Invasion

So… yeah.

I’m 99% certain vampires have invaded my town. My tiny-ass middle of nowhere mountain town.

Believe me, I know how this sounds.

But it all fits. Human bite marks. Sensitivity to sunlight. Extreme aggression and violence.

Jude texted me earlier today to tell me that the doctors decided to give the first victim blood products because his body was rejecting the IV, causing a fluid deficit. Now he’s not dehydrated but he’s stronger. And more aggressive.

See? I’m not crazy. It all fits. So now that I have this information, what do I do with it?

I’ll tell you… Nothing.

It’s not enough. I need more proof if I’m going to convince anyone. I mean, you don’t even believe me, I’m sure. I wouldn’t believe me either. But I know I’m right.

I’m not even sure how to go about getting more proof. I’m not stupid enough to go out and get my vigilante on. I’m not Buffy, or Anita Blake, or whatever other supergirl vampire hunter you can think of.  Sure, I know all the vampire lore and all the various weaknesses and methods of killing them, but this is… unprecedented. Vampires are real. Who even knows which of these myths apply to real vampires? What if I shove a stake through its heart and it doesn’t even slow it down? What if I hold up a cross and instead of cowering it laughs and rips out my jugular?

So until I figure something out, I just have to sit tight. Act like nothing’s wrong. Fuck.

Yesterday before my little revelation I set up a double date for Ethan and I with Jude and Jess. That’s going to happen tonight. Trust me, if I’d known I was going to be faced with the task of proving the existence of vampires in this town, I would have scheduled it for another day.

But I’m not going to reschedule. Things have been going really well with Ethan, except where Jude is concerned, and vice versa. And assuming I figure out what to do and we live through this ordeal, I’d like for them to get along. Neither of them are quite comfortable with my relationship with the other. This dinner was supposed to get them to chillax a little and get used to the idea of one another and the roles they play in my life.

So I’m putting on a brave face (and some makeup) and going to dinner with the two most important men in my life and a crazy bitch who probably wants my head on her mantle.

Damn. When I put it like that, hunting vampires doesn’t sound so scary after all.

Wish me luck.

 

PREVIOUS ENTRY | NEXT ENTRY

Epiphany

Yesterday I was on my way home from meeting with a potential client when Jude called me. We chatted for a few minutes, then I said goodbye, hung up, and placed my phone in the cup holder beside me.

I should preface the rest of this part of the story by saying that one of my favorite things to do is sing while I’m driving. Especially when I’m alone in the car because I can be completely uninhibited.

Now, I have pretty eclectic taste in music. I listen to pretty much everything. I mean, literally, my iTunes library would make your head spin– Linda Blair style– then explode. But yesterday after I hung up with Jude, I happened to be rockin’ out to some David Archuleta. About 3/4 of the way through the song, my phone rang. I turned down the volume and answered it. It was Jude again.

“You have a lovely singing voice. If you wanted to serenade me, you didn’t have to be so sneaky about it,” he said.

“Huh? The fuck are you on about?”

“You didn’t hang up the phone. And was that David Archuleta? I thought I taught you better than that. Well, me and Kurt Cobain.”

Oh. Fuck. Me.

All I can say is thank god it was Jude and not Ethan. At least with Jude I have no shame and really can’t embarrass myself any more than I already have since we’ve been friends.

“I’m glad you liked it,”  I said. “You interrupted before I could start taking requests.”

“I’m serious, though. You sound really good, even if the song is lame.”

“Thanks, I guess.”

“Hey, I remembered what I was going to tell you earlier. I can’t believe I forgot this, I’ve just been so sleep deprived, and Jess is PMSing… Well, anyway. Did you hear that there was another attack last night? Closer to the center of town this time. They found the victim just before sunrise and brought him in.”

Jude is a security guard at our local hospital. Remember that attack that happened on Halloween night? I also mentioned that the bites appear to be human (WTF?). Anyway, Jude must have been on duty when the second victim was brought in last night.

“Any new information about the first victim?” I asked him.

“You know, it’s the strangest thing. I was in his room yesterday while the nurses were bathing him. I don’t usually do that but they wanted me there for extra protection since he’s so violent. If he gets loose, he tries to bite anyone who comes near him. And when I was in his room last night, they had special curtains on his window. I asked the nurse about it and she said it was just a temporary solution until they could find him a windowless room. Apparently he’s really sensitive to the sunlight. He screams and thrashes whenever the room is bright so they just keep it dark all the time.”

My chest was suddenly very heavy. I felt like I was trying to breathe through a pillowcase. This was too familiar. But it couldn’t be… could it?

“What?” I said, just above a whisper.

“You know what else is really weird?” Jude continued, oblivious to my tone of voice. “I overheard the nurses talking a little bit later, and they can’t keep him hydrated. They have him hooked up to an IV but it’s almost like his body is rejecting it. The doctors are totally stumped.”

No. Fucking. Way.

There’s no fucking way.

But it’s all so familiar. It all fits. I know what’s happening. Of course I do. There’s no better authority on this subject for hundreds of miles.

The doctors are all stumped, but I know what it is.

I can’t believe I’m about to say this.

Vampire.

 

PREVIOUS ENTRY | NEXT ENTRY

R for Reconciliation

Yesterday was the 5th of November. Guy Fawkes Day. Over the last several years, Jude and I had made it a tradition to celebrate with a screening of “V For Vendetta”. But after our little spat we had the other day, I wasn’t planning on it this year. Ethan was working, and I just wasn’t in a mood to hang out with anyone else.

So, there I was, sitting on the couch, working. (I work from home, doing freelance graphic design work, BTW). I’d spent the entire day doing various chores and trying to get motivated to exercise. As the sun was setting, I finally come to terms with the fact that I needed to get a little work done. I was sketching out an idea for a potential client, listening to the local news.

A break in the investigation of the attack that happened on Halloween night. The police are now disclosing that the bite marks found on the victim appear to be human. So this person may have gotten rabies from another person who had rabies. Come on. That’s fucked up, right? That shit is only supposed to be transmitted through animals. And even if it is rabies, that’s supposed to take more time to kick in, right? The fact that this victim is already having to be restrained and trying to attack people is doubly weird. To top it all off, this crazy infected person is still on the loose in this town. Police are advising that we not be out after dark if we can avoid it, and to go out in groups if we are, even in the day. Like a group of people is going to scare off a swollen-brained lunatic who wants to bite your flesh off.

The news story had just changed to some fluff piece when there was a knock at my door.

It was Jude, holding up a copy of “V for Vendetta” and a bag of microwaveable popcorn. I crossed my arms across my chest and leaned against the doorframe, looking up at him.

A moment of silence passed as we looked at each other, before he finally broke the silence.

“I’m sorry.”

I considered that for a moment before responding. “Dumbass.”

“I know. I’m sorry.”

I met his eyes, which were a brilliant green, and all of our history weighed down on me. I was ready to let this go. It just wasn’t worth being mad about anymore, and I missed my friend. I held the door open wider so he could come in. He slipped past me and tossed the movie onto the couch.

“I’ll make the popcorn,” he said.

And we’re back.

 

PREVIOUS ENTRY | NEXT ENTRY

Avoidance and Confrontation

I avoided Jude’s persistent phone calls on Sunday after I disappeared from Rodolfo and Gabriel’s Halloween party and went home with a complete stranger. I sent him a text to tell him that I was fine, but not ready to talk just so he didn’t think that Ethan had killed me and hid my body. That just made him call more.

Why was I ignoring his calls? Because I wasn’t in the mood to be lectured.

I finally answered the phone on Monday night.

“Took you long enough,” he snapped. “I’ve been worried about you.”

“Why?” I shot back, muting the werewolf documentary I’d been watching. “I texted you to tell you I was fine.”

“Annabelle, if something happened to you, anyone could have sent a text from your phone.”

I sighed. He had a point, I supposed.

His voice was softer when he spoke again. “Who was that guy, Bells?”

Dammit. Jude only pulls that nickname shit when he’s in super best friend-mode. He gave it to me when we were kids.

“Ethan. He said he was a friend of Gabriel’s so if you want to do a background check, talk to him.”

“You don’t even know anything about him.”

“Sure I do. He’s beautiful, a good dancer, rides a motorcycle, and is from England… somewhere.” Even I knew I was grasping at straws here. “Look, I don’t need a bodyguard. I can take care of myself. And you’ve never been like this with any of the other guys I’ve dated. What gives?”

He snorted. “Is that what you’re doing? Dating?”

“Among other things.”

“I don’t like this. I don’t trust him.”

This was getting old real fast. Still, I tried to smooth things over. “You don’t even know him, Jude.”

“Neither do you.”

“I know him better than you do.”

“Yeah, I’ll bet you do.”

I paused and let that sink in for a moment. Now I was furious. “Could you stop acting like my father and maybe try being my best friend right now?”

“I’m not one of your girlfriends, Annabelle. If you want to dish about how great the sex was, call one of them.”

I tried to ignore how much that stung. “You know what? Fine. Call me when you’re done being an asshole.”

I hit the “End” button on my phone growled as I threw it across the room. It hit the wall and I heard the sound of plastic cracking.

I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and sighed. The last thing I needed was to replace my phone again. I got up to survey the damage.

The battery had sprung out, but nothing seemed to be broken. Sweet. I have indestructible super-phone. I replaced the battery and turned the phone back on. Three texts from Jude already. I deleted them without reading them.

I returned to the couch where I’d fully intended on drowning my sorrows in a bowl of popcorn and the rest of my werewolf documentary when my phone rang. I glanced at the ID screen and smiled. It was Ethan.

I think I just found a better way to forget about my problems for a little while.

 

PREVIOUS ENTRY | NEXT ENTRY

Ethan

Now, where was I?

Oh yes. Ethan. Not-Gay Ethan.

So, I followed him out on the dance floor and he pulled me close. The music (LMFAO’s “Shots”) was pulsing all around us, and he turned me around so my back was to him. The alcohol and the feel of his hands on my hips made me lose my head a little. I closed my eyes and ground my ass into his crotch as he ran his lips down my neck and the fog from the machine swirled around us.

“Has anyone ever told you how sexy you are?” he whispered in my ear.

Was this really happening? I mean, I knew nothing about the man except his name and his apparent country of origin. Now, as his fingers trailed up my bare legs beneath the hem of my skirt, we were up close and about to get real personal in the middle of a very public place.

I opened my eyes and saw Jude standing across the room staring at us, holding a crushed beer can and looking absolutely furious. I ignored him. He was not my father, and I didn’t need policing. I was sure he was just jealous because I was going to get some tonight and he was going to go home with his withholding bitch of a girlfriend. Too fucking bad.

I turned back around to face Ethan, who’s eyes were glazed over with lust. I ran my hands down his chest and felt, even through the t-shirt that he had a body that would even give Jude a run for his money.

I got up on my toes put my lips beside his ear.

“Are you drunk?” I said in a low voice.

“Not even a little bit.”

“Good. I’m in no shape to drive. Let’s get out of here.”

He grinned and led me through the crowd toward the door. I grabbed my jacket on the way out.

He’d ridden a motorcycle to the party. Not that I was complaining. It added to the bad boy image I was so desperately attracted to. Years of drooling over sexy, brooding vampires has ruined my idea of men. And since they don’t actually exist, it’s guys like Ethan that are about as close as I can get. Intense, sexy and dangerous.

We barely got the door to his apartment open before his lips connected with mine. He picked me up so I could wrap my legs around his waist and carried me into his bedroom.

I’m sure you can guess what happened after that.

I ended up staying the night.

***

The next morning I awoke alone and naked in a strange bed. Then it all came rushing back in one big, hungover blur. I wrapped the sheet around me and wandered around looking for Ethan.

I found him in the kitchen, making breakfast. Awesome.

“Good morning, beautiful,” he said with a big smile as he buttered some toast. “Breakfast?”

“Mmm, and some aspirin?” I pulled the sheet tighter around me and sat down at the table.”

“No need to be modest, love. I’ve seen you a lot more naked than that.” He chuckled and set a plate of breakfast food in front of me.

“Yeahhh… about that…” I was tremendously embarrassed at my behavior last night. I am not the type of girl who just randomly goes home with strange men.

“Look, Annabelle…” he started, cutting me off. He sat down beside me and took my hand. “I had a really good time last night. I like you a lot. If you’re up for it, I’d like to see you again. Perhaps a proper date next time. I want to get to know you.”

Whoa. I wasn’t sure how this conversation was going to go, but this sure as hell wasn’t it. Did I have a good time? Hell yes. Did I want to see him again? Hell fucking yes.

I smiled at him and squeezed his hand as I nodded. “Yeah, I’d love to.”

“Good. I have some business to attend to today, so after you’re done eating I’ll take you back to get your car.”

We made plans to see each other the following weekend, and he flipped on the television while we ate. The the voice of the morning newscaster filled the kitchen.

Remember when I said some strange things were happening in this town? The newscaster talked about an incident that had happened the night before, on Halloween. Someone was attacked on the very outskirts of town. Someone nearby heard the screams and other sounds of trouble and called the police. The victim was brought into the hospital because he suffered from what looked liked bites and lacerations and displayed signs of “rabies infection”. He had to be sedated and restrained in the hospital bed because he kept trying to bite the police and hospital staff and wasn’t responding to rabies treatments. No word yet on what kind of animal caused the attack.

Rabies? In humans? In this town? I mean, come on, that’s bizarre, right? When’s the last time you heard about an actual person getting rabies and not a wild animal?

As weird as it was, in that moment as Ethan and I ate breakfast together in a comfortable silence… I didn’t care. I was on cloud nine, and nothing was going to bring me down.

 

PREVIOUS ENTRY | NEXT ENTRY

Halloween Fun

It’s been a little while since I’ve posted. I ended up getting the flu. Not H1N1. Just regular flu.

I don’t think I’ve mentioned this before, but I live in a medium sized, semi-isolated town up in the mountains of Colorado. And apparently some weird shit has been happening here. But I’ll get to that in a little while.

Jude and I (and Jess, his girlfriend who I’m none too fond of) went to an awesome Halloween party at a mutual friend’s house. This friend, Rodolfo, and his boyfriend throw some pretty kickass parties. Best of all, Jude is generally the only straight male there, so it’s a totally fun, pressure-free environment for the handful of girls that are there as well.

I dressed up as a flapper for the party. I found out later that this was a popular costume choice nationwide, but again, our town is pretty isolated. Regardless, I had the whole shebang; Sexy black flapper dress, long black gloves, short black flapper wig with silver headband, long string of pearls, red feather boa, black sequined cigarette holder, and (since I don’t smoke) a fake cigarette. I looked pretty damn good if I do say so myself.

Jude was Tarzan. Not his choice, naturally. Jess was Jane. She got to wear a cute little sexed-up safari outfit and being the bitch she is, made Jude don a loincloth, wig, and flip-flops. I think she just wanted an excuse to see him mostly naked all night. Now, I’ve explained before what the dynamic of mine and Jude’s relationship is. So I can say this without you getting the wrong idea.

Jude has got a very nice body. He’s a bit of an exercise fiend, and it shows. He’s fit, lean and sculpted, so he certainly was able to pull off wearing the loincloth. And it’s a good thing he’s comfortable with his sexuality because it turns out he was getting hit on all night. And not just by the small little group of girls that were there, but by pretty much the entire male population as well.

The three of us didn’t drive together, but we ended up arriving at the same time. When he saw me, Jude grinned and gave me two thumbs up. Jess shot me a sour look before grabbing Jude’s hand and pulling him toward the door behind her. I rolled my eyes and followed.

Inside, the house was completely decked out in Halloween decorations, complete with fog and dark, sexy lighting. There were at least 50 people there already. I figured I wouldn’t have too tough a time avoiding Jess in a crowd this big, But I also wanted to hang with Jude and she’d be attached to him like a leech. Solution? Jello shots.

Two hours later I had an awesome buzz and I didn’t give two shits about Jess. I was getting my groove on on the dance floor, sandwiched between Rodolfo in his cabana boy outfit and his boyfriend Gabriel dressed as a gladiator. I was grinding up on both of them and eventually I started to sweat my makeup off. I wriggled from between them and made my way to the bathroom to touch up.

When I emerged, the door was being blocked by the most beautiful man I’d ever seen. The epitome of tall, dark and handsome, and his eyes were piercing blue. Thanks to all the jello shots, I was only able to stand there and stare stupidly.

“Are you finished?” he said with a slow grin.

“Uh… hmm.” I said, quickly looking away and squeezing past him.

I stumbled into the kitchen and went straight to the bar. I needed to drown away the disappointment. I would not have sex with this man, because being at this party… he was probably gay.

What felt like moments later, he materialized beside me, just as I was helping myself to another shot.

“Having fun?” he said.

I jumped and almost dropped the little plastic cup of jello.

“Uh, after a few more of these,” I said with a nervous laugh. Looking at him, I finally noticed what he was wearing. Dark jeans, white t-shirt, and black leather motorcycle jacket.

“I like your costume,” he said, and I suddenly realized that he had an English accent. Kill me now.

“Likewise.”

“I’m not actually wearing one. I’m… not really a costume guy.”

How embarrassing. I felt my face flush. “Oh.”

I’ve never taken a shot so fast in my life.

“I’m Ethan,” he said, extending his hand. I took it with my own gloved one.

“Annabelle.”

“I have to say… it’s refreshing it see someone of the female persuasion here. Gabriel is my friend and all, but I honestly didn’t think I’d meet anyone here tonight.”

Hold up. What was that again?

“I’m sorry?” I said, feeling my brow furrow in confusion.

“Would you like to dance?”

I nodded slowly. So, not gay after all.

Hell motherfucking yes.

 

PREVIOUS ENTRY | NEXT ENTRY