Against All Odds (WIP) (PAGE ONE)
Just something I have been working on since last year.
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Summary: It’s extrovert Vs. introvert, if nothing else; this story is almost certain to bring a smile to your face. When the often shy and secretive vampire John Blaylock meets the mischievous likes of an outgoing bartender named Monte, he quickly discovers that it doesn’t matter how long you have lived, there’s always someone ready and willing to show you that you ain’t seen nothin’ yet! Strap yourself in, it’s going to be a bumpy ride!
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Unfinished. Unedited. Rough Draft.
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UPDATED: February 14th, 2015, 9.49AM (my time)
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It was a cool, crisp night and the freshly fallen snow lay even on the ground and largely undisturbed at this hour. Hunting was easy in the winter, it made vampires rather lazy though for all they had to do was follow a single set of footprints that tracked off on it’s own after emerging from the crowd. They didn’t need to use their other senses much and humans had trouble running when the snow was thick and they sank down deeper into it with every step they took.
Walking along the footpath of an empty street, John Blaylock was returning to his home after quite the successful night. He’d come across a party, crashed it and left several people unconscious. Returning home with an entire, full bottle of whiskey in hand was a considerable bonus, but if he hadn’t taken it with him then he was sure it would have gone to waste. John raised the bottle and eyed it warily, taking a large swig of it and stumbling over something that was half obscured by the snow. He frowned and knelt down to brush away the white, powdery snow from the metallic object and was surprised to note that it was a pistol, but who had left it here?
“Excuse me,” came a chipper voice from above him. John looked up sharply, rising to his feet and inclining his head. There was a man, upside down and hanging by a rope that was wrapped around his entire body like a fly caught in a spider’s silken threads. John smiled amusedly, playful in his drunken state and almost giggling at the sight.
“The fuck you doing up there?” John wondered.
“Ah, yes.. Long story,” the man replied, “name’s Monte.. How d’you do? Could you pass me that gun, please?”
John looked at him for a moment and knelt down once more to pick up the pistol and he held it out to Monte. Monte wriggled but couldn’t get his hands free, so he sighed and frowned.
“On second thought,” Monte said loudly, “could you cut me down from here? I’m er.. A bit stuck.”
“Yeah, I noticed,” John tucked the pistol into his belt and pushed Monte so that he swung a little, “how’d you get up there?”
“It doesn’t matter,” Monte told him firmly, “but unless you get me down from here, there’s soon going to be a seriously messy game of pinata that I really don’t want to see the end of!”
John lifted a brow.
“And how does that affect me, exactly?” John asked him, keen to see the game commence and delight in the spillage once it was over.
“Well,” Monte faltered but only for a moment, “I could pay you!”
John was silent, he had no need of money right now.
“Um, eventually,” Monte added, “it’d be more of an I.O.U.”
John smiled amusedly again, deciding to listen for a bit longer, just until he got bored and decided to continue on his way home.
“No?” Monte accepted the silence as refusal, “okay, new plan.. I can take you to a diamond mine!”
John was definitely listening now, diamonds were a whole other matter entirely.
“I’ve got this map, see,” Monte explained quickly, “and it’s genuine.. I mean, I think it is anyway, it’s Peruvian so.. Well I can’t read it but maybe we can find someone who can?”
John leaned against the wall, finding Monte quite amusing and very entertaining indeed.
“Well, I said map but it’s only half a map,” Monte digressed, “it was cheaper that way - But hey, it’s the half with the ‘X’ on it, so.. You know, the best part, right?”
John took another swig of whiskey, his eyes half closed now.
“Of course it doesn’t tell you which country it’s in,” Monte babbled on, “but er, I’m sure we could um, figure it out - Uhm, a-are you going to cut me down or what?”
John suddenly snapped out of his trance, having zoned out while Monte was rambling on.
“I don’t have a knife with me,” John said firmly, “sorry Monte, guess you’re outta luck.”
“Just shoot the rope!” Monte instructed him, “the gun’s mine, it fell out of my pocket. Use it to shoot the rope!”
John sighed and straightened up, pushing away from the wall. He took out the pistol and aimed it at the rope above Monte’s feet but he swayed a little and his aim kept shifting. Monte looked worried, the guy was clearly intoxicated and might actually shoot him instead..
With a loud bang that seemed to crack the very atmosphere of stillness all around them, the rope split and then snapped under Monte’s weight. He gave a shout and floomped into the soft drift of snow below. John looked down at him and Monte wriggled free of the ropes at last, breathing a huge sigh of relief and reaching out his hand towards John.
“Thank you,” Monte was grateful, “you saved my life.. “
John gave Monte back his pistol but did not shake his hand.
“John,” he introduced himself.
“Very, very pleased to meet you John,” Monte gushed with a big, cheesy grin, “now, if I might be so bold as to suggest we run?”
John looked over his shoulder and saw some men with baseball bats running towards them, Monte took off like a shot at once but John decided to stick around and perhaps play a game of pinata all of his own..
Monte glanced back over his shoulder and noticed that John was not running with him but rather he was standing there now facing the approaching thugs, so he stopped in his tracks and turned around to see what was happening.
“Is he mad?” Monte wondered to himself, as John allowed the men to get closer and closer, “he’s mad! Fuck, I’ve just made friends with a madman!”
John watched and waited, one of the men swung at him and John caught the bat in his hand without even really trying. Wrenching the bat from the startled thug’s hands, John tossed his whiskey bottle over his shoulder and took a full swing. The bat connected violently with the thug’s ribs, a sickening crack could be heard as the thug dropped howling to the ground and boy did he ever stay there..
John had drained him in the blink of an eye but Monte was distracted by the whiskey bottle coming at him much too fast and he caught it like a football against his chest with an “oof!”
John smiled, knowing his drink was quite safe and his fangs glinted in the light of the street lamps. Two more thugs circled him now, one of them looking very sure of himself while the other looked about ready to run for it.
“I don’t know what you’re doing with our little pinata,” the confident thug warned John firmly, “but you’d best stay outta our business and hand him over, or it’s curtains for you, pal!”
John stood calmly and looked down at his fingernails for a moment, there was a blurred motion and the less confident thug suddenly dropped to the ground, pale white and unmoving. John didn’t look like he had moved, still looking at his nails and slowly, he lifted his gaze to meet with that of the now not so confident thug.
“What the hell?” the thug stared at John, not daring to take his eyes off the stranger, “why are you protecting him? He’s just gonna screw you over too, if he owes you anything, don’t expect him to- GAAAK!”
Monte looked up from studying the bottle of whiskey he’d been holding, John was licking his lips and appeared to be the only one left standing. He approached John now, looking around himself just to make sure there weren’t any others lurking about.
“You uhm, you made short work of those lively fellows.. “ Monte smiled at John, handing him the bottle, “it’s a shit year, real cheap, I can get you some really old stuff if you’d prefer.. Classic vintage, should go down real smooth.”
John stood silent for a moment, trying to calm his fangs back into hiding but for some reason, Monte wasn’t asking him questions about how he’d managed to take on three thugs so quickly. He didn’t ask about John’s fangs, which were clearly visible to him now that he had come closer and he didn’t point out that there wasn’t any blood spattered in the snow, despite the wounds on the necks of the thugs.
“Silent type izzit?” Monte asked, shrugging with a cute, pouty smile, “that’s alright, I’ll just about talk your ear off anyhow.. Kinda makes up for the lack of jibber jabber from you, yeah?”
John lifted a brow and Monte began to circle him curiously, prodding and poking at John’s muscles and making the ticklish vampire startle and struggle not to giggle.
“You’re a big lad,” Monte was impressed, “nice, I wish I could look like that.. You think I would by now though, what with all my running around.. What did you say your name was?”
John had indeed told Monte his name earlier and he silently applauded the strange man for his quick talking because John was almost ready to answer him until he’d thought twice about it.
“I am nobody you’d want to know,” John responded stiffly, refusing to let Monte know that he found him amusing and somewhat charming.
“Aww, of course I want to know you!” Monte said brightly, “I’m only alive because of you and I insist that I pay my debt to you, sir.”
Monte bowed and John felt the corners of his mouth tugging and threatening to make him smile.
“You don’t appear to have a very solid reputation for repaying your debts,” John told him pointedly.
“Ah.. Yes, well.. “ Monte rubbed the back of his neck, “I mean, they bump it up don’t they? Make sure I can’t ever pay it back, it starts out small enough but the longer I take to come up with the dough the faster they hike it up and I just can’t do it.. I think they just want me dead to be honest.. Can’t understand why though!“
John took a swig of whiskey.
“You are in trouble often?” John wondered.
“A little,” Monte shrugged, “well.. Maybe a lot.. But you know, usually I can handle it, they uhm, just caught me off guard tonight that’s all.”
Monte puffed out his chest, trying to look bigger and John had to smile this time, he just couldn’t help it. Monte was like a tiny pup to him, trying to lift a bone bigger than itself in an attempt to impress. But perhaps they could be of mutual benefit to one another. John was getting to the point where he preferred to take down the bad guys and Monte seemed to have a limitless supply of those.
“My name is John,” he reminded Monte, “John Blaylock.”
Monte nodded and smiled cheerfully at him.
“So, how about that vintage hm?” Monte offered, “I know just the place, wanna come with?”
John figured he probably should at least make sure Monte got home alright, but he wasn’t getting the feeling that Monte was even the slightest bit tired.
“Don’t you have a home to go to?” John wondered, “it is quite late.”
“Oh, I’m a bartender,” Monte grinned at him, “actually I should probably be at work right now.. Aww fuck it, I’ve got a great excuse, I mean come on, I was almost killed! I sleep days, why.. Are you tired?”
“No,” John responded idly, “not at all.”
“Come on then,” Monte brightened up again, “let me show you that booze.. “
He started off towards a bar across the street and John finished his bottle before slowly walking after him, curious to see if Monte could live up to his promise and keen to taste that lager from long ago, it’d remind him of good times perhaps and cheer him up a bit. Though he found it odd, while drinking made him lighten up and feel cheeky and playful, Monte seemed to have almost the same effect upon him.
Monte walked into the bar and waited for John to join him, then he led the way through to the back and down into the cellar.
“Are you supposed to be down here?” John asked him, looking around.
“No,” Monte answered, picking up a piece of wire, “here we are.”
“What’s that?” John frowned curiously.
“A key,” grinned Monte cheekily, walking over to a door and jamming the wire into the lock. He wriggled it around for a moment and John was pretty sure Monte had no idea what he was doing, when suddenly he heard a click and Monte gave him a satisfied smile.
“Too easy,” Monte boasted, pushing the door open and wandering inside. John had to hand it to him, he was certainly resourceful, although John could easily have just kicked the door down without too much effort. He followed Monte inside and gazed around with slightly wider eyes, the dates on some of these bottles were so thick with dust, he couldn’t quite make them out.
“It’s the owner’s private collection,” Monte explained, running his fingers along the dusty shelf and then stopping to sneeze repeatedly into a cloth he’d quickly pulled from his coat pocket. John looked at Monte curiously, intrigued by the age of some of these bottles.
“I take it the owner doesn’t come down here that often,” John stated, rather than asked. Monte shoved his cloth away into his pocket and rubbed his nose, coughing with the kick up of dust each of their footsteps unsettled.
“Almost never,” Monte agreed, “only to add to her collection, trouble is.. Well, actually it’s not so much trouble for me but it is for her, she can never remember which vintage she has already because there’s so many!”
“So you steal from her and she just replaces it, not knowing she already had it?” John concluded.
“Steal from her sounds so harsh,” Monte winced, “I just, sort of.. Procure it from her collection to preserve my life from time to time.”
“Uh-huh.. “ John frowned, “do you think I’m going to hurt you, Monte?”
“Hm? Oh! Oh no.. ‘course not, look at you.. “ Monte grinned at John, “dressed like something from the sixties, no no.. I offer you your choice of bottles as a thank you.. Not as an appeasement.. Why? Are you thinking of hurting me? Because I can show you that map.. “
“I’m not going to hurt you,” John reassured him, turning to take a closer look at the bottles now, “mmm, some of these bottles are centuries old.. “
“Yeah,” Monte grinned cheesily, “you’d think there’d be nothing more than dust in them.”
“Since when did liquid begin turning to dust?” John question Monte’s logic.
“Um,” Monte furrowed his brow and scratched his head, “is.. um.. “
“Yes,” John replied, not waiting for him to ask, “it’s a trick question.”
Monte looked relieved and then he laughed, pointing at John.
“You had me for a minute there,” Monte said amusedly, “I actually thought you wanted to know.. “
“What would you have said?” John wondered, selecting a bottle at last and taking it carefully down from the shelf.
“I have no fucking idea,” Monte breathed, still relieved he didn’t have to actually answer the question, “oh, yes.. Lovely.. Let’s go before someone notices we’re in here and I get fired.”
John followed Monte back upstairs out of the basement, tucking the bottle away into the pocket of his coat.
“What’s wrong with the way I am dressed?” John asked, as they emerged back into the light hearted chatter of the venue.
“Oh, um, n-nothing,” Monte put his hands up in a peaceful stop sign, “you like older things, I respect that. If I didn’t know better, I’d call you grandpa but hey.. Each to his own. I like it, it suits you, not many people can pull it off. I mean, that style went out before it came in.. Seems actually kinda nice on you. Are you a model at all?”
John was quite taken with Monte, he spoke quickly, was quite the little prince charming and dressed as if he were in the space age, but then it seemed to be the dress code for anyone who worked in this particular place because Monte wasn’t the only one wearing the shiny silver shirt.
“You should be if you’re not, seems a shame and quite the waste,” Monte went on, smiling all the while, “I could be your agent, I know a guy.. Only got one eye but he’s great with a camera!”
“I’m flattered but I think I’ll just take my vintage scotch and go home,” John answered him, keen to get out of there before he started drooling over the many, many warm bodies surrounding him.
“Oh,” Monte looked so crestfallen and disappointed, John almost felt sorry for him.
“Try not to get into any more trouble, hm?” John said firmly and Monte grinned again, brightening up as if he honestly believed John cared about his welfare.
“I work in a bar,” Monte chuckled, “how much trouble can I possibly get into?”
John gave him a withering glance and Monte’s face went straight.
“Don’t answer that,” Monte said with a forced, tight lipped half smile. John shook his head as Monte’s name was shouted from across the room and Monte flinched.
“That’ll be the owner,” Monte cracked his knuckles and mussed up his hair a bit, “do I look believably like I’ve just lost a fight with a rabid raccoon?”
“You.. What?” John was puzzled.
“Yeah you’re right, too much,” Monte frowned, “just a regular raccoon.. I don’t want to have to get another rabies shot.. Actually a really clever one that escaped from a lab and knows how to open locked doors with wire.. “
Monte’s name was shouted again and he winked at John with a cheeky grin and hurried off. John watched him for a moment, temporarily dazed at the fast pace with which Monte’s mind sped off in several different directions all at once, it was nearly impossible for John to follow one thought trail as it jumbled into a mess of string tangles that somehow made up the inner workings of Monte’s never hesitating mind.
John glanced over his shoulder to the exit, he knew he should just leave and chalk this entire evening up to just being in the wrong place at the right time but something was keeping him here and it was starting to bug him. Indecisiveness wasn’t exactly something he fought with every single day, but tonight it seemed he was torn between going home to enjoy his new prized bottle of 600 year old scotch and staying here to keep an eye on this amusing fellow. People didn’t really do much for John, in fact, he found them often repellent and blasé but this Monte guy had certainly attracted his attention.
John made his way over to a table and sat down, tapping his fingernails on the surface of the table and feeling as if he shouldn’t be here at all. Like a fox in the henhouse, John eyed each and every throat he saw and snapped his fangs with frustration and anticipation. He felt uncomfortable because he sensed his fangs growing longer, if someone saw them he would definitely have to leave quite quickly. Something touched both of his shoulders and John startled, it was not often he was caught off guard but he was so intent on trying to calm his fangs, he hadn’t noticed Monte approaching him again.
“I’m going to pop out for a bit,” Monte told him, his face very close to John’s without an ounce of either fear nor respect for personal space, “I’ve got to see a badger about a horse.. Or was it a poodle about a mouse? God, I hate talking in code. I have to see an arsehole about a girl, see ya later and thanks again!”
John looked around and watched Monte exit the building, then he stood up and hurried out after him.
“Monte.. “ John called. Monte stopped and turned around, looking a little surprised but he grinned anyway.
“Hello again John,” Monte greeted him as if they hadn’t seen each other just a few seconds ago.
“Did she notice it was gone?” John wondered as he caught up and they began walking together.
“Hm? Oh! Oh no,” Monte laughed, “nah she wanted me to pop down to the shops and buy her a newspaper.”
“But the newsagents are closed,” John frowned, “it’s after eleven at night.”
“Yeah I know,” Monte tapped the side of his own head, “not all there, she’s a daft old bird but she’s alright. Pity though, I had my whole badger speech ready and everything!”
“I thought you said it was a raccoon?” John smirked.
“Oh yeah.. “ Monte frowned, puzzled and then grinned, “you’re sharp, I’ll give you that.”
Then Monte stopped and whirled around, halting John in his tracks.
“Heading home?” Monte wondered, as if he wasn't too keen on the idea of being followed.
“Actually I thought I might accompany you to this little meeting,” John responded idly.
“It’s not exactly a social call, John,” Monte cautioned him seriously.
“Even better,” John smiled back, the tips of his fangs gleaming in the streetlights. Monte stared at them for a moment and John began to feel self conscious and uneasy, but then Monte suddenly burst into his easy going grin and shrugged.
“You just keep getting cooler and cooler!” Monte praised him, “how do you do that?”
John stood there for a moment as Monte turned and kept going on his way, eventually he caught up again and fell into step with the curious fellow.
“I can’t help it,” John explained quietly, thinking Monte was talking about his teeth.
“Oh yeah, I bet,” Monte laughed, “coolness is just something one is born with right? No seriously, how do you get to be so awesome? I bet you get all the girls.. “
John lifted a brow, was he flirting just now?
“I.. “ John wasn’t sure what to say, “I suppose you could say I’ve had more than my fair share.. “
Monte nodded without questioning the claim, shoving his hands into his pockets and pulling out some gloves, putting them on carefully.
“Best put some on,” Monte cautioned him, “you don’t want your fingerprints found in this place. Trust me.”
John didn’t exactly carry gloves around with him, so he just kept walking and Monte glanced at him just before they reached the door of a derelict, old warehouse building.
“Show me your hands,” Monte said quietly. John held up his hands and Monte pressed their palms together, measuring them.
“Seems about the same, my gloves should fit you,” Monte smiled, “your hands are freezing!”
He pulled out the spare set of gloves from his pants pocket and handed them to John, who put them on and he was very interested to know what exactly went on behind that door.
“Let me do the talking,” Monte explained, “it’s better that way.”
John did not argue for now out of sheer curiosity and Monte knocked on the door three times, paused and knocked once more. The door opened after a while and two hands reached out, grasped each of them by the arm and roughly hauled them stumbling to their knees into the building..
John couldn’t stop a savage, low growl rise up and rumble from his throat. Monte furrowed his brow and cast him a curious expression, before a voice made them both glance up at a very obese man in a wheelchair. A taller, thinner man pushed the chair closer and John stayed reluctantly put for the time being just to see where this was going.
“I told you to come alone,” the obese man spoke slowly, clearly the man in charge around here and very sure of his position.
“Yeah well,” Monte smiled faintly, “we all break a few rules here and there, don’t we? How is the er, diet coming along anyway, Travis?”
Travis shifted his weight in his chair, going red in the face and already sweating with the effort of such a small gesture.
“Enough cheek out of you!” hissed the taller, thinner man, “did you bring what we asked for?”
“What I asked for!” Travis corrected him and the tall man grumbled under his breath, “do you have it, Monte? I’d hate for anything to happen to the woman.”
“I bet you would,” Monte mumbled under his breath.
“What was that?” Travis grunted and John couldn’t help but fight back an amused grin.
“Too many flab rolls in his neck,” Monte said softly, leaning closer to John, “blocks up his ears.. “
John snickered and Travis’ face turned redder than a ripe tomato. Travis was used to Monte’s lack of external fear, the guy could be shitting himself and still manage to form a charming smile and hold an intelligent conversation without faltering. John hadn’t known Monte for very long, so the sheer cheek of the lad amused and surprised him, Monte was definitely not one of your average, run of the mill, everyday, ordinary humans and it utterly mesmerized the vampire. So much so, that John was content to just stay put and see how this would all unfold without his interference but if they touched his bottle, there’d be hell to pay..
“What’s so damned funny, boy?” Travis asked John, believing himself to be older because John looked so young and Travis held a bit of silver hair around his ears and in his beard. John glared up at the fat lump of lard, but couldn’t help having to lick away the drool from his fangs at the copious amount of blood Travis’ body contained.
“I’ve got it,” Monte deflected the powder keg of a situation, not wanting it all to blow up around him, “just let me get it from my pocket, alright?”
John waited anxiously, somewhere in his mind he recalled that Monte still had the gun and it gave John pause, stopping him from taking control of the whole scenario and risking exposure.
“Nice and slow,” Travis ordered Monte, watching him now instead of John. Which was a shame really, because John was the one all eyes should have been focused upon.
Monte blinked, a slight furrow to his brow as he slowly stood up and watched the tall man behind Travis’ chair slump to the ground. John hadn’t moved, or so it would seem but he was now contentedly licking the corner of his mouth and enjoying the rush of warm blood tumbling down into his stomach and warming him from the inside.
“Odd time to take a nap,” Monte commented, reaching in and taking out his gun.
“Hm?” Travis tried to look around, but he just couldn’t move that well and simply looked up but he could not see the tall man now, “what.. Where’d he go?”
John was aware that there were others in the building, but so far, none of them had shown any interest in emerging from their various rooms upstairs to come down and investigate what was happening down here.
“Probably a brain aneurysm, those things are scary as hell,” Monte shrugged, “you don’t even know they’re there until BAM! You’re dead.. “
At the word ‘bam’, Monte placed the pistol directly against Travis’ head. Travis’ eyes widened in fear and his neck veins bulged with anger as his heart sped up. John whined softly, his fangs steadily growing and his eyes almost rolling in pleasure and anticipation of a meal. The scent of fear wafted to him and his pupils dilated, he snapped his fangs and set his sights upon Travis’ buffet of a body.
“Where is she?” Monte demanded, cocking the gun and ensuring Travis heard the click, “tell me or I paint the wall with your brains, such as they are.. ”
John was intrigued that his amusing, light hearted new friend had suddenly switched from curious puppy to no-nonsense badass in a split second of time. He silently urged Travis to hurry it up, certain he’d be unable to contain his fangs for too much longer as he slowly got up to his feet and fixed his gaze right on the main artery in the fat guy’s throat; it was throbbing, pulsing.. Beckoning..
Travis began to sweat profusely, the gun pressing into his head made a sort of dent as his layers of fat sunk in at the pressure that Monte was applying there.
“You’ll not walk out of this building alive!” Travis tried to buy himself some time. John didn’t see Monte as the killing type, perhaps Travis knew it as well but Monte was unpredictable and neither one of them could truly be certain of his next move.
“I’m pretty sure I will,” Monte responded firmly, “I mean, if I’m walking, I’m obviously not dead, am I?”
Travis frowned, feeling the gun press harder into his skull.
“Now,” Monte said quietly, “I’ll ask you one more time, where is she?”
“Top floor,” Travis spoke with a trembling voice, “she’s right at the end of the hallway.”
Monte slowly withdrew the gun and looked towards the stairs, it’d be risky to go up there because if everyone suddenly came out before he could get back down, there’d be no way he could escape this place. As Monte was wondering how to get out of this in once piece, John heard a faint sound coming from a nearby locked door. He turned his head towards it and listened more carefully, there were definitely faint whimpering sounds coming from behind that door.
“I’m going up,” Monte announced and Travis smiled to himself wickedly, “could you keep an eye on him please, John?”
“I think he’s lying,” John told Monte, “there’s no harm in checking the ground floor first, is there?”
“I suppose not,” Monte agreed slowly, looking around and spying at least three doors to open.
“I’m telling you she’s up there!” Travis got flustered and turned more red, “those doors only contain my men, they’ll shoot you on sight!”
“If that were true,” Monte reasoned, approaching the door John had glanced at just a moment ago, “why would you even bother to warn me?”
John was thinking the same thing, he enjoyed what he was learning about Monte, the man could certainly handle himself in a crisis situation and that could come in handy quite a lot. One of John’s many, many reasons for not befriending humans was their vulnerability, he’d be forever trying to protect them and pull them from danger but Monte seemed perfectly capable of getting himself out of trouble - Well, most of the time anyway.
Monte tried the door but it was indeed locked and he looked around, it further made him believe that no men were waiting for him in there because why lock them inside? He spied a piece of wire over by the corner and he grabbed it up, sticking it into the lock and messing about with it. John approached Travis and circled him, making sure he knew his time was up by keeping eye contact with his intended prey.
“I’ve almost got it!” Monte announced, “just a few more seconds.. Three.. “
John grasped Travis by the throat, cutting off his oxygen supply.
“..Two,” Monte continued, focused solely on the lock. John lowered his head to breathe deeply of the fear scent that wafted from Travis, growling deeply into his ear and snapping his fangs loudly. Travis was gurgling and gagging, trying to gasp for air but to no avail.
“..One,” Monte concluded, hearing the lock click open, “bingo!”
John sunk his fangs deeply into the softened flesh of Travis’ neck, it was bitter and salty at first from so much sweat pouring from the man’s body but the hot gush of blood that suddenly spurted down into his throat more than made up for that unpleasant taste. John drank deeply, his growls of satisfaction and soft purrs of delight easily heard by the dying human in his grasp. There was so much blood! He felt like he had drank for forever by the time he sucked on an empty bite mark, not a drop was left and John pulled away with a satisfied snap of his jaw. Travis slumped forwards and down onto the floor, his body whiter than a sheet and a trickle of his blood still dripped down from the corner of John’s mouth. John calmed down a little from the excited rush, looking over to the door and expecting to see Monte gaping at him in horror. The front door was wide open, the room Monte had just broken into was empty and John looked puzzled for a moment.
Just then, Monte stuck his head inside from out the front, he grinned and raised his brows in question.
“You coming?” Monte wondered. John paused, how much had he seen? Did he even notice or was he just not saying anything of it?
Monte had gone directly into the room, untied the woman he had come for and had taken her immediately outside. John knew it was useless trying to read his thoughts, they were too jumbled up and all over the place, it was like getting lost within a labyrinth of ideas, plans and musings all twisted around and knotted up together.
“Yeah.. “ John finally snapped out of it, licking the blood from his lips.
“Come on then,” Monte urged him to hurry, “I’m on a bit of a tight schedule right now.. “
John followed him back outside again and he looked at the woman they had rescued, she was shapely and pretty in the face but did not look at all appreciative.
“It’s about damn time you showed up, Monte!” she snapped at him, “you’d better get me home to my father before the deadline, or he’ll kill you whether I’m safe in his house or not!”
“Keep your hair on, Pearl,” Monte assured her, “I’ll get you there on time.”
“Not that it’s any skin off my nose,” Pearl sniffed haughtily, suddenly sizing up John and smiling now, “who’s your gorgeous friend?”
John felt a gentle burn in his cheeks and kept eye contact with her, but it was not a smile of interest that crept onto his face just then, it was more a smile of condescension and contempt. He didn’t go for a personality as shallow as this woman’s seemed to be, Monte had just risked his life to save hers and even if he was being forced to do so, her snide remarks still just didn’t sit well with John, not to mention such an ungrateful attitude had really put him off. John casually placed his arm around Monte’s shoulders and placed a brief peck onto the startled man’s cheek.
“Taken,” John said smoothly and Pearl turned bright red, averting her eyes and looking most unimpressed. Monte cleared his throat, a deep heat settling into his own face as he gestured towards a car that was waiting nearby.
“Shall we?” Monte kept his cool exterior and Pearl headed for the car at once. John slowly slipped his arm from Monte’s shoulders and Monte gave him an amused yet slightly puzzled sideways glance as they approached the car themselves.
“Are you a comedian or what?” Monte asked John, pausing close to the car.
“Just get in, hm?” John urged him, if there was a time limit then it was best to keep moving.
“Right,” Monte nodded, “yes, the drop off happens now.. “
John climbed in after him and the driver began to pull away from the roadside, it was quiet except for Monte’s constant shifting and fidgeting. It didn’t really bother anyone else but John’s senses were more perceptive than a human’s so it started to become quite irritating. Monte was clicking his fingers when John grabbed his hand, pushing it down between them both and just holding it there. Pearl lifted a brow but said nothing and soon they finally arrived at a tall apartment building. Piling out of the car, they stood around just outside the front of the building and Pearl folded her arms.
“Aren’t you going to take me inside?” she wondered in her annoyed tone.
“Have you forgotten how to use a door?” John asked her. Pearl seethed and stormed off, barging into the apartment building and disappearing inside.
“I’d better make sure she gets there alright,” Monte told John, “I’ll be right out.”
John watched him go inside, lit up a cigarette and waited to see what interesting thing might happen next. Monte walked into the apartment where Pearl had just gone, her father hugged her and held her close to him, looking up as Monte entered the room.
“You kept your word,” the man smiled faintly, “I have to admit, I doubted you for a long time Monte.”
“That’s great,” Monte said quickly, “could you have that bomb removed from my car now? I am getting tired of walking everywhere I go.”
“Consider it done,” nodded the man, “also, I will offer you the hand of one of my daughters as an extra thank you gift.”
“Forget it,” Pearl pulled back from her father, “he’s gay.”
Monte looked surprised but the man just shrugged.
“One of my sons then,” he corrected himself.
“He’s taken, dad!” Pearl groaned in irritation, “that’s his boyfriend standing out there in the street, the one with the muscles and black hair.. “
Monte opened his mouth to interject but the man just sighed and waved him away.
“Be off with you then,” the man dismissed Monte. John glanced up as Monte exited the building, finishing his cigarette and stubbing it out in the snow.
“All set to go?” John wondered.
“Yeah,” Monte grinned cheerfully, but something seemed to be bothering him.
“What’s wrong?” John asked him curiously.
“I need to sell my car,” Monte started hiking back into the city, for he didn’t trust nor believe that man to actually follow through with his promise. John caught up to him and looked at Monte’s creased brow.
“What’s wrong with your car?” John questioned his statement.
“Well, I could do with the money,” Monte said with a shrug, “I haven’t been home in days, it’s sitting in my driveway and there’s a fucking bomb attached to the underside of it.”
John didn’t blame him for not going home, if there was indeed a bomb stuck to his car, anything could set it off at any given time. It made him wonder just who the hell Monte was, for it seemed as though wherever there was trouble, he was somehow connected to it in one way or another.
“So where are you headed for now?” John demanded, “if you can’t go home?”
“Back to work,” Monte told him, “I was sleeping on my girlfriend’s sofa for a little while but she had to move.”
“Out of town?” John queeried.
“Out of the country,” Monte answered, “it um, it was safer that way.”
“Pity,” John shrugged, “long distance relationships are difficult.”
“Oh, we’re not together anymore,” Monte informed him, “it’s better if I just keep to myself anyway, nobody else gets dragged into things then.”
John fell silent and Monte looked at him again, that curious and questioning expression on his face once more.
“Just ask me,” John growled with a snap of his teeth, becoming a bit irritated with being unsure if Monte knew anything or not.
“I didn’t want to offend you,” Monte said quietly, “are you a vampire?”
John was expecting anything else except the direct question and it caught him quite unawares, he was so used to people asking a million questions and trying to make more logical sense of him first.
“Yes,” John decided to just go with it and see where it took him, “doesn’t that bother you at all?”
“Well, yes and no,” Monte looked at him quizzically, “I’ve learned to just deal with things and move on. Sorry if you were expecting me to start throwing holy water on you or something.”
John laughed and Monte smiled at him, there had been no tension between them from the start and John found this to be quite a pleasant change. Monte wasn’t aware of it yet, but he was quickly becoming perceived as being ‘owned’ by the vampire and it would be rather foolish of anyone to even think of touching something that belonged to John Blaylock..
“So that’s it?” John lifted a brow, “no questions?”
“Actually,” Monte looked at him as they rounded a street corner, “what sorts of things can you do? I think I could make a mint in bar bets.. “
John shook his head, not keen on becoming an exhibition or drawing unnecessary attention to himself.
“Let’s just keep it between ourselves, hm?” John cautioned him.
“Have it your own way then,” Monte spoke with disappointment in his tone, “we could’ve been rich in a day.. “
Money wasn’t something John concerned himself with unless he really had to, so hanging around bars making bets was definitely out of the question. He had now made a map in his mind of where to get a bite to eat later on, his first prize being that delicious Pearl woman but he was still feeling pretty good from being able to drain several people within a few hours of each other, so it’d probably not happen until tomorrow night. John liked to keep himself overfed if he was going to be around someone he didn’t want to bite, it kept his fangs in check and prevented him from accidentally making food out of a friend.
They approached the bar and John slowed down, Monte kept walking and eventually halted by the door, looking around.
“Will I see you around?” Monte wondered.
“I don’t doubt it,” John smirked, for Monte seemed to really get around, despite the city being so large.
“Alright,” Monte stood there still, not really keen to go back inside. He was curious after all, he just didn’t want to bombard his new friend for fear of making him annoyed enough to walk off and not ever come back. He seemed to have that sort of effect on people, they either fell in love with him or they found him extremely annoying. It was hardly ever the latter but he really didn’t want to risk it with John because Monte had never met an actual vampire before and he was very, very intrigued.
“John?” Monte just had to know.
“Yes, Monte?” John looked at him with a tilt of his head.
“Are werewolves real, too?” Monte questioned him. John looked disgusted and spat in contempt.
“Unfortunately,” John growled. Monte smiled faintly, then he grinned and shrugged.
“Learn something new every day innit?” Monte said amusedly, “wow.. “
John came closer and stood in front of Monte, he couldn’t understand the lack of fear or even doubt that such a creature as John even existed. Even when confronted with his fangs, most people still screamed and demanded to know what he was, despite the obviousness of it all, they just simply could not or would not believe it.
“If you don’t have a place to stay,” John told him, “you can come and sleep at my house.”
Monte’s eyes lit up.
“Oh, that’d be fantastic, thank you!” Monte gushed at him, “you um, you don’t live in a crypt and sleep in a coffin, right?”
John laughed again.
“No,” John replied quietly, “absolutely not.”
Monte sighed with relief.
“Oh good,” Monte said calmly.
“I prefer to stay in a mausoleum,” John teased. Monte looked pale and hesitant, but he was acutely observant and soon grinned again as the color returned to his face.
“You had me going,” Monte admitted, “you really did.. “
John reached over and took Monte’s pen and paper from his pants pocket, slowly, just to be a little flirty and Monte watched him with mild but obvious interest.
“This is my address,” John told him, writing it down and handing the things back to Monte, “I’ll leave the door unlocked, just make yourself at home if I’m not there.”
“Very generous I’m sure,” Monte said carefully, looking down at the written address, “should I.. ?“
Monte glanced up and John was gone, he looked around with a furrowed brow and there was nowhere John could have hidden in that short space of time, so where had he gone? Looking up, he wondered if the man could actually fly and then made his way back inside to complete his shift.
John went home and took a shower, then he laid nude and sprawled upon his sofa to open his vintage scotch and he paused to take in the scent of nostalgia. Then he slowly began to drink and savor the taste, holding it in his mouth and closing his eyes before swallowing each mouthful very carefully. It was almost erotic in a way, but his thoughts drifted back to Monte every so often until he fell asleep, the empty bottle falling to the carpeted floor with a soft thud and gentle snores of contentment were soon rumbling deeply from his partially open mouth.
Over at the bar, Monte was wondering why they stayed open from dusk til dawn but they were an all night nightclub, so he supposed it made sense. He wasn’t sure if John burned up in the sunlight or not, like the ones in just about every film he’d seen with vampires in them, but if it was true than he was glad to be able to at least spend the day indoors with his exciting new friend.. And he did find John very exciting, he just couldn’t get the handsome vampire out of his mind.
John startled awake as he heard something smash into his door, it had actually opened and closed very quickly and the dazed vampire was dragged from a very deep sleep. His fangs at the ready, John slowly sat up and peered over the top of the sofa. Breathing heavily, Monte was leaning with his back pressed up against the door and John sighed with relief that he seemed to be alright. Trying to function normally wasn’t easy when you had been drinking and were suddenly snapped out of your drunken slumber so damned fast that it made your head spin, so John sank back down into the sofa with a flop to recover first.
“What’s all that about then?” John slurred slowly, arching his back to try and get comfortable again as his eyes demanded to be closed once more.
“Just a dog,” Monte breathed out long and slow to calm his pounding heart, “a really, really big dog.. “
John giggled at the thought, Monte’s fear taking its sweet time in reaching his vaguely aware self but when it did, his pupils dilated, his nostrils flared and he sat up in earnest now. Monte reached over and bolted the door shut, then a gunshot was heard and a bullet zinged through the door and just missed his ear by an inch.
“Since when do dogs carry guns?” John wondered amusedly. Monte looked over at him with wide eyes, John growled softly and snapped his jaws but forced himself to give his attention instead to the person outside rather than focus on Monte’s fearful and exciting scent.
“Sorry,” Monte apologized quickly, “I know I shouldn’t have come here but I didn’t know where else to go!”
John did not wait for an explanation, he knew only two things in that moment: Firstly, Monte was in danger and secondly, someone with a gun was shooting at his home. John valued the sanctuary of his dwelling, anyone who threatened his peace and quiet here was automatically invited to dinner. He stood up and Monte blushed as John walked around the sofa, his long, thick shaft already semi erect from the stench of fear coming from Monte.
“Get down,” John instructed Monte, “it’s not safe.”
Monte backed away and crawled in under the coffee table, peeking out but the door was wide open and John had disappeared. Monte heard a garbled sound and crept slowly out to look carefully around the open doorway, John’s face was right there and startled Monte, making him shout and jump back. Instinctively, John pounced on him and pinned Monte to the floor on his back, still in a rush after having just recently fed. Monte stared up at John’s bloodied face, his fangs were red and long, his fingers dug hard into Monte’s upper arms. Monte became still, allowing his muscles to go limp and averting his eyes. John marveled at his technique and the strangely calming effect it had upon himself, he let go of Monte and sat back to let him up.
Monte rolled away and sat up, turning to look at John with a little concern, for he was covered almost head to toe in blood and bits of.. Well, Monte didn’t really want to dwell upon what it might have been and he turned his face away. John felt self conscious and withdrew his fangs, then he got up and shut the front door, he normally would be licking himself clean by now but in courtesy of his guest - he decided that perhaps a shower might be a little less disgusting of a display. Monte didn’t question why John was naked, this was his home after all and who didn’t enjoy to let themselves swing in the breeze once in awhile when they lived alone?
John wandered off to the bathroom and Monte slowly got to his feet, deciding against looking outside to see the aftermath of the vampire’s frenzied attack.
“Thanks,” Monte called after him. John grunted his reply and started the water, Monte boldly crept into the doorway of the bathroom and watched as the white porcelain floor turned pink and red with blood, while the warm water streamed down over John’s muscular body and he found himself staring.
“So,” John ran his fingers through his hair and growled happily with content of a full belly, “would you care to explain how this ‘dog’ suddenly managed to morph into seven hostile thugs?”
Monte rubbed the back of his neck and managed a small smile, his face burning again somewhat.
“Well,” Monte said quietly, “I mean.. “
John turned to look at him and offered Monte a fang filled grin of his own, but he was clean now and the blood had all but washed away. John turned off the water and grabbed up a towel, drying himself off and Monte backed off to let him get by, towel wrapped about his waist to lessen Monte’s discomfort.
“It’s not entirely my fault,” Monte finally answered the question. John got the feeling that nothing was ever really Monte’s ‘fault’ per say, he’d just.. made a few bad decisions.. Who wasn’t guilty of doing that once in awhile?
John used a second towel to dry his hair, while Monte sank down onto the sofa and cleared his throat.
“They’re all brothers,” Monte explained, “well, they were anyway.. I was dating their sister and, well.. I don’t think they really ever approved of that.”
John looked around at him, lifting a brow.
“I think that’s probably the safest bet you’ve ever made, am I right?” John asked him.
“It’s not funny, John,” Monte furrowed his brow, “I really liked her.”
“What happened between you both?” John wondered, “why did they come after you like that?”
Monte stared at him for a moment and John felt uneasy, liked her.. as in past tense..
“Oh,” John figured out half of the story, “..how?”
“It was an accident,” Monte said quietly, “we were heading back to her place and we took a shortcut, I think we must have stumbled into a drug deal or something because the next thing I knew, we were running for our lives.”
John listened as Monte went on to explain that, despite their best efforts to escape, the woman had been fatally injured and the brothers had laid the blame squarely upon Monte’s shoulders when they found out.
“When did all of this happen?” John asked curiously, wondering how long these men had been after Monte and why Monte had failed to mention them until just now.
“Around half an hour ago,” Monte responded idly and John lifted a concerned brow, all of that in the space of less than an hour? It made him feel dizzy at how he’d almost lost the opportunity to get to know Monte better, if they’d shot him instead of her..
“Is anyone else going to be upset because of this?” John wondered.
“You can count on it,” Monte nodded, “those boys were somebody’s muscle, but I guess since they’ve now been turned into a paste, it’ll take a while for anyone else to come after me.”
John now wasn’t comfortable with letting Monte wander off on his own, it was hard for him to express it though, because keeping someone on a tight leash was not exactly going to end happily for either party. Monte took John’s silence as acceptance and yawned, it was getting light out, that meant it was time to eat, shower and go to bed but he’d already eaten while he was out, so he slowly got to his feet and headed into the bathroom. John kept his thoughts to himself, he was not Monte’s keeper but it bothered the vampire that the frailty of human life could take from him such a unique and curious individual.
Don’t get attached, he’d been warned so very long ago and had quickly adopted the motto for himself after losing one too many humans with whom he’d struck up a sort of friendship. He’d had to watch them grow old or get sick, sometimes offering them to become vampires in his desperation to save them but they had all refused, accepting that their time had come and making peace with whatever they believed was waiting for them on the other side. Being a vampire meant that he had to deal with death on a daily basis, but that didn’t mean he had to get used to losing someone he liked and it took a lot for John to actually like someone. Monte had somehow gotten under his skin in next to no time at all, which surprised him and frustrated him because he wasn’t supposed to get attached. It’d been easy not to make friends, John was quite introverted at the best of times and he hadn’t really meant to actually talk to Monte, he was supposed to take advantage of the free, rather helpless meal at the time but he somehow couldn’t bring himself to do it.
Perhaps because as a predator, he would much prefer to hunt down his prey and enjoy the thrill of the chase, instead of shooting fish in a barrel, so to speak. There was no fun in it, his desire to bite hadn’t even begun to stir and in not killing Monte, John had inadvertently become drawn to him. He sighed heavily, locking his door as he closed it and then he went around to lock the windows and secure the place up for the day. John hadn’t slept well, so he was still drowsy and when Monte wandered out of the bathroom, John was already asleep in the bedroom. Monte looked around for a while, but John’s was the only bed in the house and so he decided to sleep in an armchair in John’s room because he wasn’t comfortable being out there in the living room on his own if he had the choice to stay close to someone as big and as strong as John. His eyes closed almost immediately, exhausted and feeling safe for the first time in a long, long while. He was so tired, he just left his clothes in a small pile on the floor, he would just put them on again tonight before work, no big deal.
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(page 2: http://luv-bowie-luver.livejournal.com/59037.html)
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Summary: It’s extrovert Vs. introvert, if nothing else; this story is almost certain to bring a smile to your face. When the often shy and secretive vampire John Blaylock meets the mischievous likes of an outgoing bartender named Monte, he quickly discovers that it doesn’t matter how long you have lived, there’s always someone ready and willing to show you that you ain’t seen nothin’ yet! Strap yourself in, it’s going to be a bumpy ride!
***
Unfinished. Unedited. Rough Draft.
***
UPDATED: February 14th, 2015, 9.49AM (my time)
***
It was a cool, crisp night and the freshly fallen snow lay even on the ground and largely undisturbed at this hour. Hunting was easy in the winter, it made vampires rather lazy though for all they had to do was follow a single set of footprints that tracked off on it’s own after emerging from the crowd. They didn’t need to use their other senses much and humans had trouble running when the snow was thick and they sank down deeper into it with every step they took.
Walking along the footpath of an empty street, John Blaylock was returning to his home after quite the successful night. He’d come across a party, crashed it and left several people unconscious. Returning home with an entire, full bottle of whiskey in hand was a considerable bonus, but if he hadn’t taken it with him then he was sure it would have gone to waste. John raised the bottle and eyed it warily, taking a large swig of it and stumbling over something that was half obscured by the snow. He frowned and knelt down to brush away the white, powdery snow from the metallic object and was surprised to note that it was a pistol, but who had left it here?
“Excuse me,” came a chipper voice from above him. John looked up sharply, rising to his feet and inclining his head. There was a man, upside down and hanging by a rope that was wrapped around his entire body like a fly caught in a spider’s silken threads. John smiled amusedly, playful in his drunken state and almost giggling at the sight.
“The fuck you doing up there?” John wondered.
“Ah, yes.. Long story,” the man replied, “name’s Monte.. How d’you do? Could you pass me that gun, please?”
John looked at him for a moment and knelt down once more to pick up the pistol and he held it out to Monte. Monte wriggled but couldn’t get his hands free, so he sighed and frowned.
“On second thought,” Monte said loudly, “could you cut me down from here? I’m er.. A bit stuck.”
“Yeah, I noticed,” John tucked the pistol into his belt and pushed Monte so that he swung a little, “how’d you get up there?”
“It doesn’t matter,” Monte told him firmly, “but unless you get me down from here, there’s soon going to be a seriously messy game of pinata that I really don’t want to see the end of!”
John lifted a brow.
“And how does that affect me, exactly?” John asked him, keen to see the game commence and delight in the spillage once it was over.
“Well,” Monte faltered but only for a moment, “I could pay you!”
John was silent, he had no need of money right now.
“Um, eventually,” Monte added, “it’d be more of an I.O.U.”
John smiled amusedly again, deciding to listen for a bit longer, just until he got bored and decided to continue on his way home.
“No?” Monte accepted the silence as refusal, “okay, new plan.. I can take you to a diamond mine!”
John was definitely listening now, diamonds were a whole other matter entirely.
“I’ve got this map, see,” Monte explained quickly, “and it’s genuine.. I mean, I think it is anyway, it’s Peruvian so.. Well I can’t read it but maybe we can find someone who can?”
John leaned against the wall, finding Monte quite amusing and very entertaining indeed.
“Well, I said map but it’s only half a map,” Monte digressed, “it was cheaper that way - But hey, it’s the half with the ‘X’ on it, so.. You know, the best part, right?”
John took another swig of whiskey, his eyes half closed now.
“Of course it doesn’t tell you which country it’s in,” Monte babbled on, “but er, I’m sure we could um, figure it out - Uhm, a-are you going to cut me down or what?”
John suddenly snapped out of his trance, having zoned out while Monte was rambling on.
“I don’t have a knife with me,” John said firmly, “sorry Monte, guess you’re outta luck.”
“Just shoot the rope!” Monte instructed him, “the gun’s mine, it fell out of my pocket. Use it to shoot the rope!”
John sighed and straightened up, pushing away from the wall. He took out the pistol and aimed it at the rope above Monte’s feet but he swayed a little and his aim kept shifting. Monte looked worried, the guy was clearly intoxicated and might actually shoot him instead..
With a loud bang that seemed to crack the very atmosphere of stillness all around them, the rope split and then snapped under Monte’s weight. He gave a shout and floomped into the soft drift of snow below. John looked down at him and Monte wriggled free of the ropes at last, breathing a huge sigh of relief and reaching out his hand towards John.
“Thank you,” Monte was grateful, “you saved my life.. “
John gave Monte back his pistol but did not shake his hand.
“John,” he introduced himself.
“Very, very pleased to meet you John,” Monte gushed with a big, cheesy grin, “now, if I might be so bold as to suggest we run?”
John looked over his shoulder and saw some men with baseball bats running towards them, Monte took off like a shot at once but John decided to stick around and perhaps play a game of pinata all of his own..
Monte glanced back over his shoulder and noticed that John was not running with him but rather he was standing there now facing the approaching thugs, so he stopped in his tracks and turned around to see what was happening.
“Is he mad?” Monte wondered to himself, as John allowed the men to get closer and closer, “he’s mad! Fuck, I’ve just made friends with a madman!”
John watched and waited, one of the men swung at him and John caught the bat in his hand without even really trying. Wrenching the bat from the startled thug’s hands, John tossed his whiskey bottle over his shoulder and took a full swing. The bat connected violently with the thug’s ribs, a sickening crack could be heard as the thug dropped howling to the ground and boy did he ever stay there..
John had drained him in the blink of an eye but Monte was distracted by the whiskey bottle coming at him much too fast and he caught it like a football against his chest with an “oof!”
John smiled, knowing his drink was quite safe and his fangs glinted in the light of the street lamps. Two more thugs circled him now, one of them looking very sure of himself while the other looked about ready to run for it.
“I don’t know what you’re doing with our little pinata,” the confident thug warned John firmly, “but you’d best stay outta our business and hand him over, or it’s curtains for you, pal!”
John stood calmly and looked down at his fingernails for a moment, there was a blurred motion and the less confident thug suddenly dropped to the ground, pale white and unmoving. John didn’t look like he had moved, still looking at his nails and slowly, he lifted his gaze to meet with that of the now not so confident thug.
“What the hell?” the thug stared at John, not daring to take his eyes off the stranger, “why are you protecting him? He’s just gonna screw you over too, if he owes you anything, don’t expect him to- GAAAK!”
Monte looked up from studying the bottle of whiskey he’d been holding, John was licking his lips and appeared to be the only one left standing. He approached John now, looking around himself just to make sure there weren’t any others lurking about.
“You uhm, you made short work of those lively fellows.. “ Monte smiled at John, handing him the bottle, “it’s a shit year, real cheap, I can get you some really old stuff if you’d prefer.. Classic vintage, should go down real smooth.”
John stood silent for a moment, trying to calm his fangs back into hiding but for some reason, Monte wasn’t asking him questions about how he’d managed to take on three thugs so quickly. He didn’t ask about John’s fangs, which were clearly visible to him now that he had come closer and he didn’t point out that there wasn’t any blood spattered in the snow, despite the wounds on the necks of the thugs.
“Silent type izzit?” Monte asked, shrugging with a cute, pouty smile, “that’s alright, I’ll just about talk your ear off anyhow.. Kinda makes up for the lack of jibber jabber from you, yeah?”
John lifted a brow and Monte began to circle him curiously, prodding and poking at John’s muscles and making the ticklish vampire startle and struggle not to giggle.
“You’re a big lad,” Monte was impressed, “nice, I wish I could look like that.. You think I would by now though, what with all my running around.. What did you say your name was?”
John had indeed told Monte his name earlier and he silently applauded the strange man for his quick talking because John was almost ready to answer him until he’d thought twice about it.
“I am nobody you’d want to know,” John responded stiffly, refusing to let Monte know that he found him amusing and somewhat charming.
“Aww, of course I want to know you!” Monte said brightly, “I’m only alive because of you and I insist that I pay my debt to you, sir.”
Monte bowed and John felt the corners of his mouth tugging and threatening to make him smile.
“You don’t appear to have a very solid reputation for repaying your debts,” John told him pointedly.
“Ah.. Yes, well.. “ Monte rubbed the back of his neck, “I mean, they bump it up don’t they? Make sure I can’t ever pay it back, it starts out small enough but the longer I take to come up with the dough the faster they hike it up and I just can’t do it.. I think they just want me dead to be honest.. Can’t understand why though!“
John took a swig of whiskey.
“You are in trouble often?” John wondered.
“A little,” Monte shrugged, “well.. Maybe a lot.. But you know, usually I can handle it, they uhm, just caught me off guard tonight that’s all.”
Monte puffed out his chest, trying to look bigger and John had to smile this time, he just couldn’t help it. Monte was like a tiny pup to him, trying to lift a bone bigger than itself in an attempt to impress. But perhaps they could be of mutual benefit to one another. John was getting to the point where he preferred to take down the bad guys and Monte seemed to have a limitless supply of those.
“My name is John,” he reminded Monte, “John Blaylock.”
Monte nodded and smiled cheerfully at him.
“So, how about that vintage hm?” Monte offered, “I know just the place, wanna come with?”
John figured he probably should at least make sure Monte got home alright, but he wasn’t getting the feeling that Monte was even the slightest bit tired.
“Don’t you have a home to go to?” John wondered, “it is quite late.”
“Oh, I’m a bartender,” Monte grinned at him, “actually I should probably be at work right now.. Aww fuck it, I’ve got a great excuse, I mean come on, I was almost killed! I sleep days, why.. Are you tired?”
“No,” John responded idly, “not at all.”
“Come on then,” Monte brightened up again, “let me show you that booze.. “
He started off towards a bar across the street and John finished his bottle before slowly walking after him, curious to see if Monte could live up to his promise and keen to taste that lager from long ago, it’d remind him of good times perhaps and cheer him up a bit. Though he found it odd, while drinking made him lighten up and feel cheeky and playful, Monte seemed to have almost the same effect upon him.
Monte walked into the bar and waited for John to join him, then he led the way through to the back and down into the cellar.
“Are you supposed to be down here?” John asked him, looking around.
“No,” Monte answered, picking up a piece of wire, “here we are.”
“What’s that?” John frowned curiously.
“A key,” grinned Monte cheekily, walking over to a door and jamming the wire into the lock. He wriggled it around for a moment and John was pretty sure Monte had no idea what he was doing, when suddenly he heard a click and Monte gave him a satisfied smile.
“Too easy,” Monte boasted, pushing the door open and wandering inside. John had to hand it to him, he was certainly resourceful, although John could easily have just kicked the door down without too much effort. He followed Monte inside and gazed around with slightly wider eyes, the dates on some of these bottles were so thick with dust, he couldn’t quite make them out.
“It’s the owner’s private collection,” Monte explained, running his fingers along the dusty shelf and then stopping to sneeze repeatedly into a cloth he’d quickly pulled from his coat pocket. John looked at Monte curiously, intrigued by the age of some of these bottles.
“I take it the owner doesn’t come down here that often,” John stated, rather than asked. Monte shoved his cloth away into his pocket and rubbed his nose, coughing with the kick up of dust each of their footsteps unsettled.
“Almost never,” Monte agreed, “only to add to her collection, trouble is.. Well, actually it’s not so much trouble for me but it is for her, she can never remember which vintage she has already because there’s so many!”
“So you steal from her and she just replaces it, not knowing she already had it?” John concluded.
“Steal from her sounds so harsh,” Monte winced, “I just, sort of.. Procure it from her collection to preserve my life from time to time.”
“Uh-huh.. “ John frowned, “do you think I’m going to hurt you, Monte?”
“Hm? Oh! Oh no.. ‘course not, look at you.. “ Monte grinned at John, “dressed like something from the sixties, no no.. I offer you your choice of bottles as a thank you.. Not as an appeasement.. Why? Are you thinking of hurting me? Because I can show you that map.. “
“I’m not going to hurt you,” John reassured him, turning to take a closer look at the bottles now, “mmm, some of these bottles are centuries old.. “
“Yeah,” Monte grinned cheesily, “you’d think there’d be nothing more than dust in them.”
“Since when did liquid begin turning to dust?” John question Monte’s logic.
“Um,” Monte furrowed his brow and scratched his head, “is.. um.. “
“Yes,” John replied, not waiting for him to ask, “it’s a trick question.”
Monte looked relieved and then he laughed, pointing at John.
“You had me for a minute there,” Monte said amusedly, “I actually thought you wanted to know.. “
“What would you have said?” John wondered, selecting a bottle at last and taking it carefully down from the shelf.
“I have no fucking idea,” Monte breathed, still relieved he didn’t have to actually answer the question, “oh, yes.. Lovely.. Let’s go before someone notices we’re in here and I get fired.”
John followed Monte back upstairs out of the basement, tucking the bottle away into the pocket of his coat.
“What’s wrong with the way I am dressed?” John asked, as they emerged back into the light hearted chatter of the venue.
“Oh, um, n-nothing,” Monte put his hands up in a peaceful stop sign, “you like older things, I respect that. If I didn’t know better, I’d call you grandpa but hey.. Each to his own. I like it, it suits you, not many people can pull it off. I mean, that style went out before it came in.. Seems actually kinda nice on you. Are you a model at all?”
John was quite taken with Monte, he spoke quickly, was quite the little prince charming and dressed as if he were in the space age, but then it seemed to be the dress code for anyone who worked in this particular place because Monte wasn’t the only one wearing the shiny silver shirt.
“You should be if you’re not, seems a shame and quite the waste,” Monte went on, smiling all the while, “I could be your agent, I know a guy.. Only got one eye but he’s great with a camera!”
“I’m flattered but I think I’ll just take my vintage scotch and go home,” John answered him, keen to get out of there before he started drooling over the many, many warm bodies surrounding him.
“Oh,” Monte looked so crestfallen and disappointed, John almost felt sorry for him.
“Try not to get into any more trouble, hm?” John said firmly and Monte grinned again, brightening up as if he honestly believed John cared about his welfare.
“I work in a bar,” Monte chuckled, “how much trouble can I possibly get into?”
John gave him a withering glance and Monte’s face went straight.
“Don’t answer that,” Monte said with a forced, tight lipped half smile. John shook his head as Monte’s name was shouted from across the room and Monte flinched.
“That’ll be the owner,” Monte cracked his knuckles and mussed up his hair a bit, “do I look believably like I’ve just lost a fight with a rabid raccoon?”
“You.. What?” John was puzzled.
“Yeah you’re right, too much,” Monte frowned, “just a regular raccoon.. I don’t want to have to get another rabies shot.. Actually a really clever one that escaped from a lab and knows how to open locked doors with wire.. “
Monte’s name was shouted again and he winked at John with a cheeky grin and hurried off. John watched him for a moment, temporarily dazed at the fast pace with which Monte’s mind sped off in several different directions all at once, it was nearly impossible for John to follow one thought trail as it jumbled into a mess of string tangles that somehow made up the inner workings of Monte’s never hesitating mind.
John glanced over his shoulder to the exit, he knew he should just leave and chalk this entire evening up to just being in the wrong place at the right time but something was keeping him here and it was starting to bug him. Indecisiveness wasn’t exactly something he fought with every single day, but tonight it seemed he was torn between going home to enjoy his new prized bottle of 600 year old scotch and staying here to keep an eye on this amusing fellow. People didn’t really do much for John, in fact, he found them often repellent and blasé but this Monte guy had certainly attracted his attention.
John made his way over to a table and sat down, tapping his fingernails on the surface of the table and feeling as if he shouldn’t be here at all. Like a fox in the henhouse, John eyed each and every throat he saw and snapped his fangs with frustration and anticipation. He felt uncomfortable because he sensed his fangs growing longer, if someone saw them he would definitely have to leave quite quickly. Something touched both of his shoulders and John startled, it was not often he was caught off guard but he was so intent on trying to calm his fangs, he hadn’t noticed Monte approaching him again.
“I’m going to pop out for a bit,” Monte told him, his face very close to John’s without an ounce of either fear nor respect for personal space, “I’ve got to see a badger about a horse.. Or was it a poodle about a mouse? God, I hate talking in code. I have to see an arsehole about a girl, see ya later and thanks again!”
John looked around and watched Monte exit the building, then he stood up and hurried out after him.
“Monte.. “ John called. Monte stopped and turned around, looking a little surprised but he grinned anyway.
“Hello again John,” Monte greeted him as if they hadn’t seen each other just a few seconds ago.
“Did she notice it was gone?” John wondered as he caught up and they began walking together.
“Hm? Oh! Oh no,” Monte laughed, “nah she wanted me to pop down to the shops and buy her a newspaper.”
“But the newsagents are closed,” John frowned, “it’s after eleven at night.”
“Yeah I know,” Monte tapped the side of his own head, “not all there, she’s a daft old bird but she’s alright. Pity though, I had my whole badger speech ready and everything!”
“I thought you said it was a raccoon?” John smirked.
“Oh yeah.. “ Monte frowned, puzzled and then grinned, “you’re sharp, I’ll give you that.”
Then Monte stopped and whirled around, halting John in his tracks.
“Heading home?” Monte wondered, as if he wasn't too keen on the idea of being followed.
“Actually I thought I might accompany you to this little meeting,” John responded idly.
“It’s not exactly a social call, John,” Monte cautioned him seriously.
“Even better,” John smiled back, the tips of his fangs gleaming in the streetlights. Monte stared at them for a moment and John began to feel self conscious and uneasy, but then Monte suddenly burst into his easy going grin and shrugged.
“You just keep getting cooler and cooler!” Monte praised him, “how do you do that?”
John stood there for a moment as Monte turned and kept going on his way, eventually he caught up again and fell into step with the curious fellow.
“I can’t help it,” John explained quietly, thinking Monte was talking about his teeth.
“Oh yeah, I bet,” Monte laughed, “coolness is just something one is born with right? No seriously, how do you get to be so awesome? I bet you get all the girls.. “
John lifted a brow, was he flirting just now?
“I.. “ John wasn’t sure what to say, “I suppose you could say I’ve had more than my fair share.. “
Monte nodded without questioning the claim, shoving his hands into his pockets and pulling out some gloves, putting them on carefully.
“Best put some on,” Monte cautioned him, “you don’t want your fingerprints found in this place. Trust me.”
John didn’t exactly carry gloves around with him, so he just kept walking and Monte glanced at him just before they reached the door of a derelict, old warehouse building.
“Show me your hands,” Monte said quietly. John held up his hands and Monte pressed their palms together, measuring them.
“Seems about the same, my gloves should fit you,” Monte smiled, “your hands are freezing!”
He pulled out the spare set of gloves from his pants pocket and handed them to John, who put them on and he was very interested to know what exactly went on behind that door.
“Let me do the talking,” Monte explained, “it’s better that way.”
John did not argue for now out of sheer curiosity and Monte knocked on the door three times, paused and knocked once more. The door opened after a while and two hands reached out, grasped each of them by the arm and roughly hauled them stumbling to their knees into the building..
John couldn’t stop a savage, low growl rise up and rumble from his throat. Monte furrowed his brow and cast him a curious expression, before a voice made them both glance up at a very obese man in a wheelchair. A taller, thinner man pushed the chair closer and John stayed reluctantly put for the time being just to see where this was going.
“I told you to come alone,” the obese man spoke slowly, clearly the man in charge around here and very sure of his position.
“Yeah well,” Monte smiled faintly, “we all break a few rules here and there, don’t we? How is the er, diet coming along anyway, Travis?”
Travis shifted his weight in his chair, going red in the face and already sweating with the effort of such a small gesture.
“Enough cheek out of you!” hissed the taller, thinner man, “did you bring what we asked for?”
“What I asked for!” Travis corrected him and the tall man grumbled under his breath, “do you have it, Monte? I’d hate for anything to happen to the woman.”
“I bet you would,” Monte mumbled under his breath.
“What was that?” Travis grunted and John couldn’t help but fight back an amused grin.
“Too many flab rolls in his neck,” Monte said softly, leaning closer to John, “blocks up his ears.. “
John snickered and Travis’ face turned redder than a ripe tomato. Travis was used to Monte’s lack of external fear, the guy could be shitting himself and still manage to form a charming smile and hold an intelligent conversation without faltering. John hadn’t known Monte for very long, so the sheer cheek of the lad amused and surprised him, Monte was definitely not one of your average, run of the mill, everyday, ordinary humans and it utterly mesmerized the vampire. So much so, that John was content to just stay put and see how this would all unfold without his interference but if they touched his bottle, there’d be hell to pay..
“What’s so damned funny, boy?” Travis asked John, believing himself to be older because John looked so young and Travis held a bit of silver hair around his ears and in his beard. John glared up at the fat lump of lard, but couldn’t help having to lick away the drool from his fangs at the copious amount of blood Travis’ body contained.
“I’ve got it,” Monte deflected the powder keg of a situation, not wanting it all to blow up around him, “just let me get it from my pocket, alright?”
John waited anxiously, somewhere in his mind he recalled that Monte still had the gun and it gave John pause, stopping him from taking control of the whole scenario and risking exposure.
“Nice and slow,” Travis ordered Monte, watching him now instead of John. Which was a shame really, because John was the one all eyes should have been focused upon.
Monte blinked, a slight furrow to his brow as he slowly stood up and watched the tall man behind Travis’ chair slump to the ground. John hadn’t moved, or so it would seem but he was now contentedly licking the corner of his mouth and enjoying the rush of warm blood tumbling down into his stomach and warming him from the inside.
“Odd time to take a nap,” Monte commented, reaching in and taking out his gun.
“Hm?” Travis tried to look around, but he just couldn’t move that well and simply looked up but he could not see the tall man now, “what.. Where’d he go?”
John was aware that there were others in the building, but so far, none of them had shown any interest in emerging from their various rooms upstairs to come down and investigate what was happening down here.
“Probably a brain aneurysm, those things are scary as hell,” Monte shrugged, “you don’t even know they’re there until BAM! You’re dead.. “
At the word ‘bam’, Monte placed the pistol directly against Travis’ head. Travis’ eyes widened in fear and his neck veins bulged with anger as his heart sped up. John whined softly, his fangs steadily growing and his eyes almost rolling in pleasure and anticipation of a meal. The scent of fear wafted to him and his pupils dilated, he snapped his fangs and set his sights upon Travis’ buffet of a body.
“Where is she?” Monte demanded, cocking the gun and ensuring Travis heard the click, “tell me or I paint the wall with your brains, such as they are.. ”
John was intrigued that his amusing, light hearted new friend had suddenly switched from curious puppy to no-nonsense badass in a split second of time. He silently urged Travis to hurry it up, certain he’d be unable to contain his fangs for too much longer as he slowly got up to his feet and fixed his gaze right on the main artery in the fat guy’s throat; it was throbbing, pulsing.. Beckoning..
Travis began to sweat profusely, the gun pressing into his head made a sort of dent as his layers of fat sunk in at the pressure that Monte was applying there.
“You’ll not walk out of this building alive!” Travis tried to buy himself some time. John didn’t see Monte as the killing type, perhaps Travis knew it as well but Monte was unpredictable and neither one of them could truly be certain of his next move.
“I’m pretty sure I will,” Monte responded firmly, “I mean, if I’m walking, I’m obviously not dead, am I?”
Travis frowned, feeling the gun press harder into his skull.
“Now,” Monte said quietly, “I’ll ask you one more time, where is she?”
“Top floor,” Travis spoke with a trembling voice, “she’s right at the end of the hallway.”
Monte slowly withdrew the gun and looked towards the stairs, it’d be risky to go up there because if everyone suddenly came out before he could get back down, there’d be no way he could escape this place. As Monte was wondering how to get out of this in once piece, John heard a faint sound coming from a nearby locked door. He turned his head towards it and listened more carefully, there were definitely faint whimpering sounds coming from behind that door.
“I’m going up,” Monte announced and Travis smiled to himself wickedly, “could you keep an eye on him please, John?”
“I think he’s lying,” John told Monte, “there’s no harm in checking the ground floor first, is there?”
“I suppose not,” Monte agreed slowly, looking around and spying at least three doors to open.
“I’m telling you she’s up there!” Travis got flustered and turned more red, “those doors only contain my men, they’ll shoot you on sight!”
“If that were true,” Monte reasoned, approaching the door John had glanced at just a moment ago, “why would you even bother to warn me?”
John was thinking the same thing, he enjoyed what he was learning about Monte, the man could certainly handle himself in a crisis situation and that could come in handy quite a lot. One of John’s many, many reasons for not befriending humans was their vulnerability, he’d be forever trying to protect them and pull them from danger but Monte seemed perfectly capable of getting himself out of trouble - Well, most of the time anyway.
Monte tried the door but it was indeed locked and he looked around, it further made him believe that no men were waiting for him in there because why lock them inside? He spied a piece of wire over by the corner and he grabbed it up, sticking it into the lock and messing about with it. John approached Travis and circled him, making sure he knew his time was up by keeping eye contact with his intended prey.
“I’ve almost got it!” Monte announced, “just a few more seconds.. Three.. “
John grasped Travis by the throat, cutting off his oxygen supply.
“..Two,” Monte continued, focused solely on the lock. John lowered his head to breathe deeply of the fear scent that wafted from Travis, growling deeply into his ear and snapping his fangs loudly. Travis was gurgling and gagging, trying to gasp for air but to no avail.
“..One,” Monte concluded, hearing the lock click open, “bingo!”
John sunk his fangs deeply into the softened flesh of Travis’ neck, it was bitter and salty at first from so much sweat pouring from the man’s body but the hot gush of blood that suddenly spurted down into his throat more than made up for that unpleasant taste. John drank deeply, his growls of satisfaction and soft purrs of delight easily heard by the dying human in his grasp. There was so much blood! He felt like he had drank for forever by the time he sucked on an empty bite mark, not a drop was left and John pulled away with a satisfied snap of his jaw. Travis slumped forwards and down onto the floor, his body whiter than a sheet and a trickle of his blood still dripped down from the corner of John’s mouth. John calmed down a little from the excited rush, looking over to the door and expecting to see Monte gaping at him in horror. The front door was wide open, the room Monte had just broken into was empty and John looked puzzled for a moment.
Just then, Monte stuck his head inside from out the front, he grinned and raised his brows in question.
“You coming?” Monte wondered. John paused, how much had he seen? Did he even notice or was he just not saying anything of it?
Monte had gone directly into the room, untied the woman he had come for and had taken her immediately outside. John knew it was useless trying to read his thoughts, they were too jumbled up and all over the place, it was like getting lost within a labyrinth of ideas, plans and musings all twisted around and knotted up together.
“Yeah.. “ John finally snapped out of it, licking the blood from his lips.
“Come on then,” Monte urged him to hurry, “I’m on a bit of a tight schedule right now.. “
John followed him back outside again and he looked at the woman they had rescued, she was shapely and pretty in the face but did not look at all appreciative.
“It’s about damn time you showed up, Monte!” she snapped at him, “you’d better get me home to my father before the deadline, or he’ll kill you whether I’m safe in his house or not!”
“Keep your hair on, Pearl,” Monte assured her, “I’ll get you there on time.”
“Not that it’s any skin off my nose,” Pearl sniffed haughtily, suddenly sizing up John and smiling now, “who’s your gorgeous friend?”
John felt a gentle burn in his cheeks and kept eye contact with her, but it was not a smile of interest that crept onto his face just then, it was more a smile of condescension and contempt. He didn’t go for a personality as shallow as this woman’s seemed to be, Monte had just risked his life to save hers and even if he was being forced to do so, her snide remarks still just didn’t sit well with John, not to mention such an ungrateful attitude had really put him off. John casually placed his arm around Monte’s shoulders and placed a brief peck onto the startled man’s cheek.
“Taken,” John said smoothly and Pearl turned bright red, averting her eyes and looking most unimpressed. Monte cleared his throat, a deep heat settling into his own face as he gestured towards a car that was waiting nearby.
“Shall we?” Monte kept his cool exterior and Pearl headed for the car at once. John slowly slipped his arm from Monte’s shoulders and Monte gave him an amused yet slightly puzzled sideways glance as they approached the car themselves.
“Are you a comedian or what?” Monte asked John, pausing close to the car.
“Just get in, hm?” John urged him, if there was a time limit then it was best to keep moving.
“Right,” Monte nodded, “yes, the drop off happens now.. “
John climbed in after him and the driver began to pull away from the roadside, it was quiet except for Monte’s constant shifting and fidgeting. It didn’t really bother anyone else but John’s senses were more perceptive than a human’s so it started to become quite irritating. Monte was clicking his fingers when John grabbed his hand, pushing it down between them both and just holding it there. Pearl lifted a brow but said nothing and soon they finally arrived at a tall apartment building. Piling out of the car, they stood around just outside the front of the building and Pearl folded her arms.
“Aren’t you going to take me inside?” she wondered in her annoyed tone.
“Have you forgotten how to use a door?” John asked her. Pearl seethed and stormed off, barging into the apartment building and disappearing inside.
“I’d better make sure she gets there alright,” Monte told John, “I’ll be right out.”
John watched him go inside, lit up a cigarette and waited to see what interesting thing might happen next. Monte walked into the apartment where Pearl had just gone, her father hugged her and held her close to him, looking up as Monte entered the room.
“You kept your word,” the man smiled faintly, “I have to admit, I doubted you for a long time Monte.”
“That’s great,” Monte said quickly, “could you have that bomb removed from my car now? I am getting tired of walking everywhere I go.”
“Consider it done,” nodded the man, “also, I will offer you the hand of one of my daughters as an extra thank you gift.”
“Forget it,” Pearl pulled back from her father, “he’s gay.”
Monte looked surprised but the man just shrugged.
“One of my sons then,” he corrected himself.
“He’s taken, dad!” Pearl groaned in irritation, “that’s his boyfriend standing out there in the street, the one with the muscles and black hair.. “
Monte opened his mouth to interject but the man just sighed and waved him away.
“Be off with you then,” the man dismissed Monte. John glanced up as Monte exited the building, finishing his cigarette and stubbing it out in the snow.
“All set to go?” John wondered.
“Yeah,” Monte grinned cheerfully, but something seemed to be bothering him.
“What’s wrong?” John asked him curiously.
“I need to sell my car,” Monte started hiking back into the city, for he didn’t trust nor believe that man to actually follow through with his promise. John caught up to him and looked at Monte’s creased brow.
“What’s wrong with your car?” John questioned his statement.
“Well, I could do with the money,” Monte said with a shrug, “I haven’t been home in days, it’s sitting in my driveway and there’s a fucking bomb attached to the underside of it.”
John didn’t blame him for not going home, if there was indeed a bomb stuck to his car, anything could set it off at any given time. It made him wonder just who the hell Monte was, for it seemed as though wherever there was trouble, he was somehow connected to it in one way or another.
“So where are you headed for now?” John demanded, “if you can’t go home?”
“Back to work,” Monte told him, “I was sleeping on my girlfriend’s sofa for a little while but she had to move.”
“Out of town?” John queeried.
“Out of the country,” Monte answered, “it um, it was safer that way.”
“Pity,” John shrugged, “long distance relationships are difficult.”
“Oh, we’re not together anymore,” Monte informed him, “it’s better if I just keep to myself anyway, nobody else gets dragged into things then.”
John fell silent and Monte looked at him again, that curious and questioning expression on his face once more.
“Just ask me,” John growled with a snap of his teeth, becoming a bit irritated with being unsure if Monte knew anything or not.
“I didn’t want to offend you,” Monte said quietly, “are you a vampire?”
John was expecting anything else except the direct question and it caught him quite unawares, he was so used to people asking a million questions and trying to make more logical sense of him first.
“Yes,” John decided to just go with it and see where it took him, “doesn’t that bother you at all?”
“Well, yes and no,” Monte looked at him quizzically, “I’ve learned to just deal with things and move on. Sorry if you were expecting me to start throwing holy water on you or something.”
John laughed and Monte smiled at him, there had been no tension between them from the start and John found this to be quite a pleasant change. Monte wasn’t aware of it yet, but he was quickly becoming perceived as being ‘owned’ by the vampire and it would be rather foolish of anyone to even think of touching something that belonged to John Blaylock..
“So that’s it?” John lifted a brow, “no questions?”
“Actually,” Monte looked at him as they rounded a street corner, “what sorts of things can you do? I think I could make a mint in bar bets.. “
John shook his head, not keen on becoming an exhibition or drawing unnecessary attention to himself.
“Let’s just keep it between ourselves, hm?” John cautioned him.
“Have it your own way then,” Monte spoke with disappointment in his tone, “we could’ve been rich in a day.. “
Money wasn’t something John concerned himself with unless he really had to, so hanging around bars making bets was definitely out of the question. He had now made a map in his mind of where to get a bite to eat later on, his first prize being that delicious Pearl woman but he was still feeling pretty good from being able to drain several people within a few hours of each other, so it’d probably not happen until tomorrow night. John liked to keep himself overfed if he was going to be around someone he didn’t want to bite, it kept his fangs in check and prevented him from accidentally making food out of a friend.
They approached the bar and John slowed down, Monte kept walking and eventually halted by the door, looking around.
“Will I see you around?” Monte wondered.
“I don’t doubt it,” John smirked, for Monte seemed to really get around, despite the city being so large.
“Alright,” Monte stood there still, not really keen to go back inside. He was curious after all, he just didn’t want to bombard his new friend for fear of making him annoyed enough to walk off and not ever come back. He seemed to have that sort of effect on people, they either fell in love with him or they found him extremely annoying. It was hardly ever the latter but he really didn’t want to risk it with John because Monte had never met an actual vampire before and he was very, very intrigued.
“John?” Monte just had to know.
“Yes, Monte?” John looked at him with a tilt of his head.
“Are werewolves real, too?” Monte questioned him. John looked disgusted and spat in contempt.
“Unfortunately,” John growled. Monte smiled faintly, then he grinned and shrugged.
“Learn something new every day innit?” Monte said amusedly, “wow.. “
John came closer and stood in front of Monte, he couldn’t understand the lack of fear or even doubt that such a creature as John even existed. Even when confronted with his fangs, most people still screamed and demanded to know what he was, despite the obviousness of it all, they just simply could not or would not believe it.
“If you don’t have a place to stay,” John told him, “you can come and sleep at my house.”
Monte’s eyes lit up.
“Oh, that’d be fantastic, thank you!” Monte gushed at him, “you um, you don’t live in a crypt and sleep in a coffin, right?”
John laughed again.
“No,” John replied quietly, “absolutely not.”
Monte sighed with relief.
“Oh good,” Monte said calmly.
“I prefer to stay in a mausoleum,” John teased. Monte looked pale and hesitant, but he was acutely observant and soon grinned again as the color returned to his face.
“You had me going,” Monte admitted, “you really did.. “
John reached over and took Monte’s pen and paper from his pants pocket, slowly, just to be a little flirty and Monte watched him with mild but obvious interest.
“This is my address,” John told him, writing it down and handing the things back to Monte, “I’ll leave the door unlocked, just make yourself at home if I’m not there.”
“Very generous I’m sure,” Monte said carefully, looking down at the written address, “should I.. ?“
Monte glanced up and John was gone, he looked around with a furrowed brow and there was nowhere John could have hidden in that short space of time, so where had he gone? Looking up, he wondered if the man could actually fly and then made his way back inside to complete his shift.
John went home and took a shower, then he laid nude and sprawled upon his sofa to open his vintage scotch and he paused to take in the scent of nostalgia. Then he slowly began to drink and savor the taste, holding it in his mouth and closing his eyes before swallowing each mouthful very carefully. It was almost erotic in a way, but his thoughts drifted back to Monte every so often until he fell asleep, the empty bottle falling to the carpeted floor with a soft thud and gentle snores of contentment were soon rumbling deeply from his partially open mouth.
Over at the bar, Monte was wondering why they stayed open from dusk til dawn but they were an all night nightclub, so he supposed it made sense. He wasn’t sure if John burned up in the sunlight or not, like the ones in just about every film he’d seen with vampires in them, but if it was true than he was glad to be able to at least spend the day indoors with his exciting new friend.. And he did find John very exciting, he just couldn’t get the handsome vampire out of his mind.
John startled awake as he heard something smash into his door, it had actually opened and closed very quickly and the dazed vampire was dragged from a very deep sleep. His fangs at the ready, John slowly sat up and peered over the top of the sofa. Breathing heavily, Monte was leaning with his back pressed up against the door and John sighed with relief that he seemed to be alright. Trying to function normally wasn’t easy when you had been drinking and were suddenly snapped out of your drunken slumber so damned fast that it made your head spin, so John sank back down into the sofa with a flop to recover first.
“What’s all that about then?” John slurred slowly, arching his back to try and get comfortable again as his eyes demanded to be closed once more.
“Just a dog,” Monte breathed out long and slow to calm his pounding heart, “a really, really big dog.. “
John giggled at the thought, Monte’s fear taking its sweet time in reaching his vaguely aware self but when it did, his pupils dilated, his nostrils flared and he sat up in earnest now. Monte reached over and bolted the door shut, then a gunshot was heard and a bullet zinged through the door and just missed his ear by an inch.
“Since when do dogs carry guns?” John wondered amusedly. Monte looked over at him with wide eyes, John growled softly and snapped his jaws but forced himself to give his attention instead to the person outside rather than focus on Monte’s fearful and exciting scent.
“Sorry,” Monte apologized quickly, “I know I shouldn’t have come here but I didn’t know where else to go!”
John did not wait for an explanation, he knew only two things in that moment: Firstly, Monte was in danger and secondly, someone with a gun was shooting at his home. John valued the sanctuary of his dwelling, anyone who threatened his peace and quiet here was automatically invited to dinner. He stood up and Monte blushed as John walked around the sofa, his long, thick shaft already semi erect from the stench of fear coming from Monte.
“Get down,” John instructed Monte, “it’s not safe.”
Monte backed away and crawled in under the coffee table, peeking out but the door was wide open and John had disappeared. Monte heard a garbled sound and crept slowly out to look carefully around the open doorway, John’s face was right there and startled Monte, making him shout and jump back. Instinctively, John pounced on him and pinned Monte to the floor on his back, still in a rush after having just recently fed. Monte stared up at John’s bloodied face, his fangs were red and long, his fingers dug hard into Monte’s upper arms. Monte became still, allowing his muscles to go limp and averting his eyes. John marveled at his technique and the strangely calming effect it had upon himself, he let go of Monte and sat back to let him up.
Monte rolled away and sat up, turning to look at John with a little concern, for he was covered almost head to toe in blood and bits of.. Well, Monte didn’t really want to dwell upon what it might have been and he turned his face away. John felt self conscious and withdrew his fangs, then he got up and shut the front door, he normally would be licking himself clean by now but in courtesy of his guest - he decided that perhaps a shower might be a little less disgusting of a display. Monte didn’t question why John was naked, this was his home after all and who didn’t enjoy to let themselves swing in the breeze once in awhile when they lived alone?
John wandered off to the bathroom and Monte slowly got to his feet, deciding against looking outside to see the aftermath of the vampire’s frenzied attack.
“Thanks,” Monte called after him. John grunted his reply and started the water, Monte boldly crept into the doorway of the bathroom and watched as the white porcelain floor turned pink and red with blood, while the warm water streamed down over John’s muscular body and he found himself staring.
“So,” John ran his fingers through his hair and growled happily with content of a full belly, “would you care to explain how this ‘dog’ suddenly managed to morph into seven hostile thugs?”
Monte rubbed the back of his neck and managed a small smile, his face burning again somewhat.
“Well,” Monte said quietly, “I mean.. “
John turned to look at him and offered Monte a fang filled grin of his own, but he was clean now and the blood had all but washed away. John turned off the water and grabbed up a towel, drying himself off and Monte backed off to let him get by, towel wrapped about his waist to lessen Monte’s discomfort.
“It’s not entirely my fault,” Monte finally answered the question. John got the feeling that nothing was ever really Monte’s ‘fault’ per say, he’d just.. made a few bad decisions.. Who wasn’t guilty of doing that once in awhile?
John used a second towel to dry his hair, while Monte sank down onto the sofa and cleared his throat.
“They’re all brothers,” Monte explained, “well, they were anyway.. I was dating their sister and, well.. I don’t think they really ever approved of that.”
John looked around at him, lifting a brow.
“I think that’s probably the safest bet you’ve ever made, am I right?” John asked him.
“It’s not funny, John,” Monte furrowed his brow, “I really liked her.”
“What happened between you both?” John wondered, “why did they come after you like that?”
Monte stared at him for a moment and John felt uneasy, liked her.. as in past tense..
“Oh,” John figured out half of the story, “..how?”
“It was an accident,” Monte said quietly, “we were heading back to her place and we took a shortcut, I think we must have stumbled into a drug deal or something because the next thing I knew, we were running for our lives.”
John listened as Monte went on to explain that, despite their best efforts to escape, the woman had been fatally injured and the brothers had laid the blame squarely upon Monte’s shoulders when they found out.
“When did all of this happen?” John asked curiously, wondering how long these men had been after Monte and why Monte had failed to mention them until just now.
“Around half an hour ago,” Monte responded idly and John lifted a concerned brow, all of that in the space of less than an hour? It made him feel dizzy at how he’d almost lost the opportunity to get to know Monte better, if they’d shot him instead of her..
“Is anyone else going to be upset because of this?” John wondered.
“You can count on it,” Monte nodded, “those boys were somebody’s muscle, but I guess since they’ve now been turned into a paste, it’ll take a while for anyone else to come after me.”
John now wasn’t comfortable with letting Monte wander off on his own, it was hard for him to express it though, because keeping someone on a tight leash was not exactly going to end happily for either party. Monte took John’s silence as acceptance and yawned, it was getting light out, that meant it was time to eat, shower and go to bed but he’d already eaten while he was out, so he slowly got to his feet and headed into the bathroom. John kept his thoughts to himself, he was not Monte’s keeper but it bothered the vampire that the frailty of human life could take from him such a unique and curious individual.
Don’t get attached, he’d been warned so very long ago and had quickly adopted the motto for himself after losing one too many humans with whom he’d struck up a sort of friendship. He’d had to watch them grow old or get sick, sometimes offering them to become vampires in his desperation to save them but they had all refused, accepting that their time had come and making peace with whatever they believed was waiting for them on the other side. Being a vampire meant that he had to deal with death on a daily basis, but that didn’t mean he had to get used to losing someone he liked and it took a lot for John to actually like someone. Monte had somehow gotten under his skin in next to no time at all, which surprised him and frustrated him because he wasn’t supposed to get attached. It’d been easy not to make friends, John was quite introverted at the best of times and he hadn’t really meant to actually talk to Monte, he was supposed to take advantage of the free, rather helpless meal at the time but he somehow couldn’t bring himself to do it.
Perhaps because as a predator, he would much prefer to hunt down his prey and enjoy the thrill of the chase, instead of shooting fish in a barrel, so to speak. There was no fun in it, his desire to bite hadn’t even begun to stir and in not killing Monte, John had inadvertently become drawn to him. He sighed heavily, locking his door as he closed it and then he went around to lock the windows and secure the place up for the day. John hadn’t slept well, so he was still drowsy and when Monte wandered out of the bathroom, John was already asleep in the bedroom. Monte looked around for a while, but John’s was the only bed in the house and so he decided to sleep in an armchair in John’s room because he wasn’t comfortable being out there in the living room on his own if he had the choice to stay close to someone as big and as strong as John. His eyes closed almost immediately, exhausted and feeling safe for the first time in a long, long while. He was so tired, he just left his clothes in a small pile on the floor, he would just put them on again tonight before work, no big deal.
****
(page 2: http://luv-bowie-luver.livejournal.com/59037.html)