Nolan drove to the town make-out point, Beacon Hill. He stopped the car and dragged Marc out. He pulled him toward the first car they saw, the black Escort ZX2. Inside there was a young couple fucking their brains out. Nolan laughed. It was a pretty little redhead and a tall thin guy with blond hair. He tore off the driver's side door, Marc followed suite with the passenger side. The girl started screaming. "Calm down Melsa." The guy told her. Nolan grabbed him by the neck and dragged him out of the car. Marc jumped into the car with the screaming bitch and feverishly tore into her naked inner thigh, sucking on her great saphenous vein. She floundered about for a few seconds and fell silent. His head lashed back, he licked the blood from his lips as he dropped the girl's lifeless body. Nolan had finished and was waiting by the Mercedes for Marc to finish.
"Ah, you've done beautifully!" Nolan congratulated him as he came strolling back to the car, eyes still glowing green.
"This is good shit!" Marc said with a sly grin. Nolan put his arm around his shoulder and said to him, "You were a perfect choice." A fleeting image of Danielle appeared in his mind and his eyes faded back to brown. "Come." Nolan commanded. They hopped back in the car and took off.
Danielle, Crystal, and Garan had turned off to Highway 36 now. Trinity, in the back of the Pathfinder, finally regained consciousness. First thing out of her mouth was, "So there I was, in a car full of vampires..."
Danielle turned around and waved her hand over Trin's eyes, putting her back to sleep.
"Weird motherfucker." she said. Garan and Crystal just smiled and laughed. They turned onto Twin Lights Rd. There wasn't much traffic due to the time of night, so they moved effortlessly through the streets.
Paul stared, watching the white Pathfinder from his perch atop a nearby building. He had a carefree look on his face, yet he portrayed menacing with his empty dark eyes and black leather trench coat billowing in the wind around him as he crouched. Gareth, after all these years…you still haven't learned a thing.
Crystal fell over into Garan's lap as another vision hit her. A large warehouse, Paul's place? A street sign...Atlantic Way... Garan grabbed her with one arm and steadied her. "What is it?" he asked. "I think I know where they are. Turn here." she replied.
Garan parked the car on Atlantic Way and they piled out and started walking. They spotted the large looming warehouse up ahead. The door hinges were rotting off, and vines were crawling up the walls. It looked like it hadn't been inhabited for years. Garan ran in ahead of the girls. "Wait for us!" Crystal yelled to him, but he was already gone.
Marc and Nolan had arrived at Nolan's home, a large lavishly decorated townhouse. "I hope that naive girl fell for my trick." Nolan said to him. Marc just shot him a dirty look. "What?" he replied with an innocent smirk.
Marc just shook his head and leaned against the wall with a sigh.
"Come with me, I'll show you a good time my friend." Nolan said.
"Sure, why not?" Marc replied.
"Good, just what I want to hear. We're going to visit a lady friend of mine. You'll like her."
Marc followed Nolan around the back, where two motorcycles awaited them. One was a Yamaha, black and silver. The other was a Kawasaki Ninja, a beautiful shade of dark green with chrome wheels and trim. Nolan straddled the black bike and pointed to the Ninja. "Take that one." He said.
Marc's face lit up like a small child on Christmas morning. He immediately jumped on it. "It's green man! I love it!" He cried as he started the engine. Nolan pulled out and he followed. They sped along Hwy 36 to the Parkway. There was absolutely no traffic so they flew down at about 100 mph, feeling the exhilaration of the breeze as they cut through the wind. They got off the Parkway at Exit 98. Nolan finally stopped at a large house by the beach. "Well, here we are." he said.
Marc looked at the house. It was gorgeous. Very old-fashioned hand-carved wood adorned all the doors and windows, and the porch spindles were carved into the shape of intertwining ivy. An equally gorgeous woman answered the door. "Hello Nolan. Who's your friend?" she inquired. "This is Marc. Marc, meet Aubrey."
"Mm, handsome ones you manage to choose Nol." She said.
Marc took her hand and kissed it gently. She giggled. "And such a gentleman he is as well!"
They followed her inside, to a large room. An exquisite chandelier hung from the ceiling. There was a large glass coffee table centered in the middle of a satin ivory sofa and loveseat, and two lounge chairs. Nolan flopped down on one of the lounge chairs. "Make yourself at home Marc…Nol already has." She said as she walked into the kitchen.
Nolan looked at Marc and back to the door that Aubrey had just exited through.
"She's pretty hot isn't she?" he said with an innocent smirk.
"Oh yeah, definitely." Marc replied, seemingly distant. "What clan is she?" He asked.
"Aubrey is Toreador. There are a lot of Toreador around here. They love the beauty and serenity of the ocean I suppose."
Aubrey emerged from the kitchen with a tray of drinks in hand. "I brought out some of my finest red 'wine'." She said with a smile as she handed glasses to each of them. "It's ok if I smoke in here?" Marc asked her.
"Yes, you may."
He lit up a Newport and just stared at his drink for a bit, his mind started to linger on thoughts of Danielle.
"Nothing!" Crystal cried, "There is absolutely nothing in here!" She kicked the wall in anger. "Calm down." Danielle said.
"Where's Garan? He did come in here didn't he?"
"Yes he did..." Danielle whispered to herself.
"So where is he?"
Loud noises were heard from above, startling the girls.
"What was that?" Danielle screeched.
"Let's find out."
Crystal ran around to the ladder on the side of the building and bolted up to the rooftop. She glanced around at the rubble of smashed bricks and broken pipes. Danielle got to the top and as she saw what was there cried, "What the hell is going on?! There's nothing here!"
"No, but they were here. I can still smell them in the air. They were fighting."
"Who?!"
"Garan…and Paul and Alex."
"Well where are they now?"
Garan was walking back down Atlantic Way rather beaten, his clothes were torn in multiple places. His normally slicked back hair was a mess, going every which way. That fucking bastard attacked me when I least expected it. His memory trailed back to the fight that just occurred. He walked into the warehouse to find Paul and Alex standing there waiting for him. "Baldric, what are you doing here?" "I am here to settle a score." "What score?! You took Jae's life you fucking piece of shit! He was like my brother, but you wouldn't know about that, would you? I have a score to settle with you." Paul lunged forward and grabbed Garan's throat. He whispered in his ear, "She was MINE, you had no right to take her from me!" As he said this he threw Garan across the room and disappeared upstairs. He quickly followed. Garan snapped out of it and started walking faster.
What the hell am I gonna do about him? He's strong, yet he is toying with me. What is he planning? I need to find the girls, make sure they're alright.
Danielle and Crystal headed back out to the car. They saw Garan walking down the street. Crystal ran to him, and hugged him tightly. She noticed all the tears in his clothing, and his tousled hair. "Are you ok? Oh my god, what happened?!"
"Nothing, I'm ok."
She gave him a strange look, as if she didn't quite believe him, but let it be.
"Seriously, are you ok?" Danielle asked him.
"Yes, I'm fine."
He looked to the foggy night sky. Where are you Paul? Are you waiting, watching?
Marc was sitting alone in the living room contemplating while Nolan talked to Aubrey outside. They came in and sat down with him. "What's the matter Marc? You look troubled." She asked him.
"Oh, nothing…I'm just worried about my baby."
"Hmm?" Aubrey looked puzzled.
"The love of my life…Danielle."
"Oh…you've got a lady waiting for you somewhere?"
"Don't worry about her Marc, she's fine." Nolan interrupted.
"Yeah, you're probably right." Marc sighed.
"Of course I am."
"Come out back with us Marc, there's something I want to show you." She said.
Aubrey led them out through the back door past a beautifully landscaped pool complete with a waterfall surrounded by stones.
"Here we are!" she said, "Now THIS is a view."
Marc looked on in awe. She had led them out to a jetty behind her beach house; beyond it stretched a vastness so gorgeous one would wish to stand there lost in gaze forever. Its beauty was purely indescribable by words alone.
"But its beauty is incomparable to yours Aubs." Nolan said with a sly grin. She shot him a dirty look and he laughed. "Dawn comes soon, we better get going." Marc pointed out. "Yeah yeah, you're right. Let's go. To the house!" Nolan ordered as he jokingly pointed like a character out of an old war movie.
Marc shook his head and walked inside.
Garan, Danielle, and Crystal headed back to the car in silence. The girls could sense that Garan was very irritated. They finally arrived at the car and got in. Danielle looked in the backseat and noticed that Trinity was gone.
"Hey guys…where's that weird girl?"
"What do you mean? She's gone?!" Crystal cried.
"Where the hell could that bitch be?" Garan screamed, now extremely agitated.
"Yo Gar, calm down." Danielle said.
He whipped his head toward her, eyes flashing, and growled "I AM calm. That's it, we're leaving…I don't care."
"Oki, I gotcha…" Crystal muttered, There's something going on here that Garan isn't telling us...I smelled Paul here. "Yes, he was here. I walked into the warehouse and he was waiting for me. Our little battle ensued, and that's that." She glared at him. "You know I have no trouble reading your thoughts." he replied with a coy smile. Yes, and I don't appreciate it, thank you. They hurried home to beat the coming dawn.
Chapter 12 >>>