Chapter 17: A Solo Expedition

  Early evening was an odd time if I was awake early enough to watch the bullet holes fully mend themselves. A time where the nature of my embrace was visible to the world. I was a walking corpse riddled with ancient holes hidden by my curse. While the sun still clung to the edge of the world and Mother Moon wished to be seen by all, everyone could see what I truly was.

  Dead.

  But when you're a vampire that is considered par for the course. As the fledglings say. I pulled my leather riding jacket on after making sure all of the holes were mended and then turned the television off. The marathon had started over to show vampires what they missed in the day regarding The Tortuga Chronicles. I had somewhere to be, places to visit, hunger that needed slaking, and a fledgling to find.

  The exact details of my embrace were quite a bit fuzzy to me. All I remember was being on the cusp of death as Isabella made the decision. I don't recall if we were at her estate, onboard our ship, or somewhere else. The only thing that stuck in my mind was the Last Sunset, a beautiful display of reds and oranges burning the sky black like a volcanic eruption.

  Now normally, I am a late rising vampire by the standards of other vampires. Thirty minutes, perhaps an hour or two depending on how much my body had to heal from the night before. My sire was awake as soon as the sun began creeping below the horizon, so for me to be awake when the sun was still partially up was unusual. Even more so when Caleb found me at midnight and I had just barely awakened!

  I pulled my phone out and saw Lyra and Caleb had sent me messages. Lyra’s was a fairly simple: Good evening. I have managed to survive another night. Have you?

  Yes, I replied and told her that I would meet her at a place of her choosing. She didn't respond right away, so I checked Caleb’s and Dinner’s. Dinner was asking me if I needed a ride while Caleb… well.

  His message was fairly colorful and full of insults.

  Followed by another: Sorry. That was my girlfriend. She finally saw the truck. Are you sure you can afford a new one? This one cost me 110k and took three months to get delivered. And 15,000 I spent on the lift kit, wheels and tires.

  I frowned at his messages and sent one of my own: 125,000 gold or credits?

  I didn't expect a message back anytime soon, so I put the phone in my jacket pocket and checked to make sure my revolver was still on the bed. It got a look over for ammo and holstered. Adjusting my jacket around the large pistol, I sat down on the unkempt bed and focused on the System Interface like everyone told me how to do.

  Dinner got a chuckle the last time I tried to bring it up and said I looked like I was straining to relieve myself. A menu appeared in front of me, though I suspect it was more in my mind than actually there, as only I could see what I saw. Just as Caleb saw what he saw regarding his bonds.

  Slowly, I reached for the interface and touched it. It was intangible to other people yet it responded to my inputs as I flicked through the menus, looking for the class selection. A large list of them appeared once again, so I had it sorted by rarity. The list was, of course, in ascending order where it listed the most basic of classes right at the top.

  The class was down near the bottom of the list and able to be clicked on. The text was blue, too, indicating that it was a rare class. My fingers hovered over the name right as Amelia’s words floated through my thoughts, ‘Please don't be hasty, my love. We need to fix the house before you go galavanting again.’

  I also remembered Dinner mentioning something about how the Salvage Pilot class wasn't even offered to most people, because it required a gene. Whatever the devil a gene was. I simply wanted to check and see if I even had the option of taking the class. If it came with the clone, because living past my second death would be a boon I could never repay.

  Even more of a boon if it led to me having more than one clone. Dinner explained on the drive to the hotel how clones were exact bodily copies of a person with their consciousness transplanted over upon death. I failed to ask the half-elf just how that worked with vampires. It was best to not let my intentions be made clear just yet, because I still needed to know more information. Information, which was now at my fingertips if Dinner, Caleb, and Lyra were to be believed.

  Slowly, I brought the phone up to my eye level. Caleb mentioned in the past how it looked ‘funny’ to him, but again, it looked fine to me. Even turning it around to have the cameras face me made it look just how it was when my sire gave it to me. It was an odd device that everyone carried in one form or another. Mine was in a dark purple protective casing that also had black rubber to shield it from impacts. I glanced between the television and the cell phone for a moment.

  The others had used it to show me far off places that would take months to reach under normal circumstances. And yet, we were capable of communicating no matter where we were or what time of day it was. I could send a virtual message to anyone I knew and wait for them to contact me.

  I remembered how the others showed me to search for things and brought up a search engine. As I focused on moving blood to my fingers and typed in the words Vampire clones, a notification appeared to tell me my cell phone’s power level was at only twenty percent.

  It asked about setting the device in low power mode which would restrict functions. With a heavy, mortal-like sigh, I hung my head and waited. The message never went away, so I hit the button to set it in low power mode. After that, I searched for the nearest place to buy a power cable, because that's what the others said I needed. A power cable and wall wart.

  Caleb thought it queer that my sire gave me a phone without a power cable, but I also had no place to charge it at my house. She may have expected me to use Caleb’s charging cable when we were going places. I just didn't think of it, because I was told the phone could run for up to two weeks without charging!

  I got up from the bed and walked toward the door with one thing on my mind that I never thought about before; I need to charge my cell phone.

  *** ***

  Without anyone to drive me places, and no scooter I was forced to walk once more. And walk I did, because turning into a cloud of shadows and flying was taxing. I wanted to see the city from the ground rather than fly over it.

  I left the vampire themed hotel with its cathedral-like styling looking like it was built from an old Catholic Church, and made my way down the wide three lane road toward the nearest cluster of stores. It was a long and arduous walk, considering we were somewhere between San Jose and Encinar.

  Cars slowly rolled by in both directions and followed the traffic signals. A few people were still out and walking, and none were the wiser to the pale old woman stalking through the small crowd.

  I believe Dinner called the place Ami or Hayward. I wasn't sure, as they seemed to use the names interchangeably. However, what I did know was that it was smaller than Encinar and considered more or less the outskirts of Encinar. Down the hill, I saw nothing but lights twinkling in the distance, looking like a sea of stars while Encinar's tall buildings loomed over everything. They looked close enough I could walk there within the night.

  Perhaps I would. I didn't feel like bothering anyone and Caleb hadn't responded to my messages. Dinner, however, did send me another message that was simply: o/

  Walking was all I could do as I stared in confusion at the message. I shook my head, putting the phone back in my pocket as I approached a brightly lit fuel station in neon green, white, and red coloring. For all the walking I did over the past hour, the rubber soled boots made barely any sound. It was an unusual thing to not hear the familiar clack of leather soles against the ground.

  Mortals talked to each other while they made their way past me, and other mortals laughed as I walked by. I don't know what they were talking about, since I wasn't paying attention to them and they weren't looking at me.

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  I did see a vampire with fangs out and a can of blood in his hand leaned against a blood vending machine. The imposing vampire was dressed in a long overcoat that went to his knees, slacks and basic shoes. The man nodded at my approach.

  I nodded back and appraised my poorly tasting options, looking for SymCo blood. It was a different machine from the one at the club. Rather than physical buttons, it had a flat screen like a phone. I found the can I wanted, put a credit bill in and punched the numbers. The machine flickered at my touch and went dark, causing me to frown.

  The machine’s lights came back on after a short moment as it asked me for money again.

  “I just gave it money,” I said and gestured to the machine.

  The dark skinned vampire sipped from his can as he watched me for a moment, eyeing me closely with green eyes. He looked like your average muscular man with a short cropped haircut. Similar to how the policeman looked.

  “I saw that,” he replied.

  I pressed my finger against the machine once more. Only for the screen to look like it was being absorbed by shadow. I pulled my hand back before the machine shut down once again, shaking my head from side to side.

  “Are you being serious right now…?” I whined.

  The man reached around the front of the machine and put his own bills in. “Which one did you want?”

  I pointed to the SymCo Type O- can that was supposedly pineapple flavored. It’d been so long since I had any food I assumed it was pineapple. “That one.”

  As he punched in the numbers, an unholy scream echoed from a nearby building, drawing our attention. “Get away from me, you monster!” someone yelled.

  Canned blood forgotten, I drew my revolver as I rushed toward the screaming, the other vampire following along behind me. We ran as quickly as our undead bodies would allow, passing by confused mortals who were merely looking toward the alleyway. It was situated between the bright fuel station and a taller brick building next door.

  Two people were locked together in a struggle with another person already laying on the ground and barely moving. To me, it looked like a back alley feeding gone wrong. It was foolish of the vampire to go after two people at the same time, unless it was something else. At which point, I didn't know who the attacker was and who was the defender, but considering one looked like a drooling monstrosity, I think I had a handle on who was who.

  A bright beam of red energy tore through the attacker’s chest, impacting the wall behind it. The victim shoved the creature away, giving me room for a shot. I used my Aimed Shot ability. In that moment, the world seemed to slow down as the strange looking monstrosity filled my sights. I hesitate to call it human, or even vampire, because one of its arms had broken apart at the elbow into three squid-like tentacles while the other looked more elongated. Muscles bulged across its form, leading me to question just how the mortal had pushed it away from them.

  Something held my aim unnaturally steady even as the creature moved around. It was highlighted in a soft purple glow, allowing me to see its exact shape and movements in the dark alley. I squeezed the trigger, revolver echoing even louder than it had in the warehouse as it sent a bullet straight into the creature's chest. Chunks of flesh and bright yellow liquid painted the wall behind it.

  “Get back!” the other vampire shouted. He stepped past me with one hand reaching into his coat. I didn't know if he was talking to me or the mortal, but it didn't matter.

  With my new fancy ability on cooldown, I attempted to line up another shot the old fashioned way. The creature stumbled backwards, putting the other vampire between me and it. I held my fire, waiting as the moment stretched on into the seconds.

  The other vampire drew a sawed off shotgun from his coat. It was a fancy one with a pump-action to load the rounds into the chamber with a sliding click-clack. My revolver was loud, but the resulting ear shattering boom that echoed from the scattergun was another thing entirely. It sounded like a mini cannon more than a handheld gun. The shockwave slammed into me as I watched the creature’s shoulder tear itself apart.

  Taking aim once more, I waited for an opening but the vampire pressed the attack. He strode toward the creature and racked another shell into the chamber. I didn't even have time to tell him to move before he let loose with a shot straight to the creature’s heart.

  Followed by slam firing a third shot right into its neck and a fourth through its face!

  The creature slumped to the ground, oozing the strange smelling yellow liquid. Everything happened so fast I wasn't even sure if more than a second or two, or three had passed since I fired the first shot. My unbeating heart failed to wake up my groggy thoughts, yet at the same time I felt strangely alert. The ground was soaked by steaming yellow liquid. A strange repugnant scent hung in the air, mixing with the smokeless gunpowder to create a disgusting concoction.

  The other vampire hovered over the creature, keeping his shotgun aimed at it as I glanced toward the woman.

  She looked whole and undamaged.

  I decocked the revolver, sliding it back into the holster, and turned to fully face the woman. “What… is that creature?” I asked. She wore a set of strange looking glasses that appeared more like lightly colored mirrors than glasses.

  “I’ll handle this,” the other vampire said sternly. I don't know where he hid the shotgun in his coat, but he put it away. The man removed a golden badge from an inner pocket, showing it to the mortal. “Detective Carlisle, South Encinar P.D. Monster Division.”

  I turned away from the man, glanced the way we came from and was about to walk back to the vending machine when I heard his tone change noticeably.

  “You're going to tell me everything you know about the creature,” he ordered.

  When I looked again, they were staring into each other’s eyes with the look of a mortal being forced to tell the truth. I frowned deeply at Carlisle. “Was that necessary?” I asked.

  He held a finger up for me to wait. The fool stood in shadow. We were alone with a mortal. I could make him listen to me and do my bidding with but a single thought.

  “I had it handled before you two came along,” the mortal replied with a shake of her head.

  My eyebrows lifted slightly as I listened to the exchange. By all accounts she should be listening to his words, and yet she didn't!

  “Now is not the time for this discussion, miss.” Carlisle put his badge away and frowned. “You were just attacked by a void creature. Please, tell me what you know.”

  “My friend and I were just walking along when the trash came to life. It morphed into that.” She pointed at the creature whose body was steadily turning to mush and melting away. I didn't need to breathe and the stench was almost too much for me. The kind of repugnant smell one would get when the wind shifted and the river’s noxious fumes drifted inland.

  I had no idea how the mortal didn't react to the smell considering she actually had to breathe. However, now that I got a good look at her, I saw that she stood about as unnaturally still as an old vampire would. As she waved a forearm about, she kept the sleeves held against her wrist by holding onto it with a pinky finger. She didn’t even have a weapon on her, so where did the magic beam come from?

  I frowned.

  Carlisle glanced at the mortal on the ground as he pulled a phone from his pocket and dialed a number. I heard the words, “I need an ambulance and a patrol car.” Along with a street and cross street.

  I backed into the shadows while he spoke, disappearing from their sight. But curiously, even though I was completely invisible, the mortal’s head turned slightly to follow me. I couldn't stay and find out what Carlisle knew about me or why the mortal completely ignored being dominated by the vampire’s voice. If someone could see me when even the vampire detective looked confused at my disappearance then that person was someone I didn't want to be around. That meant they could kill me.

  I made my way back to the vending machine, grabbed the can of blood, and ran as fast as I could toward Encinar.

  *** ***

  My phone was at fifteen percent and dropping by the minute. I sent Caleb a message hoping he could come pick me up, but he said he was far, far too busy at work and would be getting off around four in the morning. The ThinGen would have no time to come down to South Encinar, pick me up and drop me off at my house.

  Lyra had no vehicle and I dared not ask my sire for help with getting back to Encinar, because I'd never hear the end of it if I did.

  The only person left was Dinner. But Dinner wasn’t in the area any longer, having driven to San Francisco once I said I would be fine for the night. Dinner seemed to be fairly active for not knowing anyone in Encinar, but it was possible that they had acquaintances in other towns. Which begs the question of who they actually were and knew.

  I frowned at the most recent message on my phone, blinking a few times at Dinner’s suggestion to just get a ride from a phone app called Ride & Pay. The whole issue was because I had no battery left! All I needed was to charge my phone and then I could download the app and get a ride.

  Putting the device away, I wandered down the slightly less crowded streets of South Encinar 's outskirts. Encinar itself was roughly ten miles north according to the map application. I could make it there before sunup, barring any interruptions, but I had to find a way to charge my phone. That was priority one, because without it then I would be unable to contact anyone I knew or pay for things with gold. I only had two hundred credits remaining in my pocket.

  Luckily, the navigation app pointed me to the nearest 24/7 store that sold cell phones. It was situated in a shopping center with many other stores selling everything from clothes to food, to cell phones and jewelry. As I walked toward the bright pink signs hanging over the cell provider's business, my eyes shifted to the jewelry store nextdoor.

  They had an armed guard out front along with one inside. Far too many bright lights, but so much jewelry on display I wanted to go in and look around. Just to look. Not to find out where the cameras and exits were, mind you. I would never do such a thing!

  Never.

  I found myself staring at the glittering gold necklaces on display as I walked inside the jewelry store. The guards monitored my approach, because why shouldn't they? I was an old outlaw on the prowl for something shiny to go with my other necklaces and earrings. What I wore was what I had left from my old hoard. Two gold hoops with emeralds in them, my golden eyeglasses, and the fancy necklace Amelia gave me one night.

  I still recall it vividly. Amelia pulled my hair aside and gently kissed my neck as if she were going in for a bite from behind. We sat next to a river under a full moon, completely naked. She was very happy that night and quite sensual as she held the kiss in much the way I would do when drinking blood. At the same time, she gently wrapped the large necklace around my neck and clasped it shut.

  The words she spoke when she let go still resonate within me, ‘I love you, Cassandra.’

  I didn't know if Amelia could even wear jewelry considering the state of her corporeal form. She was now a tree. Who also could project herself in the form of a spirit. That was unusual according to Lyra, because Amelia was something called a Dryad. And Dryads usually had corporeal forms they could interact with the world through.

  I left Amelia alone at the manor for too long. I don't know how she'll react to my actual absence. Hopefully, it wasn't tearing the forest apart. I had to get back home and buying a shiny necklace wasn't getting me any closer to my goal.

  I pointed to a gold chain necklace in the case with a harlequin pattern of gemstones arranged like a fishing net that could drape over her chest. I think it would be nice for her. If she had a form to wear it with.

  “I’ll take that,” I told the clerk, adding, “Do you take gold?”

  She nodded. “It's two hundred gold.”

  My phone was at three percent and warned me of imminent shut down by flashing the battery indicator in the upper right. We had to be quick with the transfer. The phone could die any second. I apologized to the clerk for that and held the device over their credit card machine.

  Only for their machine to fizzle out and reset. At which point, my phone finally went dark. I tapped the side of the case, frowning even more. I attempted to flick my nail against the screen, hoping that would do something and even shook the phone.

  Give me a sign, dammit!

  I tapped it with the bottom of a finger and it still did nothing. With a heavy, mortal-like sigh, I shook my head from side to side. “I will be back,” I told the clerk.