BLOODLUST: A MODERN VAMPIRE TALE

by KMB

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(VII) A MYSTERY MAN APPEARS

By the time the dawn of the new day had come and gone, the police force had been mobilized. But so had the media and any police officer attempting to enter the station house was mobbed by reporters and their questions about the murders. This was what happened to Tom Avery as he tried to escort Stacy Campbell to her job.

“You know you don’t have to do this,” Tom said after they had fought their way into the building.

“I do have to, this is my job,” Stacy replied.

“Well at least you don’t have to be here this early,” Tom offered. “What am I going to do, go home and come in again three hours later?” Stacy asked. “Besides, if you guys all have to be here, then at least I can contribute somehow.”

“Yeah, but none of us were attacked last night.” “Look, Tom,” Stacy said as they walked up the stairs toward the homicide squad room, “You really helped me out last night and I can never thank you enough. And I really appreciate the way you’re looking out for me, but I’m fine. The guy last night just tried to cop a feel or something. I’m going to be okay.” “All right,” Tom said, “But I’m worried about you.” “But you don’t have to be. The guy didn’t hurt me and it’s better for me to get back into the swing of things right away instead of staying home and getting all pissed off over nothing.”

“Well, you know you can talk to me, if you need to,” Tom offered.

“I will,” Stacy said, “Now lets just get to work.” The two entered the squad room and Tom saw that the briefing of the officers was about to begin, so he went to get a seat. A display of all the information that was relevant had been set up, and Chris spoke first. “All right,” he began, “Here’s what we know and it isn’t much. We’ve had three victims so far: Lysette Andrews, Michelle Ryan, and Mary Lassiter.” As Chris mentioned each of the names, he pointed to a picture of them on the board set up. He then continued his brief.

“All three engaged in what appears to be consensual sex with their killer before they died from blood loss resulting from wounds to their jugular veins. The veins appear to be severed and the blood drained somehow. The big mystery surrounding this cause of death is that there was little blood found at the scene. This leads us to believe that the killer is, shall we say, collecting the blood and taking it with him.”

Pete then took over the discussion, “From each of the three victims we have recovered blood samples that do not match the victims. All three samples come from the same person, so it is reasonable to assume that the blood belongs to the killer and that, because of a lack of bruising around the face and chin, this was a consensual act done before the killing. No other injuries were on the victims aside from the death wounds, so we have reached the conclusion that these women were not raped or beaten in any way.” “There are two big problems here,” Pete continued, “The first is that there are no leads anywhere. Chris and I have been working with Detective Carly Sanchez and Detective Steve Huston on this one and we haven’t turned up anything. The killer appears to be picking his victims at random, as the only thing that they seem to have in common is that they’re females in their mid-20’s and they are all attractive.”

This brought a smattering of smiles from the crowd and an eye roll from Pete. “Hey, what’s the second problem,” Detective Michael Steinberg, from the second shift of homicide, asked.

“You want to field this one, Carly?” Pete asked. “Oh I’d love to,” Carly said as she got up and took over, “The second problem is that the bodies of our first two victims have disappeared.” “What do you mean ‘disappeared’?” Detective Jane Douglas asked, amid the murmurs that Carly’s statement produced.

“I mean, here today, gone tomorrow,” Carly answered, “Lysette Andrews’ body disappeared the night it was discovered and the only witness was a morgue attendant who is now receiving constant psychiatric care. Last night when Michelle Ryan’s body slipped away, the officer reported falling asleep at one point and when he woke up, she was gone.”

“What, did they just walk away?” Arnie Nash piped up from his desk. “I seriously doubt that,” Steve answered, “But there is no evidence to support any theory at this point. The best we can do is assume that the killer or an accomplice came in and stole them. All we know is that they were dead when we left them there.”

A chorus of laughs briefly sounded out.

“Let’s get serious here people,” Lieutenant Lawrence Smith said as he entered the discussion, “I want every available detective on this one. The heat is on here and we have to respond fast. Here’s how we’re going to do it. Detectives Crawford, Steinberg, and Williams, you are going to work with Detectives Sanchez and Huston. While the Foster brothers will work with Detectives Avery, Nash, White, and Petagine. Now, we have with us Detectives Marcy Robinson and Tony Davenport from sex crimes and they will be working independently on any sex crime connections but will be reporting back to me. Any questions?” There was silence in response.

“Good,” Lieutenant Smith replied, “Let’s get this son of a bitch before he kills someone else.”

But before Smith could return to his office, Stacy called out to him.

“Lieutenant Smith, there’s a telephone call for you. It’s Captain Carter.” “I’ll take it in my office,” Lawrence said as he went inside and closed the door. Behind him, the squad room seemed to immediately turn into a hive of activity with officers and detectives rushing to and fro.

Steve sat at his desk staring at the pictures of Mary Lassiter.

“What’s up partner?” Carly said as she walked up behind him.

“She was a wonderful person, you know that?” Steve stated.

“And the other two girls weren’t?” Carly asked. “You know what I mean,” Steve replied, “This was a woman who dedicated her life to helping others and living according to the Bible. And some scumbag comes out of nowhere and uses her for his plaything before killing her. It’s not right.” “Well of course it’s not right,” Carly stated plainly, “It’s a homicide.” But Carly could see that this death had obviously disturbed her partner a great deal. Steve was raised a good Catholic and tried to combine his life in the church and his life as a cop. It was not always an easy thing to do. “Hey we’re going to get this guy,” Carly reassured her partner. “He’s not going to get away with it, all right?”

“Yeah, you’re right,” Steve said as he put the pictures down. “Let’s get some work done now,” Carly stated, but before she could get to do anything, Lieutenant Smith opened his office door and gestured for her and Steve to come and talk to him.

“What is it, Lieutenant?” Carly asked.

“Sandra Bullock has disappeared,” Lawrence stated, “There’s reason to believe that she stayed the night in her trailer. But she was gone this morning.” “Was there a body anywhere?” Steve asked.

“No,” Lawrence answered, “As far as we know. She could have bumped her head and is walking around in a daze, or maybe she just decided to disappear for the night. But this could also be connected with Michelle Ryan’s death somehow. Just go and check it out, please.”

“I don’t believe this shit,” Carly replied, “We’re homicide. Can’t missing persons handle it?”

“Look, the Captain has specifically asked that we look into it for any connections,” Lawrence replied, “So just do it and get back here as soon as you can.”

With that the two detectives resigned themselves to their task, grabbed their coats, and headed for the door. On the way, however, Carly nearly walked into a man entering the squad room. The man seemingly zipped out of the way like a jumping bean just before Carly bumped into him. “Sorry,” Carly mumbled.

“Quite all right,” the man said in a low, tired voice with a refined British accent.

“You know, maybe you should reapply for your walking license,” Steve remarked to Carly as they walked down the stairs, “That’s two days in a row now.” “Oh shut the fuck up,” Carly shot back, but by now the man could only hear their voices in the distance as he continued his walk into the squad room. “Excuse me,” he said as he walked up to Stacy’s desk. “What?” Stacy said as she was snapped out of her daydream. All day, she’d felt far away from her surroundings and she’d been daydreaming constantly, something she normally never did.

“I’m looking for the detective in charge of the murder case,” the man said, “I believe I have some information.”

“Which case, sir?” Stacy asked as she gave the man the once over. He looked as if he’d slept in his clothes for days, he needed a shave, and his short blond hair was wild and unkempt.

“Which case do you think?” the man asked, exasperated, “The murdered women.” “Ahh, well that would be Detective Foster over there,” Stacy said as she pointed toward Chris’ desk.

“I must speak with him immediately,” the man said as he headed toward Chris. “Whoa, hold it right there sir,” Stacy said as she got up quickly and blocked his way, “You don’t go back there, I’ll have Detective Foster come up here.” Stacy then picked up her phone and dialed Chris up on his intercom. “Detective Foster,” Stacy said when he picked up, “There’s a man up here who says he has information on the case.”

“Well that’s a refreshing change,” Chris replied, “I’ll be right there.” “One thing though, Detective,” Stacy whispered into the phone as she looked over at the man and observed his nervous fidgeting and how every time someone came near him he seemed to jump slightly, “He doesn’t look too…stable, if you know what I mean.”

“I got you,” Chris said, “I’ll be right there.”

Chris then walked over to Stacy’s desk, where he introduced himself to the man.

“Hi, I’m Detective Foster. And you are…?” Chris asked.

“My name isn’t important,” the man answered, “What I have to tell you is.” “Okay,” Chris sighed. Stacy was right, this guy seemed like a nut job, “Why don’t we go over to my desk and discuss it.”

“That’s where I wanted to go in the first place,” the man said, glaring at Stacy while being escorted to Chris’ desk.

“Now, what was it you wanted to tell me, Mr…what did you say your name was?”

Chris asked after they both sat down.

“I told you my name isn’t important,” the man repeated, “I just need you to listen to me. Do you have any leads yet, Detective?” “Well, we have angles we’re following right now and we’re confident that we’ll be able to get something new soon,” Chris said warily. What was this guy getting at, he wondered?

“I’ll take that as a ‘no,’” the man said, “Maybe you’re just looking in the wrong places for your information?”

“What do you mean?” Chris asked.

“I mean that you’re looking for a natural cause for these crimes, when they have a supernatural cause.”

“What?” Chris asked in astonishment. What the hell was this guy telling him? “You heard me,” the man stated, “You’re not looking for a human killer here, you’re dealing with a vampire.”

“I think I’ve heard just about enough,” Chris said as he got up suddenly, “If you don’t have any real information then I’d advise you to stop wasting my time.”

“This is real information,” the man said strongly, “And I am completely serious.”

“Sir, we are conducting a murder investigation and we don’t have time to bother with impossibilities,” Chris said as he tried to escort the man to the door. “I am trying to help you here!” the man said sharply as he pulled away from Chris, “You know what I’m telling you is right. Look at the victims, drained of blood, the marks on the neck… For God’s sake, Detective, we have to act fast!” “I don’t have time for this,” Chris said as he walked away. “Did the bodies disappear the next day, Detective?” the man shouted, causing Chris to turn around.

“How do you know that?” Chris demanded, “We haven’t released that information to the public.”

“I know what we’re dealing with here, Detective,” the man said, “And I think deep down you do too. You’re just afraid to admit it. We are dealing with a vampire here.”

“What!” Pete exclaimed as he walked over just in time to hear the last part of the conversation.

“A vampire, Detective,” the man repeated, “I know that your murderer is a vampire.”

“Get the hell out of here,” Pete said, “We have serious work to do here.”

“I’ll be back,” the man said as he started to leave, “You’ll need my help.”

With that, the man left and Chris and Pete sat back down at their desks.

“He must be nuts, right?” Chris asked tentatively.

“Well, obviously,” Pete answered, “I mean vampires? C’mon.” “Well that’s what I thought too,” Chris replied, “It’s ridiculous. It’s just stupid.”

“Oh crap,” Pete sighed, “You don’t think he’s right do you?” “No, of course not,” Chris said, “It’s just that we’ve got nothing and I’m just about ready to consider any possibility, no matter how silly it is.” “Well, let’s not consider this one,” Pete stated, “Vampires do not exist. I don’t believe we’re even discussing this possibility. We are homicide detectives, we deal in facts and evidence. We don’t go chasing after ghosts and goblins.”

“You’re right, you’re right, you’re right,” Chris said as he threw up his hands in surrender, “I’m sorry I brought the whole thing up.” “Well let’s just drop it,” Pete said, “What did you get from Mary Lassiter’s coworkers?”

“Zip,” Chris sighed, “No one was stalking her, following her, or making a nuisance of themselves. She didn’t have a boyfriend and is most certainly not the type to go off and have sex with some stranger in an alley.” “You know,” Pete said as he mulled all his information over, “It’s almost like this guy is able to get some kind of a hold on his victims. None of these girls have been described as promiscuous and yet here each of them are being killed by a strange man they just had sex with. It’s like he’s irresistible to them or something.”

As Pete saw Chris looking at him with arched eyebrows, he immediately moved to cut off what he was sure his brother was going to say next. “Don’t even bring up the word ‘vampire’,” Pete said firmly. “I wasn’t even thinking along that line,” Chris contended, “What about you? Did you get anything?”

“Less than zip,” Pete answered, “I sent Tom and Arnie to check in with Vincent on the autopsy and they should be back in a few minutes. But I checked the records for D.C., Virginia, and Maryland, and there’s never been any crime like this. If our guy has struck before, he’s hasn’t done it locally.” “Well it definitely wasn’t rape,” Tom said as he and Arnie returned from the autopsy.

“Not surprised,” Pete sighed.

“Vincent says it’s the same as the others,” Arnie reported, “Neck wound was the cause of death. She drank our mystery man’s blood. And she consented to the sex.”

“Hey,” Chris said as a thought popped into his head, “How could we have missed this before. The attacks do seem like vampire attacks.” “Oh please don’t start this,” Pete begged.

“No wait, just listen for a second,” Chris replied, “Maybe the guy just thinks he’s a vampire and that’s why he’s killing like that. There’s some kind of mental disorder like that.”

“I’m listening,” Pete said with growing interest. “That’s right,” Tom interjected, “I heard about that thing. It’s a real disease.”

“Yeah,” Arnie agreed, “There was that George Romero movie about it. What was it called? Melvin? Marvin?”

“It was called Martin,” Pete answered, “And you may have something here. We should look into this right away.”

“All right,” Lieutenant Smith said as he came upon the Detectives, “Which one of you wants to stand lookout over the body tonight?” “Arnie,” Chris immediately said.

“Arnie,” Pete said right after.

“Arnie,” Tom agreed.

“I guess I win the popular vote in this election,” Arnie sighed. “Oh come on,” Tom replied, “You would have volunteered for it anyway. You love this part of the job.”

“I will not dignify that comment with a response,” Arnie contended, though a wide grin had broken on his face revealing that Tom was indeed accurate in his assessment.

“All right, Arnie,” Lawrence said, “You watch over the body tonight until someone comes to relieve you later. If anyone even looks funny, shoot them.” The phone ringing on Pete’s desk distracted the detective from the conversation and he went to pick it up.

“Have anything new?” Lawrence asked.

“Yeah, we may have something, Lieutenant,” Chris said, “These attacks all are similar to vampires in moves and stuff. So we’re thinking that maybe the guy has a mental disorder and thinks he’s a vampire.”

Smith mulled this over for a second.

“Seems promising,” he said, “But it still doesn’t give us a suspect. Check all the local hospitals and see what you can come up with.” “I’m on it,” Chris said as he picked up his pulled out a phone directory from his desk. But before he could dial out, he saw Pete slam his phone down. “What now?” Chris asked.

“That was Carly,” Pete said, “I think we can move Sandra Bullock off the missing list and put her on the presumed dead list. The bed in her trailer had blood on the sheets just like our other victims. She’s getting samples of everything and I bet anything the blood matches our guy.”

“Just what we need,” Tom remarked, “There’ll be national attention now.” Lieutenant Smith and his Detectives just sat there in silence as Pete leaned back in his chair and sighed.

“What’cha thinking?” Chris asked his brother.

“How nice early retirement would be…” Pete answered.

“Detective Foster?” Stacy said as she tapped Chris on the back. “What now?” Chris asked as he whirled around, but he got his answer as soon as he saw who was standing there behind Stacy.

A man and a woman, who both looked to be in their mid-fifties, stood there. From one look at their grief stricken faces Chris knew that he was looking straight at Mary Lassiter’s parents.

“You’re going to catch the man who killed our baby, aren’t you?” Mary’s father asked.

Inside Chris’ head he was screaming. Not this shit, not today! Not now! Why did this have to be added on top of everything else. He looked back at his fellow Detectives for support and he saw the same anguish covering their faces as well. By then time had run out for an answer and Chris gave the only one he could.

“Yes,” he emphatically declared, “Yes we are!”

(VIII) NIGHT MOVES THAT BOB SEGER WOULD NEVER SING ABOUT

Daniel sat and watched through the window as the sun began its descent from the sky. In all the fun he’d had last night, he had almost forgotten to retrieve Michelle from the morgue. But he had remembered and, once they returned to his lair, she rewarded her master by putting on a little lesbian love show with Lysette. Then when Sandra began her vampiric existence later that night, she was more than happy to please her master by joining in the orgy with her new sisters.

Soon, Daniel would be able to retrieve Mary, and he’d be able to have even more fun thinking of ways for them to please him. But right now, with daylight still around, his three little vampires slept, well hidden from the dangerous effects of the sun.

Sandra’s change over to vampirism had come about much quicker than it had for his previous victims and Daniel reasoned that it was yet another way in which his powers were increasing. Soon, perhaps, the change would be almost instantaneous, and eventually he would have more power than he had ever thought of in his wildest dreams.

Daniel grinned at this thought, it was finally all happening for him. His every wish and every desire could be fulfilled, it was all out there for the taking. He could be denied nothing.

In the distance the sun continued to set. Soon it would be night, and he would be strong enough to go out. There was still something he had left to take care of, and Daniel intended to finish that piece of work right away.

“Hey, Stacy,” Tom said as he shook her gently.

“Huh?” was her reply as she was awakened from another daydream.

“Are you all right?” Tom asked, “I was calling you and you didn’t notice.”

“I’m sorry, Tom,” Stacy replied, “I’m just out of it today.”

“Well, I know the cure for that,” Tom said confidently.

“And what might that be?” Stacy asked.

“Dinner with me,” was the answer.

“Is that your cure for everything?”

“C’mon,” Tom urged, “I’ll take you to a great place. Good food, good wine, great company.”

“Does that mean you won’t be coming then?” Stacy asked with a smile. “Funny…” Tom replied, “C’mon say ‘yes.’ I know you want to. This is guaranteed to chase away the blues.”

“Okay,” Stacy said, “You have officially worn down my resistance. When can you get out of here?”

“Now is probably as good a time as any,” Tom answered. “For the most part all us day shift guys have been told to go home, get some rest, and keep near a phone in case anything breaks. I guess the city is only prepared to pay a little overtime and not a lot.”

“Well let’s go then,” Stacy said as she grabbed her coat, “I could use some company. It will help me keep my mind off of last night. I just can’t seem to get it out of my head.”

“Well that’s normal,” Tom remarked as they headed for the door, “I guarantee by the end of the night, your worries will be long gone.”

Arnie Nash sat in silence and stared at the very dead people surrounding him.

“Are you sure you don’t want more men down here?” Vincent asked. “No, I’ll be fine,” Arnie said, “Just me and the corpses. I have a full bottle of No-Doze here and standing orders to shoot anyone who even looks at me funny.” “Well then I guess I’ll just go hide in my office, so I don’t provoke your itchy trigger finger,” Vincent said as he walked away, “Give me a shout if you need me.”

“Will do,” Arnie said as he sat down and began flipping through his copy of True Monster Tales Magazine. It might be a bit creepy down here, but at least it was a break from the firestorm that was raging upstairs. There was complete silence in the morgue as the bodies lay at rest. Mary Lassiter lay inside a freezer and Arnie was going to make sure that was where she stayed. The minutes ticked away on the clock, but just as Arnie was getting involved in his reading, he heard a crash.

“What was that?” Vincent said as he popped out from his office.

“Stay inside,” Arnie said as he drew his gun, “Let me handle this.” He walked toward where he’d heard the sound and saw a figure trying to sneak back into the shadows. Arnie was a big man, but he did move fast and he quickly ran in front of the figure.

“Freeze!” Arnie commanded, pointing his gun at the shadows as the figure ceased movement.

“All right, now move forward slowly and put your hands where I can see them!”

Arnie continued as he tried to control the fear he felt at that moment. The figure walked forward slowly into the light, revealing a man with unkempt blond hair who appeared to be holding a wooden stake in his hands. Arnie could also see that the man had a rather large knife attached to his side. “Put the stuff down!” Arnie said as he kept his gun fixed on the man. When he complied Arnie walked over and confiscated the knife. “What the hell are you doing here?” Arnie demanded. “I’m here to take care of your problem,” the man said firmly with a British accent.

“How do I know that you’re not the guy stealing the bodies?” Arnie asked. “Because I’m not,” the man answered, “You could check on my alibi for the last two nights and I assure you that you will find it to be quite airtight. But that would be wasting time; time that we don’t have.” Something about the man’s demeanor told Arnie’s gut instinct to believe him and he lowered his gun.

“Then why are you here?” he asked.

“You’re guarding the body?” the man said as he walked toward the morgue, “Good, then I’ll join you.”

“You haven’t answered my question,” Arnie pointed out. “You know, I talked to two of your fellow detectives today and they just wouldn’t listen to me. I don’t think they believed me,” the man continued as he ignored the question again.

“What didn’t they believe?” Arnie asked.

“That we’re dealing with the supernatural here,” the man said with urgency in his voice, “Haven’t you noticed the bodies, the way they’ve been drained of blood, with puncture marks on their necks?”

“We noticed that,” Arnie said as he mulled the man’s words, “We think it may be some guy with a mental disorder that makes him think he’s a vampire.” “You Americans and your disorders,” the man said as he shook his head in frustration, “We have a real vampire at work here and you’ve all gotten so afraid to look beyond, that you can’t even notice it.” “Vampires aren’t real…” Arnie said in disbelief. “What’s going on out here? Is everything all right?” Vincent said as he popped out again.

“It’s fine, Vincent,” Arnie replied as Vincent went back inside, “It’s fine…” “He could be here at any time for his victim,” the man stated. “Who?” Arnie asked.

“The vampire,” the man hissed, “When she hears his call she’ll wake up and nothing will stop him from getting her.”

“You’re not making any sense,” Arnie said, “I’m going to call down some officers to escort you out.”

“God damn it, Detective!” the man shouted, “How many victims is it going to take before you people realize you are not dealing with a mortal killer here! He will take another victim tonight, then another tomorrow, then another, then another! But we can stop him here, tonight. If you just believe me, we can kill him when he comes for the girl!”

Arnie stepped away from the phone he had been about to pickup and the man continued.

“If he doesn’t come for her and she doesn’t wake up, then we’ll know that I’m wrong and I will leave this city,” the man claimed, “But if what I believe is true, then we have a chance tonight that we may not have again! His power is getting stronger with each victim and soon we may not be able to stop him! I am just asking you to believe me for one night!”

Every instinct that Arnie had told him to call for help to escort this guy out of here, but something deep inside of him told him that this man could be believed. Arnie had always thought that there was the slimmest of possibilities that supernatural creatures could be real, and maybe this man was right! There were no explanations for what had been going on in this case and a phrase from a movie or something popped into Arnie’s head: If you exhaust the possible, then the impossible must be true.

If you thought about it, this was the only explanation that made sense. It was out there, Arnie admitted, but what was the worst that could happen. If the man was wrong, then they’d have a quiet night, but if he was right, then…well, Arnie told himself, he didn’t want to think about what would happen if the man was right.

“All right,” Arnie said as he holstered his gun, “I don’t believe you, but it couldn’t hurt to test your little theory. But I’m warning you, I’m going to be watching you.”

As the two men reentered the morgue to keep watch over Mary Lassiter’s body, the sun was just officially setting and the night beginning.

Emily Patterson was stretched out on the couch as she mindlessly flipped through the channels on her TV. Seeing that there was absolutely nothing on, she sighed, clicked the OFF button, and tried to come up with something to do break the boredom.

She was tired of her boring old job, there was nothing to do here, and her roommate/best friend Stacy was off on a date with some cop she’d been drooling over ever since she started work at the police station. Emily got up off the couch and walked over to the full-length mirror she had in her room. Why don’t I have a boyfriend, she thought to herself as she studied her body? She was 26-years-old, had a burning head of shoulder length red hair, and a good, if not great, body; she should have men beating down her door. “Maybe I’m just too choosy…” Emily said aloud to no one who could respond, since the apartment was empty except for Emily and Brownie. But Brownie was just Emily and Stacy’s cat.

She had been more selective with men lately, after a series of bad relationships, but she was in the middle of a serious dry spell—four weeks and no sex. It could almost drive a woman insane, Emily thought to herself. She ran her hands over her body and, feeling her senses come alive at her own touch, she decided that maybe it was lucky she was alone tonight. She could draw a hot bath, relax, and maybe even see if her own fingers could get her closer to orgasm than her last boyfriend could.

Emily lifted her shirt over her head and began to fondle her breasts through her bra. She studied herself intently in the mirror and she giggled in delight when she saw her nipples stiffen at her own touch.

“I am just too hot to be alone,” she said as her cat walked into the room, “Right, Brownie?”

Brownie just responded by walking up to Emily and purring as she rubbed her head against Emily’s leg.

“You know, Brownie, I hope you’re doing that because you like me and not because you’ve got some gunk on your face,” Emily said as she leaned down to scratch her cat’s chin.

However, in the middle of the chin scratching, Emily heard a knock on the door. “Shit,” Emily said as she put her shirt back on and walked to the door. “Who is it?” she asked when she got there.

“Is Stacy there,” a man’s voice asked.

“No, she’s out on a date,” Emily answered.

“Who are you?” the voice asked.

“I’m Emily, Stacy’s roommate.

“Well then, Emily, you’ll just have to do for now,” Daniel said as he pushed open the door, shattering the locks. “I came for Stacy, but it looks like I’ll have to wait.”

Emily started to scream but Daniel covered her mouth, muffling her cries for help.

“It’s so much easier for you when you don’t fight me,” Daniel sighed as he closed the door behind him and pinned Emily to the wall, “But it makes things more fun for me!”

Emily struggled to get away from Daniel’s grip, but she wasn’t strong enough and he continued to hold her down.

“Look at me,” he commanded and out of fear she complied. She looked at his face and when she came to his eyes she began to feel her will to resist weaken. In his eyes she saw nothing but peace and love, a type of paradise. The utter stillness of Daniel’s seemingly glowing blue orbs calmed her fears and she stopped struggling.

Daniel then relaxed his grip on her and uncovered her mouth. “Now you’re not going to do anything foolish like scream, are you?” Daniel asked gently.

“No…” Emily whispered. She tried to force herself to scream. She so desperately wanted to run and call the police, or somehow get to the gun she and Stacy kept for protection, but she couldn’t.

Tears began to run down Emily’s cheeks as she tried in vain to regain control of her actions. At that point Brownie came in to investigate what the commotion was. Sensing Daniel, the fur on Brownie’s back stood straight up and she hissed loudly at him.

“Quiet, Brownie!” Emily commanded in a harsh voice before kicking her beloved cat away. Brownie then cried out and ran away.

Oh God, what was he doing to her, Emily thought as she began to cry heavily. Sobs wracking her body, she realized that it was his eyes. She had to stop staring into them, but she just couldn’t. She buried her face in her hands and tried to get him out of her brain.

“Now, Emily, don’t hide your pretty face from me,” Daniel said as he lifted her face from her hands, “I want to help you. I know that men have mistreated you in the past, but I’m here to make you mine, and I will never mistreat you.” Tears still ran down Emily’s face, but as she resumed looking into Daniel’s eyes, she felt the feelings of peace and serenity calm her fears. “Please don’t hurt me…” Emily pleaded.

“I’m not going to hurt you,” Daniel calmly said as he began to gently stroke Emily’s face, “I only want to bring you pleasure.” Emily began to feel a deep burning desire for this man and, as he continued to touch her, she felt her pussy begin to react to this desire. She took his hand away from her face and she began to kiss it gently, not knowing why she was doing this, taking her time to suck on his fingers. “That’s a good girl,” Daniel said, “Take me to your bedroom.” The lust she was feeling was now in total control of her actions and Emily obediently led Daniel into her bedroom. He sat down on her bed as Emily remained standing.

“Take off your clothes, Emily,” Daniel commanded. Emily pulled her shirt off and unbuttoned her jeans, before pushing them off her body. Daniel could see her nipples straining against the fabric of her bra and how her panties were becoming soaked with desire. Emily reached back to unfasten her bra, but she stopped before she could, a look of hesitation crossing her face.

“Don’t stop, Emily, I want to see you nude,” Daniel said as he sought to quash the last bit of resistance in the girl.

“Don’t you want me?” he asked softly, and that did the trick, as Emily then unsnapped her bra and all but tore off her panties so she could show her nude body off. Daniel smiled, as he noticed that Emily was indeed a natural redhead. He began to take off his own clothes as he looked over his willing slave.

Emily’s will was broken and she was now his to command. Emily looked with desire at Daniel as he stripped nude, his cock springing out after being freed from its prison of clothes. Her pussy was dripping and her juices began to run down her leg. Nothing else mattered but acting on the desire that spread throughout her body. She had never wanted to fuck anyone as much as she wanted to fuck Daniel at that point. She was so turned on that the moment Daniel brought her lips to his in a kiss, she came. But instead of cooling her desire, Emily’s orgasm only made her want Daniel more. She joined him on the bed and after they explored each other’s body with hands and tongues, she took his cock in her mouth. Emily had always prided herself on being an expert with blowjobs, and now she used every trick she knew to please her master.

Daniel groaned in pleasure as Emily went over every inch of his cock with her tongue. He felt a familiar tensing and then, with a load moan, he came in Emily’s mouth.

After making sure she had swallowed as much as she could, Emily leapt on top of Daniel, riding his still hard cock. She’d had some good experiences in bed, but this was mind blowing and she never wanted it to end. Anything Daniel wanted of her, she would give. Their sweaty bodies seemed to move as one as Daniel thrust into Emily and she began screaming in pleasure from the intense feeling of the orgasms he was bringing her to.

And just when it seemed as though Emily couldn’t take anymore, Daniel brought her up close to him. His eyes had turned to blood red and fangs extended from his mouth, but Emily was not frightened. She wanted this, she had always wanted this.

“Drink from me, Master,” she sighed.

When Daniel buried his fangs in her neck, she flinched at first at the pain, but then began to feel the sweetest, purest pleasure she had ever felt in her life. Emily lowered her head to her master’s chest and lapped away at the open wound he had created for her. His blood tasted odd at first, but then the hunger began to grip her and she couldn’t get enough of it. Soon, Emily collapsed onto the bed where she began her metamorphosis.

Daniel looked at Emily with a feeling of contentment on his face. This had turned out better than he had expected.

“That’s right, Emily, rest now,” he said as he ran his hand over her face, “Soon, Stacy will be home and you can help me give her a welcome that she will never forget.”

“MOTHERFUCKER!!!” Pete Foster screamed after he had taken a mighty swing at a pitch and missed. Pete was all alone in the batting cages and that was the way he liked it. Whenever he got too frustrated with anything, he went down to the cages, picked up his bat and worked out his aggression by pounding baseballs over and over again. The pitching machine loaded another ball and shot it out at Pete, who took another big cut and missed again. “COCKSUCKER!!!” he screamed in frustration. The case had gone nowhere fast again that day and now he had people telling him that he should go home and rest. He didn’t need rest, he needed this case to be solved. Just because people downtown wanted to save on overtime, it meant he couldn’t be exploring every possibility in this case. He wanted it solved and he wanted it solved now. Chris’ idea about the guy thinking he was a vampire was a good one, but it hadn’t led to anything. No one anywhere near D.C. was a diagnosed sufferer of the disease, so they were no closer to nailing the guy then when they gotten up that morning. Nothing was breaking right on the case and Pete’s bad luck here against the pitching machine wasn’t helping, it was just getting him angrier. The machine loaded up again, and once again Pete hit nothing but air. “GOD DAMN IT!!!” He shouted as he began smashing his bat against the side of the cage in frustration.

“Now that’s real mature,” Chris said as he came upon his brother.

“How did you know I was here?’ Pete asked as he tried to catch his breath. “You’re always here,” Chris said as Pete noticed that he had a woman with him, “I didn’t have to be Sherlock Holmes to find you.” “Going to introduce your friend to me?’ Pete said as he calmed down.

“Oh, of course,” Chris replied, “Where are my manners? Pete, this is Carol.

Carol, this is Pete.”

“How do you do?” Pete said from inside the cage. “I’m fine,” Carol answered, “You, on the other hand, look as though you could really use a drink. I’ll buy.”

“Hey, I like her already,” Pete said as he leaned against the side of the cage, “But I’d better not drink, we could be called back in at any time.” He then turned his attention to his brother.

“So I hope that you haven’t been doing any drinking tonight either,” he said to Chris.

“Hey, I’m as sober as a Mormon,” Chris replied. “So do you regularly attempt to cause property damage, or is this just a special occasion?” Carol asked Pete.

“It’s a special occasion,” Pete answered, “The world is against me and this stupid pitching machine is going like Randy Johnson.” “Actually, I think the real problem is that you just suck,” Chris remarked.

“I’d like to see you get in here and hit a few,” Pete shot back.

“I’d love to but I strained my back this morning and…you know,” Chris replied.

“Why don’t I have a crack at it,” Carol suggested. “Be my guest,” Pete said as he handed her his helmet and went to set the machine up again, “You’ll have as much trouble as I did.” “Well, we’ll see…” Carol said as Pete ducked out of the cage. Then as the balls began to shoot out of the machine, Carol proceeded to hit each one with solid contact. Each ball shot out at her was sent screaming back to the other side of the cage.

“Oh my God!” Pete exclaimed, “I do suck!”

“Well the first step is admitting it,” Chris said as Carol continued to hammer each pitch. “Isn’t she great!” he exclaimed.

“My world is shit,” Pete sighed as he sank down to the ground. “Oh don’t feel bad,” Carol said as she took off the helmet and left the cage, “Don’t tell me you get all weird if you’re beaten by a girl.” “No, he’s married, he’s used to it,” Chris cracked.

“Hardee har har,” Pete said.

“Don’t mind him,” Chris said, “We’re just having job troubles right now.” “Oh honey! You never tell me about your job,” Carol exclaimed to Chris in mock fascination, “Tell me all about the disgusting corpses you found today.” “We’re just stuck on this case right now,” Pete sighed, “No leads, no nothing.

All we’ve got is bodies, a fresh one every morning when we wake up.” “Real doozy of a case too,” Chris added, “The victims are all drained of blood and the corpses keep disappearing. We even had some weird guy come in today and claim it was a vampire doing the murders.

Carol perked up at the mention of the man. “This man, what was he like?” she asked.

“I don’t know,” Chris said, “He was real nervous type, real jittery.” “He was British,” Pete added, “He had this messed up blond hair and his clothes looked all messed up on him.”

“Oh my God!” Carol exclaimed, “I think I know him!”

“From where?” Chris asked.

“From when I worked as a nurse in a mental institution,” she answered, “He was a patient. He murdered his sister by putting a stake through her heart. I remember he said he had to do it because she was a vampire.”

Meanwhile, Arnie sat with this man in the morgue. Arnie, still not quite sure whether this man could be believed or was just a psycho, kept an uncomfortable silence between them. All of a sudden the man seemed to tense up as if he had sensed something.

“It won’t be long now…” he said.

Stacy exited the elevator and walked toward her apartment. She had to admit it, the date with Tom had gone well. He’d been a perfect gentleman and hadn’t even tried to weasel his way up to her apartment and into her bed. Not that she would have minded especially if he had, but it made a future for the two of them seem brighter. For all the resistance she put up to him, she really liked Tom. His reputation had made her a bit wary of him, but every day he was winning her over just a little bit more.

As Stacy got to her door, she fumbled around for her key but when she inserted it in the lock, she found that the door was already open. It wasn’t like Emily to leave the door open and it concerned Stacy a great deal. She walked into the apartment and when she saw that all the locks had been broken, her concern turned to fear.

“Emily!” she called out, “Are you okay?”

At that point Stacy saw Brownie curled up in the kitchen, obviously having had a great scare.

“Hey girl, what happened here?’ Stacy said, not really expecting an answer, as she picked the cat up.

Stacy then went off to look in Emily’s room, but as she neared, Brownie tensed up in her arms and began to hiss loudly.

“What’s wrong with you?” Stacy cried as she dropped the cat to the floor, allowing it to run back to the safety of the kitchen. “Hello, Stacy,” Daniel said as he seemingly came out of nowhere.

“You…” Stacy said, instantly recognizing her attacker from the night before.

“I’ve been waiting for you, Stacy,” Daniel said as he walked toward her.

“What have you done with Emily?” Stacy asked, her voice quaking with fear.

“Emily’s fine,” Daniel replied, “In fact, I’d say she’s better than ever.” Almost as if on cue, Emily walked out of her bedroom. Stacy stared at her friend in amazement. Emily was totally nude as she walked sensuously toward Daniel. She moved like a snake and Stacy noticed two not-quite-healed marks on her neck. Emily went up to Daniel and kissed him deeply.

“What did you do to her?” Stacy cried.

“Nothing she didn’t want,” Daniel answered, “You can have it too.”

“Leave me alone,” Stacy begged.

“Don’t resist, Stacy,” Emily said, “It’s so wonderful. Just let him kiss you with his special kiss.”

“C’mon Stacy,” Daniel said, “Remember how it felt when I first touched you.

Remember how I made you feel.”

Stacy looked into his eyes and all the feelings of pleasure he had brought her came flooding back strong. He had made her feel so good and she wanted to feel that way again. She stared deeply into his eyes and felt herself surrendering to the pleasure they promised.

As Stacy stared into Daniel’s eyes, Emily came up to her roommate and pressed her lips against Stacy’s. Stacy did not resist Emily’s advances and soon they were passionately kissing.

“Can I undress her, Master?” Emily asked.

Daniel nodded his head yes and Emily began to slowly strip off Stacy’s clothes. She removed Stacy’s jacket and took off her blouse, as they continued to kiss each other deeply. Stacy felt herself drowning in the sensations Emily was giving her and as her roommate began to caress her breasts, she moaned and felt her nipples strain against her bra.

“Don’t stop,” Stacy sighed as Emily pushed her down on the couch and eased off her pants.

“I won’t,” Emily assured her entranced roommate as she eased her hand into Stacy’s panties and began to gently stroke her clit. Stacy inhaled sharply when Emily’s hand first made contact with her pussy, some part of her still knew she was in terrible danger, but her brain was too much awash in peace and pleasure to care anymore. Stacy began to massage her breasts through her bra until she couldn’t stand it anymore and tore the garment off. She then pushed Emily’s face toward her soaking pussy. Emily gleefully complied with Stacy’s urgings and paused only to pull down Stacy’s panties before burying her face in her roommate’s snatch. “Oh yes, lick my pussy,” Stacy moaned as she opened her eyes to look at Daniel. She wanted to please him so much, and he knew he liked watching this little show. “Why don’t you join us?” she asked.

“Soon,” Daniel said. His cock was rock hard at the sight of these two women performing lustful acts they never would have before, but he wanted to watch the show for just a little longer.

Emily slid a finger into Stacy’s pussy to go along with her tongue, and when she saw how well her friend reacted to it, she slid in another. Stacy could barely contain herself, it felt so good. She’d never felt this good before and she knew that when Daniel joined in it would only get better. The lust continued to drive her and when she looked at Daniel again, she knew what he wanted her to do to please him.

“Keep licking my pussy, slut,” Stacy commanded Emily, “Our Master wants you to.” She’d never been dominant with anyone in bed, but she knew that it turned Daniel on to see her act this way.

“You’re such a good little pussy licker Emily,” Stacy continued, “I should have had you eating my cunt since the day you first moved in!” Stacy’s words turned Emily on more and she felt her own juices running down her leg as she continued to lick her roommate’s pussy. She felt Stacy’s body start to tense up, and eventually she was rewarded with a flow of her friend’s juices. She tried to lick them up, but soon gave up and kissed Stacy deeply again, making sure she got a chance to taste her own cum. The two girls continued to make out until Emily moved down to Stacy’s breasts. She began to suckle them and at one point Stacy felt a sharp prick and noticed that Emily had bitten her right breast; a small stream of blood came out, but Stacy didn’t care. She only wanted to please Daniel and she knew she could by going down on Emily and making her feels as good as she had just felt. The two girls traded places and Stacy wasted no time by going straight for Emily’s pussy. She had never tasted another woman before, but she loved it immediately. As Emily screamed in pleasure, Stacy began to get turned on again and those feelings intensified when she felt Daniel enter her pussy. Daniel began to fuck Stacy as she licked Emily, and soon the three were lost in what seemed to be an endless series of orgasms. They tried every position they could before Stacy finally knew it was time for her Master to get what he needed. Daniel’s fangs extended, and when Stacy turned to Emily she saw that her roommate had undergone the same change. Stacy squirmed in pleasure when she realized that she would soon change too, she wanted it so bad. As Daniel fed on Stacy through her neck, Emily feasted on her roommate’s breasts again, loving the taste of the blood that came out. The pain quickly ceased and Stacy soon felt such intense pleasure that she came again, but just before the point of no return came Daniel stopped and hissed loudly. He’d taken too long here, he thought. Mary was waking up and he had to get her. He could sense that people were waiting for her, this was not good. He had to take care of this immediately.

“Please don’t stop, Master,” Stacy begged.

“I’ll be back for you tomorrow,” Daniel reassured her, “You won’t remember any of this but you will know that I’m coming for you. There are things that need to be taken care of first.”

“I’ll be with you, Stacy,” Emily said, “And I love you so much.”

“I love you to, I always have,” Stacy replied as the two kissed again. “Take care of her,” Daniel commanded as the girls slipped into a 69 position. He then went to the window and leapt out. There could be no interference now. He was having too much fun and if anyone was standing in his way, then he’d just have to kill them.

Arnie and the man continued to stand watch in the morgue.

“He’s coming,” the man suddenly said.

“You said that a half hour ago,” Arnie sighed, but he felt a chill run through his spine and he thought he heard a faint sound coming from the freezer where Mary Lassiter lay.

It almost sounded like scratching; like someone was trying to get out.

(IX) HORROR AT THE HOTEL

Arnie tried to put the sounds out of his mind, it couldn’t be what he thought it was. There couldn’t be scratching sounds from the freezer, it had to be his imagination! But the sounds grew louder and Arnie’s nerves became more frazzled. “Did you here anything?” he asked his companion.

“Just ignore it…” the man said.

“What do you mean?” Arnie asked.

All of a sudden the scratching sound stopped abruptly, but just before Arnie started to relax, he heard something more nerve racking. “Help me…” a weak voice pleaded from inside the freezer.

“Oh my God!” Arnie exclaimed, “She’s alive in there!”

“Detective, do not open that freezer!” the man warned.

“But I heard her,” Arnie protested, “She’s alive! Somehow she’s alive!” “She’s not alive Detective,” the man contended as he blocked Arnie’s way, “She’s a vampire now. Do not let her out!”

“Please help me!” the voice pleaded again, “I don’t know what’s going on, I’m so scared!”

“I’ve got to do something!” Arnie said as he tried to get to the door of the freezer.

“I can’t let you do that Detective!” the man said as he tried to restrain Arnie. The two men began to scuffle, but then a cold, stiff wind blew through and the door of the morgue flew open.

Daniel calmly stepped in and surveyed the situation.

“He’s here!” the man gasped as he pushed Arnie away. “Don’t try to stop me,” Daniel crisply commanded as the scratching on the door turned to pounding.

At that point Vincent swung open the door to his office again.

“I heard something,” he said, “What’s going-“

Before he could finish the question, Daniel grabbed the coroner and threw him clear across the room. Vincent hit the wall with a deep thud and slumped to the ground.

“Vincent!” Arnie cried as he drew his gun and pointed it at Daniel, “Hold it right there!”

“I don’t think so,” Daniel said as he walked toward Arnie. “Move one more step and I will shoot you,” Arnie warned but that only drew mocking laughter from Daniel.

“Go ahead, fat boy,” Daniel said, “Shoot to your heart’s content.” But before Arnie could shoot, Daniel rushed upon him and grasped the detective’s right wrist.

“Drop that gun,” Daniel said as he began to squeeze. Arnie tried to hold on, but soon he heard a sickening snapping sound from his wrist. Arnie could hold the gun no longer as paralyzing pain began to shoot up his arm.

Daniel pushed Arnie against the wall causing him to slam his head against the concrete. Arnie fell to the ground in a daze from the contact and the pain of his shattered arm. He managed to grab his walkie talkie and whispered a simple “Help…” before dropping the device.

The other man then rushed up to Daniel holding a cross in his hand. Daniel hissed loudly, and averted his eyes, when he saw the cross. “Step back,” the man commanded.

“Damn fool,” Daniel, “You can’t stop me with cheap talismans.” Gathering up all his strength he rammed into the man. With a gasp, the man dropped the cross, giving Daniel an open opportunity. He then grabbed the man and held him up by his neck as he began to squeeze.

“You’ve never seen anyone as powerful as me before, old man,” Daniel said as the man gasped for breath before slumping over. Daniel dropped the man to the ground and walked over to the freezer.

He opened the door and pulled out the slab where Mary Lassiter’s body lay. As Arnie watched in disbelief, Mary got up, her eyes now a deep shade of crimson and fangs extending from her mouth.

“I knew you’d come for me, Master,” she hissed before Daniel gave her a passionate kiss. “I’m so hungry,” Mary sighed.

“Well then, we’ll just have to get you someone to eat then,” Daniel said before he kissed her again. The two then walked toward the door as Arnie passed out from the pain.

The next thing he knew, he was being shaken out of unconsciousness by Carly.

“Arnie! Arnie! C’mon buddy, wake up!” she pleaded. He didn’t know how long he’d been out, he was in such a daze that it could have been thirty seconds or thirty days and he wouldn’t have known the difference. “He took the body,” Arnie murmured.

“We know,” Carly said reassuringly, “Don’t talk, the ambulance is here. You’re going to be all right.”

Arnie saw Steve talking animatedly to the mystery man as paramedics rushed to take care of Vincent.

“He was dead,” Arnie moaned as he pointed to the man while being helped into the ambulance.

“I was playing dead,” the man replied, “Our vampire is not as smart as he thinks he is.”

“What are you talking about? Vampires?” Steve asked in a bewildered tone. “Yes,” the man replied, “And now he knows we’re onto him. We have to find him tonight. We need to search the entire city.”

“What are you even doing here?” Steve demanded, “This is police business.” “Look, I don’t have time to explain everything to you!” the man said, anger rising in his voice. “There is a vampire on the loose in this city and we have to stop him before he kills again! Don’t you see all the signs!” “Calm down, sir,” Steve said, “What happened here?” “My God you people are all morons!” the man screamed, “All the signs are right in front of you and you still don’t see! What has to happen for you all to see…” The man trailed off as he was injected with a sedative by a paramedic. “Must have gotten a big blow to the head,” Carly said as the man was taken in the ambulance. “What the hell happened here, Steve?” “I wish I knew for sure,” Steve sighed as the ambulances pulled away, “Our guy just must have come in here and overpowered Arnie, Vincent, and the mystery man. The guy must be friggin’ Hercules or something.” “Maybe he was on speed or something?” Carly suggested, “It can get your adrenaline pumping and give you extra strength.” “For once I hope that’s the answer,” Steve said, “I sure can’t think about what else it could be.”

As the sound of the ambulance sirens disappeared into the distance, the two detectives stood there in silence, wondering what was going on in their city.

Sarah Michelle Gellar tried to sleep, but she couldn’t. Here she was in the Willard Hotel, the best hotel in the whole city, laying in one of the most comfortable beds she’d ever been in, and she couldn’t sleep a wink. She blearily looked over at her alarm clock. It’s glowing red numbers showed that it was almost 1:30 in the morning. She desperately needed sleep, since she was supposed to be ready to shoot her scenes at 8:00, of course that was provided Sandra decided to show up.

The mysterious disappearance of Sandra Bullock had forced the cancellation of shooting for the day as the police looked into the matter. The police and the studio had managed to keep the press from finding out, but they could only hold them off for so long.

But Sarah considered it to really be much ado over nothing. She was sure Sandra was going to show up tomorrow with some lame story excusing her absence. It wasn’t that Sarah didn’t like Sandra, in fact she actually liked her a great deal and considered her a role model, but all of this just seemed like more typical Hollywood bullshit.

Sarah was, of course, famous for her role on TV’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer and she was attempting to break into movies. Sure she’d been in I Know What You Did Last Summer and Scream 2, but she wanted to try something different, something where she managed to live through the whole movie. Horror was great, and it had made her quite a bit of money for someone who was only just past age 21, but it was time to branch out.

Death Game had seemed like a good idea at the time, but Sarah was becoming increasingly frustrated with making an action movie. Her role as Bruce Willis’ daughter wasn’t that great, and it seemed like for the most part her character just stood around and waited for her inevitable kidnapping by the villain. Sarah didn’t consider herself a great actress or anything like that yet, but she just wanted a chance to prove that she could, in fact, act and could do more than stake vampires for a living.

On the other hand, the movie was sure to be a hit and that could only get her more opportunities to see better scripts. She was getting a chance to work with mega stars like Bruce and Sandra. Plus, she had to admit that the kissing scenes with Ben Affleck were a big bonus.

She smiled at that last thought, but soon it turned to a frown and she sighed. If only he didn’t have a girlfriend already, then may be she’d try to make a move for him. But he appeared to be quite happy, and Sarah wasn’t the type to go for someone else’s boyfriend.

Maybe if I was, I wouldn’t be so damn lonely, Sarah thought to herself. Most people saw her face on TV and magazine covers and assumed that she had a boyfriend, when in fact she was as single as she could be. Perhaps her celebrity status intimidated people and they were too afraid to ask her out. Or maybe they just thought that if you’re famous then you automatically had a lover. Whatever the reason was, the fact remained that Sarah Michelle Gellar was sans boyfriend. As sleep still refused to come, Sarah pounded her mattress in frustration. She couldn’t show up on the set tomorrow running on no sleep, she’d keep flubbing her lines and before she knew it there’d be rumors that she was on drugs or something. That’s how all those tabloid stories got started, she’d been warned once, one missed night of sleep and all of a sudden The Star prints that you’re addicted to heroin.

At least Sarah knew that she wasn’t the only one here who couldn’t sleep. The cast and crew of Death Game took up three floors of the hotel and she was on the “actors floor.”

Her next door neighbor was Bruce Willis and for the last little while she’d been hearing heavy moaning coming from his room. Since Bruce’s wife, Demi Moore, had come for a visit that day, there could be no mistaking what was going on in there.

Listening to the sounds of the couple’s lovemaking was beginning to turn Sarah on and she started to feel a familiar dampness between her legs. The thought then occurred to her that there might be something else she could do besides just lay there and not sleep.

But just as Sarah was beginning to kick that idea around in her head, she heard a scratching on her window, like someone was trying to get in. “What the hell…?” she said as she got up with a start. She grabbed her robe and went to see what was making the noise. It was probably a bird or something, she assumed.

But when Sarah pulled away the curtains by her window, she saw something she never would have expected. Standing on the balcony outside her room was Sandra Bullock!

Understandably shocked, Sarah froze for a minute, not sure how to react.

“Let me in, Sarah,” Sandra pleaded.

“How did you get on my balcony?” Sarah asked, remembering that her room was ten stories up.

“Please let me in, Sarah,” Sandra repeated, “It’s cold out here.” Though she was still totally perplexed about how this turn of events was possible, Sarah reached over and opened the glass door to the balcony. “Thank you,” Sandra said as she rushed in.

To Sarah’s eyes, something seemed strange about her co-star. She moved more sensuously, like a cat on the prowl for its next meal. Her eyes were different too, it was like they were radiating a hungry emptiness. A chill spread up Sarah’s spine as Sandra walked across the room. “Mind if my friends come in too?” Sandra asked, and before Sarah had a chance to react, Lysette and Michelle pushed past her from the balcony. Sarah recognized Michelle from the set, but she had never seen the other girl before. But their movements seemed to mimic Sandra’s and they also had that hungry look in their eyes. All three of them were wearing these odd nightgown type dresses that looked like something out of an old horror movie. “What the hell’s going on here?” Sarah demanded, obvious fear creeping into her voice. “Where were you today, Sandra?”

“Oh, I don’t think I’ll be going out in the daylight anymore,” Sandra said as she looked around Sarah’s room, “Nice room you’ve got here.” “Everyone thinks you’re missing,” Sarah said, her feelings of confusion and fear fighting for dominance, “Why are you here?”

“Well, my friends and I were just sitting around and wondering what to do with our night, so we decided to pay you a little visit,” Sandra said as she sat down on Sarah’s bed and beckoned for Lysette and Michelle to join her. “Comfy bed you’ve got here,” Sandra noted as Lysette and Michelle sat down beside her, “Anyway, we’ve all been given a very special gift and we wanted you to have a chance to have it to. You see, we’re so hungry…” “Yeah, hungry for love,” Michelle said as she grabbed Sandra and kissed her passionately.

Sarah gasped when she saw Sandra return the kiss and she soon became even more shocked when she saw Sandra cup Michelle’s breast through her gown. She had no idea that Sandra was into girls.

“Oh look, poor Lysette is lonely,” Sandra said as she broke off the kiss, “Why don’t you come over here and keep her company?” In response, Lysette blew Sarah a kiss, causing the young actress to step back.

“Are you on drugs?” Sarah demanded, “Why are you doing this?” “Don’t be shy,” Lysette offered, “Come here and we can have so much fun with each other.”

“C’mon, Sarah,” Michelle said right before she resumed kissing Sandra, “Don’t we turn you on?”

Sarah now knew that there was something very wrong here and she began to run to the door.

“Don’t!” Sandra sharply commanded, causing Sarah to stop dead in her tracks just as she’d started to open the door, “Come to me!” Sarah tried to run away again but she found that she couldn’t. The eyes of all three of the girls seemed to be beckoning her, offering her love and comfort. She could feel them burning into her brain and though she tried to stop herself, Sarah found herself obeying the command, slowly beginning to walk toward the bed, leaving the door slightly open.

“That’s right, come to us,” Sandra cooed, “You can’t resist us. You know that you want to be here.”

“What are you doing to me?” Sarah asked softly, her fears easing with every second.

“Nothing at all, sweetheart,” Sandra said as she ran her hand through Sarah’s blonde hair and kissed her lightly on the lips, “Just give in to the pleasure.” Sandra untied the sash of Sarah’s robe and eased it off the young actress’ shoulders.

Sarah had never been attracted to women in the past, but as she looked at Sandra, Lysette, and Michelle while they kissed and pawed at each other, she found herself getting turned like she never had before. Sarah just stared as the three beauties removed each other’s gowns until they were all completely nude. The trio then began kissing and licking all over each other’s bodies. They looked so happy, like they were in a state of total bliss. The more Sarah thought about it, the more she wanted to be in that state too. Her fears were soon completely pushed away and she allowed Michelle to pull her onto the bed. “Oh yes…” Sarah sighed as she felt three pairs of hands roam all over her body. Sandra lifted Sarah’s nightgown off, leaving the young actress clad only in a pair of rapidly dampening panties.

“Touch me…” Sarah begged in a soft voice and her three companions eagerly complied. Michelle and Lysette both kissed Sarah deeply before each attached themselves to one of her breasts as they ran their hands all over her body. Sandra meanwhile, moved herself down the bed and she began to slowly strip off Sarah’s panties, revealing the light brown tuft underneath. After the garment had been discarded, Sandra took a moment to bask in how wet she and her sisters had made Sarah.

“I’ve wanted to do this since the first day I met you,” Sandra said as she spread Sarah’s legs apart and quickly plunged her tongue into the young woman’s pussy.

The efforts of Lysette and Michelle had already put Sarah in a state of ecstasy that she’d never been in before, but the moment Sandra’s tongue hit her wet pussy, Sarah knew she was in heaven. Her experiences with sex for the most part had been good, but these feelings were off the charts. She writhed and moaned as she felt every cell in her body soak itself in the pleasurable sensations she was being hit with.

As Sandra continued to lick her clit for all it was worth, Sarah felt her juices spilling out of her pussy. Her hands shot out and she found herself massaging Lysette’s breasts. She was surprised when she found her own excitement increasing as she felt the woman’s nipples tighten under her hands, but by then she was too far gone to care about what was turning her on. Sarah could feel her orgasm nearing and when she came she felt as though her brain was going to be fried from the overload of sensations she was feeling. When the aftereffects of her orgasm had subsided, Sarah looked up to see Lysette and Michelle pleasuring themselves in a 69 position and a very satisfied Sandra Bullock smiling at her, her face shiny with Sarah’s pussy juices. Sarah picked herself up and joined Sandra in a deep kiss. Sarah could taste her own cum on Sandra’s lips and, loving it, she tried to taste all she could. “I want you so bad,” Sarah whispered to her new lover.

“Then take me,” Sandra sighed as she lay down on the bed and spread her legs. Sarah was completely new to lesbian sex, but she reasoned that what had made her feel good, would feel good to Sandra as well. Licking her lips at the nude treat before her, Sarah began by kissing and massaging Sandra’s firm breasts. “That’s it, baby,” Sandra moaned as Sarah continued her breast play. Sarah tried to do exactly what had been done to her, but she soon realized that she couldn’t contain herself anymore.

Without wasting any more time, she lowered herself down Sandra’s body and buried her face in her pussy. She attacked Sandra’s clit with her tongue, desperately wanting to make her new lover come. At first Sarah was unsure if she was doing a good job, but Sandra’s moans and the flow of juice that she was rewarded with, told her that she was doing it right.

“Lick my pussy, Sarah,” Sandra moaned, “You’re doing it so good! Keep going!” This only made Sarah lick Sandra’s pussy harder and she silently cursed herself for not trying lesbianism earlier. There had always been opportunities, but she’d been too afraid to act on them. Now she struggled to make up for lost time as she tried to please Sandra.

But just as she felt Sandra about to orgasm, Sarah felt a new sensation hit her. She momentarily stopped her action on Sandra to see what it was. When she saw that Lysette had begun licking her pussy from behind, she grinned and went back to work on Sandra, who was now licking Michelle’s wet snatch. Soon, Sandra came, her juices spilling onto Sarah’s face, but the young actress didn’t want to stop and instead continued licking, driving Sandra toward another orgasm. Soon all four of the girls were lost in each other’s bodies, each driving another to multiple orgasms. Eventually, Sarah could take no more and fell back on the bed, gasping in delirious pleasure.

“That was amazing,” she gasped.

“Now there’s something else we need from you,” Sandra hissed and Sarah saw that fangs had extended from her mouth. Lysette and Michelle had undergone similar changes, and all three looked at Sarah with the grins of predators who had trapped their prey.

Fear overtook Sarah again and she struggled to get away. But one more look into Sandra’s eyes convinced her that this was right. By giving herself over to them, Sarah could experience the pleasures she’d just had all the time. Lysette tenderly kissed Sarah again to calm her, and it seemed to do the trick since she relaxed immediately.

“It only hurts for a second,” Michelle hissed, “Then it’s nothing but pleasure.” Sandra, Lysette, and Michelle all fell upon Sarah and the young actress felt several sharp pains as they began to drink from her breasts, arms, and legs. But then the sweet pleasure began and Sarah only wanted to lose herself in it. Sensing how the greatest ecstasy could be had, she craned her neck and tried to coax Sandra to drink from it.

“No, we’re saving that for our, Master,” Sandra replied, her lips covered in Sarah’s blood.

At that moment, Daniel flew in through the balcony door that had been left open for him, creating a gust of wind that ripped through the room. And as soon as Sarah saw him, it all made sense. She felt her body burn with anticipation for him to drink from her and make her a creature of the night as he was. “Master,” Michelle hissed, “She is ready for you…” Daniel grinned in approval as he escorted in his newest vampire. “Girls, this is Mary,” Daniel stated, “I think she’s going to want a taste as well.”

Mary then slowly walked forward, a bit unsure of what to do. But when she saw the writhing Sarah lying on the bed, the hunger began to drive her. She felt her fangs extend again. Suddenly she knew what to do and she began to lick at a pool of blood that had formed on Sarah’s arm.

When she had drank enough, Daniel pushed her away to stand with the other girls. Sarah weakly smiled when she saw Daniel standing above her, she knew it was her time to give herself to her Master. Daniel’s fangs extended and when he broke into her jugular, Sarah screamed in immense pleasure.

“Oh yeah, fuck me big man! C’mon, do it baby! Make me cum!” Demi Moore screamed as she felt her husband thrust into her. She hadn’t seen Bruce in over two weeks and they’d been getting reacquainted with each other all night. It was amazing, Demi thought as stabs of pleasure zapped through her brain, they’d been married for over ten years now and they still fucked like rabbits every time they had a chance. She often wondered how this was possible but then she’d remember what her grandmother would always say, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” So Demi would always decide to stop thinking about it and just enjoy the ride.

And she’d been doing a lot of riding with Bruce that night. Almost as soon as they had made sure their three kids were safe in bed in their rooms, they had torn each other’s clothes off and engaged in every position they could think of. Demi had always been an extremely vocal lover and tonight her lungs were getting a workout. She had worried about the noise level at first, but Bruce pointed out that at worst it would put a kibosh on the pesky tabloid rumors about breakup and divorce.

Bruce continued to thrust into his wife, causing her to scream yet again as her orgasm hit her. He began to moan too, and soon he came as well, shooting into his wife. They then collapsed on the bed, finally ready to call it a night. “I guess you missed me…” Bruce gasped as he tried to regain his breath. “Well, I thought you could use a pick me up,” Demi joked as she tenderly kissed Bruce.

“You’re the best type of pick me up,” Bruce replied. “You’re only saying that because I always let you go all the way with me,” Demi said.

The two lay there in silence for a moment, before they heard Sarah’s scream from next door.

“Hey, guess I’m not the only girl here getting lucky tonight,” Demi said with a smile.

“That didn’t sound right,” Bruce muttered, a look of concern crossing his face.

“Chill, honey,” Demi replied, “The girl’s just having a little fun.” “Maybe I should make sure she’s ok?” Bruce said as he got up, slipping on pajama pants as Demi put on her robe.

“Not a good idea,” Demi contended, “I tell you she’s just in there with some guy and if you bother her now after we’ve probably kept her up with our noise, you’re going to have one pissed off little co-star tomorrow, buddy. Now get your ass back in here and cuddle with me, damn it!”

“You’re right,” Bruce sighed as he got back into bed and back into his wife’s arms.

“I’m always right,” Demi said as she kissed Bruce again, “She’s just a kid having fun with a boyfriend or something.”

Scout Willis had awakened with a start. She’d had a nightmare, and though she couldn’t remember it now, it was bad enough to cause the little girl to be sweating profusely.

She was only six years old and she still got a bit scared every time she had to sleep someplace new, and this was her first night in this hotel. She wanted to go home, but she knew they’d be staying here for a while longer. If only her Daddy had come home instead of them having to come here. Scout saw that her sisters were still sleeping soundly. Three year old Tallulah was right near her and her older sister Rumer was across the room. Deciding to seek the infinite wisdom of a nine-year-old, Scout got out of bed and went to wake up her sister.

“Rumer! Rumer!” she said as she shook her sister.

“Huh?” was Rumer’s response.

“I had a bad dream!” Scout cried.

“Go talk to Mommy…” Rumer replied as she tried to get back to sleep.

“Go with me!” Scout pleaded, “I’m scared!”

“Noooo,” Rumer said, “I didn’t have the dream. Leave me alone.”

“C’mon!” Scout insisted, “I don’t know the way!’ “All right! All right!” Rumer said, exasperated with her sister, “But after this you can never ask me to do anything again.”

“Okay,” Scout said with a smile.

Leaving Tallulah still asleep, the two children crept down the hall to their parents’ room. They arrived at it quickly, but before they knocked on the door, Rumer noticed that the door in the next room was slightly ajar. “Hey!” she whispered, “Want to look inside?”

“No!” Scout immediately replied.

“C’mon,” Rumer coaxed, her voice filled with childish curiosity, “You got me up for nothing, so let me peek inside! “

“Oh all right,” Scout relented and the two nudged open the door to take a peak. The two little girls then took their peek, but what they saw sent waves of fright through them. Sarah was drinking from Daniel’s chest, while Sandra, Lysette, Mary, and Michelle continued to nip at her body, blood covering their mouths. The entire bed seemed to have been painted crimson and the room had the sense of death and fear throughout it.

Rumer and Scout responded to this sight by screaming at the top of their lungs, causing Daniel to jerk up from the bed and charge toward the girls. Rumer and Scout fled to their parents’ room and began pounding on the door and crying for help.

At the sound of the screams, Bruce and Demi both shot out of bed, because for them there was no mistaking who they were coming from. “Daddy!” Rumer screamed as Bruce and Demi bolted out of their room to see what was going on. They got to the hall just as Daniel did and the couple froze in shock when they saw the enraged vampire.

Sarah’s blood covered Daniel’s face and a small stream of it dribbled down his chin. His face was contorted in rage and he roared in anger. Rumer and Scout tried to hide behind their parents, but Daniel, with the speed of an animal, managed to grab Scout. Daniel’s face was more beast than human as he held the screaming girl.

“I CANNOT ACCEPT INTERRUPTIONS!!!” Daniel roared

“Let her go!” Demi begged as Rumer held tightly onto her leg. “Stay back, everyone, or she will die before your eyes,” Daniel snarled as he held a claw up to Scout’s throat, “Are you prepared to watch your child bleed?” “Nooooo, please don’t!” Demi cried as Bruce restrained her from rushing at Daniel.

By now a crowd had gathered in the hallway and when they saw what was going on they all froze and stared with open mouths.

“Someone call the police!” Bruce shouted and people quickly ran off to get security up to the floor.

“The police won’t save your little girl, movie star man,” Daniel hissed. Scout cried for her parents to save her as she struggled in a futile attempt to break Daniel’s grip.

“Please don’t hurt her!” Demi cried, “We’ll do anything you say!”

“Anything at all,” Bruce agreed, “Just let her go!”

At that Daniel smiled evilly and his face returned to normal.

“Come to me…” he commanded Demi.

“Promise you’ll let her go…” Demi replied, her voice quaking with fear.

“Of course,” Daniel said, “Don’t you trust me…”

“Don’t,” Bruce pleaded as he held his wife’s hand, “He’ll kill you both!” “I have to,” Demi replied. She then handed Rumer to Bruce and, trembling as she went, she began to walk over to Daniel.

“Give her to me,” Demi ordered when she got close to him. “Sorry, change in plans,” Daniel said as Michelle and Mary grabbed Demi and dragged her into Sarah’s room.

“Tough luck, Bruno, but no one fucks with me,” Daniel stated before he ducked back into the room, still holding Scout, and slammed the door shut behind him. “No!!! Demi! Scout!” Bruce screamed as he futilely pounded on the door. Rumer began sobbing in terror as Bruce stood there, impotent with fear and completely powerless. His wife and little girl had been taken and as he tried in vain to open the door, fear gripped him because he might not be able to do anything about it.

“You said you’d let her go!” Demi screamed at Daniel.

“I lied,” Daniel hissed as he approached the movie star. Demi was frozen with terror as he came toward her. Her eyes roamed to the bed, where she saw Sarah’s lifeless body, the girl’s mouth frozen in a rapturous smile. Lysette held onto Scout tightly, gently running a claw up and down the squirming child’s cheek. Sandra, Mary, and Michelle also drew closer to the child, and when Demi saw the hungry look in Lysette’s eyes, she knew that whatever they were, they certainly weren’t human. “Don’t touch her!” Demi screamed at Lysette, who responded with a mocking laugh. “We won’t hurt her,” Daniel said in a cool, reassuring tone. “Give yourself to me, Demi.”

Demi then looked up and saw the burning heat of Daniel’s eyes. She found herself being drawn to the shimmering orbs and she felt her fear begin to subside. Of course he wasn’t going to hurt her, he would never hurt her. He only wanted to love her, and there wasn’t anything wrong with that. Was there? Part of her screamed for her to resist, and she tried as best she could. But she then saw Lysette bring her claw closer to Scout, and she knew that if she didn’t relent, her daughter would be killed. One more look into Daniel’s eyes convinced her that this was best and she relented.

Daniel grinned as he saw Demi begin to surrender. He untied the sash of her robe and opened it, revealing her body to him. Daniel took a moment to take in the nudity of the entranced star before kissing her. Demi responded to the kiss with equal passion as she ran her hand down to Daniel’s crotch, where she could feel his cock growing hard beneath his clothes. Scout began to cry out, but Demi was oblivious to her daughter’s cries. All that mattered was pleasing Daniel.

Bruce continued to pound on the door, but all it was doing was bloodying his knuckles. He had to do something, but his mind was running too fast for him to focus.

Just then, the hotel security guards began arriving on the floor. But before they could do anything, Bruce decided that there was only one thing that he could do. He then summoned up every ounce of adrenaline he had and smashed into the door with his shoulder. The hotel’s supposedly sophisticated locks were broken easily by the strength of the blow and the door swung open. The shocked guards rushed in with him and they had a split second to survey the scene. Sarah’s body was lying on her bed, which was surrounded by the female vampires, who were guarding Scout. Daniel, his fangs fully extended, was about to plunge into Demi’s neck as she stared blankly into space, a look of bliss on her face.

None of them had ever seen anything like this before and they froze in shock. Before any of the guards had a chance to recover and react, the vampires charged at them.

“I TOLD YOU NOT TO FUCK WITH ME!!!” Daniel screamed as he attacked.

Meanwhile, blissfully unaware that the murderer they sought was right nearby, Chris Foster was in the process of driving the lovely Carol Caldwell home. Pete was with them as well but, exhausted from the last 24 hours, he was curled up in the backseat, sleeping like a newborn babe.

“Oh look, he’s all tuckered out,” Carol remarked. “Yeah, he’s adorable isn’t he?” Chris replied, “We’ve been up for about 24 hours straight now, so I guess sleep finally caught up with him,” Chris replied. “Should you even be driving right now,” Carol asked, “Or are you going to fall asleep and send the car into a tree.”

“Hey, I’m as steady as a rock,” Chris answered, “I need no sleep, I can live on pure energy for days. I’m like a camel.”

“Camels can live without water, not sleep,” Carol pointed out. “I said like a camel,” Chris said before changing the subject, “So tell me about this guy again.”

“Well like I said, he was a patient at the mental institution. He killed his sister, but they found that he was insane because, since he thought she was a vampire, he didn’t know right from wrong,” Carol related. “He was a really nice guy, from what I saw, in fact he was my favorite patient. He was just very strange, I guess he thought he was some kind of vampire killer or something. He once told me that he’d killed so many of them that they took his sister as revenge. He isn’t supposed to be released until years from now, so I have no idea how he got out. Of course it might not be him.” “It sure sounds like him,” Chris replied, “We’re just going to keep an eye out for this guy, but hopefully he took the hint and got out of here. You don’t think he could be our killer, do you?”

“No,” Carol answered, “He thought he was a vampire killer, not a vampire.”

“That doesn’t sound any saner,” Chris remarked, “What was this guy’s name?”

“It was…Sumner, Gordon Sumner,” Carol answered. Before the conversation could go on, the police band radio in the car came alive with activity.

“All units in the vicinity of the Willard Hotel, please respond to a possible situation,” the voice over the radio stated.

“This is Detective Chris Foster, badge number 63758,” Chris said as he picked up the receiver. Looking out of the windshield he could see the Willard Hotel right in front of him. “I’m right in the vicinity. What is the nature of the emergency?”

“We’re not sure,” the dispatcher answered, “The caller was all panicked.

Something about Demi Moore and some monsters, or something.” “Sounds interesting,” Chris said, “We’re en route.” Then he told Carol, “Wake Pete up.”

Carol quickly shook Pete awake and the detective got up with a start.

“What’s going on?” he said as he shook the sleep off of himself. “We got a call about an incident at the Willard Hotel, someone talking about monsters,” Chris answered.

“Think there could be a connection?” Pete groggily asked.

“I don’t know,” Chris answered, “Probably not, but it couldn’t hurt to look.”

“Then let’s go!” Pete said.

“I’m going!” Chris said back as he pulled over to the side and stopped the car right outside the hotel. Two police squad cars were arriving at the same time, lights flashing and sirens blaring.

Chris jumped out of his seat and tried to think of something to say to Carol. “Uhhhhh, wait here!” was all he could think of before he and Pete ran into the hotel. They quickly got the pertinent information from the manager and then the two detectives headed up to the eleventh floor with four officers in tow.

Daniel pounced on two of the guards before they had a chance to get away, and he made quick work of them, using his claws to tear their jugulars. Another guard just stood and stared at his murdered friends, allowing Daniel to get a jump on him as well. The vampire slashed him with such viscous force that the guard’s head was severed messily.

As the blood of the guards splashed all over, Bruce fought to get to his wife before Daniel did. The vampire had momentarily forgotten about the actress as he and his female companions took care of other invaders. With their attention diverted, Scout managed to get away.

The interruption had also allowed Demi to shake herself of her trance and she rushed to her daughter.

“Mommy!” Scout cried as she sought protection.

Seeing that Scout and Demi had managed to break free of their captors, Bruce moved toward them, but by then Daniel had finished with the guards and blocked the actor’s way.

“You son of a bitch!” Bruce shouted as he charged at Daniel and began struggling with the creature that had attacked his family. The movie star seemed to almost overpower the vampire at first, but Daniel quickly regained his poise and ripped into Bruce’s chest with a claw.

“No!” Demi screamed as Bruce fell to the floor, bleeding heavily

Daniel grinned at Demi as she held her daughter tight. He began walking toward the two of them, thoughts of feasting on their blood running through his mind. Bruce tried to stop him, but his wounds overcame him and he collapsed unconscious.

“Bruce!” Demi cried, “Oh no! Please no!”

Daniel continued his advance. His female vampires were right behind him, their faces were smeared with the blood of the dead guards and they were hungry for more.

But just as Daniel was about to attack Demi and Scout, a man rushed into the room and pressed a cross against Daniel’s face. The object seared into Daniel’s flesh and the vampire screamed in pain, the female vampires all ran for cover in response.

“I killed you,” Daniel screamed.

“You’re not as smart as you think,” the man said, “Ever heard the term playing possum. This time I’m ready for you.”

“I won’t make the same mistake twice!” Daniel yelled, but the man continued to hold him in place with the cross. The man then splashed holy water at Daniel, injuring the vampire again.

“I bless this room!” the man shouted. “You are forbidden to enter!”

At that moment Chris, Pete, and the officers arrived, their guns drawn. “Freeze!’ Chris commanded, but he was quickly shaken by the scene being played out in the blood-drenched room. He and Daniel locked eyes and Chris knew that this was the man responsible for the murders. The realization sent a chill up his spine.

“Holy shit!’ was Pete’s reaction when he saw Daniel’s face in full vampiric form.

Daniel took advantage of the momentary distraction and, grabbing Sarah’s body from the bed, he jumping through the glass window, taking off into the night sky. His female companions quickly followed, and even though the police opened fire, their bullets all seemed to miss their targets. Chris rushed to the window.

“Where’d they go?” Pete shouted.

“They’re gone!” Chris answered.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean they pulled a fucking Harry Houdini!” Chris shouted, “They jumped and now they’re gone!”

Pete ran over to see for himself and saw that Chris was right, there was no sign of Daniel or any of his companions.

“That is not possible!” Pete shouted, “Where did they go?”

Chris had no answer and just shook his head in disbelief. Demi remained on the floor, holding Scout tight as they both sobbed. When she saw it was safe to do so, the actress then ran over to her fallen husband. “We need some help here!” she screamed as she tried to get Bruce up, “C’mon, baby, you’re going to be okay!”

Bruce momentarily regained consciousness and smiled at his wife. “Is she okay?” he asked weakly.

“She’s fine, baby. Just rest, we’re going to get you to a hospital,” Demi said as she stroked his forehead.

As paramedics came in and began helping Bruce onto a stretcher, Rumer came into the room and she screamed when she saw her injured father. She ran to him but Demi stopped her and held both her and Scout tightly. “He’s going to be fine! Daddy’s going to be okay,” she said soothingly. “Let’s go get your sister and we’ll go see the doctors make him better.” Demi picked up her robe and put it on, then took her daughters and left, her head spinning with fear and anguish over what had unfolded in only a few minutes. Pete then turned his head and saw the mystery man standing there in silence.

“What the hell are you doing here?” he shouted. “Are you a part of this?”

“I am trying to stop this,” the man replied sharply.

It was then that Carly and Steve got to the scene. “We just got here,” Carly said as she tried to catch her breath, but the horror of the room stopped her in mid breath. “What the fuck happened here? It’s a goddamn blood bath!”

Amid the chaos of the room, Steve immediately noticed the presence of the man. “Hey, what the hell are you doing here?” Steve shouted, “We left you in the hospital.”

“How do you know him?” Chris demanded.

“He was at the scene of our latest body theft,” Carly answered.

“Another one!” Pete exclaimed. “Wait a minute, what happened to Arnie.” “The thief put him in the hospital,” Steve answered, “His arm was shattered from the wrist on up.”

“Oh shit,” Chris said, “Is he okay.”

“He’s fine. He’s just going to be able to use his right arm for awhile,” Steve replied as he turned his attention to the man, “But this guy here was talking crazy so they took him too.”

“Yeah, I’ll say he’s crazy,” Chris said, “This guy used to be in a mental institution.”

As that revelation hit the air, the man broke into a sprint and tried to dash out the door.

“Stay right there!” Chris commanded, “We’ve got some questions for you!”

The man continued his escape attempt, but Pete managed to stop him. “When we stay stop, you stop!” Pete said as he threw the man down on a chair in the hallway, “You’re not going anywhere, until we clear things up! Now who are you?”

“Looks like you already know,” the man bitterly answered, as the other detectives left the blood soaked room, “You don’t need me to say anything.” “Oh this guy’s a gas,” Carly sighed, “Why don’t you just fill in those of us who don’t know all the details.”

“My name is Gordon Sumner,” the man stated plainly, “I kill vampires.”

“What?” was Steve’s bemused response.

“Are your ears clogged up,” Gordon said, “I kill vampires, and I was going to kill this one until you and the rest of your cowboy friends showed.” “This guy’s not making any sense,” Carly said in anger, “He was talking like this when we saw him earlier.”

“He seems to think our city is being overrun by vampires,” Chris said. “Yeah, and werewolves are responsible for the drug murders in this city,” Steve said, “Give me a break.”

“This is no joking matter!” Gordon exclaimed, “We are running out of time! Each time he takes a life, he gets stronger! By the end of tomorrow night it may be too late, he may be too strong to kill!”

Pete hung up the phone he had been using.

“Well it seems there’s a warrant in London for the return of our friend Mr. Sumner here,” he said as he motioned for some officers to come out into the hallway.

“Well it looks like you’ll be a guest in one of our fine jails tonight,” Carly said as he was handcuffed.

“Gordon Sumner, you are under arrest for escaping imprisonment,” Pete stated as Gordon struggled against the cuffs, “You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney, if you cannot afford one the court will provide one for you. Do you understand these rights as I have read them to you?” “Don’t you see!” Gordon screamed as he was taken away, “I’m the only one who can stop him! You’re sealing your own dooms here! Look at this room! Look at what he did! We have to stop him! LISTEN TO ME!!!!!”

Soon, Sumner’s voice faded as he was taken away. The chaos had begun to settle back to normalcy and within a half-hour a full forensics team was going over every inch of the room.

Meanwhile, Chris had taken the opportunity to call Amy and tell her that he wasn’t coming home that night.

“No, no I definitely won’t be back,” he said into the phone, “It’s pretty messed up around here. What? No, I will not try and get Ben Affleck’s autograph. Because I’ve got corpses here. Okay, okay, okay I’ll see what I can do. Luv ya.” Chris hung up the phone and once again looked around at the blood soaked room, taking in the horror of what had happened. He could not stop focusing on the torn corpses all over the room and the blood soaked sheets where Sarah had once slept.

“My God, look at this place, Pete,” he said.

“I know,” Pete replied, “You think it was him?”

“Yeah I think it was him,” Chris answered.

“Me too,” Pete added, as he looked over he saw an idea forming in his brother’s head. “Oh no, don’t tell me you’re buying this crap again!” “How’d they get away Pete?” Chris demanded, “They just jumped out the window and disappeared? Explain that!”

“Look, I don’t know how they got away!” Pete replied, “I don’t know the hows or the whys here. What I do know is that vampires aren’t real. They are fucking fairy tales for Halloween!”

“Did you see his face?” Chris asked, “Did that look human?”

“Maybe it was a mask,” Pete sighed.

“Don’t tell me you didn’t notice that those girls he had with him just happened to look exactly like our murder victims?”

“All right, enough!” Pete said firmly, “You can throw these suggestions out all you want, but I refuse to believe them! I refuse to believe that there are vampires at work here! I refuse to believe it!” Pete then stormed away, leaving Chris staring into the room as the corpses were removed—in pieces. “What’s going on here,” Carly asked as she approached Chris.

“More and more, I just don’t want to know…” Chris sighed.

Daniel cursed loudly as he reviewed the night’s events. He’d been sloppy with that man. He should have made sure he was dead. Now he could tell the police everything and they’d know what was happening. Daniel had enjoyed watching those silly little cops run around in circles, but the fun would stop if they knew the truth.

On the other hand, Daniel thought, what were the chances of that happening? They’d probably lock that guy up if he started talking about vampires. They’d think he was crazy. There was no real danger there. But still, the police had seen his face, and Daniel began thinking that it might be time to send the Washington D.C. police force a message. A message that would teach them that they were way over their heads here. A message that they would not soon forget.

(X) INTERROGATION WITH THE VAMPIRE

By dawn the word had already hit the streets and soon a full media frenzy was in swing. The word out was that a suspected murderer had gone berserk the previous night and held hostages in the Willard Hotel. Six security guards were dead. Bruce Willis was in the hospital in critical-but-stable condition, though doctors were confident he would survive. Meanwhile, Sandra Bullock and Sarah Michelle Gellar were missing and presumed dead at the hands of the maniac, who had somehow managed to escape police even though he had been surrounded. A flood of reporters crashed through the doors of the Police Station, the likes of which Lieutenant Lawrence Smith had never seen in his life. Lawrence watched from his vantage point on top of the stairs and took a sip of his coffee. He looked at his watch. Shit, it wasn’t even seven in the morning and they were circling like sharks. His detectives were running on no sleep, they had a face for their suspect, but no name, and now this. Media from all over the world was downstairs and they were all waiting for even the smallest morsel of information.

Sighing loudly, Lawrence began walking down the stairs to face the screaming throng. He guessed it didn’t really matter if a bunch of average citizens got killed, but if a couple of celebrities got killed, then all of a sudden he was trying to answer questions from the Japanese media. “All right,” he declared when he near the throng, “I am Lieutenant Lawrence Smith of the Homicide Department. There will be an official press conference in two hours, but I will be happy to answer any questions you have right now.” He was then hit with such a relentless flurry of questions that he had to literally take a step back. He felt the beginnings of a migraine coming on.

“This is too weird,” Carly remarked as she and her fellow detectives stared into a jail cell.

“I agree,” Steve said, “There must be something seriously wrong with her brain.

What do you think Pete?”

“I am at a loss for words,” Pete answered.

“I’d say it’s the aftereffects of my painkillers, but how would that explain how the rest of you can see it,” Arnie said.

“Hey, what’s everyone looking at?” Tom asked as he joined the group. “Only the strangest thing you’ll ever see,” Pete said as he gestured toward the jail cell.

Tom looked inside and saw Chris and Carol sleeping soundly on the mattress. They were curled up with each other and they both looked quite content. “Oh, that is not right at all,” Tom remarked, “You don’t think they did anything in there, do you?”

“Ewwwww, I hope not,” Pete answered, “Think of all the wonderful and fun diseases currently residing in that mattress.”

“I guess he really is in love,” Carly observed, “Makes you just want to puke, doesn’t it?”

“Spoken like a truly bitter person,” Tom replied.

“Oh yeah, like you even know what love is,” Carly shot back. “No, no Carly,” Arnie pointed out, “Our Tommy Boy here painted the town red last night with Stacy while his loyal partner was getting the crap beaten out of him.”

“Look, I’m sorry,” Tom said, “But when it comes down to you and a beautiful girl, you lose Arnie.”

“Hey, I think I’m beautiful,” Arnie sighed.

“Avery, please don’t be the cause of another girl transferring out of here,” Carly sighed, “Your relationships have the unfortunate tendency of causing me inconvenience.”

“I thought we were speculating about Chris’ relationship,” Tom protested, “Leave me out of this.”

“Well while this conversation is truly fascinating,” Steve remarked, “Shouldn’t we wake them up or something? I mean we do have work.” “But watching them sleep is so interesting,” Pete stated, “It’s like watching footage of a village after a volcano eruption.” Before the debate on whether or not to wake the couple went any further, Carol put the issue to rest by waking herself up. She reacted in surprise when she saw the people staring at them and she quickly shook Chris awake. With a grunt he awoke and saw his fellow detectives.

“Go away,” he mumbled sharply, “Next show’s in an hour.”

“Wakey-wakey,” Pete said in a sing song voice.

“Don’t you people have your own lives?” Chris moaned.

“It’s much more fun to interfere in yours,” Arnie remarked. “Aren’t you supposed to be in the hospital?” Chris asked Arnie, whose entire right arm was covered in a cast.

“And miss all the fun of being here? I wouldn’t dream of it,” Arnie answered. “What time is it?” Carol asked as she shook off the remaining effects of slumber.

“A little after seven,” Pete answered.

“I’ve got to get going anyway,” she replied as she got off the mattress, “Thanks for the tour of an American jail cell, Chris.”

“Anytime,” Chris said. Carol leaned in for kiss, but Chris all of a sudden remembered that they had an audience.

“Shouldn’t you all be working on something?” Chris asked.

“Oh don’t mind us,” Carly replied.

“Yes, continue smooching,” Tom added.

When Carol and Chris did just that, the others began to hoot and holler like sixth graders.

“With that, I think I’ll leave,” Carol said as she walked out the door, “It was lovely meeting you all.”

“She seems nice,” Tom said after Carol had walked away. “If you even look at her funny Avery, I’m going to shoot you,” Chris said as he walked out of the cell.

“Wow, a jail cell,” Carly remarked as the detectives headed back to the squad room, “You sure know how to romance a girl.”

“Oh shut up, all of you,” Chris replied, “We just needed to crash for the night.”

“Well on a more important subject, we’ve got a sketch of our guy all ready,” Steve said as they reached the squad room. Blood analysis last night had confirmed what they all knew—the man from the hotel was definitely the murderer.

“Good,” Pete said as he looked it over, “I want this run in every paper and on every TV show. Anyplace you can put it up, you put it up.” “As usual, I’m two steps ahead of you,” Carly said, “It’s already done.” “All right,” Pete said, genuine hope filling his voice for the first time in days, “If this guy’s still out there, we’re going to get him.”

The sun creeping into her bedroom woke Stacy up with a start. She looked over at the clock and she saw that she was running late. It was close to eight already and she wasn’t even up yet.

But as soon as she leapt up, she fell back down again onto the bed, her strength seemingly gone. Stacy’s head began to throb and she noticed two things. First, she hadn’t even bothered to unmake her bed the last night, and second, she was stark naked.

“What did I do last night?” she asked herself aloud. She searched her memories, but found that the night was a complete blur. She remembered going out with Tom and that he had dropped her off at her apartment, but after that there was nothing. Gathering up her strength, Stacy got up and managed to get dressed for work. As she staggered into the hallway she knocked on Emily’s door. “Em, you in there?” Stacy asked, but she received no answer. This was really strange, Emily usually didn’t leave until later. But then again, she herself didn’t usually black out, Stacy reasoned. She’d have Emily fill her in on the details later; somehow Stacy knew that Emily would be able to tell her exactly what had gone on last night.

As Stacy began to walk out the door, a deep hunger gripped her. It was unlike anything she’d ever felt in her life, but she managed to quell the feelings. She was late, she told herself she’d just have to feed later. That choice of words struck her as odd. Why the word ‘feed’, she’d never used it before? Stacy shook off those doubts, however, because she just didn’t have time to do a self-examination of her subconscious. She closed the door and headed for work.

By 9AM, the sketch artists’ rendering of Daniel was out on the streets and a full search had begun.

Meanwhile, as the press conference was being set up downstairs, Stacy finally lurched into work. The sun seemed to be especially bright today and she wore her sunglasses.

“Looks you had a fun night, Stacy” Officer Julie Muldowski remarked as she passed her by.

“I don’t even know what the hell happened last night,” Stacy sighed, “All I know is that I am so tired. Every cell in my body is begging for sleep. Plus, I am absolutely starving and I can’t tell for what.” “Oooh, sucks for you,” Julie said as Stacy began the long walk up the stairs.

“Your sympathy is noted for the record,” Stacy said as she tried to walk away.

But before she did, a reporter jumped in her way. “Hi, I’m Milo Bloom, reporter for the Bloom Beacon,” the man said, “Do you have any information on the case? No one’s talking.” “Go away,” Stacy said in an annoyed tone as she pushed Milo back and continued on her way up the stairs.

The press had seemingly been staking out the station since the middle of the night and the quickie Q&A session with Lieutenant Smith had done nothing to stop out their zealous quest for information.

So when Police Commissioner Brandon Doyle stepped up to the microphone, a buzz went up in the crowd. The majority of the media present had no idea who Commissioner Doyle was, or how he was part of the dying breed of tough Irish cops, but by his uniform and demeanor, they could tell he was a man of importance.

“I am Commissioner Brandon Doyle,” he said as he began, “I have a brief statement to read and then I will answer some questions. District of Columbia homicide detectives now have a solid description of a suspect in the murders of four women and six men. The suspect was seen last night in the Willard Hotel, where he killed the six men, all security employees of the hotel, and one woman, Ms. Sarah Michelle Gellar. He escaped the police pursuit and we are searching the entire district for the man fitting the description on the press release currently being passed around.

Our suspect is a white male, age in the mid to late 20’s, six feet tall, 180 pounds, dark brown hair. If anyone knows a man fitting this description they are urged to call the police immediately and not take any action themselves. The Mayor has expressed his full confidence that this suspect will be found and arrested.”

Putting down the prepared statement, Doyle looked into the seemingly endless sea of reporters.

“Does anyone have questions?” he asked, only to be answered by a flurry of words and hand signals.

“How did the suspect escape the police last night?” one reporter shouted. “That is being explored right now…” Doyle slowly answered, searching for the right words to explain how the killer was able to jump through the window and survive.

“What does that mean?” several reporters inquired.

“I have no further comment on that matter,” Doyle replied.

“Is Sandra Bullock counted among the dead?” was another question. “Ms. Bullock is still considered missing at the moment,” was the answer as Doyle pointed to another reporter.

“Hi, I’m Tabitha Soren from MTV News, where you hear it first. Is the Spice Girls concert at RFK Stadium still scheduled to go off as planned tonight?” At this question, Doyle leaned over to Captain William Carter, who stood to his right. “Bill, who the hell are the Spice Girls?” he whispered. “They’re a singing group performing at RFK tonight. They’re very popular, I think they’ve been on every magazine cover in the country,” Captain Carter answered. “It’s going to go on as scheduled.”

“I’ve gotta get out more,” Doyle sighed, before returning to the microphone.

“Yes, the concert will go on as planned.”

“When do you foresee an arrest,” another reporter asked. Relieved to have a question he could answer, Doyle responded quickly. “We believe we’ll have our suspect in custody within the next 24 hours,” he said, setting off a murmur of surprise through the crowd, which by now included the Foster brothers.

“24 hours, that’s pretty bold,” Chris whispered to his brother, “Do you think we can pull it off.”

“Not a chance,” Pete sighed, “But the least we can do is go down trying.” After soaking in the press conference for a few moments more, Chris turned to his brother again.

“I feel like waffles, you want some waffles?” he asked. “Yeah, I could go for waffles,” Pete answered as they headed for the door, leaving the bold predictions in their wake.

Later, having finished his waffles, Chris walked toward the jail cells until he found the one he was looking for.

“I see you’re up,” Chris observed, but Gordon Sumner just sat in silence.

“I brought you some coffee,” Chris said as he slipped the cup through the bars.

“Thank you,” Gordon muttered.

“You know, I’ve been thinking about what you said,” Chris said, causing Gordon to perk up.

“Are you ready to believe me now?” Gordon asked. “Hey, I just said I was thinking about what you said, that’s all,” Chris replied.

“Detective what more proof do you need?” Gordon pled, “You saw what happened last night. What mortal man could make an escape like that? It doesn’t make sense any other way.”

Chris sighed in response.

“I know what you’re going through,” Gordon said, “I went through it once myself. You don’t want to accept what it is that you’ve seen, but you have to. Time is running out, but we can still beat him.”

“I just can’t believe that this is possible,” Chris protested. “You have to,” Gordon insisted, “Open your mind and let me out of here. He’s weak during the day and we will have an easier time finding and killing him.” “I can’t let you out. You’re a fugitive,” Chris pointed out.

“We don’t have time for this!” Gordon shouted, “These next hours are critical.”

“We’re close to bringing him in,” Chris said.

“Arresting him won’t stop him,” Gordon sighed, “Anyway, you’ll never catch him if you don’t know where to start looking!”

All of a sudden, Pete began shouting for his brother.

“Chris! Get up here!” Pete shouted. “We’ve got him! We’ve got a name!” Abruptly ending his conversation with Gordon, Chris then ran toward the squad room to see what had happened.

Left alone again, Gordon sighed.

“You’ll only make things worse,” he said quietly.

When Chris reached the squad room, he saw Pete, Carly, and Steve clustered around a woman who could only be described as Amazonian. Even sitting down, it was clear that she was over six feet tall, with legs that seemed endless. She was dressed in a tight leather outfit and her huge breasts seemed to be on the verge of splitting right out of the deep cleavage in her ultra snug top. She was like a living character from a late night movie on Cinemax. “Whoa,” was the only response Chris could come up with when he saw her.

“My sentiments exactly,” Arnie said as he walked up to join the group.

“All right,” Pete said, “Chris this is… What was your name again?”

“My name is Mistress Jasmine,” she sighed.

“Is that your real name, Miss?” Steve asked.

“It is now,” Jasmine said, “And address me as Mistress.” “I think not,” Steve said as he went back to leaning over a desk and writing out the report.

“Anyway, tell him what you told me,” Pete requested. “Okay, this guy who murdered the women, I’ve seen him. His name is Daniel Rooker,” Jasmine said.

“How do you know him?” Pete asked.

“He’s been a customer of mine at my sex shop, The Pink Pleasure Palace,” Jasmine answered.

“Sounds like a great place for the whole family, Jasmine,” Steve said. “I said call me Mistress!” Jasmine commanded, causing Steve to take a step back from her.

“What, does he like getting beat up?” Carly asked. “No, he was into being the dominant one,” Jasmine answered, “He bought some supplies from me, and once I hooked him up with this girl I knew who liked being dominated. He was too kinky for her though, she said he tried to drink her blood; he scared the shit out of her.”

“When was this?” Chris demanded.

“A week ago, that’s why I remember it so well,” Jasmine replied.

“Check the computer, Tom!” Pete shouted.

“I’m on it!” Tom replied, “We got him, Daniel Rooker; he’s been a local boy for two years now! Hey, he was arrested in New York on sexual assault charges right before he relocated!”

“What happened?” Carly asked as Arnie ran off to get Lieutenant Smith.

“Charges dropped,” Tom answered, “Don’t know why though.” “Are you sure this is the man you saw,” Pete said as he held up the sketch of the killer.

“Positive,” Mistress Jasmine said, “I’ll testify to that. Fucking pervert! I hope you put him away forever.”

“That’s exactly what we’re going to do,” Pete said as he got up. “Hot damn!” he exclaimed, “We’re going to nail this son of a bitch!” “All right,” Lieutenant Smith said as he joined the group, “We need a warrant first, before we go any further. This is kind of a stretch here.” “Lieutenant, we’ve got probable cause,” Chris contended, “We’ll call up Beth, she’ll get us a friendly judge fast. This guy could be bolting town as we speak.”

“Okay, get the warrant and get down there,” Lawrence said as he took it all in, “I want everything by the book. No cutesy shit here, no slip ups.” “Not a one,” Chris said as he picked up the phone and dialed the number for Assistant District Attorney Elizabeth Foster.

“It’s me, sis,” Chris said after she picked up, “We need a fast warrant here.”

As Chris talked to Beth, Mistress Jasmine got set to leave.

“I just want to thank you for coming in today to help us,” Steve said. “It was my pleasure,” Jasmine replied, “Here’s some coupons for my new line of leatherware. And if you ever get in the mood, I’d love to beat the crap out of you. I’ll make you feel such pleasurable pain, you’ll think you died.” “I’ll keep that in mind,” Steve quickly said, taking two steps back before running away from Mistress Jasmine as fast as he could.

As the clock moved slightly past eleven in the morning, a stream of police arrived at the apartment of Daniel Rooker. The Foster brothers, warrant in hand, led the charge, with Carly, Steve, Tom, and fourteen uniformed officers behind them.

“Okay,” Chris said as he overviewed the situation, “I want five officers guarding the back way, two on each side of the building to make sure he doesn’t go out a fire escape, another five by the front door, and the last three going up with us. Tom you stay up front, Carly and Steve you’re with us.” “What if he’s not here?” Pete asked.

“Then we’ll have ended up making a lot of noise for nothing,” Chris answered, “But we’ll at least have had a chance to bother the neighbors.” “Now this guy hasn’t used a gun on anyone yet,” Carly announced to the officers, “But we can’t be sure he’s unarmed. I want everyone in vests. This guy’s not going to go willingly.”

“Let’s try not to tip this guy off. We’re gonna go in quietly as we can,” Steve chimed in.

“All right, let’s do this,” Chris said, and with that they crossed the street toward the apartment. The officers all took their positions after posting someone at the base of the stairs. Chris, Pete, Carly, Steve, and the remaining officers rode up the elevator to the sixth floor. “Okay, we’re looking for apartment 4G,” Pete whispered.

“Over here,” Steve said as he stood in front of the door.

Everyone took up position as Chris banged loudly on the door. “POLICE! OPEN UP! WE HAVE A WARRANT!” he shouted. There was no reply from inside the apartment, nor was there when Chris tried again. Chris motioned at his brother and they then proceeded to knock the door down. The police poured into the apartment but they quickly found that it was empty of human life.

“Damn!” Pete exclaimed, “He’s long gone!”

“Maybe he just stepped out?” Steve suggested.

“No, this apartment’s been empty for days,” Carly said as she took notice of the light layer of dust on the objects inside.

“Okay, we’re going to take this place apart!” Chris ordered the officers, “Take anything that looks even remotely useful!”

“Jesus, will you take a look at this place,” Carly said in amazement, and for the first time Chris began to look around at Daniel’s apartment. The entire place seemed to be a shrine to vampirism and the black arts. His bedroom was filled with books in the occult and his walls were completely covered with newspaper and magazine articles about vampire type killings. “Look here,” Pete said as he stood before a desk cluttered with notes and open books, “Looks like our boy was doing some kind of research before he left.” “Yeah, but research into what,” Carly remarked as she flipped through a book, “What language is this?”

“I don’t know,” Pete answered as he glanced at the book, “Looks like something from Eastern Europe. Kinda looks like Hungarian or Rumanian.” “How can you tell,” Carly asked as she put the book back down. “Our family’s from there; we had a great aunt who still spoke it when we were little,” Pete answered.

Steve went over to a shelf and began examining the vials that had been placed there. He opened one and peered at the contents, immediately flinching. “This better not be what I think it is,” he said as he handed a vial to Chris.

Chris examined it and reached the same conclusion. “If you’re thinking that that’s human blood in there, then you are correct sir,” Chris replied.

“This is not a well person we’re dealing with here,” Steve observed. “You’re just realizing that now?” Chris asked as he looked again at his surroundings. It seemed that every book, every movie, every anything about vampires was there. “The real question is,” Chris then asked, “Where is he now?” Though Chris meant the question to be rhetorical, he soon got an answer when his walkie-talkie squawked to life.

“Hey, I’ve got someone out here,” Tom shouted, “He’s heading this way, looks just like our guy.”

“Holy shit!” Chris exclaimed, “Let’s go!”

With that, Chris, Pete, Carly, and Steve tore down the steps to reach the outside, where they did see a man fitting Daniel Rooker’s description slowly heading toward the apartment building. He wore a long black coat and sunglasses, but he looked just like the man Chris and Pete had seen the night before in the hotel.

“It’s him!” Pete declared.

Tom also took a good look at the man approaching and suddenly realized that this was the guy he’d chased away from Stacy the other night. Why hadn’t he realized it before? The murderer and Stacy’s attacker were one and the same! “Should we grab him?” Tom excitedly asked.

“No wait!” Pete ordered, “Let him come to us.”

“Just a few steps more you son of a bitch,” Chris softly coaxed as the man continued to walk slowly toward the building.

But just when he was close enough to make definite eye contact, the man pulled off his sunglasses, revealing his full face. He smiled fiendishly at his pursuers and winked at them. Then he took off at full speed down the street in the opposite direction.

“Oh fuck me!!” Chris exclaimed before he, his fellow detectives, and the officers stationed out front tore off after Daniel. None of the police were in the shape Daniel was, but since the sun weakened him he could not run as fast as he would have been able to at night. Pete pulled out in front of the other policemen and, as his heart pounded and his head ached, he pulled closer to Daniel as they raced down the streets of the city. Other police cars had been called to the scene and were cutting off any possible escape routes. The sounds of sirens blared throughout as Pete huffed and puffed, driving himself to keep up with Daniel. Finally, he pulled even and with all the force he could manage, Pete tackled Daniel and knocked him to the ground. A second later the rest of the police on foot caught up. “DANIEL ROOKER?” Pete shouted as he drew his gun.

“That’s me,” Daniel hissed.

“YOU ARE UNDER ARREST FOR MURDER!” Pete continued as he slipped a pair of handcuffs on Daniel’s wrists. He then motioned for someone else to continue and collapsed to the ground in exhaustion. Chris immediately ran to his brother’s side as Carly began reading Daniel his rights.

“Are you okay?” Chris asked.

“And to think…my doctor recommended…more…exercise,” Pete gasped, a wide smile creeping across his face.

“You are the man, Pete,” Chris said as he helped his brother up. “…If you cannot afford an attorney one will be provided for you by the District,” Carly continued, “Daniel Rooker, do you understand each and every one of these rights as I have read them to you?”

“You mortals are such fools,” was all Daniel said as he sneered at the police.

“I’ll take that as a ‘yes’,” Carly replied, “Take him away boys.” The detectives watched as Daniel was loaded into a police car, which immediately departed for the station.

“So, who gets the fun task of interrogation?” Steve asked as the siren of the car faded into the distance.

Sometime later, Daniel sat alone inside the interrogation room, staring at the ceiling and giving off the attitude that he didn’t particularly care about what was going to happen next. Arnie, Tom, Carly, and Steve watched him from the other side of the two-way mirror located on the room’s left side. “Look at him,” Carly observed, “Cool as ice.”

“They say the guilty man is the one who relaxes,” Arnie replied, “The innocent ones get all nervous and fidgety, but the guilty guys just lay back ‘cause they know they’re caught.”

“I don’t know, he makes me nervous,” Steve said, “He looks like he doesn’t give a fuck about anything. People like that are always dangerous.” “He hasn’t asked for a lawyer or anything,” Carly stated, “He just sits there and waits.”

“He’s not that great looking a guy,” Tom said, “How’d he get those girls to go willingly?”

“Maybe he drugged them?” Arnie suggested.

“I don’t know,” Carly replied, “He’s not bad looking. In fact he’s kind of handsome, I mean for a murdering psychopath.”

“I try never to consider whether another male is physically attractive,” Steve added, “So I’ll stay out of this one.”

“Maybe he has a great personality?” Arnie suggested. “Maybe he’s just got a huge dick?” Tom added, before being punched in the arm by Carly.

“Pig!” she said, “You think that’s all women go for?” “I’m not saying that,” Tom protested, “I’m just trying to figure out why these stunningly attractive women are going and letting themselves be ravished by a guy who’s no superhunk.”

“Maybe he’s got that kind of animal magnetism?” Arnie chimed in, “He’s a good looking guy, I can see why women would go for him.” “Why are we even discussing this?” Steve asked.

“I want to know,” Tom answered.

“Why, you want his pick up tips?” Steve asked.

“Bite me,” was Tom’s simple reply.

“Where are Pete and Chris?” Carly asked, “They’re supposed to be interrogating this guy.”

“I think they’re getting themselves worked up,” Steve replied.

In fact, that was exactly what Pete and Chris were doing. The detectives stood in front of the mirrors in the men’s room getting prepped for the interrogation. “Breathe in,” Chris said, before he and his brother took a sharp intake of breath.

“Breathe out,” he then said as they exhaled.

“Breathe in, breathe out… Breathe in, breathe out…”

“Why are we so nervous?” Pete asked, “We’ve done so many interrogations of suspects that I’ve lost count. This guy shouldn’t be any different, yet I’m a nervous wreck.”

“Well that’s because this is the case of our career; we should be nervous,” Chris replied before continuing the breathing exercises, “Now breathe in, breathe out… Breathe in, breathe out.”

The brothers completed those steps a few more times before they deemed themselves ready.

“All right!” Chris declared, “Who are the toughest sons of bitches on the force?”

“The Foster brothers,” Pete replied.

“Who’s going in there and not leaving until they have a signed confession?”

Chris asked.

“The Foster brothers,” Pete said with more feeling.

“Who’s gonna go in there and have this asshole begging for mercy in minutes?”

Chris shouted.

“The Foster brothers!”

“Who are the baddest white boys on the planet?”

“THE FOSTER BROTHERS!”

“THEN LET’S GO!!!!!” Chris shouted and then proceeded to bump chests three times with his brother as they shouted in triumph.

“That hurts…” Pete said after they finished.

“Yeah,” Chris agreed, “We’d better just get going.” So with that, the Foster brothers flung open the door to the men’s room and stormed out toward the interrogation room where Daniel sat. They wore their game faces of steely frowns, and as they marched toward in grim determination one could almost hear the Rocky theme in the background. They reached the door to the room, pausing for a moment outside.

“It’s go time…” Pete declared and they proceeded to enter.

Daniel perked up as the Foster brothers entered.

“Ahhh, Detectives,” he said, “Come to let me go?” “Save it,” Pete declared, “We’ve got you cold on these murders, so don’t try and bullshit your way out, because you can’t.”

“However,” Chris added, “Because we’re nice guys, we figured that maybe you’d like a chance to tell us right now about why you did it, because a confession would save the District the cost of a lengthy trial that you’d be sure to lose. Maybe if you’re a good boy and confess, we won’t put you in a cell with the rapists, sodomites, and child molesters tonight.” “That’s a good offer,” Pete added, “Because you’re big news right now, my friend, and I bet that those guys down in the jail would love to get your hands on your pretty little ass. But maybe it won’t be so bad; maybe you’ll find a big guy named Roscoe, or something, who’ll protect you from you those big, bad rapists in exchange for being his bitch and giving him a good morning blow job every day.”

“So, we’ve got all day and all night to listen to you,” Chris said as he sat down and leaned back in his chair, “Tell us your story, Daniel Rooker.” “I doubt either of you know how much danger you’re in right now,” Daniel calmly replied as he flicked a piece of lint off his arm. “Why don’t you educate us then,” Chris suggested. “I am more powerful than anything you have ever seen in your lives,” Daniel said as he stared directly at the Chris and Pete, “You think you’ve seen horror? You think you’ve seen evil? You think you’ve experienced fear? Well that’s nothing compared to me.”

“You know something, Chris?” Pete asked.

“What, Pete?”

“This guy is a real character,” Pete said, “Remember, that’s what Grandpa used to say about people who were just plain nuts, ‘He’s a character.’ And that’s what you are Daniel, you are a real character. Why don’t you tell us about the murders.”

“I didn’t murder anyone,” Daniel contended, “I brought them to a better life.” “Is that why you stole the bodies, Daniel?” Chris asked, “To bring them to this better life?”

“I didn’t steal any bodies either,” Daniel responded, “I merely reunited them with the Master they lovingly serve.”

“And who might that be?” Pete asked.

“Me,” Daniel simply declared.

“And how does that work?” Pete inquired.

“I wouldn’t think a man of your limited intelligence and vision would know what I’m talking about,” Daniel stated, “I am their Master, because I freed them from the shackles of their humanity and opened them up to the pleasures that only I can provide them. They love me and serve me as I command, because I created them.”

After a few seconds of silence, Chris loudly slammed his hand against the table. “Oh yeah!” he shouted, “How could we have forgotten, Pete? This guy thinks he’s a vampire going around and biting pretty girls on the neck! You know we got a pretty good look at your collection in your apartment, it’s good to see you’ve got a hobby going. Should I even be calling you Daniel, or is Dracula more appropriate?”

“Do not mock me,” Daniel stated firmly.

“Or what are you going to do,” Chris asked, “Bite me in the neck?” “This is what you do, isn’t it Detective,” Daniel inquired, “Every time you feel frightened or threatened, you make some lame little joke to cover yourself?” “You don’t frighten me,” Chris said his demeanor turning serious as he leaned toward Daniel.

“I should…” Daniel whispered.

“So what’s the deal here, Daniel?” Pete asked, as he sought to revert the power back to his side, “You kill these girls so you can free them? I still don’t get how?”

“Of course you don’t,” Daniel said in an exasperated tone, “I haven’t spelled it out for you in big capital letters. I am a vampire. Not some pretend one, but a real bloodsucking vampire. I have powers that you can only dream of.” “It’s the middle of the day, you know,” Chris pointed out, “How come you haven’t melted or anything?”

“Just because the movies tell you something happens, doesn’t mean it’s part of the way things really are,” Daniel responded.

“What the hell does that mean?” Chris asked.

“It means that I am not a slave vampire, I am a master vampire and as such I have the power to withstand the sun,” Daniel answered. “Well, I am just impressed beyond belief at the scope of your power,” Pete said as he placed a pen and paper on the table, “Now why don’t you be a good master vampire and write out how you killed those girls.” “I told you I didn’t kill them,” Daniel contended, “I freed them!” “Listen to me, you son of a bitch,” Pete shot back, “I’ve had enough of your chicken shit vampire games! You are nothing but a sick psycho who kills women for sexual pleasure! Now I want you to write down how you dragged those women off, raped them, and killed them.”

Daniel laughed in response, “I didn’t rape anyone, those girls gave themselves over to me. I showed them what real pleasure and peace was, and they loved every second of it. I have powers to make any woman desire me and beg me to fuck them until they scream in pleasure and beg me once again. But this time they beg me to make them like me, so they can experience the pleasure I have given them all the time. I am a god to them! Don’t you ever forget that!”

Meanwhile, the other detectives continued to wordlessly watch from the other side of the mirror, a small crowd of others had also begun to form and soon Lieutenant Smith joined them.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t get here sooner,” he said, “How’s it going?”

“Either really well, or really badly,” Steve answered.

“What does that mean?” Lieutenant Smith asked.

“It means I’m not sure,” Steve replied, “We’ve got all the evidence and he doesn’t even say he didn’t do it. They’ve got him in a corner in there and there’s no chance for him to escape.”

“Then what’s the bad part?” a confused Lieutenant Smith then asked. “He claims he’s a real honest to God vampire,” Carly said as she shook her head in disbelief, “He says he hasn’t killed anyone, he says he freed them.” “What!” Lieutenant Smith exclaimed, “Is this guy totally nuts?”

“He seems to think he’s quite sane,” Tom observed. “All right,” Smith declared, “We’d better get a shrink from upstairs to take a look at the interrogation. We’ll get to the bottom of this.”

“So explain these powers you have,” Chris said. “Very simple really,” Daniel said as he leaned back and put his feet on top of the table, “I can look into any woman and see deep inside to the part that they try to hide. The part where they secretly want a man to grab them from behind, drag them into an alleyway and fuck their brains out. The part deep down where they want to surrender all control and be ravished. I make their darkest fantasies come true.”

“Is that what you did with Mary Lassiter?” Pete asked, his rage barely kept under control, “Did you drag that defenseless Catholic school teacher into an alley and make her fantasies come true?”

“Ahhh, Mary,” Daniel said as he smiled deeply, “She was so much fun. She even put up a real fight and all. But she gave in, they all do in the end. I loved fucking her and she was begging for it by the time I was through with her. All those years of Catholic school repression went right out the window the minute she got a taste of my cock in her mouth.”

“Get your fucking feet off my table,” Pete spat out.

Daniel complied, but smirked as he did.

“Where were your powers that night in New York, Danny Boy?” Chris asked, “We know about your little sexual assault arrest, how come you didn’t use your powers back then to have that woman begging for it?” “Well obviously, I didn’t have my powers back then,” Daniel sighed, “I am a recent convert to vampirism and I have to tell you I’m having the time of my life.”

“We’ll take your word for it,” Chris replied.

“There is no one I can’t reach, Detective,” Daniel said, “Why even here in your cozy little station I’ve got one of my girls.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Chris asked. “Why, I’m referring to your little phone girl, Stacy,” Daniel said, “I don’t mean to brag about my accomplishments, but I had a little threesome with Stacy and that pretty roommate of hers last night. I had Stacy’s face buried in her roommate’s pussy like she’d been doing it all her life. I had her doing everything I desired. Unfortunately, I didn’t get a chance to finish with her, but soon I’ll complete the job.”

At the mention of Stacy’s name, Tom tensed up. By the time Daniel was finished talking about her, the detective had to be restrained from running into the interrogation room.

“Let me go!” Tom shouted.

“Calm down, Tom!” Lieutenant Smith ordered, “He’s just trying to get to Pete and Chris; he’s trying to push their buttons.”

“Who does that son of a bitch think he is?” Tom asked.

“Just calm down,” Smith said again, “He’s making this shit up as he goes along.”

“How does he know Stacy’s name?” Steve then asked, but no one had an answer.

“You’re full of shit, you know that?” Pete said to Daniel as the interrogation continued to go on.

“Am I?” Daniel shot back.

“There is no such thing as vampires,” Pete contended. “You’re just another run of the mill psycho. We’ve seen your type before, full of bluster and bravado, but by the end of that first night in jail, your type is always crying like a baby.”

“You know I’m not lying,” Daniel said as he turned toward Chris, “You know that I am a vampire and I am scaring the shit out of you.” “Why don’t you give that mouth a rest for just a second,” Chris suggested. “I can see it in your eyes,” Daniel continued, “You don’t want to believe it, but you do. I am a genuine vampire and I frighten and fascinate you all at once.”

“Let’s get back to those murders,” Pete said.

“No we’re going to talk about this,” Daniel replied, “You can see what powers I have and you want them too. I was once like you two, weak and powerless humans who let others decide their fate, but now I’m a god with the power to bend others to my will. Tell me you don’t dream of having that power.” “I’ve had just about enough of you,” Chris said as he got up and began pacing around the room.

“Anything I desire, I can have,” Daniel contended his voice rising with every word, “And there are never any consequences for me. Women who would previously have ignored me are now my willing slaves. I am the master of my destiny and I can live forever feasting off the blood of those too stupid to do what I did and seek to change their lives! You two want what I have, you’re jealous of me! That’s what all this is about. I can do anything while you are all bound by the rules you force upon yourselves, and you hate me for that!” “ENOUGH!!!!” Pete shouted as he slammed his fist down on the table, “If you’re so goddamned powerful, then how were we able to catch you?” “Know this,” Daniel spat at the detectives, “The only reason I am here right now is because I allowed you to catch me. Don’t congratulate yourselves for work you aren’t responsible for.”

“Fuck you,” Chris shot back.

“You think I don’t know all about you two? You think I don’t know what thoughts are running through your heads” Daniel shouted, “I know you, Chris Foster, and you, Pete Foster, and I know the rest of your cohorts behind that mirror! Carly Sanchez, Steve Huston, Tom Avery, Arnold Nash. Your minds are all like open books to me and I can see inside to your darkest fears and forbidden fantasies! I know your family, Pete, your wife, your children! You know I think after this is all over I’ll go see Lynn, that lovely teenage daughter of yours! And after I’m through with her I’ll take little six-year-old Susan; I wouldn’t want to play with her yet, but I could use her as a daily snack until she’s ripe enough for me!”

His face crimson with rage, Pete charged out of his seat and slammed Daniel against the wall. His hands closed tightly around the vampire’s neck before Chris pulled him off, just as Lieutenant Smith rushed into the room to break it up.

“YOU SON OF A BITCH!!!!” Pete screamed.

“CALM DOWN!!!!” Chris yelled at his brother as he and the Lieutenant dragged him out the room.

“Hey, Chris!” Daniel shouted as the detectives left, “I know little Amy is in town, so I’ll have to go see her first.”

“Shut the fuck up!” Chris commanded Daniel as he slammed the door behind him. “GOD DAMN IT!!!!” Pete shouted as he punched the wall in an effort to cool down, “I let him get to me!!!!”

“He got to all of us,” Lieutenant Smith as he reached for a folder and handed it to Pete, “But we’ve got him. The preliminary lab work says that Daniel’s blood matches what we got from the victims. There’s no way he can get away with it now!”

Pete flipped through the contents of the report and smiled. “We do have him,” he said.

“Think we can get an arraignment tonight?” Chris asked, “I just want to get this guy out of here.”

“I’ll call the DA’s office,” Lieutenant Smith offered, “I’ll get him squeezed in tonight. In the meantime, let’s let Mr. Rooker stew in there for a little bit more before we take him back to his lovely cage.”

Alone inside the interrogation room, Daniel smiled and leaned back. Soon the sun would be setting, and then those who thought they had caught him would learn that he was not one to be trifled with.

The grand finale!

You can contact the writer at: KMB_76@yahoo.com

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