Transatlanticism

                I was finally hitting the road, my dreams of being a musician coming into fruition. I was not a rock star or anything like that, the band I was in had existed for years before I came along. There are a few perks to joining an already established song. I was the new frontman; no one could even seem to tell that it wasn’t my voice on the EP’s the band had recorded before I joined. This was the last stop on our little tour across the country. I was hours away from finally doing the second thing I’ve always dreamt about doing, I just had to get this whole band thing done before I could move forward.

                We showed up to the place early to set up and check out the venue, it was a sweet little bar, fairly small so it would guarantee a jam packed room for us to rock out to. We were playing last that night, so we got to watch all the other bands set up and tear down there equipment. The energy in the place was explosive, for a show filled with hard-core bands there was tons of mosh. Kids were igniting the pits, I couldn’t wait to hit the stage and preform for them, watch them move in those beautifully violent ways for me and my band mates.

                Finally the hour drew closer, I was 8 beers deep, but that was not biggie, as soon as our opening riffs blasted out of the speakers I felt as sober as ever, I looked out across the small sea of faces, I could see excitement, happiness, and most of all energy. Song after song these kids threw themselves around, some sang along, some banged their heads while others jumped around in the crows getting everyone moving. When finally the last notes of our last song rang out, I pulled the gun I had hidden in my pants the whole night and blew my fucking brains out in front of all those people.

Shadows -teaser-

The worse fight me and my wife ever got was our last, not because we stopped talking or divorced over it but because she never lived to accept my apology. We were camping when it happened, nowhere too far or remote, just a few kilometres out of our town. We had been high school sweethearts, happily married for years, sure we fought but who does not? What made this fight especially bad was I was drunk and she was sober. She had told me to bring the extra toilet paper, and I had insisted she was in charge of that. It started off as just simple bickering, than due to my alcohol content it turned more and more into a yelling match, one that I continuously escalated. At the time there was no doubt in my mind, looking back though it really was not a big deal for either of us, we could have done without really. It was beginning to get dark and she screamed at me to get lost, so I told her that is just what I would do. I stormed off into the woods with a head swimming full of gin and ginger ale. I am not sure just how long I was walking around but it had to have been hours. I only found my way back because of the small flame she had kept going, with my head down in shame a fairly sober version of myself returned to the tent ready to beg forgiveness and sleep outside the tent. When I approached I could the camp site was askew she must have started throwing things around after I was out of sight. I stumbled to the tent and heard some groaning, the sounds of someone being tortured or restrained, my first thought was that some other men must have come across the site, I ran up to the tent screaming. Whatever was inside the tent had heard me, and a shrill hair rising laugh answered me, it sounded like my wife, if my wife had a tank of helium and a carton of cigarettes with her. I called out her name.

“Loraine?” I asked.

More laughter answered me a little more hectic as if my voice was the funniest thing my wife had ever heard.
When I got to the tent i pushed aside its half opened flap and peered inside, the light of the fire gave me sight of my wife, or what was left. What I saw I can only describe as follows; she was being eaten by a shadow, the shadows hand was inside her stomach making her mouth move and must have been producing the laughs. I opened my mouth to scream and immediately it leapt forward with its hand in my mouth shoving it further and further down my throat, I could feel its fingers wriggling inside me, I stumbled backwards and landed on my back in the fire. The burning pain of the embers roared up my back and with a gasp I let out a scream, I rolled over and put the budding fires out quickly, I sat up rubbing my jaw that felt seconds away from bursting apart and looked wildly around me. I saw nothing, but I heard the sounds all around me, laughing, screaming, crying and other unidentifiable noises. I grabbed a stick that’s end was aflame and whirled in a circle, attempting to cast out the shadow from anywhere around me. While spinning around, my ankle found a hole in the ground, and with a loud crack it broke. I fell to the ground screaming, flaming stick still in hand. Even with my adrenaline I was in massive pain, so I crawled and shuffled and hobbled as best as I could through the trees, I could hear the laughter all around me. Circling me at incredible speeds, sometimes between the trees I could see a vague shaping speeding by. The flaming stick was guttering out of life so I did what I thought reasonable, I set the nearest tree to me on fire. I held the flame above my head to the lower branches of a dying pine tree, instantly the red pines caught fire. The flames crept up the branches, and then jumped to the branches above and around. Within a minute at least half the tree was burning, another minute gone by and a few trees around the first one were starting to sputter with flames. Realizing that the entire place was soon going to go up, I began my hobbling crawl once again, I must have gone a bit too far out of reach of the flame of the fire because a shadowy hand shot out and grabbed my broken ankle.

Hero

He never saw it coming at all. Rather he never saw her coming. She was in the middle of the road eyes clearly shut, arms stretched out, walking like a drunken airplane between the two lanes. All the cars just honked at her and kept driving, few coming perilously close to clipping her arms. Walking away from this became impossible; the drivers may be content with out of sight out of mind but if he saw her face on the news that night he knew he’d never forgive himself for not doing something about it. The traffic was very heavy so he had to wait and wait until he knew he could make it to the middle with her. The very first opportunity that presented itself was seized. Without really thinking the plan through, he was now in the middle of two lanes face to face with a girl who had the biggest smile, one that reached her closed eyes.
“Look lady, I don’t know what your deal is but I’m not leaving your side unless it’s over on that sidewalk.” He told her.
She opened her eyes briefly, in that brief moment he saw her eyes. Without being able to explain it he knew he saw himself in those eyes. The same vacant look of apathy he saw staring from the mirror every day. She must have seen it too. She stopped with her arms still out stretched and one foot of the ground. They stood like that staring at each other, the traffic blurring around them, the traffic lights blurring into a bright bouquet. No one seemed to notice let alone care that two young adults were standing between two lanes. She slowly lowered her foot and arms, and just stood there still staring.
“What do you even know?” she said
“I know that this is illegal, unless you want to get arrested for something so trivial.” He said.

“I…I want to have a cup of coffee with you.” She said.

He asked her why; she never gave me more than a “because” as her reason. More than satisfied he agreed to meet her at a local coffee shop within days. The days between now and then seemed like an eternity, days stretched by with only her figure, her frame, her eyes. When the day of the coffee date occurred, he did not know what to do. Show up early, show up late, memorize random interesting facts? Dates were enough to be nervous of, a date with someone who exhibited suicidal tendencies on the other hand: was something to prepare for. He knew he had to be charming and interesting. He never anticipated just how easy it would be to carry a conversation with someone he had only known as a crazy person in the street. She displayed none of the characteristics of the girl he had met. She was interested in vegetarianism, not for the animal cruelty but for the taste. She was healthy for the sake of herself and every word she spoke made him fall just a little bit more.

She was the perfect mix of Tyler and Marla, a combination so frightful but so refreshing. A person that only seemed capable of existing between pages. They met over coffee, and talked over drinks. One night they both had as much as they could stand of the charade, he asked her first.

“So how long have you been here?” he asked her.

“I was wondering if you would ever ask me. To be honest I don’t know, maybe a few years.” She replied.

He needed no incentive; it was his turn to answer the question.

“I think I have only been here for a few weeks, possibly months. It gets hard to keep track of the time.” He said.

“I know what you mean, when I first got here I had no one, everything was an inconsistent blur.”
“I guess I’m lucky to meet someone who has gotten used to the way things are around here.” He exclaimed.
She looked at him as if he had said something incomprehensible.
“Used to? You think that’s possible around here? To simply become used to the way things are? To live every day with half a memory of a life I once lived? I have no idea who I am, who I used to be or why I am here. There is nothing you could ever get used to!” she yelled.

“I’m sorry I never realised that it does not get easier.” He replied sheepishly.
“it’s okay.” She said with a sigh. “You’re just the only person I can actually vent to, everyone else gives me this ridiculous feeling of emptiness. It actually seems like you are real…you are real aren’t you?”

“I wish I could tell you I was, but I would have to be aware of my own existence in order for me to accept I exist. I feel like I’m drifting, day to day, week to week, month to month. I only feel real when I dream but if I don’t exist the way I am, than I would give up all hope on a future.”

“Have you given up?” she asked.

“No, and I never will give up either. Until I can prove or disprove my existence why bother?” he answered.

She looked at him, right into his eyes and saw what she thought she would. A spark of flame, one of passion. She would have never believed it but here he was in front of her. A person made of the same stuff she was, someone with enough soul for the both of them. Months turned into weeks, weeks turned into days when they were together. Even though there time together was priceless, they were both still haunted by their dreams, they both had the same one every night. A room of white, with machines making whirling, beeping, and dragging noises. Every now and then they would wake up with a pain in their arm, as if pierced by some invisible needle. Voices would ring out periodically through the night, some seemed familiar while others seemed much too official. A sense of distance became to close upon them; until one night he slept over.

“You’re leaving aren’t you?” she asked.
“I am, I don’t know where or when or how; but I am leaving.” He replied.
“I can feel it, sometimes when I hold you, I feel like I’m grasping at smoke.”
“I feel like I am made of smoke lately, no matter how hard I hold on to you, its not enough.”

“I know you’re going to leave.” She said. “Please don’t let me go through. I won’t be able to deal alone in this place, to find someone the same as me, someone real! Just to let go of you a few short months later.”
“Don’t ever let go of me, am as real as I can be.”

“Don’t ever leave me.” She pleaded.
They leaned close to kiss each other. She looked deep in his eyes and said.
“Open wide, here comes original sin.”
He tried to re assure her, he tried to comfort her, but all he ended up doing was waking up alone in a hospital bed. He looked to his right, and saw a white wall; he looked to his left and saw her. He actually saw the girl from the coma. She was thinner though, even under the covers he could tell. Before he could even call for help, to let them know he was awake. Her life support systems began to chime and ring and ding. His body was weak; he could not talk, or move very much. The nurses rushed in and one aided him into a sitting position, the others tried their best to keep her alive. He knew before the nurses that nothing they could do would bring her back. He knew she had given up, he had disappeared from her reality. He was the only thing keeping her going, and by waking up he had abandoned her to her own lonely existence. No one’s got it all. He never saw it coming at all.

Pennsylvania.

I hate what you have turned me into.
I hate that I wont forget you
I hate what you mean to me
I hate that I thought we were meant to be

You told me lies
I listened to your cries
You are nothing without me
I am nothing that you would let me be

I am everything that you tried to suppress
I am romantic and nothing less.
I cared for you before I cared for myself
I got put on the top shelf.

I will live just to prove you wrong.
As you stare among the throng.
I will rise above you.
I will rise through you.

Consuming

It was Sunday night, which meant it was a night out, a Chinese buffet, and an early night. My wife was beside me in the car as i drove us to our favorite little joint. She put on her favorite tunes as we hit the highway, we drove for about 20 Minutes into town and just pulling into the parking lot The Bled had just finished wailing out Devolver. We turned off the music, turned off the electric car. Walking into the place, was like walking into a bad comedy, obese people filled the tables, while Asian workers uttered words like 'many-thanks' in heavy Chinese accents. We took our seat, and within seconds a waitress had approached our table and asked for our drinks. We asked her for some Pepsi and she hurried away to fetch our drinks.

"Well let’s dig in shall we?" I said getting up, ready to fill my stomach.

My wife smiled at me and we rose up in unison. We headed to the tables with dozens of appetizers and entrees all lined up in rows under heating lamps. We skipped by the meat, and headed for some veggie goodness. Filling up our plates with a plethora of vegetables and pastas we headed back. Sitting down we looked around at the ravenous people around us, I glanced around, and actually saw that besides the Chinese employees, we were in fact the only non-obese people in the restaurant. I smirked to myself feeling a little better about my gut. My wife and I exchanged glances after we noticed we were both looking around. I started to really chow down, and about halfway through my macaroni salad; a waitress had walked by, and grabbed my plate.

"I'm not done with that miss!" I called after her.

She stopped and turned around, walked back, and before i could say another word to her, she had taken my wife’s plate and walked away. Trying to hold in the chuckles rising to my throat was hard, but not impossible. My wife on the other hand, roared out her laughter.

"I guess she does not understand English very well eh?" I chuckled out.

My wife was silent and looking around again.

"Have you realized how quiet it is?" she said in barely a whisper.

I had actually noticed, but was a bit weirded out to want to bring it up. It made me uncomfortable.

"No I did not notice." I replied shrugging.

Time to get more food; we both got up at the same time again.

Walking to the buffet room, we were greeted by silence, except for the smacking chops of everyone ravaging their plates. As we turned the corner, we saw at least 3 people eating right out of the trays, one of them was even using his hands, I walked over to him and told him he better stop before I went to get the manager. He looked at me puzzled and waddled; you couldn’t call it anything except waddling, away. We re-filled our plates with food, when we saw waitresses now bringing out plates to the tables, all loaded with food, one with a trolley had just exited the kitchen.

People flocked to the new arrival of food, even though it was the exact same thing they had just been eating. My wife and I looked cautiously towards each other.

“Maybe it’s time to leave” i suggested.

“I agree honey”

We started to leave, no sooner the waitress with the trolley had erupted into blood and screams. The food was now gone, and deciding they were still hungry the people decided to eat whatever was closest, in the case of some of them, that happened to be the waitress. These screams were not of pain though, she just sounded really surprised.

I looked around the room and saw a few families still sitting and eating, but not many, they too had stopped and were gazing with horror at the scenes all around the restaurant. Once the waitress was reduced to no more than gurgles and pulp the people turned towards us. Those who were still sitting screamed at the insatiable hunger that emitted from the very eyes of their former table neighbours. The first of them started to walk over, slowly at first but I wasted no time.

“Everyone! To the kitchen there going to kill us!” I screamed.

Some of the people were so dazed they continued to sit. The others had bolted upright, throwing furniture out of the way. The Hungry Ones began to run at those still sitting, obviously recognizing the easier prey, before the sitters could do anything, the horde was upon them. Screams filled the room; the easiest ones to make out were the children’s.

Before we could even make it to the kitchen my wife and I became distracted by all the scents in the air, the air itself had a heavy metallic scent to it. Looking around it was apparent what was giving the air that feel, it seemed everything and everyone was coated in blood. Seeing and smelling the blood gave me an irresistible temptation to reach out and taste it. I stopped in my tracks while my wife tried to jerk me towards the kitchen. She had little success bringing me with her; in a matter of moments she gave up completely and walked back towards me.

I could see it in her eyes, just like I knew she could see it in mine, an insatiable hunger. Within seconds we began to tear at each other’s flesh, devouring whatever we ripped off. The idea that this was wrong morally faded faster and eventually disappeared. It felt right, necessary even; to consume as much as I could, I didn’t want to share or wait. I was driven by the idea of consuming everything. Every speck of flesh and blood was mine. No one had a right to any of it! Basic thought processes eventually stopped, I became hunger.

A brief visit with death.

It was dark, dark enough so I couldn’t make any details about the shriveled figure in the corner out.  2 days I have been locked up, in a not so uncomfortable room.  The temperature was comfortable; I had a bed, three square meals that in all honesty weren’t even that bad. The only thing that I couldn’t quite understand was why I was even here. 

                Two days ago I had been abducted from my home, a bag was put over my head, and I was placed into a van, surprisingly gently.  Not once have my captors said a word to me. That combined with the dark, and the shriveled figure in the corner, were the only things that seemed to be of a puzzling nature. What I keep calling a figure is actually an old man, I hear his breathing and I find it quite labored, and his coughing fits go on for literal hours. I have attempted to make conversation with the old man but he is unresponsive. Day and night are the same things down here.  

The door slid open and we were told not to move, I was surprised to find my captor to be female, at least one of them anyway. I could see a very obscure shape moving across the floor to the older man.

“We are giving him some medicine” the female voice told me.

Moments later the definite squeals of an animal being eaten alive echoed through the small room. It was quite obvious the old man was just devouring the poor little creature. I was not looking forward to the man’s stomach undoubtedly throwing the animal back up…but it never happened. Instead to my disgust, the man seemed to instantly thrive on the live animal he just consumed…I say consumed because he ate everything, no bones or hair left.

The door closed and instantly darkness became my world again. The man began to cough quite a bit, but not the cough of a sick man, just someone trying to clear their throat. At last he seemed to clear whatever blockage he had. 

“Nice to meetcha Dave” he said “Undoubtedly you must have a few questions for me, least of all how I know your name.”

“Well actually, I have assumed that I have started to hallucinate.”

“Sorry to dissapointcha Davey bones. Firstly, I sent for you; that’s how I know who you are David. Now you might be asking yourself this but, I’ll go ahead and answer it now. I sent for you, because as you just witnessed, I grow stronger when I consume a living life force.”

“You’re going to eat me?”

“I’ll do more than just that.” He started to laugh this incredibly raspy and childlike laugh.

The sound of bones cracking filled the room as the man, not bound by any shackles got to his feet. The man stretched and bent over trying to crack every bone in a row it seemed. Finally satisfied with what he had just done, he resumed a seat right beside me. 

“Since I know your name Davey, I’ll give you some hints as to mine. Firstly it’s inevitable, secondly it’s natural and thirdly it’s feared.”  

I looked at him in horror, the only answer my mind could draw a conclusion from is impossible. Death cannot exist in a body can it? As if able to read my thoughts this man let out a deep sigh of frustration.

“I honestly have to go through this every time I need to rejuvenate myself. I am the embodiment of death, I am all four horsemen, and I am called the destructor, war, wrath by different people of different beliefs.”

“I thought that about 2 people died every second worldwide, how could you be death if you’re down here with me all decrepit?” 

A hearty laugh filled the room once again, sending shivers down my spine simultaneously.

“Death will always occurs regardless if I cause it or not, but you humans breed at an alarming rate. Are you familiar with causality?”

“I took philosophy in high school.”

“Than what would you call me Davey?”

“The prime mover.”

                Another laughter filled the room.

“Finally, someone in my presence is not a moron, nothing can happen without death. World War Two is thought to be the result of one man’s assassination. The jones town massacre was caused with nothing but words. How many jokes are there about the Jonestown massacre?”

“Are you serious?” I almost screamed at him

“I’m super serious. Please answer the question.”

“For the sake of conversation I honestly don’t know.”

“A lot but the punch lines are too long.”

                A bright white smile turned the darkness into an uncomfortable glow for a fraction of a second. Seeing the glow for a moment made me feel ridiculous, despite the horror of the massacre and how appalled I was at the joke…a laugh crept up through my throat and out my mouth and echoed inside the small room. 

“There you go Davey; you DO have a sense of humour. You have to understand that a human like any animal has a living capacity for your ecosystem. I am here to keep the balance, I am the reason all of the big problems you have ever heard of existed. War, the black plague, the Spanish flue, famine, drought, All of those things and more are my doing. For that I need energy, such energy only a living creature can supply, that rodent was a start. For dessert though you will suffice.”

At this point this started to sound more and more possible as I sat next to this thing. “I see.” I managed to utter.

“Well don’t be too down Davey. I still don’t have enough energy to consume you. You have a few days still to live down here, alone with me.” He began what could only be described as cackling.

Over the next two days, I sat and I sat. I also listened. I began to call the thing by its real name Death. 

Death has preached to me about the downfall of society, which sometimes a great sacrifice must be made to purge humanity. Events so enormously fatal are sometimes the best way to help humans pull together.  I became convinced I was special at one point that I got chosen for an honour. Death informed me I was nothing, just a walking skin bag, and with what he has in mind, I will be one of the most hated men in history.

If anything Death was a salesman, he convinced me there was no other way, if there was he would do it. His grand plan is to release a virus onto the population of china. A virus that is expected to jump china’s borders within days, maybe hours. Only by working together can the world’s best scientist work together on a cure, a cure that works.  Saving humanity will be the greatest accomplishment in recent history. Unfortunately, he informed me that while he won’t eat my body, he will eat my mind, and put his in my body. 

The dreadfully awaited day finally dawned. Now that it was upon me, I was no longer scared. I had days to reflect and accept my end was coming. I asked him if it would hurt, his response made me shiver.

“Only if you want it to Davey. Now close your eyes, and this will all be over soon.”

I closed my eyes slowly letting the last shreds of light slowly leave my sight. The moment they were fully closed I felt my mind fading, my thoughts become more and more distant as if someone was shouting at me across the ocean. I was falling now, losing grasp on everything I had left. The last thought I would ever have would be wondering if this was real, or I was insane and I’d never know the difference.

The Owl Cries

The owl stared at me, the owl talked to me as well. All it would say to me though was “who?”

“Who?” i asked quizzically

“Who.” The owl replied solemnly, unblinking.

“I don’t understa-”

“WHO” the owl interrupted with piercing eyes.

“Oh, i am mike, born Michael. Who are you?”

It blinked and cocked its head to the side, it never answered my questions. It didn’t need to though, i knew perfectly well what it meant, and it was nothing...nothing that I had a word for.

The owl sat on my windowsill just like it had every night since i met the owl. A creature of few words and fewer answers. I fell asleep under its constant gaze. When i awoke in the morning, my pillow was drenched, i must have been crying again. The morning showed no sign of the owl as usual, i would see him soon though...just like usual. The owl sat in a tree adjacent to the window in the washroom and peering in. I was used to the owl now, but i was not always. The owl appeared in my life suddenly years ago and had become a fixture of my day to day life ever since. I thought it was a dream, it had to be, but as night and night passed by, i knew the owl was real, i touched the owl once.

The first time i ever saw the owl and knew the owl was real, i was high. I had seen the owl before, but never in a memory that didn’t seem like i had just woken up or just fallen asleep. This time was different; i could see the owls’ details. Previously whenever i woke up i knew no details about the owls’ appearance. That time i could see its huge bulging eyes, the way its chest puffed in and out, and how the owl never seemed to blink. The owl stepped off my window sill for the first time in any of my dreams, or what i thought of as hallucinations.  The owl walked towards me and held out its limb like it wanted to shake hands, and that’s exactly what i tried to do. It leapt back onto the window sill and shrieked in my head, no one heard it but me. I never tried to touch the owl again physically.

Long term aquantaince generally know something about each other, but as far as i could tell neither myself nor the owl knew anything about each other. The owl reminded me of a child in a zoo staring curiously at something he does now quite comprehend. I finished my shower to the uncaring eyes of the owl. I brushed my teeth to them at my cereal to them. I did a lot of things in front of those eyes. I knew the owl could read my mind, and i used this to my own amusement. Sometimes while doing boring menial tasks like cleaning i would scream as loud as i could in my head, the owl didn’t like the sudden burst of noise, the owl even fell off a tree once. Today was just a normal day though. The owl watched as i rid the bus, as i slept in class and dreamed of pain.

That night the owl was there again, simply biding time until the inevitable and pointless interrogation. Around 3 am the owl chirped up.

“Who?”

“I am Michael.”

“WHO!”

Out of nowhere the owl leapt into my bedroom and grabbed my arm in his talons. I tried to resist but the immense power of the wings dragging me through the window was too much. Little by little i began to be pulled out and through my window. Once in the air, the owl easily lifted me in flight directly above us. Alight that seemed too bright to see shone through the clouds. Higher and higher i was lifted until i began to soar upwards through the thick clouds, until eventually we broke out of the cloud embankment. I strained my neck upwards saw above me a giant rotating, flashing, and noiseless unidentifiable flying object. I kept flying higher until the owl pulled me in through a hatch in the bottom of the craft.

Hallelujah

The simplest pleasures were often rich. A nice drive through the country with a girl riding shotgun was one of the richest. It seemed not so long ago when Buck couldn’t even get out of bed unless it was to eat or use the bathroom. Now he couldn’t even really remember what she looked like. He had someone new anyway.

“Have you ever been out this way buck?” she asked him

“Oh yah, when I was younger me and my dad used to hunt around here, don’t remember exactly where though.” Buck said

“We’ll let me know if any of this sounds familiar an old abandoned house, the roof is collapsed in the back but still up in the front.” She said

“I’m sure I’ve seen and passed it dozens of times but I just can’t think of it.”

“Well don’t worry ill point it out to you as we pass it” she said with a smile.

Buck knew something wasn’t right, maybe with this girl, maybe with this drive, but the last time he let his instincts guide him he got his heart ripped out. Time to try something different this time around. 

“Why are we going to this house anyway?”

“well when I was younger I remember going to explore it during a really tough time in my life, I think I see a little more pain behind your eyes than your letting out. I just think that maybe you’ll find what you need.”

Her hand found the exact right combination of shoulder and neck and gave a very firm and reassuring squeeze. Buck knew the winds were turning, maybe it wasn’t at his back just yet, but he knew it would be, maybe even tonight. 

“Yea I guess I’m hurting more than just a little bit, but I’d be much worse off if we never got to hanging out.” Buck said, and smiled at her.

She never returned the smile, Buck assumed she just never saw his smile, it was dark out.

“So it’s going to be coming up soon on your left, there’s a hidden entrance.”

“Sounds good just make sure you give me enough of a heads up so we don’t go head first into a tree.” Buck said, trying to make her laugh a little, and failing.

She keeps looking around back and forth, but its way too dark out to see anything except for blurry trees on either side of the road.

“Okay you see that elm? It’s on the other side, just slow down and you’ll see it I bet.”

She was right, buck slowed right down and there it was, had he been going even ten kilometres faster it would have been invisible.

“How did you even find this place with an entrance that’s barely visible?”

“Well sometimes you find things no one else can see, but only when you stop looking.” She said.

Buck burst out laughing.

“I didn’t know people actually spoke like that except in movies.” Buck said

“Yea I’m not all too sure where that one came from, I just used to walk down here all the time.”

“From town?”

“Sure did.”

“That’s like a twenty k walk!”

“It’s not like I had anything better to do at the time.”

As they pulled into the hidden entrance, it gave way to a huge clearing where smack dab in the middle was a very archaic and dilapidated house, part of the roof was caved in just like she said.

“Well I was wrong; I sure have never been around here before.”

“Yea I’m pretty sure you remember it if you had.”

“Yea me too.”

They got out of the car and walked over to the house, Buck pushed aside the old door, and it just fell off the hinges and landed with a loud bang.

“Thanks buck, now I don’t even have to call out, they’ll know we’ve arrived.”

Buck felt his stomach tighten and knot up as the entrance way quickly filled with people.

“The fuck is this? Some kind of club?” buck said.

“Well the reason you’d remember this house if you ever came here is because it’s filled with vampires. Feel free to take a seat and let that sink in.”

Buck did just that, except he more collapsed than sat with his back against a wall. He thought about his situation and what it could possibly mean. No one moved or spoke for what seemed like an hour until finally buck spoke up.

“Fine.”

“Pardon me?” she asked

“I’ll let you turn me, I won’t fight it and I’ll do my best to not squirm or scream.”

“Oh buck, your imagination is out of control, you’re not here to become one of us. You’re here to feed us.”

And with that seven pale and vicious faces all found their own spot on buck’s body and as he screamed he died.