Grandpa
He'd recognised what Max was straight away of course.
A God-damned vampire in his house! Worse than that, he'd been invited. Frank had known that it was going to be a challenge having his daughter and grandsons living with him, although he didn't feel that he could turn them away after everything that they had been through. Still, this was ridiculous. They'd only been here five minutes and already they were inviting Head vampires over for dinner! Plus he'd suspected that Michael's plans for that evening were less than savoury.
It would all end in tears.
Frank thought to himself after Max had left that night with his tail between his legs. John and Virginia's boys had made a complete ham of the whole evening, dragging Sam along for the ride. He'd wanted to warn Lucy against meeting with Max for dinner the next evening, God only knows what that could entail. Nevertheless, knowing his daughter the way he did, he knew he would only end up pushing her towards Max if he made a big deal out of it.
Things had quickly escalated from there. Later that night when Michael had returned, he hadn't been alone. He'd been followed and two of the fetid things were on his property. Thankfully they'd left shortly afterwards and the next morning, Frank had made himself get up early to increase the security around the house.
Not long after midday, there had been a screech of tyres and he'd looked up in time to see Michael driving off in his car, with Sam and the two inexperienced hunters as passengers. No doubt they were up to no good. They returned about four hours later, looking a lot worse for wear and carrying two sleeping forms up the stairs. He knew better than to ask questions, however it was clear that things were getting out of hand.
This became more apparent when Sam entered his taxidermy room, informing him that the Widow Johnson had called to arrange an earlier time to meet. He'd known Sam was lying. The Widow had never once called him on the phone, and even if she had, she certainly wouldn't have spoken to Sam if he'd answered. Still, he'd feigned ignorance and went along with it. He needed help. Ellie had been less than helpful and made it clear that it was his problem, so that left John and Virginia. He doubted their sons were ready to take on a Head vampire by themselves, so they might be grateful for the heads up.
The lights were off and the comic book store was closed when he arrived, although he could sense that someone was inside. Frank knocked on the door and waited for a reply. None came. He knocked again a little more urgently.
"Hello? I need to speak with you…it's about your boys."
Something shifted inside and he heard the door unlock, even though nobody had come to open it. Cautiously, he stepped inside the shop and blinked in the gloomy darkness. Without warning, something hard hit him in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him and bringing him to his knees. He looked up with rheumy eyes at his attackers.
The man in front of him wore a mid-length, dark khaki-coloured trench coat, with the wide collar turned up. His skinny, front-pleated trousers were tucked into calf-high combat boots. He wore a myriad of crosses, suspended from leather thong around his neck, amongst them; a tiny ampule of milky liquid. His dark, wavy hair and beard looked dirty, with streaks of grey running through them. Next to him, the woman, her long hair in a severe ponytail, plaited down her back - wore an over-sized black leather biker jacket, and was holding a large stake in both hands. She held it firmly in her right hand and smacked it threateningly into her open left palm.
So this was John and Virginia Frog, the most feared hunters in all of Santa Carla. They played their cover so well that hardly anyone knew that once the shop had closed, the sleeping hippies became the nightmare of those that dared to go bump-in-the-night. Frank had often heard Ellie complain about them, which gave him reason to believe that they were very good at what they did.
"What have you done with my boys, vampire?" John asked, menacingly.
"Nothing!" He gasped. "They've been helping my grandson. He comes in here a lot."
"Oh yeah, the fashion victim."
"His brother's got into trouble with some of the locals and your boys were helping him out, that's all."
"So, what do you want from us? This might be their first time solo, but they can handle it." Said Virginia.
"I think they might have got in over their heads. There's things that they don't know. They're going after the Head vampire, but I think they've got the wrong guy."
"We're listening…"
He quickly explained about recognising Max, and what had happened the night he came to dinner. This eventually led them to the subject of his own problem.
"He turn you too?" John asked.
"No. It wasn't him. That was…somebody else. You think I'd let him near my daughter if he'd turned me?"
"Fair enough…"
"Listen, your boys ran off with my grandsons this afternoon and came back looking rather shaken up. They seemed eager to get me out of the house and I think they're expecting company this evening judging by the amount of garlic and shit they were bringing into the house all afternoon. They've dismissed Max as a Head, so if they're preparing for a fight, they're going to lose and Max could end up turning my whole family."
"Rather it'd be you that turns them?"
"No! You think I like living like this? I feed off the blood of animals so I won't harm humans. I live in the middle of nowhere so I don't give in to temptation. If I knew she had anywhere else to go, I would have made sure my daughter never came here." John sighed and scratched his head, thoughtfully.
"Well, there are a few Head vampires in Santa Carla. What makes you so certain that Max's spawn are responsible for turning your grandson? How do you know that it isn't one of your pack? In which case we should be after your Head."
"Well it seems like a pretty big coincidence that Max took an interest in my daughter and the next night my grandson is turned into a vampire. Besides, I checked with mine and she knows nothing about it. Please…for every second that my family are here, ignorant to the real Santa Carla, they're in danger. For every second they're with me, they're in danger. I need your help." John nodded and squatted down in front of Frank with his arms folded and serious expression on his face.
"Okay, vampire, here's the deal. We'll help you take down this Max, get your grandson out from under his fangs - BUT, you then help us get rid of your Head."
"Sure."
John and Virginia quickly loaded up with weapons. Some traditional, like stakes and crosses and stakes made out of crosses. However, among the traditional, were some more unusual weapons. Syringes filled with a liquid like the one that John wore around his neck. Virginia loaded a tranquiliser gun, and placed it in a holster at her side, while John prepared a small crossbow. Once they were satisfied that they had everything that they needed, they drove Frank to where he had parked his truck, and marvelled at the stakes in the bed.
"You sure you need our help?"
"Yes. I was just repairing the fences around my property. Why?"
"Maybe we could use these…" Said John, tapping one of the posts.
"I don't think so. They're too big for one person to carry and a vampire would have to be standing pretty still for us to charge one into it."
"Just let us worry about that…" Virginia replied, before jumping back into the car with her husband.
Frank drove back to his house as fast as he could, with the hunters following closely behind in their own car. He only hoped he would get there in time.
oOo
The ones downstairs were a problem. He wasn't too happy about keeping the boy, as he wasn't even a half anymore. However, John and Virginia had assured him that they needed him for leverage with the vampire, they'd captured.
Captured…
They'd hardly captured her. She'd been mourning over the body in his taxidermy room when John had knocked her out, carried her into the kitchen where Frank was trying to explain to his bewildered family, just what was going on, and asked if he knew where they could stash her.
The next few days were difficult enough with the tension over what had happened since Lucy and her sons had moved here, now it was made worse by the constant screams of agony coming from his basement. Frank just couldn't understand what they wanted with her, why they hadn't killed her. His questions were answered one day when he went down there to tell John and Virginia, that they weren't going to turn his home into any more of a charnel house than it already was.
"Look, my bathroom and kitchen are covered in vampire goo and guts and both are going to have to be completely renovated. Another one of the bastards completely ruined the deer that I'd been commissioned to make, that's $800 I'm out of pocket, and what else…? Oh yeah, I'm still a God-damned vampire! I thought I was supposed to be helping you bring down the one that turned me."
"We'll get around to it." Was his reply.
"When?"
"When we've finished with this one."
"And what exactly are you doing with her? I don't want any of that crap up there, down here."
"Relax, old man. We're experimenting with our new deterrent. We need to make sure it works properly before we take on your sire."
"What deterrent?"
"This…" John took out one of the syringes from his utility belt and pushed gently on the plunger, causing some of the liquid inside to spurt out.
"And what the hell is that?"
"Allium Extract, Argenti Nitrate and Sancta Trinitas. Better known as garlic, silver and Holy Water. Our own recipe. We're testing different methods of administering it. The syringe guarantees a good, clean dosage."
Virginia firmly tapped the crease of the vampire's elbow and wiped a square of rubbing alcohol over it. John immediately injected the liquid into her prominent vein. The vampire shrieked, pearlescent fangs glistening, and before Frank could blink, all the veins in her arms became apparent and darkened. The darkness spread along the veins in her body, like roads on a map and John nodded, pleased with her reaction.
"Good in a tight spot, not so good when you have to take several out at once."
"The tranq gun is better for that." Virginia said, taking it out of her holster and aiming it at the subdued vampire. She fired, and the dart hit just below the shoulder. The vampire hissed and snarled at Virginia, until slowly its head lolled to the side.
"Problem is, it's not as fast acting as the syringe. It would possibly slow them down, but it wouldn't take them out for a significant amount of time."
"Our favourite so far, is with the crossbow. Takes effect faster than the gun, can take out multiple opponents if we increase our reload speed, and we'll be able to switch easily between projectiles." John aimed his crossbow and fired at the vampire's exposed neck. Frank watched in fascination as the dark pattern of veins once again bloomed beneath her pallid skin.
"Also, we've modified these darts so that the needle is fixed with a small wire barb. Keeps it in long enough for the chemical cocktail to enter the bloodstream and afterwards…" John reached over and pulled at the dart embedded in the vampire's neck. It gave a little resistance, so he yanked it out, hard, pulling a chunk of flesh along with it. "Afterwards, we get to retrieve our darts."
The vampire whimpered and looked up at him with hatred in her eyes and bared her fangs at him. He promptly slapped her across the face.
"Don't give me that look, vampire. It's no worse than what you do to your victims."
"At least…I don't…kill…little…kids…" She growled at him with tears in her eyes.
"Sure you don't." John scoffed.
"Next, we need to test reaction times and how long the effects last for." Virginia said, putting away the weapons and taking out more syringes.
Frank gulped. He had to keep reminding himself that this thing was a rabid animal, and wouldn't hesitate to slaughter everyone in this house. Still, looking at her chained up and being experimented on like this, he couldn't help but feel a little sorry for her.
It was strange seeing emotion on a monster's face, seeing the grief in her eyes. She'd lost everyone that mattered to her. Frank understood why the Frogs thought they couldn't have let the boy go, but did they have to kill him? He'd heard the shot, of course, you couldn't have missed it. Watched them dragging the hysterical girl back into the basement from his window. And for the first time, he wondered if he'd made the right choice asking for John and Virginia's help.
oOo
Now the Frogs found that they had discovered a way to rid Santa Carla not only of vampires, but everything else that stalked the streets. They modified their chemical cocktail again so not only did it have the desired effects for a more substantial amount of time, now it would affect multiple subjects. Most creatures were already affected by the Holy Water content, however, by slightly increasing the amount of silver nitrate, they could now take out a significant number of the werewolf populace too.
Frank watched as the Frogs prepared for the hunt. They'd come up with a plan to take out a particularly nasty pack of wolves who had a habit of attacking lone tourists. They were bringing along Edgar and Alan as if it was a fun, family outing. To them it probably was.
Star had been agitated ever since John announced they were going after the wolves. Of course, she'd been understandably distressed prior to taking on her vampire brethren, at least until the hunger took over. John and Virginia found it far easier to control her when they were starving her. As the time got closer to taking on the werewolves, she was now positively hysterical.
"Please…you don't need me. Don't make me go!"
It seemed absurd that she was petrified of dogs, especially after witnessing what she'd done to that pack of vampires. However, observing her behaviour the few times she'd interacted with Nanook, Frank was now convinced. Every time Nanook was let outside for some exercise, she'd be on edge. There were times the dog would scratch and growl at the outdoor entrance to the basement and he'd notice her shaking with fear, praying that the dog wouldn't be let in. In fact it was pretty obvious that she feared Nanook sniffing around above her, more than she did John and Virginia experimenting on her, which had become more horrific and violent. It also disturbed him how eagerly the two young boys watched these 'experiments' and even took notes.
Star screamed through her restraints as they dosed her one last time before releasing her from her shackles. They'd taken to muzzling her in between hunts, after she'd nearly taken a chunk out of Alan when he'd tried to restrain her after one of her little feeding frenzies. John threw Star's unconscious body over his shoulder and carried her up the steps to Frank's awaiting truck.
Edgar and Alan did a final weapons check before they got in, and Virginia looked on with a smile of approval. Once they were all on board, Frank started the truck and let out a blast of 'La Cucaracha' from his horn, to let his family know he was off. He didn't particularly relish joining the Frogs for these hunts, however as his truck carried more and he'd be damned if he was going to let anyone else drive it, he had no other choice.
Tonight they were heading for a quiet part of town, driving down a somewhat isolated road where the buildings were few and far between. Hitchhikers were common along this stretch of road, most of them drunk as they tried to navigate their way back into town. They were also a favourite source of food for the horrors of Santa Carla. As if on cue, there was a scream that came from a nearby field and presently a large group of dark forms, scurried across the road in front of them. Frank quickly slammed on the brakes, as Edgar and Alan were already jumping out.
"Edgar, Alan, take position to take out any stragglers. Do not actively engage with the main pack though, that's her job." John said, untying Star.
In the inky blackness, Frank could make out the werewolf pack trying to subdue their prey. They took it down with relative ease and were now trying to restrain the thrashing body by biting it. His knuckles turned white as he gripped the steering wheel tight, trying not to imagine the scent or taste of the blood. In the back of the truck, John had managed to rouse Star, who was now thrashing around herself as she realised she was literally going to be thrown to the wolves. He kicked her out of the bed of the truck and she landed on her hands and knees, cracking her head on the craggy surface of the road. As soon as the blood trickled into her mouth, she was off like a shot in the direction of the wolf pack.
Virginia had made them all wear a sort of garlic garland, to mask their scent from Star so she would go straight for the wolves. It was fascinating to watch this petite little thing - who cowered in probably one of the friendliest dog's presence - snarling and snapping at a pack of vicious werewolves whose dinner she'd interrupted.
Once the last wolf was dead and Edgar and Alan had finished taking out the ones that had tried to flee, John took out his crossbow and aimed it carefully at an advancing Star. The garlands no longer repelled her once the ones wearing them became her only remaining food source. He shot her and she fell to the ground, writhing in agony. Meanwhile, Virginia grabbed the muzzle and restraints, and brawled with Star's struggling form to put them back on her.
oOo
The cries of pain from his basement, had steadily been getting worse, too. He was just about to voice his objections, when John announced that they were finally ready to take out his sire. They were going for a stealthier approach this time, due to the considerable size of the pack. Frank had informed them ages ago, that once a month, his pack would gather at a secret location downtown. The Frogs would use this knowledge to their advantage, and hopefully take out the majority of vampires in Santa Carla.
They wanted Frank to get Star inside. He was doubtful at first as to how agreeable she would be to this plan, although he was relieved of his doubt once he saw the defeated look in her eyes. He tried not to think about what had been done to her to achieve such a look and cursed his mind for replaying her anguished screams.
As they neared the place where he would be granted his liberty, it became a real effort to control his giddy feelings of elation. Soon, he would be freed from this curse and able to live what remained of his life in relative peace. He made a mental note to tell the Frogs where to go, once he had his humanity back. He never wanted to see any of them ever again. Let them torture vampires on their own God-damned property! He wasn't sure what would become of the vampire sitting next to him, nor did he want to know. Sometimes ignorance truly was bliss.
He pulled up outside a warehouse and adjusted his bow-tie in the rear-view mirror. Once out of the vehicle, he turned to Star.
"Hand the dog over, will you?" Star looked down at the stuffed animal she'd been absently stroking during the ride over here. Her lip curled in disgust and she carefully handed over the mounted monstrosity.
As they entered the dilapidated warehouse, Frank felt something tugging on his consciousness. Something or someone was calling him. He told Star to make her way to the gathering and that he would be along shortly. She was reluctant to leave him at first, eventually she nodded and carried on down the narrow hallway. Frank made his way to the stairwell and allowed his feet to carry him to where he was being pulled. Finally he found himself in front of a door, which he felt himself enter without knocking.
"Welcome, Frank. Long time no see…"
"Ellie…" he answered in a kind of trance. The woman's eyes were drawn to what he carried in his arms.
"For me?"
"Y-yes, of course." Frank sputtered, quickly handing over the stuffed, long-haired Dachshund. Ellie cooed over it and tickled its lifeless ears.
"So adorable! How do you keep them so lifelike?"
Frank tried to answer, however he couldn't get his mouth to form the words. He was always like this in Ellie's company. She was a very striking woman and worst of all, she knew it.
"I understand you've brought a guest tonight." She said in her upper-class London accent, studying him with pale green eyes. "We shall of course, accommodate her. And what of your other guests, what shall we do with them?"
"Others?"
"Yes. The ones who arrived shortly after yourself, carrying a variety of weapons." She clarified, sitting down elegantly in a rather shabby looking office chair and demurely crossed her long legs. She put the stuffed dog on the desk before her and reached for the teacup and saucer placed next to it. As she lifted the cup to her lips, the pungent smell of blood wafted over to him and he felt his stomach rumble. Hearing the sound, Ellie looked over the top of the china with a bemused expression.
"How rude of me. Can I offer you a cup, Frank?"
"N-no, I'm f-fine."
"Very well. I have to tell you, Frank that I'm rather disappointed that you're thinking of leaving our little family. Especially the manner with which you intend to leave. Consorting with hunters? Tsk tsk tsk."
"Look, they helped me to get rid of Max after you refused to help me."
"Is that so? Well, I suppose that is some good news. Nevertheless, I feel quite offended that you have the same fate planned for me. No matter, you answered my call in time, so I suppose I can forgive you just this once. Now the question becomes - what are we to do with your little friends?"
Next Chapter
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