clever of you. Very self-serving.”
Randy felt the world being yanked out from under his feet. “I didn’t volunteer to be clever,” he protested. He wanted to be a hero. He wanted to be applauded and lauded like athletes after great victories: like Bobby, for example.
“No,” said the vampire gently, knowing Randy’s mind, “those are the daydreams of humans. They are not the realities of vampires.”
Lacey was glad that Randy was safe. She had seen the best in Randy, and she wanted Randy to continue on that road — to be good and worthy and generous of heart. She smiled, looked down for privacy in her thoughts, and smiled again. At least something good would come from this.
“Randy is safe?” repeated Zach.
“He is safe,” agreed the vampire.
Zach, Sherree, Bobby, and Roxanne studied Randy in his new role as the safe one, the one who would go free, the one who would definitely get home tonight. They felt a strange rage at Randy, because he was no longer part of the group; he had been removed to another zone.
“The field,” said the vampire, “is narrowed. There are now five remaining choices for me. Five,” he repeated greedily. “Five. Five. Five. Five.”
Lacey’s shudder was deep in her gut, but she knew that the vampire was aware of it, and enjoying it, and hoping there would be more.
Only Sherree moved logically to the next point. “Heck,” said Sherree, “then I volunteer, too.”
“Thank you, my dear,” said the vampire. His eyes softened with dreamy pleasure and his largest teeth slid over his damp lips and hooked at the bottom of his chin. “You may all go now. Except Sherree, of course. Most thoughtful of you to resolve the situation, Sherree.” The tongue that licked his lips was pointed like a red ribbon. He moved far more swiftly to Sherree than he had toward Lacey.
“Wait!” screamed Lacey, grabbing Sherree’s arm and yanking her back. “This isn’t fair! You keep changing the rules.”
“I am not changing the rules at all,” said the vampire. His breath came in spurts, like whiffs of swamp gas. “You just don’t know them. I can’t help it that you are not acquainted with the workings of my world. I have certainly taken the time to become acquainted with your world.”
The vampire’s cloak encircled Sherree’s arm. It began to haul her in, as if she were clothes on an old-fashioned clothesline, being reeled onto the back porch. From beneath the folds of his horrible wrappings came his fingernails, like crushed foil, and then his hands, longer than human hands, bonier than human hands, stronger than human hands.
Sherree screamed in horror. The vampire was ecstatic. Screams were his appetizers.
“Wait!” said Lacey. She had one of Sherree’s arms and the cloak had the other. “Wait. I have to think.”
“You may think outdoors,” said the vampire. “It’s time for the five of you to go.”
“No!” shouted Lacey. “You said to start with that we had to choose your victim. Well, we didn’t! You broke the rules. This does not count.”
“Sherree volunteered for selfish purposes. I accepted. It’s not frequent for a victim to request being taken, but it is not unknown in history,” said the vampire, “and I am content with it.”
Sherree broke free both from the vampire’s cloak and from Lacey. She ran in circles around the diminishing tower. There were no exits. Once again, the vampire possessed the door. Ripping mindlessly at the remaining shutters blocking the tower windows, Sherree tried to find a way out of her fate. Her strength far surpassed even Bobby’s, fueled by adrenaline from her deathly fear.
Gradually, her frenzy diminished.
Gradually, her crazed attempts ceased.
And yet the vampire did not approach her. His head was cocked as if he had ears hidden beneath his horrid oily hair, as if he were listening to something.
They all listened.
Somewhere in the house, somebody was laughing.
The policewoman was bored.
Night duty was
Randy felt the world being yanked out from under his feet. “I didn’t volunteer to be clever,” he protested. He wanted to be a hero. He wanted to be applauded and lauded like athletes after great victories: like Bobby, for example.
“No,” said the vampire gently, knowing Randy’s mind, “those are the daydreams of humans. They are not the realities of vampires.”
Lacey was glad that Randy was safe. She had seen the best in Randy, and she wanted Randy to continue on that road — to be good and worthy and generous of heart. She smiled, looked down for privacy in her thoughts, and smiled again. At least something good would come from this.
“Randy is safe?” repeated Zach.
“He is safe,” agreed the vampire.
Zach, Sherree, Bobby, and Roxanne studied Randy in his new role as the safe one, the one who would go free, the one who would definitely get home tonight. They felt a strange rage at Randy, because he was no longer part of the group; he had been removed to another zone.
“The field,” said the vampire, “is narrowed. There are now five remaining choices for me. Five,” he repeated greedily. “Five. Five. Five. Five.”
Lacey’s shudder was deep in her gut, but she knew that the vampire was aware of it, and enjoying it, and hoping there would be more.
Only Sherree moved logically to the next point. “Heck,” said Sherree, “then I volunteer, too.”
“Thank you, my dear,” said the vampire. His eyes softened with dreamy pleasure and his largest teeth slid over his damp lips and hooked at the bottom of his chin. “You may all go now. Except Sherree, of course. Most thoughtful of you to resolve the situation, Sherree.” The tongue that licked his lips was pointed like a red ribbon. He moved far more swiftly to Sherree than he had toward Lacey.
“Wait!” screamed Lacey, grabbing Sherree’s arm and yanking her back. “This isn’t fair! You keep changing the rules.”
“I am not changing the rules at all,” said the vampire. His breath came in spurts, like whiffs of swamp gas. “You just don’t know them. I can’t help it that you are not acquainted with the workings of my world. I have certainly taken the time to become acquainted with your world.”
The vampire’s cloak encircled Sherree’s arm. It began to haul her in, as if she were clothes on an old-fashioned clothesline, being reeled onto the back porch. From beneath the folds of his horrible wrappings came his fingernails, like crushed foil, and then his hands, longer than human hands, bonier than human hands, stronger than human hands.
Sherree screamed in horror. The vampire was ecstatic. Screams were his appetizers.
“Wait!” said Lacey. She had one of Sherree’s arms and the cloak had the other. “Wait. I have to think.”
“You may think outdoors,” said the vampire. “It’s time for the five of you to go.”
“No!” shouted Lacey. “You said to start with that we had to choose your victim. Well, we didn’t! You broke the rules. This does not count.”
“Sherree volunteered for selfish purposes. I accepted. It’s not frequent for a victim to request being taken, but it is not unknown in history,” said the vampire, “and I am content with it.”
Sherree broke free both from the vampire’s cloak and from Lacey. She ran in circles around the diminishing tower. There were no exits. Once again, the vampire possessed the door. Ripping mindlessly at the remaining shutters blocking the tower windows, Sherree tried to find a way out of her fate. Her strength far surpassed even Bobby’s, fueled by adrenaline from her deathly fear.
Gradually, her frenzy diminished.
Gradually, her crazed attempts ceased.
And yet the vampire did not approach her. His head was cocked as if he had ears hidden beneath his horrid oily hair, as if he were listening to something.
They all listened.
Somewhere in the house, somebody was laughing.
The policewoman was bored.
Night duty was
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