by Bill Blume
“Wow. Mom was bad ass, huh?”
“Once she decided she wanted something, she was tenacious.”
Gidion tried to remember that about her, but he couldn’t remember much of anything. She was a blurred memory wrapped in fog. One part of him envied Dad’s clarity of Mom, but he also pitied him. It was like Dad wanted to die with her, and the only reason he was still here was because of Gidion.
“I met a girl this week,” Gidion said.
Dad got this big smirk on his face. “Oh really? And just who is this girl?”
“Her name’s Tamara. She’s a senior.”
“A senior?” The way Dad said “senior” made it sound like Gidion had lost his marbles or that he’d heard him wrong.
“Yes, they have those in high school.”
If Dad were a computer, he’d have worn a big, grey error message on his screen, because he looked totally baffled. “You’re dating a senior?”
“Well, we haven’t really been on a date yet, but I’m meeting her at the football game tomorrow night.”
“But you’re a sophomore?”
Jeez, thanks for the vote of confidence, Dad. “I know what grade I’m in.”
“And are you sure she likes you?”
“Well, she did kiss me.”
Dad smiled all proud and stuff, but then he sat up and waved his hands in front of him as if something was blocking his view of Gidion. “Wait, I mean—” He stopped and shook his head before talking again. “You said you haven’t been on a date yet, but this girl kissed you. How did you meet her?”
That’s when Gidion felt a big stamp on his forehead that could have only said “World’s Biggest Idiot.” After giving Tamara that big lecture about getting their cover story straight for her parents, he realized he’d never put one together for his dad.
“We, uh, well, I mean—I met her at the bookstore.” He gave himself a mental pat on the back for that one. He’d even gone to the bookstore this week.
“When was this?”
Drat! Which way to go? He’d gone to the bookstore last night which his checking account would prove, but he’d met her Monday. “I ran into her in the café at the Barnes & Noble last night. She goes to Midlothian Springs.”
A big, dopey grin appeared on his dad’s face. “Let me get this straight. You’re telling me you met some girl who goes to a different school than you at the Barnes & Noble, and managed to kiss her even though you weren’t on a date.”
“Well, yeah.”
“How did you even get on this girl’s radar?”
Gidion couldn’t decide if Dad was mocking him or interrogating him. Having a cop for a dad, even a former one, sucked sometimes.
“I don’t know what it was, but it worked.” Gidion tossed in a shrug for good measure.
“Well, son, I am impressed.”
And apparently in total denial given the way you keep shaking your head, Gidion thought.
“So you two are going out tomorrow night?”
Gidion nodded without meeting his dad’s eyes. Instead, he focused on his food. He made a mental note to let Tamara know about the cover story for his dad. He also realized it would be a good idea to keep Dad and Tamara’s parents from meeting anytime soon. Knowing Dad, he’d realize the origin stories didn’t match up and then it was “game over.”
Dad’s questions didn’t let up, but they at least moved into safer territory, mainly what she looked like. About the only thing he didn’t ask was what her breast size was, not that Gidion would’ve known.
After shoving his food into his stomach as fast as he could, Gidion popped out of his chair, tossed his dishes into the dishwasher and ran up the stairs. “Gotta finish my homework.”
Dad’s voice chased him. “I’m going to want to meet this girl.” The jerk was getting a big laugh out of this for some reason. You’d think he’d be proud. Hello! He was dating a senior!
As he hopped onto the bed, it dawned on him that saying he was “dating” Tamara might be a bit premature. Technically, they hadn’t been on a date yet, after all. Crap! What if she’d only kissed him as some kind of reward for saving her and that was it? That would be hideous. Then he thought about the rumor floating around school about him and Tamara.
He pulled out his cell phone to text her, but then wondered what to say. ‘Hey, are we dating?’ That imaginary “World’s Biggest Idiot” stamp on his forehead itched. Could he sound more desperate?
The thought of text messages reminded him of the one on Milton’s phone. He pulled it out of his nightstand’s drawer. Sure enough “R.A.” had responded.
‘We’re done playing with the kid. If he leaves the house, text me and we’ll grab him.’
“Crap.”
Gidion didn’t bother answering the message. He didn’t get the feeling it needed one. He wondered if R.A. was a man or a woman and if it even mattered. More than anything else, he needed a way to end this mess fast.
It was only 7:30, but that gave him time to do some research. Time to see what other goodies Milton’s cell phone and wallet might contain.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Dad left about a quarter after nine o’clock, but Gidion forced himself to play it safe and not leave until it was almost ten. He didn’t want to risk Dad running back home because he’d forgotten something like his ID card. He’d done it more than once.
Gidion put a fresh blade in his box cutter and drove to where he assumed Milton had lived. He would have expected somewhere downtown, but instead, the address took Gidion further west to Carytown.
The area consisted mostly of locally owned shops, some classier than others. Gidion came to Carytown mainly to see movies at the Byrd Theater, because the tickets only cost two bucks. Movies didn’t show there until after they’d left the more expensive theaters, though.
All those businesses were located on Cary Street. Gidion’s destination was one block over on Ellwood Avenue. The quality of the homes changed block to block, transitioning from upscale to piece of shit and back again, all within walking distance. He wasn’t surprised that Milton’s address fell into the POS area. At least the neighborhood wasn’t so bad that Gidion felt like he might get mugged at any minute.
He circled the block and even drove through the back alley before finding a place to park on Ellwood. The closest place he managed was a block past it.
No lights were on in Milton’s rental. The exterior was brick like most of the other homes. Someone had gotten industrious at some point in the distant past and painted the brick a bright orange, but time had worn it down so that more of the natural red of the brick was visible than not.
The door was in about the same condition, only painted red. Whoever the poor bastard was must have used the cheapest paint he could find. Gidion stepped onto the front porch without any creaks from the wood. The door wasn’t unlocked as with the safe house. Fortunately, Gidion had Milton’s keys.
Once inside, he put on a pair of tight-fitting, leather gloves. No guarantee anyone would be fingerprinting this place for any reason, but he preferred not to risk it. He’d also been careful not to use his fingertips on the door knob.
Milton had the typical bachelor’s den: big screen TV, Playstation and stereo system. Beanbags were the only furniture and a ceiling fan offered the only lights that Gidion could see. This morning’s newspaper was left on the kitchen counter. There was a refrigerator with only beer and wine in it. He assumed that was more for show than anything else, probably used to keep prospective meals too inebriated to realize they were about to die.
He went upstairs. There were two bedrooms with the doors closed and a bathroom.
Gidion opened the door to the front bedroom first. That’s when he got his first big surprise. Sitting in the middle of the room and bathed in a wide beam of moonlight from the window sat a coffin.
“Oh, this boy was hard core.”
Grandpa had said some vampires really went for the coffin thing. Wasn’t like in Dracula where they needed their n
ative soil or any nonsense like that. It was just one of those practical matters of avoiding sunlight. Especially in a rattrap like this, there was only so much a guy could do to block out the sunlight. Of course, some of the young ones liked to play up the whole gothic thing, too.
Milton had gone cheap, though. In a bit of irony, this was a plain pine box just like the one Gidion had tossed him into at the funeral home.
The furniture was pretty sparse in here, too. About the only effort made was a bookshelf. Gidion wasn’t sure what he’d hoped to find that would lead him to Elizabeth’s home, but he wasn’t optimistic as he sifted through the pile of newspapers and porn magazines. Jerk didn’t even have a computer in here. He wondered if that might be in the other bedroom. He’d get to it after he finished going through everything here. Sitting at the bottom of the pile was Milton’s senior yearbook from West Chester High. He decided to take it with him. Maybe he’d find something useful in it. Wasn’t like he’d found anything else useful yet.
Giving up on this room, he went for the next. Not as much natural light was coming in through the window here, but it was enough for him to see yet another coffin in the middle of the room.
“Oh, crap.”
A second coffin. Milton had a roommate. The earlier text from “R.A.” suddenly made sense. No wonder he’d asked where Milton was. That’s when he realized he’d already missed the obvious sign. The newspaper in the kitchen was today’s paper.
He needed to get out of here. Just as he ran for the stairs, he heard a sound from below, a key sliding into the front door’s lock. If he weren’t in panic mode, he might not have noticed it, but fear had him hyperalert. What really turned his heart into a full rock ’n roll drum set was that the person at the door was going to every effort to keep quiet. Whoever it was knew Gidion was here.
Even as Gidion tried to think of a way out, the details clicked into place. The text to Milton’s phone had been to test if Gidion was in possession of it, not if Milton was alive. They knew Milton’s driver’s license would lead him here. They’d set a trap, and he’d walked right into it. There’d be more than one out there, too.
He didn’t know the odds, and that meant he needed backup. He pulled out Milton’s cell phone and dialed.
A woman’s voice answered. “Richmond 911.”
“I’m at 2858 Ellwood Avenue,” he whispered to conceal the call as best he could from the vampire outside. “Someone just broke in my front door, and I think he has a knife. Please send help. Oh my God!” He hung up.
Time to move. If the forced entry didn’t get the cops going lights and sirens, then the promise of a weapon would for sure.
He ran for the front bedroom as he heard the door open downstairs. The vampires were still going for stealth, hoping to catch him by surprise. At least, that’s what he hoped, because that gave him a few more seconds.
He grabbed the window, trying to lift it open. Damn thing wouldn’t budge, painted shut. No time for subtle. He dropped the yearbook and grabbed the lid of the coffin. Just before he lifted it, he saw the cover of the annual. Gold letters were engraved on the front, but the name wasn’t Milton. No time to think about it. He flung the coffin lid through the window. Glass exploded as the lid shot out like a ball from a cannon. The plank of wood thudded and banged about as it slid off the roof of the front porch and to the ground.
Footsteps pounded up the inside stairs. Gidion climbed out the window. His sleeve snagged and tore on a jagged piece of glass still attached to the frame. He looked over his shoulder to see the outline of a man rushing towards him. He jerked free of the window, cutting his arm.
“Come back here, you little shit!”
Gidion jumped. Grandpa had warned him about stunts like this. A jump from this height wouldn’t get him killed, not likely, but if he broke a leg, the vampires would finish him well before the cops got here. The key was to start positioning himself as soon as he jumped, land on the balls of his feet with his knees bent and roll to distribute the force of the landing. Most of all, he had to protect his head.
Grandpa would’ve been proud. He managed it without breaking anything.
“Get him!” the guy inside the house shouted from the window.
Sirens whined in the distance, Gidion’s backup was getting close. Sadly, the two vampires waiting in front of the house were a whole lot closer. One man and one woman rushed him. He got to his feet, drew his box cutter and ran at the smaller of the two, the woman. A slice, aimed for her throat, slit across her face instead. Not even close to a killing blow, but good enough to make her flinch and let him past her.
Nothing else to do now but run as fast as possible. This was where being a long-distance runner versus a sprinter really didn’t work in his favor.
A low growl warned Gidion he was losing ground. He wouldn’t reach the corner before the male vampire caught up to him.
He stopped and dropped into a crouch, balling up his body. The vampire tripped over Gidion, screaming as he skidded to a stop on the sidewalk.
The female vampire caught up just as Gidion got back to his feet. She threw a punch that caught him on the cheek. He rolled with it enough to keep from getting knocked silly. He grabbed her by the shirt. Fangs snapped in vain at him as he slashed across her throat with his box cutter.
The sirens got louder, just a block or two away.
“What the fuck?” the male vampire was on all fours and looking down the street at the approaching blue and red lights.
Gidion ran past him and turned the corner, going as fast as he could for Cary Street. He didn’t slow down. The vampires weren’t far behind. He needed someplace public and busy that wouldn’t throw out a kid this close to eleven o’clock.
He got his bearings as he rounded the corner onto Cary Street. He recognized the red exterior of the game shop, One Eyed Jacques. Sadly, the place was closed, but just across the street, he spotted the neon sign for the Galaxy Diner. He just ran into the road, banking that any drivers coming down Cary would be going slow enough to stop in time if they were about to hit him.
He darted inside as soon as the sliding glass door was open enough to admit him. He heard a winded “Shit!” from the male vampire who’d managed to get pretty close. It was too late to grab Gidion, though, not unless he wanted to make a scene sure to prompt calls for the police.
Gidion climbed into a booth near the front. He could see the two vampires who’d chased him still outside and arguing with each other about what to do. The logo on the guy’s black t-shirt distracted Gidion for a moment. It was the picture of a cat in the style of an old western mug shot with the words “Wanted Dead & Alive: Schrödinger’s Cat” around it. A vampire with a sense of humor…Fabulous.
“What can I get you?” The waitress eyed him a bit suspiciously. He hadn’t caught his breath yet. He was sweating buckets and his arm was bleeding.
“Iced tea, unsweetened.” He offered his best smile as she handed him a menu.
As soon as she walked away to get his drink, he pulled out his phone to call his real backup.
“Grandpa?”
“You okay, boy?”
He laughed. “No, but I’ll live. I need a pickup. Got chased by two vampires into the Galaxy Diner in Carytown. No chance of getting to my car from here, not on foot.”
“Sit tight. What do these fang freaks look like?”
Gidion leaned out of his booth for a better look. The female vampire glared at him as he smiled at her and waved. “One white female with short, blond hair, wearing a dark green jacket. One black male with cornrows and wearing a black t-shirt with an off-white logo on the front and black jeans. There was a third male, a white guy, at the house I went into on Ellwood. I called the cops to the address, so not sure if they’ll have him stuck there. Didn’t get a good look at him, but I’m pretty sure he’s tall and has shaggy brown hair.”
“If you didn’t get a good look, then how do you know that?”
Gidion laughed as his mind’s eye drifted back to t
he name on the cover of the yearbook.
“Just hurry. Not sure how long they’ll wait before they try something.” He hung up the phone just as the server returned. He ordered two hamburgers to go. No reason not to make this detour practical, and he knew Grandpa wouldn’t mind a bite to eat.
The side walls were covered with mirrors, creating the illusion this narrow place was twice its size. That didn’t stop the grip of claustrophobia Gidion felt as Milton’s roommate stepped through the door. The vampire walked over to Gidion’s table and sat across from him.
“I always thought you were a little prissy bitch, Gidion. Not surprised you ran.”
Sure enough, he had the brown hair that was all scruffy. The jerk hadn’t changed much since Gidion had last seen him about seven years ago. He even recognized the leather jacket from the picture he’d seen earlier today in Pete’s bedroom.
“R.A.” Gidion didn’t bother with false bravado. Given his lessons from interrogating Milton, he knew there was no hiding his fear. “Roddy Addams. So who dragged who into the ‘Fangs ‘R’ Us’ club? I’m betting it was Milton who recruited you. Little doubt you sucked your brother Pete into this mess.”
“It’s not like he was ever going to amount to anything anyway.” Pete’s oldest brother laughed. “Besides, a guy’s gotta pay his bills. Delivering a willing feeder to the Queen Bee earns a lot of cred.”
Gidion leaned forward despite every urge that said he should keep as much space as possible between him and this monster. “Suppose it shouldn’t surprise me that you’d sell out Pete.”
“Shouldn’t really surprise you that Pete sold you out, too.” He smiled, not bothering to hide his fangs. “The whole ‘my friend is into drugs’ thing had us going there for a bit. That was very clever. The little scene with the bat outside my old house was a nice touch, too.”
“Is he still alive?”
Roddy shrugged and there was nothing feigned in his indifference. “Not my call. The Queen Bee is really pissed at him.”