2020 Royal Academy of Bards Halloween Invitational Story

 

Undead Hippie Chicks Have all the Fun

 

D. J. Belt

 

Copyright: Original story and all characters copyright D.J. Belt, 2020.

Comments: you can find me at dbelt@mindspring.com.

Misc: Since this is 2020, I thought we could all use a happy ending. (And you don’t need to wear a mask and social distance to read this story.)

Poor Halloween, the most misunderstood of holidays. Children and adults alike used to love it, but between crime, crazy people, and 2020, it’s pretty much going the way of the dodo. In fact, in my neighborhood, I haven’t gotten a trick-or-treater in five years. (My aim is just that bad. I need to go to the range and practice more often, I guess.)

Enjoy!

 

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Halloween, 2020

“Aw, crap! What a bummer! I need to upgrade my tech about fifty years.” Lilly pouted. “But then I’d have a monthly bill to pay, and I don’t need one of those.”

She tapped the face of her wristwatch. The second hand wasn’t moving. She held it to her ear. It wasn’t ticking. The mainspring had wound down. That meant that at least two days had passed.

“Nice,” Lilly said. “I wonder what time it is. In fact, I wonder what season it is. The last time this happened, I slept for two months before I woke up.” She touched the smooth wood wall paneling next to her body; it was cool, not warm. “Autumn, I guess. I hope it’s night outside.” She rose, unlatched the door, and cracked open the entrance to her refuge. It was dusk. She smiled at that, a smile which turned to a grimace when her stomach growled. “Man, I’m hungry. Got to pee, too. And a shower sounds fantastic.” She stumbled toward the bathroom. When she flicked a light switch, no lights came on. She cursed, found her lantern, and lit it. It bathed the inside of her little travel trailer with a soft yellow glow.

When she turned the knob for the shower, no water came out of the shower head. She cursed some more, then peeked through a blackout-curtained window toward the house next to her trailer. It was dark. “What the heck?” she said. “What’s up with Bubba? Did he forget to pay the utilities bill?” A sudden foreboding overtook her, and she covered her mouth with a hand. “Oh, no. Tell me it’s not true.” She pulled on some clothes, slipped her feet into clogs, grabbed her flashlight, and dropped from the trailer door. When she reached the front porch of Bubba’s house, she knew that it was true. She hadn’t considered this possibility.

The house was dark. A ‘For Sale’ sign was in the front yard, and a legal notice was affixed to the front door. She clicked her flashlight on and read the notice, then sighed. That’s why she was unable to sense his near aura: Bubba had died. His house was on the market, and the utilities company had probably turned off the water and electric. She had lost her ‘Renfield’, her protector. The kindly old bachelor had been susceptible to her ability to psychically manipulate humans. At her subconscious suggestion, he had allowed her a place to park and provided electricity and water to her little travel trailer. Without him, her existence was in jeopardy. She’d have to find a new ‘Renfield’, and quickly. Damn it, she thought.

She scanned the legal notice again. “How the hell long have I been asleep, anyway? This notice was posted on October first. The yard looks like it hasn’t been cut in a month.” She heard voices at the street and glanced in that direction. A group of children accompanied by two adult women paused at the gate of Bubba’s picket fence. One called out to Lilly.

“Are you looking for Mr. Kelly?”

“Yes,” Lilly said. “Where’s Bubba? What happened?”

The woman left the cluster of children and approached the porch. “He died about a month ago. I’m so sorry that no one told you. Are you related?”

Lilly’s heart sank. “No,” she said. “He was my friend.”

“I’m so sorry. He was a good soul.” The woman pointed at her children. “I have to go, but –”

Lilly studied the children’s costumes and bags. “I get it. Halloween, huh?”

“Yes.” The woman herded her children down the sidewalk. “Take care.”

“Good-bye,” Lilly said. “Thank you.”

Lilly watched the children depart, then sat down on the front porch and considered her situation. She needed to prowl, to feed, and to recruit another ‘Renfield’. And she’d need to find another place to live. This was a hell of a situation to wake up to, she decided, but she’d cope. She always had before. For now, though, she’d just have to make do and remember her survival skills.

In a few minutes, she had drained a bucket of water from Bubba’s water heater and bathed as best she could with it. It was cold water, but it was water. She freshened herself, brushed her teeth and her hair, donned some bell-bottomed blue jeans and a long-sleeved tee shirt with a 1968 Rolling Stones concert tour logo on it, and thrust her feet into sandals. As a last touch, she wrapped a red bandana around her head and tied it in the back, allowing her long blonde hair to spill around her shoulders. When she looked in the mirror, she smiled. Yeah, she thought. That works. Well, let’s see what I can make of tonight. She recalled that it was Halloween, of all nights, and she laughed. What irony, she decided. What karma. Somebody’s really yanking my chain. It’s the Dark Mistress of the Night, I’ll bet. That chick is a total bitch, always messing with me, but she is my spiritual sister. What did Mom used to say about family? You may not like ‘em, but you’ve got to love ‘em.

Fifteen minutes later, Lilly was seated on the edge of a fountain in the little town square, drinking water from a bottle she’d bought at the nearby corner store. She drained the bottle, then held it into the fountain behind her to refill it. She’d drunk two full bottles; this made the third one. She was dehydrated from her unusually long hibernation, but she was gradually feeling better and more awake. A nearby voice roused her from her thoughts.

“You probably shouldn’t drink that water.” A young woman wearing dark Goth clothing and make-up sat down next to her, watching her with concern.

“It’s cool,” Lilly said. “I do it all the time.” She studied the girl for a moment. “Neat costume. Totally trippin’. Or is that just you?”

The girl laughed. “Oh, right! This is so totally me. No, I’m such a goody two-shoes usually, a real dweeb. Halloween is the one time I can let my inner Goth girl out of her cage. And I like your costume, too. Hippie chick, right? And oh, my God! Is that an actual Rolling Stones concert shirt from 1968? Where did you get that?”

“I was at the concert.” Lilly took a sip from her bottle, then held it up for the girl to see. “Man, a buck and a half for a lousy bottle of water. That’s robbery.”

“It costs more elsewhere,” the girl said. “Wait a minute! You couldn’t have been at that concert. That was in 1968. We weren’t born yet.”

Lilly laughed. “How old do I look to you?”

The girl studied Lilly. “You look my age. Twenty, maybe.”

Lilly smiled at that. “I’m like, so busted,” she said. “You’re right. I’m twenty.” And I’ve been twenty for the last fifty years, she added silently. She watched the girl smile, then ventured a thought. “My name is Lilly.”

“I’m Harmony,” the girl said. “Yeah, I know. It’s such a goofy name. My mom is a freak. She should have been a hippie, but she was born too late.”

“Even peace and love gets tiresome after a while,” Lilly said. “I mean, every so often, don’t you just want to hand out a good old ass-whipping to somebody who deserves it?”

Harmony rolled her eyes. “Oh, God yes. The world is so full of jerks.”

“Well, you’re a Goth girl. Go for it. The universe gives you permission.”

“You don’t sound very hippie,” Harmony noted. “I take it you’ve lost that lovin’ feeling?”

“You’re funny,” Lilly said. “For a Goth girl, anyway.”

“And you’re a downer for a hippie chick,” Harmony observed. “We need to get you perked up.” Harmony brightened. “Hey, you got any weed? All hippie chicks have weed.”

“Nah,” Lilly said. “That stuff just makes me hungry. And horny.”

“Hungry and horny. That sounds like my adolescence.” Harmony snickered.

“Or two of the Seven Dwarves,” Lilly said.

“I guess the Sixties wasn’t all it was cracked up to be, huh?” Harmony asked. She studied Lilly for a moment, then asked, “What’s wrong?”

“Huh?” Lilly glanced at her.

“Your hand. It’s shaking. Are you okay?”

“I’m just hungry.”

“Oh.” Harmony thought about that. “Been doing drugs? Got the munchies?”

“No,” Lilly said. “I need glucose.”

“Glu --?” Harmony wrinkled her nose in thought. “Is that like a vegan thing?”

Lilly pondered the best answer to the question, then allowed herself to mentally intuit Harmony’s psyche. She liked what she found: a person unusually high in empathy, very open and accepting. She might understand. She might also be a great candidate for her next ‘Renfield’. She decided to take her into her confidence. “No,” Lilly said. “It’s a sugar found in blood.”

Harmony’s eyes widened. “Blood? Do you mean like –?” She searched for the right words, then blurted out, “Blood blood?”

“Yes.” Lilly scooted closer to Harmony and looked into her face. Their eyes locked, and they remained rooted in each other’s gaze. When Lilly intuited that Harmony could no longer look away, she probed Harmony psychically. She could feel Harmony’s empathy and her curiosity, and she felt the girl submit to her psychic probe. “I’m a vampire, Harmony. Mammalian blood is essential to my diet. I starve without it. I’ve been asleep for a month straight, and I’m hurting.”

Harmony’s voice had acquired a dreamy quality about it. “How do you get it?”

In answer, Lilly opened her mouth and lifted her upper lip. Harmony watched as two long, sharp fangs extended from her upper teeth. The fangs retracted, and Lilly closed her mouth.

“Whoa,” Harmony said dreamily. “That’s the most radical thing I’ve ever seen. You’re a freakin’ vampire! So, you guys really do exist?” At Lilly’s nod, she asked, “How much glucose stuff do you need?”

Lilly felt a tug of empathy from Harmony. This girl, Lilly thought, actually cares. That’s a rare quality anymore. “It depends,” she said, “on which animal I get it from. They have different blood glucose levels. Dogs, cats, goats, rabbits have more than cows and horses. Humans are best, but it’s dangerous.” For them and for me too, she thought.

“We’re best?” Harmony echoed.

“Yeah. Oh, yeah.” Lilly felt a rising, urgent need to feed as she felt the near beating of Harmony’s heart, heard the coursing of the girl’s blood through her vessels. She shook the urge down. Not this girl, she decided. Control yourself, Lilly.

“Does it hurt when you take their blood?” Harmony asked dreamily.

“No.”

“Do you want some of my blood?” Harmony asked, as she held forth her wrist.

“Yes. I mean no. Not you, Harmony. I’m really hungry. You’re like, what? A hundred and twenty pounds? I might feed too hard and kill you.”

“But you’re hurting, and humans are best. You said so.”

“Not from you. The truth is I – I like you.”

“Wow. You like me? I felt us connect. Like we’re connected now.”

We are connected, Lilly thought. She slowly backed out of the psychic connection, out of Harmony’s mind, and watched her eyes blink and her gaze fall. “Yeah,” Lilly said. “I do like you.”

“I like you, too,” Harmony said. “You’re neat. I get some good vibes from you.” She studied Lilly intently, then said, “You’re really a vampire?”

“Yeah.”

“Are there lots of you guys around?”

“Not a lot,” Lilly said. “We keep a low profile. Live off the grid.”

“Unless you need to get glucose,” Harmony noted. “We need to get you fed.”

“I’ll catch a couple of stray dogs or something,” Lilly said.

“Walk with me to my neighborhood,” Harmony offered. “There’s always strays running around. I live five minutes that way.” She stood and waved a hand at Lilly. “Come on.”

Lilly stood. As she did, she staggered a little. Harmony grasped her arm. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah. I just got a little light-headed. I’m good. Lead the way.”

As they walked, Harmony held on to Lilly’s arm. Sure enough, in a few minutes, they were in a neighborhood of older houses, tree-lined streets, and white picket fences. It reminded Lilly of a Jimmy Stewart movie, a little slice of timeless Americana. “I live over there,” Harmony said, “with my mom.”

As they approached the house, the front screen door opened. A man emerged, and Harmony pulled on Lilly’s arm. “Oh, damn. It’s my mom’s boyfriend,” she said. “I don’t like that guy. Let’s hide behind this tree until he’s gone.”

They stepped behind the trunk of a thick oak. “Handsome dude,” Lilly said, “but I see a bad aura around him.”

“Yeah. He yells at me and mom a lot. Real controlling type.” Harmony squeezed Lilly’s arm. “Hey,” she said. “How do you choose the people you take blood from?”

“Gut instinct, I guess. I don’t know them. I don’t like them. They’re jerks. Like I said, it can be dangerous.”

Harmony pointed at the man, now walking through the gate of the white picket fence at her house. “Feed on him.”

Lilly blinked in surprise as she stared at Harmony. She could feel the earnest nature of the plea. It was real. “Feed on jerks, huh?”

“Yeah.”

“What the hell. I’m so hungry I could eat a Raggedy-Ann doll.” Lilly’s expression turned intensely serious. “You stay here, right? Don’t get in the way. This could get messy.”

Harmony gulped, but she nodded her agreement. With that assurance, Lilly left the tree and approached the man Harmony had pointed out. “Hey, bud,” she called out. “Have you got a minute?”

He paused and looked at her, and he smiled. “Yeah. Sure. What’s up, doll?”

“You look like a guy who knows cars. Mine won’t start. Got a minute to take a look?”

He looked her up and down, then nodded. “Sure. Take me there.”

“It’s this way.” Lilly pointed down the street, and the man walked with her.

“You got a name, honey?” he asked.

Lilly laughed. “I’m Janis,” she said, as they passed by the tree.

“Well, Janis, I’m Jimmy.” They paused near a streetlight, and Lilly faced him. Their gazes met, and for a long moment, they stood motionless. Harmony watched in fascination and horror, not knowing quite what to expect. Finally, Jimmy mumbled, “Car?”

“Yeah,” Lilly said. “Right over here.” In an instant, more quickly than Harmony’s eyes could follow, she grasped Jimmy by the front of his shirt and yanked him behind a hedge, into the pitch-black shadows of the bushes. The hedge rustled for a few seconds, then quieted. She stood in silence, watching and waiting for whatever scene was playing out to finish. As she squinted into the darkness of the yard, a hand touched her shoulder. She screamed and jumped, then gasped in relief. Lilly was standing behind her.

“Oh, my God! You scared the hell out of me. How did you get --?” She pointed at the bushes, then at the spot where Lilly was standing.

“We’re fast,” she said. “Almost faster than your eye can follow.”

Harmony caught her breath. “You got that right.” She considered Lilly with concern. “So, did you … get your glucose?”

“Yeah. I had to use the outside faucet on that house to clean up. I had a lot of blood on my face. Was he hypertensive?”

“Ew! I don’t know. Probably. He was always blowing his stack about something.”

Lilly leaned against the tree. “I have to rest for a minute after eating.”

“Well, come on. Let’s sit on my front porch.” She grasped Lilly’s hand and pulled her toward her mother’s house. In a minute, they had relaxed on the porch swing. In the yellow glow of the front porch light, Harmony took the opportunity to study her new friend in greater detail. Her clothing, her style, was totally hippie chick. Harmony was fascinated by her. “You don’t have any tattoos,” she observed.

“No. They weren’t popular on girls when I was a teen.”

“When you were –?” Harmony thought about that. “When was that?”

“Nineteen Sixties.”

Harmony blinked in surprise. “So how old are you, really?”

Lilly sniffed as she thought about it. “Well,” she said, “I’ve been twenty for the last fifty-one years now.”

“No way,” Harmony said. “That means you’re my grandma’s age.”

“Ask her about the Sixties sometime.”

“I did. She had stories.”

“I’ll bet.” Lilly looked down. “Oh, damn. I’m bleeding.”

Harmony grabbed Lilly’s hand and examined the laceration near the base of her thumb. “Oh, golly. It looks bad. I’ll get our first aid kit.” She jumped up and hurried into the house, calling out, “Mom?” In a minute, she returned with her mother and a big plastic box. As they tended Lilly’s injury, Lilly took the opportunity to get an impression of Harmony’s mother. She seemed careworn in that way that middle-aged women get, radiating a perpetually weary but kindly manner about her. Lilly also guessed that she was the one from whom Harmony had inherited her deep empathy. Two really decent people. Perhaps two ‘Renfields’? What luck.

“Well,” Harmony’s mother said. “That should hold you. You should get that seen to, though. You were bleeding quite freely.”

Lilly smiled her thanks. “I heal quickly,” she said. “Thank you for the help.”

Harmony interrupted. “Mom, this is Lilly. I met her tonight at the town square.”

“Hello, Lilly,” she said.

“Hi, Harmony’s Mom,” Lilly joked.

“Call me Janet, please.” She pointed at a nearby bowl. “Would you like some Halloween candy?”

“Thanks, but I just ate.”

Harmony interrupted the pleasantries with an “Oh, oh. This ain’t good.”

Janet and Lilly looked up. In the front yard, coming into the circle of the front porch light, a very disheveled Jimmy staggered toward them. He was walking stiffly, and his eyes were wide and unblinking. One side of his neck and side of his shirt was covered in something dark, and he made an ungodly croaking noise as he raised a hand and pointed at Lilly. Harmony said, “What’s wrong with him, Mom?”

“Jimmy?” Janet stood at the top of the porch stairs. “What’s the matter with you? Are you sick or something?”

Lilly knew instantly what ailed Jimmy. She’d seen it before. Instinctively, she covered her injured hand with her uninjured one. She must have lacerated herself when she fed upon him in the bushes, and some of her blood got onto his face and into his mouth. It didn’t take much to transmit the virus for vampirism. A few drops of her blood would do it. Damn it, she thought. He’s turning from human to vampire, and he’s dangerous because he doesn’t know what’s happening to him. He’s all instinct right now, and judging from his personality, it’s bad instinct. She could handle him, but the two women with her were in mortal danger. She’d have to do something and do it quickly.

Lilly stood up. “Go inside, you two, and lock the door.”

Janet said, “But if he’s hurt, we have to help him.”

“You can’t,” Lilly said. “Harmony, take your mom inside.”

“Come on, Mom,” Harmony said, as she tugged on Janet’s sleeve. Janet pulled away and met Jimmy at the porch steps.

“Jimmy?” she asked. “Oh, my God! Is that blood? What happened to you?”

Jimmy grabbed Janet by the throat. She attempted to scream, but she could only utter a hoarse croak. He drew her toward him and opened his mouth as if to bite her, but he was met with Lilly’s fist to his face. The punch was powerful; it echoed across the front yard. He released Janet and staggered backward. Lilly herded Janet and Harmony toward the door. “Inside!” she ordered. “And lock it.” Harmony yanked her mother inside, and Lilly heard the door lock click. “Okay, Jimmy,” she said. “It’s you and me now.” Her eyes trailed across the front porch, and she saw some gardening tools leaned against the outside of the house. She snatched them up, then sought out Jimmy.

There was a momentary blur of activity in the front yard, a blur which Harmony and Janice could not decipher as they watched through the curtains. Then, in the blink of an eye, it was done. Harmony felt, rather than saw, that the danger was over, and she relaxed. “It’s okay now, Mom,” she said. “We can go outside.” She unlocked the door, and arm in arm, Harmony and Janet descended the front porch steps and walked into the yard. All was quiet. They could detect no sign of either Jimmy or Lilly. As they approached the front yard picket fence, Janet called out Jimmy’s name. There was no answer.

There was, though, a reaction from Harmony. She stifled a shriek and grasped her mom’s arm with a death grip. “Oh! Look!” was all she could say. When Janet followed Harmony’s pointing finger, she almost got physically sick.

***

Half an hour later, their front yard was bathed in the headlights of two police cars. Blue lights flickered, and neighbors gathered at some distance to peer at the scene. An officer was studying Jimmy’s body, staked to a thick tree at the edge of the yard with what appeared to be the broken-off wooden handle of a garden rake. A square-bladed spade was jammed into the tree above that, between Jimmy’s shoulders and his head. A police sergeant and a detective studied the scene in silence for a moment. Finally, the sergeant spoke.

“Jesus,” he said. “Who’s got the strength to do that?”

“Look at the shovel,” the detective said. “It must be stuck into the wood at least an inch deep.” He wiggled the shovel’s handle. Jimmy’s head rolled off his shoulders and impacted the ground with a sick thump. The two cops looked at each other, then looked down at the head, grinning up at them from the grass. “Nice,” one of them said. He glanced at the porch where Harmony and Janet sat with a policeman. “It’s time to talk to the ladies,” he said with resignation.

An hour later, Harmony sat by herself in an interrogation room at the police station. She looked up when her father, a police captain, walked into the room. His expression was aghast. “What the hell happened, Harmony?” he said. “Never mind; I just spoke with your mom. Who killed that guy by your front yard?”

“I don’t know, Dad.”

“Your mom said there was some girl there named Lilly. What happened to her?” At Harmony’s shrug, he said, “She’s a material witness. We need to find her.”

Harmony looked up. “Dad? Did she do this? Lilly?”

“Describe her.”

“My size, my age. A hundred and twenty-five pounds, maybe. White. Blonde hair. Kind of hippie looking. I liked her. She seemed pretty neat.”

“Hm. I doubt she’d have the strength to jam that pole through a man’s chest. Who was that guy, anyway? Did you know him?”

Harmony hesitated to reply. At her father’s stern glance, she relented. “A guy Mom was seeing.”

“I didn’t know she was dating. How long has that been going on?”

“A couple of months. You guys’ divorce was almost a year ago, after all.”

“Tell me about this guy.”

“A controlling jerk,” Harmony said. “I didn’t like him.”

Her father forced a tight smile. “That’s your mom, though, always bringing home stray dogs.”

“Don’t blame her. This wasn’t Mom’s fault,” Harmony objected.

Her father’s manner softened. “I know, honey. I’m just saying that your mother always sees the best in everyone, even when it’s not there. He never hurt either one of you, did he?”

“No. He was never physical. Except tonight when he grabbed Mom by the throat. But Lilly got him off of her.”

“Well, thank God you’re both all right.” He huffed, then said, “Look, if you see this Lilly again, I want you to give me a call, right? In the meantime, I’ll drive you home. It’s getting late.”

“What about Mom?”

“The detectives are still talking with her.”

“She’s not in trouble, is she, Dad?”

“I wouldn’t think so,” her father said. “She couldn’t kill anyone in that savage a manner.”

Harmony rose and walked out of the room with her father. Halfway down the hall, she looked up at him and managed a smile. “Well, it is Halloween,” she said. “Maybe a vampire did it.”

Her father snickered at that. “Wherever did you get that dark streak from?” he teased.

“You,” Harmony said. “And I kind of like my dark streak.”

“Me, too. You make a lovely Goth girl.” He held the door open for her. “Are you hungry? Do you need to eat before you go home?”

“I’m not very hungry, Dad.” She stopped and smiled at him. “Thanks for the offer, though. Tell Mom that I’ll come pick her up when she gets let loose.”

“I’ll wait on her and bring her home to you when she’s done. How’s that?”

They walked outside, and Harmony stopped again. She smiled up at her father. “I’m glad to know that you still care about Mom.”

“I always will, honey.”

***

Harmony sipped hot cocoa as she sat in the dim light of the living room. The laptop computer screen provided most of the light, and her attention was fixed on the screen as she pulled off her boots and dropped them on the floor beside the sofa. A gentle tap on the front door glass startled her, but she calmed when she intuited, rather than saw, who it was. She peered through the window, then opened the door. “Lilly!” she said. “Come on in. Where did you disappear to?”

“I hate explaining things to the police,” she said as she stepped inside. “I take it they’re through grilling you?”

“Yeah. Mom’s still down there, though. I’m really worried.”

“What do you mean?”

“I think that they think that she murdered Jimmy.”

“There’s no proof that she did anything.” Lilly slipped off her sandals and sat down in a cross-legged position on the couch next to Harmony. “What are you researching?”

“Vampires.”

“I’ll save you time. Google ‘scientific evidence of vampirism’, and you’ll get some studies.”

Harmony thought about that, then began typing. “A seventy-year-old hippie chick who knows how to surf the internet?”

“There’s stranger things,” Lilly countered.

“Yeah. Like vampires. Here it is.” She read for a moment, then said, “Wow. So there’s clinical evidence of a vampirism virus?”

“It’s hush-hush,” Lilly said. “For obvious reasons.”

“But it’s right here, on the internet.” Harmony pointed to the screen.

“So is JFK’s real killer’s name and evidence of Area 51 aliens. Nobody believes it, though.”

“You’re just pulling my leg now,” Harmony said. She shot a remonstrative glance at Lilly, who raised an eyebrow in reply. “Okay, so maybe you’re not. Hang on. My phone’s ringing.” She picked up her phone, held it to her ear, and spoke. After a minute, she sighed, said ‘Okay, bye. Thanks for telling me,’ and placed the phone down. For a moment, she said nothing, she did nothing. Then, she began softly crying. Lilly scooted close to her and placed an arm across her shoulders.

“What is it, Harmony?”

“That was my Dad. Mom’s going to be arrested for Jimmy’s death.”

“What? That’s crazy. Could he be wrong?”

“He should know. He’s a police captain. He’s down at the station with her right now.” Harmony dabbed her eyes with her sleeve. “What can we do?” she asked. “I feel so damned helpless.”

Lilly frowned. “I’m not helpless,” she said. “Do you have a car?”

“Yeah. We have one.”

“Drive me down there.”

After a pregnant pause, Harmony asked, “What are you going to do?”

“Confess to a crime,” she said.

“But they’ll lock you up,” Harmony protested. “How will you survive? No one will believe you’re a vampire. You’ll starve without your glucose stuff.”

Lilly smiled. “I’ll tell them I eat kosher. Now come on. Time’s a-wastin’.”

“You would do this for my mother?”

“Get your car keys, Harmony,” Lilly urged.

“Yeah. Right. Car keys. Shoes. Purse.”

“Goth girls carry purses?”

“We have to have a place to put all our angst,” she joked. She slipped on her boots, picked up her purse and car keys, and looked around. Lilly was gone, and the door was ajar. She stepped out onto the porch, and saw Lilly waiting by the car. When she unlocked the car door, Lilly spoke.

“What took you so long?”

“I’m a human.”

“So you believe in vampires now?”

Harmony rolled her eyes as she pointed to the passenger side door. “After tonight, how could I not? Get in.”

Lilly sat in the car. “Good point,” she agreed.

Harmony backed the car out of the driveway and clunked the shifter into ‘drive’. As they drove down the street, she said, “You’re very brave, you know.”

Lilly looked over at her. “Oh? How’s that?”

“You’re going to jail. That’s for sure.”

“It won’t be for long,” Lilly said. “Trust me on that.”

“You’re not going to kill anybody else, are you?”

Lilly sighed. “I hope not,” she said. “Disposing of bodies has become so very tiresome.”

Harmony shot a glance at Lilly. “I’m not sure whether you’re joking or not.”

“That’s what makes me fascinating, right?” Lilly said.

“It makes you unpredictable, that’s for sure.” Harmony managed a grin. “Never a dull moment with you.”

“Sorry,” Lilly said.

“Don’t apologize. I like it.” Harmony laughed. “Hippie chicks have all the fun, don’t they?”

“Damn straight. So tell me the truth,” she said. “You’re not really all that sorry that Jimmy is dead, are you?”

Harmony drove for a while without answering. When she finally spoke, she said, “Strangely, no. Does that make me an evil person?”

“Nope,” Lilly said. “That makes you human. Look, I had to kill Jimmy. He was showing symptoms of having been infected with the vampirism virus, probably from this cut on my hand. A drop or two of my blood must have gotten into his mouth. If I hadn’t killed him, he’d be out of control right now, a danger to everyone. It takes time for the infection to mature and the new vampire to learn to live with it. He didn’t have that time.”

“Is that what happened to you?”

“Yeah. I got infected by a lover. She turned me on purpose, I think. I was backpacking through Europe. Stayed at a hostel in a castle. It happened there. She must have turned quite a few people because they knew what they were doing. They kept me in a locked room for maybe a month or so until she taught me to control it and live with it.” She sighed. “That was fifty years ago. Hey, time flies when you’re having a blast.”

Harmony stopped the car. “We’re here. Are you sure --?”

“Yes. Your mom’s in trouble because of me. I need to make it right.”

“Okay. Let’s go look for my father.”

***

“Where did you find this chick, Harmony? She’s as nutty as squirrel poop.”

“Dad, she’s telling the truth. I know it’s hard to believe, but –”

“Hard? It’s insane. A vampire?”

“You saw the fangs. She showed you how fast she is. And that cut on her hand is almost healed. It’s just a few hours old. Mom and I treated it earlier this evening. Dad, that’s not natural.” Harmony looked hard at her father. “And you saw how strong she is. She broke those handcuffs. When has that ever happened before?”

“Never.”

“That’s my point. She’s the real deal, Dad. There’s research out there on vampire virus. I’ve seen some of it.”

“You two seem to be quite friendly,” her father said.

“She’s as sweet as pie to me and Mom. She’s not an evil person, Dad.”

“Hm. We’ll see.” He rose from his desk. “I’m going to have a little chat with her alone.” He walked out of the room. At the end of a line of holding cells, he stopped and watched Lilly through the bars. She was sitting alone in her cell in a yoga position, eyes closed and motionless. He couldn’t even see her breathe. He spoke her name to announce himself, and her eyes flashed open. They were intense, the irises almost a violet color. He didn’t remember them being so half an hour ago. “We need to have an honest conversation,” he said. “Just you and me. Off the record.”

“Okay.” She unfolded her legs, rose, and met him at the bars. “What’s on your mind, Captain?”

“Did you kill that man?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“I told you. He was a danger to your wife and daughter.”

“Ex-wife.”

That caused Lilly to smile. “You still care.”

That gave him pause. He considered that for a moment, then said, “You can read people pretty well, can’t you? Is that a vampire thing?”

“Yes,” she said. “We can intuit emotion and thought. It’s a survival skill developed over the eons.” It was her turn to study him. She ventured a thought. “Right now, I’m sensing that you want my help, but you’re unsure of me. Maybe we can benefit each other.”

“Maybe we can.” He unlocked the holding cell. “Come with me.” She followed him down the hall and into a small room. He gestured through a window. “Can you intuit anything about the person in that room?”

Lilly glanced through the glass. In the room, a young woman sat at a table, fidgeting in boredom. “I see a very dark aura. A broken person. She’s not at all well. I’ll need to get closer to tell you more. Maybe six to ten feet away. Distance matters.”

He motioned for her to follow, and he entered the room. He sat at the table, and Lilly stood about six feet from the young woman. Harmony’s father asked her a few questions about the evening’s events, then looked at Lilly, who nodded. He rose, and they walked out of the room. Outside, he turned to her. “Did you get anything?”

“The guy she shot tonight was her pimp. Evil dude. It was survival for her.”

“We need the murder weapon to close the case. We can’t find it.”

“She ditched it in the toilet tank of the motel room they were in.”

He stared at her for a moment, then pulled out his cell phone and made a call. When he hung up, he said, “Now, you go back to the cell and we wait.”

Lilly smiled. She understood. She had just been auditioned for a role. She returned to the cell without complaint, entered, and resumed her meditation position. About fifteen minutes later, she opened her eyes as Harmony’s father approached. “Well?” she asked.

“The gun was just where you said it was. How did you do that?”

“I probed her mind.”

He opened the cell, entered, and clicked the door shut. He sat down on the bench near her. For a minute, they quietly considered one another. Finally, he broke the silence and asked, “You’re a predator, aren’t you?”

“Aren’t you?” Lilly replied. “It’s the way of nature. Humans eat meat. I exist off blood glucose. Oh, the blood has some other nutrients as well, but it’s mostly the glucose.”

“Then why the need for all the psychic mumbo-jumbo? What do you care what people think?”

“Vampires are forced to live in a human world. We need a human connection. We can’t live normal lives, as we’re allergic to sunlight in any great quantity. We don’t age, as we have tremendous regenerative power. Living a ‘normal’ life, people would notice such things in us. We must live off the grid. For that, we need a sympathetic human, one with high innate empathy, to care for us. We intuit them through our psychic ability, then maintain a contact with them that way.” She closed her eyes and rested her head against the wall. “It’s survival.”

“Is that your intention with my daughter and wife?”

Lilly smiled. “Do you realize that you just said ‘wife’, and not ‘ex-wife’?”

“Don’t deflect. Answer the question.”

Lilly looked at him. The irises of her eyes were intense, now a violet-yellow. He’d never seen eyes like that before; they fascinated him, and he found that he could no longer look away from her. “My human connection,” she said, “my ‘Renfield’, has died of old age. I need a new caretaker. Harmony and Janet are extremely high in empathy, in kindness. They are good souls. I am hoping that they will take me in.”

“You want to use them,” he accused.

“No. Never. I want to bond with them,” she said. “I need them. But they can use me, as well.”

“How?”

“You’ve seen tonight what I can do. I am extremely fast and strong. My senses are better than human. My ability to intuit human thought and emotion is very good. I can protect them. It’s an ugly world out there.” She paused. “I know you worry about them.”

“Tell me about it.”

“But there’s one more thing,” Lilly said. “I crave a human connection. I’m very alone in the world.”

“And you chose them for this ‘connection’?”

“They’re truly decent humans. I adore that. It’s a rare quality these days.” Her irises seemed to glow as she added, “I am growing to love Harmony and Janet. And we vampires, like you humans, protect with our lives that which we love.”

“You would die for them?” he asked.

“Yes,” she said. “As would you.”

He studied her through narrowed eyes, then leaned forward. “Let’s make a deal, Lilly.”

Lilly smiled broadly. “I think I’m way ahead of you.”

They shook hands in a solemn gesture of agreement and oath. Then, he stood. “I’ll drive you home.”

“I’m not under arrest? I confessed to a murder.”

“Nope. The case is open. Janet has an alibi; you didn’t formally confess.” He shrugged. “We don’t know who killed that guy.” He smiled. “And frankly, after hearing about the way he treated Janet and Harmony, I don’t much care who killed him. But the pimp getting shot, that case we have solved. We even recovered the murder weapon, by some miracle of modern police work.” He looked at her. “I’d love a few more of those miracles.”

“I am at your disposal,” Lilly said. “Between dusk and dawn on any day.”

“Let’s go get Janice,” he said.

They emerged from the holding cells, and Harmony brightened as she saw her mother and Lilly with her father. Then, she assumed a puzzled look when her father said, “Harmony, it’s late. Why don’t you take your mother home? Oh, and drop Lilly off at her place, will you? They’re both done here.”

“Huh?” Harmony said. “But – I thought –”

“Let’s go, Harmony,” Janet said, as she tugged Harmony up from her chair. “Now.”

“Yeah. Right, Mom. Sure. Let’s go.” Harmony was halfway down the hall toward the front door when she stopped and looked back. “Are you two coming?”

***

A few evenings later, Lilly stirred in bed. She peeked through a blackout curtain, and she saw dusk settling over her world. That made her smile, but not as much as the little tune her new cell phone played. She tapped the screen and said, “Hello?”

“Hey, sleepyhead. Wake up and start your day. Coffee’s on.”

It was Harmony’s voice. “Yeah,” Lilly said. “Give me a couple of minutes.” She hung up, rose, and clicked the light switch. A soft overhead light lit up her little travel trailer. When she emerged from the toilet, she turned the tap and splashed her face with water. She gargled some mouthwash as she brushed her hair, pulled on some sweatpants and a tee-shirt, and found her slippers. A second later, she was tapping at Janet’s and Harmony’s back door. They let her in, and Janet thrust a mug of coffee into her hands.

“How did you sleep?” Janet asked.

“Like the undead?” Harmony suggested.

Lilly snickered at that. “Good one.” After a sip of coffee, she said, “Thanks again for taking me in.”

“Not a problem,” Janet said. “The back yard is huge. There’s plenty of room for your little trailer. And it’s so cute inside,” she added. “Shag carpet, big cushions, candles, a breaded curtain, posters; it looks like something right out of a teen’s room fifty years ago.”

“I guess it is, in a way.” Lilly studied Janet with curiosity. “You look lovely, Janet. Going out?”

In reply, Janet merely smiled mysteriously. Harmony said, “Mom’s got a date tonight.”

Lilly raised an eyebrow. “Another bad boy?”

“Maybe,” Harmony said. “She’s got a date with Dad.”

Lilly nodded. “Good choice, Janet.”

“So, don’t worry, Lilly,” Harmony said. “You won’t have to kill this one.”

“Darn,” Lilly said. “I was getting hungry.”

“Oh!” Janet said. “Speaking of which, your glucose drinks arrived today. Two cases of them.”

“And your vitamin supplements came, too,” Harmony added.

“Well,” Lilly said. “I guess I’m being dragged into the Twenty-first Century.” She held up her cell phone. “I’ve even got one of these. Far out, huh?” She opened a case of glucose drinks, pulled a bottle out, and unscrewed the top. After a long drink, she paused and considered it. “Not bad. I can feel the nutrition in it. This might be just the ticket.” She looked at Harmony. “Did you eat yet?”

Harmony shook her head. “Do you eat food? I mean, besides…”

“Yeah. I can. I do enjoy it sometimes.”

“I thought vampires couldn’t eat regular stuff.”

“That’s Hollywood. I love mac and cheese. And anything with bacon.”

“You rock! I knew that we were spiritual sisters.” She looked up. “Someone’s at the door.” Harmony trotted to the front door, opened it, and waved her father inside. “Mom, your boyfriend’s here,” she called out.

“Oh, quit,” Janet said. She smiled at the joke, though.

“Do I need to give you ‘the talk’ before your date, young lady?” Lilly asked.

“I’ll come home a virgin, I promise,” Janet said. She grabbed her purse, met her date in the living room, and left the house with a parting warning about ‘not misbehaving, children’.

“Yes, Mom,” Harmony and Lilly answered in unison. When the door closed, a silence descended over the house. Harmony and Lilly considered each other for a moment. Then, Lilly spoke.

“I may remember how to make something for dinner, if you remind me how to use this microwave thingy.”

“I’ve got better than that,” Harmony said. “But I’m broke. You got any money?”

“Yeah. Sure. What’s better than a microwave, though?”

“Delivery.”

“What in the hell is that?” Lilly asked.

Harmony picked up her phone. “I’ll show you. Give me fifteen minutes, and you’ll be swimming in mac and cheese. And how about a bacon cheeseburger? How do you want it cooked?”

Lilly laughed. “What else? Rare.”

“You’ll have to take it medium well.” Harmony tapped at her phone for a while, then said, “Okay. I’ve got it covered.”

“Dessert?”

“Yeah. Brownies.”

“Liquor?”

“What? No. They don’t deliver that.” Harmony laughed as she placed the food order on her phone. “Okay. It’s going to be about thirty bucks with the tip.”

“Thirty bucks for dinner? Bummer. How about if I just eat the delivery person instead?” Lilly asked.

“Lilly! Behave.”

“Just kidding, just kidding. Jeez. I’ll get some money.” Lilly slipped out the back door and returned in a minute. On the counter, she placed thirty dollars and an almost-full bottle of rum.

“Oh, yeah,” Harmony said. “Dinner, too much rum, and an old movie on TV. We are going to be so fat, happy, and drunk when Mom and Dad come home.” She looked up from her phone. “It felt good to say that just now.”

“About being fat, happy, and --?”

“No. About Mom and Dad.” Her expression turned earnest. “Lilly, will they --?”

“I can’t tell the future, Harmony. But I can read people. Yeah, I think so.” Lilly finished her glucose drink, then belched. “This stuff’s working. I feel good.”

“Terrific on both counts! So, what’s your favorite movie? We’ll watch it tonight.”

“Guess.”

“Oh, I got this. Horror, right? Full of screams and blood and gore?”

“Nope.”

“What, then?”

“Romeo and Juliet. I cry every time I see it.”

Harmony giggled. “You, a hopeless romantic? That makes no damn sense. Oh, hey. Somebody’s at the door. It’s probably our delivery dude.”

“I got this,” Lilly said, as she lifted the thirty dollars from the counter.

“Lilly?” Harmony said.

Lilly stopped, a hand on the door, and looked at her. “Huh?”

“Please don’t eat him. Just pay him.”

Lilly raised an eyebrow. “Aw, come on. Just a little bite?”

“No!” Harmony tapped her cell phone screen as Lilly paid for the food. When she set the bag on the counter, Harmony glanced up. “You didn’t eat him, did you?”

“Nope.”

“Does that mean that we’re having a positive influence on you?” Harmony teased.

“Nah. It was purely practical.”

Harmony wrinkled her nose in question. “What do you mean?”

“This food smells a lot better than he did.”

Harmony rolled her eyes as she dug into the food bag. “This living with a vampire thing is going to take some getting used to.”

Lilly laughed. “If you think that’s hard, try living with humans. After fifty years, I think I’m finally getting the hang of it.”

“I’m glad you’re getting the hang of living with humans,” Harmony said, “because I don’t think I ever will.”

 

The End.

-djb, October 2020

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