BEER GOGGLES AND RED COATS

By Angel Sentier and Lady Parsley

Chapter Seven

Consciousness came slowly for Tessa. Her entire body was hot and sweaty, like she'd been thrown in the middle of a tropical jungle. She was laying on something soft, but to her it wasn't very comfortable. The sheets surrounding her scratched her overly-sensitive skin and only added to the stifling feeling. She told her arm to move and shove some of the covers away, but it wouldn't obey her. It felt like fifty pound bags of sugar had been strapped to every limb. What was wrong with her? How had she gotten sick? The last thing she remembered was...

She struggled to keep her gorge down, but her stomach had nothing left in it to heave. That man in the alley... How long had he been there? It probably had only been a little while. Whatever did it to him might still have been around... But Tessa felt certain she would have known if that were true. How that would be possible, she had no idea.

Fuzzily, voices started to intrude, as if someone was adjusting the tuning on an old radio; only in this case, the radio was her own head. She recognized Jeff's voice right away, but the second voice, a female's, she didn't. She became aware that they had probably been speaking for a while, but her ears were only starting to receive sounds again.

"You really fucked up this time, haven't you, Weylan?" the woman was saying. "Don't give me that look. If you hadn't, you wouldn't have called me."

"I called because I don't know why she's so sick," Jeff said.

"Then you obviously don't remember. That's pretty typical." The sound of a body shifting in a chair. Tessa smelled an unfamiliar cigarette brand. "You should have called me the first night if you had regrets."

"I don't regret what I did."

"You obviously do. Or you would have taken care of this already. And if you really don't regret it, you should know that leaving her in the dark is only going to confuse her more."

"I was told right away and it scared me shitless. I don't want her to run from me. Anyway, this is my problem--"

"That's right, your problem, your fuck-up, your responsibility. God, whelp... Did you even think about what you were doing?"

"Yes, I thought about it!" The annoyance in Jeff's voice was rising. "Look, I saw her and I knew that she was meant for me--"

"You talk like you were changed two weeks ago..."

Tessa's brows furrowed together. What did that mean? In fact, what did this whole conversation mean? It might have been the fever, but she was having trouble following what they were talking about. Maybe it would help if she saw what was going on... With a supreme effort, she began to pull herself to the edge of the bed.

"You've got no right to lecture me about responsibilities, Abby," Jeff was saying. "When are you going to take care of him?"

A heavy sigh. "Hector says he's doing it for our good."

"For our good?" Jeff repeated incredulously. "He's killing innocent people!"

Tessa almost fell off the side of the bed at that remark. What! Her shaky legs felt like they wouldn't hold her up, let alone carry her, so she got down on all fours and slowly crawled to the doorway.

"We don't know that they're innocent," Abby said.

"Oh, really?" said Jeff. Papers rustled. "Just look at the newspapers! A mother of four... A college student... A man walking his dog through the park! There is something wrong with him, you know that. You need to take care of this; people are really starting to notice. Tessa found one of his leavings tonight."

Tessa froze. Whatever had killed that man in the alley was a person? And Jeff knew him? She managed the last few feet to the cracked open door and peeked out with one eye. Jeff was pacing across the room, holding a bunch of newspaper clippings in his hands and flipping through them rapidly. A grey haired woman was seated nearby, smoking a cigarette. She looked somewhat familiar... Tessa blinked and shook her clouded head.

Nana? Why was Jeff talking to her grandmother? Her grandmother was dead; Tessa had gone to the open-casket funeral. But in her fevered mind, she was absolutely certain that the woman scolding Jeff was her Nana. Why would Nana make excuses for someone who's killing people? And how does she know Jeff?

"We can go around in circles like this all night, Weylan, but it won't do any good." Abby flicked her cigarette into a nearby ashtray. "You need to concentrate on your problem. What's happening to her is happening because you were so damn selfish."

"I'm telling you, she was meant to be mine."

"Uh-huh. And you didn't spare one thought for her feelings, did you?"

"She was lonely, I could see that."

"Are you going to tell me that you did this because you were lonely? I know you were devastated about Maria, Weylan, we all were, but there are rules that we have to follow!"

"I know."

"There are very few creatures on this earth that mate for life!" She counted on her fingers. "Tigers, penguins, swans--"

"And us! I know!"

"If you know, then how could you do something so royally stupid?"

"This has nothing to do with Maria, Abby, no matter what you might think."

"Oh? Then you love this woman?"

Tessa's heart just about stopped beating... but Jeff didn't answer. Instead, he sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"Weylan," said Abby, her tone becoming more moderate. "You either need to take responsibility for your actions, or get rid of the problem."

He hesitated. "What would you do?"

"If it were me?" She stood up and brushed her hands together briskly. "I'd get rid of her."

Tessa didn't like the sound of that. The message was made all the more ominous when Jeff, again, didn't answer. His eyes closed for a moment and he took a deep breath.

"She's awake," she thought she heard him say. "You have to go."

Tessa didn't watch Abby take her leave. Calling up every ounce of strength she could, she used the nearby dresser for leverage and pulled herself to her feet. She noticed then that she was no longer wearing her own clothes, but one of Jeff's shirts. It was a little tight around her chest and the tails fell almost to her knees. But if he thought it would put her at a disadvantage, he had another thing coming!

The door opened. He blinked, seeing her clutching the dresser and scowling at him. "Hello, beautiful... What are you doing out of bed?"

"Don't give me that concerned bullshit!" she said angrily, however, she was finding that it took a lot of energy to be angry. "Tell me what the fuck is going on!"

"You're sick," he said, gently. "I'll explain later."

"You will NOT fucking explain later! I want an explanation now!" She swayed slightly. Her head was not liking being upright for this long.

He looked at her directly and said in that commanding tone, "Get into bed."

Her mind clouded over... but after a moment, clarity returned and she was angrier than ever. A scream of rage filled her chest and exploded at him.

"Well," he said, heaving a slight sigh as though her volcanic eruption hadn't fazed him at all. "I can't tell you anymore..." Without another word, he picked her up, slung her over his shoulder, and carried her to the bed, ignoring her very vocal protests. "You need rest. Stay in bed."

"I don't want to stay in bed!" she yelled at him. "I want you to tell me what's happening to me! How do you know the crazy guy who's killing people? And why were you talking to my grandmother?" She could tell she was running out of steam. No! She wasn't going to lose this way! He was going to tell her the truth, damn it! "I want answers, Jeff!" Fuck, her voice was getting softer. "Right... now!" And she was losing her breath. It seemed to be getting hotter in the room again.

Jeff backed away from the bed. "Get some rest. I will explain things later, Tessa," he said just before closing the door.

"Fuck you!" she said, and picked up the bedside clock to throw it after him, but it was too heavy. "Damn it..." She collapsed on her back. That hadn't gone well. The fifty pound bags of sugar were back, and two of them had attached themselves to her eyelids. Eventually, she could do nothing else but succumb to sleep.


She had that dream again, about going to Nana's, except this time, she actually made it up to the house. In the main hall, the woman named Abby was laying in a bed with a nightcap on her head and a floral quilt over her.

"Is something the matter, Tessa?" she asked with a smile.

It was then she realized that something was wrong. Surrounding the bed were several bodies, all in different states of disembowelment, a growing pool of blood seeping out from under the bed. One of the bodies wasn't quite dead yet, and the man reached a pleading hand out to Tessa. She recoiled in disgust as his fingers fell off.

She looked back at Abby, but suddenly it was Jeff in the bed, laughing. Horrified, she turned and ran for the door that seemed to get further and further away...

When she woke, the clock she still clutched in one hand read 3:27am. She was freezing and her entire body was covered in cold sweat. In a corner of the room, she saw Jeff asleep in a chair, covered with a blanket, with his feet on his clothes dryer/workout machine.

She could only think of one thing, Get out now.

A quiet search yielded her skirt, her jacket, and her shoes, but no shirt. She realized he must have thrown it away because she'd thrown up on it. She grabbed her purse, but there were no car keys in it... He had driven them. Her keys were still at her place with her car. There was no way she was going to risk waking him up by calling a cab, so she jammed her feet into her shoes and left as quickly as stealth allowed.

As she hurried down the street, she figured she could find a payphone somewhere, call a cab, and get home. She really hoped she wouldn't have to walk all the way back to her apartment. However, the first phone booth she found had a broken phone, the second had gum stuck in the coin receiver, and the third had a couple who were screwing. They told her in no polite terms that they were not leaving anytime soon.

She dug her fingers into her temples as she continued on. Her head was really starting to pound. At least her legs were doing better. In fact, they were walking faster. Wait, why was she walking faster? That prickly feeling was back. Something was wrong... Something was out here somewhere, and it was after her.

Tessa hurried down the sidewalk. Her eyes cast about for a public place with lots of safe people milling about. No such luck at a quarter to four in the morning. It was well after last call. And no one was awake for the morning commute yet. The streets were deserted, dark, and foreboding. And the thing chasing her was getting closer.

She wasn't quite sure when the alley wall suddenly rushed up to meet her back, or when the rough hands had grabbed her to hold her there. One moment, she had been almost running down the street, the next, a strange man had shoved her into an alley. Looking at him, he was nothing like the psychopath she'd pictured. This man might have been from Wisconsin, with his light blond hair, blue eyes, and farmer boy build, but there was something about him that was just off. Tessa almost thought that he didn't smell right, but that made no sense to her. She wasn't sure how she knew, but this was the man Jeff and Abby had argued about; Hector. The one who had been killing all the innocent people.

"So," he said. "You're the one Weylan's been playing with."

No alcohol on his breath. He was completely sober. And yet Tessa knew something terrible was about to happen to her. Do something! But what? You're going to get killed! Do something! She had been struggling, but he didn't seem to notice. Trying to kick wasn't working either. It was like he was anticipating her moves. She didn't have anything she could use as a weapon...

"The kid screwed up again. Leaving the rest of us to clean up his mess."

The hand that nearly spanned her neck was getting tighter, she was starting to feel his nails digging into her skin. Tessa! Fight back!

He grinned obscenely at her. "I'm going to enjoy this."

Fight!

Her vision went red. Her muscles wound up like a spring and her head darted forward, surprising him, and he lost his grip just for a moment. It was enough. She opened her mouth and bit down on his shoulder, near his neck. She bit hard. On her tongue, she tasted something copper and a trickle of blood dripped out of the side of her mouth, but she didn't dare let go. In her rage, she didn't hear him scream. All she heard was his heartbeat, loud and fast, and the deep rumble from her own throat.

When he managed to pry her off of him, he threw her against the wall and staggered back a few paces. She'd barely felt the impact. From the ground, she spat out a mouthful of blood; his. Hector took a step back toward her, his lips curling away from his teeth in a vicious snarl. Why did his teeth suddenly look so much sharper than before?

Before he could take another step, a figure ran into the alley and, without breaking stride, punched Hector in the jaw with a resounding crack. As he reeled back, Tessa registered that it was Jeff who had come to her rescue. But he looked... different.

"Keep your hands off her," Jeff said.

Hector leaned against the alley wall and checked his jaw. "The bitch has teeth," he said.

"She's mine. Not for you."

"Come on, Weylan... She's the one you chose? She's nothing!"

"She's mine!"

The two men pounced on one another; violent attacks met head-on, no hesitation whatsoever. Jeff's teeth looked longer, sharper, like Hector's had looked. Their fists darted and slashed through the air at each other; Tessa thought briefly of knives, but a second look told her that wasn't true. Instead, it looked as though the nails of their hands had elongated somehow, like claws.

Jeff came from below and scored a vicious slug to the throat. As Hector fell with a thud to the ground, Jeff turned fluidly on his heel and picked Tessa up by her arms. He pulled her along with him at a dead run down the street. Normally, Tessa would have been out of breath after just a short jaunt. Maybe it was the adrenaline or the self-preservation kicking in, but she wasn't having a problem keeping up with Jeff as they sprinted side by side. She chose not to question it.

The ominous feeling hadn't gone away. Hector was chasing them. But Jeff didn't bother to look behind them, as if he knew that he had only bought them a little time. They took several wild turns, but it didn't look like Jeff was trying to lose him, just gain a slight lead. He didn't let go of Tessa's arm as they ran.

Suddenly, he stopped and she ran into him, but he seemed to catch her. He found her mouth with his and kissed her, hard and fast, desperately. As if he wasn't sure he would be able to again. He pulled away from her, grasping her shoulders in both hands.

"Run," he told her, urgently.

She couldn't stop staring at the smear of blood on his lips from when he'd kissed her. "But--"

"Run!" he said, giving her shoulders a shake. "Don't stay at your place. Go somewhere, anywhere. Don't tell anyone where you're going. Run!"

He shoved her behind him just as Hector came around the corner. Tessa didn't stay to find out what happened. She ran.


Hiiiii, you've reached the Princess! I'm not here, or I'm sleeping, or I just don't want to talk to you, so leave a message and maybe I'll get back to you, okay? Beeeeeep.

"Princess, this is Tessa. Tell the boss I'm going to be out a little longer. I'm going up to Nana's house for a while." Click.

To be continued...