Oh my gosh! I'd been right all along.
WAITING & WEAPONS
“Did Brett tell you?” I said, upset.
“He told me everything. He also told me why you broke up.”
I gasped. Mr. FreeCut wasn’t supposed to know about that. Damn it, why had he said anything?
“Naturally, you’re old enough to make your own decisions,” Mr. FreeCut said. “You don’t need another vampire to make you happy. All you need is yourself.”
I should have known Brett had a big ass mouth when I wasn't with him.
“At the same time, you know very well I love you,” he continued. “And that I want you to stay around. So do me a favor. Listen to yourself. Listen to me. Listen to wisdom. Stay alive. Stay safe. Do all these things, because I want you to be around for a long time.”
An unexpected rush of emotion came over me. “I promise,” I said. I gave him a very long hug. Without Mr. FreeCut, I’d be a nobody. I had to stay around. For him.
I went to work feeling like a brand new vampire and spent my last day as a regular sales associate zooming up and down the ladders and handing out tons of clothes to energetic customers. Brett occasionally popped in my mind. So did Mr. FreeCut. But most of all I thought about my secret messenger.
At times I cursed him, wishing he would just go away and leave me alone. My life would be so easy then. I could get back with Brett. I could also make Mr. FreeCut feel better about me and not have to worry. Damn. But then again, Mr. FreeCut had never actually said I should stop following the quest to find myself. In fact, he wanted me to be safe and alive. And what if not finding out about myself could put me in more danger than discovering the secret? I'd never thought of it that way before.
After work, Kate and Marsha asked me to go grab a bloodburger with them. They already knew about the break-up, though I didn’t know how. It seemed like the whole world knew.
I met them on the overlooking deck. Surprisingly, Michael turned up too. His needy eyes never left my face, like he was in love with me.
“Sorry about what happened,” Kate said.
“I’m just shocked,” added Marsha. “You seemed inseparable.”
Both Kate and Michael frowned on Marsha for not trying to make me feel better. But I wasn't offended. Brett and I had been the perfect couple. Everything she said was true.
“Don’t take this the wrong way, Janice,” Michael said, “but sometimes when crap happens it opens new doors you couldn’t even dream of. You’re an intelligent, amazing and beautiful vampire. You’ll find a new love very soon.”
I thanked him for the compliment, though I didn’t feel it really was one. In truth, it was a flirt. And I was not ready for that.
Michael did not remind me of Brett one bit. If he had, that would have been a problem. Certainly the flashy dragon tattoo covering half his body and the snake tat around his neck were both visually stunning, as were his expensive clothes laced with the finest 3-D images of jagged vampire weapons and grotesque beating hearts. His necklace of rubies set the night on fire, while his fancy earrings and piercings gave him a glow that was almost irresistible. He was handsome too, with nice eyes and smooth hair. And he was rich. But with all of these things going for him, he was still no Brett. Absolutely no Brett.
Michael continued to pound me with the flirtation crap and I wished he would go away. I just wanted an evening with the girls, dammit.
After a delicious meal, Kate and I said goodbye to the others and headed for the train. But Michael followed us.
“Hey Janice, want to come over to my house for dinner?” he asked. “You probably need something to take your mind off of you-know-who.”
“No thanks,” I replied, wishing I was on the train and far away from this aggravating fluke.
“You remember my house, right?”
Oh. What the hell was that supposed to mean? Just because he lived in a freakin mansion, that did not make me want to go out with him. I could have said something mean. But I stopped myself and settled for a polite brush-off
“Well, it’s getting late. Goodbye Michael.”
Without waiting to find out what his response might be, I quickly headed underground for the train. All I cared about was getting another respectable fireball practice in, which was exactly where our train was heading.
“I know Michael may come off as a conceited ass,” Kate said. “But he’s actually a pretty good guy. He might be a good catch one day. You never know.”
She giggled. I wanted to tell her over my dead body. But I kept my mouth shut. Hmmm. Maybe I was being too nice. Maybe I needed to be more of a vamp bitch. I wasn't sure.
We made it to the recreation center and down to the third level. During this practice we both took particularly hard beatings, dropping and falling on our bosoms a bunch of times. The squares rose and fell with such ferocity that I had particular trouble keeping my footing. It was both daunting and frustrating. The holographic beasts, this time consisting of one-eyed snakes with gaping fangs, caused me to tumble to the ground a number of times as well. Though the creatures might not have been capable of actually injuring me or anyone else, the falls most certainly did.
“I don’t know how much longer I can take this,” a heavily bruised Kate told me. Though I was equally battered and blue, I helped her up off the unforgiving floor.
“Do you want to win ten thousand Carns?” I encouraged. “Don’t give up girl! Push yourself.”
Though the session was rough, I was getting better by mastering the monsters' attack patterns, and by learning how to keep my feet firmly planted on a moving platform while slamming the ball into the opponent’s square.
I only won three rounds that evening. It was going to take many degrees of sweat and pain, but I was set on becoming an expert. I wished I could say the same for Kate. She looked defeated not only physically, but mentally.
Later that night I studied thirty pages of my store manager book before deciding to crash in my coffin. Tomorrow was going to be a rough day, especially since I would be officially starting as an assistant manager. I had no idea who would train me, but I needed to be ready if I was going to do my very best.
I wanted to erase all memories of Brett, but I just couldn’t. I was honestly happy with my freedom and new outlook on life, but as I lay in my coffin staring at the obscure ceiling of my diminutive room, I pictured his beautiful face and incredible body. It would have been so nice to have him in the coffin beside me. But he was gone now. I had to face that fact. I concentrated hard instead on all the good things I had going for me.
Just as I was about to close my eyes, I saw an odd flash outside of my window. I got up and looked out. My secret masked messenger was gawking right at me, with only the thin pane of glass separating us. He pointed to something.
His dark mask no longer intimated me, but I was definitely intrigued. I rushed outside, hoping he would talk to me.
As expected, he was gone. I wondered why he didn’t have the courage to chat with me. I had thought about the messenger and Martin possibly being the same person, but that was only my gut reaction. There was a slight similarity between Martin's voice and the one I heard on my orb, but not enough to make a definite identification. I would have loved to know for sure.
I picked up the letter and read.
'Janice, I’m so glad you have made the correct decision to follow me. Soon you’ll discover a shocking yet glorious realization about yourself. In the meantime, you need to be careful. The organization may know of your whereabouts, so you need to use everything at your disposal for protection. I will direct you to a secret weapon cache. Get on the train as soon as possible. Have the orb with you. This is the way we will communicate until I tell you otherwise. Be careful and watch your back.'
As usual, I snuck out the house and made my way to the train.
By listening to the orb, I was directed to a gritty part of town filled with abandoned warehouses and rotting buildings. Though I was in the middle of a bustling city,
it was dead quiet. And with Garlic Moon shrouded by a suffocating deck of olive clouds, it was very dark too. Grabbing the seeds and grains from my neck, I kept a careful eye on my surroundings just in case someone decided to jump out at me. Even my own shadow caused me to flinch as I continued listening to my directions.
“It’s a little further. Look for a large jade warehouse.”
Soon I saw the ugly building; it was huge.
“You’ll come to a red door. Next to it is a picture combination lock. You need to line up a blue skull, an orange beating heart, and a crimson blade to gain entry. Make sure no one is watching you.”
Like a slot machine, I lined up the combination. The door unlocked and I went inside.
The windowless place creeped me out. Dimly lit by just one small ceiling light, it reeked of death, which was actually quite a tempting aroma since I was a vampire. However, there was no blood to be found. My orb vibrated.
“Very good, Janice. Keep walking forward. You’ll find the weapons soon.”
I felt as though eyes were on me; a chill slid down my back.
I spotted the weapons. At least thirty shiny stakes rested in stand-up cases on the floor, many of them longer than those I had on my belt and bearing impressive gold tips. Alongside the stakes lay flasks of seeds and grains in a variety of different colors and textures, more than enough to stop any threatening vampire. There were also flasks of a yellow substance that I didn’t recognize. I picked one of these up.
Instantly, I felt a throbbing pain in my head, so bad that I was forced to put the flask down again. Once I did, I immediately felt better and was able to inspect the remaining weapons scattered about on the dusty floor. There were more flasks, these this time containing a clear liquid. Close by was a long tubular contraption with a trigger at the bottom. I guessed this was some kind of gun. Completing the armory were sharp blades of all shapes and sizes together with some vampire stars. My orb buzzed again.
“Janice, you are allowed to use these weapons any time you need them. You already know about the stakes, and how if you aim for the heart they will kill a vampire. You also know what the seeds and grains will do, so you can use them for both attack and defense. In the yellow bottles is garlic. Exposure to garlic will eat away a vampire's skin and eventually kill him, especially if it is ingested or breathed. The clear bottles are full of holy water. This instantly burns through a vampire and is fatal. Do not open either the garlic or the holy water bottles unless you absolutely need them. If you wish, you can load them in your gun for a safe, distance attack. The same goes for the stakes, also the seeds and grains.”
Ah, so the yellow stuff was garlic. My secret messenger was correct about avoiding exposure to it. I got a pounding headache just by picking up the bottle.
“Janice, now is a good time to learn how to use the distance attacker. Walk forward and you’ll see a target.”
I followed his instructions and nearly screamed when I spotted a vampire beaming at me. But I quickly calmed down when I realized it was just a dummy with a target smack dab in the middle of its chest. The bull’s-eye was positioned over the heart.
“Pick up the distance-attacker, Janice. Pull back the top, load a stake into it, then use the trigger at the bottom to fire. Trust me, you won’t be a pro on the first round. It’s going to take you many degrees to get good. Remember, bottles can also be placed in the front compartment of the barrel. But use empty ones to practice your long range attacks. You never know when a full bottle may save your life. Good luck.”
Following instructions, I loaded the distance-attacker. It was much heavier than I thought and challenging to wield. Trying to take aim felt like I was holding a heavy snake that was pulling away from me all the time. Only with much effort did I finally manage to hold it straight and steady enough to fire.
I didn’t even come close to hitting the target. The stake bounced loudly off the steel wall behind it. Damn!
After twenty more attempts and twenty more misses my arms were really feeling the pressure. I grew irritated. So far, I hadn’t even come close to hitting the target. One more time I loaded the gun, peered through the slit in front of me to adjust my aim, and fired. Flying at rocket speed, the stake still didn’t hit the heart, but I did score a shoulder hit. Finally!
I was proud but also exhausted. After flinging one of the knives at the dummy and hitting it in the leg, I decided to call it quits. I had to get up early tomorrow to start my new job.
I gathered up some of the stakes for protection and added them to my belt, along with some of the more potent grain bottles that I clicked to my necklace. I also picked up a few reserve blood tubes and some Bloodstop ointments that were in a box close to the weapons. My guide had told me that Bloodstop ointment caused instant blood clotting on major wounds and could save a vampire’s life.
Checking to make sure no one was following me, I locked the door and reset the combination. Then I cautiously made my way to the train station.
BIG DAY AT WORK
The next morning I prepared for my big day by dressing in some sexy work pants and a hip button down shirt imprinted with twisted vampire bones. Passing through the Supermarket entrance, I had no idea what to expect. But I was sure of one thing: Brett was now far from my mind, and that was fine with me.
Mrs. FangCut greeted me at the door, along with two rather tall female vampires with beautiful hairstyles and 3-D tattoos splattered across their flawless bodies.
“Good morning, Janice,” Mrs. FangCut said. “I hope you slept well last night because today you will get your first stab at manager training. Debra and Susan are from the co-operate office. You will train under them. Though it will be difficult, I wouldn’t have selected you if I knew you couldn’t do it. Good luck.”
I said goodbye to the best boss in Vampire World and hello to Debra and Susan. On first impression they seemed surprisingly nice, though a little stern when they went on to let me know of their expectations within the training program.
“Have you been studying the manual?” Susan asked.
“Yes,” I assured her, worried that they might be expecting me to know the whole damn thing. Which I certainly did not.
I was put to the test right away and asked to locate three items, all of them in the men’s department. The first two, blood-red jeans with vampire fangs injected into them, and then skeleton belts made out of pure vampire bones, were not a problem. I knew exactly where both of them were. But as for the third item, a spiked leather jacket that changed colors from black to maroon, I hadn’t a clue where to find it.
Wasting no time, I clambered up the ladders into unfamiliar territory to collect the belt and jeans, at the same time hoping to get lucky and stumble on the jacket along the way. But that didn’t happen, and I felt lost in a store that used to feel like home.
With the belt and jeans in hand, there was no point in faking it. I trotted back to Debra and Susan feeling embarrassed, even though I'd found two of the items thanks to some late night studying. But that was not good enough. I wanted to be perfect!
“The spiked jacket is found in section 7-E-F5,” Debra instructed.
For the remainder of the morning I was required to find more items in the men’s section. Though I tried my best to remember their various locations, I missed a bunch of them. Shame on me. At the same time, I felt exhausted, kind of like the first few days at work.
“We are impressed with your speed and hustle, Janice,” Debra told me at lunchtime. “However, you clearly have not spent enough time learning the manual. If you want to be a manager, you will need to study it for at least thirty degrees every night. Well, go enjoy your break now. After lunch, we’ll go over forms and inventory.”
I stumbled to the lunch room, feeling low, yet at the same time determined to do better. If I wanted to be the best, I had to start studying that manual more. Not to mention step up my fireball and weapons practice.
But you can do it, I told myself. I’d already overcome a whole bunch
of challenges, so this should be a piece of blood cake. Besides, I liked what I was doing. And when you enjoyed something in this perplexing life, you were usually rewarded with an answer that made it seem less perplexing.
I wanted to start studying right now in the break room, but I couldn’t…I didn’t have a manual.
Mira came in holding a scrumptious tray of blood cookies. The intoxicating smell drew me right to them. “Looks like someone is thinking about you,” she said.
There was a note attached to the cookies. It read: 'I heard you’re a manager now, Janice. Congrats. Well, just remember I’m always thinking of you. It would be great to spend some time together. I’m available anytime. Yours truly, Michael.'
While licking the enticing blood from my lips, I appreciated what he had sent me. Michael was sweet, though also cocky. And I was absolutely one hundred percent not into him. As friends it was okay, as long as he’d stop smothering me with the irritating flirts. I had no interest in a serious relationship right now – the only person I needed was myself. And I felt great about that.
Even so, as I finished off the last cookie, Brett popped up in my thoughts. It had been a while since I’d talked to him. Did he ever think to call me? Did he ever want to kiss me again? Did he even think of me at all?
Luckily, as these thoughts popped up, break time was over. I didn’t want to get dragged back down into the sorrows of the past.
The next two weeks were work, work, work. Every night I hit the fireball squares and improved my skill by learning how to combat the jolting, dizzying effects of the squares, while at the same time avoiding the computerized monster attacks. One night I won eight battles straight. I must admit it felt damn good to be up there alone on the playing square.
Each time after a long, rigorous fireball practice, I then headed off to the weapons cache and practiced my aim with the distance-attacker gun, finally succeeding in driving a stake directly through the heart of the vampire dummy. I loaded a few empty bottles into the top of the gun as well, hitting the dummy smack dab in the face several times. To finish off, I practiced handling and tossing the numerous blades, vampire stars and other stuff.
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