by Ian Hall
Dave handed me a glass of red wine. “So, no cravings for drinking blood yet?” he clinked my glass with his, grinning as he did so.
I could have got upset right then, but I decided to let it pass. He was a Helsing, getting through an awkward moment with a dash of Helsing humor; hell, I might have done the same.
“No, sorry to disappoint,” I replied, smelling the wine – good stuff. “Give me turkey, gravy, and stuffing every time.”
Dave asked about the Helsing Diaries, and I brought him up to speed with Mandy’s new theory without actually mentioning her name, of course.
“So, the hierarchy is older, and the young are just the whipping boys?”
“The hypothesis seems to hold up. Of course, we’re just scratching the surface so far. I’ve got all the stuff strewn across the dining room floor.”
He looked at me strangely for a second. “Are you certain you’re up to living on your own?” he took a quick swig of his wine. “I mean, are you going to keep the house?”
I nodded. “I’m pretty certain, why?”
“Well, you might want to make a ‘situation room’ like we have in the basement. I mean, if anyone were to come calling, you’d have a lot to explain away.”
I instantly liked the idea. Mary-Christine and Roni had finished the dishes, and we all talked for half an hour on the subject. It had the promise of a great project, and I wanted to take it one stage further. After mom and dad’s murders, I needed a safe room in the house.
The next thing I knew, I’d fallen asleep, and blankets were being laid over me. Being back in a family felt real good.
The next day, as Mandy worked in the dining room, I got a couple of contractors out to see the cellar. I explained that I wanted a ‘safe room’ and with the recent history of the family, no one questioned my strange criteria. It had to blend in to the rest of the cellar, but I wanted half of the room hidden behind steel walls, bolted to floor and ceiling. A large steel panel would hide the main entrance door; this room would be awesome.
With money being no real problem, we agreed on a price. The work would begin the next day, December 27th. Seems builders in Gregor were quiet, and were glad for the contract.
I knew that keeping busy would do two things: keep my mind off mom and dad, and make me stronger, quicker. I helped Mandy with the Helsing Diaries, and got a decorating contractor to clean out mom and dad’s bedroom. Everything had to go; clothes, furniture, bed, everything. I then worked out the best place for the biggest best TV I could imagine, and between Mary-Christine and I, picked colors for walls, and new carpets for both my new bedroom and my old one.
Gradually I took over the house, making it mine, and making it Helsing.
I soon learned that when money is waved at people, they act damn quickly. The bedrooms were done in double quick time, and the TV and audio system installed in one day. I felt glad that Mary-Christine was around all the time, I still had to take frequent rests on sofas and beds as we supervised the changes.
Mary-Christine and I were lying on my new king-sized bed, when Mandy burst in.
“Hey!” she shouted. Our hands were not exactly in the most respectable places.
“Mandy!” I roared, “Can’t you knock?”
“Door was open,” she spat at me, not even really listening. She looked pumped, her eyes were bulging, and she had a small smirk on her face.
She stood, panting. “I think I’ve found a pattern.” Then she vanished.
I looked at Mary-Christine who mirrored my bemused look. “I think we better go see what the research assistant has found out.”
“I heard that!” Mandy roared from downstairs. Damn her hearing.
When we got to the dining room, the mess of papers had grown. Mandy stood in the center, animated as hell.
“Right,” she began. “Amos Blanche began his empire in Philadelphia, right?”
We both nodded.
“Then we think he started new cadres in New York, San Francisco, Seattle and Florida. We know this. So why was Alan McCartney in Gregor, Arizona?”
We waited, both of us nodding.
“There’s a pattern. Take New York. Amos is not found in the Big Apple until he’s got a large following, from the murder count, it could number almost a hundred strong. But he’d be dumb to keep so many vampires feeding there; they’d cause interest by the police. So he doesn’t start the group in New York. He starts them outside.” Mandy pointed to a large map on the wall. “Trenton, New Jersey. Six vampire hits in a year, 1955. Rossville, New York; five cases. Hampshire, New Jersey; seven cases.”
Mandy turned to us, and personally, I knew she was bursting to tell us.
“The Blanche vampires have a pattern. And it’s in two parts. First, they pick an area where there are a lot of immigrants, lots of undocumented souls passing into the country. Look - New York has Ellis Island, the biggest influx of immigrants the world has ever seen. San Francisco; immigrants from Mexico and the Orient. Florida has a high illegal trade from Cuba and Puerto Rico. Undocumented aliens mean food to the vampires. Lots of free, untraceable food.”
By the look on her face, I knew there was more to come.
“In each city there were huge gangland wars as Amos and his vampires arrived. So, they build up strength outside the main hub, then they strike, knocking out the crime syndicates, taking over the big city. They actually become the new mafia.
I felt I had to speak. “That’s good so far, but why Gregor?”
“That’s the other part of their pattern.” She walked over the papers to get to another map, just Arizona. “Gregor, we know what’s been happening here. But look; Winslow, New River, and Buckeye have all had killings and missing person reports, way more than what would be considered normal.”
“But isn’t that the drug cartels coming in from Mexico?”
Mandy held her hands up. “I’m not sure, but it’s sure very convenient to blame it on the Mexican cartels. However, if the pattern is to continue, these outside cells will soon be converging on a big population city. The one with a huge immigration influx.”
The three of us said it together, in unison; we may have even said it on key.
“Phoenix!”
So, who’s the stupid cheerleader now? Maybe becoming a vampire stimulated some grey matter. Whatever - I just loved the dumbfounded expression on Mary-Christine’s pristine face.
“So now what?” she asked, kind of like dazed.
Duh…
“Now we start digging, researching areas closer to home and looking for patterns of missing persons on the rise…then, we connect the dots. Once we find the epicenter, we’ll find Alan McCartney - I’ll bet my pompoms.”
Mary-Christine sneered at me. “You can keep your pompoms to yourself.”
Naturally, I just smiled. “I dunno… I’m pretty sure Lyman would love a chance to shake them.”
She went beet freaking red. Score.
Lyman, always the peacekeeper, stepped in to get us back on track. “What makes you so sure about Alan?”
“Because all Alan wants is to be the next Amos Blanche. If we’ve learned anything by reading the diaries, we know Blanche’s tactics; Alan sure as hell knows Blanche’s tactics - he learned firsthand. Plus, if this is a concerted move on Phoenix, they’re not going to let one semi-dead Alan McCartney change their plans. Seems reasonable to me that he’ll follow a pretty predictable pattern. Which means -”
Lyman totally cut me off right then, “Which means we can get one step ahead of him.”
“And bring him down,” I finished.
Mary-Christine really did not like me and Lyman finishing each other’s sentences. That girl had some major insecurity issues. If she hadn’t been such a snot, I might have felt sorry for her. She went stomping off to the other room to pout.
Fine by me.
Lyman looked embarrassed for her. “Sorry. She’s just got a lot to deal with right now. I don’t think she’s entirely comfortable having…”
“A vampire on the team?”
Yep - did it again. Finished his thought.
“Among…other things.”
“Possibly having two vampires on her team?”
“Not possibly,” he corrected me. “I’m most definitely a vampire, Mandy.”
He looked almost sickly as he pulled out a chair and dropped onto it. Rubbing his temples and sighing, Lyman looked super old all of a sudden.
“I just don’t get it. If I’m a vampire, why am I so fucking weak all the time? I’d swear I had mono or something.”
I hated to break it to him but somebody had to. “It’s because you haven’t fed…y’know…” I did the finger quotes in the air “FED…”
Lyman’s eyes were yellow with sick, and he talked a bit slow. “I haven’t had any cravings.”
“Maybe you have but you just don’t know it. I mean - you eat three squares a day…and more - I’ve seen it - but you never have any energy. I’ve never seen a kid your age get so lethargic with so little exertion; let alone a vampire.”
Anger started to pep him up a little. “In case you forgot, I kind of had my insides turned to hamburger not too long ago.”
“Dude, I’m gonna put this to you plain as possible. If you are a vampire then your innards are in perfect working order. Hell, you’re in better shape than before you got shish-ka-bobbed. But, if you’re not eating a…proper diet… you’re gonna be rundown.”
“That’s really funny coming from you, Mandy. Weren’t you the one singing Jackson Cole’s virtues - saying how he never drank human blood?”
“Yeah. But. There are other sources, Lyman. Lots of mammals on this planet and they all have red blood in their veins.”
I thought he was gonna chuck at that.
“Do you…”
“Suck a little mousey milkshake from time to time? I have to, Lyman. Otherwise I’d be in the same condition you’re in right now.”
Lyman straightened up in his chair then. I could tell it pained him, but he made some retarded Helsing stand.
“I’m not giving in that easily. I’m not gonna let this thing beat me.”
“Well, gee, I guess you’re a G.D. pillar of vampire willpower,” I mocked. “Or maybe just a stubborn asshole. If you change your mind, I’ll show you how it’s done. And try to keep in mind that me and the ice queen really need you right now - especially if we’re going to take down Alan once and for all.”
Lyman folded his hands in front of him all matter-of-factly. I could tell that meant that part of our conversation was closed. Fine-whatever.
“Phoenix then?” he said. “I say we’ve got a road trip in our near future.”
The next day I hit Dave early on. “I have to get more blood work done.”
“You’re not really due any yet; it’s only been a few weeks since the last one.”
I shook my head. “I don’t care. I’m not getting any stronger. I’ve a few ideas about what it is, but I need to rule the blood out.”
Dave got to his feet, and nodded. “I’ll take you. Give me five minutes.”
As I waited for Dave to get ready, I realized that there was a veil over his eyes. Whatever bond we had formed before I got hit had gone. I had gone from prospective son-in-law to outcast-unclean in a month.
However, once inside Unicorps, the blood got taken quickly, then a set of full x-rays done. Dave offered me a taxi home, but I refused. I sat in the department reception till just before lunchtime, when a very animated Dave Muscat came for me. “Come on.” He grabbed me by the arm, pulling me inside the double doors.
“What’s going on?”
“We’ve got something.” My feet eventually caught up with his pace, and we sped past many double doors.
“Is it good or bad?”
“I’ll let the doctor tell you.” Eventually he turned left, and I found myself in a doctor’s office.
I recognized the doc instantly, but had to stare for a moment to remember where from. I sat on the chair next to his desk, still glaring. “The school therapist.”
“Wow, that’s right. You’ve got a good memory, Lyman.
It had been difficult to forget the forced therapy that the Academy made us go through after Alan’s murder.
Dave sat down next to me.
I looked from one to the other. “Well?”
The doc read from a one sheet document. I just sat still and let him talk.
“We’ve got results from the blood work. Looks like there’s a battle going on inside you right now.” He made the church thing with his hands, and looked over the steeple at me. “The vampire blood is fighting your own cells, and the battle is the main reason why you’re not feeling one-hundred percent right now. The vampire blood is using glucose and nutrients to fight, and your own blood is using the same stuff to counterattack.”
He leant back on his chair. “But I don’t want you to get the wrong idea; this isn’t a virus you’re fighting. This like a thousand viruses coursing through your bloodstream, and it’s having a knockdown fight all the way. Basically, you’re running a marathon every day, Lyman. It’s a wonder you’re still on your feet.”
Time for questions. “So can we squash one side and support the other?”
“Not really.” He shook his head. “They both sort of use the same ammunition, so we can’t starve one out. What we can do is the exact opposite. We can give them all the ammunition possible, let them fight without it affecting you.”
“So we pump me full of vitamin mix for both sides, and hope there’s some left for me.”
He nodded. “Pretty much so. At least this way, as they fight each other, they won’t be killing you while they’re doing it.”
I sat for a moment. “Any idea who’s going to win?”
“Nope. Totally clueless.”
I sat in silence. At least it wasn’t bad news.
Doc gave me a prescription. “Take quadruple the dose. Four times a day.” He looked at me eye to eye. “I mean it. Whatever the pharmacist says, you take four.”
I took a taxi to the pharmacy, then home.
Mandy waited for me.
I wasn’t quite sure if I saw disappointment on her face when I told her that I didn’t need to ‘feed.’ Once I took the pills after lunch, I did feel better. By late afternoon, with a second dose, I felt pretty damn good.
Two days later, the contractor announced the safe room downstairs finished, and we carefully transferred all the documents down there. Given the pristine drywall, we soon were pinning, rearranging, and altering the pictures and news cuttings.
Ignoring the dates of the articles, the three of us arranged them into cadres, teams. It soon became evident that the same groups were used repeatedly, performing the same duties. All we had to do was locate any of the missing vampires, and we would find a lead into the Phoenix deal.
“So it all comes down to the Gregor six,” I said, looking at the six yearbook photos.
“Not them precisely,” Mary-Christine argued. “More their vampire parents. We have photos, perhaps we can track them.”
“We can do it that way,” Mandy said, walking towards the Winslow wall. “Or we can take a drive to Winslow.”
“And do what?” I asked. “Stand on a street corner, waiting on a vampire to buy some blood fruit?”
“Better than that,” Mandy grinned. “A vampire can sense another vampire. Maybe I can sniff them out, you know, be the bloodhound, so to speak.”
“Perhaps we can do both.” Mary-Christine walked to the Winslow wall. “This might not be as difficult as we think.”
We both waited on her to continue.
“Well, vampires like these guys don’t live on the street,” Mary-Christine said. “If the six’s families have moved to Winslow, to New River, to Buckeye, they’ll be renting or buying houses. Mandy can go sniffing.” Even I caught the disgust in her voice. “We can check the housing market.”
“It doesn’t sound very Helsing, does it?” I said.
Mandy sneered at b
oth of us. “I can stay away for days, the cold doesn’t bother me. You guys get some alone time together.” She looked at me, then at Mary-Christine. “Looks like you need it.”
“Standing on a corner in Winslow, Arizona…such a fine sight to see…”
Mom had always been a big Eagles fan, so I knew the whole song by heart. Singing it made me feel closer to her as I walked the cold, deserted streets. I’d already spent two useless days in Buckeye. If Winslow didn’t work out then I’d be off to New River shortly. I liked this road trip deal. For the first time I really felt like a grown-up, independent vampire.
It was eleven a.m. on a Tuesday; the good people of Winslow were at their jobs; not gallivanting around downtown. So, that left the gallivanting to yours truly, which gave me the perfect opportunity to get the lay of the land.
The place kind of reminded me of the old west in lots of ways; quaint is a good word for it. I liked it.
Besides, it felt nice to be away from those stinky Helsings for a bit. Mary-Christine was such a whiny little twerp. And Lyman—that dude was in denial big time. I wondered if he’d ever come around and just accept his new identity. But, I guess as long as the Helsings gave him those super-duper vitamins, Lyman would just gonna keep on ignoring his vampire urges.
I really didn’t know exactly how I would go about “sniffing out” any of the Blanches while just meandering around town; it didn’t really work out so well in Buckeye. And I hated the idea of returning to Gregor empty-handed. That’d give Mary-Christine something to toot her horn about. Especially if they turned up something during their Helsing research.
Right away, though, Winslow felt different than Buckeye had. Something inside just told me they were close. They wouldn’t have had much time to establish themselves as “locals”, so it seemed to me that they’d be sticking together. If I found one, I might very well find all.
“This could take a while,” I said to myself, looking around at the storefronts. “Might as well make the best of it…”
I fished around in my purse for the debit card Lyman had given me. He’d given it to me so I could find lodging, get a bite to eat (not in the vampire sense), gas up the car and that sort of thing. Such a sensible young man, that Lyman Bracks. Also told me that particular card had a five-hundred dollar daily spending limit.
