by Zara Novak
A sound stirred from somewhere in front, and Kat felt her heart giddy in her chest. Her attention was drawn to a doorway at the far end of the bar, which was covered in long sheets of cloudy plastic. Beyond the plastic there appeared to be a well lit room covered in small white tiles. A hand wrapped around the curtain and pushed it to one side. A face poked around the door and looked into the bar. Kat stared into the face of the man and felt herself freeze.
His face was round and appeared to belong to that of someone in his late fifties. There was a brush of grey stubble that was wild and unkempt. His hair was a wisp of greasy smoke, which bent from his head in all directions. He wore an old white dress shirt which was rolled up at the sleeves, along with dark black trousers which were stained and held up by ancient looking suspenders.
There was an air of time about the man, but Kat couldn’t explicitly say why. All she could focus on were the blank whites of his eyes, which stared at her now like two clouded marbles.
“Who’s there?” The man growled. “Early aren’t we?!”
Kat fought to stop her hand from trembling and pushed a response from her throat.
“Excuse me sir.” She began shakily. “My name is Kat Summers, I’m a student a Dead Rest College.”
The man’s eyes widened and a sort of terrible realization seemed to pass over his face. His voice grew low and serious. “What did you just say?”
“Kat Summers.” Kat said with a shaky smile. “I’m doing a report for my local college paper, and I was wondering if you would care to answer a few questions about the history of vampire lore in Dead Rest.”
The man stepped forward into the bar and let the plastic curtain fall back into place behind him. He shuffled forward slowly until he was stood just to the right of Kat. The man looked straight ahead at the wall behind her. Both his hands were on the bar top. He rapped the fingers of his right hand over the wood once and spoke again.
“You’ve made a grave mistake coming here Ms. Summers.” The main said in a low and unfortunate voice. “Tell me. Who told you of this place?”
“There was a forum.” Kat paused, wondering if that explanation would mean anything to the man. “There was this place online. A place where people were role playing as vampires. They were talking about places they could find ‘blood’, and someone mentioned this bar.” Kat looked around the bar and found a new appreciation for the level of detail that had gone into it’s appearance. “It’s really quite amazing what you’ve done here.” She said. “It kind of gives me the creeps. Do you do events here?”
Kat looked into the glassy eyes of the old man and saw tiny threads of red veins forming in a circle at the center. The man had tightened his fingers around the side of the bar closest to him and he appeared to be struggling with something physically.
“Are you okay sir?” Kat took a step back from the bar and felt her heart thumping in her chest once more. She stared into the eyes of the man and could only watch in amazement as she saw two disks of pure black fade through the white, to the front of his eyes. The disks blew across the white and pushed it into the edges of his skull until there was only black.
The man turned his eyes on Kat for the first time and a light seemed to spark in the endless ink of his gaze. His lips curled into a curiously dark smile, on the edge of which Kat saw the point of a long and yellow tooth.
“You’re a dreadfully pretty thing aren’t you?” He asked whimsically. “I don’t know how you ended up here Ms. Summers… but if I were you, I would be very quick to leave.” The man pulled out an ancient looking wristwatch and glanced down at the the time. “My clientele will be here soon you see, and I’m afraid I can’t be responsible for their actions. If they saw a pretty young thing like you, in a place like this…” The man paused and a tongue darted across his lips. “There’s no saying what they’d do.”
A smile faltered on Kat’s lips and she took another step back. She opened her mouth to speak, but she found that no words would come. She clutched her purse tight against her chest with both hands and walked backwards from the man.
“That’s it.” He said in a low whisper. “Get out now while you still can. There’s already enough trouble in this world. You don’t want to find yourself a part of it do you?”
Kat shook her head and continued her retreat, her eyes locked on the lifeless black coals at the center of his face. She stretched a hand out behind and her found the double doors that led back into the stairwell. She walked backward through the doors and let them shut in front of her. She never took her eyes off his. She never turned around until she was sure it was safe.
She stood at the foot of the stairs for a moment with her breath heaving. Whatever this was, whatever this place meant, it had been a mistake coming here, she could see that now. Kat blinked slowly and attempted to quell her trembling hands. She placed one foot on the stairs and began her speedy ascent.
“My clientele will be here soon you see, and I’m afraid I can’t be responsible for their actions. If they see a pretty young thing like you in here…”
The man’s voice echoed through her mind as her heels clacked up the stairs in quick succession. She had no idea what this place was, she had no idea how that man’s eyes had changed the way they had.
As she ran up the staircase, the pasted visions of people long forgotten swam in the edge of her periphery. The faces of the lost stared down at her from the walls, beckoning for her to join them, screaming silently beneath a layer of thick paste that had dried many decades before.
Kat scrambled to the top of the stairs and reached out to grab the door that led back to a world of safety and normalcy. Just as she took the last step, the door swung open, and she tripped.
She tumbled toward the ground face first, only to be caught by a pair of strong hands at the last second. The hands lifted her to her feet, and she found herself staring into the blood red eyes of a tall and handsome stranger.
“Well, hello.” He purred. “What’s your name?”
2. Ansel
Ansel stood calmly in the doorway to the Black Font, his hands held firm on the girl in front of him. The girl stood in front of him like a deer in the headlights, like a rabbit waiting for the lion’s jaws to clutch around it.
“I’m sorry.” She stammered and glanced down to the floor. “I was just leaving-” The girl went to move around Ansel in a hurry and he placed an arm out in front of her.
“What’s the hurry?”
The girl’s blue eyes found his again and she backed against the wall beside his arm. Ansel leaned in and closed the distance between them. “Something got you scared?”
“I’m just… I’m late to meet friends.” The girl said timidly. “I’m not meant to be here. I’m in the wrong place.”
“I’ll say.” Ansel laughed to himself and took a deep breath of the girl’s heavenly floral scent. He heard the quiet pulse of her heart as it thumped in her chest, he noticed her eyes burst with black as they dilated at his touch. It was a look he had seen only too many times before. It was the look of someone afraid for their life. Ansel leaned back from the wall and lowered his arm.
“Look. There’s no need to be scared. This place might look grim, but it’s not that bad.” Ansel saw the girl’s large blue eyes skirt over the wall of fame behind him. He looked back at it briefly. “Take no notice of this stuff.” He waved a hand. “It’s all for show. Come on, let me help you out.”
The truth was, that the Black Font was a dangerous place, and none of it was for show. He wanted to help the girl relax though, she needed to get as far away from this place as she could. They stepped out onto the dark street and the girl stood there in silence with her arms crossed over herself. Her eyes were trained down on the ground in attempt to distance herself from the situation.
“Look, I was just messing with you then.” Ansel said and held out a hand. “My name is Ansel, Ansel Draco.”
The girl looked up at the mention of his name with a curious glint in her eyes. She to
ok his hand briefly then crossed her arms in front of herself once more. “Kat.” She said lightly. “Kat Summers.”
Ansel rolled the name over in his mind and smiled. He liked the sound of it. He liked the sound of her delicate and floral voice. He pushed his hands into the pockets of his leather jacket and rolled his head on his shoulders. “Look Kat, I don’t mean to sound like your father - but a girl like you shouldn’t be around a place like this. It’s not safe here. You understand?”
Kat nodded and continued to stare down at the floor.
“What are you doing here anyway?” Ansel asked. “Are you a friend of Hurst’s?”
Kat looked up. “Hurst?”
Ansel motioned to the door with his head. “Old man behind the bar. Spooky white eyes and terrible clothes.”
“Oh.” Kat said timidly. “No. I don’t know that man.”
Ansel brushed a hand through his thick brown hair and tongued at his cheek. “So what are you doing here then? No offense, but you’re a prize steak in the lion’s den here. There’s no telling who could come through this door. You’re lucky I’m running early tonight.”
Kat chewed on her bottom lip nervously and kept her arms folded tight against her body. “I’m sorry that I bothered you Mr. Draco. Thanks for catching me just now. Good night.” Kat turned on her heels and started down the street.
Ansel couldn’t explain why, but he ran after her.
“Hey, come on now girl.” Ansel jogged after Kat until he was level with her pace. Kat glanced sideways at him out the corner of her eyes. Ansel could tell from her body language that this girl was scared lifeless. He backed away from her and held his arms up. “Listen. I’m not going to hurt you. I promise you that. I didn’t mean to cause offense or nothing…”
Kat came to a stop and looked at Ansel with a weary smile. “None taken Mr. Draco, it’s just… well you said it yourself really didn’t you? It’s dangerous around here for a girl like me.”
“So what were you doing here?” Ansel looked Kat up and down. The girl was radiant perfection, a shining beacon of light in the ocean of swirling black madness that was his life.
“I’m a journalism student at Dead Rest College.” Kat said. “I’m writing a piece about Dead Rest’s forgotten histories and well… somehow I ended up on the topic of…”
“…vampires?” Ansel prompted.
“…yes.” Kat’s eyes shimmered with the promise of something as Ansel said the word. She looked at him with a renewed sense of perspective.
When Kat had fallen into the Ansel’s arms back at the Black Font, the adrenaline had flooded across her body in excess. She’d barely glanced at the mysterious stranger long enough, to notice anything other than the peculiar ruby pupils at the center of his sharp white eyes. She looked at him properly now in the moonlight for the first time, and she him for what he was: gorgeous.
He was dressed from head to toe in black. Sharp black jeans accompanied by a tight black t-shirt, over which he wore a black leather jacket. His brunette hair was thick, short and swept back on his head in a tussle of perfectly sculpted mess.
She dragged her eyes over the rugged edges of his face. From the handsome ridge of his brow down to his full red lips and his strong jaw, every inch of the man was perfection.
“Do I know you from somewhere?” She asked. “Are you a model or something?”
Ansel turned his head in surprise and laughed. “A model? What? No. Why?”
“I just feel like I’ve seen you somewhere before. Maybe on a billboard in town or something. You look like one of those guys.”
“I guess I’ll take that as a compliment?” Ansel smiled and brushed a hand over the back of his head. “For what it’s worth, you’re looking awfully dressed up for a girl claiming to be hunting vampires.”
Kat rolled her eyes, and for the first time she flashed Ansel a smile. His eyes lingered on the expression as it appeared for the briefest of seconds, and he felt something glow inside of him.
“I’m not hunting vampires.” Kat laughed to herself and her cheeks reddened slightly. She brushed a strand of her blonde hair behind her ear and met Ansel’s gaze without fear for the first time. “I told you I was just doing some research.”
She looked up and down the derelict street and chewed her lip as she thought. “I don’t know what this bar place is,” She shrugged, “I just feel like a stupid girl now. Vampires aren’t real… weird old men and random bars full of creepy clippings are. Lesson learned. Don’t believe everything you read on the internet.” She flashed an awkward smile at Ansel and shrugged again. “Was there something you wanted me to help you with…”
“Ansel.” Ansel said.
“Ansel?” Kat dropped her weight on to one leg and raised an eyebrow. “Ansel Draco. That’s really your name?” She laughed to herself slightly.
“Why yes.” Ansel smiled back, half relieved that the girl didn’t seem so afraid of him anymore. “Is that so funny?”
“I suppose not. I thought you were making fun earlier.” Kat mused. “It does sound like the kind of cool name a vampire would have.” An idea seemed to spark in Kat’s eyes. “What is that place anyway?” She nodded behind Ansel to the bar down the street. “Some sort of vampire fetish club or something?”
“Has your interest peaked again?” Ansel asked. “I thought you’d washed your hands of this ‘stuff’.”
“I have.” Kat said quickly. “But I still need to write something for my journalism assignment. Are you into this vampire stuff? Would you be able to give me a quick interview?” Kat pulled out her phone and Ansel glanced down at it quickly.
“An interview with me? About ‘vampire stuff’?”
“Yeah.” Kat said. “You are into that kind of thing right?” She looked Ansel up and down. “I mean you really look the part. I understand if you can’t break charcter and you’re getting paid by your creepy boss or whatever. If you’re just a model for this weird club that’s fine…”
“I look the part?” Ansel looked down at himself out of curiosity.
“Yeah.” Kat nodded and swiped through her phone. “You know the deal, dressed in black from head to toe, good looking, perfect hair. You’ve got the whole sexy vampire prince vibe down to a tee.”
“So you think I’m sexy?” Ansel said with a quick smile.
Kat’s cheeks filled with red and she stammered. “You know what I mean. Come on. Will you give me an interview or not? I’m right aren’t I? This is some weird club and you work there?”
“Sure.” Ansel said after a quick pause. “You’re bang on the money. I’m really into all this ‘vampire stuff’. I can’t get enough of it. What is it you want to know?”
The sound of dull vibration sung through the air and they both glanced down at Kat’s ringing phone.
“Fuck it’s my sister.” Kat said. “I’m supposed to be meeting her in five minutes and I’m stood all the way over here on the other side of town. Is there any chance we could do this later?”
“Sure.” Ansel said. “I just have to pay Hurst a visit at the bar first, but I can come into town and meet you for a drink after that if you like?”
“That would be great!” Kat beamed. “Do you have a number I can text you on?”
“Don’t worry about that.” Ansel smiled. “I’m sure I’ll bump into you again.”
“Oh… okay.” Kat twisted her lips to one side in disappointment.
Ansel glanced down at the ringing phone in Kat’s hand. “You should probably get that, you don’t want to keep your sister waiting.” He turned from her and walked down the street, back toward the Black Font. “Be seeing you soon… Kat.”
Ansel walked into the bar once more, somewhat disappointed that this time there was no delightful blonde to fall into his lap. He jogged down the stairs and dragged his fingers across the black ceiling. He bounced through the doors at the bottom and headed straight for the bar.
Hurst appeared through the curtain a moment later, and shuffled across the bar t
o face Ansel. “You catch that one on the way out?” He asked. “She was really something.”
“She was indeed.” Ansel looked into the blind vampire’s eyes as they faded back to white. “She seems to definitely have piqued your interest, your eyes are black.”
Hurst grabbed one of the dark crystal bottles from off the shelf behind him and filled two glasses, pushing one across the counter to Ansel. “Even an old man must indulge himself sometimes.”
“I’m sure.” Ansel said and took a short sip of the warm blood. The nectar sparked the usual reaction in him. His eyes dilated, his fangs grew to sharp points. He took a deep breath of air and blinked. The world swam into focus with rich and startling detail. Light bloomed, color shone where a moment ago there was none. He was alive again.
Ansel looked at the old man and saw the black of his eyes had flooded back once more at the taste of blood. “I’m surprised you let her go.” He said.
“I’m surprised you let her go.” Hurst countered.
“Don’t you worry about that. I’ll be seeing her later.” Ansel said with a smile.
“Not if someone else sees her first.” Hurst said.
Ansel shook his head. “I did a quick check of the area on my way in. No vampires around at the moment apart from me and you… What was she doing in a place like this anyway?”
“Fucked if I know.” Hurst took another sip of his glass. “A college student turns up in a place like this and says she wants to write a report on vampires. I mean… Jesus Christ.”
“Anyway.” Ansel said, breaking up the conversation. “It’s been a week. You get the info I want? Any rumors floating about?”
Hurst paused for a moment, turning his glass in his hands.
“I heard a rumor there was a young vampire going around killing his own kind…” Hurst’s eyes rolled to Ansel’s slowly, his face a picture of stone.
Ansel finished the rest of his glass and set it down onto the counter gently. “People talk too much these days anyway.” He wiped a sleeve across the back of his mouth and nodded at Hurst. “What did you hear?”