First Sighting

"Do you want to go check it out?" I asked my pups. They both nodded their heads, 'Yes' with a small grunt. I pull into the parking lot and find a spot by a lamp post near the front entrance. I got lucky with that. "Okay, come on." I put my vape, iPhone even though it has no signal, and wax pen in my pocket, then get out and wait for them to jump out before locking my Blazer up. Thankful my windows are tinted so you can't see everything I have inside. I need to think about what to do since I'm in Santa Carla, and the 80's no less. Looking down at my outfit, I realize I don't stick out that bad. Tight, black jeans, a maroon, loose-fitting tank top, a pair of work boots, my leather jacket, and fingerless leather gloves. Couldn't really see my figure, besides my ass in this outfit, but I'm okay with that. My long, brunette hair in a ponytail, showing the hidden rainbow dye job on the underside.

Thinking where to go first, hoping to avoid certain people that I know are here, which will probably be impossible. I still can't get over the fact that I am in The Lost Boys, one of my favorite movies. I even read the book. There were so many details left out of the movie, but it is what it is. The '80s were known for movies that ran for an hour and a half. Can only fit so much in that time frame. I have also read a lot of Lost Boys fanfiction. The big question that was asked most was, 'Are the vampires worth saving?' And I would always answer, 'Yes.' So, that is the question running through my mind at the moment. Do I avoid the vampires and get the hell out of here? Or do I help them?

As I walk under the entrance archway with Sirius and Regulus by my side, I could hear live music. So I headed in the direction of the concert I heard playing. The crowd kind of split as we walked through. It must be my pups causing people to scatter. It doesn't bother me any, just means I won't get separated from my pups. I could hear the live music getting louder. A little more walking down the boardwalk, I could see the concert on the beach off a set of stairs. I stop, "Do you want to get closer?" They both nod their heads, 'Yes.' "Okay. Just a little bit. This is a big crowd," I look for a good spot to stand for all three of us, and wouldn't you know it, it's near two certain half-vampires. I sighed, knowing what was going to happen next. It seems I'm not going to be able to avoid the vampires at all.

I nod my head in the direction we are to go, "Come on. I found a spot." I led the pups through the crowd to stand next to Star and Laddie, catching their attention. I could see out of the corner of my eye as I was swaying to the music Laddie was pulling on Star's skirt to get her attention and pointing at my pups. Star turns around and sees Sirius first. She grabs Laddie and pulls him behind her. I lean closer to Star so I don't have to yell over the music, "It's alright. They're friendly. You can pet them."

Regulus stayed next to me but Sirius went up to them wagging his tail excitedly. Laddie reached out and pet the top of his head and giggled, "So soft." I smiled, "His name is Sirius and this is Regulus." I patted Regulus on the head. I stuck out my hand for Star to shake, "I'm Jenn." She shook my hand with an impressively tight grip, "Star and this is Laddie." Of course, I knew that but they didn't know I knew that.

I could feel the hairs on the back of my neck and arms stand and shiver as I glanced at the crowd and spotted a staring stalker named Michael. I gesture behind Star, "You have an admirer." She turned to look where I was indicating and saw Michael. Star grabbed Laddie's hand and said, "It was nice meeting you." I nodded my head, "Likewise. Go before he gets a chance to catch up."

Star and Laddie walked out of the crowd and back onto the boardwalk. I stood there a little longer, watched as Michael and Sam ran past me. I heard Sam say, "Cool dogs." But before I could say anything to him, he ran to catch up with Michael. I grasp the leashes in my hand tighter as the crowd seems to get more riled up. I tugged twice to signal it was time to go back to the Blazer. I still need to find a place to stay for the night.

As I am walking down the boardwalk, I see my reflection in a clothing shop mirror. I am shocked to see that I look younger. I had just turned 40 before leaving San Diego but now I look to be in my early twenties. Man, I need to find out how I got here. So much has changed. Whatever or whoever brought me here went through a lot of trouble to make this happen. I mean, I'm younger, I still have my pups, Blazer, and all my stuff. Stuff that doesn't exist yet. Of course, I'm still going to use everything, just not in public.

Me and my pups keep walking at a decent pace. I can see Star a little ways ahead of me. Meaning, she's getting close to meeting up with the Lost Boys. I can also see Michael and Sam walking behind Star. I rounded the corner a little ways behind the Emerson brothers in time to see David smirk at Michael. Star and Laddie waved to me, I waved back. Michael looked back and forth between me and Star. David was still paying attention to Michael, Dwayne was listening to Laddie talk as he pointed to Sirius. Paul and Marko were looking between Michael and myself, but they were too far away to really see me. If they did, I'm sure I would get leered at. Then they gunned the engines of their motorcycles and took off, completely disregarding the people around them.

'Welp, I didn't do a very good job of avoiding them,' I thought. "Come on you two," I led my pups to the Blazer. I noticed it was untouched. Probably from being parked so close to the front. I took a closer look at the Blazer. My license plates were the same but the registration stickers were for May 1988. What the hell? My plates even fit in with the timeline. I unlocked the door and let Sirius and Regulus jump in. I was getting ready to climb in when I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turn around to see it's Mike and Sam.

"Can I help you?" I didn't mean to sound rude but I was a little stressed and freaked out from the day's events, and ready to relax in bed. Mike scratches the back of his neck, giving me a once-over, "Um, that girl? Did you catch her name?" I raised one eyebrow, "Not my place to give you that. I'm sure you'll see her again. You can ask her then." Sam was trying to see past Michael and me to my pups the whole time they were standing there. "Sam, Michael, time to go," I heard Lucy yell. Sam's face turns into a frown but then he runs to Lucy. Michael waits a moment before nodding his head then jogs over to his mom's car.

I climbed onto my Blazer and started it up. I turn to look behind me so I can back out of the parking spot. Something catches my eyes. It's a manila envelope sitting next to Regulus on the front seat. I know it wasn't there before. I turn the key to shut off my Blazer. I opened it and dumped the contents into my lap. It was a deed and keys to a house, my bank account information for this dimension or whatever, a new ID, and a Will from a "long last relative." Damn, whoever brought me here thought of everything. I turn around and scan the back of my Blazer. Yep, all my tech was still there. Definitely not going to use any of it in public.

I looked at the address of the house and realized I have no idea how to get to it. Good thing the pups are still wearing their leashes. I sigh as I open my door, "I got to ask directions to this place. We can walk around a little more." Sirius got excited but Regulus whined. I grabbed a scrap piece of paper and wrote the address down. "It won't be long. In fact, I think I know what shop we could stop in." My pups are on each side of me as we walk a little way down the boardwalk to a video store, Video Max, to be exact. I could see through the front windows that Max is behind the counter helping the last customer inside the store. Perfect. We stop before the door, I kneel so I am at eye level with my pups. I speak quietly to them, "We're going to go inside this store. There is another dog in there. He is Max's guardian. I want you two to stay by the door. Do not approach him, okay?" They both nod their heads.

I open the door as the last customer walks out. I step to the side out of their way before entering. Sirius and Regulus stop following and stay by the door with their leashes in their mouths. I could see Max is watching the three of us and casting glances at Thorn. The Hellhound hasn't moved from his spot but has lifted his head. I walk up to the counter as Max greets me, "Hello, welcome to Video Max. Home of Santa Carla's finest video selection. How can I help you?" I put on a smile, "My name is Jenn, and I was wondering if you could help me?" Max kept up his customer service persona, "I'll see what I can do." "Thank you. I actually just arrived in town with my pups and I have no idea how to get to Thomas Wilks' Estates." Max's eyebrows raised, "Old man Wilks?" I nod my head. He gives me a quick once over, "Why are you interested in that place? Nobody has lived there for years."

I let out a sigh, "I actually inherited the property, and thought it might be a good opportunity for a fresh start somewhere new." I have this feeling that whoever brought me here, is intending for me to stay permanently. Max pursed his lips, "Understandable. If you don't mind waiting for me to close up, I can show you how to get there. Wilks' Estates is not that far from my own home." 'Oh great,' I think to myself. "That works for me. Are you sure it's no trouble?" I asked. Max shakes his head, "None at all." I smile bigger, happy with the outcome but wary of the fact he lives so close, "I'll just go get my truck." I step back from the counter.

Max has come around to the other side of the counter. He stands next to me, eyeing my pups, "And who are these two might I ask?" I point to each of them, "This is Sirius and his brother Regulus." When I pointed to Sirius he waved a paw at Max, while Regulus just nods his head. I think Max is shocked by their comprehension of what I'm saying. He has this expression of awe on his face, "Well behaved pups you got there." "Thank you. Well, my Blazer is parked a bit away, so I'll go get it and then follow you. Thank you for helping me." Max smiled, "You're very welcome." I nod my head and turned to leave, opening the door for my pups. They stepped out of the store and waited for me to grab their leashes. We walk a little slower back to my Blazer, giving Max enough time to shut down his store.

I pull my Blazer into the spot next to a red sports car, which happens to belong to Max. I could see him pulling the cash drawer from the register and walking to the back of the store where his office is. He comes back out a few moments later, turns off all the lights then locks the door with Thorn standing beside him. I wave as he and Thorn get into his car. He pulls out of the parking lot with me following behind him.

The House

It was a quiet 15-minute drive. I did not turn on the radio or plug in my phone just in case Max could hear it. Who knows how well a vampire could hear. I notice Max starts to slow down in front of an older Mediterranean-style home with a short, gravel driveway. I see the address painted on the mailbox, it is the house I inherited. I can tell Max lied about the house being in his neighborhood because I can see the end of a dirt driveway leading to the Emerson household as we drove by. I pass the driveway and then go into reverse to pull up to the garage making it easier to unload everything. Max looked at me weirdly, until he realized what I was doing. I get out and walk over to his car, "Thank you again." I shook his hand in thanks. Max chuckled, "Anytime. Well, I'm sure we'll be seeing each other again." I politely smile and nod. Max pulls away from the end of the driveway and disappears further down the road.

I turn around and face the house. It is huge. Seems a little out of place for this neighborhood. The closest neighbor is the Emerson's house and even that is over a quarter-mile. I take the keys and unlock the front door. Opening the door, I move out of the way before I get trampled by Sirius. Every time we go to a new place, my pups search it for any unwanted visitors. Again something else I trained them to do because of my military background. Can never be too careful. After a few minutes, they both came back to where I was standing in the foyer. Since they didn't alert me to anything it means they didn't find anything or anyone.

"Okay, you two. Let's get you fed and then unload the Blazer," I tell my pups. Regulus wagged his tail a little, while Sirius panted with dribble stringing from his jaw. I went back out to my Blazer and grabbed our traveling cooler full of their food, and brought it into the kitchen. I wasn't kidding when I told those kids their food can be expensive. My pups eat raw, red meat of hoofed animals such as Deer, Elk, Moose, Bison, and Bovine. I would on occasion mix in vegetables, but rarely. If I let them gorge, they could very easily eat twenty pounds in one meal. But that was as if they were in the wild. Being somewhat domesticated, they would eat around five pounds each, three times a day.

I dig out a sealed bag of Bison, opening it and smelling it. I was making sure it didn't go bad from being shifted dimensions. It was still bloody and smelt fine. So I split it up evenly between their two dishes and set one by my feet, then I walked to the other side of the kitchen and set the bowl down. Sirius was inching towards his bowl, not even waiting for the command. Regulus waited for the command, but I can tell he was hungry. "Alright, now you can eat," I got out of their way as they ate their food.

I walk through the house to get a feel for the place. It was a lovely home. Built in the late 1920s, four bedrooms, four baths with attached garage. Every room was very inviting, brightly lit, with light-colored walls and carpet, and massive windows to let in plenty of sunlight. 'Note to self, get black-out curtains for bedrooms and the den on the second floor.' Bonus, the house was furnished. It makes things easier. Plus, the furniture was not mismatched, each room had its own personality. I had claimed the master bedroom, of course, it had a beautiful view of the tree line behind the house, as well as an empty field. And if I remember correctly, on the other side of that field is the horse corral where the three horses ran from a barking Nanook earlier in the day.

I stood there for a moment, thinking about how my life had been flipped upside down in a matter of hours. Knowing what I know about the Lost Boys, I decided to do things a little differently than most fanfics. I'm going to stay out of the vampires' line of sight, so to speak, until the time is right. I kind of know what I want to do and how. It is something I have thought about many times. How I would handle saving the boys if I was ever in that position. This way of thinking may be why I haven't truly freaked out yet.

Stepping away from the window, I head back to the garage to open it and unload my Blazer. Since my Blazer was lifted, I couldn't pull into the garage. I unlocked the back hatch of my Blazer and let down the tailgate. Starting with the suitcases full of my clothes, I rolled them up the stairs into my room. Next came all the stuff for my pups. I put all of it but their beds in the kitchen. My computers, server cabinet, monitors, laptops, iPad, and gaming systems were put inside my massive walk-in closet until I could figure out where I wanted everything.

The last thing was the 60" inch flat screen tv. It was wrapped in my blankets for extra cushioning, held together with bungee cords. I had help from my neighbor in San Diego loading it, but now it's just me. It's not too heavy, but it is kind of big for me to carry on my own. I looked around the garage and found something I could use. It was a metal tool cart tall enough for me to slide the tv onto after I laid it down. Grasping one of the bungee cords, I carefully pulled the tv onto the cart and rolled it into the house. Thankful the door leading from the house to the garage was wide enough to fit through. Once I got the tv inside, I rolled it into the living room. Using the bungee cords, I lifted the tv off the cart and leaned it against the wall. I will mount it later, after getting the materials I need from a hardware store. But for now, I am going to get cleaned up and ready for bed. Tomorrow is a new day.