Now, a couple months later, the Hawkins needed to close the deal. They had dragged the situation out long enough to be ridiculed by opposing companies. The rogues needed to be found, and then safely deported. It was time. Extra shifts and nights away from their house was expected. There were still two guards assigned to watch out for Tish at all times. With Susan staying the night, a third would be there, too. The agent assigned to Susan would finally have some company. All somewhere outside the house, watching for vampires.
21 – Sleepover
The next couple months were difficult for Tish. To think of all she had been through. After reestablishing contact and falling in love again with her childhood sweetheart he was attacked right in front of her and ended up in the hospital. Then her parents told her the attackers were weird aliens that resemble vampires. And, that part of their job was to track down these aliens. Her best friend's boyfriend was killed in the attack. Then, Tish finds out that not only were some of the aliens her boyfriend's parents, but he himself was also one of these vampire creatures.
It was too much to process really. Everything in her life just got more difficult. Classwork, homework, sportsplex work, comforting her best friend, and just generally trying to return to normal life. The whole vampire alien revelation triggered some awful visions, too, like flashbacks. Perhaps they were hallucinations instead. After finding out that Aaron was one of them, the memory of those deep dark eyes had to be real. Maybe the rest of it was real as well. She wanted to ask her mother but was afraid that it would release more bizarre information for her brain to process. Besides, she couldn't really explain the visions clearly.
One moment she would be walking along, minding her own business. The next moment, one of those vampire thingies would dart across her path then disappear into thin air. Occasionally, there would be other weird animals as well. At one point she could have sworn she saw Bigfoot, or Sasquatch, whatever he was called. It was a tall erect ape, walking around like a man. Then he was gone. Just like that. Now werewolves that she would have expected. But no sign of them so far. She guessed that was possibly a good sign. But overall the visions were getting more alarming. Tish could feel that the shadows wanted to attack her. They were just testing her until the right opportunity came. She feared if she revealed any of this to anyone, they would laugh at her. Or worse.
So she hid it, deep within herself. She was careful to avoid any reaction when she saw these things, anything that might cause someone near her to be concerned. Hiding the whole alien thing from Susan was the hardest. Susan was hurting so bad since Hunter's death. She had been such a chipper girl before, always smiling and waving at people. Now, the bounce was gone from her step. She skipped cheerleading altogether a few times those first weeks. It was just this week that Tish finally heard her best friend laugh again. Really laugh, loud enough to draw attention, just like before the attack. But a few minutes later she looked like she could cry again.
Tish spent most her time after school with Susan these days. And much of the weekends, too, when Tish wasn't working. She avoided the subject of Aaron's disappearance from the hospital to the point that Susan suspected she was hiding something. With Aaron's parents skipping town before that it looked like some big conspiracy that Tish was privy to, but not even telling her best friend. If it weren't for Susan's mourning her dead boyfriend the Aaron conspiracy could have been a sizable wedge in their relationship.
Slowly but surely, things started returning to normal. Eventually guys asked them out on dates again. They turned them down saying they just weren't ready yet. But soon they would probably say yes. Susan was starting to get a little of that old flirt going again. It was good to see, mostly. But after Tish's first boyfriend turned out to be a freak from outer space she was a little hesitant to get back in the game.
It was a Saturday night when Tish noticed a big improvement in Susan's disposition. She was talking about boys again, and taking the stairs to her bedroom super-fast like it was a workout. Tish was spending the night again with her best friend. It had become a habit on the weekends lately. They wouldn't go anywhere, just sit in Susan's bedroom and talk for hours. And sometimes get some studying done as well. In many ways Tish felt that they were closer than they had ever been before. It was the tragedy, she realized. It always brought family members and friends closer. When your heart got wrenched out for everyone to see. And the people near to you were magnetically drawn to your weakness, your unguardedness. Nothing ties you to another person more than that shared wound of your soul. Despite Tish hiding things she knew, it happened to them too.
Tish was going to be turning eighteen, finally, next month. This whole ordeal over her life course decision did not seem so big now. A party was planned by her parents. For some reason none of her friends were invited. Just select friends of the family. At least fifty people overall, and only adults. It didn't seem like much of a party for her. But she would have to get all dressed up and announce to the group what she had decided to do with her life, which she still hadn't. But these days she was leaning toward the path of least resistance, to be a worker like her parents. She knew she would take a lot of grief from the teachers and career counselors at school when she'd tell them she wasn't going to college. It would crush Susan, too.
Susan locked the bedroom door with a grin that half scared Tish. What was this about, she wondered.
"I have a surprise," Susan whispered.
"Really?" Tish couldn't help but ask. "What is it?"
Susan walked to her bed and knelt down before it. It was a large canopy bed with a feminine frame. A pillowy green and pink comforter covered the mattress, making it look even higher than it was, which was about six inches taller than Tish's bed. Flipping up the bed skirt Susan pulled something out and hugged it to her chest as she stood and turned. It was a bottle of Tequila.
"Oh my goodness," Tish said. "Are we going to drink that?" At first she was going to ask where she got it. But it was no secret that Susan's mother kept a lot of liquor in the house. Tish had only had beer and wine before, and very little of it. She was a little scared at the prospect of drinking tequila.
Susan nodded, still grinning. But her best friend's apprehension was obvious. "Come on, Tish. It will be fun. Just the two of us. No one else will see us if we get silly."
"Have you had tequila before?" Tish asked as she sat on the bed. Susan joined her there.
"A couple times in the last month," Susan replied quietly, like someone might overhear through the door. "I tried some other kinds, too. Just sips, to see what tastes best. Peach Schnapps is probably my favorite, but mom must have drank it all. She uses it in one of her cocktails. I took the tequila bottle because it had the most in it. When I put it back tomorrow she probably won't notice any missing."
Susan twisted the cap off the bottle, which was more than three quarters full. After a quick sniff she held the opening up to Tish's nose.
"That smells awful!" Tish announced. "Does it taste like it smells?"
"Yeah, but after a couple sips it gets better. We'll get a buzz right away, so we won't have to drink much of it," Susan answered just before tilting the bottle up to take her first swig of the clear liquid. She made a face like someone had just squirted gasoline in her mouth.
"Couldn't we drink beer instead?"
Susan shook her head vigorously, as if trying to shake the taste from her lips. "Mom doesn't have any beer. She only buys it when dad is coming home. And he always drinks it all.
Susan handed over the bottle and Tish drew it toward her mouth. Before tilting it up she pinched her nose hoping it would help. She didn't think it did. The fire consuming her throat had nothing to do with the liquor's scent. She coughed until she couldn't help but laugh at her inexperience with drinking. She had seen guys at parties drinking the same stuff like it was refreshing water. Susan laughed with her, and the buzz kicked in immediately. Two more sips each and they were dancing to the worst songs on the radio. Tish fell down laughing when Susan kep
t dancing through a commercial. Susan was definitely right. They wouldn't need much, and her mom would probably not notice the little bit that was missing.
Eventually their energy was gone and they just sat on the floor leaning against each other giggling at the stupidest things. They needed to take turns in the shower before going to bed. Before Susan got up to take her turn she leaned so close that her forehead bumped the side of Tish's head as she whispered in her ear, "I love you, Tish. Thank you for being my best friend."
Tish wanted to reply the same but was caught off guard by a big wet kiss on the cheek. Susan then got up with all the grace of a newborn deer and headed for the bathroom, swerving twice on the way there.
"Girl, you are drunk," Tish said.
Susan swatted her hand behind her without turning, "Shut up. I'm just a little tipsy," she slurred. "And I gotta pee real bad." Tish listened carefully for any sound of Susan falling down, but she didn't hear anything. When she heard the sink running she opened the door after a couple quick knocks, hoping to use the toilet before Susan got in the shower. She was surprised to see Susan standing butt naked in front of the mirror brushing her teeth. Susan went on about her business as if it were nothing unusual for someone to walk in on you in your birthday suit. But she made eye contact with Tish in the mirror.
"Oops," Tish said. Her eyes couldn't help but take in Susan's gorgeous tan body from behind. In the mirror she could only see her face. "Sorry," Tish said as she tried to pull the door closed and tip toe back out to the bedroom. But Susan turned around suddenly to grab the door, preventing Tish from both closing it and escaping the situation. Susan smiled with toothpaste in her mouth as Tish averted her glare. Susan was firm and well-shaped. If she weren't underage she could easily good money as an underwear model, or at least a stripper. Tish wanted to turn and run, but was frozen in place.
Susan pulled the brush out of her mouth to speak, and Tish could only imagine what the beautiful girl would say to her. "Do you like what you see? How about a hug? Are you drooling?" But instead she said, "Did you need to pee?" Tish nodded, unable to look Susan in the eye. "Well, go ahead. Just don't flush until I get out of the shower."
Tish stepped over to the toilet and dropped her pants hesitantly. She hadn't sat on the toilet in front of anyone since she was a small child, and that was in front of her mother. But Susan's carefree attitude made her feel foolish for hesitating. So she pulled everything down around her ankles before sitting down, then looked to see Susan's reaction. But her best friend wasn't even paying attention. Maybe it was no big deal. After Susan was done she wrapped a towel around her and went into the bedroom for the hair dryer. The bathroom door was left open. Tish was embarrassed for being embarrassed. So, she disrobed right there in front of the sink before turning to face the shower.
Through the doorway Tish saw Susan staring at her, smiling. Tish wanted to pull her arms around herself to hide her nakedness, but resisted. She couldn't help but blush though. She stood there waiting for Susan to say something, but she never did. The whole shower Tish watched to see if Susan would come near, but she didn't. The tequila was starting to wear off.
Susan was already in bed when Tish climbed in. Lifting the blanket as she entered revealed that Susan was still nude. Tish started to get scared. If there was ever a girl that Tish could be intimate with, it was definitely Susan. And goodness, she was so attractive. But Tish knew she wasn't interested in girls. And she believed that Susan wasn't either. It was just the tequila and the trauma that brought them to this crossroad. Tish lie still in the bed hoping with all her might that Susan would not cross the road, and their relationship wouldn't change.
Tish closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she opened her eyes again Susan's beautiful face was right beside her, but her eyes were closed. Then Susan's hand made contact with Tish's flesh, on her belly. Tish stopped breathing and waited. With her eyes still closed Susan slid her arm slowly across Tish's midsection, never wavering up or down her body. As her arm came to rest Tish released her breath slowly. Within seconds Susan was asleep, her lips and chin pressed against Tish's shoulder. Tish felt so bad for worrying, and placed her hand on Susan's as she tried to drift off asleep as well.
22 - The Jig is Up
If you keep following the trail it will eventually end somewhere significant. At least that's what Detective Nick Bell had always told himself. In reality, it was true far less than half the time in this line of work. After no reply at the front door of the northern Virginia home Nick started to snoop around the property. There were several free weekly newspapers scattered throughout the front yard. The grass was badly in need of mowing, and the mailbox was so full the door wouldn't close completely. A faded note was stuck to the front door, some complaint from a neighbor about the appearance of their lawn. It didn't take a detective to realize that these people had been gone for some time.
The landscaping was quite extensive. Too bad the weeds were as tall as the bushes. Around back a Lexus sedan and Range Rover sat in the driveway. Both vehicles were registered to the owners of the house, Stanley and Victoria Voh. These were the people he was after. He knew it. Unfortunately, this trail was more than a couple months old. Stanley Voh's company closed up almost three months ago. And their son Aaron stopped going to school a couple weeks after that. There had been no sign of the three of them since then. Their last appearance was Aaron's hospital stay before taking off, which was much shorter than it should have been.
No credit cards had been used. No travel records in their names. They just disappeared. But Nick knew they were around here somewhere. The fact that Aaron was at that lodge where the vampires attacked was too big of a coincidence. Bigger yet was the boy's association with his own daughter. Were they trying to get close to him? Or did they even know of his existence? At this point there was no reason to believe that they did. They had another enemy keeping them occupied, he believed. And he had some ideas about who that might be.
Detective Bell should be getting a warrant to search this home. The thought just made him feel all tired inside. These people obviously did not leave any clues in their house. It was a waste of time. But it was required procedure. He'll have to submit the request tomorrow. Not today. He needed a rest. And a beer, or two.
The Glory Grill welcomed him, as it always did, with thirty some TVs. That included two gigantic screens that had to be more than fifteen feet diagonally. One of those huge screens had the Capitals game on, the other golf. He chuckled at the idea that someone in the bar requested golf on the big screen. His regular server, Chrissie, brought him a Corona without having to ask, with the lime already pushed in. Nick had complained twice about lime juice in the eye, so Chrissie took care of it ever since then. Some of the usual bar crowd nodded at him. He also got a wave and a smile from the manager on duty, Sharon.
There was a time when he would flirt harmlessly with the girls, but not anymore. The distance between his wife and himself made flirting feel like something dangerous, and painful. He knew it was something important to avoid. It wouldn't be long before his own daughter, Susan, started working a job. Perhaps she would be a waitress in a place like this with older guys checking out her body, calling her "sweetie" and "darling." The thought would make him feel dirty just being there if it wasn't for the friendship he had actually developed with these people. Of course, none of them really knew what he did for a living.
Nick stared at his beer and thought about his family. Little Jenny had accepted him back quickly. Chelsea wanted to, but was understandably cautious. They did make love last week, for the first time in a very, very long time. It felt good to be with her that way. But it was also awkward. He wondered if they would ever be like they were before. Before all this, the move to Leesburg, and all this vampire business.
Susan was finally warming up to him, it seemed. Or maybe she was just fishing for information about the case, now that she knew what he really did. In his enthusiasm for his family he had revealed too much informat
ion, he knew. She promised not to tell anyone, but she was a teenage girl, a senior in high school. Was there any way that all that information would be kept secret? Not likely. At least he didn't tell her anything too sensitive. It would all be okay.
He thought back to a conversation with his daughter just yesterday. She had remembered a little more about the night of the attack. But more importantly, she had shared with him some things that went on between her best friend, Tish, and her boyfriend, Aaron. He felt pretty strongly now that all the Vohs were vampire-like creatures. But he still didn't know how it all worked. How did they change from one form to the other? Why would they sometimes bite people? They weren't drinking or draining them of blood, despite Hollywood's propaganda. They weren't turning them into new vampires either.
The only thing that made sense was when they took on the form of Henry and Jill Stone. Biting them must have been their way of collecting DNA, so they could duplicate their appearance. Based on the timeline of the Vohs disappearance Nick now believed that it was Stanley and Victoria that attacked the Stones, and fled to Canada. But why come back and risk getting caught? Obviously, they wanted to collect their son. But why hadn't he joined them from the start? Perhaps he didn't want to go. Perhaps he needed to be persuaded. Perhaps that was what the lodge attack was all about. It was all guesses at this point. Maybe the Vohs screwed up and left something in the house that would help him solve this puzzle after all. He regretted not calling in the warrant request today.
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