by R. J. Wolf
“Whoa, whoa, whoa, Hardwick!” a scratchy voiced boomed from down the hallway.
A leather-skinned, man with wild, faded blonde hair was charging towards them, waving his hands furiously. His wrinkled, navy blue suit was distressed and somehow too big for his bulky six-foot two frame. He wore a maroon-spotted tie that didn’t match and a pair of worn out penny loafers that flapped with every step he took.
“Give me a break, Gary,” Hardwick moaned.
“Not a chance, Hardwick, I need the room. Got an informant due any minute.”
“Well, you’re gonna need to find another one. Sarge says community affairs has this one.”
“Community affairs?” Gary echoed in a surprised voice. “Who the hell you got in there?”
“Just some naked guy that broke into that old warehouse near Atkins Cemetery. Pretty sure he got drunk then passed out.”
“So, what does community affairs want with him?”
“You’d have to take that up with the desk sergeant…I just do what they tell me.”
“Yeah, I hear ya,” Gary said and patted his arm. “Stay safe out there.”
“You too,” Hardwick replied as he turned to leave.
Gary groaned then scratched his head, making his hair even more untamed. He grabbed the door handle to the interview room, but someone tapped him on his arm and he paused.
“Detective,” Simpson said hesitantly.
“What’s up kid?”
“You hear anything…”
Gary twisted his face then shrugged.
“The test?” Simpson added.
“Oh…the test.”
Just as Gary started to reply an officer walked down the hall and squeezed between them. He was tall and lean with a pale face and shiny, jet-black hair. He wore a Loro Piana, pinstriped suit and a pair of Italian shoes that belonged in Hollywood, not a police department.
Simpson smiled, but the man looked passed him and glared at Gary. Gary turned and gave the man a fleeting glance.
“Detective,” the man said with a sly look.
“Cortez,” Gary replied. “Little early for you ain’t it?”
Cortez tipped his head and smiled, for a second exposing his elongated canines. He placed his hand on Gary’s shoulder as he passed him, sending an icy cold chill through Gary’s body. Shivering, Gary shrugged away, and Cortez continued down the hallway.
“Freaking vamps,” Gary mumbled under his breath.
“What?” Simpson asked.
“Nothing…I gotta run.”
Gary turned around and rushed off. Simpson and Hardwick stared after him for a moment, shaking their heads.
“That guy is a weird one. Don’t get your hopes up kid,” Hardwick said. “Come on, let’s get back out there. You got a backseat to clean.”
Back in the interview room, the homeless man had put on the clothes and was sitting at the table staring into a two-way mirror. He didn’t recognize the man he saw in the reflection, couldn’t place his mask in the cloud that was his memory.
Fierce, hazel eyes glared back at him. They belonged to an angled face with light brown skin, a bald head and four days’ worth of stubble. Why didn’t he know the man? Why was this stranger looking at him?
On the other side of the mirror there was a small room with cameras and microphones recording the man’s every move. Inside, an officer stood facing the glass, waiting for his next set of instructions. Suddenly, the door swung open and Gary stormed in with a wild look on his face.
“They’ve had this room tied up for the last hour. I need it!” he barked.
“Sorry,” the officer replied. “I got orders to watch this guy until the CO gets here.”
Gary puffed. “All for some homeless, naked guy?”
“Well he’s got clothes now,” the officer said with a laugh and tipped his head toward the glass.
Gary turned to look then his mouth dropped, and he almost collapsed. He grabbed the back of a chair to steady himself as he beamed into the interview room with bulging eyes.
“You okay sir?” the officer asked.
“Get out!” Gary roared.
“What?”
“Get out! Get the hell out of here!” He grabbed the officer by the arm and shoved him into the hallway.
“Detective!” the man yelled and pushed back.
Gary mumbled something under his breath and the officer’s face went slack. His eyes glossed over and his arms fell to his side.
“You’re sick,” Gary started.
The officer doubled over and gagged then threw his hand over his mouth.
“You need to go home, now!”
Wheeling around, the officer sped through the hall and vanished around the corner. Gary watched him leave then grabbed the door to the interview room and slipped inside. As he closed the door behind him, he waved his hand and the cameras and monitors in the other room shut off. He shuffled toward the table and stopped short.
“Eric!” he exclaimed.
The man at the table slowly turned away from the mirror and looked at Gary with a puzzled face. He studied him, soaking in his shabby look and bloodshot eyes. Gary was the shinning cliché of an overworked, underpaid, alcoholic detective.
“Excuse me?” he replied. “You know me? You know who I am?”
“Jesus Christ, it is you. I…I, thought it didn’t work. How, how are you here?”
“Who are you? You know who I am? You know my name?” the man asked, his face twisted in confusion.
“It’s me…Gary, Gary Abbott.” He rubbed his eyes then took a deep breath. “You’re Eric Strange, Detective Eric Strange. My partner and my friend.”
“I’m…a cop?” Why don’t I remember anything?”
Gary started to pace the room. He ran his fingers through his hair and ground his teeth together. “Anna…she did it. She actually did it,” he said to himself. “I can’t believe you’re back.”
“Back from where? What the hell is going on?” Eric roared.
“Eric,” Gary sighed. “You…you’ve been dead for four and a half years.”
CHAPTER 3
THE COMMISSION
Eric stared forward with a stoic face and glossy eyes. He was convinced, Gary had to be lying, that was the only explanation. Just some stranger having a laugh at his expense. He hadn’t said a word worth believing, but at the same time, Eric couldn’t shake the feeling that maybe there was a bit of truth.
Only a few hours ago he’d climbed out of the ground, naked and afraid. Maybe he had come back from the dead. Or maybe this was some delusion or out of body experience. Maybe none of it was real and he’d wake up to his real life at any moment.
Gary was still pacing back and forth, rattling off incoherent babble to himself. Too many thoughts zipped through his mind to focus on one. He needed time to think, time to figure out what was really going on.
With a deep breath, he pulled the chair out across from Eric and sat down. He leaned forward onto his elbows then buried his face into his palms.
“You don’t remember anything? Not me? Not your job? Not Anna?” Gary asked in a muffled voice then looked up and stared at Eric.
“The last thing I remember is crawling out of the ground, out of a grave.”
“Atkins cemetery?” Gary asked. “Anna knows her stuff.”
“Anna? Who is that?”
“Jesus,” Gary gasped. “It’s your wife.”
Eric widened his eyes then looked away. Biting his lip, he shook his head and frowned. “This doesn’t make sense,” he whispered. “I must be losing my mind…dreaming or something.”
“Community Affairs!” Gary suddenly jabbed and slammed his hands down on the table. “The whole damn commission will come down for this.”
“What?”
“That’s why they’re coming. For you. I’ve gotta get you out of here,” Gary said and jumped to his feet.
“What’s going on? What are you talking about?”
“I’ll explain later, but now we have to
go.” He grabbed Eric and pulled him up.
Eric snatched his arm back. “I’m not going anywhere until you start explaining. I don’t even know you.”
“We don’t have time for this,” Gary said with panic in his voice.
Eric shrugged then folded his arms across his chest. Gary glanced back to the door then growled. He knew at any moment someone would come busting through the doors and Eric would wish he’d stayed in the grave.
“Community affairs…they’re…you’re not gonna understand.”
“Try me.”
“It’s not what it sounds like. They keep things in line. They take care of special cases and you definitely qualify. Look, they’re coming for you and once they realize who you are, I don’t know what they’re gonna do, but they report everything back to the commission and that’s the last thing you wanna be involved in. So, you need to get out of here.” Gary explained. “Now…now I can hide you from everyone except Cortez, but if we can make it to the parking lot we’ll be fine.”
“Who is Cortez?”
“A vampire,” Gary said as if it was the most normal thing in the world. “A very old and very nosey vampire.”
Eric started to laugh. He tilted his head to the side and held his hands up. “Come on man…a vampire? Just…bring in whoever you’re going to bring in already. Enough jokes.”
“Believe it…don’t believe it. Either way, we need to get the hell out of here.”
Gary turned and grabbed the door handle. He wrenched it open and suddenly came face to face with Cortez. His cold, black eyes stared into Gary’s soul. His pale face was expressionless a slight bead, pulsing in his cheek as he tightened his jaw.
Gary gasped then quickly recovered and straightened his face. Flicking his fingers, he swiftly cast a cloaking spell then leaned his hand against the door frame and took a step into the hall.
“Detective,” Cortez oozed in a snaky voice. “Going somewhere?”
Gary could feel a strange vibration in the air, a tendril of power trying to work its way into the room. He narrowed his eyes and in his mind, he reached out and pushed back against the intruding force, but things wouldn’t be subtle for much longer.
Cortez lifted his head and sniffed the air. His eyes rolled into his head and a euphoric grin spread across his face. “Who was…is in there? Smells familiar,” he said and sniffed again.
Gary tensed up. “Don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Cortez continued. “Smells like, like fire…sulfur! Smells like one of ours. You wouldn’t be breaking the accords, now would you?”
“Why would I go and do that? I’m not one of you.” Gary puffed his chest up and rose to his full height. Magic brimmed from his fingertips, but he knew the last thing he needed was to battle it out with an elder vampire in the middle of the precinct. “Darkkin make my skin itch.”
“Step aside old man. I wouldn’t want to be the cause of your early retirement.”
“You stupid vamps never learn, do you? You are a slave to the sun and the sun is a slave to me.”
In the blink of an eye Cortez moved at the room, but Gary was faster. With the flick of his hand, he cast a spell and the ceiling and floors above them vanished. Sunlight blazed into the interview room, singeing Cortez’s arm as he jolted backward.
Hissing, he exposed his fangs and gripped the charred skin with his other hand. An acrid smoke rose slowly into the air, the crusted burns festering as the sun continued to spread its poison. Growling, he beamed at Gary then spun around and vanished down the hall in a blur.
Gary let out a deep breath and the ceiling slowly materialized back to normal. He placed his hands on the wall beside the door. “We have to go,” he said then started speaking in a language Eric had never heard before.
A warm air whooshed into the room and the ground shook. The lights flickered on and off at a frantic pace as Eric trembled and looked around in fear. He could feel a bizarre force moving around him.
Gary spoke faster and faster with more force. His words blended together like a distantly familiar song, his voice growing deep and animalistic. The chant boomed through the interview room, rattling the walls and sending crumbs of brick to the floor. Then Gary closed his mouth and everything suddenly stopped.
Straightening up, he turned to Eric, his eyes glowing with anger. “Let’s go,” he said and cleared his throat. “Cortez won’t stay hidden for long.”
Eric didn’t move. He was staring at Gary with his mouth hanging open and a blank look on his face. His hands were shaking and his tongue felt like he’d been trying to swallow sand.
“I said let’s go!” Gary shouted.
He grabbed Eric by the arm and dragged him into the hallway. With a quick glance over his shoulder, he sped down the empty corridor toward the main entrance. Eric stumbled behind him until his mind finally caught up and he tried to rationalize the things he’d seen.
“What…what the hell was that back there?” he stammered.
“Shut up and keep moving,” Gary replied.
Eric didn’t resist, but his heart was beating like a snare drum and his mind was flooded with questions. Nearly sprinting, they rounded the hallway and came to the front desk. Eric suddenly pulled back against Gary and skid to a stop.
“Whoa!” he exclaimed in a frightened tone.
The sergeant was standing in front of them, frozen in an awkward position. His face was petrified in a furious roar, his arms turned to stone as he waved them in anger. He balanced on one foot like a mannequin, like he’d come to a stop mid-step.
Behind him, there were several other officers rooted in place. Their faces equally distorted and pained. Overhead, a ruffled stack of papers was stuck in the air. Nothing was moving aside from the two of them.
“Wh…what is this? Eric asked in a trembling voice.
“It’s magic,” Gary replied impatiently. “Now for the last time, we have to go!”
He grabbed hold of Eric again and pulled him through the door and into the parking lot. The sun was just hovering over the horizon and dull clouds crawled across the sky. Gary cursed under his breath then turned his eyes to a faded blue Cutlass parked across the street.
“Cortez will be out soon. And without the sun, we’re no match for him,” he said more to himself. “Come on, we’ve gotta get to my house.”
CHAPTER 4
THE TATTERED MANSION
Gary lived in a rundown, flat in a seedy neighborhood at the edge of the city. It didn’t look like much from the outside, but Gary knew how to make the most out of nothing.
His ancient sedan rattled and coughed thick, black smoke as he pulled into the alleyway. With a grinding clunk, it cut off and he opened the rust covered door and stepped out.
“You live here?” Eric asked in an accusing tone.
“You were in a grave five hours ago,” Gary replied. “Follow me.”
He made his way through the alley toward the front of the building. A tarnished brick stoop led to a set of rickety doors. Pushing them open, they walked into a dimly lit lobby and stopped at the bottom of the stairs.
“This way,” Gary said as he trudged up the filthy steps.
Eric wrinkled his face and followed. He ascended the narrow flight behind Gary then followed him down a hall to a dull, brown door. Gary waved his hand and the door swung open.
“Welcome home,” he chuckled and vanished into the apartment. Eric walked inside after him, leaving behind the dingy, stained walls and grime covered floor to an exquisitely furnished space that was three times too large for the building.
“What is going on?” Eric asked as he stood baffled in the foyer.
The ceiling soared twenty feet above him. A crystal chandelier adorned with a sparkling metal floated in place. Beneath his feet, a dazzling, blue marble tile was laid across the ground.
The apartment opened into a massive library. Thick, mahogany bookshelves lined the walls. They were stuffed with dark, leather-bound books and strange looking artifact
s. Gary headed toward them, glancing at Eric over his shoulder.
“Gary!” Eric shouted. “What is going on?”
“This?” Gary asked and raised his hands. He covered his mouth and started to laugh.
“What?”
“It’s just…you. It’s really you. We all thought you were dead. We all thought you were both dead,” Gary said and lowered his eyes. “Anyway, this is magic. This is your world.”
Gary turned and walked off toward the book case. He reached out and pulled a particularly thick book from the shelves then plopped into a leather armchair.
“Jesus,” he gasped. “I don’t even know where to start.” Smiling, he thumbed through a few pages then slammed the book shut. “You’re practically a zero.”
“A zero?” Eric asked as he walked into the library and took a seat across from him.
“Blind, the blundered, the powerless meat bags that we risk our lives to protect.”
Eric frowned then rubbed his face and took a deep breath. Leaning his head back, he stared up to the ceiling, but what he saw was a sky full of stars with comets streaking through the darkness. Gasping, he looked back at Gary in awe.
“How is any of this possible?” Eric asked.
“I don’t know, I don’t know how to explain it in a way you’d understand. You sure you don’t remember anything?”
Eric groaned. “Nothing. It was like I didn’t exist before I crawled out of that grave. And now…all of this.”
“I couldn’t imagine. I grew up with this, so did you and to have it all wiped away, geez.”
Eric shrugged then pushed himself up and restlessly started pacing the apartment. He walked back and forth past the bookshelf then stopped at what looked like a window, but when he stared out of it he saw an unfamiliar landscape.
Underneath an alien moon, snowcapped mountains flooded the ground below them. A herd of deer trampled through the soft powder before vanishing into a cluster of trees that tickled the heavens with branches full of thick, green leaves. Eric was mesmerized, but also disturbed.