We sat together on the grave and talked long into the lovely evening. I didn’t want to leave and found it hard to get up when it was time to go.
“I’ve got some explaining to do to my folks,” Brett said. “The vampire they set me up with was rich. I know I’m going to have to answer to them.”
I was kind of offended. “Well yeah,” I told him. “I think we should go over there right now and you should introduce me to them as your girlfriend. And they better not be pissed at you. I mean, you do everything for them.”
He seemed hesitant at first. But as he caressed me with his angel-like fingers, he gained confidence. “You’re right!” he said. “They may be my parents, but I can’t let them walk all over me. I love you. And no amount of money is not going to change that.”
There was a look of fierce determination in Brett's eyes during the drive over. I knew it was not going to be easy for him to admit to his folks that he'd dumped the rich girl for me. But if I was in his shoes, I'd do the same. I wouldn’t let anyone take advantage of me. Not even my own biological parents if they were still alive. I could love who I wanted to love, and so could Brett.
“Can you wait in the car for a degree,” he said after pulling up outside the newly cleaned up house. I assumed he’d find it easier to break the ice if he went in alone, so I had no problem with that.
I watched him go inside. But after several degrees passed, I got anxious when he didn’t return. I stepped out the car and moved to the front door, which was ajar. I heard loud shouting.
“I love her, Dad. You have to understand that.”
“No! I want you dating Lisa. She’s the better of the two. Why settle for some broke bloodsucker when you can have a beautiful vampire who's wealthy?”
“I don’t love Lisa!” I heard Brett yell. “She’s a bloodbitch!”
“You’re making a big mistake, son. Who is gonna take care of you and buy you things when you get old and green? Your cheapskate girl certainly won’t!”
“She’s not cheap…she has a job…”
“Oh yeah…at a clothing store. What a real job that is…”
“It doesn’t matter what she does. We love each other, that's all that counts.”
Oh gosh. I knew Brett’s parents were needy, but I hadn't realized they were jerks as well. I’d heard all I could take. I pushed the door wide open, rushed into the restored living room that Brett most likely paid for, and surprised him by grabbing his hand. But he backed off. Hmmm. He may have fallen for it, but I was not going to be a victim of their brainwashing crap this time.
“Brett loves me and I love him!” I shouted directly at both parents.
His father was especially unnerved. He didn’t even have the balls to make eye contact with me. Instead, he turned to his son.
“You’re gonna have to make a decision, Brett. Either you listen to us and date who we want you to, or you go run off with Miss Nosy here. But if you do that, remember this. Your mother and I will disown you. You'll be banned from this house and can never associate with us again. Also, you can never tell anyone - and I mean anyone - that we share blood.”
Brett was silent and calm on the outside. But inside, I knew he was burning up. Then, all of a sudden, something clicked with me. Oh gosh, that was it!
I rounded on his parents. “What did they do? Threaten you? Offer you money? Tell me!”
“Why don’t you mind your own business, you nosy little twit.” snapped Mr. Naz. His reaction confirmed my suspicion that TriFang were behind this. It was all a setup.
“Shame on you both for taking a bribe from bad people and putting your own selfish interests over your son,” I yelled.
“Get out of my house, now!” he screamed. But I didn’t quit there.
“You’re making a big mistake,” I hollered back. “And you’ll pay for it!”
Mr. Naz ignored me and turned to Brett. “This is your last chance, son. You can call Lisa up and ask for forgiveness, or you can go with your loser friend and suck cheap blood for the rest of your pathetic life. What’s it going to be?”
Brett couldn’t take much more. I expected him to burst out crying. But he ran over to me. “She’s the only one I love,” he said.
“Then get out of my house this instant,” Mr. Naz shouted. “You are no longer my son.”
His mother remained whimpering in the background. “Goodbye, Brett,” she sobbed.
Brett started to say something, then changed his mind. We left the house together, the front door slamming shut behind us. Of course I was thrilled that he would choose me over Lisa. But I wasn’t stupid either. Though I could only remember a brief part of my life in Vampire World, I knew I would be devastated if I was ripped apart from Mr. FreeCut. Had I known him all my life, how much greater would that pain be? It was almost impossible to imagine.
Brett was in no shape to drive just yet. He plopped down into the rigid chair on the porch and put his hands over his face. I tried my best to comfort him, yet he still wept.
“You don’t understand,” he said between sobs. “I know they may seem like bloodsucking jerks to you, but they were my parents. It’s not easy.”
“I just can’t believe they could do this to you,” I said. “I know TriFang is behind this.”
“Why do you think that?” Brett asked.
“I pissed off someone I went on a date with,” I admitted. “I didn't know at the time that he was a TriFang member. Anyhow, he may well be behind setting you up with Lisa. He doesn’t like me any more, so the perfect payback would be to make sure you’re off the market by bribing your parents into thinking they could get a sweet deal.”
“Really?” Brett said, removing his hands from a tear-stained face. “I mean hell, life just doesn’t make sense any more. I thought my parents loved me. I thought they cared for me. But I was wrong. I guess all they cared about was my Carns. Ain’t that a bitch?”
“Yes, it is,” I agreed. “But you made the right choice. I love you, no matter how rich or poor you are.”
Eventually, Brett stopped crying. Even so, it was going to take him some time to get over the grim reality that his parents were out of his life.
“So who did you go out on a date with?” he asked.
I lied and made up a name. I’d tell him the truth later. I didn’t want to give him another reason to get mad at me.
Leaving the porch, we walked across the lawn toward Brett’s car. But when we got to where he'd parked it, there was just an empty space. An angry curse sprang from Brett's mouth.
I spotted a note on the ground. Picking it up, I read: 'You want your ride back? Take the train to Bloodbirth Park. I’ll be waiting for you.'
PAYBACK
Infuriated, Brett crumpled the note. “Damn! Just when I thought things couldn’t get any worse, they do.”
“Rob did this,” I said. “He stole your car.”
“How do you know?”
“Because he’s still jealous of me dating you.”
“But how does he know we’re back together?”
I told him I didn’t know. I really should have told him the truth. I was close.
“I have a bad feeling about this,” I warned Brett. “I know you want your car back, but it may be a trap.”
“I don’t care,” he replied. “I ain’t gonna let some ass steal my car and get away with it. If you don’t want to come, I’ll go alone.”
I assured Brett I was going with him, just as long as we stopped off at my secret armory first. He seemed intrigued. On the train over there I explained how I'd been guided to the cache by my messenger.
When we arrived at the abandoned storage facility, Brett eyed the plethora of weapons and licked his pastel lips.
“Nice,” he said, clutching a belt and fastening five stakes to it. He then put the belt on and hid it under his shirt. While he was doing this, I equipped myself with a bottle of garlic and a few potent bottles of seeds and grains. I experienced some pain from the garlic, but knowing I may have to
use this very soon, I was strong enough to resist it. Finally, I stuffed a few tubes of Bloodstop ointment in my pocket, just in case.
Before long we were back on the train heading for the park.
“Do you think it was your stranger who put those weapons there?” Brett asked. “I wonder how he found them all.”
I told Brett about the group of men that rescued me in Bloodwood Forest, specifically mentioning Martin and my hunch that he and the secret messenger may be the same person. I was determined to unravel this mystery when I saw Martin again. I couldn’t wait to rip his mask off and see his real face.
We arrived on the surface very close to Bloodbirth Park. After a short walk down a dark road, we came to a field surrounded by a grove of sparkling trees that reached over to form a magnificent dome. In the middle of the field was Brett’s car. Rob was sat on its hood.
Brett lunged forward.
“Wait!” I said.
We approached Rob. He appeared to be alone.
“Well, glad you two lovers could make it,” he said. “You know, Janice, I had some fun with you when we went into the closet. God, you were great.”
Hearing Rob’s nonsense, Brett growled with anger.
“Too bad you had to leave me the way you did,” Rob continued, now very pissed off.
Maybe it was rude the way I'd run out on him. But it felt great.
“Shut your fangs and leave my girlfriend alone,” Brett snarled. “I want my car back, now!”
It was then I realized that Rob wasn't alone. Around a dozen burly vampires branded with nauseating tattoos all over their bodies appeared out of nowhere. They stood behind Rob with clenched fists.
“Remember how I challenged you to a fun game, but you wimped out like a bloodsucking whore?” Rob jeered to Brett. “You know, first person who draws blood wins? Well, if you want your ride back, you’re gonna have to play me now.”
“And what if I don’t want to?” Brett snapped.
“Well, looks like you’ll be taking the train for a long time. That is, if you’re still alive.”
“Stop it, Rob!” I yelled.
“Just stay out of this, whore,” Rob retorted. “It looks like your boyfriend is gonna have to play this time. If he doesn't, we’ll all make sure he not only loses his car, but his legs as well.” He gave a nasty laugh. “I’d love to see him wheeling himself around with a tube stuck in his throat feeding him tainted blood for the rest of his life.”
Brett edged forward, his fists raised. I was scared for him and wished he would just run the other way. But Rob’s mega henchmen had already formed a circle around the two of them. Many of the thugs had the emblem of TriFang on their foreheads. Damn!
“Well, glad you’re ready to play,” Rob said. “Didn’t think you had the vampire balls.” He turned to one of his cronies. “Harry, count to three for me. Get ready. On three.”
Harry counted quickly to three and the game began. But as I watched Brett and Rob ripping into each other like animals trying to draw blood, I realized this was no game.
Brett scored the first hit, popping Rob hard in the chest, though this did not draw any blood. Then Rob heaved a wild roundhouse but missed completely and stumbled to the ground. What a pathetic wimp.
With grass on his lips and in his mouth, a now furious Rob got back up and started swinging. I spotted something in his right fist, glowing under the light of Garlic Moon. Then I saw it more clearly. Oh no…it was a small blade….
There was no time to warn Brett before he was punched on the arm. The sharp blade cut deep, instantly drawing blood. Flabbergasted, Brett gazed at the wound. Then he peered into Rob’s flaming eyes.
“You cheated,” he said. “You lousy, bloodsucking cheater!”
Rob laughed like a devil. “Well, I never said I was going to be fair. Besides, why would I want to play straight with a bloodsucking douche like you? What the hell does your girlfriend see in you anyway?”
Brett was slugged again, this time in the face. To my horror, a nasty gash appeared above his left eye.
“NO!” I screamed.
On a nod from Rob, two of his pals seized hold of Brett, keeping him helpless while Rob continued to bang in punch after punch. Brett had zero chance to defend himself. Terror gripped me. Rob was going to kill him. He was going to kill my baby!
I grabbed two of the stakes from my belt and ran to help Brett. But before I could get close, I was latched onto by two members of Rob's back-up team and pinned firmly on the ground. I tried to struggle free, even though the smelly brutes were three times my size.
The moans and cries coming from my helpless boyfriend sent renewed vampire adrenaline surging through me. Somehow I managed to twist one hand free. Without hesitation, I thrust the stake hard into the thigh of one thug. Blood spurted out of his leg like a fountain. He collapsed in a heap, unable to move.
Such was the surprise of my attack, I was able to wriggle free from the other thug's grip. But then he hit me with a closed fist and I slammed back down onto the ground, dropping my second stake as I fell. Though I was hurt, I wasn’t gonna let this vampire chauvinist get the better of me. Sticking out his pierced tongue, he came closer. But I quickly snatched a flask of seeds and grains from around my neck and threw them into his face. He screamed and pulled back, his hands over his eyes like they were saturated with acid.
Another chump came after me, hammering me hard in the gut. But before he could do any more damage, I grabbed up the stake lying on the ground. As he took another brutal swing at me, I thrust it directly into his heart. After letting out a wail of agony, his body literally disintegrated before my eyes and turned to dust.
Hastily, I pulled more stakes from my belt in an effort to protect myself. But too many vampires were now coming after me. I was knocked to the ground once again. I caught one last glimpse of Brett lying in a pool of blood and his car blazing in the background. It looked like both of our lives were over. Especially now I could see Rob standing over me, a vicious snarl on his face.
Held firmly by his minions, I tried to spit up into Rob’s face but missed. In response, he produced some kind of miniature saw blade attached to a handle. It spun rapidly as he lowered it toward my neck.
“Go ahead, scum!” I screamed. “Cut my head off!”
I was scared as hell, but I wasn’t gonna show it to this heartless jerk. I spat again, and this time a glob of green mucous hit Rob right in the eyes. Infuriated, he lowered the blade to less than an inch away from my throat. But I still didn’t stop spitting.
Then, just when I thought I was going to die, he drew back the blade.
“You know, I’ve just had a better idea,” he said, grinning evilly. “I'd rather keep you alive so you can see your boyfriend bleed to death. I mean, life is funny. Sometimes dying doesn’t cause the most suffering. Living does.”
He moved away, telling his boys to follow him. A getaway cloud of dust and smoke then engulfed them all.
I was free. They were gone.
EMERGENCY
With the smoke still clearing I ran over to Brett, who was lying on the ground almost drowning in a pool of his own blood. Miraculously, he was still breathing, though there were cuts all over his face and body. The slash on his forehead was gushing like hell and clearly needed attention first. With one hand I applied the Bloodstop ointment to this, while with the other I called for an ambulance.
“It’s going to be alright!” I said, rubbing the blood out of his eyes. They looked beautiful, in spite the severe bruising all around. Meanwhile, the ointment had already worked and stopped the bleeding on his face by causing a temporary though very effective clotting.
“Stay alive for me, baby!” I cried while ripping off his clothes to discover where the rest of the cuts were. Wasting no time, I rubbed the ointment on a nasty cut to his belly, then on several to his thighs and one on his calf.
Even after all this he was still bleeding. Mustering every bit of strength I had left, I turned him over and spotted anoth
er gaping wound on his back. He moaned as I applied more ointment. Just then, the ambulance appeared.
The paramedics lifted him over to the ambulance. I didn’t know if I'd done enough to save him. I could only weep and hope for the best.
Once inside the foul smelling ambulance, tubes of emergency blood were attached to Brett. I wanted to ask someone if he was going to be alright, but I was too scared.
At the hospital, they would not allow me to go past a certain area of the emergency room. All I could do now was sit there and pray for good news. A vision of the doctors carrying Brett’s inert body into the treatment room kept flashing through my mind. If I lost him, I didn’t know what I would do.
The hospital was dark, filthy and very cold. I hated this place.
As the degrees dragged by, so my fears for Brett increased. I asked a busty nurse if he was okay. She showed me her fangs and brusquely replied that she didn’t know.
Despair was chewing away at my nerves. I couldn’t take this any more. I jumped up in front of the bitch nurse and demanded that she tell me how my boyfriend was doing. She scowled and popped out her bloody fangs again.
Then, incredibly, she had a change of heart. Maybe she felt sorry for me after all? Whatever it was, she smiled. “I’ll be right back,” she said.
Hmmm. A little while later she returned. “Your boyfriend is on his way to full recovery,” she told me. “You’re….”
I dashed past her, almost knocking her to the floor, and rushed into the treatment room.
Brett was lying on a bed with blood tubes connected to his head, chest, back and thighs. The life-saving blood flowed through the tubes into his body, just like it had done with me after my fall into Slice Canyon. Emerald tears flooded my eyes when he smiled at me.
“He’s going to make it,” the doctor said. “It was close though. Thanks to the ointment you applied, we were able to give him enough blood to allow him to make a full recovery. He should be back to normal in about a hundred degrees, but I’d like to keep him in here overnight anyway. I want to make sure his deep cuts heal properly.”
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