We rode down the steep escalator toward a faint light at the bottom. Throughout the ride, stalactites hovered threateningly overhead.
After stepping off the escalator, we entered a room similar to the one above. However, instead of ruddy lighting, only a few jade-colored lights illuminated the place. There were far less players here than above, which was just as well seeing as how there were considerably fewer playing squares as well. But the thing that caught my attention the most was seeing several of the squares rising up in the air, then twisting and turning to send players tumbling many feet to the punishing floor.
“I told you the second level was a moving platform,” Michael said. “Get ready to fall on your asses.”
“Looks like fun,” Marsha responded. “It’s going to be tough at first, but we’ll get used to it.”
I was actually pumped. It was time to learn something new again, and if I had to harden my vampire ass, then so be it.
I followed the others as we searched for a free square. We found one in the corner, the tube-like machine next to it holding five fireballs ready for us. But this time there were no flames. Instead, the playing area was divided into four individual squares by distinct jade lines. Also different, each individual square was now equipped with a pair of handlebars.
Then, something else abruptly caught my attention. Sitting just beside the left wall was the gargoyle statue that my enigmatic stranger had told me about, behind which was a hidden passageway that would supposedly lead me to another secret about my life. Although I was very tempted, I decided to hold off on investigating. I didn’t want to keep on disappearing.
“So you're checking out the gargoyle, huh?” Marsha said, amused. “Well, that can be done later. It’s time to play!”
We each took a square on the main playing platform. “Get ready for a wild ride,” Brett said. He was across from me. Michael was to my right, while April was on the other side opposite Brett. Marsha sat out the first round.
The platform rose rapidly several feet into the air; I hit the ball to Brett and tried not to think about the height. It felt like a normal game to begin with – that was until the platform started to spin, slowly at first but with increasing speed. I was finding it harder and harder to hold my balance. Just when the ball came whizzing back to me, the platform jerked sharply up and down, causing both Brett and Michael to fall off and slam into the floor below.
Now it was just April and me who were struggling to stay on board. Clutching hard onto the handlebars as we dipped steeply in April's direction, I spiked the ball at her while somehow keeping my balance. She attempted to return the ball, but missed and tumbled over the side. Success! I had won the first round.
I leapt off of the square and checked with the others, especially Brett, that no one was hurt. After being assured that everyone was fine, Marsha congratulated me on my victory.
Wow. I won. I couldn’t believe I freakin won.
April stared cantankerously at me, almost like she wanted to rip the sexy tubes out of my scalp. I thought about telling her it was just a game, and that she needed to get some of that blood out of her cute little head and calm down. But I kept quiet.
We got back on the square and battled again. This time I was the first to tumble on my ass when I lost my footing going after a speedy ball knocked by Michael. My back hurt a little as I got to my feet, but I was fine. April pummeled to the floor next, soon followed by Marsha. Michael had won round two.
We played ten rounds all together, and with each stinging fall or satisfying victory, I became a better and more confident player. And I seemed to have more fun. Finally, tired and beaten up, we called it a night. Kate invited Brett and me to a party at her apartment. I felt so popular and loved.
On the train home with Brett, we started doing the steamy tongue biting thing again to an audience of horny vampires. I honestly didn't care what they thought.
At my house we kissed again. He told me to be ready for the perfect place to eat and go dancing the following night. “It won’t be the most expensive,” he said. “But you’ll like it.”
Yet again I told him I didn’t care about how expensive something was. Would he ever get it through his adorable vampire skull that all I wanted to do was spend time with him?
The next day at work flowed pretty smoothly, though I did come close to slipping down the ladder when I rushed to find a pink tank top with 3-D knives jutting out of it. At least I managed to avoid stabbing myself this time. All in all it was a good day. I was continuing to learn the department, and becoming faster with helping customers.
During a break, Mira and I grew closer and had a good conversation. I invited her to Kate’s party. I was sure Kate wouldn’t mind.
When the work day was over, I went to one of the Carn machines to check on how much money I now had. I stuck my card in and it told me I already had three hundred. Nice. Looked like I’d be going shopping soon.
I mean, I loved it when Brett treated me to things. But I wanted to treat myself to some stuff as well. Sometimes, those were the most rewarding gifts of all.
A SPECIAL NIGHT
Brett looked incredible when he picked me up in his newly fixed car. Honestly, it was not much better than Mr. FreeCut’s ride, but I didn’t care.
“I know it’s a piece of crap,” he said. “But it’s better than the train.”
We parked downtown and walked together along a bustling Stake Avenue, on the way passing many clubs and restaurants with long lines in front of them. My mind flashed back to the night Rob had taken me to the extravagant DeathNail Club and Spirits. The food was great, and the dancing was fun. But what happened after had really sucked. I hoped Brett wasn't planning to take me there, because I didn’t want to think about that night at all.
“Here it is,” he said, pointing to a slender building sandwiched between two much larger ones. It was called the RiverView.
We went inside. A hostess with a startling hairstyle greeted us. “Thank you for coming to the RiverView. Only ten Carns for two.”
Brett handed the hostess his Carn card. I couldn’t help but marvel at her mass of blonde hair that was perfectly shaped into the face of an animal. The flawless teeth, fur and eyes, all molded from strands of hair, must have cost a fortune to create.
“The boat will be ready in ten degrees,” she told us.
Boat? I wondered what that was all about, but decided to keep my mouth shut so not to ruin any surprises Brett might have up his sleeve.
The sparsely crowded bloodpub was like a cool dungeon in the shape of a narrow rectangle. Neon skulls and daggers flashed on the walls, while the bar stretched on a good ways until ending in a cozy little dance floor. Bat-like creatures flew about, though they didn’t scare me when I stayed close to Brett.
“This place has the best damn bloodburgers in town,” Brett told me. “You’ve got to try one. If you don’t like it, you can bite my neck.”
I smiled to myself. I’d love to bite his neck. Without killing him, of course.
We feasted on the scrumptious bloodburgers - thick patties of meat dripping in tantalizing blood. Mmmmmmm. “This is really great,” I said after finishing off a cup of blood.
“Glad you like it,” he said.
After we finished, he took me to the small dance floor. It wasn’t much - a far cry from the floor of DeathNail Club and Spirits. But as my arms squeezed hard against Brett’s back, I knew I was in the greatest place I could ever be.
“You are so gorgeous,” he said.
We kissed again. After that, I just couldn’t hold back. “I love you,” I told him.
“I love you too,” he replied.
I knew I must have heard those words before. But damn, they meant so much to me now.
“Tonight,” he continued, “after the boat ride, I want to take you to the grave.”
OMG! I got goosebumps all over.
The slow distorted guitar music finished and we made our way out of the back door. Once in the open air I
immediately saw a lovely emerald river flowing through a city forest of glowing trees. Just in front of us was a small paddle boat tied to a jetty. I hadn't seen this marvelous view from the street. Only my wonderful boyfriend could have thought to bring me here.
The view impressed me even more after we'd stepped on board and started to paddle. Trees alongside the river towered overhead, hiding us under their canopies of sparkling rubicund leaves. Behind the beautiful trees reared the backs of downtown buildings. There was nobody around to interrupt our moment as our arms locked and we floated slowly along in paradise.
“I told you I would take you somewhere great,” Brett said.
“You sure did,” I responded. “How the heck did you find this place?”
“Well, it’s not so very hard to find. It’s just that most vampires are only interested in going into the big trendy clubs. So nobody cares about this.”
“Really? Well that sucks. What’s wrong with them?”
“They all want to be like someone they’re not. They all want to be rich, stuck-up brats.”
“Well I want to be rich. But as long as I’m with you, I’m happy no matter how many Carns I have.”
Garlic Moon peeked through the magical canopy as we glided along. Again, all I could think about was going to the grave. I’d waited long enough. I was ready to be his official girlfriend. No more bull.
“Wait 'til you see this,” he said.
We came to what appeared to be a cave. Owww…dark places with the loveliest vampire in the world. Couldn’t beat that.
Paddling through the entrance, I expected to see something freaky. After all, this was Vampire World. Instead, I saw something superb. A multitude of tiny, glistening lights were embedded in the rocks above us, sparkling like a million diamonds.
“Oh, wow…” That was all I could say.
“I don’t know how I was lucky enough to find you amongst the millions of vampires out there,” Brett said. “You really are the one. So let’s get out of here and go to the graveyard.”
We paddled our way back to the dock and walked to his car. On the way to the cemetery I remained blissfully quiet, content to simply watch Brett driving.
Then his cell rang. Because he was behind the wheel, I helped him open it so he didn’t get gored by its fangs. He sounded fearfully alarmed while talking with his father.
“What happened?” he asked. There was a short pause, then he groaned. “Oh no….dammit…I’ll be right there!”
“What’s wrong?” I asked after he'd hung up.
His voice rose almost to a shout. “My parents! Their house is being attacked by a Slimeberg.”
He was devastated. He couldn’t even bring himself to tell me what a Slimeberg was as he sped down the street.
I could only guess that it was not good.
HOME INVASION
We pulled up at Brett’s house and I could see straight away that there was a heap of big trouble going on. Both of his parents were standing outside in their night robes, sobbing away.
“It’s in the house right now,” Mr. Naz told us. His wife was too traumatized to talk. “I’ve called pest control. They're on their way.”
“Dammit!” cursed Brett. “That’s expensive!”
He rushed into the house and I followed him. What I saw inside horrified me. A giant creature made up entirely of blood-red slime was slobbed out across virtually the entire living room, sucking up everything it could and flooding the place with its disgusting mucus.
Brett threw a chair at the single eye sticking up from this appalling blob of gook, but it simply bounced off and was then sucked into its gelatinous body. The chair was completely soaked, just like most everything else in the living room.
“Uggg!” Brett screamed. We heard sirens.
Outside, trucks were now parking in front of the house. Vampires wearing protective masks approached holding heavy hoses.
They rushed into the house and immediately started spraying the creature with some sort of pink liquid. The monster hissed angrily as it got doused by the pink stuff. Then it slithered up the wall and onto the ceiling in an attempt to escape, all the time hissing ever louder as the professionals continued aiming their hoses at it.
“It’s called Nitroide Sioxide,” Brett said. “It kills those damn things.”
After a minute or two the mammoth slime monster began to shrink quite rapidly. Soon it was no more than the size of a roach. Unable to grasp onto the ceiling any longer, it fell to the ground and was instantly stepped on by one of the exterminators. Good riddance!
The creature was dead, but the living room had been left in a slimy shambles. The TV, sofa and furniture were all complete write-offs. The only good news was that, due to the Slimeberg being unable to get through closed doors, the bedrooms had been spared.
Brett’s parents rushed inside. Both wept as they looked at all the destruction. A pest control worker removed his mask.
“I don’t know how that thing could have gotten in here,” he said. “It’s most unusual for a Slimeberg to get from the swamps into town. Somebody must have put it here.”
“Whoever did it, I’ll kill ‘em,” Mr. Naz shouted between sobs.
It appeared Brett was thinking the same thing when the pest control worker told them that the extermination cost would be 150 Carns. Brett volunteered to pay. He was sweet to go broke for his parents.
“You’ll have to call a sanitary crew to come clean this place,” the pest worker said. “I wouldn’t recommend living here until all the slime is gone.”
The workers departed, leaving Brett’s parents to continue mourning the loss of their stuff. Again, Mr. Naz took it especially hard.
“It’s not fair,” he complained. “Rich folks can survive this. But look at us. We lose everything. And we ain’t gonna get it back 'cos everything is so damn expensive.”
Brett tried his best to comfort his father. “Don’t worry,” he said. “I've got enough money to get this place cleaned up. I’ll be able to get you into a hotel as well.”
Mr. Naz frowned. “But what about all our things? It’s gone. All gone. And it’s way too much to buy back.”
I sensed the strong bond between Brett and his father being tested.
“It’s going to be okay,” Brett told him. “I’ll help you buy all new stuff. It may take a little while, but I promise you’ll get it back.”
This meant he probably couldn’t afford to get me anything. Stuff was nice, but honestly I didn’t care. If I wanted something, I worked so I could get it myself. All I wanted him to do was take me to the grave.
After more grieving we all left the house, the atrocious stench of slime still in our nostrils. On the way out Brett spotted something that had obviously only just been pinned to the front door. He grabbed the letter and read it aloud.
“I hope you enjoyed my little friend, Janice. I mean, there wasn’t much stuff for him to eat anyway, right? Well, I suggest you now ditch the hobo and date me. I can give you so much more. Rob.”
Brett crumpled the paper and threw it onto the ground.
“Oh my gosh!” I cried.
“Who did it!?” shouted Mr. Naz. “You know who is responsible for destroying my house? I’ll kill ‘em! I’ll bite ‘em to bits!”
“It was Rob Bloodworth,” I said.
“He's jealous we're dating,” Brett explained. “That’s why he did this.” He then went on to tell his father what Rob had done to his car.
“Well, we’re going over to the police station, right NOW,” Mr. Naz demanded.
There was no way to convince him otherwise, so we set off there. Yet as we gave Rob’s description to authorities, I had a sickening feeling this wouldn’t do any good.
Later that evening, Brett walked me to my door. I didn’t want to leave him like this tonight.
“I’m sorry we didn’t make it to the grave,” he said. “I promise it will happen soon.”
We kissed and it felt great, even though things hadn't gone as plann
ed. He left after telling me he had to help his parents move into a hotel.
That night while I lay in my coffin it rained a misty green. I couldn’t sleep. My thoughts were on the gargoyle statue and whatever might be hidden behind it.
After tossing and turning for more than an hour, I couldn’t take it any more. I ran to the mirror and fixed my hair tubes the best I could, then put on the shirt that Marsha had given me. I liked the shirt, but damn, I had money now. I had to get some new clothes.
Even though it was the middle of night, I was determined to go over to the recreation center and discover the secret.
Clutching my necklace of seeds and grains for extra protection, I snuck quietly out of the house, making sure not to wake Mr. FreeCut. Clouds were totally obscuring Garlic Moon and light rain wet my pale skin.
When I arrived at the recreation center, the first level was still packed with late night amateur players having some fun. Wasting no time, I used my tournament card to descend to the second level.
There were far fewer people practicing down here. I couldn't help but giggle when I saw these tournament wannabes being flung around by the rotating platforms while struggling to hit the fireball.
I worked my way around to the gargoyle statue. Luckily, no one was playing on the square next to this, so I was able to make my move without drawing attention.
I tugged on the claws in the order the note had told me to. Nothing happened, so I tried again. Still nothing. After a third time without success, I became frustrated and made a close inspection of the wall behind the gargoyle. There was no sign of the passageway that was supposed to appear. More out of hope than expectation, I had one final go at the claw pulling routine. To my surprise, this time I heard a slight rumbling noise. Moments later a section of the wall slid back and the passageway was finally revealed.
I took a deep breath and got down on my hands and knees to move inside, hoping no one had seen me go through.
A DANGEROUS HOLE
Vampire World Page 13