Chapter 3

It was nearly three in the morning when Mike got back to his house. He could hear his parents downstairs, they were pacing and very worried. What do you expect, I didn't come home tonight. Stripping his torn clothes, he examined his injuries. Are those my intestines? At least they look better than they did an hour ago. Quickly downing a couple more units of blood, he went Cold and watched his accelerated healing seal the injuries. Not quite fixed, but at least noone will see my internal organs.

After changing into his other set of black clothes, he set about packing anything he absolutely needed in an old, black gym bag. In the end, Mike chuckled when found that all he'd packed was a comb, toothbrush and the remaining twelve units of blood, wrapped in a couple towels and cold packs).

Soon however, his attention was drawn to the two very-worried Pulses downstairs. "Got to face them sometime." He thought. It took all of the pheromone-control and hypnosis he'd learned so far, but Mike managed to "convince" his parents that he was on a foreign-exchange program and then erased their memory of the conversations so that it would seem to them that he'd already been gone for some time. I hate to lie to them, and such a bad lie at that, but I need to get out of here without them putting me on milk cartons.

Shortly after saying goodbye to his pheromone-dazed parents, Mike ducked out the back door and into the woods. Moving with uncanny ease through the nighttime, he worked to put as much distance between him and home before emerging from the forest. I must stay as low-profile as possible so those suits can't track me down. Who the hell are they and what do they want?

He'd gone nearly two-hundred kilometers before he ran out of woods and had to use the highway. As Mike ran down the deserted asphalt, he wondered just how fast he was going - until he noticed that he was gaining ground on a moving truck. Fuck! The speed limit is 80, how can I be gaining? Can't let him see me, I think I'll just hitch a ride.

The sleepy trucker never noticed the pitch-black silhouette as it sprinted up behind him and leaped up onto the trailer. To ensure that he didn't slide off, Mike removed his shoes and socks (and stashing them in his duffle) and clung onto the trailer's roof. Might as well get some sleep.

Upon awakening, Mike realized that he was in town. Quickly pulling on his shoes, he looked for a clear spot to jump down. Suddenly, his senses perked up. He could smell abject terror, hear someone screaming for help. A Pulse lit afire. Shit, it's coming from... that way. Taking off like a shot, Mike propelled himself towards the commotion. Only three leaps were needed to put him on a rooftop above a teenage girl, running for her life.

Quickly scanning his surroundings, Mike discovered several "blank spots" in his senses. Vampires, three of them. Not good. Fading into the shadows and going Cold, he hopped from building to building after her, keeping his senses trained on her stalkers. They're harrying her, running her ragged before going in for the kill.

Mike waited until they had herded her into a dead-end alley. The girl was absolutely frantic, screaming and clawing at the brick wall. A few seconds later, a single figure dropped from the sky at the mouth of the alley and slowly walked towards her.

"As much as I love playing with my food dear, it's time to end this game." The vampire sneered. He must be the Alpha, the others are hanging back. Well, now or never. With a surge of his blood-fueled metabolism, Mike threw himself at the Alpha with all of his might.

A fraction of a second later, both of his taloned hands gripped the predator's face and continued his trajectory into the opposite wall. Even the toughened vampiric skull collapsed under the force, though not without leaving a significant dent in the masonry. Already on the move, Mike performed a backflip that left him in the middle of the alley, ready for the deadman's cohorts.

He didn't wait long. Two shadows stepped out from either side of the alley and approached him. These guys are better than Mark and Syn. Fan-bloody-tastic. Crouching in a defensive stance, Mike quickly reached into his mind and released his feral side - his instinct-reflexes tensed like coiled springs, waiting to be unleashed.

The approach of the vamp on the left triggered such a reflex, sending Mike at him like a bullet. Both sets of claws came down on the shadow's neck while his heels were driven hard down on it's kneecaps. In a single fluid motion, Mike pushed himself backwards, further shattering the knees and giving the leverage needed to rip out the vampire's entire throat.

Before the first target's crippled form could collapse, Mike had already landed low to the ground and drove his hand upward through the second's abdomen, straight into the ribcage. Gripping the vampire's unbeathing heart, he twisted his fist and pulled.

Whew. Now that they're down, I've gotta Thaw. Can't be wasting blood. After pushing his instincts into regression, he noticed that the blood on his hands was already turning into dust. Thinking fast, Mike searched the bodies for their wallets before they could be consumed as the corpses decomposed.

"What the..." The girl awoke, just in time to see three bodies burst into flames and a figure, dressed all in black, approach her.

"NOOO!!! Keep away!" She cringed and quickly went into hysterics. A dusty hand shot out and caught her chin and turned her to meet his eyes. Fascinated by the sparkle of his eyes and the tone of his voice, she had no choice but to comply when he told her to "calm down".

Further pressing his will on her, Mike bade her to sleep. After her body went limp and breathing slowed, a calmness finally returned to her worried Pulse.

"Better find out where you live, eh?" He asked her sleeping form as he rifled through her pockets. "Ah yes, Alice Reed, 998 Manarski Blvd. Apartment 17C."

After slinging her over his shoulder and going back to the roof to retrieve his duffle, Mike set about tracking down her apartment. Only taking a few minutes to get his bearings, he got to her place shortly. Nice of her not to lock the windows. Sliding quietly through the window, he gently deposited Alice in her bed. Might as well make myself at home, the blood's probably getting warm. Unwrapping the remaining units of blood, he deposited them in the fridge.

Sitting down against the wall, opposite Alice's bed, Mike then examined the vampires' wallets. Hmm, over five-hundred dollars! I'll bet these guys used to rob everyone they ate. Finder's keepers.

The hours slid by easily for Mike, his hunter's patience letting him sit there through most of the morning without boredom. Around noon, he became hungry and went to the fridge for a few units of blood. Alice awoke just in time to see him sink his fangs into the bag.

"You're... you're... you're one of them!" She stuttered, no longer totally horrified.

"Not quite." He responded, as calmly and flatly as possible. "While I am of the same species as them, I've significantly different eating habits." He stated and bit open the other blood unit for emphasis, and out of hunger.

"So, you're not going to kill me?"

"Nope."

"Then, why are you still here?"

"Just using your fridge before I move on. Also, I wanted to make sure there weren't more of them after you."

"Um... I... Uh... Thanks, I guess."

Mike had to chuckle. "No problem."

"So..." She looked considerably nervous.

"Don't worry, I'm leaving." Mike got to his feet and grabbed his duffle. "Just let me grab the last of my blood."

"WAIT!" She shouted, nearly falling off of the bed. "You can't go. You said there might be more."

"I wouldn't worry. If there had been more, they probably would have come after me already. You're just a meal to them, I'm poaching on their territory." Mike found it interesting just how much he understood about the workings of their minds. First hunting tactics, now this.

"Um, wait. Are you going to be in town long? You can stay here, my roommate's out of town for two weeks." She really wanted him to stay. "I REALLY don't want to be alone anymore."

Considering his options, Mike decided that laying low in town might be a good idea. By now the suits would be watching all the highways. "Sure, what the hell. I'll stick around for a few days."

"Great! I can get you a job too. Can you mix drinks?"

"No reason I can't. I'm a quick learner."

"Perfect, I'll take you to meet my boss tonight, I work at a nightclub. I guess the night shift is preferable to you isn't it." She smirked at her joke.

"Actually." Mike said, going to the window and opening it. "Sunlight's not a big deal." Rolling up his sleeve, he exposed his arm to the morning sun. "Though, I've found it's a little uncomfortable to go Cold under direct sun. My skin seems to crawl and tingle."

"Cold?"

"Vampires can look just like any other human, unless they've gone Cold. Their heart and lungs seem to shut down, their body temperature drops and they get much stronger and faster."

"Then why don't you stay Cool?"

"Cold actually, and most do. But, you also use up blood faster when you're Cold. Other vamps don't mind because they don't care where they get it."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"Well, uh, I've got to get some sleep if I'm going to get to work tonight."

"Oh, sure. I'll just go in the next room."

"Okay, goodnight... er, morning." By the time Mike got to the other room, he could already sense her Pulse calming down and slipping off to sleep. Hmm, now what? After settling down on the bed, Mike quickly slipped into a meditative trance. Although he only need an hour or so of sleep, he remained so until three in the afternoon when he heard Alice rousing from her slumber. Deciding to follow suit, Mike also got up. While she was in the shower, he spent a few minutes brushing the dust that was once vampire blood from his clothes.

"Afternoon." Mike greeted her as he walked up behind her. Alice jumped in surprise, quickly turning.

"Shit, I didn't hear you coming. For a second, I almost thought I'd dreamed last night." She quickly calmed down.

"Afraid not. Sorry, I sometimes forget how quiet I am." Mike tried to give her a calming half-grin.

"It's alright, I'll get used to it. Do you want to grab a shower before we go."

"Not really, I don't seem to accumulate sweat or body odor much." Taking a quick sniff, Mike found that he did, in fact, have virtually no scent at all.

"Well, in that case, let's go to work... Um, you're not wearing that are you?"

"What? Am I out of style." Mike asked, looking down and indicating to his black jeans, black t-shirt and black button-up shirt hanging open over his lean torso.

"I guess not. But with the pale skin and black shades, you look like some sort of a Goth."

"Maybe this is how it all get started eh?" Mike asked with a chuckle.

"Probably. Oh well. Let's go." Grabbing her jacket and a small gym bag.

"Lead the way." Following her out the door, Mike let her lock up the apartment and then lead him to a night club seven blocks down the street.

Mike could hear the music and smell the alcohol and sweat before they even left the apartment, however it was what he saw when they stepped out onto the street that truly amused him.

"The Crypt?" He chuckled.

"You can see that from here?" Alice questioned, squinting to even see the neon sign.

"Like it were across the street."

"Cool, well, yeah. I was hoping you'd think like that - a vampire working in The Crypt."

When they reached the entrance, the bouncer waved them past the long line forming outside. Alice introduced Mike to the large, bald man watching the door.

"This is Mike, he's going to be the new bartender."

"Joshua." The large man extended his hand. As they shook, Mike had to restrain himself from responding to the powerful squeeze the bouncer was giving him. He's trying to let me know he could beat me anytime, if only he knew.

They entered the dance club and headed towards the back. Mike took note of the scenery, his senses taking note of every face, every voice, every scent. Nice place, though I can't say I care for these black-lights. With a mental push, he Thawed himself as much as possible to ignore the distraction of tingling skin.

Alice lead him to an office behind the bar and introduced him to Ronald, the manager.

"Good to meet you Mike... are you old enough to BE in here, let alone work in here thought?"

Deciding it would just be simpler, Mike released a flare of pheromones and tipped his shades down. Ronald's gaze was locked onto his eyes, unable to pull away. He then spoke with all the influence he could Whisper. "Sure I am, now just give me the job."

"I... uh... um... welcome to The Crypt." Extending a hand, Ronald tried to shake clear the fog in his mind. They shook and Ronald went on to explain the particulars of the job. Afterwards, Mike was led to the bar and left to get to business.

For the next four hours, Mike was quite busy, mixing drinks and taking money. Luckily, even the most marginal use of his vampire's speed proved to give him quite the edge over the hordes of people desiring alcoholic beverages. Alice came over occasionally, dressed in the mini-skirt and "The Crypt" tee-shirt that made up her waitress uniform, to see how he was doing. By the time his break came up, he'd earned nearly one-hundred dollars in tips (with only minor manipulation of the clientele) and learned that alcohol had a far from standard effect on vampires. More like a sugar-buzz. Kind of nice, but fleeting.

For his break, Alice dragged him out onto the dance floor. A week ago, he couldn't have danced to save his life. Somehow, he found moving to the rhythm as natural as walking - though it wasn't the electronic music he danced to, but the music of the Pulses around him. As he synchronized himself with his surroundings, he found that he became more aware than ever. He could sense the flow of life throughout the entire club... and the blank spots.

At a table in the far corner of the club, sat three individuals without any presence at all. Without a thought Mike headed in their direction. The crowd seemed to flow around him, parting as the moved, then closing back as he passed. Alice didn't even notice as he left, she continued to dance as if he'd never even been there. Weird, they can't notice me like normal, but they still respond as if they could. I don't even have to erase their memories either, they just forget that I was ever here... but, first things first. This town is lousy with vampires.