Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in Jim Butcher's books. Jim Butcher does.
Vampire Obsession
The Blue Beetle wasn't made for going 90 MPH, but wizards weren't supposed to be able to out race a vampire… Hm, must be my lucky day. The Blue Beetle, complete with multi-color doors, and hood, and less than luxurious interior, puttered loudly off the highway and down the street at reckless speeds. The motorcycle spun to a halt at the top of the ramp to exit, and the vampire riding it leapt off and landed on the roof of the Blue Beetle, leaving a dent bigger than the Grand Canyon on it. I sighed, and made a note to call Mike. Like a blur, the vampire was off the Blue Beetle's roof and lunging at me. I lean back, catching myself on one hand, dodging the blow and making my back ache. I pulled the freshly carved blasting rod from my pack and leveled it with the vampire's neck. He smirked, and I decided to wipe that smirk of his face. "Fuego!" I felt the power build in the rod as I yelled, and a pillar of fire was released, the vampire held still, obviously suicidal. The fire got to him, and imploded on itself, disappearing. "What…?"
The vampire hurled itself at me, and I managed to duck the lunge, but I got a free haircut from the vampire's claws. I pulled out the little paintball gun Kincaid had made for me, emptied whatever was in there on the vampire's face, but by shot two, the cartridge that fed the thing air had fowled up, leaving there no air pressure in the gun. Some days it was bad to be a wizard. I leapt into the Blue Beetle and slammed on the gas as the vampire recovered from my holy water/garlic pellets. He lunged at me, but the Blue Beetle held still and I cursed. The vampire smashed into the back, ruining the fender, but it did manage to start the vehicle somehow, so I sped off, into the Chicago traffic, now the vampire couldn't catch me.
I pulled into the lot I use for parking, step down the steps slowly and disarm my wards, when I get the key in, Mister appears from the outside and rams it's shoulder into my leg, but, I've bettered my balance, and I barely waver. Mister, my forty pound, stub-tailed cat who looks like he hunts dogs, has been with me a long time. I open the door, allowing Mister access inside and I walk in myself. I Close the door, and lock it for good measure. I step inside, to be greeted by a series of loud, squeaky barks. I saw the dog had gotten onto the counter, somehow, and wagged it's tail at me. I scratched the animal behind its ears and walk over to crash on the couch.
After getting a few candles lit and the fire started, reminding myself that cold and darkness are not my friends, I sit down on the couch and start to relax. Until the phone rings. "Son of a-" The next word was drowned out by a second ring. I get up and pick up the phone. "Dresden." I say, tired. "Harry, It's Murphy, you need to be here, now." She gave me an address. Darn it, working and late at night, and vampires aren't my friends. Despite my obvious lack of sleep, I get up, pet Mister, and Mouse, my squeaky, loud, and perhaps brilliant puppy. Then I leave the house. I get in the Blue Beetle, and speed of to the address Murphy gave me. I couldn't have turned Murphy down, she's saved my life more than once, accompanied me in missions, and did lots of things for me. I owed her to do this job, and probably many more, plus, I'm late on my rent. Big surprise there, huh?
The Blue Beetle, my transport, has very few worldly luxuries, but, if it did, I'd probably fry 'em anyway. It was a, literally, blue Beetle, but when you're me, the supernatural doesn't care for my lack of auto insurance, so it gets beat up. The doors have been replaced, one red, and one white. The hood's also been replaced, and more recently, all four tires. Mike, my mechanic, is the only man in the world to be able to keep up with the damage dealt to my Beetle, and repair it without questions, and he's cheap, too. Now I needed a new roof and fender.
I duck under the police tape and pass through the crowd, occasionally waving to the officers of the SI I'm familiar with. I wander over to where Murphy is, looking silently at the body, and I look at the corpse below me. I was having trouble keeping my dinner in. The body itself, was vaguely human, except, for the ribs, which are extended out in all directions, making the body look like one of those Gas-X commercials. Not only that, all the skin had been singed or burned off, leaving a clear view of the charred remaining bones of the rib-cage. I note all the details and walk away, almost failing at holding my dinner in. Murphy falls into step behind me.
Murphy isn't exact what you'd picture the leader of a group a cops who fight zombies and vampires. She's short, she has short blond hair, baby blue eyes, and probably mistaken for a cheerleader than a cop. I've seen Murphy in a dress before, though I never expected to. She's very muscular and has more aikido trophies than I have functional hands.
"We guessed magic." She said quietly.
"You're probably right."
"Probably? C'mon Dresden, you should know this by now."
I smiled a little, and she continues. "So, our killer in blowing people up like balloons by blowing them up from the inside."
I nod. "Seems that way."
"Sounds pleasant."
"I can only imagine."
"You're going to help us?"
"Don't I always?"
With that, we both silently ambled down the streets of Chicago. I veered us into a café and we sat down for some coffee. After a fairly long silence, Murphy got up and left. "See if you can find out anything, Harry."
I nodded and got up to leave. The machine that was chilling the bottled drinks shorted out and started sparking. I left in a hurry, and drove back home in the Blue Beetle.
I was tired. Really, really tired. I crashed on the bed and sighed. Life was just way to tiring. I fell asleep, but right before I did, Mouse began barking.