Night Things: The Monster Collection

by West, Terry M.

  Lenny shrugged and swiped the blonde hair from his eyes. He was lean and muscular and immortal. The kid had the world by the balls, as far as Gary was concerned.

  “My sire is kind of a prick,” Lenny admitted. “He’s from the old country.”

  “So this is a kind of a rebellious thing, then?” Gary guessed.

  Lenny thought about it and then he smiled and his fangs flexed a little bit. “Yeah, you could say that. He’s a bit of a racist. He definitely wouldn’t dig this scene.”

  Gary caught Felix Gilling, the Assistant Cameraman, setting up a tripod. Felix was not a kid. He was in his fifties and he was a short and sweaty man who hunkered when he walked. Felix had worked on more film sets than he could or probably wanted to remember.

  “Felix, for fuck sake, man, put that away,” Gary chided him. “Were you asleep during the production meeting? We’re going completely handheld on this.”

  “What about your monitor?” Felix said, folding the tripod in a huff. “Where do you want that?”

  “No monitor,” Gary said. “I am putting my complete faith in you and Ella tonight. So go get the steadicam.”

  Felix nodded but grumbled as he hauled the tripod away.

  Gary could have benefitted from having an assistant director or a production manager for this, but it would have meant less money for him at the end. So he was supervising the festivities, and while he hated having the whip in his hand, he felt nobody cracked it better than he. There wasn’t one task for his crew that he hadn’t performed. He knew how things needed to be done and he found shortcuts on time and money that the inexperienced did not appreciate.

  He looked back to the mirror. Gary saw the indentation on the bed where Lenny was parked. His eyes trailed off of the action in the room behind him and he grimaced at his own reflection. Gary was a mess. He hid his smooth bald head beneath a sweat-stained cap and his unruly beard gave him the appearance of a mad hermit. He put his weight at around two-fifty. He had thought most drug addictions encouraged weight loss. Gary hadn’t dropped an ounce since his habit started. But, he didn’t indulge in the heroin to attain a svelte figure.

  Gary hated his existence, and he felt that his talent had been squandered. Gary had often damned his critics, peers and producers for the circumstances of his life and career, if you could call it that. But he knew where the blame sat and rightfully so. He had made terrible movies. They were so bad that not even nostalgia could give them favorable color. He could have suffered more for his art, but he had always sought the easy ways. Fake blood and tits were cheap commodities in his work. He had wanted a career in horror films and he had ended up a pornographer. Gary didn’t know exactly where he had slipped in his trajectory. But now he was who he was and his opportunities were limited and shameful.

  He suddenly wanted some heroin. Gary knew he would have to cage the monkeys until the shoot was over. Still, he couldn’t wait to get good and blind.

  “Mr. Hack?”

  Gary looked to where Lenny’s reflection should have been. He caught himself, chuckled about it and then he turned around.

  “Do you think a lot of people will see this?” Lenny asked, looking a little more apprehensive about it.

  Gary imagined second thoughts sounding off in the young vampire. “No, no one will see this,” Gary assured Lenny. “It’s a custom video. It’ll spend most of the time locked up in someone’s vault. Don’t stress yourself. It’s not for mass consumption.”

  Gary and Mike had agreed to keep the executive producer anonymous, and no one else involved saw the final product as anything more than a fetish video with dark specifics for a wealthy investor. No one besides Gary and Mike knew it was for play on a heavy metal band website. And Gary wondered if the dead things and beasts even had any rights in this.

  “But these things do surface sometimes,” Lenny said.

  “What, are you running for president?” Gary teased him. “Despite the petition going around, you still need a pulse for the job. It’ll be fine, Lenny. And at the risk of sounding intolerant, you all look the same on video.”

  Lenny nodded, appearing a little more at ease. “Thanks, Mr. Hack.”

  Gary turned back toward the mirror, and saw that Ella Howes had arrived. Ella was a middle-aged and towering transvestite who had blossomed from a sad man named Edwin Howes. Gary’s professional association had started many years ago with Edwin, but Gary preferred Ella’s company. Ella was a kinder and happier person than Edwin. She should have been an example to Gary; a lesson in being happy in your own flesh. But the self-loathing ran too deep in him. He was damned and unhappy but he was also comfortable with that.

  Ella greeted everyone and then immediately zeroed in on Lenny. She walked over and embraced him. Gary had to laugh as he was still looking in the mirror and Ella appeared to be hugging thin air. They spoke briefly and then Ella stood next to Gary’s side. She dug through her purse and pulled out her lipstick and powder.

  Ella fixed her face.

  “You’re a little late,” Gary said. “That’s not like you.”

  “There was traffic and it was horrendous,” Ella explained, fluffing the long auburn hair that she had grown herself. It was her pride.

  Gary could have saved his budget considerably by putting the camera in another’s hand. Hell, he could have shot it himself and it would have been competent. But Ella was a part of Gary’s magic. They worked together like an old married couple and Gary couldn’t imagine anyone else behind the lens. Ella gave Gary’s work an artistic touch that Gary took full credit for. You could say what you wanted about the content of his work, but the presentation was gorgeous.

  “Do you know how many organizations would have our heads over this?” Ella said in a quiet voice. She inspected her face in the mirror and put away her cosmetics.

  “Don’t tell me you’re losing heart, my most cherished and loyal,” Gary whispered back playfully.

  “I will happily plumb further depths with you,” Ella replied, elbowing him. “And when I reach Hell, I will tell them it was you who sent me. Are we set?”

  “We are waiting for the moon and our leading lady,” Gary told Ella.

  Ella sighed and rolled her eyes. “God, I hate that bitch. She’s such a nasty cunt.”

  “We work with what is available to us,” Gary said. “Few that fit the bill were willing.”

  Lenny interrupted them. Gary turned and saw the concerned look on the vampire’s face. He wanted to scream at Lenny, and tell him to man up and stop being a pussy. But he had to handle these actors of his like emotionally overheated and special children. He put on his patient and kind face.

  “Mr. Hack, I wanted to talk to you about something,” Lenny said. “It’s kind of personal, though.”

  “Don’t mind me,” Ella proclaimed, turning her heels.

  “What’s on your mind, Lenny?” Gary asked, not really giving a good fuck.

  “In these kinds of movies, the ones I’ve seen anyway, they have what they call money shots,” Lenny told him. “Do you know what comes out of me?”

  Gary nodded, impressed at an actual and legitimate concern. “Yeah, I’ve seen vampire porn. What do they call it?”

  “Tar,” Lenny told Gary. “They call our come tar.”

  “Because of the color and thickness,” Gary figured.

  Lenny nodded. “And it goes everywhere. Do you want that for this?”

  “No, let’s keep it all internal,” Gary said. “Our client didn’t ask for it, and he was very explicit. Good looking out.”

  “What about the girl?” Lenny asked. “It might be foul for her.”

  “We have wipes,” Gary said, smiling and patting Lenny on the shoulder.

  Gary turned away, hoping he had addressed Lenny’s last issue. Just as a healthy concern was finally setting in him, the door half-opened and his leading lady was there.

  Jennifer Novak was escorted by the producer, Mike Cooke. Mike was dressed to kill, as always.

  “Look who I f
ound outside,” Mike said, presenting the actress to Gary.

  “Good to see you again, Jennifer,” Gary said.

  Her outfit was tight, black and shiny. She shook her head, waving her light blue hair around. She pouted at him.

  “I was at a horror convention last week,” Jennifer said, with a look of disrespect on her face. “I talked to a couple of actresses about you. They had nothing but horrible things to say.”

  Gary was surprised, but not shocked. He just hoped that she wasn’t going to tell them to go fuck themselves and leave. This wouldn’t happen without her.

  Mike stepped in, trying to exert intimidation and control over this. “What the hell is up with you, Jennifer? You can’t just walk in here and shit all over the proceedings.”

  Jennifer ignored Mike and gave a bitchy smile to Gary. “They said you tried to fuck them. But you couldn’t get it up.”

  Gary wanted to let loose at her. But he didn’t want to endanger the shoot. He needed the money. So he smiled at her, calmly. “Really, Jennifer, what’s the issue here? You had no problem with me at the auditions.”

  “That was before I looked you up on IMDB,” Jennifer explained. “No one likes you. You’re like, the worst director ever.”

  “You are a fucking nobody,” Mike snarled angrily. “We don’t need you or your attitude here.”

  “Then replace me,” she said with a grin. “I’m sure you can find someone before the moon rises.”

  Mike opened his mouth again. Gary tugged at him and shook his head. He addressed Jennifer again. “What’s the issue here?”

  “I want double what you’re paying,” she said. “I want double or you can replace me.”

  “You signed an agreement and a release,” Mike reminded her. “You are going to honor your commitments or I will crucify you.”

  “Bye,” Jennifer said, turning to leave.

  “We’ll pay you what you want,” Gary said.

  “Where is that money going to come from?” Mike argued. “We’ve spent it all.”

  “I’ll cover it,” Gary said.

  Jennifer stared at Gary suspiciously. “I’m not going to fuck you.”

  “Oh, but you already have, my dear,” Gary said. “And holding a production hostage at the eleventh hour doesn’t glow on a resume, you understand.”

  “What, you going to threaten my career, now?” Jennifer said. “Why don’t you tell me that I’ll never work in this town again, or some shit.”

  “No one here has that kind of power,” Gary said.

  Mike frowned crossly at this.

  “Then kiss my ass,” Jennifer said. “By the way, is your real name Hack?”

  “Yes it is,” Gary said, familiar with the punch line. “Call it a happy fucking coincidence.”

  She laughed and turned and Lenny was there, smiling nervously at her.

  “Hey, Jennifer,” he said brightly.

  “Do not sink your fangs in me,” she warned. “If you do, I swear to God I will find you and shove a garlic bulb up your ass. I’m going outside for a joint.”

  Jennifer left.

  Lenny regarded Gary. “I couldn’t help but overhear,” he said, with an expectant grin.

  ***

  They had shot the dialogue, what little there was of it. Most of the crew had been dismissed after that. They were well into the nitty-gritty. They had shot most of the sex. It was garden variety stuff. Mission. Doggie. Sixty-nine. Gary had not shot a climax all night. He was saving the actual coming for the last scene, as per the script, which was very specific. The mind-blowing stuff had yet to arrive.

  Lenny and Jennifer had played off of each other admirably. They came across fine, and Gary was happy with their performances. He was also impressed at Lenny’s self-control. The vampire had kept his fangs and his tar to himself all night, and suckers weren’t exactly known as the poster children for restraint.

  The remaining crew left now consisted of Gary, Mike, Ella, Felix and a production assistant whose name escaped Gary at the moment. He was a good kid, and he was a little more hip to the actual nature of the shoot. It bothered Gary, not knowing his name. He would ask Mike or Ella for it later and try to hold on to it better.

  Jennifer was chained to the bed for the climatic sex scene. The bondage was necessary because the moon was near. She wore a white gown and her blue hair was combed down her shoulders. Her body was covered in tattoos and piercings. It didn’t quite mesh with the period of the piece, but clean wolves were hard to find.

  Lenny was wearing a cheap Dracula costume that had been purchased from a bargain bin. The production assistant stepped up and sprayed something from a bottle at him.

  Lenny recoiled and grimaced. “What is that? It smells like piss!”

  “It’s just a little something to keep her from ripping your head off when she changes,” Mike informed him.

  Gary looked at Jennifer. She was relaxed and calm. She had done her job quite well so far and had thrown no more insults or complaints his way. Still, he would never work with her again. Not after today.

  “How are you doing, Jennifer?” he asked.

  “Not so good,” she admitted. There was a slight discomfort on her face. “I can feel it scratching at the door inside. We need to go.”

  Gary got everyone into position and issued their marching orders. Ella started the HD camera, and called out, “Camera speeding.”

  “Action,” Gary said.

  Lenny entered the frame and stood next to Jennifer.

  “Please,” she begged. “I have committed every sinful act you have asked of me. Release me. You must do so before the moon glows.”

  “Never,” Lenny said with a cruel smile. “You will be my consort, forever from this day. I know not why you shy from the moon’s ray, but I will see your supple skin bathe in it.”

  He reached down and freed her breasts from the gown.

  “Please sir,” she entreated. “You simply must release me.”

  “I shall release my undead passion upon you, my lovely sex slave.”

  Gary was appalled at the dialogue, and he was glad he hadn’t written it. He could do better, even fully out of his head.

  Jennifer broke character and stared at Gary. “It’s coming.”

  Lenny moved away from Jennifer. Ella adjusted the camera and walked in closer to the girl.

  “This is our big effect,” Gary said. “If we blow this, nothing else works.”

  “I’m on it,” Ella said.

  “Don’t get too close,” Jennifer cautioned, her yellow eyes staring into the camera at Ella. “Don’t let me scratch you.”

  Lenny looked confused and helpless. “What do I do after the change?” he asked Gary.

  “You fuck her,” Gary said. “Don’t worry. She’ll be in the mood.”

  “It’s just, I’ve never been with a shaggy before,” Lenny confessed.

  “I find that term very offensive,” Jennifer growled through the pain of the transformation.

  “I’m sorry,” Lenny said to Jennifer. “That’s my sire talking. I don’t have anything against the wolves.”

  “Just spread her legs and put your cock in,” Gary said. “You’ll manage.”

  Jennifer shook and grew fur. It was a much quicker process than Gary had anticipated. The beast came out of the girl, twisting and elongating her face. The wolf’s new eyes looked at the crew. It bellowed and howled and fought the chains that held it. It was kind of a silly spectacle to Gary; this beast of fur and snapping fangs dressed in a sexy gown and chained to a bed.

  Lenny balled up fearfully away from Jennifer.

  “You’ve never seen the change before, son?” Gary had to ask him.

  Lenny shook his head. “Never,” he admitted, in a quiet voice. Gary could tell it had left an impression on the vampire.

  The beast quieted when it spotted Lenny. It softened, sniffing the air and opening its legs slowly.

  “That’s your cue,” Gary said.

  Lenny carefully peeled the ski
ntight Dracula outfit from his white skin. He took his time, concerned eyes still on the calm wolf, which was panting softly at him. The wolf suddenly looked more like a family dog submissively waiting to have its belly petted than a beast of legend capable of killing them all in a matter of minutes. The monster no longer seemed concerned with any one in the room, save Lenny. Whatever was in that spray that Mike had secured for the production, it was working like a wonder drug.

  Once nude, the vampire looked to the director. Gary motioned anxiously toward the beast.