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 18. Mysterious man
When Marko, David, and Laddie awoke the next morning at the sunken hotel, it was still early and dark. Laddie was in a good mood and just happy that he had met Marko and David again.
The two were not so good. Their passports already showed that they were over fifty, and in fact, they were actually still a few decades older. David and Marko had pain in their bones, lying on the hard ground, they were now just too old for such actions. In addition, both had a hangover, although each of the two men had drunk only four cans of beer.
Since they were no longer vampires, they did not tolerate much alcohol, it was really corrosive! Actually, both men had always loved to party, and one or the other beer was part of it.
"What is up," David asked pointedly, after stretching himself. "Are you two able to drive?" Laddie grinned. "Sure," he said. "And you?"
Marko touched his forehead and shrugged. "Do we have a choice," he finally asked. "Wow, I think my skull is about to burst," he added, grimacing. Laddie had already picked up the beer cans and packed into the saddlebag of Marko's motorcycle while David released the last sparks from the fire.
But now Laddie sat on his bike ready to go, had already started the engine and watched Marko amused. He was pulling on his helmet and moving very slowly toward his bike.
"Well, old man," joked Laddie. "We can meet up another day to talk about your tattoo if you prefer," he added with a laugh. Marko waved. "No, no, it's okay," he replied. "I only need a few hours sleep and a shower, after that I'm as good as new!"
David, who was now sitting on his machine, smiled. "Are you sure," he said. Marko nodded. "Where do you live, anyway?" Laddie asked. "We rented a caravan over there at the campsite," David explained. "Ah, cool," Laddie replied. "Will you come to my shop with Marko later?" David shook his head. "I want to see if I can find out anything about my daughter in the web," he noted. "But you could call when you're done and we'll have something to eat somewhere."
"Good idea," Laddie said. Marko nodded and then the three men drove off. Laddie honked briefly as he parted from his friends, then disappeared.
When Marko and David arrived at the campsite, David again noticed the Mercedes van. The vehicle had definitely not been moved because the windshield was full of pollen that fell off the trees. David could swear that he had never seen anyone on this vehicle before. He was a good observer and therefore knew exactly which cars the few neighbors owned who stayed at the campsite, the Mercedes was not one of them.
Arriving in the caravan, Marko went silently into his room to sleep for a few hours more. David stood in the middle of the living area and looked for a minute at the door that had closed behind Marko.
Marko looked very pale and tired, he was in a bad way. David knew full well that the return to Santa Carla had brought back bad memories that Marko had suppressed for a long time. Marko never said anything about it, but he didn't need to. David knew exactly what was going on in his buddy and felt responsible.
It didn't matter how many years had passed since that night, David had been the leader of the Lost Boys, as the gang was called. He had made a rash, stupid decision, even though Dwayne and Paul had tried everything to persuade David.
The two of them would have preferred to have taken care of Marko first, who was supposed to recover after Edgar Frog's attack. Edgar, Alan and Michael's younger brother - well, the three could have been taken care of by the vampires later.
But David was so angry that night that he was no longer master of his senses, and he could be damn stubborn. He wanted his woman and the boy back, they belonged to the Lost Boys! And finally, Dwayne and Paul followed their sire, they followed him to their death!
Normally David was a prudent being, he always took all risks into account. Such a rash action was not David's way at all, but the attack on Marko simply went too far! Finally, Dwayne and Paul, and even the mighty vampire Max had been destroyed.
Max was David's sire at the time, he had given immortality to young David. Even though David could not always understand all of Max's actions and sometimes made life difficult for him with his boys, David respected Max and was loyal to him.
Loyalty was very important for vampires, you had to be able to rely on each other blindly, Max had repeatedly inculcated this in his children, as he called the Lost Boys, and after that night David knew that Max was right.
Michael had only survived the first night in the cave because Max wanted him to. If it had been David at that time, the night would have been completely different for Michael and the young man would have been food for the sharks in the end!
Sure, David could understand that Michael had run after Star like a puppy, she was nice to look at and had a friendly nature. But even when Michael had seen Star for the first time, he should have realized that Star was David's girl, and she was out of limit! When David saw Michael again together with Star one night later, he would have loved to tear Michael to pieces!
But what could David possibly do? Max had other plans at that time, he wanted to make Lucy Emerson his wife, and this woman of all people was Michael's mother. Max wanted David to take Michael into the gang first and then his younger brother, and Max was the law!
With a sigh, David put his helmet on a chair, no matter what, he had underestimated these children at that time. That's why Dwayne and Paul were dead. And even if David would not like to say that out loud, he felt guilty, and that would never change!
Dejected, David also withdrew and lay down in his bed. He was plagued by a nightmare, and he rolled back and forth restlessly. He saw the faces of his fallen brothers Paul and Dwayne. At some point Hope's face turned up as a baby with yellow glowing eyes and catches, David woke up sweaty and looked around his room irritated.
The man gazed at his alarm clock, it was already one o'clock at noon. David got up, but the dream had stirred him up so much that he trembled all over. Finally, he went into the living area and tampered with the coffee machine.
Marko was probably awake already, David heard the doors of Marko's closet clattering, obviously, Marko was looking for fresh clothes. "Hey, you want some coffee, too," David shouted.
Marko briefly stuck his head out the door. "Coffee sounds good," he replied, then he disappeared again. After a few minutes, he came back and sat down at the table with David, having already put his clothes on the laundry basket in the bathroom. "Christ, you look like shit," he said anxiously as he saw the dark rings under David's eyes. "You haven't slept so well, have you?"
Marko took his cup in his hand and looked at David thoughtfully, the replied Markos look with raised eyebrows. "Marko, I never told you I was sorry," David finally said. Marko nibbled on his thumbnail again, that was an old habit of his that he just couldn't get rid of.
Now Marko looked at his buddy in amazement. "What are you talking about," he asked. David smiled sadly. "That night," David explained. "I sent Paul and Dwayne to their deaths. It's my fault Max died! And all because of Star, she wasn't worth it! I had a terrible nightmare, I saw Paul and Dwayne, and little Hope!"
"You had a nightmare," Marko asked. David nodded. "If I hadn't acted so vindictive then, none of this would have happened!" Marko smiled mildly. "You may have made a mistake," Marko replied, "but the main culprit is Max! He wanted to turn a whole family into vampires, that was the dimmest idea Max ever had! And quite apart from what I thought of Star - if I'd been you, I wouldn't have somebody steal my wife me either. If I had been you that days, I'd have ripped Michael to shreds!"
David smiled again. "You've always been loyal to me, you never questioned me, no matter what sort of bullshit I had in store!" "Well, whatever," Marko replied. "We had a lot of fun most of the time!"
David laughed briefly. "We used to behave like immature children, just to annoy Max! I mean, we were old men, in the body of young adults, I was many years older than Lucy Emerson, she had no idea what was going on, but we had nothing better to do but scare her off when she left Max's shop to go home! Still, I would give everything to get back to the life we had, I really do not like to admit it, but I feel old and I feel like I'm just working!"
Marko looked at the coffee cup he held in his hand. "I know exactly what you mean, I feel the same way," he replied, looking at David sheepishly. "Life in this city brings back many painful memories!"
David nodded. "I'm glad we met the boy again," he finally said. Marko got up with a smile and put his coffee cup in the sink. "And I'm curious what the boy has to offer as a tattoo artist," he replied and went to the bathroom to take a shower. Half an hour later, Marko started his motorcycle and drove away.
David had a cigarette in his hand and watched his friend until he had disappeared from David's field of vision. 'Marko is really a loyal soul,' he thought, 'he deserves better than this!'
David's gaze fell again on the white van that nobody seemed to care about. Curious as he was, he walked over to the Mercedes. He peered through one of the windows into the interior of the vehicle. Well, there was not much to discover there. On the passenger seat was a fairly worn book, "Bram Stocker's Dracula". David grinned and was about to turn around to return to the caravan when his eyes fell on a small silver object lying in the driver's seat. It was an earring, in the shape of a sword.
David held his breath for a second. The earring Paul had worn back then looked exactly like this one. David shook his head sadly, threw his cigarette butt on the floor and went back to the caravan. He sat down at the table with a cup of fresh coffee and turned on his laptop.
He entered his daughter's name in the search engine and waited anxiously. Sometime later, he found a link to the local daily newspaper. In the article, David read, it was reported that Father Mike, the parish priest, had been given a new social worker. While Father Mike advised people seeking help in his facility, Miss Jones was traveling in the city. She specifically provided homeless youth with help and distributed durable foods, as well as hygiene products to them.
Under the report, there was a photo that showed the priest and a young woman. The priest was somehow familiar to David, but he did not bother with him. David's focus was on the young woman who was his daughter. Miss Jones wore her chocolate brown, smooth hair a little longer.
David smiled, not expecting Hope to keep the pale blonde hair she was born with. Few adult humans had hair as fair as David's. It was sometimes funny because people thought he had bleached his hair. But no, that was David's natural hair color.
With his daughter, the hair color of the mother had prevailed. Besides the priest, Hope looked very small, she just reached the man to the chest, and if she had not this feminine figure, she could easily have been mistaken for a child.
Except for the size, Hope looked very much like her father. She had the same blue eyes as Davids and his lips. But what particularly caught his eye was the freckles, her face was full of them. David had to smile, his own mother also had had so many freckles.
The young woman, who smiled tiredly and sadly at him from the photo, was neither very pretty nor ugly, but to David, she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. He was looking forward to the day he would finally meet her.
When David's eyes fell on the priest again, and the names of the persons depicted in the photo, he choked on his coffee and got a fit of coughing. Father Mike was actually Michael Emerson! Incredible! Star was right, Hope was in danger. David had to find her, and fast!
Well, at least David now knew what the young lady looked like he was looking for. David turned off his laptop and went outside to smoke a cigarette, then took a shower and decided not to wait for Marko's call as agreed. This news he wanted to tell his friends, he was too impatient to wait.
He took the black scarf and tied his hair into a braid, then took his jacket and helmet and went to his motorbike. David lightly lit a cigarette, then finally drove to Laddie's shop when he was finished smoking.
When David parked his motorcycle in front of Laddie's shop, they both came straight out. Marko was about to pull his smartphone out of the inside pocket of his jacket. When he saw David, he grinned and left the phone where it was.
Marko approached his friend. "Someone is impatient," he said. David got off his bike and greeted Laddie, who had meanwhile locked his business. David grinned at Marko and shrugged. "There is some interesting news," he justified his impatience.
Marko and Laddie looked at him intently. "What's going on," Laddie asked. David held his smartphone in his hand and searched for something. "I'll show you right away," he said. "You will not believe it!"
When he finally found the newspaper article he'd read on the laptop at home, he shoved the phone into Marko's hand. Marko read the report and looked questioningly at David. "Look at the photo," David asked, "and most of all, the names below!"
Marko raised his eyebrows and whistled once. Then he grinned and handed the phone to Laddie. "Star was right," David explained. "Hope is actually in danger!"
"So that's your daughter," Laddie asked, returning the phone to David. "Why is she in danger?" Marko looked at Laddie thoughtfully. "Michael probably will not know whose child Hope is," he explained, "but if he finds out before we find the young lady, that would not be good!"
David nodded. "That's right, did you know that Michael is the priest," he asked Laddie. Laddie shook his head. "I've heard about Father Mike, and have already donated money for his establishment, since I myself was homeless, as you know," Laddie replied. "But I never met the priest and did not know it was Michael."
"Michael Emerson is a priest," joked Marko. "Who would have thought that?" "Yes," replied David, with a serious expression. "And that's exactly what my little one works with, I do not like it at all!"
"Yeah, that sucks," Marko said, nibbling his thumbnail again. Laddie looked from David to Marko. "We could think about what we're going to do with this information while eating," he suggested. "I know a good Chinese restaurant not far from here."
Marko looked at Laddie and they both burst out laughing. "They're only noodles, Michael," both smirked. David grinned. "Okay boys, let's go," he said.
The restaurant, "The Chinese Dragon" was within walking distance of Laddie's studio just five minutes. It had two large rooms separated by the counter. There were also outdoor tables surrounded by half-height walls. Behind the walls, a lake had been created, which was located in a large park.
As it was cool that day, however, the three men opted for an indoor table. The table was right by one of the windows and David's gaze fell directly on the store opposite the restaurant.
It had once belonged to Max, today there was a computer game business owned by Lucy Emerson. Lucy was just leaving the store. She had grown old and looked sad and tired. Sure, David had heard that one day Sam Emerson had disappeared without a trace, which had to be terrible for his mother.
David had no grudge against Lucy, on the contrary, he was sorry for her, as he was for all the other women Max wanted to turn into vampires over time. None, except Lucy, had survived that.
All these thoughts did nothing to lighten David's mildly depressed mood. But what was he supposed to do, things were the way they were, and no matter if it sucked, he could not change that!
With a sigh, David took his eyes off the former video store and looked around the restaurant. His eyes fell on the buffet, which was not far from the table of the three men. "That looks really good," David remarked. "I've just decided what I want!"
Marko and Laddie looked up from the menus they held and followed David's gaze. "Hm, a buffet," said Marko finally. "Good choice, I'll take that too!" Laddie nodded in agreement. "Yes, me too, I'll start with the dessert," he explained in amusement.
When the three men left the restaurant about an hour later, David was in a slightly better mood. Laddie and Marko had been talking all the time, also about the tattoo that Marko wished to have. Laddie had painted it and Marko was very happy with the drawing. Previously, Laddie had shown photos of tattoos he had already made to Marko. Marko loved what he saw, Laddie was very talented.
The tattoo that Marko wanted showed an old railway bridge. Four young men were hanging below it and holding onto the iron bars of the scaffolding. The four men were David, Dwayne, Paul, and Marko. Dangling under the bridge was a game for the four vampires back then after the rides on the boardwalk got boring for them.
It was about who managed to stay on the iron bars the longest when a train thundered across the bridge. The vampir, that would let go first had to pay for all the drinks and food for the evening.
David had not participated in the conversation, he seemed absent all evening. So many things went through his mind. He really wanted to find his daughter, he would have to go to father Mike. But the priest was sure that David was dead, burned with the old house! Would Michael David recognize anyway? How would he react?
David's thoughts turned in circles, and he was not sure if he wanted to see Michael. But on the other hand, he wanted to protect his child at all costs, even though he did not know very long that he was a father. He felt responsible.
"What are we going to do," Laddie asked as David lit a cigarette outside. Marko looked from David to Laddie. "Well, I do not know if you like the idea, but I really want to visit the graves of Paul and Dwayne," he suggested.
His friends nodded and David remembered the items he had seen in the van. A few minutes later, the three men were on their way to James's old house, or rather, to the paddock behind the house. At the site, the men parked their motorcycles in front of the ruin, which had once been a magnificent house.
The fence that encircled the property looked like it was new. For David that was not a problem, because he had basically tools in the saddlebag of his motorcycle, you never knew! He took a side cutter with him and in no time cut a hole in the fence that allowed the men to slip onto the property.
David went ahead because he still knew exactly where the graves of Paul and Dwayne were. Burying a part of his family there was pretty much the worst thing David ever had to do.
David noticed immediately that the two crosses were no longer in place, one lay behind the graves in the bushes and the other lay broken beside Paul's grave. The hills that Marko and David had piled up on the graves at that time were also gone, and it was clear to David that the earth would sink over time, but both tombs looked more like a bomb under the ground had exploded.
At Marko's expression, David could tell, his friend had noticed all these things as well. "That's weird," Marko said skeptically.
David looked thoughtfully at Marko. "Nobody but us and now Laddie knew they were buried here." He hesitated for a moment and then told what he had seen lying in the van. "Something's wrong here," he finished his report.
Laddie and Marko looked at David in astonishment. "Their bodies were almost completely destroyed, but they have not been burned," David remarked.
Marko sighed. "Well, I don't know, Paul was just a skeleton ..." when he saw how seriously David looked at the graves, he raised his hands defensively. "Listen, buddies," Marko finally explained, "I saw a folding spade in the shed and we could fetch it and bring a flashlight.
David nodded. "I know that thought sounds absurd, but I'll bet Paul and Dwayne are not there anymore!" Laddie looked hopefully at the two. "Okay, I'm ready, what are we waiting for?"
Sometime later, Marko disappeared into the shed at the campsite to fetch the folding spade, David and Laddie waiting outside. Laddie looked around all the time while David was sitting on his motorcycle with a burning cigarette in his hand.
He took a movement out of the corner of his eye and looked over at the white Mercedes. There was someone there. A tall, male figure. David could not see the man's face as it was hidden under the hood of the dark jacket the man wore. The two men looked at each other for a moment, then the dark figure walked to the driver's side of the van and opened the door.
David got off his motorcycle and walked over to the Mercedes when he heard the door close again, he walked around the vehicle. The dark figure was gone. David looked through the window into the vehicle, the moon had enough light to see the interior of the Mercedes. David noticed immediately that the objects he had seen lying on the seats in the afternoon were no longer there.
David looked around in astonishment, but the dark figure had disappeared without a trace. David had a weird feeling and he felt watched. His hair at the back of his neck rose, and he preferred to go back to Marko and Laddie.
David could not know that he was actually being watched. The figure, now sitting high in a tree, had recognized him and wondered why he was human. The figure was still watching as the three men left the campsite with their motorcycles.
"David, Marko," the figure whispered, then flew away in the direction of Hudson's bluff.