Over the next few days we all fell into a routine. Dwayne and I were inseparable. I'd completely abandoned my perch in favour of sleeping in bed with him every day. We had sex each morning before falling into the sleep of the dead, woke in each other's arms and went for round two. Feeding from each other kept our hunger at bay, and we killed only once or twice a week. Every night we wandered the boardwalk, occasionally tormenting the Frogs, more often than not meeting up with Michael, who in his desperation, had been forced to drink from the bejewelled bottle a couple more times.
Star was subdued, realising what she'd done had only made Michael suffer. She spent most of her time with Marko, but they were nowhere near as close as Dwayne and me. Paul went on as usual, preying on pretty girls every so often by seducing them first and feeding on them after. They ended up in the sea.
None of us had met Michael's brother yet, although we'd learned he was fifteen and named Sam. They had a mother and grandfather too. My misgivings about the situation grew, especially when Sam started spending more and more time at the Frog brothers' store, the three of them looking as shifty as hell whenever they saw us. They had to be planning something. They didn't scare me. They were a bunch of teenagers who until recently had thought garlic could repel vampires, but they did have holy water pistols and stakes. There was always the chance one of them could get lucky if they planned an attack.
"What are we gonna do about this situation?" Paul asked me eventually. Marko, Star, and Michael were watching the band. The rest of us sat on the beach. "It's like everything's in limbo."
"I know." I sighed heavily. "I have to make a decision. Unfortunately, whatever choice I make is going to make trouble. Either he changes, or we kill him. That's all there is."
"And if we get him to change, his family and the Frogs are gonna come looking for him." Paul bit his lip. "We'll have to kill him."
"You think they won't come looking if we do that?" I snorted.
"We could always make it look like something else. Go for a motorcycle ride or something. If he were to crash and end up splattered across the highway, too badly bashed up for anyone to see exactly how he died…"
"I suppose it could work." I imagined the scene. We could kill Michael, take him out somewhere to a deserted road, throw some blood around and smash up his bike, but the cops would be sure to smell a rat. Something wouldn't add up, like the pattern of blood on the ground, the way the bike was damaged, or whatever. Unless we engineered an actual accident. Had a bike race, knocked him off his bike, and finished him off quick before he could get up. "I'll think about it. We can't do anything tonight. It's Friday. Too many people around on the roads. Sunday will be quiet."
"That makes sense." Dwayne nodded. "I take it we're not talking to Marko and Star about this."
"Right. Much as Marko is loyal to me, who knows what he might give away when Star's bouncing on his dick."
Paul laughed. "So we'll keep this just between us. Probably better that they aren't there when we do this."
"Agreed." I got up. "Let's eat."
We bought Chinese food, then went to watch the last few songs of the band's set. Marko and Star were standing on the hill, but Michael was gone.
"He said his brother needed watching. Their mother and grandfather are out for the evening," Marko said.
"I thought his brother was fifteen. He needs a babysitter?" I frowned.
"The kid's a real pussy. Probably still has his mother picking out his clothes for him."
Paul laughed. "I can believe that. He has no fashion sense."
We returned home in the early hours of the morning. Paul flew off to his perch, while the rest of us went to our respective beds for some fun. By the time I closed my eyes to sleep with Dwayne in my arms, dawn was approaching. I pulled a blanket over our heads and slipped into darkness.
Screaming tore me out of my sleep, and I threw the blanket off. It was broad daylight, the cavern lit beneath the crack by bright sunshine.
Dwayne stirred and sat up, eyes wide. "What's happening?"
"Someone's here." I sprang up, pulled on my pants, and shot out into the main part of the cavern. "Oh, fuck. No!"
Star thrashed and screamed, gouts of blood exploding from her chest around the stake that had been rammed into her. Marko, fangs bared, stalked Alan Frog, who backed away up the steps, firing feebly from two water pistols. Marko ducked and dived past each spurt of holy water, then made a quick rush at Alan, threw him to the ground and snatched the pistols from his hands. Edgar rushed him from behind, stake raised.
Dwayne and I pounced as one, tearing Edgar away from Marko before he could strike. Marko finished his attack, fangs punching through Alan's army jacket collar and into his neck. Edgar, slippery as an eel, wriggled free and scampered up the steps into the sunlight at the top.
"Fuck! Fuck!" Snarling, I backed away and scrubbed a hand across my burning eyes. I hadn't cried in years, and the appearance of tears surprised me. But one of my pack was dead and it was my fault. The fact that I'd originally intended to kill her myself didn't register.
"I'm sorry." Dwayne slid an arm around me, but I shook him off. My eyes dried, and fury took over.
"Those kids are gonna pay," I hissed.
"One already did." Marko wiped his mouth and his eyes, then picked up Alan's body and went to dispose of it.
"So, it's started." Paul appeared, having missed everything. "One down. We still have to deal with Michael. And presumably Edgar."
"Michael gets it first." I forcibly retracted my fangs. "If it wasn't for him and his brother, the Frogs wouldn't have come here."
"The bike accident scenario, then?" Paul asked.
"Yes."
"What's this?" Marko returned, eyes burning yellow and rimmed with red. He couldn't bring himself to look at Star, who lay in a lake of blood in the middle of the floor.
Paul explained what we'd talked about, while Dwayne and I removed Star's body. After we'd tossed her in the sea, I caught his hand and kissed his knuckles. "I'm sorry," I murmured.
"For what?"
"Pushing you away."
He shook his head. "It's nothing. She was your lover once."
"It's not that. I meant to kill her back then. She's the first of my pack to die."
He nodded, understanding. "So now we're four again. That won't change."
"No, it won't. Once Michael is gone, and Edgar if he tries again, that should be the end of it."
"When did you plan this bike accident?" Marko asked.
"Yesterday," Paul answered. "We didn't want Star to know about it, that's the only reason we didn't tell you."
"I can keep my mouth shut." Marko scrubbed a hand across his eyes again. "Damn it."
"Yes, but we didn't want her to overhear. She was always around you. I'm sorry, buddy." Paul patted his shoulder.
"Then I'm in. If it wasn't for the Emersons, Star would still be alive." Marko threw his head up, anger taking over. "When do we do it?"
"Tonight. We all need more sleep first, but I think we should take turns at keeping watch, in case they come back."
"Our home's never gonna be safe again, is it?" Dwayne frowned.
"Yes, it will. When this is dealt with, I'll have a word with Edgar."
"You mean kill him." Paul grinned.
"No. Both of them missing will draw too much attention. He won't talk about us because no one will believe him. But he won't want us stalking him or changing him. We'll see if an agreement can be reached."
"Okay. I'll take first watch." Marko sat down at the foot of the steps and put on a pair of shades.
"Wake me in two hours," I told him.
"Will do."
Marko woke me as promised, then returned to his old perch. He didn't want to sleep in the bed he'd shared with Star any more. I paced around the perimeter of the cavern for two hours, then woke Paul. Then I returned to bed, wrapped myself around Dwayne, and fell asleep. Paul didn't bother to disturb Dwayne. We all woke at dusk to find him pacing the same way I had.
"Are we doing this?" he asked as the four of us gathered at the foot of the steps.
"Yes. I have an idea of how it will work. I want you three to go out riding with Michael. He'll be less tense if I'm not there. Sound him out, see what he knows about what happened last night. If you can get him to ride out of town, head north along the interstate."
"What are you going to do?" Dwayne asked.
"Don't worry about that. If you know, you'll be watching for it. Just don't ride too close to him, okay? Staggered formation."
The others all nodded. "Go," I instructed.
The three bikes headed off, and I launched myself into the air and flew towards the boardwalk. I stayed high and out of sight, concentrating on the perimeter of the parking area. Few people were near the cars and I quickly found a truck ideal for what I had in mind. A Dodge Ram was huge, powerful, and protected by bull bars. A collision with a motorcycle would barely scratch it. The foolish owners had left the doors unlocked, and it took me seconds to hot-wire it and drive away.
I made my way to the interstate and began driving back and forth between the two intersections the riders would have to pass if they followed my instructions. Within half an hour, I spotted them coming towards me, the motorcycle lights strung out in a row as they rode single file. Dwayne led the way, the second bike ridden by Marko, then Michael. Paul brought up the rear. As we passed, Dwayne's head turned and his eyes met mine for a split second. Then they were gone. I waited only seconds before I swung the truck across the highway and turned around. The bikes were travelling slowly and I floored the accelerator to catch up. Five minutes passed and then Paul was in front of me. He glanced behind him, spotted me, and moved over to the right. I pulled up close behind Michael and before he had the chance to recognise he was in any danger, I accelerated again and rammed the rear of his bike. Glancing back, I noticed Paul had braked and fallen back to get out of the way.
Michael's bike and his body flipped into the air, somersaulting along the highway, the bike finishing up on the shoulder. Michael landed on his back and began to rise. I parked the truck, but Paul was already there. About to tear out Michael's throat, he paused, then gripped his head instead, planted a heavy boot on his chest, and ripped his head off his shoulders. I heaved a sigh of relief. Dwayne and Marko kept riding, disappearing into the distance.
"I've seen the victim of a bike accident before," Paul said. "Head severed. If I bit him, it would be more obvious."
"Yeah, good work." I looked down at the pool of blood surrounding Michael's body, the head dangling from Paul's hand by its hair. "We need to get out of here and fast."
"Yeah." Paul tossed the head away onto the shoulder and returned to his bike. I got in the truck and we continued after the others. Seconds later we passed a car coming the other way, but we didn't hear sirens until we were several miles away.
I returned the truck to its parking spot, wiped off any surfaces I'd touched, and closed the door. Vampires didn't leave fingerprints, but it would make it look as if someone had borrowed it and then covered their tracks, if the owners even noticed anything wrong, besides the scratch on the bar at the front. I climbed onto the back of Paul's bike and we stopped again near the comic book store.
"Michael didn't know anything," Paul told me. "He hadn't seen Edgar, nor had Sam. The guy's probably lying low and mourning his brother."
"One loose end to tie up." I walked into the store. Surprisingly, Edgar was there, although he looked as if he hadn't slept and had spent most of the day crying. No one else was in the store.
"What do you want?" He glanced from me to Paul and back again.
"Got a proposition for you," I said, trying a friendly smile.
"Right. Planning on killing me too?"
"No." Paul shook his head. "Why don't you listen to him?"
"You killed my brother," Edgar said, gritting his teeth. "And you want me to listen?"
"This trouble all started because of Star," I said. "I let her live because Marko liked her. I shouldn't have, but she's gone now, thanks to Alan. So is Michael."
"You killed Michael?" Edgar scowled.
"No." Paul shook his head. "He was in a motorcycle accident. His head was severed."
"Your doing? You're sick, you know that? How many more innocent people are you going to kill?"
"Listen, Edgar. Stay out of our home, and we'll stay out of yours," I said. "You think you have a chance against four of us? You don't. The only way you could do any damage is when we're all sleeping, like yesterday. But the minute you hurt one of us, the other three will tear you to pieces. If you'd realised that earlier, Alan would still be alive. Leave us alone, and we won't touch you or Sam, or the rest of his family, assuming they stay around here."
"And if I don't? I'm perfectly capable of forming my own pack."
"Of humans. They wouldn't stand a chance. You want the deaths of a bunch of other innocents on your conscience?"
Edgar glared, but thought about it before he answered. "No, I don't. But I'm here to help protect this town. I may not have much of a chance right now, but I will. One day, sooner or later, I'll have my opportunity. Alan would never have given up, nor will I. You'd better watch your back, David. Sleep with one eye open."
My fangs extended, but the appearance of a couple of other teenagers made me pause. One of them spoke to Edgar, asking him if he had a particular Superman comic.
"We'll be seeing you, Edgar." I gave him a curt nod and Paul followed me out of the store.
"Well, that went well." He huffed out a breath. "What now?"
"We'll start by getting some protection for our home. After that, we wait. He won't come after us on his own, but he could recruit some helpers. That fucking bitch Star could have started a war."