The Forgotten: A Vampire Story

by Clary, Michael

  “Please!” The woman screamed. “Please!”

  Her fear pushed me over the edge. I wanted to draw things out. I wanted to make the most out of her suffering, but I couldn’t wait.

  I leapt across the garage, and landed on the woman with tremendous impact. Once I had her on the ground, I latched onto her wrist. I drank slowly so that I could listen to her beg right up until her death.

  I threw the body away from me the moment it was empty. I lay there in a heap of yard tools, using a lawnmower as a pillow. I didn’t want to get up. I wanted to close my eyes and give in to the pure joy rushing from my belly to my veins.

  Lorcan woke me sometime later.

  I could see the laughter behind his eyes as he looked down at me.

  “Where’s Ciaran?” I asked.

  “He’s resting in the living room,” Lorcan said.

  “Did he finish them off?” I asked.

  “All except the girl,” Lorcan answered, “but you might have thrown her too hard. I think her shoulder's damaged. Did you want her in once piece?”

  “No,” I said. “That doesn’t much matter. I just wanted her out of my way.”

  “Well,” Lorcan said. “You got what you wanted. She’ll never get in your way again.”

  I laughed out loud, and jumped to my feet. My head and body were still feeling the effects of all the blood I had consumed.

  I felt euphoric, and I wanted to drink some more, but the evening was still young. My brothers and I still had plans. I wanted them to meet Selma. That was the real reason for bringing them both to Betty’s house. I needed them to look their best, and that wasn’t going to happen without a really good feeding.

  “Are we still going to meet your human girl?” Lorcan asked.

  “We are,” I said. “Tonight I might even take her with us.”

  “You think she’s ready for something like that?” Lorcan asked.

  “I’ll find out tonight,” I answered.

  It took time to rouse Ciaran from his blood induced coma, but eventually he was up and standing. His mood was foul, but he was ready to go.

  “Can we eat her?” Ciaran asked after we’d moved all the bodies into the back bedroom.

  “No,” I answered. “Don’t be nasty.”

  “Then why should I care about your human girl?” Ciaran asked.

  “You don’t care about my human girl,” I said. “I care about my human girl.”

  “I’m going to scare her at least,” Ciaran said.

  “No,” I answered. “You’ll do no such thing.”

  “I don’t want to meet her,” Ciaran said. “I want to stay here.”

  “There’s no more blood here,” I said.

  “There sure is,” Ciaran countered. “You just don’t want me to touch your human girl’s friend.”

  I thought about his words. I didn’t really need Betty to remain alive, but I wasn’t sure if she’d come in handy later on down the road.

  “Stay away from the girl,” I said.

  Lorcan wandered into the room, and took a seat on the blood-soaked couch. It wasn’t until then that I noticed how absolutely filthy the three of us had become. Our clothes and chins were covered in dirt and blood.

  “What?” Lorcan asked.

  “We’re filthy,” I answered.

  “No way,” Ciaran said.

  “We need to clean up,” I said. “Find a shower and some new clothes. This house is full of things to wear.”

  Showering and changing our clothes took another hour or two. The three of us were having fun going through all the clothes we found, and rummaging through all the human belongings.

  We forced Betty to help us once she regained her senses. Her shoulder was definitely injured. I shouldn’t have been so careless with her. Still, she was somewhat useful in dressing us.

  Finally we were in the air. We were still giddy from all the blood we’d gorged on, but we’d more or less come back to our senses. It was time to introduce my brothers to Selma.

  Something was wrong.

  I felt it in the air from two houses away.

  Cautiously, the three of us landed at the end of the street. None of us spoke a word as we silently made our way closer and closer to Selma’s home.

  “What’s wrong?” Lorcan asked.

  “Don’t you feel it?” I asked.

  “I can’t feel anything,” Lorcan answered, “but I can see how disturbed you are.”

  “I’m heading back up,” Ciaran said. “I’ll approach from the air.”

  “Okay,” I agreed.

  Lorcan and I made our way to the front gate, silently climbed over, and slowly entered the backyard. Above us in mist form, Ciaran kept watch.

  “Vampire hunters,” I whispered.

  “How many?” Lorcan asked.

  “Enough,” I answered. “Probably an entire gang of them.”

  “There’s no one home,” Ciaran whispered as he touched down in solid form.

  “They took my summer girl,” I said.

  Lorcan scooped up one of the stray cats wandering the backyard, and gently scratched it behind the ears. Ciaran on the other hand began looking into the windows as if he was some kind of supernatural detective.

  “Did you want to find them?” Ciaran asked. “Maybe we can follow their scent.”

  “I think I already know where they’ve gone,” I said.

  “Where?” Lorcan asked.

  “I think they’ve gone to the home of the vampire hunters,” I answered. “They’ll have defenses there.”

  “I don’t like the sound of that,” Ciaran said. “We won’t be able to get inside their home.”

  “We can get inside if we can catch one of them unawares,” I said.

  “That’s a risk,” Ciaran said.

  “How so?” Lorcan asked.

  “Entering the home of a vampire hunter just isn’t very intelligent,” Ciaran said. “That’s a lot like a cow visiting a slaughter house. They’ll be ready for an attack. Even if we get inside, they’ll be ready for us.”

  “I don’t doubt your warning,” I said. “I’m just not that concerned. What’s the worst these vampire hunters can do to us?”

  “They can kill us,” Lorcan warned. “They’ve killed others of our kind. Let’s not pretend that it doesn’t happen. Occasionally, vampire hunters can be dangerous to our kind.”

  I forced myself to stop and think.

  Only a fool would disregard a brother's warning.

  If the vampire hunters were in their home, they were probably hoping that I’d attack, and that meant they were waiting for me. I’d be walking right into a trap.

  “Let’s go home,” I said as the happiest of thoughts floated around inside my head. “I need to speak with, Bob.”

  Selma

  Despite everything that was happening around me, I never felt truly ill at ease until the sun began to set. Nighttime was Derry’s time. He’d be looking for me. What would happen when he realized what was going on?

  Would Derry come looking for me? Glen and Felony certainly thought that’d be the case. In fact, they actually seemed to be hoping for a visit from Derry. They were picking a fight, just like children in a schoolyard.

  Would Derry fight for me?

  If my former kidnappers were any true indication of what Derry was capable of, he’d certainly fight for me. That’s what worried me. I didn’t want to see anyone get hurt because of me. I certainly didn’t want my father or Tyler to get injured.

  Glen and the other male vampire hunters stood outside in the backyard as the sun went down. The rest of us gathered in the living room of the plain single-story house, wondering what we should be doing. Tyler and I were the only two people that didn’t look as if we were about to have a heart attack.

  “They should be awake now,” Glen said as he entered through the back door with the other men.

  Everyone looked at me.

  “He doesn’t come immediately for me,” I said to the room.

 
“What do you mean?” Dad asked.

  “He doesn’t show up until later,” I said casually. “You guys can relax. It’s not like he’s going to start pounding on your windows any second now.”

  “He doesn’t show up earlier because he’s feeding,” the man with scars announced to the room.

  “That would make the most sense,” Glen agreed. “The vampires want to appear as human as possible. Certainly, he’d feed heavily before meeting up with you.”

  The vampire hunters were heavily armed with miniature flamethrowers, large knives, and spears. The two women even carried squirt guns with holy water.

  “Does holy water work?” I asked.

  “Yes,” Felony answered. “Holy water burns their skin.”

  “I had no idea,” I said.

  “I have a question for you,” Felony said as I took a seat across from her.

  “Okay,” I said.

  “Does Derry have your phone number?"

  The question made me laugh. I couldn’t really picture Derry trying to use a phone.

  “No,” I answered, but the question gave me an idea. “Can I use my phone?"

  “I don’t see why not,” Felony answered. “Just don’t tell anyone where you are.”

  I rapidly called Jake and then Betty. Neither of them answered their phones, and calls to their landlines also went unanswered.

  “I’m sorry,” Felony said after watching me put my phone away.

  “You don’t know shit,” I said. “How the hell have you idiots managed to keep from getting arrested anyhow? The entire lot of you look like trouble just waiting to happen.”

  “The police and whatnot tend to turn a blind eye in our direction,” Felony answered honestly. “It’s kind of weird, but every now and then, one of us will get arrested on the job. It’s no big deal though; we’re out in an hour or so. Glen says there are some important folks that keep an eye on us, but they don’t get actively involved.”

  “That’s stupid,” I said. “If vampires were truly a problem, you vampire hunters would certainly be more successful with the aid of the police or military.”

  “There’s no doubt about that,” Felony laughed. “It’s just not the way things happen, but we have nothing to worry about as long as we stay inside the house tonight. I don’t want you to worry.”

  “Vampires can’t enter a home without an invitation,” I said.

  “That’s right,” Felony said. “There are some ancient rules that you can always count on. That’s how we survive. We might not be able to kill every vampire, but we know how to survive.”

  “Yet you’ve already lost people,” I said. “You’ve even lost people recently.”

  “We got lazy,” Felony admitted. “We expected the vampires to arrive, but we ignored the signs. We’d gotten too normalized living here in Southern California. We stopped worrying about the things that went bump in the night, and we suffered because of that.”

  “I wish you could see what I see,” I said.

  Felony only looked at me with that strange knowing smile of hers.

  Sometime around midnight, the house creaked violently, and everyone but me startled. I laughed vindictively, but secretly I was worried for Derry. What if he did come here looking for me? These vampire hunters were going to attack him. Could they hurt Derry? I had no idea, but I was worried.

  “They’re a plague,” Glen told my father. “They’re only truly vulnerable during the daytime, but it’s almost impossible to find their resting places. Unlike in the movies, vampires don’t normally sleep in coffins.”

  “Where do they sleep?” Dad asked.

  “Anywhere they damn please,” Glen answered. “Sometimes they sleep under houses. I’ve found them in attics, subways, and old buildings. There isn’t any rule they follow. They only need to avoid exposure.”

  “What happens if you find them during the daytime?” Dad asked.

  “It’s easy to kill them then,” Glen answered. “They’re all shriveled up like a crusty pair of old blue jeans that have been buried in the dirt for a year. They move all slow, and can’t really defend themselves.”

  “Why did the cats worry you and your team when you arrived at my home?” Dad asked.

  “Cats are attracted to vampires,” Glen answered. “I don’t know why, but cats gather where vampires exist.”

  “Do the vampires feed on the cats?” Dad asked.

  “No,” Glen answered. “They don’t. They don’t seem to hurt the cats at all.”

  “Vampires like cats,” I interrupted. “They don’t summon them. They don’t hurt them. They just like cats and cats like them.”

  “If you see a bunch of cats in the yard,” Glen said. “There’s a good chance that a vampire frequents the home.”

  “I’ve never liked cats,” Dad whispered.

  It wasn’t until a couple of hours before sunset that everyone began to relax. I watched each them of get drowsy, and drift off into a light sleep. Except for Glen. The leader of the vampire hunters calmly smoked a cigar and stared out the window.

  “What do you expect to see?” I asked.

  “I’d just like to catch a glimpse of one of them,” Glen said. “I’ve only seen the newly turned, and that’s really not the same as a master vampire.”

  “Why is that?” I asked.

  “The newly turned are basically just wild animals,” Glen explained. “They’re dangerous, and they’ll absolutely kill you, but a master vampire is something most people, including vampire hunters, never get to see. We rarely get the opportunity.”

  “I’m bait,” I said.

  “Hopefully,” Glen said. “It just depends how important you are to your vampire. He’ll know that you’re with us vampire hunters, but will he do something about it?”

  “Of course, he won’t do anything about it,” I said. “You guys will try and harm him if he comes for me. It would be silly to risk himself when I’m in no real danger.”

  “It’s our audacity that will piss him off,” Glen explained. “We took something from him. A master vampire isn’t used to something like that happening. He’ll do something. We just need to stay safe and be ready. If he comes here, we can attack him from the safety of the house. Perhaps we can even injure him enough to destroy him. It won’t be easy.”

  “You’re going to fail,” I said. “Derry won’t come.”

  “You may be right,” Glen admitted. “It would be impossible for me to try and understand what motivates a creature like your Derry. I can only move my team into his path and hope everything turns out the way I’d like, but I’ll tell you this. Vampires very seldom forget what they’ve focused on.”

  That worried me.

  Derry cared about me. I knew that much at least.

  The sun rose without incident, and one by one, the vampire hunters roused themselves from their couches and wandered off to their respective bedrooms.

  “We’ll try it again tonight,” Felony said.

  “No,” Dad said. “We’re leaving the country like you advised.”

  “If you do that, we’ll lose this chance,” Felony said.

  “What chance?” Dad asked. “I’m not convinced you can actually kill these creatures. I’ve met them, and unlike this team, they are fucking terrifying.”

  “You can run,” Glen said. “And if you do, you’ll certainly save yourselves, but for how long? You’ll never be able to return home.”

  “I don’t want to leave the country,” I said.

  “What you want is unimportant,” Dad said.

  “Excuse me?” I asked.

  “You fell for a vampire!” Dad snapped. “You’ve read way too many books, and you’ve watched way too many movies. These vampires don’t want to romance you. They want to rip your friends and family to pieces, and then eat your face off. I can’t believe how stupid you’ve been lately.”

  “Me?” I asked. “You think I’m the stupid one? You’re the one that introduced us. What were you thinking when you were playing wit
h your spells as if you were some kind of wizard?”

  “I was thinking that I had a daughter in trouble, and conventional methods of rescuing you weren’t working,” Dad answered.

  “Derry has given me a sense of security that you never could,” I snarled.

  “That’s no joke,” Felony added. “Derry will certainly protect you from harm. Of course, he will. He wants you all to himself.”

  “Oh, what the hell do you know?” I asked. “You walk around here, hinting that you know shit I don’t know, but you haven’t been very forthcoming, have you?”

  “You don’t want to know what I know,” Felony said. “You aren’t ready for it.”

  I wasn’t.

  I didn’t want to hear whatever it was that Felony was keeping from me. I only wanted to sleep, and that was something I could fortunately accomplish. With as much attitude as I could muster, I left everyone to find a quiet corner to sleep in.

  I woke up in the late afternoon and tried calling Jake. Again, there was no answer on either his landline or his cell phone. I tried Betty next, and to my surprise, she actually answered.

  “Betty,” I said. “Where have you been?”

  “I’ve been here,” Betty answered, but she sounded odd and distant.

  “Where is Jake?” I asked. “Have you seen him?”

  “I haven’t,” Betty said. “I’ve just been here.”

  “Is everything okay?” I asked.

  “No,” Betty answered.

  “No?” I asked. “What do you mean, no?"

  The brunette walked into the room as I was talking on the phone. I looked in her direction, and she waved me away. Apparently, I was in her bedroom.

  “Betty,” I said. “Tell me what’s happening. Tell me what’s wrong.”

  “So many things have happened,” Betty said. “I don’t know where to begin.”

  “Have you taken something?” I asked. “You seem drugged.”

  The brunette looked over at me for the first time since entering the room. In turn, I gave her a dirty look that should have told her to mind her own business. Instead, she reached out for my phone.

  “What do you want?” I asked.

  “I want your phone,” she answered. “Trust me.”

  I handed over my phone.