The Supernatural World of Vladimir and Viktor, Chapter 7

The next morning Castiel arrived at Eddie's to send the Timmses and the Tomekus to their destinations: Beryx and his son Vladimir to Newark and Eddie with his son Viktor and Anica to the Vam San in St. Louis. Eddie's trip had not been planned, but Viktor was getting moody about not being able to join his buddy in New Jersey. So, Eddie decided a day or two with the crew at Anica's would take Viktor's mind off of the separation.

Vik and Vlad had become adopted as mascots of the sanitarium, so their every visit was a big deal. Hank and Joseph showed Viktor his room and they shared stories back and forth until Anica called a house meeting to announce the change in formulation of the blue drink they took every evening. That called for plans for an outdoor celebration in defiance of the sun for gray-eyes for the afternoon of the next day.

In New Jersey, Beryx and Vladimir toured the tenement where Beryx had gotten his last recruits. In spite of the squalid condition of the residence, Beryx had no more takers for the promise of a better life in St. Louis. No one was willing to lose the bloodlust each was used to having for decades or even centuries.

But, Beryx had other plans for this trip. He was to meet with Chris Griswald in an apartment house in Hoboken this morning. The building was one of several Griswald owned throughout the New York City metropolitan area. And they all used the service that once was used by the complex in St. Louis – a human trafficking service that delivered victims captured in other parts of the country, sometimes even in other countries.

Beryx drove to the Hoboken place and pulled around in back. He wanted to talk to the delivery driver and saw his truck was backed up to the kitchen and people were stepping down to enter through the kitchen. Beryx parked and soon found the driver, whom he recognized right off.

"Paul!" Beryx called out. "So you have routes way over here on the east coast."

"Hey, Beryx!" Paul replied. "How are things in St. Louis? Need me to start deliveries again?"

"No," said Beryx. "We've branched out into other programs now. We won't need you. But, hey, I would like to talk to you about where you make your other deliveries. I'm mostly just curious, but I may want to set up shop in the area. Maybe make some contacts here. Could you wait a few minutes after you finish up here, so we can talk?"

Paul agreed to wait and Beryx entered the building with Vladimir close behind. Father and son walked both levels of the two-story building before they found someone who knew of their planned meeting with Griswald. They were told he would not be in New Jersey today and Beryx would have to reschedule. Beryx was disappointed. He would have to set a new appointment outside after he talked to the driver.

They prepared to leave where they had entered, through the kitchen. It was busy this time. A mesmerized woman was rolled in on a cart. A man grabbed a cleaver and chopped off both of her feet and threw the feet, shoes and all, into a plastic cart.

Beryx noticed the driver Paul slumped against the door with his head twisted half off. "Uh, what's with the driver?" Beryx asked.

"We thought he left. He stepped in at the wrong time." The butcher chopped off the woman's left hand and she was carted out of the kitchen.

Vladimir could not takes his eyes off the cart of body parts. His father had to pull him into the hall. "Okay, son. You saw this much. You need to see the rest."

Beryx took his son down the hall until they came to a door through which he and Vladimir heard people shrieking and wailing. He leaned back against the wall and closed his eyes. "The poor vampires feed on people directly and live separate from their victims. Here is how the wealthier, more organized vampires do it. What you saw was their way of keeping their captives from escaping. Open the door."

Vladimir did and looked in. At the opposite end of the room was a pit and a low sink. In the rest of the room were the recently amputated, freshly delivered from the kitchen and just now coming out of their trances. All were crawling with their one remaining hand towards Vladimir and the door, smearing the floor with the blood from their stumps. Vladimir pulled the door shut and his father guided him to the front door.

"We have to help them," whispered Vladimir as he and his father stepped out onto the sidewalk.

"We can't. There are dozens of these places all the way from Baltimore to Boston. I have to make connections with the other locations before I can do anything about any of them. I have to learn where all the deliveries come from. I'm sorry son, we can't save them."

"Eddie and Castiel could restore them! We have all the parts in the cart..."

Beryx looked over the truck in back of the building. The driver was dead. Griswald had not shown up. He son might be right. This building could be cleansed and still not jeopardize his efforts to find the other vampire nests. He pulled out his phone and called Castiel.

At the Vam San, Anica called the residents together. "Eddie and Castiel are about to send human victims from a vampire nest. Get the center hall and the lobby cleared. Stat! They are from one of the dismemberment places, so if you have a queasy stomach about such things you can stay put in the lounge. But the more of you that help, the faster we can get this over with."

Viktor stayed with the few who remained in the lounge. He was curious, but afraid he could not be brave when the victims arrived. So he sat near the doors to the center hall.

It was mere minutes when Vladimir and the cart of body parts appeared in the lobby. He called for the volunteers to match the shoes in pairs and line them along the wall in the center hall. He would move the hands into a smaller container for matching with the victims later.

Part way through the sorting, Vladimir spied Viktor standing outside the lounge doors. He walked close to his friend and whispered, "Don't be afraid, Viktor. We are helping these people. When we finish they will all be okay again. Eddie and Castiel will see to it. Come and help."

Before Vladimir and Victor reached the cart, the first victims were appearing, lined up in a row across the lobby floor. Anica, with help from Hank and Joseph, dragged the wailing bodies to sit up along the wall. Then Anica proceeded to mesmerize them one-by-one.

The rest of the residents mustered up the courage to come out of the lounge to help out, grabbing pairs of shoes and showing them to each victim until one of them recognized their pair. Others took the severed hands and compared them to the attached hands of the victims until all were matched.

There were parts left over. Some captives had not been saved. Hank put them into a trash bag and set it beside the basement door for incineration later.

Eddie and Castiel arrived about this time. Eddie attached the feet and hands with fake flesh to hold them in place against the leg and arm stumps and to provide fleshy material Castiel could work with. Castiel followed along behind Eddie and healed them.

During the process, Monica had started to prepare lunch for the rescued guests. "I need two to peel potatoes," she called out, looking directly at Vlad and Vik. Another resident grabbed silverware and napkins for the tables. After a good meal, Castiel sent each healed victim home.

In Hoboken, Beryx called Chris Griswald. "Chris, I'm at the building we were supposed to meet at. Nobody is here. It's dark and it looks like the power was disconnected. There's one dead body in the kitchen, the delivery guy. What's going on?"