holster and ran to Sherri, pushing the blade against
her throat.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“Why did you do that?”
“He was a vampire.”
I screamed, “But he had no intention of hurting us.”
Suddenly I couldn’t
breathe as a white sack was pulled over
my face. I was being dragged; my feet were fighting to stand their
ground. A hand pushed against my back and I fell to my knees.
When I heard nothing but the sound of my ears ringing, I yanked
the cloth off of me. I was in a pitch black room that smelled of
curled milk.
**
The door opened and a switch flicked on. The light was
blinding. I tried to open my eyes but it felt as if the sun was blaring
down on me. Suddenly my face was wet. Jumping up, the world
was spinning around me. My hands found my eyes and I rubbed
them to clear the haze and water off of my face.
I was in the storage room of the gas station. Someone was
holding a flashlight over my face, shining the beam into my pupils.
“Could you put that fucking thing away?” I griped.
It clicked off. Sherri was leaning over me, cloth in hand,
dabbing at the front of my face. Yanking the towel from her, I
examined it. Blood. Mine. Then I felt the stinging of my nose. It
didn’t feel broken, but the strength of the sack over my head had
definitely bruised it.
Grabbing her by the shirt, I stared her deep in her eyes and
asked, “Why did you hit me?”
“A vampire.”
“Yeah. And?”
“It came in here. We had to exterminate it.”
The throbbing continued in my head. “Do you have any
Tylenol?”
“Sure.”
She found a side pack and pulled out a massive white
bottle. Two pills landed in my hands. Sherri handed me water.
After taking the meds, I stretched my body which felt as if a
baseball bat had been taken to it. Sherri helped me stand up and I
used a shelf to balance my weight until the dizziness went away.
She pulled the hair back from my face. “It’s okay, dear. We
took care of it.”
Her words echoed through me. “What did you do?”
“Lie back down. Mark didn’t mean to hit you. He was
aiming for the vampire.”
“Where is he?”
“Mark? He’s safe. I just talked to him a few moments ago.”
My hands rubbed my temples. “No, you fuck shit. Where is
Tyran?”
“Who’s Tyran?”
“The vampire.”
“You know his name? Listen, Dear. We don’t mind helping
you but we do not allow vamps in our home. We’ve worked too
hard for it to come crashing down.”
Putting my hands around her throat, I squeezed while
asking, “Where is Tyran?”
She was choking.
My grip tightened. “I’m sorry, I didn’t hear that.” I
loosened. “Where is Tyran?”
She started coughing. “Hopefully dead. The world would
be normal if those creatures didn’t live.”
I found my ax and put it to her neck. Her eyes watered.
“Now listen, bitch. I don’t need your shit. Where the fuck is
Tyran?”
“Mark took him to the football field to tie him to the fence.
He was hoping the furies would eat him.”
I exhaled, looking around. Was I too late? My attention
turned back to her. “Where is Mark?”
“On his way back. He stunned the vamp with a UV light
and took him down there. He said a few furies were swarming.”
My teeth gritted. “If one hair is harmed on his head, I will
come back and cut you to pieces and feed you to the stiffs.”
Standing up, I slammed her head into the ground, knocking
her out. Her walkie-talkie was nearby.
I asked,“Mark? Come in, Mark.”
“Mark here.”
“How long ago did you leave the vampire?”
“Five minutes. I should be back in a couple. Anything
going on there?”
I
looked down at Sherri’s still body. Stupid bitch. “Sherri is
taking a nap. So you have Tyr-I mean the vampire tied to the
fence?”
“Yep. At the fifty-yard line. Thought it was poetic.”
I clicked off and gazed outside. Our scooter was still at the
door. Running out, I
Sheri S. Tepper
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