by Sa'id Salaam
"I better go first. Dad is scared of needles," Martin offered and stuck out his arm. " See, it don't hurt."
"I see," Prince said as Kristine extracted one vial then another. She removed the needle and watched the needle hole close instantly. She still placed a Band-Aid on it and sealed it with a kiss.
"Next," she said and turned to her husband.
"Next what? You don't even need mine now!" he protested, but she wasn't trying to hear it.
"Come on, mister man!" she insisted and pulled his arm. Prince winced when she stuck the needle in and she twisted her lips. "Can you even feel this?"
"No. It's just a flash back from when I was a kid," he explained.
"That was seventy years ago!" she fussed as she filled the vials. His pinhole closed the second she pulled the needle out as well. She had what she needed and rushed into her lab to get back to work.
*****
"Okay. Let's see what we have here!" Kristine mumbled to herself as she looked at her son's blood under the microscope. She couldn't believe what she was seeing, so she moved over to the electro-microscope for a closer look.
"This is amazing!" she marveled at her findings. The boy's blood was all vampire and totally indestructible. She put a tiny amount in with a sample of vampire blood and it began to spark and killed it instantly. Even the smallest drop was deadly to the vampire virus. The boy was the kill.
"Let's try this," Kristine wondered aloud and put her husband's blood in a test tube, followed by a drop of her son's. The results were astonishing. The mix of father and son's blood turned into a supercharged mixture.
Young Martin was the most dangerous person on the planet. She added it to human blood and it turned into vampire blood instantly. The reality scared her to the core.
"Prince!" she shouted urgently out the door.
"Uh oh. You're in trouble! What you do?" little Marin said when he heard her tone.
"I’on know. Come with me," Prince asked as he stood.
"You're on your own buddy," the child said and retreated to his own room.
"I don't know what you think I did or broke, but Martin did it," he said as he entered the room. The joke was abandoned when he saw the look of sheer horror on her face. "What?"
"Watch this," she said and showed him what she discovered. She repeated all the tests, so he could see the results for himself.
"No wonder she's after him!" Prince said when he took it all in. This made things even more urgent than ever. If whoever was behind the experiments got wind of this they would come after their son, as well. "You know what this means?"
No sooner did they leave the mixture of father and son's blood, it began to bubble, spark and then died. He was the cure and the kill.
CHAPTER 8
"We have to get stronger. We must get stronger!" Prince announced urgently.
"You seem pretty strong to me!" his wife said breathlessly since he just knocked her boots to the moon and back.
"Yeah, well," he blushed at the compliment. He shook the flattery away and got back to the subject at hand. The new revelations had him worried and he had to protect his family. That meant they both had to get stronger.
"Family trip," Kristine said and reminded him of the upcoming vampire retreat in Detroit. It would host hundreds of vampires and wannabe vampires in one place.
"Let's bring Melcina along," he suggested. She was part of the family now since she and Martin had bonded like siblings.
"Yes. She needs to be stronger, too!" Kristine agreed since the babysitter was with their child in their frequent absences.
With that set, the family traveled by night to the iconic city of Detroit. Vampires were on the rise there as well and were causing problems. Each of the burned out shells of homes were littered with empty corpses of humans caught after sundown. With winter approaching, that meant the streets were deserted before five PM.
"At least there are no more crack heads roaming around," Kristine mused as Prince drove through the city. Their presence turned heads when vampires felt their presence.
"Good. I don't care for the taste anyway," he said and scrunched his face. He may have been impervious to the diseases and drugs in their system, but it gave their blood a foul taste. Similar to spoiled milk. They cruised the city in search of bad people to make a good meal of. Meanwhile, back at the hotel, dinner came to Melcina.
*****
"Go to the room," Melcina directed in response to a soft knock on the door of their suite.
"Okay," the obedient child said and complied. She waited until the door closed behind him before popping her fangs and claws out.
"Who!" she growled as she unlocked the door and took a step back.
"Um, Dennis. I'm the bellhop. I brought your bags up earlier," the creepy man called through the door. Melcina frowned even deeper as she recalled his eyes roaming all over her and Kristine as he delivered their bags to the room. Prince saw it too and planned to deal with him before they left, but he wasn't going to make it that long. It didn't look like he was going to make it through the night.
"How can I help you, Dennis?" Melcina asked as she opened the door minus the fangs and claws so she wouldn't scare him off.
"I saw your parents leave. Thought you might wanna hang out? Get a bite to eat?" he asked as his eyes ran up and down.
"I would love a bite to eat!" she admitted. She could feel and hear the pulse of his heart beating through his chest. Martin let out a shout at losing a life on his video game, which meant he was good and occupied. Melcina looked back at the bedroom door before stepping out into the hallway.
"I wanna eat, too," Dennis suggested with a suggestive nod below her waist.
"You won't after I get through with you!" she promised and let him lead her away. The employees had a spare room they used to do dirt, so that's where he escorted her.
"In here," he said as he opened the door and stepped aside. He grabbed a handful of booty as she passed by. It would be a going away present since she attacked as soon as the door closed behind them.
Melcina let out a loud hiss as her fangs and claws came back out. His eyes went wide when he realized that he had invited death into his life. He made a move for the door, but it was too little too late. Once again, she went for his spine and disabled her prey. There was nothing he could do as she drained him completely dry.
*****
"Remember to bring some take out back for Melcina," Kristine reminded as she watched a Chinese man stepped out the back of a Chinese restaurant.
"Mmhm," Prince said and kept an eye out for their dinner. He parked in the hood in hopes someone would come along doing something they shouldn't so he could eat them. Meanwhile, she kept a curious eye of the cook.
"What the—" she frowned when he retrieved two cats from pens kept in the alley. He snapped their necks and took them back inside. "I just found dinner!"
"I'm not eating no cat!" Prince protested.
"Sure you are. As soon as we get home. Now come with me," she directed and hopped out. He knew she was right about him eating some cat when they got back, so he shut up and followed her inside.
"Chicken fry rice? Fresh!" the woman at the counter sang along with the bell over the door. Meanwhile, the man in back was using one of the many, many ways to skin the cats he just killed.
"Chicken or cat?" Kristine dared. The slant eyed lady squinted and checked for health department badges.
"You like cat I make for you," she said as if it were a secret.
"See, that's why I always ordered wings. Cats don't have wings," Prince said just before he turned.
"Word," his wife said and turned, too. Screams filled the night air as the vampire couple leapt the counter and fed.
Prince thought it ironic to skin the cook first and hang him upside down along with the cats. He slit his throat with his fangs and feasted until the man went dry.
Kristine took the traditional route and bit deeply into the woman's neck. She struggled and flailed which only mad
e her heart beat that much faster. Her blood flowed that much quicker and she was drained dry that much sooner.
"We forgot Melcina!" Kristine said and snapped her fingers when they got back to the car.
"I'm sure we can find—" Prince began but was interrupted by the unmistakable sound of a backhanded pimpslap echoing through the night air.
"What the fuck is this!" the pimp demanded and threw the few dollars back in the girl’s face.
"May, I?" Kristine asked. Her husband gave a nod and she pulled the door handle.
"I'll see you back at the hotel," Prince said and pulled away. Kristine turned into a black blur and sped towards the man.
"Bi—" the pimp was saying before being scooped into the air and swooped away.
"I can't hear you?" the girl laughed but didn't laugh long. A pack of young vampires came out of an alley and spotted her. She spotted them too and made a run for it. They quickly tracked her down and fed on her.
"Wait here," Kristine told the man when she landed on the roof. It wasn't much of a request since she snapped his legs like twigs so he couldn't escape.
Melcina had sensed her presence when she neared the door. "I brought you some… what did you do?"
"Well, I got hungry and he came knocking and..." Melcina lowered her head and admitted. Kristine got the rest of the story from the girl's head and shook her own.
"Well, we may as well have seconds," she said. She poked her head in to peek at her sleeping child before leading her up to the roof.
"What have we here?" Melcina asked when she saw the flamboyantly dressed man. He was crawling to the stairs, trying to get away before the vampire came back. To make matters worse, two vampires came back.
"Pimpjuice!" Kristine laughed. Melcina did too and both bared their fangs.
"Guess it's dinner time," Prince laughed when he heard the shrill scream as he approached the hotel. It died in the man’s throat when a vampire latched on to each side of his neck. There was nothing left to do except shut up and die, so that's what he did.
Of course he was tasked with disposing of the empties when they were done feeding. After all, taking out the trash is men's work.
*****
"I wish I could go!" Melcina pouted as the night began to overtake the day.
"You are going," Kristine said to her surprise. "I arranged for a sitter. This won't take long,"
"Not long at all," Prince seconded when he came out dressed to impress. He wanted to make a grand impression even though no one would live to remember it.
"I'll go get dressed!" she cheered and rushed into the room.
"I better get dressed, too," little Martin said, not wanting to be left out.
"Not this time, little man. Miss Andrews is coming to hang out with you," his mother said soothingly. She had found her in the network of vampire sympathizers. The sweet lady campaigned for vampire rights. Little did she know, there could be only one and Prince and Kristine planned to kill all the rest.
"That must be her," Prince said of the knock on the door. Answering it was men's work too in the Jones home, so he went to pull it open.
"Well, hello! Aren't you guys handsome!" the woman gushed and hugged Prince tightly. He gave her mind a scan and found no malice. Just butterflies and lillies.
"Hello, Mrs. Andrews," Kristine greeted and ran a background check through her mind as well.
Once the niceties were out the way, the trio of vampires set off for the vampire jamboree. The party was held in one of the city's new casinos. Fitting since being a vampire was a real gamble.
"We’re set?" Prince asked after going over the plans once more on the drive over. Kristine wanted to fly, but Melcina didn't have the ability just yet. They would all have new powers after dispatching the thousand vampires expected.
"Set!" both women said and bared their fangs. Prince pulled up to the valet and got out.
"Mortal," he surmised of the attendant who took the car away. They would try to separate vampires from mortals but couldn't make any guarantees. This would be a slaughter. There would be collateral damage amongst would be vampires.
"If you wanna scramble eggs, you have to break a few shells," Kristine said with a shrug. She didn't read his mind they were just on the same page.
"Legs and heads, too," he agreed.
"This is crazy!" Melcina marveled as they walked inside. She had stars in her eyes when she looked around the festivities.
There were turning booths instead of tanning booths so people could make the leap from mortal to immortal. They had to sign a waiver of course ,plus no one mentioned that there could be only one. Vampires could only socialize but for so long before turning on each other. The savvy vampires amongst them were making list of victims to kill so they could add to their powers.
Vampires are licentious creators and several copulated with each other or mortals. Kristine wondered at the results of any babies conceived. None would be like her own since none of these vampires had Prince's powers. Still she couldn't take any chances and let them be born.
Both human and vampire blood was being served at the bar. Kristine scrunched her face at the dangerous display. Humans couldn't be turned from the vampire blood unless they were first bitten. It did create a euphoria better than any drug on the market. She had no way of knowing which ones were bitten and which ones were not. She just shrugged and lumped them all in together.
"Well take your positions. Let's get the party started," Prince ordered. Melcina merged into the gyrating sea of bodies on the dance floor. Kristine mingled over to the blood bar to wait on the signal. Prince never said what the signal would be. Only that they would know it when they saw it.
A mash up rock/hip hop band was on the stage pumping out rage music. The partygoers bounced around the dance floor like human pinballs. Some humans were left lumped and bloody from the violence on the dance floor.
"You can't come on stage," a vampire bouncer advised as Prince climbed the back stairs to go back stage.
Prince was polite enough to let him get it out before politely biting his throat away. He held the struggling man as his life’s blood gushed from the open wound into his open mouth.
"Refreshing!" Prince declared as he felt the surge of power enter his body. The bouncer had obviously been feeding on other vampires because he could feel the rush of the dead souls.
Playtime came to a sudden end when he suddenly morphed into his wolf-like creature. The crowd roared with applause when he bounded out and bit the lead guitarist, guitar and all, completely in half. They “oohed” and “aahed” at what they thought were some really special, special effects.
The crowd went curiously quiet when Prince turned to the front man and bit his head off. The bass player knew this wasn't part of the act and tried to make a run for it. He didn't get far before the wolf pounced on his back and began to eat him.
"Showoff!" Kristine said and shook her head.
The stunned audience finally caught on and caught out. Tried to anyway because both women pulled their weapons. Melcina lacked the training, so she wielded a cross bow. The poisoned tipped stakes made quick work of vampires and humans.
Kristine took a deep breath and transformed into a blur. She drew her claws and sped around the venue slashing, biting, and stabbing. The wolf ran around the perimeter making sure no one escaped. The mist of blood hung in the air like London fog and the death toll increased.
Kristine felt the surge of power with each vampire life she took. She knew they were mortal if she felt nothing. Still she felt nothing as she killed mortal and immortal alike.
"Showoff," Prince said to himself when he transformed back to himself. He watched proudly like a lion king watching his lionesses making a kill. The chaos slowly came to and end when the women ran out of victims. They roamed around looking for any signs of life and snuffed them out.
This was a turning point for Prince and Kristine. Both felt the effects of absorbing so many lives. Tonight would put the vampire world on notice
. So much so, even Katrina noticed.
"Let's get out of here," Prince said once their work was done.
"Let's!" Kristine agreed out loud, while Melcina nodded. Melcina drove while the couple took to the air. The large bats fluttered back to the hotel and landed on the roof. They walked down to their floor and entered the room.
"We're back!" Kristine sang as Prince opened the door and stepped aside for his queen to enter. The smile disappeared when she saw her child alone on the sofa playing his game.
"Where's Mrs. Andrews?" Prince asked as he rushed inside and looked around.
"Gone," the little boy said and kept on playing.
"Gone where?" his mother demanded and stepped in front of him. Martin quickly paused the game instead of asking her to move. He didn't get many spankings but that was the quickest way to get one.
"I’on know, ma. She took my blood then left," he shrugged.
CHAPTER 9
Martin looked down at the hands holding his hands, then smiled up at the owners of those hands. It had been months since both parents had taken him to the park in the middle of the day. It was the dead of winter but no one seemed to mind in the least.
"Beautiful day for a stroll, Mr. Jones," Kristine sang and looked directly at the once deadly sun.
"It is, Mrs. Jones," Prince agreed. The massacre in Detroit had turned them both into daywalkers and more. Melcina still had a ways to go but was still more powerful than most vampires. She was adequate protection for their son while they made their rounds around the country killing strays.
The massacre served to drive the vampires back into the shadows. It was no longer safe to flaunt being undead since Mr. and Mrs. Jones would come make you dead-dead.
Prince wore an “I wish she would” smirk on his face in hopes Katrina would pop up like she did in England. Kristine was ready, just not as eager. The fact that someone had her son's blood unnerved her. It was the most dangerous substance she'd ever come across. Now only God knows who had it and only God knows for what. That's why she prayed since only God could guide her.
The family enjoyed a frigid family outing before Prince went on a mission the next day. He had a slew of new tricks up his sleeves and couldn't wait to try them out.
