Friday, January 18, 2008

Curious Guests


I’m two steps away and Ferris wonders what she did wrong. I’m at the window and my gun is out. The lock is popped and the window flies open, with my head out the window just in time to see the slip into the shadows two stories down. I don’t even think about it, the next step just seemed logical. I pull the trigger. I pull it again to make sure. I’ve killed hundreds of people as a vampire and for some reason it seemed just as easy now. I’m out the window and on the fire escape with Ferris calling out my name while I slide down the ladder. An old trick from my slurp days, one that would’ve been perfect if my legs could’ve taken the impact better. I’m on the ground rolling, my knee caps pissed at having to join my face’s banged up status. The gun stays trained on the shadows though. I can hear a foot sliding and heavy breathing, but no one ever cried out. Had I made the shot? Ferris called out my name again but I was already limping towards a parking lot, the only place they guy could’ve gone. I fire another shot. It occurs to me that my friend might be as unused to death as me and it’s confirmed when I see a car fire up across the lot. Way too far for a human to have run there. I hobble towards the exit and duck in front of a car. Just a few more bullets left…maybe I can take out his tires. Maybe even hit him. As the car gets closer I raise the gun and take aim. The adrenaline is pumping through me now. But I lower the barrel before it even becomes relevant. The car plowing through the lot is a Black Cadillac. And there is only one group of vampires that keeps their staff driving them. I should know, I used to drive one myself. The Enlightenment has been watching me.

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