Star Crossed

by Louise Matchett

  “Let him go” she cried sprinting down the footpath, not caring that her socks where quickly becoming covered in dirt.

  But the man dragging Rome didn’t stop, he didn’t even turn around at the sound of her voice.

  Suddenly a small object whizzed past her head and Julie stopped and glanced at the direction from which it had come from. Ah Julie thought there’s more than one man.

  Five men stepped out of the shadows, each dressed from head to feet in black as they surrounded her, their forms blocking her view of Rome’s unconscious body and the one carrying him away.

  “Let him go,” she repeated, her voice louder. “And I promise you can leave here in once piece”.

  The men didn’t say a word. And although they didn’t move a muscle, Julie could hear their steady and unafraid heartbeats. They know how to control their fear but I wonder how many of them have faced a vampire in a fight. She thought sliding a foot back and slightly bending her knees shifting her centre of gravity. Her eyes darted from one man to another as she waited for them to make the first move.

  The men behind her moved closer as if they were trying to force her forward. But Julie didn’t move as the men behind her took another step closer, then she turned and grabbed the closest man. She gripped his head and pulled, his neck snapped and Julie let the body fall to the ground.

  Surprised, the remaining men turned to each other, using their distraction to her advantage Julie looked around them, trying to see Rome but he and his attacker had disappeared.

  A deep horn of a van sounded from the end of the street but before Julie could move towards it, something beeped and she turned just in time to recognize what it was that had been thrown at her earlier.

  The stun grenade beeped once more and Julie was thrown into the air by the blast from the grenade. Julie could see nothing but blurred figures moving away from her. She pulled herself to her knees but her vision span and the deafening ringing was too much as she fell back onto the grass and gave in to the darkness.

  Chapter 4 - It Was Real

  With a groan Julie opened her eyes. She was lying on her back, looking up at the sky but it wasn’t the deep night sky that greeted her, it was the light pinkish, gold sky of sunrise. Fear trickled down her spine as she sat up and looked around. She could just make out the golden glow of the first rays of the sun edging out behind the neighbouring houses.

  Julie scrambled to her feet, her head pounding as she glanced around the garden, but there was no blood trial, no dead body and no hole in the ground from the stun grenade. There was no evidence that last night had even happened. She turned just to see the deadly sunlight creeping up her footpath, inch by inch it came, swallowing up the darkness and last traces of night like a hungry worm.

  Not wasting any more time Julie sped back inside and closed the front door behind her. She rushed into the living room and snatched up the ring, jamming it onto her finger as the sunlight seeped into the house.

  Safe, Julie collapsed onto one of the sofas and sighed. She buried her face in her hands, the ring was cold against her cheek as she tried to recall any logos or signs on the kidnappers clothing but nothing was coming to mind.

  They wanted Rome for a reason and when he doesn’t do what they ask they could come after me. Which means I need to get out of here she thought, getting up.

  Julie walked out of the living room and headed for the hallway. She pulled out a pair of shoes from the cupboard and quickly tied the laces before grabbing her keys and opening the front door.

  Daylight poured in but Julie stepped outside and stood in the morning light for a moment. It was quiet and still a little early for her neighbours to be heading off to work so Julie quietly closed the front door behind her and locked it before hiding the key under a bush in the garden.

  With one last final look at her home, Julie turned and headed towards the empty house opposite her own. Making sure no one was watching she crept around the side of the house and broke the small window. Pushing away the scattered glass, she pulled herself inside and looked around.

  She was in a small kitchen, a thin layer of dust covered the work surfaces she made her way out of the kitchen and up the stairs. They creaked alarmingly under her weight and for one horrid moment when the stair she’d just stepped on seemed to bow, Julie thought she might end up falling through the entire staircase.

  She slowly raised her foot onto the higher step and continued her journey. She reached the second floor and headed for the nearest room, finding herself standing in an empty room. A light blue paint decorated most of the walls apart from one were strips of wallpaper were beginning to peel off.

  Standing in front of the window Julie watched as a white van pulled up and four men dressed in black got out. Julie ducked down as one of the men began to glance around at the other houses.

  “Come on, let’s get this female” said one of the men.

  Julie peeked out and found that all of the men were walking up towards her house. She watched with gritted teeth as they walked up the footpath and knocked on the door.

  They waited for a moment before knocking again. When no one answered they each pulled out sharpened stakes and gripped them tightly before shouldering the door. The door shuddered but didn’t break. The men glanced around, making sure no one was outside before they shouldered the door once more, and this time the door gave and fell to the floor.

  The men entered and disappeared from sight. Julie was tempted to sneak back inside and kill them all but that wouldn’t get her to Rome, so instead she waited. The men re-emerged from the house, looking angry and confused. But they remained silent as they returned to their van, sliding open the door two of them climbed inside, leaving the remaining two watching the house.

  “Blow it to hell” one of the men said to his colleagues from inside the van.

  Julie watched as his colleague pulled out a small black box with an aerial on it and a large red button in the middle. The man hit the button and the box beeped twice before a loud explosion came from the house. Julie watched as her home was consumed by bright flames and smoke and everything she and Rome had collected and put inside burned with it. She bit back a sob as the two men got into the van.

  “Send a unit to the Sunrise Club, question the owner, he’s bound to know where she is” the man who gave the order to blow up her home said as the other two men got inside the van and closed the door behind them before speeding back up the street.

  Once she was sure they were gone, Julie came downstairs and climbed back out through the kitchen window. Picking up serial small shards of glass that had gotten caught on her clothes Julie stood and stared for a moment at the now burning and smoking mass that was once her home. She carefully tucked the shards of glass into a pocket as a loud siren sounded in the distance. She couldn’t wait for it to arrive, to explain what had happened and to face her neighbours as they tried to learn what had happened to that they could gossip about it between themselves. Still she thought as she turned away from the burning building at least one of them called the fire in, maybe some things could be saved from the flames. She thought before running at full speed towards the Sunrise Club.

  Chapter 5 - Daytime Clubbing

  The Sunrise club used to be a pub, but when Merith brought it six years ago he transformed it into a small club, only opening at night with his regulars mainly vampires and one or two human guests. With a small car park to the side of the club, the main entrance clear for guests to come and go without the fear of suddenly being hit by a car. Julie remembered the time both Rome and she had visited. They hadn’t stayed long but they had enjoyed themselves.

  But today there was a white van parked outside the club’s main entrance. Julie froze and listened but there were no heartbeats coming from the van however there were two coming from inside the club. They’re already inside, probably interrogating Merith, she thought. Before pulling out one of the shards of glass and raking it over each of the van’s four tyres, the air escaping in loud
puffs as the van sunk lower and lower to the ground.

  With the getaway vehicle now useless, Julie walked towards the club’s main entrance. The door was barely open but she pushed it open and stepped inside. The smell of spilled beer and something burning made her stomach do somersaults.

  Large multi-coloured projectors hung from the brick ceiling, the floor was highly polished making it look like a marble platform. There were only a few windows most looking out across a small alleyway, whilst a long bar stood along one wall, with multiple shelving behind it, an range of bottles stood proud against the wall, as if daring her to take a sip.

  As she crept further inside Julie could hear people talking. She crossed the polished floor moving silently and swiftly as a big cat on the hunt for its prey.

  The discussion was getting louder the closer Julie got to the bar. As she stood in front of the bar, Julie noticed a small door was almost completely hidden against the wall. That must be Merith’s office she thought, kneeling down behind the bar she crept forward on hands and knees.

  “Tell us where the female is!” a voice demanded.

  Julie stopped as she reached the door, still on her hands and knees she peered through the small gap. The office was no bigger than a cloak room a small desk sat across the room, with a pile of three books one on side whilst the rest of the desk was littered with paperwork.

  Two men dressed in black stood over a third; his black hair with a streak of blue was almost impossible to mistake him as someone else: Merith. The owner of the club was being held down so that his face was mushed against his desk by a hand at the back of his head whilst the other man holding Merith’s hand under a small, strange looking contraction.

  “I’ll ask you again, where is this female?” The man holding Merith’s hand asked.

  He held a small, square piece of paper in front of Merith. His college pulled Merith’s head up, forcing him to look at the paper.

  “I-I don’t know” Merith replied.

  No sooner had the words left his mouth then his head was pushed back against the desk with a loud thud. The other man pressed something on top of the small machine and Julie watched as a blue light poured out of the machine and down onto Merith’s hand. Merith screamed as his hand began to smoke and darken as the smell of something burning filled the air.

  It’s a UV light Julie realized, it was like the one’s she had seen in nail salons but this one was clearly more powerful and deadly. As the blue light went out, the man pushed Merith’s hand away, leaving thin lines of blood across the desk. Merith’s whole hand was now the colour of burnt meat, blood trickled from his fingertips but he made no move to drag his hand away.

  “You know what I hate more than vampires?” the man asked.

  “No, Pete I don’t” the man holding Merith’s head down said.

  “Lying vampires” Pete declared.

  Both men chuckled whilst Merith groaned from the desk.

  Julie slid back, away from the door until her back nudged against the base of the bar. I can’t take them both out, with Merith in the middle, on the other hand if I can draw one of them out here it would be much easier. She thought glancing around for something to use. Her eyes fell to the display of bottles and an idea quickly formed in her mind.

  She crept along the bar and slowly got to her feet. Pulling three bottles free from the display she stepped back and threw them at the others. The bottles made a loud crashing sound as they collided with the others, before falling to the floor sending alcoholic spirits everywhere. The odour from the resulting liquid cocktail made Julie’s eyes water.

  “What the hell was that?” Pete cried.

  As Julie ducked down behind the bar as one of the men came out of the office. It wasn’t Pete it was the other one. He glanced around and spotted the broken bottles, holding his nose as he approached the mess and stepped out of Pete’s sight.

  “Well, Nick what was it?” Pete called.

  “Bottles fell” Nick replied as he nudged a piece of broken glass with his shoe.

  Julie stood up and moved silently towards Nick. He was about to turn his head when Julie wrapped her fingers around his throat and twisted with two hands.

  Nick gave out a short whimper before falling to the ground onto the broken bottles. Julie watched for a moment as blood began to flow from the cuts on Nick’s cooling body, mixing with the pool of alcohol.

  Moving quickly she carefully grabbed a shard of glass and made her way to the office. As she entered the room, Pete looked up and moved his hand to draw something from the back of his trousers when Julie threw the shard of glass at him. It soared through the air and embedded itself into Pete’s left thigh. He screamed in pain and fell to the floor, blood pouring from the wound.

  Julie crossed the office and searched him, tears trickling from his eyes as she moved him onto his back. Removing the gun from his waistband she threw it to the other side of the room and turned her attention to Merith. As she approached Merith he raised his head, bruises and small cuts marked his face and his bottom lip had swollen. He grinned at her but Julie didn’t grin back. She tore through the ropes that bound him to the chair and helped him get to his feet.

  “Nice timing, where’s the other one?” he asked.

  “Dead” she replied.

  She left Merith where he was and dragged Pete to his feet, his face pale from blood lost as Merith dragged the chair he had been tied to towards them and Julie placed Pete in it.

  “Now, then” Julie said “Who do you work for?”

  Chapter 6 - An Explosion of Light

  Merith punched Pete with his good hand in the stomach. Pete fell forwards but Merith quickly lashed out with another punch, this time to Pete’s shoulder and he fell back against the chair whilst Merith stepped back panting a little.

  “Feel better?” Julie asked him.

  Merith gave a nod and leant back against his desk, watching Pete. Ignoring him Julie stepped forward.

  “Who has taken my husband?” she asked.

  Pete didn’t say anything.

  Julie raised her hand and slapped him across the face.

  “Who. Has. Taken. My. Husband!” Julie hissed.

  Pete raised his head, his lip had split from Julie’s slap and he spat a mix of blood and spit.

  Julie raised an eyebrow, “really?” she asked.

  Pete gave her a small grin. Julie grinned back before grasping the shard of glass sticking out from his thigh and giving it a sharp turn. Pete screamed as the glass cut across his thigh.

  “Now.” Said Julie, letting go of the shard and wiping her bloody hand on Merith’s desk. “Who has taken Rome?”

  “Aw, don’t worry little Juliet, your Romeo will be free as soon as he tells my Master what he wants to know.” Pete cooed.

  “Your master, what’s his name?”

  “He has many. We call him Master, others call him Lord or-”

  Julie slapped Pete across the face, sending him rocking side to side in the chair. She grabbed his chin and pulled his face close to hers. She opened her mouth and lowered her fangs.

  “A name” She hissed.

  Pete began to chuckle and then laugh, his face growing paler by the second as his blood dripped onto the floor.

  “There will be a new time for us vampires” he said.

  Julie frowned and retracted her fangs “You’re not a vampire.”

  “Oh, but I will be when I return with you as my prize, Master shall turn me” Pete said.

  “And how exactly do you expect her to go with you, in case you didn’t notice you’re injured and there are two of us and only one of you” said Merith standing next to Julie.

  “Why, when you are both unconscious of course.”

  “Unconscious?”

  “Yes, from this” as Pete spoke his body began to glow a brilliant bright white.

  Pete began to laugh as the glowing intensified until it was nearly impossible to look at. The laughing stopped suddenly and Julie could just make out Pete r
epeating the same question over and over again.

  “Why lie Master, why lie to me?”

  Merith grabbed her hand and let her out of the room as the glowing grew and grew, enveloping the whole office and Pete along with it. The sound and smell of burning paper filled the air and Merith and Julie turned to each other before running for the exit.

  As they passed Nick’s body he too began to glow. Julie sped up and reached for the door, her finger tips brushing against the handle as there was a loud explosion from behind and she was sent flying through the air.

  She lost sight of Merith and was barely aware that she was heading for one of the club’s windows. She raised her arms over her head as her body hit the glass, it shattered and Julie found herself looking up at the blue morning sky. Then she was falling. She came to a stop and slowly sat up.

  She was lying in a pile of bin bags in the alley. Julie looked around and found Merith lying next to the pile on his front. She pulled herself out of the pile and went over to him, carefully she turned him over and gasped.

  Half of his body was burnt so badly it was nothing more than burnt flesh. She could see blood and pus dripping onto the ground, she knew he was dead but as the sun’s rays brightened the alley she couldn’t let him go and instead she held him in her arms as the sun burnt away what was left of his body, reducing it to ash and smoke.

  A squealing of brakes made Julie look up, a grey van pulled into the alley and hurled towards her. Julie lowered what was left of Merith to the ground and stood up, ready to face her foe.

  The van came to a halt just in front of her and the large double doors at the rear opened to reveal two women; one had long blonde hair that cascaded over her shoulders, whilst the other had dark brown hair cut into a pixie cut.

  “Don’t just stand there, more of them will be here soon.” The woman with the pixie cut said.

  But Julie didn’t move. Instead she let out a warning hiss.