Nothing better than home

The fight is over and the Santa Carla vampires are destroyed. But are they really? Who survived and who didn't? Will there ever be a pack of vampires again, with the hunters around? Would vampires really care? And may it be that some of them meet again?

I don't own the Lost Boys or any of its original characters. I only own my OC's and situations I'll put them into.

Many thanks to the dear people who follow and favor my story. Comments are welcome.

Chapter 16: A familiar face

Gabriel sat on the comfortable brown leather sofa in the small staff room of his tattoo studio. He had brewed himself a cup of herbal tea and read in a motorcycle magazine while waiting for the last customer for the evening.

Normally, he would have closed his store an hour ago, but the tattoo he had engraved Chuck a week ago needed a color correction. It was a Merlin with a wand in one hand and a magic ball in the other. Unfortunately, the color of the ball was too pale.

He wouldn't need more than half an hour for the correction, but after that, he had to clean his tools, then he would finally close. When he heard the bell at the front door, he laid the magazine on the table, took his cup and went through the open sliding door into the reception area.

"Hey, Chuck," the dark-haired man greeted his client. "Hi, Gabe," Chuck replied. "Thank you again for taking the time now. I'll be gone for two months from tomorrow, so I really wanted it done today!"

Gabriel smiled. "Are you going on vacation," he asked. That's when Chuck laughed. "Well, that'd be nice. I'm hired for a fashion fair in New York, you know, I'm in trade fair construction. It's hard work, but it makes good money." "Oh, that sounds very exciting," Gabriel replied with an ironic grin. Chuck waved off. "Well, what can I say, I would much prefer a motorcycle fair, but as I said, the compensation is good and in addition to that the company pays all costs for the hotel and the meals," he explained.

The tattoo artist smiled. "However, when you are back, we go for a drink," he said. "As a little compensation for my mistake with your tattoo." Chuck smiled. "Okay, that sounds great!"

When Gabriel finally left his studio, it was already dark. It was a mild, clear night, and after looking up at the stars, the dark-haired man decided to drive to the sunken hotel.

Once there, he parked his Suzuki at the edge of the cliffs and took off his helmet. With a can of beer in his hand, he sat down on the ground and let his legs dangle over the abyss.

He couldn't help grinning when he thought about how Michael Emerson almost fell off the cliff when he was racing against David. Gabriel had seen Michael some time ago, who was now a priest.

Michael hadn't recognized Gabriel, which made him happy. He didn't want to talk to that man. Somehow Michael was responsible for the death of Gabriel's unusual family.

Gabriel hadn't been up there for a long time and had no idea what drama had happened between the two vampires and the young Woman less than an hour ago. The man could not know that two members of his unusual former family had returned to the sunken hotel.

He just sat there and enjoyed the silence of the night. When he had emptied his beer, he threw the can next to his motorcycle and lay down. As he had done many times before with Dwayne, he looked at the stars.

He thought of the time he'd spent with the vampires. No matter how many years had passed by, he missed them, they were the best family he ever had.

Michael, Sam, and the Frog brothers felt that David and his boys had given Gabriel vampire blood, but that wasn't the truth. On the contrary, the vampires had forbidden the then eight-year-old boy to touch the bottle at all.

But on a summer day the boy woke up and tried to wake Star up as well, but he didn't succeed. So he strolled through the cave, walked into all the dark corridors he'd never been in before.

He found many things, but none of them could keep him busy for long. Finally, he found the small dark cave where the vampires were asleep hanging upside down from an iron bar anchored high above the child in two walls. The boy lay down on the ground among them and looked at the four vampires, they looked so peaceful.

Eventually, it got too boring for him and he decided to look for the book Dwayne always read to him. He knew what shelf it was on.

Well, and there, hidden behind a pile of books, Gabriel finally discovered the beautiful bottle. At first, he hesitated, but then curiosity triumphed and he took it in his hand to look at it.

The boys often drank the liquid that was in the bottle, and even Star had already drunk it, so there couldn't have been anything bad in the bottle; besides, who should ever know, everybody was asleep. He was just too curious, so he pulled the cork out of the bottle and drank a sip. When nothing happened, he drank until the bottle was empty.

But then the effect began. The little boy was so overwhelmed by the vampire blood that was now running his system that he passed out in front of the shelf. The empty bottle fell next to him, and David finally found him a few hours later.

Gabriel had never experienced the platinum blonde vampire so angry before. Oh no, David was not angry at the boy, but at himself, because he had not hidden the jeweled bottle better.

But now Gabriel was afraid, he had never seen David's vampire face before. From that night on, Dwayne took on the task of taking care of the little half-vampire, which meant that Laddie was fed on Dwayne's blood. Dwayne became Laddies Sire.

Gabriel had tears running down his face as he thought of that night. He'd loved Dwayne and looked up to him. When the vampires died, all those years ago, the boy's heart was broken.

If Michael hadn't come to town with his family, Gabriel would have been a vampire himself for many years. Of course, he did not wish to kill any people to feed on their blood, but frankly, he would be willing to do many things if he could get even a single day with his beloved family for it. Finally, the tears dried up and Gabriel fell asleep.

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David drove for two hours followed by Marko aimlessly through the city. He just couldn't believe Star had abandoned her own child, his daughter. He was mad like he hasn't been in a long time.

Unconsciously, he finally turned into the path that led to the sunken hotel. When he got to the top, he looked around. He turned off the engine and took off his helmet. Then he loosened the knot from the cloth he had tied his hair with and shook his head to loosen his hair.

Next, he got off his motorcycle and put the helmet on the seat. He looked around once more and was surprised to see another bike parked next to the abyss. It was only now that David realized that Marko was gone. He was the other way around to get some cans of beer when David turned off to the cliffs.

David walked up to the motorcycle and noticed a man with long dark hair lying next to it. Apparently, he had been asleep and had been awakened by the sound of David's motorcycle.

The man, who seemed to be a few years younger than David, slowly got up from the ground and looked in David's direction. The former vampire stopped a few yards from the man. For a few minutes, they looked each other in the eye. "I know your face," David finally broke the silence. "And I know yours," whispered the younger man as tears ran down his face.

David had grown older, but his eyes and smile were unmistakable. "I saw you die," Gabriel said. "How is that possible?" David was touched by Laddie's reaction.

"I don't know," he replied and opened his arms as he walked towards Gabriel."Laddie Thompson, just come here, boy!" A while later, when Marko arrived on the cliffs with a few cans of beer in the saddlebags of his motorcycle, he was confronted with a curious scene.

David stood close to the abyss next to a strange motorcycle and embraced a dark-haired man. Marko drove grinning over to the two of them, pulled his helmet off his head and hung it on the handlebars. Then he stopped the engine in astonishment and got off the machine.

David and the other man looked at Marko. "Hey, Marko," David said cheerfully. "Look who I found up here. Our little-lost brother, Laddie!"

Marko looked from man to man with his eyebrows raised. "Laddie," he finally said. "I can't believe it. You've grown, boy!" Laddie still looked at the two men in disbelief.

"I can't believe you're really there," he replied. "This is the most beautiful thing that's happened to me in a long time!" The two former vampires smiled. "It's the same with us," David replied. "How have you been, boy?"

Gabriel looked at the two men thoughtfully. "Well, it wasn't that easy," he explained. "Lucy Emerson took Star and me in first. Finally, she managed to locate my biological parents. But they had alcohol and drug problems. When they came to Santa Carla to pick me up, they were drunk and stoned. That's how I ended up in a foster home. But these people were completely overwhelmed with my problems, and so I was passed from one foster family to the next."

He looked on the ground in shame as he remembered how he had shouted at the poor people and spoke of his vampires; David and Marko just nodded. The former vampires had meanwhile stacked wood for a campfire and Marko was busy igniting it as he listened.

"That is very sad," he replied, but Gabriel just waved off. "Well, my parents could not provide me with an adequate home," he continued. "I didn't prefer to be a runaway without a reason and I missed you all very much and have since been struggling with mood swings and depression."

Gabriel looked thoughtfully into the fire. David and Marko looked at him sympathetically. "Well," said Marko finally. "That's not what we imagined, we never wanted to hurt you!" "Hey, all right," laughed Gabriel. "You really do not need to justify yourself, the time I spent with you had been the best time of my childhood!"

David smiled at him. "We met Star," he said, explaining how it had happened. "I have a daughter," David shot his report smiling. Gabriel looked at him smiling for a while. "Well," he finally answered. "I was even married, and I have a daughter too, her name is Nissa and she has been living in Europe with her mother since she was four years old, she is now a young lady, but unfortunately I have no contact with the girl!"

"So you're a dad," David replied smiling. "Maybe we should not call you Laddie anymore, but use your real name instead." Laddie looked at him in astonishment. "Oh no," he replied. "I think that would sound weird, so you have a daughter with Star, I have not seen Star forever, if I had known she was in town, I would have visited her long ago!"

David frowned and shrugged his shoulders. "Forget it," he said. "She is totally crazy and feels persecuted by vampire hunters, her apartment is secure, like a high-security wing."

Gabriel looked at him in surprise. "And your daughter," he asked. "How is she?" Marko started to laugh. "Big Daddy over there would like to know that, too," he said. "Star left the girl with her mother when the girl still was a baby," David explained angrily. "Allegedly, she did not want Hope to live on the run."

Laddie looked at him in horror. "My goodness, she should have known that this child would be, let's say, special. I just mean because you weren't human back then," he remarked. "We all have our problems with vampire blood in our system. Surely you do, too?"

David nodded and looked into the flames. "We were with her because I wanted to talk to her again. She made me so angry that I just drove around for a while," he replied. "After all, I drove here, I wasn't even aware of it, but now I'm really happy about it. Star claims she's only in town because she found out our daughter is here too. She says Hope is in danger because of Edgar and Alan!"

Now Laddie had to laugh. "Well, Alan disappeared in Washington many years ago, and Edgar's having other problems right now!" David grinned. "What's he got more important than hunting vampires," he asked bitterly.

"Well, I got my business on the boardwalk," Laddie said. "I've seen him a few times. I guess he didn't recognize me. What should I say, vampires hunt with plaster foot and cripples I imagine somewhat difficult!"

David and Marko laughed. "I guess that's true," Marko finally said. "What kind of business are you in?" Laddie smiled. "I own the only tattoo studio on Boardwalk," he proudly explained.

"DDMP tattoos," Marko asked with a smile. "What does the name mean?" Laddie looked at him amused. "Well, I guess someone's standing on the line a little bit," he remarked. "Think hard! A little hint, they're initials!"

David looked at the younger man amazed. "You named your business after us," he asked. Laddie smiled again. "Sure, how else," he asked.

Marko looked thoughtfully into the fire for a moment. "If Paul and Dwayne were here, it'd be like old times," he finally remarked.

Laddie and David nodded. "I think it's terrible that the remains of the two have been burned down with James' old house," Laddie noted.

Marko and David looked at each other and grinned. "They are not burned," David finally replied. "Don't ask me where I got the strength back then, but I got them out of there before it burned down." "We buried Paul and Dwayne in the paddock before we left town," Marko said.

Wow, "Laddie said," that's really cool! There are rumors about the house of James. "Many years ago four guys disappeared there."

David and Marko looked at him with interest. "How did that happen," Marko asked.

Laddie smiled. "The guys were part of a motorcycle gang who used to meet there to party, there must have been an accident because one of the four machines was damaged in the paddock, and the other three were found in the adjacent woods, the guys; not a trace, the whole thing is very mysterious, Sam Emerson also disappeared that night."

The two former vampires smiled. "That sounds interesting," Marco answered. "Maybe we should take a look at the graves of our lost brothers!" Gabriel grinned. "I'm in," he called cheerfully.

David just nodded and looked thoughtfully into the fire. After a while, Marko looked over at Laddie with a smile. "I plan to get a tattoo done," he explained. "Actually, I wanted to come to your store for an appointment today, but Star has changed our plans a bit!"

Laddie smiled too. "You know what," he answered." Come in tomorrow afternoon, then we'll see. " Marko nodded. "Sure, thank you, I'll come!"

David had now got up and looked down at the sea. "Do you know what happened to the stairs, they're shattered down there," he asked with interest.

"I guess the 1989 earthquake destroyed it," Laddie said. "But I do not know exactly.

"Pity," answered the platinum-blond man. "I was hoping we could sleep in our lair since all three of us are no longer fit to drive. Well, we just sleep here!"

Marko and Laddie nodded. "I have slept up here often, I do not mind!" "We also have slept outside a few times," said Marko. "It's really cool!"

The three men sat around the fire for a while, drinking all of the beer, not realizing they were being watched by a male figure all the time. This creature had listened to the conversations of the three unsuspecting men and was beginning to make plans. This creature had only the desire to be near its creator, he longed for his sire. But he still was too scared to get any closer to the two vampires.