Vampire Dating Agency III

by Rosette Bolter

  “You’re not getting away that easily.”

  “I’ll come with you.”

  Haley took a step down towards where he was.

  Nadine’s car zipped round to them. “Last chance,” she called out.

  “I can’t run anymore,” Haley said.

  Nadine looked back and reached into her glove box. She took off the sunglasses she was wearing and replaced them with a new pair.

  Then she sped away.

  “Are you ready to confess now?” Haley asked. “Or do you want to fight some more?”

  Brock took a step back towards the house.

  “Oh shit,” he muttered. Then he turned to Haley. “Get the fuck out of here.”

  “I already said, I’m not –”

  Then she heard it too.

  The sound of many footsteps running.

  All at once.

  All at the same time.

  “Run, Haley!” Brock screamed, running away from the doors. “Fucking run!”

  But Haley didn’t run.

  As vampire after vampire after vampire –

  Twenty, fifty, a hundred of them –

  As they all ran past chasing down Brock, chasing down Nadine’s car –

  Haley did not run.

  She chose to sit.

  On the ground.

  INTERMISSION

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

  It started in the van. That was how it always started. She was in his ear, on the phone with him, most of their words were distorted. The van had already stopped. Riley was sitting in the seat next to him, her face vacant and afar. And the voice, as though rising from the earth, suddenly made sense.

  “I can see your van,” Roxanne said excitedly. “I can see where you are!”

  And like always, Jason went to get out of the van and Riley grabbed hold of his arm.

  “Be careful.”

  Jason nodded, said thanks. Later on he wasn’t sure if Riley had grabbed his arm, or if he just imagined it once and it became part of the dream.

  Without warning, he was standing outside the van in the freezing ice cold atmosphere. He trudged around it to the grassy hill where he could see Roxanne making her way down towards them.

  Jason immediately put his hands in the air, waving to her.

  “I can see you now,” he said. “I’m coming to meet you.”

  “Okay.”

  He put the phone away and started running. His feet splashed about in the wetness of the ground, his arms in full flight and motion.

  Roxanne had stopped moving.

  She was waiting for him to come to her.

  “Roxanne!” Jason cried once he reached her.

  He wrapped his arms around her in a thick embrace, pulling her close to him.

  “I think they followed me,” Roxanne whispered.

  “What?” Jason said, looking around. “Where?”

  “I don’t know. I just saw this car was –”

  “Well, let’s not wait around for them. Come on now.”

  Roxanne nodded.

  They hurried down towards the van.

  Riley got out of the passenger seat and stood facing them.

  “Look, I’ve got to tell you something,” Roxanne said. “About my kidnappers.”

  “Did you meet him then?”

  “Did I meet who?”

  “The vampire, Brock Ferns. He’s the one who is behind this.”

  “Well, I didn’t catch any names,” Roxane said. She grabbed his arm. “Look. Will you listen to me? I need to tell you something.”

  “What is it?”

  “The people who had me weren’t vampires,” Roxanne said. “I don’t know where you get this whole vampire thing from in the first place.”

  “Look, there are plenty of vampires who can disguise themselves as human. It isn’t that hard. Besides, I just know about one vampire, the guy in charge –”

  “Jason. You need to wake up.”

  “What?”

  “They weren’t vampires. They’re people that you know. They’re working for the Paranormal Police.”

  “Are you kidding me? How do you –”

  “And one of them, the one you were talking to –”

  Loudness.

  Invisible noise.

  It blasted all around them.

  Jason couldn’t see where it was coming from. He was facing the wrong way.

  Just as he saw Roxanne’s face and neck burst apart with an assault of bullets, his own legs became consumed by pain.

  His arms.

  His back.

  He fell into Roxanne, their blood spilling all over one another.

  “No!” Jason shouted. “No, you have to tell me this time! Who were they? WHO THE FUCK DID THIS? ROXANNE! ROXANNE! ROX –”

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  “– ANNE!”

  Jason woke up in the middle of the night screaming her name.

  He put a hand to the place beside him in bed, and his wife Amelia stirred.

  “What did you say honey…?” she mumbled.

  Jason found himself unable to answer her.

  He got stuck choking on air.

  “Was it another nightmare? Or was it…”

  “Go … go back to sleep,” Jason finally muttered. He kissed her on the forehead, and then shifted his feet over the side of the bed. He felt around blindly for his walking stick.

  “Goddamn it,” he whispered.

  “What are you after?” Amelia said switching on the bed-light.

  “My stick. I need it.”

  “Oh. I hung it up in the closet. So no one trips over it.”

  “But … But…”

  “Do you want me to get it for you?”

  “No thank you. I’ll … I’ll manage…”

  Jason strained his muscles and forced himself to stand upright. He began taking tiny steps across the carpet. Sweat dripped across his forehead. He clutched onto the edge of the bed for support.

  “Are you sure I can’t get it for you? It’s no trouble.”

  “Thanks, dear. I’m almost there.”

  Jason let go of the bed. He hobbled towards the cupboard.

  When he reached it he was panting. Out of breath.

  He pulled back one of the doors and felt around the racks.

  “To your left,” Amelia offered.

  “Thank you.”

  He had the stick.

  He closed the door and made his way out of the room.

  He staggered out into the darkness of the lounge room, and switched on the air conditioner. He collapsed into his recliner and pushed the lever back so to elevate his feet.

  Then he just stared.

  Into nothing.

  “I’m sorry, Roxanne,” he whispered. “I’m sorry I couldn’t save you.”

  He closed his eyes but the tears still ran.

  “Why can’t you just leave me alone? There’s nothing I can do. I can’t bring you back. And whoever did this to you … They’re … untouchable…”

  He put a hand to his mouth.

  Ashamed of himself.

  Ashamed he uttered the words.

  But, how he had tried. He had done everything he could to piece together the puzzle, but he always came up short in the end.

  He still believed Brock did it.

  But the monster was gone now. Never seen again after that night.

  Same for Julian.

  For Haley…

  “I’m sorry, okay,” Jason mumbled. “I don’t know where she is. I don’t know where to look.”

  “Daddy…?” a girl’s voice called behind him. “Who are you talking to?”

  Jason glanced behind him.

  He forced his bravest smile. “No one. I mean, I was talking to myself.”

  His daughter moved round the chair to stand in front of him.

  “What’s the matter?” he asked. “Can’t sleep either?”

  “Talking to yourself means you’re crazy.”

  “What?” Jason protested. “No, it doesn
’t. You talk to yourself don’t you?”

  “Sometimes.”

  “Exactly. I was just … I wasn’t even talking to myself actually.”

  “Well, who were you talking to?”

  “An old friend of mine who isn’t here anymore.”

  “Well if she isn’t here, how can you be talking to her?”

  “Well. I guess she is here with me. In spirit that is.”

  Silence.

  “I don’t like it when you’re unhappy, Daddy.”

  “It’s … okay … really. I’m not that unhappy. I have you and Mommy remember?”

  “But what about your friend? When will she go away?”

  Jason leaned back in his chair. “I don’t know, honey,” he said. “I just don’t know.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

  “Hands on the wall, inmate.”

  It wasn’t a request. Even as she moved to comply, she just wasn’t fast enough.

  The guard shoved her against the bare concrete exterior, feeling up underneath her shirt. Grasping her breasts. Pinching her nipples. Moving down below…

  She said nothing in response.

  She didn’t even make eye contact when he forced her back round to face him.

  “Alright. In you go. Don’t keep the man waiting.”

  She slunk out of the guard’s reach and opened the door adjacent. She was now in a small office occupied by a man she didn’t recognize. He was on the phone with someone.

  “Alright, I’ll tell him. Yes. No more delays. You have my word. Yes … Yes, she just walked in. I’ll call you back when it’s processed. Thanks. Bye.”

  He put the phone down.

  “Have a seat.”

  She walked slowly to his desk and took the chair opposite.

  “You look rather pale,” the man remarked. “Did you get breakfast this morning?”

  “No,” she replied. “I went without.”

  “Well, I’m sorry to hear that. But uh… Let’s see now…”

  He opened up the desk.

  “Can I offer you an apple? I also have an orange.”

  “No, thank you.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “I don’t accept gifts.”

  “Oh. Alright.” The man closed the desk. “Anyway, I’ve been reading your file. I’ve seen your mugshots taken before you came in. You seem … a shadow of your former self. Physically, I mean.”

  “Is this going anywhere?”

  “Yes, it is. I have a couple of questions for you. Your sentence was how long? Fifteen years?”

  She nodded.

  “Uh-huh. And you’ve served less than half of that? In fact it says –”

  “Four years, ten months, eight days.”

  “Great. Now, you were categorized as highly dangerous when you put in here. But your record is clean. You’ve been a model prisoner. Not so model that you deserve ten years cut from your sentence, yet I’ve been fielding calls this week from people urging your immediate release.”

  Her posture tilted back in the chair.

  “That doesn’t surprise you?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Well, it’s left me curious. What’s interesting is while I can see everything you’ve been involved with during your stay here, your actions on the outside that led to your incarceration are bizarrely worded to say the least. In fact if I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were put in here to keep you quiet about something. Of course, it can’t be as simple as that, can it?”

  “I used to work for an outfit known as the Paranormal Police. I was involved in an undercover operation when the team was compromised. There was a traitor on the inside.”

  “I see.”

  “They pinned on me.”

  “But you were set up?”

  “There was evidence to suggest I was the traitor. Computer traces and so forth. However, I was also fingered by someone. Their testimony is what put me in here.”

  “Interesting.”

  “Of course, I was innocent.”

  “Well, I’m sorry if that is the case. Anyhow I’ve got to make a decision based on the information in front of me, as well as what I’ve been told by certain people.”

  “You alone? This doesn’t seem like the typical parole meeting.”

  “It’s not parole. It’s ‘special circumstances’. Make of that as you will. In any case, I can’t let you out if I think you pose a harm to society. There are things here to suggest you’re something of a killing machine. That you have a character of violence. Though, you haven’t been violent in here…”

  “Do I look like a violent person to you?”

  The man hesitated. “I’m not sure. I never met you before.”

  “Since my stay in your facility, I’ve been forced to take orders. I’ve been starved. Deprived of sleep. Demeaned and humiliated. I’ve been assaulted hundreds of times. Your guards have molested me on a weekly basis. I was even raped a few times. And in all of that, I have done nothing but obey. Keep silent. Keep still. I am the opposite of violence. Your mission is complete, my spirit is broken…”

  “Alright, you’ve made your point,” the man said. “I’ll set you up for release later this afternoon. But I have this warning for you – if you are picked up again for anything – and I mean anything – you’ll be back here so fast you won’t believe it. You will serve the remainder of your sentence.”

  She stood up from her seat.

  Placed her hands on his desk.

  “I can assure you if you let me set foot outside these walls, you’ll never see my face again.”

  “Well, I’m not exactly sure what that means,” the man replied. “But let’s just say … I believe you…”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

  Brrring, brrring.

  Brrring, brrring…

  The phone out the back of the store was ringing. Jason could hear it from where he was at the front desk, but his hands were full. A line of people covered the side of the counter.

  “Thank you,” Jason said accepting the items of clothing. He folded each of them neatly, placed them into giant bags, and ran the amounts up the register. Customers swiped their cards, and he handed them back their receipts, usually with a voucher attached.

  Big smile.

  “Have a great day.”

  His coworker Nora leaned in close to him. “Answer the phone, Jason.”

  “I have customers,” he replied.

  “So do I.”

  “Alright … alright…” he murmured.

  He grabbed hold of his walking stick and steadied himself away from the counter, leaving Nora to fend for herself. The clothing store’s manager who was usually here to take the calls was out somewhere at the moment.

  Jason went round to the back office and picked up the phone.

  “Freshridge Clothing and Accessories. Jason speaking.”

  “Hello. Do you accept a call from an inmate in Grover Correctional Facility?”

  “What?”

  “We have an inmate here trying to reach Jason Freelaw. Do you accept the call?”

  Jason swallowed. “Alright. I accept.”

  “Please hold.”

  Only a second passed.

  “Hello? Jason? Do you know who this is?”

  He felt the top of his cane. “Nadine?”

  “So you do remember me.”

  “Yeah.” He picked up the cane and pushed the door to the office closed. “We haven’t spoken. Since…”

  “That night.”

  “So why are you calling me?”

  “I need you to come and get me later. Between three and four, I think.”

  “Get you? From where? Prison?”

  “I’m getting out.”

  “How is that even –”

  “I don’t know. I think there’s people after me. Which is why I need a fast escape.”

  “You’re escaping?”

  “No, it’s not like that. I think the people who organized my release are after me. It doesn’t ma
tter anyway. I need to see you regardless.”

  Jason clutched the phone. “Why – why me? How am I supposed to be able to –?”

  “I hope I don’t have to convince you too hard. You know it wasn’t me who betrayed the team, don’t you?”

  Jason shook his head.

  “Hello?”

  “I – I don’t know anything. Whether you had your own agenda with the vampires isn’t really relevant now –”

  “Of course it’s relevant.”

  “But why?”

  “Because I need you trust me.”

  “I don’t know if I’m able to.” Jason paused. “What about the others? Dino? Riley? Have you reached out to anyone else?”

  “Not yet. I chose to come to you first. Please don’t let me down.”

  Jason didn’t know what to say.

  He was flabbergasted.

  “Come on, Jason. You know we have unfinished business.”

  “You mean … Haley…”

  “Yes,” Nadine said softly. “And catching the man who killed her.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

  When Jason thought back to his memory of Nadine, he recalled features that were interchangeable. The robustness of her stature, the size of her shoulders and overall height – who would have thought the right pair of boots and a man’s coat would have such an impact. Jason also remembered her hair – long and black. It contrasted against her powdered skin.

  Lastly, he remembered her sunglasses.

  None of which were present now.

  He watched her from the windows of his car, moving about the front of the prison. Looking. Searching. Back and forth.

  He could see she was small. Weak and fragile.

  She didn’t have any hair. Someone had shaved it off.

  She wore ordinary glasses so she could see.

  Jason reluctantly reached down and pressed the horn.

  Nadine looked up and scampered across the road.

  Once in the backseat she quickly closed the door and indicated for him to start driving. “Let’s get out of here. Before anyone else shows up.”

  Jason obliged.

  A short time later when they were on the road, he told himself he hadn’t made his mind up about her. He hadn’t decided what he was going to do.