. I had foiled her last plot, or more accurately Mai had, after she had used my secret files to exploit our individual weaknesses to take us apart. Only Mai and Leslie had remained uncaptured, but fortunately they were formidable enough to rescue us from the nefarious clutches of the Evil Genius and her Legion of Dim. However she was still a dangerous opponent and had apparently developed another horrible scheme.
Except that Ryan hadn't said "the Evil Genius Roxanne" at all. He'd said "I don't know."
"What?" I said.
"I don't know" he repeated.
Andy yelled out "He said 'I don't know'"
"Thanks Andy but I heard what he said."
"Then why did you say 'what'?"
"He was imitating Stone Cold Steve Austin" put in Victor.
"Oh excellent." Said Aaron.
"Yeah, good call" said Doug X.
"Tubaskragula" they all exclaimed and did the appropriate gestures. I hate when they do that. Victor crossed himself and did a little turn around dance. Why do they watch that wrestling crap and why must they incessantly quote it? I figure it is just one of the many crosses that I must bear and resumed my interrogation.
"Well if you don't know who, how about what?"
"See, I told you Stone Cold Steve Austin." Said Victor.
"Ssshh, he's being serious and important." Said my brother. I think he was mocking me.
"You mean he doesn't want us to echo him everytime he says 'what'" asked Doug X.
"Does anybody want to hear what I have to say?" asked Ryan.
"What?" said Doug X.
"What?" repeated Aaron and Victor.
"HE said "Does anyone want to hear what I have to say?" yelled Andy.
"Carly was bitten by a vampire!" yelled out Ryan finally losing his cool.
"What?" I exclaimed in shock.
"What?" cried out Aaron, Victor and Doug X in unison.
"HE said "Carly was bitten by a vampire" yelled Andy.
"Everybody shut up except me!" I yelled. "Why do you think she was bitten by a vampire?" I asked Ryan.
"Because she tried to suck my blood!" yelled Ryan back agrily. Then he looked around at our disbelieving faces. He looked a little sheepish. "It's more than that. She doesn't want to go out during the day." We still looked unconvinced. "She has sharp, cruel fangs?" he added hopefully. "Sorry dude, not buying it." Said Aaron.
"She has two bite marks on the side of her neck that I didn't put there!" he said emphatically. "I think we need to have a talk about women" said Doug X putting a comradely arm around Ryan's shoulders.
"She's super strong!"
This got our attention.
"And the one that bit her turned into a wolf" he added helpfully.
"But there's no such thing as vampires" said Doug X.
"It's impossible to prove a negative." I told him. "There just has been no positive evidence of vampires up to this point."
"Well, yeah." He said "But that's pretty strong circumstantial evidence."
"But so is a girl that can turn into a wolf, not to mention a super strong Carly." I countered.
"Okay that's true, but I still think Ryan just got drunk watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer reruns and is imagining this whole thing."
"No, I'm not." Ryan said looking directly at Doug. "I wish I was but I swear it's the truth. It's gotten really scary at Rossmoor. They're hanging out at the park all night, every night doing strange rituals. It's like the cops don't even see them. I think the vampire can cloud minds. And Carly offered to make me one. I didn't believe she was really a vampire but then she picked me up by the throat, with one hand. And when I refused to let her make me one, she just tossed me aside. Like I weighed nothing. Dude, it was really strange. And very scary. And kind of erotic actually. But I don't want to be a vampire. I want my girlfriend back."
"Aren't you still dating Katie?" asked Aaron.
"Okay, I want my other girlfriend back. Are you guys always this technical?"
We all spent a moment looking around at each other.
"Pretty much." I said speaking for the group. "But it's okay, we're on the case. Unless anybody wants out. This could get dangerous." I looked over the whole Starbucks crowd to see if anybody wanted out. I worried about Leslie and Mai and my brother but they had all proved their mettle before. If they wanted in, that was their choice to make.
"Okay, first we need to know more about these vampires and their rituals. Doug, you and Ryan will go to Rossmoor tomorrow night and see what you can find out. Aaron, Andy and Mai will go separately. Since you guys show up the most often at Rossmoor they are unlikely to expect anything is amiss. Find out what you can firsthand. In the meantime Leslie, Sam, myself, and Victor will research anything we can find out about vampires in general. It will be a lot of work separating the wheat from the chaff but we might find something useful.
"No way Rob" said Victor.
"What's the matter?" I asked.
"I don't want to play researcher. I want to go firsthand and scout." I looked hard at him but he was serious. I asked Andy if he minded taking another body in his car. He said he didn't as long as he could pick up Aaron at Vic's house or vice versa. It wasn't a problem, so we made arrangements for them to call me tomorrow night with what they'd learned.
---
I felt their minds as they approached. A vampire has enhanced senses psychic and physical. I could read the texture of their thoughts, the incessant bubblings of the innocent one, the visual modalities of the artist, the bonded minds of the lovers, the quiet of a warrior concerned for the fate on one he had loved and one more a strange one that swam with pictures of vampire 'chicks' in latex and vinyl. Intriguing. Obviously they had come to 'cure' my newest child of her 'affliction.' How misguided and sweet. I chose not to inform her of this. Rather I would watch and see how she and her self styled minions would deal with this challenge.
It could be fascinating.
The youngest one asked "Well what do we do now?" after they had parked their vehicles up the street."
"We walk slowly towards them and then all hell breaks loose." Said the one whose mind was preoccupied with vampire 'chicks'. Disgusting images. I wouldn't be caught dead wearing laytex. As it were.
"Oh good plan Doug. Did you learn that kind of complicated strategy in the military."
"Well, yeah actually. Why do you have a better plan?"
"Yeah" said a mind that was constantly throwing up screening thoughts. How odd, someone who suspected others could read their minds.
"Well what is it Andy?"
"What is what?"
"This better plan."
"Oh simple. We walk straight towards them and all hell doesn't break loose. Is that okay with everybody?"
"Good plan" Doug said.
They approached my child and her minions. They were conducting a ritual that she had made up on the spot. What an impetuous child I had created.
"Put your left foot in" she ordered.
Her minions who were gathered around her in a circle put their left foot forward.
"Take your left foot out!" she yelled.
They immediately snatched their left leg away and back to it's prior position.
"Carly!" yelled the quiet one. The one who loved my child.
"Ryan? Didn't I throw you away with the rest of my humanity?" my child answered. Aah the delicious pain that caused him. I savored it. True vampires evolve beyond the need to feed on blood. Instead we feed on human suffering. A delicate vintage but worth the cultivating; and oh so abundant, so very abundant.
"Minions" she called to her circle of adoration. "Get them."
"Yes mistress" they cried in unison.
"Oh yeah Andy, good plan. We walk towards them and all hell doesn't break loose."
"Yeah well it was good in theory. Besides it would have worked but I think something read my mind and countered it."
"You always think something is reading your mind" his girlfriend pointed out.
"Yeah, and this just proves I'm right." Their minds raced in fear as the horde of minions charged towards them.
"Look get the kids out of here. Me and Ryan will hold them off. Tell the Rob that there's some kind of vampire cult thing and tell him about the whole mindreading thing."
"He won't believe me."
"Hell I don't believe you. But if it's true it's going to affect our plans."
"Our plans?"
"Hell I'm an optimist. Now get out of here."
"Bye Doug" Mai called out. "Good luck against the horde."
"Come on it's just a horde of Goths, they're harmless in any number."
"I don't know, didn't a horde of Goths conquer England?" Ryan asked.
"Only because they had the help of Jutes, Angles and Saxons. You see any Jutes?"
"Just you."
"Not Jews, Jutes."
"What do they look like?"
"Big, Germanic, carry axes, long beards that sort of thing."
"Nah, no jutes."
They were cracking jokes but they were uneasy as the horde approached. They went back to back, one holding a wooden practice blade, the other with only his bare hands to protect him. A minion with a floppy black hat charged forward. The blond one slashed with the wooden blade and took his legs out neatly. His next strike landed square in the abdomen. The air rushed out of his opponents lungs and he flailed his limbs about struggling for breath that wouldn't come. I feasted on his anguish and grew stronger as he was kicked out of the way rolling helplessly.
"One" the blond one said.
Two more approached facing the crop haired one. These minions were both blond, tall and skinny. He shot at one taking him down by the legs. In a second he applied some sort of choke hold and held it as the other minion struck him from behind. As the one he was holding began to spasm and flail as his mind went blank he released the hold. He turned on the one striking him and brought his fist deep into the skinny one's belly, following it with another strike to the head. His opponent went down and he stepped over him.
"Two" he called out cheerfully. Then he gaped as all three of the fallen minions stood up, looking unharmed and fresh.
"Ryan" he called "this looks bad."
"I have fed them some of my blood" my child called out. "It makes them stronger, as well as more obedient to my will."
Ryan struck at another two, but these larger minions shrugged off his hardest blows. "No Doug, this sucks!" Once again they worked their way back to back prepared to fight to the last but hope flickered and died within their breasts.
Then there was the sound of an engine revved up to maximum and the screeching and squealing of tires pushed to their melting point.