Club Vampyr Chapter 2, a companions of the night fanfic

Club Vampyr

Chapter 2

Every visible surface of the club was as ebony and murky as a vampire's ethics. The floor seemed to suck the color right out of the people dancing on top of it. The only blatant color in the large room was blood-red satin trailing from the ceiling in spills of a bleeding wound. Light was dispersed throughout the room from candles, and it wasn't until a drunken patron accidentally upset one that Kerry realized they were actually electric. The atmosphere tried very hard not to show technology.

Kerry swirled her raspberry cosmo and watched the people crowding around her. She had known she would stand out wearing stark white, but that wasn't really the case. Everyone was in costume, trying to look like their idea of a stereotypical vampire. Most were dressed goth, but a few people had on authentic period costumes. The truth as Kerry knew it was that vampires wanted to blend in and not stand out like the poofter in pantaloons and black lace dresses. She shook her head, watching as a guy stalked across the floor in knee high boots and a long, fitted velvet jacket. He did pull it off, but she still resented the cliché.

"Nate had to go to the bathroom." Nelle practically screamed as she wedged between Kerry's stool and the next person over. Kerry almost jumped, pulling out of her perusal of the room as she turned to paste a fake smile on her face as Nelle kept talking. "He suggested I keep you company."

"Awesome!" Kerry said without enthusiasm. She let her friend think the emotion was lost in the loud, spooky music. If Kerry stood out in her white corset and short fairy-layered skirt, then Nelle looked like one in a hundred girls in the room. "Would you like a drink?"

"Sure." Nelle grabbed the cosmo out of Kerry's hand and drank half of it. "Nate and I were thinking of going into one of the privacy rooms out back. Rumour has it a real vamp will come and suck you if you pay the right price."

Kerry felt her stomach fall in terror. She couldn't take the blind hope radiating from her best friend. "Nelle…" She warned, closing her fingers over the hand Nelle had on the cosmo glass. "A vampire isn't going to turn you. ESPECIALLY if you've already been food once. Do you understand? You're going about this wrong!" Kerry spoke desperately, trying to connect with her friend. She hated saying anything to influence Nelle one way or another. At one time she herself had been convinced that she could not, would not, and should not become a vampire. She'd been so righteous in her conviction that she had lost something which mattered to her. She hadn't wanted to lose her life, but had lost a piece in part regardless. Nelle may be convinced that vampirism was the way to gain her life, the exact opposite as what Kerry had thought at first, but how was that really any different?

The extreme convictions were the same.

"You don't even believe in vampires! How would you know what they think?" Nelle must have seen some emotion flit across Kerry's face, for she stopped mid-tirade and stared sharply. Kerry realized she would have to tread softly around this area.

"Think about it," Kerry hurried on, trying to prove what she was expressing without divulging her own secrets. "Vampires must be tired of people falling at their feet and begging for immortality. They'd think you're a fool."

"No." Nelle slammed the martini glass back onto the bar. "You're the fool for not seeing the possibilities of immortality."

"I'd rather not die." Even as she said it, Kerry wondered if it was true. A piece of her winced at her choice of words, knowing she had handed Nelle the keys to winning the argument. Another part of her was so thankful to be alive, she wanted to go home and hug her little brother.

Nelle tossed her hair over her shoulder, a haughty gesture which belied the hurt she was feeling at the moment. "I'm dying anyway." She said simply, slipping back into the crowded dance floor. She immediately blended into the blackened atmosphere, and Kerry lost sight of her within seconds.

Crap, Kerry thought, feeling the tears well up in her eyes before she could control them. How could she flaunt her own life in front of her best friend? She blinked, watching as the candle lights blurred softly. That was the problem. Nelle was here in an attempt to live longer than another year or two. When Kerry was being completely honest with herself, she wished with all her heart that some vampire turned Nelle before her health started to rapidly decline. She wasn't sure if what Michel said about vampires staying in the same condition they were the moment they turned, but if that was the case then her best friend probably didn't have much time left. That's why Kerry had agreed to come to this stupid club. In the deepest recesses of her subconscious she hoped that Nelle was turned. Kerry wouldn't interfere.

Was that accessory to murder?

"What a drama queen," a male voice pronounced at Nelle's potent departure.

Kerry turned to face the man next to her. She tried glaring, but the tears still in her eyes ruined the threat. He got the drift anyway and muttered an apology. She nodded brusquely and tried to ignore him. The last thing she needed was to have someone attempt to pick her up in a vampire club. She had enough vampire-related worries to last her a life-time.

"Look," he spoke again, his voice suddenly crisp with a faux English accent. It fit him, being completely fake and all. He was older than most of the crowd, and dressed in a richer outfit of silk and leather. But beneath the shine, he was the same as all the other losers in this place. "I just wished to commend you on your clear outlook of vampires."

"It was a private conversation." Kerry smiled tightly, mentally banging her head against the bar for not realizing other people were listening. It was hard to hear anything in a setting like this, but the two of them were also yelling at each other. Now, she had to watch Nelle even closer in case one of the humans here who deluded themselves into thinking they were a vampire decided to target Nelle. There was probably a greater chance of that happening than an actual vampire attack.

"Again, I apologize. I mean not to be rude, but I endeavour to make amends." He smiled charmingly, letting her see overly large canine teeth. If anything, she should be immediately thinking he was a vampire, but she remained firm in her notion that he was human. "I just want to point out that not all vampires grow weary of those like your friend. They make charming… toys."

Kerry met his eyes. He looked sincere, but that could be a trick. "How do you know?"

"Because I'm a vampire." He answered, as if it were obvious. He looked slightly confused that she would ask such an unintelligent question. Unconsciously, or maybe completely intentionally, he rubbed his tongue over sharp incisors.

The only vampire she was familiar with would never have shared anything in this conversation with her. She grabbed her glass off the bar, and stood. "No, you aren't. But you pretend better than most." He didn't really have that vampire oomph. His eyes seemed a bit too real, skin too tanned, energy level too human. Kerry couldn't exactly place her finger on it, but there was definitely something non-vampiric about her seatmate. Wearily she moved away from her chair, casually circling the dance floor. Some dumbnut with a sense of humour had started playing The Monster Mash.

In her peripheral vision, Kerry could see Nelle and Nathaniel gyrating and grinding against each other. Nelle gave him a bright smile and threw her arms around Nathaniel's neck. Kerry smothered a grin as the two of them started slow dancing in the middle of the jumping tempo of the music. She needn't worry about her best friend if Nathaniel was there. Sometimes she wondered if he was the problem. Nelle had seemed content, well, more like resigned, to be pushing up daisies; but that was before she had fallen in love. For the moment, Kerry was just glad Nelle hadn't run off to do something wildly impulsive in the aftermath of their little disagreement. Moving away from her friends' line of sight, Kerry reflected on how weary she was of the whole situation.

How could she convince Nelle to cling to humanity if she wanted more than anything for her best friend to stay alive forever? How could Kerry point out the faults of Nelle's plan when she sometimes wished she had said yes to Michel?

She was starting to feel sorry for herself, Kerry mused, not quite sure what to do now. The edges of her tightly-laced shirt were digging into her fragile skin like a garrote. It was better to focus on her physical problems than dwell on depressing thoughts. Keeping an eye on Nelle was all well and good, as well as increasingly necessary, but Kerry was beginning to feel like the third wheel.

A group of people turned from the dance floor, pushing by her as if she were a support beam in the middle of the room. After being jolted twice, she decided to press forward aggressively instead of waiting for them to walk around her. Her shoulder jarred into a girl her own age, and Kerry felt a sickening fear coil in her stomach and push into the beating of her heart. Her mind screamed for her to flee. She looked at the girl, seeing her return the gaze. The other female turned away first, dismissing Kerry as a nobody.

Kerry finally managed to breathe. She had never felt terror like that before, let alone for no reason. All she wanted was to go home and curl under the blankets. Settling for slouching into an empty booth, she frowned down at the new, gleaming table and wondered if she had stayed in the club long enough. That was where Nathaniel found her half an hour later. Kerry only had to look at him to see the worry pinching his features and the concerned way he bit his bottom lip. She knew, before he yelled 'have you seen Nelle?' that her best friend was missing like they had feared.

A quieter, mellow love song came on and she was able to talk to Nathaniel without having a screaming competition. "The last time I saw her, she was dancing with you," she explained, quickly rising from the table. Swiftly scanning her eyes over the crowded dance floor, Kerry wondered if she'd be able to spot Nelle even if she were dancing. The answer was no.

"She said she was coming to find you. The last time she said that, she did go talk to you, so I assumed…" He broke off when Kerry raised her hand for silence.

"Did you check the dance floor?" Kerry didn't wait for him to respond, but immediately hurried towards the back rooms. She knew Nelle wasn't dancing. She could feel it from deep within her. Nelle was attempting to become a vampire despite all the disapproval she received from her friends. Kerry barely noticed the other patrons of the club as she weaved around them, barrelling towards the back as if nothing could stop her. The swinging doors snapped as she violently pushed through them, surprising a giggling couple swaying drunkenly on the opposite side. They toppled over as both Kerry and Nathaniel bolted through the doors.

The postern consisted of a long glass hallway filled with privacy chambers Kerry had only ever seen the likes of on television. The glass had chemicals running through it, so that when the door was closed, a charge made the walls opaque and when the door was open the room was as transparent as regular glass. There had to be about thirty rooms, some available, but most hiding small parties, private relationships, and at least one confused young girl searching for vampirism. Kerry paused, wondering what to do next. How would she find Nelle in all those rooms? She tried the nearest door and found it locked from the inside.

Behind her, Nathaniel cursed softly.

"What are we going to do?"

"Do you think the club would help us find her?"

"What if we threaten to sue?"

"What if we just start breaking walls?"

Kerry wasn't sure which of them had asked any of the questions; her heart was beating frantically with worry, and she felt overwhelm panicked. She felt as if she didn't do something soon, Nelle would not just lose her mortality, she would also lose her life completely. There had to be something she was missing. Some cue or clue she could use to save her friend.

"Call her name," Kerry murmured to the man beside her. "Tell her you want to join."

"Nelle?" Nathaniel coaxed, his voice oozing with sensual charm. It was amazing how he was able to keep the strain of worry in his voice to a minimum. "Let me join you."

As he was calling out, Kerry began to walk down the hallway. She didn't know what she was trying to detect, but hopefully some movement would give Nelle away. In one of the rooms to Kerry's right, there was a slight scuffle. Instead of the door opening like Kerry expected, there was silence for the briefest of moments.

"NATE!" A scream came from within the room Kerry was watching and she jumped in shock. She had not expected the overwhelming terror in Nelle's response. Her own skin crawled with fear as her eyes pinpointed the exact room Kerry's best friend was in.

"That one," Kerry pointed as Nathaniel tried opening the door. The lock held until he kicked the doorknob with all his might. The fragile glass broke with a harsh shatter as the whole door disintegrated and the wall became transparent once again. Kerry could now see two other people in the room with Nelle. One of them was trying to block the way so Nathaniel could not interfere, while another had Nelle cradled against her as she frantically tried to suck the weak girl dry. Kerry felt fear paralyse her movements, even as she watched in revulsion as the vampire worked at Nelle's blood. She knew it wouldn't be a pleasant sight, but she had never expected this level of violence. She barely had time to be amazed that Nelle had found real vampires after all.

People from other privacy rooms were trickling into the hallway to see what the disturbance was. Nathaniel jumped at the man barring the entrance. The move was either very brave or very foolish.

"Stop it," Kerry called out, finally breaking out of her shock and trying to squeeze past the two men at odds in the doorway. The glass shards littering the ground found their way through the slinky straps of her sandals and into the padded flesh of her toes. At the scent of Kerry's blood, the vampire stopped her assault and looked up, red liquid coating her teeth, and eyes sharply alighting upon Kerry's.

"Do you offer yourself in her stead?" The vampire licked her ruby lips, giving Kerry a smug appraisal. Her lips curled in amusement, but her eyes were too cold to make the expression look realistic.

Kerry's stomach coiled, with not only fear but a sickened dread. She had seen that condescending amusement before on another vampire, but on Ethan it had not looked so malicious and evil. This vampire was nothing like he was. "No," Kerry whispered, not altruistic enough to trade positions with her best friend. Immediately, she was filled with guilt. This situation was so incredibly wrong on so many levels. Kerry knew she didn't know much about vampires, but she had thought one of their major survival skills was to keep a low profile. That was one of the lessons Michel had taught her that she had never questioned the validity of. The vampire in front of her was doing exactly the opposite, and Kerry knew the other vampires would likely step in and deal with it at some point. That didn't necessarily help Nelle right this second.

The vampire stared for a moment longer, waiting for a change of answer, and then roughly pulled Nelle towards her by the hair. The injured girl whimpered softly, eyes rolling towards the friends who had tried to rescue her.

"Don't." Kerry pleaded frantically as the vampire opened her mouth to expose white fang. Oh God, she had to do something. Nelle didn't deserve to die like this. The vampire wasn't being gentle and the skin of Nelle's neck was already severely damaged in places. Kerry knew that there was no intention to make her best friend a vampire.

"Throw your cross at her!" Someone from the gathering crowd yelled. Not a single one of them stepped in to help as if this was some warped entertainment set up for their amusement.

"Nelle!" Nathaniel's voice rang like a warrior's call. The burly vampire was holding him against the wall, but was making no move to make him a snack as well. He turned his attention away from his quasi-girlfriend long enough to appeal to Kerry. "Do something!"

Kerry didn't know what else to do.

Suddenly, there was no need for her to do anything. The club manager had arrived with the cavalry and enough weapons to bring down a small tactical base. "Drop the girl." A command came from just behind Kerry's right ear.

Despite being surrounded, the vampire didn't look upset in the least. She smiled lazily, licking her teeth and appraising them with her icy eyes. At least she was no longer feeding on Nelle, Kerry thought, despite the chilled foresight she was getting that something was going to happen soon.

Quicker than the eye could see, the vampire dropped Nelle on the ground and lunged towards Kerry. The man to Kerry's right surged forward, trapping the vampire's hands and placing her in handcuffs. For a second she was shocked that anyone could move that fast. It takes a vampire to beat a vampire that easily, Kerry mused, wondering how many of the club officers were actually of the nocturnal variety.

As the woman vampire was being escorted from the room, her arm brushed against Kerry quite deliberately. For the second time that night, Kerry felt that foreign fear spring from within, but this time it was coupled by a hatred so putrid, she opened her mouth to vomit. Instead, an animalistic hiss emerged from her lips and coiled around her like a protective barrier. The hairs on the back of Kerry's neck stood up. She looked at the vampire woman, gathering the strength to look her straight in the eye.

Instead of the iciness she had expected, the vampire regarded Kerry with an emotion akin to fear. Her eyes flicked from Nelle's prone figure, and back to Kerry again before the officer jerked her further away.

Kerry was thankful the vampiress had brought the attention back to Nelle. Kerry hadn't exactly forgotten about her best friend during the excitement, but she may not have thought about her as quickly. With no regard to the club bouncers who were still standing around with their weaponry, Kerry hurried across the room and knelt beside Nelle.

Kerry's inept fingers felt for a pulse, but she couldn't find on. "Nelle?" She whispered, resisting the urge to shake her awake. "Somebody help me," she turned frantically to the people on the other side of the room. Why was she the only one trying to save Nelle's life?

One of the men standing around like G.I. Joe lowered his weapon and knelt beside her. Instead of giving his attention to Nelle, he took Kerry's hand off the body and cocked his head to the side, listening. "She's gone," he said softly.

Kerry knew enough about vampires not to question his verdict if the others were not.

"No!" Nathaniel exclaimed, the bouncers finally able to disentangle him from the burly vampire without causing him injury. Within seconds he was kneeling beside Nelle. "Call an ambulance. A doctor!" A few tears were trailing down his cheeks.

Kerry felt sickened. She had failed them both. She was the one who knew vampires existed, and yet she hadn't really warned them of the true dangers. There was nothing that could be done now. Nothing she could do. Nothing Nathaniel could do. Ethan probably couldn't even…

The solution hit her like a ton of bricks falling from a twenty story building. She wasn't sure why she was the first to think of it, considering she was in what had turned out to be a true vampire club and all. Nelle had been lured into this room intending to become a vampire, and that was how she would leave it if Kerry had any say about it.

"Change her." She demanded, turning to look at the vampire beside her. Instead of meeting her gaze, he looked towards the tiled floor. Quickly, Kerry searched the room for anyone who looked as if they were willing to help her. No one was looking directly at her except Nathaniel. "You," Kerry pointed at the man in charge, assuming him to be the club manager. Someone had called in crowd control and all the spectators were no longer around to gawk. Kerry quickly jumped to her feet and stalked across the room. "I demand that she be changed into a vampire."

Kerry had never ordered someone else to do her bidding before, but the transgression in her personality went unnoticed to her. It was necessary for Nelle to be turned if she were to live, and Kerry felt the obligation to make it happen. She couldn't just let one of her favourite people die. She and Nelle had been friends for so long, Kerry couldn't remember life without her.

The manager balked, loosening his tie in a nervous gesture. "The law won't allow us to turn a human into a vampire on the premises."

For a moment Kerry could barely think out of anger, disappointment, and extreme anguish. Nelle was dead. There would be no more late night movies where they giggled and talked about boys. With a strength she didn't know she possessed, her mind cleared of grief and she was able to notice how nervous the man standing before her really was. "I doubt the law would like that there was a murder here tonight. What with it being the opening night and all."

"Yes, well." The manager replied crisply, eyes dodging between Nelle and Kerry as he continued fidgeting with his tie. "It is harder to turn a human when the vampire intended to kill it. You see, your friend has severe damage that might be unable to heal in the transition. It will be harder still to change her without the one who fed on her."

"Then get her!" Kerry was getting severely exasperated with vampire politics. Every moment they argued, Nelle had a lesser chance of coming back. The man practically yanked his tie from around his neck because of her newest command. Kerry didn't think he was of the vampiric persuasion, as he didn't know how to keep his thoughts silent. She had enough exposure to this world to realize what was done to those who displeased vampires. "You can't, can you? She's already dead." She didn't form the last statement as a question. Kerry was almost completely sure she was right. Before the manager was able to answer, one of the lackeys handed him a cell phone. Her eyes were drawn down to Nelle's body and the way Nathaniel was bent over her, as if to shield her soul from escaping.

The vampire who had first informed her of Nelle's lifelessness was now eyeing her with fascination. "It would take an incredibly strong vampire to save your friend," he informed her.

"Could you do it?" Kerry asked, wishing she was able to judge the power of a vampire. As it was, she could barely discern who in the room was mortal and who was not.

The vampire snorted at her question and then ducked his head to show repentance for his rudeness. Before he could reply, the club manager clicked the cellphone shut. "The boss wishes to see the girl."

Kerry's heart leapt for joy. The boss had to be strong enough to save Nelle, right? She was about to express her thanks when she felt one of the lumbering bodyguards press something into her side. She felt the electric shock of a taser gun, and blessedly lost consciousness half way through.

Hey hey hey! How was this chapter? I know a lot of you expected Michel to be hanging around the club, but I wouldn't do that. As far as I'm concerned, that is something he would never do willingly. So, tell me. Are any of you now hooked on this story yet?