by Jasmine Walt
The doe looked up.
"Oh darn, don't you go running away just when I have my nerve up," JoAnn whispered. She tugged at the branch.
"grrrrr… fhithtt…fhithtt…grrrrrrr…." the bush spat.
JoAnn jumped three feet off the ground with a tree-limb attached to her shoelace. The doe sprinted, its tail dancing in the air as it bounced off across the field.
"Damn it!"
"Grrrrr, fhitthttt…"
JoAnn let out a little yelp, her eyes trained on the noisy bush. The moonlight played off two silver orbs tucked in the bush, not six inches from her feet.
She froze.
The raccoon growled, leapt from the bush and turned circles, nipping at the air like it wasn't right in the head.
Backing up a few steps, dragging the tree branch with her, JoAnn made ready to run.
The raccoon hissed and jumped at her, its pointy teeth sinking into her bare calf. It shook it's head.
"Help! I'm being attacked by a rabid raccoon! Someone help me!" she screamed at the trees laden with rustling leaves in the night wind. JoAnn frantically shook her leg, sending drops of blood in the air around her. The raccoon held firm.
She flung her leg back and forth, jumping on one foot. "Get off me…ugh… you little monster!" Her white socks spotted with blood, she hopped in circles, grabbing at the raccoon as she hollered obscenities.
"Goddaaamnyoutohell, you little sonofabitch!"
Giving one hard thrust with her foot, the animal flew from her leg, bouncing against a tree. It licked its red muzzle, growling as it crawled in jerky steps toward her.
JoAnn turned to run, tripped, fell on her side, knocking a scream from her lips and it was on her again. It had a mouthful of shirt, bra, and her nipple tight in its jaws, shaking its head from side to side, her water-bra spraying both of them.
"Let my boob go! Oh, you so deserve to die! " She grabbed the raccoon by the throat with two hands and ripped it from her chest. Her fangs aimed for its neck, missed and tore a hole in the raccoon's ear before she finally found its neck.
The animal jerked in her hands, digging at her wrists as she began to suck, snorting at a large clump of fur tickling her nose.
With a shudder that made her whole body shake, she pulled the raccoon from her mouth and threw the limp animal twenty feet away into some palm fronds. The raccoon scurried away.
JoAnn looked at her wounded leg, wiping blood away from the cut as it healed in front of her eyes.
"God forgive me. I sucked on an animal and it wasn't very satisfying, either." She pulled at her ripped t-shirt, rubbing her bruised nipple. "And my new breast-enhancing water-bra is ruined!"
She got up, brushing dirt clumps off her shorts, and slowly walked toward the house.
"What the hell happened to you," Mom asked from the recliner, glaring at the disheveled mess standing in the foyer.
"I don't want to talk about it." JoAnn headed for the couch.
"Awww… you have a hole in your new Tommy shirt." I teased. "Have a fight with a tree?"
JoAnn pulled a twig from her dirty Nikes. "A raccoon bit my tit."
Resi started laughing hysterically.
"Where's Jeni?" JoAnn ignored her.
"Putting a load of laundry in the washer." I tried not to giggle.
"You better not be mind-pushing her, Susan!"
Zaire sauntered in from the kitchen. "A raccoon? No shit? Did you kill the bastard?"
"I said I don't want to talk about it, and stop laughing at me, Resi!" JoAnn sat down on the couch in a huff.
Fine with me, because I was thinking about the two-daycare owners. They made the news the day before yesterday with allegations of child abuse. The police were searching for them, but so far were unable to find them. We knew where they were. We'd been watching them.
"JoAnn, we're going out tomorrow to get the pedophiles." I tucked my red curls behind my ears. "So I hope you got some practice out there."
"I am not killing a human, no matter what they did."
"We drew straws. You're coming with me," I muttered.
"Did you tell the wolf about the two women in the restroom?" Christopher asked. He was sitting beside Dorius in a cushy seat aboard BAMVC's private jet, headed for Italy.
The interior of the jet was all business. Computers, printers, phones and surveillance equipment sat on desks on one side, their link to the corporate offices anywhere in the world. Couches and recliners upholstered in soft black leather sat on the other side with black ebony tables.
The carpet was thick and dark red, the walls black and gold. Beautiful sconces made of copper glowed on the walls every few feet.
"Tell me again - exactly what happened, Christopher." Dorius ordered. "The news reporter said they were old women. Vampires are not old."
"Yeah, it's bullshit! How come I don't look twenty-five like every other vampire I've ever met?"
"Don't try to change the subject. You know very well when a human is turned before they reach twenty they stay the same age. I asked you a question."
"Look, I told you what happened and it isn't going to change. The old hag gave the wrong description. The one that bit Angelina was young. I didn't see the other woman, but I heard her." He was animated in his navy linen suit, and his shiny black shoes bounced off the recliner as he talked.
A cigarette dangled from Christopher's lips, threatening to ignite his silk shirt as it bobbed with each word he uttered. "The bitches were there, I tell ya, and the one that attacked us was stronger than hell. She about made me piss my pants." His arms flew in all directions as he went on. "I tried to stop her and she threw me against the wall. I couldn't help Angelina, Dorius. I swear I tried. I know what she meant to you." He took a long drag and blew the smoke in the direction of the window beside him.
"You look ridiculous with that thing." Dorius fingered a large ring on his pinky. "Put it out before you set yourself on fire."
"Fuck you, Dorius." Christopher took a deliberate drag and exhaled small circles of smoke that drifted in front of him.
"Did you see them throw her in the lake?"
"No, I ran away."
"Paul followed your scent to the Shop-N-Go and it disappeared. Where the hell were you?" Dorius pushed at his hair as he talked, fanning it out around his leather clad shoulders. His black leather pants whispered softly every time he moved.
"I told you, I went to the store to find someone to make the calls. And before you fucking start yelling, think about my situation. I can't even reach a goddamn pay phone. This damn body is worthless." He took another drag and blew smoke in Dorius' face.
"You better be straight with me because I'm not getting Paul involved only to find out you're leading us on a wild goose chase." Dorius waved at the smoke and pulled his hair back, tying it in a black piece of leather. "I smell like a damn bar."
"Speaking of which." Christopher shook a glass, ice clinking as he motioned at the man walking toward them. "I'll have another, Dennis, and can you make it a double this time?"
"Oh, my… the bi-ig boy is going to tie one on, is he?" Dennis said with a frilly wave of his hand.
Dennis, an immortal, worked for Dorius at BAMVC doing errands, paperwork, and anything else Dorius asked him to do. He was tall, blond, and very femme fatal.
"Don't encourage him, Dennis. He shouldn't be drinking or smoking." Dorius shot Christopher a nasty look.
"God damn you, I am not your kid! I'm over a hundred years old - in case you forgot. I'll have another Dennis. Back off Dorius, it's been a long two days." Christopher shoved the glass at the manservant.
Dennis tossed his blond hair off his chiseled face, reaching for it. "Yes, Master Christopher. I live to serve your little immortal ass." Dennis left, batting his baby-blues at Dorius.
"Call the wolf. The women need to be found." Christopher stubbed the cigarette out in the ashtray on his lap. "I have just as much a bone to pick with them as you do."
Dorius pulled the phone off the table in front of
them. "Describe the one who killed Angelina, Christopher."
"She has red hair and green eyes. Her name is Susan and the other one's name is JoAnn."
11
JoAnn and Jeni stood in front of the kitchen window pass-through, stacking dishes into the dishwasher as I passed them in from the back porch. The rest of the girls, sitting in lounge chairs, watched two otters play with a fish on the dock. A gray egret, balanced on one leg at the end of the dock, also kept a wary eye on the otters.
Resi's amused voice whispered, "Oh, Mom, look… the egret is going for it."
I glanced at the dock. It was dusk, the show pleasantly backlit by a pink and orange sunset. The egret strutted toward the two otters, reed thin legs bending in half. Its neck waved as it approached, its head tilted, one eye focused on dinner.
"Move your head Susan, I can't see," urged JoAnn's irritating voice.
I snarled at her and shoved a platter of vegetables through the pass-through, spilling a few black olives in the sink.
"Mother, was that necessary?" Jeni's caustic question peaked my anger.
"Yesss. She's being a bitch because she has to go out pedophile hunting with me later." I strolled over to the screen, putting myself directly in front of JoAnn's view.
"I am not," JoAnn groaned.
The matriarch of the family found the need to add her two cents. "Will the two of you shut the hell up? You're gonna scare them away."
"Look, look, he's going for the fish!" Resi chuckled, moving closer to Zaire.
"Survival of the fittest," Zaire laughed, patting Resi's leg.
"If Susan would get her big head out of my way I might be able to see," JoAnn hissed, plucking olives out of the garbage disposal. I smiled, trying to make myself bigger.
A very loud growl came from the patio by the lake.
Flowers separated two layers of cement, and on the steps leading down to the lake, a pair of glowing red eyes floated in the dark shadows of the azalea bushes.
"Hit the light switch on the deck, JoAnn. Let's see what's out there," Zaire whispered, walking toward the door.
"Heck no! It's probably a gator," JoAnn warned. "Don't encourage it. Get away from the screen, both of you."
Loud hissing came from the patio at the sound of JoAnn's voice.
"Turn on the frigging light," Zaire whispered, peeking out the screen door as the sun winked out behind the far shoreline.
A flash of movement and nasty growling had the egret flapping his wings, and both otters slid over the edge of the dock.
A raccoon scrambled up the steps. It stood on hind legs, walking toward the porch, bright red eyes trained on the kitchen window.
"It's the raccoon that bit my tit! Get your gun, Susan," JoAnn screeched.
The raccoon spit, rubbed its mouth with clawed paws, and strutted up the steps like a human, its face turned in JoAnn's direction.
"How the hell do you know that?" I snickered, "It's probably just rabid, stupid."
"Jesus, JoAnn," Mom laughed. "I suppose God told you a damn raccoon has a death wish for you, right?"
I glared at my sister. "Turn the damn light on."
"Aunt JoAnn, did you bite the raccoon that bit you?" Resi asked, with a concerned look.
"I don't want to talk about it. Get your gun, Susan!"
The animal in question scurried up the porch steps, throwing itself at the screen door.
JoAnn screamed, "It's him, I tell you! Look at its ear! I did that!"
Zaire kicked the door, shouting, "I can take this little shit. Gimme the broom."
JoAnn came around the counter, tossed Zaire the broom, then scurried back into the safety of the kitchen.
Mom and Resi followed me through the sliding glass doors into the dining room. I pulled them shut behind us.
Jeni leered at me. "Go get some pepper spray, Mom."
JoAnn closed the kitchen window and hit the light switch, cloaking the room in darkness.
"Oh, that's smart. Now we can't see our noses in front of our faces, you idiot," Mom yelled.
"I thought it wouldn't be able to see us in the dark," JoAnn whimpered. "I don't want it to know I'm in here." She rubbed her right nipple.
"Aunt JoAnn, sweetie, raccoons are nocturnal." Jeni stood behind the counter and snuggled up to JoAnn.
The raccoon slammed itself against the screen, digging at the mesh covering the door. When it stuck its head through a long tear in the screen, Zaire gave the raccoon a good whack with the broom. The raccoon tumbled off the wooden deck and down onto the cement. It rolled about four feet into a hibiscus bush, hissing and spitting at us.
"Now that's scary as hell." Zaire speed-walked to the sliding glass doors as the animal scurried back up the wooden steps, through the hole, and then flung itself into the glass door as she slammed it shut.
The raccoon smashed its face against the glass, claws working, little rivulets of saliva dripping from its long fangs. It backed up, shook its head a few times and headed out the hole in the screen door, scampering away.
"Ummm, does it say anything about animal vampires in those books, Resi?" Zaire asked.
"Not in any I've ever read."
Fifteen minutes later, I walked into the kitchen with the car keys in my hand. JoAnn was wiping down the kitchen counters. "Get your stuff together because you're coming with me, JoAnn."
"I'll go, but just don't count on me to play Walker, Texas Ranger." JoAnn walked by, headed to her bedroom.
I hit the stairs leading to the garage. "I'll be waiting in the Jeep."
It was almost eleven o'clock when we finally got to the warehouse where the man and woman were hiding. JoAnn followed me through a dark alley, away from the streetlights of downtown Leesburg, mumbling to herself. "I don't like this. It's dirty, there are things scurrying around, and it stinks like puke back here."
"JoAnn, if you don't be quiet the things scurrying away won't just be rats. You're like a freakin' alarm system."
"I'm petrified after the raccoon episode. What if it followed us?"
I turned angry eyes in her direction, thinking I just wanted to stuff something in her mouth.
"I'll wait in the car." She started to walk away.
"The hell you will," I hissed through clenched teeth, latching onto her arm. "I need you to cover me in case someone comes into the alley. Don't you move an inch," I warned, headed for the door at the end of the alley.
"I have to wait in the dark, alone?" JoAnn's eyes bugged out of her head.
"If I yell for help you better come running. Got it?"
JoAnn stared at her Nikes.
I glanced back as I opened the door to the warehouse, gave her one of my mother's Italian looks, sliced my throat with my right hand, and then pointed a finger at her. She waved me on so I stepped into the warehouse.
The room was about thirty feet deep and forty feet wide, with rows of crates and boxes lining the back wall. On the left wall, I spotted a door with light coming from under it.
I edged toward the door, every part of my body on full alert. I got to the corner of the room and stepped over feces on the floor—human feces. Their toilet, I deduced by the assorted wadded up pieces of paper.
The door flew open, casting a light in my direction. I froze, feeling like a frigging comedian, center stage.
"I gotta take a leak. You just hold that thought, nasty boy." The woman slammed the door shut and froze as we sized each other up.
She had on a soiled pair of khaki shorts and a bright purple T-shirt. Her hair was dark brown and hung in greasy curls on her shiny round face. She was a good two hundred pounds and wobbled as she stepped back, grabbing for the doorknob.
I flung my thoughts at her. Don't touch that doorknob!
The woman hesitated.
I looked dead straight into her shocked eyes and pushed, Move your butt out in that alley! I narrowed my eyes and pointed in the direction of the door.
The woman shook her head twice, blinked, and started to open her mouth, hand extend
ed over the damn doorknob.
Something hissed in the far corner on the dark side of the room. My head jerked in the direction of the noise. I saw two beady red eyes peeking at me from behind a stack of boxes and immediately thought of the damn raccoon with fangs.
The woman's head slowly pivoted in the direction of the boxes, her hand reaching for the doorknob again.
Oh no you don't! Turn back around and walk toward that alley! I pushed, keeping an eye on the closed door with the light under it.
The blob of dirty flesh shook her head again, eyes blinking like mad, but this time she walked toward the door. I took her hand, wincing at the stench wafting off her smelly body.
A loud scraping sound accompanied by falling boxes had me jerking around, just in time to see a gator slowly moving in our direction. I yanked the woman out into the alley, wondering how the hell a gator got inside the building.
My idiot sister was nowhere in sight.
The gator picked up speed, closing the distance between us. I shoved the woman at it and headed for the car. Loud screams and crunching noises filled the air behind me.
I flung open the door of the Jeep and pulled JoAnn out. She had a backpack slung over her arm and wouldn't let go of it.
"What the heck happened?" JoAnn gasped, pointing down the alley. "Is that a gator? I'm not Crocodile Dundee, Susan!"
"We still have one more to get, and that's your job," I said, watching the gator pull the lower half of the woman down the alley and around the corner.
A large, shirtless man in faded jeans burst through the door of the warehouse. I dragged JoAnn toward him.
"What the heck do you think you're doing?" JoAnn fought like a tiger. Her red nails sliced my arms as I shoved her toward the man.
"My wife! Oh Nat. What the hell happened?" the man shouted, his eyes large and round with panic as he stared at what was left of his wife on the pavement in front of him.