-
One of the many questions that floated around in Charley’s mind was what the hell was he doing here? That usually ends up when he was trying to find Lyra for some reason. The few times he had come across her it was so he could give her something to protect her from vampires. Now that was a joke. He’s trying to protect her from creatures like himself. No not exactly like him, creatures like Regine, or even worse, those with the deformed faces.
There was no way for him to find out where she was all the time and he should enjoy what little time he had free to himself when he was not being subjected to Regine’s torture du jour. He was certainly lucky when he was able to come across Lyra. He had figured she was in the metro area, but not in the downtown area.
“Charley you have to stop this,” he told himself as soon as he had stopped to rest on a house. “This stalker thing you have is just plain creepy.” He sat back and wondered why he was getting involved with this girl. She did know that vampires exist as well as those demonic vampire creatures. She was also sent to fight them. She did seem stronger than normal people, not to mention faster and more agile. Why was he drawn to this vampire hunter in training?
A car had pulled up to one of the other houses on the block and two girls got out. One of them looked like Lyra. No it couldn’t be her. He was just wishing and he shouldn’t be wishing.
“What are you doing?” Charley asked himself as he flew off towards the direction of the house. As soon as he landed on the roof he slapped himself. “Stop it this isn’t healthy.” Then again why would a vampire care about what is and what wasn’t healthy?
He heard shouting and saw another car had pulled up. The man with the eye patch, Xander, had gotten out and ran up to the girls. Charley wished he could listen in on the conversation.
A young man screamed from within followed by a slam and that was followed by a door opening and closing.
“Brewster, don’t do it.” Charley told himself as he inched closer to the edge of the house. He had to see what the scream was but there were a few details that held him back. The first was that he could not get inside without an invitation. The second was what was he going to say? He couldn’t just ring the doorbell and say he was in the neighborhood now could he? As much as it had bothered him he knew he had to wait.
About an half an hour past and a young woman that looked like Lyra had run out of the house. She was sobbing and coughing before she leaned over and heaved. The man with the eye patch ran after her.
Charley adjusted himself on the roof to try and get a better look. He ducked when Xander turned towards his direction and held fast with the side of his face pressed against the shingles. He watched as Xander spoke to Lyra trying to calm her. Their voices were too soft to listen.
Charley could not help but to glare at the other man. Why did he feel anger towards him? He had to wonder what Xander’s relation was to Lyra. He wasn’t her brother. Lyra and Tony hadn’t mentioned any other siblings besides Lina. He was too young to be her father. Was her uncle, cousin, or lover? Oh no. He was too old to be her boyfriend and even if he was then why would he put her through something like that the other night. He wished he had asked when he was in the car with them the other night.
The two humans went back inside. After an hour both Xander and the two girls came out. Xander got into his car and the two girls got into another car.
. “Okay enough with the obsession.” He told himself. He was not going to come back here each night to watch for her. He was going to go home right now and accept whatever punishment Regine had for him.
-
Xander ran through the gamut of feelings when he had heard Faith was flying in. He was not surprised that she was the one since who else would book a flight at such notice at such late an hour. Of course there were at least a five hour distance and that meant she had to have left around three in the freaking morning over there and she would be arriving around midnight in Eastern time.
He didn’t feel like parking for her and waiting for her. First of all he did not want to have to pay for the parking and second of all he wasn’t sure what to say to her. He told Giles to contact her and tell her to meet him outside at arrivals.
There was not many people driving around to pick people up at this hour. He did have to keep moving until he saw her. He didn’t have to drive around in circles for long. One the third trip he saw her walking out to the curb, carrying several bags and dragging two more. He had no idea what she was taking.
“Hey X-man,” Faith greeted as soon as Xander had stepped out. “Long time no see.”
“Welcome to Florida, Faith,” Xander said to her. “I take it your flight was all right?”
“The food sucked, the service sucked I couldn’t find a decent channel for my headphones but otherwise it was five by five.”
“You need help with your luggage?” Xander had already popped the trunk and raised it completely up.
“I can take care of it.” She placed some of her suitcases inside. “So what’s the newbie like?”
“Well she is your average sixteen year old who just discovered what she can do,” Xander said. “She goes to school during the school year. She likes to chat with her friends on the phone. She goes to dance clubs.”
“Another babydoll Slayer,” Faith said as she shook her head. “Doesn’t mean she’s hopeless. Look at B. She certainly progressed.”
“Yeah.” Xander nodded and watched as she put the last of her luggage away. “We all did.”
-
The first thing that Xander did when he woke up was check the time. It was five minutes until ten. Good, that meant he had time before Lyra would come over to train. He had a bit of surprise for her in the form of Faith. He had no idea what Lyra was going to think of the other Slayer. He also had no idea what Faith was going to think of Lyra. She had already passed judgment on her with that babydoll remark.
Xander rolled off the air mattress, grabbed a change of clothes and jumped into the shower. He had offered the mattress to Faith last night and opted to sleep on the sleeping bag she had brought, but Faith had said that the mattress was uncomfortable for her to sleep on.
“Plenty to do today,” Xander said as he finished cleaning himself off. After he had dried himself and shaved he put on his clothes. “Now for the first order of things.” He felt and heard his stomach growl. Well that answered that question. He thought about getting donuts and coffee for him and Faith, but decided that might be a bad idea. Lyra could come by while he was out. He had plenty of disposable bowls; plastic spoons and he had recently purchased some cereal.
“Faith,” he nudged her gently with his toe. “Breakfast.”
Faith murmured in her sleep and rolled over. Her dark hair was draped over her arm and her eyelids fluttered. She was kind of pretty when she slept and she did appear innocent.
“I’ll make you breakfast.”
“Xander,” Faith moaned. She rolled over on her stomach and lifted her head. She barely blinked before she curled up her lip in a snarl and grabbed at Xander’s ankles. “Don’t you ever wake me with the promise of food unless it is already here.”
“I just wanted to ask you what you wanted,” Xander said. “There are some Corn Pops, Trix and Cookie Crisp.”
“Cereal?” Faith asked as released her hold on him. She rolled over onto her back. “Freaking cereal.” She closed her eyes again and opened them a second later. “Wait, you said there was Cookie Crisp?”
“I’ll get us a couple of bowls, and I’ll make some coffee.” Xander raced back into the kitchen and prepped the pot for two cups. While the coffee brewed he poured two bowls and brought one to Faith. He sat down next to her and started eating. He was halfway done when the coffee was ready and he poured them their cups.
Xander had finished eating and was halfway done when he heard a knock on his door. “I’ll get it.” He ran to answer it. He was expecting Lyra. He was not expecting her two friends.
“Hey,” Lyra greeted.
“Hi,” Xander said right back and pointed at her friends. “Why are they here?”
“They insisted,” Lyra said.
“You should be proud of her,” Ronnie said. “She tried to convince us to not come. She pleaded a good case, but she didn’t count on us pitbull strong stubbornness.”
“Those things took Cheryl from me,” Tyler said. He had a large bandage where Cheryl had bitten him. “They killed her and put that monster in her body. Cheryl and I have been together for nearly two years.” He closed his eyes. “I loved her.” He took a deep breath and opened his eyes again. “I want to make sure each one of those blood suckers are dead.” He held up what looked like a single set of nunchukus except they were sharpened at the bottom ends. “I worked on making these last night.”
“Nun-stakes,” Faith said. She had put the cereal on the floor and stood up. “Nice.”
“Uh,” Lyra stared at Faith. “I had no idea you had someone over.” She had a weak smile on her face and it almost looked like she was blushing.
“This is Faith,” Xander introduced. He already knew what it looked like. “She is also a Slayer, has been one for years. She thought it would be a good idea to come over and help teach you, train with you.”
“Ah,” Lyra said as she fully entered and approached Faith. “Hi Faith, I’m Lyra.”
“Hey,” Faith said as she looked her up and down. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“My name?” Lyra asked. “It’s a constellation of a harp.”
Faith nodded. “So who are your friends?”
“This is Veronica Porter,” Lyra introduced her friends. “We all call her Ronnie and this is Tyler Johansson.”
“So they came to watch?” Faith asked.
“Watch and train with you,” Tyler said. “Lyra explained to us what a Slayer is. I know I don’t have your powers, but I am a fighter.”
“Let me guess, you know kung-fu?” Faith asked.
Tyler shook his head. “Karate. I have a black belt. It is only the first level of black belt but I know how to fight.”
Faith shrugged. “I guess. Non Slayers have fought vampires and demons before, right Xander?”
“That is true,” Xander agreed. “Ronnie you don’t mind sitting back and watch as I give them instructions?”
“No problem,” Ronnie said. “Got anything to read incase I get bored.”
“Ronnie,” Lyra gasped. “Sorry about that she speaks her mind.”
“I got something,” Faith said. She pulled out a book of famous vampires of the past and tossed it to her.
“I have another question,” Ronnie said as she picked up the book. “How did you get involved in all of this Mr. Xander?”
“First of all Xander is my first name, and secondly it is kind of like how you found out.” He decided to tell them everything.
-
A drive around hunt, which was what Charley called it when Bosworth drove the four of them to an area and then waited for the three vampires while they hunted and fed. They were to seek out a victim, kill them or knock them out and then take them back to the limo where they would feed. Charley hated doing that. They expect him to hunt down a human to feed from while he preferred feeding from strays and vermin. He came across some cows that would satisfy his thirst. The last time he went on a drive around he had come across man trying to force himself on a woman. Charley killed and fed off him and didn’t feel guilty about it.
“I have to find someone,” Charley said as he strolled up close to a graveyard. This one was attached to a church and was not fenced in or gated. He remembered the last time he was in one and smiled. It had been a couple of weeks since he last seen Lyra. He could not forget how sad she was, and how he wished he could have comforted her.
The sounds of growling pulled him out of his thoughts and he looked up to see one of demonic vampire creatures running toward him. Charley waited until the last second and side stepped the creature before he rammed his fist into the demon’s chest and followed with a second punch to the face.
“Give me one good reason I don’t stake you myself?” Charley asked as he kicked out the legs from under the monster. He knew his eyes were glowing and he had his fangs bared.
The monster just stared at him with a confused expression on his face.
Charley pounced on him. “Maybe it is because I want to show you to the others.” He had tried to tell Regine and Bosworth about these creatures but they refused to listen. There was only one kind of vampire. Belle seemed to listen, but then again the roller skating vampire never said anything. He slammed his fist against the creature’s face and picked him up.
Bosworth was standing by the limo. He had already picked up Belle who was feeding off of her victim.
“This is what I was talking about,” Charley said as he held up the creature.
“Good sized meal for you,” Bosworth complimented.
“Not for eating,” Charley said. “I wouldn’t try drinking from it. It would give us a stomachache.” He slapped the demon in the face. He got no response. He slapped it again.
The creature opened its eyes and immediately resumed his demonic mug. Growling he managed to slip out of Charley’s grasp and was immediately grabbed by both Bosworth and Belle.
“What the hell is this thing?” Bosworth asked.
“Ask it,” Charley said. “It claims to be a vampire.”
“I am a vampire,” the creature said. “I don’t know what the hell you are supposed to be.”
“It can die like us,” Charley said as he turned to head back to the cemetery.
“Where are you going?” Bosworth asked.
“To see if there are anymore.” He paused to break off a tree branch and split it in two, creating two stakes. “This is our town, or hunting ground. I’m just protecting our turf.” Hopefully they will buy that lie. Charley didn’t like these demonic vampires. Creatures without souls that have no remorse are far more dangerous than what he was. He was going to make sure they are hunted down and killed.
There was another one running around the edge of the cemetery. Another one flew into it. Correction it was kicked into it. The person who kicked it ran up to both. She was a young woman who appeared to be in her mid twenties. Her brown hair fell past her shoulders and like Lyra had a slight wave. She punched another vampire in the jaws and ducked when the one she had kicked had tried to grab her.
Charley watched in a mix of fascination and awe. He was transfixed by the sight of this woman and wondered if this was part of a new trend with young and beautiful women fighting vampires. He also wondered if she knew who Lyra was.
His question was answered when Lyra ran up the fight. The younger of the two reached for her belt and grabbed one of the black cup shaped attachments and twisted off the top. She pulled out what looked like a silver water balloon from the container and threw it at one of the vampire creatures.
The monster’s skin boiled and smoked upon impact. The balloon was filled with holy water.
“Thanks Little Star,” the older of the two women said and shoved a stake into the chest of one of the monsters.
“Got your back Big F,” Lyra said before she staked the one that was burned. “I think that was the last of them.”
“The last of this batch,” Big F said. Even from where Charley stood he could see she heavily made up eyes and wore dark red lipstick. This vampire hunter certainly appeared to be quite vampish. “Still no clues on their leader.”
“Xander thinks she lives near downtown,” Lyra said. She removed the elastic from her hair. “I just wish we can pinpoint the exact location. I want this to be over with.”
“One of the rules of Slaying, Little Star, it’s never over. Even when you kill one Big Bad there will always be more. Sometimes the new one will be worst than the old one, however this place aint a Hellmouth.”
“Those are the places that have a lot of vampire activity?” Lyra asked.
Big F nodded. “And sometimes they drift out to nearby cities, especially big popular places like here.” She stared past Lyra and seemed to be looking at Charley
“Gotta love living in a tourist town.”
“And gotta love being watched.” The older girl was staring at them.
Lyra spun around. “Charley?” Her eyes lit up.
“Hello Lyra,” Charley greeted. “I didn’t expect to see you in a cemetery again, not after last time.”
“I changed my mind,” Lyra said. She pointed at the two stakes in his hands. “Were you coming to help?”
He dropped the weapons. “I thought I saw more of those creatures with the deformed faces, and decided to try and take care of them.”
“That’s kind of dangerous,” Big F said.
“Yet you two are doing it,” Charlie pointed out.
“It’s kinda of different for us,” Lyra said.
“Who is this guy?” Big F asked as she stared him up and down.
“Faith, this is Charley Brewster,” Lyra introduced. “Charley, this is Faith. She’s my cousin from Boston.”
“Hey,” Faith said.
“Hi,” Charley greeted her. “Did you come down here for the killing or for the attractions?”
“Business mostly, but I like to mix work with pleasure.” Faith swiveled her hips and adjusted her feet as she talked. “So your name is Charley? Like the unicorn?”
“Yeah,” Charley sighed. He hated that damn meme. He hated people saying “Candy Mountain” to him.
“He plays Chaz Broker on Fright Night.” Lyra explained and “He has helped me in the past. He gave me my cross necklace, my mini soaker and my mirror.”
“A celebrity who fights vampires,” Faith said. “That’s pretty cool.”
“Well I’m not really a celebrity. My character only appears once in a blue moon.”
“Dude, you have your own Wiki page,” Lyra said.
“Charley, who are you talking to?” The warm and sultry voice sent a chill down Charley’s back. He turned around to see Regine was standing behind him and behind her was the limo.
“A friend,” Charley said as he tried to see into the car. He could see both Belle and Bosworth. The victims had been disposed of all ready and there was also no sign of the demonic vampire.
“Oh,” Regine said. Her mouth pulled into a smile. “Hello, Lyra.”
“Hello Miss Regine ,” Lyra greeted.
“You can call me just Regine and who is your friend?”
“My cousin, Faith,” Lyra answered.
“We are throwing a party a few evenings from tonight,” Regine said. “Will the two of you be free on next Thursday?”
“I guess,” Lyra said and turned to Faith. “What about you Big F?”
“Hell yeah,” Faith said.
“I’ll let Charley give you the address and the date,” Regine said. “Lyra tell your brother he is invited, and your friend, Xander. In fact bring all of your friends.”
“Do any of you have a pen?” Charley asked. He wasn’t sure what Regine was planning.
“I got one,” Lyra said. She handed him a pen.
“Thanks,” Charley took it and wrote down the address and handed it to her. “You two take care and be careful.”
“Same to you,” Faith said.
Charley got into the limo next to Regine. “What was that about?”
“I feel like having a party,” Regine said.
“What do you want with Lyra?”
“Nothing. It’s Xander and Tony who I am interested in.”
-