Donald, the ever patient old man was busy putting boundary posts into the ground. He was driving them into pre-dug holes that ran almost three feet deep.
He was busy, he had been for most of the day. As motivation, Donald had the radio on in his jeep, providing a level of fifties music that he could work along to. Suddenly an additional noise caught his attention. The sound was remarkably similar to his pride and joy. He heard it before he saw it, the sounds of his soft top Ford Fairlane 500 being driven fast. The appearance of a cloud of dust alerted him to how fast it was being driven. The driver was Cole, the only one in the car old enough to drive responsibly. He was driving too fast whilst the automatic retractable hood was being folded down.
Donald frowned at that, normally, he would have preferred it to be lowered when the car was stationary because there would be less stress on the roof frame. The old man paused, wiping his sweaty brow. He could just make out the youngest standing up, cupping his hand to his ear to hear better.
"Hey Donald," Lloyd shouted, standing up tall, holding onto the door and Cole's shoulder so Donald could hear from the edges of the property. "Okay if we borrow the car?"
It was totally rhetorical, Lloyd wasn't expecting a response and he knew Cole wouldn't have taken his foot off the gas had Donald said 'no'. He sat back down, patted Cole's shoulder and gave him the go ahead. "Let's do this Cole."
Cole seemed to have a completely 'don't give a shit' attitude. His whole view of life was skewed, he was blasé at best. Without a care in the world, Cole put his foot down and sped off out of the gate that Donald had left open.
Donald had been about to verbalise, even had his hand up to shout something of importance, but as the car disappeared in a cloud of dust, he shook his head. He'd mention it later, when they got back from wherever they were going.
"So, I hear ya got two bloodsuckers now, huh?" Alan said, looking at Cole out of the corner of his eye.
Cole licked his teeth. He didn't want to antagonise them by licking his lips, that might give away the wrong impression. He wasn't going to answer anyway, the question wasn't directed at him. These two teens had made it obvious they didn't speak to his type.
"Yeah, we found out really early this morning, Kai too." Lloyd sighed, his face solemn, "We had no idea, luckily for me, the reveal wasn't as bad."
"That sucks, still if we don't sort this out today, we'll be back to sort em both out for ya."
Cole tensed slightly. He knew who Lloyd was referring to when he'd said it like that. He also knew that Kai seemed more in control, for the time being. Maybe his element helped, strengthened his resolve, or perhaps he saw the look in Nya's face and that alone had scarred him so much, he simply switched it off.
Either way, Cole had to give it him. Kai could keep it under slightly better control than he could. The anger issues though, that was another matter. Evidently, vampirism, affected each individual differently. A small part of his darker side wanted to know how it would affect Nya, if it would make her a hot sexy thing and Lloyd, would he become a non stop killing machine? He grinned at the thought and continued driving.
"So this is your plan A huh?" Cole asked, his voice quiet, subdued. "Got a backup plan?"
"We don't like to reveal our plans to vampires." Alan mumbled.
"Fine, have it your way." Cole huffed, turning the rear view mirror so it completely skimmed the black haired teen whose rudeness and ignorance was irritating and abrasive. Cole imagined this kid to be the type to be extremely rebellious. The worst kind of ninja student to teach or mentor, his brother however, was more determined to communicate, easier to read.
"So where we headed?" Edgar called from the back seat. He was tightly wedged between Lloyd in the back. Alan, his brother, was sitting in the foot well of the deceptively large car.
"Hudson's Bluff," Cole stated, quickly. "Off the beaten track." He smiled slightly, looking into the mirror. "You weren't expecting these guys to have a penthouse apartment were ya?"
"Bloodsuckers live in all manner of places." Alan replied, nonchalantly.
Cole's jaw clenched, he really didn't like this kid. He could do with being knocked down a peg or two.
"Yeah, you gotta expect the unexpected with these night crawlers." His brother countered.
Cole rolled his eyes. He tried not to feel offence at the terms he was hearing because he wasn't identifying as a full vampire, just yet. Finally they were approaching the end of the journey. Driving as close as he could to the Point, he pulled the car to an eventual stop, hand brake on, he pushed the gear into park. "We're here," He mumbled. Sweaty hands gripping the steering wheel. Cole was nervous, not entirely sure this was a well thought out plan A, he had serious doubts about this.
Everyone else jumped out with a definite hint of excitement about this mission. Cole was the only one who was showing wary apprehension.
Lloyd watched as the Frog brothers performed a weapons check. Both brothers were taking it in turns to check canteens and stakes, climbing equipment and torches. Everything seemed to be in working order. They had enough stakes for all four vampire brothers because Cole had briefly mentioned the names of David's kin. It was funny to watch, Lloyd had wondered if they had done this before and if they'd ever come to a potential slaying with a blunt stake.
Cole, hadn't thought to mention about Star or Laddie, the little boy. They weren't exactly the serious threat that Lloyd possibly thought they were; a girl of Cole's age and a kid. He kinda hoped that these two Frog brothers would just focus on the bigger picture. The bigger picture being David and his three brothers, they were the dangerous ones, the mindless killers.
He still hadn't spoken, Cole felt like he'd been hit by a truck and he was beginning to struggle under the mid day sun. Pushing himself way past his usual limits, he groaned and leaned forwards resting his head on the steering wheel.
"You okay Cole?" Lloyd was the only one to notice Cole's weakness, he quickly assisted him out of the car. Putting his arm under Cole's, he hoisted him up and out the driver side door. "Come on, we got this right?"
"I-I really don't want you going down there, Lloyd." He pushed the black sunglasses onto the bridge of his nose. His face, deadly serious as he looked into the green eyes of his brother in arms.
"Well I'm going," Lloyd countered.
Cole regarded his younger brothers stubborn composure. Lloyd was adamant, desperate to help, to prove himself yet not understanding the full danger that they would all be subjected to if they carried this plan through to fruition. It was riskier than Cole's plan, this plan, concocted by the Frog brothers was destined to be flawed from the outset, a death wish to be hunted once the sun went down.
Cole's face suddenly turned dark and possessive. "Look, this isn't a comic book Lloyd, these guys are brutal killers."
Lloyd knew Cole was trying to prevent him from doing this, he already knew how risky it was. "So, they're the Frog brothers." He replied, like it was a well known fact that Cole should have been impressed by.
Both Cole and Lloyd turned around to observe the brothers who were surreptitiously checking their stakes for sharpness and ease of access. "Look, who would you rather go down there with you, them or me?"
Cole looked at them again, something didn't sit right. "If something happens down there, I'm not gonna have the strength to protect you all."
Lloyd's face softened. "This time I'll protect you Cole," He paused, embracing Cole loosely but with enough of a grip to let him know he was being genuine. "You might be a vampire but you're still my brother."
"Half," Cole corrected gently.
"Listen, just so you know," Edgar had turned on the wooden steps that led the way down the cliff face. "You try to stop us, or vamp out on us in any way, I'll not think twice about staking you where you stand."
Lloyd stood more upright, turning round to observe and look at both Frog brothers as they started to make their journey. "Chill out Edgar."
"Where did ya say you met these guys?" Cole mumbled, leaning heavily on Lloyd's shoulder as both Ninja of bloody earth and energy made their way into the cave of potential death and despair.
They clearly didn't need to light the place up during the day, the afternoon sunlight came through naturally, thanks in part to the huge unsightly crack and the mouth of the cave. The two Frog Brothers had entered the vampire's lair with gusto, a giddy excitement. Lloyd wasn't even sure if these guys had ever slayed a vampire before, or it this was pure role playing stuff that they had dreamt of but never had the chance to act out.
"HOLY SHIT!" Edgar shouted out, a little too loudly that his voice echoed, rebounding of each bare rock wall.
"Vampire hotel," his black haired brother exclaimed, looking at the place with a sense of intrigue.
Both looking around wildly. This place was a den alright, it would have made a cool den if it weren't infested with vampires. And all this drapey shit than hung from the walls like a female vampire lived here too. A woman's touch...
"Come on Lloyd," Alan pulled on his arm. "We've got a job to do."
He nodded at the two brothers before turning back to his own kin. "I'm worried about you Cole. Y-you gonna be okay?" Lloyd asked, propping his brother up against the wall.
He nodded in response to Lloyd's question, panting. Cole, in turn, could tell that Lloyd didn't want to be here either. The only ones who did, were the two kids who had a positive death wish.
The two Frog Brothers, who were purposely hunting and seeking out any positive clues, seemed to be getting off on this place. They, between them had no idea just how dangerous this whole mission could be, because they were too high on adrenaline and testosterone. Still, they carried on looking for clues. They didn't have to look far, there were vampire signs of life all around them; litter and beer bottles, smashed glass and the hint of rotting meat could be caught on the odd breeze, other than that it was eerily silent.
Edgar had been fast in scoping the place out. Him and his brother had found two already, a child and a woman. "Here's one." He yelled to Lloyd and his own brother, Alan.
Edgar was ready to strike. "I say we stake her where she sleeps!" His hands were raised, both placed on the crude wooden stake. He'd been about to drive it through her chest until Cole's voice boomed across the cave, causing a mild tremor.
"Don't you touch her, y-you stay away from her." Cole had literally ran across to her bedside to prevent the stake from coming anywhere near her.
"Vampires have such rotten tempers," He said, backing away when Cole ran to the bed. "The rest of em must be around here somewhere. Come on, let's find em." Edgar had backed off, enough to give some space between the half vampire he was sorely tempted to stake.
Cole growled, watching from the corner of his eyes as Edgar, Alan and Lloyd backed away slowly. "Star," he whispered, trying desperately to rouse her. "I'm taking you out of here."
Star rolled onto her back, looking him straight in the face. "No, take Laddie first," she mumbled, pulling the blanket up over her exposed shoulder.
He kissed her shoulder, breathing her in sinfully before taking one look at the child and rolling his eyes. There was some empathy for the child, he was innocent after all. "Fine, I'll be coming back for ya, we need to get you both outta here."
The little boy was asleep, snuggling into a large blue plushie, the scene painfully reminded him of Jay again.
Luckily, Cole thought, Laddie was relatively lightweight, so not much energy would need to be expended. The master of earth looked down at the child, he could manage this little thing, and so, he heaved the boy into his arms and carried him effortlessly out into the open and back up to the car.
He came back a few minutes later and took Star too. The exertion of dead lifting roughly seventy kilos, had wiped him out. Once he got back up the stairs and back to the car, he fell asleep with Star in his lap having gotten them to the car in one piece. Cole was sprawled out across the back seat. Sunglasses in situ, leather jacket splayed across his girlfriend's face.
Alan and Edgar had begun climbing. "I feel a draft, I think there's something up here," Alan noted, grabbing his torch and shining it through the narrow shaft.
Edgar pulled Lloyd with him as he climbed up toward a shaft that was partially hidden by a few exposed supporting beams. The whole area was covered in cobwebs, dust and a type of plant that resembled Spanish moss.
"Ugh, what's that smell?" Lloyd noted, screwing up his face in disgust as he climbed through the tiny access shaft on his hands and knees. He was madly wiping at the spider webs that were accruing on his shoulders and head the further he travelled.
"That's the smell of death," Edgar replied, rolling his eyes at Lloyd's shocked expression. "Vampires, my friend."
"It means we're on the right track." Alan added.
'Great, is it too late to back out now?' Lloyd thought, "Why are there so many flies?" Just another thing to contend with, he batted them away from his face, which was, still screwed up with disgust at the squalid environment he had unknowingly crawled into.
"Flies and the undead go together like," Edgar paused, trying to think of a perfect accompaniment, "bullets and guns."
A few minutes had passed, painfully slowly for Lloyd who had to endure crawling through the underbelly of this vampire hotel on his hands and knees, feeling creepy crawlies in his hair every crawl of the way.
Finally the shaft had a small drop and all three climbed and partially jumped down. Not sure if it was just him, of if he wasn't wearing enough layers, but Lloyd was feeling colder than usual. "You guys don't feel that? Gahh, it's freezing down here."
At Lloyd's first glance, this area revealed nothing exciting, just an empty circular room. "Come on guys, th-this looks like a dead end huh, m-maybe we should go back?"
Edgar held his torch at the walls, hoping to see some hollowed out vaults or similar burial rooms. "They must've hidden their coffins around here somewhere."
That was, until Lloyd's torch shone upwards and all three assembled young teens spotted four hanging vampires.
"JESUS!" Edgar shouted, panicked
"ARGH" Lloyd screamed in response to Edgar's shocked response, until the latter placed his hands over Lloyd's mouth to silence the very unmanly scream that fell from his mouth.
"You finished? You not gonna scream if I remove my hand?"
Lloyd semi shook and nodded his head. Grateful that Edgar had trusted him enough to give him the gift of speech again. "Sorry."
Lloyd looked up at them, fearfully. These vampires resembled humans, partially. The only part that looked wrong was the fact that these four vampires were sleeping upside down, and they had no real feet, just three claws on each foot residing there. These claws were the only things that kept them anchored to the metal pole they were clambering to.
"I though they were supposed to be in coffins?" Lloyd stated, remembering what he'd read in the comics that he'd been given for free. They were partially responsible for his newfound sleeping problems. This would likely confound that issue further.
"That's what this place is," Edgar said, climbing up the side of the wall, using the exposed beams as leverage. "One giant coffin. And, right now, they're at their most vulnerable."
"So, easy pickings," Alan stated, following his brother up in quick succession.
Lloyd remained at the bottom, safest on the floor. There was no way he was going up there too, that would be too close for comfort. "So, all we have to do is figure out who the head vampire is?"
Edgar had turned mid way through his climb. "We don't know which one the leader is though, so, I guess we'll just have to kill them all."
Lloyd's mouth gaped open. Sure, that had been the plan from the outset, hearing it uttered out loud and in this place, made it sound like a very bad idea.
"Not that it matters though Edgar, they're all blood suckers. All full vampires because they've killed innocents."
"Yeah, I know."
"Who's first then? Which lucky vampire gets to be staked?" Alan asked, a look of fierce determination on his face. He was finally going to be able to slay one.
Edgar, his brother had turned to face him, having removed a single stake from his backpack. "I say, let's start with the littlest, first come first staked!"
Lloyd frowned at Edgar's gallows humour. The young dirty blonde haired vampire hunter seemed to revel in this whole macabre setting. The fact that he was about to kill a human looking thing that wouldn't think twice about sucking their blood was another matter. "Is that vampire humour? It's not funny, in the slightest."
"Remember Lloyd, not one vampire goes out the same way. Some explode, some implode, some burst into flames and other hiss and boil. Some turn to stone an..."
"Yeah yeah I get it, can we just, ya know." Lloyd held the torchlight upwards. Anticipating a sense of anxiety and fear as soon as the stake would strike the first one.
Edgar looked down at Lloyd smirking slightly. He held the stake firm and aimed it right at the shortest vampire. The one who was closest to his proximity that didn't warrant the need for him to lean precariously. The last thing Edgar wanted was a twenty feet drop, an injury right now was not on the cards.
He looked the curly haired blonde vampire, who seemed to be peacefully sleeping upside down. "Good night, blood sucker." It was almost as if Edgar was giving the vampire his last words. It wasn't like he was going to give the night crawler a chance to wake up and say them himself. Instead, he rammed the stake through the vampire's chest as hard as he could.
The creature screeched loudly, his yellow eyes opened wide and he stared his slayer dead in the eyes. Marko's hands were wrapped tightly around the wooden stake as it remained stuck in his chest. In fact, for Lloyd, it couldn't have gotten any worse at that moment. All three vampires woke simultaneously at the sound of their own kin having been run through by a wooden stake. The sound in this small room had increased so much that Lloyd couldn't himself think, everyone was panicking.
Marko's clawed feet lost their grip on the metal bar and his grip changed from his feet to his hands as he used his last amount of dying strength to grab the culprits who had dared to stake him. In the ensuing grapple for power, twenty feet up, both Frog brothers and dying vampire came tumbling down towards Lloyd, taking out a supporting beam in the process.
Panic begot panic as all three teenagers screamed at the top of their lungs at having a dying vampire land in their laps. In effect, Marko had pinned them to the spot. First thing Lloyd noticed, other than how much slime this creature was full of, this vampire was damned heavy, heavier than he was.
Lloyd had managed to pry the dead thing off of Edgar and Alan with relative ease once he tapped into Cole's element and, between the three of them, they quickly scurried back through the access shaft. The ground rumbling as they moved along in rapid succession Edgar in the lead, Alan behind hi and lloyd heading up the rear.
They crawled as fast as they could despite the fact that David was hot on Lloyd's heels. The rumbling tremors slowed their progression enough for David to grasp a hold of Lloyd's ankle. Suddenly Lloyd had span on his knees to be face to face with a blood thirsty creature, a full vampire baring his fangs and hissing.
It had to be the most terrifying thing he'd ever seen, this far surpassed ghosts and snakes. David was attempting to drag him back into their lair so he could tear him apart in the most painful way. It was sheer luck that both Edgar and his brother had enough strength between themselves to tug Lloyd free of David's impossibly strong grasp.
"Get him into the light," Edgar shouted, desperately using his legs on the exposed beam for added leverage.
"Into the sunlight, you gotta get him into the sunlight." Alan yelled, pulling Lloyd backwards with a hefty tug under his arms.
All the time Lloyd was making crucifix gestures with his fingers in a pitiful attempt to keep these bloodsuckers at bay. Inside he was terrified, panicking and in desperate need of Cole.
Once free of the cave and with David's hand sufficiently burned, they ran for their lives.
Shouting the moment he cleared the cave, Lloyd repetitively called Cole's name to start the car, but it was clearly apparent once they'd got to the car side that the master of earth was sleeping and couldn't be roused. So, Lloyd decided to give it a shot. He opened the car door and jumped in without a seconds thought.
"We don't drive with vampires," Edgar was quick to state, his brother standing firm at his side.
Lloyd frowned, turning to look them in the face. "Are you being serious? Fine," He snapped, slamming the car door. "Stay here then?"
The brothers shared the briefest glimpses "We do now." They both said, humbled as they got into the front of the car.
Lloyd thought that it couldn't be that hard to drive an automatic?
Unfortunately, he almost reversed it over the cliff edge. Turning to his side to face Alan and Edgar, he said nothing but slid the stick into drive and put his foot down. Driving as fast as they could without attracting attention from the police force. It would just be so typical that the police would issue a speeding, no insurance and no driving license fine rather than start a murder inquiry into their still missing brother.
They'd walked into the house amidst looks of confusion on Zane and Nya's faces. Cole had taken it upon himself to carry his girlfriend up the stairs and Edgar was carrying a small child. If Jay had been here, he would have recognised both sleeping persons.
Kai was in the kitchen sitting at the table, lost in his own thoughts. He was trying his hardest to keep away from her and he found that being in the kitchen with all the distracting noises in here; he felt like he could relax. He'd been drinking slightly salted water, he seemed to have a craving for it or rather, anything salty in a liquid form.
As soon as Nya had returned from a whole day of looking for Jay she'd kept her distance from her brother, it was more than mutual too. Kai saw the look she gave him this morning. He felt like crap when she'd looked at him like that, like she'd never trust him again.
Nanook's barking was the first sign that they had visitors.
Kai's head raised a little from the crimson invite he had been staring at all day. He had been contemplating going there himself, but he wasn't sure what would await him upon his arrival. Not now that he had a good idea that this was where Jay was being held. And, more than likely, these girls were something similar to Kai and Cole. Once he'd figured it out, his stomach had clenched, his heart had dropped into his mouth.
He'd already rsvp'd, not even given it a second thought. This had to herald the clues he and his brothers had been looking for. But there was that same prickling feeling that filled him with dread and uncertainty as to how Jay might be fairing. That is, if he was indeed, still alive. Kai could only hope he was.
As clear as a bell, Kai could hear them walking into the sitting room. They weren't being quiet in the slightest.
"Your dog knows a flesh eater when he smells one," Edgar stated.
"He's not my dog." Lloyd said grasping the pet before it had a chance to sink its teeth in to Cole or the other half vampires with them.
"Take him outside, Lloyd." Cole ordered.
Lloyd nodded, very gently he grasped the dog by his collar, leading him outside. "Come on Nanook."
Cole, who was upstairs, had carefully placed Star on the bed, he hadn't made the bed himself, he fell down the side of it and remained sleeping upright against the bedside table. Edgar had placed Laddie and had closed the door securely behind him, a look of utter panic now on his face.
He waited until Lloyd had returned up the stairs. "We're gonna need help from your brothers and sister."
Lloyd nodded. "Sure, so we we blew plan A."
"Time to activate plan B" Edgar suggested, looking to his brother for his support, as usual Alan nodded in response.
"What's plan B?" Lloyd asked in confusion. Rubbing his face free from the dried slime that had issued out of Marko's mouth as he lay dying.
"We don't have one yet. We only have two and a half hours to come with one."
"Why, what happens in two hours?"
Both Edgar and Alan turned to face him and his sleeping black haired vampire brother. "The sun will go down, they'll be looking for us."
Oh shit...
Downstairs in the kitchen
Lloyd was out of breath having ran to the front gate to tie Nanook to it. He'd returned quickly but sweating as he removed his stained top and replaced it with a clean blue hoodie, one that he could only guess belonged to Jay. He picked up the red card, looking over it with intrigue. "What is this Kai?"
"A party invite, obviously." He replied with a worried smile. Not letting on how scared he was at what he had accepted.
"From who?" Lloyd questioned, looking it over, not recognising the names at all.
"I believe the correct term is 'from whom'?"
"Thanks Zane, nerd. So, who's it from?" Lloyd repeated quickly.
Kai noted a sense of urgency behind Lloyd's words. He was unsure as to why, in fact, he was unsure why everyone seemed to be so het up and stressed all of a sudden.
"The two girls who delivered Donald's groceries earlier whilst you lot were out doing, Uh, what exactly were you doing?"
Kai watched with a sense of dread as the Frog brothers remained. Rather than everything being in a state of relaxed and controlled chaos, as he'd been used to, everyone here was stressed, anxious and clock watching. He turned to his side, Zane and Alan were propping up furniture against the windows and the Edgar was smashing a large amount of garlic cloves on the chopping board before transferring them into a wash bowl.
"Well, uh, we're kinda expecting some visitors tonight..." Lloyd answered nervously. Watching out of the window as the sun was nearing the horizon.
"Unexpected visitors?" Kai asked cocking his head at the strange behaviour. "Judging by the fact that you're all totalling the place."
Lloyd had smiled, rubbing the back of his head. "Yeah, you could say that."
""Is it a housewarming and you're expecting an unhealthy amount of gatecrashers, so you're clearing the furniture?"
"W-well, sort of. Gatecrashers, definitely."
"Okay, so what is he doing then?" Kai queried. Cringing at the obnoxiously loud smashing sounds as the unknown Frog brother smashed the crap out of the poor unsuspecting cloves of garlic. Of which, these veggies had only been delivered today. "We having Italian tonight, you know I can't eat garlic right?"
"Yeah I know Kai," Lloyd rubbed the back of his head. "Ugh, well, he's gonna run a bath and use it."
"With garlic in it?" His eyebrows raised incredulously. Kai was biting his inner cheek, "Look, I'm not an idiot...what aren't you telling me?"
Lloyd bit his knuckle, looking at Kai, apologetically. "Well, uh, we have about two hours to prep the house, because..." he looked around wildly.
Kai frowned. "Why, what happens in a few hours?"
Lloyd bit his lip nervously. "They'll come looking for us."
"Who?"
"The same vampires that turned Cole." Lloyd said with an unintended squeak. His hand over his mouth at the very unmanly sounds that spilled from his own lips. His own terrified gaze made Kai's widen in shock."
He spat his salted water out. "WAIT, WHAT?" he wiped his face fast, shaking a little. "Wh-why are they coming h-here?"
Lloyd had moved on to biting his nails again. "Uh, well, we might have uh staked one of their own."
"Holy shit, you're telling the truth. Hang on you might've?" Kai's face was emotionless, his mouth hanging open.
"We did, we wanted to find the head vampire, but it wasn't him."
Kai's hand was covering his mouth. Slowly he removed it, "So, wh-what do you need me to do?"
Lloyd was biting his nails nervously. "Kai, I-I need you to tell Donald to stay out tonight. Th-then I need you, Zane and Nya to come into town with us, we're gonna need supplies and fast."
"And Cole?" Kai asked as he stood quickly.
"Cole's exhausted, he's staying put."
"Okay, lets do this," Kai said with a look of grim determination on his face. "You've stirred a nest of vampires and they're gonna be vying for your blood and that of my sister. Let's get this done and fast."
Lloyd placed his trembling hand on Kai's upper arm and squeezed tightly. "Today, so far has been the scariest of my life, bar none. And, I'm glad to have you guys by my side."
Why thank you for your admission RandomDragon, you really should consider getting an FFN account too.
Master Of Cupcakes: You'll find out soon. And thanks, makes it easier for me too.