Phoenix and the Dark Star

by Gerald Pruett

  As Winona took the crystal ball, she asked, “Where to, and how do we get them there?”

  Willie gestured between the two vampires while saying, “For the most part they look extremely inebriated than anything else. Obviously that’s not the case, but if the appearance holds true, I actually can move them to the car.”

  Winona gestured for him to proceed while saying, “Go for it.”

  Willie nodded with a grin before bending down and grabbing the male vampire as if he was about to assist an intoxicated person onto his feet.

  Before Willie could attempt to pull the vampire onto his feet, Winona dropped the crystal ball back into her purse and then went to help Willie.

  As Winona and Willie were getting the vampire onto his feet, the vampire—barely loud enough and coherent enough—forced out, “Please.”

  “Please?” Winona echoed. “Now there’s a word I bet you heard a lot. ‘Please don’t hurt me. Please let me go. Please don’t, I have a family.’ So you don’t get to request that. And as soon as I get you and your mate to an exclusive location, I’m going to light you two on fire, and watch you two burn.”

  “Let’s go,” Willie urged. “We need to get them into the car before someone comes by and sees this.”

  “Alright, let’s go,” Winona agreed before she and Willie walked the vampire towards the car.

  Winona and Willie escorted the male vampire to the car, and once there, Willie—while using one of the plastic handcuff ties that he kept in the trunk—bound the vampire’s hands behind his back. He stuffed a second handcuff tie into his pocket.

  “Shut my trunk, will you?” Willie asked Winona as he was putting the vampire into the backseat of the car.

  “Will do,” Winona said while tossing the used crystal ball into the trunk, and then shutting the trunk.

  Winona and Willie then escorted the female vampire to the car, and like with the male vampire, Willie bound the female vampire’s hands behind her back before putting her into the car.

  After Winona and Willie got into the car, Willie changed to the timer mode on his digital watch. Without turning on the timer, Willie took out one of his two cell phones (his burner phone) and dialed nine-one-one. When the operator picked up, he started the timer.

  “There’s been a murder,” Willie said in a ‘Clint Eastwood’ imitated voice before telling where the body could be found.

  “What is your name, sir?” the operator asked.

  “I wish to remain anonymous,” Willie said in his ‘Clint Eastwood’ imitated voice before hanging up.

  Willie immediately opened the back of the cell phone and then proceeded to remove the battery from it.

  “What are you doing?” Winona asked.

  “A lot of people get tracked through their cell phones,” Willie explained as he placed the battery, the cell phone and the phone’s battery cover in the console that separated his seat from Winona’s seat. “And although turning off the phone might be sufficient—for most phones anyway—I’m not taking a chance that they can track down who had made that nine-one-one tip through my phone, even though it’s off. I’m also getting a new cell phone tomorrow and getting rid of this one.”

  “Are you always this paranoid?” Winona questioned.

  “I’m cautious—perhaps overly cautious; not paranoid,” Willie corrected as he started the car. “And by me being as cautious as I am, it has been keeping me safe.”

  Winona grinned before saying, “And since we can’t view your overly-cautious-reality alongside the not-so-cautious-reality in order to see the outcome of both realities, the idea of you being safe by the overly-cautious-reality is only a theory.”

  As Willie pulled away from the curb, he retorted, “Yeah, well, until the overly-cautious–reality theory stops working, I’m sticking with it.”

  “Alright,” Winona said in an appeasing tone. “So where are we taking our passengers?”

  “I know where,” Willie assured her. “It’s in a rough section of town though, so once we get there, don’t stray from my side—and keep your mouth shut.”

  “Alright,” Winona agreed.

  Willie drove for several minutes down several different streets while passing dilapidated apartment buildings before reaching a row of warehouses that stood open and empty. The factory, two blocks further down the street, stood dark and menacing.

  “This area looks abandoned,” Winona shared.

  “For five weeks now,” Willie replied.

  “They went out of business?”

  “You can say that.”

  Winona caught the tone and his chosen words, and asked, “What do you mean?”

  “The factory we’re going to had made two lines of clothing,” Willie began. “Cheap and a counterfeit quality brand. The FBI shut them down five weeks ago; however, the facility isn’t quite abandoned. There are a group of squatters inside.”

  “People you know?” Winona asked in a hopeful tone.

  “I know the leader of the group,” Willie shared.

  “Leader of what?” Winona interrupted.

  “Leader of the squirrellies, and before you ask, the squirrellies are a group of runaways who had run away from foster care. A few of them had aged out. And not one of them cares for the system.”

  “Foster care system?”

  “Foster care system, legal system, politics,” Willie replied. “They’re all one and the same to the squirrellies.”

  “Lovely,” Winona uttered sarcastically.

  “I had help Brad—the twenty-year-old leader of the group—out of a jam a few months back, so he trusts me,” Willie informed.

  “Okay,” Winona said as Willie pulled into the factory’s parking lot.

  The parking lot was large and empty. Willie passed up all those parking spots and drove directly to the docks. He parked next to the steps, and after he and Winona got out, they stepped up to the service intercom.

  Willie pressed the button and after a short wait, someone answered with, “Security.”

  “Brad?” Willie questioned.

  “It’s Carlson,” he replied. “Who’s this?”

  “It’s Willie,” he said. “Let Brad know that I need to see him.”

  “I’ll let him know,” Carlson said.

  “There’s security here?” Winona asked.

  “Brad legitimately works for a security company, and he and five others—two guards per shift—were assigned to this building. He and the other guards banded together and gave harbor to those runaways.”

  “Brad and the others could get into serious trouble if they get caught,” Winona said.

  “If they get caught,” Willie agreed as he stared into Winona’s eyes. “They’re very careful not to get caught though. The ones who don’t belong here have hiding places picked out and escape routes in place in case someone would choose to inform on them of what’s going on here.”

  “I’m not going to inform on them,” Winona insisted.

  “Good,” Willie said.

  “So, should we get the vampires from the car?”

  “I’m going to recruit help for that,” Willie replied.

  “Alright,” Winona said.

  Winona and Willie stood quietly at the door during the seven minutes that it took for the door to be opened.

  Riley—while wearing a security uniform—looked at Winona first before dragging his gaze away and looking at Willie.

  “You’re, Willie?” Riley questioned.

  “I am,” Willie said. “Who are you?”

  “I’m Riley. Brad had wanted me to let you in,” he said before facing Winona.

  “I’m Winona,” she volunteered.

  Riley pleasantly grinned before saying, “Nice to meet you.”

  “I need Brad to come to the door,” Willie insisted.

  “You and Winona are welcome to come in,” Riley assured Willie.

  “I have… guests in the car that I don’t want to take my eyes off of,” Willie informed.

  Riley gave
Willie a curious look and hesitated to put the walkie-talkie to his mouth. “Brad, Willie needs you at the door. He’s not alone.”

  After a short pause, Winona, Willie and Riley heard Brad saying, “I’ll be there soon.”

  As Riley was putting his walkie-talkie away, Winona asked him, “How old are you?”

  Riley gave Winona a curious look before replying, “I’m twenty. Why?”

  “What’s the minimum age to become a security officer?” Winona asked.

  “For the company that I work for it’s eighteen,” Riley said. “I’m not license to carry a gun though; although, I’m going to get license as quickly as I can.” Winona just politely grinned. “You’re what?” Winona gave him a curious look. “How old are you?”

  “How old do I look?” Winona questioned.

  “You have one of those faces where you can pass for a sixteen-year-old or you can dress up and pass for a twenty-six-year-old,” Riley began. “But if I would have to guess, I’ll say that you’re… nineteen?”

  Winona grinned before correcting, “I’m eighteen.”

  “I almost said eighteen,” Riley claimed. “But I second guessed myself and guessed older.”

  “You should’ve gone with your first instinct,” Winona said.

  “Mmm,” Riley agreed with a nod. “You don’t look as if you live in this area.”

  “I live in Fort Lauderdale, Florida,” Winona shared. “I’m here on… personal reasons.”

  “How long will you be here?” Riley asked.

  “I really don’t know,” she began. “But most likely, only a day or two.”

  “Did your boyfriend come to Atlanta with you?”

  Winona remorsefully bowed her head before saying in a matching tone, “No.”

  “Did I say something wrong?”

  Winona shook her head before saying, “You didn’t say anything wrong.”

  “Okay,” Riley said skeptically. “So is he in Fort Lauderdale?”

  Winona slightly hesitated before sharing, “A couple of nights ago my boyfriend, his dad and another person were attacked and killed on one of the Alaskan’s hiking trails. According to the authorities the three were attacked by an animal.”

  “I’m sorry,” Riley said remorsefully.

  Winona nodded before saying, “Thanks.”

  “According to the authorities?” Willie questioned curiously. “Do you think that something else had killed your boyfriend and his dad?”

  “It was definitely an animal,” Winona said while glancing towards the car. “The kind that can’t be tracked or caught by amateurs.”

  Willie looked towards the car before saying, “I’m surprised that you started here and not in Alaska.”

  “Here is where Blue Moon had wanted me,” Winona informed.

  “Blue Moon?” Willie questioned as Brad—while also wearing a security uniform—was joining them. “Who’s he?”

  “I’ll tell you later,” Winona said as she, Willie and Riley turned towards the new arrival.

  “What’s going on, Willie?” Brad questioned as he glanced at Winona.

  Willie gestured towards Winona while saying, “Winona and I need your help, Brad.”

  “Okay,” Brad said skeptically. “What do you need?”

  “Come to the car with me,” Willie requested as he slowly backed away.

  Brad gave Willie a disconcerting look before saying hesitantly, “Okay.” He then gestured for Willie to lead. “After you.”

  As Willie walked back towards the car, Winona, Brad and Riley followed.

  Willie opened the back car door on the side with the male vampire. When Riley saw the stake sticking out of the vampire’s chest, he exclaimed, “Someone put a stake through his heart!”

  “Yeah, me,” Winona informed. “These two are vampires, and if you don’t want either of them taking a bite out of you, you’ll leave the stakes alone.”

  “My dad assured me that a stake through a vampire’s heart was a myth… that it doesn’t work,” Brad shared.

  “You know about vampires?” Willie asked Brad.

  “All I know about them is that they exist,” Brad said. “One had killed my mother when I was just a baby. My dad and two of his friends hunted that vampire for eight years. Eventually, my dad and his friends were killed. That’s how I ended up in foster care. Anyway, my dad was certain that a stake through a vampire’s heart didn’t work.”

  “I’m a shaman,” Winona shared. The vampire stared at Winona as she continued with, “The stakes through these vampires’ hearts had been spelled to immobilize vampires. Now we need to find somewhere to kill them.”

  “How do you kill vampires?” Riley asked.

  “You have to burn them,” Brad was the one to say. “These two are currently helpless?”

  “They are,” Willie said.

  “Just don’t remove the stakes,” Winona added.

  “Let’s get them out of the car,” Brad said. “We’ll burn them here on this lot. Riley, go get the spare gasoline that we keep for the back-up generator.”

  “On it,” Riley said while backing up.

  As Riley rushed away, Winona and Willie were helping the male vampire from the car. Brad went around to get the female vampire from the car.

  Minutes later, Willie and Brad had the two vampires sitting on the pavement back-to-back. Brad was the one to have doused them with gasoline.

  Some of the gasoline had splashed onto Brad’s clothes, and so he backed up and joined the eighteen onlookers—Winona, Riley and the current squatters of the factory—as Willie lit the match.

  Winona had one of the active crystal balls in her hand, just in case that the fire would somehow release the vampires from the spell that the magically enhanced wooden stakes were binding them with.

  While being careful not to get any of them in the picture, Nadine—one of the seventeen-year-old girls—had a cell phone out, and was filming the vampires’ execution.

  Willie tossed the match in the male vampire’s lap, and as Willie was backing up, a whoosh of flame overtook the two vampires.

  Both vampires let out lasting torturous cries as the flame took hold of them, and gold smoke filled the air.

  In a satisfying manner, Brad said at a normal volume, “This is for my parents, you blood suckers.”

  “I’m not satisfied,” Winona announced. “I won’t be satisfied until La Croix is burning.”

  “I assume that La Croix is another vampire,” Riley guessed.

  “He’s the vampire that killed my boyfriend and his dad,” Winona shared.

  “Oh,” Riley said in a tone as if the knowledge of what was said several minutes ago had suddenly sunk in.

  Winona just shot him a polite grin.

  “I want to help,” Brad told Winona.

  “You want to help with what?” Winona questioned in a confused tone.

  “I want to help you go after La Croix,” Brad said.

  “Okay, one, I don’t know when I’ll be going after La Croix,” Winona replied. “Two, I don’t want to be responsible for anyone.”

  “Hey, I’m responsible for myself and I have been for a while,” Brad retorted. “And the chances of one of these two blood suckers being my parents’ killer are remote.”

  “Well, the chances of La Croix being your parents’ killer are remote as well,” Winona pointed out.

  “True, but something tells me that you’re just getting started going after the vampires,” Brad said. “And you’re right; I don’t know which one of these blood suckers had killed my parents. Therefore, every blood sucker we kill will make me feel warm and fuzzy inside.”

  Winona could see in Brad’s face that he was determined to join her, and after staring into his eyes for a moment, she said, “Brad, according to Willie, you don’t care anything for the legal system.”

  “The legal system has shit on me more times than I can count,” Brad defended.

  “I’m truly sorry for that,” Winona began. “However, I’m a law abidin
g citizen.”

  “You’re a law abiding citizen?” Brad challenged.

  “There are a few traffic laws I will bend, but yeah, I’ll obey the remaining laws to the letter,” Winona insisted.

  Brad grinned before saying, “Judging from your clothes, you’re not poverty-stricken, nor are you rich. You were definitely raised to respect the law, so I’ll say that someone in your family—a parent most likely—works closely with the legal system.”

  “Four some ones in my family work closely with the legal system,” Winona informed. “They’re police officers and detectives, in fact, and in about four years from now, my second oldest brother will be a lawyer. Now getting back to the matter at hand. I don’t need you; however, obviously you are hell-bent on joining me, so here’s the deal. If you hitch your wagon to my horse, you are to become a model citizen.”

  Brad amusingly grinned, and in an appeasing tone, he said, “Okay.”

  “I’m serious, Brad,” Winona insisted. “I’ll turn you in myself if I catch you committing a felony.”

  Brad held his amused grin while saying jokingly, “Then I won’t let you catch me.”

  “Keep in mind, Brad, that before I was twelve, my dad and uncle had taught me how to use a pistol, a rifle, a bow and arrow, and a knife,” Winona informed. “And I won’t hesitate to put a rabid dog down, or one that’s getting into the chicken coop.”

  “Where are you getting your metaphors?” Brad questioned quickly in an amused tone.

  Winona shot him a curious look before asking, “Which ones?”

  “Hitch my wagon to your horse, rabid dog and chicken coop,” Brad said. “Although I heard the wagon phrase one as being ‘hitch your wagon to a star’…”

  “‘Hitching your wagon to a star’ means to aim high, but ‘hitching your wagon to someone’s horse’ means that you’re planning on making a person’s personal quest or calling into yours.”

  Brad grinned before saying, “Okay, well, each one of those sayings sounds as if they’re something that someone’s granddad would say.”

  Winona slightly grinned before saying, “I was nine when my great-grandpa died. My dad’s mom’s dad. He was ninety when he died, and each one of those sayings, I heard my great-grandpa or my grandma say.”