Monday, January 23, 2012

Chapter Two: Lions, Tigers and Vampires, Oh My!


Weeks have passed since Romeo's party and Amelia and Donovan have talked and emailed each other every single day. They've already been on two dates and Amelia is loving every minute of it. Amelia's phone starts to ring and a huge smile appears on her face. "Hello?" she answers.

"Hey baby." It's Donovan.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Amelia replies, not able to keep the happiness out of her voice.

"Nothing really, sitting around watching TV. Hey, what are you doing tomorrow night?"

"Nothing, why, what did you have in mind?"

"Do you want to go to The Brightmore? I thought maybe we could get some drinks and go dancing."

"That sounds great. Do you want to meet there?"

"Yeah, I'll be there at 8:00pm."

Amelia gets another call, it's Romeo. "Donovan, Romeo is beeping in, can you hold for a second?"

"That's okay, I'll let you get that. I'll see you tomorrow okay?"

"Alright, bye." Amelia switches over to talk to Romeo. "Romeo?"

"Amelia, I need you to meet me at park. We need to discuss something."

"Can't it wait? It's 10:00 at night. I was about to get in the shower."

"No, I'm sorry Amelia it can't."

"Alright, I'll be there as soon as I can."

"Thanks, bye." Amelia hangs up and grabs a jacket and her purse. She waves down a cab and heads to the park.



"What the hell are you wearing?" Amelia asks when she joins Romeo on a park bench.

"Oh I was working with the Forensics team today but never mind that. Amelia, what do you know about vampires? Romeo replies.

"WHAT!? You dragged me down here at 10:30 at night to talk about mythical creatures? Have you lost it?"

"Answer the question Amelia, what do you know?"

"Nothing really, only what I've learned in the movies. Immortal, fast, strong, blood sucking, soulless demons. You know, what everyone else knows. Now are you going to tell me what this is all about?"

Romeo sighs, "Vampires are real, Amelia. They've been leaving in Bridgeport for as long as I can remember. I'm part of an elite team that takes down the bad ones and I want you to join me."

"Is this some kind of joke? Do I look like Buffy the Vampire Slayer to you?" Amelia replies. Romeo didn't even grin. He's lost his freaking marbles, she thought.

"No, this is not a joke. I'm dead serious. There is a whole lot more to the night life than you ever thought."



Amelia gets a very surprised look on her face. "You're really serious aren't you?" she asks.

"Yes, I am. Do you think I'd drag you out here just to joke around? No I wouldn't and you know that."

"Holy shit! I can't believe it. I need a minute to process this."

"Take your time."

Amelia sits there starring across the park as she tries to comprehend what Romeo just told her. They sit in silence until she asks, "So, are they like movie vampires?"

"Yes and No. Vampires are strong and fast. They can't stay in the sun too long, it weakens them. They have excellent vision, hearing and smell."

"What about garlic or crosses? Do those have any effects on them?" she asks.

"No. Neither does holy water. They are immortal and can read and control almost every human's mind. They have their own council that rules them. When blood was made available in bags, the council ruled that all vampires must use those except an emergency or lovers who gave permission. They figured it would be safer and they would be attacked less by vampire hunters."

"Wait, you said ALMOST every human's mind, why can't they read all of us?"

"Some humans naturally have a strong mind. They won't be able to control them but they can read their thoughts. This is also how they find their mates. If a vampire can't read and control a mind, then that person is it's eternal mate."

"Eternal mate? What is that?"

"It's a bond the vampire has with the human, or even another vampire. It's the strongest bond we'll probably ever come across. One vampire once told me that when I fall in love, multiply that by 100 and that's how eternal mates feel about each other. It's unbreakable and if an enemy ever tries to hurt another vampire's eternal mate, well let's just say he won't be alive much longer."

"You've talked to vampires before? I figured they wouldn't be in much of a talking mood when you're shoving a wooden stake in their hearts."

"Not all vampires are evil. Some are even on this team with me. They were sent by the council to kill rouge vampires."

"What are rouge vampires?"

"Rouges are vampires that are feeding on humans, killing them in the process. They've fallen to blood lust and will only stop when they're killed. That's another thing, wooden stakes won't kill a vampire, it's silver that does the trick. You have to stab their heart with a silver knife and twist it to shred it. Or you could decapitate them but they don't exactly stand still while you're trying to saw their head off."

"I imagine they wouldn't. Why do they go rouge?"

"Most vampires believe it's because of loneliness. Not all vampires find their eternal mates and they just give up. Could you imagine being alone for 600 years without someone to share your life with? I don't think I could even think about that. Another reason is if they lose their eternal mates. Some vampires will meet the sun and kill themselves. Others go crazy with madness and start killing." There was complete silence between them. "Do you have anymore questions?"

"There is probably a million questions I haven't thought of yet but I do have one. How do you get close enough to drive a knife in their heart if they are so strong and fast?"

"Our weapons expert has designed a sort of gun that shoots mechanical silver daggers."

"Mechanical?"

"Yes, they have a small computer chip in them and once they sink into something they will automatically twist left then right and shred the vampire's heart. They can be shot from a distance that's safer for humans. When we have vampires on the team that night they usually just go at it. Silver in general weakens vampires, if it touches their skin it burns like acid"

"The gun makes sense, it sounds like a handy little weapon. But why do you want me to join this team?" asks Amelia.



"Because I think you'd be good at it." Amelia and Romeo turn to see who spoke.

"Bianca. I was wondering where you were. Amelia this is Bianca, she's the head of the Night Hunters. She'll be your boss if you decide to join. She's also the one who recommended you. She's been watching you at work and liked what she saw. So she came to me and asked my how I thought you'd handle all of this. Um, Bianca what are you wearing?"

"I was undercover, working for Vice and like you have any room to ask, but you were right, Romeo, she was more curious than afraid. You've handled yourself wonderfully Amelia." said Bianca.

"Uhh thanks, I guess." replied Amelia.

"So what's it gonna be? You in or out?" asked Romeo.

Amelia took only a second to answer, "If there are beings out there, vampire or human, who are ripping out people's throats then count me in."

"Excellent, we will see you next week for training." said Bianca.

"Training?"

"Well yes, you didn't think we would give you knifes and guns and just throw you out there to the vampires did you?"

"Of course not Bianca, I'll be there."

Amelia and Romeo watched as Bianca got in a cab and left. "Oh you know you can't say anything about this to anyone, right Amelia?"

"I figured as much. Plus no one would believe me and I'd be put in the looney bin."

Romeo laughed. "You're probably right about that. The general public isn't quite ready for this. Only the team and vampires hunters know about them"

"Wait, does Donovan know about all this?" she asked.

"Yes he does, he's actually a ghost hunter himself."

"A what?"

"Yeah, or at least he is this month. I swear that guy changes jobs more than he changes his underwear." They both laugh. "Well listen, it's 3:00 in the morning and you should get home, we've got normal human bad guys to catch tomorrow. See you at work okay?"

"Alright, see you then." Romeo waited until Amelia got in her cab and then headed home too.



Amelia tossed and turned for 5 hours before finally giving up on sleep and decided to go to the gym instead. She put on her jogging pants, hoodie, Nikes and tied her hair up. When she arrived, there were only 3 other people working out. So she took a bench and started her routine. She really wasn't even paying attention to what she was doing, she was just lost in her thoughts. Should I have accepted to join so fast? It's not like they covered this at the academy. I'm not sure any amount of training will ever prepare me enough to fight a vampire but then again they have those special guns. What if I meet a vampire and he's not a rouge. Will I try to kill him out of fear? How do you even know someone is a vampire? Since they can't go into the sun for long they are probably really pale....

"Hey are you almost finished here." someone asks.

"What?" Amelia looks around to see the gym is full and someone is waiting to use the machine she's on. "Oh, I'm sorry. Yes, I'm done."

Amelia heads to the locker rooms to shower and heads to work. It's another boring day of paper work. Find this, run this, look this up. I'll be ready when I get promoted so I'm not the errand girl anymore, she thought. She takes the subway home and starts to make dinner when her phone rings. "Hello?" she answers.

"Hey, are you on your way?" asks Donovan.

"What? On my way where?"

"To The Brightmore, remember we had a date?"

After everything that happened last night she completely forgot. "Oh God, umm, yes! I just have to finish my hair and I'll be on my way."

"Okay I'll wait for you at the elevator."

Amelia hangs up the phone and runs around the house trying to get ready. 45 minutes later she makes it to the club and sees Donovan standing at the elevator.



"You look absolutely beautiful. Definitely worth the wait." says Donovan.

"Thank you and I'm sorry about that, I've got a lot going on it my mind right now."

"I know, Romeo told me he talked to you last night. How are you holding up?"

"I've been better, it's just a lot to take in but I don't want to talk about that right now. Are you ready to go in?"



"Actually, I thought maybe we could skip the club and go back to your place. You've had a lot dropped on you and I don't think you really want to be around all of this right now."

Amelia sighed, "You're right. I'm sorry if I ruined our date thought."

"You didn't, we can just continue it at your place." said Donovan with a wicked little grim. My God what a sexy man!

"Sounds good to me."


"Are you hungry?" asked Amelia.

"Not for food, but for you I am." replied Donovan.

Amelia's face froze in terror. "What?" she squeaked.

"No, no, no, no, no, no. That's not what I meant. I'm not a vampire Amelia, I don't want your blood, I want your body."

"Oh, thank God. I'm sorry, it's just what Romeo said and....I'm just all over the place. I have a million questions and my brain is just spinning out of control and...and...wait, what did you say?"

Donovan walked over to Amelia, grabbed her in his arms and kissed her. A long, slow, sweet kiss. Amelia pulled back and said, "Maybe we should take this to the bedroom." Donovan hesitated for a minute. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing are you sure about this?" he asks.

"I'm sure. I want one night of normalcy. No, I NEED it and I need you." Donovan took her hand and lead her into the bedroom.




"I....I have to go." said Donovan.

"What? Why?" asked Amelia.

"Maybe we shouldn't have done this after all. I can't get too attached to you, Amelia. I can't and I know you don't understand it but..." Donovan gets up and starts to grab his jeans. Amelia jumps up and rushes over to him.

"Help me understand, talk to me, please?"


Donovan sighs, not sure if he wants to go down this road or not, but he starts talking anyways. "When I graduated high school, I asked my high school sweetheart to marry me and she accepted. A few weeks before the wedding I went on a skiing trip with my family. I asked Danielle to come with us but she said she was too busy with last minute wedding details and said to go without her, so I did. Two nights later I got a call from her Dad and he said I needed to get home immediately. There was something in the sound of his voice that scared me and I knew something was wrong. I jumped in my car and drove to the city as fast as I could. When I got there her Dad was waiting outside for me. He..." Donavon looks away and clears his throat. "He told me Danielle was killed by a rouge vampire. They rushed her to the ER but it was too late, she didn't make it. I was angry, I had so much anger and I took it out on everyone. I've never felt so lost before. It's like I dug a hole and crawled in it. Months later her Dad came to me and asked if I wanted to join the Night Hunters. They were from a long line of vampire hunters, which is how I found out about vampires in the first place. I accepted. Her brother, John, was also on the team and was my best friend. We fought for years, taking down as many leeches as we could. John and I did side jobs on our own and took down even more, whether they were rouge or not. One night we were hunting and came across a rouge feeding on a young woman. We threw silver chains on him while he was distracted. We were about to shred his heart when he looked at John and told him he knew what his sister's screams sounded like. John and I both lost it. I think John was trying to cut him up into little pieces. We were so distracted by our fury that we didn't notice the chain slip off the vampire's arm. He punched John in the head, killing him instantly. I managed to pull the chain back on and stabbed him in the heart twisting as it went in but by then it was too late, John was already gone. After that I quit the Night Hunters and I've never held a job for more than a few months. Mostly because I don't want to get close to any more people. Friends, neighbors, colleagues....women. Now do you understand?"

"I do, but you can't shut yourself off from the World, Donovan. It took me a long time to realize that myself. We all lose people, but we need to hold on to the ones that are still here."

"Amelia I can't go through that again. It'll destroy me. I could really fall in love with you...hell I'm already falling but I know you took Romeo's offer to join the Night Hunters and I just can't fall in love only to lose it all over again."

"Who says you'll lose me? You'll never find happiness if you keep pushing everyone away and yes I did accept. I feel like it's something I need to do. But please don't make me choose between the team and you. I became a cop to put murderers away and this is another opportunity to do that. But I need you too. I haven't felt this much happiness in a very long time but you need to let me in, Donovan."

Donovan gently strokes her cheek and says, "Alright. I won't ask you to quit but please be careful, train extra hard and be prepared for anything that can go wrong. Romeo will watch your back and help keep you safe."

"So does this mean we're still seeing each other?"

"Yes and in all honestly, I think it might have been too late for me to give you up anyways." Donovan kisses her on the forehead and brings her in for a hug. "I really do have to go now. I've got a job I've got to do uptown. A family that lives in an apartment complex says they keep hearing strange noises and they have some cold spots. I'll call you tomorrow okay?"

"Alright, be safe."

"I will, you too. Lock the doors when I leave."

"I will," He kisses her goodbye and heads out the door. She locks the door and go back to lay in bed, thinking about everything Donovan told her, over and over.

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NOTES:

Whew! That was a lot of typing. I hope everyone understood my whole vampire information. If you have any questions let me know.

8 comments:

  1. Well that's certainly an exciting start. Can't wait to read where you go with it. ; )

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  2. Wow, thats some story you've started!

    Can't wait to see where it is going!

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  3. Awesome story you've got going so far, and your sims are so beautiful. Can't wait to read more!

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  4. Yeah, really great story! Looking forward to the next chapter.

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  5. Thank you all so very much. I'm wondering where I'm going with this too. Apparently staying up all night and all day makes me want to murder my characters' loved ones. Lol.

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  6. Holy moly, now THAT is a serious plot line!! I love that it's kind of a mix of Buffy and True Blood and your own lore all thrown in, it's amazing!!

    Can't wait to continue on this journey!!

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  7. Agree, agree, agree! Everybody else seems to have said it all already, but just for emphasis I'll add my own two cents. What a story! Wow! I can't wait to catch up and see what happens. I love all the vampire lore too. It seems very well thought out. =)

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