Chapter 14

Wednesday, September 23rd, 1987

Hill Valley

11:16 P.M.

"Oh, Josie. . . ."

Jill almost floated into the room. "Josie, I am so glad I went to your club. Louis is the perfect man. I'm still shocked you didn't snatch him away for yourself."

"Like I said, he's not my type." Josie smiled weakly. "Glad you're making good use of him, though."

"Yeah, me too. In fact--" Jill leaned closer. "I think he's the one."

Josie's head snapped up. "What!"

Jill nodded, grinning dreamily. "I mean, I know it's only been a few days, but I've got a feeling he's the one. The guy I've been waiting for my whole life. He's cute, smart, intelligent, has excellent manners, and is so witty. . . . And I have you to thank for him, Josie."

Josie blushed. "Well, you're welcome." Oh, boy, this could be bad. Louis may love her, but does he love her like that? He's already told me about that train wreck of a marriage of his. I --

Actually, no. I'm not going to worry about it. We've had enough stress during this pregnancy already, haven't we babies? She felt one of them kick. That's right. This is Louis's business, not mine. All I want to worry about is giving birth. She smiled at Jill. "I"m really happy you found someone, Jill."

"Me too." She laughed. "A guy from a Goth club -- who would have thunk?"

"Not me." She laid a hand on Jill's arm. "Just be careful, okay? I don't want you getting hurt."

"Don't worry, Josie, I'm talking to Louis about it tonight. Keep your paranoia confined to your kiddies."

Thursday, September 24th, 1987

Hill Valley

7:11 A.M.

Doc never tired of watching his family sleep. All the people he cared about, gathered together under his protective gaze. He brushed Marty's hair out of his face, then ran his fingertips over Josie's stomach. If he concentrated, he could hear the triplets' heartbeats now, a low, soothing hum. They were almost ready to be born. He was just on the threshold of being a biological father. He blinked back some tears.

Josie's eyes fluttered open. "You all right, honey?" she murmured sleepily, seeing the tears.

"Oh, yes, just fine," Doc kissed first her lips, then her belly. "Just reflecting on all I have to be thankful for."

"I see," she smiled at him. She leaned up and put her arms around his neck. "Well, Dr. Brown, can I give you something else to be thankful for?"

Someone knocked at the door, ruining the moment. "Hello? Josie?"

Josie blinked, startled. "Jill?" she whispered. "What's she doing here so early?"

"Josephine, I really need to talk. Open up, please."

Josie frowned. "Boy, she sounds really worried about something. I guess I'd better let her in."

Doc nodded. "Kids, wake up! We gotta move!" he said, shaking Marty and Jennifer.

Only to receive a punch in the mouth. "OUCH!"

"What the hell? Oh, shit, Dad, I'm sorry! I was still dreaming!"

"Never mind that. Jill's at the door!"

"Okay, Josie, I know where you keep your key. I'm opening the door."

"Damn! Grab Jennifer and hide!" Doc bolted into the wardrobe. Marty took the still-snoozing Jennifer and slithered under the bed with her. Josie spread herself across the rumpled sheets as the door unlocked.

Jill walked in, looking rather white. "Josie?"

Josie pretended to rouse herself. "Jill? What a surprise!" She yawned. "What brings you over?"

"Josie, I gotta talk to you," Jill said, sitting on the bed. "Louis just told me the wackiest thing. He said he was a vampire."

"So? He drinks blood, like me," Josie said, wondering how far Louis had gone.

Jill quickly told her. "Josephine, he showed me his fangs. They came out of his mouth. Those things were real! And then he stood up, and these -- wings came out of his back! Just like the monster who attacked me! I freaked and ran for it."

"Oh, Jill. . . ." Josie put her hand on her shoulder.

"It's like -- I thought I knew him, Josie! I thought -- he was a regular human being. And he said that a bunch of the other people in that club were vampires too! And his kind, not the normal kind."

Shit, Louis really went all out, Josie thought, stunned. He must really love her to reveal all that. Remind me to smack some sense into him later, will ya honey?

Sure thing, but what do we do about her right now? Doc replied.

Well, I can't hypnotize it out of her, that would just get Louis on our bad side. And I'm not sure I should tell Jill I know anything yet, that would freak her out more. Damn, I'm not sure what to do.

"So Josie -- what the hell do I do? I still have feelings for him, but this whole vampire business. . .how do I know he's not going to hurt me?"

"Well, Louis always seemed like a good guy to me. I've never seen him harm anyone." Except for soulless vampires, but that's another story altogether. "Don't you think that if he wanted to hurt you, he would have done it already? The monster that attacked you didn't waste time trying to court you."

"I guess. He really scared me, though. Why would he do something like that?"

"This might sound insane to you, but I think it was out of love. He didn't want to get into a really committed relationship with you without telling you the truth."

"But -- he's a vampire. Louis isn't supposed to be a vampire. He's supposed to be this really hot guy I can marry and have babies with."

"Vampires can have babies with humans. We're -- they're not denied the pleasures of sex."

Jill looked up. "We're? Josie -- you're not -- one of -- them?"

"Uh -- I -- Well--"

Jill's eyes became the size of dinner plates. "Oh my God," she squeaked.

Josie let her fangs extend in defeat. Jill gave a little "eep" and scooted away. "Oh my God!"

"Jill, please, I'm not going to hurt you," Josie said hurriedly. "I promise."

"You're -- you're a vampire," Jill squeaked. "Do -- do you have those -- wings Louis showed me too?"

"Yeah, I do. Standard equipment, you could say."

"Oh my God. Oh my God." Jill put her head in her hands. "I -- this is absolutely insane. Bonkers. You're movie monsters! You're not supposed to exist. I'm dreaming here. Wake up, Jill, wake up!" She pinched her arms hard. "Ouch! Damn it."

"Jill, please, you have to calm down," Josie said, taking her friend's arm gently. "I know Louis really freaked you out there -- and honestly, what the hell was he thinking? -- but if you let me explain--"

"Explain what! How your dark kin attacked me and was going to kill me? How you drink the blood of innocent people?"

"Jill! Look, I'm not excusing what that monster did! If I'd been there, I probably would have killed him! We're not all like the monsters. Some of us are pretty decent human beings. Like me, and like Louis."

Jill looked at her. "One of us saved you from the monster, remember?" Josie went on, encouraged by the hesitation.

"Your brother-in-law is a vampire too?"

"If he was, he wouldn't be walking around in the daytime," Josie said. "Whoever saved you must have just looked like him. Notwithstanding, he did save your life, Jill. You can't accuse him of being evil. And you've known me for over a year now. Would you say I'm evil?"

"No. . . ."

"Look, most of us were pretty scared ourselves when we learned about the existence of vampires. I know I was. But we're not all bad. Please, let me explain."

"Start talking," Jill said, lying down. "I don't know what to think anymore."

"Well, first off, there's two different kinds of vampires -- souled and soulless. Souled vampires are like Louis and me -- we're still pretty human in most regards. But soulless vampires -- they're terrible. They become the worst sadists after they're changed. It was a soulless vampire that tried to kidnap and kill you, Jill."

Jill shuddered. "I see. Why would there be two different kinds of vampires, though?"

"It really has to do with how you're changed. Us souled vampires were eased through the change by our creators, generally. Or if we weren't, we simply kept ourselves from going insane when we woke up. The soulless vampires couldn't do that. A lot of them were tortured to death by other soulless, so you can't really blame them. Other than that, we are technically the same species."

"Christ. This is supposed to make me feel better?"

"Look, the only kind of vampire you need to worry about right now is the souled kind. We're doing our best to make sure what happened to you doesn't happen to anyone else." Josie frowned. "It's weird, though -- normally the soulless keep to the outskirts. It's only recently that they've tried attacking people. It's like they're being coordinated somehow."

"Okay, that's creepy. How are you guys different from humans? Besides the obvious, I mean."

"We've got a variety of powers -- we can hypnotize, we heal far faster than normal humans, we're much stronger. . . ." She trailed off, looking thoughtfully at her best friend. "But you know what? I really think you should be asking Louis all this stuff."

"Yeah, probably," Jill blushed. "I know I shouldn't have run out on him like that, but -- he scared me."

"Well, he probably could have figured out a better way to ease you into the transition, considering you've already been menaced by a soulless vampire." Jill nodded. "But he thought he was doing the right thing. Come on, I'll bring you back, and we'll talk this over together."

"Thanks a lot, Josie. You're a real friend."

Thursday, September 24th

7:11 A.M.

Louis's house was a dark, forbidding place, something like the stereotypical vampire mansion. Josie knocked cautiously on the door, while Jill stayed back near the car. "Louis? You up?"

The door swung open, and Louis appeared. Josie gasped. He was a wreck, eyes red and puffy, clothing rumpled, and hair a complete mess. He took one look at Josephine and burst into tears. "God, I am such an idiot! I spilled it all to her, Josephine. Everything. And she started screaming, and she took off. Why'd I have to tell her those things, Josie. . . ."

Josie stared at him. "Louis, are you drunk?"

Louis nodded. "I keep some alcohol/blood mix for special occasions. When she ran out of here, I -- I just needed something to dull the pain."

Suddenly, his eyes focused on the figure standing by the car. "Jill? Jill?"

"Louis," Jill said, her eyes wide. "Oh my God." She cautiously walked up to him. "You look terrible."

Louis blushed. "I know. I'm so sorry I scared you like that, Jill. I just didn't want to keep secrets from you. I love you."

"I know. I really shouldn't have run like that. You reminded me of that thing that attacked me, and I freaked."

"Yeah, I can understand that. But I want you to know that I'm not like that thing. I would never hurt you."

Jill nodded. "Josie kinda explained things for me there. She -- ah -- accidentally blabbed she's a vampire too."

"Stupid thing, really," Josie nodded. "I don't want to see you guys break up over this. Especially if this is what it'll do to you both." Especially to you, Louis. I never thought you could be this way.

I heard that. I -- don't take rejection well, I admit. "Me either. You willing to let us explain what's going on here, Jill?"

Jill nodded. "Just try to keep things slow, okay?"

"Sure thing, sweetie." He led them inside. Josie couldn't but grin at how warm and cozy it was inside. "Would you like anything? I keep -- normal food around for guests."

"Better not. My stomach's feeling really weird."

"Josie?"

"I don't want any right now, but I'm probably going to need a bottle later on because of the sun," Josie admitted, stifling a yawn.

"Good idea," Louis nodded. He retrieved some bottles for himself and Josie to suck on. "So -- where do you want to start?"

"Just tell me everything you know about vampires -- souled and soulless."

"Okay then." He and Josephine started talking, explaining how they themselves had become vampires, the various vampires they had known, and what they knew about the disease itself. Jill listened raptly, occasionally asking for clarification on one point or another. She shook her head as they ended their monologue. "Amazing. Absolutely amazing." She glanced at Josie's belly. "So you're carrying little vampires in there?"

"Yup." Josie rubbed her belly lovingly. "I was stunned myself. Regular births by vampires are few and far between, and I thought I was just too old. Over a millenia you know."

"I know, that's incredible." She looked over at Louis. "You're one hell of a guy. Taking it on yourself to make sure all the souled vampires in Hill Valley are safe, and that everyone is safe from the soulless vampires. . . ."

Louis blushed. "It's been drilled into me ever since I was little. A sort of 'upholding the family name' thing."

"Well, I think you've done very well." She got up and hugged him. "I should have trusted you before. Even if you're a vampire, you're still you."

Louis smiled and gently squeezed her. "So all's forgiven?"

"All's forgiven." She giggled. "Now that I think about it, it's kinda cool to be let in on the secret."

"Well, don't go blabbing it to everyone. Vampires and humans don't generally get along. There's even an organization out there that found out about us and is now dedicated to killing us all. The Undead Extermination Agency -- UAE for short. I think almost all of us have had a run-in with their agents at some time or another."

Josie nodded, scowling. "One chased me from one side of Indiana to the other. Not an experience I'd care to repeat."

"Yeah, I bet." Jill frowned, sitting down next to Louis. "Although I wish they were here now just so they could take out the soulless asshole that attacked me."

"Me too," Louis said, his eyes beginning to lighten in anger. "If I had been there--"

"Louis, have you got any ideas on why the soulless are suddenly deciding to attack like this?" Josie asked, glad for a chance to talk about it. "It just doesn't seem right. They've lived on the edges of Hill Valley for a few decades -- why would they start attacking humans?"

"I'm sorry, Josie, I don't get it either. It seems inexplicable."

Jill looked puzzled. "Why is it inexplicable? You told me that soulless vampires prefer to torture human victims to death." She shivered, realizing how narrow her escape had been. "I'm surprised they haven't attacked earlier."

"There is that, but soulless vampires are actually fairly easily cowed by a united souled front. We've been able to keep them in check for years."

"Why not just eradicate them? They seem to be more trouble than they're worth."

"It's not that simple. They reproduce a lot faster than we do, mostly because they kill practically every person they feed from. Even if we were to kill them all, we'd probably have a fresh infestation a short time later. Better the devil you know than the one you don't," Louis said a touch bitterly.

"I see," Jill said, not looking satisfied. "Maybe -- they've learned how to work together?"

"Heaven forbid," Josie said, going very pale. "A group of organized soulless vampires -- that's the stuff of nightmares. If they are working together to take us down, we're in some very deep shit."

"I doubt they are working together," Louis said soothingly. "There has been an increase in the number of attacks, but they still seem to be attacking separately."

"Even so, Louis, we'd better keep that option in mind. You never want to underestimate the enemy. I think the soulless vampires are more clever than most of us think." Involuntarily her mind went back to Hell Valley and the soulless vampires who lived there. They had adapted perfectly to their environment, stalking those who were too drugged or weak to fight back. And with an abundance of homeless people to feed them, they had become quite cocky as well. She and Jennifer had had to fight them off four separate times, and Doc and Marty had told her they had tangled with them five times. She shivered and lay a hand on her belly. How glad she was her kids weren't being born into a world like that.

"You've probably got a point there. They can get pretty creative in their sadism, I know that much. I think I'll ask around, see if this is happening anywhere else in California or if it's just some weird local thing. And I'll make sure everyone's keeping an eye for any other unusual activity from the soulless. You can never be too careful when it comes to them."

"Amen," Jill said. She took Louis's hand. "So -- ah -- do you want -- do you want to--"

"Want to what?"

"Change me. Make me like you."

Louis and Josie stared. Finally Josie cleared her throat. "You're nice, Jill, but you seem a little indecisive."

Jill laughed at that. "I know it looks that way, but -- Louis, I love you. Something inside tells me you told me in hopes I'd agree to be changed."

A blush slowly came to Louis's face. "You're probably right. I would want you by my side for all eternity." He became serious again. "But only if you want to be changed. I'm not going to do it against your will."

"Well, in that case, I'd like to hold off on it for a little while. I don't know how I'd feel about being changed right now."

"Fair enough. We'll discuss it another time."

Josie yawned loudly. "Now that I've fixed you two lovebirds up, I think I'm going to go home and catch up on my sleep. The sunlight is not being good to me today."

"I'll drive you back, Josie," Jill said. "It's the least I can do." She abruptly gave her a hug. "Thanks for everything. You're a really good friend, and I know you're going to be an excellent mother."

"God willing. I'm glad I was able to straighten things out between you. Enough craziness has happened already during this pregnancy, let me tell you." She heard the rest of her family snigger in agreement in her head.

Jill sniggered too. "It's almost over, Josie. I'm sure the rest of your pregnancy will go smoothly."

"Unless there's another soulless attack."

"I'll make sure there isn't one," Louis told her. "Now go. Rest."

"Yes sir." She headed out the door.

"And Josie?" She paused, to see Louis smiling. "Thanks."

"No problem."