Vampire Hunter

by Dante Steel

  A tavern.

  Gary grinned. “First round’s on me!”

  The girls were right behind him. Gary grinned as he claimed a stool at the bar and glanced around. The NPCs there were all rather skinny, as if wasting away, and they were all pale enough to look like vampires’ cousins.

  A bar wench who still had massive boobs despite her impossibly thin waist came over, and he ordered two ales, one each for himself and Elena. Nicoletta and Olivia stayed with them as they drank, but he couldn’t tell if they had drinks back home in their real bodies. He didn’t know what pressing matter they had to attend to. Maybe it was just sleep. Maybe it was something with work or Nicoletta figuring out her future. Gary hated that he didn’t know every detail of their lives, and he hated that they had to go at all. It was selfish of him, but he wished that all of them could be in the game with him.

  He was just like a guy, wanting to play out some twisted fantasy with all of them happy and with him.

  After Nicoletta and Olivia hugged them both and left, Gary ordered them a second round.

  Elena didn’t touch hers, though. She was eyeing the people. Most looked battle-hardened and tired as if they had been through so much and seen too much. NPCs from the war, Gary assumed.

  But some of the people looked distinctly different. They were clearly other superheroes.

  “What the hell?” Gary muttered.

  “They have to be other players,” Elena said. “That money-hungry son of a bitch. He made the issue available to the general public! How the hell are they going to make sure that Smaug can’t come through, too?”

  “Maybe he has safeguards up, but honestly I don’t think we can count on that.”

  “Ya think?” Elena shook her head. “You said Samuel August was a genius, right?”

  “Yep, how he was able to enter the game on purpose in the first place.”

  “Which means that he might already be here.”

  “It’s possible. We have to keep a low profile. He won’t know we’re here.”

  “True enough. I hope the vampires are too much for him.”

  “I wish we could go back,” Gary said. “I would rather go up against supervillains again than have to worry about Smaug and those vampires.”

  “Good point, but I don’t know if we can. It’s not as if we’re in a video game and can just plug in the right version to the console.” She sighed and rubbed her head. “I need another drink.”

  “You haven’t finished your second.”

  She picked up her mug, drained it, and slammed it back down. “Another,” she said with a giggle.

  He laughed and ordered her another, but inwardly, Gary wasn’t smiling. He was nervous. He was worried. He was honestly afraid.

  More than anything, he hated that he wasn’t home. He needed to go back. He wanted to return to everyday living. His apartment was gone, his job too, but maybe he could get both back. He could start over, and…

  Where would the ladies fit in? Because here or there, in the game or out, he still wanted them in his life. He wanted to help them achieve their goals. He would help taste test Elena’s baked goods for her bakery. Hell, he would probably need to be a patient of Olivia’s in order to get re-adjusted to the real world after having been in the game for so long. She was studying to be a psychologist. As for Nicoletta, he could help her figure out her future as he figured out his because if this game had taught him anything, it was that he wanted so much more out of life than to be a garbage man. He wanted to do something amazing. He wanted to help people.

  Honestly, he wanted to be a superhero, but that wasn’t possible.

  So, his future was as up in the air as Nicoletta’s, even more so considering he was stuck in the game.

  “What are you thinking about?” Elena asked. “You haven’t finished your drink.”

  He was still on his second.

  Gary glanced at the ale and frowned. “I’m not thirsty.”

  “Because of what you’re thinking about. Tell me.”

  “You need to go back. I need to go back. What’s the hold up?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “This isn’t fair to you. Not at all. You didn’t sign up for this!”

  “I knew going in that it might take a while,” Elena admitted.

  “You made it sound like Haru said it would be easy.”

  “I insinuated that because I wanted it to be true, and I didn’t want you to worry. For whatever reason, it’s easier to go in than out. Haru explained it, but it was a lot of technical terms that went over my head, and I couldn’t begin to remember all of them.”

  “But your mom.”

  “We weren’t close.”

  “You mentioned an uncle.”

  “He lives in California, far, far away. If I’m lucky, I see him once a year. I didn’t think that it would be a huge deal.”

  “But your job, your place, your friends,” he protested.

  “You’re one of my friends,” she said. She leaned over and reached for his hand, squeezing it.

  “You did all of this, came all this way, because of me.”

  “Yes.”

  Because of love. Neither said the word out loud, but Gary knew it was there, that it was true. She loved him. He loved her.

  But he also loved Nicoletta and Olivia. Could she ever handle that? Was it even fair for him to ask her to?

  “I don’t want to talk about this anymore,” he said. “Tell me the most embarrassing thing you ever did.”

  “No!” She laughed. “You first.”

  “Fine, but then you and we’ll go on from there. The funniest thing you ever did. The most ridiculous thing. The most—”

  “You’re ridiculous.”

  “Maybe. All right, so this one time…”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Life here in the underground town took some getting used to. There weren’t as many rooms as before, and it was harder to have privacy, but Gary and Elena did find a room to themselves that night. The did sleep together in bed without sleeping together. Gary thought it for the best, but he did wake to hearing moans coming from the bathroom. He had grinned. Elena was pleasuring herself. He waited to slip out until she returned to bed, and then he masturbated while thinking about her touching herself. It didn’t take him long at all to come.

  The strangest part about the town was that while they were in the wasteland, they couldn’t tell day from night. Down here, they could.

  Two days after they discovered the town, which looked as if a regular town had been dropped underground within a massive cave, Elena was off exploring with the other girls, and Gary was trying to see what all he could do as far as his skill. He wanted to know how many items he could affect at one time and determine if the size and weight of the objects mattered.

  Just then, footsteps sounded. Gary’s concentration was shot, and the cups and plates and silverware started to fall. He recovered most of the items to lay them on the counters, but one of the cups shattered, glass flying everywhere.

  “Sorry,” he muttered before turning around.

  Haru stood there, looking as prim as ever.

  Gary glowered at him, instantly suspicious. Haru had never come to visit during the day before. Gary couldn’t help being alarmed, and he assumed the Japanese man had some poor news for him.

  “Well, go on now. Spill it,” Gary snapped.

  “You really must work on your manners. Your mother dying when you were young is no excuse.”

  “I really hate that you investigate me. I’m not—I don’t deserve to have my privacy invaded like that.”

  “Do not be alarmed, Mr. Johnson.”

  “Gary. My name is Gary. We’ve been over this.”

  “Very well, Gary. I have come here to inform you that there has been a breech.”

  “What the hell does that mean?”

  “Unfortunately, there was a breech in the security of the game. I cannot at this time tell you if anything has been affected. So far, everything is as
it should be, but I thought it best to inform you. You are pleased I told you, yes?”

  “I want answers, Haru. I don’t want games, and I’m sure as hell not going to give you a pat on the back for telling me that something is wrong, but you don’t know what it is. Or maybe you do know, but you aren’t going to tell me. I’m so sick and tired of the games and bullshit, Haru. When is it going to stop? When is it going to end?”

  “It will end. Let me assure you. You will be returned to your life. I only do not know when. We are doing everything in our power—”

  “You need to involve more people then because the power so far is lacking.”

  “You are frustrated. I understand.”

  “Frustrated is one fucking word for it! Those vampires are insane! Do you know how many we faced the other night? I went up fifty levels. Fifty! That’s mind-boggling!”

  “It is, but now, you will find the vampires easier to handle, yes? Since you are that much stronger, that much more powerful.”

  “Dude, I’m still not a hero in this game yet.”

  “Because you have not yet completed enough quests.”

  “Just make me a superhero already. I want to change my name.”

  “I know. I understand. My hands are tied. I cannot have you jump that far ahead. I am sorry.”

  “You’re sorry. That’s helps me a lot, hearing that. You’re sorry. Your apology doesn’t mean shit to me. You know, I almost wonder if you really are a developer. Maybe you’re just on the PR part of the gaming company and you’re trying to talk me down and keep me just informed enough to make me happy so I won’t sue.”

  “Mr. Johnson—Gary, rather—please, I assure you—”

  “Your assurances mean nothing.”

  “Very well. All I can tell you is this. There has been a breech, and I can give you some advice. Be careful, Gary. Be very careful.”

  Gary shouted after Haru, “Can you send us back to the first issue?” but the Japanese man had already left the room.

  Great. Wonderful. This was fantastic. The last breech in security had been Samuel August, insane genius, entering the game. Had someone else done the same?

  “Or is the breech Samuel August crossing over to Vampire War?” Gary rubbed his chin. Either way, this wasn’t a good thing. Not at all.

  Right or wrong, Gary kept the information from the girls for a few days. Olivia was the same as she always was, flirting with them all, a bit more with the girls than before. Nicoletta didn’t seem to mind, but she didn’t flirt back much. She seemed to have forgotten about that kiss she had shared with Olivia. Elena ignored her mostly but didn’t seem as upset about it as before.

  Then again, Elena had been ignoring all of them, even Gary. She was becoming a bit of a loner. He tried to reach out to her several times a day, but she didn’t want to be bothered. She wanted to be alone. He knew she had to work through things her own way and on her own timeline, but he so desperately wanted her back. She had given him so much of herself that for her to pull back now left him feeling isolated as well.

  As for Nicoletta, Gary caught her a few times talking with and flirting with other gamers. It hurt Gary that she was doing this, and he wondered if she was pissed at him.

  Finally, one night, before she left, he drew her aside.

  “What’s going on?” he asked.

  “Nothing,” she said, stubbornly not looking at him.

  “I don’t think it’s nothing. Talk to me, Nicoletta. Please.”

  “Por favor,” she snapped. “I don’t want to talk. No. No talk.” She muttered something in Spanish.

  He rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m sorry,” he said, and he winced since the words almost came out as a question.

  “For what?” she asked coolly, crossing her arms.

  “For upsetting you.”

  “And how did you upset me?”

  Damn it. She knew he had no idea. He hung his head. He was playing with her when he had accused Haru of doing the same thing to him.

  “I… Because of Elena.”

  “And Olivia. Seriously, how could you two gang up on her like that?”

  “We did not gang up on her!” he protested. “Elena was the one who wanted it, wanted me.”

  “You didn’t think to tell her no just because of her grief?”

  “I didn’t want to upset her.”

  “Bullshit. You just wanted to fuck her.”

  “It wasn’t fucking her,” he said quietly. “Just like I never fucked you.”

  “Stop it. We never had sex.”

  “Yes, we did.”

  “You slept with my avatar. Not me.”

  “It felt real to me, and I thought it meant something to you. If it didn’t, I’m sorry. I never meant to do anything to any of you that you didn’t want to.”

  “Why the hell did Olivia even interject then and there? She knew about Elena’s mother!”

  “Olivia… She…” He shrugged, words failing him.

  “She wanted anything and everything that has a pulse. She would fuck an animal.”

  “That isn’t true, and you know it. That’s not fair. That’s not right.”

  “Maybe not,” she muttered darkly, “but I can’t keep pretending that that didn’t happen.”

  “Elena’s not as upset about it as you are!”

  “Are you so sure about that?” Nicoletta asked coolly. “Because she talks to me more than she talks to either of you, and it’s because she can’t stand what you two did.”

  “I didn’t…” Gary ran a hand through his hair. “Look. I care for you. Deeply.”

  “And Elena. And Olivia. Elena I get but Olivia? Come on, chico.”

  “What is wrong with Olivia?” he demanded.

  “She’s too… much.”

  “She’s been through a lot,” he said. “You would know if you talked to her. Is she a bit liberal with her love? Maybe, but is that so terrible of a thing? She’s been through her own hell, Nicoletta, and you and I, we have no place to judge her.”

  Nicoletta hesitated and considered his words. “What happened to her?”

  “It’s not my place to say.”

  “Cop out.” She sighed and rolled her eyes.

  “Believe me, if it were your story, you would be so pissed at me for telling it that you wouldn’t speak to me again for the rest of my life plus fifty years.”

  “That bad, huh?” Nicoletta grew quiet.

  “I never meant to hurt you or Elena or Olivia.”

  “I don’t think Olivia’s hurting any.”

  “Maybe not from me but from her past…”

  “Ah.” She rubbed her arms as if cold. Normally, Gary would have pulled her close to warm her up, or he would’ve asked if he could. Right now, he didn’t know if she would appreciate it, so he kept his mouth shut.

  “Why are you flirting with the other gamers?” he asked. He did his damnedest to not sound upset, but he was.

  “Who the hell are you to sound all judgmental?” she exploded. She shook her head frantically and opened her mouth.

  Quickly, he raced over and pushed her mouth shut. Her eyes grew wide with fury, but then, smoke came out of her nose and ears, just like in a cartoon. He eyed her, and she nodded.

  “Sorry,” she muttered, hardly looking at him.

  “You almost blasted me with fire!”

  “Yeah, well, you got me so heated…” She paused, and they caught each other’s eyes. Both burst out laughing.

  He chuckled. “I needed that laugh. Things have been so intense lately.”

  “I know. That’s why I’ve been talking to other gamers. I need a release.”

  “Away from us? Away from me?”

  She shrugged.

  “And it honestly didn’t look or sound like just talking to me.”

  “You can’t judge. You want your cake, brownie, and lollipop too.”

  He glanced down.

  “Fine. You’re the lollipop. Um, cake, brownie, and pie. You can’t have us all.”
r />   “I know it’s wrong. I know it’s not right. But my heart—”

  “Your heart is torn between three different women, and instead of being man enough to pick one—”

  “Maybe I’m man enough for all three of you,” he challenged. “Damn. Can I sound any more egotistical?”

  “Actually, you don’t sound half bad compared to some of the other gamers.”

  “That’s no excuse. I know actions speak louder than words, but I don’t want to hurt any of you, and I do… I care about you all. More than I can say. I don’t want to have to choose. I don’t want to lose any of you.”

  Nicoletta rubbed her shoulder. “I have something to tell you.”

  “Something good? You figured out your future?”

  “No.”

  “Not your future or not good?”

  “Both.”

  “Is it something all of us should hear?” he asked.

  She nodded miserably.

  “Actually, I have something to tell you all to.”

  “You first,” she called as he went to retrieve the others.

  Once all four of them were together, Gary sucked in a deep breath. “I talked to Haru. He said there’s been a breech. He doesn’t know what it is or what caused it, but he said we should be careful.”

  “Great,” Elena muttered.

  “I have better news,” Nicoletta said fake-cheerfully.

  “Really?” Olivia asked.

  “No,” Nicoletta snapped. “I’ve been talking to other gamers, and, guys, he’s back. The breech? It’s Smaug. He’s here in Vampire War.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  Gary rubbed his chin. “You two need to go, so we won’t act on this intel until later.”

  “Why not?” Elena asked. “We’re the strongest two anyhow.”

  “Hey,” Nicoletta said.

  Elena shrugged. “Gary can do what Olivia can.”

  Olivia swallowed hard. “So I’m obsolete, is that what you’re saying?”

  “If the leotard fits… and in your case, it doesn’t.”

  Olivia smirked. “You’re just jealous because you can’t fill one out like I can.”