Chapter Four:
Enter the Bar Fight…
Walnut Grove, Missouri
Emma and Layla strolled casually through the outdoor mall of their small and sleepy town. They had only been there about twenty minutes and Emma felt ridiculous. If only Layla had said something about shoe shopping instead of "penis shopping" it would have made a world of difference. Now, she was more self conscious than ever! She knew she was lonely and feeling like that in public just gave her the sense that others could virtually smell her desperation for human contact. She fidgeted with her corduroy cranberry blazer and Layla reached over slapping her hand. It took her almost an hour to convince Layla that she wasn't a total social retard, that she knew how to dress like a girl. It was just more comfortable and easier not to! But she promised Layla and herself that she would make an exception and forgo her comfort.
One thing she did allow Layla to do was her hair. She insisted. After listening to Layla refer to her chocolate brown locks as a "skanky squirrels nest" several times, she permitted her the pleasure. And Emma had to admit that it looked fantastic! Large thick curls framed her face and fell down her shoulders. Her bangs were cut and swept just above her right eye showing the small beauty mark mole in the corner of her left.
She hated to confess, but she actually enjoyed putting on make-up! For the first time in she couldn't remember, she lined her top eye lids with liquid black liner and used eye shadow. And when she was finished, she liked the way she looked! She smiled when she looked in the mirror and allowed herself to compliment the image that stared back at her. "Not bad at all Ms. Hogan."
Her tan suede boots clacked on the freshly paved side walk as they passed the various shops and boutiques. Layla took it upon herself to point out the few men here and there that she felt would interest Emma. But, of course, Layla's idea of "Emma's type" was a little off. Most of the ones she pointed out were scrawny biker rejects, or looked like they would be excellent candidates for Trekkies Three. After another attempt by Layla to get Emma to throw herself at the first man she saw, Emma threw her arms up in annoyance.
"This is re-freakin'-tarded! I am NOT doing this anymore! I would rather be back at home in the basement letting Jimmy empty another clip at me!" Emma's outburst had drawn a few nervous looks from passers by and Layla pulled her aside.
"You don't want me help? Then fine!"
"No! I don't want your help! I don't need your help! I can do this on my own! You know, I'm twenty-five years old! I have been with lots of guy…." Emma stopped herself before the statement went any father than it already had.
"I don't find that hard to believe. Your whole wardrobe looks like hand-me-downs from a two dollar redneck streetwalker." Layla turned and smiled sweetly at a couple that walked passed the arguing pair. The couple smiled back and continued to hold each others hands warmly. Emma's heart panged when they gazed back at each other lovingly. "I felt that."
"Stop the creepy stuff! I'm not ashamed to admit that I wish I had THAT feeling! That thing, how ever twisted it maybe, you have with my brother! I wish I had that! But, my 'job' isn't very flexible and doesn't have much in the way of benefits! It's makes things more complicated than they would already be with me being a flippin' cripple and all!" Emma folded her arms across her chest and stood firm.
"Ooo you said it! Does that mean we can get the placard now?" Layla jumped and clapped her hands like someone had told her she was getting a pony for her birthday. "You know that would be a really good selling point! Men LOVE good parking spaces!"
Emma rolled her eyes and turned to continue to walk on. "You are hopeless. You know what, I'm going shoe shopping. This whole idea is stupid. I should've just followed my own instinct and gotten drunk at a bar."
"Don't tell anyone but you're probably right. We should make a night of it, the three of us. That way you won't look so pathetic." Layla patted Emma's back and headed for the shoe outlet.
"Well, I figure a lot of vamps hang out in bars looking for prey. So, either way I should be getting some action." Emma shrugged.
They walked on with the sun sparkling down in the cloudless sky. Missouri always had such beautiful springs. The weather was always perfect; never too cool. Birds were singing, and happy people gathered all over the parking lot taking advantage of the weekend's sidewalk sales that peppered the pavement. The sun would be setting soon and the nocturnal would soon be commencing their hunt as well.
After the two women settled on their purchases of inexpensive off the rack footwear, Emma called Jimmy to have him meet them at Pepper's. It was the only place in town that didn't require you to have a belt buckle the size of your head to get in. Jimmy was at the book store and that was only a block away from the bar. Since the girls had the truck, it was suitable for him to walk to.
"I thought you were going to explore the whole 'daytime' thing?" Jimmy asked.
"I tried, but, I feel like an idiot. And Layla is annoying. I think in this case it's ok to mix business with inevitable disappointment and humiliation." With that the conversation ended and Emma and Layla made for Pepper's.
Ontario, Canada
She had been tracking this one for weeks. He was a particularly brutal beast. She was chasing him now; through alleys and down populated city streets. She didn't care anymore. There had been at least twenty deaths she could attribute to him in the previous months and she wasn't going to let him rack up his victims. Her long red hair flew behind her like a waving flag of war; she wasn't going to lose him this time. As the moon climbed higher in the night sky it reflected brightly off of her milky white skin and gave her more light to illuminate her target. "You're mine!" She muttered under her breath. Flashes of the all the time she spent away from Jean-Philippe, flipped in and out of her brain. All of that time she spent, calculating, stalking, researching, interrogating, and snooping; it had all finally paid off and she had the vicious vamp in her sights.
Poor Jean. How he couldn't understand. She tried explaining to him what she was and how it was her duty to protect those people that had been slain. How everytime another victim was found, she herself died a little. She had to catch this monster! Her psyche demanded it! If she didn't get this one tonight, she may never be able to stop any others that come into her town ever again! Jean tried so hard to get her to stay home tonight. He was worried about his fiancé. She hadn't been well lately and he feared that she wouldn't be up to a hunt tonight. Genevieve admitted that she had been feeling a little dizzy and light headed, but it came and went. For now she felt fine. Better than fine! She was about to bag the son of a bitch that had been consuming her every thought for at least two months! "Sorry Jean, but, I'm glad I didn't listen to you!"
She was practically at his heels now! The adrenaline pumping through her veins made her ears tingle! She could wait until he was burning out like a grease fire! With a graceful push with her slender legs, she leapt into the air towards the object of her aggressions. But, just as she began to soar, she felt the queasy dizziness again. She landed just to the left of the surprised vampire. Instead of continuing to run, he stopped and watched the dazed vampire slayer rise to her feet. Holding her head, she stood up straight and held out an arm to stabilize her wobbly self. She forced her eyes to focus and tried vigorously to shake the dizziness from her head. Afraid that this sudden bout inner ear trouble would rob her of her victory, she tightened her fists and took a deep breath.
"Oh you've got to be kidding me!" The vamp teased gnashing his jagged teeth. "There's no way your coming out of this alive! You know that right?" He laughed.
"I'm a slayer dick wad. And you're about to be ashes." She pulled back her arm and swung at him with all that she possessed. But something was wrong and she could feel it. He caught her fist easily and began to crush every bone in her hand as he squeezed."
"Someone lied to you sweetheart!" He sang.
Genevieve was brought to her knees by the searing pain of the crushing bones. Her blood began to spill from her hand like a water balloon that had been popped. She began to whimper and cry when the realization came that she hadn't the power to stop him! She was nothing more than an ordinary girl in the hands of a hungry monster!
"Oh God! Jean-Philippe! You were right! I should have stayed home! You were right! Something has gone terribly wrong! I hope you know I love you!" She prayed to herself. Her confusion was almost as great as the physical pain she was in. Her heart pumped away in her chest like a locomotive and she knew that these were her last moments.
The wretched beast knelt down next to her and whispered in her ear. "You know, I love red heads! They're always so much sweeter!" He caressed her silken ginger hair and then gripped it tight in his claw-like hand. He then pulled hard yanking her head back and licked her tender white neck. "Ahh." He moaned. "I promise you, this is going to take a while!"
Walnut Grove, Missouri
Emma, Jimmy and Layla sat drearily at a wobbly round table that seemed to be covered in a sticky film. Their half empty pitcher of beer sat neglected in front of them. The people of Walnut Grove swarmed around the trio like leaves in a hurricane. Aimlessly they flitted about, stammering here and there and landing only when it seemed the pull of gravity became too much. A man with a glorified cd player played song after song as the drunken crowd gyrated and twitched along with him. Emma swirled the contents of her clear plastic cup and watched the happenings with disinterest. As she swallowed the last warm gulp of watered down draft the music changed to a slower pace.
"Dance with me James!" Layla grabbed Jimmy's hand and dragged him away before he could interject with a very manly "I don't dance!" Emma was left alone at the wobbly table.
She looked up and saw the once world of chaos calm into a sea of slow dancing couples. Although the thought of stepping from her left to her right over and over again with a drunken stranger who constantly whispers into her ear that she "smells pretty" made her nauseous, she couldn't help but feel that heavy little pain in her chest called jealousy.
"Am I really that disenchanted?" She thought to herself. So looked at the unappealing swill that sat stagnantly in the plastic pitcher and came to her conclusion. "Nope, I'm just not drunk yet." She picked up the pitcher and after a pause set it directly back down. "And this crap isn't going to do the trick."
Being careful not to touch the unstable and sticky table, she rose from her seat and walked over to the bar. Throngs of people pushing on all sides made her liquor run a challenge. After yelling excuse me several times and still never rising above to din to catch the eye of the bartender, Emma pounded her fist on the counter and yelled, "HEY!" Finally she was heard.
"What can I get for you?" The bartender yelled loudly to be head over the blaring rock ballad and the multitude of drunks who bombarded his counter.
"Four shots of tequila and a lime please."
"Got it four shots and four limes." The bartender repeated.
"No. Just one lime." Emma corrected. The bartender gave a cautious nod and disappeared down the bar. Emma waited for the man to return with the four stubby glasses filled with the pungent yellow liquid and her one lime wedge. She slapped a bill on the bar and taking a shaker of salt, walked back to her table.
She licked and salted her hand and then lined the glasses up in a row in front of her. As she picked up the first glass she toasted the swaying crowd. "To the loser table! May there always be room for one more!" With that, she licked the salt from the back of her hand and then one by one quickly downed each glass. Before she allowed the burn in the back of her throat turn into the hot, acid queasiness in her belly, she bit hard into the lime squeezing the tart juice all over her taste buds. After puckering intensely, she stacked the glasses together and set them on the tray of the first waitress that crossed by. Before the girl took two steps, Emma grabbed her arm and instructed her to bring four more with another wedge of lime.
Emma's head began to tingle slightly as the ballad came to a close. Jimmy and Layla returned to the table to find Emma thumping her forehead with her index finger.
"What are you doing?" Layla asked perplexed.
"I'm checking my drunkenness. Hmm, I felt the third thump so I guess that means I am three shots away from being shitty."
The waitress returned with Emma's order and after paying the girl, Emma repeated her ritual. Layla and Jimmy just sat and watched.
"How in the name of Goddess can you drink that?" Layla asked. Jimmy smiled and puffed out a bit.
"We're Irish. Some peoples are known for their business savvy, others for their discipline towards work and education. We can drink a fifth of anything and still walk out on our own two feet."
"Impressive." Layla smirked.
"Yeah, well, what's your peoples' talent? Creating a wide variety of foods that can inflame your bowels in many delightfully uncomfortable ways?" Jimmy retorted.
"Sex. Actually." Layla stated matter of factly. "I believe we wrote the book on it."
Jimmy gulped and then nodded in agreement. "Yeah, but the whole drinking thing, that would be us! It's a gift!"
"Yeah, one he doesn't have!" Emma laughed heartily as she ordered another round.
"Make that eight!" Jimmy demanded feeling embarrassed by Emma's remark.
"How many times have I had to drag you into the shower so I could clean you off while you puked?" Emma held her sides and her eyes began to water.
"Oh yes! James Hogan, true Irishman!" Layla joined in.
The tequila had begun to affect Emma. The alcohol had warmed her blood and she began to sweat. "Geez, it's fucking hot in here!" She proclaimed as she stood and removed her blazer. She dropped it down over her arms to reveal the thin, black satin camisole she wore underneath. Her long hair fell down and touched the bare olive skin of her upper back and shoulders. "I'll be right back kiddies. I gotta piss like a horse!" Ignoring the rolling eyes of her companions she turned on her heels and headed for the restrooms. Suddenly, and she began to take a step, she felt herself swoon and then sort of dizziness filled her head. "Damn, that was quick! I guess my forehead was off!" She reached out for the bar and steadied herself. "Holy crap! Since when did I become such alight weight!" As she finished her sentence, she felt some take hold of her arm. Looking up, she saw a man she had never seen before. He was tall and some what handsome. He held a beer in one hand and Emma's arm in the other. His black hair was tousled and his brown eyes were glazed. "This Dude's drunker than I am!" She thought to herself.
"Hey there sweet thing, you look like you should be sittin' down! I've got seat for ya right over here! Come here and have seat on daddy's lap!"
Emma yanked her arm away from the slobbering, sweaty baboon. "Oh get over yourself! Does that ever work?" She pushed passed him and again started for the bathroom.
He grabbed her arm again and spun her around to face him. "Fuck you bitch! I can get pussy from any bitch in this room!" He grinned creepily and continued to grip her arm.
Emma pulled back on the fingers that accosted her and forced her knee into his groin dropping him to the ground. "Now who's the bitch?" She taunted as she stood over him and then spat in his face. "Pussy." She said as she stepped over him. She had made it another inch when the "bitch's" friends confronted her.
"What the fuck did you do to my boy?" The blonde one grumbled as he and his friend helped their injured friend up from the dirty concrete floor. Emma stopped and sighed heavily.
"I might as well piss my pants. I'm not going to make it to the potty!" She muttered under her breath. Reluctantly she turned to face the two.
"I did him a favor. And not to mention a favor to every other woman in this building." She waved him off and began to make her way once more for the ladies room.
"Hey I know her! She's that one chick that Brian fucked! Yeah! Ol' peg-leg! That's it! HA! Peggy the Pirate! That's what he called her!" The drunken three began to laugh and slap hands in celebration of the second dark headed one's burn at Emma's expense.
Across the crowed bar, Jimmy had been nuzzling Layla's brown silken neck when suddenly her felt this wave of anxiety and pressure in his chest. His ears boiled and his skin went cold with clammy sweat. He could feel his heart begin to race and his breathing become erratic. A voice in his head slowly grew from a faint echo to a very clear. "That motherfucker!" Jimmy also knew that these sensations were not his. They were Emma's. And from what all he was getting, she wasn't happy and someone was about to pay dearly for it.
Jimmy abruptly pulled away from his eastern princess and stood form his seat.
"What's going on?" She asked concerned.
Jimmy stood still and focused as he scanned the crowd conscientiously. His heart began to beat faster and he could feel Emma's anger rising to the point of explosion.
"Jimmy!" She insisted.
"Listen for Emma." He instructed.
"James, I can barely make you out over this crowd. How…"
"No. LISTEN."
Layla understood this time and reached out with her mind. Like a jolt the situation unraveled in her brain and she stood as well pointed across the room toward the end of the bar. "Those poor bastards are about to have their arses handed to them!"
Emma slowly turned to face them. A hollowness took over her eyes as she stared the fool down. With every second that passed she could feel her rage take over. Rage she hadn't felt in over a year. The darkness in her heart began to threaten her reasoning and it tempted her beyond all logic. "That, was a really stupid move." She groaned flatly.
The group mocked her with sarcastic fear and the mouthy one spoke again. "What are ya gonna do gimpy? Throw your leg at me!" The three erupted into laughter and Emma grinned like a Cheshire cat.
"Well, something like that." She answered as she gave into the rage screaming in her blood.
Just as she was about to stomp her foot and trigger one of Jimmy's custom accessories, her brother and Layla shoved their way through the crowd and appeared to her right.
"No!" They cried out in unison.
"They're not worth it!" Layla insisted.
"Stay out of it Layla." Emma said with out turning to look at her.
"Yeah, shouldn't you be out driving a taxi or something?" The blonde one so rudely jested.
Layla squared her eyes at him about to respond when she stopped herself and turned back at Emma. "On second thought, knock the bloody wankers' blocks off!"
Emma finally turned to face Jimmy and Layla. "Do you see now why I stay at home?" Uncannily, the dj began to play appropriate music and Emma grinned. "Perfect. Theme music!"
The three drunken guys began to chuckle and point at the tiny woman who was about to rip them apart. "Dude, look out, she might bruise out ankles!" Mocked the blonde one
Emma sarcastically laughed with them and then sharply punched him just above the clavicle. He instantly stopped laughing and went to grabbing his throat and coughing. The jerk she had dropped before lunged forward to grab her. She quickly grabbed the arm that he extended towards her, twisted it up behind his back and then kicked him into a group of tables. The third came after her next with a loud "Hey bitch!" She made short order of him by stepping to the aside as he came running at her head down like a bull, then she grabbed his belt loop and pulled back. This made his feet slide out from under him, and as unfortunately for him gravity works and he fell nose first onto the beer soaked concrete.
Emma began to laugh at him when the dizziness came back. She grabbed her head and tried to right herself by stumbling back to hold onto the bar again. Jimmy came to her aide and held her arm to lead her to a stool. This worried him greatly. He had never seen her act this way. With her incarnate constitution, she rarely was drunk to the point of passing out on her feet, especially when she's in fight mode. Suddenly, wave of light-headedness came over Jimmy as well. He blinked his eyes harshly to combat it, but it was like someone was sucking the oxygen out of his head.
"You fuckin' cow!" The first one yelled as he rose to his feet and ran for the weakened Emma. Before Jimmy could blink, he was shoved out of the way and the bastard had Emma by the throat lifting her up until her toes no longer grazed the floor.
Jimmy and Layla stood back in amazement as Emma struggled to get free! This guy was nothing compared to her! He wasn't a vampire from what they could tell. Just some drunken asshole starting trouble in a bar. And Emma, a super-hero reincarnation of an ancient vampire slaying Goddess, was powerless in his grasp?
Layla ran over to help Jimmy from the floor. As soon as she made it over to him the weakened state he and his twin seemed to be in passed and Jimmy rose quickly and smiled at Emma.
Emma had been holding onto the brute's wrist while he was choking her. As soon as the weakness passed, she was able to crush the bones without effort. The man cried out in agony and dropped her straight away.
"What was that about ankles dick-wad?" She asked close to his face as be bent over nursing his injury. Emma raised her right leg and stomped down hard on the top of foot near his ankle. As he yelled out and ducked down to then hold his foot, Emma pulled back her right arm and then sent him flying several feet back with a vicious upper cut to the chin.
As the refreshed super-hero dusted her hands in relief and turned around, she was met by a fist to the face. Emma stood still for a moment and shook off the annoyance.
"That was my boyfriend bitch!" A shrill voice harped at her. Emma blinked her eyes and saw a smallish young woman with long blonde hair standing furiously in front of her.
"Oh sweetie, you don't want to do this! You really don't! Trust me; if that creep was your boyfriend, he certainly wasn't aware of it!" Emma chuckled.
The young woman reached up and grabbed a handful of Emma's hair and yanked down hard.
"OW! Dammit woman! This isn't cool ok! I actually took time to do this!" Emma grabbed the girl's arms and held them down in a painful grip.
"Ow wow wow wow wow OW!" the girl squealed.
"Now, go home and reevaluate your life." Emma instructed her and then let go with a little shove. This knocked the girl in the pink halter and short denim skirt into another table which in turn dumped over the drinks there onto the laps of the people sitting. A large man with a scruffy beard rose and attempted to brush the stale liquid from his lap and stomach. When he looked up the first person he saw was Jimmy smiling.
"You think that's cute Twinkie? Shoving young girls around and spilling people beer?" He assaulted in a gravely voice.
Jimmy quickly stopped smiling and shook his head vigorously. "NO, no sir! It wasn't me she just…" He stammered.
"Hey you bleeping oaf!" Layla stepped in front of her lover and began to defend him; much to Jimmy's dismay. "He didn't do anything to you! So, why don't you just go back to killing off your last half a brain cell and growing more hair on your back!"
The bearded man stepped closer to the two and looked down at them. Jimmy could almost see the steam puffing out of nostrils. "So that's how it is? You gonna let your woman fight your battles for you?"
Layla slide over to the right to put Jimmy back in plain view of the oaf.
"Nope." Jimmy answered. "She was just buying me time so I could do this!" He had put on a black glove and then punched the oaf in the sternum. The man just stood there and raised an eyebrow at a perplexed Jimmy. "I don't understand, it was working perfectly the other day? Could the enchantment have worn off?"
Suddenly, the man swung at Jimmy. As he ducked in time, the man hit the young guy standing behind Jimmy. When Jimmy stood up, the young guy pushed Jimmy forward so he could confront the oaf that punched him. As Jimmy stumbled, he bumped into another group of people who were equally bothered with having their drinks spilled all over them. They all had started to reach for Jimmy when Emma pulled him out the way.
"Did you try turning it on?" Emma asked as Jimmy continued to fidget with his glove.
"Gee no! The super genius didn't think about that! I think the batteries are dead."
"Well, if you didn't have so much fun punching the oak tree in the backyard they might still be full!" Emma lectured.
What began to unravel was nothing short of a trail of dominos falling down one onto the other. Soon the entire bar was in one huge brawl!
"Uh oh." Emma muttered guiltily.
Layla ducked under a couple of guys who had each other by the throats and ran up next to the twins.
"We hurry and get out of here before this place gets rough." She disclosed nodding her head.
The twins turned and looked at her surprised that she had not already believed an entire bar in one big fight to be "rough".
"How is this not rough? Look!" Emma gestured to the brawling mob.
A chair came flying towards her and Layla ducked just as it flew over head. "You two have never been to Manchester during football season!"
As the trio made their way to the front door, they found them selves dodging glasses, chairs and people. One man ran smack into Layla and when he grabbed her by both arms she looked deep into his eyes.
"You are a rubber ducky with a broken squeaker!" She told him. The man tilted his head slightly and then dropped to the floor sitting on his knees with his arms folded up at his sides. Layla reached down and pushed on his stomach; he opened his mouth and a slow hissing sound came out.
"Good ducky! Now, stay there until bath time!"
Jimmy had appeared and dragged her by the arm to the front door.
After several minutes, the three fell through the front doors and stood dazed looking into the street.
"Well, that was great! We should totally do that every weekend!" An exhausted Emma proclaimed sarcastically.
The sound of sirens broke through the din of the bar room brawl that carried on behind them. They all looked down the street and saw flashing lights fast approaching up the street.
"Yeah just fantastic time, but I think it's time to go!" Jimmy said as they all broke into a run towards the old blue truck. One after the other they jumped into the cab and before Emma could shut the door, Jimmy and peeled away from the curb.
As they drove off headed for home Layla turned to Emma. "I am never taking you penis shopping again!"