An hour after they'd made their threats and very nearly killed Allan, if not for Ed's brave presence keeping them at bay, Edgar Frog realized they had to do something quickly. It would have to be something subtle, though. The alien vampires knew about them. Sam hadn't been very useful tonight, either, leading them into the shop. He might as well have served the Frog brothers up to those space-hopping bloodsuckers on a silver platter with parsley on the side. Edgar hated parsley.
"I think I know what we need to do," Edgar stated calmly, drawing the gate down in front of the shop as they stepped outside together and closed up for the night.
Alan fitted the lock into place once the gate was all the way down, "yeah? What's that?"
"We need to write a personal ad. For vampire hunters. Keep it anonymous, send it to the paper. Make it subtle so they don't think we're crazy. Something like 'bloodsuckers at the old hotel ruins by the bluff'."
Alan nodded, "that's a really good idea. Try to get some other professionals out here."
"They'll probably want money."
"That's why you said anonymous, right? If they don't know who put the ad in, they can't ask us for money. Right?"
Edgar nodded sagely, "you're right. We can say we left an unmarked envelope near where they sleep, something like that."
Alan nodded, "so, we put an ad in, what should it say?"
He had to think about that one. Something short to get the right person's attention. "How about this-" Edgar held out his arms in front of him like he was spreading his hands across a sign board, "-galactic neck biters in the old hotel. Need help. Will pay with packet of moolah. Deniro. Dough. Hidden where they sleep, just supply staking." He looked proudly back at his brother, "what do you think?"
"Think it'll work?" Alan sounded a little skeptical but he would go with whatever his brother decided. He always did.
"If it doesn't," Edgar began, looking out across the boardwalk as one-by-one different pockets of glowing lights died, "we're toast."
Was his bed a strong enough barricade, Sam wondered? He whimpered, hugging Nanook close as he sat on his bedroom floor staring at the door where he'd moved his bed to block any unwanted visitors, just in case tonight had all been some elaborate game to catch him off guard. He'd seen his brother kill, he knew that. Mike wasn't-well he was still Mike, but he wasn't really the brother Sam knew anymore. The gay thing didn't bother him, even if it was a little weird. His brother always had a girlfriend in Phoenix at any given time, but maybe vampires were different. What Sam was more concerned about right now was his safety, not his brother's sex life. Ugh! They probably did that too.
Sam looked down at Nanook, who gave him a long-suffering look and whine.
"I know, boy," Sam mumbled, running a hand through his dog's coat, "why'd grandpa have to go out the same night mom's closing? It's like he's handing me to those shit-sucking vampires on a platter." At least they'd left him alone once they got to the house, let him go to his room. Give him a head start?
"Hey! Root beer!" He heard one of them exclaim from downstairs. Oh no. Grandpa was gonna blame him if his stuff went missing, he just knew it.
"Shit," Sam hissed under his breath, "Nanook. What's worse, vampires or grandpa?" He asked his dog, receiving a blank stare in response. "Yeah, guess I should—ask them to leave it alone." The question was why Mike hadn't already.
"Oreos too? Why're they hiding the good shit?" That was that rocker, Paul.
"Keep mom safe, boy," Sam whispered, stalking toward his bed to drag it away from the bedroom door. He was about to risk his life for stupid junk food.
They were all in the dining room when he finally made it downstairs, each of them, even Michael, had either a root beer or an oreo in hand.
"Hey, Sammy, want an Oreo?" David asked, holding one out.
"You know those are my grandpa's, right?" Sam asked, eyeing the Oreo suspiciously.
David shrugged, popping it into his mouth, "so? What's your point?"
"I—" Sam shook his head, "I just can't believe you guys are eating his stuff, that's all." He made direct eye contact with his brother, "he's gonna skin me alive if he knows you brought these guys over."
Michael shrugged, "just tell him it was either you or the Oreos and root beer. I think these taste better."
The other boys snickered, continuing to eat and drink the root beer and Oreos. "So, Sam, what're you going to do about it? About us?" David asked, leaning against the counter and taking a drink of root beer.
Sam let out a breath he didn't realise he was holding, "why are you guys such assholes?" They'd kill him if they wanted, Sam didn't see much point in holding back. They were assholes.
"No one goes against us so we do what we want." He said with a shrug, "what's the point in catering to anyone else?"
He was at a loss, "you don't want people to like you?"
"Why would we want them to?" David honestly looked a little confused at that idea.
Sam looked at him, then the others, bewildered, "because it's a hell of a lot easier than having everyone hate you!" He blurted out.
"But we eat people. Do you want the cow you eat to like you? We don't socialize with dinner." David said with a laugh.
Marko snickered, shoving a fistful of Oreos into Paul's mouth and shoving back from the kitchen table to avoid a swift punch to the stomach.
"Guys!" Sam whined, running to find the broom and dustpan.
"Dumbasses," Michael remarked, grinning at David.
David chuckled, "as always. Hey, don't make a mess. I'll make you clean it up."
Dwayne thumped them both upside the back of their heads before snagging another root beer, "don't make me kick your ass."
By the time Sam had managed to clean up the cookie crumbs on the floor, they were all relaxing on the front porch passing something back and forth. It was sort of hard to tell through the kitchen window. Sam edged to the screen door to get a better look. Just a cigarette. Hopefully.
"Wanna sit with us, Sam?" Michael offered.
Sam didn't nod, but he did step outside, edging towards an empty corner of the porch beside a stuffed badger dressed in gardening gear.
David held out the supposed cigarette, "want to try it?"
He stared back as if the thing would rip his arm off the second he touched it, eyes darting back to his brother.
"I don't know…" Sam mumbled.
"It's not going to bite you." David said, holding it closer. It wasn't a cigarette, at least not by the smell of it.
Sam looked at David, "mom might," he replied, "she'll bite my whole freaking head off."
He smirked, "come on, Sam, what she doesn't know won't hurt her. Don't you want to try it?" Why wasn't Michael saying anything? Why wasn't he stopping the blonde asshole?
"It's—don't you ever watch TV?" He was grasping for straws now. Could feel all of them bearing down on him in that funny way they had. Like they were sharing the same fucking brain or something. Hive mind. Maybe they were pod people.
When Paul made a move as if he was going to do something to Sam, he immediately reached for the cigarette, only to find Michael snatching it away.
"She'll bite my head off too," he said simply. The grin he gave Sam almost reminded him of the old days, when the jerk would tease him but then Sam wouldn't actually get hurt or in trouble. He relaxed, finally, for the first time. Just a little.
Michael on the other hand had no qualms about taking a hit off it before passing it to Paul. "Aww, why you gotta spoil the fun, Mikey?" Marko asked, practically pouting at him.
He shrugged, letting a stream of smoke drift from his mouth, "why waste a good hit?" He paused, "plus, it's from Paul's stash. Probably threw rat poison or some shit in it for an extra kick." A quick look at Paul's wicked smile confirmed it.
Sam was horrified. He'd very nearly died, just like in some dumb after school special, and he hadn't even known it.
"So, we still got some time before heading out, what do you want to do?" David asked, looking at Sam but it seemed like his words were meant for the boys and not him.
"It's a nice night," Dwayne mused, "could show you the stars up close and personal."
David smirked, "I like that idea, what do you think, Sammy? Wanna see the stars?"
"As in lay a blanket out in the yard and set up grandpa's telescope?" Sam asked, completely at a loss as to how that was even remotely interesting.
David looked at Michael and smirked, giving a small nod of his head, "go on, Michael, show your brother the stars."
Michael stood up from the railing he'd been leaning against and sauntered towards Sam, offering his hand to him, "c'mon. It'll be fun." The look in his eye gave Sam a sneaking suspicion he was lying.
Sam swallowed hard, hesitantly reaching out and taking his hand, "you're not gonna kill me, right?"
"I can't make any promises," he snarked, dark curls beginning to lick at his cheeks and forehead as the wind around them began to still. Michael grinned, pulling Sam closer and locking an arm around his back and shoulders, "ready?" He asked.
Sam screamed as Michael pulled him into the air. "What the fuck?!" Was he taking him to the mothership? Were they really aliens?
"Don't squirm or I'll drop you," Michael warned him, and it was hard to tell whether he was amused or irritated, because the wind tearing at them was harsh enough that Sam had to bury his face in his brother's shoulder.
Was that howling just the night air, or were they all laughing?
"Having fun, Sammy?" Marko taunted from the ground below as they sailed from the porch and above rustling trees in the yard, their leaves sounding like clacking bones.
"Let me down! Oh god, I'm gonna die!" Sam screamed again, clinging to him as tight as he could.
"Sam," Michael whispered, not letting go, "just enjoy it. We're brothers, remember?" He sounded like he was trying to convince himself of that, "I know you saw me. I'm not sorry, Sam. It's what I am." They slowly began to descend, "I can't help it."
Talk about killing his buzz. Michael didn't really know what compelled him to be honest with Sam. It was only going to make life a hell of a lot more annoying when he came to visit. Now that it was out in the open that he knew Sam had seen him kill, he'd probably want to talk about it.
They'd been at the hotel for a good hour or so after riding home when mom finally showed up, and Michael lost count of how many minutes he'd spent staring into the glittering light of the chandelier in the lobby, stuck in his thoughts. It sucked.
"Michael, you're staring." David said, moving over to him, "your mind keeps wandering, talk to me."
He didn't even bother pretending he was fine, "nothing will ever be normal with them. Now I can't even pretend because I opened my big mouth."
David sat down beside him, "what do you want to do?"
"I don't know," Michael admitted, "I want things with them to be how they used to, but I don't want to lose this. I want both."
"You can't have both, you're not like them anymore. You need to let go."
In response Michael just looked back at the chandelier, letting out a frustrated huff and crossing his arms.
Dwayne watched them from his relaxed position on the couch, stretching his arms above his head, "holding on too much can do funny things to a vampire," he advised, "false guilt. Makes blood start to taste sour."
"I don't want to see you fall into depression, I'm going to have to wipe their minds, at least Sam's." David said firmly.
Michael jerked up, looking back at him, a little shaken, "and what're you gonna replace those memories with?"
He shrugged, "I haven't decided yet, figured you should have a hand in that."
Why did all of this have to be so fucking complicated?
"Right," Michael said, letting his shoulders slump, defeated. "Can I have a couple of days to think about that one?"
David nodded, "yeah, doesn't have to be done now, just soon."
They'd already talked about this before. It was a one time only sort of thing if he didn't want to break his brother, or the others. If he made the wrong choice, the only other options were far more bleak.
"Eating them is always on the table, bud," Paul called out from his perch on the fountain.
Marko punched his shoulder, "he doesn't wanna eat them, just play house, never turns out well."
"Max tried that a couple of times with us," Dwayne mused, "realized he couldn't house train us when Marko finally pissed on his favorite couch. Remember that, David?"
David chuckled, "brought home a girl and bled all over that fucking white monstrosity too."
They didn't talk about Max very often, but Michael had gathered enough to know he didn't like what he heard. Things could be worse, he supposed.
"What about when Dwayne shattered the back door?" Paul asked, grinning.
"With your head?" Marko shot back.
"There was nothing else around to do it with," Dwayne joked, eliciting a round of soft laughter. Even Paul, though the humor was at his own expense.
Michael shook his head, "how did you deal with him for so long?"
"We didn't have much of a choice. Killing your sire isn't easy add to that how old the bastard was and it made it even harder." David explained.
Michael glanced over at Marko and then Paul, "so you two aren't uh…" he trailed off, unsure exactly how to phrase it, "you're close, so why aren't you mates?"
Marko let out a snort of indignation, "and be stuck with his ass forever? I think not."
"I like to play the field, not the dog park," Paul shot back, winking at Marko.
Marko punched his shoulder, "honestly, just haven't found the right person yet." He said, a little more serious.
Dwayne nodded, "plus, after the first fifty years or so, when you're pack, if you haven't done anything yet than it's just weird after that."
"Makes you lucky, Mikey." Paul pointed out.
Michael rolled his eyes, electing not to stroke David's bottomless pit of an ego. If he agreed, he'd never hear the end of it. If he disagreed, he'd never hear the end of it. Still, it was hard to avoid looking over at David to catch his self-satisfied smirk. A cat who got the world's supply of cream.
Paul yawned, in a freakishly over-the-top way, "I think I'm hitting the perch early."
"Lazy bloodsucker." David said, smirking at him, "hey, Michael, want to do something fun?"
His brother finally forgotten for the time being, because thinking about Sam when David suggested doing something 'fun' was just weird, Michael matched his smirk with one of his own, "what did you have in mind?"
Erica had been at this for a few years now and never once had she seen such a strange ad in the personals section. Sure, that's where most hunts were posted if you knew where to look but they were usually in code, this one was way too blunt to be from a professional but it never hurt to follow up. Even if this was a prank it was better to be safe than sorry.
She walked quietly into the sunken hotel, taking in the open space before her. It was well lived in, someone was here, now it was just a matter of finding where they slept.
Hard to believe she hadn't checked this place out before. It was cold, hidden away, dark, and clearly very lived-in, if the furniture and discarded clothes with suspicious stains on them were anything to judge by. Funny, people said Santa Carla was the safest place for miles. Luna Bay was usually where she bagged most of her kills.
There were a few flashlights piled up against the wall beside some discarded denim jackets. They looked well-used. She moved forward, leaving the light of day behind for the moment to sink into a crevice in one of the walls. It didn't take long for her to find an open area with five vampires hanging from an old pipe. Well, the ad wasn't some prank at least.
Erica didn't have a whole lot of experience dealing with more than maybe one or two vampires at once. She'd never encountered a whole pack of them. It was a little unnerving. One wrong move, and if they were old enough, they'd be on her before she could set a bolt off. Here was hoping her aim was good. First, though, she wanted the money the ad promised her. It would be somewhere nearby in an envelope.
She kept an eye on the vampires as she looked for her pay. Nothing. There was nothing. Was this some ploy by the vampires to get a meal?
Seemed like a dumb one. In the middle of the day, they were at their weakest, no matter how old they were. No, this was something else. She'd find out later. Right now Erica wasn't leaving without making one good kill tonight. At least it'd be something to put in her trophy case. The little one would be the easiest to pick off but that one with the long blonde hair, there was something about him that just rubbed her the wrong way.
A brush of cool air sent a few locks of her hair licking at her face, and the vampires above seemed to shift with it. One of them even opened his mouth to yawn. The one with the long black hair. She could see his fangs on full display, deadly, sharp. It was now or never.
The one she didn't like cracked open an eye and she fired. Time didn't slow down, as an inexperienced beginner might expect. It happened almost instantly. The bolt flew, cutting into the dark while the flashlight she'd dropped beside her feet barely illuminated her surroundings. Then, all at once, the others were awake as his gruesome screams broke through the cave, shaking dust from a rusting grate above that had been embedded into the ceiling. Erica's heart stopped, and she made a break for it, her bolt having found its home right in his chest.
